It makes sense, given its roots in the ivory towers of higher education, but no sport attracts volunteer experts quite like college basketball. Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NFL may have embraced new math, but college hoops has its own science: That thing we call Bracketology.

And in almost every interview I’ve heard and column I’ve read from these experts this season, one question has been consistently asked and answered: “Who is the next VCU?” Read More »

I can’t say it’s over. But this movie is closing in on the climax. This is the story of Greg Oden‘s NBA life: On Monday, he went in for a minor procedure to clear out debris in his left knee when the surgeon discovered two defects and ended up performing microfracture surgery. For those of you scoring at home, that’s now two microfracture surgeries on the left knee, as well as one on the right. In the past, he also had surgery to repair a fracture left kneecap. Read More »

I’ve been to some good games at some great venues – Madison Square Garden for the NBA, CenturyLink Field in Seattle for the NFL, Busch Stadium in St. Louis for Major League Baseball – but I doubt there’s a better place to watch a big game than Assembly Hall at Indiana University.

The house that Bob Knight turned into NCAA hoops holy ground was the site of not only the best college basketball game of the season on Saturday, but maybe the best game of any sport in 2011. Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis tweeted afterward that Indiana’s buzzer-beating upset of No. 1 Kentucky might have been the best regular-season game he’s ever seen. Read More »

Yesterday’s ambush of trade and free agency talk tipped off with a rather awkward rumor: The Celtics weren’t actively shopping Rajon Rondo, but that they’d be open to a deal should anything materialize. In the sports world, that’s basically code for other teams to start calling so they can start the bidding. Danny Ainge and Boston were hinting at something. We just didn’t know what it was yet. So naturally the response from most fans was: WTF? It didn’t help that Rajon Rondo trade rumors are an offseason rite of passage by this point. It doesn’t feel right unless we get a few of them. Read More »

We sort of called this. Duke lives and dies by the three. They did again last night. Tyler Thornton, the last guy you might expect to take a big shot – maybe the last guy you’d even expect to be in the game – hit not one but two huge threes in the final moments against Kansas. The second one was an end-of-the-shot-clock heave from nearly out of bounds that you just knew was going in the moment he released it. Combine those shots with a three from Andre Dawkins, and Kansas – who played them even all the way – couldn’t finish it off and lost 68-61. Read More »

The last time we were supposed to have some type of world basketball tour, we had denials and confirmations, we had a long list of All-Stars agreeing on playing, we had a schedule and we had the first night all planned out. Then we ended up with nothing. But LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony – four of the biggest stars in the world – are teaming up to try again. They’re planning on putting together a four-city homecoming tour of their respective cities: Akron, New Orleans, Chicago, and New York, starting December 1. We just want to see one of these ideas come to fruition. Too many heartbreaks and cancellations this year … Read More »

So after months and months of rambling back and forth, he reported she reported, and the owners and players doing a fair amount of snipping back and forth, it looks like we will have some type of resolution within the next four or five days. Whether it’s the resolution we want is another story. The negotiating is over, and for the players this is really the last realistic deal they will have a chance of signing before the entirety of this season goes bye bye. Some, like Danny Granger seem to think this offer will be rejected by the players. This whole thing comes down to this: the players know they’re getting a raw deal. They know it’ll be conceding defeat. But it’s this or nothing. Do they really want to lose a whole season? … Read More »

*College basketball is here (unlike the NBA), and this year might be one of the best in recent memory. The powerhouse is back, while the Cinderellas believe. That’s a deadly combination. We know some of y’all have been asking for some previews. We have you covered – the top 16 teams in the nation will be previewed individually in the next few weeks. After we broke down Big East giants Syracuse and UConn yesterday, we’ll keep this going with No. 3-ranked Ohio State (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

One of the best high school players in the country and perhaps Ohio State’s most important recruit of this year won’t be playing for the Buckeyes next season. LaQuinton Ross, a 6-8 swingman from Jackson, Miss. was ruled ineligible. Check out TheHoopDoctors.com for the full story. Apparently, Ross’ plan is to take some necessary courses from home with the intent to try to get to Ohio State in January. Hit the jump for another video of the kid who was once the No. 1 ranked player in his class.

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Charlie Ward. Antonio Gates. Tony Gonzalez. Terrelle Pryor? Yes, Pryor could have been the latest in a long line of crossover stars that played basketball and football in college. The 6-6 Pryor was a standout on both the gridiron and the hardwood, and could have pursued a career in basketball if he wanted to. In May of 2008, before the quarterback entered his freshman season at The Ohio State University, he was ranked the No. 7 power forward prospect on ESPN U’s Top 150, and put up 23 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, four assists and four steals in Jeanette High School’s Class AA championship victory, their first in over 20 years. This was after he led the football team to the state title in the fall. Read More »