0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/3/2016
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 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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
CHAMPAIGN, IL – DECEMBER 30: Caris LeVert #23 of the Michigan Wolverines brings the ball up court during the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at State Farm Center on December 30, 2015 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
0 comments by Bart D
Caris LeVert will walk into the Crisler Center on Saturday for the final time as a Michigan basketball player. He won’t play a single minute, but he’ll be praised loudly by an adoring home crowd, one that’s watched him grow immeasurably from niche, wiry defensive freshman to potential All-American in four years. About this time […]
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)
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/2/2016
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.
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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 Yesh Ginsburg
The Wichita State Shockers present an interesting dilemma to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee this year. Of course, the committee has dilemmas every year, but those dilemmas are fairly standard. Bubble teams have resumes the committee must parse through and compare. Teams have to be judged. Then, at the end of the process, teams’ resumes […]
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 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
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 […]
Dec 22, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Prairie View A&M Panthers head coach Byron Rimm II reacts to action against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska defeated Prairie View A&M 81-50. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/26/2016
It’s one thing to be a coach over 50 years old, without an NCAA tournament appearance at one’s current place of employment. The career path has been established, an identity formed. It is hard to imagine a different direction after traveling so many miles along a particular road. Being a younger college basketball coach in […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
We recently wrote about coaches who have devoted their lives to college basketball. These men are over 50 years old, and they haven’t yet made the NCAA tournament at their current coaching stops despite being on the job since the previous calendar decade (2009 or earlier). We also wrote about coaches who reached their postseason […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/25/2016
Reviewing the entirety of a college basketball season is a very difficult project. There’s such a clear line of demarcation between the regular season and “tournament season” (otherwise known as Championship Week, followed by the NCAA tournament) that the first 30 games very quickly recede into the background. What happens in the final six to […]
