night line – Rush The Court

Night Line: Buffs a Dangerous Team, Although Roberson’s Uncertain Status a Concern

BHayes — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 08:51:53 +0000

Bennet Hayes is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @HoopsTraveler on Twitter. Night Line runs on weeknights during the season, highlighting a major storyline development from that day’s games.

Colorado has underachieved at times this year, but don’t look towards Thursday night for any further proof of that phenomenon. Even without Andre Roberson — their breathing, eating, walking double-double, the Buffaloes blasted the Pac-12 leading Oregon Ducks. The boys from Eugene will take their 23-point thrashing and now head to Utah, where focus for Dana Altman’s crew will shift to earning at least a share of the Pac-12 title. Back [...]

March Losing Streak Suddenly Raises Doubts About Canes

BHayes — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:25:12 +0000

The Miami Hurricanes spent January and February making believers out of skeptics, filling a bandwagon that had never, ever been even close to full. It takes no stretch of the imagination to believe in a Duke or a Carolina team that races out to a hot ACC start, but Miami? A program with just six NCAA Tournament appearances in its history? For us to trust the Canes, they had to be [...]

Night Line: Buckeyes Find Signature Win In Bloomington

BHayes — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:51:35 +0000

They don’t come much better than this. In fact, they might not come any better than this. Ohio State walked out of Assembly Hall with a convincing 67-58 victory over Indiana on Tuesday night, securing a resume-defining win that could easily be considered the scalp of the year in college basketball this season. Only Wisconsin can join the Buckeyes in saying they walked out of Bloomington victorious in 2012-13, but the [...]

Night Line: Harris and Wahoos Deliver on the National Stage

BHayes — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:05:17 +0000

When it comes to this Virginia basketball season, the juxtaposition between team on the floor and paper resume has been startling. Tony Bennett’s consistently solid, fundamental approach somehow gave birth to a resume as polarizing as his team is steady; a profile littered with big wins (at Wisconsin) and bad losses (Old Dominion) alike, a 27-game sample of work that left ranking metrics confused enough to place the Wahoos [...]

Night Line: More ACC Road Woes For Maryland: Are the Terps Down and Out?

BHayes — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:28:28 +0000

The chaotic final weeks before the NCAA Tournament have everyone clamoring for clarity, and as simple and as fun as it would be to announce that yes, you did hear a giant “POP” coming from Atlanta this evening, the reality is that Maryland’s at-large hopes haven’t completely vanished. Yet. With games growing few and their ACC record worsening, a 78-68 loss to Georgia Tech tonight has slid the Terps [...]

Night Line: Vols Making Habit of February Revival

BHayes — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 07:45:21 +0000

Attention bubble dwellers – it is time to make room for the Tennessee Volunteers. After a rousing victory over the SEC’s best in #8 Florida, the Vols are officially back in the NCAA Tournament picture. If you are feeling as if you have seen this movie before, it’s probably because you have. A year ago, Cuonzo Martin’s club ripped off eight victories over the course of its last nine [...]

Night Line: Cal Pushes Distractions Aside to Become Unlikely Pac-12 Title Contenders

BHayes — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 06:59:39 +0000

If you are a college basketball fan and don’t reside under a rock, you know all about Mike Montgomery and Allen Crabbe’s testy exchange on Sunday. An unfortunate incident worthy of at least most of the debate and discussion that followed, but it’s officially time to move on, folks. Don’t despair if you still want to talk Cal basketball, however, as the Golden Bears are providing plenty of reasons [...]

Night Line: UConn Takes Last Act of Memorable Big East Rivalry

BHayes — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 07:28:46 +0000

The Big East is larger than two programs, but for the better part of the last three decades, it’s been next to impossible to think of Big East basketball without Syracuse or UConn coming to mind. They have proven worthy flag-bearers for one of the best and proudest basketball conferences in America, but with Syracuse flying the coop after this season and UConn ineligible for Big East tournament play, [...]

Night Line: Clarity Proves Ever Elusive in Wacky Missouri Valley Conference

BHayes — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 07:58:00 +0000

Back in January, there was a time where we thought we actually knew what was going on in the Missouri Valley Conference. We were confident that Creighton was a top-10 team and that Wichita State was nearly as good as the Shockers of a year ago. Surely Illinois State had been exposed as a fraud, a once trendy sleeper pick to win the league before losing their first six [...]

Night Line: TCU Stuns Kansas in an Upset to Remember

BHayes — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 07:29:46 +0000

On a Wednesday night chock-full of college basketball action, nobody could have expected the story of the night to come from Fort Worth, Texas. Pairing a TCU team seeking its first Big 12 win with a Kansas squad fresh off a home loss to Oklahoma State would seem to rank pretty high on the combustibility scale, but enter a twist: It was Kansas who went up in flames tonight. [...]

Night Line: Dominating Display From Arkansas Revives Tournament Hopes

BHayes — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:22:42 +0000

About a year and two weeks ago, Mike Anderson’s Arkansas team took down Michigan in a nationally-televised game at Bud Walton Arena. The Arkansas faithful had long waited for a win like this — their native son back and at the helm, famed arena alive again. The Razorbacks also walked off the floor with a 14-5 record and tentative March reservations, but the next two months would show why [...]

Night Line: In Typical Izzo Fashion, Sparty Quietly Humming Along

BHayes — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 06:05:22 +0000

In many ways, keep moving along — there is not a whole lot to see here. February is beginning, the Michigan State Spartans are near the top of the Big Ten, and March expectations are high in East Lansing. Per usual, Tom Izzo’s crew has arrived at its current position with little pomp or flair, again embracing a gritty, determined approach that has come to define the Green and [...]

Night Line: Michigan, Indiana Set Stage For Game of the Season

BHayes — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 06:45:34 +0000

For those of you who noticed the basketball game scheduled for 9:00 PM Saturday night in Bloomington, Indiana, Wednesday night followed script in a most beautiful way. All too often, we watch as titanic clashes are lessened by careless losses in the days leading up to the big one, but tonight, both Indiana and Michigan made sure they would not be caught looking ahead. Top-ranked Michigan went out and [...]

Night Line: Schizophrenic Wolfpack Fail to Keep Momentum… Again

BHayes — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:11:45 +0000

For NC State fans that thought the rollercoaster may have finally been headed for level ground, Tuesday’s nights’ 58-55 loss to Virginia was yet another reminder that the seat belts should never come off when riding with this Wolfpack team. Consistency has eluded Mark Gottfried’s club all season but especially of late, as the Pack have now alternated wins and losses over their past six contests. Included in the [...]

Night Line: Butler the Latest Casualty of an Unpredictable Atlantic 10

BHayes — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:54:31 +0000

Last weekend belonged to the Butler Bulldogs. With College Gameday in town and the national spotlight shining brightly on Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Dogs delivered as dramatic a victory as you will ever see when Roosevelt Jones coaxed in a floater at the horn to defeat Gonzaga. It was a transcendent moment that will stand alone well after this season ends, but it also vaulted Butler into the top 10 [...]