When it came to college basketball this Easter weekend — be it the men's game or the women's model — it was unquestionably Louisville's world. The rest of us were just trying not to get flattened by the Derby City Destroyers.
Scott Cooper has pretty much spent his entire life following the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs.
It's going to happen. One-thousand-percent certain. At some point in tonight's or Friday night's NCAA Sweet 16 games, an offensive player is going to run into a defensive player and the whistle is going to blow.
Imagine football giants Ohio State and Michigan leaving the Big Ten Conference on the same day.
Ever since the Virginia Commonwealth University basketball coach seemingly came out of nowhere to, um, Shak-ingly guide his Rams to the 2011 Final Four, luring him away from the Richmond, Va., school has become the top priority of every major college athletic director unhappy with his or her current men's hoops boss.
If history hadn't long ago declared otherwise, you might think after this weekend's NCAA Tournament games that Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball not in Springfield, Mass., but on a beach in Florida while on vacation.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — His team having been crushed by Louisville in the second round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night, North Carolina A&T coach Cy Alexander said of the colossal Cardinals, "I think they have, potentially, what it takes to win the national championship."
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After watching Butler senior guard Rotnei Clarke score 18 of his team's 35 first-half points against Marquette on Saturday in the third round of the East Regional, Golden Eagles coach Buzz Williams grimly noted, "We've got to contest every shot. We've got to take the ball out of his hands."
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Still 24 hours away from losing by 12 points to Butler in the second round of the NCAA tournament, Bucknell coach Dave Paulsen already was hugely impressed with the Bulldogs.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Davidson junior forward De'Mon Brooks slapped the Rupp Arena court as hard as he could late Thursday afternoon.
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- North Carolina A&T coach Cy Alexander pulled out every motivational tool he could think of to psych up his Aggies for NCAA tournament overall No. 1 seed Louisville on Thursday night. He even had the Rev.
John Shulman stood in the McKenzie Arena hallway outside his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball team's locker room three weeks ago, recalling the first day he realized he wanted to be a college coach.
So maybe the Southeastern Conference really is a football league.
NASHVILLE — After three months of suspicions from all who've played against him, Mississippi junior guard Marshall Henderson stated what some have believed obvious.
NASHVILLE — If Florida basketball fans had picked the last Gator they expected to lead them back from a 10-point hole against Alabama with 16 minutes to play in their SEC tournament semifinal Saturday afternoon, it might have been Kenny Boynton.
NASHVILLE — It certainly seemed like a good idea at the time.
NASHVILLE — Two minutes from the end, two minutes from Vanderbilt shocking Kentucky 64-48 in their SEC tournament quarterfinal Friday night, the Commodores fans began chanting, "N-I-T! N-I-T!"
NASHVILLE — The most important moment in Florida's 80-58 victory over LSU in the SEC basketball tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon actually may have taken place in a medical facility Wednesday evening.
NASHVILLE — It's been fun being the University of Tennessee men's basketball team the past few weeks. No pressure. Few expectations. Pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise.
NASHVILLE — Apparently content to let their second-round SEC tournament game against LSU mirror their season, the Georgia Bulldogs waited until Thursday's second half to compete.
NASHVILLE — His Commodores' 13-point second-half lead over Arkansas having shrunk to four fragile points Thursday night, Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings broke into a wide smile, looked his players in the eye and shouted, "This is awesome!"
Sometime around 9:30 this morning I'll climb into my 2005 Honda Accord, brush aside an unfortunate collection of old newspapers, hamburger wrappers and empty Starbucks cups and head up I-24 to the Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in Nashville.
As ESPN college basketball analyst Jimmy Dykes left Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena early last Saturday evening after the Volunteers' emotional win over Missouri, he was asked which Southeastern Conference teams should be exp
They all know the history. George Mason in 2006. Butler in 2010 and 2011. Virginia Commonwealth in 2011.
Could it be that John Shulman actually wants to quit coaching the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs as much as the vast majority of UTC basketball fans apparently want him to stop?
KNOXVILLE — How many times have you heard it, regardless of the sport? Games aren't won on game day.
KNOXVILLE — His assistant coaches wore coats and ties and chose their words carefully, as one might expect of first-year employees.
Two weeks from this morning we'll already know the first two casualties of the 2013 NCAA men's basketball tournament, the opening two contests of the tourney's "First Four" games in Dayton, Ohio, officially in the books.
Logic always sided with University of Miami point guard Shane Larkin spending his winters in south Florida.
What if Florida is the only Southeastern Conference team invited to the NCAA Tournament?
When new University of Tennessee at Chattanooga chancellor Steven Roger Angle was growing up in southern California, he didn't play organized sports.
His tenacious team flush with pride following a victory over Florida on Tuesday, Tennessee basketball coach Cuonzo Martin said of his Vols' NCAA Tournament chances:
KNOXVILLE — The buzzer sounded and the Thompson-Boling Arena scoreboard showed unranked Tennessee with 64 points and No. 8 Florida with 58.
It may have been the most impressive individual performance of the college basketball season.
Viewed from afar, without the gory details that almost always burden one's real life, Tamika Catchings appears to have led an almost perfect existence during her 33 years on Mother Earth.
Welcome to the Daytonica 500, where the fastest woman on the planet (at least for this week), Danica Patrick, will attempt to leave 42 men in her dust today in the Great American Race.
The Voice of the Mocs let out a soft chuckle Wednesday afternoon.
KNOXVILLE — Heading into Tuesday night's Southeastern Conference road test at Tennessee, LSU basketball coach Johnny Jones liked what he saw on the stat sheets.
Having once helped lead Kansas to the 1993 Final Four as a player, University of San Francisco coach Rex Walters knows a thing or two about college basketball's biggest stage.
Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari has a problem.
KNOXVILLE — The game was over, even if nearly 16 minutes remained on the Thompson-Boling Arena clock.
NASHVILLE — Sometimes you paint with oils on canvas. Sometimes you spread toothpaste over black velvet.
Parole Tide! That was the comment posted by "CrankE" on GoVolsXtra.com, the remark accompanying the website's story on four University of Alabama football players being arrested on second-degree robbery charges or credit card-fraud charges early Monday morning.
Because his No. 25 Wildcats visit No. 7 Florida tonight in the biggest Southeastern Conference basketball game of the season, Kentucky coach John Calipari was asked Monday what makes the Gators so good.
Until the final minutes of Saturday night I'd never heard of Garrick Sherman. Now the Notre Dame junior is my new favorite college basketball player.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball loss to the College of Charleston on Saturday night was about to begin inside McKenzie Arena when Mocs legend Nick Morken took a seat next to former Lady Mocs star Kay Irby Cooper in section 122.
KNOXVILLE — For just the second time since he became the Tennessee football coach on Dec. 7 of last year, Butch Jones will return to his Cincinnati home Friday to spend some long overdue quality time with his wife Barbara and three sons.
KNOXVILLE — No team has held Georgia sophomore guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope under 11 points all season.
A few minutes after 7 this morning, Jason Gordon will pick up a large bag of doughnuts and a couple of oversized coffees and make his way to best buddy Chris Baumunk's home.
