Every year March Madness provides shining moments and special stories that, while unique in the details, essentially mirror each other from one Dance to the next. With an eye on finding this year’s breakout stars and big-name letdowns, here are the 2012 NCAA Tournament stories that will remind you a lot of last year:

Before proceeding, you should probably check out Tuesday’s Part 1 entry: Part 1, featuring Ohio State, Kansas, Austin Rivers, and the next Kemba Walker. Read More »

After going up against the likes of Anthony Randolph and Willie Warren in high school, Quincy Acy took his explosive game to Baylor. Since then, the 6-7, 225-pound junior forward has established himself as one of the best in-game dunkers in the Big 12 – recording 10 dunks in one game against Texas last year. In an exclusive Dime Q&A, we sat down and talked with Acy about Baylor, Texas basketball and how he learned to dunk. Read More »

More often than not, a reliable warning sign that a power conference is struggling is if its signature program is having a hard time. Last season was a bad year for the SEC; and in a completely related story, Kentucky missed the NCAA Tournament.

I’ve argued before that the Pac-10 isn’t as bad as most experts are saying, but if UCLA’s play is any indication, the conference is headed for a season more jacked up than the “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” cast. Read More »