Articles

The return of the "burn" paid dividends for Mike Brey's Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night, with a style of play that got them to the NCAA Tournament making the difference in a 56-51 win at #2 Pittsburgh. Ben Hansbrough led the Irish with 19 points, 13 of which came in the final nine minutes of the game, while Carleton Scott added 16 and Scott Martin 10.

Overall Rank: #62

Being the best player on a Top 15 team is a recipe for earning CollegeHoops.net's Mid-Major Player of the Year honors. Gordon Hayward averaged 15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.8 apg in leading Butler to a 28-4 record. He's joined on the Mid-Major First Team by CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, Cornell leader Ryan Wittman, and big men Keith Benson of Oakland and Art Parakouski of Radford.

 

 

Despite nearly 100 hundred games on the schedule college basketball took a back seat on Saturday. Such is life during college football season but there were some talking points to be had. I'm sure there are some who wonder why a ranked team such as Oklahoma would take on a challenging road trip such as the Sooners' voyage to Richmond and there's an answer. VCU had it written into former head coach Jeff Capel's contract that the school that if he were to leave for a BCS job he'd agree to a home-and-home series.

Betting odds are a great guide to college basketball entertainment. Unlike fans, who often ride the wave of media predictions, betting lines tend to be a bit more focused and can give you an objective picture of how teams matchup (though lines too can get caught up in the wave of human emotion).

 

With four teams legitimately battling for the CAA title, and top-notch players like Charles Jenkins and Chad Tomko on lesser teams, the CAA season should be one to remember.

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team is led by one of the few underclassmen on the list, Butler's Gordon Hayward. Hayward is joined on the First Team by teammate Matt Howard. Boston U, Butler, Cornell, Gonzaga are the only teams with multiple players.

 

George Mason

Hofstra

Northeastern

Old Dominion

VCU

Other (Delaware, Drexel, Georgia St, JMU, etc)