Mecca of College Basketball

Strictly geographically speaking, Cincinnati could rightfully call themselves the center of the Universe when it comes to basketball. Problem is, we all know most of the basketball lore from Cincy is via an Indianapolis-native briefly providing his talents in the late 50s. The same man who the NCAA later named their Player of the Year trophy after: Oscar Robertson.
Besides that, there's not much to say about Tri-State Hoops being the capital. Much of the collegiate success over recent decades have spread out to neighboring schools Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Louisville, Michigan State... the list goes far beyond just bluebloods and powerhouses - Dayton was a top-5 school just as March Madness was about to begin, until the damn panic shut it down. Creighton was contending for a top-10 spot. Iowa & Illinois were ranked in the top-10. 

I might be so bold as to say that in any given year, at least half the ranked teams are from the Midwest. Yep, that includes NET, RPI, Sagarin, and KenPom rankings. 

So I thought, let's put together a crude lil map and then check every now and then to see how well the prediction holds up.

2021 Update: Naturally, the NCAA chose Indianapolis, and Indiana to host the entire Men's Basketball tournament this March with most games (including all elite8+ games) within covered-walking distance of Circle Center in the Circle City, just south of Carmel aka Roundabout City, which is quick drive to anywhere else around Indy, thanks to Interstate-465 highway, a circle around the city known for driving in circles (ovals). Get it yet? 🎯 

Coach K, Williams, Pitino... Painter, Brey, Stevens

Do NCAA coaches win games [and Coach of the Year awards] because they're that good or because they recruit Indiana's amateur talent?

Is there any doubt that this is still the mecca of hoops? Indianapolis is tied with L.A. for most consecutive drafts represented (5) and they are still killin it in the pros: EJ, Jeff Teague, George Hill, Mike Conley Jr, Josh McRoberts, Gordon Hayward, Courtney Lee, Rodney Carney and former #1 pick Greg Oden.

It can't be understated how significant a feat it is for Tom Crean to lock up all the Elite talent for the next 4 years; hopefully that translates to the same postseason success as the coaches above.

Duke spoils "Hoosiers II"

Butler almost pulled off the greatest story of hoops history tonight. Gordon Hayward had 2 chances in the final seconds to win the National Championship for tiny Milan High...er, Butler. Not only did they have full support from nearly all of the 70,000 fans, it was the hardest fought game you could ask for. It's awfully tough to lose a game like that, especially as the home team (wearing road jerseys).
Reds kicked off the season opener in grand fashion today by getting stomped by MVP Albert Pujols and the St Louis Cardinals. The good news is that they're only a game outta first place.
Tiger Woods returns to golf this week at the Masters, a tradition like no other. This man knows a few things about storybook performances, except his mistresses are the ones getting paid for telling them.

2010 Final Four, by the numbers

As history tells it, 18 of the past 23 Final Fours have featured either Duke or North Carolina (1991 had both). In fact, since 1956 there's only been a single Final Four didn't feature at least one of these schools: Duke, UNC, UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisville, Cincinnati or Georgetown. The year was 1979, featuring Indiana State's Larry Bird vs Michigan State's Magic Johnson in the championship game (DePaul & Penn were the other two.)

While Coach K & Duke have clinched just their second Final Four in nine years, Tom Izzo & Michigan State are making their sixth Final Four appearance in twelve years. BigEast champ West Virginia's previous appearance was 1959, but Bob Huggins led Cincy to the Final Four in 1992 (along with IU, Duke and Michigan's Fab5). Although Brad Stevens will be coaching in his first Final Four among 3 Hall of Fame coaches, he's still got a major advantage: this is the first time a Final Four team is playing in their own backyard since 1972 (UCLA), four years before he was born.

no Colts, no problem

- AFC Championship game: Steelers @ Denver
- NFC Championship game: Steve Smith @ Seattle
- UNC vs FSU - the Seminoles had a shot at the buzzer to upset the Heels. I just wanted to see the crowd rush the court for the 8th time this week...
- KG vs. AI (39 points), a game that ended on Iguodala's off-balanced buzzer-beater, after a 19-point Philly deficit
- the Pistons (chasing the '96 Bulls for best record ever) almost got upset at the buzzer following a 43-point performance from T-Mac
- a 300+ point game in Phoenix that ended w/ a Ray Allen 30-footer at the buzzer
- and oh yea, Kobe dropped 81 on the hapless Raptors, 55 after half

All this following a Duke loss the day before, putting UConn at #1 when they visit Assembly Hall in 2 weeks.