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College Basketball: 5 programs which wouldn’t mind a Josh Pastner-style move

It’s the dream of athletic directors and many fans at certain college basketball programs: A coach doesn’t feel entirely comfortable at his job… so he leaves for another job. It’s a fresh start for everyone involved, and the program obtains a better-than-even chance of making an upgrade. This is what has happened at Vanderbilt, with […]

Texas Tech’s Devon Thomas is hoisted in the crowd after Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 65-63 in an NCAA basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Brad Tollefson) ORG XMIT: TXBT108

Texas Tech wins a classic mid-February bubble game

Wednesday night’s game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners wasn’t a classic in the sense of being the best basketball you’ve ever seen. This was not a remarkable showcase of hoops at the highest level, with Buddy Hield struggling (he’s human, ya know) and Texas Tech making only 10 of 17 […]

Alabama Arguments: you need luck, but the Tide have been uncommonly fortunate

It’s unavoidable — discussion of Nick Saban as the greatest head coach in college football’s 147-year history has already become a feature of 2016. It will become an even bigger talking point if, 11 months from now, Alabama returns to the College Football Playoff in search of a repeat title it will be favored to […]

Conference evaluation: The Big 12 leaves behind a season of regrets

The Big 12’s now-completed college football season is a trail of regret, littered with irony and aches and a sense of unfulfilled promise… even though the conference achieved its absolutely necessary goal of making the College Football Playoff. After the TCU-and-Baylor snub of 2014, the Big 12 had to make the playoff in 2015. The […]

2011 and other recent years remind us: early-November losses aren’t fatal

Saturday night’s annual early-November showcase between LSU and Alabama started slowly, enough to create thousands of references to the 2011 game between the two schools. If you follow college football on Twitter (as I do, using our Student Section account to live-tweet the action on Saturdays), you saw plenty of “9-6” or “2011” or “3-0 […]

Fireworks: a magical night of college football bursts into full color

This isn’t a hard-hitting analytical piece or a pointed commentary on some kind of crisis for a college football program. This isn’t a dissection of questionable endgame strategy or an examination of a coach whose career is spiraling downward. There is a time, amid the tumult and the shouting — immersed in the ever-present need […]

Oct 3, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Joe Hubener (8) is checked out by trainers after being injured against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The “wounded opponent” cliche is all too real for TCU

“There’s nothing more dangerous than a wounded opponent.” If that’s the case, Saturday’s Big 12 game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Kansas State Wildcats is going to be an extremely dangerous event. Bring your hazmat suits and goggles to protect against dangerous chemical spills, and wear extra padding on your arms so that […]

Mike Gundy, Brian Kelly, and end-of-half caution

In the latest episode of the college football drama “How Coaches Think,” we present a double affirmation of one particular coaching tendency that’s quite common… but doesn’t have to be. * Saturday witnessed all sorts of coaching missteps. Two particular mistakes were overshadowed — the first one because the coach made a more questionable decision […]

Big 12 Big Picture: The Centrality Of Schedule Rotations

The schedule — it’s a variable which constantly plays a part in shaping college football seasons. In the heyday of their rivalry, Miami played Florida State in the middle of October instead of late November. The Hurricanes clearly benefited from facing the Seminoles when they were still rounding into form. The schedule mattered in a […]

Bloguin Top 50: No. 44 — Kansas State

Kansas State Wildcats 2014 Record: 9-4 Overall, 7-2 Big 12 (lost bowl game) 1 Burning Question: How does Kansas State replace Jake Waters and Tyler Lockett? Replacing talent is something that is annually necessary with each college program. However, it is not always the case that a team has to replace staples to the program […]

Is This The Beginning Of The End For Bruce Weber At Kansas State?

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber enjoyed a great start to his tenure as the Wildcats’ head coach, winning a share of the Big 12 championship in 2013. However, the Wildcats finished fifth in the league last season and a disappointing eighth in 2015 after being picked fourth in the preseason. Weber is also yet […]

Tournament Time Reminds Us: Not All Endings Are Created Equal

‘Tis the season in college basketball — the season when seasons end. Once in a great while, a season headed for a dead end suddenly finds new life. Yes, this can apply to an NCAA tournament level of achievement, but only for a blueblood program such as Kentucky. For the Wildcats and other select programs, […]

The Top 5 College Basketball Stories From Saturday, February 28

It felt a little bit like March on the final day of February. We are now fully immersed in questions and debates pertaining to NCAA tournament selection, seeding and bracketing. The one-bid conferences are about to start their tournaments, with regular-season championships having been decided. There’s a lot of ground to cover in college basketball. […]

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