(The State photo/C. Aluka Berry)
Seth Emerson of The State reports on South Carolina’s win over Richmond: “Absent two key players, the USC men’s basketball team might lack the manpower to beat a major-conference team. But thanks to continued grit, and well-timed energy, the Gamecocks still have enough to avoid an upset to a smaller school — even ones that have made hay by beating teams from BCS conferences.”
David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger reports on Ole Miss’ win over UTEP: “Sometime soon, this high-wire act by the Ole Miss basketball team is probably going to bite it directly in the rear end. But for now? The Rebels will simply enjoy the spoils of another improbable victory after climbing out of a gigantic second-half hole.”
Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Regsiter reports on Alabama’s basketball win over Samford: “The Crimson Tide took a double-digit lead in the first half and held it the rest of way, earning a 60-45 home victory to carry into Saturday night’s showdown against 17th-ranked Kansas State at the Coors Classic in Mobile.”
Mark Bradley of the AJC has an idea for Georgia’s DC: “He’s the defensive coordinator under Butch Davis, who’s a defensive man himself, and the Tar Heels were decent this season only because their defense propped them up. (Kind of the opposite of Georgia Tech.) Under Withers, Carolina ranked sixth nationally in total defense, ninth in rushing defense and 13th in both passing and scoring defense. As we say in Kentucky, that’s pretty durn good.”
David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press writes that Georgia is in no hurry: “Countless names have been rumored as Martinez’s replacement, but the only coach to publicly acknowledge having a discussion about the vacancy is Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, who chose to remain with the Hokies on Monday. Richt said Wednesday that he has not offered the job to anybody.”
AP report on Tennessee women’s win over Louisville: “The Lady Vols needed to punch the reset button and reassess their strategy. Still, the end product was a one-sided 86-56 victory over Louisville before a crowd of 11,084 at Thompson-Boling Arena. In the final warmup before Saturday’s showdown at No. 2 Stanford, three players scored in double figures for No. 3 Tennessee (9-0), led by Angie Bjorklund’s 19 points.”
Evan Woodbery of the Press-Register previews Auburn-Florida State: “he three FSU sophomores — 7-foot-1 center Solomon Alabi, 6-11 forward Xavier Gibson and 6-9 forward Chris Singleton — won’t be turning pirouettes, but they pack a punch. They have combined for 30 points and 17 rebounds through the first 10 games and will be key factors when the Tigers (5-4) and Seminoles (8-2) meet tonight at 6 in Tallahassee.”
Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean reports Vandy will emphasize defense: “Vanderbilt limited its first seven opponents to .390 shooting and 65.9 points a game while going 6-1. In its losses last week, Illinois and Western Kentucky combined to shoot .541 and average 77 points.”
Randy Rosetta of The Advocate reports on LSU-Penn State: “Any time a Big Ten team is involved in a high-profile bowl matchup, national analysts are quick to gravitate to the perception that the tradition-rich league is bound to struggle, especially when matched up against the Southeastern Conference.”
David Jones of Florida Today reports that UF quarterbacks coach is in demand: “And now Central Michigan is expected to turn to Florida quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler as a prime candidate to replace Jones. Loeffler previously coached quarterbacks at CMU (2000-01) Michigan (2002-07) and with the Detroit Lions (2008), so his ties are deep to the area.”
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