I don’t know if I can sugarcoat this: the ACC sucks this year. Yes, North Carolina starts the year as the prohibitive favorite to win the national title. And Duke is, well, Duke. But the ACC has been slowly trending downward over the past six years, as its 32 NCAA Tournament bids during that stretch—including some of the most questionable bids and seeds in that period—put it as the No. ...

Unless you are a Wisconsin alum, from the Big Ten or a former coach, you may not much enjoy watching the Wisconsin Badgers play basketball. Since Bo Ryan arrived as coach, they have always been good and pretty much a lock to contend in the Big Ten before booking a trip for a few games in the NCAA Tournament, but they don’t win pretty. What, you need proof? Exhibit ...

Arizona had its chance at winning a national title last year with an Elite 8 matchup against eventual champion Connecticut. After knocking off Texas and Duke in the previous two rounds, they came up a few points short against the Huskies in a 65-63 nail-biter as a 3.5-point underdog. Nonetheless, it was a very successful season for this perennial PAC-12 power, earning a regular ...

After making it to three straight Finals Fours, the UCLA Bruins had a down year in 2009-10, going 14-18 and missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons. But last year, after a slow start, UCLA bounced back and made a return appearance to the Big Dance. This year the Bruins look like they've got the (big) bodies in place for another run toward a ...

Rick Pitino is a really good college basketball coach. If you didn’t already know that before last year, the success of the 2010-11 Louisville Cardinals should have made that clear. Louisville wasn’t in the preseason top 25 last year. In fact, they didn’t even receive a single vote in the preseason polls. Most publications had Louisville pegged somewhere between the 50th and 60th spot ...

"Cancer might've taken my leg, but it can't take my smile," said Wayman Tisdale as he smiled while holding his bass guitar. This is how he approached life—he smiled while playing his music.I was one of the lucky few to be given a chance to watch the advance screener on the Wayman Tisdale story. And it was a privileged look on a person who gave so much and expected nothing in return.Wayman was an All-American, ...

Dixie State College out of St. George, Utah put a scare into BYU Cougar fans in Friday night’s exhibition game in the Marriott Center in Provo. BYU took almost two minutes and 30 seconds to dent the scoreboard, while Dixie exploded out to a 12-2 lead.  Watching BYU claw their way back into a game that should not have been close reminded the fans just how far this team has to go. Chris Collinsworth was all over the court, ...

Head Coach Cuonzo Martin may have found the glue for his Tennessee Volunteers, and he’s not even a scorer. Power forward Jeronne Maymon, a 6’7”, 265-pound junior transfer out of Marquette, held the Volunteers together in the team’s 73-52 exhibition win over Carson Newman Thursday night. Maymon scored only 10 points but added 15 rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes for the Vols. He also forced a few charging fouls. Granted, Carson Newman, a ...

Aaron Rodgers threads the needle on a TD pass to Packers teammate Jermichael Finley.  Man U's Wayne Rooney finds the back of the net– three times–against hated rival Arsenal.  Evan Longoria of Tampa Bay finishes off the Red Sox with a game-winning homer–against the Yankees –on the last day of the season. Twitter explodes. Sports fandom is meant to be shared.  People may discuss their favorite movies or TV shows or books with a certain degree ...

Last season, the Wisconsin Badgers—led by Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor—had an impressive regular season in the Big Ten, going 13-5 in conference play en route to the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament.Once they got to the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, things turned for the worst. In just their first game in the conference tournament, the Badgers were stunned by Penn State 36-33. This year, however, things seem to be lined up ...