Now that the Top 25 has come out, it is time to preview some of the best college teams in the 2010-11 season. The key to having a successful team is having the perfect blend of athleticism, fundamentals and chemistry. Last week, we broke down the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils. This week’s profile will be on Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans. Read More »

Why will Michigan State win the national championship? As I sat down and thought about what to plug into the blank document in front of me, I really believed I could finish this post and still feel completely vindicated with a mere two words: Tom Izzo.

Izzo, in my opinion, is arguably the best coach in the nation — a tier accompanied by only a few other greats — and prepares his players like no other. Read More »

College basketball’s Decepticons are back. Duke is in the Final Four for the 11th time during Coach K‘s reign (and the first time since ’04), so if you’d been missing Krzyzewski’s scowl, the army of three-point bombers, the goofy big guys, the smug grins, the confident swagger, and Dick Vitale re-enacting an Extenze commercial with every TV cameo (“I’m bigger!”) you’re glad to see the program the rest of us love to hate back on the biggest stage … The Blue Devils trailed Baylor at halftime, as their turnovers led to transition buckets, and it looked like LaceDarius Dunn outside (22 pts) and Ekpe Udoh inside (18 pts, 10 rebs, 5 blks) might be able to carry the Bears to the win. Read More »

Granted, watching basketball all the time is part of my job, but it still amazes me how many people don’t (or rarely) watch college hoops until the NCAA Tournament. Because of such inexcusable ignoring of America’s best spectator sport (if you ask me), during the Big Dance I usually get peppered with “Who is that guy?” or “Who does [Team X] got?” questions.

Some of them make sense — even I can’t say I’ve seen Wofford or UC Santa Barbara play this year — but a lot of the players who slip under the mainstream radar don’t deserve the anonymity. So in the days leading up to the Tournament, we’ll be giving you four Players To Watch for each region, starting with the Midwest: Read More »

After Michigan State upset UConn in the first of yesterday’s Final Four games, Jim Calhoun said, “We’re pretty good, but they’re close to special.” But are the Spartans special enough now to handle North Carolina? State came out hot like cayenne pepper on UConn, seemingly scoring on every offensive possession for the first five minutes, punching UConn in the mouth first and maintaining that momentum throughout … Read More »

OK, so I was wrong. While I had the right reasons, I picked the wrong team. But after watching Michigan State maraud through the Midwest bracket and take out my pre-Tournament pick, Louisville, along the way, I can say this now: The Spartans will take the ’09 national championship. And they’ll do it for a lot of the same reasons I originally picked the ‘Ville: Read More »