LATEST STORIES FROM THE DAGGER
With Xavier faltering, who’s the new A-10 favorite?
It requires only two short sentences to sum up the chaos in the Atlantic 10 in the wake of an unpredictable opening three weeks of conference play.
Five teams are tied for first place with matching 4-2 records. None of them is Xavier.
Saint Louis' 73-68 victory at Xavier on Wednesday night suggests the arrival of a new era in the Atlantic 10, one in which at least for this season...
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18 days ago
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Two Big Ten guards attempt alley-oops … and hit threes instead
Two of the luckiest plays of the college basketball season happened in the Big Ten within hours of each other Wednesday night.
With Ohio State already leading Penn State 35-15 late in the first half, point guard Aaron Craft attempted a lob pass to teammate Sam Thompson from a few steps inside mid-court that instead went straight into the net. Minnesota's Julian Welch duplicated...
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18 days ago
Dunk of the year candidate: Oklahoma State’s Markel Brown
If ever there were a dunk worthy of an ejection for trash talking, Markel Brown's alley-oop Wednesday night against Missouri may have been it.
Oklahoma State point guard Keiton Page Brown throws a long-distance lob pass to Brown, who catches it one-handed behind his head and emphatically throws it down over 6-foot-2 guard Matt Pressey. The play ignited the crowd at Gallagher...
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18 days ago
Driesell’s objections to ‘Gary Williams Court’ are ill-timed, unfair
Maryland decision to name the Comcast Center court after newly retired Gary Williams should be a celebration of everything the legendary coach accomplished in his illustrious 22-year tenure.
Instead it has become a competition thanks to the ill-timed objections of a disgruntled predecessor.
In separate interviews with the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post this week, Lefty Driesell...
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19 days ago
Nine former national champions will be going gray this season
Here's the only good thing about Nike unveiling unsightly gray jerseys on Wednesday for some of the nation's most tradition-rich college basketball programs: Each team is only required to wear them once.
Nine former national champions will break with tradition during a game in the coming weeks by forgoing their typical school colors in favor of Nike's new Hyper Elite...
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19 days ago
Steve Johnson is surprised Ricardo Ratliffe is threatening his record
When two friends approached Steve Johnson at the gym Sunday and told him a player at Missouri was on pace to break his 31-year-old single-season field goal percentage record, the former Oregon State star admits he was stunned.
For years, Johnson believed his 74.6 percent shooting from his senior season was almost unmatchable in today's college basketball. Then he went home, scoured...
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19 days ago
San Diego State overcomes the elements, tightens grip on first place in Mountain West
During an 18-2 start to the season with more than a few eye-opening wins along the way, San Diego State established itself as one of the nation's most consistent teams.
On Tuesday night, it firmly established itself as one of the nation's toughest.
Ultimately, a 20-hour trip to Laramie, Wyo., that stretched over two days and included pit stops in Cedar City, Utah, and Grand...
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19 days ago
Where have several of the Cameron Crazies gone?
Maybe it really is the theory that college kids these days would rather watch their team play on their laptop screen while multi-tasking and studying than camping out in the freezing cold just to ensure a better seat.
Whatever the real reasons are, the average attendance by students for Duke's men's basketball games — the famed Cameron Crazies — is down.
It's not...
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20 days ago
Projecting the five top BracketBusters matchups
Will Creighton get a showcase game for Doug McDermott? Will Murray State draw a team capable of ending its unbeaten run? Will Long Beach State or Iona get one last chance for a resume-boosting win?
Those questions will be answered Sunday when the pairings for this year's BracketBusters games are announced.
Each of the BracketBusters matchups will take place Feb. 17, 18 or 19...
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20 days ago
Maryland honors Gary Williams with fist-pump silhouette
Before the public unveiling of newly minted Gary Williams court before Wednesday night's matchup with Duke, Maryland held a celebratory dinner in honor of its legendary coach who retired last year.
Only Williams' former players and closest friends attended the event, but some were kind enough to share some memorable photos with the rest of us.
The photo to the right from...
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20 days ago
Breakfast Buffet: Iona’s collapse may be costly
1. The combination of guards Scott Machado and MoMo Jones and high-scoring forward Mike Glover make Iona a potentially dangerous NCAA tournament team, but the Gaels now may have to win the MAAC tournament to get there. That's how damaging it was for Iona to blow a 20-2 lead against Siena and fall 65-62 on Monday night. The Gaels' modest non-league resume may not be enough...
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20 days ago
Even Kansas basketball fans mocked Billy Cundiff
As if Billy Cundiff hadn't already endured enough abuse in the previous 24 hours, Kansas students decided to poke fun at the beleaguered Baltimore Ravens kicker during Monday's 64-54 victory over struggling Texas A&M.
Each time the Aggies went to the free throw line, a group of students held up giant white cardboard cutout letters that spelled out C-U-N-D-I-F-F. The sign was...
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20 days ago
John Calipari goes overboard vouching for SEC
It has become as time-honored a January tradition as vows to lose the 10 pounds we put on the previous year.
As college basketball's conference season heats up, coaches from across the nation claim their league is underappreciated.
Kentucky coach John Calipari apparently saw an opportunity to vouch for the SEC during the league's weekly teleconference on Monday after Tennessee...
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21 days ago
Old Dominion’s home jerseys stolen from locker room
For the first time in recent memory, Old Dominion will wear its blue jerseys during a home game Monday night.
The Monarchs have no choice after thieves broke into their locker room on Saturday night and stole shoes and gear including many of the team's home white jerseys. As a result, Old Dominion will wear its blue jerseys at home and on the road for the time being while it...
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21 days ago
Illinois’ inconsistency continues to be troubling
When Brandon Paul's 43-point scoring barrage led Illinois to a memorable upset of Big Ten favorite Ohio State earlier this month, many cautioned not to fully trust the Ilini until they showed the consistency they have lacked in recent years.
True to form, Illinois has since made they naysayers look wise by dropping its next two to fall back to its now-customary spot in the middle...
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21 days ago
Cal Poly ties Division I record for consecutive threes
Cal Poly has emerged as an upper-echelon Big West program because of its stingy defense, so the Mustangs had to be surprised it's their outside shooting that has earned them a spot in the record books.
They tied the NCAA Division I record for consecutive 3-pointers on Saturday night by sinking 11 straight from behind the arc in a 100-54 shellacking of Cal State Northridge. Cal...
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22 days ago
Last unbeaten teams often haven’t enjoyed March success
Here's one reason Syracuse shouldn't worry too much about suffering its first loss of the season at Notre Dame on Saturday: Being college basketball's last unbeaten team doesn't guarantee postseason success.
In the last 10 seasons, Florida's 2005-06 team is the lone last undefeated team to win the national championship. Seven of the other nine failed to make the...
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22 days ago
Snaer’s three lifts Florida State past Duke, into ACC contention
When Michael Snaer silenced a roaring Cameron Indoor Arena with a game winning three as time expired on Saturday afternoon, it didn't just snap fourth-ranked Duke's 45-game home winning streak.
The Seminoles' 76-73 victory also raised the question whether they should be considered legitimate ACC title contenders.
Crazy as it may sound considering Florida State is three...
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22 days ago
Matt Painter spars with Izzone over heckling of Robbie Hummel
Between a nightmarish weather-delayed trip to East Lansing and a discouraging 25-point loss at Michigan State, Purdue coach Matt Painter might have been more short-tempered than usual Saturday.
It showed when Painter got into a heated exchange with members of the Michigan State student section after the final buzzer when one of them shouted that he hoped Robbie Hummel would sustain...
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23 days ago
Syracuse won’t have Fab Melo for at least next two games
Two years ago, it was an ill-timed injury to Arinze Onuaku that helped thwart Syracuse's bid to make the Final Four. Now, another charmed Syracuse season may be disrupted by the absence of the team's starting center.
The school announced Saturday afternoon that sophomore Fab Melo did not make the trip with his teammates for Saturday's game at Notre Dame or Monday'...
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23 days ago
Deep Mountain West race could take shape Saturday
With eight members this season instead of nine, the Mountain West Conference's hoops schedule dropped from 16 games to 14.
That makes for less room for error if teams in the title hunt give up ground early.
And that makes Saturday crucial for a handful of teams in the league's upper crust.
The league's most intriguing story so far is, without question, San Diego State...
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24 days ago
Kansas coach Bill Self wants the national anthem left alone
Kansas coach Bill Self has little to be upset with these days.
His thinnest roster in nine years on the job in Lawrence is overachieving, in the driver's seat early on in the Big 12 race and fresh off of an 18-point thumping of third-ranked Baylor on Monday night.
But everything at Allen Fieldhouse isn't perfect at the moment, in Self's opinion.
One key flaw in the game...
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24 days ago
Better defense sparks Vanderbilt’s sudden surge
When Vanderbilt tumbled out of the Top 25 in mid December after losses to the likes of Cleveland State and Indiana State, it was easy to dismiss the highly touted Commodores as vastly overhyped.
One month later, however, it may be time to reconsider.
Buoyed by the return of center Festus Ezeli and a sudden but sharp improvement on the defensive end, the Commodores are playing like...
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24 days ago
North Carolina awaits word on Dexter Strickland’s knee
For all the handwringing surrounding North Carolina's 33-point shellacking at Florida State on Saturday, it may be the Tar Heels' bounce-back win at Virginia Tech on Thursday night that turns out to be more costly.
Oh sure, North Carolina rallied from a five-point halftime deficit against the Hokies to ease their way to an 82-68 win. In the midst of that surge, however, the Tar Heels...
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24 days ago
Will Syracuse don its most hated rival’s colors?
Even at a time when teams routinely forgo traditional school colors in favor of alternate jerseys that attract recruits and sell merchandise, there are some rules that should never be broken.
Kentucky would never wear red. Michigan would never don scarlet. And Duke wouldn't be caught dead in a lighter shade of blue.
That's why many Syracuse fans were livid Thursday when a...
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25 days ago
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