Stanford Hires Duke's Dawkins as Coach

Lorenzo Charles remembered for stunning 1983 victory

(NEWSER) - Lorenzo Emile Charles, the hero of the 1983 NCAA championship game, died yesterday in a bus crash in North Carolina. Charles, who caught and dunked a last-second shot from his NC State Wolfpack teammate to win the title over heavily favored opponents, was alone and driving a charter bus when he apparently lost control and crashed into trees off an exit ramp. Police were still trying to determine the cause of the crash last night, the News & Observer reports. More»

The 11th-seeded team upsets No. 1 seed Kansas 71-61

(AP) - Jamie Skeen scored 26 points and 11th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth is crashing the Final Four after the upset of the NCAA tournament, shocking No. 1 seed Kansas 71-61 today. So doubtful were the Rams of even making the tournament that they didn't watch the selection show. Two weeks later, they're Houston-bound after an incredible takedown of the last No. 1 seed. More»

(NEWSER) - A quest to play pro football might keep a Duke basketball player in school for another year, ESPN reports. Greg Paulus, who has used up his basketball eligibility at Duke, has been offered a tryout for the school’s football team—but at receiver, not quarterback, where he starred in high school. Yesterday, Paulus visited the University of Michigan, which has an uncertain quarterback situation, the Detroit Free Press reports. More»

Popularity has sucked all the charm out of the tournament

(NEWSER) - In the '60s and '70s, the NCAA tournament was boring because UCLA seemingly always won. These days, "instead of UCLA winning it every year, there are now between five and nine UCLAs that can win it every year," Charles Pierce writes for Slate. "It's just as sterile and dynastic as it used to be." It’s oligarchy rather than monarchy, but it feels just as stale. More»

NJ Highlanders and fans take their NCAA woes in stride

(NEWSER) - After an NCAA record 51-game losing streak, the New Jersey Institute of Technology basketball team finally eked out a win this week. One of the scores of schools who joined the NCAA's top division a few years back thinking "why not us?," NJIT soon answered that question unequivocally: "We don't score enough points," the head coach told the Wall Street Journal. More»