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Nov 18, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Alex Squadron |Seth Davis |Mit Winter
College hoops suffered a steady decline in offensive production beginning around 2003, but when scoring dipped in 2013 to 66.9 points per game, the lowest since 1952, the stakeholders sprang into action. That summer, the NCAA’s men’s basketball rules committee passed a sweeping set of changes, most notably shortening the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds and widening the restricted-area arc under the basket from three to four feet.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Alex Squadron |Seth Davis |Mit Winter
Excitement about the 2025 NBA draft class is rapidly building — and not just because of the star power at the very top. Yes, a handful of freshman studs, led by Cooper Flagg, have dominated the headlines, but this class is deep and elite prospects continue to emerge.
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Nov 17, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Alex Squadron |Seth Davis |Mit Winter |Lindsey Willhite
With 6:17 to play Friday night and Purdue’s quest to beat No. 2 Alabama in the balance, referee Brian Dorsey had the audacity to whistle Purdue point guard Braden Smith for a travel right in front of head coach Matt Painter. While Mackey Arena quaked in rage and Smith glared in multiple referees’ directions, Painter stood tall on the sideline, looked straight ahead and took a sip of water. He might have even lifted his pinky off the bottle.
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Nov 16, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Mit Winter |Seth Davis |Alex Squadron |Jeff Goodman
On Wednesday, the Tide will play Illinois in Birmingham. Six days later, Alabama heads to Las Vegas for the inaugural Players Era Festival, which includes predetermined games against No. 8 Houston, Rutgers and Notre Dame. On Dec. 4, Alabama plays at No. 10 North Carolina as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. And on Dec. 14 the Tide returns to Tuscaloosa to face Creighton, which is returning the home-and-home series which the Bluejays won, 85-82, last season.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Mit Winter |Seth Davis |Alex Squadron |Jeff Goodman
Now Shrewsberry wants to bring that feeling to Notre Dame, which has rostered at least five Indiana products in each of his first two seasons. Before he got to South Bend, the Fighting Irish hadn’t had that many Hoosier natives since Mike Brey’s 2014-2015 Elite Eight team. “I’m an Indiana kid,” Shrewsberry says. “I’ve grown up here and played college basketball here and coached all over this state in different programs.
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Nov 15, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Mit Winter |Seth Davis |Alex Squadron |Jeff Goodman
There is, however, a considerable bright side to shooting 35 percent from the field and 13 percent from three: it can’t get any worse. “I would like to make maybe just two more threes,” Izzo joked. “Not be greedy or selfish, just maybe two out of a hundred.” Here’s another reason for optimism: the Spartans’ problems are fixable.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Seth Davis |Chris Dortch |Mit Winter |Jeff Goodman
There were missed layups, bricked threes, clanked free throws, egregious turnovers, defensive lapses and foolish fouls, but the top-ranked Jayhawks managed to take down Michigan State, 77-69, in the 14th annual Champions Classic. It was win number 591 for Self at KU, moving him past Phog Allen and into the top spot on the school’s all-time list.
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Nov 13, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Alex Squadron |Chris Dortch |Mit Winter |Jeff Goodman
Then, disaster. With the score tied at 72 and the clock ticking under 15 seconds, Flagg found himself isolated up top against Andrew Carr, Kentucky’s 6-foot-11 super senior transfer from Wake Forest. Flagg drove into the lane with his left hand, tried to spin back to his right … and lost the ball. It was scooped up by Wildcats junior guard Otega Oweh, who was fouled and sank a pair of free throws to stake UK to a two-point lead. On the ensuing possession, Flagg again tried to do it all himself.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Mit Winter |Jeff Goodman |Seth Davis |Alex Squadron
Before this face-to-face, Acuff had seen Fland only on video. The No. 1 point guard in the high school class of 2024 led John Calipari’s Razorbacks to an 85-69 exhibition game victory over preseason No. 1 Kansas, scoring 22 points, handing out five assists and nabbing six steals. “How in the world are we going to deal with this guy?” Acuff thought to himself.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
hoopshq.com | Chris Dortch |Mit Winter |Seth Davis |Alex Squadron
When the Champions Classic first started in 2011, it was a collection of four coaching icons: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Kansas’ Bill Self and Kentucky’s John Calipari. Coach K retired a few years ago and now we have another change as Mark Pope has replaced John Calipari at Kentucky. Here are the other storylines to watch:1) The basketball world will get its first true look at Duke’s heralded do-it-all freshman Cooper Flagg.
