Here are teams 16-25 in my 2012-2013 preseason college basketball Top 25 and other teams who just missed the cut.
Northwestern could have game-changing receiver in Kyle Prater
April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Over the years Northwestern has produced a series of big name tailbacks (Noah Herron, Tyrell Sutton, Darnell Autry, Jason Wright) and even a NFL caliber in QB in Mike Kafka.
However, the wide receivers have been the weakest link of the offensive skill position players. The “no-name receiving corps” has produced some good numbers and some solid personnel like Zeke Markshausen, a homeless man’s Wes Welker, and Jeremy Ebert, a Big Ten leader.
However, there’s been no true headliner, so anyone with NFL potential…until maybe Kyle Prater? Could he become that blue-chip, go-to guy?
2012 Final Four to include All-Star game of college seniors
March 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The 2012 Reese’s Division I College All-Star game will be played as part of Final Four Friday during the 2012 NCAA Men’s Final Four weekend on March 30 at 4:35 Central time at the Superdome. The game features 20 of the nation’s most outstanding seniors from NCAA Division I, selected by the NABC. It will be broadcast Saturday, March 31 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on TruTV.
Here are the rosters for Friday’s game:
Kansas’ Thomas Robinson only unanimous pick on AP All-American team
March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Kansas Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson, a leading national college basketball player of the year award candidate heads today’s announcement of the AP All-American team.
From the Associated Press:
Bill Carmody gets another chance to get Northwestern to NCAA Tournament
March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Making four straight NITs is a weird thing in college basketball. To be that consistently mediocre, without bubbling up to the big dance (especially now that there are 68 teams) or falling down to no postseason is rather odd. An entire class of players knew what it is was like to be competitive, but not actually good.
Decent, but not something to be proud of. That’s the last four years of Northwestern basketball under Bill Carmody. The four years that produced John Shurna, the program’s best player, but no March Madnesses. And Carmody will get the chance to fulfill his contract and correct that, the school announced today.
Who might replace Bill Carmody at Northwestern?
March 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
There are financial advantages to letting Bill Carmody finish out his contract at Northwestern, as there won’t be a buyout. NU needs to put more money into its next coach and the program as a whole when that coach takes over. Even if Carmody makes the Big Dance next season, the school has to help him out by upgrading facilities and re-examining admission standards.
Without a buyout to deal with, NU can put all its money into the program after next season, be it with Carmody or another coach.
If the Cats fall short of expectations again next season and Carmody isn’t resigned, NU will have had time to thoroughly evaluate coaching options and have a succession plan in place.
Guest post by Kevin Trahan of bigtenorbust.com, purplewildcats.com and the Daily Northwestern.
Should Northwestern give Bill Carmody another year?
March 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Bill Carmody’s seat is warm. Warmer than he has ever felt it before and warmer than a seat typically gets for coaches at Northwestern. After yet another year in which his team failed to miss the NCAA Tournament, Carmody is taking heat.
And he certainly deserves it.
This year’s team underachieved. It failed in the clutch so many times throughout the season and couldn’t come up big in big moments and that’s a reflection of the coach. Carmody’s level-headed approach to his job is impressive, but there’s also something to be said for igniting a fire under your time to provide a spark.
However, this isn’t a call to fire Carmody. There is certainly validity to the argument for it — 12 seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance would do it — but the timing isn’t right. A few years ago? Sure. But not now.
Guest post by Kevin Trahan of bigtenorbust.com, purplewildcats.com and the Daily Northwestern.
Stanford and Northwestern initiate football series; not academic quiz bowl
March 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Think of it like an Academic Quiz Bowl, except on the gridiron. Northwestern continues college football series with all the schools across the nation with similar elite graduation rates and exceedingly stringent entrance requirements. They’ve had recent home-and-homes with Vanderbilt, Duke and Rice.
They have a similar series slated with Notre Dame, and now Stanford.
FINAL Bracketology: Projecting the 2012 NCAA Tournament Field
March 11, 2012 By 14 Comments
Happy Selection Sunday! Get your brackets ready because the NCAA Tournament field will be announced today. Here is The Sports Bank‘s latest Bracketology. I have more than held my own the past couple of years against ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and with my extreme college hoops nerdom, plan to do so again this year. (An * represents a team that has already clinched an automatic bid.)
UPDATED: 3/11/12 4:30 PM
Northwestern severely decrease their NCAA Tournament chances by losing in OT
March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
NU dealt themselves a serious blow to their own NCAA Tournament hopes tonight. They were right on the cusp, that “last 4 in” line, but probably not so much anymore. Granted they still need four teams to play their way above them, but Championship week is long and those types of things develop quite quickly.
“Hopefully I won’t be disappointed on Sunday. But I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll be playing next week, and we like to compete no matter who we’re playing against,” John Shurna said after the game.
Northwestern is a different looking team with JerShon Cobb (but it still wasn’t enough).
Did Losing To Minnesota Burst Northwestern’s Bubble?
March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, there was probably no more compelling storyline than the Northwestern Wildcats trying to get their first NCAA bid in their school’s history. Having finished seventh in the Big Ten, and just one win against the RPI top 50, the Wildcats were thoroughly on the bubble, and the consensus was that they had work to do in the conference tournament to be assured a ticket to the Dance.
