Sports InsideOut

Duke vs. Michigan State This was the most hyped up matchup of the day, with the top 2 teams in the country facing off against each other.  I thought this game lived up, even when potential number one pick in next year's draft in Marvin Bagley III went out for the game early with a painful looking eye injury.  Duke controlled the glass in this one, out-rebounding Michigan St 46-34 and also won the the turnover battle, forcing 17 and making only 9.  I was really surprised by the turnover numbers particularly, as Duke has a really young team, with two young guards, Gary Trent, Jr. and Trevon Duval, who I figured would be prone to making turnovers, to go along with Grayson Allen, who has averaged at least 2 turnovers a game in back to back seasons.  Allen was really impressive scoring the basketball, and was basically unstoppable scoring the basketball at times, but his 37 point game was inflated by some late game free throws and a couple of poor defensive plays by MSU...

College basketball is back!!!  My favorite time of the year has returned. Top 25 rankings to be out soon.  Here are my thoughts from some offseason stuff and the slowest first weekend of college basketball in years. 1. FBI Scandal The recent college basketball FBI scandal was by far the biggest story of the offseason.  10 people were indicted because of corruption in college basketball, including 5 assistant coaches, from power programs such as Arizona, Oklahoma State, Miami, etc.  The biggest impact thus far has been the firing of Rick Pitino, Louisville's coach and one of the most respected coaches nationwide.  This scandal has really put a damper on the beginning of the season, at least for me, especially when players like Collin Sexton, De'Anthony Melton and Jeffery Carroll are suspended indefinitely due to allegations related to the scandal (on a side note, why is the NCAA basically the only place where people are guilty until proven innocent? ...

1. The Underseeded Wichita State (10 seed) This is just a disgrace.  Number 8 in the country on kenpom.com, the Shockers are way underseeded.  I think that they should have gotten a 4 or 5 seed, and that they are a 2 or 3 seed quality team.  Look for them to beat Dayton easily and then at least give Kentucky a run for their money if they don't take them out. St. Mary's (7 seed) This is another incredibly disappointing seeding. I think this team deserves a 4 seed, and a 7 seed is terrible for not only them but also for Arizona, who could have to play them in the second round (by the way, I would love to see that game, particularly the Lauri Markkanen vs. Jock Landale matchup).  Fun fact: kenpom.com ranks St. Mary's number 14 and Arizona number 20, while St. Mary's is a 7 seed and Arizona is the 2 seed in the same region. SMU (6 seed) Another horrible seed.  SMU deserves a 3 seed, and instead they could match up against Baylor and then maybe Duke in the se...

Although this season has been dominated by blue-blood programs thus far (UCLA, Kentucky, Duke Kansas, North Carolina, etc.), there are plenty of underrated teams who could steal the headlines come March.  Here are my picks to shock the world in this year's March Madness. Wichita State Gregg Marshall is going to make his 6th straight NCAA tournament this year with the Shockers, barring a massive collapse.  Many people might have thought that Wichita State couldn't do it without Fred Van Vleet and Ron Baker, who both graduated last year.  However, the Shockers are once again a really good team that is a major threat to make some noise in the NCAA tournament.  Led by a dominant defense and 6 players who score at least 7.8 points per game, Wichita State is ranked number 13 in the kenpom.com rankings (a Ken Pomeroy computer ratings system that ranks teams based on offensive and defensive efficiency).  The most amazing thing to me about this program is its consiste...

In this post, I'm going to pretend that basketball teams are stocks, and give advice on whether to buy, sell or hold.  I'm picking 5 of the most talked about and well-known teams in the country. Baylor - SELL With Villanova's loss, Baylor should move to #1 in the country, barring a loss to Oklahoma St.  While I think Baylor is really good, definitely a top 10 team, and probably a top 5 team, I don't think they are worthy of the number one spot.  They barely beat Iowa State this week at home, and don't have the elite talent that other top teams do.  While I think they are still a great team, I would sell them as the number one team in the country, because I think they are going to lose a game or two in the near future. Duke - HOLD Duke is ranked number 8 right now.  I think that they have the most talent in the country by far.  Harry Giles has looked very good in limited minutes since returning from his knee injury, and I think that if this team puts it...

College basketball is underway yet again, and there have been quite a few good games thus far.  There have also been several great performances, and a lot of changes in the rankings.  Sorry for the long post, just wanted to detail the first couple weeks of the season.  Here are some of my early season headlines: 1. Great Opening Night Opening night this year in college basketball included a number of freshman debuts, and a few surprising games, but the highlight was the Armed Forces Classic, which had two match-ups of top 12 teams at the time.  #10 Arizona and #12 Michigan State (AP rankings at the time) faced off in the first thriller.  The game wasn't one of great shooting by either team, probably due to some rust and both teams playing great defense.  This didn't stop a highlight show of dunks and great plays by MSU freshman Miles Bridges who showed his powerful strength around the rim.  However, MSU couldn't find another scorer and Arizona'...

1. Oregon is upset early. The Ducks are a good team, but in my opinion, more of a 3 seed than a one seed, although their blowout win over Utah in the PAC-12 title game was nice. The real problem for me regarding their NCAA tourney hopes is how many bad losses they have.  They have 3 losses against teams outside the top 100, and two more against teams outside the top 50.  This doesn't bode well for the NCAA tournament, as teams will only be coming after them even harder, as they are a 1 seed.  I don't think the Ducks make the Elite 8, and although they certainly are not likely to lose in the first round, and I think they almost definitely won't, but of all the 1 seeds in recent years, I think they are most likely to lose of any of them. 2.  The Big Ten has a strong showing. The Big Ten was under seeded this year, with only one team seeded 4 or higher, and teams like Indiana, Michigan St, and Iowa seeded lower than what they were projected to be seeded.  I t...