If Syracuse wins in Boston tonight, Jim Boeheim will not only prop up his reputation, but he will prove his resilience in the most tested season he has ever faced as head coach of the Orange.Certainly the statistics of what he will achieve should not be overlooked or undersold.A win tonight would be the 891st of Boeheim's career. He currently stands at No. 7 on the all-time win list and is within striking distance of Bob Knight's ...

Although the 2012 edition of March Madness has not given us the heroic buzzer-beaters we have come to expect, it has certainly made up for it in another fashion: upsets. Considering the shockers we have observed so far, we are likely to see a champion who would not surprise anyone in the least. We witnessed No. 2 seeds Duke and Missouri fall victim to their underrated competition within just a few hours of each other. ...

It has been a season of adversity for the Syracuse Orange. The drama on and off the court that the Orange have faced would have destroyed most teams' seasons, but the Orange have persevered. Now they find themselves one game away from the Final Four. Only Ohio State stands in their way.The Buckeyes of Ohio State have had to fight through the toughest conference in college basketball all season. They are battle tested and ready ...

Baylor took to the court on Friday night to prove they are legitimate contenders for a national title in a win over Xavier.The Bears came flying out of the gate, showcasing a ravenous desire to win. Baylor went on a 20-4 run that included four steals.That start was huge for the Bears. It gave them control of the game, and even though Xavier kept inching within striking distance, Baylor still had the mental upper hand.The ...

While every team that has reached the Elite Eight received solid contributions from their star players and will need to continue to get that in order to advance to the Final Four, they need good supporting casts as well. As important as the stars are, it is often a role player that makes the defining play of a big game or turns in a performance to remember.Every Elite Eight team has unheralded players in their ...

For Cal basketball fans, it won’t be easy to forget the exploits of graduating senior point guard Jorge Gutierrez. The hair, the hustle, the grit and the passion all helped Jorge win the hearts of the Haas Pavilion faithful over the course of his career.That said, a skinny sharp-shooting transfer from America’s heartland named Ricky Kreklow might serve to ease some of the Jorge separation anxiety.   Ricky Kreklow grew up in Columbia, Missouri—not exactly ...

The North Carolina Tar Heels (32-5) will be underdogs for just the second time this season when taking on the Kansas Jayhawks (30-6) in the Elite Eight round of the 2012 NCAA tournament inside the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.Las Vegas oddsmakers had little choice but to establish the Tar Heels as 2.5-point underdogs due to the right wrist injury suffered by starting point guard Kendall Marshall in their Round of 32 victory over ...

It was another fantastic day of madness at the tournament in the first day of the Round of 32. It was all chalk today, but that doesn't mean there was a lack of excitement. Almost every game was in doubt into the closing minutes. In the end, the favorites all won, and this sets up for some powerhouse matchups in the Sweet 16. Check out this slideshow for a recap of all of the day's excitement. Begin Slideshow

With 16:28 to go in the second half of the NCAA Tournament game, the score was tied 42-42.  Iowa State's Royce White (a former Kentucky commitment for Calipari) looked unstoppable, and the momentum had swung towards the Cyclones.That all changed when Kentucky went on a scoring rampage, knocking down shot after shot. Iowa State went nearly eight full minutes without making a field goal.  When the dust cleared from this very physical basketball game, the ...

With 40 minutes of inspired basketball, Aaron Craft proved exactly why the Ohio State Buckeyes are as dangerous as any team in the country.The sophomore point guard wreaked havoc against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, dominating the game on both ends of the floor.He played his trademark in-your-face defense, using his strength and peskiness to annoy the hell out of Gonzaga's ball-handlers. Craft harassed Kevin Pangos all game long, holding the star freshman to 3-of-13 shooting.However, his ...