ORU three questions, breakdown (TW)

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ORU three questions, breakdown

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

2/5/2007

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Sylvester Spicer

Position: Forward

Grade: Freshman

Height: 6-6

Weight: 230

What would a movie of your life be about?

About about being poor and trying to make a better life for me and my family. And trying to teach my brother (17-year-old Otis Spicer) right from wrong. Right now, he's playing basketball, but sometimes he skips school and doesn't go to practice. He'll be chilling with his friends.

Can you describe the shot that won you a high school dunk contest?

An alley-oop, between-the-legs dunk. I come from the right side of the court, throw the ball up in the air and wait for it to bounce. When it bounces, I go up and catch it, throw it between my legs and dunk it.

What was it like playing at Kansas (on Nov. 15) and watching high school teammate Darrell Arthur play for the Jayhawks?

I was rooting for us, but inside I was rooting for him. He played pretty good. Playing in Allen Fieldhouse was amazing. Everything I heard about it was true -- that it's like one of the best places to play and the crowd really gets into the game. 

The Breakdown

Looking back

ORU's nine-game winning streak ended with a devastating 70-67 overtime loss at Valparaiso, but the Eagles regrouped to win at Western Illinois, 67-60, ending their two-year drought in Macomb, Ill. Valpo rallied from a nine-point deficit over the final 1:57 of regulation, tying on Shawn Huff's 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left.

The week ahead

Thursday: Missouri-Kansas City, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday: Southern Utah, 7:05 p.m.

UMKC is struggling and ORU has won the past three meetings, but the Kangaroos almost always play the Eagles tough. Southern Utah leads the Mid-Con in 3-point shooting percentage and ORU leads in 3-point percentage defense, so something will have to give.

The big picture

How did ORU's loss to Valparaiso affect the conference race?

It helped Oakland (Mich.). Now, the second-place Grizzlies can win the title outright. Until ORU's first loss, the one-loss Grizzlies could have only tied. Oakland has already beaten Valpo, which could become a tiebreaker factor if the Grizzlies do it again next Saturday. ORU is 1-1 against the Crusaders.

How do the contenders' closing schedules compare?

Oakland plays four of its final six games at home but visits UMKC (Feb. 15) and Southern Utah (Feb. 17) -- a road trip ORU has swept. The Eagles have three of their final five at home but must end the season at IUPUI (Feb. 22) and Oakland (Feb. 24).

Does Caleb Green shoot more free throws than the average player?

Way more. Green leads the nation in makes (206) and attempts (267) this season. He's also the Division I active career leader with 780 made foul shots over four seasons. Green is the Mid-Con career leader (780-of-1,035) and is on pace to break his single-season records in both categories.