Sources close to the Syracuse football program have confirmed that former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will likely be on their roster for next season. With Michigan out of the picture, Paulus is expected to meet with Orange head coach Doug Marrone early this week about playing football at the school in his final year of college eligibility.
Syracuse Post-Standard sports columnist Bud Poliquin wrote that this is a no-brainer decision for the struggling program, as the Orange have won only 26 of its last 83 games and have nothing to lose with this roster addition.
Which makes this, of course, a no-brainer. As long as Marrone likes what he hears from Paulus, and as long as Paulus is confident that SU will provide him with the opportunity he seeks on the field and in the classrooms of the Newhouse School, this is a Done Deal.
Because he never was redshirted during his four years at Duke, Paulus has one year of eligibility remaining in another sport. He has completed his college degree thus allowing Paulus to attend graduate school elsewhere and compete immediately if granted a waiver from the NCAA.
Paulus was a prolific high school passer at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse; his high marks include an undefeated senior season in which he completed 66 percent of his passes for 3700 yards and threw for 43 touchdown passes. The Orange coaching staff feels Paulus is a perfect fit to lead their pro-style offense next season.
Last night, you got a taste of madness…March Madness, as Connecticut/Syracuse played a 6-OT historic Big East quarterfinal game that seemed like it would never end. The player’s performances in this contest sum up why we love this time of the year in college basketball. You watch teams that will fight tooth and nail just to compete for another day. Neither team will receive a special trophy for last night’s game. No, Syracuse gets the opportunity to play West Virginia in a semifinal matchup this evening. Enjoy your hoop du jour.
All times ET…
NBA
Friday, 7:30 PM: Indiana Pacers @Atlanta Hawks (NBA TV)
Saturday, 9 PM: Los Angeles Clippers @ Denver Nuggets (NBA TV)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers (ABC)
Sunday, 9 PM: Phoenix Suns @ Golden State Warriors (NBA TV)
NHL
Saturday, 3 PM: Ottawa Senators @ Pittsburgh Penguins (CBC)
Sunday, 12:30 PM: Philadelphia Flyers@ New York Rangers (NBC)
College Basketball
Friday, 7 PM: #13 Villanova vs. #5 Louisville (ESPN)
Friday, 7 PM: Maryland vs. #9 Wake Forest (ESPN2)
Friday, 9 PM: #23 Arizona State vs. #20 Washington (Fox Sports Net)
Friday, 9:30 PM: Boston College vs. #8 Duke (ESPN2)
Friday, 9:30 PM: #7 West Virginia vs. #20 Syracuse (ESPN)
Friday, 11:30 PM: USC vs. #14 UCLA (Fox Sports Net)
Saturday, 1:30 PM & 4 PM: ACC Semifinals (ESPN)
Saturday, 1 PM & 3:15 PM: SEC Semifinals (ESPN2)
Saturday, 1:40 PM & 4 PM: Big-10 Semifinals (CBS)
Saturday, 6 PM: Pac-10 Final (CBS)
Saturday, 6 PM: Big 12 Final (ESPN)
Saturday, 9 PM: Big East Final (ESPN)
Sunday, 1 PM: ACC Final (ESPN)
Sunday, 1 PM: SEC Final (CBS)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Big-10 Final (CBS)
Sunday, 6 PM: NCAA Tournament Selection Show (CBS)
World Baseball Classic
Saturday, 8 PM: Puerto Rico vs. United States from Miami, FL. (MLB Network)
It was nip and tuck most of the way, but the Tar Heels got it together late in the second half to pull away over arch rival Duke, 79-71. North Carolina has almost a two-point lead over the next-best team in Jeff Sagarin’s computer rankings (which is the main way that I fill out my bracket), but I just don’t like this team to win it all. They’re sloppy with the ball, have poor spacing on offense and they missed a ton of free throws. But they have so much talent that when the game is tight in the second half, they always seem to be able to put together a run to put the game away. Really, they could win it all or they could lose in the second round to an eight- or nine-seed that plays a good, clean game.
Five Tar Heels scored in double figures, led by Tyler Hansbrough’s 17 points. Conversely, Duke was very content to walk the ball up and run its half court offense, which put the ball into the hands of Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler, and allowed them to go to work. Coach K really shortened his bench for this game — just three reserves played a total of 19 minutes (and they failed to score a single point).
The win should seal a #1 seed for North Carolina, and barring Duke winning the ACC tournament (coupled with an early round exit by Oklahoma or UConn), the Blue Devils are probably looking at a #2 or #3 seed. Check back tomorrow for a preview of all the major conference tournaments.
If you could pry yourself away from the televised coverage of the T.O. ordeal for just one minute, you could tune in to a couple of key marquee matchups on the hardwood this weekend. It begins with Cleveland visiting Boston tonight, and with a victory the Cavs can confirm their status as a legitimate title contender. They’re no longer LeBron James and the Cavalettes coming to your favorite NBA arena. On Saturday, it’s #1 UConn versus #4 Pittsburgh in a crucial Big East matchup. Then, travel down Tobacco Road for Duke-North Carolina in an ACC heavyweight matchup this Sunday. This could be a dress rehearsal for next week’s conference tournament final, with the winner getting a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
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College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: #1 Connecticut @ #4 Pittsburgh (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #25 Syracuse @ #14 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
Sunday, 12 PM: #20 Purdue @ #8 Michigan State (CBS)
Sunday, 4 PM: #7 Duke @ #2 North Carolina (CBS)
Sunday, 6 PM: #19 Clemson @ #10 Wake Forest (Fox Sports Net)
NBA
Friday, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics (ESPN)
Friday, 10:30 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
Saturday, 8:30 PM: Washington Wizards @ Dallas Mavericks (NBA TV)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs (ABC)
Sunday, 7 PM: Philadelphia 76ers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA TV)
NHL
Saturday, 1 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ Boston Bruins
Saturday, 10 PM: San Jose Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks (CBC)
Sunday, 12:30 PM: Boston Bruins @ New York Rangers (NBC)
World Baseball Classic
Saturday, 2 PM: Canada vs. United States from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada (ESPN)
- Jim Calhoun became just the seventh coach in Division I hoops to win 800 games as his #2-ranked Huskies beat #11 Marquette in Milwaukee, 93-82. (Apparently, Calhoun is worth his big salary.) A.J. Price scored a career high 36 points in the win. Marquette’s Dominic James is going to miss the rest of the season with a broken bone in his foot. His college career is over. UConn is likely to be ranked #1 next week.
- #7 Duke survived a tough College Park environment to beat a streaking Maryland team, 78-67. Gerald Henderson’s draft stock continues to shoot up the charts. He scored 19 points in a variety of ways, but none of his buckets were as spectacular as his down-the-lane jam in the second half. Check out the video below. (It’s at the 0:39 mark.)
- AWFUL ANNOUNCING has the story of three brave USC “Song Girls” who will be spending a night in a “haunted” hospital as part of a reality show.
- While I agree that Duke is unlikely to make the Final Four this year, IN GAME NOW takes things a step further and makes the claim that the Blue Devils won’t make it that far in the next FIVE years. Why? Well, because they’re “not athletic enough” (i.e. too white).
- One of my favorite news sources, THE ONION, reveals that Nate Robinson is now jumping over Dwight Howard in his everyday life.
- SPORTSBYBROOKS has the story of a fugly 39 year-old women who got 14 months for having sex with three members of a local high school football team. This breaks a string of about 10 straight fairly hot female-teacher-sleeps-with-student stories. Though technically, this one’s not a teacher.
- SI finally fessed up about why they airbrushed away Danica Patrick’s tattoo and DEADSPIN has the quote. Fascinating stuff.
NFL draftniks rejoice, your Super Bowl weekend is upon you as the 2009 NFL Draft Combine will take place this weekend in Indianapolis. 300 of the best prospects from college football will gather together to be evaluated by all 32 teams in the NFL. They will be tested for speed, strength, agility, and mental capacity in order to determine their position for the upcoming draft in April. And the NFL Network will there to cover all the action beginning Saturday morning at 11 AM sharp.
This weekend, you will have a wide variety of sports entertainment to choose from for your viewing pleasure. If you’re in the mood for speed, then the Daytona 500 on Sunday should rev your interest. Or if you’re looking for a good rivalry matchup, then the Georgetown and Syracuse contest on Saturday should be at the top of your list. If you’re longing for a star-studded extravaganza, take a moment to tune into the All-Star Weekend from Phoenix. The NBA gets it right by showcasing the incredible talents of their stars in multiple categories, even though they lose points by changing the game of H-O-R-S-E to sponsor approved G-E-I-C-O.
All times ET…
NBA
Saturday, 8 PM: Slam Dunk Competition, Three-Point Shootout, Skills Challenge (TNT)
Sunday, 9 PM: The NBA All-Star Game from Phoenix, AZ. (TNT)
NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Boston Bruins @ New Jersey Devils
Saturday, 8:30 PM: Dallas Stars @ Chicago Blackhawks
Sunday, 12:30 PM: Philadelphia Flyers @ New York Rangers (NBC)
College Basketball
Friday, 9 PM: #13 Villanova @ West Virginia (ESPN)
Saturday, 12 PM: Georgetown @ #22 Syracuse (ESPN)
Saturday, 1 PM: #6 UCLA @ Arizona (CBS)
Saturday, 4 PM: #25 Florida State @ #8 Wake Forest (ESPN Full Court)
Sunday, 1 PM: #20 Illinois @ Indiana (CBS)
Sunday, 5:30 PM: #5 Duke @ Boston College (Fox Sports)
PGA
Friday-Sunday, see local listings for broadcast times: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Tournament (CBS/TGC)
Let me be clear — the call I’m about to discuss was NOT the reason that Duke lost the game last night. The Tar Heels played terrific in the second half and the Blue Devils simply did not. But the call in question indirectly set up North Carolina’s run.
Check out the video of Kyle Singler elbowing Tyler Hansbrough.
The first shot of it is at the 0:05 mark in real time. It’s tough to see, but you get the sense for how difficult it would be for Singler to stop his elbow after it slips off the ball. You can also hear that the whistle blew after the elbow, so he still had the right to fight for the ball.
The first slow mo shot is at the 0:25 mark. Singler is clearly trying to rip the ball out from in between Hansbrough’s legs and his hand slips off the ball on the third attempt. He’s not thinking about what might be behind him and Hansbrough isn’t really doing anything that would warrant an elbow to the face. Plus, this scrum occurred just 16 seconds into the second half. There really wasn’t enough game time for Singler’s temper to get to the point that he’d intentionally elbow something in the face. Remember, most of these shots are in slow motion, so while it might seem like a player could stop his arm when it slips off the ball like that, in reality it’s moving much faster. It was an accident.
Dick Vitale and the officials overreacted. Singler was called for a technical, so North Carolina got two free throws. At that point in the game, Duke led 52-44, but more importantly, it was Singler’s third foul. After North Carolina had almost tied it up, Singler picked up his fourth with 12:55 to play and had to come out of the game. That’s when the Tar Heels started to pull away. When he returned a few minutes later, he couldn’t challenge shots on the defensive end like he normally would have, and that led to a couple of North Carolina buckets.
In the end, the Tar Heels won, 101-87, so it’s clear that this call wasn’t the deciding factor in the game. The Blue Devils had plenty of time to overcome that technical, but they shouldn’t have been put in that position in the first place.
This is a great win for North Carolina. They now have the inside track for an ACC regular season championship, which usually results in a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. In order for Duke to get back to that level, they’ll have to shrug off this 2-3 stretch and string together some wins, including a victory on March 8 in Chapel Hill.
Hats off to Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green who managed a 4-0 record at Duke during their careers at North Carolina. That’s a truly impressive accomplishment.
This is how a Duke/North Carolina matchup is supposed to be. Both teams are ranked in the top five, they’re tied for first place (at 7-2) in the ACC, and the winner will have the inside track to the conference championship. The game takes place at Cameron Indoor Stadium, a venue that even Duke haters will admit has set the standard for home court advantage. Duke was one of the first schools (if not the first) to put the student body front and center and that atmosphere has played a huge part in the Blue Devils’ success over the past two decades. (Though it should be noted that, with a win, Tyler Hansbrough could go 4-0 at Cameron in his career, so North Carolina has owned Coach K Court of late.)
