Former coach Jessie Evans sues USF over firing
SAN FRANCISCO -- Jessie Evans sued the University of San Francisco on Thursday for unlawful termination of his contract as men's basketball coach.
Evans was fired last month by the school after being forced to take a leave of absence in December. Eddie Sutton replaced Evans for the remainder of the season for the Dons and won his 800th career game.
Evans had two years remaining on his contract worth about $600,000 in compensation and benefits. He is seeking that money as well as future lost compensation based on damage to his reputation.
The suit filed in San Francisco Superior Court also seeks compensatory damages for humiliation, mental anguish and emotional distress and punitive damages.
USF athletic director Debra Gore-Mann and attorney Michael Vartain are also defendants in the suit.
Evans claims Gore-Mann harmed his reputation when she said in a news release that Evans had requested a leave of absence in December. Evans said the leave was not voluntary.
Vartain is being sued for telling the San Francisco Chronicle last month that Evans committed numerous "secondary" NCAA violations amounting to the "loss of control" of the program.
Vartain declined to comment and university spokesman Ryan McCrary said the school would have no comment because officials had not had time to review the lawsuit.
Evans was hired from Louisiana-Lafayette in April 2004 to replace fired coach Phil Mathews. He had a 45-57 record with the Dons, leading them to the NIT in his first season.
His career coaching record is 163-137. Evans also worked as an assistant at Minnesota, Texas, Wyoming, San Diego State and Arizona. He spent nine seasons on Lute Olson's staff at Arizona, helping the team win a national title his final year.
The school is still searching for a new coach.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
No. 1 North Carolina 68, No. 21 Washington St. 47
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Roy Williams has never stopped pushing his North Carolina team to play better defense, not even as it piled up lopsided wins and crowd-pleasing offensive displays that few teams can match.
The Tar Heels gave their Hall of Fame coach what he's been asking for in the East Regional semifinal against Washington State -- and it has them a game away from the Final Four again.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half and the top-seeded Tar Heels held Washington State to 32-percent shooting in a 68-47 victory Thursday night, sending North Carolina back to the NCAA tournament's round of eight for the second straight season.
Danny Green had 15 points to help the Tar Heels (35-2) set a school record for victories while continuing their dominant tournament run. The No. 1 overall seed has won its first three NCAA games by 20 or more points for the first time in program history as it chases a record 17th trip to the Final Four.
North Carolina will play third-seeded Louisville, which beat Tennessee, on Saturday with a clear home-court advantage, playing in an arena located about two hours from its Chapel Hill campus.
On this night -- facing a team that had completely shut down its first two tournament foes -- everything started with a defensive performance that was the school's best in the tournament since before Williams was born.
"We continued to talk about this throughout the year, the fact that we're tired of hearing that North Carolina can't play defense and that's going to be our weak link," junior Marcus Ginyard said. "But tonight, I think you see that this team has the capability of buckling down and being that great defensive team."
There was no room to argue with the Tar Heels' vocal leader. Fourth-seeded Washington State (26-9) managed just 18 field goals for the game while scoring 20 points below its average. The Cougars also went 2-for-16 from 3-point range as the Tar Heels pulled away.
The 47 points were the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels in an NCAA game since 1946.
"Defensively we thought we were really good," Williams said, "but yet let's be honest: they missed some open shots."
North Carolina improved to 24-1 in NCAA games played in its home state and is 7-0 all-time in Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Now the Tar Heels can focus on erasing the lingering memories from last year's final game: a blown double-digit lead late in the second half of an overtime loss to Georgetown in the regional finals.
"We know what happened. We know that feeling," Hansbrough said. "We don't want to have it again. That's kind of our attitude, and that's the mentality we have."
For the first time in this tournament, the Tar Heels, the nation's second-highest scoring team, didn't crack 100 points. It didn't matter. Nor did it matter that Hansbrough struggled much of the way. Instead, facing a deliberate Washington State team that had held Winthrop and Notre Dame to a combined 81 points in the tournament, the Tar Heels looked determined to prove they could play some tough defense, too.
Washington State missed shot after shot -- sometimes open, more often not -- while the Tar Heels kept pushing forward with their slowed-but-effective transition attack. The Cougars got little from the perimeter, with Kyle Weaver and Taylor Rochestie scoring a combined 12 points on 4-for-21 shooting.
"It was freezing out there," said Weaver, who had 10 points. "We got a lot of good looks offensively, but we were pretty awful."
Derrick Low and Aron Baynes scored 14 points to lead the Cougars.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels kept the pressure on, gradually getting more runouts in transition and increasing the pace to steadily build the lead. North Carolina led 35-21 at halftime on a 3-pointer from Ty Lawson just before the horn, then got a quick six-point burst to push the lead to 47-27 on Alex Stepheson's three-point play with 11:45 left.
"That's something everybody's been talking about: if teams slow it down on us, we're not as effective," said sophomore Wayne Ellington, who had 13 points. "But we've been through that this year. We've been through that in the regular season, with teams trying to stop us from running. And they haven't been very good at it. If a team makes a shot, we're going to get the ball up and attack."
The Tar Heels had too many weapons for Washington State's methodical offense to keep pace, leading by as many as 26 points late.
"We've played some really good teams in our league with some different styles," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said, "... but North Carolina is very special."
Bennett couldn't complain with his team's early defense on Hansbrough, who faced constant double teams any time he touched the ball near the paint. He went 0-for-4 from the floor and managed only a pair of free throws while committing three turnovers in the first half, but scored eight points in the first 6½ minutes after the break to finally get going.
Green, seemingly the only Tar Heel to struggle with his shot in the first two rounds, provided an immediate lift off the bench, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Cardinals wary of Boise State, loaded East Region
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- On the surface, Louisville's two-game skid to end the season didn't hurt the Cardinals, who are a No. 3 seed in the East Region in the NCAA tournament.
Don't tell that to coach Rick Pitino, who sees nothing but roadblocks between his team and another Final Four appearance.
"Somebody said to me, 'You'd have to play (North) Carolina," Pitino said of a potential meeting in the final eight. "We should only be so lucky."
The Cardinals (24-8) open the tournament on Friday against Boise State in Birmingham, Ala. Though the Broncos are making their first tournament appearance in 14 years, they start four seniors and play the kind of uptempo basketball that has caused Louisville problems.
Pitino likened the Broncos to Brigham Young, which beat the Cardinals 78-76 in November.
Louisville played that game without injured seniors David Padgett and Juan Palacios. They're both healthy now, leaving Pitino optimistic despite two tough losses -- one to Georgetown in the regular season finale, the other to Pittsburgh in the Big East tournament quarterfinals -- that blunted the momentum they built during an undefeated February.
"We feel great about our team," Pitino said. "Even in losses we've played good. The other night against Pittsburgh we played a terrific game, except in overtime we took four challenged shots, which got us behind and eventually led to our demise."
Though they've shot just 41 percent from the field in their last three games, Pitino refuses to say the Cardinals are in a slump.
"We're not a great shooting team," he said. "With us it's about execution."
Shooting the ball with a little bit of confidence would help, something Padgett knows his teammates can't afford to lose this late in the season.
"I try to tell these guys, 'The next one's going in.' And that's how you have to think about it," Padgett said. "If you miss a couple in a row you can't start getting tight and nervous and start changing your form."
The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference tournament by beating New Mexico State in triple-overtime on Saturday. They're averaging 82 points per game and play with the kind of efficient abandon that can make them a nightmare to defend.
"They're a veteran ballclub, the toughest first-round matchup I've had since I've been coaching," Pitino said.
Even with potential games against Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Carolina on the horizon, Pitino said he's not worried about the Cardinals looking ahead. He's got all the proof of how hard the first round can be on videotape in his office.
Four years ago, Pitino remembers fans leaving a selection show party in a rage when the Cardinals -- who won the Conference USA title that season -- were dropped to a No. 4 seed. They played like a team in a funk for long stretches during their opening round game against Louisiana-Lafayette, holding on for a 68-62 win.
The Cardinals know they can't afford to be similarly distracted against the Broncos.
"It is a lot more serious now, so everything before this is thrown out the window," said guard Andre McGee. "All the mistakes we had and all the losses, none of that really counts.
"Everyone is thrown into the same boat and everybody has the same opportunity."
It's an opportunity the Cardinals thought may have slipped away in the fall, when injuries to Padgett and Palacios combined with inconsistent play dropped Louisville from the top 10 to out of the polls.
Padgett was supposed to miss the entire season after fracturing his right kneecap on Nov. 18 but came back early, and the Cardinals followed suit. Entering the final weeks of a solid but injury-plagued career, Padgett thinks his team has one more six-game winning streak in reserve.
"We've worked really hard all year and overcome a lot of injuries to get here and we're going to take advantage of the opportunity and try to seize the moment," he said. "We're going to play as hard as we can and hopefully try to make a little bit of a run."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Texas A&M rides defense for gritty 60-47 win over Iowa State
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Donald Sloan and Dominique Kirk had 12 points each, and Texas A&M held Iowa State to 28 percent shooting to open the Big 12 tournament with a 60-47 victory Thursday night.
It was an ugly, physical game, with lots of pushing and shoving under the basket and plenty of missed shots. Texas A&M (23-9), the sixth seed, smothered Iowa State defensively and did just enough on offense to hang on for its second win in 13 Big 12 tournament games.
Brian Davis added 10 points for the Aggies, who move on to face third-seeded Kansas State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Craig Brackens led Iowa State (14-18) with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Bryan Peterson added 14 points. They just didn't get enough help, with the rest of the team combining for 13 points on 4-of-34 shooting.
The Aggies had to have this win.
The Big 12, with its No. 3 RPI rating, could get as many as six teams into the NCAA tournament. Of those teams, Texas A&M seemed to be the most in need of extra wins in the Big 12 tournament.
The Aggies seemed to be a lock for their third straight NCAA tournament appearance midway through the conference schedule, then lost five of their final seven games, capping the season with a disheartening 72-55 home loss to Kansas.
Texas A&M played like it needed a win -- at least on defense.
Iowa State missed 14 straight shots midway through the first half, then missed seven more at the end, finally getting a shot to fall when Brackens hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Cyclones shot 7-for-33 in the half, managing just 17 points.
Texas A&M's defense had something to do with it.
The Aggies have their biggest team in school history, with six players at least 6-foot-9, and they gave Iowa State all kinds of trouble inside, even with 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan out sick. But the Cyclones added to it, too, blowing lay-ups and tossing up airballs from 3-point range.
Scoring futility is nothing new to Iowa State this season.
The Cyclones scored 15 points in the first half against Colorado on Jan. 29 and had 11 against Nebraska on Feb. 16.
The thing is, Iowa State won both of those games. The Cyclones never put together a rally this time.
Texas A&M made enough mistakes to let Iowa State hang around for a while, with nine turnovers in the first 11 minutes and a couple of rough shooting stretches late in the first half and early in the second.
Iowa State cut the lead to 40-36 on Wesley Johnson's three-point play with 8½ minutes left, but the Aggies slowly pulled away from there, making enough free throws in the closing seconds to finish it off.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Texas A&M rides defense for gritty 60-47 win over Iowa State
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Donald Sloan and Dominique Kirk had 12 points each, and Texas A&M held Iowa State to 28 percent shooting to open the Big 12 tournament with a 60-47 victory Thursday night.
It was an ugly, physical game, with lots of pushing and shoving under the basket and plenty of missed shots. Texas A&M (23-9), the sixth seed, smothered Iowa State defensively and did just enough on offense to hang on for its second win in 13 Big 12 tournament games.
Brian Davis added 10 points for the Aggies, who move on to face third-seeded Kansas State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Craig Brackens led Iowa State (14-18) with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Bryan Peterson added 14 points. They just didn't get enough help, with the rest of the team combining for 13 points on 4-of-34 shooting.
The Aggies had to have this win.
The Big 12, with its No. 3 RPI rating, could get as many as six teams into the NCAA tournament. Of those teams, Texas A&M seemed to be the most in need of extra wins in the Big 12 tournament.
The Aggies seemed to be a lock for their third straight NCAA tournament appearance midway through the conference schedule, then lost five of their final seven games, capping the season with a disheartening 72-55 home loss to Kansas.
Texas A&M played like it needed a win -- at least on defense.
Iowa State missed 14 straight shots midway through the first half, then missed seven more at the end, finally getting a shot to fall when Brackens hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Cyclones shot 7-for-33 in the half, managing just 17 points.
Texas A&M's defense had something to do with it.
The Aggies have their biggest team in school history, with six players at least 6-foot-9, and they gave Iowa State all kinds of trouble inside, even with 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan out sick. But the Cyclones added to it, too, blowing lay-ups and tossing up airballs from 3-point range.
Scoring futility is nothing new to Iowa State this season.
The Cyclones scored 15 points in the first half against Colorado on Jan. 29 and had 11 against Nebraska on Feb. 16.
The thing is, Iowa State won both of those games. The Cyclones never put together a rally this time.
Texas A&M made enough mistakes to let Iowa State hang around for a while, with nine turnovers in the first 11 minutes and a couple of rough shooting stretches late in the first half and early in the second.
Iowa State cut the lead to 40-36 on Wesley Johnson's three-point play with 8½ minutes left, but the Aggies slowly pulled away from there, making enough free throws in the closing seconds to finish it off.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Murray State beats Tennessee Tech to advance in OVC tourney
MURRAY, Ky. -- Bruce Carter had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Murray State to a 77-74 win over Tennessee Tech in a first-round game in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Tuesday night.
Kevin Thomas and Ray George added 14 points apiece for the Racers (18-12), who led by as many as eight points, with 7:27 left in the first half. Murray advanced to play Tennessee State, a 68-61 first-round winner Tuesday night over Morehead State, in Friday night's semifinals.
Anthony Fisher led Tennessee Tech (13-19) with 26 points, hitting 12 of 13 free throws. Daniel Northern had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Amadi McKenzie scored 12 points and Rashaud Nixon had 11.
Murray State, which got 25 points from its bench, scored its last field goal with two seconds left.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Eaton basket gives Oklahoma State 75-73 victory over Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Oklahoma State kept the ball in Byron Eaton's hands the final half-minute. The junior guard didn't disappoint with his second straight game-winner.
Eaton killed most of the clock near center court in a tie game and then scored off a drive near the lane with 1.7 seconds to go after buying some space with a pump fake in the Cowboys' 75-73 victory over Missouri on Tuesday night.
"He made a big-time play," coach Sean Sutton said. "We switched out on a ball screen, he drove it, and made an unbelievable shot."
Leo Lyons returned to Missouri's starting lineup after a 10-game absence and had career bests of 27 points and 18 rebounds. The 6-foot-9 Lyons missed only one of 13 shots, many of them from the perimeter, but it wasn't enough in a battle of Big 12 also-rans angling for a higher seed in the conference tournament.
"Both halves he was focused," coach Mike Anderson said. "He was really into the game, you could just see it with his body language."
Missouri led by eight points midway through the second half but couldn't hold on as Oklahoma State hit a season-high 14 3-pointers in only 24 attempts.
"That was probably one of the tougher ones all year long," Anderson said. "We played well enough to win and just didn't finish the deal."
Marcus Dove led Oklahoma State (15-12, 6-7 Big 12) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season and only his second time in double-figure scoring in nine games. Eaton was 4-for-6 from 3-point range, and Dove and Terrel Harris both were 3-for-3.
"When we're on, we're on," Dove said. "We have great shooters, we really work on that a lot."
Eaton had 15 points and freshman James Anderson added 13 points in his first game off the bench for the Cowboys, who built on successive victories over ranked Kansas and Texas A&M, the Feb. 16 triumph over the Aggies ending a 19-game road losing streak.
Sutton didn't start Anderson because he was "three minutes late" to a film session Tuesday morning.
"I thought he came in and made some big shots," Sutton said. "He hung in there and made some big shots."
In a 61-60 victory over Kansas on Saturday, Eaton scored a career-high 26 points, including the game-winning free throw with 12.6 seconds to go.
"He's been playing huge for us lately," Dove said. "As long as he keeps playing like that, we'll keep winning games."
Keon Lawrence added 13 points and J.T. Tiller had 11 for Missouri (15-13, 5-8). The Tigers fell to 12-4 at home.
Lawrence hit a runner with 33 seconds to go to tie it at 73, and Eaton dribbled near midcourt most of the Cowboys' final possession. The winning shot popped out of the basket and back in.
"I wanted to get the last shot," Eaton said. "It felt good. I thought it was going to hit the backboard and give my team a chance to get a quick tip, but once it got up on the rim I knew it was good."
Missouri didn't get off a desperation shot after Oklahoma State batted Darryl Butterfield's high, lofted inbounds pass around.
The 6-foot-9 Lyons made 12 of his first 13 shots, including several from the perimeter and a few near the 3-point line, while helping Missouri take an eight-point lead midway through the second half. He averages 12 points off the bench but had been behind defensive-minded Vaidotas Volkus, who has been hampered by a hip pointer and did not play.
Lyons locked up his third double-double of the season, and first in 18 games, in the first two minutes of the second half.
Oklahoma State has won four in a row in the Big 12 for the first time since the 2004-05 season. The Cowboys had gone 18 games since the last time they reached double digits in 3-pointers.
Anderson was the first player off the bench for Oklahoma State and hit a 3-pointer only 10 seconds later. He made his first three shots and led the Cowboys with eight points in the half.
Lyons nearly had a double-double in the first half with 14 points and nine rebounds for Missouri, which led by as many as seven points midway through the half.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
|
