feature – Rush The Court

Overnight 5: February 16, 2023

Matthew Eisenberg — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 04:25:00 +0000

What Thursday lacked in intrigue it made up for with a full-coverage RTC in College Park. Let’s examine in an #overnight5 (@matteise contributing)…

1. A 29-4 Maryland run had Xfinity Center rocking like old days on way to beating #3 Purdue, 68-54. Beyond Edey & BrSmith, rest of Boilers limited to 18 pts on 27% FG. After losing 3 of 4, will returning home get Purdue back on #1 seed track?

10 years ago, today, Maryland upset #2 Duke and stormed the court. Today, they did the same after beating #3 Purdue @wusa9 @TerrapinHoops pic.twitter.com/vxrAyydHlU

— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) February [...]

2021-22 Rush The Court Preseason All-America Teams

Matthew Eisenberg — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 17:51:40 +0000

The 2021-22 Rush The Court pre-season All-American selections feature five Big Ten bigs featured across the three teams, the nation’s leading scorer from a season ago, a pair of dynamic duos, the son of a legend, and much more. Thirty-two different players received at least one vote, and not one of those player were from Kentucky or North Carolina.

RTC Preseason Player of the Year: Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Drew Timme is the RTC Preseason Player of the Year (USA Today Images)

RTC Preseason Coach of the Year: Chris Beard, Texas

Chris Beard is the RTC Preseason Coach of the Year (USA Today Images)

First [...]

RTC 16: 2021-2022 Pre-Season Rankings

Matt Eisenberg — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 19:30:13 +0000

The first Rush the Court rankings are out and they come with no surprise at the top. Gonzaga was a near unanimous selection as the top team in the country heading into the season. Following the ‘Zags, voters believe in a pair of Big 12 squads with Kansas and Texas taking the next two spots. Off of last season’s final Four run, UCLA occupies the #4 spot, one spot ahead of a Villanova team that heads to Pauley Pavilion on Friday night.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: Big Ten (4), ACC (3), Big 12 (3), SEC (2), AAC (1), Big East (1), Pac-12 [...]

Preseason Stock Report: Buy Now

Matthew Eisenberg — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 19:29:02 +0000

The first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season has many familiar faces ranked among the top 25. Here is a look at four teams that did not crack the top 25 to begin the year, but are teams worth buying stock in now.

BYU: In the shadows of Gonzaga sits BYU, a team that won 20 games and earned a #6 seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament. While the Cougars do not return either Brandon Averette or Matt Haarms, they do bring back a pair of All-WCC preseason players in Alex Barcello and Caleb Lohner. Mark Pope’s team also [...]

Preseason Stock Report: Bear Market

Matt Eisenberg — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:44:11 +0000

The 2020-21 season began with both Duke and Kentucky ranked in the top 10 and of course ended with both missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over 40 years. The final AP Poll of last season did not include 10 of the 25 teams that were ranked to begin the season. While polls only tell some of the on-court story, here are a few teams that I feel could have difficulties reaching their lofty preseason expectations.

Auburn: Bruce Pearl’s Auburn club enters the year at #21 in the AP Poll and as high as #9 on a pair [...]

2020-21 Rush the Court All-America Teams and Yearly Awards

Matthew Eisenberg — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 19:26:28 +0000

The 2020-21 Rush the Court awards and All-American selections are here. While five freshman have been selected to the All-American teams, they do not come from the usual suspects of Duke or Kentucky. In fact, the blueblood quartet of Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are without a single player being represented on any of this year’s three All-America teams. While there might be some surprises, the RTC Player of the Year is anything but, with two-time unanimous RTC First Team All-American Luka Garza winning the award. Gonzaga’s undefeated run to the Final Four lands two on the First Team [...]

Eight Questions for the Final Four

Matthew Eisenberg — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 14:31:00 +0000

Sixty-three NCAA Tournament games down, three more to go. After regional final games playing on Monday and Tuesday of this week, the Final Four teams are looking at a slightly shorter turnaround than usual heading into this weekend. Here are four questions for each game set to take place on Saturday in Indianapolis.

#1 Baylor vs. #2 Houston

1) Will Jared Butler break out of his tournament slump? Jared Butler was a first team AP All-American who averaged 17.1 points per game, shot 48.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range prior to the start of the NCAA Tournament. [...]

Eight Key Questions for the Sweet Sixteen

Matthew Eisenberg — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 13:31:00 +0000

What started with 68 is now down to just 16.

While the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament brought the usual surprises, the Sweet Sixteen is not without familiar faces. Three #1 seeds and a pair of #2 seeds are joined by the powerful programs of Florida State and Villanova, a quartet of Pac-12 teams, a pair of mid-majors, and of course, Syracuse. Here are eight questions that could define each match-up:

Saturday’s Games

#8 Loyola (Chicago) vs. #12 Oregon State (2:40 PM EST, CBS), If Oregon State can limit its turnovers, do the Beavers have enough firepower to pull off [...]

16 Questions For First Round Saturday of the NCAA Tournament

Matthew Eisenberg — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 19:37:44 +0000

After 16 games of wall-to-wall NCAA Tournament action on Friday, another 16 games are set to tip on Saturday. Here are questions I have for each game that will be played on First Round Saturday.

#1 Gonzaga vs. #16 Play-In Winner of Appalachian State/Norfolk State: What will a senior Corey Kispert look like in the NCAA Tournament? In Corey Kispert’s first two seasons at Gonzaga, he averaged 6.1 points per game in 24.8 minutes across seven NCAA Tournament games. No longer a secondary option, Kispert is poised to shatter his previous averages.#1 Michigan vs. #16 Play-In Winner of Mount St. [...]

16 Questions for First Round Friday of the NCAA Tournament

Matthew Eisenberg — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:53:08 +0000

With the first round of the NCAA Tournament now just days away, here is a question I have for each of Friday’s 16 match-ups.

#1 Illinois vs. #16 Drexel: Can the Illini’s Trent Frazier and Adam Miller begin the Tournament by finding their three-point shot? The Illini duo of Frazier and Miller made 36.7 percent of their three-point attempts in the season’s opening 22 games. Down the stretch over the final seven games, Frazier and Miller were a combined 16-of-55 (29.1%) from beyond the arc.#1 Baylor vs. #16 Hartford: Will Baylor be back to its pre-COVID pause self or will the [...]

2020-21 RTC16: Week 15

Matthew Eisenberg — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 02:48:23 +0000

With now less than a week to go until Selection Sunday, the top eight in the RTC16 has become a bit more stable. As leagues embark on their conference tournaments, strong play to protect and possibly improve seeding will be key. With Gonzaga and Baylor having secured two of the four #1 seeds, will the Big Ten grab the others or will a team like Alabama pry a top seed away?

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: Big Ten (5), Big 12 (3), ACC (2), SEC (2), AAC (1), Big East (1), MVC (1), WCC (1),

RISING:

Illinois: Brad Underwood’s Illini picked up a pair of [...]

Ten Questions to Consider: Making Statements to Close the Regular Season

Matthew Eisenberg — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 11:01:00 +0000

The first weekend of March brings the final weekend of the 2020-21 regular season. Seeding, both in terms of conference and NCAA Tournament positioning, is on the line as conference foes look to make a final statement before heading into sudden death territory. With pressure mounting, here are 10 questions I have for the weekend ahead:

With or without Ayo Dosunmu, can Illinois carry over its performance against Michigan to this game? (Illinois @ Ohio State, Saturday, 4 PM EST, ESPN) The Illini put together one of the most impressive performances of the season on Tuesday night with their lopsided victory [...]

2020-21 RTC16: Week 14

Matthew Eisenberg — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 02:11:45 +0000

The lengthy run of Baylor and Gonzaga holding down the top two spots in the RTC16 has finally come to an end with Michigan jumping the Bears this week for the #2 spot. The Wolverines moved up after overpowering victories against Iowa and Indiana last week. Sophomore Franz Wagner has upped his production since Michigan returned from its COVID pause, having now scored 20 or more points in three of Michigan’s five games. While Illinois remains in the top five, the Big Ten was not without a shakeup in the RTC top 10, as Iowa climbed and Ohio State fell [...]

2020-21 RTC16: Week 13

Matthew Eisenberg — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 17:27:00 +0000

Michigan picked up its most impressive victory of the season with its five-point win over the weekend at Ohio State. The two teams combined to shoot 53.4 percent from the field and used tremendous ball movement to each find open shots all game long. Elsewhere, Ayo Dosunmu picked up his second triple-double of the season; West Virginia came roaring back from another double-figure deficit to pick up a win at Texas; and Florida State put up 80+ points on Virginia. With just one week left in February, the RTC16 continues to fluctuate outside of the top three.

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN: Big 12 [...]

Ten Questions to Consider: Premier Match-ups Across the Country

Matthew Eisenberg — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 13:01:00 +0000

After starting the week with a Monday slate that left much to be desired, this week ends with several great games across the land. A match-up of #3 Michigan vs. #4 Ohio State in the Big Ten leads the way, but plenty of other leagues are also scheduled to have their top teams battling it out. With the end of February fast approaching, here are 10 questions I have for the action taking place over the next few days.

Can Ohio State continue to dominate Michigan in Columbus? (Michigan @ Ohio State, Sunday, 1 PM EST, CBS) Going back to 1950, [...]