Words. Lucas Shaprio & Sean Sweeney

Every year, the real first two days of the NCAA tournament bring a bushel of crazy scenarios, upsets and just outright great games. This year will be no different. You know one of the five-seeds will lose. You know you almost assuredly will see a buzzer-beater. And you know some team everyone had as a Final Four sleeper will be sent home. The Dime crew decided to break it down for you, picking our nine favorite matchups from this year’s first round. Read More »

Right after ESPN’s exhaustive 24-hour national TV marathon, perhaps the signature symbol of the beginning of a new college basketball season is the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Kevin Durant had his national breakout as a freshman at the Classic in 2006. Derrick Rose did the same in 2007. Florida began its run toward the first of two straight national championships in 2005. Evan Turner‘s run toward his handful of National Player of the Year trophies made tracks through in Classic in 2009. Read More »

It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of the NBA, NCAA or high school – great basketball is great basketball. And yesterday has to go down as one of the greatest days in hoops history. Ever. Take for example the first four games of the day: you had a one point game, a buzzer beater for an upset, an overtime scare and a double overtime thriller. Only if Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery called all four games, could you have asked for anything better … If you were on the site at all yesterday, then you know the Dime crew was on top of everything. So we’ll try and bring some new thoughts and observations to Smack … Let’s start with BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. Read More »