Established 1979.
Essays I wrote on the history of mid-major college basketball for the final season of The Mid-Majority.
In the early years of NCAA basketball, Our Game had its unquestioned capital in New York City. The finest players and smartest coaches came up through the five boroughs, and an NIT victory at Madison Square Garden was the pinnacle …
I know it’s not scientifically proven, but everyone who’s spent a decent chunk of time with an iPod on shuffle knows that the little music robot has some kind of psychic connection with its owner’s mood. It was no surprise, …
I’ve carried on a lifelong love affair with New Orleans, and at least part of it has to do with Ledell Eackles. It’s also been inspired by a love of jazz and an affinity with cocktail culture and proximity to …
It had to be Dayton. A joyous start to our first NCAA tournament gave way to a brutal, wrenching weekend of mid-major losses. The magnificent Shockers were upset in a championship-level struggle; the first round victors from the Atlantic Sun …
Wherever you may be, Thanksgiving inspires thoughts of home. For me, that’s also inspired a lot of thinking about the Northern Iowa Panthers in the last week. As I’ve mentioned, my current home is almost as far from a mid-major …
Though the NCAA’s various Corporate Champions and Official Broadcasting Partners would have us believe that no Shining Moments can or will happen until next month, those of us who’ve been mainlining basketball for most of the last two weeks know …
“God created man. Zadar created basketball.” — Apocryphal Croatian saying There’s plenty that’s exceptional about Our Game, circa 2013. Advanced stats and sci-fi cameras
In the entire history of NCAA basketball, only one guy has scored more points than Freeman Williams. That other guy, you know: Pistol Pete Maravich, college ball’s all-time leading scorer, a legend at every level of the game.
The second week of November is a great time to be a basketball fan. As I write this, Bally is perched behind me keeping an eye on LIU-Brooklyn’s effort at an Assembly Hall upset, and this morning I brushed my …
(See Tuesday’s Part One to learn how we got here.) At the end of the 1969-70 season, Marquette coach Al McGuire turned down the team’s invitation to the NCAA Tournament, protesting the selection committee’s choice to send the Warriors to …