*Dime’s NCAA Tournament Day 2 coverage*

This was the first-round game I wasn’t gonna miss for anything, even if I had to watch it on my little computer screen. Clemson likes to run and gun; Missouri thrives on a full-court press taught by Mike Anderson, a disciple of Nolan Richardson and “40 Minutes of Hell.” Mizzou’s J.T. Tiller is a defensive demon and one of my favorite college players, while Clemson’s Noel Johnson is the son of ex-NBA player “Cheese” Johnson, who always makes sure to call up the Dime office and update us on his kid’s progress since we did a story on Noel in 8th grade. AND Gus Johnson is on the mic? You couldn’t drag me away. Read More »

It’s Championship Week in college basketball, otherwise known as the week of tournaments before THE Tournament. And honestly, it seems this year people only really care about two conference tourneys: the Big East and the Big 12 … maybe the ACC based on history and hype.

So far I’ve previewed the Big East and the Pac-10 (hometown allegiance); next up is the Big 12. Read More »

A couple of themes dominated last night’s NCAA tourney Sweet 16 games: Defense and Onions. First you had UConn defensive stalwart Hasheem Thabeet putting together his first dominant game of the tourney (15 pts, 15 rebs, 4 blks) to push the Huskies past Purdue. Then Villanova slapped a stifling total team defensive effort on Duke, ball-pressure and denial for which Coach K‘s boys seemed totally unprepared. And then Missouri’s new-school “40 Minutes of Hell” paved the way for them to get past Memphis … As for the onions? Look no further than Levance Fields. Read More »