Category: College Basketball (Page 76 of 153)

      Couch Potato Alert: 3/6

      March 6, 2009 /

      If you could pry yourself away from the televised coverage of the T.O. ordeal for just one minute, you could tune in to a couple of key marquee matchups on the hardwood this weekend. It begins with Cleveland visiting Boston tonight, and with a victory the Cavs can confirm their status as a legitimate title contender. They’re no longer LeBron James and the Cavalettes coming to your favorite NBA arena. On Saturday, it’s #1 UConn versus #4 Pittsburgh in a crucial Big East matchup. Then, travel down Tobacco Road for Duke-North Carolina in an ACC heavyweight matchup this Sunday. This could be a dress rehearsal for next week’s conference tournament final, with the winner getting a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

      All times ET…

      College Basketball
      Saturday, 12 PM: #1 Connecticut @ #4 Pittsburgh (CBS)
      Saturday, 2 PM: #25 Syracuse @ #14 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
      Sunday, 12 PM: #20 Purdue @ #8 Michigan State (CBS)
      Sunday, 4 PM: #7 Duke @ #2 North Carolina (CBS)
      Sunday, 6 PM: #19 Clemson @ #10 Wake Forest (Fox Sports Net)

      NBA
      Friday, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics (ESPN)
      Friday, 10:30 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
      Saturday, 8:30 PM: Washington Wizards @ Dallas Mavericks (NBA TV)
      Sunday, 3:30 PM: Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs (ABC)
      Sunday, 7 PM: Philadelphia 76ers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA TV)

      NHL
      Saturday, 1 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ Boston Bruins
      Saturday, 10 PM: San Jose Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks (CBC)
      Sunday, 12:30 PM: Boston Bruins @ New York Rangers (NBC)

      World Baseball Classic
      Saturday, 2 PM: Canada vs. United States from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada (ESPN)

      College Basketball, Couch Potato Alert, March Madness, MLB, NBA, NHL, Television

      Upsets in the Big 12; UNC & Pitt take care of business

      March 5, 2009 /

      #5 Oklahoma visited #12 Missouri last night, and the Tigers pulled the upset, 73-64. Blake Griffin had 16 points and 21 rebounds, but turned the ball over six times in the loss. The Tigers were obviously motivated after the 25-point drubbing they took from the Kansas Jayhawks. This looks like it would have been a fun game to watch — too bad it was only on ESPN360. The network really should have a way to bring great matchups like this to a wider audience.

      #9 Kansas lost to unranked Texas Tech, 84-65. Senior Alan Voskuil had 35 points on 9 of 14 shooting from long range. I’m not sure what to make of these Big 12 teams right now. Kansas and Oklahoma looked like the cream of the crop, and they turn around a lose to Texas Tech and Missouri, respectively. (In the Sooners’ defense, Missouri was the #12 team in the nation and the game was on the road.) Oklahoma was in line for a #1 seed, but it looks like they still have some work to do.

      Meanwhile, #2 North Carolina fended off a feisty Virginia Tech squad, 86-78, while #4 Pitt beat #15 Marquette, 90-75. The Tar Heels earned at least a share of the ACC regular season title, though they’ll have to beat archrival Duke on Sunday to avoid sharing the honors with the Blue Devils.

      College Basketball, March Madness

      #7 Duke, #10 Wake keep it going

      March 4, 2009 /

      Only those viewers lucky enough to have access to ESPN360 saw #7 Duke edge #24 Florida St. last night, 84-81. Apparently, you have to subscribe to an approved internet service provider to watch games on ESPN360. (Great. Then what the hell is my Insider subscription for?) Anyway, the win sets up an ACC regular season title game between Duke and North Carolina on Sunday. If UNC wins tonight (@ Virginia Tech), then the Blue Devils will be playing for a share of the title, but the Tar Heels lose to the Hokies, Sunday’s game will be of the winner-take-all variety.

      North Carolina is still the heavy favorite, but Duke is playing a lot better of late, ever since Coach K inserted freshman guard Elliot Williams into the starting lineup five games ago. He is averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31.4 minutes of play after getting just 10.6 minutes in the previous 22 games. He gives the Blue Devils more athleticism in its backcourt, which helps both offensively and defensively. If Duke were able to pull off the upset in Chapel Hill, they’d position themselves for a possible #1 seed if they could go on to win the ACC tournament. But that’s a long way off.

      Elsewhere in the ACC, the Maryland Terrapins really needed a win against visiting Wake Forest to get an NCAA bid, but the Demon Deacons finished strong in a 65-63 win. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi already had the Terps out of the tournament, but they had a chance to play themselves back into the conversation in a major way with home games against Duke and Wake, but they weren’t able to win either contest. Now they have to beat Virginia on Saturday (to get to 8-8 in the conference) and then make a big run in the ACC tourney with a couple of wins against the likes of North Carolina, Duke, Wake and Clemson. Good luck with that, Terps.

      College Basketball, March Madness

      What does Arizona have to do to get a bid?

      March 3, 2009 /

      Joe Lunardi projects that the Arizona Wildcats would be the last team in if the season ended today. The Wildcats are 8-8 in conference and 18-11 overall. They have two remaining games — Cal, Stanford — both at home. Like most bubble teams, they have a poor record (2-4) against Top 25-ranked teams, though they are helped by their 2-1 record against Top 25 RPI teams, with wins over Kansas and Washington. They also beat Gonzaga back in December and UCLA to cap a seven-game winning streak.

      So what’s the problem? Well, Arizona has 11 losses, and they’ve dropped their last three games. In their defense, those games were all on the road and two (Washington, Arizona St.) were against ranked opponents. But Washington St. was beatable and Arizona lost by 16.

      A win Thursday night against Cal would probably seal the deal, though a loss against Stanford and a poor showing in the Pac-10 tournament would offset that win. It’s clear that the Wildcats still have some work to do. They need to win at least one of the next two games to stay at or above .500 in conference. If they beat Cal and Stanford, they can probably absorb a first round loss in the Pac-10 tourney. But a win or two in the tourney would obviously help.

      College Basketball, March Madness

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