0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 1/18/2016
The Indiana Hoosiers haven’t yet encountered the toughest stretch of the Big Ten schedule, but they are riding a 10-game winning streak. A season which appeared to be in pronounced peril a month ago stands on much more solid ground today. Weirdly, an injury could have unlocked the key for the Hoosiers and their defense. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/15/2016
Two years ago, Iowa basketball appeared to be the real deal in the middle of January. Two years later, the Hawkeyes get a second chance to write a happy ending to a season filled with promise. * Before addressing Iowa’s authoritative 76-59 win over Michigan State on Thursday night at the Breslin Center in East […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/14/2016
If you’re already in full mourning for the just-departed college football season, here’s a brief note: College basketball is richly and profoundly fascinating in 2016… and you don’t have to wait until March to realize this. Wednesday night, a series of events across the country, in early games and late games, created a tapestry of […]
0 comments by Mike Abelson on 1/8/2016
As conference play begins the Atlantic 10 race is heating up quickly. No team truly asserted itself at the top of the conference, but leading into league play trends are starting to form. Let’s break it all down. … WANNA WIN THE LEAGUE? BEAT DAYTON. Dayton has been the A-10’s best team so far, and […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/7/2016
The foremost drama of coaching — in terms of regularity, though not in terms of raw emotional impact — is the attempt to avoid being fired. The coaching drama which captures the heart and tugs at the emotions is the attempt of the beloved veteran to finally make a first Final Four, or a first […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
College basketball is, by nature, crazy and hard to sort out… but this season is already pushing the boundaries of what’s so fascinatingly fragile about the sport. You don’t need to write elaborate explanations in order to capture the up-for-grabs nature of this season at its Janus-inspired midpoint, with two months of regular season action […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/5/2016
The Kansas Jayhawks don’t wear any green. They don’t play on a parquet floor. They don’t have a shamrock in their logo. Yet, they really and truly are the Red Auerbach-era Boston Celtics of college basketball. Monday night’s enthralling 109-106 triple-overtime victory over the Oklahoma Sooners, in the 40th 1-versus-2 game in college basketball history, […]
0 comments by Joe Webb on 1/3/2016
College basketball is about to partake in another week with a new No. 1 team atop the AP Top-25 poll, as the Michigan State Spartans fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes without Denzel Valentine who is still out due to injury. With the Kansas Jayhawks likely moving up from their No. 2 spot to college basketball’s […]
Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley talks to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against George Washington in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament in New York, Friday, March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
0 comments by Mike Abelson on 12/24/2015
This season was Rhode Island’s for the taking. With its most talented roster in more than 15 years, the Rams looked primed to break it’s 16-year NCAA tournament drought. Then star guard, and preseason All Atlantic-10, EC Matthews went down with a knee injury less than 10 minutes into the season. His year was over. […]
0 comments by Mike Abelson
The beauty of college basketball is that you can lose big and painfully, but it will never be your end. That was the fate of Northeastern when it hosted top-ranked Michigan State on Dec. 19. The Huskies took it to the Spartans early before ultimately fading late and losing by 20 points. The loss stung, […]
0 comments by Mike Abelson on 12/23/2015
Michigan State is undefeated, but the Spartans aren’t perfect. There’s a big difference between having zero losses and mastering one’s craft. The Spartans are coming off a pair of games that tested their mettle in different ways, and showed how far this talented club still needs to go. Michigan State traveled to Boston on Dec. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 12/20/2015
One month into a college basketball season, a lot of teams and conferences will remain mysterious, as much of a puzzle as they were when the campaign began in the middle of November. To some extent, a college basketball season is supposed to be a study in uncertainty in the days before Christmas. This season […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 12/18/2015
Michigan State enters play this weekend as the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation in college basketball. The Spartans are 11-0 and have answered the bell every time it has rung. They are an experienced unit. Last season’s group went deep into March and cracked the Final Four in April despite limited expectations. The […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer
While the recent trend in college basketball has slid toward immediate success for incoming freshman classes such as those at Kentucky and Duke, the 2015-’16 season is calling to mind the 2014-2015 season’s penultimate game, and its most memorable event. Last season, in the second national semifinal, experience prevailed: A seasoned Wisconsin team knocked off […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 12/17/2015
Let’s set the buffet table, shall we? In a year when the NFL has never been less enjoyable to watch (that’s not fact, but it’s a widely-shared opinion), consider making this upcoming Saturday your big sports day and then using your Sunday as the errand day when you do all the Christmas shopping and take […]
