On College Basketball: It wasn’t us, but the best team won

The 2007 season was the year of the freshmen. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant grabbed headlines all year and both were first-team All-Americans. It was the year of the return of the traditional powers. UCLA made back-to-back appearances in the Final Four. Georgetown returned to prominence under coach John Thompson III and looks poised to […]

On College Basketball: It’s who you play that counts

It looks like UCLA’s season-ending losses to Washington and Cal cost itself a No. 1 seed. Instead, they’ll be No. 2 behind Kansas in the West Regional. And I’m completely OK with that. More than seeding, more than how you played in your conference tournament or your RPI and strength of schedule, one thing matters […]

On College Basketball: Ohio State’s performance falls short of its numbers

“Rankings mean nothing.” That’s what my teammate told reporters when my high school water polo team upset the top-ranked team in our division long before I gave up playing competitive sports in favor of writing about them. Basketball fans across the nation should heed his words and repeat that mantra over and over: Rankings mean […]

On College Basketball: Final chances for invitations to Big Dance

With March rapidly approaching, the bubble for many teams across the country is getting bigger and bigger. For others, those bubbles have already burst. West Virginia’s win over then-No. 2 UCLA on Saturday probably will be enough to move the Mountaineers solidly into the NCAA Tournament. John Beilein’s squad isn’t a lock quite yet for […]