With the first weekend's slate of NCAA basketball tournament games complete, the Sweet Sixteen is set. We saw local teams like Illinois and Notre Dame bow out, as well as top-seeded Pitt. Meanwhile, a quarter of the Sweet Sixteen is filled with double digit seeds -- including three in the Southwest region. more ›

While we were unable to get President Barack Obama to join our Chicagoist Tournament Challenge (did you?), the hoops loving commander-in-chief did reveal his bracket picks to ESPN in a segment taped with Andy Katz. His complete bracket can be viewed here. more ›

You've still got time to enter Chicagoist's Tournament Challenge. Fill out your bracket and compete against Chicagoist staff and readers for the chance to celebrate your own shining moment. We've got almost 60 entries already, and in past years we've had over 100 compete. There is a prize for the winner! more ›

March Madness is here! The conference tournaments concluded yesterday and now the NCAA Tournament's field of 68 (yes, 68) is set. So it's time once again for Chicagoist's Tournament Challenge. Fill out your bracket and compete against Chicagoist staff and readers for the chance to celebrate your own shining moment. But winning's not easy. The past couple of years, we've had over 100 entries in our pool, and last year's winner, K. Oser, finished in the 99.9th percentile of all ESPN Tournament Challenge entries. Our staff experts didn't do quite so well. I finished 35th while former editor-in-chief Marcus Gilmer placed 51st. more ›

We're now down to the Final Four teams in the NCAA Tournament -- Duke, West Virginia, Michigan St. and Butler. The craziness continued to wreck havoc with everybody's brackets, as Duke alone survived to the Final Four from the one seeds and two five seeds found their way into the semi-finals. In the Chicagoist Tournament Challenge, K. Osar's crow930us 1 entry stands in first place with 830 points and a 99.7th percentile rank of all ESPN.com entries. He's picked Duke to win it all, so he's in good shape to take home the prize we'll award next Tuesday. As for us, I've climbed back into respectability by jumping from 80th to 19th, while Marcus' Better Than Benjy entry is, in fact, 20 spots below me [Ed's Note: Stupid Duke]. more ›

By Sunday night, many of us had turned our attention from the hardwood to the health care reform, which was only appropriate given that many of our NCAA brakcets are on life support. A weekend that saw more upsets since 1991 - including number one seed Kansas fall to Northern Iowa - meant that many of us have brackets that are quite ugly. But many of you are doing better than we are. Marcus is currently in a tie for 30th place and I'm currently sitting in 80th place in the Chicagoist Tournament Challenge, out of 112 active entries. After getting burned by picking too many upsets in tournaments past, we went conservative this year... and now the likes of Northern Iowa and Cornell decide to pick off the big guys. Like many, we also thought Kansas would hoist the trophy at tourney's end, so we can't even make a comeback in the big point rounds. more ›

If you're anything like us, you've filled out at least a half dozen brackets since NCAA selection committee set the field of 65 for this year's tournament as you try to find just the right mix of sure things and upsets to win bragging rights over colleagues and amaze your friends. more ›

With the NCAA Tournament's brackets announced on Sunday evening to set the field of 65, it's time to make your picks for the sixth annual Chicagoist Tournament Challenge! Think you know more about college basketball than Chicagoist's writers and fellow readers? Prove it! Don't know that much about college basketball? So, what... it's usually that one who picked teams based on their mascots that wins anyway! more ›

Last night's NCAA Championship game wasn't much of a battle, with North Carolina jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. Holding a 55-34 halftime lead, the Tar Heals coasted through the second half to defeat the Michigan St. Spartans 89-72 at Ford Field in Detroit to win the school's fifth title. more ›

The past couple of days, everybody has been busy analyzing their NCAA Tournament pool picks when they should have instead been working. Even a financial meltdown and two wars can't keep our Hoopster-in-Chief from finding time to fill in his bracket, too. No way he's letting Rahm beat him! Barack Obama predicted a Final Four of Louisville, North Carolina, Memphis and Pittsburgh -- choosing three #1 seeds and one #2 seed. Pretty pragmatic picks, if we do say so. Most people view UConn as the most vulnerable of the top seeds. more ›

If you're anything like us, you printed out a half dozen brackets last night after the NCAA selection committee set the field of 65 for this year's tournament as you begin to hone in on just the right mix of sure things and upsets to win bragging rights over friends and co-workers. more ›

College basketball's conference tournaments are in full swing this week, meaning that March Madness is soon upon us! The official brackets for this year's NCAA Tournament will be released Sunday evening, after the last conference champs are determined. more ›

It's been quite a couple weeks of coming clean for our senator and presidential hopeful. Barack Obama sat down with both local dailies to clear the air about his connection to Tony Rezko last week, and gave a speech to addressing his preacher and race this week. more ›

The NCAA Basketball Tournament is right around the corner! After conference tournaments conclude this weekend, the official brackets for this year's March Madness will be released Sunday evening. more ›

University of Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther will not be punished for his actions during the Illini NCAA Tournament loss to Virginia Tech. During the game, Ron Guenther was playing the role of frustrated fan rather than Athletic Director, as he was heard screaming advice at Coach Bruce Weber. It is reported he did not just stop there; he also berated players for poor performance, including calling forward Warren Cater an idiot. The Illini were... more ›

The DePaul Blue Demons (20-13) are flying high after defeating Kansas State 70-65 last night in the second round of the NIT tournament. The Blue Demons were led by Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia, each netting 18 points en route to the victory. But the Blue Demons have their work cut out for them as they are being targeted by the number one seeded team in the West Region, the Air Force Falcons. Air Force... more ›

The Big Ten Men's Basketball Conference Tournament rolls into town on Thursday for what will be the last one hosted in Chicago until at least 2012. On Thursday, the tournament will kick off its seventh run at the United Center. Our friends in Indianapolis, not satisfied with their Super Bowl trophy earned by beating the Chicago Bears, have also outbid Chicago to host the annual Big Ten tournament from 2008 through 2012. The tournament kicks... more ›

University of Illinois-Chicago basketball coach Jimmy Collins, who took a leave of absence from the team less than two weeks ago, is expected to undergo surgery this morning to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The surgery comes just a day after Collins was admitted to the hospital after results from tests performed last week identified the aneurysm. The surgery will be performed at the University of Illinois Medical Center. According to a release by UIC, Collins "will not return to the sidelines to coach the Flames until he has fully recovered." more ›

The NCAA Tournament never turns out like we think it will, and this year's tournament had even more unepected twist and turns than a typical year. From the numerous upsets, to all the top seeds missing the Final Four, to George Mason making the Final Four, to the large margins of victory in the the Final Four and Championship games. Last night, Florida defeated UCLA 73-57 to claim the NCAA basketball title. With the conclusion... more ›

March Madness resumes tonight with half the Sweet 16 teams in action. The game that's likely to garner the most local attention pits the Bradley Braves against the Memphis Tigers. Can Bradley, a 13th seed, take on #1 seed Memphis and continue the unexpected run through the NCAA Tournament? Or will tonight end a magical run by a team few expected to win even one game in the tourney. At this point, there shouldn't be... more ›

Tomorrow is the bid day for college basketball fans, and even many who don't necessarily follow the sport the rest of the season. The NCAA Tournament kicks off with the first 16 games, running from late morning to nearly midnight. With those 12 hours of non-stop basketball overlapping a good part of the workday, it comes as little surprise that the tourament impacts workplace productivity. Supposedly $3.8 billion in lost as a result of March... more ›

The winter sports doldrums from which Chicagoist has suffered since the Super Bowl are almost over. Sunday's announcement of the NCAA Tournament field kick off the beginning of the new sports season, as college basketball leads us into baseball, which leads us back into football. Illinois is represented by three teams in the field of 65. Southern Illinois made the field as an 11th seed after winning the Missouri Valley Conference. Bradley is a... more ›

Last week, the NCAA instituted a new policy that would ban schools using "hostile and abusive racial/ethnic/national origin mascots, nicknames or imagery" during NCAA Championships and would prevent offending schools from hosting postseason events. While broad in policy, the NCAA has squarely aimed these new rules at the 18 schools with Native American nicknames -- including the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Many have been outspoken in their opposition to the NCAA's decision, including Florida... more ›

Illinois got a rude awakening from its dream season, as North Carolina won last night's NCAA basketball tournament 75-70. The Tar Heels took a 15 point lead early in the second half before Illinois staged a furious comeback. The Illini fought back to tie the game at 65-65, but could not get over the hump to take a lead. They had their chances towards the end, but the shots wouldn't fall and ultimately, the Illni... more ›

Chicagoist is announcing our first annual NCAA Tournament pool. We'll be piggy-backing on our friends over at ESPN.com, where Chicagoist has set up a private group in their Tournament Challenge. more ›

Might the University of Illinois men's baketball team jump to the top ranking in next week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll? ESPN's Andy Katz think so! It's sure looks likely following last night's 91-73 romp over current No. 1 Wake Forest as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. And the game wasn't really even that close. Illinois sent a loud message that they may be the best team in college basketball this year. more ›