Big East Basketball: Grading Each Team Halfway Through Conference Play
With the NFL winding down, college basketball is getting ready to step up. The Big East conference is wide open and any team can swoop in and take the crown.
The Big East is currently halfway done with conference play. The usuals are at the top of the conference, while there are some surprises as to who is succeeding and who is failing.
Over the next 16 slides, I will grade each team’s play so far and tell you what the team should be doing come the Big East Championship Tournament and March Madness.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Villanova Basketball: Grading Each Wildcat’s Performance for Last Week
As crazy as it sounds, Villanova entered last week with a chance to turn their whole season around. They had a 10-10 record, 3-5 in the Big East.
They had two ranked teams on their schedule, playing at Louisville and hosting Marquette. Had they won both, they would have put themselves into position to play their way onto the tournament bubble.
Unfortunately, they came up just short in both games, really a microcosm of their entire season. When it came to crunch time, they were just outplayed by two more seasoned teams.
They showcased what have become their staples, scrappy defense and tenacious rebounding, but they also exposed their biggest flaws: a lack of shooting touch and and carelessness with the basketball.
More than anything, they youth was exposed. Maalik Wayns had been playing as well as any guard in the nation, but he sat for significant minutes with foul trouble in each game. There was just no one who could step up and fill the void in his absence.
Here is how each Wildcat’s week played out.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Indiana Basketball: Grading Cody Zeller and Each Member of the Hoosiers Roster
The Indiana Hoosiers basketball team has really improved this season over the years past. They’re certainly well on their way to their first NCAA tournament berth in the Tom Crean era, and are two bad losses away from being a big threat in the Big Ten Conference. I don’t blame the most recent Wisconsin loss on them as they literally played their hearts out, but the refs didn’t help them any.
With all that aside, I have graded each member of this Hoosiers team that can get playing time on any given night. I obviously with held the walk-ons that don’t really get much playing time as it would be unfair to grade them.
These are the grades each player received.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Baylor Basketball: Grading Each Player on the Bears’ Roster
The Baylor Bears started this season with a 17-0 record and the best start in school history. They may have dropped two games recently to knock them from the unbeaten ranks, but they have preserved the latter fact and currently sit at 19-2 and third place in the Big 12.
Even though the Bears faltered in their play against two of the Big 12’s other elite teams, there is no disputing the fact that Baylor has come to play this season and will be a threat come March.
They boast a very deep roster and even stake claim to the conference’s preseason Player of the Year award winner.
The following will break down the play of each player on the Baylor roster for his performance this season.
Note: Each grade is assigned based on improvement or regression from last previous seasons, play in big games and road games, the ability of a player to work with teammates, how a player compares to others at his position, how essential a player is to a team and various intangibles.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Texas Basketball: Predictions for Each of the Horns’ Remaining Games
The Big 12 schedule is nearing its halfway point, and no team feels the pressure of time more acutely than the Texas Longhorns. Tuesday night’s win over Iowa State leaves Texas at 13-7 overall (3-4 in conference) and at a crossroads as far as its postseason fate is concerned.
With 11 games yet to be played, there’s ample time for Texas to get hot and play its way into an NCAA tournament berth. However, it won’t take very many losses at this stage of the season to burst that bubble and land the Longhorns in the NIT or worse.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the 11 games remaining on Texas’ schedule and a pick as to how the Horns will fare in each one.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Duke Basketball: Grading Each Player on the Blue Devils’ Roster
Duke was recently handed only their third loss of the season when Florida State sank a game-winning trey to snap Duke’s home court winning streak.
As a result, the Blue Devils dropped a couple spots in the polls to No. 8, but still sit atop the ACC standings with a 4-1 conference record.
Even so, the Duke roster is still full of remarkable talent that can make a deep run come tournament time.
The following will break down and grade each Blue Devil for his play this season, factoring in statistics, intangibles and team comparisons.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Louisville Basketball: Grading the Performance of Each Cardinals Player
The Louisville Cardinals started the 2011 season on a 12-0 run and appeared to be one of the strongest teams in the country.
Since then, the season has been a roller coaster ride, with the Cards only coming out victorious in two of their last seven games.
Yet, is this losing streak due to a failure on the coaches’ part or the players’?
The following list will breakdown and grade each Cardinal for his play so far this season.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Front-Runners for Each NBA Regular Season Award
Surely, a lot of things will change between now and the end of the NBA regular season, but some front-runners have already established themselves for each award that will be given out. Some new faces will finally see the spotlight, while some faces that we know all too well will remain illuminated.
Here are the leading candidates for the NBA’s regular season awards.
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
Big 12 Basketball: Predicting Each Team’s Postseason Fate
The season’s biggest week of basketball for the Big 12 conference tipped off on Monday with Kansas’ huge home win over Baylor.
With the Bears set to square off with Missouri on Saturday, a lot of questions are starting to get answered about what the league standings will look like by season’s end.
As the conference pecking order falls into place, it’s time to start looking ahead to Selection Sunday. Which Big 12 teams will make it to the Big Dance, and which ones will be settling for the NIT?
Herein, a look at where every team in the conference stands and where it’ll be seeded—or if it’ll be playing—in the postseason.
View full post on Bleacher Report – College Basketball
Sacramento Kings: Report Card Grade for Each Player so Far
The Sacramento Kings aren’t the “Greatest Show On Wood” anymore.
Even if you’re a die-hard Kings fan, it’s really hard to watch all four quarters because some of the guys do things that you would see in pick-up games at your local park.
People have a lot of different opinions on the roster, the coach, and management, but that’s for another day.
They haven’t looked pretty, but if you had to put a letter grade based on the expectations coming into the season, what would they be? Remember, it’s based on expectations!
Chuck Hayes, Tyler Honeycutt and Hassan Whiteside have been left out of the article because they really didn’t play much or at all.
View full post on Bleacher Report – NBA
