Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

The Secondary Break: Thursday’s Links

drew

Critics should lay off Scott Drew with Baylor one win from third Elite Eight since 2010 (Yahoo Sports)
Baylor head coach Scott Drew has been on the receiving end of a solid amount of criticism in recent years, primarily from those outside of the program. However entering Thursday’s game against No. 2 Wisconsin the head coach is 17-4 in postseason play since 2010, and a win over the Badgers would mean his third Elite Eight in five seasons. It’s beyond time for folks to drop the “he can’t coach” drivel.

Calhoun built UConn with force of will (ESPN New York)
No. 7 UConn will return to Madison Square Garden, site of many great moments in the school’s basketball history, this weekend for the NCAA tournament’s East Regional. And the man responsible for many of those moments, Jim Calhoun, will be there watching as the program he led to three national titles looks to win a fourth.

Running UCLA’s offense, Kyle Anderson thriving at the point (New York Post)
After being a one-and-done team in last season’s NCAA tournament the UCLA Bruins are in the Sweet 16, and one big reason why has been versatile point guard Kyle Anderson. Standing 6-foot-9, Anderson leads the team in both assists and rebounds and poses a serious matchup issue for many opponents.

Madison Square Garden sees return of NCAA tournament, which has long history in New York City (New York Daily News)
With the East Regional being played at Madison Square Garden, this is the first time in more than 50 years that “The World’s Most Famous Arena” has hosted the Big Dance. But even with that being the case, MSG has a long history not only with the NCAA tournament but college basketball as a whole.

College basketball fans aplenty embrace Josh Huestis (Great Falls Tribune)
Stanford’s trip to the Sweet 16 is something few people expected on Selection Sunday. But the Cardinal managed to pick up wins over New Mexico and Kansas, with senior forward Josh Huestis being one of their key contributors. One of the nation’s best defenders, the Montana native doesn’t lack for fans either.

Brady Heslip has been a force forever for Baylor (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
One of the key players in Baylor’s current run of 12 wins in its last 14 games has been senior guard Brady Heslip, who provides spacing in the form of his ability to knock down perimeter shots. And despite teams knowing what he’s on the floor to do, Heslip’s averaging nearly 12 points per game and making just over three three-pointers per game.

Billy Donovan, Steve Alford almost faced each other in 1987 Final Four (Florida Times-Union)
Now head coaches and Florida and UCLA, respectively, Billy Donovan and Steve Alford were both participants in the 1987 Final Four in New Orleans. Alford’s Indiana team won the national title that season, defeating a Syracuse that that eliminated Donovan’s Providence Friars in the national semifinals. 27 years later they’ll meet in Memphis, with two other guards (UCLA’s Kyle Anderson and Florida’s Scottie Wilbekin) being the most important figures on the floor.

Kentucky’s Julius Randle learned the hard way from mom (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Kentucky freshman forward Julius Randle has been one of the nation’s best freshmen this season, and his play is one reason why the Wildcats are in the Sweet 16. As for the skill level that has made him such a highly regarded prospect, that came from his mother as she was a standout at UT-Arlington. And the combination of a strong mother and a good mentor has helped Randle get to where he is today.

Follow @raphiellej