Welcome to the postseason, folks. The 2012-2013 regular season is in the books, but it went out with a bang. It’s fitting that the final weekend of regular season hoops was littered with buzzer-beaters, blowouts, upsets and fireworks.
Let’s hit the links.
Top Stories:
Jim Boeheim’s postgame comments fuel retirement speculation: Following Georgetown’;s 61-39 destruction of Syracuse oN Saturday, Jim Boeheim provided some interesting quotes added more speculation to the rumors that the coaching icon may be retiring at the end of the season.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky get crucial victory over No. 11 Florida: Kentucky was running out of chances to position themselves on the right side of the bubble. But the Wildcats got a huge win over No. Florida on Saturday. The ‘Cats looked inspired and hungry, like a team desperate to make the NCAA tournament.
Temple in good NCAA tournament position after win over No. 21 VCU: The Owls played spoiler against VCU, thwarting the “Havoc” defense and squashing the Rams’ regular season A-10 title hopes. But in the process, the Owls may have cemented an at-large bid.
Cody Zeller’s reminder: Victor Oladipo isn’t Indiana’s only all-american: Indiana erased a late deficit to stun Michigan at home on Sunday in the Big Ten season finale. “The Big Handsome” led the way for the Hoosiers, scoring a game-high 25 points which included the game-winner with 13 seconds remaining.
Did Phil Pressey shoot Tennessee into the NCAA tournament? Phil Pressey is one of the nation’s elite point guards But shooting is not his forte. Despite this, Pressey is known for thinking he is a shooting guard. He did this on Saturday, and it may have helped an SEC foe work their way on to the right side of the bubble.
2013 Middle Tennessee = 2012 Drexel? Blue Raiders upset in Sun Belt semis: Middle Tennessee won the regular season Sun Belt title by a five-game margin, but fell to Florida International in the conference tournament semis. The Blue Raiders are a fringe bubble team who probably should not have let it go to “the judge’s decision”.
VIDEO: Wisconsin escapes Penn State with win on Traevon Jackson’s buzzer beater: Penn State nearly pulled off another shocker at home, but thanks to a buzzer-beater from Traevon Jackson (The son of former 2x B1G PoY Jim Jackson), Wisconsin stole a road victory in Happy Valley. Now THAT is how you pose.
VIDEO: Trevor Releford’s halfcourt buzzer-beater saves Alabama: The Crimson tide blew a 17-point first half lead at home to Georgia on Saturday. But Trevor Releford bailed his team out with a beautiful half-court buzzer-beater.
VIDEO: Kerron Johnson’s game-winner earns Belmont an autobid: Kerron Johnson, hit his second huge shot of the game with 1.2 seconds left to give Belmont, the Ohio Valley’s regular season champion, the conference’s automatic bid in their inaugural season as a member.
VIDEO: Todd Fletcher, Air Force down No. 12 New Mexico at buzzer: The Lobos are one of the top defensive teams in the countyr, yet blew a four-point in the final 16-seconds of the game, capped off by this 3-pointer from AFA’s Todd Fletcher.
VIDEO: Buzzer-beating Raiders have the Wright stuff in win over Detroit: Wright State stunned the reigning Horizon League Tournament Champions, thanks to a buzzer-beater from Miles Dixon.
VIDEO: Ryan Broekhoff sends Valpo to the Horizon title game at the buzzer: Another Horizon League semifinal, another buzzer-beater.
Observations & Insight:
- The best finish of the weekend came north of the border. Holland College went all “Reggie Miller winning time”. Make sure you watch this. You won’t be disappointed. (Eh Game)
- Both Manhattan and LIU-Brooklyn have a NCAA Tournament berth well within their sights, something that was not even on the radar two months ago. (College Hoops Digest)
- Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin was not happy that CBS cut away from the final minutes of the MVC championship game in order to start the Michigan-Indiana game. (Fox Sports)
- Minnesota is still alive for a NCAA tournament birth and yet people are already starting to pick out potential replacements for Tubby Smith. (From The Barn)
- The Atlantic-10 is gearing up for their first postseason tournament held at the Barclays Center. (New York Daily News)
- A brawl broke out in downtown Spokane on Saturday night, and witnesses say the assailiants were members of the USC basketball team. (Spokesman-Review)
- Shooting contest gaff costs student $50,000. (The Dagger)
- Brad Waldow tried to hand a recently displaced tooth to his head coach Randy Bennett. That’s nasty. (College Basketball Talk)
Video of the Day:
- Tom Crean to former-IU assistant (and current Michigan assistant) Jeff Mayer: “YOU WRECKED OUR PROGRAM”. (Eye on College Basketball)
Dunk of the Day:
Dez Wells is a freak. He pins a ball against the backboard at one end, and slams home a Dunk of the Year candidate at the other end. Shut it down. Game over.
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Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made it official on Thursday afternoon: he’ll be coaching Team USA basketball through at least the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. That’s been known for almost a week now. The interesting bit of news that came out of his press conference on Thursday afternoon had nothing to do with…
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I’m not sure there is a coach in the country that is better at developing players in his program than Bill Self at Kansas. Over the years, the best players that have come through Lawrence during his tenure have been moderately recruited — i.e. somewhere around the top 40 or top 50 of most lists…
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Bringing in ex-Gator Cody Larson worth the risk South Dakota State
May 23, 2013, 1:05 PM EDT
Cody Larson’s basketball career never got off the ground in Florida. After redshirting as a freshman, Larson was involved in a bizarre incident along with a team manager and Erik Murphy where he tried to break into a car after sneaking into a bar after closing time to inquire about a lost wallet. After being…
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It’s late May, it’s Thursday, and you don’t want to be paying attention at work when it’s nice out. So take 10 minutes and watch some dunks.
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Vanderbilt has made a change to their coaching staff, as Kevin Stallings went out and plucked Yanni Hufnagel off of Tommy Amaker’s staff at Harvard. “I couldn’t be more excited to join Coach Stallings and the rest of his outstanding staff here at Vanderbilt,” said Hufnagel. “Coach Stallings is not only recognized as one of…
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Michigan has no plans to part ways with Adidas at any point in the near future, according to a report from MLive.com. There had been some speculation in the last month that the Wolverines would end their contract with the apparel company because of the way that Adidas had handled a worker’s rights issue at…
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Kentucky phenoms choose 2013-14 preparation over other possibilities
May 22, 2013, 10:04 PM EDT
AP
As a recruiting class that has been hailed by some as the best in the history of college basketball, Kentucky’s incoming freshmen will receive a lot of attention throughout the 2013-14 campaign. And with the skills that players such as Julius Randle, Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson and James Young possess a number of…
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AP
A third player with eligibility remaining will not return to the BYU program next season, as it was reported that 6-8 forward Agustin Ambrosino will not be a member of the basketball program in 2013-14. Ambrosino, who played an average of 6.2 minutes in 31 games last season, joins Raul Delgado (transferring to Metro State)…
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UMKC head coach Kareem Richardson completes coaching staff
May 22, 2013, 7:07 PM EDT
One week ago UMKC announced the addition of a fourth player to the program, as 6-10 forward/center Isaac Kreuer will return to the Kansas City metropolitan area after spending last year at the Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas. According to the Kansas City Star, first-year head coach Kareem Richardson has filled out his coaching…
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Report: Elon to officially join Colonial Athletic Association Thursday
May 22, 2013, 5:55 PM EDT
AP
With the loss of four institutions the Colonial Athletic Association has some work to do on the realignment front. Apparently the league has found a new member, as it was reported by the Wilmington Star-News that Elon will officially join the CAA on Thursday. Elon has announced a press conference for 2:00 p.m. EST Thursday…
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Nate Robinson, other Washington greats to play in alumni game June 23
May 22, 2013, 4:44 PM EDT
University of Washington
On Tuesday, the University of Washington announced plans for an alumni basketball game to be held on June 23. Returning for the game will be former Husky stars such as Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson and Jon Brockman among many. Festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m., with there also being three-point and slam dunk competitions for…
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Will Yeguete out four months after another surgery on right knee
May 22, 2013, 3:10 PM EDT
Getty Images
Will Yeguete just cannot get healthy. The Florida forward missed the final nine games of his sophomore season with a broken foot and then had to sit out much of February after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee as a junior. He returned to play the final six games of the season. Yeguete underwent more…
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Is Antonio Barton the answer for any of the four schools chasing him?
May 22, 2013, 2:04 PM EDT
On Monday afternoon, former Memphis big man Tarik Black announced that he would transferring to Kansas where he’ll team up with Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid to give Bill Self the nation’s best non-Kentucky recruiting class and a shot at a national title. Black, who will be eligible immediately, may never end up…
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USA Basketball has released a list of 24 players that will be attending training camp in Colorado Springs from June 14th-19th to try and earn a spot on Team USA for the U19 championships, which take place in Prague from June 27th-July 7th. While there is some solid talent on that roster, it’s not necessarily…
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AP
It’s all-but official now: Mike Krzyzewski will be returning to coach Team USA in the 2014 World Championships in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. That’s according to a report from Pete Thamel of SI, who reported over the weekend that Coach K was strongly considering returning to head up the stars…
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Five-Star NC native Theo Pinson commits to North Carolina
May 22, 2013, 12:34 PM EDT
On Wednesday afternoon, five-star small forward Theo Pinson officially announced his intentions to stay in-state and attend North Carolina. The Greensboro, NC, native picked the Tar Heels over Indiana, Louisville, Georgetown and Duke. A 6-foot-6 athlete on the wing, Pinson is known for his ability to get up and down the floor and finish around…
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FBI: San Diego point-shaving scandal netted ‘more than $120,000′
May 22, 2013, 11:52 AM EDT
Getty Images
Back in March, former San Diego Torero Brandon Johnson, the school’s all-time leader in points and assists, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for his role in a point-shaving scheme during the 2009-2010 season back in March. Johnson was lucky; the state wanted to give him a year. He’ll begin serving his sentence…
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Memphis emerging as the leader to host the AAC tournament?
May 22, 2013, 10:38 AM EDT
The last that we had heard about the AAC tournament, Mohegan Sun was planning on cobbling together an offer to get bring the ‘old Big East’ to Connecticut to play out their league championship. That does not look like it’s going to end up happening, however. According to a report from the Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Kyle…
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Enosch Wolf’s suspension lifted, but no scholarship available at UConn
May 22, 2013, 9:47 AM EDT
AP
Enosch Wolf’s suspension from the UConn basketball team has officially been lifted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the 7-foot-1 German will be returning to Storrs next season. Wolf was suspended back in February as a result of a domestic dispute where he refused to leave a women’s apartment, pushed her and knocked her glasses…
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Renovations to Hinkle Fieldhouse to cost $34 million dollars
May 21, 2013, 9:52 PM EDT
AP
Butler will begin play in the Big East next season with Hinkle Fieldhouse, its home floor for more than 80 years under renovations that will cost up to $34 million dollars. The university believes the renovations will be complete around November 2014. “The important role our athletic programs have had within Butler’s strategy and national…
