Men's basketball

INDIANAPOLIS, Tuesday, May 13, 2008 -- A year ago, a new three-point line dominated discussions at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Rules Committee meetings. This year, the committee’s meetings produced relatively few changes, which committee leaders view as a positive step for the game overall.

“Our game and our rules are in really great shape,” said Ronda Seagraves, chair of the women’s rules committee and associate athletic director at Southwestern University (Texas). “We entertained approximately 50 rules proposals, and in the end only approved minor changes to the rules book.”    » read more »

San Antonio, April 8, 2008 (By David Byrd) -- The University of Kansas has defeated Memphis, 75-68, to take the American men's big-college basketball title. As VOA's David Byrd reports from San Antonio, the game came down to some crucial shots in the waning minutes.

The game was evenly-matched and fast paced for most of Monday night. The lead changed hands nine times and the contest was tied eight times. The biggest lead was Memphis by nine in the second half, but Kansas was able to cut the lead to just two points with less than a minute to play.

Memphis freshman Derrick Rose made one of two free throws, to give the Tigers a 63-60 lead. But Kansas guard Mario Chalmers was able to hit a three-point shot with less than two seconds left, to send the game into overtime.    » read more »

April 4 Telecast to Commemorate 25th Anniversary of NC State’s Improbable NCAA Victory

March 31, 2008 -- ESPN Classic Remembers: NC State Upsets Houston will honor the legacy of Jim Valvano and his 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack team that won an improbable NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship 25 years ago. The program airs Friday, April 4 at 8 p.m., ET on ESPN Classic.    » read more »

How's Your Bracket? Redux

March 24, 2008 -- With a host of early round upsets and Cinderella runs in this year’s men’s college basketball championship tournament, millions of brackets in ESPN.com’s 13th annual Men’s Tournament Challenge presented by State Farm and Sprint were left in turmoil heading into the round of 16. An analysis of the more than 3.65 million entries submitted reveals:

* 2 picked all 16 of the Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 4,621 picked Davidson, Villanova, and Western Kentucky to advance to the Sweet 16;
* 72 picked 15 of the 16 Sweet 16 teams correctly;
* 294,060 picked Davidson to defeat Georgetown in the Second Round;
* 2,091,856 picked Xavier to defeat Duke in the Second Round;    » read more »

SAN ANTONIO, March 21, 2008 – Kid Rock, the Grammy Award‐nominated artist known for his unique mix of Southern rock, hip‐hop, and blues‐and country‐tinged ballads, will perform at Pontiac Garage at the Final Four® on Saturday, April 5 as part of The Big Dance—a free, four‐day entertainment extravaganza in celebration of the NCAA® Men’s Final Four®. With over 22 million albums sold throughout his career, Kid Rock’s San Antonio appearance comes in the midst of the successful release of his 2007 Rock N Roll Jesus album—his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.    » read more »

March 13, 2008 -- Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight made his ESPN debut Wednesday alongside host Rece Davis and analyst Digger Phelps. Following are some excerpts from Knight, who will serve as a men’s college basketball studio analyst during the remainder of Championship Week, including Selection Sunday, and through the NCAA Tournament.

On strength and balance of Big East:

Knight: “I think there are more top flight teams in the Big East than any conference in the country…and therefore, I don’t think we can consider a game in the Big East from here on as an upset.”    » read more »

March 11, 2008 -- ESPN’s telecast showcasing the North Carolina – Duke rivalry Saturday, March 8, set a record as the network’s most-viewed men’s college basketball game. The game, in which #1 North Carolina used a late rally to defeat #5 Duke 76-68 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, averaged 3,830,000 households and 5,612,328 viewers, along with a 4.0 rating.    » read more »

Program Features Sports Fans Wearing Favorite Teams’ Attire for $5 Donation to Cancer Research March 20 & 21

- Tournament Challenge Games, Mobile Bracket Management, Alerts
- Integration with Selection Sunday, Selection Monday Telecasts
- Complete Editorial Coverage

Big Ten Tournament coverage begins Wednesday night from Indianapolis

March 3, 2008, CHICAGO – Beginning this week, the Big Ten Network brings the drama and excitement of postseason basketball to a national audience. The network will televise at least 41 hours of live coverage from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during the Big Ten Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.

"For college basketball fans, it doesn't get any better than this," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said. "The Big Ten Network is the place to find wall-to-wall postseason basketball coverage."    » read more »

SAN ANTONIO, March 3, 2008 – On Monday, April 7, as the final two NCAA basketball teams get ready to square off in the 2008 Men’s Final Four, locals, music lovers, and basketball fans are invited to take part in some big, Texas‐style pregame revelry at NCAA Championship Monday at The Big Dance®.    » read more »

Annual conference awards to be announced live during special programming

February 28, 2007, CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network will present the live, exclusive announcements of the annual Big Ten men's and women's basketball awards during two special programs in March, including segments during THE BIG TEN WOMEN'S SHOW on Monday and a special edition of BIG TEN TONIGHT on Monday, March 10. Dave Revsine will host BIG TEN TONIGHT alongside analysts Gene Keady, Jimmy Jackson and Tim Doyle, with selected award winners joining them during the 30-minute program.    » read more »

February 26, 2008 -- ESPN’s coverage of Tennessee at Memphis Saturday, Feb. 23 set a record as the network’s most-viewed men’s college basketball game. The showdown between then-#2 Tennessee and #1 Memphis – won by Tennessee 66-62 – averaged 3,636,000 households and 5,281,000 viewers.

The Saturday Primetime telecast averaged a 3.8 rating, making it ESPN’s highest rated men’s college basketball game since December 22, 1998 (Kentucky vs. Duke in the Jimmy V Classic averaged a 3.9).    » read more »

Monday, February 18, 2008, INDIANAPOLIS -- Mike Bobinski, director of athletics at Xavier University, has been appointed to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. The appointment is effective September 1, 2008 and is a five-year term.    » read more »

14 Total Games February 22-24: ESPN2 to Televise Six, ESPNU Five, ESPN360.com Two and ESPN Classic One Game; #15 Drake at #10 Butler on ESPN2