Road to the Final Four leaves just three undefeated teams

Top-ranked UCLA was just too much for visiting Washington on Sunday, winning 96-74. The Huskies entered the week ranked No. 14 but lost both games in Los Angeles.

The win lifted the Bruins to 13-0. UCLA, which made the Final Four a year ago before losing to Florida in the championship game, is one of three undefeated teams left in Division I. No. 25 Clemson is another, improving to 14-0 after Sunday’s 67-57 win over Georgia State.

The third undefeated team is 20th-ranked Oregon, UCLA’s playmate in the Pacific 10 Conference. The Ducks raised their record to 13-0 on Saturday when they beat cross-state rival Oregon State.

No team has completed a season undefeated since Indiana in 1976. No team has entered the Final Four undefeated since Larry Bird’s Indiana State team in 1979. The Sycamores fell to Michigan State and Magic Johnson in that year’s final.

Only seven teams have finished a season undefeated NCAA champions since the NCAA tournament began in 1939. UCLA had four of those teams during the Bruins run of 10 titles in 12 years under coach John Wooden.

John Wooden

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Permalink - Posted in General on December 31, 2006 - Post a comment

Georgia Tech Freshmen Raising Yellow Jackets’ Profile

Another team worth keeping an eye on as the college basketball season progresses is Georgia Tech, as the Yellow Jackets have a freshman class that’s beginning to make some noise on the national scene.  Of course, players like Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton arrived on campus with a lot of fanfare, as each was an All-American in high school.

In recent games, however, Georgia Tech’s freshmen have begun to take over games and make a tangible difference on outcomes.  This bodes well for the team’s immediate and longer-term future, as Tech is looking to re-establish itself among the nation’s elite after a few years of struggle.

It’ll be interesting to see how the team progresses through the always-tough ACC season, but this could be a team that surprises many in the spring.  If you’d like to see the ‘Jackets live, StubHub.com is your destination for Georgia Tech basketball tickets.

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Wisconsin’s Ryan Gaining Notice

As college basketball fans begin to take notice of teams to watch this season as they gear up for the Final Four, one coach of a nationally-prominent team is beginning to garner much-deserved attention after years of flying under the national radar.  Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan has simply won wherever he’s gone, setting records at UW-Platteville during a dominant run at this Division III school and bringing Wisconsin-Milwaukee to prominence before heading to Madison the lead the Badgers.

CNNSI’s Grant Wahl has named Ryan as one of college basketball’s innovators, and most of that is due to his creative swing offense, which has been befuddling opponents for years.  Wahl points out that Ryan’s offense incorporates several skills and lots of precision, and it appears that this year’s Wisconsin team has grasped the offense’s intricacies.  As a result, the Badgers have gotten off to a flying start.

If you’d like to see the swing offense in-person, head on over to StubHub.com and grab some Wisconsin basketball tickets.

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Buckeyes Return with a Vengeance

It was a long week for the Ohio State Buckeyes.  They had to wait seven days to return to the court after getting thumped by Florida, and they took out their frustration on an over-matched Coppin State.  The Buckeyes dominated from start to finish and posted a convincing 91-54 win.

It was a coming out party of sorts for super-frosh Greg Oden, who patrolled the paint and intimidated Coppin State’s players, a fact that was admitted by “Fang” Mitchell, the Eagles’ coach.  Oden finished with 18 points on 7-8 shooting and 16 rebounds.  Fellow freshman Daequan Cook led the Buckeyes with 23 points.

The Buckeyes needed this win to get back on track after being humbled recently by the Gators, and it appears that their confidence and swagger is back as the team heads into the Big Ten season.   Of course, if you want to see the Buckeyes live this season,  head to  StubHub.com for Ohio State basketball tickets.

Permalink - Posted in General on December 31, 2006 - Post a comment