After early season feasts, Tigers may starve today
Glenn Guilbeau / Louisiana Gannett News
Posted on November 27, 2004
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - LSU takes a significant step up in competition and name today at noon when it plays West Virginia of the Big East Conference on Fox Sports Net in the Maravich Center.
"You talk to anybody up there, and they think this is an NCAA Tournament team," said LSU coach John Brady, who usually doesn't schedule such non-conference games. "West Virginia has five starters back from a team that went to the second round of the NIT a year ago. They're well coached. They're very good, and they're experienced, and it should be a great test for us."
The Mountaineers are from a state synonymous with basketball and were a perennial NCAA Tournament team in the 1960s, '80s and '90s, as well as a national power with Jerry West in the 1950s. WVU finished 17-14 last season and 7-9 in the Big East. They return 43 points from those starters - 6-foot-7 forward Tyrone Sally, 6-11 forward Kevin Pittsnogle, 6-11 center D'or Fischer, 6-6 guard Johannes Herber and 5-10 guard Jarmon Durisseau-Collins.
West Virginia (2-0) defeated DuQuesne 72-69 Wednesday night as junior guard Patrick Beilein, the son of WVU third-year coach John Beilein, came off the bench to score 16 points. Sally added 15 points and leads the team with 15.5 points a game. Pittsnogle is averaging 13.5 points a game.
Fisher, a senior who transferred from Northwestern State, scored 24 points in West Virginia's season-opening, 82-70 victory over St. Peter's. He is averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds a game after averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last season along with 124 blocked shots. Junior forward Mike Gansey, another transfer, is averaging 10.5 points a game but has been slowed by a deep thigh bruise.
The Tigers (3-0) have feasted on in-state opponents Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of New Orleans with forwards Brandon Bass and Glen Davis leading the way with 17.7 and 11.7 scoring averages. The freshman Davis leads the team with 10.7 rebounds.
"It's a Big East team," said LSU guard Darrel Mitchell, who is scoring 13.7 a game. "I expect this to be a more physical team than we've played. But ULL was a good team, too. I think they'll win their conference."
LSU won its first three by an average of 18 points.
"I think we've handled the teams that we've played against so far in a good fashion," Brady said. "Now we're going to play a better team, and we'll see where we are. This team's going to extremely well coached and more talented than any team we've played. We're excited about playing."
LSU is averaging 87 points a game in its new breaking offense, but it is not playing its usual stingy defense. In a 95-79 win over UNO Wednesday, the Privateers often scored within 10 seconds of giving up a basket.
"That's never been our type of play, giving up quick baskets like that," senior guard Antonio Hudson said. "We need to defend better, because I know West Virginia knows how to play defense."
Brady planned to change his style of scheduling and of offense this season, but he wants the same defense.
"Now that we are committed to playing fast and playing at an up tempo, I don't want our team to lose its intensity and determination on defense," he said. "If we can keep our defensive intensity up and keep being determined to guard without fouling and then rebound the ball, I think our team is going to turn into something we all want it to be."
Glenn Guilbeau / Louisiana Gannett News
Posted on November 27, 2004
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - LSU takes a significant step up in competition and name today at noon when it plays West Virginia of the Big East Conference on Fox Sports Net in the Maravich Center.
"You talk to anybody up there, and they think this is an NCAA Tournament team," said LSU coach John Brady, who usually doesn't schedule such non-conference games. "West Virginia has five starters back from a team that went to the second round of the NIT a year ago. They're well coached. They're very good, and they're experienced, and it should be a great test for us."
The Mountaineers are from a state synonymous with basketball and were a perennial NCAA Tournament team in the 1960s, '80s and '90s, as well as a national power with Jerry West in the 1950s. WVU finished 17-14 last season and 7-9 in the Big East. They return 43 points from those starters - 6-foot-7 forward Tyrone Sally, 6-11 forward Kevin Pittsnogle, 6-11 center D'or Fischer, 6-6 guard Johannes Herber and 5-10 guard Jarmon Durisseau-Collins.
West Virginia (2-0) defeated DuQuesne 72-69 Wednesday night as junior guard Patrick Beilein, the son of WVU third-year coach John Beilein, came off the bench to score 16 points. Sally added 15 points and leads the team with 15.5 points a game. Pittsnogle is averaging 13.5 points a game.
Fisher, a senior who transferred from Northwestern State, scored 24 points in West Virginia's season-opening, 82-70 victory over St. Peter's. He is averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds a game after averaging 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds last season along with 124 blocked shots. Junior forward Mike Gansey, another transfer, is averaging 10.5 points a game but has been slowed by a deep thigh bruise.
The Tigers (3-0) have feasted on in-state opponents Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette and the University of New Orleans with forwards Brandon Bass and Glen Davis leading the way with 17.7 and 11.7 scoring averages. The freshman Davis leads the team with 10.7 rebounds.
"It's a Big East team," said LSU guard Darrel Mitchell, who is scoring 13.7 a game. "I expect this to be a more physical team than we've played. But ULL was a good team, too. I think they'll win their conference."
LSU won its first three by an average of 18 points.
"I think we've handled the teams that we've played against so far in a good fashion," Brady said. "Now we're going to play a better team, and we'll see where we are. This team's going to extremely well coached and more talented than any team we've played. We're excited about playing."
LSU is averaging 87 points a game in its new breaking offense, but it is not playing its usual stingy defense. In a 95-79 win over UNO Wednesday, the Privateers often scored within 10 seconds of giving up a basket.
"That's never been our type of play, giving up quick baskets like that," senior guard Antonio Hudson said. "We need to defend better, because I know West Virginia knows how to play defense."
Brady planned to change his style of scheduling and of offense this season, but he wants the same defense.
"Now that we are committed to playing fast and playing at an up tempo, I don't want our team to lose its intensity and determination on defense," he said. "If we can keep our defensive intensity up and keep being determined to guard without fouling and then rebound the ball, I think our team is going to turn into something we all want it to be."
Tigers Tip-off Against West Virginia at Noon Saturday
11/26/04
Game Notes
Live Stats
BATON ROUGE -- The LSU men's basketball team goes for its fourth straight win to open the season Saturday as the Tigers host West Virginia University in a Noon contest at the Maravich Center.
The 3-0 Tigers and the Mountaineers meet in a game that will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net. The radio broadcast will be available on the LSU Sports Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge). Tickets for the game are available for $10 and $12 online at www.LSUsports.net and on game day starting at 10:30 a.m. at the upper ticket windows of the Maravich Center. Nationally-known hypnotist Tom Silver will be the halftime entertainment.
LSU is coming off a 95-79 win over UNO on Wednesday night in which all five starters scored in double figures. Darrel Mitchell led the Tigers with 20 points, while Antonio Hudson added 18, Glen Davis 16, Brandon Bass 15 and Tack Minor 10. Minor had his first collegiate double-double adding 10 assists to the 10 points.
The Tigers have scored at least 40 points in the last five halves and will put a 56-game non-conference home regular season win streak on the line in the game. The Tigers have also busted 80 points in all three games and now stand at 46-0 in Coach John Brady's tenure when scoring 80 points or more in a game.
West Virginia, 17-14 and an NIT participant a year ago, is 2-0 with wins over St. Peters, 82-70, in Morgantown and 72-69 at Duquesne. In the Duquesne win the Mountaineers tied a school record with 14 three-point makes and 35 three-point attempts. Tyron Sally is their leading scorer among starters after two games, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Louisiana basketball fans will remember the starting center for West Virginia, D'or Fischer, who started at center for Northwestern State in 2001 when the Demons advanced to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The 6-11 Fischer is averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds in the first two games.
This will be the first meeting of the team as the first half of a home-and-home series which will be played next season in Morgantown, at West Virginia. LSU is 8-8 against present members of the Big East, while West Virginia is 18-22 against Southeastern Conference teams.
The game will be the final one of a four-game stretch to open the season for LSU before a University-imposed two-week break for dead week and final exams. LSU, after the Saturday contest, will next play on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. against Northwestern State. LSU will be trying to go to 4-0 for the fourth time in the John Brady era.
11/26/04
Game Notes
Live Stats
BATON ROUGE -- The LSU men's basketball team goes for its fourth straight win to open the season Saturday as the Tigers host West Virginia University in a Noon contest at the Maravich Center.
The 3-0 Tigers and the Mountaineers meet in a game that will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Net. The radio broadcast will be available on the LSU Sports Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge). Tickets for the game are available for $10 and $12 online at www.LSUsports.net and on game day starting at 10:30 a.m. at the upper ticket windows of the Maravich Center. Nationally-known hypnotist Tom Silver will be the halftime entertainment.
LSU is coming off a 95-79 win over UNO on Wednesday night in which all five starters scored in double figures. Darrel Mitchell led the Tigers with 20 points, while Antonio Hudson added 18, Glen Davis 16, Brandon Bass 15 and Tack Minor 10. Minor had his first collegiate double-double adding 10 assists to the 10 points.
The Tigers have scored at least 40 points in the last five halves and will put a 56-game non-conference home regular season win streak on the line in the game. The Tigers have also busted 80 points in all three games and now stand at 46-0 in Coach John Brady's tenure when scoring 80 points or more in a game.
West Virginia, 17-14 and an NIT participant a year ago, is 2-0 with wins over St. Peters, 82-70, in Morgantown and 72-69 at Duquesne. In the Duquesne win the Mountaineers tied a school record with 14 three-point makes and 35 three-point attempts. Tyron Sally is their leading scorer among starters after two games, averaging 15.5 points per game.
Louisiana basketball fans will remember the starting center for West Virginia, D'or Fischer, who started at center for Northwestern State in 2001 when the Demons advanced to its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The 6-11 Fischer is averaging 12 points and 6.5 rebounds in the first two games.
This will be the first meeting of the team as the first half of a home-and-home series which will be played next season in Morgantown, at West Virginia. LSU is 8-8 against present members of the Big East, while West Virginia is 18-22 against Southeastern Conference teams.
The game will be the final one of a four-game stretch to open the season for LSU before a University-imposed two-week break for dead week and final exams. LSU, after the Saturday contest, will next play on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. against Northwestern State. LSU will be trying to go to 4-0 for the fourth time in the John Brady era.
All business for Badgers in L.A.
Pepperdine’s skill presents problems
By MARK STEWART
mstewart@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 26, 2004
Madison - When asked what he expected from his first trip as a Wisconsin Badger, freshman DeAaron Williams, obviously unwise about these things, predicted that it would be like the numerous trips he made with his AAU basketball team.
UW Basketball
Photo/AP
Bo Ryan and the Badgers will get tested by an athletic Pepperdine team on Saturday.
Related Coverage
Preview: Badgers vs. Pepperdine Waves
Men's Coverage
Click for virtual tour of the Kohl Center in Madison
Badgers: Schedule
Badgers: Roster
Badgers: Stats
Badgers: '03-'04 review
Badgers: '02-'03 review
Big Ten: Standings
Big Ten: Scoreboard
NCAA: Scoreboard
Polls: AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25
History: '00 Final Four
Badger Forum
Got something to get off your chest? Voice your opinion in our interactive Badger Forum, allowing you to create topics and trade messages in real-time with Badger fans. Create your FREE account and join the discussion. Go to Forum
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Illinois Fighting Illini
Indiana Hoosiers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan St. Spartans
Minnesota Gophers
Northwestern Wildcats
Ohio St. Buckeyes
Penn St. Nittany Lions
Purdue Boilermakers
Wisconsin Badgers
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Wrong!
Junior Ray Nixon, standing within earshot, quickly schooled his teammate, telling him all the ins and outs of team travel. It went something like this: no freedom, and definitely none of the fun they enjoyed as kids.
It’s a business trip, first and foremost.
That mind-set will be tested in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. Saturday when the undefeated Badgers play at Pepperdine in a 3,000-seat field house that sits on one of the country’s prettiest campuses. By the time tip-off arrives, they will have spent three days in the L.A. area.
If they listen to Alando Tucker, they will have spent most of the time propping their feet up and relaxing rather than walking the streets of Santa Monica near the team’s hotel.
“The main thing I’m going to tell the guys is as much time as we get to rest in our hotel room we have to do that,” the third-year sophomore said. “That really helped us a lot last year, just resting your legs.
“It’s a long trip. You just want to stay off your feet as much as possible.”
The Badgers, ranked 20th by the writers and 17th by the coaches, will need to be fresh because the Waves (3-1) aren’t typical non-conference road kill.
Five starters and 11 lettermen return to a team that, hampered by injury last season, finished a disappointing 15-16, its first sub-.500 season since 1996-’97. Led by former NBA coach Paul Westphal, the Waves are picked to finished third in the Big West behind Gonzaga and St. Mary’s.
They’ve won three straight games since losing to East Carolina in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic in Raleigh, N.C.
“Pepperdine will be the most athletic team we’ve played to this point, from the standpoint that they’re not just guys that can run and jump but guys that, in transition, can pull up and shoot,” UW coach Bo Ryan said.
The game is part of a non-conference schedule designed to take the Badgers away from a steady diet of Midwest basketball and expose them to different styles of play. In addition to the cross-country trip this weekend, the Badgers will play Rutgers next Saturday in New Jersey and will play host to two top-20 teams in the AP poll: No. 13 Maryland (Tuesday) and No. 19 Alabama (Dec. 20).
“Always remember, there is not a shortage of athletes in California,” Ryan cautioned. “And most of them want to stay in the warm weather, so all these teams have good players on the West Coast because there is a lot to choose from. Pepperdine has got their share.”
The most important for Pepperdine are all-conference forwards Yakhouba Diawara and Glen McGowan, a couple of seniors who should be the first big men to challenge the Badgers this season.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound McGowan, who averaged 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season, leads the team at 16.5 and 5.5. Diawara, who stands 6-7 and weighs 225 pounds, is scoring 13.8 points and grabbing six rebounds per contest after averaging 18.9 points last season. The Waves were 9-5 after questions about his eligibility were cleared up.
And on the perimeter is sophomore Alex Acker, the West Coast Conference freshman of the year last season. He is averaging 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
They could make it difficult for the Badgers tonight
“We’re learning from our mistakes every game and each game we just try to do a little of better,” senior forward Zach Morley said. “It will be good for us to get on the road and see what we’re really made of against a quality team.”
Pepperdine’s skill presents problems
By MARK STEWART
mstewart@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Nov. 26, 2004
Madison - When asked what he expected from his first trip as a Wisconsin Badger, freshman DeAaron Williams, obviously unwise about these things, predicted that it would be like the numerous trips he made with his AAU basketball team.
UW Basketball
Photo/AP
Bo Ryan and the Badgers will get tested by an athletic Pepperdine team on Saturday.
Related Coverage
Preview: Badgers vs. Pepperdine Waves
Men's Coverage
Click for virtual tour of the Kohl Center in Madison
Badgers: Schedule
Badgers: Roster
Badgers: Stats
Badgers: '03-'04 review
Badgers: '02-'03 review
Big Ten: Standings
Big Ten: Scoreboard
NCAA: Scoreboard
Polls: AP and ESPN/USA Today Top 25
History: '00 Final Four
Badger Forum
Got something to get off your chest? Voice your opinion in our interactive Badger Forum, allowing you to create topics and trade messages in real-time with Badger fans. Create your FREE account and join the discussion. Go to Forum
Big Ten Report
Illinois Fighting Illini
Indiana Hoosiers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan St. Spartans
Minnesota Gophers
Northwestern Wildcats
Ohio St. Buckeyes
Penn St. Nittany Lions
Purdue Boilermakers
Wisconsin Badgers
Advertisement
Wrong!
Junior Ray Nixon, standing within earshot, quickly schooled his teammate, telling him all the ins and outs of team travel. It went something like this: no freedom, and definitely none of the fun they enjoyed as kids.
It’s a business trip, first and foremost.
That mind-set will be tested in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. Saturday when the undefeated Badgers play at Pepperdine in a 3,000-seat field house that sits on one of the country’s prettiest campuses. By the time tip-off arrives, they will have spent three days in the L.A. area.
If they listen to Alando Tucker, they will have spent most of the time propping their feet up and relaxing rather than walking the streets of Santa Monica near the team’s hotel.
“The main thing I’m going to tell the guys is as much time as we get to rest in our hotel room we have to do that,” the third-year sophomore said. “That really helped us a lot last year, just resting your legs.
“It’s a long trip. You just want to stay off your feet as much as possible.”
The Badgers, ranked 20th by the writers and 17th by the coaches, will need to be fresh because the Waves (3-1) aren’t typical non-conference road kill.
Five starters and 11 lettermen return to a team that, hampered by injury last season, finished a disappointing 15-16, its first sub-.500 season since 1996-’97. Led by former NBA coach Paul Westphal, the Waves are picked to finished third in the Big West behind Gonzaga and St. Mary’s.
They’ve won three straight games since losing to East Carolina in the first round of the Black Coaches Association Classic in Raleigh, N.C.
“Pepperdine will be the most athletic team we’ve played to this point, from the standpoint that they’re not just guys that can run and jump but guys that, in transition, can pull up and shoot,” UW coach Bo Ryan said.
The game is part of a non-conference schedule designed to take the Badgers away from a steady diet of Midwest basketball and expose them to different styles of play. In addition to the cross-country trip this weekend, the Badgers will play Rutgers next Saturday in New Jersey and will play host to two top-20 teams in the AP poll: No. 13 Maryland (Tuesday) and No. 19 Alabama (Dec. 20).
“Always remember, there is not a shortage of athletes in California,” Ryan cautioned. “And most of them want to stay in the warm weather, so all these teams have good players on the West Coast because there is a lot to choose from. Pepperdine has got their share.”
The most important for Pepperdine are all-conference forwards Yakhouba Diawara and Glen McGowan, a couple of seniors who should be the first big men to challenge the Badgers this season.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound McGowan, who averaged 17.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season, leads the team at 16.5 and 5.5. Diawara, who stands 6-7 and weighs 225 pounds, is scoring 13.8 points and grabbing six rebounds per contest after averaging 18.9 points last season. The Waves were 9-5 after questions about his eligibility were cleared up.
And on the perimeter is sophomore Alex Acker, the West Coast Conference freshman of the year last season. He is averaging 15.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
They could make it difficult for the Badgers tonight
“We’re learning from our mistakes every game and each game we just try to do a little of better,” senior forward Zach Morley said. “It will be good for us to get on the road and see what we’re really made of against a quality team.”
Kapusta - I dont see how the pats can lose, but if it were to happen it would be in the secondary most likely. They are hurting in that department and troy brown cant play both ways all game long
The baltimore offense is pretty bad and without lewis who knows if they'll get any points at all - but their D could keep the pats scoring to a minimum...
7 points is a lot - but it should be a fun game to watch
The baltimore offense is pretty bad and without lewis who knows if they'll get any points at all - but their D could keep the pats scoring to a minimum...
7 points is a lot - but it should be a fun game to watch
