Archives › Rob Dauster
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You may know the name DJ Cooper, but unless you are a Georgetown fan, no one would blame you if you confused Ohio’s diminutive point guard with our country’s most notorious fugitive. In the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Cooper, then just a freshman, had 23 points, eight assists and three steals to lead the Bobcats to…
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Missouri’s season is not yet over. They are not satisfied, not by any stretch of the imagination. The first thing that Kim English said in his postgame interview on ESPN was “We’ve got more work to do.” Winning the Big 12 Tournament with a 90-75 victory against a resurgent Baylor team is great, and I’m…
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I really want to stay on the Duke bandwagon. I’m trying my hardest to do it, but after the No. 6 Blue Devils’ 62-59 loss to No. 17 Florida State in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Saturday evening, I’m finding it harder and harder to do so. Look, I know that Duke has their…
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After a 71-64 win over St. Louis in the Atlantic 10 semifinals, Xavier’s got that look about them right now. Coming off of a come-from-behind win over Dayton on Friday, Xavier jumped out to a lead that reached as much as 13 points early in the second half against St. Louis on Saturday evening. The…
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Read through the rest of the NCAA Tournament Cheat Sheets here. Conference: Southland Coach: Pat Knight Record: 23-11, 11-5 (3rd) Rankings and Ratings: – Kenpom: 110 – RPI: 115 – AP/Coaches: Unranked Seeding?: The Cardinals are probably looking at a 16 seed with the potential for ending up in the First Four. They do have a…
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NC State probably got hosed. CJ Leslie, who was in the middle of having a great game for the Wolfpack, fouled out with eight minutes left after two questionable calls in a row. NC State was down five at the time, but they managed to scrap all the way back to tie the game in…
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Read through the rest of the NCAA Tournament Cheat Sheets here. Conference: America East Coach: John Becker Record: 22-11, 13-3 (2nd) Rankings and Ratings: – Kenpom: 127 – RPI: 153 – AP/Coaches: Unranked Seeding?: Vermont looks to be destined for a 15 or 16 seed based on their RPI and their lack of quality wins. Names…
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It’s fitting, really. In the final Big East Tournament of the modern era (and, yes, I am allowed to call it the modern era because), no one from the original Big East made it to the tournament final. Cincinnati knocked off both Syracuse and Georgetown while Louisville drubbed both Marquette and Notre Dame en route…
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The Mountain West Conference has been one of the most competitive leagues in the country all season long. While three teams appeared to separate themselves from the pack, the conference ended up with enough balance to possibly send a fourth team dancing because winning on the road in the league was borderline impossible. Keep that…
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Here’s the ironic thing about the Pac-12: they did everything that they were supposed to do if this was to turn into a one-bid league. Washington lost in the first round of the conference tournament. Cal lost a day later. The automatic bid will end up in the hands of either Arizona or Colorado, two…
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Nevada among conference champs to lose; does system need changing?
Mar 10, 2012, 11:50 AM EDT
The most frustrating part about this season’s NCAA Tournament is not that the bubble is equal parts weak and confusing. No, the biggest issue this year is the fact that so many quality mid-major teams are going to end up in the NIT thanks to a poor performance in their conference tournaments. The latest victim…
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Unfortunately, the matchup that everyone had hoped would materialize — Kansas vs. Missouri, Rd. III — didn’t happen. With everything surrounding the first two games between the two teams and Missouri’s impending move to the SEC, I think the entirety of the college basketball watching world that isn’t affiliated with Baylor or Texas was hoping…
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Did Durand Scott’s suspension cost Miami a trip to the Big Dance?
Mar 10, 2012, 9:38 AM EDT
I wonder if Durand Scott would have been the difference? That’s what every Miami basketball fan (there aren’t many of them) is going to be asking themselves over the course of the next two days. As it stands, Miami’s 82-71 loss to No. 17 Florida State is probably a killer for their at-large hopes. They…
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All of a sudden, the Conference USA title game is loaded with intrigue. Heading into the tournament, this league was looking very much like Memphis and everyone else. With Marshall’s return to mediocrity during conference play and Southern Miss taking a nosedive late in the season, the only real challenger that the Tigers appeared to…
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In perhaps the biggest bubble game on Friday, Xavier staged a late-rally to beat Dayton 70-69 in the final Atlantic 10 quarterfinal matchup. Tu Holloway led the way with 21 points and five assists, which isn’t all that notable — he had 32 the last time these two teams got together — until you consider…
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Tennessee’s bubble bursts, Ole Miss lives to fight another day
Mar 9, 2012, 10:30 PM EDT
In what amounted to an elimination game, Ole Miss got the benefit of a friendly whistle at the end of overtime as they managed to hold on and beat Tennessee 77-72 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss had already allowed Tennessee sharp-shooter Skylar McBee to get enough space to knock down a…
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Durand Scott suspended for accepting impermissible benefits
Mar 9, 2012, 9:47 PM EDT
Miami guard Durand Scott has been suspended for tonight’s ACC quarterfinal matchup with Florida State. According to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com, Scott’s suspension is similar to the suspension of Reggie Johnson a week ago. He received impermissible benefits while the Hurricanes were being coached by Frank Haith and the NCAA has deemed him ineligible. Scott…
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Trevor Mbakwe is one of the best big men in the Big Ten, if not the country. He represented the United States in the World University Games over the summer. That’s pretty good. Unfortunately for the bruising, 6’8″ power forward, he tore his acl back in November, ending his season before it started. Now, I’ve…
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NC State got a win they absolutely had to have on Friday afternoon, riding the coattails of CJ Leslie (19 points, 14 boards, three assists) and Lorenzon Brown (15 points, eight assists) to a 67-64 win over Virginia. The result creates an incredibly interesting bubble scenario. A few weeks ago, NC State was dead in…
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No. 4 North Carolina cruised relatively easily to an 85-69 win over Maryland in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Atlanta on Friday afternoon. “Easily” and “unscathed” are not the same thing, however. John Henson, UNC’s starting center and the most dominant defensive presence in the ACC, got fouled hard on a drive to…
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Its Bloody Friday in the Big Ten. Before the Big Ten Tournament’s quarterfinals are even halfway over, we’ve already had a sixth of the league’s head coaches fired. Earlier this morning, it was Bruce Weber that got the axe. This afternoon it was Nebraska head coach Doc Sadler, who was fired after going 12-18 and…
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The quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament kicked off in exciting fashion on Friday afternoon as eight-seed UMass upset conference champion Temple 77-71. The Minutemen got 20 points and 10 assists from point guard Chaz Williams while Jesse Morgan added 21 points as their defense forced 22 Temple turnovers. The No. 21 Owls are not…
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I’ll never understand what a coach thinks he’s going to do by popping off in the media about his team’s tournament standing. We don’t have any control over what teams get into the bracket. All the press conference whining does is provide me with a source of entertainment. Tim Cluess is Iona’s head coach. When…
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Its official: Verdell Jones has a torn ACL. His season, quite obviously, is over. His career is as well. Jones is a senior that spent three years toiling away as Indiana struggled to field a competitive team. Now, he will miss his only chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. “This is heartbreaking news,” said…
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That didn’t take long. Not even 24 hours after Illinois got knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament, Bruce Weber got fired as their head coach. He will not coach the team should they make the NIT. The question now becomes who replaces Weber? The guy that everyone has on a list right now is…
