Massachusetts Picks Up Pieces and It Looks Like NCAA Fit

With no Marcus Camby around to dominate the middle and no Coach John Calipari to motivate and pull all the right strings from the sideline, it seemed like a good idea for Massachusetts to change the slogan “Refuse to Lose” that was the battle cry for last season’s 35-2 Final Four team.

The early and surprising departures of Camby and Calipari to the NBA, and the graduation losses of blue-collar forwards Donta Bright and Dana Dingle, made “Defuse and Lose” more of an appropriate slogan for the Minutemen and new Coach James “Bruiser” Flint.

The rebuilding pieces, however, have fallen together after frustrating 6-9 start and Massachusetts showed No. 10 Maryland Saturday that it is again a team with which to be reckoned after a 78-61 nonconference victory at Worcester, Mass.

Forward Lari Ketner a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds, and guards Charlton Clarke and Carmelo Travieso combined for 38 points as the Minutemen (16-10) continued to enhance their chances to making the NCAA tournament for a sixth consecutive season.

Maryland (19-6) trailed by as many as 21 points and didn’t get within single-digits of Massachusetts the final 27:25.

“They came out and they acted like they were playing against a high school team,” Clarke said of Maryland’s showboat antics on three-on-none breakaway in which Laron Profit scored off an alley-oop pass from Terrell Strokes that gave the Terrapins their last lead at 4-2. “You just want to open people’s eyes to see that we’re still the UMass of old. We just had a slow start. And now, we’re coming on.”

Maryland, meanwhile, is headed in the other direction, having lost four of its last six.

“If we don’t wake up now,” Profit said, “we’ll be sleeping in spring.”

No. 1 Kansas 114, No. 15 Colorado 74--Forward Raef LaFrentz had 23 points in the Big 12 Conference game at Lawrence, Kan., as the Jayhawks (25-1, 11-1) defeated the Buffaloes (17-7, 8-5) for the 16th consecutive time and improved their nation-leading home-court win streak to 42.

LaFrentz has scored 20 points or more in all seven games since center Scot Pollard suffered a broken left foot. Pollard is expected to return before the Big 12 Tournament in March.

Kansas guard Jacque Vaughn scored only two points but had 11 assists and played well defensively against Colorado’s Chauncey Billups, who had 10 points. Billups entered the game as the Big 12’s leading scorer at 23.5 points a game.

No. 3 Minnesota 68, Iowa 66--The Big Ten Conference-leading Golden Gophers (22-2, 11-1) completed a road sweep of the two teams that started the week in second and third place by holding off the Hawkeyes (16-8, 7-5) at Iowa City.

Minnesota, seeking its first Big Ten championship since 1982, defeated second-place Purdue, 70-67, at West Lafayette, Ind., last Wednesday. Iowa has lost three in a row and five of its last seven.

The Golden Gophers had balanced scoring with four players in double figures and Coach Clem Haskins continued to substitute freely as nine players had between 11 and 33 minutes.

Guard Andre Woolridge brought Iowa back from a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes, scoring 14 of his 24 points during a 16-4 run--including a three-point shot that tied the game at 66-66 with 15 seconds left.

Woolridge, however, fouled Bobby Harris after ensuing inbounds pass and Harris hit the front end of a one-and-one. Woolridge then missed a 17-foot jumper with 1.5 seconds and Minnesota center John Thomas got the rebound.

No. 4 Kentucky 85, Florida 56--The Wildcats (24-3, 10-2) scored 31 points off 30 turnovers in holding the Gators (12-13, 4-8) to a season-low point total in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

The big news for Kentucky, however, was that leading scorer Derek Anderson, who has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury on Jan. 22, went through warmup drills before the game. Anderson, a 6-foot-5 senior guard averaging 18.6 points, underwent a reconstructive surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and was initially expected to be sidelined the rest of the season.

“I’m about 90%,” said Anderson, who has not practiced with the team since the injury. “I’m doing everything. I’ve been making cuts.”

No. 5 Utah 94, Texas Christian 91--Forward Keith Van Horn had 40 points and made all 18 of his free throws, including four in the final 15 seconds, to lead the Utes (19-3, 11-1) in the Western Athletic Conference game at Salt Lake City. The teams scored 115 points in the second half.

Guard Mike Jones had 36 points and made seven of eight three-point shots for TCU (16-9, 5-7).

No. 6 Duke 89, Florida State 79--The Blue Devils (21-5, 10-3) had six players score in double figures and made 12 of 24 three-point shots in the Atlantic Coast Conference game at Tallahassee, Fla.

Guard Trajan Langdon made five of eight three-point shots and had 24 points for Duke, who broke the game open with a 22-5 run early in the second half. Center Greg Newton was sidelined for the second game in a row, reportedly with lower back strain.

Reserve guard LaMarr Greer had 15 of his 23 points in the first half for Florida State (13-9, 4-9), which trailed by only 45-42 at halftime but scored only two baskets in the first 14 minutes of the second half.

No. 7 Clemson 71, Virginia 65--Forward Harold Jamison, playing for injured leading scorer Greg Buckner during a key stretch, had 14 points and the basket that broke a late tie for the Tigers (20-4, 8-4) in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Clemson, S.C. The 20-victory season is Clemson’s first in seven years.

Greg Buckner sat out five minutes of the second half as trainers attended to a cut on his forehead that he received when he was knocked to the floor and was stepped on by teammate Iker Iturbe.

Jamison had four points in a 14-0 run that allowed Clemson to overcome a five-point deficit and, after Virginia 15-10, 5-8) had tied the score, 61-61, his dunk with two minutes left put the Tigers ahead for good.

No. 12 South Carolina 97, No. 8 Cincinnati 83--The Gamecocks (18-6) made school-record 15 three-point shots in 24 attempts and their three starting guards--Larry Davis, BJ McKie and Melvin Watson--combined for 74 points in a nonconference game at Cincinnati.

Davis had a game-high 32 points while McKie and Watson had 25 and 17, respectively.

Cincinnati (19-5) fell to 1-3 against nationally ranked teams and had its main weaknesses exposed again--its man-to-man defense is not effective when the Bearcat guards can’t press and trap the opposition. They had trouble fighting through screens that left the Gamecocks with uncontested three-point shots.

South Carolina, which only scored 10 baskets inside the three-point arc, also made 32 of 40 free throws, 16 in the final two minutes.

Cincinnati guard Darnell Burton, who made made 18 of 28 three-point shots the previous four games, was five of 11 from behind the arc and had 30 points.

No. 9 Iowa St. 62, Kansas State 58--Forward Kenny Pratt scored eight of his 20 points in the final two minutes as the Cyclones (18-4, 9-3) struggled against the Wildcats (9-13, 2-11) in the Big 12 Conference game at Manhattan, Kan.

Kansas State led, 55-50, with 2:51 left but Iowa wiped out that deficit in only one minute, with Pratt’s layup giving the Cyclones the lead for good.

No. 16 North Carolina 72, Georgia Tech 68--Guard Shammond Williams made four three-point shots in the final 9:18 to allow the Tar Heels (17-6, 7-5) to rally from a 16-point deficit in the Atlantic Coast Conference game in Atlanta. North Carolina had come from 16 points behind in the final 9:14 to defeat North Carolina State, 45-44, Wednesday.

Tar Heel forward Antawn Jamison had 18 points and 17 rebounds while Williams had 14 points.

Guard Gary Saunders made eight of 13 shots and had a career-high 21 points for Georgia Tech (9-13, 3-9).

No. 17 Louisville 70, Houston 66--Guard DeJuan Wheat had 22 points to help the Cardinals (19-5, 6-3) end a losing streak at three in a Conference USA at Houston. Wheat became the first Louisville player have both 2,000 points and 400 assists.

Guard Damon Jones had 28 points for Houston (11-11, 3-7).

No. 19 Xavier of Ohio 87, George Washington 78--The Musketeers (18-4, 9-3) had 15 less fouls called on them and shot 33 more free throws than the Colonials (11-10, 5-6) in compiling a 37-11 advantage from the line in the Atlantic 10 Conference game at Cincinnati.

Xavier’s Center T.J. Johnson had 20 points in outplaying George Washington’s 7-1 Alexander Koul, who had 12 points, four rebounds and fouled out after playing only 24 minutes.

No. 20 Illinois 79, Michigan State 68--The Illini (18-7, 8-5) went on a game-breaking 10-3 run after physical play under the basket resulted in a sideline scuffle in the Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois’ Jarrod Gee and Matt Heldman, enraged at what they felt was rough-house tactics Michigan State’s Steve Polonowski, started throwing punches at 18:24 of the second half. Gee got a technical foul as teammate Chris Gandy and dragged Heldman away in a head lock.

Ray Weathers made one of the resulting free throws for Michigan State (12-9, 5-7) and Illinois responded with its run--capped by Bryant Notree’s dunk on an inbound pass from Heldman--to take a 57-42 lead.

Baylor 77, No. 21 Texas Tech 76--Forward Doug Brandt made a three-point shot to tie the Big 12 Conference game with four seconds in regulation and made four free throws in the final 1:38 of overtime for the Bears (16-9, 4-8) at Waco, Texas.

Center Tony Battie had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Texas Tech (15-6, 7-5), which had 22 turnovers against Baylor’s man-to-man defense.

No. 25 College of Charleston 64, Florida Atlantic 60--The Cougars (23-2, 14-0) extended the longest winning streak in Division I to 17 in the Trans America Athletic Conference game at Boca Raton, Fla.

Rodney Conner led Charleston with 22 points and 6-8, 250-pound Thaddeous Delaney--the top player in the TAAC--had 16, including a fadeaway jumper with 2:05 left that broke a 60-60 tie. Florida Atlantic is 13-11 and 9-5.