Robert Weintraub of the New York Times on Murray State men’s basketball; the only undefeated D-1 school in the country.
They are 20-0, ranked 11th and in the midst of their 25th consecutive winning season, a streak that trails just Syracuse (41 entering this season) and Kansas (28). They have won 22 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles and been to the N.C.A.A. tournament 14 times.
They have not had the outsize tournament success of midmajor counterparts like Gonzaga, George Mason and Butler, but the Racers do have two upset victories, beating North Carolina State as a No. 14 seed in 1988 and Vanderbilt as a 13th seed in 2010.
Denny Schwarze of the Lansing State Journal on Tom Izzo who won his 400th game at Michigan State last night.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe says the Celtics owe it to Doc Rivers to shape up.
Rob Demovsky of the GreenBay Press Gazette on the men’s and women’s team at GB playing zone defense; they call it ‘the buzz’.
Here’s how the buzz works: Out of a 2-1-2 zone alignment, two players pressure the ball handler as soon as the ball crosses halfcourt. The idea is to take away passing lanes and force opponents to make risky passes to the wing — where another trap is employed — or lob passes which give the defensive players time to trap at another spot on the floor. At the same time, a player in the middle fronts the offensive player in the high post. If the ball does get to the high post, another trap is employed.
Jeff Barker of the Baltimore Sun on Lefty and his thoughts about Maryland naming their court after Gary Williams.
“It’s not fair to my players that they would put Gary Williams’ name on the court,” Driesell said Tuesday. “It’s a disservice to players such as Tom McMillen, John Lucas, Len Elmore, Brad Davis, Greg Manning, Adrian Branch and Steve Sheppard.”
Quote of the Day: “You need special guys to do these things and he’s a special guy.” -Tom Izzo on Draymond Green
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