College Basketball

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

... Austin Nichols; and an offense that spent whole swaths of the ACC season (and a 65-39 second-round NCAA tournament loss to Florida) being more or less broken - the Cavaliers still won 23 games, finished 11 th in BPI and 12 th in adjusted efficiency, posted top-five defensive numbers and swept Louisville in the regular season. It was a pretty good year! The next UVa team will have to forge ahead without London Perrantes , its only consistent source of points, which, given the above, sounds terrifying. More assertive stuff from rising sophomore/man-bun-wearer Kyle Guy (who made 49.5 percent from 3 and needs to take more) could help alleviate some of the offensive woes. In any case, as long as coach Tony Bennett's team keeps guarding like it has, its floor is inherently high. 15. Saint Mary's Gaels. Saint Mary's just fielded its best team in school history - and its most historically unlucky. In almost any other year, SMC probably would have been the West Coast Conference's best team or at least neck-and-neck with a very good Gonzaga squad. In ...

Tar Heels Take Ncaa Title

... over Gonzaga that washed away a year's worth of heartache. It was, in North Carolina's words, a redemption tour — filled with extra time on the practice court and the weight room, all fueled by a devastating loss in last year's title game on Kris Jenkins' 3-point dagger at the buzzer for Villanova. Most of Roy Williams' players returned for another run. To say everything went right for them at this Final Four would not be the truth. The Tar Heels followed a terrible shooting night in the semifinal with an equally ice-cold performance in the final — going 4 for 27 from 3-point land. Gonzaga, helped by 8 straight points from Nigel Williams-Goss, took a 2-point lead with 1:52 left, but the next possession was the game-changer. Jackson took a zinger of a pass under the basket from Theo Pinson and converted the shot, then the ensuing free throw to take the lead for good. Moments later, Goss-Williams twisted his ankle and could not elevate for a jumper that would've ...

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

... per game) had a strong freshman season and is poised for a big sophomore year if he bypasses the NBA. The return of Dusan Ristic and Chance Comanche alongside point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright should give coach Sean Miller an established core. Miller hauled in a top-three recruiting class — headlined by 7-footer De Andre Ayton, the country’s No. 1 prospect, according to 247 Sports — that will keep the Wildcats contending. ► Recruiting class: A+. Mc Donald's High School All-American players Wendell Carter Jr. (34) and Gary Trent Jr. (2) will both be attending Duke in the fall. (Photo: Brian Spurlock, USA TODAY Sports). 2. Duke (28-9). Jayson Tatum is a lottery pick, Harry Giles is turning pro and Amile Jefferson is graduating, but much depends on whether guards Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen decide to leave for the NBA. Both are first-round projections on mock draft boards, with Kennard much higher coming off an All-American season. Allen could bolster his draft stock with ...

Three Storylines To Follow In The Women's National Championship Game

... don’t think I need to talk to her about what not to do. She’s got a good feel for that and she understands her role — the leadership, the responsibility, etc. Again, the kid’s playing with confidence. She wants to be in that moment.”. South Carolina Athletics. South Carolina guard Bianca Cuevas-Moore (1) will likely draw the assignment of guarding Morgan William. If Cuevas-Moore could improve on some unsteady shooting from long distance in the NCAA tournament (4-of-14; 28.6 percent) she might be able to offset some of the scoring from her counterpart. More importantly, making William work on the defensive end might impact the Bulldogs flow offensively. Nonetheless, the performance from these two juniors could go a long way in determining the outcome on Sunday. Two SEC teams that have good familiarity with one another are both in unchartered territory vying for their first national championship. Regardless of how things shake out on Sunday, the team that emerges victorious will ...

College Basketball Rankings 2016-17

... put together arguably the best individual season in Big 12 history. He's the first Big 12 player to average 20 points, four rebounds and five assists per game since the league was formed in in 1996, throwing in 47.1 percent efficiency on three-pointers for good measure. Freshman wing Josh Jackson averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game on 51.3 percent shooting, and junior guard Devonte' Graham chipped in 13.4 points and 4.1 assists and drained a team-best 94 threes. Senior forward Landen Lucas was Kansas' top shooter (63.1 percent) and rebounder (8.3 per game). Why they're here. The Jayhawks fell in the Elite Eight for the second year in a row despite being a No. 1 seed, with coach Bill Self dropping to 2-5 with Kansas in regional finals. Despite the disappointing finish, we can't ignore a 13 th consecutive Big 12 regular-season title, the longest stretch of any power-conference team in NCAA history. 3. Oregon Ducks. NCAA tournament performance: Lost to North Carolina in Final Four. Star performers. Junior ...

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

... two, threatening opponents each year is somewhat offset by the aggressive scheduling of non-conference games that the new arena made possible. This trip to the final has pretty much ended any residual second-guessing. Few dreamed about all this, then fought for it, then stuck around when other programs came calling. Stubborn? Sure. But when asked why he has stayed put all these years, the son of a Presbyterian pastor in Creswell, Ore., boils it down to this: “My dad was 54 years at the same church. I think that’s probably instilled in my brain and soul. Why mess with happy? We’ve always had a great time up there.”. Which takes it back to the question: What is Gonzaga. Roth touts it as “no different than most Catholic, Jesuit institutions: We’re a liberal arts school” with well-respected education, business and engineering departments, among others. There’s a new student center on the 131-acre campus overlooking the Spokane River, and Gonzaga traditionally ranks in the top 10 in intramural sports participation. Daniel Incerpi, the president of the basketball team’s highly motivated booster club, grew up going to ...

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

... Steve Alford has another top-flight recruiting class headlined by 6’7” forward Kris Wilkes. 20 Saint Mary's Gaels. Only two of the Gaels’ top eight scorers were seniors this season. If 6’11” junior Jock Landale returns, he will garner All-America acclaim. 21 Florida Gators. The Gators are only losing two starters, but they need to hope that 6’8” junior forward Devin Robinson, who is entering the NBA draft but not hiring an agent, returns for his senior year. 22 Northwestern Wildcats. With seven of their top eight scorers returning, the Wildcats are ready to prove that this season was no fluke. 23 Michigan Wolverines. Another year of improvement by sophomore forwards Moritz Wagner and D. J. Wilson should help overcome the departures of senior guards Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin. 24 TCU Horned Frogs. The ...

Revisiting How Some Items From College Basketball Preview Played Out

... when he was 10 years old. More by Ed Barkowitz. Arrow icon. WE DO a preview of the college basketball season each November where we highlight 50 things fans should know about. Here's a look at how a few of those items played out, including some that didn't turn out too well. Item: How tough is the ACC expected to be? "I think we certainly rival a couple of the years in the Big East when we put 10 or 11 teams in the tournament," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, referring to his former conference. "I think we're really close to that with 10 or 11 teams that could be (NCAA) tournament teams.". What happened: The ACC got nine teams in. Alas, Syracuse was not one of them. The Orange were 18-14 on Selection Sunday and were done in by a 2-11 road record and an 84 RPI. They got into last year's tournament with a 19-13 record and made it to the Final Four. Item: Danny Manning has gone 7-29 in the ACC in his two seasons as coach at Wake Forest. What happened: The Demon Deacons went 9-9 in league play and probably got the NCAA Tournament bid that ...

Hoya Legend Patrick Ewing Named Next Georgetown Coach

... second all-time leading scorer. College basketball: Hoya legend Patrick Ewing named next Georgetown coach. Georgetown Athletics. Contact | Archive | RSS. WASHINGTON — Georgetown announced Monday that Patrick Ewing has been named its new head men's basketball coach. Ewing comes back to Georgetown after serving for 15 years as an assistant head coach in the NBA. He served as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards (2002-03), Houston Rockets (2003-06) and Orlando Magic (2007-12) and most recently as the associate head coach for the Charlotte Hornets. Ewing is widely regarded as the greatest men's basketball player to ever don the blue and gray. He was selected as one of the top 50 players in the history of the NBA and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Ewing was a three-time consensus first team All-America selection (1983, 1984, 1985) on the Hilltop, leading the Hoyas to three NCAA championship game appearances and the 1984 national title. He was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1984 tournament. — Georgetown Hoyas ...