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News/Analysis
- There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Big East: “It was a very bad weekend for the Big East. The conference sent a record 11 teams to the NCAA tournament and after one weekend of play only two are advancing to the Sweet 16. The first weekend was a massive disappointment for the conference and a torrent of commentors are now using it as evidence that the conference was overrated, overhyped and the victim of an ill-advised 16-team model. They’re wrong.” (The UConn Blog)
- Kentucky Basketball: Forged by Fire: After their struggles closing out games the Wildcats appear to have finally found the ability to close out games. (A Sea of Blue)
- Fab Melo: He Will Make The Leap: “We all know how Fab did this season. He didn’t come in and immediately become the big man on campus like we had thought, he struggled mightily at times with injury and conditioning issues, and he never really proved to be a factor for us offensively and only rarely defensively. However, I believe that its safe to say that he will definitely be the starting Center next year, and he will do incredibly well.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
- The Annual “Rick Barnes Forest For The Trees” Assessment: “Last year, I think I’d finally soured on Rick Barnes’ coaching abilities. I’d stated as much here on these pages. This year, I thought I I’d seen some improvement from the coach early on although I still saw some of the same weaknesses I’d always griped about (e.g., lack of in-game adjustments, poor offensive identity and flow, free throws, etc). I got excited when we beat Kansas thinking that perhaps Rick had taken us to another level of basketball that perhaps we’d only approached when T.J. Ford led us to the Final Four. I sit here today feeling that I was wrong about that. We can say what we want but we’re left with the same result. Going home.” (Burnt Orange Nation)
- Bruce Pearl Fired at Tennessee: “So here we are now at the end. And if Pearl’s first five years brought the greatest joy Tennessee Basketball fans have ever known, this ending brings us our greatest tragedy.” (Rocky Top Talk)
- Finishing The Unfinished Business: Kris Joseph Will Return For Senior Year: “Here’s the good news about Syracuse Basketball. The 2011-2012 team is going to be LOADED. Loaded with talent. Loaded with experience. Loaded with athletes. Loaded with youth. Loaded with depth. A big part of that was sealed today when Kris Joseph officially made it clear to CNY Central he would not go pro after this season.” (Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician)
- I’ve got a bad feeling about this: UConn’s dismal history in NCAA road games: “The Honda Center in Anaheim is just under 100 miles away from the San Diego St. University campus. That means the Aztecs will have to travel about 2,800 miles less than the Huskies to get to Thursday’s game and if history is any indication that is very, very bad news for the Huskies.” (The UConn Blog)