Northeastern 69, Wright State 57
Imagine the reaction, the emotion felt crowdwide when a magician flubs his magic trick.  From heightened anticipation to equal parts disdain and unease.  The very same sequence repeated itself numerous times in Northeastern’s 69-57 victory over the host Wright State Raiders (16-12) Saturday morning.
With WSU collectively playing the [...]

Good Wins: Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Marquette.
Bad Losses: None. West Virginia was disconcerting only because of the margin (19 points).

Strengths:
1. Bravery. Led by Scottie Reynolds, the Wildcats never recoil their claws. Small as a Scottish Terrier, this diminutive Scottie is much more pugnacious. He darts into the [...]

Good Wins: N-Gonzaga, Villanova, @Louisville, Syracuse
Bad Losses: none.
Strengths:
1. Urgency. The players have not changed in the past two years but the level of success is night and day. Flashes of brilliance have given way to a steady stream of illumination. For a team that has never sniffed postseason success, their legacy is steadily drawing to [...]

Good Wins: @Florida State, @Georgetown, Syracuse, @West Virginia, West Virginia, Cincinnati, @UConn
Bad Losses: None.
Strengths:
1. Strength. For over a decade the weight-lifting program of the Pitt Panthers has borne outstanding results. The oncourt benefit has been the castle-strong defense, which served as the backbone of Jamie Dixon’s success. This year is no exception. Defensive FG% (39.8%) [...]

The Big East is home to some of the biggest, strongest, most powerful centers in the country. But the point guards excel on more than strength. Each have a particular skill set along with one super skill. This week for the Big East Report we will take a look at the best [...]

Good Wins: Northern Iowa, Villanova, West Virginia, @Providence
Bad Losses: @South Florida
Strengths:
1. Dribble Penetration. A lot of their scoring comes off penetration. Most of their scoring plays begin on the wing or the high elbow. The dribble weave made famous by Michigan State’s Tom Izzo begins most of the Eagles’ possessions. The guards take good care [...]

Good Wins: N-Texas, Georgetown
Bad Losses: @St. John’s
Strengths:
1. Flow. The Irish get good shots. Between Luke Zeller, Kyle McAlarney, and Luke Harangody the Irish have good shooters at three key positions. Mike Brey has a great success rate on plays out of timeouts. This shows the strong link between coach and players. [...]

Facing the African giant, Hasheem Thabeet, the small town kid from Indiana suckered his foe to the baseline. Lesser men had cowered when faced with Thabeet’s arms, long and fear provoking as Medusa’s snakes.

From the baseline the five-inch shorter Luke Harangody evaded those frightful arms with his patented spin move, releasing the ball while [...]

Every city celebrates college sports success the same way.  Initial delirious celebration gives way to naming a child after the heroes.  The in-game chants and baby-making bizarrely go hand in hand. 
 
What separates fanbases is the way in which they handle setbacks, failures. 
 
Big 10 fans internalize the frustration.  Burying such silly anger seems the [...]

After traveling through the undulating landscape of the University of Pittsburgh, longtime fans and curious parties alike stacked the rafters of the immaculate Peterson Events Center.
The buzz in the building exceeded that of a dozen beehives. People stood in the top rows eager to witness the purported preeminent college basketball team. Hundreds of [...]