Rosters for the 2014-15 season are closer to being set now that the NBA Draft deadline has passed and we are getting deeper into the regular signing period. Here is an updated version of the Ultra Early Top 25, reflecting roster changes that occured since the…
The Catch and Shoot’s Ultra Early 2014-15 season preview continues with an early look at the Big Ten. Wisconsin enters as the big favorite with four starters returning from a team that is fresh off a Final Four appearance. There are still some questions about…
First Team Shabazz Napier, Connecticut—18.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.9 apg Napier was already a hands-down, first-team All-American before the postseason, but his NCAA Tournament performance has elevated him to a new level. Napier has led No. 7 seed Connecticut to the Final Four, averaging 23.3…
It wouldn’t be the NCAA Tournament without a game coming down to a questionable block/charge call. Tennessee was inbounding from the baseline with 10.8 seconds left, trailing 72-71. The Volunteers, who had erased a 15-point deficit in the final 10:32 of the second half, had…
Three points on 1-of-7 shooting. Those were Michigan guard Nik Stauskas’ Final Four stats when he walked off the floor after his team’s defeat in the 2013 national championship game. The Wolverines had been just a few plays away from achieving their ultimate goal of…
The first (*second*) round of the NCAA Tournament was probably the best ever. Thursday was a college basketball fanatic’s dream day, and Friday hasn’t been too shabby so far, either. Here are some picks for the Round of 32 games that we’ll be seeing on…
That thing called the First Four will soon be in the past, and then we can move on to the real Madness. (Don’t get me wrong. The First Four was very entertaining. It’s just not the same as what is about to happen Thursday and…
All-Big Ten First Team (Player of the Year in bold) Tim Frazier, Penn State—15.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.5 apg Gary Harris, Michigan State—17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 spg Nik Stauskas, Michigan—17.4 ppg, 3.4 apg, 45.8 3P% Roy Devyn Marble, Iowa—17.0 ppg, 3.5 apg, 1.8 spg…
The Big Ten season is halfway done as we enter the first full week of February. The league has been one of the more topsy-turvy conferences in college basketball. Michigan started non-conference play at 6-4, but the Wolverines would be the conference tournament’s No. 1…
After a disaster of a conference opener, Northwestern (7-7, 0-1 Big Ten) hits the road for the first time in 2014 to face Michigan (9-4, 1-0) on Sunday. The Wolverines, a preseason top 10 squad which struggled to an 8-4 non-conference record, picked up a…
