Hoosiers’ Day ‘Recked’ by One of Their Own

If it wasn’t fulfilling enough for a former Indiana Mr. Basketball to play for his in-state Hoosiers, perhaps knocking them from their perch supplied some enjoyment.

Iowa’s Luke Recker couldn’t have asked for anything more: He beat the clock and his former team on Saturday.

Recker made a 15-foot runner from the right corner as time expired--his second consecutive game-winner--to give Iowa a 62-60 victory over No. 23 Indiana in the Big Ten semifinals at Indianapolis.

Recker signed with Indiana out of high school but transferred after his sophomore season.

“I’ve never hit two like this in my career,” said Recker, who won Friday’s quarterfinal against top-seeded Wisconsin with a 13-footer with 1.4 seconds left. “When it went in, I saw my teammates attack me. It was a great feeling.”

That made up for the way some fans treated him.

Recker was booed throughout the game Saturday, but his reception wasn’t nearly as rude as the one he got in Bloomington last month when he made his return to Assembly Hall. In that game, the fans booed him in warmups and chanted at him all game.

“I love this state. I’m very fond of Indiana,” said Recker, who played for Bob Knight for two seasons before leaving for Arizona, which he eventually left for Iowa. “But there’s that 5% of fans that, unfortunately, act in a classless manner that probably made this more enjoyable to win.”

After making the last shot, Recker hugged Indiana Coach Mike Davis, an assistant when Recker played for the Hoosiers. Recker then walked toward the Hawkeye crowd, pointing several times to the “IOWA” on his jersey.

“The hate mail I received, the e-mails--nothing life-threatening, but just the letter saying how bad you stink--is pretty tough,” Recker said. “That’s where the emotion came in and the tears came out. I can’t describe to you what this feels like.”

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Mirror image: In the spirit of flattery, Montana’s Dan Trammel did his best imitation of Recker in the Big Sky Conference tournament.

Trammel, a 6-6 senior forward for the Grizzlies, saved his best for last for the second game in a row.

Trammel sank a go-ahead layup as the shot clock expired and blocked a layup at the other end as Montana defeated Eastern Washington, 70-66, Saturday to win the conference championship.

“It was either he makes it or I block it,” said Trammel, who did a back flip when he was selected the tournament’s MVP. “It was a little scary, but I was putting everything on the line.”

In a semifinal Friday, Trammel slammed home a teammate’s missed three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to give the Grizzlies a 70-68 win over Montana State.

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Speechless: Tic Price was in tears, hugging his wife.

His McNeese State team was in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 years. And for a coach who has faced rough times of late, this was a rare good moment.

McNeese defeated Louisiana Monroe, 65-43, in the Southland Conference tournament title game.

Price is in his first season at McNeese. He left Memphis in 1999 after admitting to having an affair with a student. His father died in Virginia less than two weeks ago, only days after Price’s home was gutted by fire.

Price didn’t have any voice left after the game, so assistant John Dillard answered questions.

“The team showed a lot of heart and a will to win, and that was a reflection of their head coach,” Dillard said.

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Blue-collar crowd: So how did the three-day Staples Center college basketball crowds for the Pacific 10 Conference tournament differ from the nightly NBA crowds?

Few celebrities, but more passion, albeit unlawful passion.

The only celebrity anyone spot-ted during the three days was Kevin Costner, who sat courtside for Friday’s semifinals.

As for the passion, it was evident in a nasty way Friday night when spectators threw a couple of water bottles at referees as they were leaving the court.

When asked for help, Staples Center officials pulled out a canopy tunnel that is used for hockey. On Saturday, the referees exited the court underneath it.

No, that tunnel has never been necessary for the NBA.

But then again, this was clearly not the NBA.

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Fit to be untied: Pennsylvania and Yale were tied atop the standings. In their Ivy League playoff game, there was never a doubt which was the better team.

Koko Archibong had 21 points and 16 rebounds as Penn advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 20th time, dominating Yale, 77-58, at Easton, Pa.

Archibong’s effort changed the opinion of Yale Coach James Jones.

“I have to apologize,” Jones said. “I didn’t vote for him for first-team all-league. He showed me tonight that he’s a first team all-league player. He played great.”

The playoff, the first in the Ivy League since Princeton beat Penn in 1996, was played in front an evenly divided crowd of 3,651 at the Kirby Sports Center.

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Hardly a high note: Howard’s Gil Goodrich was suspended for the first half of Saturday’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship for punching a Delaware State player in the groin during the semifinals the day before.

“There is no place for this type of behavior in the MEAC or in college athletics in general,” said Tim Autry, the athletic director at South Carolina State and chair of the tournament committee.

Goodrich punched Delaware State’s Miles Davis--he got his name from his grandmother who was a big fan of the legendary jazz trumpeter--in a play away from the ball in the first half, leaving Davis writhing on the floor.

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Performance of the day: For the second consecutive season, Hawaii traveled thousands of miles and secured an NCAA tournament bid by defeating Tulsa on the Golden Hurricane’s home court in Oklahoma. Hawaii’s 73-59 victory was its third over Tulsa this season.

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Performance of the weak: Maine, seeking its first NCAA tournament appearance, shot 36.4% from the field, went scoreless for more than seven minutes in the first half and scored the lowest point total in America East Conference championship game history in a 66-40 loss to Boston University.

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Jim Barrero and Bill Plaschke