Chi-town area Saturday (Jan 13) hoops

Last weekend I watched St Johns beat Georgetown in OT as two 80's stars now head coaches,  Chris Mullen and Patrick Ewing, are trying to revive their programs and rivalry games. Yesterday, DePaul((10-5, 2-2 Big East) which hasn't had much success since the Meyer/Aguirre days of the 80s beat the Johnnies behind #FemiOlujobi (27 PTS, 8 REB, 2 STL). GTown got 33 points from Govan in an OT win over Providence.
Last season's Madness Cinderella Loyola-Chicago held off Illinois State 67-64 with Marques Townes scoring 21 points.- in an MVC matchup . Also in MVC play SIU lost Valpraiso 65-61.
WAC doormat, Chicago St, is showing signs of recovery as they nearly took down Cal Baptist but fell 77-75 despite   (24 PTS, 9 REB, 2 STL) from #AnthonyHarris . 
UIC (Horizon) hit 17 treys in a 73-56 win over Cleveland St.
 St Louis (12-4, 3-0 A 10) got a solid game from Goodwin (12 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST) in a 71-64 win over LaSalle.

jan 17, 2019

#depaul  fell back to earth as Butler outscored them 51-29 in the second half.  Butler 87 Depaul 69. Ill St hung on Tuesday night for a 59-58 win over SIU in MVC play.
Northwestern's loss to Michigan on Sunday left them at 1-5 in B10 play.
Jordan Goodwin scored 20 points in the Saint Louis (4-0 in A10) win over Fordham 63-60 on Tuesday night.

Jan 19,2019

NW looked ragged but broke a two game losing streak with a 65-57 win over Rutgers.   St Louis won its sixth straight as Dion Wiley and Javon Bess scored 20 points apiece in a 68-57 St Louis(14-4, 5-0 A 10) win over St Joseph. Travis Ford , who was fired from OK St, is in his third season as HC. ST Louis exited the CUSA in 2005 for the Atlantic 10 , and I still feel like it wa san odd geographical move.

Jan 20, 2019

Loyola-Chicago  (12-7, 5-1 MVC) led by Cameron Krutwig 16 points and 10 rebounds spoiled Indiana St  celebration of the 1979 "Bird" team. L-C 75 ISU 67. Milik Yarbrough scored 27 points to lead Illinois State (4-2 MVC) over Evansville 78-70. Max Strus scored 22 points in DePaul's 67-63 (3-3 Big East) win over Seton Hall.

Jan 24, 2019

Tough night for Chicago's Catholic  teams: Depaul lost to Marquette  and Loyola- Chicago was pounded  70-35 by Missouri St.. #CameronKrutwig scored 15 of L-C 35 points.  Saint Louis

(14-5, 5-1 A 10) lost to Duquesne in A10 play.

Jan 28

 Cameron Krutwig scored 22 points in L-C (6-2 MVC)  75-50 win over SIU and took over the MVC top spot. Depaul lost to Providence and Northwestern was pounded by Wisconsin.

jAN 30

Terps got healthy beating up Northwestern last night. Fernando had a great night. DePaul
(11-8, 3-5 Big East) hosts a hot Villanova (16-4, 7-0 Big East) team tonight.

Jan 31, 2019

Depaul lost to Nova 86-74 and descended toward its old spot in the Big East cellar.Cameron Krutwig
(22 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST) led Loyola of Chicago to big  61-60 win over N.Iowa in MVC action. St Louis was upset by Richmond in A10 action.

Feb 2

 Marcus Ottey and Tarkus Ferguson scored 17 points each and Illinois-Chicago (5-5 Horizon) beat Wright State (6-4 Horizon) 67-53. Northern Kentucky Norse sits atop the Horizon with an 8-2 record

feb 3

#PaulJorgensen scored the game-winning basket on a goal-tending call in Butler's win over Seton Hall, and Depaul beat Providence in Chicago area Big East action. Yarbrough scored 21 in Illinois St. victory over Loyola-Chicago 65-57 that left both teams at 7-3 in the MVC. Illinois beat Nebraska and continuing its  climb out the B10 basement . #ChicagoSt  (3-20, 0-8 WAC), one of the worst teams in 1a hoops was beaten 83-39 by N Mex St.

feb 4

 #TarkusFerguson had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the UIC  69-67win over Northern Kentucky, the Horizon leader.

feb 5

#Northwestern (3-8) lost it's third game in a row and moves closer to joining Penn St (1-10) in the B10 cellar. Penn St 59 NW 52 

feb 6

90 miles from Chicago ,  #10 Marquette  was upset by  a St Johns' team who was just blown out by Duke. Ponds led the Johnnies with 28 points.  Illinois upset #9 Sparty. NIU was edged 73-72 by Ball St in MAC play. In MVC action Ill St lost 53-69 to Valparaiso and
M. Townes LOY CHI (32 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST) led  the Ramblers in a blowout of Drake.

feb 10

 Markus Howard (38 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST) led #Marquette (9-2 BE) to a big 66-65 win over Nova(10-1) while Paul Reed (15 PTS, 8 REB, 2 STL) led #Depaul (5-6) out of the Big East cellar win a win over Xavier. Marcus Ottey  scored the winning layup with 26 seconds to lead #UIC (7-5) to to its third Horizon win in a row.   Giorgi Bezhanishvili (35 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST) led  #illinois to a win  over Rutgers, its fourth win in the last five B10 games.

feb 11

Northwestern blew a huge lead to Iowa and lost 80-79/ In MVC play Townes scored 18 for  Loyola-Chicago (9-3) in its win over Valparaiso and Jarred Dixon banked in a half-court shot just before the final buzzer as Missouri St edged Illinois St 66-65.

feb 13

#marquette pounded depaul  Markus Howard (36 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST) had another huge night for Marquette. Butler lost to St Johns (18-7, 6-6 Big East) I'm guessing the Big East gets five dance tickets so the Johnnies needed this one . #siu lost to Drake in MVC play.

feb 14

Northwestern lost to Rutgers .and is down in B10 basement with Penn St. Javon Bess had 26 points as Saint Louis (A10) topped Gw 73-58. In MVC play Loyola of Chicago fell to Bradley while Missouri St beat Evansville, and N. Iowa beat ILL St. L-c (9-4) has a one game lead over Drake  and Missouri St in the MVC.

feb 17

UIC lost  81-73 to Youngstown St who were led by #DariusQuisneberry 's 37 points in an Horizon matchup.Tough night for other Chi-town teams: NW lost to Nebraska and Depaul lost to Butler. In MVC play Loyola of Chicago lost to Bradley while SIU beat Indiana St. A little further away St Louis defeated La Salle 62-49 behind Tramaine Isabell's  23 points and 10 rebounds.

feb 18

 Tulio Da Silva  (16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks) led Missouri State(9-5) to a 65-61 win over Loyola of Chicago (9-5)  and moved into a three way tie for first in the MVC with L-C and Drake.

Feb 21

Marques Townes had 21 points as Loyola of Chicago (10-5-MVC) defeated Evansville 70-58. Ill St (7-8)lost to Indiana St(6-9) and  SIU(7-8) lost to Valparaiso. Depaul (5-9) lost to Creighton(5-9) and is back in the Big East cellar

Feb 23

In Horizon league play #UIC (8-7) was nipped by Green Bay (9-6) 63-62 . Sandy Cohen III had 20 points for GB, who moved to with two games  of N. Kentucky and Wright St , both 11-4.

Feb 24

In MVC play  L_C lost to  SIU(8-8) to and remains in a three way (10-6) tie for first with Drake and Missouri St. In Horizon play Godwin Boahen had 22 points for UIC in a 74-59 win Milwaukee.

feb 28

Marques Townes registered 16 points and eight rebounds for Loyola of Chicago in a one point over UNI that kept them tied with Drake, a winner over Indiana St., for first .in the MVC. Missouri St  fell to second with a loss to Ill St. SIU beat Evansville.
Paul Reed registered 16 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST for DePaul in its loss to GTown

march 3

Are the L-C "Nuns"  gearing up for another Dance visit? #MarquesTownes had 26 points as Loyola-Chicago topped Bradley 81-68  to win a share of the MVC regular-season title with #drake , a 73-62 winner over Missouri St. In Horizon play Tarkus Ferguson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, his seventh double-double this season, for #UIC(10-8)  who rallied  to beat Detroit 80-71, but don't have a chance of catching N.Kentucky.

march 6

#UIC fell 82-77 to Green Bay in rd1 of the HorizonT.  Ferguson had 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists for UIC

march 7

 #depaul 101-69 blowout of Georgetown ended the Hoyas' slim Dance chance unless GT wins the Big East tournament.

march 8

 MVCT: Loyola Chicago faces Valparaiso who beat Indiana St last night while Drake gets Illinois St, a winner over Evansville.

March 9

Sister Jean's team, Loyola of Chicago, moved a step closer to a return to the Dance with a 67-54 win over Valparaiso in the MVC quarterfinals and faces Bradley, a winner over Missouri St. The other matchup is Drake/Northern Iowa. #TremellMurphy had a season-high 26 points for Drake in a 78-62 win over  Illinois State while WyattLohaus scored 21 points for UNI in a 61-58 squeaker over SUI Southern Illinois 61-58.

March 10

  No. 1 seed Loyola-Chicago lost to Bradley and No. 2 seed Drake lost to NIU in the MVC semifinals. I'm not sure if  L_C loses a Dance ticket. St Louis lost to St Bonaventure in A10 PLAY. Depaul lost to Creighton and finished the season in a three way with Providence and Butler for the Big east cellar spot. Northwestern lost to Purdue  and sits alone in the B10 basement.

March 14

DePaul  fell 82-74 to a the Johnnies, who are desperate to get off the bubble. Eli Cain had solid night for the Blue Demons (23 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST).  Giorgi Bezhanishvili scored 26 points andTrent Frazier added 21for Illinois in a comeback win over Northwestern.

March 15

Another long season ends for Chicago St(3-29, 0-16 WAC) , an 86-49 loser to NMST in rd1 of the WACT.
March 20:Loyola of Chicago lost to Creighton in rd1 of the NIT. Another solid game for Krutwig.
March 21- Depaul scored 100 points in a CBI win over Central Michigan.

March 30, 2019

 Max Strus and Paul Reed scored 24 points apiece for the Blue Demons in 92-87 win over Coastal Carolina to advance to best 2 of 3 CBI final series against #USF (AAC)
April 1 Depaul lost game 1 to USF 83-81 in the best of three series.

Eli Cain DEP - G 19 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST
David Collins USF - G 23 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AS

April 4, 2019

#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)

april 6

DePaul played sloppy ball in stretches and lost  77-65 at home to USF in the final game of the 2019 CBI.

april 18

#portermoser, the Loyola of Chicago HC, has turned down job offers from UNLV and St Johns this off-season
july 24: #depaul 's  climb out of rough seasons may be ending. The Blue Demons were 19-17 last season , but  he NCAA suspended DePaul(Big East) men’s basketball coach Dave Leitao for three games next season and placed the team on  three years probations for various infractions.

 

New Year football notes in the state of West Virginia

  #danaholgorsen ,61-41 WVU record, is leaving WVU for Houston U (AAC)  to replace Applewhite as HC and will be the highest paid  Other 5  (Group of 5) coach at 5yr -20M . I guess it's all about the Benjamins because why would you leave a Power 5 job in which you've been moderately successful. WVU tied for third with Iowa St in the Big 12 this season.
#RichRodriguez, one time WVU HC, will be the next Ol Miss OC.

Marshall DC Adam Fuller is leaving the  #Herd to take the same gig at #memphis

He will replace Chris Ball who was was recently named head coach at Northern Arizona.

jan 4, 2019

WVU hires  Troy's #NealBrown , who's learned O from the same guys, Mumme & Leach, as Holgorsen did. Fickell , the Cincy U coach, was considered for the job, too, , but Tony Gibson , the WVU DC wasn't. Brown 's  2017 Troy squad upset LSU.

jan 14, 2019

#tonygibson will be the NC St safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator. He replaces Ted Roof, who left to become Appalachian State’s DC.
 jan 29, 2019
 USC hired #GrahamHarrell , North Texas OC, who also followed Kingsbury as a quarterback for Texas Tech and developed his coaching style in the  Mike Leach's Air Raid offense. I wonder who replaces Harrell at NTX. 

april 30, 2019

Boston’s #FenwayPark will host a new bowl game starting in 2020 featuring football teams from the ACC and AAC conferences.

May 29 2019

#MaxDurschlag, a long snapper,is leaving Appalachian St for South Carolina. he is coming on as a walk-on, so he'll be eligible to play immediately in 2019.

June 6 2019

jarrett Doege, QB, transfers from Bowling Green to WVU.  Doege's brother Seth played for Neal Brown, the new West Virginia head coach, when he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Tech from 2010-12

Oct 12 , 2019

Holgorsen is off to a rough if not terrible start (2-3) as  Houston's HC  with kids fleeing for the transfer portal. They host Cincy in the AAC opener today.
WVU is( 3-2, 1-1) but it's next three games are against Iowa St, OU, and Baylor.

August 21, 2021

I dug up an old blog just to chat about the MD/WVA opener @ College Park, MD, the Terps' home. West Virginia  28–22–2 leads the rivalry series which started in 1919 and has had several breaks. A lot of the rivalry is based on recruiting battles between neighboring states. The daily weather forecast for western MD is more like WV and Ohio than the rest of the state of MD. I'm calling this year's matchup a tossup because both teams are coming off so-so seasons. Starting  QBs: Tua's brother for the Terps and Jarret Doege for WV.

sept 1, 2021

#hoops They love Huggy in your state. He got a 2 year extension. Plus in 2024-25 season, he can choose to assume an appointment of at least two years in public relations and development along with other duties within the athletic department if he is no longer the coach. 

sept 21, 2021

WV hung on against VTech to take home the Black diamond trophy. If they hadn't, it would have been a brutal week for HC Neal Brown. They travel to Norman, OK this weekend for a b12 matchup.

sept 28, 2021

OK took a tumble in the polls after needing a last-second field goal to beat West Virginia 16-13. Who new WV could play D?

nov 1, 2021

 After blowout losses to Iowa State the past three seasons West Virginia beat ISU 38-31. 

In other B12 news, #GaryPatterson exits TCU immediately after 20 season despite being asked to finish the season. Jerry Kill will serve as interim HC. For those thinking about Cincy's post season hopes this season, his 2010 Horned Frogs(MWC), made history as the first team from a non-automatic qualifying conference to play in the Rose Bowl during the BCS era, and finished that season 13-0 edging Wisky(B10)  21-19.

Jan 15, 2022

 Todd Graham, who started his coaching career on Rich Rodriguez's staff at West Virginia as a linebackers coach in 2001, resigned as the HC of Hawaii(MWC). Rainbows' players were calling him a verbal abuser, a tyrant, and a hypocrite during a state senate hearing, but he'll get his buyout dollars.  Hey Hawaii, lotsa luck finding a HC who doesn't yell at his players. 

On a side note, I wonder if Rich Rod brings Graham to Jax St as it transitions to the CUSA. 

Jan 22, 2022

Maybe now we're seeing why Graham left town? June Jones rejected Hawaii's HC offer because he wouldn't have control over who was on his coaching staff.

Jan 23, 2022

Rainbows hired Tommy Chang, one of their former QBs to be their HC. He knows the MWC from working as a position coach at Nevada from 2017 to 2021 and had just started as an assistant with Colorado St.

April 13, 2022

JT Daniels transfers from GA to WV and reunites with Graham Harrell, the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at West Virginia. Harrell was the USC OC in 2019 when Daniels was the Trojans QB .

June 2, 2022

 LSU AD Scott Woodward about the back and forth between Saban and Jimbo

“I’m not going to get in between two hillbillies fightin’ from West Virginia. That’s a no-win situation,”

June 8, 2022

Jerry West,  Rod Thorn, and possibly Oscar Robertson will usher Huggy into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 during enshrinement weekend in September (Sept. 9-10).

Aug 17, 2022

Pretty wild how the SEC doesn't have official soccer. WVU /Herd Sept 24 soccer matchup. A year Marshall followed up a national championship season in 2020 by making the 2021 NCAA Tournament and losing in the opening round to Providence. Below is a Metro news poll. 

Dec 16, 2022

Purdue is set to hire Graham Harrell, West Virginia OC, as its OC, the first major move under new coach Ryan Walters, the former Illinois DC. 

May 9, 2023

Good think Huggy is in the HoF already. He's apologized for his radio comments about the Cincy/Xavier rivalry, but IMO it ain't that bad. 

"Any school(Xavier) that can throw rubber penises on the floor and then say they didn't do it, my God, they can get away with anything,"

Interviewer Cunningham then responded and said, "I think it was 'transgender night,' wasn't it?"

Huggins then said, "What it was, was all those fags, those Catholic fags, I think."

He then added: "They were envious they didn't have one,"

June 18, 2023

I tweeted this yesterday about Huggins: Did the sensitivity training lead to the DUI yesterday? I'm kidding!!! I'm ok with Huggy. 

Now it appears he may resign. 

July 9, 2023

Short version: Huggy's reps are claiming that his wife texted WVU that he was resigning, and that's not a formal resignation.  This is likely about $$$. Both sides need to put this to bed. Hey Huggy, I like you, but your time is over. Plus, now you don't have to serve time in WOKE re-training learning how to pretend you buy in to all its inanity.

April 15, 2024

looking back WVU: Adam Fuller has been the DC at FSU since 2020. Graham Harrell has been OC at Purdue since 2023.