Michigan Wolverines tickets - Overcoming Crucial Tests along the Way
Tuesday, February 17, 2009


10 years have passed and Michigan men's basketball team, have never made it to the NCAA Tournament.

This season is not the same for the Wolverines, their coach, John Beilein have figured out a formula for the same, win some games in the non-conference season, win some matches against the top-five opponents.

Stay intact at home court against the Big Ten, register a win against the rivals Illinois team on a not so packed home court, win on the road conference games.

Most of the variables of the above formula have fallen in place, except winning on road conference games.

Wolverines have a very hectic schedule lined up ahead of them. They are scheduled to play at Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota. All the games are very crucial and all the teams except Indiana are competitive. The Indiana Hoosiers are a relatively new team, struggling with form and lack depth.

It is not only the schedule which is taxing; it is the lack of on road experience that might worry the Wolverines. That is why the match against the IU is very crucial; if they manage to clinch a victory then it would be a big booster for the Wolverines.

Wolverines would want to put their dismal performance of 10-22 of last season behind them and for that they would be looking to register wins against their rival Big Tens. Considering the performance of Indiana lately, the win against them will not affect the decision of the selection committee but will do loads of good to the morale of the Wolverines, because they haven't won even a single game at Indiana since 1955. It will also set the ball rolling and develop a momentum which will help them when they confront the cream of the Big Ten.

The only true road game that Wolverines have played this season is against Maryland, which they lost. Michigan (1-1 Big Ten, 11-3 overall) played six games away from home, last year, out of these they lost to Harvard and Duke.

Wolverine players seem to be more confident this time around, freshman Zack Novak, is one such promising talent and is soaring in confidence with every passing game. Though Novak is yet to start an on road game, he is a fearless shooter and is quick on his feet. Other Wolverines stars like Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims also seem to be more prepared than ever and if the trio works in tandem, then they will wreck havoc on the court.

With a talented team and a good overall performance, Coach John Beilein can expect that his formula will work wonders for the Wolverines and get them to the NCAA tournament after 10 long years.

When you need tickets for the Michigan Wolverines you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get Michigan Wolverines College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 11:02 PM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

Miami Hurricanes tickets - Coach Haith Strategy to Divide and Conquer


Boston College is a formidable team and Miami coach Frank Haith surely knows that. That is why he is all prepared with his strategy to knock down Miami's next opponent, Boston College.

Boston has come off age, it was a young but a good team last season. This season when both the teams met, Boston was 3-1 in the league, and was in a commanding position but as the year progressed, they were not able to maintain the momentum and started getting bogged down. Boston let tight games slip out of their hands.

Present day Boston is a talented team and enjoys an effective leadership of Tyrese. They have recently won a crucial game against UNC, where they showed that BC is a tough and driven team. They simply kept their focus on the ball and didn't let it slip from their hands.

Miami on the other hand is 11-3 into the season but still not in the top 30 teams, but that doesn't take the credit away from the recent performances of the team. They defeated St. John's convincingly, and soon after defeated a top ten team Notre Dame. Another big team Miami defeated this season was Kentucky, after which Kentucky won nine straight games until they lost to Louisville.

The Hurricanes will have to stretch themselves this year to get into the NCAA Tournament, because the group is tougher this time around. But if they manage to prevent any big losses then they might just sneak in if they manage 8 wins. But they would not want to take any chances and extend it to nine, 10, or 11 winning games.

Miami would not want to get a bad start like they did last season when they started with 1-3. They would love to defeat Boston College and keep Rice down. Haith surely knows the potential of Rice, who last year scored 18 points in the first half itself.

Haith has studied Rice's game closely, he knows that he has a great control and is quick too. He knows that he cant give away any space to him, and will have his team to force Rice to play a little defensive.

Another threat to Haith and his coach will be Rakim Sanders. Sanders can do it inside and out and is a big guard. Haith also knows that the two perimeter guys are a tough nut to crack. On one end is Corey who gets offensive rebounds and transition buckets and on the other end is Rakim.

Ever since Haith has joined the program at the University of Miami, they haven't won a game against Boston College, but this time he is all set to change that.
He and his team will try something different from the previous occasions, changes on and off court, like changing hotels, the flights, just about everything to nail down Boston College.

When you need tickets for the Miami Hurricanes you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get Miami Hurricanes College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 11:01 PM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

Indiana Hoosiers tickets - the Night Crean almost Flipped Out


Indiana Hoosiers lost yet another match, this time to Michigan. Coach Tom Crean was utterly dejected by the team's performance. IU started the match on a high note, but then let it slip away.

Tom Crean took a tough call when he decided to take up the Indiana University basketball job. The team was a bunch of youngsters trying to make a mark for themselves and the team itself was under the scanner of NCAA.

He was prepared for that, but not for seeing his team dominate the game against Michigan, it appeared as if seven Indiana players were attacking three players of Michigan. It looked as if the young Indiana team matured overnight to set themselves up for their first Big Ten win.

But soon, Indiana players were seen dejected on the field and Crean shaking hands with the Michigan players and its coaches. They lost yet again and Crean disappeared off the court, with a dejected head on his shoulder.

Michigan won 72-66 in overtime.

He was dejected. And why shouldn't he be? Indiana Hoosiers have had a dejected season and when in to the game with a dismal record of 5-8 and a four-game losing streak, including the defeat against Lipscomb, a game where they were in the lead by 21 points.

Hoosiers made an impressive start and dominated the game for nearly 22 minutes. Verdell Jones III, Nick Williams and Devan Dumes were all over the court, making moves and shots which gave the Hoosiers the guard play they lacked in their previous matches which they lost. They were well supported by a shaky start by Michigan, who missed 16 of its first 19 three-point shots.

At one stage of the game, the Hoosiers were in the lead, 44-24 with 18:26 minutes to spare.

After the defeat IU is back at ground zero and nothing is taken for granted. All the teams in the Big Ten are waiting for their chance to take on the Hoosiers. Crean will have to wait for his next recruited batch to arrive.

IU conceded some crucial points and helped Michigan to equalize with the IU at 56-56 and with the three pointer by Manny Harris with 43.8 seconds to play.

With 23.4 seconds to spare, Dumes lost the ball on a misguided attempt to score on a two-on-one fast break, Michigan made the kill with the help of a three by Laval Lucas-Perry.

The match ran in to over time, and the performance further deteriorated, Michigan started off with a three pointer and didn't allow IU to lead. After much struggle, the Hoosiers netted 6 of 9.

Till the boys at the Hoosiers mature and some promising recruits turn up for the Indiana University program, the problems won't ease for Crean.

When you need tickets for the Indiana Hoosiers you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get Indiana Hoosiers College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 11:00 PM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

Illinois Fighting Illini tickets - Harper, the Man of the Honors
Monday, February 16, 2009


Harper and his team mates of the memorable team of 84 will be honored at the Assembly Hall. Harper will be the man of honors, his jersey will be hung above the Illinois Basketball court.

Over 25 years back, Derek Harper, a second-team All-America guard preferred the NBA draft over his senior year at Illinois, but he left behind a team which won a share of the Big Ten Conference title in 1984 and reached the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight.

It will be homecoming for Harper and his 25 year old Illini team when Illinois plays host to Indiana. Illinois which is leading the season at 13-2 overall and is 1-1 in the Big Ten will play Indiana, which doesn't have a boastful record of 5-9 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten.

Ever since Lou Henson has retired, Harper and Efrem Winters, the star forward on the 1984 team, haven't visited the campus. Lou Henson retired as the Illini coach in 1996. Lou, too will be attending the ceremony at the Assembly hall.

The team of '84 turned the Assembly Hall an electrifying place, with its game. Before Harper, Winters and other luminaries of the memorable team, the Illini had advanced to the NCAAs twice in 40 years, but after the arrival of Harper, Winters and other players, things turned around and Illinois has appeared in the tournament 21 times, since then.

Harper who was picked by the Dallas Mavericks, will be honored, his jersey will be hung above the Illinois court, the same place where the team is reuniting after 25-years. Illini had a fabulous record of 26-5 overall and 13-3 in the Big Ten, in 1984. They lost to host Kentucky in the NCAA regional final after tying Purdue for the Big Ten title.

Harper was very athletic and equally talented. The Illini team had everything that a coach could dream of, they were talented, they were physically formidable and had the ability to score.

Doug Altenberger, Tony Wysinger, Bruce Douglas and Anthony Welch will be accompanying their former team mates Harper and Winters at the function along with their assistant coach Dick Nagy.

The Illini team which reached the Final Four in 1949 will be represented by Van Anderson, Ted Beach and Dick Foley.

With such luminaries attending the match, the pressure will be on the current team to perform. The current team leads on assists percentage, with 72.5 percent. They also rank second in assists per game in the NCAA with 20.1 trailing North Carolina 20.2. It also ranks sixth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio of plus-1.5.

Illinois leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage, shooting 48.1 percent, and ranks 25th nationally. The Illini also are second in the conference in scoring margin at plus-13.1 points per game.

When you need tickets for the Illinois Fighting Illini you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get Illinois Fighting Illini College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 6:55 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

North Carolina Tar Heels tickets - Bouncing Back


North Carolina Tar Heels, pulverized Charleston Cougars 108-70; bouncing back from the defeat against Boston College. They also became the only opponent since 1977 to score more than 100 points against the Cougars.

After losing their No. 1 ranking and their undefeated streak, as well, North Carolina bounced back and defeated College of Charleston, 108-70, at the Smith Center.

Tar Heels made a shaky start and weren't able to stop the aggressive Cougars. With Marcus Ginyard, one of their best stoppers on the bench, North Carolina's defense wasn't up to the mark and the Cougars managed to register a shooting percentage of 46.9 in the first half.

It was the shooting from the Tar Heels which did it for them. They shot much better from the field than their counterparts through out the game and registered a shooting percentage of 58.6. The Tar Heels also converted their free throw lines, 19-for-22. The Tar Heels are the only team who managed to score more than 100 points against the Cougars in 951 games since 1977.

The Tar Heels were much more aggressive than their previous game against Boston College which they lost. The team managed to put the disappointment behind their back and played a very aggressive game against the Cougars. Tar Heels forward Tyler Hansbrough led the team with scoring 24 points.

It wasn't exactly a Tar Heels game through out, the lead over the Cougars wasn't much for most of the time in the first half. Charleston kept the deficit well within their reach by scoring eight 3-pointers.

But the Tar Heels made 59.5 percent of their shots in the first half managed to pull away with an 8-2 run, which included a layup by Ty Lawson to a extend their half time lead to 53-41.

The second half was a blood bath, the Tar Heels started with an 11-0 run which was just too much for the Cougars (10-3).

With 3 minutes and 51 seconds to go, reserve point guard Larry Drew II's scored with a layup and extended the Tar Heels lead to 40 points, the score board also ticked to the 100 mark for the first time in 951 games the Cougars have played since 1977.

The biggest positive for the Tar Heels is that they bounced back from a loss and defeated the Cougars without Ginyard. Ginyard played in the last three games but is still slower than he used to be, he is not yet 100 percent fit.

The win against the Cougars lifted the morale of the team, and when Ginyard gets 100 percent fit, the Tar Heels surely can reclaim their lost No. 1 ranking.

So far this season the Tar Heels have only lost twice to two conference opponents.

When you need tickets for the North Carolina Tar Heels you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get North Carolina Tar Heels College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 6:54 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

North Carolina State Wolfpack tickets - the Danger of Declaring Victory too Soon


North Carolina State wasted their first half lead and lost yet another match in the waning moments, this time to the Gators, 68-66, who won their 6th match in a row.

North Carolina State Wolfpack thought they won the game, but Nick Calathes thought otherwise. Calathes scored 24 of his 32 points in the second half, to overcome a 10 point lead of the Wolfpack and led Florida to a stunning 68-66 victory. Calathes scored final 12 points of his team.

Florida Gators won the match because of their style and attitude. They kept the court and the game some what chaotic in the second half. They forced 12 second half turnovers from the Wolfpack.

It was the sixth match, in a row, won by the Gators. Florida is leading 12-2. Wolfpack on the other hand paid the price of declaring an early victory and losing the grip over the Gators. Though the Wolfpack still have a lead of 9-3.

After a dismal first half performance by the Gators, where they lagged 0-6, the credit for the turn around goes to Calathes. By his aggressiveness and good decisions he managed to register 32 points. Dan Werner also chipped in, scoring 10 points. With 3 minutes and 59 seconds remaining, Calathes hit a 25-foot 3-pointer and brought Florida on top, giving them a 59-58 lead.

But that was not the end of the game; the lead kept swinging either ways. The lead changed nine times before the game ended, but the Gators emerged victorious with a narrow margin of two points.

By the 15-minute mark of the second half, Lowe had seen enough of his senior and fourth-year junior, he turned to Mays, Thomas and Williams - three freshmen. If you're going to lose, don't let one losing season turn into two. Lowe has every right to attempt to develop the talent for next season.

"Those are the guys we're going to have count on now and down the road," Lowe said.

The problem with that is there's still 14 games left on the ACC schedule. Either Lowe is going to have stick with the trio of freshmen, plus Fells and any other combination, excluding Javi Gonzalez who predictably had one of the worst 3-minute stretches in ACC history against FSU's Toney Douglas, and make a concerted effort to develop the talent for next season.

The Wolfpack were in complete command during the first half, they shot nearly 54 percent from the floor. The Wolfpack defense was top notch and forced the Gators to earn every point, but like many games they lost this season, they were not able to handle the pressure very well and lost the match in its dying moments.

Brandon Costner top scored for the Wolfpack with 24 points, and was well supported by Farnold Degand who scored 10 points.

When you need tickets for the North Carolina State Wolfpack you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get North Carolina State Wolfpack College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 6:52 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

Maryland Terrapins tickets - Hosting Charlotte to Start the Year


Charlotte has a lot to fear with their match against Maryland just around the corner. Maryland has just finished their perfect December after 8 years. The Terrapins will be entering the court with a record of 10-2 and will continue their seven-game, month-long homestand at Comcast Center.

Maryland has won six straight games, and with the victory against Elan, they ended the last month of 2008 without any loss. The last time the Terrapins achieved this feat was 8 years back. The 49ers on the other hand will be entering the court with a 5-6 record. The 49ers have won four games straight after losing six games earlier in the season.

The Terrapins have had an excellent record playing at the Comcast Center, so far they have won 8 games and lost none this season, and they still have three games to go. Maryland will be starting the year with playing host to the visiting 49ers. Terps will love to extend their winning record and ride over Charlotte.

Terps have a formidable line up with a very strong defense. None of their opponents have managed to score more than 60 points, and in the last three matches they didn't allow their opponents to score more than 51. They trail only North Carolina State in the ACC, with a scoring defense of 60.5 average points. NC State averages 60.3 points. Maryland allows only a .391 field goal percentage, and from the 3-point range this further shrinks to .282. Maryland is forcing opponents to turn over the ball 16.7 times each outing.

Greivis Vasquez, junior guard, is the leading scorer for Maryland with an average of 17.3 points per game. He also averages 6.3 rebounds per game and 5.3 assists per game and leads the Maryland in these departments too. He also leads the ACC with .913 free throw percentage.

Maryland also has excellent free throw percentage of .791, leading the ACC in the free throw domain and ranked sixth in the nation. Senior forward Dave Neal is third on the team with a 4.3 rebounds-per-game average, trailing Vasquez and Landon Milbourne with 4.8 points per game.

Charlotte on the other hand has won its last four games, including road game wins at Southern Illinois and Mississippi State and home wins over Youngstown State and Long Island. The matches, lost by the 49ers, either came in the overtime or just one point losses. Charlotte trails in the all time series against the Terps, 0-2. The last encounter between the two was won by Maryland, 76-72, in the last season.

49ers have some brilliant players like senior forward Lamont Mack, averaging 12.2 points per game. Junior guard Ian Anderson, who has scored 34 3-pointers in the first eleven games played by the 49ers and averages 10.6 points per game. Senior forward Charlie Coley leads the rebound for the 49ers, and DiJuan Harris is averaging 6.0 assists per game.

With both teams equally poised it will be any one's game at Comcast Center. It will be an exciting start for both the teams and for their fans too.

When you need tickets for the Maryland Terrapins you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get Maryland Terrapins College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Posted bySpurs at 6:50 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ,

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)