Three Point Range

The Big Ten inexplicably begins conference play in late November, so in anticipation of that I have the power rankings for the conference thus far. I haven't gotten a chance to see every team, but I have a good feel for what range I think most teams will finish in. I think that spots 3-10 are up for grabs, so the conference should be very competitive and fun to watch this year, especially with the top possessing more quality than year's past. I'm excited to see a lot of these teams play against quality competition more often and get a better feel for them, as well as see how the conference looks come January. Michigan Record: 7-0 Notable Results: W @ Villanova 73-46, W vs Providence(neutral) 66-47, W vs UNC 84-67 My Thoughts: What a start this has been for the Wolverines. After losing key pieces from last season’s team, John Beilein has continued his defensive renaissance and it’s been working wonders. They are only allowing 51 points a game thus far,...

So I have been inactive for the past two weeks, and I wanted to just give some context as to why. For starters, I went home for Thanksgiving break and I was very sick for most of the time. I wasn't really leaving bed or doing anything, and I had no energy to write anything. Then Thanksgiving came, and I spent a lot of time with my family and I didn't really have the available time to write up any posts. Then I got back to school and I have been busy preparing for my upcoming finals. However, I think the most important factor was my lack of enthusiasm for writing. I lost the passion and drive to want to continue to write about college basketball, and I think a lot of that came from the way I was doing it. So, after giving it a lot of thought, I'm going to change the way I'm doing things. I think The Fast Break will become less frequent, and the format will change. The main thing that was bugging me was watching games felt like work that I had to be doing so that I could ...

This week has been super tough for me, with 3 tests in 2 days as Thanksgiving approaches. However, I will be home for Feast Week and I will be covering a lot of those games, so buckle up. Anyways, on with the Fast Break What I Saw Wisconsin @ Xavier - The Badgers looked good in this one, but I'm still worried about their depth this year. There's no denying how good the trio of Ethan Happ, D'Mitrik Trice, and Brad Davidson are, but they combined to score 71 of the Badgers' 77 points. On one hand, you can look at that as a statement of their talent, as they each possess the individual ability to fill up the box score. However, I think the lack of points from the rest of the roster is concerning. It's not as if they were without opportunities either. Khalil Iverson and Brevin Pitzl each took 6 shots, but they combined for 4 points on 2-12 shooting, with both makes coming from Iverson. While Happ is clearly the star of the show here, and I really like Trice and espe...

I apologize for the lack of content recently, I've had a busy weekend between school work, Syracuse football and basketball, and some other things happening in my personal life. However, fear not, I've been watching college basketball and catching up on some games I've previously missed. I've also got some more articles planned and I'm working on some stuff I think will be pretty popular.  Anyways, here are my thoughts on some college basketball games. What I Saw Western Kentucky @ Washington - Both of these teams provided a blueprint on how to beat the 2-3 zone: get into the middle. While Western Kentucky was able to be effective by just gunning it from deep, they were most effective from deep after penetration on a drive and kick. The Huskies could barely make a shot from deep, so they were forced to go inside. Whether it's Jaylen Nowell penetrating or Noah Dickerson posting up, Washington was at their best around the rim. - I watched this game knowing wh...

After an action packed opening night, things were a bit calmer in the second night of action. As much as I love watching college basketball, I don't mind the lack of action. It provides some much needed down time, and I know these nights will be far and few between after the season really kicks into gear, so it's good to appreciate them now. What I Saw Michigan State vs Kansas (Champions Classic) - Two big basketball is back at Kansas, and it looks good. The Dedric Lawson and Udoka Azubuike combo looked great, and they will be tough to stop. Lawson actually struggled, going 5-18 from the floor, but got 10 points from the charity stripe. He did contribute with a team high 6 assists and 14 rebounds though, getting a double double in his Jayhawk debut. Buke looked like the star of the front court, with 17 points and 4 blocks in 20 minutes as he battled foul trouble. David McCormack also had flashes, and it figures to be a good season for Bill Self's favorite form of offens...

After a long offseason(it felt so much longer this year), college basketball is back. With a full season of coverage, I wanted to have an avenue to give you my daily thoughts. And so, I present The Fast Break. I'll break down games, give my thoughts, preview the day's slate, as well as whatever else I feel like doing. I hope you enjoy. What I Saw Saint Francis (PA) @ Buffalo - Saint Francis gave the Bulls all they could handle for the first 30 minutes of this game. In the end, Buffalo's talent shone through as they began to make threes that weren't falling earlier in the game. A lot of credit has to go to the Red Flashes though, as their 2-3 zone frustrated Buffalo and they put up an excellent fight despite missing key pieces in Alex Wolford and Isaiah Blackmon. - Buffalo is projected to be on of the top mid-majors this year, and they looked the part. They shoot a lot of threes, which for the majority of the game weren't falling, but they were getting clean l...