Top Posts
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It appears that the drama is finally over. After a couple of days worth of back and forth, Mike Anderson appears to have finally made a decision — he’s headed to Arkansas. There were rumors swirling this morning that he was leaning heavily towards Arkansas, and this afternoon Jeff Goodman and Sports by Brooks reported…
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“Who is Dan Shaughnessy and what does he do?” I kid you not, I asked myself that very question when this column popped up in my email. I’m a pretty well-rounded sports fan — I’ll watch anything from football to soccer and baseball to hockey — but I freely admit that the vast majority of…
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Butler’s won its last two NCAA tournament games by three points. Four of its five tourney wins last year were by seven points or less. So how does Brad Stevens get his guys to win those close games? “He does a great job, and our coaching staff does a great job, of getting us ready…
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Kentucky’s Brandon Knight and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft play the same position, but the freshmen hardly have the same roles. Knight is the Wildcats’ leading scorer and most important player, responsible for running the offense, taking over games when needed and forcing the defense to focus on him so his teammates have scoring opportunities. Craft…
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Josh Harrellson, Kentucky: Kentucky does not have a lot of size on its roster. In fact, unless Kentucky fans want to put their faith in Eloy Vargas, Harrellson is the only interior presence the Wildcats have on their roster. The 6-foot-11 senior plays the same role that Brian Zoubek played for Duke last season. He…
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It’s OK to cheer for your conference rival in the NCAA tournament. There’s money at stake, man! The NCAA awards cash (distributed over six years) for every game a team wins, paid back to the conference. Each conference has different rules for how it distributes it, but it’s usually spread out evenly among every member.…
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1. No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Kentucky: Ohio State is the best team in the country. But Kentucky may be the best collection of individual talent. Its creates an interesting dynamic for the game. Aaron Craft should be able to slow down Brandon Knight. Josh Harrellson will, at the least, make Jared Sullinger…
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The details: The East Region might be “tougher,” but the Southeast features four teams with legitimate shots to reach the Final Four, which makes it the most entertaining of the bunch. Both Sweet 16 matchups figure to be entertaining and close, while the regional final has compelling storylines no matter what teams are involved. Can Butler…
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Coach K will soon be the all-time wins leader. Do you care?
Mar 23, 2011, 9:30 AM EDT
They got Nolan, they got Kyle, and they got that precocious freshman named Kyrie. Yes, at full-strength, the Duke Blue Devils may be the favorite of this NCAA Tournament game, over both a well-rounded Ohio State and Kansas crew. So given the strengths of the latest edition of the Blue Devils why are we minimizing,…
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The details: The region where little went according to seed. Half of the region’s games ended up upsets, knocking out the likes of Notre Dame, Purdue, Louisville and Vanderbilt. Not that it’s a bunch of chumps. Florida State boasts the nation’s best defense, Richmond’s won nine straight games and nobody’s won more NCAA tournament games…
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Among the 16 coaches still in the NCAA tournament, six have won it all before. Nine have made the Sweet 16. Two have been to the Elite Eight and one’s back to the Sweet 16 for the second time. That leaves just four coaches making their first appearance in the regional semifinals. Not a bad…
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Duke’s players spent Monday night doing what most college students do – stay up real late. Coach’s orders. The Devils were a day removed from a last-second win over Michigan when Mike Krzyzewski ordered them to not go to bed. Sure, they could’ve used the sleep. But he was more concerned with them adjusting to…
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Everyone saw what Ohio State did during its first two NCAA tournament games. By any measure, the Buckeyes dominated unlike any other team. Scoring 86 points and winning by 31 points a game is nasty. And to do it over 124 possessions is just silly. That’s 1.4 points per possession for an efficiency margin of…
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Providence found its man to replace Keno Davis. And this time it’s going local. The Friars have hired Fairfield coach Ed Cooley, a Providence native, as its new men’s basketball coach, according to multiple sources and first reported by Jeff Borzello. Cooley, 41, has spent the past five seasons at Fairfield, going 92-69 overall. The…
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Anderson’s big money at Missouri means bigger expectations
Mar 22, 2011, 2:35 PM EDT
Missouri’s willing to shell out big bucks to ensure Mike Anderson doesn’t get lured away by another school (Arkansas’ name keeps popping up). Make that mega bucks. The Kansas City Star reports that the school will likely add three year to his existing five-year contract and bring his total compensation to $2 million a season.…
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VCU’s loving its role as the underdog du jour of the 2011 NCAA tournament. But unlike other surprising teams in the Sweet 16, the Rams might actually stick around for another round. Richmond plays Kansas. Butler faces Wisconsin. Neither are appealing matchups for Michael Ventre, who tabs VCU as the team most likely to continue…
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If March Madness were staged on Twitter, Duke wouldn’t get out of the first round. That’s according to a bracket pumped out by Empire Avenue, which is labeled a “social media exchange” because you can buy and sell virtual shares in social media profiles. I know. It sounds odd. Let’s have the folks over at…
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Studs – Kemba Walker, UConn: The UConn ringleader once again threw the Huskies on his back. He had 18 points, 12 assists, and eight boards in UConn’s opening round blowout of Bucknell. He followed that up with 33 points, grabbing six boards, and handing out five assists as the Huskies pulled away from Cincinnati in…
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There’s no defending the Big East’s NCAA tournament performance. The conference was deserving of 11 bids – Marquette was the “worst” of its tourney teams, and it’s still playing – but the way its top teams performed ensured it wouldn’t escape criticism. Pitt, Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse out before the Sweet 16? Nothing will…
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Zoubek was more crucial to Duke’s ’10 title than I ever knew
Mar 22, 2011, 9:55 AM EDT
Finally cracked the latest Sports Illustrated yesterday – something was occupying my time – and was delighted to find two things: a bracket that had the same issues as mind and a fantastic feature on the final moments of Duke’s win over Butler in last year’s NCAA tournament title game. Tim Layden’s article is more…
