Tough start for O5 at the 2021 Dance

Wichita St (AAC) couldn't take advantage of scoring lulls by Drake(MVC) and lost 53-52.

 #AppSt (Sunbelt) couldn't convert late  and lost to Norfolk St(MEAC) in a tale of two halves:  J Forrest lead Appy with 18 Points                                        

March 20, 2021

I thought NTX(CUSA) would crumble after they couldn't seal the deal in regulation, but they outscored Purdue 17-8 in OT for a 78-69 victory. Javion Hamlet was stellar for the Mean Green providing 24 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST. Too bad I didn't have enough faith to pick them in rd1.

MWC had a rough day :SDST lost to Cuse and Utah St lost to Texas Tech.

Houston (AAC) rolled Clev St.

March 21, 2021

B. Vander Plas(17pts 5reb 4assists) led Ohio(MAC) to a 62-58 upset of  UVA(ACC) .

Ohio has won its last three NCAA first-round Dance games - beating Georgetown in 2010 and Michigan in 2012.

March 23, 2021

Ohio's O ran out of steam against Creighton yesterday. Dwight Wilson III was the top Bobcat scorer with 12 points in a 72-58 loss to Creighton. Nova crushed NTX(CUSA) on Sunday so the only O5 team to reach the Sweet 16 is Houston(AAC). Q. Grimes (22 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST) led the Cougars to a 63-60 win over Rutgers on Sunday and they face Cuse in the next round.

March 28, 2021

Houston's D led by Dejon Jarreau   held Buddy Boeheim to 12 points on 3-for-13 shooting, including 1 for 9 from 3-point range in a 62-46 win over Cuse.

March 30, 2021

Dejon Jarreau had another stellar night playing D for Houston. This time he held  Ethan Thompson, the Oregon St forward, who was named the most outstanding player of the Midwest Region, to  11 points on 3-for-12 shooting, in the Cougars 67-61 victory.

April 4, 2021

LAST O5 team falls. Marcus Sasser had 20 points for Houston is a 78-59  F4 loss to Baylor, whose tough D made the difference.

While Mick Cronin's, the former Cincy HC, UCLA squad  played the Zags tough  but lost in the other F4 matchup, his replacement at Cincy , John Brannen, was given paid leave as the school looks for  a way to complete a for-cause dismissal.  Only four scholarship players are slated to return and six have entered the transfer portal.  Is the rift between Brannen the players real or are these kids spoiled brats?

April 10, 2021

Brannen  is owed a 5M buyout and he and his lawyers are not getting nasty in public about his dismissal from Cincy.. One strong guess for his replacement is UCLA assistant Darren Savino, who was a longtime assistant under Mick Cronin at Cincinnati.

April 15, 2021

Cincinnati(AAC)  hired Wes Miller, who has been at UNCG for 10 seasons, as its next men's basketball head coach. Over the past five seasons, he has led the Spartans to three regular-season championships and two Dances. He was an assistant at High Point and at Elon, each located in North Carolina, before becoming HC at North Carolina-Greensboro of the Southern Conference. Let's see how he does in the Rust Belt.

april 20, 2021

CUSA news: Joe Golding has been named the new coach at UTEP after a decade at Abilene Christian which included the upset over Texas in the first round of this season's Dance.

Heading toward O5 conference tourney time in 2021

 Central Michigan( 7-15, 3-12 MAC) got 26 points from Caleb Huffman scored  and  then Meikkel Murray made a go-ahead put-back with 2.3 seconds left  for the 81-79 upset of Toledo(19-7, 14-4 MAC)

Buffalo(13-7, 11-5 MAC) edged Akron(14-7, 12-6 MAC) 80-78

It's looking like Memphis may be the team who could upend Houston and Wichita St in the AAC tourney. Memphis (15-6, 11-3 AAC ) defeated South Florida(8-11, 4-9 AAC) 73-52 for its sixth straight winand they'll face Houston on Sunday in the final regular season game.

March 4

Trey Wade scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting for Wichita State in a 78-70 AAC win over Tulane 78-70. That's 6 straight Ws for the Shockers.

In the MWC SDST got by UNLV in a so-so performance, while Colorado St  defeated  UNM and is the hottest MWC team heading into the conference tournament.

March 5

UTEP(12-11, 8-8 CUSA) accepted a call to play a game at # 13 Kansas(B12) and built an early 15 point lead before crumbling in the final 12  minutes of the game in a 67-62 loss. Bryson Williams led the Miners with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

FAU crushed MTSU 80-50.

March 9

Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points with six 3-pointers for App St in its 80-73 upset of Georgia State  to win the Sun Belt Conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. The Mountaineers were in the Southern Conference and coached by Buzz Petersen during the 1999/2000 season.

March 12, 2021

MWCT: Nevada popped Boise St bubble hopes and SDST barely survived Wyoming .

MACT:  Top seeds move forward: Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Toldeo

AACT-  Tulane got by Tulsa, and I bet their HC, Ron Hunter, thinks he can pull off one of those miracles  that his GA St squads pulled off in the SunBeltT for years.

mARCH  14, 2021

Cincy edged Wichita St  and if they beat Houston in  AACT, a bubble team possibly SMU will feel the pain. 

Jason Preston scored 22 points for Ohio in a 84-69 victory  over Buffalo, which was trying for a record third straight MAC title.

North Texas beat WKU 61-57 in overtime on Saturday night to win the CUSAT title game and earned its first Dance ticket since winning the Sun Belt tournament in 2010.

San Diego State beat Utah St 68-57 victory  to win the MWC title and secure the league's Dance ticket.

march 15,2021

Belmont, Furman,  and two CUSA teams, Marshall and UAB, are listed as replacement teams for the NIT.

March 18 2021

 NIT: Hollingsworth (21 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST)led Western Kentucky(CUSA) to a 67-63 win over St Marys while Toledo(MAC) lost to Richmond

March 21, 2021

NIT: La Tech does the CUSA right with a win over OL Miss. Buffalo (MAC) lost to Colorado St (MWC) and Memphis (AAC) beat Dayton.

March 23

NIT down to 8 teams.  Four matchups on 3/25 including  two CUSA teams LAtech vs WKU.  Thde only game w/o an O5 team is Richmond(A10) /Miss St(SEC). Colorado St(MWC) faces NC St(ACC) and Memphis(AAC) plays BoiseSt (MWC).

I was bit surprised to see the CBIT is going on in Florida and Coastal Carolina(SunBelt) plays Stetson today.

March 25,2021

Darryl Polk Jr. had 19 points and five steals for  Pepperdine in an 84-61 romp over Coastal Carolina in the CBI final.. Pepperdine finished fourth in the WCC, which Gonzaga ruled.

March 26, 2021

NIT down to four teams: In a battle of CUSA teams Kalob Ledoux scored 20 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers for Louisiana Tech in a 72-65 win over Western Kentucky 72-65  and will play Mississippi State, a winner over Richmond, on Saturday in Texas.

Colorado ST (MWC) got by NC St and will play Memphis(AAC), a winner over Boise St(MWC).

March 28, 2021

The NIT final is set, and it will be Memphis(AAC) vs Mississippi State(SEC) on Sunday for the title. Memphis rolled Colorado State(MWC) 90-67 and  Mississippi State rolled  Louisiana Tech(CUSA) 84-62.   Ben Howland has a decent stint at Miss St since 2015(116–81 )(.589)

La Tech will face CSU in a matchup for third place.

March 29 , 2021

It wasn't a blowout but Memphis  was in control most of the game in a 77-64 win over Miss St  for the NIT title. Boogie Ellis MEM - G (23 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST)

La Tech  defeated  Col St 76-74 for 3rd place  on a buzzer beater by Kenneth Lofton Jr. LT - F(27 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST)

April 1, 2021

Coaching news, no foolin: MAC:Akron Zips extend head coach John Groce through 2026 season. He's had more success in the MAC with Ohio and Akron, then the seesaw years at Illinois(Big 10). Ariz St assistant Rashon Burno is on his way to NIU

MWC news: New Mexico hired Richard Pittino quickly after Minnesota fired him, but I don't see it as a good fit. UNLV promoted Kevin Kruger, Lon's son, to HC.

April 7, 2021

This happens from time to time. UTEP(CUSA) head coach Rodney Terry is stepping down and will join Beard's staff at TX. He was a Texas assistant under former head coach Rick Barnes from 2002–11.

April 8, 2021

San Jose State(MWC) replaced Jean Prioleau with  Tim Miles who had some success  at Nebraska(2012-19), a hard gig.

In the MAC Central Michigan fired Keno Davis and Eastern Michigan fired Rob Murphy .

April 13, 2021

E. Michigan(MAC) hired Stan Heath as its new men's basketball coach.

He's an an EMU alum and has previously the coach at Kent State, leading that program to the Elite Eight in 2002. He also guided Arkansas to the NCAA tournament in 2006 and 2007. And did the same at USF in 2012 when they were in the Big East.

April 15, 2021

For years I saw a concrete slab with the Marshall Thundering Herd logo on it standing  in the side yard of a house I'd walk by every two weeks, then a few months ago it was gone. Today, it was back up but in the front yard.  It looks something like this but with more color  and a bull.