liberty – Rush The Court

What’s Trending: Let’s Dance…

Matt Eisenberg — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 19:55:00 +0000

What’s Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Matthew Eisenberg (@matteise) is your weekly host.

After a January 18 loss at Boise State, Utah State’s record fell to 14-6 (3-4 Mountain West) with a NET Ranking of 83rd and any bubble hope seemingly out of reach. After a stretch of winning 11 of its next 13 games, however, Utah State found itself playing for a Mountain West title over the weekend against San Diego State. After a tightly fought second half, the Aggies had possession with the score tied and the clock winding down…

Ten Questions to Consider: Teams Battle For Positioning As Others Fight for a Chance to Dance

Matt Eisenberg — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 15:01:53 +0000

This weekend will send the first few teams dancing as conference tournaments are already underway in several leagues. Elsewhere, the power conferences enter their regular season finales with conference titles on the line. Here are 10 questions I have for just some of what will take place on the hardwood this weekend:

Which Big East front-runner will gain the edge for a Big East Tourney run? (Seton Hall @ Creighton, Saturday, 2:30 PM EDT, Fox) With a win in Omaha, Seton Hall would guarantee itself a Big East title and the top seed in the upcoming Big East tournament. The #1 [...]

16 Questions: Friday’s First Round Games

Matt Eisenberg — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 14:04:35 +0000

It’s time for another exciting day of 16 games. Here are the questions I have going into Friday’s action:

The Zion Show Moves to the NCAA Tournament (USA Today Images) 1) Duke vs. 16) North Dakota State: Will Duke’s perimeter players begin the Tournament knocking down shots? Zion will be Zion, of course, but Duke will need its other players knocking down shots down the line if the Blue Devils are to cut down the nets in Minneapolis.1) North Carolina vs. 16) Iona: Can Iona make it to the half within closer range than last year against Duke? As a #15 seed [...]

What’s Trending: Conference Week Madness is Underway!

Matt Eisenberg — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 14:01:37 +0000

What’s Trending is a column examining the week that was in college basketball social media. Matthew Eisenberg (@matteise) is your weekly host.

Let the NCAA Tournament ticket punching begin!

https://twitter.com/br_CBB/status/1104579515672678401

Jon Rothstein eloquently describes the month of March perfectly. It’s time to sit back and enjoy all that college basketball will bring us…

Dear college basketball,Thank you in advance for the next month. There will be twists, turns, incredible highs, and agonizing lows.NOTHING in sports delivers like March Madness and for that, we are grateful.Sincerely,America

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 10, 2019

After 14 consecutive years at the top of the Big 12, [...]

O26 Programs on the Rise: Eight Teams Poised to Break Out

Tommy Lemoine — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 15:01:33 +0000

On Monday, we brought you a list of under-the-radar O26 players primed for big seasons in 2016-17. This time around, we’re examining several programs on the cusp of making serious moves upward, either within their respective conferences or on the postseason stage.

Cal State Northridge – 2015-16 Record: 10-20 (5-11 Big West): Cal State Northridge (CSUN) may not have been very good last season, but it was certainly better after Kendall Smith became eligible in December. The UNLV transfer led the club in scoring (15.3 PPG) and was among the league’s best at drawing fouls. He, along with the team’s next [...]

Morning Five: 03.06.15 Edition

nvr1983 — Fri, 06 Mar 2015 12:45:54 +0000

There had been hope that Justin Anderson would return this weekend from a broken finger and help make Virginia a legitimate national title threat again (well as much as you can be with Kentucky this year). The Cavaliers still could end up making a run in the NCAA Tournament, but that task just got tougher as Anderson will be out for an undetermined period of time following an appendectomy on Thursday. Anderson, who had been averaging 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game prior to his injury, will probably miss at least part of the ACC Tournament with Virginia, [...]

Rushed Reactions: #16 North Carolina A&T 73, #16 Liberty 72

IRenko — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:28:11 +0000

I. Renko is an RTC correspondent. He filed this report from Dayton after Tuesday’s play-in game between North Carolina A&T and Liberty. Follow him on Twitter @IRenkoHoops.

Three Key Takeaways:

Game One of 67 Came Down to the Final Play (photo credit: NCAA)

The Madness Is Here — A thrilling finish to this game made for a thrilling start to the NCAA Tournament. Down 73-67 with under two minutes to play, Liberty scored five straight points, and NC A&T missed two front ends to give the Flames a chance at a last second winner. But point guard John Caleb Sanders’ drive to [...]

NCAA Game Analysis: First Four – Tuesday Night

BHayes — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:15:50 +0000

The First Round/Opening Round/Play-In Games/Mild Annoyance of the NCAA Tournament begins tonight, getting under way at 6:40 PM tonight on truTV (go ahead, try to remember where that channel is again). From 68 to 16 in the next six days… let’s analyze the first two games this evening.

#16 North Carolina A&T vs. #16 Liberty — Midwest Region First Round (at Dayton, OH) — 6:40 pm ET on truTV.

John Caleb Sanders Continuing His Hot-Shooting Ways Would Be A Huge Boost For The Flames In Dayton

Nothing says NCAA Tournament like a match-up between North Carolina A&T and Liberty now, does [...]

Bracket Prep: Belmont, Florida Gulf Coast, Harvard, Liberty & Creighton

BHayes — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:15:23 +0000

The first five NCAA Tournament bids were earned over the weekend, so as each of the 31 automatic qualifiers plays their way into the Dance over the next week, we’ll take some time to give you an analytical snapshot of each team that you can refer back to when you’re picking your brackets next weekend.

Belmont

The Belmont Bruins Are Dancing Again

OVC Champion (26-6, 16-2) RPI/Pomeroy/Sagarin = #18/#47/#50 Adjusted Scoring Margin = +13.1 Likely NCAA Seed: #10-#12

Three Bruce Pearls of Wisdom.

In what is becoming a spring ritual as routine as Groundhog Day, the Belmont Bruins are back in the NCAA Tournament field. It’s the third straight [...]

It’s A Love/Hate Relationship: Volume XII

jbaumgartner — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:01:19 +0000

Jesse Baumgartner is an RTC columnist. His Love/Hate column will publish each week throughout the season. In this piece he’ll review the five things he loved and hated about the previous seven days of college basketball.

Five Things I Loved This Week

I LOVED…. seeing Cody Zeller want, demand and pursue the ball with the game on the line against Michigan. Yes, Michigan helped blow this one with a last-minute collapse, but credit Zeller for being aggressive and relentless on the glass in IU’s biggest game to date. Winning in Ann Arbor has been brutal for road teams in the last two years, [...]

Morning Five: 03.11.13 Edition

nvr1983 — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:31:21 +0000

We know that March started 10 days ago, but for college basketball fans the month really gets going once teams start to receive automatic bids for the NCAA Tournament — over the weekend, the first handful of bids were handed out. The first entries into the field of 2013 NCAA Tournament are Belmont, Creighton, Florida Gulf Coast, Harvard, and Liberty. While none of these schools are traditional powers in the sense that the person who wins your office pool will know about them, they do represent a pretty wide range from a “mid-major” power that is the envy of many athletic [...]

The Other 26: Saturday’s Top Five Bracketbuster Games and More…

IRenko — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 23:05:42 +0000

This weekend marks the end of the decade-long Bracketbuster era — or experiment, depending on your perspective. Sadly, if appropriately, it looks like the event will go out with more of a whimper than a bang. Not a single game features a top 25 team, resulting in little hype for this year’s slate. But for true mid-major basketball fans, no top 25 ranking, or lack thereof, is going to dissuade them from devouring the late season, inter-conference action among the country’s best, under-the-radar-until-March teams. Here’s a preview of the five Bracketbuster games we’re most looking forward to, followed by an [...]

Who’s Got Next? Tony Parker Commits, Ripple Effect of Greenberg Firing

Josh Paunil — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:45:58 +0000

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Josh Paunil, the RTC recruiting guru. We encourage you to check out his website dedicated solely to college basketball recruiting, National Recruiting Spotlight, for more detailed recruiting information. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Lead Story: [...]

Checking In On… the Big South

Brian Goodman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:52:32 +0000

Mark Bryant oversees multimedia at the Big South Conference. You can follow his updates on Twitter @BigSouthSports.

Reader’s Take: Take Our Poll

The Week That Was

Major Conference Assault… Big South teams threw down a few notable upsets since our last report: Presbyterian over Cincinnati 56-54 (Big East), Coastal Carolina over Clemson 60-59 (ACC), Campbell over Iowa 77-61 (Big Ten), and UNC Asheville over Utah 87-65 (Pac-12). Add that to Coastal Carolina’s victory over LSU (SEC), as noted in the last update, and the Big South has wins over teams from five of the six BCS conferences (regrettably no games against Big 12 teams [...]

Checking In On… the Big South Conference

Brian Goodman — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:15:19 +0000

Mark Bryant oversees multimedia at the Big South Conference. You can follow his updates on Twitter @BigSouthSports.

Reader’s Take

Take Our Poll

The Week That Was

New Gym, Part One: YES… UNC Asheville got its opportunity to show off the new Kimmel Arena with a marquee match-up against the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on ESPNU. Eddie Biedenbach’s Bulldogs played with a tenacity befitting their nickname, hanging tight most of the way before falling, 91-75. New Gym, Part Two: NO, but that’s OK… Coastal Carolina had once hoped that this past Tuesday would be the chance for the Chants to unveil their own shiny new [...]