09-10 – Rush The Court

RTC (Sorta) Live Championship Game Edition

rtmsf — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:25:46 +0000

You guys ready for some Duke-Butler tonight? Only 6.5% of Americans in ESPN’s National Bracket picked either the Devils or Bulldogs to be playing tonight on the game’s grandest stage, yet here they are (we can safely presume less than 1% had both). You already know the key matchups and what each team likes to do, the question is which team will bend first tonight. Will it be Duke with the pressure of the favorite and an estimated 50,000 vociferous fans pulling against them; or will it be Butler who finally senses the gravitas of [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: Final Four Edition

rtmsf — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:31:19 +0000

It’s time, people. The NCAA Tournament has reached its glorious Saturday crescendo, where four teams who have come through the battles of each region with some bruises, scratches and open wounds but are still standing, will tip it off in front of 75,000 fans to earn the right to play on Monday Night. And you know what that means. High-quality basketball on both ends of the court. There’s no need to discuss these teams any further — they’ve already been talked and written about to death. We know what they’re capable of, and any resulting combination after tonight’s [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: The Elite Eight – Sunday 03.28.10 Edition

nvr1983 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:00:14 +0000

After 59 mostly amazing NCAA Tournament games, we are down to the last two before we head to Indianapolis for the Final Four. Butler and West Virginia have already sealed trips to Indianapolis, but there are still two more tickets waiting to be punched. One Elite 8 match-up (the South) features a pair of teams–Duke and Baylor–that nobody is really surprised to see here. The other Elite 8 match-up (the Midwest) features two teams–Michigan State and Tennessee–that were expected to contend for a Final Four spot at the beginning of the season, but basically fell off the map [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: The Elite Eight – Saturday 03.27.10 Edition

jstevrtc — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:55:56 +0000

No doubt, getting to the Elite Eight is an accomplishment…but teams don’t hang banners for Elite Eights (at least they shouldn’t). All the weights lifted, all the miles run, all the shots hoisted in practice, all the interviews done — tonight is finally one of those occasions where these guys can say, “This is what it was all for.” They play for national championships, but they also play for the Final Four. That final destination, the final city on the long road that started back in October. As if I had to tell you the lineup:

4:30 PM ET [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: Sweet Sixteen Day Two

rtmsf — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:57:08 +0000

Whew. From now on when it comes to Thursday nights, we’re just going to take the Valium with us on the road. Otherwise we’re not going to be able to sleep at night after yet another fantastic evening of games. What does Friday night have in store for us? We know that the eight teams lacing them up tonight (lineup above) will bring their best games, so the only question is whether we’ll see more Cinderella action from the likes of Northern Iowa and St. Mary’s, or if it’ll be chalky-tasting like it was last Friday. RTC (Sorta) [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: Sweet Sixteen Day One

jstevrtc — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:22:42 +0000

It’s here. We’ve endured the three-day layoff and it’s time for more hoops. We know you already know, but here’s our lineup for today in the order in which they’ll be showing up on our screens:

#1 Syracuse vs #5 Butler #2 West Virginia vs #11 Washington #2 Kansas State vs #6 Xavier #1 Kentucky vs #12 Cornell

Everyone’s been talking about Cornell (and Northern Iowa in the Midwest) — and well they should — but we doubt Butler, Xavier, and Washington will go quietly. That’s how great this tournament has been; because of the achievements of teams like Cornell and [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: Friday Afternoon Games

rtmsf — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:26:57 +0000

Yesterday’s Zeitlin/Moore/Walsh live-blog of the afternoon games was such a roaring success that we’ve decided to do it again. Except without Zeitlin, Moore and Walsh. Right. Well, maybe they’ll stop by as guest panelists. There is absolutely no way no how that today’s slate of games could possibly come close to matching the madness of yesterday, but we’ll still be there waiting on the next IshDanerAli shot to go down. We obviously can’t promise you excitement on the court, but we can assure you that there will be zero mentions of Penn, St. Joe’s and Boston University. Hope [...]

RTC (Sorta) Live: Thursday Afternoon Games

rtmsf — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:57:35 +0000

We’ve often said at RTC that the first Thursday of the NCAA tournament is like Christmas. Well, what better way to spend the holidays than with family. OK, maybe RTC contributors and Backdoor Cuts columnists Dave Zeitlin, Steve Moore and Mike Walsh aren’t exactly family, but at the very least they should be your friends. And from Noon until whenever the second set of afternoon games ends today, they will be with you, hosting a live chat where all are invited. They won’t be able to watch all the games, so everyone across the country should feel free [...]

RTC Live: NIT – Texas Tech @ Seton Hall

rtmsf — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:22:37 +0000

The Red Raiders of Texas Tech come east to kick off their last run in the 2010 season, as they will face the Pirates of Seton Hall at the Rock in Newark, New Jersey. The Big 12 schedule was not kind to Texas Tech; after stumbling to an 0-3 start, the Red Raiders, led by junior Mike Singletary at the forward spot and John Roberson at the point, rallied for a 4-2 run that included as sweep of Oklahoma and wins over Iowa State and NCAA-bound Oklahoma State, before hitting a seven-game losing streak to close out their [...]

RTC Live: Bracket Selection Special

nvr1983 — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:14:01 +0000

We’re back for the last RTC Live before the NCAA Tournament begins. And when I say we’re back I mean it. For this special RTC Live we will be reuniting the original members of RTC (rtmsf and nvr1983) for the first time all-season on a RTC Live to analyze the bracket and what the analysts are saying about it. We will be starting at 5:45 to get a head start on the Selection Show although the way that Ohio State is working Minnesota CBS might just start the Selection Show early. So join us while we [...]

RTC Live: Atlantic 10 Finals – Temple vs. Richmond

rtmsf — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:32:05 +0000

One last game to play in the A10 Conference. On Sunday at 1 p.m. the Temple Owls and Richmond Spiders will decide who takes the conference crown and the conference’s automatic bid. This is Temple’s third consecutive A10 Title Game. Only Massachusetts, in their magic run of five consecutive championships (1992-1996) ,has a conference record not held by the Owls. Can Temple “threepeat” and keep their winning streak? No team has been to the title game more often than the Owls’ 15 games. Nor has any team matched Temple’s eight tournament championships. Juan Fernandez, Ryan Brooks, Lavoy [...]

RTC Live: ACC Finals – Duke vs. Georgia Tech

rtmsf — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:58:42 +0000

The 2010 ACC Tournament has been, well, odd. Who would have believed that 7th seeded Georgia Tech, 11th seeded NC State, and 12th seeded Miami would have joined top seeded Duke in the semifinals? Guess what? It happened. All that aside, things may balance out in the end as Duke will be a heavy favorite over a fatigued Georgia Tech team in today’s championship game. Becoming only the third ACC team to play four games in four days (see NC State in 1997 and 2007, both losses to Duke), Georgia Tech will attempt to become the first to [...]

RTC Live: WAC Championship – Utah State vs. New Mexico State

rtmsf — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:20:31 +0000

It comes down to this in the WAC tournament, a battle of Aggies to see who represents the conference in the NCAA Tournament. The Utah State Aggies have done their best impression of a steamroller, winning their two games in Reno by a combined 54 points, and have been able to empty the bench late in games to give the starters plenty of rest. The New Mexico State Aggies haven’t had things so easy. They rolled through San Jose State in the opening round, but just squeaked by the home Wolfpack last night 80-79 on [...]

RTC Live: Pac-10 Championship – California vs. Washington

rtmsf — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:28:45 +0000

Welcome back to the Staples Center for what should be the best matchup of the weekend in the 2010 Pac-10 Tournament this afternoon. Both California and Washington have looked relaxed and confident in their two games leading up to this point, and why wouldn’t they be — they have the two best teams in the league and the two best players as well in Jerome Randle and Quincy Pondexter. The two teams played twice this year, each winning comfortably on their home floor, so it stands to reason that a neutral environment such as this would produce an [...]

RTC Live: Big East Championship – Georgetown vs. West Virginia

rtmsf — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:08:20 +0000

Four days, 14 games, and what seems like 100 hours at the Garden has gotten us to this point, but we have finally reached the Big East tournament’s title game. Its an intriguing matchup to say the least, as Georgetown owns a record seven Big East titles while its been 26 since West Virginia won a tournament title of any kind, and that came when they were still in the A10. Georgetown may be the best 8th seed in the history of conference tournaments. They may have lost eight Big East games, but they are playing as well [...]