O.D. Anosike Gets 19 Points, 15 Rebounds in Sienna Loss

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, January 4, 2013

Just 16 games dotted the college hoops landscape on Friday night, none of the games featuring any teams even close to the top rankings.

Among the contested hardcourts was in upstate New York, at Siena College, where the Saints were hosting the Iona Gaels in a MAAC game.

Siena, 0-2 in the conference going in, kept the game close, but eventually succumbed to the Gaels, 66-62, despite a monster effort from senior forward, O.D. Ansike, a one-man gang averaging a double-double (13.7 points, 12.9 rebounds).

Anosike kept Siena in the game on both ends, scoring 19 points - equalling his season high - and hauling in 15 boards.

Anosike was 8-for-11 from the field, but he didn't get much support from his teammates, who made just 16 of 47 field goals (34%).

Iona improved to 8-6 overall and are part of a six=team tie for first place in the conference with a 2-1 mark. Siena slumped to 0-3 in the MAAC and 2-12 overall.

Late Friday First Round Results

East Region:
(4) Xavier 77, (13) Portland St. 59 - The Muskateers handled Portland State fairly easily, getting scoring from 9 different players, 4 in double figures. Xavier is a tournament staple and they look to be a tough out on Sunday.

(12) Wisconsin 61, (5) Florida St. 59, OT - The Badgers got the Seminoles into their kind of grind-it-out, low-scoring affair and forced the extra session. Trevan Hughes won it with his bucket and free throw with 2 seconds left in OT. The Badgers were down 12 at the half and trailed much of the game, but had the last say, knocking off the second ACC team of the tournament.

MidWest
(1) Louisville 74, (16) Morehead St. 54 - A total breeze for the Cardinals, winning without breaking a sweat.

(10) USC 72, (7) Boston College 55 - Taj Gibson only missed one free throw, hitting all ten of his shots from the floor for 24 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. BC made a game of this until about 8 minutes into the second half. The Trojans have the most athletic team in the tournament, and maybe the most dangerous. In their upcoming tilt with Michigan State, they will create many matchup problems for the Spartans.

(12) Arizona 84, (5) Utah 71 - a dramatic case of mis-seeding. Arizona was probably better than a 10 and Utah should not have been a 5. This doesn't look like much of an upset and in reality, isn't. The 10s and 12s are as good as the 3s and 4s in this region, the toughest in the tournament. Nic Wise had 29 for the Wildcats, who sizzled at 55% from the field.

(9) Siena 74, (8) Ohio St. 72, 2 OT- Probably the most exciting game of the tournament fittingly took 2 OTs to decide. Point guard Ronald Moore (why haven't we heard more about this guy?) hit a three to force overtime and another with 3.9 left in the second OT to win it. All five starters for the Saints scored in double figures, led by Edwin Ubiles with 20. Louisville next up for this talented, gutsy group.

(13) Cleveland St. 84, (4) Wake Forest 69 - Easily the biggest upset of the tournament and the highest seed out so far. (Really kills my bracket, too). Cleveland State jumped on the Dekes early and just kept rolling. Sets up a nice matchup in a busted bracket with #12 Arizona on Sunday.

(2) Michigan St. 77, (15) Robert Morris 52 - The Spartans had five players in double figures as they coasted to an opening-round win.

Gonzaga and Siena Play Their Way In

West Coast Final: Gonzaga 83, St. Mary's 58

Gonzaga wasn't about to let a perfect 14-0 conference record be marred by one game and they opened full bore against the Gaels, scoring the first 8 points of the game.

St. Mary's didn't make a basket until nearly 6 minutes into the game. By then, the Bulldogs were off the leash and on the run. The Gaels pulled to within 5 points twice during the first half, but Gonzaga led by 13 at the break, 38-25. It got even worse as Gonzaga opened up a huge lead in the second half to secure their NCAA invitation.

Josh Heytvelt led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Micah Downs had a dozen points and the same number of rebounds.

St. Mary's Patrick Mills, in his second game back after sitting out since january with a broken wrist, wasn't a factor, hitting just 2 of 16 shots, including 0 of 7 from beyond the arc. His teammates didn't fare much better. The Gaels shot just 29% (19-66) for the game.

Metro Athletic Final: Siena 77, Niagara 70

The Siena Saints kept scoring, but they couldn't shake loose from the gritty Purple Eagles of Niagara. The score tied 50-50, with 8:39 left to play, Kenny Hasbrouck took matters into his own hands, scoring the next seven points for the Saints. When Ryan Rossiter scored to make it 59-51, the Saints were on their way to the NCAA tournament. Rossiter scored again and Hasbrouck added two more buckets in short order and Niagara could only respond with three points, making it 65-54 with 4:33 left.

Hasbrouck had 19 points. Rossiter finished with 16 points and 14 boards. Alex Franklin scored 16.

Niagara shot just 34%, but were busy on the boards, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds and 43 overall.