state Page 345 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Um, It May Be Time To Eliminate That Play-In Game
On most tournament pool brackets it will be indicated as "play-in winner," a stirring tribute to a successful season if ever there was one. Presenting once again the play-in game, which has become the NCAA's little joke on the smaller Div. I schools. This year was especially awkward, as Coppin State...

NCAA Pants Party: Michigan State Vs. Temple
Michigan State Spartans (25-8) vs. Temple Owls (21-12) When: Thursday, 12:20 p.m. Where: Denver...

NCAA Pants Party: Kansas Vs. Portland State
Kansas Jayhawks (31-3) vs. Portland State Vikings (23-9) When: Thursday, 12:20 p.m. Where: Omaha...

NCAA Pants Party: Mount St. Mary's Vs. Coppin State
Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (18-14) vs. Coppin State Eagles (16-20). When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Where: Dayton...

Kent State Golden Flashes
1. The Original Bracket Buster. Before there was George Mason, there was Kent State. Back in 2002 the Golden Flashes, behind three stud senior guards (Trevor Huffman, Andrew Mitchell and current FIBA scoring-record holder Demetric Shaw) and current NFL all-pro tight end Antonio Gates (who was an All...

Washington State Cougars
1. A Dingo Ate your Jumper Allowing only 56 points per game (good for third in the nation) in 07-08, this version of the Cougars are one that stifles on the defensive end. And assembling this team of defensive aficionados was an interesting and far flung task for the Coaches Bennett. Not one player ...

Portland State Vikings
1. Ok, so what's the deal with P. State? After 12 years in the NCAA hinterlands, your Portland State Vikings are ready for their national media close-up. Why do I say "your" Portland State Vikings? Because, inevitably in the run up to the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament game next week you will b...

Michigan State Spartans
1. Foolish Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Conference Champions. On February 16 , Michigan State went to Indiana to face lame duck coach Kelvin Sampson, and, despite leading by double digits early in the first half, they lost the game by 19. Twelve days later, they scored a whopping 42 points in a l...

Arizona State Sun Devils
1. The Herbivores. The Tempe fans have nicknamed themselves the "Herbivores," in loving deference to second-year head coach Herb Sendek, late of NC State. And let's face it: Herb Sendek is a just a terrible name. At least someone is having fun with it. Though I'd like to think the fans got the name ...

Mississippi State Bulldogs
1. Erick Dampier, Basketball Guru. Mississippi State's best postseason performance came in 1996. (Insert high-larious joke about Dishwalla, the movie "Bulletproof," or Bob Dole here) The Bulldogs won the SEC tournament by surprising eventual national champ Kentucky in the conference finals. They the...

Kansas State Wildcats
1. Beas-who? One wonders how Kansas State University, a school that has lacked a dominance on the hardwood in recent years, manage to resurrect Jesus Christ himself in the form of a 6-foot-10, 235-forward from the Washington D.C. area. Well, Michael Beasley was coached by in an AAU summer league and...

Ohio State Buckeyes
1. The System Guard. Jon Diebler holds the Ohio high school record for the most points in a career with 3,208. He averaged 40 points and 13 rebounds per game his senior year and was the biggest cog in one of the state's most explosive offenses. (He once scored 77 points in a game his junior season.)...

Cal State Fullerton Titans
1. Remember the Titans. Thirty years ago the Titans advanced to the elite eight only to be bounced out of the 1978 field by the famed "triplets" of Arkansas (guards Sidney Moncrief , Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer) who were coached by Eddie Sutton (some 628 wins ago). Speaking of legends former CSF bas...

Boise State Broncos
1. I Just Flew In From Boise, and Boy Are My Legs Tired. Four days might not be near enough time for the Broncos to rest up for their first round game. They needed three overtimes and 107 points to put away the pesky New Mexico State Aggies and take the WAC's auto-bid. The good news is that it was o...

Coppin State Eagles
1. Is That Record Inverted? Located in Baltimore's inner city, Coppin State is the first 20-loss team ever to make the NCAA tournament. The Eagles lost their 20th game at Morgan State to end the regular season. After an improbable three-game run through the MEAC tournament, they faced the same team ...

Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils
1. Nine in a Row. The Delta Devils haven't lost a March game this season. In fact, they were sporting a dreadful 8-15 record on February 16, and they have won every game since to get to 17-15. Their overall record didn't get above .500 until their SWAC semifinal win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff....

Tornadoes Don't Enjoy SEC Basketball
It's refreshing to hear that nobody got injured when the severe weather struck down on the Georgia Dome during the SEC tournament, which means we're allowed to have a little fun with this....

You, Too, Could Be Tiger Woods' Neighbor
We close out a surprisingly busy Thursday with a little bit of class envy. It's tastes good, and is good for you. Kid-tested, mother-approved....

Live Blogs You'll Gleefully Skip: Illinois-Penn State
We know, we know: Nobody cares about a stupid liveblog of a pointless Big Ten tournament first round game. We're fully aware. As we mentioned yesterday, it's just, like, practice or something....

The State of the Deadspin Commentariat Address
To keep the comments as fresh and outstanding as they've been up to this point, we've commissioned Commenting Guru Rob Iracane to write a bi-weekly Comment Ombudsman column. It runs every other week. This is that week....