On hoops and lesser matters
Congratulations, Florida, on a third men s national title. Your six-game run to the championship not only included multiple stirring comebacks from second-half deficits, it also lifted you into the top 10 for tournament wins since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. Well done, Gators. Tough luck, former top-10 member Michigan. Expanding the field [ ]
On the evening of March 15, 2011, Alex Garcia-Mendoza drained a three for Little Rock with 18:47 remaining in the first half of the Trojans First Four game against UNC Asheville in Dayton. It was the first three-pointer in the opening game of the 2011 NCAA tournament. Garcia-Mendoza s trey marks a convenient boundary line. The [ ]
Last year at this time I presented the 25 best games of NCAA men’s tournament offense in the KenPom era. Alas, that list is already outdated. This past weekend of 2025 tournament action brought us two new entries to add. Here’s the updated version of what I have for the top 25 games of tournament [ ]
The good news on Selection Monday 2025 is that when it comes to building a tournament field the NCAA men s basketball committee is much sounder in its workings than it was previously. The process has become so rational and predictable that we are all bracketologists now. You or I or someone who hasn t seen a [ ]
Duke is testing our ability to mint new superlatives. You ve already heard that the Blue Devils posted far and away the best conference season on offense of any team ever. (KenPom ever.) They also recorded the best effective FG percentage I ve come across in major-conference play (59.3). Cooper Flagg is Cooper Flagg. Here s one more [ ]
Expanding the men s NCAA tournament field has been discussed each February for the past three years. One common objection to expansion is that the new spots in a larger bracket will go mostly if not entirely to so-called mediocre teams from major conferences at the expense of mid-major programs. If the NCAA does adopt a [ ]
Division I men s basketball in 2025 is marked by superlatives. Scoring has never been more efficient. Shooting from the line has never been more accurate. Shot volume has never been higher. And, yes, official reviews have never been more numerous, lengthy, or maddening. The final minute of a close NBA game can offer a fitting [ ]
A while back I trotted out a measure called a shot volume index (SVI) for men s Division I basketball. At the time I said the index could be viewed as the number of FGAs a team would record in 100 possessions marked by average shooting accuracy and zero free throws. This quite naturally elicited responses [ ]
During the men s national championship game this week, TBS showed a graphic stating that UConn was shooting 48 percent and Purdue was connecting at a 46 percent rate. I winced as I always do when I see straight field goal percentages. Upon further reflection, however, my winces possess varying basketball connotations. At this late date [ ]
The men s NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 only after years of opposition. Then Villanova upset Georgetown in an iconic final and pretty much everyone loved the new format after all. We call this the modern tournament era, which is perhaps a bit presumptuous. Even at this late date, there were more [ ]