With 2.3 seconds remaining and the NCAA Tournament’s last Final Four spot on the line, Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison gave us our tournament moment. A good three feet behind the 3-point line, Harrison rose with confidence over Michigan’s Chris LeVERT, an outstanding defender that was constantly impacting the game on that end of the floor all game. Swish. [Read more…]
As it often does, the NCAA Tournament provided a wild first weekend. Mercer saved Warren Buffett $1 billion, Dayton won the state of Ohio and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years, Stanford sent Andrew Wiggins and Kansas packing, and the young Kentucky Wildcats ended Wichita State’s dream season. So out of the 32 second and third-round games won by the 16 teams still in contention for the national championship, what statistical trends and insights can we gain
Just minutes after the last conference championship game wrapped up Sunday evening, the annual NCAA Tournament selection show was underway to announce the field of 68 for this years tournament. This years tourney appears to be wide-open, but the Florida Gators come in as the team to beat as the No. 1 overall seed. Other No. 1 seeds are Wichita State, Arizona and Virginia. They will all have their work cut out for them. The tournament fun is not just limited to
To shop for NCAA Tournament tickets, click on this banner. Before everybody picks Florida in their NCAA Tournament brackets, a word of caution: The Gators can be upset by a small college team. I would know – because my team did it to them a decade ago. Last Saturday, while driving up I-95 to the Basketball Hall of Fame for an induction ceremony for a former player of mine, Luis Flores, a flood of memories washed over me.
The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is pure mayhem; games begin and end simultaneously, buzzers sound from TV’s, iPads, iPhones, and computers, celebrations are loud … and defeat is inevitable for more than three-quarters of the field… Which brings us to these next four days of college basketball: Games are fewer than the week before, but the stakes continue to rise as the Sweet Sixteen turns into the Elite Eight, and, eventually the Final Four. [Read more…]
It was an exciting and historic first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, with the blue bloods of college basketball reaching the second week of the tourney along with surprise teams including LaSalle, Wichita State and No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast. But what did it really take for the teams to win two, and in LaSalle’s case, three, games last week? [Read more…]
With NCAA Tournament action finally underway, two important stories have surfaced today encompassing the highs and lows of this hectic college basketball season. President Barack Obama, who has never been shy about his fascination with the NCAA tournament, released his annual bracket this morning. Obama went mostly “chalk” in the first round, staying away from a bracket filled with upsets. His two upsets of note, No. 11 seed Minnesota over No. 6 UCLA, and No. 11 Belmont over No. 6 Arizona. The
Welcome, everyone, to Where Are They Now? With another week in the books, we’re back again with another crop of yesteryear’s stars and their current whereabouts. In recent weeks, we’ve covered everyone from Stephon Marbury and Tracy McGrady to Jonathan Bender and Acie Law IV. In other words, we have no limits or bounds in where we must look or who we need to find. So who are the players in this week’s Where Are They Now? Let’s get underway and find