Your Home For College Hoops
Sunday, December 22, 2024
A light night of action starts the week with a champion crowned despite a prior champion’s best efforts. Plus a rematch in the nation’s capital is ahead, an in-state matchup will come in another final, and a couple of close ones out west close the night.
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.
The first two NCAA Tournament bids went out after dramatic finishes in championship games to set the stage. Plus a long day of tournaments ends with a thrilling back-and-forth between two star guards, a surprise champion in the ACC and a three-way tie atop the Big East.
After higher seeds routinely won the first couple of days, the Missouri Valley Conference highlighted a day where several lower seeds won. Plus one more regular season title has been clinched, a blueblood disagrees with some allegations levied against them, and the show will go on for one school next week.
In a must-win game that was a big opportunity for the home team, Maryland rallied and then ripped their hearts out of them. Plus the leaders win in the Southern, a key guard comes back in a good win in the SEC, and a long show-cause will be one to keep in mind later on.
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.
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.
San Diego State remained undefeated and continued one of the season’s best early stories, gritting out a win over recent nemesis Fresno State on New Year’s Day. The Mountain West, American and Southern Conference were among the few busy to start 2020.
Conference play is about to begin in earnest all around the country. How does every conference in Division I shape up after non-conference play has (mostly) completed? We take a look here.
Saturday was a reminder of one day that reflects the challenge college basketball has in starting earlier every year. Football drives the train in college sports, and on this day it is evident for the first month or so of the season. We also look at a few more conferences before the season.
