ESPN Recommends These Mid Majors

ESPN has tons of new college basketball stuff going on at their site, but one of the most interesting things to look at is their assessment of the mid major situation. If you’re a fan of any of these teams, you might want to take a look at the article Kyle Whelliston wrote:

  • Davidson
  • Creighton
  • Siena
  • Cleveland State
  • Winthrop
  • Middle Tennessee State
  • San Diego
  • Kent State
  • Belmont
  • North Dakota State

It’s impossible to say who will come out of the various mid major conferences to do well in the NCAA Tournament, so ESPN starts mostly with the teams that did well last season, such as Davidson, San Diego and Siena. The article also high lights about a half dozen players from the above teams, as well as some other possible future stars.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 12, 2008 - Post a comment

Vermont: An America East Sleeper

The sports media is ramping up their college basketball material these days, so there’s lots of stuff to write about. North Carolina, UCLA, Connecticut, Louisville- they’re all getting plenty of attention for their high positions in the AP Top 25, and pretty much every other poll out there. However, at the Final Four Blog, we seek to give you folks something a little off the beaten path. Today we present to you Vermont, a team with a lot of potential and a potential Cinderella Tourney team come March.

So what does Vermont have on its side? Well, for starters (no pun intended) they return four of their starters from last year’s team. In 2007-08 they went 16-15 and finished strong despite the fact that their roster was pretty much gutted by injuries. This time around, if they can keep healthy, the Catamounts will have one of the best teams in the America East Conference. The only trouble getting a Tourney bid will be beating Boston University for the conference title. Boston received five first place votes in the preseason America East poll, while Vermont received four. If you’re looking for a team that’s a little off the radar, you should check out Vermont.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 10, 2008 - Post a comment

Get Used to More BP at the Final Four Blog

BasketballProspectus.com is a site we use quite a bit here at the Final Four Blog. They provide excellent commentary, and much, much more stats observations and recordings than pretty much any site out there. As the college hoops season approaches, they will certainly be in the regular rotation of blogs here, so get used to it.

In fact, we’re going to point out a nice little season primer for the Boston College Eagles that you can see at BP.com. It’s really just a teaser to get you to buy their entire Basketball Prospectus, but hey- why not check it out anyways. If you’re through with getting the one sentence per paragraph lines from your typical college basketball coverage at ESPN, CBS and FOX, BP is a welcomed treat.

As for BC, Ken Pomeroy likes the Eagles’ interior defense and perimeter offense. Of course, they’re not a complete team yet, still missing several elements that would get them to the top of the always-tough ACC. They have an outside shot of making the Tournament, unless somebody can score in the post this season, in which case their odds increase dramatically.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 7, 2008 - Post a comment

Jai Lucas to Transfer from Florida Gators

Florida Gators guard Jai Lucas has decided that he will transfer from the University after the fall semester is completed. The Sophomore basketball player, who was one of the most highly sought recruits to come to Florida one year ago, has not decided where he will transfer to, but it’s pretty clear that the basketball situation at the school will be an important selling point. Jai Lucas wants to play a traditional point guard position, but with other players filling that role in Gainesville, Lucas had been relegated to playing shooting guard. Said Gators head coach Billy Donovan:

“I don’t think he was mad about that, but I don’t know if (he wanted) to play over there [shooting guard] that much. On any team, there’s a little bit of give and take by everybody. I don’t blame Jai. He’s got to be happy. There’s no reason to go through your career and say, ‘Hey I’m unhappy every day coming to practice.”

There will probably be lots of demand for a player like Jai, with three seasons of eligibility left in his NCAA career. There’s a program at Indiana that needs stars fast, so it wouldn’t surprise the Final Four Blog if he would up playing for Tom Crean.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 6, 2008 - Post a comment

Oregon State Hoops Coach Shares Acceptance Speech Stage with President-Elect Obama

As you Final Four Blog fans might have already heard, there was a pretty big election yesterday. Perhaps you heard about it. Hopefully you participated, but even if you only care about college basketball, there was still some slight college hoops element amid the presidential fanfare, acceptance speeches, pundit yammering and proposition percentages. In fact, a very famous college basketball coach was on the same stage with President-Elect Barack Obama last night after he gave his acceptance speech.

Craig Robinson, a former coach at Brown and now the head coach at Oregon State University, is the brother-in-law of Senator and soon-to-be President Barack Obama. In other words, he’s Michelle Obama’s older brother. He wasn’t on camera for that long, but he was very noticeable because he’s a huge guy. He used to be a pretty good college basketball player, himself.
Robinson didn’t speak at the event, but he did have a role in the Democratic National Convention, where he introduced his sister to the crowd. Will Craig Robinson’s position at Oregon State and Barrack Obama’s position in the White House ever cross paths? We’ll be sure to let you know if or when they do.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 5, 2008 - Post a comment

Gary Parrish’s Top Games For Which to Get Hoops Tickets

Even though the football season is in full swing and people are probably a little hesitant to switch over into hoops mode, there’s still tons of reasons to get in on the hoops hoopla. Gary Parrish, the human college basketball department at CBS Sports, has a list of some of his favorite games to highlight this season. There are tons of great matchups for teams across the nation, but you might notice that there’s a real East Coast bias there. Oh well. Check it out.

Here at the Final Four Blog, we like the games that take place at alternate arenas. For example, one of the games that Parrish mentions is Notre Dame vs. North Carolina, which is set to take place in Maui. Wouldn’t that be nice? Seeing Big Luke and Psycho-T play in Hawaii? Or what about Gonzaga vs. Michigan State in Orlando? There are all sorts of tickets out there, so check out a few that interest you, and secure your seats.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 4, 2008 - Post a comment

Non-BCS Teams to Look Out For

Every year the North Carolinas and the UCLAs of the college basketball world get the hype, while the mid-majors go through the season in-sung, yet proud. Then by tournament time, the high majors are scrambling to find out where teams like Sienna and Davidson came from, as the lower class suddenly become the most threatening teams in the Tournament. Although it’s been a long time since a mid-major won the whole thing, with the success of teams like Davidson, Gonzaga and George Mason in recent years, it’s only a matter of time before one of the Cinderellas makes it all the way to the championship.

Garry Parrish, college hoops columnist for CBSsports.com has a list of the mid-majors you ought to keep your eye on. All the usual suspects are there, including the Zags and Memphis, but UNLV, and UTEP also make the watch list. If the Final Four blog were making its own list, they would have included San Diego, a team that won a game in the Tourney last year, beat Gonzaga and St. Mary’s on the way to the WCC title, and returns all of their starters from last year’s team.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on November 3, 2008 - Post a comment


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