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 »

On a night where history was in the air, fans from the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions flocked to the World’s Most Famous Arena to see four of the top teams in college basketball. As impressive as coach Mike Krzyzewski’s record breaking 903rd victory was, the night might have been overshadowed by the sheer dominance of the Kentucky Wildcats. I left Madison Square Garden last night dreaming about the potential of a Duke vs. Kentucky match-up. Read More »

Coach K is a pretty cool dude. Always smooth. Always chill. But at about the 12.9 second mark of the second half last night – after he had seen Michigan State chip into Duke’s lead and Mason Plumlee get called for a five-second violation – he had to be feeling that sweat on his brow just a little bit. But after a Spartan miss, the biggest drama of the night was over, the Dukies had won 74-69 and Mike Krzyzewski had the record. He’s now the winningest coach in Division I men’s basketball history with 903 wins, passing one of the men calling the game, Bob Knight. Seriously though, this joint couldn’t have been scripted any better: in MSG, against another great coach in Tom Izzo, playing against a gritty and tough team, and with his mentor looking on, Coach K got what he came for. Read More »

That’s right, the college hoops season is here and you know what that means: it’s time to unleash the mother effing fury! For the past seven months, I’ve been bottling up a vicious mixture of excitement and rage, just waiting for the moment to release my emotions onto the rest of the world. Well that time has come. Your boy Matty D is back to give you a look at the top teams in the country and to separate the champs from the chumps. Read More »

Harrison Barnes is the best high school ballplayer in the country. As the 6-6 wing from Ames, Iowa, navigates through the hectic recruiting process such a title entails, he agreed to chronicle his thoughts for us during each of his five official visits. First up was UNC, then Oklahoma; now Barnes recaps his trip to Kansas for “Late Night in the Phog” during the weekend of Oct. 16. Here’s an excerpt:

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After seeing them practice and play, I can see why people say that they’re No. 1 in the country. Read More »

While guys are trying to make a name for themselves in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the NBA’s next group of stars was busy ballin’ in New Zealand. In honor of Team USA’s U19 Gold Medal victory in the FIBA World Championships this past weekend, here are five players from the team who will become household names during the 2009-10 NCAA season. Read More »