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Nov 3, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
A lot can be said about the elite teams at the top of other conferences, but when it comes to the sheer number of NCAA Tournament-caliber teams, it is difficult to find a conference with more than the Big Ten. Last year was the first season since 2018 in which the Big Ten did not have the most bids.
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Nov 2, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
The Southern Conference might be one of the most underappreciated leagues in college basketball. It has been a top-15 conference in five of the past six years, per KenPom. The SoCon has also accounted for two wins in the past five NCAA Tournaments, with Wofford beating Seton Hall as a 7-seed in 2019, and Furman’s 13-over-4 upset of Virginia at the buzzer in 2023.
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Nov 2, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Eli Boettger |Andy Dieckhoff |Connor Hope
HC+
Season Preview '24-25
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Mountain West Men’s Basketball 2024-25 Season Preview: Boise State poised to advance in NCAA Tournament
The Mountain West sent a record six teams to the Big Dance in March.
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Oct 16, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
For five seasons, Liberty was the class of the ASUN. Without the Flames to buoy the league, the ASUN struggled to re-establish itself last year, finishing as the 26th-best conference in the KenPom rankings, and without a single top-150 team. This year, a fully healthy Lipscomb aims to change that, but several teams are nipping at the Bison’s heels.
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Oct 9, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
Last season was an interesting one in the Big West. For the second straight year, UC Irvine won the regular-season title after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. The top three teams in the preseason poll all finished fourth or worst. And Long Beach State was led to the NCAA Tournament by a coach who would be fired at the end of the season.
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May 23, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
Conference realignment is one of the most sensitive topics among college sports fans, with some embracing their favorite teams’ new reality. Others, meanwhile, lament that some of the nation’s best intraconference rivalries will be unlikely to continue. In the biggest realignment move since the creation of the American Athletic Conference in 2013, the Pac-12 will disband following the conclusion of the 2023-24 athletic year. As a result, each of its 12 members will join new conferences.
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Apr 9, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — The highly anticipated national title game started competitively enough. Two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers stayed within one possession for the first 15 minutes — before the defending champs UConn quickly turned into a clinic. The Huskies won 75-60 on Monday night to secure their second-consecutive national title and sixth overall for the program. Cam Spencer was the source of UConn’s early offense.
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Apr 7, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
From Khalid El-Amin to Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker to Shabazz Napier, UConn basketball has had its fair share of elite point guards over the past three decades. In March, point guard play is often the difference between teams making deep runs and going home early. The Huskies have had more success in this department than most others. Against this history of great guard play, Tristen Newton has established himself as perhaps the most successful.
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Apr 6, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — Overcoming a struggling point guard to win in the NCAA Tournament is an uphill battle. Doing so in the Final Four is nearly impossible. The Purdue Boilermakers were able to do just that, overcoming an uncharacteristic poor performance from Braden Smith, securing a 63-50 victory over 11-seed NC State and a spot in Monday’s national championship game.
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Apr 4, 2024 | 
heatcheckcbb.com | Connor Hope
Winning should come easy when you have the best player in college basketball. Add an elite shooting team on top of that, and the season-long dominance of Purdue is no surprise. Yet, for various reasons, there are still those who want to discount the Boilermakers’ accomplishments. Purdue doesn’t care. As Zach Edey said right after punching his ticket to the Final Four, “We are f—ing winners, it’s what we do.”It is certainly what they do.
