Austin Rivers must’ve known I was there because he tied the perfect bow to the end of a trip that started in Hoboken, New Jersey and ended with a once-defeaning crowd of 21,750 eerily silent. The buzzer beater that won it for Duke set off hysteria for the party behind Duke’s bench – Doc Rivers and his crew – but for the rest of us there, it was more quiet than the school’s library. If you’ve been keeping up with my posts the last few days, you know I was in New Jersey for the launch of the Air Jordan 2012, and that Jordan Brand also brought me down to Chapel Hill to see one of the biggest rivalries in all of basketball up close and personal. Read More »

Matt Barnes is a little crazy, but Laker fans are hoping he’s not lying. While working out Friday in El Segundo, Barnes was asked about all the rumors going around and whether he listened to any of them. He doesn’t, unless they are dealing with his own team. But this rumor does, and it’s a pretty big one. So it wasn’t surprising Barnes was asked, and then spoke on it. His answer was a little more revealing than everyone expected: “You know, I’ve been hearing [rumors about] Dwight. I’ve been hearing [rumors about] Baron [Davis in the event of getting amnestied]. I’ve been hearing stuff a lot lately. I’ve talked to both of those guys and they wanna be here, so we’ll see what happens.” Read More »

You know big expectations are in store when you win by 16 points and yet the opposing crowd is still chanting overrated. But that’s just how it’s going to be all season for North Carolina. UNC Asheville isn’t much competition, no matter what Tyler Zeller (27 points) tried to say after the game was over. North Carolina did the same thing on Sunday that they did against Michigan State: play well enough to take control, and go on cruise control the rest of the way. Honestly, this team is so loaded with star power that they can get away with it. Yesterday, it wasn’t just Zeller but all of the big guns. Harrison Barnes dropped another cool 17 points, but was still out-shined by Kendall Marshall (15 assists) and John Henson (20 points, 12 rebounds). It is still early, but do you think they are at all overrated? … 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 – we’ve previewed each of the top 16 teams in the country. Today is the final one. After we broke down contenders Ohio State and Kentucky yesterday, we’ll finish this off with the best team in the country, No. 1-ranked UNC (ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll).* Read More »

What’s the difference between 82 and 78? Four. In the grand scheme of most things, that’s not a whole lot, especially if we’re talking NBA games. An 82-game schedule pretty much went out the window after last week, but the NY Post is saying if a deal is finalized sometime this week, we could be looking at a 78-game affair. We’ll take it. They’re saying it has to be an even number of games, and that David Stern is willing to push the season back enough to fit in as many games as possible, maybe even push a possible NBA Finals Game 7 to just a few days before the draft. That might affect the way the games are played, but for us it just means more basketball packed into a shorter time. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing … Read More »

North Carolina held its annual preseason media day yesterday afternoon, and while lots of people were talking about national championships, the rest were more interested in the unveiling of their new jerseys. So for those of you that can’t make it to Late Night with Roy tonight at the Dean Dome to see them in the flesh, we figured now was as good a time as any to show off their new threads. Check ‘em out: Read More »

John Calipari is spoiled. Quit being selfish, Cal – Do you really have to snatch up every great guard? Y’all know the lineup. Rose. Evans. Wall. Brandon Knight ain’t on that level. But he left his mark last night … In perhaps the best game of the tournament, Knight hit the game-winning jumper with five seconds left to give Kentucky an insane upset win over the number-one overall seed Ohio State, 62-60. Knight (9 points) had already beaten Princeton with a game-winner last weekend. But this was different. This was a Sweet 16, best team in the nation, Lottery-screaming pull-up. Chuck said Kentucky played a perfect game. Read More »

The bracket is out, let the hysteria begin. It seems like everyone around the country is amped about the Big Dance this year. Who wouldn’t be? With the tournament as wide open as it is, it really could be anybody’s year. (I’m looking at you, Long Beach State.) With many NBAers having their respective alma maters back in the tourney, we thought it’d be dope to get their insight into this year’s madness. With that, we caught up with David Lee, Anthony Morrow and Sundiata Gaines to discuss some bracketology. Read More »

Logging his fourth 20-plus point performance in a row, and coming off the best game of his short pro career (29 points, eight rebounds), Tyler Hansbrough seems to be carving himself a niche in the Pacers rotation. Despite his recent surge with the navy and gold, it’s still difficult to get used to him donned in anything but Carolina Blue. Not too far removed from his playing days as a Tar Heel – where he was regarded as a deity – you would think UNC would be the only No. 2 seed he’d be cheering for in this year’s tourney. Think again. Read More »

I’ve grown so accustomed to college basketball’s one-and-done culture that now it’s startling to see an NCAA team with as much veteran poise as Duke. The current landscape has also trained me to stop looking at a team like North Carolina and making predictions for next year.

In the Blue Devils’ latest win over their blood rivals this week, the defending national champions were down 14 at halftime as Carolina was beating Duke at their own game in their own gym. Read More »