Sports Then and Now

St. Louis Billikens

1 –Dwayne Evans

When checking out Lowvig.ag, you will be bombarded with information. Saint Louis bombards its opponents with intelligent and rugged play, epitomized by Evans. Here’s the most likely NBA prospect for Saint Louis. Evans is by far the best player on the Saint Louis roster, not just the team’s primary scoring threat. Evans powered the Billikens to the Atlantic 10 championship last season with his constant energy and his ability to get into the paint on offense. Strong and intelligent, Evans displays a level of poise as a ball-handler which makes up for a deficit in terms of quickness. Evans knows how to maneuver his body through a defense with the ball, and he knows how to get to the rim. When you look at him in game action, you are inclined to think that he’s not fast enough to get to the rim or within five feet of the basket for a floater, but he regularly does precisely that, and defenses just don’t wind up stopping him – it’s strange but undeniable. What might be his best attribute as a player is that Evans is an outstanding defender, averaging over one steal per game and almost one blocked shot per game – this at 6-6 on the wing. Being the leading scoring option on a team would make many players unwilling to make a big investment on defense, but that’s not how Evans rolls. Read the rest of this entry →

It was pure joy for players and fans in Richmond when VCU punched their NCAA Tournament dance ticket.

There was a time when the weekend of the ACC and Big East men’s basketball tournaments was as anticipated as the opening week of the NCAA Tournament.

When I was a middle and high school student in Virginia during the early 1980s, the only time our teachers would ever bring a television into the classroom was on the Friday afternoon of the ACC Tournament so we could watch that opening game in between science, math or English lessons.

In the Big East you could always count on classic battles between Georgetown, St. Johns, Syracuse and Villanova as each looked to secure bragging rights in a conference that was built for basketball.

That, of course, was the days before the 64 team tournament (now 68) when only the best team or two from each league was assured of making the tournament field and even high quality squads had to make a deep run in the conference tournament to guarantee a spot in the NCAA field.

Since 1985 when the NCAA field expanded from 53 to 64 teams after having as few as 22 teams participating just a decade earlier, the role of the conference tournament in power leagues like the ACC, Big East and SEC in determining which teams make the NCAA field has steadily declined.

Now, instead of the third or fourth seeded teams in these tournaments feeling they needed to make a run to the title game to ensure a spot in the NCAA field, they now enter the tournament knowing an early exit won’t hurt them and the extra rest may actually be helpful for their NCAA run.

Occasionally, like Georgia in the SEC in 2008 or Connecticut in the Big East last year, a team that must win the conference tournament to make the NCAA’s can still emerge and capture the crowd. Read the rest of this entry →

Bevo Francis

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month for February is one of the most prolific players in the history of college basketball. However, unless you followed sports in the early 1950s, chances are you have never heard of  Clarence “Bevo” Francis.

Quite simply, Francis was the most prolific basketball scorer of his generation and an intriguing answer to trivia questions. Read the rest of this entry →

We’ve hit midseason, and College Basketball is in full stride. So why not rank the 6 Power Conferences? Onward…

The Big Ten is the best conference in America as of now.

#6- PAC-12:

When you look at this Conference, your first impression is, “Hmm, mediocre, only three teams under .500.” Then, when you look at who they have beaten, you laugh. No team in the PAC-12 has beaten a Top-25 Team. None. Nada. I don’t know what the deal is with the scheduling, because there is absolutely no chance to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament if you haven’t beaten, or played a ranked opponent. College Fans are starting to dismiss the Big East as a “Power Conference” in College Football. Can you please turn your attention to the “Power Conference” who’s best showing in the RPI is California at 37, and then Colorado at 62! Compare that to the 6 teams the Big East has in the RPI Top 25, and you get an absolutely disgraceful conference. All insults and opinions aside, the Pac-12 is looking at 1 team to make the NCAA Tournament. They have a possibility of having no at-large bids. NONE! Granted, it’s an Off-Year for USC, UCLA and Washington, but the fact that 12 schools are mediocre at best, is hard to imagine.

Regular Season Champion: California (16-5)

Anything can happen in a Conference Tournament, but the regular season title unanimously goes to Cal. They’ve gotten embarrassed by every good team they have played, but they can beat the teams they need to beat to win the regular season crown.

At-Large Bids: None

On The Fence: Stanford, Oregon

#5- SEC:

The SEC has been better than recent years, but still falls into their usual ranking. Get past Kentucky and possibly Florida or Mississippi State, and you get the same thing the Pac-12 has, mediocrity. Granted, the SEC actually has one of the best teams in the country, and Florida and Mississippi State are solid teams, but we thought LSU would be a Top 25 team. We thought Tennessee would be a quality team after the Bruce Pearl era. They both aren’t. However, watch Vanderbilt to make a move at Kentucky and the Top 25, as the Commodores beat Marquette at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Vandy just has to learn how to close out big games, as they have three losses against ranked teams in overtime. A loss to Mississippi State put them back, but that OT loss was only their 1st in SEC Play. We’re looking at 3-5 bids for the Southeastern Conference, but only if Vandy or another un-ranked team can step up late in the season. Florida, Mississippi State and Kentucky are all locked in.

Regular Season Champion: Kentucky (19-1)

Is a comment necessary?

At-Large Bids: Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

On The Fence: Alabama Read the rest of this entry →

The Big East will produce at least 6 teams to the NCAA Tournament This Season.

As we near the start of the 2011-2012 College Basketball Season, we look at the unanimous best conference, the Big East:

Prime Timing Sports Preseason Big East Rankings:

*- makes NCAA Tournament

RBEC- Regular Season Big East Champion

BETC- Big East Tournament Champion

#1- Connecticut Huskies*RBEC, BETC

#2- Syracuse Orange*

#3- Pittsburgh Panthers*

#4- Louisville Cardinals*

#5- Cincinnati Bearcats*

#6- Marquette Golden Eagles*

#7- Notre Dame Fighting Irish*

#8- West Virginia Mountaineers*

#9- Villanova Wildcats

#10- St. John’s Red Storm

#11- Georgetown Hoyas

#12- Rutgers Scarlet Knights

#13- Seton Hall Pirates

#14- Providence Friars

#15- Depaul Blue Demons

#16- South Florida Bulls

Prime Timing Sports Preseason Big East All 1st Team:

Ashton Gibbs- Guard- Pitt

Jeremy Lamb- Guard- Forward- Uconn

Kevin Jones- Guard-Forward- WVU

Kris Joseph- Forward- ‘Cuse

Tim Abromaitis- Forward- Notre Dame

Prime Timing Sports 3 Things To Watch:

1. Can Villanova make the field?:

With the Big 3, Pena, Fisher and Stokes all gone, Maalik Wayns will have big shoes to fill. With Isiah Armwood transferring to George Washington, Maurice Sutton and Wayns will be to go to guys, along with Yarou. Villanova Coach Jay Wright always puts a solid team out on the floor, but it will be interesting to see how the Wildcats compete in the competitive Big East Conference. Read the rest of this entry →

The Princeton football program was once more dominant than USC, Alabama or Florida have been in recent generations..

College sports fans often complain about the disparity between the “haves” and “have nots.” In college football, Alabama, Notre Dame, USC and Oklahoma own a bulk of the national titles from the last 90 years. In college basketball, UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Indiana and Kansas are the dominant six that have presided over the sport over last several decades. While parity may never truly take hold, the powerhouses will likely change over time, as evidenced by the examples of former powerhouses provided below. These programs aren’t nearly as dominant — or nearly as relevant — as they were years ago, but they’ll always have those glory years in which they immeasurably contributed to the evolution of major college athletics.

Princeton Tigers football
With 28 claimed national titles, even Alabama fans are taken aback by Princeton’s early dominance. The Tigers were early adopters of the sport, a variant of rugby, participating in the first-ever football game against Rutgers on November 6, 1869. They lost 6-4, but won the rematch a week later, leading to a split of the first national title. During the first 40 years of college football, the Tigers won 22 national titles, an era of success unparalleled by any other college athletic team — save for their rivals at Yale. Their last national title came in 1950, which was followed by Dick Kazmaier’s Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1951, the only time a Tiger has won the award.

Yale Bulldogs football
During the late 19th century, college football became more structured, closer resembling the sport we know today. Head coaches were being hired for the first time, perhaps the most notable of which was Walter Camp, the “Father of Football,” who finished his playing career at Yale six years before he was hired. He tallied a 67-2 record at the helm, capturing three national titles. None of his successors lost more than two games until 1914, 22 years after he left the program. The foundation he nurtured is the primary reason Yale ranks second all-time in wins behind Michigan, boasts 28 College Football Hall of Fame inductees — such as Amos Alonzo Stagg — and two Heisman winners.

Harvard Crimson football
Yale’s archrival isn’t quite as accomplished, but possesses a rich history of success consisting of 12 national titles and 20 College Football Hall of Fame inductees. Although the Crimson’s last claimed national title came in 1920, a year in which it defeated Oregon in the Rose Bowl, it remains the eighth winningest program in college football history. Their most cherished wins have come in “The Game” — though they trail the series 54-65-8 — which has been played since 1875, making it the second-oldest continuing rivalry in college football. Many of the sport’s rules and traditions were born during the yearly event. Read the rest of this entry →