March Madness

March Madness Makes History in First Rounds
By Marilyn Miller ...
March 19, 2012 - 3:14pm
Opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament makes for interesting story lines heading into the Sweet 16 this weekend

Of all annual sporting events – the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the World Series – the NCAA College Basketball Tournament seems to be the one that lives up to its expectations. March Madness is many sports fans' favorite time of the year, and this past weekend’s opening games reminded the nation why.

Finalists named for Naismith Player of the Year award.
By Andrew MacLeod ...
March 21, 2011 - 6:01pm
All four players still competing in NCAA tournament.

Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Duke's Nolan Smith and UConn's Kemba Walker have all been named as the finalists for the Naismith Player of the Year award, according to Sporting News. The award is given out annually to the best player of the year in college basketball.

All four players have been named as All-American's and are still competing in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Celebrating on the Mountaintop
By Kyle C. Leach
March 28, 2010 - 1:08am
The East Regional final saw the last Big East team remaining advance to the Final Four behind the will and smarts of the head coach and gritty point guard.

Bob Huggins will take your tired, your poor, and your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Cousins, Kentucky chew up Big Red
By Kyle C. Leach
March 26, 2010 - 9:07am
The 2010 NCAA East Regional semifinals took place in the Carrier Dome Thursday night, schools from border state Kentucky and West Virginia advancing to Saturday’s final.

DeMarcus Cousins will not be provoked, not on the basketball court.

A big strong 19-year old playing at the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament, the Kentucky freshman center had his intelligence questioned, his back strained, and his patience tested over the last 24 hours.

Emotions came to a boil with 9 minutes remaining in the first half of a offensively challenged semifinal between the Wildcats and fan favorite Cornell. Cousins snared the rebound of teammates DeAndre Liggins wayward 3-pointer, and knocked to the floor by Cornell center Jeff Foote.

It's all over
By Evan Williams
March 25, 2010 - 11:39pm
A second half surge was not enough to propel Syracuse past Butler and to its first regional final since 2003.

 It was a season that transcended expectations.

Orange, Johnson ready to serve Butler
By Kyle C. Leach
March 23, 2010 - 4:44pm
Syracuse (30-4) travels to Salt Lake City for its Sweet Sixteen matchup with Butler (30-4). Tip-off is 7:07 p.m. EST.

Syracuse starting forward Rick Jackson getting into foul trouble was the best thing to happen to Syracuse on Sunday afternoon.

With two hands tied behind their backs (the team's other starting forward Arinze Onuaku was inactive with a leg injury), the Orange took a bat to Gonzaga’s pumpkin chariot, and put up 87 points on the Cinderella-turned-NCAA-regular.

"This is as well as we've played all year," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "It was a tremendous performance."

Friday Five - NCAA edition
By Kyle C. Leach
March 19, 2010 - 2:45pm
This is the ninth installment of “Friday Five,” a weekly column with analysis and insight on the Orange, the Big East and the rest of college basketball. The first round continues today with another full slate of games, capped tonight by Syracuse making its first appearance.

The NCAA Tournament is the re-set button for the college basketball season. The Big East Conference saw half of its members receive bids to the Big Dance, but after one crazy day, three of the 8 teams have been sent home.

The five storylines:

A Blessing in Disguise
By Evan Williams
March 15, 2010 - 6:24pm
No. 1-seed Syracuse falls to West Region, lucks out with easiest path to Indy.

Syracuse was cheated.

That was the consensus when the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bracket revealed Syracuse had dropped to the fourth one-seed behind ACC regular season and tournament champion Duke.

Please NCAA, anyone but Vermont
By Kyle C. Leach
March 15, 2010 - 4:20pm
The 65-team NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament field was released on Sunday night, and the No. 4-ranked Syracuse Orange received their first No. 1 seed in 30 years. Syracuse (28-4) should pull up a chair at that complaint table with fellow upstate N.Y. schools Cornell and Siena.

The Syracuse University basketball wants to forever forget two memorable upsets in their NCAA history. The most memorable was in 1991 when the Orangemen, led by stars Adrian Autry and Billy Owens, became the first No. 2 seed to lose in the first round after losing to No. 15 seed Richmond, 73-69. The game was broadcast on CBS in prime time, setting the shock tones of March Madness reverberating across the country. Luckily, the Spiders, a No.