NCAA March Madness 08 - first look

The online leagues cap out at 32 teams - the goal is to eventually get to 64 for a complete NCAA Tournament bracket. But the good news is that you can get the friends back together to play through the entire conference schedule. Along with a new ESPN.com homepage to update you with Dynasty mode news and information, ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews joins Brad Nessler and Dicky V to call the action. That's right. Now featuring Erin Andrews.

EA also adds 70 classic teams into the fold, and all we can say is that it's about time. There's no excuse why competitor College Hoops 2K has had classic teams and EA's game does not. It's a shame too that classic teams have inexplicably disappeared from NBA Live, Madden, NCAA Football and NHL Hockey. The '85 Bears, the '98 Vols, the '94 Rangers, the '98 Bulls - these are classic videogame teams that we all know and love. Well, at least we now have the'92 Duke Blue Devils to play with. Bobby Hurley is so dreamy.

On the floor, EA is still trying to fine-tune the game speed and attributes. The team wanted to slow the game down a bit to encourage post play and eliminate the arcade, fast-break style of past games. But in doing so, EA is finding it hard to balance between too fast and too slow, and it is a bit too slow at this time. When you hit the sprint button, a guard doesn't explode forward with the ball. Instead, he kind of ducks and continues running at the same speed. That's right. Now featuring the duck button.

Still, the improvements are noticeable and college fans are going to eat up the atmosphere, the deep Dynasty mode and the clever School Pride feature. With a few months before release, let's hope EA's perennial baller makes the grade.