This was a matchup of two teams trending in opposite directions. In one of the more entertaining games of the BracketBuster weekend, Charleston came away with a tough 85-83 road victory for its sixth win out of seven. George Mason, loser of five of six, must rebound and finish the last week of the conference [...]

While much of the Eastern time zone slept Saturday night, the Utah State Aggies, one of the most unappreciated mid-major teams in America, added to one of the nation’s most impressive home records. Utah State defeated the Wichita State Shockers 68-58 at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, increasing its home record to a staggering 105-7 since [...]

The college basketball world got a sneak preview of Ali Farokhmanesh Friday night as Northern Iowa shoved away the Old Dominion Monarchs 71-62.  Farokhmanesh led all scorers with 23 points despite not having a single point at the half. UNI displayed both exceptional court balance and prudent patience.  The zone defense of Old Dominion was [...]

Niagara 70, Illinois State 56 No matter how much Illinois State chiseled at its lead, Niagara was not going to be denied on this night, in this game. In the opening act of the 2009 ESPNU Bracketbusters, the Purple Eagles sprinted out to a big lead in front of the faithful Gallagher Center crowd and [...]

On every team there are five guys that believe they can do better. They can score more points, make crazier passes, shutdown more opponents than the players who are actually on the floor. On the very best teams, there are one or two guys who truthfully can do better, if given the chance. Illinois State [...]

When Drake played Butler on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, there was little drama regarding whether either of these teams was facing “Bubble” issues with the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. This game was clearly about seeding. The marquee game of BracketBuster weekend lived up to the hype. In a game that made virtually every [...]

In a nationally televised BracketBuster game, one would have assumed Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor would have played a major factor – win or lose – in the Rams’ success. Ironically, Maynor was a shell of himself Saturday morning in front of 4,098 screaming fans at Rhodes Arena. Still, that didn’t stop VCU from making a [...]

The final contest of BracketBuster Saturday proved to be its most meaningful, as the Kent State Golden Flashes escaped St Marys’ McKeon Pavilion with a 65-57 win. The victory places Kent State squarely on the Bubble, and ensures that if the Golden Flashes are beaten in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, they’ll be one of the [...]

An ordinarily mild-mannered Tyrone Green beaming with delight told the story for Southern Illinois’ homecourt 74-49 win over Nevada. The Kentucky-born guard had reason to smile, aside from his team’s nearly flawless performance. Guarding Marcelus Kemp, who attracted four NBA scouts to Carbondale, Green put on a defensive show. He got up in Kemp’s personal [...]

Winthrop was 56-2 in its last 58 home games heading into Friday night. Davidson brought a 16-game winning streak into Rock Hill, South Carolina. Something had to give when the Eagles and Wildcats squared off inside Winthrop Arena in an opening-night BracketBruster showdown on ESPN2. Although Davidson star sophomore Stephen Curry endured one of the [...]