We're now entering the final quarter of the college basketball season. Talk of bubbles, dancing, RPI, strength of schedule and Cinderella will soon dominate the conversation (if they haven't begun to already). But there is one storyline of futility that still exists. Alcorn State and Bryant entered last weekend being the only two winless teams in Division I. The Braves finally took care of business, defeating Mississippi Valley State 55-54 at ... Read More

For all the hoopla last weekend's Harvard-Cornell game got, the Crimson haven't lived up to their end of the Ivy League bargain. It was a glorious start, the best in school history, but life in this League mean one loss weighs as much as five wins. After Tommy Amaker's team lost 63-53 last night at home to Princeton, a team that is 13-5 overall. Harvard made a frenzied come back, but ... Read More

Hey, I love me some Kalin Lucas. I think he's just about everything Scottie Reynolds claims to be. But is he in Mateen Cleaves' league?

This broke Wednesday, so I apologize for being tardy with it. In a move that will have the tiniest of ripple effects, the University of New Orleans officially got permission to withdraw from the Sun Belt Conference, effective July 1. The move had to be made because the university simply can't afford to have Division I athletics in a post-Katrina New Orleans. In a really classy move, the Sun Belt Conference had a ... Read More

Let's get right to it. Syracuse falling by 10 at home to Pittsburgh, 82-72, was probably the biggest story of the day. While at the URI-Oklahoma State game, people's reaction of this was a collective double-take. Syracuse fans, some of the most pessimistic-yet-righteous fans of all, actually want to lay blame on the officials for this one. Kansas made the biggest statement Saturday. Temple likes to keep the points low, it just ... Read More

Thought about this as soon as UConn was jobbed of a chance at overtime last night. And although we're about three weeks away from the first edition of "Dancing on the Bubble," I did want to bring one small team to your attention. Consider the resume: Nine straight wins after an 0-2 start. The losses came against Connecticut and Harvard. Harvard is no slouch this season. Bill & Mary has a seven-point ... Read More

What surprises you? Each year, the unexpected happens in one capacity or another, so what really curls your ear or crooks your eye? Hopefully, I've got a few things listed below that will do one or the other. Though the ear thing is a bit harder over the Internet. Have you been paying attention to hoops closely, or are you now just starting to visit sites like this one because college ... Read More

If you read this site it means you follow college hoops with a FERVOR. (For that, I thank you.) And with that fervor comes knowledge. So it's no surprise to you that Kentucky is on the precipice of becoming the first team in the history of college basketball to win 2,000 games. The school that has been to the Final Four 13 times, won seven national titles, won 25 SEC titles, has ... Read More

Have always thought Sports Illustrated tries to put stuff out there for the sake of being contrarian. This choice I don't quite get. North Carolina and Florida seem like the only two choices, really, and I totally get and respect what Tom Izzo and Michigan State have been able to do in the past 10 years, but how do you justify putting Sparty above the Heels and the only back-to-back title winners ... Read More

Kentucky started its game Saturday afternoon against the Tar Heels with the same amount of speed that the thoroughbreds its state is known for when said horsies burst out of the gate at Churchill Downs. After John Wall's ridiculous reverse layup (video STILL not available online), I turned to my brother and said we were watching, far and away, the most exciting team in college basketball. UK would eventually cool off ... Read More

Has a national championship softened this group? It looks it. Carolina has the natural talent to sleepwalk to 20 wins, but if this team entered The Tournament playing the way it is now, it would be riper than a Georgia peach for an upset.

Many believe that Thanksgiving week has become almost as much about the college basketball tournaments the football. Those people are wrong. Still, I love these get-togethers. As the week begins, you put off as much work as possible and prepare for Black Friday, here's a few quick-hit thoughts on all the overwhelming basketball that's about to go down. Which is your favorite? Maui kind of doesn't count, because it's clearly ... Read More

The Big West has to be really pissed. Yes, another one joins the fray. So run-of-the-mill, so predictable (can we stop making Division-I conferences already) and so, so terrible. And this collection of teams houses the worst of 'em all. Yep, historic N.J.I.T — located in that fabled, far-off western land known as NEW JERSEY — which once made it through an entire season without a win. A mark we all hope ... Read More

Becuase many think MSU is the weakest of the two-seeds, Kansas isn't the team it was last year, Wake Forest appeared to have peaked and Utah is considered the only fraud among five-seeds, most believe Louisville can skip and saunter to Detroit. It's that kind of thinking that gets you burned. Rick Pitino rarely stumbles in March, but how tired is this team? Some have entertained Ohio State stealing the ... Read More

Lotta teams you want to see in this bracket. UNC. 'Cuse. Butler. Gonzaga. Arizona State. Western Kentucky. Even if there are not a lot of upsets in this region, there is a reason to get to the set and tune in. Plus, these games look to shake up as close ones. A regional final of Griffin-Hansbrough would be nice, but Gonzaga-Syracuse would also get a huge draw. Upset we're all ... Read More

You've got Duke at a two again. Last year, it was No. 7 West Virginia who took out the Blue Devils after Belmont couldn't quite close the door. If Texas gets by Minnesota, that might be another bad matchup for Coach K. Duke-Binghamton gets the late tip Thursday night, FYI. But the Okie State-Tennessee tilt goes live early Friday, so try and get to a TV set (Marquette-Utah State will ... Read More

Not a lot of talk this year about which region is the toughest. Many believe the weakest is the West, though. I see opportunity for a lot of teams. And I'm intrigued by the BYU-A&M rematch. You know Maryland and Cal have played in a 7/10 game before as well, so plenty of deja vu to go around in this quadrant. Missouri gets to prove it's for real, and a ... Read More

The Zips. What a name. Part of the MAC. Remember when the MAC was the next big mid-major conference a decade ago? No more. The last time Akron put together a three-game winning streak was the begining of February. Not a good sign. The Vitals: »Record: 23-12, 11-6 MAC. »RPI: 108 »Best win: @ Niagara. »Worst loss:  @Northern Illinois. »Notable stat: teams shoot less than 30 percent from 3-point-range. »Only Tournament appearance: —1986 (15-seed): L first round to ... Read More