Ben Hansbrough scored 19 points, added seven assists, and grabbed four rebounds to lead #14 Notre Dame to a 56-51 win at Pitt, which will likely fall from their new perch at #2 in the country.
The defeat was the Panthers' first home loss in more than a year, and their first home loss in their past 52 home games. It was also the third consecutive Notre Dame victory in the series, and their fourth in the past five against Pitt. Don't ask me...I certainly can't explain their recent ownership of the Panthers, either.
Jamie Dixon's team had a 28-23 halftime lead which they held for more than 10 minutes to start off the second half. The Irish finally took the lead at 42-41 on a Hansbrough three-pointer with 8:29 left and never surrendered it the rest of the way, as Pitt had no definitive answer to stop the senior guard. Hansbrough, a senior and the brother of former North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough, scored eight of his 19 points in the final 4:29 of the game.
Gilbert Brown (13) and Brad Wanamaker (12) were the only Panthers to hit double-figures in scoring, as Notre Dame limited Pitt to their lowest point output of the season. Their previous low of 61 came against American University on December 22.
The Panthers (19-2, 7-1) are off for a few days, picking up on Saturday, January 29 against Coach Mike Rice and Rutgers (12-7, 3-4). The Scarlet Knights own conference wins over South Florida, Providence, and Seton Hall this season, and are led by F Jonathan Mitchell at 12.9 PPG. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
The 41-year-old Rice, who signed a meaningless contract extension with RMU on April 9, was 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris, taking the Colonials to two NCAA tournaments and nearly upsetting Villanova in the 2010 NCAA tournament. It was during that recent announcement that RMU athletic director Craig Coleman and university president Greg Dell'Omo announced their intention to invest in whatever it takes to make Robert Morris the new Gonzaga, Butler or Cornell, and it looks like they'll certainly have their work cut out now that they have to conduct a coach-search at this point in the basketball calendar.
Rice comes from a basketball family, the son of a former college coach and a college hoops-playing mother. He has worked as an assistant since 1991 in college basketball, including stops at Fordham, Marquette, Niagara, Chicago State, St. Joe's, and Pitt, and seemed to be determined to strike while his personal iron was hot to land a head coaching gig this offseason. He had previously been mentioned in discussions for jobs at Seton Hall, Tulane, Hofstra, and Oregon, among others, and today's news seemed to the outside observer like a foregone conclusion. Rice was a rising stock, and the odds were that he would not be staying at RMU much longer. I just hope for his sake that he made the right decision, as Rutgers was 5-13/15-17 in the Big East last season and possesses a less-than-stellar track record of distinguished basketball alumni from an historical perspective. Good luck to Rice trying to improve that list against the Dixons, Calhouns, and Boeheims of the world; he undoubtedly has a tall task ahead.
He might not be there forever, but Mike Rice is still the men's basketball coach at Robert Morris after turning down the Tulane job today.
The 41-year-old Rice, who's taken RMU to the tournament the past two seasons and nearly toppled Villanova as a 15-seed this year, did not feel comfortable enough with the New Orleans area to recruit effectively, according to his father, former Duquesne coach Mike Rice.
Fast Willie Parker "is so bitter toward the Steelers about his treatment last season that he would rather sit out 2010 than play here again," a source close to the RB told Ed Bouchette.
That's pretty strong talk from a guy who doesn't have a paycheck lined up yet for 2010. [PG]
"I don't know if somebody forgot or what happened," Jones said. "The report wasn't completed. It was supposed to be done. We've contacted the officer to be sure it gets done."
Sounds like some top-notch police work in Orlando. Glad I don't live there. [Trib]
Santonio Holmes, the man of the hour, told ESPN's Rachel Nichols that he "didn't do anything" and added that this matter "will be taken care of quickly, within the next 24 hours."
So I guess we should all move on, then. Nothing to see here. [ESPN]
The Pittsburgh Steelersmet with four college prospects on Monday, including Purdue DL Michael Neal, Wake Forest OT Chris DeGeare, Kansas S Darrell Stuckey, and Penn State LB Navorro Bowman. I hope none of these guys are big fans of nightclubs. [Trib]
The Johnstown Chiefs are moving to Greenville, South Carolina, in an eerie example of real life mirroring fiction (in this case, the 1977 Paul Newman classic Slap Shot).
The team was purchased by Neil Smith (yes, that Neil Smith) in 2002, but the Chiefs have only 900 season-ticket holders and struggle to fill the arena, needing 2,700 fans a game just to break even. Sounds like they need a dose of the Hanson Brothers. [Comcast.net]
Jamie Dixon reportedly met with former Oregon AD Pat Kilkenny recently, but has spurned whatever the Ducks were peddling, according to Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman.
Now that Dixon, Gonzaga's Mark Few, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, and and Florida's Billy Donovan appear to have turned them down, it looks like Oregon now will turn their attention to Minnesota's Tubby Smith, and possibly Butler's Brad Stevens. [FoxSports.com]
Former Pitt player Kevin Willard got the Seton Hall job, and Fordham hired Hofstra’s Tom Pecora. St. John's wants a coach with more major-conference experience, as is DePaul.
That would leave Charlotte, Hofstra, Siena and Iona as the openings in the East at the moment, and none of them have mentioned Rice as a potential candidate yet. [Beaver County Times]
Robbie Brown, former Penguin fan favorite and Alyssa Milano squeeze, was on 93.7 The Fan on Monday with John Seibel and Joe Starkey.
Brown, now a color commentator for the Edmonton Oilers, immediately took the hosts back to the time when Ron Hextall chased him around the ice in the 1989 playoffs. Here's a YouTube clip of the awesome moment:
Andrew McCutchen is being credited with the change in attitude of talented yet troubled OF Lastings Milledge in a lengthy article on ESPN:
Milledge watched how McCutchen played with a calm but not ego-driven attitude, how he carried himself. He also was impressed by how McCutchen, without campaigning for the job, effectively became the Pirates' captain only a few months after becoming a major leaguer.
"When you're that young but you're a leader like that, it's something special to watch," Milledge said.
Steve Blass circa 1973 has been identified as the worst opening-day starter in the last 50 years based on WAR (wins above replacement), says people who enjoy crunching said numbers. That was the year Blass totally went off the tracks, turning 19-8/2.49 in 1972 to 3-9/9.85 in 1973. No one does bad like the Buccos. [Rum Bunter]
Bill Clinton will speak at the May 16 graduation ceremony of West Virginia University's Eberly College of Arts and Science, the school announced today. Hopefully no one throws any small change at the former President. [PG]
Brad Sciullo, one of Western PA's top competitive eaters who once ate a 20.2-pound burger in four hours and 37 minutes, was at it again this weekend.
On Saturday, Sciullo took down 58 pierogis in three minutes flat at the Men's Culinary Classic at the Washington County Fairgrounds, besting the entire field. His next feat will be at the Double Wide Grill on Carson Street at 8 p.m. Thursday, where he'll be one of the contestants in a tofu-eating contest. But my question: when will he be ready to take down Chestnut and Kobayashi on the 4th of July? [Herald Standard]
Robert Morris basketball coach Mike Rice, a hot property following his close call in the tournament against Villanova, plans to meet with Seton Hall officials on Wednesday to discuss their head coaching vacancy, a source told Colin Dunlap of the PG. The source also added that if Rice were offered the job at Seton Hall, there is "absolutely no doubt" he would make the jump from Robert Morris.
Unfortunately, this is the sad reality that comes with being Robert Morris. When a special coach like Rice comes along, odds are that he's not going to be there long. He has a 73-31 record and two trips to the NCAA tournament in just three seasons as head coach of the Colonials, and the Villanova game was merely icing on a cake that Rice has been baking for a while.
Rice has worked his way up the coaching ranks for nearly 20 years, with stops as an assistant coach at Fordham (1991-94), Marquette (1994-97), Niagara (1997-98), Chicago State (1998-2001), Saint Joseph’s (2004-06) and Pitt (2006-07). He was raised in a basketball house, with his dad coaching Duquesne and Youngstown State and his mom playing collegiately at Duquesne. He's a basketball lifer with an upbeat personality and the kind of positive energy that Seton Hall needs after the Bobby Gonzalez fiasco. His loss would leave a gaping hole at Robert Morris, but it's merely another example of the basketball food chain at work again.
One of these years, a college basketball team from Pittsburgh is going to have their way with Villanova in the NCAA tournament. But much like last year, the Wildcats ended up breaking the hearts of many a-Yinzer when all was said and done.
Despite leading for most of the game, Robert Morris ultimately came up short in their David vs. Goliath matchup, losing 73-70 in an overtime contest that had the attention of the entire nation. RMU would have been the fifth 15-seed to beat a two-seed and the first team to do so since 2001, when Hampton knocked off Iowa State.
The leading scorer for Nova? That would be the one, the only Scottie Reynolds, who finished with 20 points and hit seven of eight free throws in the final 3:06. Reynolds was benched by Coach Jay Wright to start the game and shot just 2-for-15 on the afternoon, but made the freebies when he needed to. Robert Morris was whistled for 31 fouls in the game, as compared to just 19 for Villanova.
Karon Abraham led the Colonials with 23 points, electrifying the Providence crowd and turning the audience (and most of the nation) into Robert Morris fans, at least for an afternoon. Mezie Nwigwe added 13 points for RMU, and Dallas Green led the team with seven rebounds.
The Colonials will probably regret coming so close, especially after having a lead as high as nine points over the Wildcats, but this was a Herculean effort nonetheless. Their players are surely hurting now, but they certainly made themselves known on this afternoon. Robert Morris finished the season 23-12 overall and 15-3 in the NEC, with a conference title. And if Coach Mike Rice weren't already such a rising star in the ranks, he is after this.
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Super Bowls, streaking hockey teams and possible Final Four squads (not to mention Rinku and Dinesh), but it's about time I remind everyone of another great story happening in Pittsburgh sports: the 23-10 Robert Morris Colonials, who will be on ESPN2 tonight trying to secure an NCAA bid against 19-12 Mount St. Mary's.
Robert Morris really is an interesting team. Their coach, Mike Rice, a former Jamie Dixon assistant at Pitt, is a likable fellow who's made the rounds on the local talk scene this week. And he's a Pittsburgh native, which automatically adds bonus points. His father, Mike Rice Sr., served as head coach at both Duquesne (1979-82) and Youngstown State (1982-87) and currently serves as the television color commentator for the Portland Trailblazers. And his mother, Kathy, played college ball at Duquesne as well. Basically, basketball is intertwined in his DNA.
As for the players, 6-3 senior guard Jeremy Chappell, who hails from Cincinnati, is clearly the star of the show, sporting 16.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. He leads the team in all three categories. So for Bobby Mo to have a shot tonight, odds are that Chappell is going to be a major part of the victory.
Unfortunately, there is an unpleasant subplot to the feel-good story, that being the recent altercation involving Chappell, Mezie Nwigwe, Rob Robinson and Velton Jones outside a convenience store early on Saturday morning. So with the conference title and the presence of the four-letter network bearing down on the program, Rice has to deal with this. For a team that hasn't reached the Big Dance since 1992 (when they lost 73-53 to UCLA), there's a lot on the line tonight. Hopefully Rice and his players can block out the distractions and play up to their capabilities, because the Colonials don't get the spotlight shining on them this brightly too often.
