11 To Look Forward To In '11

One of the few sure things next year will be the day Mike Krzyzewski surpasses Bobby Knight to become winningest coach in NCAA history. (Photo courtesy of Newark Star-Ledger)Since it's the last day of the year, what better way to recap it than by previewing the year ahead? In honor of 2011, the following are eleven items...

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Postgame Shootaround: UNC vs. Rutgers

As a North Carolina fan in New York, I haven't had the chance to go see the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. So, when Carolina came to Madison Square Garden to play Rutgers, I jumped at the chance to finally see Roy Williams' bunch. It took 24 years, but seeing UNC was a highlight for me as a fan before their 78-55 victory against the Scarlet Knights. ...

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Full Court Press: UConn-Pitt Preview

Ashton Gibbs leads Pittsburgh back home for Big East opener against UConn tomorrow night at the Petersen Center. (Photo courtesy of SportsNet New York)Conference season is finally upon us, and there really isn't a better matchup to start the league slate than this one at the Petersen Center. Sixth-ranked Pittsburgh takes...

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89 Wins Later, UConn Still Streaking

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma stands alone atop the world of consecutive win records as his Lady Huskies win their 89th last night with 93-62 rout of Florida State. (Photo courtesy of Albany Times-Union)Through my 24 years, I've seen many things in the sports world. Not many have matched the significance...

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Postgame Shootaround: 2-3 Zone Returns

St. John's and coach Steve Lavin after one of their finest hours last night as Johnnies defeat Northwestern to win Holiday Festival for first time since 2005. (Photo courtesy of Mark Fratto, senior associate athletic director for communications at St. John's University)The 2-3 zone makes its return just before Christmas,...

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Roberts & Hall Explore Different Options

After two-plus years where he showed flashes of brilliance, Quincy Roberts has decided to leave St. John's on same day Ferrakohn Hall announces his transfer from Seton Hall. (Photo courtesy of JohnnyJungle.com)Two years ago, Quincy Roberts was thrust into the starting point guard position in his freshman campaign at St....

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Full Court Press: Texas-UNC Preview

Our full court press returns with a detailed closer look at this weekend's marquee nonconference matchup between Texas and North Carolina in the Longhorns' latest big game before heading to the Breslin Center for their clash with Michigan State.#25 Texas Longhorns (8-2)Head Coach: Rick BarnesProbable Starting Lineup:PG: Dogus Balbay (6-1 Sr., 4.6 PPG,...

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Your Starting Five

Kansas freshman Josh Selby finally makes his long-awaited debut Saturday night against USC. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)Another week in the college basketball world has come and gone, which means it's time once again to recap what happened in the past few days and set our sights on the immediate future in the latest edition...

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Postgame Shootaround: St. John's vs. Fordham

Fordham students and fans storm the court at tiny Rose Hill Gym moments after Rams' 84-81 upset of St. John's. Fordham trailed by 21 at one point in the second half. (Photo courtesy of the author's personal collection)College basketball is once again relevant in New York.One week after St. Francis played (in my opinion)...

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This Week's Starting Five

Here's another new feature on the blog as we get closer to the start of conference play, (unless you're the NEC, whose conference openers were played last week in their unique split-season league ledger) taking a look at the happenings around the college hoops world earlier this week and previewing what's to come tomorrow:Jimmy V ClassicWe learned...

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Mid-Major Mayhem

While St. John's may be New York's college basketball team, don't sleep on St. Francis; as Akeem Bennett and the Terriers are off to surprising 2-0 NEC start. (Photo courtesy of SFCAthletics.com)I've made many mentions to "game of the year" matchups in recent posts; and out of the few to live up to the hype, no one could...

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Postgame Shootaround: Michigan State vs. Duke

After last night's 31-point virtuoso outing against Michigan State, Kyrie Irving is clearly living up to the hype for Duke. (Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)In the pregame preview for Michigan State-Duke, I alluded to the fact that this was one matchup that could live up to its "game of the year" hype. Less than...

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Full Court Press: MSU-Duke Preview

If nothing else, tonight's clash at Cameron Indoor Stadium between Michigan State and Duke should be a coaching clinic between Tom Izzo (photo courtesy of New York Daily News) and Mike Krzyzewski. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)The hype finally comes to a head in Durham tonight with the first of many potential "game of the year"...

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TCU Two-Steps Mountain West For Big East

Despite being a football school primarily, Gary Patterson and TCU moving to Big East helps the basketball program too. (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)After a summer making headlines with the rumored addition of Memphis, Big East expansion is again taking center stage in the sports world. Only the Southern arrival...

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First Impressions

We're very hard pressed to find anyone that thought Kemba Walker would drive past the competition this early into the season. (Photo courtesy of New York Post)Back at it off the Thanksgiving hiatus, and since there wasn't a Preseason NIT "Postgame Shootaround," I'll try to compensate for everything that happened over...

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Postgame Shootaround: Maui Invitational

So last night in Maui turned out completely unlike what I predicted in this space 24 hours ago, as UConn and Kentucky managed to win and provide us a Cal vs. Cal championship game, with Michigan State and Washington playing the consolation game for third place. Without further ado, my musings on the Hawaii hysteria:If you don't know, now you know.Kemba...

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Postgame Shootaround: 2-3 Zone Edition

We'll take a different approach this time around with a "2-3 zone" edition of our traditional recap. For those unsure about how 2-3 zone will be applied here, it means we'll recap two games and preview three that will take place tonight.Marquette still doesn't know just how good it is.Buzz Williams's squad played their hearts out in an 82-77 loss...

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