Wacky WAC blog lands in 2021

 The WAC grabbed my attention in the early 90's, however it started in 1962 with these six-teams. Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.  It's most well known recent star is #PascalSiakham,  former #NMST player and budding NBA star with the Toronto Raptors. Grand Canyon  has moved to the top of the league this season, and new coach Bryce Drew has been a big reason  for their success. ASBJORN MIDTGAARD leads the team with a 14.6 ppg. Meanwhile  New Mexico St, the perennial league leader, has fallen to the middle of the pack.

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2019/11/wac-hoops-201920-hunches.html

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2018/11/wac-hoops-201819-hunches.html

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/07/pacific-northwest-hoops-chatter-in.html

march 7, 2021

 Tarleton (10-10, 5-7 WAC) has won its last three games but Coach Billy Gillispsie's squad will not get a chance to vie for a Dance ticket  WACT left Tarleton and Dixie St out because they are transitioning to 1A, and are ineligible for the Dance, but is moving forward with a six team tournament in Las Vegas.  Chicago State canceled their season. 

MARCH 12, 2021

Seattle beat Cal Baptist 83-66 and will face Grand Canyon while NMST beat UTRGV to face UVU. NMST. 3 seed NMST doesn't want to lose their annual hold on the WAC dance ticket.

March 14, 2021

Grand Canyon beat NMST in the WACT to make it to its first Dance and on the 23rd anniversary(3/13/98) of  their head coach, Bryce Drew, hitting a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for Valparaiso to beat 10th-ranked Mississippi in the Dance.

March 16, 2021

Grand Canyon faces Iowa in rd1 and have ASBJORN MIDTGAARD , a 7' center, but I don't know if he can handle Garza.

March 21, 2021

Both centers had solid games, but the Hawkeyes shot better as a team in 86-74 win over GC

A. Midtgaard GC(18 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST)

L. Garza IOWA(24 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST)

March 25, 2021

I missed this story in February. Lew Hill, the head men’s basketball coach at UTRGV(WAC), died at the age of 56,  after suffering through a variety of medical difficulties. He was an assistant on the Oklahoma staff that reached the F4 in 2016. They haven't hired a permanent replacement.

April 8, 2021

 #MattFigger, who compiled a 76-51 (.598) in four seasons at Austin Peay (OVC) ,is  the new men's basketball head coach at #UTRGV. For my buddies in Alabama he was an assistant at South Alabama (2003-07)

May 18, 2021

#WAC travel (Texas to Seattle ,WA) will get longer in 2022 with the addition of  four teams, Sam Houston, Abilene Christian, and Stephen F. Austin from the Southland Conference, and Southern Utah from the Big Sky. 

July 9, 2021

#FardawsAimaq ,the 6-11 Utah Valley(WAC) center who, averaged a double-double (13.9 ppg, 15.0 rpg) last season,  withdrew from the NBA Draft and will return to UVU for the 2021-22 season. Smart move!

July 10, 2021

Jeff Hurd, who helped bring Lamar University and three other Texas schools into the WAC for 2022, will step down as Commissioner at the end of this year. He joined the WAC in 1985 as Director of Conference Relations, then worked various jobs before taking over as commissioner in 2012. That 's a long stint in one conference.

Aug 8, 2021

Coach Billy Gillispsie's Tarleton St squad visits Kansas on Nov 9. The last time  he coached against KU was during the 2011/12  Big 12 season when he was HC at Texas Tech. Last year's matchup was canceled.  

WAC Officially Welcomes ‘Texas Four’ to Conference .  

Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin State University  

Aug 9

it doesn't  appear that WAC  football will be 1a soon , but they just formed a schedule  alliance with the ASUN . 

 New Mexico State, a WAC member competes as an FBS 1A football independent, IS WATCHING THIS CLOSELY.

 The invitations of membership stated that during the first year of  WAC membership, “football-playing institutions will commit to an analysis of all implications of a move to FBS.” 

 Oct 6, 2021

New Mexico St , whose favored by many to win the WAC despite Grand Canyon winning the WAC 2021 title has a nicer travel schedule with the new Texas teams in the conference this season.

 Jan. 13: vs. Tarleton

Jan. 15: vs. Abilene Christian

Jan. 20: @ Sam Houston State

Jan. 22: @ Stephen F. Austin

In OOC play they face  Washington St  of the Pac 12  this season. 

Chicago hoops, weak Depaul and more

 I've had a long distance interest in Chicago-area hoops since the Mark Aguirre/Ray Meyer days of the late 1970s when they were an Independent program.  In 1991 they joined the  Great Midwestern Conference then moved on to the CUSA from 1995 until to 2005 when they joined the Big East, and became basically cellar dwellers . Their last NCAA Dance appearance was in 2004 as a member of the CUSA.

Obviously most of the great Chicago city player have not chosen  to stay at home and play at DePaul, and what probably hurts a little more is that Loyola of Chicago (MVC) has become media darlings in the last few years.

Last night  LoC edged Valparaiso to stay in first in the MVC with Drake who beat UNI 77-69.

DePaul(3-10, 1-10 Big East) lost to Seton Hall 60-52.Pauly Paulicap had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the slumping Blue Deacons.

Some earlier blogs on the Chicago area hoops scene: https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2019/12/chi-town-area-pre-xmas-2019-hoops.html    https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2019/01/chi-town-area-saturday-jan-13-hoops.html

Feb 19, 2021

Depaul/Marquette rivalry goes back over 100 hundred years when both were usually Independents. BTW, McGuire owned Ray Meyer. from 1970-76.  Since the late 1990s  they've been in the same conference most of the time. Dwayne Wade played for Marquette when they were in the CUSA in the early 2000s.

Feb 27. 2021

 Loyola Chicago(20-4, 15-2 MVC) moves closer to a dance ticket with a 60-52 win over Southern Illinois

(11-12, 5-12 MVC). Regardless of what happens in the MVC tourney, I think they're in.

March, 8, 2021

Loyola of Chicago fed their big man Cameron Krutwig(20 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AS), and punched their Dance ticket with a 75-65 win over Drake in the MVCT final.

One of their starting forwards, ABAHER UGUAK, is from Edmonton, AB

March 11, 2021

Javon Freeman-Liberty and Charlie Moore each scored 21 points for  DePaul in a 70-62 upset of Providence in the Big East tournament. Next up UConn.

March 16, 2021

For the second time in this century Leitao is out at DePaul. He left there for UVA in 2005 and was fired yesterday.

MVC news: Loyola of Chicago faces a hot Ga Tech squad in rd1 of the Dance. Drake got an at large bid and has a play-in against Wichita St.

March 20, 2021

MVC is on a nice roll. Drake  beat the Shockers in the play-in game and LoC beat Georgia Tech in rd1 with Lucas Williamson providing 21 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST.

March 23, 2021

LoC handled with Illinois with smart, aggressive play and a solid O  so at this point I'm not writing them off against Oregon St.(Pac12)

March 28,2021

Beavers found a way to handle the LoC. Defense! Oreg St 65 LoC 58. It was the second meeting in their histories. Loyola won 31-19 in Chicago on Dec. 31, 1927

April 1, 2021

DePaul hired longtime Oregon assistant Tony Stubblefield. I don't see any clear Chicago connections in his past.

He was also Cincinnati's recruiting coordinator from 2006 to 2010 under Mick Cronin, who has UCLA in the F4.

April 5, 2021

I'm mildly surprised:  Moser leaves LoC for the job to coach the Oklahoma Sooners. I thought he would stay in the Midwest if he took another job. It looks like Loyola will promote Drew Valentine to fill the spot.

May 13, 2021

Milwaukee is about 90 miles from Chicago, and 5 star basketball recruit Patrick Baldwin Jr. will join his father Patrick Baldwin Sr., the Panthers' head coach since 2017 at the U of Milwaukee of the Horizon League.

July 20, 2021

Just when I thought Chicago St (WAC) was going to toss in the towel on hoops, they hired Samford assistant Gerald Gillion  to be the men’s basketball head coach, Samford , a member of the Southern Conference, hasn't had much hoop success lately. Gillion is known as a great recruiter.

Nov 15, 2021

I'm getting prepped for college hoops and found this name, JAVON FREEMAN-LIBERTY, a PG for DePaul. He's had solid games against C.Michigan(MAC), and Coppin St, a Baltimore school in the MEAC. The kid must've legally changed his last name.

Dec 4, 2021

Coach Moser is at OK, but Loyola (Chicago) handed DePaul its first loss of the season.

This not a mistype: Chicago St(WAC) beat Tennessee St(Ohio Valley) 59-49 on Saturday.

Dec 11, 2021

DePaul recovered and roared back to beat Louisville last night 62-55. Loyola of Chicago beat Vandy, coached by Jerry Stackhouse and featuring Pippen Jr.

Jan 8, 2022

I'm reading a story on Murray St leaving the OVC for MVC and discover Loyola Chicago is leaving the MVC for the Atlantic 10 in July 2022. The A10 has been a solid hoops conference for a long time. St Louis will have at least one close conference game now.

Feb 6, 2022

Courvoisier McCauley scored 21 points and Jalen Terry had 13 as short-handed DePaul upset # 21 Xavier by a score of 69-65. I was surfing from game to game and stopped on this one to see if Depaul could retain a small lead in the final minutes. With about a minute to go, Xavier had the press on to close a four point gap, and looked like they might cause a 10 second violation when they opted to foul a Blue Demon. The announcers were praising the analytics, and I was shouting it's too soon and very stupid.

Feb 10, 2022

DePaul won its second in a row. This time they beat GTown who is winless in the Big East. David Jones had led DePaul with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assist in a 82-74 win.

Feb 15, 2022

Damaria Franklin and Jace Carter scored 12 points each in Illinois-Chicago 57-54 win over IUPUI, but they still trail Cleveland St by a few games in the Horizon League.

Robert Morris is near the cellar again in its second season since leaving the NEC in most sports.

Feb 16, 2022

 DePaul fell 73-71 to Butler. Simas Lukosius hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining for Butler. 

Domask (25 PTS 3 REB) led SIU to a 65-57 win over Bradley in MVC play.

Feb 23, 2022

Huge Huskies win over Nova last night, but they still trail Nova by a game and Providence by 3 games with three to go in the regular season. They finish with Creighton, Depaul,, and GTown. 

Groundhog Day to the AAC and the O5 hoops

 Houston, we have a meltdown. East Carolina (8-6, 2-6 AAC). #JaydenGardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds for ECU in an 82-73 upset of fifth-ranked Houston  (15-2, 10-2 AAC). Wichita St(6-2), Memphis(7-3), and SMU(6-4) won their conference games  to stay close to the Cougars.

Here's my pre-Groudhog Day blog https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/12/o5-football-conferences-hoops-teams-as.html 

feb 6, 2021

Checking in the CUSA: #herd were outscored 54-30 in the 2nd half of a 82-81 loss to ODU. MTSU upset Charlotte and UAB(8-1) keeps trolling with a win over UTEP, but La Tech(8-3) stayed on the Blazers' heels with a win over  North Texas(5-2)

Feb 7 

Nice bounce back the #herd with a strong first half. MU 87 ODU 67. NTX beat La Tech and UAB rolled UTEP.

Feb 9 2021

ECU  crashed quickly after upsetting Houston a few days ago with losses to Memphis and SMU in AAC play.

Moving to the  MWC: Jordan Schakel scored 23 points for the SDST Aztecs in an easy 85-54 win over SJST and UNLV edged AFA.  Aztecs are staying in the MWC hunt. 

feb 11, 2021

Wichita State(12-4, 8-2 AAC) barely survived UCF(5-10, 3-9 AAC) 62-61 last night. Alterique Gilbert scored 17 points including Wichita State's last five points. Houston cruised by USF

Kalu Ezikpe( 22 PTS, 4 REB, 3 STL) led ODU((10-5, 6-3 C-USA) to a 78-76 win over Charlotte and moved the Monarchs to within a half games of WKU in the CUSA East.

Feb 12, 2021

Michael Flowers posted 18 points and seven rebounds for South Alabama in a 73-70 win over Troy . GA St beat Ga Southern. TX St over UTA. ULM over ULL. #sunbelt

feb 17, 2021

#akron appears to be  the rising star in the MAC.  Bryan Trimble Jr. scored 22 points for Akron(13-4, 11-3 MAC) in an81-76 win over NIU. Toledo(17-6, 12-3 MAC) beat Miami O, and Kent State

(13-5, 10-4 MAC) beat WMU.

feb 19. 2021

The Shockers (13-4, 9-2) defeated  Houston (17-3, 11-3) 68-63 and moved into first place in the AAC standings. Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points for the victors.

feb 21

South Bama beat App St by two points  in each of the back to back games and sits atop at the Sunbelt East at 10-5.

San Diego St(17-4,11-3). swept Fresno St in back to back games and is ranked in the top 25. Boise St(18-4, 14-3) is unranked but  has a better MWC conference and also overall record. Boise will try to rectify  that when they visit SDSU for back to back games.

feb 22, 2021

Houston (18-3, 12-3 American) took out its anger on Cincinnati(7-8, 5-5 American). Quentin Grimes had 20 points and eight rebounds for HU in the 90-52 win.

DeVante’ Jones scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Coastal Carolina(7-5) in a 65-55 win over Georgia Southern and stay tied in the loss column with South Bama(10-5), but it will have to be resolved in a Conference tournament due to all the unbalanced schedules.

feb 24, 2021

MAC tightens up: Ben Roderick and Ben Vander Plas scored 17 points apiece for Ohio in a  90-73 win . Buffalo crushed NIU. 

feb 27,2021

I watched  the first half of the Marshall /NTX game and am not surprised the Herd lost 77-65. They played matador D and, made a ton of turnover s on O. NTX is 9-2 in CUSA play, but La Tech(11-4) and UAB(11-4) won their respective games to stay in the hunt in West .  ODU(9-4) is right there with WKU(8-5) in the West after  Kalu Ezikpe recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 67-61 win over MTSU.

March 1

A flew blowouts yesterday. HOU 98 USF 52 in AAC action. WKU 91 FIU 58 in the CUSA. Utah St 87 Nev 66 in the MWC.

Memphis(14-6, 10-3 AAC) beat Cincy yesterday for its fifth win in a row.

March 2

Guess who's making a late run in the MWC.  David Roddy posted  22 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado State(16-4, 13-3 mwc) Air Force 74-44 win over AFA. CSU is tied with SDSU for first place.