Mar 11, 2007 - 4:19 AM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
Georgetown is once again the "Beast of the East."
Jeff Green scored 21 points and Roy Hibbert added 18 as the ninth-ranked Hoyas manhandled No. 11 Pittsburgh, 65-42, in the Big East Conference tournament championship game on Saturday.
By claiming a record-setting seventh title in the league tournament, Georgetown (26-6) secured its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament under third-year coach John Thompson III.
The Hoyas' berth into the NCAAs was one of 11 that were decided on Saturday, including ones in the Pac-10 Conference and Conference USA.
Attempting to bring the Georgetown program back to the dominant state where it was in the 1980s under his father, Thompson has two players that draw comparisons to the days when "Hoya Paranoia" swept the nation.
Those two players - juniors Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert - once again put on an impressive display, combining for 39 points and 16 rebounds as the Hoyas collected their 15th win in the last 16 games.
Green, who finished with 21 points and five boards, became the 12th player to be named Big East Player of the Year and also win the David Gavitt Trophy as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. He is the sixth player from Georgetown to accomplish the feat.
"I said this after the last game, this is the time of year where good players, good teams play well and there's no doubt that Jeff Green is special with what he can do on the basketball court," Thompson said. "He can do so many things at such a high level and he played extremely well this weekend, there's no doubt about that."
Unless national powers Florida, North Carolina or Ohio State all fall in their respected conference title games on Sunday, it is likely that the Hoyas will received a No. 2 seed when the NCAA Selection Committee releases the field later that day.
Another team likely to get a second seed after capturing its conference's tournament championship is fifth-ranked Memphis.
The Tigers once again were hardly challenged by a Conference USA opponent, as Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points in a 71-59 victory over Houston.
Memphis (30-3) won its 22nd consecutive game to become the first C-USA team to go undefeated in the conference regular season and then win the league title.
Fittingly, the Tigers secured their second consecutive automatic NCAA berth on their home floor, where they have won 32 consecutive home contests.
Memphis relentlessly attacked the basket Saturday, shooting 49 percent (25-of-51) while getting to the free-throw line 31 times.
Douglas-Roberts, who shot 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line, hopes the Tigers will continue their aggressive style in the NCAA Tournament.
"We need to do the same things," he said. "What's gotten us here is work, so we don't really want to change anything. We still have to practice like we've been practicing throughout the entire season. If we let up, we'll lose."
Last season, Memphis earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs and advanced to regional final before losing to eventual national finalist UCLA.
Speaking of the Pac-10 Conference, No. 18 Oregon rolled to its first tourney title in four years with an 81-57 rout of Southern California.
It was the sixth consecutive win for the high-octane Ducks (26-7), who were led by the career-high 32 points by Bryce Taylor.
The 6-5 junior finished a perfect 11-of-11 from the field, setting the tournament record for highest field-goal percentage, and also tied the mark for most 3-pointers made with seven.
"It was fun," Taylor said. "I don't think I've ever done that before but I just got in a good rhythm and my teammates just continued to give me the ball when I was open so I just tried not to force anything and take good shots and it worked for me."
It is the first NCAA Tournament bid since 2003 for Oregon, which is 5-1 this season against ranked teams with wins over UCLA and Georgetown.
Another team ending an absence in the "Big Dance" was No. 25 UNLV, which rallied for a 78-70 victory over No. 23 Brigham Young in the Mountain West Conference tournament title game.
Michael Umeh scored 18 points and Jo'Van Adams added 15 as the Runnin' Rebels (28-6) secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000.
UNLV, which captured the title on its home floor of the Thomas & Mack Center, recorded the most wins by the program since the Rebels went 34-1 in 1991.
"(It) ranks very high," said UNLV's Lon Kruger, who became the fifth coach in NCAA history to take four different teams to the tournament. "I think especially the way it came about. BYU dominated us early, again, knocked us around, did things they wanted to do.
"Our guys had that look in their eye, yet they kind of regrouped, hung in there and finally got a little bit of activity going defensively, got some defensive boards, made some shots, then got on a really nice roll in the second half."
Although there were a few automatic berths up for grabs in some of the nation's power conferences, it was some of the lower conferences that supplied the madness that makes this time of March so special.
In the Mid-American Conference, Miami of Ohio edge Akron, 53-52, after senior guard Doug Penno banked in a 3-pointer right before the horned sounded.
Despite the excitement surrounding the remarkable shot, the outcome of the game was delayed for nearly 10 minutes as officials first checked to see if the shot got off before the buzzer and then to check if time needed to be added back onto the clock for Akron.
Eventually, the Zips did get sixth-tenths of a second but a long pass from the opposite inbounds line intended for Nick Goddard went out of bounds, sealing the first trip to the NCAAs since 1999 for the Redhawks (18-14).
"It's unfortunate, it was a lucky shot, a great shot by Penno, but it was lucky, it banked it," Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. "I told our guys that if they (the officials) are wrong, the only thing that I call tell you is that life is unfair. That's the way it is."
There was less drama with the last-second shot in the championship game of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference as a alley-oop layup by Brian Greene sealed Florida A&M's 58-56 victory over Delaware State.
With the contest tied and the Rattlers (21-13) inbounded the ball near their bench with 1.1 seconds left, Lamar Twitty lobbed the ball towards the rim. Coming off a screen, the 6-5 Greene caught the ball and attempt a shot that rattled around the rim in one motion.
The improbable play sealed the third all-time berth in the NCAA Tournament for Florida A&M and the first since 2004.
There was drama for a much different reason in the Western Athletic Conference championship game as New Mexico State frantically held on for a 72-70 victory over Utah State.
Taking a 72-68 lead with 12 seconds left after a pair of free throws by Ted Knauber, New Mexico State (25-8) then saw Jaycee Carroll sink a layup for Utah State before throwing away a long inbounds pass with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Utah State cleanly inbounded the ball, but Carroll's 3-point attempt fell short as New Mexico State held for its first appearance in the NCAAs since 1999.
Albany also earned its way into the NCAA Tournament the hard way, edging top-seeded Vermont, 60-59, to secure the America East championship on the Catamounts' home court.
The second-seeded Great Danes (23-9) lost both regular-season meetings to Vermont, but won the one that counts behind 22 points from Jamar Wilson to earn its second straight NCAA berth.
Last season, as a No. 16 seed, Albany pushed No. 1 seed Connecticut to the wire in almost becoming the first team to knock off a top seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
In the Atlantic 10 tournament, George Washington notched an NCAA berth for the third straight year with a 78-69 victory over Rhode Island.
Carl Elliott, one of the key holdovers from a 27-3 squad last season, scored 17 points and Dokun Akingbade added 15 and nine rebounds.
An eighth seed last season, the Colonials lost in the second round to top-seeded Duke.
Long Beach State ended a lengthy drought in the NCAAs by posting a 94-83 victory over Cal Poly in the title game of the Big West Conference.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Aaron Nixon had 29 points and 11 rebounds and Kejuan Johnson scored 24 for the 49ers (24-7), which last appeared in the "Big Dance" in 1995.
And finally, Jackson State claimed its third all-time berth and first since 2000 with an 81-71 triumph over Mississippi Valley State in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
The SWAC Player of the Year, Trey Johnson scored 33 points for the Tigers (21-13), who shot 50 percent (13-of-26) in the second half to make sure a 45-29 halftime lead hold up.
So far, 26 automatic bids have been awarded. The remaining five will be decided upon Sunday prior to the announcement of the entire 65-team field by the NCAA Selection Committee.
Sunday's conference's title games are highlighted by a matchup between No. 1 Ohio State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten Conference, and defending national champion Florida facing Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference.
