In 1979 the Sycamores of Indiana State finished as runner-up in the NCAA tournament, losing to Michigan State and Magic Johnson. Indiana State, of course, was led by Larry Bird. In the 34 seasons since then, the Sycamores have won exactly one Missouri Valley Conference title, two MVC tournament titles, and have been the the […]

11. Syracuse The biggest knock on Syracuse is that they lost a ton of minutes. But the Orange roster is completely stacked.  They have a great balance of experience and youth, and like last year they’ll make their living on the offensive end by extending possessions. They return three players who all grabbed at least 9.6% […]

1. The West Georgia Wolves are a Division II team which finished 9-18 last year, including 4-12 in their conference. This is not a team which should be challenging any Division I team, much lesss one epected to finish right behind Kentucky and Florida in the SEC. This is a bit alarming for the Crimson […]

16. Virginia Commonwealth Shaka Smart has done a tremendous job building a deep and talented roster. That will be needed this year, not just to run his high effort system, but also to replace graduated seniors Troy Daniels and Darius Theus. Replacing Daniels' 3-point shooting will be a key to the season, as will replacing […]

21. Saint Louis The Atlantic 10 champs lost five scholarship players, but with the exception of 6-8 Cody Ellis, they were all role players. Four starters return for Jim Crews' 2nd year at the helm, and Saint Louis will be one of the most experienced teams in the nation. The seniors are likely to go […]

1. If you're wondering what Dixie State is, it is a Division II school located in St. George, Utah. The southwestern corner of Utah has a milder climate than the rest of the state, and the nickname "Utah's dixie" came from settlers growing cotton and other temperate crops. Famous alumni include John Moses Browning, and […]

One great thing about covering the NCAA is the never ending parade of stupid rules rising to the surface. In today's exhibition of dumbassery, Kansas Jayhawks junior guard Naadir Tharpe has been suspended for one game for playing in a summer league basketball game. Is it illegal to play in summer league games? Of course […]

So 47 college basketball players left school early, and “only” 27 of them made an NBA roster. This, according to the interwebs, is a grave issue that must be addressed. The concern is that somehow they’ve gotten terrible advice and would have been much better off staying in college. And to me – at least […]

Need a good read for the college basketball season? You're in luck. Here are some to get you through those nights when your team isn't playing. Prep Hoops The Miracle of St. Anthony, by Adrian Wojnarowski. If you're not familiar with the story of coach Bob Hurley, it goes something like this. He was a […]

The internet and sports history were made for each other. Unfortunately, Al Gore didn't invent the internets until most sports history had already occurred. So a great challenge (calling all interns) is to digitize what happened prior to the 1990s.  I've found several great sources over the past few years. But today I stumbled across […]