Basketball enthusiasts rejoice. This is your time of year, when there is really nothing to talk about besides that sport. NASCAR is just beginning, golf really has no “face” to the sport anymore and baseball and football are in their off seasons. Especially now that the college basketball regular season is coming to an end.
Now I don’t know much about college basketball. I really only know what I hear on the radio and that isn’t much. But this time of year everybody you talk to will seem to know something about it. It’s March Madness time again. Time for the NCAA to have its annual tournament to see which team is the best in the land. There are 64 teams this year that will be vying for the #1 ranking and sometimes the difference between advancing or going home is a last second, buzzer beating shot so it really is anybodies opportunity.
But before the official tournament bracket gets released, there are still conference titles at individual conference tournaments with the winner getting an automatic bid to the big tournament. These are the tournaments where Cinderella teams earn their shot and upset the bigger school who will get invitations anyway. But as always with sport, pride is on the line and these kids want to bring home as many trophies as they can so they will play with their hearts and some will come together as they never have before.
Watch to see which small school will earn their shot at national glory.
The second half of the NBA is alive and kicking as well with the dominant teams beginning to show their true colors and the lesser teams start to crack and fall apart. With so many “Super Teams” out there now, there are always great games with many stars each week.
So enjoy this time of year for some great basketball and get ready for the next couple weeks when suddenly anything and everything will involve the word “bracket” in it.
Top Games To Watch
1. College Basketball Conference Championships
I can’t tell you what the top college games to watch this week are because nobody knows yet. There are many conference championships that need to be played out and each one means so much so instead of telling you which to watch I will give you the tools necessary to pick on your own. Along with a few tips along the way:
- Check out the official NCAA Conference Championship Central to get a complete run down of all the conferences. There are links to each individual conference as well as tools to see more about each team.
- To find out which individual players you should be watching before their NBA careers start, check out the latest on the NBA Draft Rankings for the top college players.
- Here are there current rankings of all teams. The conferences the top teams belong to are the conferences to watch because while the ranked team will most likely get an automatic bid, the others have to earn theirs by winning. This is where top teams can slack off and give a small school some huge momentum to advance.
- Check out ESPN.com coverage of Championship Week to get knowledgeable insight to the games from experts.
2. NBA – Los Angeles Lakers at Miami Heat – March 10 @ 7 pm
There isn’t much that needs to be said to hype up this game. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Pau Gasol, Dwayne Wade, Lamar Odom, Chris Bosh, Ron Artest, the list goes on to a veritable All Star game. These two titans will clash yet again but this time the situations are different. The Lakers are on a hot streak since the All Star break and a win in Miami would be huge for them to continue to prove that they are the reigning champs and deservedly so. The Heat on the other hand are on a downward spiral of losing big games in the final minutes. Their coach even reported them crying in the locker room. A win for them would renew their confidence and set them back on the right path. This game should be a lot of fun and neither will be taking it easy this time around.
3. Watch more NCAA Basketball.
There are so many games to be seen and not much NBA or other sport action. If you aren’t interested in the game at least watch the last 5-10 minutes of any close game and I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Things To Keep An Eye On
- The NASCAR season has just started but it is already off and running with lots of big races and new drivers stepping up. Check out all the NASCAR info you could ever want over at NASCAR.com
- Baseball’s Spring Training has begun so you can get up to the minute news on all your favorite players and teams here.
- To see where your NHL team is in the standings go here and see what they are up against for the rest of the season as well.
