O5 title games

AAC- #MEMPHIS is hot and #ucf will miss Milton.Tigers lost by 1 to UCF in October. Henderson/Patrick rushing attack willl be the ley in a 27-26 win.
CUSA: UAB lost to MTSU 27-3 last week and will lose again 17-13, this time. MTSU QB Stocksill remains the man
MAC: Ok , Buffalo has home field but NIU QB Childers will step up in 19-17 win
MWC: I don't think the Fresno D will contain Boise St QB Rypien and  RB Mattison for long on the blue turf. BSU 30 Fresno 20
Sunbelt:  APP St D will step up in a narrow 17-16 win over visiting ULL.
dec 1: #childers woke up in the second half and led #NIU back from a 29-10 deficit to a 30-29 win over Buffalo. Tears and Brown made nice TD catches for the Huskies  in the 4th Q
dec 2: UCF found a little defense and their O roared back for 56-41 win over Memphis. UAB won the seasaw battle 27-25 with MTSU. Stocksill struggled in the the 4th Q against the UAB D. I picked the wrong week to jump off the Fresno train. Fres 19 Boise16 OT. How does  Boise only score  16 points when Mattison rushed for 200 yards? Niu was my only correct pick.
dec 14 : Ok, I also got App St pick right as they beat the ULL 30-19 in early December, and yesterday their HC #Satterfield took the Louisville job- that's a huge step.  #Drinkwitz, the NC St OC became the 21st football coach in #appst history.

Dec 19, 2018

Ok so I've been lukewarm on the CUSA in bowl mania and am 2-1. I was correct on MTSU losing to App St and NTX losing to Utah St , but was wrong for not taking UAB who blew out NIU so  I'll roll the dice on Marshall D to slow down USF  tomorrow and win a squeaker.

Dec 20

A.J. Ouellette  (29 CAR, 164 YDS) led the #ohio O while it's D blanked #sdst  (MWC) 27-0. Nice win for the MAC.

Dec 21

Herd D did enough and the O  led by Keion davis on the ground (94 yds, 2 TDS) was solid in a 38-20 win over USF. He!! of a night receiving for Randall St. Felix 6 rec 165 yds 2TDS

dec 22

Rough friday for the #MAC:. Toldeo lost to FIU and WMU was trounced by BYU. Some poor D
in the FIU game but it was entertaining. BTW the announcers noted that Butch Davis, the FIU HC,
was the last head coach to get the Browns to an NFL playoff game.

dec 23

Troy (Sunbelt ) beat #Buffalo handing the MAC another loss. Sawyer Smith tossed for 320 yards and 4 TDs leading the Trojans over the Bulls
42-32 win over the Bulls. Ohio is the only MAC bowl winner. La Tech (CUSA) handled Hawaii (MWC) 31-14

dec 28

It's been a tough bowl season for most of the AAC. Houston got rolled over by Army. 
Memphis fell apart at the end against Wake Forest. 
Temple was handled by Duke .USF lost to Marshall. Tulane beat ULL for the sole conference win. 
Cincy plays Va Tech and UCF faces LSU.

dec 30

MWC bowl record is 3-2  after Nevada found some o in Ot and won 16-13. Still not sure why the Boise St /BC bowl game wasn't rescheduled.

dec 31

#MichaelWarren ran for a career-high 166 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:29 left to carry Cincy (AAC) past VT 35-31

jan 11. 2019

 #Temple (AAC) raided the MAC last night and hired #NIU HC Rod Carey. Former NIU star Thomas Hammock,  the Ravens RB coach., is a top candidate to replace Carey.

july 10 , 2019 

 Gov #Ige signed a law  that starts the process of redeveloping the 44-year-old Aloha Stadium into a mixed-use sports and entertainment district. Maybe one day #Hawaii will  win the MWC West and host a MWC football title game?

July 16

 #sawyersmith goes from leading #troy to a bowl win over Buffalo to vying for the starting QB job at Kentucky (SEC) via the grad transfer route.

July 20 

In April 2019 #FenwayPark in Boston annnounced it will host  anew 2020 college football bowl game between ACC,AAC teams and two months later the UConn, the closest AAC team announced its leaving that conference.

CUSA 2018/19 Hoop predictions

1) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, with scorers like Jared Savage, may win the CUSA
2) North Texas Mean Green- A couple of dudes named Simmons  and a CBI 2018 title. Mean Green will be in the CUSA top five.
3) Marshall Thundering Herd- I was going to take the #herd higher, but they crumbled against the Terps last night. I suspect  #jonelmore will get "hawked" until the Herd adjust.
4) Charlotte 49ers upset OK ST. I'm bumping them up.
5) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Amorie Archibald and  the Bulldogs are going to be in the hunt.
6) Florida International Golden Panthers: Andrews and beard are their top scorers.
7) Southern Miss Golden Eagles. T Griffin and crew  continue the slow climb out of the CUSA cellar
8) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have lost to some good teams, UVA and Stanford, in pre-conference play and should finish in the middle of the CUSA.
9) Florida Atlantic Owls- Seabrees is a freshman to watch
10) UAB Blazers- Zack Bryant has been solid, so far
11) Old Dominion Monarchs- BJ Stith will need a lot of 20+ nights
12) UTEP Miners got a way to go to see the light
13) UTSA Roadrunners- J Jackson will need to hit a lot of treys
14) Rice Owls will be hanging on a cellar limb

Dec 6, 2018: Checking in the CUSA OOC play last night: Taveion Hollingsworth 
WKU (24 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST) lost 84-78 to  Missouri St (MVC)led by 
Tulio Da Silva (18 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST). Ryan Woolridge's triple-double led North Texas past Indiana St (MVC) 80-69. CJ Burks scored 26 but that wasn't enough for the #herd in a 93-82 loss to Duquesne (A-10). MTSU got crushed by Vandy (SEC). FAU edged Mercer (Southern).

dec 16, 2018

BJ Stith (18pts, 10reb)  led ODU to a big  road win over Cuse. Maybe I under-estimated the Monarchs? #JonElmore totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Marshall road  75-74  win at Akron . #herd was0-2 against MAC schools with recent loss to Ohio and Toledo.
dec 30
 Hollingsworth (22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST)  and Banton with a triple double led #wku (7-6) over Wisconsin (B10) 83-76. It's been a strange first two months for the Hilltoppers including losses to Missouri St and Indiana St

jan 4, 2019

#usm hoops had a rough #Cusa start in a loss to Rice.  #herd get 20 points and 10 assists  from  Elmore in  a win over ODU.  NTX beat La Tech and is now 2-0 in the CUSA and 14-1 overall. #wku rolled charlotte. UTSA beat UTEP. UAB beat FAU. Beard and Jacob combined to hit eleven treys and score 48 points in #FIU 's win over MTSU.

jan 6, 2019

 Wow, Rice won again- this time over LA Tech. Herd squeak by Charlotte thanks to Burks. #wku fell to ODU. FAU over mtsu, ntx edged usm, uab over fiu. And this is some goofy scheduling: #JhivvanJackson scored 24 points to help UTSA beat UTEP for the second time in three days.

jan 11, 2019

NTX beat Utep moving to 4-0 in CUSA play. Rice cooled off in a loss to UTSA. MTSU  stumbled further in a loss to USM. FAU, FIU, and LA tech beat respectively, ODU, Charlotte, and UAB. 
jan13: How about the #herd knocking off #wku  70-69. Nice night from Hollingsworth ( 20 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL). Also NTX lost to UTSA) ???

jan 18, 2019

Burks and Elmore led the #herd by FAU 96-84  last night, and MTSU edged UTSA for it's first CUSA win. Other winners: ODU, uab, fiu, and usm.
JAN 20 , 2019

Herd 105 FIU 97 Burks scored 30. WKU got back in the win column 72-66 over FAU. NTX survived Rice 76-75

jan 22, 2019 

Josh Anderson(25 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST) was a big factor in WKU 68-59 victory over the #herd. B.J. Stith scored 22 points and Ahmad Caver added 20 in ODU's second half comeback win over Charlotte.

 Jan 25, 2019 

A lot of shake up in the standings in a week . Last night WKU survived a big second half from USM. UAB nipped NTX. ODU struggled but won over UTEP, and the #herd  fell to La Tech despite a big effort from Burks. ODU (6-2). At 5-2 - Marshall, UAB, UTSA, NTX.. At 4-3: WKU , FIU

jan 27, 2019

 I did a double take when I saw the #herd score USM 101 MU 51 scroll across the bottom of my TV screen.The 31-6 USM run at the start was a killer . UAB, UTSA, NTX are tied for first after win over respectively Rice,  ODU,  & MTSU
feb 1
 What a night for Elmore(44 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST) in the #herd win over UTEP. Leonard Harper-Baker scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting for streaking USM in a win over FIU. FAU, ODU, and WKU defeated respectively LT, NTX, and UTSA.

feb 10

Great Saturday for the Texas  CUSA schools. UTSA(9-3), UTEP, and Rice beat respectively, Fau, Marshall and FIU. USM, WKU (8-4), Charlotte, and ODU(10-3) were the other winners. 

feb 15

Jared Savage tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds for #wku  (9-4) in a win over MTSU.
Cortez Edwards had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for USM(8-5) in its win over UTSA(9-4). NTX (8-5) lost to FAU.  #herd lost to UAB.

feb17

wku(9-5)  and utsa(9-5) losses to respectively La Tech and UAB helped the hot  ODU(11-3) and USM(9-5) squads who won last night. #herd beat mtsu 98-93 in the no D special last night.

  Feb 24

while the #herd (7-7) waits to play, ODU(12-3) beat wku (9-6) and and UAB(9-6) beat USM). NTX fell to 8-7 with a loss to La Tech (8-7)

March 1

 Elmore had 34 in the #herd win over La Tech. I caught the end of the #odu hanging on at UTSA in a fierce final four minutes to clinch the regular season title. WKU beat UAB.  ODU, WKU, UTSA, and USM are getting the rd1 byes at this moment.

March 4

 C.J. Burks scored 21 points in Marshall's 85-82 win over NTX and has a slim chance to get a rd1 bye . WKU beat USM to take a half game lead over UTSA, a winner over UAB,  for second  place.

Old Dominion	13-3
Western Kentucky	11-6
UTSA	10-6
Florida International	9-7
Southern Miss	9-7
Marshall	9-7

March 7

Another great night for Burks(21 points) in the #herd win over FIU. USM beat ODU while WKU lost to UTSA who got 29 points from J.Jackson. After ODU(13-4) UTSA is 11-6 and a win guarantees them a rd1 bye. USM and Marshall are 10-7 with a game to go.WKU finished at 11-7. FIU and UAB are 9-8.

march 10

USM beat UTSA and Marshall beat FAU moving to 11-7 creating a four way tie with WKU and UTSA for the three remaining byes after ODU (13-5). I'm not sure how this shakes out . Is it pod play?

march 14

Big game for Elmore (32 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) in the #herd 82-65 win over Rice. La Tech in a squeaker over FAU.NTX beat FIU and UAB handled MTSU.

March 15

 ODU needed a last second trey from Ahmad Carver's  to eke out a 57-56 win over La Tech. Elmore had another solid game for Marshall but they fell to USM. UAB beat UTSA and WKU beat NTX.

March 17

#xaviergreen  scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead ODU to a 62-56 victory over #wku in the CUSAT, and will likely be the only CUSA team at the Dance. My pre-season rating of  Old Dominion finishing 11th in the CUSA was pretty bad.

March 21

 USM lost to Longwood and UAB fell to Brown in CBI action.

March 22

ODU only scored 19 in the first half and lost to Purdue 61-48 at the Dance.

April 5

I've been remiss in my #CUSA coverage. #herd got (28 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) from  C.J. Burks to win the #CIT . Elmore added  17 points and 6 rebounds for Marshall in the 90-70 victory over Green Bay (Horizon Conference).

april 14

#docsadler , stepped down as USM HC after a 20-13 season and will become an assistant for Hoiberg at Nebraska

june 25

 Ryan Woolridge, a grad transfer from #NorthTexas, announced he will play his final season of eligibility for #gonzaga.  He was injured all of last season.

AAC 2018-19 HOOP Predictions

1. Houston: Corey Davis Jr-it's your time.
2. Cincinnati minus Clark but the Bearcats are still solid. #jarroncumberland 's time
3. Memphis- Coach Hardaway here we go !
4. UCF- Will Coach Dawkins finally get the Knights in gear
5. UConn- Hurley-time . Is #jalenadams another Kemba?
6. Wichita State- A bit of a shock as they need to replace eight players who played in 30 games last season
7. Tulsa- Coach Haith- where's the D?
8. Tulane- Can Coach Dunleavy summon up some D?
9. SMU- off to a shaky start
10. Temple- Rebounders please apply
11. East Carolina-  Freshmen Center Roci Quinton may help them climb out of the cellar.
12. South Florida- David Collins scored 21 in a narrow loss to Georgetown. Maybe there will a Bulls rush?

dec 9, 2018

#tulsa hung on last night for a 47-46 win over #16 KSt. Earlier in the week they beat OK St giving them a 2-0 week over the Big 12. Houston beat OkSt last night, but Oklahoma (B12) pounded Wichita St.

dec 21, 2018

#houston is 11-0. Last night they beat Utah St  (MWC) 60-50 in matchup that doesn't occur often. Cincy (9-2) will probably be the Cougars toughest foe when AAC  starts soon. Bearcats lost to Miss St then crushed UCLA this week.

jan 6, 2019

 Aubrey Dawkins scored  23 points to lead UCF over UConn. Curran Scott hit a trey as the buzzer sounded giving Tulsa a 78-75 victory over USF.  And, I had to read this one a few times, Obasohan's last-second block on Saturday helped #ecu hold off Cincy 73-71

jan 10, 2019

Some of my cellar picks are playing well.  #quintonrose (22 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led Temple over over Houston and USF beat Tulane.

Jan 17, 2019

Both head coaches got tossed in Tulsa's win over Uconn. Wichita St got by UCF for it's first AAC win . Houston and Temple  moved to 4-1 in AAC play with wins over respectively, SMU and ECU.

Jan 28, 2019

My pre-season top 3 are doing  ok. Cincy came back to beat Temple  while Houston beat Tulsa to keep them tied for first at 7-1. Memphis moved to 5-2 pounding UCF.

feb 3, 2019

Cincy moved to 8-1 in AAC play with a 73-68 win over SMU. #JarronCumberland scored 24 points for the victors.Temple (6-3) stay in contention with a 75-67 win over Tulane.

feb 8

Houston  beat  Memphis 69-64 and Cincy beat UCF(6-3) to remain tied for first at 9-1 in the AAC.  David Collins hit two  3-pointers in the final 72 seconds for USF in its win over SMU.

feb 11

Houston(10-1) held Cincy (9-2) to 33% FG shooting in  a 65-58 win. Aubrey Dawkins scored 26 points for Central Florida(7-3) in a 71-65 win over SMU. USF (7-4) beat ECU in OT.

feb 15

D. JARREAU (18 PTS, 3REB, 7 AST) led Houston to a win over UConn while Tulsa pounded Tulane. Top four teams get a rd1 bye in AACT.

Houston    11 1 .
Cincinnati    9 2
UCF 8 3
Temple 8 4
South Florida  7 5
Memphis  7 5
Wichita St. 5  6
Tulsa     5 7 .
Connecticut 4 8
SMU     4 8
East Carolina 2-10
Tulane     0 11 

feb 20 

Houston 12- 1 .Cincinnati 10- 2 UCF 9 3 Temple 9 4.My gut says the AAC IS ONLY GETTING THREE dance tickets and Houston and Cincy are in regardless of AACT results

FEB 24

UConn made a he!! of a late run at Cnncy but lost 64-60  and UCF pounded SMU 95-48. Meanwhile Memphis has moved up to bubble status for the Dance.
Houston    13 1 .Cincinnati    12 2 UCF 10-4 Temple 10 4 Memphis  9-6 South Florida  7-7

feb 28

Top three teams won. Cincy(13-2) barely survived SMU 52-49 while Houston(14-1) rolled over ECU 99-65. UCF(11-4) got 18 points from Fall in a 75-63 win over USF.

March 3

UCF (22-6, 12-4 American) moved a step closer to a dance ticket with a 69-64 win over # 8 Houston.  Collin Smith had a solid night for UCF: 21 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST. # 24 Cincy beat Memphis(18-12, 10-7 American) 71-69.

March 8

BJ Taylor(22 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led UCF to a big 58-55 win over Cincy while Houston beat SMU. I think Temple , a winner over UConn, is still on the bubble while UCF earned a Dance ticket last night. Houston   15-2 .Cincinnati    14-3 UCF 13-4 Temple 12-5 

March 17

Memphis gave Houston a battle but fell while Cincy beat Wichita St setting up today's AACT title game. 
Temple remains on the bubble and UCF should get in the Dance.
March 17 evening
Great game from Cumberland in Cincy's stunner over HU. UCF got in and Temple plays Belmont in a play-in game

March 25

  #AAC has had a decent post-season. Houston advanced to the Sweet 16 and UCF was a tip-in away from beating Duke to make the 16. Cincy's rd1 loss was surprising and Temple's play-in loss to Belmont wasn't. Wichita St beat Clemson to make the final 8 of the NIT.
April 1: Depaul lost game 1 to USF 83-81 in the best of CBI final series three series.


Eli Cain DEP - G 19 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST


David Collins USF - G 23 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST


April 3: Wichita St lost to Lipscomb 71-64 in the NIT. D Dennis led the Shockers with 13 points


aPRIL 4: #depaul survived some sloppy play at the end of regulation to defeat USF 100-96 in OT. Paul Reed was big for the Blue Demons ( 28 PTS, 16 REB, 2 AST), usf (aac) PLAYS GAME 3 ON THE ROAD IN cHICAGO - Big move by Houston:  Kelvin Sampson  signed a 6yr, 18m contract extension to remain with the Cougars through the 2024-25 season. He  had been the primary candidate for the Arkansas job.
april 6  DePaul played sloppy ball in stretches and lost  77-65 at home to USF(AAC) in the final game of the 2019 CBI.  David Collins led the Bulls with 19 points.
 

april 10

 Here's some potential candidates to replace Cronin: Matt McMahon, Murray State head coach. Erik Martin, former Bearcat and assistant on Huggy's staff. Darren Savino, associate head coach for UC since 2010. John Brannen, Northern Kentucky University HC. And then there's Nick van Exel former Bearcat star and an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies (NBA).

april 15

Cincy didn't look to far to replace Cronin.  #JohnBrannen had been the Northern Kentucky HC for four seasons, leading the Norse to two NCAA Dances and two regular-season Horizon League titles over the past three seasons.

May 1

 SEC and AAC have agreed to a scheduling alliance in men's basketball beginning in the 2019-20 season.  Four schools from each conference will participate in two-year, home-and-home series,and no matchups have been scheduled yet. How about Houston/LSU ?
Aug 14- Follow-up on Kevin Ollie The arbitrator in the dispute between UConn and Kevin Ollie has ruled that the former basketball coach is protected by a union contract. UConn argument that Ollie’s personal contract superseded the union deal has been nixed and its case has become tougher.

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Week 13 O5 Impact games

MWC- I picked Utah St (10-1, 7-0 MW)to win the conference in my pre-season blog and they'll survive at Boise St (9-2, 6-1 MW)  to win the Mountain division . Brett Rypien  BSU (263-384, 3270 YDS, 28 TD ) has some impressive stats, but look for Jordon Love, the Ags,QB, to rise to the occasion  on the Boise blue turf.
AAC- Memphis O has been smoking and they'll cut down the King-less Cougars to tie Houston for AACW.
MAC- Ragland's  RedHawks will  edge Ball St and move Miami O  into a possible tie with Buffalo for the East depending on the Buff/BGSU game  outcome.
CUSA: #herd travels to FIU with a chance to tie  for the East.  Herd D vs FIO O. Home team win 27-26
Sunbelt- Troy travels to APPSt with a chance to win the East outright. Treoy relied on FGs to beat TX St last Saturday. APP St has a solid rushing attack anchored by Darrynton Evans. Topsy--turvy league. My guess is Troy 19 App St 17

Nov 22, 2018

#AlonzoSmith  M-OH (18 CAR, 207 YDS, 3 TD) in a big 42-21 win over Ball St. Ragland rushed for 2 TDs and tossed one TD pass.  Red Hawks  six wins  are in conference play (6-6, 6-2 MAC)

Nov 24

Nailed the Memphis pick. Memphis  scored 21 while shutting out Houston in the fourth quarter of 52-31 win.
Nov 25, 2018.
I lost my last three picks  of the batch. #herd 28 FIU 25 , Nice rushing average from Knox 19 carries for for 110 yards, and Brady caught two TD passes while the MU D made FIU settle for field goals early. FIU loss enabled MTSU to make the CUSA title game against UAB.
QBs, Rypien (BSU) and Love (USU) ,had solid games but Mattison (BSU) rushed for the 200 yards  and 3TDs. BSU 33 USU 24.  BSU face Fresno St in the MWC title game
Zac Thomas tosses 2 TD passes in their 21-10 win over Troy and they'll face ULL in the Sunbelt title game
MAC title game: Buffalo/NIU

MWC 2018/19 Hoops hunches

Southwestern USA Journalists think highly of these kids:
Preseason PoY: G Caleb Martin, Sr., Nevada
Preseason Star Freshman: F/C Jordan Brown, Fr., Nevada
Preseason Newcomer  F Vance Jackson, So., New Mexico

Nevada Wolf Pack: Coach Musselman has the tools
UNLV Rebels- Rebs will surprise some folks.  Keep your eyes on Shakur Juiston
San Diego State Aztecs got into gear late last season so watch out in January.
New Mexico Lobos- Buckeye transfer JaQuan Lyle will give the Lobos a lift
Colorado State Rams_ Kendie Moore can score but coach Medved  will take some time getting  the Rams in gear
Utah State Aggies may rely too much on treys
Boise State Broncos iareusually solid but could slip a bit this season
Fresno State Bulldogs new coach will lean on guard play, defense
Wyoming Cowboys- Justin James is the key
Air Force Falcons will struggle to get to the middle of the MWC standings
San José St Spartans- Rough OOC start doesn't bode well.

Dec 8, 2018

#mussbus J Caroline scored 16 points for #6 Nevada  in a comeback win over #25 Ariz St last night, but it's way to early to talk about an undefeated season. They travel to Utah (Pac12) on Dec 29, and have to face tough conference  foes, Utah, St and Fresno St twice.
After a bad loss to NMST (WAC) .New mexico lost to St Mary's (WCC) 85-60 last night.

Jan 3, 2019

#nevada opened MWC conference play with Jordan Caroline  (15 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST) leading the Wolfpack over Utah St. UNM beat AFA, Boise beat Wyoming, UNLV edged Col.St and Fresno St beat SJST

Jan 10, 2019

#nevada took out it anger for getting crushed by New Mexico over the weekend and pounded SJST 92-53. Braxton Higgins scored 33 points for Fresno St in a 78-77 win over Utah St. 

jan 13, 2019

More jagged mountain hoops as UNM, who crushed Nevada a week ago, fell to Col St 91-76 yesterday. Meanwhile Nevada is back in stride getting a big win over Fresno St. Caleb Martin had 27 for the #mussbus. Boise St and Utah St won while SDST lost a headscratcher 62-48 to AFA.

jan 16, 2019

Caleb Martin hit a trey at the buzzer for Nevada to outlast Boise St 72-71. SDST recovered from the AFA loss by pounding UNM 97-77 

jan 17, 2019

AFA 106 INLV 88 . I never thought the airmen could find so much  firepower on the court. Ryan Swan scored 22 for AFA..
Utah St beat SJST

Jan 20, 2019

Nevada brought AFA down from its lofty scoring games with 67-52 win . Fresno keeps rolling with a big 63-53 win over Boise St.. Utah St got a big won over Col St.

Nevada 5-1

Fresno St 4-1

UNLV4-1

Utah St4-2

Boise St 3-2

Blowout I didn't expect: UNLV 94 SJST 56 . UNLV 83 Wyo 56

Jan 23, 2019 

Air Force surprised Boise St 74-60.  Fresno and UNLV  defeated respectively, SDST and New Nexico.
Nevada 5-1 Fresno St 5-1 UNLV 5-1
Utah St 4-2 Boise St 3-3

feb 3

Top dogs in MWC : Nevada (8-1)  blew out Boise St.  Utah St (7-2) Sam Merrill had 20 points and five assists in an easy win over UNLV. Fresno St (7-2) #NateGrimes matched  19 points, 19rebounds in a win over UNM.

FEB 7

#mussbus stayed on track with a 98-82 win over Colorado St last night. Jordan Caroline (40 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST) led Nevada (22-1, 9-1 MW) to the victory. AFA beat Wyoming and UNLV beat Boise St.

Nevada 9-1

Utah St 8-2   Fresno St 7-3

Feb 10

 #mussbus got revenge for it's only conference loss by pummeling UNM 91-62. #boise st took out some of its frustration for a mediocre season by clobbering San Jose St 105-57. Fresno St beat UNLV to move into a tie for second place with Utah St who lost to SDST.

feb 14

Fresno St  and Utah St gained a half game on idle Nevada with wins over respectively, Boise and Wyoming. UNM crushed SJSt.

feb 17

SDST(8-4) is making a late season rally and looked solid in a win over Boise St yesterday.   #DevinWatson paced San Diego State with 19 points. Fresno St and Utah St  each won and are tied for second with 10-3 records. #mussbus (11-1) roared past Wyoming 82-49 

feb 21

#mussbus gets diverted:  Devin Watson (15 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST) led SDST(9-4) to a 65-57 win over nevada(11-2). Fresno St(10-4)  was upset by AFA and Utah St(11-3)moved to within a game of Nevad with a 71-55 win over UNM. Queta scored 23 for Utah St.

feb 24

#mussbus got back into gear holding off Fresno St(10-5). AFA(7-8) and  SDST(10-4) remained hot with wins respectively over SJST(0-14) and UNLV(9-6). Utah St(12-3) beat Boise St (6-8) and remains a half game behind Nevada (12-2)

feb 27

 Quinn Taylor(13 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST) helped Utah St cool down SDST  70-54 . Noah Bauman (26 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) helped SJST  defeat UNM 89-82 for its first MWC victory this season.

march 3

How about that? Utah St(14-3) beat Nevada(13-3) 81-76 to move into first place by half a game.  Tre'Shawn Thurman (Nevada) 21 PTS, 10 REB, 3 STL . Sam Merrill(Utah St) 29 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST. Nevada  travels to AFA who moved to 8-8 in MWC play with a win over Wyoming  yesterday and hosts SDST(11-5) who beat SJST  yesterday.  USU is at Colorado St(7-9) who lost to UNM (6-10) yesterday.

march 6

 #SamMerrill scored 38 points for Utah St(15-3) in an OT win over Colorado St that guarantees them at least a tie for the MWC regular season title. Nevada(14-3) beat AFA and needs a win over SDST on Saturday for a share of the MWC title.

march 10

Caleb Martin (25 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST) led the #mussbus to an 81-53 win over SDST which gave  Nevada a tie for the MWC regular season title with Utah St at 15-3.

March 15

Boise put quite a scare into Nevada before the Wolfpack put them way in the final three minutes.. It took UTah St  about half a game to figure out the UNM press. Nev 77-Boise 69. Utah St 91 UNM 83. Fresno St  76 AFA 50. sdst 63 unlv 55.

March 16

#mussbus gets a flat and loses to SDST who faces Utah St , a winner over Fresno St, in the MWCT final. If SDST wins , I don't see the committee inviting UTah St and  giving three slots to the MWC.

March 17

 #samMerrill scored 24 points, hitting 11 of 12 from the charity stripe and earning MWCT MVP honors, in Utah State's 64-57 win over a pesky SDST Aztecs squad. Nevada will likely get an at large bid. I picked Utah st to finish second in my pre-season ratings,

april 7

 #MarvinMenzies three-year tenure as the head coach at UNLV is over, and South Dakota State head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who  led SDak  to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, is in.  That's some different turf to recruit.

april 8

#mussbus is leaving Nevada on its way to Arkansas

april 12

#stevealford will replace the #mussbus at Nevada. He coached at New Mexico (MWC) before his his UCLA gig.
May 30: good news for Utah St:  #Queta  , the 6'11 center (11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game), is coming back  and will hook up with  #SamMerrill, the reigning MWC player of the year.

June 21 , 2019

A couple of MWC players were drafted in rd2 of the NBA draft. Cody Martin (Nevada ) and Jalen McDaniels (San Diego St) went to the Hornets. Justin James (Wyoming) went to the Kings.

 

Week 12 O5 impact games

AAC:  Cincy will find a way to slow down McKenzie and win on the road at UCF.  I expect  another big rushing game from the Bearcats Michael Warren II. Half expecting the Green Wave of  Tulane to upset Houston and move into first in  AACW- I couldn't resist  two hunches .
CUSA: A lot of  non-conference games this week so I'll go with J'Mar Smith to toss a few TD passes for La Tech at USM
MAC: #niu  D will hold off  the hard to gauge Ragland bunch from Miami (Ohio) in a low scorer.
MWC:  It's now or never for the erratic SDST  Aztecs who won't win at Fresno.  Look for  McMaryion to step up his play a and toss a few TDs for fresno.
Sunbelt:  Caleb Evans and the ULM Warhawks will  win a nailbiter at Ark St and increase their lead in West.

Nov 15, 2018

Those erratic Redhawks proved me wrong with its D getting a pick 6 in 13-7 win over NIU . NIU retained a two game lead in the West, thanks to the WMU loss to Ball St.  Ohio blew out East leader Buffalo and is tied with Miami O for second in the East.

Nov 16

Tulane hung with Houston for one quarter then the Cougars  cut down the Green Wave for a 48-17 win. Another wrong pick.  On a side note NTX edged FAU 41-38  in CUSA play.

Nov 17

Memphis (4-3) beat #smu and has a shot at the West  as it faces Houston (5-2) next week. Yep, that's an obvious choice for next week's blog

Nov 18

Really thought Cincy would do better than losing to UCF 38-13. Fresno D blanked the Aztecs in the second half of a 23-14 win (my only correct picks). And I was wrong on #usm again. #stevenanderson rushed for a late USM TD in their 21-20 win over La Tech.

WAC Hoops 2018/19 hunches

In my hip pocket I had a slip of  dusty paper  that said #NMST and #grandcanyon would be the teams to beat in the  #wac. GC lost to SDak St  while NMST handled N Dak SDt easily in Summit League /WAC challenge . UMKC  and Seattle got crushed by respectively, Loyola ( ILL) and Stanford.


NM State:  AJ Harris had five assists  in a win over UTEP and should have move per game as the season progresses and the Aggies try to repeat as conference champions.
Grand Canyon: T Dreschel  and C Johnson each at 17 ppg so far
Utah Valley- Toolson  18 ppg
Seattle U: Carter 7.5 RBG
CSU Bakersfield: Joiner 14 PPG
California Baptist: M Acquaah  22 ppg so far. Pirog 4 BLKG
UT Rio Grande Valley- Varner & Winn at 16 PPG so far
UM Kansas City: Mckissic 14.5 PPG
Chicago State: C Jacob  is at 8.7 RBG after three losses against IU, ND, and CMU

Nov 17, 2018

Wake up WAC: Cal Baptist is playing well in it's first 1A season. They beat Oral Roberts (Summit) a few days ago  and took Tulsa (AAC) to the final seconds before losing. #MilanAcquaah led Cal Baptist with 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

Dec 7, 2018

New Mexico (MWC) head coach #PaulWeir , who left NMST HC job in 2017 for the NM job,  apologizied for the actions of some of his players in a pre-game skirmish at rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces. JoJo Zamora tossed in 27 points and Ivan Aurrecoechea scored  23 with 11 rebounds in the NMST blowout of NM 100-65.The Aggies are 2-0 against the Lobos this season and also have OOC wins against Wash St (Pac12) and UTEP (CUSA).

dec 9

#IvanAurrecoechea  (14 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST) but Zamora's last second trey attempt  bounced off the rim in New MexicoSt  loss to #2 Kansas.
dec 22
 #ChicagoSt got crushed by local neighbor  #Depaul last week and are 0-17 in this matchup which won't help recruiting. #seattleu is having a decent December including playing UW tough before falling 70-62.

jan 4, 2019

#Acquaah (36pts, 7 reb 1 asst) led Cal Baptist upset over NMST , the top dog in the WAC. Bakersfield beat Seattle. Irvine beat UTRG. Grand Canyon beat UVU.

jan 6, 2019

UTRG outscored Cal Baptist 53-34 in the second half for 81-74 win. Bakersfield beat UVU. Grand Canyon beat Seattle. And #ChicagoSt showed some improvement by staying close to #UMKC  but its 15 turnovers cost them dearly in an 80-72 loss.
jan 12, 2019: Perhaps there is a changing of the guard in the WAC as  CSU Bakersfield is 3-0 in conference play with wins over Seattle, UVU, and UTRG. Joiner, Durham, and Holden are each averaging about 12 ppg

jan 21,2019

It's not a great sign that CSUB(13-6, 5-1 WAC) had to rally beat Chicago State 86-73 (0-4 WAC) Saturday to remain tied with Grand Canyon , who beat UMKC, for first in the Wac.

Jan 25

CSUB (6-1)  beat Cal Baptist 85-81 to stay atop the WAC. Seattle (1-5) climbed out the basement with a win over Chicago St (0-5) .UVU beat UMKC.

Jan 27

NMST edged UTRGV 63-61 to stay within a half game of  first place Grand Canyon (6-1) a winner over Cal Baptist yesterday.  #XavierBishop scored 22 points and UMKC (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 63-54 win over Seattle, who remains a half game  ahead of cellar dweller Chicago St, a loser to UVU.

feb 8

Cal Baptist (4-5 WAC) beat  Chicago St by 50  , 94-44.  NMST (9-1) edged Bakersfield by 1 to stay in first. #TysonSmith scored 21 points for UTRGV in its win over Grand Canyon (7-2)

feb 15

NMST moved to 10-1 in WAC play with a win over UVU(5-4). UMKC  beat GC(7-4). Chicago St (0-11) lost to Bakersfield while Seattle (1-10) lost to UTRGV(7-4)

feb 22

Damari Milstead and Oscar Frayer scored 18 points apiece  Grand Canyon's(9-4) 91-58 rout of Cal Baptist(5-6) .Jake Toolson had 25 points for  Utah Valley in a 103-71 blowout of Chicago State(0-12). UMKC (5-7) lost to Seattle(2-9)

march 1

NMST  (25-4, 13-1 WAC) crushed UMKC (10-19, 5-9 WAC) amd Cal Baptist(15-12, 6-7 WAC) fell to Seattle(16-13, 4-10 WAC). Hey but Chicago St (3-26, 0-14 WAC) came darn close to a win in an 82-77 loss to UTRGV(17-14, 8-6 WAC). Travon Bell posted solid numbers for Chicago St:26 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST

march 3

Is Utah Valley(21-8, 10-4 WAC) a team to watch in WACT ? #BayleeSteele recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds for UVU in a 64-63 win over Cal Baptist to move into a tie forsecond with Grand Canyon, a 73-69 winner over Bakersfield.

march 15

No surprises in rd 1 of the WACT. NMST crushed Chicago St. UTRG beat Bakersfield. UVU over UMKC.  Carlos Johnson scored 31 points in Grand Canyon's  84-75 win over Seattle.

march 16

 CBU had to wait out its transition period. If they were going by record, Chicago St, the perennial WAC cellar dweller, was winless, and would have been sidelined. Dan Majerle has Grand Canyon back in the WAC final against NMST.

march 17

#TrevelinQueen (27 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST) led #NMST to a blowout victory over Grand Canyon in the WACT final.

March 19

NewMexico St faces Auburn , ahot team who just won the SECT. Ags may not move past rd1 of the Dance.

March 21

Tough night for the WAC in the CBI. Grand Canyon lost to West Virginia, and Cal Baptist made a nice second half comeback but fell 56-55 to Loyola marymount.

march 22

 Harris passed on an open layup and fed Terrell Brown for a trey. Brown was fouled but missed two of three free throws with 1.1 seconds left, and New Mexico State fell 78-77 to Auburn. What a roll of the dice.

april 7 2019

 Kareem Richardson, the only coach that has taken #UMKC to the postseason. is out and Billy Donlon, who was head coach at Wright State (Horizon) from 2010-16, is in was named UMKC He has spent time on staffs at Northwestern and Michigan which may help in recruiting in the Midwest.

april 11

I heard the rumors but remain mildly surprised that BYU(WCC)  hired a #WAC coach, #MarkPope from Utah Valley . His Wolverines went 77-56 overall in four seasons, including a 34-24 record in the WAC.

april 15

#markMadsen  hired as UVU Head Coach. His resume:six seasons on the Lakers staff, a year as the Lakers G League head coach, and a season as an assistant coach at Stanford.
 May 31: MILAN ACQUAAH, California Baptist- smart move not leaving for the 2019 NBA draft. He was decent on a so -so team.

july 3

 #grandcanyon Head coach Dan Majerle landed  Jaylen Fisher, an impact transfer from TCU
july 8-some history-  Utah Valley, UTPA and Chicago State  came from the Great West. Texas Pan- American merged into UTRGV. Chicago St won the last  Great West tourney in 2013.

Week 11 O5 impact games

Picking the hot team usually backfires in the Sunbelt , but I'll go with Troy behind the running of  B J Smith (138 CAR, 860 YDS, 10 TD) in a squeaker at Ga Southern on Saturday.
MAC: #NIU is 5-0 in MAC play and will ride Childers arm to a home win over Toledo.
MWC: Brett Rypien  Boise St (222-328, 2779 YDS, 24 TD)  host a Fresno St D that has only given up 36 points in  five conference games this season. Who bends?  Fresno 20 BSU 19
CUSA: Southern Miss is coming off a narrow win over the #herd and will stumble a bit at UAB. Spencer Brown has a big rushing day for the Blazers.
AAC: I'm not seeing USF recovering from it's bad loss to #tulane. Cincy's D will contain the Bulls in a 24 16 win
___
Nov 8: Childers scored two rushing TDs and tossed  one in the #NIU 38-15 blowout of Toledo. Also Miami O edged Ohio and Buffalo rolled Kent St.
Nov 10: I was wrong as  the Fresno D couldn't handle #AlexanderMattison 
(30 CAR, 144 YDS, 2 TD)  and Rypien (269 yards passing, TD) in a 24-17 loss to Boise St. BSU moved to within a half of game USU, who they face in two weeks, in thne MWCM.
Nov 11: Werts was involved in all three Ga Southern TDs, but that wasn't enough as #troy rolled to a 35-21 win. #spencerbrown  scored on a 17 yard TD run in OT in UAB's 26-23 win. #michaelwarrenII rushed 154 yards and three TDs in Cincy's 35-21 win over USF.  4-1 for the weekend.
Surprises in the standings: SMU tied for first with Houston in the AACW. NTex-3rd in the CUSAW. Akron descendingtoward the MACE cellar. SDST falls into a tie for 2nd in the MWCW after being upset by UNLV yesterday. ULM atop the Sunbelt West.