The Retrievers’ stunning takedown of Virginia reminded us why March Madness endures as one of America’s best sporting traditionsThat whoosh you heard on Friday night was the sound of millions of brackets across America simultaneously bursting into flames. The sporting spectacle whose overarching allure is chaos was finally graced with the mother of all upsets as University of Maryland-Baltimore County upended top-ranked Virginia to become the first ever No16 seed to defeat a No1, springing the greatest of NCAA men’s basketball tournament surprises in the most shocking way imaginable. Related: Ultimate upset: UMBC stun Virginia to become first ever No16 seed to top a No1 Continue reading...
By criminalizing violations in college sports, the US Department of Justice will make it so that it is not just the NCAA who runs the market but the state as wellA bombshell was dropped on the college basketball world this week as an FBI probe into the seedy underbelly of the sport has resulted in the arrest of 10 men, including four high-level assistant coaches under charges of “bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes, honest services fraud conspiracy, honest service fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Travel Act conspiracy.”That laundry list of charges is impressive, but for those with any experience in how the world of college sports really works, it should come as no surprise. Under-the-table cash contributions to...
Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has become the first high-profile victim in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption, but he won’t be the lastRick Pitino, the Hall of Fame college basketball coach who over his 31-year head coaching career has led his teams to seven Final Fours and two national championships, has almost certainly coached his last game. The University of Louisville placed Pitino, its figurehead for the last 16 years and the highest paid head coach in all of college basketball, on unpaid administrative leave Wednesday citing allegations of corruption detailed by the acting US attorney for the southern district of New York that implicated Pitino’s program and led to the arrest of 10 people including four...
The NCAA tournament is as wildly popular as ever, but the increased emphasis on March means fewer people are paying attention to the regular season Printable NCAA tournament bracket: make your March Madness picks Regional previews: East | Midwest | South | West So you call yourself a college basketball fan? Now that you’ve filled out your brackets, ask yourself this question: how many college basketball games have you watched this year on TV? How many have you seen in person?For an increasing number of Americans, the answer is none, or in most cases, not many. And if you’re looking for a reason why the first four months of the college roundball season are received with such indifference, consider two...
The Golden State Warriors’ dream season ends in a LeBron James nightmare; legends leave the game; the basketball world mourns Pat SummittYou can be forgiven for thinking that the Cleveland Cavaliers were finished. After all, no team in NBA history had ever come back from a 3-1 NBA Finals lead and they were playing a Golden State Warriors team that wasn’t just good but historically unprecedented. Having gone 73-9 in the regular season, the 2015-16 Warriors were arguably a single win away from being in the “best NBA team ever” conversation. Continue reading...