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June 8, 2010
by John Gasaway
The involvement of booster Sam Gilbert with the UCLA basketball program in the 1960s and ‘70s is well known. But how much of an impact did he really have on the Bruins’ success on the court? Not nearly as much as you may have heard.
June 7, 2010
by John Gasaway
John Wooden was the most successful college basketball coach of all time. He was also a modest man who was always open to change. Maybe there was a connection.
April 30, 2010
by John Gasaway
The NCAA's decision to expand the field to just 68 teams instead of 96 was greeted with near-universal acclaim. Now the question is which teams should be in the play-in games.
April 14, 2010
by John Gasaway
Wake Forest raised some eyebrows by firing Dino Gaudio and replacing him with Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik. John suggests you ignore most of what you've heard about both decisions, particularly the second one.
April 6, 2010
by John Gasaway
The Blue Devils are the national champions, and in a normal season we'd take note of a team that put so many stubborn doubts to rest. Then again Butler's amazing run to the 40th minute of the national championship game was anything but normal.
April 5, 2010
by John Gasaway and Ken Pomeroy
John and Ken talk about just how surprising Butler's presence here really is, what Brian Zoubek means to Duke's chances (no, seriously), what Brad Stevens might learn from West Virginia's otherwise lopsided loss, and how smug Ken's computer will be if the Blue Devils win.
April 4, 2010
by John Gasaway
It’s on. The one-seed and the mid-major won their semifinals (in very different fashions) and will meet tomorrow night for the national championship.
April 2, 2010
by John Gasaway
A 96-team field now seems a virtual certainty, whether it arrives next season or when the current TV contract expires. John wishes his fellow anti-expansion purists would have fretted less about NCAA greed or an allegedly decimated regular season and focused instead on one minor detail. The NCAA tournament.
April 1, 2010
by John Gasaway
John wants to know what a Horizon League team making the Final Four means for the school, the city, the sport, and most of all for Netflix rentals.
March 30, 2010
by John Gasaway
The Spartans and Bulldogs weren’t supposed to make it this far, but one of them’s about to play for a national championship. Then again John notes that the presence of a couple of five-seeds isn't the only surprise here.
March 29, 2010
by John Gasaway
The Blue Devils pounded the offensive glass relentlessly and got past Baylor in Houston, 78-71. Also: Michigan State edged Tennessee 70-69, to give Tom Izzo his sixth (and perhaps most unexpected?) trip to the Final Four in the past 12 seasons.
March 28, 2010
by John Gasaway
How many more top teams will the Final Four's official host school have to beat for us to stop being "stunned"? Also yesterday: West Virginia distracted us with some highly weird offensive numbers. Meanwhile their D was suffocating Kentucky.
March 27, 2010
by John Gasaway
After playing in the shadow of Kansas and even Kansas State all season long, Scott Drew's Bears showed they can play some ball too, blowing out Saint Mary's in Houston. In other action Duke outlasted Purdue, Tennessee surprised Ohio State, and Michigan State held off Northern Iowa.
March 26, 2010
by John Gasaway
The Bulldogs sent one-seed Syracuse home with excellent D and some timely threes. Also last night: Kansas State edged Xavier in double-OT, Kentucky and Cornell brought each other down to earth, and West Virginia proved to be too much for Washington.
March 24, 2010
by John Gasaway
The heavily favored Blue Devils are pitted against a Purdue team that's shown surprising resilience without Robbie Hummel. In the South's other semifinal, Baylor will try to slow down Saint Mary's budding media sensation, Omar Samhan.
March 23, 2010
by John Gasaway
John Calipari's team shredded Wake Forest and now faces Cornell, which has set new standards in the field of improbably good offense. Meanwhile the East's other semifinal will pit West Virginia against Washington, two athletic teams that like to get after it on the offensive glass.
March 22, 2010
by John Gasaway
With a stunning two-game display of offense, the Big Red put the Ivy League into the Sweet 16 for the first time in 31 years. John also looks at seven other games from yesterday, two of them involving Big Ten teams who won as time expired.
March 21, 2010
by John Gasaway
The "Era of Chalk" died yesterday, as overall one-seed Kansas fell to Northern Iowa, 69-67. Nor was the Jayhawks' demise an isolated event. Regardless of what happens today, this year's Sweet 16 is already certain to be more heavily populated by Cinderellas than any second weekend in years.
March 20, 2010
by John Gasaway
After a wild first day of upsets, OTs, and buzzer beaters, things settled down yesterday and the brackets generally held form. Though try telling that to Temple. For that matter try telling Wisconsin or Michigan State that all was calm on Friday.
March 19, 2010
by John Gasaway
Ohio beat Georgetown in a surprisingly convincing manner. Murray State sent Vanderbilt home on a buzzer-beater. And even the much maligned west was well represented by Saint Mary's and Washington.
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