2013 Kentucky Derby Festival Classic rosters announced

As we draw to the close of the high school season and near the NCAA tournament, All-Star games featuring the nations finest high school seniors. We tend to think of the McDonald’s All-American game being the cream of the crop, followed closely by the Hoop Summit and Jordan Brand Classic. The oldest high school All-Star game, with its 40th anniversary taking place this year, is the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic.

Wooden Award 2012-13 Midseason Top 25

Their are a few NCAA most valuable player awards and the John R. Wooden award, named after the legendary UCLA coach, usually seen as the biggest. The Mid-Season Top 25 list was announced with these names: Anthony Bennett, UNLV Laurence Bowers, Missouri Trey Burke, Michigan Isaiah Canaan, Murray State Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse Jack Cooley, Notre Dame Seth Curry, Duke Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State

Final 20 Candidates Announced for 2013 Bob Cousy Award

As we are entering the midway point of the college basketball season, some of the major awards are starting to take shape. Every year at this time, the Bob Cousy award for the NCAA’s top point guard trims its list to 20. These finalists were announced and instead of just telling the 20 names, lets rank them on the likelihood of coming home with this award. This of course will be ranked on their play up to this point and predicted play for the rest of the college season. 1. Trey Burke, Michigan 2. Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse

UNLV”s Mike Moser likely out 4-6 weeks with dislocated elbow

UNLV barely escaped with a 76-75 win over Cal on Sunday, with Anthony Bennett going off for 25 points and 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, the Runnin’ Rebels may have lost a major piece as Mike Moser went down with what was later determined to be a dislocated elbow. While it appears that Moser could come back in as little as 3 weeks, the likely scenario is more than a month, possibly even as late as February.

Porter’s Career-High 22 Points lead No. 15 Georgetown Past Longwood, 89-53

Big things were expected from Otto Porter this season and since he returned from a head injury sustained in Georgetown’s first game, it seems that he is living up to expectations. After getting a career high 22 points and 7 assists last night against Longwood, Porter is showing a definite improvement in his overall game. His jumpshot appears to be much more fluid and he is taking care of the ball at a high rate considering his use in the offense.

Interesting story behind early freshman rebounding leader Michael Kessens

Longwood is usually known for its rather hilarious name as opposed to its basketball players, though a freshman from Switzerland might change that pretty soon. Michael Kessens is currently averaging 13 ppg and leading the incoming freshman class in rebounding with 11.4 rpg. Granted, Kessens is turning 22 in February, though he has only been playing basketball since he was 16. Using a late growth spurt to hit 6-9, he was playing junior basketball in France before deciding to come state side to give the NCAA a try.

Tribute to the life of Rick Majerus

The world of college basketball received some tragic news as Rick Majerus passed away at the age of 64. Originally from Wisconsin, Rick began his career at Marquette as a player, eventually becoming a long time assistant and three year head coach. After a year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant, Rick eventually took the head coaching job at Ball State with his success leading to his most memorable coaching job, leader of the Utah Utes.

ACC/Big Ten Challenge finishes with 6-6 tie

After a Tuesday that saw the Big Ten go 4-2, the ACC came back to do the same on Wednesday to finish the annual challenge between power conferences at a 6-6 deadlock. The Big Ten, who had won the previous three challenges, retained the Commissioner's Cup as the previous years winner. Nonetheless, this signified a major step forward for the ACC as they took some key match-up's.

Chaminade pulls the shocking upset of Texas in Maui

Most hardcore college basketball fans know the story of tiny Division II school Chaminade having one of the most historic upsets in NCAA history. The year was 1982 and the 900 person school was facing off against Virginia. Two things Virginia had were a #1 ranking and a 7-4 center named Ralph Sampson, who was en route to his third straight national player of the year award. They left with a 77-72 defeat in Hawaii, one that the national media had a hard time believing and goes down as one of the ultimate David versus Goliath stories.

On Zeller’s slow night, Hulls and Oladipo help Hoosiers take down Georgia

Cody Zeller has not had a lot of off nights since arriving in Bloomington, but he definitely was not himself last night in Brooklyn at the Progressive Legends Classic. Taking a physical pounding, Zeller finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds, well below the expectations one carries for a pre-season NCAA player of the year candidate. Despite Zeller’s off night, Indiana managed to get past Georgia with a 66-53 win as they pulled away late.

Georgetown knocks off UCLA in Shabazz Muhammad’s college debut

With his eligibility finally out of limbo and a three game wait, Shabazz Muhammad was chomping at the bit to announce his presence in college basketball. He showed flashes, coming off the bench for 25 minutes, but could not do enough as the Bruins were outplayed by a hungry Georgetown team. Otto Porter showed why some had him as the favorite for Big East player of the year, filling the stat sheet with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists/blocks and 3 steals in the 78-70 Hoya victory.

Villanova freshman Ryan Arcidiacono comes up big in OT win over Purdue

After having to sit out his senior season of high school with a back injury, one might expect Ryan Arcidiacono to take some time to get into the groove of the college game. Instead, the freshman PG has stepped up to the challenge, averaging 18 ppg and 5.3 apg while leading Villanova to a 3-0 start. Last night Arcidiacono overcame 7 turnovers to lead the Wildcats to a 89-81 victory over Purdue in the 2k Sports Classic.

Michael Carrera garners opening week freshman honors from SEC

It may have only been one game, but Michael Carrera made his presence felt for South Carolina. Carrera finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 82-75 OT victory over UW Milwaukee. He also hit a pair of FT’s in overtime that gave South Carolina the lead for good. After a season where they only had 10 victories, getting a player with Carrera’s redounding and defensive ability could go a long way towards improvement.

7-foot Sleeper Joel Embiid Headed to Kansas

With Jeff Withey set to graduate after this season, the Jayhawks found a possible replacement in 7-foot Cameroon native Joel Embiid. The Jayhawks recruiting class had yet to add a front court player and now has a huge body in young Embiid. New to the game, Embiid got a slightly rude awakening last year in the ESPN National High School Invitational by top 2012 recruit Brandon Ashley. Well, despite his lack of experience, Embiid took that as motivation, with his combination of size and athleticism vaulting him to near the top of 2013’s center prospects.

D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera impresses after Otto Porter injured in Hoyas first contest

Expected to have a breakout sophomore season, Otto Porter did not have much of a chance to make noise Sunday against Duquesne. Porter had a rebound and assist before getting hit in the head with 11:55 left in the first half. Porter did not return and was being monitored for a possible concussion. The Hoyas were still able to get the W as D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had a very strong first collegiate contest, finishing with 19 points on 6-7 FG (4-4 3PT). No news on the severity of Porter’s injury, though the initial feeling is that he was held out for cautionary reasons.