It’s relatively easy to pick out teams who aren’t playing well.  The signs are obvious, like losing at home to Presbyterian.  Or wearing a jersey that says UCLA.  You get the idea. But ultimately the question is why are the teams playing poorly, and that’s what I intend to find out through this series.  In […]

This was the year. The year Northwestern was going to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. As the ‘Cats came off of their winningest season in school history all the pieces were there — kind of. Four starters were back, including an ever-improving John Shurna whose ability to drive inside […]

Purdue 76, Miami 65 (Big Ten leads 3-1) Without Reggie Johnson Miami is going to struggle, and they did tonight allowing 1.21 points per possession to Purdue. Robbie Hummel led the Boilermakers with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Purdue came into the game #2 in the nation at taking care of the ball, and only […]

0: Number of Duke players averaging more than 18 minutes but less than 28. Duke has primarily gone with a 5-man rotation and all of them are averaging between 28.6 and 32.9 minutes. Only two other players are playing double digit minutes. Ohio State has nine players which average double digit minutes. 4: Wins for Thad […]

My first inclination when writing this was to simply post Ken Pomeroy’s tweet from Sunday night where he claimed “The ACC basically has no chance” and move on.  I mean, who am I to argue with that considering the source?   But after Michael’s journey through absurdity where he besmirched Pomeroy’s win probabilities, the state […]

Scanning the web for insight into last night’s 90-80 UNLV win over North Carolina I keep coming across numerous references to how their defense is their Achilles heel. A thread at Scout.Com summed it up: ‘Wow, UNC’s defense is PATHETIC’. The responses: I said the same. They can score but their defense is horrible for […]

Through games of Saturday, November 26th 1. Alabama (6-0) Best win: Purdue Worst loss: n/a Is Alabama going to finish the season #1 in the SEC power rankings? No. But so far they’ve been impressive. Against a relatively strong schedule not a single opponent has managed even 0.90 points per possession against Bama’s stout defense. […]

1. Beware the Billikens. Rick Majerus’ Saint Louis team continued their impressive start by rolling Villanova 80-68 in a 65 possession game. It was the first time this season that St Louis has surrendered more than point per possession, but their own 1.23 per possession was Villanova’s worst defensive outing since getting crushed by Notre […]

Through the games of November 24th. 1. Duke (7-0) Best win: Kansas Worst loss: n/a Duke not only has the best resume in the ACC, but also has the best resume in the nation. Prior to Maui they already had wins over Belmont, Michigan State and Davidson, and then they went to Hawaii and swept […]

I love Big Ten basketball.  There, I said it.  While the league has endured more than its fair share of ridicule and scorn over the past few years from those who aren’t enamored with the style of play, it’s what I grew up on and what I still follow religiously today.  I’m sure each of you has a […]