college basketball

Ladies And Gentlemen, Start Your Brackets

Taylor Adkins
120312_EX_Bracket.jpg.CROP.rectangle3-large
Dave Broberg/Hemera

 

Another Selection Sunday has come and gone. Lots of grown men got together, put on suits, stared into cameras and broke down the handy work that some other guys in suits produced from the conference room of an Indianapolis Hilton Garden Inn.

But at last, after all the “eye tests” were conducted and “bodies of work” had been examined, we got our bracket. As is tradition, CBS carries the Selection Show and I watch with baited breath. As a Virginia fan I’ve had a few sweats during the selection show (including the 2000 tournament, where UVa being left out still has to be the biggest screw job in tourney history) but for the most part it’s either been obviously in (unfortunately, not too often until Tony Bennett showed up) or obviously out (Dave Leitao, ladies and gentlemen).  Read more...

Atlantic 11 College Basketball Ballot – Week 7

Taylor Adkins

 

NCAA Basketball: Northeastern at VCU
VCU is trying to learn how to play without star guard Briante Weber, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Photo: Geoff Burke – USA Today Sports

 

I’ve missed this ballot the past two weeks, and I’m not sure how you guys have managed to survive without it. Well I’m back and I’ve brought a couple new schools with me.  Read more...

FSB In The Stands: Ohio Sports Fans & DC Buzzer Beaters; Dayton vs GW

Taylor Adkins

GW Statue

FOGGY BOTTOM, NW DC —

Being a sports fan in DC can lead you to the strangest places.

So there I was last Friday night, at a bar steps from the campus of George Washington University, staring at a table full of 100 or so name tags, each inscribed with the name of a University of Dayton alumni.

A young woman manning the table of tags reserved for the DC/Baltimore University of Dayton Alumni Association happy hour guests asked me for my name and year of graduation.  Read more...

FSB In The Stands: Postcards From Charlottesville for Duke vs UVa

Taylor Adkins
JPJ
Entrance into John Paul Jones Arena. All Photos: Taylor Adkins

 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA —

A few weeks back when I wrote about my trip down to Chinatown for the Villanova/Georgetown game, I noted all of the great D-1 college basketball options in the DC area. Last weekend, I decided to venture outside of the Beltway for the two hour trip down to Charlottesville, VA for an epic matchup between Duke and unbeaten Virginia.   Read more...

Atlantic 11 College Basketball Ballot – Week 4

Taylor Adkins
Georgetown_Marquette_Basketball-05413-3470
Photo: Darren Hauck – AP

 

Georgetown had a monster week, Maryland avoided a disastrous week and Virginia almost lost to Virginia Tech. Same 10 teams as last week, but with some changes in rankings. Plus, more pith!

Every week, The DC Sports Bog (an online site managed by The Washington Post) will post their Atlantic 11, which comprises the top 11 D-1 college hoops teams within DC, Maryland and Virginia (27 in total, for those counting at home). This poll is conducted by a group of voters, myself included, who vote for their top 10. Every week, I’ll post my ballot here.  Read more...

FSB In The Stands: Big Monday With Villanova and Georgetown

Taylor Adkins
Photo: Alex Brando-AP
Freshman Isaac Copeland throws down an emphatic dunk to cap off the Georgetown upset of #4 Villanova  Photo: Alex Brando-AP

CHINATOWN, NW DC —

Living in the DC area comes with many pitfalls and perks. But for every accident on the GW Parkway, single tracking Metro train and random social encounters almost always starting with “so, where do you work?”, there is the embarrassment of riches that is Beltway college hoops.

Pick any random day on the calendar, and there’s often multiple games within a 25 miles radius of Capitol Street that are worthy of any blue blooded college basketball fans presence.  Read more...

Atlantic 11 College Basketball Ballot – Week 3

Taylor Adkins
london p
Photo: Mary Schwalm – Sports Illustrated

 

Lots of big wins for the A11 teams this week, including Georgetown’s buzzer beater against Butler and GW’s 2OT thriller against Richmond. Virginia swept the week to stay the undisputed #1 team in the A11, but this Melo Trimble ankle break stole the show in the A11 as the Terps blew out Michigan State. 

 

 

Every week, The DC Sports Bog (an online site managed by The Washington Post) will post their Atlantic 11, which comprises the top 11 D-1 college hoops teams within DC, Maryland and Virginia (27 in total, for those counting at home). This poll is conducted by a group of voters, myself included, who vote for their top 10. Every week, I’ll post my ballot here.  Read more...

Atlantic 11 College Basketball Ballot – Week 2

Taylor Adkins

 

melo
Photo: Denny Medley – USA TODAY Sports

 

Tough week for the Atlantic 11, as four of the top six couldn’t escape the week without dropping a game. Maryland stays at #2 spot after a 1-1 week, with their loss happening on the road versus a very feisty Illinois team. VCU is breathing down their neck, in the top heavy A11. 

At the bottom of the poll, several underwhelming teams battle it out for the chance at pithy comments. Commonwealth big names like Virginia Tech and George Mason still can’t crack the list, and with the Hokies traveling to Louisville and North Carolina this week it doesn’t seem like they’ll break through anytime soon.  Read more...

Atlantic 11 College Basketball Ballot – Week 1

Taylor Adkins
virginia_cavaliers_justin_anderson_injury
Photo: Patrick McDermott – Getty Image

Every week, The DC Sports Bog (an online site managed by The Washington Post) will post their Atlantic 11, which comprises the top 11 D-1 college hoops teams within DC, Maryland and Virginia (27 in total, for those counting at home). This poll is conducted by a group of voters, myself included, who vote for their top 10. Every week, I’ll post my ballot here. 

Even though it’s the “Atlantic 11”, they only ask the voters for their top 10 teams. Just in case anyone thought I was that poor at math.

   Read more...

An Ode To College Basketball

Taylor Adkins

 

College Hoops Collage
Some of the faces of college basketball. Photo art by Taylor Adkins

When a college basketball season ends, a trophy is given to the team who survived five months of basketball followed by three weeks of March Madness, while a losing team wipes away some tears and trudges back to their locker room, as a gentle confetti storm in the color of their opponents jerseys falls from the rafters, sticking to their sweaty and exhausted bodies.   Read more...