THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2009
SPORTS
9A
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Undefeated Wake Forest moves to No.1 after victory Demon Deacons are top-ranked for first time since 2004
Associated Press
BY JIM O'CONNELL Associated Press
Dino Gaudio knew his Wake Forest team would probably move to No.1 after becoming Division I's only unbeaten team.
"I told the team when we got off the bus on Saturday. 'If you guys are happy being No. 1 on Jan, 19, then you're not the team I think you are," Gaudio said Monday. "All we worry about is getting better. There is tremendous room for improvement with these lads."
Not as far as national ranking goes.
The Demon Deacons (16-0) beat Clemson 78-68 on Saturday, then top-ranked Pittsburgh lost 69-63 at Louisville hours later to set up their jump from No. 2.
Wake Forest received all but four first-place votes from the 72-member national media panel. The Demon Deacons are No.1 for the first time since a two-week run in November 2004, when they had Chris Paul at point guard.
"It was a very tough week with three games in seven days to start league play. It was incredibly challenging." Gaudio said, referring to wins over North Carolina, Boston College and Clemson, the
last two on the road. "Our defense carried us through the three games. The kids are buying into it and if we continue to do that, we'll be in games to the end with a chance to win."
Duke (16-1), which beat Georgia Tech last week, received the other four first-place votes and moved up one place to second. Connecticut (16-1), which beat St. John's and Seton Hall last week, moved from fourth to third, followed by Pittsburgh.
The Panthers (16-1) had moved to No. 1 for the first time two weeks ago, but they fell to fourth following the loss to Louisville.
North Carolina stayed fifth and was followed by Oklahoma, Michigan Stafe, Syracuse, Louisville and Clemson.
Four teams moved into the rankings this week. Three of them
— Memphis, Gonzaga and Florida
— were in the Top 25 at some point
this season and Illinois is ranked
for the first time since the final poll
of 2005-06.
Marquette moved up three places to 11th and was followed by Georgetown, UCLA, Texas, Xavier, Butler, Arizona State, Purdue, Notre Dame and Villanova. The last five ranked teams were Minnesota,
Memphis, Gonzaga, Florida and Illinois.
Wake Forest had five starters returning, a heralded three-man recruiting class and was ranked 21st in the preseason poll. With sophomore point guard Jeff Teague moving to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference scoring list, the Demon Deacons moved steadily up the rankings.
"Teague has become more of a leader," Gaudio said. "This team has done a terrific job sharing the ball. If we lose our chemistry we have nothing."
All the players on the roster were recruited by Skip Prosser, who died in August 2007. Gaudio was Prosser's assistant at Wake Forest from 2002 until succeeding him.
The Demon Deacons' first game as No. 1 will be at home Wednesday against Virginia Tech. Their next game is one week later, at home against Duke in what could be the 39th 1- vs. 2 matchup.
Memphis (14-3) returned to the poll after being out the last four weeks. The Tigers, who were ranked No. 1 for five weeks last season, have won eight straight after losing to Georgetown and Syracuse in a three-game span.
Gonzaga (12-4) has won four straight after losing four of five, a stretch that included losses to Arizona, Connecticut, Portland State and Utah. The Bulldogs were out of the poll the last two weeks after being ranked as high as fourth.
Florida (16-2) was ranked in the preseason poll and for the first three weeks of the regular season before dropping out following a loss to Syracuse. The Gators have won 10 straight, including their first three Southeastern Conference games, since their other loss of the season, at Florida State.
Illinois (15-3) moved in to the poll having lost two of its last four games. The Illini lost to Michigan and to Clemson.
The four new schools replaced Baylor (14-3), which dropped out from 21st; California (15-3), which moved in at No. 22 last week only to drop out after a 75-69 loss at Stanford; Tennessee (11-5), which was ranked all season and was as high as No. 8, but fell from 24th after losing 90-72 to Kentucky last week; and Michigan (13-5), which returned last week to No. 25 after a two-week absence but lost to Illinois and Ohio State last week.
Wake Forest's James Johnson dunks the ball during the second half of a game against No. 9 Clemson Saturday. Johnson scored 19 points as Wake Forest defeated Clemson 78-68, remaining undefeated on the season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BIG 12 BASKETBALL
Solid guard aids Oklahoma Johnson is named conference player of the week
BY DOUG TUCKER Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What Oklahoma has done now hardly seems fair.
In addition to putting 6-foot-10 Blake Griffin on the floor, the most dominant player in the Big 12 this season, the Sooners have developed a guard who played so well last week he was named the conference player of the week.
Austin Johnson, a 6-foot-3 senior, had 34 points as the sixth-ranked Sooners reeled off a 78-63 victory over Texas and beat Texas A&M 69-63. Now 17-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, the Sooners have tied the 1985-86 team for the school's best start since 1927-28.
Always steady with the ball, Johnson leads the Big 12 with a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"He had a great week, he played with lots of confidence and lots of poise and he scored the ball," said Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. "All season long, he's done a good job of his assists to turnovers. He's been solid defensively all year long. What he did in the last two games was he scored the ball. If he's doing that, that gives us a different dimension, gives us a different look. Hopefully, that's something that will continue."
Oklahoma's Austin Johnson blocks Texas A&M's B.J. Holmes during the first half of a game Saturday in College Station, Texas. Oklahoma is currently ranked No. 6.
Johnson has 44 assists with just 10 turnovers over the last 10 games.
A bigfan of Johnson is Nebraska coach Doc Sadler.
Somebody else having a good stretch is Colorado's Cory Higgins, who's the last man opposing coaches want to see stepping to the foul line. The sophomore guard has hit 71 of his last 74 free throws over the last 11 games after going 12-for-12 while scoring 20 points on Saturday against Kansas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"He does so many things," Sadler said. "He doesn't turn the ball over. You can't rattle him. He makes big shots. Him starting at Oklahoma for four years speaks for itself. You don't continue to do that year in and year out without being pretty good."
"He has great form. He works at it," said coach Jeff Bzdelik. "He works at it. He'll shoot 100 a day. He can shoot the three, he can take it to the hole off the dribble, and he can post up. He creates opportunities for himself to get to the line. It's mostly great technique and a lot of practice."
Griffin, meanwhile, keeps drawing comparisons to Kevin Durant, the Big 12's All-American two years ago, and Michael Beasley, the Kansas State star who was last season's player of the year. With seven games already this season with at least 20 points and 15
"The reason Blake is better this year is the people around him are better," said Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon. "They have more size. The guards are better. They're playing with confidence. And the thing is, he's playing with such poise. Last year, he would try to rush things. Now he just reads the defense. He reads it quickly, and as a team they understand it quickly, and it makes it very difficult to guard."
rebounds, he has tied Durant and Beasley for the Big 12's single-season record.
Although Kansas was unranked heading into its game Monday night
against Texas A&M, the defending national champions had managed to win their first two conference outings. Led by guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks overcame an early deficit and Higgins' unnering foul shots to win Saturday at Colorado.
"They've gone from six NBA players to only two right now," said Bzdelik. "I'm not being funny. Kansas is just going to get better and better as the year progresses. They've got great leadership and they got two great players who can win games for you not only at home but on the road as well."
NFL
'Mad Scientist'hired as Jets head coach
BY DENNIS WASZAK JR.
Associated Press
The Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator was hired Monday as New York's coach, three weeks after the jets fired Eric Mangini following a late-season collapse.
NEW YORK — The New York Jets are confident Rex Ryan was worth the wait.
"We got the right man for the job," owner Woody Johnson said in a statement.
It became apparent the 46-year-old Ryan was at the top of the Jets' list of candidates when several other teams filled their coaching vacancies and New York's remained open. The Jets needed Baltimore's season to end — which happened Sunday with a 23-14 loss at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game — before offering him the job.
Ryan, the son of former NFL coach Buddy Ryan, will be formally introduced at a news conference Wednesday at the Jets' facility in Florham Park, N.J.
"It's been a dream of mine to become a head coach in the NFL," Ryan said in a statement. "Coming here to the New York Jets, where my father once coached and was part of the Super Bowl III staff, is fantastic."
The deal was finalized Monday afternoon after Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum flew down to Baltimore in the morning to iron out the details, Jets spokesman Bruce Speecht said.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Rex has the expertise and instincts to build on the foundation that we have in place and take this franchise to the ranks of the NFL's elite." Johnson said.
Ryan takes over a team that
started 8-3, but missed the playoffs with quarterback Brett Favre after losing four of its last five games.
"I'm very much looking forward to meeting Coach Ryan," wide receiver Chansi Stuckey said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "His reputation precedes him by the success that Baltimore has had, and I'm very excited to get started."
This will be the first head coaching job for Ryan, who is said to be well liked among his players because of his straightforward, no-nonsense style.
Ryan inherits a defense that had an impressive start with 29 sacks in its first eight games but just 12 in the last half of the season.
Nicknamed "The Mad Scientist" for his aggressive and unpredictable game plans, Ryan prefers to run a 3-4 defensive scheme, which thelets already have in place.
Tuesday-Friday,
January 20-23
Kansas Union -
Level 4 -Traditions Area
8am-5pm
visit us at www.beyondthewall.com