Hoosier Time in 2012/2013

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Tom Crean (pictured above) has reawakened Indiana basketball and currently has them sitting as a favorite for the 2012/2013 championship.

By Josh Kramer

6. 10. 12.  Want to know what those numbers signify?  The win totals for one of college basketball’s elite programs in 2009, 2010, 2011.  Well have no fear Bloomington, the Hoosiers are here.  After winning 27 games last season in which they defeated three top five teams at the friendly, or not so friendly (for opponents) confines of Assembly Hall, Tom Crean seems to have brought Indiana basketball all the way back from the dead.

Now I realize most feel like December 10, 2011 was the official reawakening of Indiana Hoosiers basketball.  And maybe it was when thousands of students, alumni, and fans rushed the court in a wild scene following a Christian Watford three-pointer at the buzzer to upset the eventual National Champion Kentucky.  There really were countless highs for the Hoosiers during a season in which Indiana made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.  With a stellar top-ten recruiting class set to arrive in Bloomington this Fall, expectations are high with the five-time National Champion Hoosiers.  In my eyes though, yesterday was possibly the second biggest day in the reawakening of Indiana basketball.

Cody Zeller and Christian Watford will both return for the 2012/2013 season.

Throwback Saturday Part XI

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. The Boston Celtics shocked the San Antonio Spurs one year ago today at the AT&T Center. This was thanks in large part to a huge performance by Rajon Rondo (pictured above).

By Josh Kramer

We are nearing the three-month anniversary of the initial “Throwback Saturday.”  I for one am very proud of this segment and have truly enjoyed time traveling with you.  What was happening on March 31, 2011?  How about on March 31, 2010?  Let’s find out.

One year ago..

NBA Night Tonight

Here is a snippet..

People need to realize though that College Basketball is not the only game in town.  The NBA season is coming down to the final stretch before the playoffs, with much left to be decided.  Plus, tonight features two mega matchups.  So after you watch your respective MLB teams open up the season, tune in to one of the two insanely good matchups the NBA has this evening.  Sorry to my Giants and Dodgers fans.  As the only night game, you will have to make a decision, but for the rest of the country, watching the NBA Action is a no brainer.

Matchup #1

Boston at San Antonio:  Many are proclaiming this matchup a possible preview of the NBA Finals. Both of these elite squads have looked somewhat vulnerable as of late though.  Granted they both have easily secured home court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs, but both would like to end up with the overall number 1 seed in their respective conferences.   In the East, the 1 seed has not meant much in recent years.  Just ask King James about that.  But in the West, the Lakers have secured the number 1 seed 3 consecutive years (this year is much in question though).  They have also represented the West in the NBA Finals 3 consecutive years.  Home court matters no matter how  you spin it in playoff basketball (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Final Four Predictions

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Louisville has one edge on Kentucky heading into Saturday's showdown. That would be at the point guard position where Peyton Siva (pictured above) has played great as of late. Siva's heroics will not be enough for Louisville this time though.

By Josh Kramer

I have avoided it for the past few weeks.  I know it is a bad idea.  And when my bracket completely unraveled on the first Friday of the tournament by around 11PM, my desire to provide round by round predictions faded (thanks to Norfolk State and Lehigh largely).  But this the Final Four.  There is no bigger story in sports.  Plus, this year lacks a Cinderella and features two rematches of powerhouse programs.  Here are my predictions as the attention of an entire nation heads to Nawlins (New Orleans).

Matchup #1

Louisville vs Kentucky

The Skinny:  Round two in 2012 of one of College Basketball’s best rivalries.  There has probably never been a bigger sporting spectacle in the illustrious history of the Bluegrass State.  Come 9PM on Saturday, let’s hope that all cities in the state of Kentucky are still standing.  This is the 3rd straight year that the Big East Champion has made it to the Final Four.  Coincidentally, Calipari’s past two Kentucky teams have both seen the same fate in March: losses to the Big East Tournament Champion in the NCAA Tournament (West Virginia 2010, Connecticut 2011).  The third time will be the charm for the Wildcats though.  In my lifetime, I do not think there has ever been more of a heavy favorite heading into the Final Four.  This includes the 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (who oddly enough lost) and the 2007 Florida Gators.  Kentucky is the best team College Basketball has seen in the past 15 years.  They have no noticeable weaknesses and are currently playing their best basketball.

Interesting Stats:  Calipari is 8 and 8 career versus John Calipari (11 and 11 if you include NBA days)  Though it should be noted that Calipari is a career 0 and 4 versus Pitino in postseason matchups.  Lastly, Calipari and Pitino are the only college basketball coaches ever to take three different programs to the Final Four.

Prediction:  Kentucky 80 Louisville 67

Food for Thought 3-27-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Not even "Slick" Rick Pitino (pictured above) can pull off this upset. It appears inevitable that UK will cut down the nets on April 2nd.

By Josh Kramer

The race for second place

13 National Championships.  49 Final Four berths.  Big East.  Big Ten.  Big 12.  SEC.  An elite rivalry.  Rick Pitino.  John Calipari.  Bill Self.  Thad Matta.  Three of this year’s five first team All Americans.  Cinderella teams are fun for the general public.  But they have never been major moneymakers.  Four very tradition filled programs with large followings will take over Bourbon Street for the next week.  It appears Bourbon Street has hit the jackpot with this year’s Final Four.

Wrong.

Weekly Nickel 3-26-2012

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Led by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Anthony Davis (pictured above), there is little doubt that UK will be cutting down the nets next Monday night.

By Josh Kramer

A Final Four finally emerged.  Tiger Woods did his best Mariano Rivera impression.  Tim Tebow took his talents to Broadway. And South Beach brought the heat in terms of tennis.  Last week was a great one that will not soon be forgotten, but this one is poised to be pretty epic in its own right.  Here are the events to keep an eye on.

5.  Canada’s favorite pastime is still going strong as the regular season nears a close.  There are eight or fewer games remaining for every team in the NHL.  And we all remember last year’s insanely unpredictable playoffs that made Game 7′s seem like a given.  Both Boston and Vancouver are once again heavy contenders to hoist Lord Stanley come June, but New York and St. Louis appear to be in pretty good shape in their own right.  My eyes will be focused on a colossal showdown in the nation’s capital on Tuesday.

Tournament Reset #1

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. The first weekend of March Madness lived up to all of the hype and more. Outside of the wild upsets, the Kendall Marshall (pictured above) wrist-injury was one of the main storylines.

By Matt Murray

If ever there was a year to regroup after the first weekend, this is it. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to forget the first fifty games that have already happened, and re-examine the field as it stands, with the 16 teams left standing.

Before we discuss, here is what the remaining field looks like.

South

#1 Kentucky vs #4 Indiana

#3 Baylor vs #10 Xavier

East 

#1 Michigan St. vs #4 Louisville

#3 Marquette vs #7 Florida

West

#1 Syracuse vs #4 Wisconsin

#6 Cincinnati vs #2 Ohio St

Midwest

#1 North Carolina vs #13 Ohio

#11 NC State vs #2 Kansas

Amidst all the madness of the first four days, it was easy to feel a little bit like the tournament had imploded upon itself; that blue bloods had given way to Cinderellas and that while shocks are good for the tournament, some of this madness had somehow done us a disservice. But now, with four days to breath, it becomes a little bit more apparent that order will likely be restored. The only No. 1 seed playing anything less than a 4-seed is North Carolina, who will strike midnight on this year’s Cinderella, Ohio University, with relative ease (with or without Kendall Marshall).

Wittry’s March Madness Predictions

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. According to our guest blogger Andrew Wittry, John Calipari (pictured above) will be a happy man on the night of April 2nd as he finally gets the monkey off his back and brings home a national championship.

By Andrew Wittry

Andrew Wittry is a senior at St. Xavier High School who literally eats and sleeps sports.  He is looking forward to college and avidly pursuing a career in sports journalism.  Andrew has an already well- established blog called Sports.Eat.Sleep.Repeat., where he posts new content regarding both professional and collegiate sports a few times each week.

Which month would you give up to have more March? While Buffalo Wild Wings jokingly uses this phrase in their recent March Madness advertising campaign, in all seriousness, I would willingly give up a few days of each month to be able to have more of the NCAA Tournament.

After coming home on from practice the other night and looking at the bracket, I could not have been more pleased with the field. When the biggest complaint about a team being left out is Drexel, a team out of the Colonial Athletic Association, who did win nineteen of its final twenty games, but did not have a single quality win out of conference, the committee did an excellent job.  Though Drexel’s amazing late season surge in which they reeled off 19 wins in their last 20 games was highly impressive. I was very excited about how well the local teams fared as Xavier’s run in the A-10 Tournament earned the team a 10 seed and Cincinnati claimed a six spot.  UC’s six was due in large part to giving #2 Syracuse its second loss of the season.

Here are my initial reactions from Selection Sunday:

Is Kentucky’s road to the Final Four too tough?

Throwback Saturday Part VIII

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Jerry Sandusky (pictured above) is one of the many faces that represents a year of scandal in the NCAA.

By Josh Kramer

Welcome to the eighth edition of “Throwback Saturdays.”  By this point, I think you all know the drill.  What was happening in the wide world of sports on March 10, 2011?  How about on March 10, 2010?  Well let’s find out.

One year ago..

State of College Athletics

Here is a snippet..

“The NCAA’s core purpose is to govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable and sportsmanlike manner, and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the educational experience of the student-athlete is paramount.”

That is directly from the NCAA website.

It’s hard to believe in those words these days.

Reggie Bush.

Cam Newton.

The “Tat Five.”

Lane Kiffin.

Bruce Pearl.

Jim Calhoun.

Jim Tressel.

All of those people were recently involved in major scandals in college athletics. Don’t forget about oversigning either. College athletics is in worse shape than LeBron James’ reputation in Cleveland.

What’s worse is some university presidents and athletic directors will stand by these men at all costs (To finish reading this post, click this link).

One of the good guys

Photo courtesy of www.mlive.com. Though Charlie Coles (pictured above) is retiring, he will always be remembered in a positive light in Oxford.

By Josh Kramer

Despite the absence of an NBA team since 1972, the Cincinnati Tri-State area has been known to have some pretty good basketball over the years.  And though some unfortunate events occurred on December 10, 2011 that has mired the national perception of Cincinnati hoops, there is still plenty of good going on in the Tri-State basketball scene.  Not to mention the Bearcats are tourney bound, while Xavier currently is sitting firmly on the bubble.

Often though, due to the many great collegiate basketball programs in the area, there is one team that gets overlooked.  And I guess it makes sense considering both Cincinnati and Xavier are just a jump and skip away, Kentucky is just a little over an hour south, and Ohio State is just a couple of hours north.  But yes, even after the great “Wally World” left the hallowed grounds of Oxford in the spring of 1999, Redhawks basketball continued on.

Over the past 16 years, there has been one mainstay in terms of Miami (OH) basketball.  And that would of course be their beloved Head Basketball Coach, Charlie Coles.  And despite just three tournament appearances in 16 years, Coles is a major winner.  He now has the most wins in Miami history and the most victories in Mid-American Conference play of any coach.  Charlie Coles is one of those guys though that has gotten to the point where the numbers do not matter.  Which is a definite rarity in this day and age. It is not about wins and losses anymore when you are talking about a person that possesses the character of Charlie Coles.  Coles had other priorities such as graduating his players and helping young men mature into respectable grown men.  If and when his players made mistakes, which was a rarity, he punished them accordingly.  Coles always kept his nose clean.  Gave credit to others.  And was a true ambassador of the collegiate game.  He was a guy much like the man who currently runs the show at Cameron Indoor.  A guy who did it the right way.

Throwback Saturday Part VII

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Last year at this time, everyone expected Ohio State to be cutting down the nets when the "Madness" was done. Can Sullinger (left) and Kraft (right) shock the world and lead OSU to a title this time around?

By Josh Kramer

Welcome to the 7^th edition of “Throwback Saturdays.”  What was going on in the wide world of sports on March 3, 2010?  How about March 3, 2011.  Ironically, on “TheSportsKraze,” the news centered around the Scarlet and Grey (Ohio State) both times.  Maybe we should just declare March 3rd a “Buckeye Day” on “TheSportsKraze?”

One year ago..

OSU/Wisconsin Preview

Here is a snippet from the end of the post..

Jared Sullinger made it clear to ESPN’s Dana O’Neil that he wants no part of splitting the Big Ten title. “It’s like sharing your girlfriend or your husband,’’ Sullinger said after OSU’s 82-61 win over Penn State Tuesday night. “You wouldn’t want to share your husband, would you? We don’t like to share.”

Furthermore, a win would further enhance coach Thad Matta’s squad chances of claiming the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

One would be hard pressed to say OSU isn’t the best in the country. The two teams to topple OSU this season, Wisconsin and Purdue, haven’t lost at home this season.

Kansas lost at home to Texas and got dump-trucked at Kansas State. Texas has six losses, including dropping three out of four. BYU also has two losses, but the Mountain West isn’t the Big Ten or Big East. Pitt would probably make for the best argument, but they’ve lost twice in the city of Pittsburgh. Duke isn’t a title threat without Kyrie Irving.

Come Sunday, it’s strictly business for OSU…with a personal touch (To finish reading this post, click this link).