2015 ncaa tournament – Rush The Court

NCAA Tournament Tidbits: Championship Edition, Part Two

Griffin Wong — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 17:01:43 +0000

March Madness is finally upon us, and we here at RTC are here to make everything a little bit easier for you. From the First Four until One Shining Moment, we’ll be dropping daily tidbits of knowledge regarding the teams in each region.

Duke

Coach K Addressed the Home Fans on Tuesday in Durham (USA Today Images)

Coach K had a response for Bo Ryan’s “rent-a-player” remark that the Wisconsin head coach made after his team’s loss to Duke on Monday. “Duke doesn’t rent a player,” Krzyzewski said. “We have one of the great schools in the world, and when we recruit a [...]

Circle of March: Duke Edition (Animated)

rtmsf — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 16:01:47 +0000

And so it’s done. From 333 eligible teams 36 days ago to just one standing as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, Duke is the 2014-15 National Champion, and once again the Circle of March has officially and regrettably come full circle. Below is our animated edition. On to next year, folks!

Eliminations (04.06.15)

Wisconsin

NCAA Tournament Tidbits: Championship Edition

Griffin Wong — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:51:56 +0000

Duke

Coach K’s Blue Devils Cut Down the Nets for the Fifth Time (USA Today Images)

Over the past three decades, Coach K has gained a reputation for winning with three- and four-year players. However, in recent years he has changed his strategy a bit and it paid off last night. Duke’s freshmen scored 60 of the Blue Devils’ 68 points, [...]

Rushed Reactions: #1 Duke 68, #1 Wisconsin 63

Naveen Reddy — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 05:35:42 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Once again, Duke is on top of the college basketball world. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Who needs Kentucky? This isn’t meant to play down what the Wildcats accomplished, which was spectacular, but coming into the final there seemed to be a feeling that the story of the Final Four would be about Kentucky not going undefeated. It is hard to judge these type of things in the moment, but after tonight’s incredible final we doubt that will be the case. The overnight CBS ratings might argue otherwise in the morning, but we cannot imagine how this game [...]

Final Four Previews: Wisconsin/Duke Will Win If…

Andrew Murawa & Tommy Lemoine — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 20:45:04 +0000

Championship Monday is always bitter sweet for college basketball fans. On the one hand, it means the two best teams in the country will finally play for the ultimate crown and go down in the history books. On the other hand, it also means that the college basketball season is finally coming to an end. For this particular 2014-15 season, however, what an ending this is set to be. While the nation didn’t quite get the “dream” finals matchup, tonight’s contest is not a bad consolation prize by any means as arguably the best offensive basketball team in recent memory [...]

Circle of March: Vol. XXVI

rtmsf — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 17:01:36 +0000

And then there were two. With Saturday’s eliminations of Kentucky and Michigan State, the Circle of March is down to its final permutation before we crown this season’s National Champion.

Eliminations (04.04.15)

Michigan State Kentucky

NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 04.05.15 Edition

Griffin Wong — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 20:42:41 +0000

Duke

Coach K and Duke Will Compete For Their Fifth Title Monday Night (USA Today Images)

Duke has been criticized this season for not being as defensively sharp as some of the past Blue Devils teams. After last night’s dominant Final Four victory over Michigan State, however, the doubters are starting to come around. “A lot of people said [...]

Rushed Reactions: #1 Wisconsin 71, #1 Kentucky 64

Naveen Reddy — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 04:16:37 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Down the stretch, Frank Kaminsky and Wisconsin played like they were going to win. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

24 years later. It is hard to put games in a historical perspective in the moment, but this will rank up there with almost any of the great games in college basketball history. It is hard to believe, but we were in almost the same situation 24 years ago in the same city. Now this Kentucky team was not the defending champs (runner-up last year) and they were not the juggernaut that 1991 UNLV was, but we are here in Indianapolis [...]

Rushed Reactions: #1 Duke 81, #7 Michigan State 61

Naveen Reddy — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 01:13:34 +0000

Three Key Takeaways.

Talk about a bounce back performance – Jahlil Okafor was outstanding against the Spartans. (AP Photo/Chris Steppig, Pool)

Michigan State was simply overmatched. We don’t want to take away anything from the Spartans’ remarkable run. They went from a team that at times this season made us wonder if they would make the NCAA Tournament to one that made the Final Four. The truth is they were not anywhere near the level of the other three teams here. The fact that they got here is a testament to just how good of a coach Tom Izzo is and how [...]

Final Four Previews: Kentucky/Wisconsin Will Win If…

Walker Carey & Andrew Murawa — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 19:31:33 +0000

The time has finally come for all the hand-wringing, all the expectations, all the anticipation, and all the office pools between Jim from accounting and Bonnie the receptionist to be decided. In what undoubtedly has evolved into one of the more intriguing Final Fours in recent memory, the story lines bleeding out of Indianapolis this week has been plentiful. Will Coach Cal and the ‘Cats finish off The Perfect Season? Will Wisconsin play spoiler? Will the traditional power in blue once again reign supreme? Will the boys from East Lansing show that a team can win a ‘ship without a [...]

Final Four Previews: Duke/Michigan State Will Win If…

Bennet Hayes & Tommy Lemoine — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 18:45:59 +0000

Final Four Storylines: Michigan State Edition

Henry Bushnell — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 18:01:38 +0000

The Final Four is set. This week we’ll continue our NCAA Tournament Storylines series focused on each of the remaining four teams. We’ve already covered the three top seeds, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Duke. Finally, here’s Michigan State.

Is Tom Izzo’s Group a Team of Destiny? (USA Today Images)

What a turnaround. There are so many specific December and January days to which to point. Think back to December 20 and the stunning loss to Texas Southern. Recall January 24 and the defeat at Nebraska that resulted in a 13-7 (4-3 Big Ten) record. Consider February 7 and the ugly loss at home to Illinois. [...]

Final Four Storylines: Duke Edition

Henry Bushnell — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 18:31:50 +0000

The Final Four is set. This week we’ll continue our NCAA Tournament Storylines series focused on each of the remaining four teams. We kicked things off with Kentucky on Tuesday, and followed with Wisconsin yesterday. Today, it’s Duke‘s turn.

Coach K’s 12th Final Four Ties Him With the Legendary John Wooden For Most All-Time (USA Today Images)

Coach K in the record books. It’s been a pretty special year for Mike Krzyzewski, highlighted by his 1,000th win and an NCAA Tournament run resulting in his 12th Final Four appearance, tying former UCLA legend John Wooden for the most of all-time. And Coach K might not be [...]

Final Four Fact Sheet: Kentucky Wildcats

Bennet Hayes — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 17:31:37 +0000

After a week of hype surrounding the most highly-anticipated Final Four in years, let’s do a reset on each of the four teams still standing. Today’s victims: Duke (published this morning) and Kentucky. Wisconsin and Michigan State were published yesterday.

How Kentucky Got Here

Kentucky Survived Notre Dame To Stay Perfect. Next Stop: Indianapolis. (Getty Images)

Midwest Region Champions. Kentucky opened the NCAA Tournament with a closer-than-expected 23-point victory over #16 seed Hampton, then followed it up with a third-round defeat of plucky #8 seed Cincinnati. The Wildcats had to prove at least one prognosticator wrong to reach the Elite Eight, but did so convincingly against #5 seed [...]

On Duke’s Timely Defensive Turnaround

Brad Jenkins (@bradjenk) — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 16:31:59 +0000

What was once thought to be Duke’s weakness has suddenly become its strength in NCAA Tournament play. In fact, the Blue Devils have been so defensively stifling that none of its four opponents in the South Region were able to crack 60 points against them. So what’s behind Duke’s big turnaround on that end of the floor? Let’s take a look at some key defensive numbers from the last two weeks and compare those with its previous 21 games — beginning with when conference play tipped off on January 3. In its four NCAA Tournament games so far, Duke has reduced its opponents’ scoring [...]