0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/23/2015
North Carolina State’s upset of Villanova marked the most significant upset from the round of 32 in this year’s NCAA tournament. Seeing a tournament upset authored by Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried and his N.C. State team reminds us that the man and the school have both participated in other significant first-weekend upsets in recent NCAA […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch on 3/21/2015
Yesterday during Wichita State’s narrow victory over Indiana, CBS analyst Chris Webber joked (?) that Kansas was scared to play Wichita State and that the Jayhawks were ducking the Shockers. Joke or not, that sentiment has poured out of Wichita (conveniently only in the last couple years) and now the national media seems to be […]
Virginia’s legitimacy was questioned during the 2014 ACC season. The Cavaliers are not doubted as much this year, but if they falter against Duke on Saturday, they certainly will be viewed with fresh skepticism.
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/14/2015
A tradition unlike any other: Single conference-tournament results unleashing an explosion of debate about No. 1 seeds. No, that’s not Jim Nantz — that’s just reality. Every year, there’s at least one conference tournament result, typically a quarterfinal or semifinal, which ignites a debate about the No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Friday […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch on 3/11/2015
The Big 12 tournament kicks off today, but really does not start in earnest until Thursday with the quarterfinals. The bottom four teams in the league are relegated to the opening round games, which pits Texas against Texas Tech, and Kansas State against TCU, with the Longhorns needing at least a win to feel good […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 3/4/2015
Pundits, websites, and television commentators — in sports but also politics and other realms of human endeavor — will frequently exaggerate. Some of this is intentional (click-bait, ratings, starting conversations, etc.), but there comes a point in time when people paid to analyze a given field of activity really do believe in an extreme position. […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
Tuesday night, the Kansas Jayhawks won the outright Big 12 championship most people thought they’d win all along, present company very much included. Death. Taxes. Bill Self winning the Big 12. It’s part of the air we breathe in college basketball, as regular as your morning coffee or six timeouts in the final two minutes […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/18/2015
Monday’s Kansas-West Virginia game is, like many other single games in a season with thousands of them, receding into memory. If Iowa State can surge in the next few weeks, the Mountaineers’ upset of the Jayhawks might affect the final Big 12 standings and become more memorable in the course of time. Yet, for fans […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 2/12/2015
When two iconic figures die within a week’s time, it’s hard for the larger community of human beings to find the space and clarity that are needed to fully recognize the contributions of both people, now gone. How much more difficult it is, then, when two iconic figures die within a week’s time… and they […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch on 1/28/2015
The Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball this season. The league has an average KenPom rating of .8507, by far the best in the country. 8 of the 10 teams in the league are in the KenPom top 50, and 9 are in the top 100. Perhaps it’s no coincidence, then, that […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 1/25/2015
A total of 137 games were played on Saturday. What five stories emerged from the pack? Here they are: * 5 – DAVIDSON AND DAYTON AVOID BAD LOSSES There is a difference between a quality win and a bad loss, between making a tangible gain and avoiding a huge step backward. For the Davidson Wildcats […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 1/24/2015
Showing the maturity of a team beyond its years on the roster, Kansas picked up a huge road win over Texas Saturday. This was a strong bounce-back after falling to Iowa State just a week earlier for its first Big 12 loss. That setback in Ames against the Cyclones exposed some weaknesses and possibly a […]
0 comments by Steve Fetch on 1/22/2015
When I watch a college basketball game, I’m not one of those people who pays much attention to who is announcing the game, what the scorebug on the TV looks like, or most other aesthetics. However, one thing I do love to see is the different court designs. Perhaps that’s why I hate how the […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 1/18/2015
Did Saturday’s battle in Ames, Iowa, show a changing of the guard at the top of the Big 12? The answer is not necessarily, but after the Kansas dynasty has claimed 10 straight conference crowns, Iowa State made a statement with its victory over the Jayhawks on Saturday. The past three years, Iowa State is […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 12/12/2014
What a difference three weeks make. When Kansas fell to Kentucky by 32 points over three weeks ago, and the Wildcats blocked as many shot attempts as the Jayhawks saw go through the net, panic for this reloaded Kansas squad set in. However, victories over Rhode Island, Tennessee and Florida at home; over Michigan State […]
0 comments by Ryan Palencer on 11/19/2014
The Champions Classic in Indianapolis Tuesday night was just that — it felt like a collection of heavyweights, and the product in no way disappointed… unless you’re a member of Rock Chalk Nation. The matinee, featuring Duke and Michigan State, gave us an opportunity to see a Blue Devil team that has nine McDonald’s All-Americans, […]
