Your Home For College Hoops
Sunday, December 22, 2024
In our latest podcast, we talk about the latest development in a tough stretch for a legend-turned-coach, the many questions that still remain about the near future of college athletics, a surprising firing and some player transactions of note. We also close by looking back on earlier times in recruiting in light of the recent retirement of a legendary talent evaluator.
Three more automatic bids went out on Sunday, two of them to repeat champions, to set the stage for the week ahead. Plus lower seeds rule in the Colonial, three teams share the regular season title in two conferences, and a coaching change comes out west on a day off from tournament action.
As conference tournaments get into full swing, the Mountain West takes center stage with its share of drama, including a shocker to end the day. Plus the Huskies get a big win to affect the top of their conference race, the Pac-12 is down to two for its regular season crown, and the Eagles soar above their competitors to control their own destiny in the Big Sky.
During a wild season like this, one has to keep some perspective, and the Big Ten provides many such places to look at as examples, including Ohio State. Plus a Pac-12 team comes up big, the Red Storm get an impressive conference win for a change, and the Mean Green will rule Conference USA in the regular season.
There was no shortage of urgency heading into the home stretch for NC State, and they certainly showed it in taking advantage of a big quality win opportunity. Plus the Wildcats have a bigger lead, a dramatic home win on a night with road wins in the Big East, and two league leaders go on the road and win to stay tied at the top.
One conference had three games on the day that had various levels of surprise to end a weekend that had a lot of it there. Plus another surprise in the Big East, one team got a win they needed while another rallied to avoid a bad loss in the Big Ten, and an in-state rivalry closes out an early day.
Cincinnati won a big road game that by all rights, they should have lost, including what happened before the game. Plus the tight race continues out west, a new leader in the CAA, and now there’s no mystery in a couple of recent Big Ten stories.
Iowa got a nice win over Illinois on Sunday to get within a game of first, which was far from a given after roster changes and in-season adversity since the end of last year. Plus the Red Storm just can’t pull out wins in conference, one mid-major league race gets a little more interesting, and some clarity comes on a bizarre incident from a night earlier.
The Pac-12 is much better this year, but the competitiveness hasn’t changed and the standings are but one reflection of that. Plus a big day of action, one player apparently bit off more than he can chew, and a couple of injuries will keep players out until at least late in the season.
There’s little separation throughout the Big East, and Wednesday reminded us of that. Plus one team stays undefeated, a dubious record in the SEC, and twice the bad news in Madison.
