Mississippi Guards Are Up to the Challenge

Rob Evans raised a few eyebrows last spring when he turned down a lucrative offer from Louisiana State to remain at Mississippi, which before his arrival as the school’s first black basketball coach in 1992 had a long, not-so-proud tradition in the sport.

Evans had exceeded all expectations last season by guiding Mississippi to its first 20-victory season since 1937-38 and the school’s second NCAA tournament berth ever, but he felt his work wasn’t finished.

The greener pastures of LSU simply couldn’t sway his loyalty toward a close-knit group of players who are largely perceived as over-achievers.

Evans, however, asked guards Keith Carter and Michael White to dig a little deeper for Saturday’s matchup against 11th-ranked South Carolina’s backcourt duo of Melvin Watson and BJ McKie.

Carter and White dug in defensively and outplayed their more-heralded counterparts in No. 16 Mississippi’s 73-54 victory at Oxford, Miss., in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

Carter scored 26 points, making four three-point shots and several putbacks, and White had two three-point baskets in the game’s opening minute, but what pleased Evans more was their defense.

“Our defense was as good as it’s been all year and I thought our guards did a fabulous job on two of the best guards in the country,” Evans said. “We challenged them this week in practice and obviously they responded.”

Watson and McKie had 15 and 11 points respectively--missing 15 of 23 shots--and South Carolina (8-2) struggled to 36% shooting.

White’s three-point baskets helped Mississippi (10-1) to an 8-0 lead and Carter scored 14 of the first 18 points in the second half to give the Rebels a 48-31 lead. The Gamecocks never got closer than 17.

“I think Ole Miss is better than last year and they were good last year,” South Carolina Coach Eddie Fogler said. “They’re flexible. They can go big on you, they can go small on you and their depth is better.

“But their bread and butter is defense and when you combine that with the way they shoot, then there aren’t going to be many teams that can beat them in Oxford. Or anywhere.”

Mississippi, off to its best start since also being 10-1 in 1973-74, has won 14 consecutive home games and 28 of 29 over the past two years.

As for that Rebel depth that Fogler mentioned, leading scorer Ansu Sesay and sixth man Joezon Darby both had 12 points. It was the 35th consecutive double-figure scoring game for Sesay.

No. 1 North Carolina 73, No. 21 Clemson 70--Shammond Williams scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half of the Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C., as the Tar Heels (15-0, 2-0) improved their record to 103-15 against the Tigers (10-4, 1-1) in a series that started in 1926.

North Carolina made only one field goal over the last 6:31 but Clemson never got closer than two points. Terrell McIntyre’s three-point basket with 18 seconds left pulled the Tigers within 69-67 but Williams followed with four free throws.

Clemson’s Greg Buckner matched a career high with 30 points.

No. 2 Kansas 96, Nebraska 76--The Jayhawks (17-2) bounced back from Tuesday’s loss to Hawaii in the Rainbow Classic as Billy Thomas made five three-point baskets en route to 19 points at Lawrence, Kan., in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams. It was the 53rd consecutive victory at Allen Field House for Kansas--the longest in the nation.

Freshman Eric Chenowith, taking over for injured All-American center Raef LaFrentz, had a season-high 19 points. Tyronn Lue had 18 points for Nebraska (9-5), which also played in the Rainbow Classic.

No. 3 Duke 104, No. 20 Maryland 72--The Blue Devils (12-1, 2-0) made 14 of 27 three-point shots as they handed the Terrapins (7-5, 0-2) their worst loss in 29 years at Cole Field House in College Park, Md., in an ACC game.

Duke took a 61-39 halftime lead after making 11 of 19 from three-point shots and 16 of 17 free throws. Freshman Shane Battier led five double-figure Blue Devil scorers with 18 points.

For Maryland, Obinna Ekezie had a career-high 23 points, while leading scorer Laron Profit had only seven points and missed all seven of his shots.

No. 4 Utah 73, Rice 65--The Utes (12-0) continued their best start since the 1943-44 team opened 13-0 en route to the NCAA championship by defeating the Owls (3-10) at Salt Lake City. The game between Western Athletic Conference teams won’t count in the standings.

Michael Doleac had 20 points for Utah, which shot 63%.

No. 6 Kentucky 71, Vanderbilt 62--The Wildcats (12-2) used a 57-18 rebounding advantage to improved their record to 22-0 against the Commodores (11-3) at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., in the SEC opener for both teams.

Kentucky had 31 offensive rebounds which led to 27 points while Vanderbilt had only five second-chance points from five offensive rebounds. Scott Padgett had a career-high 14 rebounds to go with 13 points foe the Wildcats, while teammate Nazr Mohammed had a game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds.

No. 10 Connecticut 84, Notre Dame 58--Fifty one fouls were called in the Big East Conference game at Hartford, Conn., with the Huskies (13-1, 3-0) overcoming poor free-throw shooting with strong defense.

Connecticut made only 18 of 35 free throws but managed to maintain leads of 16 points or more after the game’s first five minutes, holding Notre Dame (7-4, 1-2) without a field goal for an eight-minute span in the first half.

The Irish shot 29% and had as many field goals (19) as free throws made. Leading scorer Pat Garrity had 15 points, seven below his average, while second-leading scorer Phil Hickey played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble and finished with five points.

Kevin Freeman guarded Garrity for the first 10 minutes before he was hit with a loose elbow to the throat and left the game. He was having trouble breathing and was taken to a Hartford hospital at halftime. Freeman was treated in the emergency room and released a few hours later.

No. 12 New Mexico 92, Air Force 59--The Lobos (10-1) had season highs in shooting (61.7%) and steals (14) in improving their home-court win streak to 35--the second longest in the nation to Kansas--in the WAC opener for both teams. Air Force (6-3) is 0-18 at The Pit in Albuquerque.

New Mexico center Kenny Thomas had 24 points and 10 rebounds.

St. Bonaventure 80, No. 13 Xavier 77--The Bonnies (10-3) easily handled the full-court pressure of the Musketeers (8-3) and trailed only once in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams at Olean, N.Y.

St. Bonaventure guard Tim Win repeatedly broke through Xavier’s press to pass off to teammates for easy baskets. Caswell Cyrus was the biggest beneficiary with three layups and a dunk in the second half. The Bonnies’ James Singleton was the game’s leading scorer with 22 points, nearly 16 more than his season average.

It was the first time in nearly four years that St. Bonaventure defeated a nationally ranked team. The Bonnies also won a conference opener for the first time since 1989.

No. 14 Iowa 91, Northwestern 57--The Hawkeyes (13-1, 2-0) shot 65%, making 15 of 20 three-point attempts, and held the Wildcats (6-4, 0-1) without a field goal in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the Big Ten game at Iowa City.

Iowa took a 41-17 halftime lead as Northwestern had 15 turnovers and managed only 12 shots. The Hawkeyes had 10 steals in the half, six by Ryan Bowen. The Wildcats finished with 62% shooting.

No. 15 Florida State 68, North Carolina State 55-- The Seminoles (12-2, 1-1) came back from a 12-point halftime deficit in the ACC game to defeat the Wolfpack (9-3, 1-1) at Raleigh, N.C., for the first time in five years.

Florida State penetrated North Carolina State’s usually tough interior defense for layups or dunks on eight consecutive possessions to take a 57-51 lead with less than four minutes remaining.

No. 17 Princeton 77, Manhattan 48--The Tigers (11-1) continued its best start since their 1966-67 team started 20-1, holding the Jaspers (3-6) to four points in the first 11 minutes at Princeton, N.J.

It was Princeton’s first home game since Dec. 6 and the Tigers don’t play at home again until Jan. 26.

No. 18 Michigan 92, Penn State 75--Robert Traylor scored 14 of the Wolverines’ final 28 points en route to a career-high 27 in the Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich. At halftime, there was a presentation of the Associated Press national championship trophy to Michigan’s unbeaten football team.

Since losing to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 17, Michigan (12-3, 2-0) has won six in a row by an average margin of 27 points.

Traylor topped his previous career best of 24 against then-No. 1 Duke earlier this season. He also had 10 rebounds to help the Wolverines to a 39-23 advantage.

Penn State is 7-4 and 0-1.

No. 22 West Virginia 79, Boston College 57--The Mountaineers (12-2, 2-2) led the Big East game at Morgantown, W.Va., by as many as 28 points. Boston College (8-6, 1-3) was without injured center Mickey Curley and lost another starter, Kostas Maglos, to a sprained ankle 9:45 into the game.

West Virginia’s leading scorer Damian Owens was benched in the first half after missing four free throws but finished with 21 points.

No. 25 Marquette 71, Louisville 70--Brian Wardle’s three-point basket with 0.9 seconds remaining gave the Golden Eagles (10-0) the victory in the Conference USA opener for both teams at Louisville, Ky.

Wardle’s 25-foot jumper from the left side capped a 14-point Marquette comeback and gave the Golden Eagles their only lead of the second half.

Louisville (5-7) shot 52% but made only six of 20 three-point attempts.