December tends to bring a lull in the college basketball season, as many schools have light schedules to accommodate final exams. No games on TV? Get your holiday shopping out of the way.
NCAA Tournament Tickets
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Final Four tickets are long gone, but you can usually get good seats for the first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament via Ticketmaster, the venue box office, or through the "host" school. If you don't mind putting an "IOU" under the tree, you could offer to enter a loved on in the ticket lottery for the 2010 Final Four... lottery entries are usually available in January.
NCAA Basketball 09
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2k Sports is no longer in the college basketball business (though, ironically, they've maintained their spot as the title sponsor of the 2k Sports Classic tournament), which makes EA's NCAA Basketball 09 the only game in town. This year's edition features expanded in-season tournaments, all 300+ Division I teams, and legendary teams from history like John Wooden's UCLA Bruins or Jerry Tarkanian's UNLV Runnin' Rebels. Available for PS3, Xbox360 and PS2.
Gunnin' for that #1 Spot
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Directed by Adam Yauch -- you may know him as MCA of the Beastie Boys -- Gunnin' for that #1 Spot follows some of the nation's best high school basketball players as they participate in the Elite 24 tournament at Harlem's famed Rucker Park. Some of the players featured -- including Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Jerryd Bayless -- have already reached the NBA. Others, like Kyle Singler and Tyreke Evans, are starring at the Division I level this year. The two-disc DVD set includes tons of extras that will appeal to hoops junkies, including player highlights, a dunk contest, and player clinics featuring NBA greats Jason Kidd and Ben Gordon.
Basketball Prospectus
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You know your uncle... or your buddy... or that guy in your office? The one who starts working out his NCAA Tournament brackets in mid-January? He needs a copy of this book. The Basketball Prospectus offers deep nuts-and-bolts, by-the-numbers analysis of every Division I conference and team for the 2008-09 season.
