0 comments by Yesh Ginsburg on 3/2/2016
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 […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The story of Greg Gard begins with the Bennett family. In the year 2000, Dick Bennett led Wisconsin to its first Final Four since 1941. Bennett’s relentless emphasis on the basic components of the sport produced teams which were so structurally sound that a lack of jump-through-the-building athleticism didn’t entirely matter. Yes, Wisconsin would fall […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
When the Boise State Broncos were unfairly deprived of a victory they earned against the Colorado State Rams a few weeks ago, at least the outcome didn’t affect the structure of the NCAA tournament bubble. Wednesday night in Corvallis, Oregon, a timekeeping error affected the outcome of a game with significant bubble implications. Do we […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/24/2016
The Mountain West Conference had a lot to shout about in March of 2015. The league put three teams into the NCAA tournament after getting only two Dance invites in 2014. Wyoming made its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002, showing other member schools that periods of struggle and postseason exile do not have the […]
Feb 23, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Denzel Valentine (45) speeds past Ohio State Buckeyes center Daniel Giddens (4) during the second half at Value City Arena. The Spartans won 81-62. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The Ohio State Buckeyes — without Jae’Sean Tate — were no match for the Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday night. The loss was significant in itself, but the surrounding details made it that much tougher to absorb. First, the Buckeyes took the court knowing that Tate, one of their core players, would miss the rest […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Life on the NCAA tournament bubble is difficult enough as it is. A long season winds toward its conclusion, which means that bodies are wearing down. There’s no mid-February week off for an All-Star break as there is in the NBA. Legs aren’t as fresh. The physical dimensions of late-February and early-March basketball are imposing […]
