Flash back to last April.
It’s late in recruiting season, but the Rams manage to get a 6’ 1” Point Guard out of Blair Academy by the name of Jermaine Myers. He’ll add depth to the backcourt and compete with Fatty McMillan for minutes. The team enters the offseason on a higher note than years past; while Kervin Bristol is gone, Chris Gaston will surely have a monster senior campaign.
With the Final Four beginning tonight, we decided to call up the voice of college basketball on Dial Global Sports, Kevin Kugler. The play-by-play man has had the pleasure of broadcasting the last six Final Fours and will be joined this year on the call by legends Bill Raftery and John Thompson.
Kugler told Bobby Gubin and I how difficult it was to describe Louisville guard Kevin Ware’s gruesome injury to a national radio audience. The Big 10 Network announcer also helped us break down the matchups between Louisville and Wichita State as well as Michigan vs. Syracuse.
The lead national college basketball writer for the Associated Press Jim O'Connell joined Alex Smith and Matt Sinise during a Round of 32 edition of One on One.
What: Big East Tournament, Championship Game
When: March 16th, 2013 - 8:30 PM
Where: Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Who: Syracuse Orange vs. Louisville Cardinals
Syracuse
It goes without saying James Southerland can shoot the basketball. The 6’ 8” Senior Forward has hit 12 of the 15 threes he’s attempted through two games at the Big East Tournament, and he’s not done yet. Just five more and he’ll break the record of 16 held by Gerry McNamara, a former Orangeman, for most in a single tournament in history.
It was over 33 years ago to the day, on February 29th, 1980, when Jim Boeheim stepped onto the Providence Civic Center floor to coach his first Big East Tournament game. His Syracuse Orange were coming off a heartbreaking 52-50 loss to Georgetown in their last game at Manley Field House, but that didn’t stop his team from toppling Connecticut 92-61 to reach the finals. While Syracuse fell short of the Hoyas again in the championship, they went on to receive a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament and advance to the Round of Eight.
From #1 Georgetown all the way down to #14 DePaul, every team in the 2013 Big East Tournament senses the increased importance of one of College Basketball’s greatest five-day stretches. For one final time, storied rivalries will be played out at Madison Square Garden starting Tuesday night. No longer will we see overtime thrillers between Syracuse and Connecticut, or Buzz Williams yelling in the face of an official as Pittsburgh gives him the business.
On Saturday, Kenny Ducey and Steve Simineri chatted with Lenn Robbins, who covers College Hoops for the Post, and Marc Berman, the paper's Knicks Beat Writer.
Robbins previewed a great championship week ahead by discussing some bubble teams, such as Kentucky, as well as discussed the state of the Big East. Hear why he thinks the Big Ten is the NCAA's superior conference, even though the Big East is projected to have more teams in the tournament at the moment.
PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE: Tonight the Fordham Rams (1-0) battle the Villanova Wildcats (0-1) in Philadelphia at 8:00 pm. The game has a delayed starting time due to inclement weather in the area. Alex Smith calls the play by play, Mike Watts will provide color commentary while Mack Rosenberg adds his insight from the sideline.
Malcolm Moran is the Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State University and is also the founder of One on One. The guys talked to him about the Penn State Scandal.
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