November 2008 | Page 6 of 21 | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

Having won its fifth straight game Saturday with a 30-3 victory over Army, Rutgers became bowl eligible.

Next up for the Scarlet Knights (6-5, 4-2 Big East) is a Dec. 4 tilt with Louisville at Rutgers Stadium (ESPN). The Cardinals (5-6, 1-5) need to win this game to become bowl eligible, while Rutgers will be looking to advance to a bowl for the fourth straight season.

“I don’t know what the excitement level will be, but I do know that the way we’re going to approach it is going to be the way we’ve approached all these games this year,” said Rutgers coach Greg Schiano. “It’s a one-game season, we have to prepare.

Dominic Cheek says Memphis is still on his list and had not been eliminated because Xavier Henry signed with the school last week.

“Memphis is not off the list,” Cheek wrote in a text message. “It’s never been off the list.”

Added St. Anthony associate head coach Ben Gamble: “He told me that yesterday, so they’re back on.”

Gamble had initially told me after Henry signed with Memphis on Wednesday that Memphis had been “eliminated” from Cheek’s list.

St. John’s received some harsh news just three games into its season.

Senior swingman Anthony Mason Jr. will miss the rest of the year because he must undergo surgery to repair a torn peroneal tendon in his right foot.

“We are all disappointed and feel for Anthony,” St. John’s head coach Norm Roberts said. “This is an unfortunate situation, but it is part of the game. We believe that Mase will come back from this, a stronger player and a stronger person.”

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Mason Jr. suffered the injury during this week’s NIT Season Tip-Off and a MRI and ultrasound of the foot on Friday afternoon revealed the extent of the injury. Dr. John Kennedy of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan performed the examination on Friday. Last Tuesday Mason Jr. had received a MRI and ultrasound examination, both of which did not indicate a tear in the tendon.

After knocking off one Top 25 team Thursday night, Seton Hall was unable to follow it up on Friday.

No. 12 Memphis beat the Pirates, 84-70, in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

The Pirates (3-1) played the Tigers even in the second half but could not overcome a 44-30 halftime deficit.

“I think our guys ran out of gas in the second half,” Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez told The Star-Ledger. “We were a little outclassed and outhustled in the end. But I’m really proud of how we battled to the very end.

“The final score means a lot to us and we were able to rebound from a 26-point deficit and lose by only 14. No one wants to be humiliated and blown out, so I’m proud that we were able to play hard late and cut into that lead.”

NEW YORK — UCLA fans can breathe a little easier about Alfred Aboya.

X-rays and a CT scan done on Aboya’s left hand came up negative at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Friday night. UCLA will do a precautionary MRI in Los Angeles upon their return, according to a team spokesman.

Aboya had a career night of 22 points and 8 rebounds in UCLA’s 77-60 victory over Southern Illinois in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden.

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