0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/4/2016
The American Athletic Conference — so ascendant in football this college sports cycle — has not been as fortunate in basketball. The American way has not been the easy way. SMU would be a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, but the Mustangs were barred from the event, so Sunday’s game at Cincinnati […]
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The West Coast Conference Tournament could be the scene of a memorable event in the coming days, but history tells us to expect one result more than anything else. The WCC Tournament unfurls its quarterfinals on Saturday, before taking a BYU-based break on Sunday and swinging into its semifinals on Monday. Everyone’s waiting to see […]
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The first weekend of March is the last weekend before Selection Sunday. It’s that time of year, so when you begin your Saturday and Sunday, you want to watch the games with maximum bubble implications. We’re here to help. Let’s get right to it. * SATURDAY, MARCH 5 – ALL TIMES EASTERN VANDERBILT at TEXAS […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/3/2016
No one wants to be underappreciated. We want our efforts and our skills to receive due recognition. In some cases, we might be appreciated by others, which certainly soothes the soul. Yet, een if it’s obvious that our achievements and acumen are admired, the outside world might never fully know just how much we overcame […]
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The Oregon Ducks have played the second half of this college basketball season without Dylan Ennis, the transfer from Villanova who was supposed to be a vital cog in the Eugene Machine. The Miami Hurricanes ventured to South Bend, Indiana, on Wednesday night to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish without third-leading scorer Ja’Quan Newton. Oregon […]
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A fever has swept through the Southeastern Conference. As a result, what once figured to be a fascinating conference tournament has quickly been drained of its drama. SEC basketball is defined by
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/2/2016
DeAndre Jordan. Andre Drummond. Dwight Howard. These and other NBA big men aren’t failed basketball players by any means. They are, however, failures as free throw shooters. It’s a pretty big deal when — under NBA rules that are likely to be revised in the coming offseason — Team B can purposefully foul so that […]
Head coach Tad Boyle of Colorado leads his team against Illinois in the first half of their NCAA Tournament second round game on Friday, March 22, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (George Bridges/MCT)
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It’s a reality which merits constant examination: College basketball is a house with many rooms. It’s a sport in which coaches can find many different niches, many different jobs where they can establish themselves and enjoy a certain kind of lifestyle. Naturally, the differences among college basketball programs are most easily found when dividing schools […]
Stony Brook plays UMBC in an NCAA Division I men’s basketball game at Island Federal Credit Union Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016.
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In a few weeks, the college basketball community will be focused on Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Bill Self, John Calipari, and the other leaders of big-name programs. This week — this fortnight, really — belongs more to the coaches we don’t pay that much attention to during the season. They’re the coaches who — if […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/1/2016
He had the job of a lifetime, nestled in one of the special places where college basketball is deeply ingrained into the fabric of local life. Kelvin Sampson was the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. He was building excitement and enthusiasm in a state where winners aren’t merely loved; they’re revered. Scholastic basketball success […]
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It’s March, which means college basketball’s finish line exists in plain sight. One month from now, we’ll be previewing the Final Four and trying to make sense of all the events which led up to it. In the present tense, power-conference teams are fighting for championships and seeding slots in their upcoming league tournaments. The […]
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Imagine a world in which your college basketball-loving friends said the following things: “I remember when Florida won the 2011 SEC regular season championship! So what if the Gators blew a lead against Butler in the Elite Eight that year? What a rich accomplishment that was after a few comparatively uninspiring seasons.” “North Carolina finishing […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/29/2016
The day after February 28 is ordinarily March 1. This year, it’s February 29. Technically, then, this piece isn’t being written in the month of March. Big deal. The month in which reputations are affirmed (or transformed); legacies change (or remain intact); and coaches shed their baggage (or collect more of it) is finally here. […]
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The news of the actual occurrence is relatively old by now, but the enormity of what happened Saturday in San Diego should not fade away. When the San Diego State Aztecs lost to the Boise State Broncos after leading with five minutes left in the second half, a number became enshrined in the annals of […]
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The basketball clock, not just the biological clock, was ticking for Kevin Willard at Seton Hall. Hired in 2010 to take over a program in disarray, Willard was not expected to author a quick fix in South Orange, New Jersey. He received patience from his administration, and rightly so. Six seasons, however, represent more time […]
