Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Knight Retires As Winningest Coach
Bobby Knight will be remembered fondly in college basketball circles, though his feisty and cantankerous personality often raised eyebrows and ire from fans and officials alike.
Knight resigned unexpectedly on Monday from the coaching ranks, saying it was time to move on. Knight holds the record for most wins by a coach in NCAA history with 902, spanning 42 years at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech.
His accomplishments were greatest at Indiana, where he led the Hoosiers to three national championships, including an undefeated season in 1976, which is the last time any division 1 college basketball team has finished without a loss.
At 67, Knight has done just about everything a coach can do, including winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics with Michael Jordan as one of his players. The Red Raiders, 12-8 in the Big 12, will be turned over to his son, Pat, for the remainder of the season.
Knight resigned unexpectedly on Monday from the coaching ranks, saying it was time to move on. Knight holds the record for most wins by a coach in NCAA history with 902, spanning 42 years at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech.
His accomplishments were greatest at Indiana, where he led the Hoosiers to three national championships, including an undefeated season in 1976, which is the last time any division 1 college basketball team has finished without a loss.
At 67, Knight has done just about everything a coach can do, including winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics with Michael Jordan as one of his players. The Red Raiders, 12-8 in the Big 12, will be turned over to his son, Pat, for the remainder of the season.
Labels: Bob Knight, Bobby Knight
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tumbling Down: Carolina, Texas A&M, Kentucky Fall
This has been the season for upsets and last night was no different with three Top 25 teams going down. Results and recaps:
Virginia Tech 81 North Carolina 80 - Zabian Dowdell clicked for 33 points to help the Hokies take down #4 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dowdell created matchup problems all night long for the Tar Hells, who sent the senior guard to the line 19 times. Dowdell knocked down 17, free throws to go with his 7-15 shooting from the floor with a pair of treys. Forward Deron Washington picked a good time to go for his 3rd double-double of the season, snatching 14 rebounds to go with his 12 points.
The win moved Virginia Tech into a tie for 2nd place in the ACC with the Tar Heels at 8-3. Both trail 9-2 Boston College. Tech virtually guaranteed themselves a trip to the NCAA tournament by winning on the road against a top 5 team. While Carolina has lost only four times this season, the Hokies have now beaten them twice, the first time on January 13 at Blacksburg, by a 94-78 tally when the Tar Heels were ranked #1.
Texas Tech 77 Texas A&M 75 - Bobby Knight's Red Raiders refuse to be forgotten, delivering another stellar road performance against the #6 Aggies last night. Jarrius Jackson, who had the game-winner, poured in 31 points while his backcourt mate, Martin Zeno added 19 and dished out 6 assists.
Both teams shot over 50% in the Texas shoot-out which once again created some tension atop the Big 12 standings. While Tech is only 5-6 in conference play, the Aggies still lead at 9-2, though only by a 1/2 game over 8-2 Kansas and one game over 8-3 Texas.
Tennessee 89 Kentucky 85 - Everyone knows that if Chris Lofton is on the floor, the Vols are a threat and the junior guard delighted the home crowd with 23 points and Tennessee's 3rd straight win after he missed four straight games due to injury.
#20 Kentucky shot 56% to Tennessee's 49% and controlled the boards, 39-27, but the Volunteers defense forced 19 turnovers and stole one away. The Vols improved to 6-5 in the conference, just a game behind 7-4 Kentucky with Vanderbilt sandwiched in between at 6-4. Everyone in the SEC East is chasing top-ranked Florida, which has virtually clinched the division at 10-0 with just 6 games remaining.
Butler 79 Florida Gulf Coast 65 - #13 Butler got back on the winning track after their loss at Wright State on Sunday, recording their 22nd straight home win in a non-conference romp.
Southern Illinois 51 Missouri St. 47 - Randal Falker recorded his 7th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the #16 Salukis. With back-to-back wins over their top two Missouri Valley opponents, Southern Illinois is poised to win the conference. After a non-conference tilt at #13 Butler on Saturday, the Salukis conclude the regular season at Indiana St. and at home vs. Evansville.
With Southern Ill. looking like the automatic bid, the Missouri Valley could send four teams to the tourney. Creighton and Missouri St. look like naturals, while Wichita St., Bradley and Northern Iowa may have a shot, especially if one emerges from the conference tournament in good form.
Virginia Tech 81 North Carolina 80 - Zabian Dowdell clicked for 33 points to help the Hokies take down #4 North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dowdell created matchup problems all night long for the Tar Hells, who sent the senior guard to the line 19 times. Dowdell knocked down 17, free throws to go with his 7-15 shooting from the floor with a pair of treys. Forward Deron Washington picked a good time to go for his 3rd double-double of the season, snatching 14 rebounds to go with his 12 points.
The win moved Virginia Tech into a tie for 2nd place in the ACC with the Tar Heels at 8-3. Both trail 9-2 Boston College. Tech virtually guaranteed themselves a trip to the NCAA tournament by winning on the road against a top 5 team. While Carolina has lost only four times this season, the Hokies have now beaten them twice, the first time on January 13 at Blacksburg, by a 94-78 tally when the Tar Heels were ranked #1.
Texas Tech 77 Texas A&M 75 - Bobby Knight's Red Raiders refuse to be forgotten, delivering another stellar road performance against the #6 Aggies last night. Jarrius Jackson, who had the game-winner, poured in 31 points while his backcourt mate, Martin Zeno added 19 and dished out 6 assists.
Both teams shot over 50% in the Texas shoot-out which once again created some tension atop the Big 12 standings. While Tech is only 5-6 in conference play, the Aggies still lead at 9-2, though only by a 1/2 game over 8-2 Kansas and one game over 8-3 Texas.
Tennessee 89 Kentucky 85 - Everyone knows that if Chris Lofton is on the floor, the Vols are a threat and the junior guard delighted the home crowd with 23 points and Tennessee's 3rd straight win after he missed four straight games due to injury.
#20 Kentucky shot 56% to Tennessee's 49% and controlled the boards, 39-27, but the Volunteers defense forced 19 turnovers and stole one away. The Vols improved to 6-5 in the conference, just a game behind 7-4 Kentucky with Vanderbilt sandwiched in between at 6-4. Everyone in the SEC East is chasing top-ranked Florida, which has virtually clinched the division at 10-0 with just 6 games remaining.
Butler 79 Florida Gulf Coast 65 - #13 Butler got back on the winning track after their loss at Wright State on Sunday, recording their 22nd straight home win in a non-conference romp.
Southern Illinois 51 Missouri St. 47 - Randal Falker recorded his 7th double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds for the #16 Salukis. With back-to-back wins over their top two Missouri Valley opponents, Southern Illinois is poised to win the conference. After a non-conference tilt at #13 Butler on Saturday, the Salukis conclude the regular season at Indiana St. and at home vs. Evansville.
With Southern Ill. looking like the automatic bid, the Missouri Valley could send four teams to the tourney. Creighton and Missouri St. look like naturals, while Wichita St., Bradley and Northern Iowa may have a shot, especially if one emerges from the conference tournament in good form.
Labels: Bobby Knight, Jarrius Jackson, Zabian Dowdell
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
A New Year and a Good Knight
It took a little longer than Bobby Knight might have liked, but Monday afternoon the Texas Tech - and formerly Indiana and Army - coach finally got the win that pushed his career total past North Carolina's legendary Dean Smith.
The Red Raiders beat New Mexico 70-68, for Knight's 880th college basketball Division 1 win against 354 losses, a winning percentage of 71%. Knight, who is 65, is not even considering retirement, so a run at 1000 wins is possible. At 20 wins per season (below his average), it would take Knight just six years to surpass that milestone.
The next marks for Knight, besides getting his Texas Tech team through the grueling Big 12 conference schedule and into the NCAA tournament in March, are the 925 wins recorded both by Tennessee Volunteers women's coach Pat Summitt and by Harry Statham of NAIA McKendree College, who holds the record for the most men's wins at a 4-year college.
Knight won the NCAA national championship three times as coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, in 1976, 1981 and 1987, and coached the 1984 Olympic team to the Gold Medal.
While some may decry Knight's methods as too harsh or too demanding, nobody can deny the results.
Labels: Bobby Knight, Indiana Hoosiers, Texas Tech Red Raiders
