College Hoops Gazette

Filling Out Your NCAA Bracket Is Not Hard

David vs Goliath! Good vs Evil! Someone has to triumph. It is one of the most anticipated sporting events in all of sports. College basketball season is right around the corner and everyone gets hooked when it comes to March Madness. Whether you are watching for fun, or filling out the bracket in your office pool for the jackpot, everyone has a favorite team. You do not need to be a genius to win but you do need a Read the rest of this entry »

How To Choose Your NCAA Tournament Bracket

March madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for avid sports fans. Many groups of friends, co-workers and acquaintances have friendly competitions each year to see who has the best NCAA tournament bracket. There are a few strategies you can follow to help make your bracket stand out as the best.

When choosing your Final Four for the bracket, don’t put all of the top seeds from each region in it. This rarely ever happens, and is a statistical improbability. You’ll want to pick a few clear upsets along the way Read the rest of this entry »

What Teams Look Strong Coming Into March

UConn rode Kemba Walker to 11 straight season-ending wins and a National Championship last year, but his departure may not mean the end of the Huskies’ reign. Top recruit Andre Drummond, a 6’11 center who many feel could be a top overall pick in the NBA Draft, has committed to UConn for the 11-12 season, and will join Jeremy Lamb, Shabbaz Napier, and Alex Oriakhi to defend the title next spring.

Harrison Barnes will lead a stacked North Carolina team into the season as the consensus top-ranked team. Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and Read the rest of this entry »

Will BBall Season Ever Get Here?

You may still be watching old game reruns non your Directstartv.com or perhaps you’ve just got Coach Carter on loop. Whatever the case, we’re counting down the days too and here are a few of the things we’re most looking forward to
The Lakers: What’s better than a team of really dramatic, really skilled basketball players? With Odom and Bryant there’s no doubt it’s going to be another winning season and you’ve got to watch to know.< Read the rest of this entry »

Can Duke Do it Again?

The Duke University Men’s Basketball program is undisputedly one of the premier outfits in the history of college basketball. Winning their 4th National Championship just a season ago in no way marked an ascent to the throne, rather another jewel for their royal trophy case. Still, repeating as the top team in college basketball, particularly coming off perhaps the most surprising championship on the Blue Devil’s extensive resume, is a tall order for any group of players, no matter from what university they hail. The last team to successfully defend their crown was the Florida Gators, emerging from March Madness unscathed in both 2006 and 2007, boasting a roster that included future NBA stars Al Horford and Joakim Noah, alongside fellow NBA starter Corey Brewer. Though this may be relatively recent history, it’s still historically a very tough feat to accomplish, with the Duke Blue Devils directly preceding the Gators with such an accomplishment, a feat that will you all the way down memory lane back to the 1991 and 1992 seasons. Read the rest of this entry »

A Taste of the Bracketizers

Apologies to die-hard fans out there who spend 11 months a year slowly dying until March Madness rolls around to once again rejuvenate their spirits, but as we enter the dog days of August, Selection Sunday is still eons away at this point. Fortunately for college basketball fans needing their bracket fix already, the early season appetizers have finally been served up for analysis. Though the tournaments don’t actually begin play until the second week of November at the earliest, it’s never too soon to look ahead at the contenders and pretenders who might square off in the first few tournaments to open the schedule.

• 2K Sports Classic (November 8 21^st) New York Though the full schedule of games spans several teams across various leagues, the semifinals for the 2K Classic are predetermined, with the winner of Pitt vs. Maryland squaring off against either Illinois or Texas. Of the 4 major teams in this tourney, all should be competitive, with Maryland tiered slightly below the other 3 in the upcoming season.

• O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic (November 12 -24) Kansas City Like the 2K Classic, O’Reilly’s contest also sports a fixed semifinal round, featuring matchups of Duke vs. Marquette and Kansas State vs. Gonzaga. San Diego State will play on the tourney’s undercard and may have as good a shot at dancing in March as some of the more prominent programs at the event. This is a great opportunity for Kansas State to use the tournaments friendly location to pull out a few big wins and boost its national profile to begin the season. Read the rest of this entry »

Summer League Standouts

A mere four months after their “one shining moment” in March, collegiate superstars who dominated the NCAA Tournament once again find themselves at the bottom of the proverbial pecking order. Most heralded draft picks and undrafted rookie free agents are getting their first taste of life in the NBA out in Las Vegas, where the NBA’s most prominent summer league will take place over the course of three weeks. The early going has had mixed results for some of the biggest names in college basketball last year. Here’s a look at some of the summer seasons fast learners.

• Derrick Caracter Perhaps more famous as a 6’8” 8^th grader than his actual playing days at Louisville and Texas-El Paso, Caracter is quickly turning the underachiever tag he earned in college upside down. Once an elite pro-prospect, the Lakers selected Caracter with the 58^th pick in the second round, but so far this summer he has far surpassed that billing. Averaging double-doubles over the course of his first three games, Caracter has consistently outhustled opponents of all sizes for rebounds and shown tenacity on both ends of the floor.

• Jordan Crawford The Hawks summer league team was expected to be paced by second year PG Jeff Teague, but the rookie out of Xavier has looked like its best player out of the gates. There was no dispute as to whether Crawford could score, quickly showcasing his deep range and shooting ability, but Crawford’s court vision and quick hands have been an added bonus. All signs indicate the Hawks landed, at the bare minimum, a solid contributor and rotation player with the 27^th pick. Read the rest of this entry »

Early Big 12 Preview

Traditional powerhouse Kansas losing significant pieces to the NBA Draft, which means there could easily be some shakeup atop the Big 12 standings. With the nearing departures of arguably the Big 12′s two worst basketball programs in Colorado and Nebraska, the 10 team league should be a better basketball conference top to bottom going forward. Here’s a look at home the top of the league should shape up in the last season of the Big 12 as we know it.

1. Missouri Already a tournament team last year, the Tigers are importing more than they lost in last year’s senior class. While they will miss J.T. Tiller on defense and Zaire Taylor in the clutch, Mizzou’s backcourt is talent laden enough to make up the difference, with Marcus Denmon, Kim English, Michael Dixon already in the mix. Incoming freshman Phil Pressey should make an immediate impact at the point, giving the Tigers the deepest guards in the league. Freshman Tony Mitchell (assuming he qualifies) and juco transfer Ricardo Ratliffe will help shore up some scoring deficiencies on the frontline from last season, assuring a more complete Tiger attack.
2. Texas The Longhorns lost 2 first-rounders to the NBA draft, in the form of Avery Bradley and Damion James, but aim to quickly re-tool in their usual fashion. Incoming freshmen Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson have the added benefit of playing together in prep school as they look to fill big holes for Texas this season. With scoring slasher Jordan Hamilton already in tow, the Longhorns should have plenty of offensive fire power to compete. Read the rest of this entry »

Tournament Field Expanded to 68

While pundits calling for a college football playoff are still left unsatisfied, college basketball fans will enjoy a few more elimination games come tourney time next March. The NCAA has decided to extend its March Madness tournament from 65 to 68 teams, marking the first expansion of the field since 2001, when the play-in game was added to take the total from 64 to 65. The new format features three additional play-in games to be played in the week following Selection Sunday, determining what programs will at least survive to see the weekend. Dubbed the “First Four” to play off of the well known “Final Four” moniker, the first 8 teams to play will consist of the lowest 4 at-large teams (teams that did not secure an automatic bid by winning their conference tournament) and the mid-major conference winners with the least impressive resumes. The 4 at-large teams are expected to play each other for the right to advance as a 12 seed, with the automatic qualifiers continuing to battle it out for a 16 seed. Once the initial four games are completed, tournament play will carry on as it has in years past, with rounds of 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 5 Recruiting Classes

Here’s a look at some programs that are sure to improve thanks to talent-laden freshman classes and top notch junior college transfers.

1. Kentucky Send a record 5 players out to the first round of the NBA Draft, get 5 top 40 high school seniors coming back. So goes the talent flow for the Kentucky Wildcats. Between PG Brandon Knight, SG Doron Lamb, SF Stacey Poole, PF Terrence Jones and C Enes Kanter, the Wildcats could field an all-freshman starting squad that might actually have a shot at winning the SEC crown. Look for heavy newcomer contribution out of these 5 (and transfer Eloy Vargas) thanks to a greatly depleted Kentucky roster.
2. Memphis Though not quite 5 in the top 40 like Kentucky boasts, the Memphis Tigers did sign 5 of the top 100 recruits in the country. While there’s no top-10 recruit in their incoming class, the Tigers offset this lack of star power with sheer solidity top to bottom. SG Will Barton is the most highly regarded of all the prospects and will team with fellow 5-star freshman PG Joe Jackson to form a young and promising backcourt down in Memphis.
3. North Carolina Headlined by the 2 recruit in the nation, SF Harrison Barnes, the Tarheels bring in an expectedly accomplished class. Barnes is joined by fellow top-10 frosh Reggie Bullock who should provide an outside presence. Point guard Kendall Marshall and Alabama transfer Justin Knox could also make immediate impacts for UNC. Read the rest of this entry »