Best of Basketball

The very best (and sometimes worst) the game has to offer.

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First Four Picks

Here are my picks for the First Four games tonight.

Fair Dick (hehe) Wichita St.

O and Creighton over bama in the NIT

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Nice night to snuggle up and watch the Creighton game. Go Jays!

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Happy Thanksgiving! I’m ready for food, football, food, family, food, and of course basketball. O did I mention food?

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College basketball starts... Now!

Eastern Michigan takes on Vermont on ESPN 3. The March to Madness begins in November, the second most wonderful time of the year. Enjoy the first day of the college basketball season.

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Oakland’s Ugly Court

Oakland University released images of their new “Black Top” court last week as the trend of using playing services as  “branding tools” trends out of hand. We have seen many courts this year with the city’s skyline along the sideline and whatever UCF was trying to do, but the “Black Top” might make college basketball even harder to watch. Though by itself it looks cool, but watching a televised game will hurt the eyes.

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Orange is the New Barnes

Former Texas coach Rick Barnes has a thing for the color orange apparently, as he accepted the head coaching position at Tennessee. This will be Barnes third school in a row where one of the primary colors is orange. Before he was at Texas, Barnes was the head coach of Clemson. If things don’t go well in Knoxville, we might expect Oregon State or Illinois to be the next stop for Barnes.

On a more serious note, this is a great move by both parties. Barnes is a proven winner at big conference schools and the Vols needed someone to help them forget about Bruce Pearl. In a weak SEC we should expect a quick and successful turnaround.

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Who got the Final Four correct? This guy did.

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Wisconsin player Nigel Hayes whispers comment into hot mic about a woman in the press room, realizes the whole room heard him.

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Larry Bird doesn't do as much ball handling in one night as you do in an hour.

Del Griffith

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All Name Team (Second Team)

1. Scoochie Smith - Dayton

Schoochie made a name for himself last year in the tournament when he fueled Dayton’s run into the Elite 8.

2. Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. - Michigan State

Not only is the name Lourawls awesome, but the fact the he goes by “Tum Tum” is even better. 

3. Sir Washington - Eastern Washington

I don’t know what makes his name better. The fact that his father named him “Sir” or that he plays for Eastern Washington

4. Myles Davis - Xavier

If D’in up in your opponents pants is cool consider me Myles Davis. The Birth of Cool in the clutch.

5. Zach Brown - Wichita State

The Zach Brown Band got their shot at Kansas and “Chicken Fried” the Jayhawks in Omaha.

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There needs to be a rule against both teams being able to wear highlighter uniforms.

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First Four Picks

Manhattan over Hampton BYU over Ole Miss Robert Morris over North Florida Dayton over Boise State

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Predicted Tournament Teams by Conference

*Teams in bold represent automatic bids

American

SMU

Cincinnati

Temple

Tulsa

American East

Albany

ACC

Notre Dame

Virginia

Duke

Louisville

North Carolina

Miami

North Carolina State

A-10

VCU

Davidson

Dayton

Atlantic Sun

North Florida

Big 10

Wisconsin

Maryland

Michigan State

Purdue

Iowa

Ohio State

Big 12

Iowa State

Kansas

Oklahoma

Baylor

West Virginia

Big East

Villanova

Georgetown

Butler

Providence

St. John’s

Xavier

Big Sky

Eastern Washington

Big South

Coastal Carolina

Big West

UC Irvine

Colonial

Northeastern

C-USA

UAB

Horizon

Valparaiso

Ivy

Harvard

Metro

Manhattan

Mid American

Buffalo

MEAC

Hampton

Missouri Valley

Northern Iowa

Wichita State

Mountain West

Wyoming

Boise State

San Diego State

Colorado State

NEC

Robert Morris

Ohio Valley

Belmont

Murray State

Pac 12

Arizona

Oregon

Utah

Patriot

Lafayette

SEC

Kentucky

Arkansas

Georgia

LSU

Southland

Stephen F. Austin

Southern

Wofford

Summit

North Dakota State

Sun Belt

Georgia State.

SWAC

Texas Southern

West Coast

Gonzaga

BYU

WAC

New Mexico State

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Tourney Teams

These bubble teams needed to do work in their conference tournaments. Find out who accomplished what they needed to do and those who fell short.

American

Tulsa - (In) Losing to UConn in the quarterfinals could have hurt them if the Huskies would have gone on to win the American Conference Tournament and take their sport.

ACC

North Carolina State - (In) Beating Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC tourney gave them that 20th win that solidified their bid.

Miami - (In) Beating Virginia Tech was probably the boast they needed in order to go dancing.

Atlantic 10

George Washington - (Out) The win over Duquesne might be enough for them to squeak in, but probably not.

Big 10

Illinois - (Out) The first round loss to Michigan was the nail in the coffin

Indiana - (Out) Beating Northwestern in the tourney got them to 20 wins which might be enough, but they will probably fall short.

Big 12

Texas - (Out) In a previous post I said the Longhorns needed to win the Big 12 conference tournament. They didn’t.

Big East

Xavier - (In) After beating Butler and Georgetown in the Big East Tourney they punched their ticket to “The Dance”.

Mountain West

Wyoming - (In) Won their conference tournament on their home court.

Pac 12

UCLA - (Out) The win over USC in the tourney got them to 20 wins which might be enough, but there are too many other quality teams ahead of them.

SEC

Texas A&M - (Out) Their second round loss to Auburn will have them sitting out this dance.

Ole Miss - (Out) The second round loss to South Carolina has the Rebs sitting this one out with the Aggies.

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Springing into The Madness

The weather is getting nicer, the sun is out later, and tournament play isin full force. What is not to like about the transition into spring? For the casual basketball fan this week before "The Big Dance" is overlooked. 

What the casual fan lets pass by, the diehard cherishes, as this time of year brings about a different type of basketball. A style that is more desperate yet reserved. Urgent yet reined. You will see teams who have dominated their conference all year, play tentative, terrified to make a mistake that will cost them their "One Shinning Moment". What they don't realize is that their fear has already stolen away their dreams.  

For as much as those top seeds are frightened to lose. The other half has nothing to lose, which brings about this loose confidence that can fuel a tournament run. End of year tournaments seem to trigger this switch in players and coaches minds that help them realize "this" game is your last, so you better win. 

There is one great equalizer though, the championship game. You win this and you're in. Now both teams are feeling the pressure of being so close to their dreams. The underdog has just caught that car they have been chasing down the street. The question remains… Did they get too close and ran over? Or do they pull the driver out, hop in, and head off into the sunset?

As your brain tries to wrap itself around that last metaphor, just sit back, relax, and let yourself slip slowly into the madness that is March. But don’t worry; your basketball induced coma should fade away towards the end of April. 

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Weekend Viewing Schedule (3/7/15)

For the last week of the regular season, here are the games you will want to watch. There are even a few on Sunday, including a conference championship:

12p ET

#21 Butler @ #24 Providence (FSN)

Michigan State @ Indiana (ESPN)

Seton Hall @ Georgetown (FOX)

Pitt @ Florida State (ESPN2)

2p ET

St. John's @ #4 Villanova (FOX)

LSU @ #18 Arkansas (ESPN)

Xavier @ Creighton (Fox Sports 2)

4p ET

#9 Kansas @ #15 Oklahoma (ESPN)

Georgian @ Auburn (SEC)

4:30p ET

Illinois @ Purdue (BTN)

6:30p ET

#2 Virginia @ #16Louisville (ESPN)

9p ET

#3 Duke @ #19 North Carolina (ESPN)

Sunday 3/8/15

2:30p ET

USC Upstate vs. North Florida

3:00p ET

Tulsa @ #22 SMU (ESPN)

4:30p ET

#6 Wisconsin @ #23 Ohio State (CBS)

7:30p ET

#10 Maryland @ Nebraska (BTN)

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Teams with Work to Do

March is upon us, the smaller conference tournaments have begun, and the larger conferences are finishing up regular season play this week. This is when the madness begins and those teams on the "Bubble" have to make their statement. For these teams looking to punch their ticket to the "Big Dance" here is what they need to do.

ACC

Pitt. - Beat Miami tonight or win at Florida State on Saturday.

Miami - Win at Pitt tonight or win at Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Big East

Georgetown - Win at Seton Hall on Saturday.

Big Ten

Purdue - Win at Michigan State tonight or beat Illinois on Saturday.

Michigan State - Beat Purdue tonight or win at Indiana on Saturday.

Indiana - Beat Michigan State on Saturday.

Big 12

Texas - Win the Big 12 Conference tournament next week.

Pac 12

Stanford - Win at Arizona State tomorrow and win at Arizona on Saturday.

SEC

Georgia - Win at Auburn on Saturday.