2012-13 Season Preview – Rush The Court

2012-13 RTC Conference Primers: MAAC

Brian Goodman — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:44:01 +0000

Ray Floriani is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC.

Top Storylines

The Redshirts: We are not talking about individual players but a program. In the latter part of the summer, Loyola announced its intention to exit the MAAC for the Patriot League. The Greyhounds captured the postseason title this past March. Coach Jimmy Patsos has another very strong group on hand. The interesting thing is how will the last run through the MAAC affect Loyola’s play. The guess here is not too much. Caution is needed however as the MAAC contingents would love nothing to upset the Greyhounds as a ‘going away [...]

Twenty-One Weeks of Hoops: RTC Welcomes In A New College Basketball Season

Chris Johnson — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 19:31:47 +0000

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

The interminable offseason breeds countless hours of boredom and frustration. With seven months separating the net-cutting ceremony that signals the end of every college hoops campaign and the opening tip that begins it, perusing the internet and conjuring up ideas to write about on a daily basis becomes an exercise in creative determination. This is not the NBA, where free agency bridges the gap between the Finals and training camp. The college basketball season has a definitive start and end. Though that line is beginning to blur with amplified recruiting [...]

Circle Your Calendar: The 68 Must-See Games Of 2012-13, Part Four

Brian Otskey — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:33:47 +0000

Brian Otskey is a contributor for Rush the Court. Let him know what you think at @botskey on Twitter.

The final part of our countdown is the best of the best. Here are your top 17 games of the 2012-13 college basketball season. Check out the previous editions of 68 Must-See Games here: #68-52, #51-35, and #34-18. (h/t to Zach Hayes for his assistance in building this list.)

17. November 27: North Carolina at Indiana (9:30 PM, ESPN) – An ACC/Big Ten Challenge tilt is the nightcap to game #18 on our list from Part Three of the countdown. Indiana’s non-conference schedule is incredibly weak [...]

RTC Top 25: Preseason Edition

KDoyle — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:17:38 +0000

And so it begins. The time of year where we hear familiar voices on the television, faces on the floor, and our teams finally playing games that count in the standings. It is a beautiful time, indeed. With the games commencing in mere hours, we officially unveil RTC’s Preseason Top 25. In the future, you can expect our poll to come out every Monday morning. Along with the rankings will be the usual quick ‘n dirty analysis that takes a deeper dive into how the teams shake out #1-#25. To see how we did last year, check out our 2011-12 [...]

Where 2012-13 Happens: Reason #1 We Love College Basketball

rtmsf — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:01:57 +0000

And away we go, headfirst into another season heralded by our 2012-13 edition of Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball, our annual compendium of YouTube clips from the previous season 100% guaranteed to make you wish games were starting tonight. We’ve captured here what we believe were the most compelling moments from last season, some of which will bring back the goosebumps and others of which will leave you shaking your head. The entire series from #30 to this point can be viewed here. Enjoy!

#1 – Where Calipari Gets It (One and) Done Happens

We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from [...]

2012-13 RTC Conference Primers: Atlantic 10 Conference

Brian Goodman — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:33:46 +0000

Joe Dzuback of Villanova by the Numbers is the RTC correspondent for the A-10 Conference. You can follow him on Twitter at @vbtnblog

Top Storylines

The Best Basketball (Only) Conference in the NCAA? You Bet– With the departure of Temple (to the Big East) and Charlotte (to CUSA), A-10 fans knew the conference would not “make due” with a 12-team configuration. The question was which candidates would match best with the conference profile and mission and not in the chase for football money? The A-10 could afford to focus on candidates with high quality basketball programs, thereby offering regional rivalries to the [...]

Welcome Wagon: Four Teams Ready To Shine In Their New Leagues

Chris Johnson — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:13:05 +0000

Christopher Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

The most recent wave of conference realignment was set off by a desperate scrambling of high-major powers to elevate their statures in a changing (re: dying) BCS landscape. Inevitably, the movement shook the college hoops world, and while most of the changes either weakened conferences, ended rivalries, or both, some leagues were made better off from the frenzied switches. The biggest victim, so it has been said, was the Big East, whose long and fruitful marriage with Pittsburgh and Syracuse will cease to exist after this season. The main beneficiary [...]

2012-13 RTC Preseason All-American Teams

KDoyle — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:35:13 +0000

With the season tipping off tomorrow, there’s no better time to roll out our preseason superlatives and All-America teams: National Player of the Year, National Freshman of the Year, and First, Second, and Third All-America teams. More than anything, our preseason All-America teams are here to foster discussion. Our crack panel of 10 national columnists provided ballots over the last week or so, and this is where we ended up.

Preseason National Player of the Year—Cody Zeller, Indiana Preseason National Freshman of the Year—Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

First Team All-America

Cody Zeller, Indiana (unanimous)—The day Cody Zeller committed to play basketball for Tom Crean at Indiana [...]

Circle Your Calendar: The 68 Must-See Games Of 2012-13, Part Three

Brian Otskey — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:45:06 +0000

Brian Otskey is a contributor for Rush the Court. Let him know what you think at @botskey on Twitter.

Part Three of the countdown includes conference rivalries and some intriguing non-conference matchups. Check out the previous editions of 68 Must-See Games here: #68-52, #51-35. (h/t to Zach Hayes for his assistance in building this list.)

34. February 23: Missouri at Kentucky (9:00 PM, ESPN) – Both teams have a roster full of newcomers but expect each to be on top of their games come late February when this game is played. Now a member of the SEC, Missouri will immediately be one of the [...]

Where 2012-13 Happens: Reason #2 We Love College Basketball

rtmsf — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:01:20 +0000

#2 – Where Greatness Personified Happens

We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.

Six X-Factors Who Will Elevate Their Teams This Season

Chris Johnson — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:38:46 +0000

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

“Most valuable” or “Most Important” has always seemed like an incredibly fuzzy concept to define. Statistical greatness doesn’t do it justice. Neither does sheer talent differential – is a player important just because the rest of his team isn’t very good? Such crude measures don’t take into account other vague elements that often go into describing these players. All in all, given the indeterminate criteria used, arguments can be made for a handful of different players any given year. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing remains clear: These players are [...]

2012-13 RTC Conference Primers: Missouri Valley Conference

Brian Goodman — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:10:14 +0000

Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference. You can find him on Twitter at @wildjays.

Top Storylines

MVC Untouched — The Missouri Valley Conference has so far survived the first few rounds of changes among the top 15 conferences in Division I basketball (the Ivy being the other one). While every major conference, and some others even further down have been expanding or shifting, the MVC has walked away unscathed and still completely intact. That doesn’t mean there have not been rumors about teams leaving the conference at some point. The latest such mention [...]

Where 2012-13 Happens: Reason #3 We Love College Basketball

rtmsf — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 17:01:19 +0000

#3 – Where Hoosier Hysteria Happens

We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.

2012-13 RTC Conference Primers: Mountain West Conference

AMurawa — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 21:34:40 +0000

Andrew Murawa is the RTC correspondent for the Mountain West and a Pac-12 microsite writer. You can occasionally find him on Twitter at @Amurawa.

Top Storylines

Major Mountain? No one is going to confuse the Mountain West with the ACC or the Big East, but fans of this conference are getting used to the fact that its best teams are regularly relevant on the national scene. In the past three years, while a conference like the Pac-12 has been fortunate to get a mere eight NCAA Tournament bids, the MW has earned 11, more than any other non-BCS league. Two seasons ago [...]

Five Mid-Majors You’re Likely to Hear From Next March

Chris Johnson — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 20:09:02 +0000

Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

There exists in college basketball a certain romanticism that distinguishes it from every other sport. It shines through in March, when the sport’s preeminent end-of-season tournament provides a glimmer of hope for Division one teams, no matter how small, unknown or minimally-funded, to break through on a national stage. For the mid-majors, this is prime time. Unlike their high-major counterparts, the little guys’ path to the field of 68 is restricted. Most smaller leagues only receive one Tournament bid, which is normally decided through conference tournaments. It’s what makes championship [...]