Anthony Mason Jr. returned to action on January 9  in Louisville, nearly 14 months after his college career seemingly ended. His first shot back clanged off the rim, just long.  But in truth there were days his return appeared a longshot. The return has not been completed.  His lateral movement appears cautious and the forward [...]

The Big East Conference expected to suffer a dramatic drop-off in national success this year.  The conference sent nine players to the NBA draft, and nearly every program lost multiple three-year starters. Surprisingly, the power conference lost little of its nationwide dominance.  In this edition of the Beast Report, we take a look at the [...]

Two teams filled with gold/black bedecked players tussled last Tuesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.  The Purdue Boilermakers outlasted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 69-58 in a battle between two programs that crossed paths while seemingly headed in different directions. Despite recently sending two players to the NBA, Wake has not won an NCAA [...]

Sean Miller left Xavier in the spring, reinforcing the belief that Xavier is a launching-pad program.  The last four lead Musketeers, all wildly successful at the Cincinnati campus, moved on to bigger and better things. It’s hard to blame a guy for accepting the head coaching position at the University of Arizona where the money, [...]

Dayton’s win over Creighton, though expected, raises the national focus on the Flyers from a whimper to a murmur. Brian Gregory’s bunch of athletic anomalies got national airplay by playing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff, but they lost to Villanova and Kansas State. Forward Chris Wright, offered by Michigan State, can only [...]

The sweet styling of the McKnight Brothers was on display Saturday night in the MAC Tournament Final.  The toughest ticket in town was for the duet’s vibrant harmony, competently contributing to a 65-53 Akron win.  Less famous than singer Brian’s McKnight family, these brothers (junior Chris, and sophomore Brett) have more to celebrate en route [...]

Good Wins: 11/25 vs. Kansas (semi-away), 12/20 @Memphis, 2/4 vs. West Virginia, 3/7 @ Marquette, 3/12 vs. UConn (neutral), 3/13 vs. West Virginia (neutral) Bad Losses: None. Strengths:  1. Variety. The spice of life encapsulates Syracuse’s offense, the Big East’s best.  How many different ways can they score on you?  Let me count the ways.  [...]

Buffalo 64, Ball State 52 Pete Newell would have been proud.  In a league habitually dominated by backcourts, big men thrived Friday night.  Buffalo Bull junior forward Max Boudreau poured in a lucky 21, raising his career high by 50%.  Even a free fall landing him square on his back could not slow the Canadian [...]

De-fense. Clap! Clap!  De-fense. Clap! Clap! Defense wins championships.  It’s a highly regarded maxim that covers all sports.  If defense is so vital and clearly intrinsic to success, then why are defensive values rarely addressed in the written word? In Minnesota, Tubby Smith brought a renewed focus on defense.  “We take away sight from the [...]

Ball State 64, Central Michigan 61  An eventful overtime went to the birds.  Finally.  The Ball State Cardinals (14-16) pulled out a MAC slugfest on the strength of six Laron Frazier overtime points.  ”We have three seniors who all stepped up and made the shots to get to the next step,” said Frazier.  The final [...]