College Basketball

Revisiting How Some Items From College Basketball Preview Played Out

... Ducks tied with Arizona for the conference crown and made it the Final Four for the first time since 1939. Item: "Honestly, being in practice around coach (Bill) Self, he knows that I'm kind of a special player," Kansas freshman Josh Jackson said, "and he still never takes it easy on me. He never kisses me on my butt. He's really hard on me and sometimes I think I need that. ". What happened: Jackson broke or tied four freshman school records and will be a lottery pick. Kansas lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament and was bounced in the Elite Eight. Item: LSU, which sent Ben Simmons to the Sixers, was picked to finish 12 th in the SEC. What happened: The Tigers finished 13 th, closed the season by losing 17 of 18 and fired coach Johnny Jones. Item: Rutgers is on its seventh coach since its last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1991. "We're trying to change the culture here," said new head man Steve Pikiell. What happened: The Scarlet Knights finished last in the Big Ten, but went 15-18 and won a conference tournament game for the first time in school history. They were 7-25 last season. Item: The 14-team SEC responded to having just three teams in ...

Way-too-early College Basketball Top 25 For 2017–18

... a squad that closed hard and finished fourth in the Big Ten. 11 Kansas Jayhawks. Frank Mason and Josh Jackson aren’t coming back, but there is plenty of perimeter talent remaining in Lawrence, especially with the addition of Mississippi State transfer Malik Newman. Bill Self really needs a big win in the spring signing period. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Bonzi Colson could be the ACC’s preseason player of the year, and tough-as-nails point guard Matt Farrell will be back for his senior season. Mike Brey expects incoming guard D. J. Harvey, a De Matha grad, to play heavy minutes. 13 USC Trojans. Unlike last year, Andy Enfield is not losing underclassmen to the NBA. He is also adding Derryck Thornton, a 6’1” transfer from Duke, and Charles O’Bannon Jr., a top 50 recruit with UCLA bloodlines. 14 Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bearcats will lose senior point guard Troy Caupain, but ...

College Basketball Rankings 2016-17

... Conference's regular-season and conference tourney titles. 20. Wichita State Shockers. NCAA tournament performance: Lost to Kentucky in Round of 32. Star performers. Wichita State's dominance in the Missouri Valley Conference and strong play outside of the league wasn't the product of star power, at least from a statistical standpoint. No player averaged more than sophomore forward Markis Mc Duffie's 11.5 points per game, with redshirt freshman guard Landry Shamet right behind him at 11.4. Mc Duffie and juniors Shaquille Morris and Darral Willis Jr. also paced the Shockers on the boards, with each pulling down more than five per game. Why they're here. Massively underseeded at No. 10, the Shockers were given a raw deal having to face Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament. But what they accomplished in blitzing through their league can't be completely ignored. 19. Michigan Wolverines. NCAA tournament performance: ...

Tar Heels Take Ncaa Title

... pick featured. Redemption: Tar Heels take NCAA title. EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer. 1 hr ago. North Carolina's Kennedy Meeks, right, celebrates with teammate Theo Pinson after Monday night's NCAA championship game against Gonzaga at Glendale, Ariz. North Carolina won 71-65. The Associated Press. North Carolina's Isaiah Hicks (4) takes a shot over Gonzaga's Zach Collins (32) during the first half in the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Steppig, Pool). The Associated Press. North Carolina's Theo Pinson (1) takes a shot against Gonzaga's Johnathan Williams (3) during the first half in the finals of the Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament, Monday, April 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Steppig, Pool). North Carolina players celebrate after the Final Four NCAA championship game against Gonzaga on Monday night in Glendale, Ariz. The Tar Heels won 71-65. GLENDALE, Ariz. — ...

College Basketball's Super Early Preseason Top 25 Teams For The 2017-18 Season

... point guard Kasey Hill are gone, but Florida figures to have a cast of key returnees to mesh with a top-10 recruiting class. Guard Ke Vaughn Allen, who had 35 points against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, will be the key force. Devin Robinson (11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) will explore the NBA waters without an agent, but his return would give the Gators their most versatile weapon. Big man John Egbunu was injured in early February and his expected return will be vital. Same with buzzer-beater star Chris Chiozza, who will take on a larger role. ► Recruiting class: B+. 5. Kansas (31-5). Kansas guard Malik Newman is one of the key transfers poised to make an impact in '17-18. (Photo: Jeff Blake, USA TODAY Sports). Devonte’ Graham is pondering the NBA, national player of the year Frank Mason III is graduating and high-flying freshman Josh Jackson is NBA-bound. La Gerald Vick (7.4 ppg) and ...

Hoya Legend Patrick Ewing Named Next Georgetown Coach

... commitment to Georgetown and to further animating our legacy of excellence is inspiring," said university president John J. De Gioia. "He is a visionary leader with a deep connection to our community. His experience as a coach over the last 15 years with some of the best basketball minds in the country has prepared him to lead our program. We very much look forward to welcoming him back to our Hilltop as the Head Coach of our men's basketball team.". "After a very thorough national search, Patrick Ewing emerged as the talented leader best prepared to coach the Hoyas in this new era of highly competitive college basketball," Georgetown director of intercollegiate athletics Lee Reed said. "To hire a head coach with this depth of coaching experience and personal achievements is tremendous. It is a thrill to have him come back to his alma mater and continue the legacy of tradition and success he had as a student-athlete on the Hilltop.". During his illustrious career, Ewing had the opportunity to play for, and coach, alongside some of the great coaches in basketball, including Pat Riley (New York Knicks), Jeff Van Gundy (Knicks, Houston Rockets), Stan Van Gundy ...

College Hoops' Royalty Leads Way-too-early Top 25 For 2017-18

... much. 11. Arizona Wildcats. Coach Sean Miller has churned out consistent winners since he arrived in Tucson, and 2017-18 should be no different. Arizona had only one senior ( Kadeem Allen ) on this season's young roster. It will lose brilliant freshman center Lauri Markkanen , and odds are that at least one or two of its talented wing trio ( Allonzo Trier , Kobi Simmons and Rawle Alkins , with Alkins seeming the most likely to come back). Still, Miller's recruiting efforts have another star big on the way: No. 1 center (and No. 2 overall, per the ESPN 100) prospect De Andre Ayton. The Wildcats have a lot of personnel questions to figure out in the coming weeks, but "Miller plus talent" is always a handy equation. 12. Michigan State Spartans. Shortly after his team's second-round tournament loss to Kansas, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, proud as he has ever been, told reporters his young, injured and occasionally overwhelmed 2016-17 group ...

Gonzaga, Coach Mark Few Never Doubted They Would One Day Play For A National Championship

... I’ve been coaching,” said Williams, who led Kansas to four Final Fours before taking the Tar Heels to five. “I don’t pat myself on the back too much about that.”. Nor does Few. But it’s different. It took Few’s urging for Gonzaga to supply the coach with resources he needed to stay successful. Ot long into his tenure, Few and Roth met with the school president at the time, Robert Spitzer, who had previously been recalcitrant about upgrades to the basketball facilities. “He asked us, ‘What are things we need?’” Roth said. “Mark was emphatic. ‘We need a new arena.’ We were in a gym. You’re not going to recruit certain athletes to a gym.”. A new 6,000-seat arena opened in 2004, and at around the same time, Gonzaga became the first West Coast school to charter flights to all its road games. ...