Balance is what we all strive for in life, not being too reliant or dependent on one thing to the point where we're lacking too much in other areas. College basketball teams aim for the same type of stability by trying not to lean too heavily on one player or a certain aspect of the game. That's all great in theory, but reality often takes over and tilts things heavily in one direction or another. That's what ...

As if winning one national championship and vying for a second weren't enough, Villanova's Josh Hart is No. 1 in Bleacher Report's latest ranking of college basketball's top candidates for 2016-17 National Player of the Year. If you can believe it, college basketball's 2016-17 regular season is halfway complete. There will be plenty of bonus games in March and April, but the vast majority of teams have already played at least 14 of their 31 or so ...

If you're good enough, the NBA is going to find you. Top college basketball players don't need a feature role with a power-conference team to draw the attention of pro scouts, despite how it seems based on where the best high school prospects tend to go. Every year, there are players from lower-profile leagues who end up getting drafted or signing rookie free-agent deals and fare just as well (if not better) than the more well-known ...

Taking advantage of home games against title contenders is a surefire way to remain in the ACC championship picture, and that is exactly what the No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish did on Wednesday.  Notre Dame used a strong finish to beat the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals, 77-70, and move to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. The Cardinals dropped to 12-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference but can at least put a daunting ...

Hinkle Fieldhouse claimed yet another victim Wednesday night as No. 18 Butler shocked No. 1 and previously unbeaten Villanova by a score of 66-58. Josh Hart entered the game as the near-unanimous favorite to win the Wooden Award only to have his worst game of the season. A couple of buckets in the final five minutes kept his line (13 points, eight rebounds and three assists) from looking too bad, but his shot simply wasn't there. ...

Down goes No. 1. The No. 18 Butler Bulldogs outlasted the No. 1 Villanova Wildcats during Wednesday's Big East showdown at Hinkle Fieldhouse, winning 66-58. Butler used a strong finish to turn a 50-47 deficit with under five minutes remaining into an eight-point victory in handing the defending national champions their first loss of the season. Butler moved to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big East, while Villanova fell to 14-1 overall and 2-1 in conference ...

Duke guard Grayson Allen will return from what the school termed an indefinite suspension when the eighth-ranked Blue Devils host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Wednesday evening. Allen missed a single game—Duke's 89-75 loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies on Dec. 31—after he intentionally tripped an Elon player on Dec. 21.  The news broke when the program's official Twitter account listed Allen as a starter alongside Luke Kennard, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Amile Jefferson.  Shortly after ...

Butler 66, Villanova 58—Final The No. 18 Butler Bulldogs handed the top-ranked Villanova Wildcats their first loss of the season Wednesday night. Andrew Chrabascz and Kethan Savage both scored 13 points to lead Butler (13-2), which connected on all 15 free-throw attempts as a team. Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin also reached double figures, adding 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jalen Brunson paced Villanova with 23 points, but it wasn't enough to keep the Wildcats from falling on ...

Everything about Harry Giles III's situation at Duke suggests a 2017 NBA draft slide is coming. Having already torn both ACLs before turning 19 years old, it's become clear just how damaging the timing was of October's setback—a third pre-college surgery that forced him to miss the first 11 games of the 2016-17 season. Predicting a tumble down June's board isn't a knee-jerk reaction to the 23 total minutes he's played, either. Although, if we learned anything ...

The Villanova Wildcats only really play seven guys and are No. 1 in the nation in all of the polls, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the defending national champs sit atop our list of the best starting fives in men's college basketball for this season.  Quality of depth is one of the most important factors in evaluating college basketball teams, but what if we stripped away the benches and only looked ...