News & Views

Random Thoughts On The NCAA Hoops Weekend That Was

Harvard playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1946It has been a spectacular season for Harvard, with the notoriety of 2010 graduate Jeremy Lin and the team now heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1946. 

Missouri, with only seven scholarship players and just two players taller than 6-6, roared to the Big 12 Tournament championship, in their final season before departing for the SEC.  The Tigers will definitely be a team to watch in the upcoming NCAA Tourney. 

Vanderbilt gave hope to the rest of the country when they upset Kentucky 71-64 in the SEC Tournament.  It was the Commodores first appearance in the SEC final game since the 1951 season. 

Michigan State won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2000. That year, the Spartans went on to win the NCAA title.

Northwestern's late season collapse meant that the Wildcats still have never been invited to the NCAA Tournament. 

Western Kentucky got an automatic bid from the Sun Belt Conference, despite a 15-18 seasonal record. 

Washington won the Pac-12 regular season crown, but that was not good enough to get an NCAA bid. The conference's last regular season champion to get snubbed for the national tournament was also Washington, back in 1944.

NCAA favorites Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State and Kansas were all upset in their conference tournaments.

In the student-athlete department, high-scoring guard Ashton Gibbs of Pitt was asked by the Bergen Record if the 17-16 Panthers would play in the NIT Tournament.

"That's what we came to college for, it is to play basketball," explained Gibbs.

Gibbs’ love of hoops will have to take place in the CBI Tournament, as Pitt did not receive a bid to the NIT.  

 

 

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Bruce has traveled the world, both working for and covering a wide array of the sports world’s greatest events. Below is a sampling of the level of experience and perspective he brings to ifollosports.com.

OLYMPIC GAMES:  
Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Salt Lake City 2002, Beijing 2008     
*Editor of the Official Report of the 1984 Olympic Games

PAN AMERICAN GAMES:   
Caracas 1983, Indianapolis 1987, Havana 1991, Mar del Plata 1995, Winnipeg 1999



WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES:   
Zagreb 1987, Duisberg 1989, Sheffield 1991, Buffalo 1993, Fukuoka 1995, Sicily 1997, Palma de Mallorca 1999 

USA TRACK AND FIELD:     
World Championships (Helsinki 1983), World Junior Championships (Athens 1986), World Cup (Rome 1981), World Cup (Havana 1992), Pan American Junior Championships (Barqisimeto 1982, Orlando 1986)  Editor of USATF annual calendar project (1980-1991) and Cross Country handbook (1979-1991) 

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 
World Baseball Classics in 2006 and 2009.

ASSOCIATED PRESS     
Correspondent covering the Los Angeles Lakers and UCLA Bruins basketball, track and field, and swimming 1977-1989
  

A California native, Bruce is a 
graduate of UCLA and resides in Venice Beach.

 

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