Welcome to March Madness. With the tip-off of the opening round games of the Patriot League Tournament on Monday night — hey, Colgate and Lafayette — Championship Fortnight is already here. To prep ourselves for all of the action among the nation’s Other 26 leagues, the RTC Podblast crew welcomed O26 microwriters Tommy Lemoine (@hoopthink) and Adam Stillman (@adamstillman87) to walk us through some of the top storylines to follow both this week and next. The guys had a good discussion about whether Wichita State will ultimately #cheerfortheears at Arch Madness, which tourneys might produce the most interesting match-ups, and named some players to keep an eye on as we ultimately head toward the NCAA Tournament. Among other things. If you’re at all interested in the non-power leagues, definitely give this preview a listen!

We’re going to be dropping podcasts/podblasts like crazy over the next five weeks of action, so make sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-4:03 – #cheerfortheears – Three Games Left
• 4:03-8:55 – Top Five O26 Teams
• 8:55-10:25 – Conference Tournaments To Be Excited About
• 10:25-12:03 – Another Year, Another WCC Championship for Gonzaga?
• 12:03-13:42 – Leagues Primed For Some Conference Tournaments Upsets
• 13:42-15:38 – Championship Match-Ups to Hope For
• 15:38-17:33 – Potential Bid Stealers
• 17:33-19:34 – Future Cinderellas
• 19:34-21:55 – Players the Nation Will Fall in Love With

March Madness is officially under way. With the Patriot League’s opening round tipping off last night at campus sites in Baltimore, Maryland, and Hamilton, New York, eliminations have begun. The first two teams to survive and advance in the PL were Lafayette and Colgate, meaning that Navy and Loyola (MD) are the Circle of March’s first on-court casualties of the year. A handful of other schools that were not invited to the conference tournaments got their one-day in the CoM sun and were also removed. The entire group of 11 eliminated teams is listed below the Circle. We’re down to 330 active schools. Note: In order to respect the integrity of the regular season, we will not be removing teams until their schedules are finished regardless of their current status (i.e., six Ivy League teams cannot win the conference’s automatic bid).

Thanks also to everyone who played yesterday’s Circle of March crossword puzzle game. Many of you got at least 10 of the words, and a very few of you got the entire set of 15 (several found other words or just made some up). Here were the hidden words: court, rush, march, champion, upset, bubble, madness, cinderella, dunk, lucky shot, stars, final four, bracket, pool, swish. We’ll be contacting those who were among the winning group very soon. Thanks for playing!

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.03.14)

• NJIT
• Northern Kentucky
• Kennesaw State
• LIU Brooklyn
• Sacred Heart
• Jacksonville State
• Tennessee State
• Austin Peay
• Tennessee-Martin
• Loyola (MD)
• Navy

What a crazy weekend of college basketball. After more than enough upsets and upheavals to shake your fist at, the RTC Podcast is here to attempt to make some sense of all the early March Madness. To help us navigate through some of the morass, we asked ESPN analyst Andy Katz to join us for this week’s Rush the Take, and he was gracious enough to spend some time with us discussing the likes of Oklahoma State, the notion of talent vs. seed level, Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin, and what he’s looking forward to in terms of the bubble over the next week. It’s excellent stuff, and will more than get you ready for the week before Championship Week. Hosted by Shane Connolly, the guys also spend time talking over the miraculous ascent of Virginia, the equally miraculous descent of Kentucky, and everything in-between. Join us for a listen!

We’re going to be dropping podcasts/podblasts like crazy over the next five weeks of action, so make sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-7:39 – Virginia Sits Alone Atop the ACC
• 7:39-9:38 – Upsets Abound This Weekend
• 9:38-14:11 – Kentucky’s Season Spirals Downwards
• 14:11-16:43 – Least Concerning Upsets
• 16:43-20:43 – Most Encouraging Win
• 20:43-28:16 – Rush The Take With ESPN’s Andy Katz
• 28:16-31:58 – Future of Rushing the Court
• 31:58-35:15 – Ranking New Mexico
• 35:15-45:13 – Week Preview

In this, our third annual Circle of March, we’re going to spend the next five weeks until post-championship Tuesday counting down and eliminating the entirety of Division I basketball until we get to a single, solitary name. The Patriot League Tournament gets under way this evening, and a total of 12 other conference tourneys will tip off this week after that. According to the NCAA, 11 of this season’s 351 Division I schools are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because of APR scores or because they’re still transitioning up. We have removed those names from the CoM and wish them the best of luck in future seasons — the other 340 schools are represented in the CoM’s inaugural 2014 edition. Because we want every eligible team to get at least one day of run on the Circle, though, we have chosen not to formally remove any of the other already-eliminated schools until Tuesday. Bubble teams also won’t be removed until they’re officially disregarded by the NCAA Selection Committee in two weeks. It just seems nicer this way.

Last year you might recall we added a bit of a game component to the debut CoM. This year’s version is no different, but instead of asking readers to find like groupings of school logos, we’ve added a crossword puzzle element to this one. See if you can locate at least 10 of the NCAA Tournament-related words hidden within the Circle (note: make sure to click on the image for a larger and clearer view). The first 15 people who tweet at us (@rushthecourt) or e-mail us (rushthecourt@yahoo.com) with 10 or more of the correct hidden words will receive a free RTC t-shirt. We’ll also give a t-shirt prize to every 10th person who gets that many right after that. For the first person who identifies all of the hidden words, we’ll have a grand prize. Please, everyone, feel free to SHARE AWAY!

Here is 2014 Circle of March. Welcome to March Madness.

Teams Eliminated From National Title Contention (03.03.14)

• Abilene Christian (D-I transition)
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff (APR)
• FIU (APR)
• Grambling State (APR)
• Grand Canyon (D-I transition)
• Incarnate Word (D-I transition)
• Mississippi Valley State (APR)
• Nebraska-Omaha (D-I transition)
• New Orleans (APR)
• Southern (APR)
• UMass-Lowell (D-I transition)

As we count down the hours until the beginning of March, the RTC Podblast crew is excited to welcome ESPN Sportscenter anchor and all-around good guy Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) to this week’s edition. We recorded before several of last night’s upsets, but we did get some conversation in about Kentucky’s home loss to Arkansas, a discussion about the teams we think are truly most likely to win the national title, and a hard look at the best games in a fairly loaded weekend of action. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) hosts the proceedings. Have a listen.

Scott Van Pelt Riffed on ACC Basketball and What He Loves About March Madness

Also, as we head into March and the insane number of podcasts/podblasts that we plan on dropping throughout the month, remember to make sure to subscribe on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device. The turnarounds are going to be quick!

• 0:00-6:33 – Arkansas Completes Kentucky Sweep in Rupp
• 6:33-9:51 – Arizona Dominant Once Again?
• 9:51-15:37 – Reactions to March Prognostication Rankings
• 15:37-25:28 – Rush the Take – Scott Van Pelt
• 25:28-32:51 – Weekend Preview

One week until the first conference championship tips off (Patriot League), two weeks until Championship Week begins, and three weeks from Selection Sunday… it’s time to get serious about college basketball. Or something like that, which is probably why we spent the first 10 minutes of this week’s RTC Podcast talking about the inanity and insanity of Jim Boeheim, Jim Boeheim memes, and the magic of Tobacco Road. We also found time to discuss the sport’s most loved and hated players this season, what it means to “peak” at the right time, and preview our special NCAA Tournament Prognostication Top 25 (due out a bit later today). As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) hosts the proceedings. Have a listen.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast/podblast on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-12:26 – Questionable Call and Boeheim Freak Out Loses the Game (But Wins the Internet)
• 12:25-16:15 – What’s Next for Syracuse
• 16:15-20:28 – Big Weekend in the Big Ten
• 20:28-22:21 – What It Means to Peak at the “Right Time”
• 22:21-26:01 – Crucial Games in the American
• 26:01-28:25 – Other Notables From a Busy Weekend
• 28:25-32:50 – Concern Level for San Diego State
• 32:50-33:21 – Brief Congratulatory Interlude for Kansas
• 33:21-38:26 – Most Liked and Disliked Players in College Basketball
• 38:26-45:07 – Previewing the NCAA Tournament Prognostication Top 25
• 45:07-50:03 Week Preview/Wrap

Start your weekend off right, with the RTC Podblast, a quick review of the week that was and a look ahead to the weekend that comes. It was a wacky week of college basketball, with some really odd results, but as we approach the two-week mark until the end of the regular season, it’s likely to only get nuttier as desperation sets in for many teams. Join us as we do our best to work through some takeaways from all of the action.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast/podblast on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-4:18 – BC Stuns Syracuse!
• 4:18-10:41 – UNC Rushes the Court Against Duke (oh yeah, they won the game too)
• 10:41-18:10 – Weekend Preview

Who Won the Week? is a regular column that outlines and discusses three winners and losers from the previous week of hoops. The author of this column is Kenny Ocker (@KennyOcker), a Spokane-based sportswriter best known for his willingness to drive (or bike!) anywhere to watch a basketball game. That’s tough to do when the closest game in the week is two states away. There’s four schools, in four different conferences, within 90 minutes of his house. Figure it out, schedule-makers.

WINNER: Virginia

The Cavaliers picked off a pair of pesky road games, winning at a bubble-bound Clemson and pesky rival Virginia Tech, and  – thanks to timely losses from Syracuse and Duke – have the inside track on their first outright ACC title since 1980-81, when Ralph Sampson was a sophomore. In Saturday’s 63-58 win against the Tigers, four Virginia players scored in double digits, led by senior guard Joe Harris’ 16. Tuesday’s 57-53 win over the Hokies was a little uglier, with sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon leading the team with 12 points, but he and Harris combined to shoot 5 for 21 from the field. The molasses-slow Hoos haven’t crested 70 possessions in a game this season, but their 10-game winning streak dates back to a 69-65 loss at Duke on Jan. 13, their only stumble in conference play. Their last four games are Notre Dame, Miami and Syracuse at home before a road trip to Maryland.

Malcolm Brogdon Has Helped the Cavs Turn the Corner
(Photo: Joe Robbins/Getty)

(Related winners:  Virginia coach Tony Bennett, who coaches the best basketball you don’t ever want to watch. Related losers: Duke, which after losing to rival North Carolina cannot win the conference unless Syracuse and Virginia to both lose each game they play not against each other; Syracuse, no longer undefeated and now the only top-20 team with a loss to a team outside the top 150 of the RPI.)

LOSER: Indiana

It’s tough to tell which is falling apart faster: the Hoosiers’ season or Assembly Hall. Indiana got smoked by in-state rival Purdue 82-64 for its third straight loss and now sits at 14-11 and 4-8 in Big Ten play. Cold shooting did the Hoosiers in, with a 39 percent effective field goal rate against a team that usually gives up nearly 48 percent effective shooting. Oh, and Tuesday’s game against Iowa was postponed when a large piece of metal came unfastened from storied Assembly Hall’s roof, falling into the seats. Since then, more pieces of the ceiling have been found to be unsound, so who knows what’s going to happen in that regard. But as poorly as the Hoosiers are playing, maybe any distraction is welcome. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s a little hard to believe, but the regular season is slipping away from us. Some of the small conference tournaments begin in a mere two weeks, and a few teams are running out of time to make a positive impression on the NCAA Selection Committee. One team that has made quite the recent impression is Florida, which has parlayed a two-win week over SEC rivals Tennessee and Kentucky into a #2 national and RTC25 ranking. The guys discuss the ascent of the Gators, the descent of the Wildcats (both Kentucky and Arizona), and a good number of other things in this week’s RTC Podcast, hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114). We also welcomed in RTC national columnist Bennet Hayes (@hoopstraveler) as he pushes into week two of his #rushthetrip covering the western half of the country. He shares some stories from the road, riffs on his favorite venues, and talks about what he’s looking forward to (other than his own bed) as he finishes up things later this week.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast/podblast on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-6:52 – Randy Eats Humble Pie on Florida
• 6:52-11:06 – What a Home Loss Means for Kentucky
• 11:09-16:54 – The Pac-12 Version of Struggling Wildcats
• 16:54-18:02 – What the Win Over Arizona Means for Arizona State
• 18:02-24:06 – WTF Sunday in the Big Ten
• 24:06-27:00 – Other Weekend Notes
• 27:00-40:37 – RTT: Bennet Hayes #rushthetrip
• 40:37-45:19 – Rivalries Fit for a Documentary
• 45:19-51:47 – Creighton Pounds Villanova… Again
• 51:47-56:11 – This Week’s Preview

It’s Friday, it’s Valentine’s Day, and that means it’s time for another tearjerking edition of the RTC Podblast. As we head into a holiday weekend (bookended!) and the countdown of only four weeks until Selection Sunday, the guys are ready to focus on the selection of the field for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. To help us with that task, FoxSports.com‘s Reid Forgrave (@reidforgrave) joined us for this week’s Rush the Takes, as he is currently participating in the NCAA’s mock selection committee exercise in Indianapolis. As always, Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114) hosts, and some of the revelations from Forgrave on how teams like Pittsburgh and Wichita State are being evaluated is certainly interesting.

Make sure to subscribe to the podcast/podblast on iTunes so that you’ll get all of the episodes immediately downloaded to your listening device.

• 0:00-8:22 – Syracuse Continues To Prove Themselves
• 8:22-12:55 – Pitt Continues to Drop Chances
• 12:55-14:38 – The Surprising Postponement of Duke-UNC
• 14:38-15:45 – Quick Takes on Tuesday Action
• 15:45-29:28 – Rush The Takes With Reid Forgrave
• 29:28-37:00 – Weekend Preview