Your Home For College Hoops
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Heaven knows there’s too much coach worship in college basketball, an art going back decades in the sport, well before the current best-known media sources. It’s hard not to get caught up in the work Chris Holtmann has done with Ohio State this year.
In the early going, there’s a surprise co-leader in one major conference after Sunday. Plus more Pac-12 madness with one school picking up a second big win, a good in-state matchup elsewhere, and a referee considers moving on.
In our latest podcast, we start with a big game in the Big East, then move on to the sudden lack of undefeated teams, a big injury in the ACC, and a powerhouse that looks vulnerable in a stacked conference they have long ruled.
Saturday included 14 ranked teams in action, including a trio of games matching two ranked squads. Three ranked teams were knocked off by unranked, and three more very nearly were. Number One went down. In the end, though, the biggest storyline were the undefeated teams. Specifically, the day started with three. By the end there were none.
Penn State has been and remains a tough place to win, but Pay Chambers might have his best chance at it yet. Plus the Tar Heels rally again, the Sun Devils win another, and a tradition continues at Madison Square Garden.
Another Hurley is winning at a big school, and a bit unexpectedly. Plus one possibility to be the new number one team in the polls, a recently lopsided in-state rivalry, and one team’s tough luck continued on Sunday.
A freshman continues to lead a pleasant surprise from the Big 12 on a light night. Plus one Pac-12 team stays undefeated, another double-double for a Valley star, and a big day is ahead of us.
The most telling game of the day had one team pulling out another where they seemed vulnerable and it was one that got away for their opponent. Plus tournament action heats up, with a few surprises as a day off looms for many of them.
In addition to always being a day for football, Thanksgiving has slowly become more and more of a day for college basketball in the decade. This year, Turkey Day brought a good number of quality matchups. It also was a day for resurgence for a number of schools who sent a message to not count them out, some showing that their seasons are not over after the loss of a key player, others displaying that they are not ready to fade from the national spotlight just yet, after many had assumed they have done just that.
Another quiet weekend included college football again making for light schedules, plus some underwhelming fields in eight-team tournaments. Here are some quick-hit notes from the third weekend of November and second of the hoops season:
