0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/12/2016
We can write about the college basketball Friday many of you witnessed… or we can bring it to you in videos. Why not offer a video essay of what March — as a sports month — is all about? Videos convey the magic of an unforgettable Friday better than most words in the English language […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/11/2016
The Michigan Wolverines have struggled throughout the 2016 college basketball season. Their Friday quarterfinal in the Big Ten Tournament was therefore an embodiment of the season, distilled into one afternoon. Because Michigan was able to pull through one nail-biting game, it is likely — though not absolutely certain — that the Wolverines’ season will be […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Many college basketball seasons are ending this week, and most of them end without hope. For Rutgers or Saint Louis, a season is a black hole which swallows up the head coach and leads to a search for a way out of the darkness. For Georgetown and Boise State, a season was supposed to offer […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Many a soul has experienced a miserable night in Las Vegas, the kind of night when nothing is redeemable and everything must start from scratch. The Boise State Broncos know the feeling. * Weeks ago, Boise State lost a game at Colorado State. It should have been awarded a victory, but this shot by James […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/10/2016
Seasons are ending, or at the very least, dreams of the NCAA tournament are ending for schools such as Georgetown and Clemson. The Hoyas and Tigers are joining the hundreds of teams being eliminated from conference tournaments in these first two weeks of March. While 36 teams will make the NCAA field after failing to […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
In the 2008 NCAA Tournament, Fran McCaffery’s Siena Saints thrashed Kevin Stallings and the Vanderbilt Commodores. In that moment, two coaches stood on opposite sides of a March ambush, one the author and one the unfortunate recipient. In each of the past two seasons, McCaffery and Stallings — years removed from their clash in the NCAAs […]
0 comments by Yesh Ginsburg
A week ago, I spoke about a potential dilemma for the selection committee. What would they do with Wichita State if the Shockers failed to win their conference tournament? It was an interesting thought exercise in what the committee would care about more–the resume or the team. This week, though, things got crazy. Every imaginable […]
SEATTLE, WA – NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback Jake Browning #3 of the Washington Huskies passes the ball as defensive lineman Darryl Paulo #99 of the Washington State Cougars and linebacker Peyton Pelluer #47 of the Washington State Cougars pursue during the second half of a football game at Husky Stadium on November 27, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. The Huskies won the game 45-10. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
0 comments by Bart D
If you’re woebegone, searching the Internet for college football pieces that are written far too early, congrats, you’ve come to the right place. The horses are extra dark this time of year, because we have no idea who is going to win position battles, let alone succeed in live games when the lights are on. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/9/2016
When any competitor reaches an elevated place, only to fall from that height and spend years trying to climb back up the mountain, frustration is the natural human response. Frustration has characterized much of the past several seasons for Pittsburgh basketball coach Jamie Dixon. Accordingly, Panther fans have not been terribly pleased with their leader. […]
0 comments by Bart D
Pull up a chair and let your old man tell you about the days when no one cared what spring practice was, and if you were a die hard or just simply needed something to do, maybe the spring game was worth five minutes of your time. Also, get me a glass of bourbon while […]
8 Mar 1996: Tim Duncan of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons lays the ball up as Chris Alexander #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers looks on in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Doug
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/8/2016
The ACC Tournament began Tuesday afternoon, accelerating the parade of conference tournaments. The flurry of conference tournament basketball will reach its crescendo on Thursday and Friday, arguably the two craziest weekdays of the entire season. The conference tournaments possess an uncertain identity in college basketball. In the ACC, the conference tournament is sacred — largely […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The First Four is about to have its moment. This year, near the end of a season defined largely by the inability of teams to separate themselves from the field, the idea of the First Four seems more relevant and needed than ever before. Plenty of people — myself included — would rather live in […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Monday, Bloody Monday. The Monmouth Hawks and the Valparaiso Crusaders, two teams with complicated mid-major resumes, could have reduced the size of the bubble had they won their respective conference tournaments. Given that the Wichita State Shockers failed to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament over the weekend, the bubble was already growing as March […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/7/2016
It is a question that’s impossible to ignore during this week on the American sports calendar: How much is a college basketball conference tournament championship worth? We’re not referring to the one-bid conferences here. It’s obvious that winning the SWAC or MEAC or Big West means everything to the schools involved. This is really a […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Human beings can always use a timely reminder about anything from relationships to job applications to family obligations, anything under the sun. This includes the NCAA tournament. The bubble race is its own separate drama — plenty has been written about that, and plenty will continue to be in the lead-up to Selection Sunday. However, […]
