We have all witnessed history. On many, many levels. We wake up this morning with UConn as champions of college basketball; the Huskies the last team standing at the end of an absolutely incredible postseason rampage that included winning five Big East Tournament games in five days and then reeling off the six Ws needed to win the NCAA Tournament. That type of run would have been considered unreal for a top-ranked team – the fact that it was put together by a UConn squad that wasn’t even ranked until Week 4 of the season and then entered the Big East Tourney as a No. 9 seed is just absurd. History will remember this Connecticut squad as one of the most unlikely championship teams in college basketball history … Kemba Walker should donate his kicks (Air Jordan 6-17-23) to Springfield. He’s been wearing these ever since the start of the Big East Tournament and hasn’t lost since. After the Big East tourney, he told us he was ready to go get six more Ws … To the game … Read More »
So what are you doing at 9:23 PM ET tonight? Unless you’re watching WWE RAW’s recap of last night’s Wrestlemania, you’ll be tuned in to the NCAA National Championship game between No. 8 seed Butler and No. 3 seed UConn.
So how is this going to play out tonight? You’ve undoubtedly watched/listed to Jay Bilas, Doug Gottlieb, Digger, Hubert, Dickie V, and any number of other talking heads; you’ve probably read plenty of pre-game analysis and you may have even made your opinion known in the comments section of the site or on our poll (most of you appear to be feeling UConn). So last but not least, some members of the Dime Crew wanted to weigh in our personal picks for tonight’s game: Read More »
What a game in Oklahoma City last night between the Thunder and the Blazers. It was a battle that had playoff intensity, physicality and atmosphere, great individual performances, and we saw the young core of a burgeoning NBA juggernaut take a formative step forward in their development. When it got down to winning time, the Thunder’s offense resorted to a two-man game focusing on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook running pick-and-pops and taking turns on isos and clearouts. Westbrook (28 points) ended up as the closer, burying three monster treys down the stretch to give OKC the 99-90 win … This season, it absolutely feels like the Thunder are starting to belong to KD and Russ (have you seen Russel’s kicks?), as opposed to just being Kevin Durant and a bunch of sidekicks. Everyone can feel it, including those two. Case in point, Read More »
The Butler is back again. You ever doze off, then wake back up to see the game you thought you were watching be turned upside down? You sit up, confused, eyes straining like “Huh?” Thank Butler for that. They are pretty good at making people look stupid … Gus Johnson called Florida’s style “bullyball.” It took five extra minutes, but eventually that big bully was sent home by the little guy as Butler staked it’s second consecutive trip to the Final Four with a come-from-behind 74-71 overtime win. The Bulldogs got help from everybody but it was Shelvin Mack (27 points) who was the difference. He came back from an ankle sprain in the first half to hit every big shot, including the go-ahead three-pointer with just over a minute left in overtime. … As much credit as Butler deserves, the Gators really screwed up. In the first half, Vernon Macklin (25 points) looked like Kevin McHale. Read More »
Jimmer Fredette struggled a bit in BYU‘s NCAA Tournament loss to Florida last night, but there was one particular moment when it felt like he was going go ballistic on the Gators. With BYU down three points with five minutes to go in the game, Fredette calmly dribbled the ball across half court and then raised of from 35-FEET AWAY to stick a huge three in a disbelieving Scottie Wilbekin‘s face.
Do not get Kobe Bryant fired up to the point where he wants to steal your soul. Just don’t do it. In an intense, physical game in L.A. last night, the Portland Trail Blazers awoke the sleeping giant that has been Kobe over the last few games and paid dearly for it. Portland was in control until the last seven or eight minutes of the game, when the tide started to turn. Kobe was the best he’s looked since hurting his ankle a few games ago and was more emotional than we’ve seen him in a long time, fist-pumping after shots and stops, extra animated when jawing with the refs, and he had a serious scowl going for the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers eventually took the lead and Bryant hit his patented right baseline, pullup fadeway over Brandon Roy to put them up six and essentially end the game. Bryant went nuts after the shot fell, high-fiving fans, fist-pumping, yelling, and almost ripped his off own jersey. Lakers color guy Stu Lantz screamed, “The best finisher in the game comes through in the clutch!” … Immediately after the game, a Lakers sideline reporter asked a still visibly agitated Kobe what he was thinking before that jumper. Read More »
There are a bunch of special dates circled on the Dime calendar – NBA Opening Night, the NBA Draft, All-Star Saturday Night. For us though, none of those dates compare to the first day of the NCAA Tournament. It’s one of those days where we can’t believe how lucky we are that our jobs entail leaving the office to go to a sports bar to watch great college games for hours on end. So yesterday at noon, we hit Wildwood BBQ in the Union Square area for (green) beer, food and madness that included a slew of last-second shots to decide games … The big story from Day 1 of the Tourney is undoubtedly the massive 13-seed Morehead State upset of No.4 Louisville, 62-61. So much for this. You knew something was brewing right from the jump as State raced out to the early lead and then hung with the ‘Ville the entire way. Then with a little more than four seconds to go in the game, down two with the ball, Morehead State’s Demonte Harper raised up in Peyton Siva’s face and drilled a long three from the top of the key. Then Louisville’s Mike Marra had a look from the wing to win the game but had his shot blocked on an incredible defensive play State’s Kenneth Faried, aka “The Next Dennis Rodman” … Read More »
Whether it’s accurate or not, you often hear Kevin Garnett being referred to as a bully. Well, last night the Boston Celtics did what bullies do – they humiliated a weaker, defenseless opponent. The Milwaukee Bucks experienced the equivalent of having their lunch money taken and then stuffed in a locker as Boston held them to just 56 points – a record low for the shot clock era (Boston scored 87). It was an absolute defensive clinic by the Celtics who just imposed their will on the Bucks. “That’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” a disgusted Scott Skiles said after the game. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.” … How bad was it for the Bucks? Earl Barron (10 points) was the only Milwaukee player who finished in double figures. John Salmons, who seems to exist only to put the ball in the hoop, failed to record a single point … Read More »
As the NCAA Tournament field was announced, we wanted hit you with some initial thoughts on the seedings and matchups. We will have a lot more content coming your way in terms of previews, features and more in-depth analysis, but this is what struck me off the bat. Let us know what you think and stay tuned for more…
- The four No. 1 seeds make total sense: Ohio State (No. 1 overall seed), Kansas, Pitt, and Duke. After watching all of these teams one after another this past week, it seems absurd to think of the other potential high seeds, specifically Notre Dame or San Diego State, as being among the top 4. The only legit case would have been North Carolina. They split the first two games with Duke and won the ACC regular season, but after getting cracked this afternoon, they more than took themselves out of the equation. Read More »
So it’s not 96 after all. Earlier today, the NCAA announced that the its Division I Men’s Basketball Committee unanimously passed a recommendation to expand the Tournament field to 68 teams beginning in 2011. While the measure still has to be approved by the NCAA Board of Directors later his month, in most cases the board passes whatever proposals have been stamped by its committees. Read More »
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