Posts by Shane Ryan
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![Jake Cohen #15 of the Davidson Wildcats]()
March Madness Men of the Day
It’s time for the last Man of the Hour, and there’s no doubt who deserves the honor. He’s the man who represents the last hope of a real upset (no, Wichita State over Pittsburgh doesn’t count) in the early games. He is:
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![Georgetown guard Markel Starks]()
Picking the Perfect Bracket: South Region
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’re going region by region, helping you pick your bracket all the way from the First Four to the Final Four. On Tuesday, we blazed through the West and Midwest Regions, earlier today we tackled the East, and now we’re finishing off with the South. The Land of the Troubled This […]
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![Miami (Fl) Hurricanes fan]()
Picking the Perfect Bracket: East Region
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’re going region by region, helping you pick your bracket all the way from the First Four to the Final Four. Yesterday we blazed through the West and Midwest Regions, and today, we’re tackling the East. THE BRACKET OF OPPORTUNITY The immediate thing I notice about the East is that it […]
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![Mississippi guard Marshall Henderson]()
Picking the Perfect Bracket: West Region
Over the next two days, we’ll be going region by region, helping you pick your Bracket all the way from the First Four to the Final Four. Earlier, we picked the Midwest Region. Now, the West. The Junior Varsity Bracket If you’re an Ohio State Buckeye fan, rejoice. Not only is your team very good, […]
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![Head coach Rick Pitino of the Louisville Cardinals]()
Picking the Perfect Bracket: Midwest Region (a.k.a. the Group of Death)
Over the next two days, we’ll be going region by region, helping you pick your bracket all the way from the First Four to the Final Four. Today, the Midwest Region. THE GROUP OF DEATH “Who are your four teams?” My younger brother asked me that Final Four question about an hour before the selection […]
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![Jordan/Smith]()
Q&A: Dan Dakich on Stopping Michael Jordan
On Selection Sunday, Indiana secured the top seed in the East Region. The program has officially been revived; after a latent period, the 2012-13 Hoosiers — with Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, and coach Tom Crean — will be following in the footsteps of former Indiana legends this March. The school boasts a remarkable basketball history, […]
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![Louisville's forward Chane Behanan]()
A Semi-Insane, Semi-Logical Classification of All 68 Tournament Teams
Later this week, we’ll get down to actual science and go through every bracket pick by pick. (And don’t worry — the rage I feel toward the committee for putting four of the tournament’s best teams in the Midwest Region, a.k.a. “The Group of Death,” will still be strong. They will have to answer to […]
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![Head Coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans]()
The Hardcourt Shuffle: Conference Tourney Previews!
The Friday of conference tourney week is the most underrated day of the college basketball season. It’s not the opening days of March Madness, and it’s not Selection Sunday, but it’s pretty fantastic in its own right, and I say it deserves a name. So I’m calling it “Great Friday,” blasphemy be damned. On Great […]
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![Interim Head Coach Jim Crews]()
Jim Crews and the Rise of the Saint Louis Billikens
Saint Louis interim coach Jim Crews met Rick Majerus 35 years ago, but he can’t remember exactly where. It was on the recruiting trail, he thinks, or maybe at a camp, or maybe just at a restaurant. Crews was an Indiana assistant then, having graduated from IU in 1976 as part of the last undefeated […]
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![NICHOLAS KASTNER/GRANTLAND ILLUSTRATION]()
Most Hated College Basketball Player, Day 3: Loving and Hating Psycho T
Readers, hear me out. The last thing I want to do, in the midst of a “fun” bracket, is stir your blood to mutiny. I’m here to advance Psycho T to the next round, not to praise him. The editors have made Tyler Hansbrough a 1-seed in the ’00s region, and the editors are all […]
