Trojans fire coach Bibby
Henry Bibby was fired as Southern California basketball coach Monday, just four games into his ninth season.
The Trojans, beset by some player dissension, are 2-2.
Athletic director Mike Garrett said he realized the timing was unusual, but cited the Trojans’ losing record in recent seasons.
“We haven’t won in two years. I thought, ‘Let’s make the move to fire him.’ It was just a gut feeling. I thought, ‘Let’s make the decision now,’ ” Garrett said.
Assistant Jim Saia was appointed interim coach for the rest of the season.
“It’s a blur. It’s all been kind of a shock to me,” Saia said. “My main job is the players, to keep calm in the storm.”
Garrett, asked about possible candidates for the job, said, “Rick Majerus is a name we’re looking at.”
Bibby had an overall record of 131-111. His 1997, 2001 and 2002 teams made it to the NCAA tournament, including a final eight appearance in 2001.
Top 25
(1) Illinois 78, Chicago State 59: At Champaign, Ill., Luther Head scored 17 points and Dee Brown added 15 points and nine assists for the Illini (7-0), which celebrated its new No. 1 ranking with a win over the Cougars (0-5).
(7) Connecticut 97, Northeastern 60: At Storrs, Conn., Josh Boone had a career-high 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Connecticut (4-0) over Northeastern (2-4) in the battle of Huskies. UConn had taken an 8-3 lead when the lights went out with 17:15 left in the first half.
The game was delayed for 20 minutes by a power outage.
Iowa St. 81, (19) Virginia 79: At Ames, Iowa, Curtis Stinson scored 30 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.6 seconds left, for the Cyclones (4-1), who upset the Cavaliers (6-1). Devin Smith scored a career-high 40 points for Virginia .
Pac-10
Arizona St. 89, Fairleigh Dickinson 81: At Tempe Ariz., Ike Diogu had a season-high 34 points, leading the Sun Devils to their first 6-1 start in 12 years with a victory over the Knights (2-5). Diogu, who extended his career-long, double-digit scoring streak to 66 games, also had 10 rebounds. The Sun Devils won their fourth straight.
Women
(13) Texas Tech 109, Miami 49: At Lubbock, Texas, Alesha Robertson scored a career-high 37 points, including nine 3-pointers, to lead the Raiders (3-1) past the Hurricanes (3-5). … (15) DePaul 99, Loyola of Chicago 54: At Chicago, Khara Smith and Erin Carney scored 22 each to lead the Blue Demons (6-0) over the Ramblers (3-5).