Here is a good stat to show why today’s game is so important for USF: according to Big East basketball SID Chuck Sullivan, 123 Big East teams eligible to participate in the NCAA Tournament have won 20 or more games since 1983 by the end of the conference tournament.
USF became the ninth Big East team to reach the 20-win mark this season by defeating DePaul.
In that time, only three of those teams—Syracuse in 2002 and 2007, and West Virginia in 2007—failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament.
Most pundits say USF still has work to do entering Wednesday’s game against Georgetown in the second round.
Bulls coach Stan Heath agrees.
“We can’t leave things to chance,’’ Heath said following Tuesday’s victory. “The best thing you can do is win and control your own destiny.’’
USF’s Dominique Jones just hit a pair of free throws to put the Bulls back up by seven.
DePaul had trimmed USF’s lead to 36-31 on a 3-pointer. USF led by as many as 19 (30-11) in the first half behind 14 points from Jones.
USF dominated the first half by playing in the open court and getting most of its offense from defensive pressure.
Here in the second half, the tempo has slowed and DePaul has taken advantage of the change to get back into the game.
Check back shortly for another update.
By ROY CUMMINGS
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TAMPA – The Detroit Lions made three roster moves on Monday and every one of them involved a former Bucs player.
The Lions signed former Bucs tight end Will Heller and former Bucs receiver Brian Clark and released former Bucs defensive end Dewayne White.
Heller was with the Bucs from 2003-05; White was with the Bucs from 2003-06 and Clark was with the Bucs from 2007-09.
Clark became the second Bucs unrestricted free agent to sign with another team this year. Safety Will Allen signed with Pittsburgh on Monday.
Fellow receiver Antonio Bryant is visiting with the Bengals today and could visit with the Redskins if he doesn’t reach a deal in Cincinnati.
A scary moment for the Bulls here early in second half with Toarlyn Fitzpatrick went up to block a shot by DePaul’s Mac Koshwal and fell hard to the court.
Fitzpatrick got up on his own and made it back to the bench, but USF’s energy level has slacked off some early in the second half.
DePaul has trimmed lead to 34-22.
Both teams about to come back onto the court following a media timeout.
Check back for more later.
Here is a quick review of the first half by looking at boxscore:
—Dominique Jones hit 6 of 11 shots, all coming in transition; Jones missed all three of his 3-point attempts.
—DePaul’s 15 points in first half match its season-low.
—DePaul shot just 22.6 percent from the floor, hitting 7 of 31 shots.
—USF shot 46.7 percent in first half, making 14 of 30 shots.
—USF freshman Toarlyn Fitzpatrick didn’t score in 13 minutes in the first half, but he added four rebounds, two blocks and strong defense underneath the basket.
—Bulls outscored DePaul 12-2 in fast-break points
—Blue Demons were 0-for-9 from 3-point range in first half.
—USF’s Augustus Gilchrist didn’t score after scoring 17 in win over UConn on Saturday; Gilchrist missed all four of his shots.
FlaVarsity.com has put together an all-tournament boys basketball state championships team, and three Tampa players were named to the teams.
Sickles senior point guard Jordan Davis and junior Rashawn Rembert were named to the 5A all-tournament team while Tampa Prep senior forward Jay Bowie was named to the 2A team.
You can view the entire teams and MVP selections here
I can’t imagine USF coach Stan Heath drawing it up any better than that.
USF came out aggressively on both the offensive and defensive ends to take command early against DePaul.
The Bulls led by as many as 19 points and take a 30-15 lead into halftime here at Madison Square Garden.
At one point late in the half, USF’s Dominique Jones had 14 points, DePaul 13.
Jones has been racking up most of his points in the open court thanks to the Bulls’ defense.
Jarrid Famous and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick have both given DePaul trouble inside defensively, and guards Chris Howard and Mike Mercer are playing well with Jones.
Check back soon for a second-half update.
USF and Dominique Jones are off to a good start.
The Bulls lead DePaul by 17 points with less than three minutes remaining in the first half here at Madison Square Garden.
Jones is already in double-digits and DePaul looks totally inept against USF’s defense.
Toarlyn Fitzpatrick has been very active inside for the Bulls, who are seeking their first Big East Conference Tournament win.
As I was typing, Mike Mercer just dunked on a nice pass from Chris Howard.
For the second consecutive game, USF opened a double-digit lead early in the first half.
The Bulls now lead 17-9 with DePaul getting ready to take possession after a charging call against USF’s Dominique Jones.
The Bulls took a 17-7 lead on a putback from center Jarrid Famous, who grew up here in New York City in the Bronx.
Check back shortly for another first-half update.
USF’s Dominique Jones off to a quick start here at the Big East Tournament.
Jones has been very active offensively and has six points in first 8:24 of game.
USF leads 14-6 with 11:36 left before halftime.
The Bulls are trying to avoid the same pitfall as Cincinnati last season in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
The Bearcats lost to a DePaul team in last year’s first round that finished 0-18 in the Big East during the regular season.
The Blue Demons didn’t do much better this season, finishing 1-17 in conference play.
So far, USF appears determine to avoid same fate by coming out with a good energy.
USF is off to an 8-4 lead against DePaul here in the first round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The crowd is very late-arriving; not many folks here at the Garden yet for the noon tipoff.
The USF pep band performed the National Anthem.
And no Spike Lee sightings so far. Stay tuned.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now have the third best group of receivers in the NFL after picking up Reggie Brown in a trade yesterday.
Well, that is only if Tampa Bay’s receivers became like Voltron and morphed into one gigantic pass catching superhero.
Current Bucs receivers Sammie Stroughter, Maurice Stovall, Mark Bradley, Michael Clayton, Yamon Figurs and Brown combined for 105 receptions for 1,412 yards and five touchdowns in 2009. While those numbers would be great for one receiver, it’s a poor reflection on a group of players.
Here is a look at some of the top individual receivers from 2009 compared to Tampa Bay’s collective group:
1. Wes Welker (Patriots) – 123 receptions, 1,348, yards, 4TDs
2. Steve Smith (Giants) – 107 receptions, 1,220 yards, 7 TDs
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 105 receptions, 1,412 yards, 5 TDs
4. Andre Johnson (Texans) – 101 receptions, 1,569 yards, 9 TDs
5. Brandon Marshall (Broncos) – 101 receptions, 1,120 yards, 10 TDs
6. Dallas Clark (Colts) – 100 receptions, 1,106 yards, 10 TDs
7. Reggie Wayne (Colts) – 100 receptions, 1,264 yards, 10 TDs
The Sporting News released its All-Big East teams on Tuesday, and TSN’s team looks a little differently than the one released Sunday by Big East coaches.
USF’s Dominique Jones was named to the second team. Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds was named Big East Player of the Year.
Big East coaches place six players on the first team, while TSN lists only five. Of those five, Syracuse G Andy Rautins and Marquette F Lazar Howard made the cut. Neither player was on the coaches’ All-Big East team.
Here is the complete list from TSN:
First team
G Andy Rautins, senior, Syracuse
G Scottie Reynolds, senior, Villanova
F Wesley Johnson, junior, Syracuse
F Lazar Hayward, senior, Marquette
C Luke Harangody, senior, Notre Dame
Second team
G Jeremy Hazell, junior, Seton Hall
G Dominique Jones, junior, South Florida
G Jerome Dyson, senior, Connecticut
G/F Austin Freeman, junior, Georgetown
F Da’Sean Butler, senior, West Virginia
All-Freshman
G Brandon Triche, Syracuse
G Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
F Dane Miller, Rutgers
F/C Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut
F/C Bilal Dixon, Providence
Player of the year: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Coach of the year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
Freshman of the year: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
Defensive player of the year: G Jermaine Dixon, Pitt
Here is Sun Sports’ TV schedule for the FHSAA Boy’s & Girl’s Basketball
Finals:
BOYS:
Monday,March 15,2010
6:30pm FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 5A: Bartow vs. Sickles
8:30pm FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 6A: Winter Park vs. Orlando Dr. Phillips
Friday,March 19,2010
3:30pm FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 1A: Teams TBD
Saturday,March 20,2010
11:00am FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 3A: Pine Crest vs. Rickards
1:00pm FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 4A: Fort Myers vs. Oak Ridge
Sunday,March 21,2010
12:00pm FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals
Class 2A: Jacksonville Providence vs. Tampa Prep
GIRLS:
Monday,March 8,2010
6:30pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 3A: Tampa Catholic vs. Bishop Moore
8:30pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 4A: Pensacola vs. Miami Norland
Wednesday,March 10,2010
3:30pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 2A: Community School vs. PK Yonge
Friday, March 12,2010
3:30pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 1A: Rock vs. Hollywood Christina
Saturday,March 13,2010
1:00pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 5A: Boca Ciega vs. Dillard
3:00pm FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals
Class 6A: Lake Mary vs. Lourdes
Former South Florida defensive lineman and Freedom assistant and offensive/defensive line coach Tchecoy Blount has been named the new head football coach at Freedom, the school announced via email Tuesday morning.
Blount replaces James Harrell, who left after one season to accept the coaching position at Jesuit.
Blount joined Freedom in 2007 when former USF quarterback Marquel Blackwell was hired to coach the program and hired him as an assistant. Blount played with Blackwell at USF.
Freedom finished 7-3 last season and lost to Countryside in the Class 5A quarterfinals.
During his three years as an assistant at Freedom, Blount coached Division I linemen Coril Jospeh, who signed with Charleston Southern, and Carl Saunders, who signed with Jacksonville.
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