Apr
07
2019
Tom Izzo’s opinion that he needed a second NCAA title to “validate” his career sparked myriad responses. Mostly, the Michigan State basketball coach’s innermost thoughts were met with rebuttals he has already proven himself. Let me tell you a story from the Heart of Tobacco Road, where I live, that illustrates that common belief. A …
Apr
07
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. ACC QUESTION of the WEEK : Will Virginia win It All? When I made my picks at the start of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, I thought Virginia would make the Final Four. When the Final Four arrived, I thought Virginia — which I …
Apr
06
2019
Virginia is playing for the national title after a heart stopping 63-62 win over Auburn Saturday. There was controversy to to finish the game that we will go through, but guess what Virginia doesn’t nor should they care about it. Facing an epic collapse after blowing a late 10 point lead, Virginia made the plays …
Apr
06
2019
If you wondered about the “Gus” patch adorning Michigan State’s basketball jerseys, they represent the indomitable character of Gus Ganakas. The team has stitched the spirit of the late Spartans coach to their Final Four run. The patch’s story is one that the CBS TV crews have failed to properly tell the nation during the …
Apr
06
2019
The NCAA tournament is nearly complete. The field had neither Clemson or NC State. Both made the NIT as 2 seeds, but neither made it New York. By any any measure Clemson and NC State had very similar seasons. A look at their resumes show much didn’t separate the two. Let’s take a look at …
Apr
05
2019
Tom Izzo enriches the Michigan State basketball program’s history with season awards named for former players and coaches. It is one way the Basketball Hall of Fame coach connects the past to the present and into the future. Johnny Green, who led the Spartans to their first Final Four in 1957 while averaging 13.2 points …
Apr
04
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. The Virginia Cavaliers — players, coaches, trainers, support staff — are necessarily and completely focused on the Final Four in Minneapolis. They should be. Why would they not be? It’s all business for a team in search of making more history and redefining …
Apr
04
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. This installment of All Sports Discussion’s coverage of the Virginia Cavaliers at the 2019 Final Four deals with a “quiet” fact, the kind of fact which is easy to miss in the larger celebration of the Hoos’ return to college basketball’s biggest stage. …
Apr
04
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. This story about Duke and North Carolina at the 2019 Final Four begins with a tennis connection. I cover tennis at another Twitter account — @mzemek — and at a site called Tennis With An Accent, which you can follow at @accent_tennis during …
Apr
04
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. Bracket nerds and college basketball historians — from Jim Nantz to your nextdoor neighbor — pay attention to these things. The Duke Blue Devils have repeated their national championship journeys over the years, and anyone who follows Duke closely knows this. In 1992, …
Apr
04
2019
Give @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. The Virginia Cavaliers have reached college basketball’s Holy Grail once again. For the first time since 1984, the Hoos are the Who’s Who of their sport. They will try to reach their first national championship game when they face the Auburn Tigers in …
Apr
03
2019
Buzz Williams is on his way to Texas A&M. There’s no way to sugar coat it. That’s a big loss for the Virginia Tech basketball program. When Buzz Williams was hired, we said it was a good to great hire. We told you that back in 2014. Williams won’t be overwhelmed competing against the like …
Apr
03
2019
Tobacco is no longer North Carolina’s economic engine, Tobacco Road as an old label for college basketball in the state and Lipscomp University is located in Nashville, Tenn. But there is still a reverse Tobacco Road trip for the Bison to complete. Lipscomb, which won three NIT rounds at North Carolina opponents to earn the …
Apr
02
2019
@Hokiesmash_ASD and I (@TalkinACCSports ) preview a couple of big sporting events this weekend the Frozen and Final Fours with a couple of our favorite frequent guests @JoeMicik of the @thebracketyard and @WillsWorldMN of accnation.net. Please check their sites out! You can also find this most recent podcast and all our other podcasts on ITUNES at …
Apr
01
2019
A Michigan State fifth-year senior and an Auburn junior slew a pair of NBA Combine team dragons, leaving Duke and Kentucky short of an NCAA title – not to mention a Final Four – a fourth straight year. Experience still matters most in college basketball. Michigan State’s Kenny Goins and Auburn’s Jared Harper along with …
Mar
31
2019
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is arguably the 2nd best coach in the history of college basketball. Sorry John Wooden will always be number one. Krzyzewski is the winningest men’s college basketball coach in history. His legacy as an All-Time great coach is cemented. That said since 2010, Mike Krzyzewski has become more John Calipari than John …