South Carolina’s Dream Season Keeps On Getting Better

Sweet dreams are made of these for South Carolina--two victories in one season over perennial college basketball power Kentucky.

And, dreams are about to get sweeter.

“It’s the start of a dream season that I think will end in the Final Four,” said senior guard Larry Davis on Sunday after the No. 6-ranked Gamecocks defeated the No. 3 Wildcats, 72-66, at Lexington, Ky., to win their first Southeastern Conference championship and end the nation’s second-longest home win streak at 27.

“It’s a stepping-stone for things that are to come,” echoed sophomore guard BJ McKie.

South Carolina, 23-6 overall and 15-1, raised a lot of eyebrows on Feb. 4 when it defeated Kentucky (27-4, 13-3) in overtime at Columbia, S.C. As reflected by the national rankings, the Gamecocks were still believed to be inferior to the defending NCAA champion Wildcats.

Sunday’s rematch changed that perception. South Carolina again handled Kentucky’s vaunted full-court pressure, made 33 of 44 free throws, and played hard-nosed defense as the Wildcats shot a season-low 32%.

“They are better than us right now,” Kentucky Coach Rick Pitino said. “It was not a fluke. They are more experienced than us at four positions. They are just better right now.”

Two of those positions are filled by Davis and McKie, who combined to score 42 points and make 22 of 24 free throws.

Pitino’s Top ‘Cat, sophomore forward Ron Mercer, kept the Gamecocks from running away with 25 points, including five-of-eight three-point shooting. Mercer, who announced Wednesday he will make himself eligible for June’s NBA draft, made an 18-foot shot after getting a long rebound to pull the Wildcats within 67-66 with 1.8 seconds left.

Kentucky guard Anthony Epps fell to the floor trying to draw a charge from McKie on the inbounds play but no call was made. Pitino charged out to referee Andre Patilla to protest and received a technical after McKie was fouled by Allen Edwards with 0.4 left.

McKie made both ends of the one-and-one and Davis followed with two more as a result of the technical to close out the scoring.

South Carolina ended one other Kentucky streak--the Wildcats lost for the first time in 33 years on their Senior Day, which marks their final home game of the season.

“I told the team that we could do this coming in,” South Carolina Coach Eddie Fogler said. “I could tell that everyone believed it. The better team won here today.”

No. 1 Kansas 85, Nebraska 65--Forward Raef LaFrentz had 23 points--his ninth game in the last 10 with 20 or more--for the Jayhawks (29-1, 15-1) in their regular-season Big 12 finale at Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers (16-13, 7-9) lost to the Jayhawks in overtime in Lawrence, Kan., on Feb. 1.

The victory was the 242nd for Roy Williams--the most by a coach in his first nine years in Division I.

No. 8 North Carolina 91, No. 7 Duke 85--Forward Antawn Jamison had 33 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels (21-6, 11-5) to their ninth consecutive victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jamison had 10 points and four rebounds in an 80-73 loss to Duke on Jan. 29--the last time the Tar Heels were defeated.

The victory also moved North Carolina Coach Dean Smith within five of breaking Adolph Rupp’s all-time record of 876.

Duke trailed, 87-83, with 1:51 left, but could get no closer. The Blue Devils (23-7, 12-4) clinched the regular-season ACC championship Saturday when Florida State defeated No. 5 Wake Forest.

No. 14 Xavier 81, Virginia Tech 72--Guard Lenny Brown had 20 points as the Musketeers (22-4, 13-3) won their sixth in a row in the Atlantic 10 game at Blacksburg, Va.

Guard Troy Manns had 30 points for Virginia Tech (14-15, 7-9).

Virginia 81, No. 16 Maryland 74--Cavaliers (18-11, 7-9) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the ACC game at Charlottesville to keep their NCAA hopes alive after losing six of their previous seven.

Guard Laron Profit had a career-high 24 points for Maryland (20-9, 9-7), which has lost seven of 10.

No. 21 Illinois 70, No. 24 Michigan 51--Guard Kiwane Garris had 29 points and the Illini (20-8, 10-6) overcame a 12-point deficit and pulled way in the second half of the Big 10 game at Champaign, Ill. The Wolverines (17-11, 7-9) have lost five in a row.

TOURNAMENTS

America East--Regular-season champion Boston (24-4), a 69-65 winner over Delaware, and Drexel (22-7), which defeated Hartford, 75-69, will play Friday night for the championship in Boston. Drexel won last year’s tournament and posted a first-round NCAA upset of Memphis.

Colonial Athletic--James Madison (16-12) went the final 13 minutes without scoring a basket but made all 14 of its free throws in a 60-57 victory over North Carolina Wilmington in the semifinals at Richmond, Va. Regular-season champion Old Dominion (21-10) reached tonight’s championship game with a 70-62 victory over William & Mary.

Metro Atlantic Athletic--Canisius (17-11), a 78-59 winner over Niagara, and Fairfield (10-18), the tournament’s lowest-seeded team and a 73-61 winner over St. Peter’s, will play in tonight’s championship game at Buffalo, N.Y., for the second consecutive year. Canisius won last year’s game, 52-46, and lost to Utah in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Midwestern Collegiate--Butler (22-9) defeated four-time championship Wisconsin Green Bay in overtime, 57-52, to reach Tuesday night’s championship game at Dayton, Ohio against Illinois Chicago (15-13), a 64-42 winner over Cleveland State.

Missouri Valley--Guard Coleco Buie made a three-point shot from about 30 feet with 5.2 seconds while Coach Steve Alford was frantically signaling for a timeout as Southwest Missouri State (24-7) defeated Bradley, 60-58, in the semifinals at St. Louis. Guard Anthony Parker dribbled the length of the court after the inbound pass and missed a three-point shot from the baseline at the buzzer for Bradley, which had a 10-point lead with eight minutes left. Southwest Missouri State, seeking its first NCAA berth since 1992, plays regular-season champion Illinois State (23-5) in today’s final. Illinois State was a 69-65 winner over Northern Iowa, which had won both conference games in overtime.

Patriot--Center Adonal Foyle moved into fourth place among the all-time Division I shot-block leaders with 180 but Colgate lost, 71-58, to Bucknell (18-10) in the semifinals at Bethlehem, Pa. Forward Michael Heary made all 16 of his free throws as Navy (19-8) advanced to Wednesday night’s championship game with a 96-57 victory over Lafayette.

Southern--Center Chris Mims’ follow shot with three seconds left in overtime gave Tennessee Chattanooga (22-10) a 71-70 victory over Marshall (20-9) in the championship game at Greensboro, N.C--its fourth tournament title in five years . Mims, who scored the final points of regulation with a layup with 14 seconds left, had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Keith Veney had 27 points for Marshall, which hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1987.

Sun Belt--Regular-season champion New Orleans (22-6) was a 59-53 loser to Louisiana Tech (15-13) in the semifinals at Little Rock, Ark. Bill Musselman-coached South Alabama (22-6) also reached Tuesday night’s championship game with a 71-52 victory over Arkansas Little Rock.

OTHER GAMES

Guard Victor Page had 28 points as Georgetown (19-8, 11-7) won the Big East 7 title and earned the No. 2 seeding for this week’s conference tournament with a 67-56 victory at Providence (19-10, 10-8). The Hoyas have won eight of their last nine. . . . Hawaii (20-6, 12-4) finished tied with Fresno State for the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division title with an 83-76 victory over San Jose State in a late Saturday night game in Honolulu. San Jose State forward Olivier Saint-Jean had 28 points to go over 1,000 in two seasons.

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They’re In

Schools that have received automatic bids to the NCAA basketball tournament. All bids are by virtue of conference tournament championships, except the Big Ten, Ivy League and Pacific 10 conferences, which do not conduct postseason tournaments:

(School: Conference)

Coll. of Charleston: Trans America Ath.

Charleston Southern: Big South

Minnesota: Big Ten

Murray State: Ohio Valley

Princeton: Ivy

UCLA: Pacific 10