Final Four Candidate - Wisconsin

As college basketball rounds into its conference schedule, it’s time to take a look at teams that could be part of the ultimate college basketball event come spring - the Final Four.  Some fans may be anxious to look into Final Four tickets now, as they’re always extremely difficult to find.

One of the teams that’s looking like it’ll be in contention for a spot is Wisconsin.  The Badgers may be known for football or even hockey, but that perception is changing as Wisconsin is off to its best start in 78 years.  Fans are taking notice as well, as Wisconsin basketball tickets are selling in droves.  The Badgers are deep, talented and well-coached, and they feature a national player of the year candidate in Alando Tucker.  They’ve rolled to a 13-1 record so far, and what’s scary is that they’re still improving.

In recent games, they’ve destroyed lightweights like Gardner-Webb but also dominated Pitt, a team that was ranked number 2 in the polls at the time.  This is not the grind-it-out Wisconsin team that fans came to know during Wisconsin’s last Final Four run in 2000 - this team can score, run and share the ball, and fans are in for a season of many wins and big-time contention.

Permalink - Posted in General on December 29, 2006 - Post a comment

Final Four preview in Florida?

The college basketball season is off and running and we’ll see one of our first big postseason previews on Saturday when Ohio State heads to Gainesville to face defending national champion Florida. Tipoff is 4 p.m. (EST) on CBS.
Oh, and the same two teams are meeting for the football title in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8.

Many think Ohio State is the best men’s basketball team in the country with super freshman Greg Oden finally playing. Oden missed the Buckeyes first seven games due to offseason wrist surgery. But he’s played the last four games and looks to have shaken off much of the rust, despite playing with a cast on his right hand. The 7-foot center scored 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds on Wednesday in a 75-56 win over Iowa State.

Ohio State is 10-1 on the season, the only loss a 98-89 defeat at then-No. 7 North Carolina while Oden was still out. The Buckeyes are currently ranked third in the country. Backup guard Daequan Cook leads the team in scoring with 16 per game with Oden right behind at 15.5 per game.

Greg Oden

Fifth-ranked Florida is 10-2 on the young season, but the Gators could be missing Al Horford for the showdown with Ohio State. Horford, son of former NBA player Tito Horford, is suffering from a sprained ankle and has missed Florida’s last two games. Horford leads the team with 13 points and eight rebounds per game. Gators forward Joakim Noah will have to shoulder the load if Horford can’t play.

Get your NCAA Final Four tickets at StubHub! Prices range from $447 to $7000.

Permalink - Posted in General on December 21, 2006 - Post a comment

December’s bloodletting prepares teams for Final Four

There’s only one time of year more fun than the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and Final Four. And that time is right now.

December is filled with the high-profile interconference matchups that let college basketball fans find out which teams are for real and which are pretenders to the throne.

The early returns have been favorable for UCLA, which lost in last year’s final to Florida. The Bruins are a consensus No. 1 in both the AP and USA Today polls thanks to their 8-0 start. The latest win was a 65-62 victory over Texas A&M last Saturday in the John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim. It was the third win over a ranked team for UCLA this year.

Darren Collison and Josh Shipp

One of those ranked teams was then-20th ranked Kentucky. The Wildcats are on the other end of the December spectrum with a record of 6-3 heading into Saturday’s showdown with Louisville. Kentucky’s three losses all came to ranked teams (Memphis and North Carolina were the others) but if the Wildcats expect to contend for a national title, they’ll have to show they can beat quality opponents.

Georgia Tech has faced a similar fate in the early going. The Yellowjackets were ranked 19th when they lost to UCLA and are now unranked at 6-3. Georgia Tech did beat Memphis, which was ranked 12th at the time, but lost to unranked Miami and Vanderbilt - the kind of losses that can cost a team a tournament berth.

Get your NCAA Final Four tickets at StubHub! Prices range from $465-$7000.

Permalink - Posted in General on December 14, 2006 - Post a comment


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