10 Loudest Stadiums in College Basketball

During a discussion with one of the good people over at blist, we decided it might be fun to explore what we felt were the top 10 LOUDEST stadiums in college ball… so, here’s what we came up with!

10. University of New Mexico – University Arena (“The Pit”)
9. University of Illinois – Assembly Hall
8. University of Kentucky – Rupp Arena
7. University of Arkansas – Bud Walton Arena (aka “The Basketball Palace of mid-America”)
6. Rutgers University – Louis Brown Athletic Center (“RAC”)
5. Oklahoma State University – Gallagher-Iba (“The Madison Square Garden of the Plains”)
4. University of Louisville – Freedom Hall
3. University of Florida – O’Connell Center (“The O-Dome”)
2. Duke University – Cameron Indoor Stadium (“Coach K Court”)
1. University of Kansas – Allen Fieldhouse (“The Phog”)

If you want to have a look at the blist generated for this, here’s the link!

NCAA Day 4

Quite a few surprises on Day 3 – Duke gone, huh? Guess the game against Belmont was no fluke…

Games today:

• (12) Villanova def (13) Siena 84-72 [Midwest]
• (10) Davidson def (2) Georgetown 74-70
• (12) West. Kentucky def (13) San Diego 72-63  [West]
• (2) Tennessee def (7) Butler 76-71[East]
• (9) Arkansas vs (1) NC
• (6) Oklahoma vs (3) Louisville
• (2) Texas def (7) Miami (FL) 75-72  [South]
• (1) Memphis def (8) Mississippi St. 77-74

Day 3 & Duke’s Done

Wave bye-bye to Duke . They struggled mightily in game 1, and were beaten by 11th seeded West Virginia in game 2.
Bit late today, so some games have already finished (scores up).

Other games today are:

• (5) Notre Dame vs (4) Washington St. [East]
• (2) Wisconsin 72 def (11) Kansas St. 55 [Midwest]
• (8) UNLV vs (1) Kansas
• (6) Marquette vs (3) Stanford [South]
• (5) Michigan St. vs (4) Pittsburgh
• (7) West Virginia 73 def (2) Duke 67 [West]
• (6) Purdue vs (3) Xavier
• (9) Texas A&M vs (1) UCLA

NCAA Games – Day 2

Some nice games day 1, would’ve been happier if Duke had lost to Belmont… and damn, did THAT come close!  USC gone, nice game from Kansas State.  Other than that, pretty much as expected.  Hoping for a few upsets…
Anyway, day 2 sees:

• (10) Davidson vs (7) Gonzaga [Midwest Region]
•  (15) UMBC vs (2) Georgetown
• (13) Siena vs (4) Vanderbilt
• (12) Villanova vs (5) Clemson
• (12) West Kentucky vs (5) Drake [West Region]
• (13) San Diego vs (4) Connecticut
• (15) American vs (2) Tennessee [East Region]
• (10) South Alabama vs (7) Butler
• (16) Mount St. Mary’s vs (1) North Carolina
• (11) St. Joseph’s vs (6) Oklahoma
• (14) Boise St. vs (3) Louisville
• (9) Arkansas vs (8) Indiana
• (10) St. Mary’s vs (7) Miami (FL) [South Region]
• (15) Austin Peay vs (2) Texas
• (9) Oregon vs (8) Mississippi St.
• (16) TX Arlington vs (1) Memphis

Some important stuff to remember: Storming The Floor will be having live blogging of the games… and whilst you’re reading that, remember you can watch the games live on ncaasports.com.

And It All Begins…

NCAA March Madness is but a few short hours away, and whilst I am by no means an expert on college ball, I definitely appreciate that this tournament is one of the biggest sporting events in the US. For a greater in depth coverage on the games/tournament, I highly recommend Storming The Floor, a blog that specifically addresses NCAA Hoops.

Day 1 games…

• (13) Winthrop vs (4) Washington St. [East Region]
• (12) George Mason vs (5) Notre Dame
• (16) Portland St vs (1) Kansas [Midwest Region]
  
• (9) Kent St vs (8) UNLV
• (11) Kansas St vs (6) USC
• (14) CS Fullerton vs (3) Wisconsin
• (12) Temple vs (5) Michigan State [South Region]
• (11) Kentucky vs (6) Marquette
• (13) Oral Roberts vs (4) Pittsburgh
• (14) Cornell vs (3) Stanford
• (14) Georgia vs (3) Xavier [West Region]
• (11) Baylor vs (6) Purdue
  
• (15) Belmont vs (2) Duke
• (9) Texas A&M vs (8) BYU
• (10) Arizona vs (7) W Virginia
  
• (16) Miss Vlly St vs (1) UCLA

Greatest of interest for me in the first lot of games is the USC vs Kansas State – a marquis match-up between two guys that are going to attract a lot of attention from NBA teams when they declare for the next draft (and no-one can tell me that they won’t!) – Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo. Looking forward to that one.

Lastly, a reminder to check out the NCAA tournament in greater detail over at Storming the Floor.

NCAA Basketball Games on Demand!

March Madness is just upon us, and the good folks over at the NCAA have ‘March Madness On Demand!’

Hit the banner in this post for the link to sign up!

Throughout the tournament, there’ll be a banner on my sidebar linking to sign up for free live games…

Gambling in Sports, The Tradition Continues

Now that NBA referee Tim Donaghy has been implicated by the Feds in a mob run gambling ring, it has to be time to reflect upon history’s past gambling operations. Most sports have had at least one. Now wait, before I go on, there are way too many to list. Soccer, Cricket, Baseball, NCAA Basketball, NBA Basketball, Japanese Baseball, Horse Racing, the list goes on for all the sports that have had a gambling scandal rock it. While it is a big deal when this occurs, obviously the lesson that can be learned is that the league will live on. Lets just take a look back and see what people have done in the past and not so present:

Tim – get the hell outta the playground!

From the cradle to the grave… USC basketball program?

I know most blogging pundits have already had their say on this… but Tim Floyd recruiting Ryan Boatwright is simply deplorable. He’s yet to even select his high school, but we’re expecting him to pencil in where he’s going to go to college?

Yeah, yeah… I know that with this handshake agreement, nothing’s set in stone from either side – but why do it at all then? Do you really think that if the kid barely makes his high school basketball starting 5 that USC will honor the agreement? And if he ends up being a great player in High, and gets an offer from North Carolina – will he stick by a handshake agreement made when he was an impressionable 8th grader?

Basketball camps where a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend make a recommendation to a talented kid… well it reeks of something rather unpleasant.

Really now, the NCAA should step in and do something about this. Some may say “it doesn’t matter, it’s not a set-in-stone agreement”… then why do it at all? At the very least, a kid should be actually IN High School before being able to make even handshake agreements. Or… make these agreements legally binding (at least, within NCAA rulings). I bet that’d stop it.

But seeing as we’re going down that path now Tim, how about considering my kid? He’s big for his age (both height & weight), and is still growing. Doctor says that he’s physically really good… has a good wing-span, good reflexes & strength. I’m sure he’ll fit right in on a full-ride scholarship at USC. Here’s a picture for your file: