PRETENDER BECOMES CONTENDER; O'BRIEN TURNS OHIO ST. INTO LEGITIMATE THREAT.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. It wasn't long ago that Jim O'Brien Jim O'Brien may be:
After 11 years at BC, O'Brien left and, in just two years, has turned the Buckeyes into a powerhouse. It's been a remarkable climb for both. ``The people who do not experience the lows have a tendency to not totally appreciate the highs,'' O'Brien said. ``All you have to do is go through a couple of seasons where you've lost a lot of games. To get to this point for us makes all of us appreciate the winning.'' Ohio State (23-8) is the No. 4 seed and a heavy favorite over Murray State (27-5) in Thursday's first round of the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association South Regional in Indianapolis. If the seeds go according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. plan, the Buckeyes would face fifth-seeded UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX (22-8) on Saturday. An amazing turnaround for a program that was 8-22 and last in the Big Ten a year ago and had five straight losing seasons heading into this one. But O'Brien, 48, has done this before. At Boston College, he turned the Eagles into an often-overlooked and dangerous team. Three times in four years, Boston College reached the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Despite his success and the reverence Boston College fans had for him, there were problems. A battle with school administrators over admission standards for his recruits turned personal and then public two years ago. At almost the same time, Ohio State fired Randy Ayers Randall (Randy) Duane Ayers (born April 16 1956) is an American former college basketball player and current assistant coach of the Washington Wizards. He has also coached in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ; the school was later reportedly turned down by Tubby Smith Orlando "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951 in Scotland, Saint Mary's County, Maryland) is the basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. He previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the University of Georgia, and most recently, University of Kentucky. and Rick Barnes. When O'Brien was hired, many fans groused that the Buckeyes had settled for a no-name. Before he had ever coached a game at Ohio State, O'Brien showed the door to three players, including two starters. Before long, three others joined them. Undermanned and overmatched, the Buckeyes lost a school-record 17 straight during the 1998 season. But Michael Redd, who became the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in scoring, earned valuable experience - and O'Brien began molding a collection of scrubs into dependable role players. Ohio State went from 1-15 in the Big Ten to 12-4 this season, reaching the Top 10 in the polls and going 8-2 against ranked teams. ``These kids have been wonderful to coach,'' O'Brien said. ``They have refused to lose.'' Chaos theory chaos theory, in mathematics, physics, and other fields, a set of ideas that attempts to reveal structure in aperiodic, unpredictable dynamic systems such as cloud formation or the fluctuation of biological populations. : The NCAA said it will ask a federal court judge to delay his ruling that strips the organization's ability to use standardized test scores to determine academic eligibility. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Buckwalter in Philadelphia ruled Monday that the NCAA's requirement of minimum scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test ap·ti·tude test n. An occupation-oriented test for evaluating intelligence, achievement, and interest. or American College Test was unfair to African-Americans. Buckwalter's ruling allows students who have been ineligible all season to play immediately, including when the NCAA men's basketball tournament begins Thursday. ``It does present somewhat of a chaotic environment,'' NCAA president Cedric Dempsey said. ``It leaves a lot of unanswered questions.'' Need more than a pep talk: After giving his team a 30-minute pep talk, Florida A&M coach Mickey Clayton turned preacher and analyzed his team's first-round matchup in Biblical terms. Hey, when you're 12-18 and are facing top-ranked Duke (32-1) in Charlotte, N.C. on Friday, you need all the help you can get. ``We're talking about David vs. Goliath here,'' Clayton said. ``We just hope to have enough rocks with us (Friday), and hopefully we can throw them high enough.'' Player has seizure: Minnesota starting guard Kevin Clark suffered a seizure Tuesday on the plane en route to Seattle for Minnesota's first-round game against Gonzaga on Thursday. Clark is expected to play. Clark has taken medication since childhood to stave off seizures, but suffered two episodes last month. THURSDAY'S TV GAMES All games on Ch. 2 9:15 a.m. No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 15 Valparaiso 11:30 a.m. No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Siena 4:30 p.m. No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 New Mexico 7:10 p.m. No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 Detroit CAPTION(S): Box BOX: THURSDAY'S TV GAMES (see text) |
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