Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2004)
Loss doesn't derail top placement for St. Joseph's The Hawks will head to Buffalo for a first-round matchup with Liberty By Ray Parrillo Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) PHILADELPHIA — Jameer Nelson showed up for the Selection Sunday fes tivities at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Sunday wearing a black cap and a St. Joseph's jersey with the No. 15 and the name "West" across the back. "Why not?" the Hawks' smiling all American senior said of his backcourt mate, Delonte West. "I like the guy. He made me who I am." As he's done so frequently during the two seasons he has played along side Nelson, West took the pass and went with it. "I've raised Jameer since he was a lit tle boy," he said. "Yeah, I noticed him wearing my jersey. That's just how we get down with each other." On Hawk Hill Sunday, the gloom from the Hawks' 87-67 beating by Xavier in Thursday's Adantic Ten Con ference quarterfinal was finally lifted, replaced by some levity as the Hawks re ceived a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourna ment for the first time in school history. St. Joe's is the first Big Five team since Temple in 1988 to get a No. 1 seed. "At 2:30 today when we finished practice we put Thursday behind us," coach Phil Martelli said. "Now it's time for a celebration." The Hawks, who went 27-0 and rose to No. 1 in the polls before Xavier end ed their perfect run, will face No. 16 seed Liberty (18-14)on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA East Ruther ford Regional in Buffalo. A university in Lynchburg, Va., founded by the Rev. Jer ry Falwell, Liberty won the Big South Conference championship game with an 89-44 win over High Point, a North Carolina university. "I know they give up only five three point shots a game," Martelli said after the Hawks made it to the NCAA tourney in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-82, and for the fourth time in his nine seasons as head coach. "We have to study how they've done that" If St. Joe's wins, the Hawks will face either No. 8 Texas Tech, coached by Bob Knight, or No. 9 Charlotte, which will join the Atlantic Ten Conference in two years. If the Hawks get out of Buffalo intact they will move on to East Rutherford, N J. And if any of Martelli's players dare to look around, they will see Okla homa State as the No. 2 seed, Pitts burgh as the No. 3 and Wake Forest as the No. 4. More than likely, though, Xavier — and not getting dismissed by Billy Pack er on the selection show — made certain the Hawks will pay attention to the task at hand. To a man, the Hawks said Sun day it was great that the tournament se lection committee rewarded them for their historic regular season. But they also said a No. 1 or No. 2 seeding didn't matter as much as getting back on the court to prove that the team that was blasted out of the conference tourney was not the real St. Joseph's. "It really didn't matter to me if we were No. 1, 2, 15 or 16," Nelson said. "We just want to play somebody so we can get this nasty taste out of our mouths. That loss still hurts, and we know that if it happens again, we turn in our uniforms." Elsewhere in the Fieldhouse, amid the din made by the pep band and the cheerleaders and the well-wishers, it did seem to matter. Martelli grabbed the mi crophone and called Packer "a complete jackass" after Packer counted on two hands the number of teams he thinks are better than St Joe's, insisting that the Hawks didn't deserve a No. 1 seed. Just as West was asked to respond to Packer, the junior guard was drowned out by Martelli's booming voice telling the crowd that Packer can, well, you know. "Yeah, well, Coach Martelli speaks for our program, so I guess we should feel the same way about him (Packer)," West said with a wide grin. "We've been hearing stuff like that all year, but we haven't been listening." "But what this (No. 1 seed) really means is that this program has come a long way," West added. "We've been a work in progress and now I guess God has shined the light on us. Otherwise, whether you're a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, the team you play against is going to do all it can to beat you. We just want an other opportunity to get back on the floor and play somebody." The possibility that St. Joseph's would drop to No. 2 decreased when Pitt and Mississippi State lost in their conference tourneys. No doubt, the Hawks' loss to Xavier made it more difficult for the selection committee. In their favor, the Hawks had the No. 1 nonconference strength of schedule in the Ratings Percentage Index, a computer formula that closely ap proximates that used by the commit tee. According to the RPI, St. Joe's played a more difficult schedule than Pitt and Oklahoma State. And, of course, the Hawks went undefeated in the 27 games on their schedule, which obviously caught the attention of the committee. “It was great to see the No. 1 seed flashed in front of our name,* junior Pat Carroll said. "But I don't think it re ally made a difference if we were No. 1 or No. 2.1 think we went into the Xavier game without the same hunger we had in the other games. We're looking at this as a fresh start, feeling we have to prove ourselves again. * (c) 2004, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. RICE continued from page 2B "It is what it is," Washington head coach June Daugherty told The Seattle Times on March 8. "Our season is done; and we've done what we've done. We'll leave it up to the committee." In fairness, the Sun Devils and Huskies, although mostly the Sun Dev ils, struggled at the end of the season. Washington started 5-0 early in the season, then turned around and kicked off Pac-10 play with a 1-5 record. The Huskies ended their season with a 3-1 push before the conference tourna ment, the one loss at the hands of first place Arizona. Arizona State closed the regular sea son with a 2-4 plunge down the Pac-10 ladder. Poor finishes wear thin on the NCAA selection committee, so the Sun Devils should instead be headed to the Women's National Invitation Tourna ment with a 17-11 record. "The bright side of the WNU is that we are going to have to play on the road," Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thome told Arizona State's The State Press on Friday. "We didn't finish the season strong on the road. (Sun Devil sophomore) Kristen. Kovesdy made the comment that we don't want to wait until next year to improve on the road, 'let's go out and do it now'" Arizona State finished the season 4 9 outside of Wells Fargo Arena. With one senior leaving the squad, it would be more valuable for the Sun Devils' fu ture to have the WNIT opportunity than go one-and-out in the NCAAs. The WNIT could prepare the younger players for future, more high profile postseason appearances. It would also mean one last farewell — on perhaps a better note than the Pac 10 Tournament — for Arizona State's sole senior and Washington's three. For the Huskies, with attendance fig ures that are among the top 20 in the country, a WNIT bid — and likely chance to host — is the second-best ic ing on the cake. Washington's three seniors — Andrea Lalum and Giocon da and Giuliana Mendiola — should have one final farewell for the home town fans. Both teams were left out of deserving spots for the NCAA Tournament, but they still have one last chance to end the season on a positive note Each sea son, a WNIT championship is one team's way of telling the NCAA selec tion committee that it screwed up. Contact the senior sports reporter at mindirice@daityemerald.com. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Von Klein Property Management, LLC Coapvi Rental* Find the home that fits you. Illiill Riiiivi ■ ■■■■■■ ■■SIIII ■■■■111 ■ ■ & Lowest Selection • Personal Service Vi,it U, Today! 485-7776 • 1301 Fe«y Emerald Laundromat • ALWAYS CLEAN • Come to the most energy efficient laundromat in Lane County. We've installed the best washers ever made with reverse action to provide you the cleanest, brightest, whitest wash ever! When you want the best wash, use our coin laundry, our special washers and our dryers! All front loader machines with 18-50 lb. capacity! Always Low Prices • All “Cold Water” washes reduced 250. That’s only $1.25 per wash for the double loaders. • Fully attended. Clean restrooms. All dryers 250 for 10 minutes > All Wascomat washers FREE extra extraction cycle (normally 250) 165 E. 17th St. (Behind Safeway & Hirons) Open: 7am-llpm daily . 0 to do with your /e/Sure .ntti %ndef"^ e ^ne this ring ON&$RA VEL GUIDE -* has the INFORMATION you need. This special section will focus on fun stuff to do near and far. On the stands, Wednesday, April 21. Oregon Daily Emerald The campus newspaper for the University of Oregon Community WAWAMAV TTTTT
