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The Niagara Purple Eagles and Hartford Hawks were both pretty awful last year. The two teams combined for 17 wins and stunk it up all throughout their seasons. Since these teams were so awful, both jumped at the chance to be on ESPN’s 24 hour coverage of college hoops, even at the worst time slot possible. It will likely be the only time you see either of these two teams all season so if you are interested in either side, now’s the time to watch.... 

24 hours of basketball. Hoops junkies everywhere are going to get their fill of college basketball around the clock next week when ESPN launches its annual 24 hours straight of coverage. This may seem a bit silly to non-sports fans, but it gives mid-majors a chance to have the spotlight to themselves and degenerates more games to bet. The Green Bay Phoenix will take on the Pacific Tigers in one of the late-night games that will be sure to entertain.... 

Since leaving the WAC for the Big West, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors have experienced a resurgence. Their record has improved in each of the following four seasons and last year they won their first tournament game ever by knocking off the Cal Bears as a No. 13 seed. This season, Hawaii is barred from postseason play sadly, but still looking to make some noise where it can. One of its first big chances will be when it takes on the Florida Atlantic Owls in what will be one of a handful of nationally televised games this season.... 

This war on the floor will go down Friday, November 11, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Friday schedule.... 

The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks will be looking to prove that they are one of the best teams in the country when they face the No. 11 Indiana Hoosiers on Veteran’s Day. This will be the second game of a doubleheader featuring four of the most storied college basketball institutions in the country. They are competing in Hawaii in the Armed Forces Classic and any win here will definitely help out when it comes to seeding for the NCAA Tournament.... 

The Villanova Wildcats picked a great time to come up with their most impressive game of the season and one of the most impressive games in the history of the Final Four.They'll need to be at their best yet again if they want to claim the National Championship on Monday against the North Carolina Tar Heels.... 

Geno Auriemma said it best when he said his Connecticut Huskies cannot be beaten by anyone in the nation when they're at their best. They haven't played a close game yet in the NCAA Tournament, and they haven't had a game decided by fewer than 10 points this year. The Syracuse Orange have made a tremendously improbable run to reach this point, but they pretty much know they're going to finish as the runners up this year. This one still has to be played on Tuesday night though, and we've seen stranger things happen than an upset of this magnitude.... 

At the outset of the NCAA Tournament, most were in agreement that the North Carolina Tar Heels were the team to beat. If Roy Williams' team was playing at its best, no one was supposed to be able to beat it.... 

The Final Four was expected to be a heck of a lot more competitive than it turned out to be, but the North Carolina Tar Heels and Villanova Wildcats won't mind the lack of drama. Live bettors will probably find the sledding a little tougher in Monday's National Championship Game.... 

The six days between the conclusion of the Elite Eight and the start of the Final Four generally feels like an eternity, and this year is no exception. That said, it gives bettors all the time in the world to make up their mind about who to back in the two biggest games of the college hoops season, and live movement is often interesting to watch.... 

The NIT title will be handed out on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in what could be a fantastic game between the Valparaiso Crusaders and the George Washington Colonials.... 

The story of the George Washington Colonials is a good one and is why the secondary college basketball tournaments are good for the sport. Instead of going into the offseason thinking about all of the failures down the stretch that led G-Dub to miss the NCAA Tournament, it can go out on the high of having won the NIT.

Of course, the job isn't done yet, and the Colonials are going to be underdogs against the Valparaiso Crusaders in the finale of this tournament at Madison Square Garden.... 

There was plenty of madness in the men's NCAA Tournament, but if you go back and look at how the women reached their Final Four, you'll see a ton of odd-looking upsets. The second of the Final Four games pits the No. 4 Syracuse Orange up against the No. 7 Washington Huskies.... 

The Connecticut Huskies have already beaten their foes by a combined 179 points here in the NCAA Tournament, but they've only covered one of their four spreads. With the other side of the Final Four featuring a pair of shocking entrants, perhaps the last step between the Lady Huskies and an unprecedented fourth straight National Championship is a semifinal clash with the Oregon State Beavers.... 

For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, a No. 10 seed has advanced to the Final Four. The Syracuse Orange have become the fourth double-digit seed to reach the Final Four in the history of the dance, but none of the previous three actually reached the National Championship Game. That's what Jim Boeheim and company are up against when they take on their conference foes, the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second Final Four matchup on Saturday night.... 

Heading into Saturday, there was a legitimate chance that all four No. 1 seeds would end up in the Final Four. Instead, it was the No. 2s who spoiled all of the fun in the South and West Regions. The Villanova Wildcats have been the consummate team throughout this tournament, and they'll need everything they've got to beat the best one-man band in the land at the moment, Buddy Hield and the Oklahoma Sooners.... 

North Carolina continues to drop 80+ on all of its opponents. Although Notre Dame gave the Tar Heels their biggest scare yet, UNC responded by going on a 12-0 run after the Irish went up by a point early in the second half and never looked back. Now North Carolina will face a team it has already beaten twice this season in the Syracuse Orange for a trip to the National Title Game.... 

The Villanova Wildcats have officially shaken off their normal March swoons. They've won the South Region against a lot of really good teams, but they haven't taken on a team yet with that one legitimate NBA superstar who can take a game over all by himself. The Oklahoma Sooners won the West by knocking out top-seeded Oregon in the Elite Eight, and they'll bring their stud, Buddy Hield to Houston where they could have a bit of a home court edge in the Final Four.... 

The San Diego State Aztecs were amongst the many teams this year which were left out of the NCAA Tournament due to the fact that they lost in their conference tournaments. Some flailed out of the NIT in short order, but they've managed to keep their wits about them in reaching the Final Four of college hoops' secondary tournament. Next in their way will be the George Washington Colonials.... 

Wins against UAB, Virginia Tech and Creighton have advanced the Cougars to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals and a date with the No. 1 seeded Valparaiso Crusaders.... 

The poor San Diego State Aztecs didn't end up getting into the NCAA Tournament this year because the rest of the Mountain West really was awful. That said, Steve Fisher really had his side ready for the NIT, marching it all the way to New York for the NIT Final Four where the George Washington Colonials are waiting.... 

Winning the NIT isn't a terrible consolation prize for the season, and just reaching the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden is a great accomplishment for both the BYU Cougars and the Valparaiso Crusaders. These two mid-majors will match wits on Tuesday night with a shot at reaching the tournament's finale.... 

The Atlantic Coast Conference is guaranteed two spots in the Final Four. The top-seeded Tar Heels will meet sixth-seed Notre Dame in the East Region final to determine one. UNC blasted the Irish by 31 points in the ACC tournament, but Notre Dame pulled out a narrow victory during the regular season. The winner of the rubber game gets the biggest prize.... 

Two weeks before the NCAA Tournament began, Syracuse didn’t know if it would have a spot in the field. Now the Orange is one of eight teams remaining with a shot at the national title. Many still feel Syracuse doesn’t belong after losing four of its last five regular season games then falling to Pitt in the ACC tournament, but there they are.... 

Easter Sunday is all about the ACC. The Syracuse Orange and Virginia Cavaliers will take to the court in Chicago to determine which will advance to the Final Four to take on the winner of the other All-ACC showdown between North Carolina and Notre Dame....