Samples: Busted brackets make for late March fun

By CHUCK SAMPLES ISL Correspondent How busted is your bracket these days? Maybe I should ask what’s in your wallet, but I can pretty much guarantee there ain’t as much in there now as there was last week. And however much you spent on your pool, you ain’t getting it back. Wow. Talk about a crazy week […]

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Brunt: Yes, it was a down year for Purdue

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor I said this wouldn’t be a down year for Purdue. I was wrong. It wasn’t a down year in a sense. Purdue wasn’t horrible, at least not for the entire season. Things started out badly and were downright awful during the middle of the conference slate, but towards the end […]

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Calinger: NCAA bracketology from a non-basketball fan

By J.W. CALINGER ISL Correspondent I’ve never been a big fan of college basketball, but even I find something to celebrate when the Big Dance rolls around every year. The unique nature of the tournament, with its Cinderella stories and the constant guessing and second-guessing, makes it fun to watch, even if I rarely watch […]

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Santa Clara defeats Purdue 86-83 in CBI tournament

Purdue’s rally came up short in an 86-83 loss to Santa Clara in the second round of the CBI Tournament on Monday night. The Boilermakers trailed by 11 in the second half and 80-73 with 1:21 remaining before Ronnie Johnson scored on a layup and converted a three-point play to make it 80-78. Santa Clara’s Kevin Foster, […]

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Butler Notebook: Looking back at Marquette loss

By CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent Because I was covering the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys basketball state finals on Saturday for IndySportsLegends and the Associated Press, I was not with the Bulldogs in Lexington, Ky., for their round of 32 game against Marquette. Though a prior obligation pulled me off the Butler beat for […]

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ISL covers Indiana state boys basketball finals

Indy Sports Legends writers covered the Indiana state basketball finals as freelancers for The Associated Press.   Cliff Brunt covered the Class 4A final between Carmel and Indianapolis Cathedral. Jim Johnson, an occasional ISL contributor, covered the Greensburg-Concordia Lutheran Class 3A final and the Class A final between Borden and Triton. Chris Goff covered the 2A title […]

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Same old story for Notre Dame in Big Dance

By DOUG GRIFFITHS ISL Assistant Editor This was supposed to be a good season for Notre Dame, perhaps even a very good season. It turned out to be a disappointing one. For the second year in a row, the veteran-led Fighting Irish failed to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, didn’t advance to the […]

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Butler finding defensive identity at right moment

By CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent LEXINGTON, Ky. – Another indication of a late-season apex arrived Thursday, when Brad Stevens dropped a not-so-subtle hint to those of us gathered in the bowels of Rupp Arena 20 minutes after Butler’s 68-56 victory over Bucknell gave the Bulldogs another berth in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32. This […]

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Butler beats back Bucknell in tourney opener

By CHRIS GOFF ISL Correspondent LEXINGTON, Ky. – Butler took one haymaker. When it delivered one of its own, Bucknell was sent home, and the Bulldogs had configured the beginnings of another March run. Sixth-seeded Butler defeated No. 11 seed Bucknell 68-56 on Thursday afternoon on the strength of a 22-5 second-half run that immediately […]

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