Down by 21 at the half, Western Kentucky made a second period rally against #1 UCLA thanks to a 31 point effort by Tyrone Brazelton. However the upstart Hilltoppers fell short, eventually losing 88-78. UCLA advances to the Elite 8 and will take on Xavier on Saturday in the West Regional Final at US Airways Center.
Sophomore James Keefe scored 18 points and collected 12 rebounds off the bench and Kevin Love scored a career high 29 points to lead UCLA (34-3). The majority of the Bruin's 19 turnovers came in the second half, allowing WKU (29-7) to come back. They would cut the lead to six before UCLA pulled away in the closing minutes. UCLA head coach Ben Howland talked after the game about the exciting game.
Keefe saw limited playing time during the regular season, and was even a candidate for a medical redshirt after suffering an injury in August. However the sophomore led UCLA on a night when Darren Collison, playing in foul trouble, struggled and scored only 4 points. Keefe spoke about the opportunity to play and help out the ballclub.
The championship game of the Phoenix West Regional will take place on Saturday at 3:40pm. Check back to The Blaze 1260 AM for updates and analysis.
Xavier Advances to Elite 8 with Thrilling win over West Virginia
B.J. Raymond scored all 8 of his points in overtime as the Musketeers advanced to the Elite 8 with a 79-75 win in front of 18,103 at US Airways Center.
Xavier (29-6) opened the game on an 8-0 run and led by as many as 16 in the first half. The Mountaineers, led by Joe Alexander, would bounce back cut the halftime deficit to 7. Alexander finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead West Virginia (26-10).
It was an Alexander fueled run in the second half which gave WVU their first lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the game. The two teams swapped leads down the stretch and eventually played to a 64-64 tie at the end of regulation.
In overtime, B.J. Raymond took over. No baskel was bigger than a three pointer made with the shot clock running down and only 30 seconds left in the game. The bucket gave Xavier a four point lead and served as the dagger for WVU.
Sean Miller, a former Herb Sendek assistant, was proud of his team's performance and is looking forward to their next challenge.
The Musketeers now await the winner of UCLA and Western Kentucky. The Championship of the Phoenix Regional will take place on Saturday at US Airways Center at a time to be announced.
Sun Devil's Season Ends with loss to Florida in NIT
The Arizona State men's basketball team saw their 2007-2008 season come to an end Tuesday night, falling to defending national champion Florida 70-57 in the Quarterfinals of the NIT in front of 12,306 fans at Wells Fargo Arena.
A team that finished 9th in the Pac 10 a season ago, compiling only 8 wins improved to 5th this year and their 21 wins are definite improvement for a program with a bright future. Junior forward Jeff Pendergraph, who's future as a Sun Devil is still in doubt, is proud of ASU's progress despite the loss.
ASU coach Herb Sendek spoke after the game about the tremendous crowd support. The Wells Fargo crowd was arguably the loudest of the season and has provided the Sun Devils with a newfound home court advantage. ASU won 15 games at home this season compared to 6 a year ago.
Florida (24-11) jumped out to a 17-3 lead thanks in large part to their torrid shooting. The Gators shot 61% for the game including 12-25 from the 3-point line.
ASU (21-13) would answer back however and ended the half down only 6. Freshman James Harden proved a difficult match-up for Florida and finished with 18 points. However he picked up his fourth foul with roughly 8 minutes to go in the game, and was subsequently benched for the next four minutes. Harden talked about the pre-mature end to the season, as ASU fell one game short of advancing to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Florida capitalized with Harden on the bench, and put the game away with key baskets down the stretch. Marreese Speights finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while Walter Hodge led the Gators with 18 points including 4 3-pointers.
Much was made of the reunion of Florida head coach Billy Donovan and Sendek, however Sendek downplayed the coaching match-up between close friends, adding that it was difficult to compete against the well schooled Gators.
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM
last updated on 08.03.26 at 12:59 AM | direct link
March 23, 2008
Friends Sendek and Donovan Square off with trip to NYC at Stake
The first meeting between good friends Herb Sendek and Florida head coach Billy Donovan will take place tonight under circumstances neither anticipated. Florida, the two time defending national champion, began the year 18-3 and appeared destined for another run in the NCAA tournament. Yet a slide in the SEC part of the Gator's schedule put them in the NIT, where they will square off with ASU tonight at 6:00pm at Wells Fargo Arena.
ASU's Herb Sendek and Florida's Billy Donovan's friendship dates back to 1985
The Sun Devils had tournament aspirations of their own after a 14-2 start to the season which included the first 4 games of the Pac 10 schedule.
The Sendek - Donovan relationship dates back to their days at Providence, when the 19-year old Donovan was known as "Billy the Kid." Sendek, then 22, was a graduate assistant under Rick Pitino and coached with Donovan under Pitino's staff at Kentucky years later. The two share a special bond of friendship, and Donovan values the lessons he learned from Herb in their time together.
Both coaches said that when the ball is tipped on Tuesday night friendship will be put on hold. At stake is a trip to New York City and Madison Square Garden for the NIT semifinals. Junior forward Jeff Pendergraph talked about the unique opportunity of playing in basketball's most famous venue.
Tune in tonight for Live coverage of the NIT Quarterfinal contest between ASU and Florida. Ben Benya and Adam Ostrow will be bringing you all the play-by-play action beginning at 6:00pm. For a look at the complete NIT Bracket click the logo below.
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM
last updated on 08.03.23 at 11:04 AM | direct link
Sophomore Mike Leake allowed just 3 runs in a complete game effort to lead the Sun Devils (22-1) to an impressive 11-3 victory over #5 UC Irvine (16-2). Leake scattered 7 hits, didn't walk a batter and stuck out 9 to earn his 5th victory of the season.
#1 Arizona State 11 #5 UC Irvine 3; W: M. Leake (5-0) L: D. Bibona (3-1) Box Score
The Anteaters drew fist blood, scoring a run in the top of the first inning on and RBI groundout, however the Devils would respond by scoring 11 unanswered runs. Ike Davis, the Pac 10's two-time reigning player of the week, finished 4-5 and hit his 8th home run of the season, a towering drive which cleared the batter's eye in center field.
ASU lost it's first game of the season on Friday night, a 6-3 decision to Northern Colorado, falling two games shy of breaking a school record for wins to start a season, which was set by the 1961 squad.
The Devils will open up the Pac 10 schedule this Friday against USC at Packard Stadium. Tune in to Devils Dugout with Will Posthumus, Andrew Gruman and Sam Eshelman at 6:30pm as they get you set for the weekend. Then stay with us as we bring you live coverage of the game.
Sports Since 1982, The Blaze 1260 AM
last updated on 08.03.23 at 11:03 AM | direct link
March 21, 2008
Sun Devils Will Face Florida in NIT Quarters
Arizona State 65, Southern Illinois 51
Florida advanced Friday night by defeating the Creighton Blue Jays 82-54 in Gainesville.
ASU defeated Southern Illinois Thursday night in the Second Round of the NIT and will host the 23-11 Gators Tuesday night at 6 pm LIVE on the Blaze 1260 AM. With the two-time defending national champions coming into town, Junior Forward Jeff Pendergraph says it will be a great game.
Thursday night was all about the Devils' two stars, Pendergraph and James Harden. Pendergraph fell two blocks short of a triple-double, with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 8 blocked shots, while Harden finished with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
The Devils struggled early, trailing for the first 11-plus minutes of the game before pulling ahead on a 3-pointer by Harden. The teams traded the lead for a while, before the Devils pulled away at the end of the first half for a 28-23 lead. In the second half the Sun Devils kept on the pressure, outscoring the Salukis by 9 for the final margin.
