Sometimes, there are games that clubs' staff would like to forget as soon as possible... That's probably the case for the management staff and players of Basket Namur Capitale, last season's Belgian Top Division I Women title-holder, after the heavy loss recorded against Valencia BC in Game Day 5 of the FIBA EuroCup Women regular season. Valencia BC won the EuroCup Women title in 2020-2021 and also defeated the Russian powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg in the SuperCup Women 2021. The SuperCup Women is the opening event of the basketball calendar that traditionally sees the reigning EuroCup Women c ..read more

The 2020-21 NCAA basketball season took place despite the COVID-19 crisis. The 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament ended with a nice win of the Baylor Bears who defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 86-70 in the championship game played at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN on 2021-04-05. Here is the 2020-21 berthoop.net Men's College Basketball All-America Team: Men's All-America 1  Jared Butler, Baylor - guard, 1.90m - 6'3", born in 1999, USA Men's All-America 2  Luka Garza, Iowa - power forward/center, 2.11m - 6'11",  born in 1998, USA/Slovenia/Bosnia Herzegov ..read more

We have NCAA champions on the hardwood! The 2021 NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments are now over. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, March Madness was full of great action and good memories this year... The NCAA can be proud of having been able to organize fantastic basketball tournaments for both young men and women during these uncertain times. As a matter of fact, college men's or women's basketball fans and observers were thrilled all season long. In times of health crisis, NCAA did all it could for 2021 March Madness to take place in "bubbles" even if, at some point, women’s teams ..read more

2020 was definitely a year like no other...  Due to the COVID-19 situation and strict measures taken by the Belgian authorities, Bert has never attended so few basketball games in one year. Except for two FIBA Europe Cup games early last year, Bert could not sit or stand much on the sidelines and enjoy basketball games. Bert witnessed only two Spirou Charleroi losses in the FIBA Europe Cup in early 2020: one against 1. Bundesliga team medi Bayreuth (90-97) on Jan. 7th, 2020 and another one against Benfica Lisboa (78-85) on Jan. 21st, 2020. It was nevertheless a chance to see several young ..read more

The 2019-20 NCAA basketball season has been shortened due to the COVID-19 crisis. There was eventually no 2020 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament or any March Madness in the USA this year. Here is nevertheless the 2019-20 berthoop.net Men's College Basketball All-America Team: Men's All-America 1  Obi Toppin, Dayton - forward, 2.06m - 6'9", born in 1998, USA Men's All-America 2  Luka Garza, Iowa - power forward/center, 2.11m - 6'11",  born in 1998, Slovenia/Bosnia Herzegovina Men's All-America 3  Udoka Azubuike, Kansas - center, 2.13m - 7'00", born in 1999, Niger ..read more

Tennessee State Tigers vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers: 84-79 (played on 2020-01-02) Score at the half: 40-26 The Tennessee State Tigers vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers game played at the Gentry Center in Nashville, TN was in fact an Ohio Valley Conference opener on Jan. 2nd, 2020. The contest started with two fast threes for the Panthers who quickly took the lead at 2-6. The solidly built EIU players Jaqualis Matlock (forward, 1.96m, senior) and George Dixon (guard/forward, 1.96m, junior) worked hard in the first minutes of the game but Mark Freeman (point guard, 1.83m, freshman) replied for ..read more

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Villanova Wildcats: 76-51 (played on 2019-11-13) Score at the half: 40-22 The Gavitt Tipoff Games are an annual eight-game series played between the Big Ten Conference and the Big East Conference to tip-off the college basketball season. One of the games played in mid-November 2019 was held at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio State Buckeyes hosted then the Villanova Wildcats in front of a huge attendance of 16,419. It was Villanova's first ever game at OSU. After a 9-0 run for the home squad, with Duane Washington Jr. (guard, 1.90m, freshman) hittin ..read more

Phoenix Brussels defeated Spirou Basket Charleroi by a close margin of 3 points (104-101 after overtime) in the first Belgian derby of the 2019-20 FIBA Europe Cup in Neder-over-Hembeek on Oct. 30th, 2019. Bert and his son Théo went to the Dome in Charleroi to attend the second act of the Belgian derby on Nov. 19th. It looked hard for the local organizing committee to attract basketball fans and enthusiasts and only a very sparse crowd joined the arena for what was nevertheless a very attracting game on paper. The first cold temperatures combined with the Belgian national team’s soccer game a ..read more

Around 19:00 on Friday, Sep. 27th, 2019, many local basketball fans queued up outside the Dome in Charleroi with the hope to attend a first great Province Hainaut's derby game between Spirou Basket Charleroi and Union Mons-Hainaut in the 2019-20 EuroMillions Basketball League. The attendance was estimated at 2,750 and you could feel excitement among the supporters and enjoy the nice atmosphere in the aisles and on the terraces of the arena. After a minute of applause in honour of a few Spirou fans who passed away over the summer, the game started in a very physical and defensive way. Bert an ..read more

Dear Readers, It is my pleasure to announce that berthoop.net has been online since early 1999. A reliable online presence for 20 years which also matches with Bert's hobbying actvities as a correspondent and writer for major basketball media and websites. Regular writing for Eurobasket.com (as well as for Full Court Press and BasketMe.com in the past) has been among Bert's activities for the last 20 years. Being a basketball correspondent -- one of the very few non-American members of the renowned USBWA-US Basketball Writers Association -- allows Bert to keep in touch with basketball pals and ..read more