Non P6 hoops 2024 part 3

 USF keeps its great season going with a win over Tulsa and extends it's AAC lead to 1.5 games over FAU.

UMASS upsets Richmond who falls a half game behind idle Dayton and LOYCH, a winner over JOES.

Utah St beat Wyoming to stay atop the MWC.

NKU upset Green Bay, Horizon Leader. Another late season run for the Norse? 

.

Feb 17, 2024

Ledee scored 23 for the Aztecs in an 81-70 win over the Lobos and now trail USU by a half game in the MWC.

VCU beat SLU to stay in the A10 race.

Appy is one game up on Troy and JMU in the SBC.

Feb 18, 2024

CSU handled USU easily which knocks the Ags into a tie with the Aztecs for first place(MWC). BSU and NEV won.

Akron beat Buff to remain atop the MAC.

Zags(WCC) beat Pacific and look like they're coming full force but trail St Mary's by 2 games.

Feb 19, 2024

S.Miguel scored 25 for USF in a 90 - 86 win over FAU. SMU blew out Memphis. Charlotte and UAB also won in AAC action.

Alston(21pts, 10reb) for LOYCH in a win over URI which moves them into a tie for first with Dayton(A10)

Feb 20, 2024

William & Mary is a nice campus to visit filled with history. Now to hoops: Policelli scored 15 for first - place Charleston in a CAA win over visiting W&M. UNCW & Drexel are each a half game behind.

Feb 21, 2024

S Wilson scored 18 points for Toledo in a win over Akron which leaves them tied for 1st in the MAC

MWC- USU beat SDSU and takes sole possession of first place. Boise and Nevada won, too.

Feb 22, 2024

AAC: USF keeps winning. Rice 96 UAB 71 wow. 

Freidel(19pts, 9reb) for JMU(SBC)in a blowout win over Marshall.

UNCG grinds out a tough win over W.Carolina to stay close to Samford.

Feb 23, 2024

Goldin scores 21 to lead FAU to an 80-70 win over SMU in AAC play.

TAR 77 GCU 74. Tarleton won its seventh straight game and moves to 1.5 gb of GCU in the WAC.

Feb 24, 2023

Akron(MAC) beat Kent St and moved a game up on Toledo who lost to Bowling Green. Freeman(24pts, 14reb) for the Zips.

Green Bay fell a game behind Oakland(Horizon) after losing to PFW.

Feb 25, 2024

MWC

10-4: Utah State, SDSU, Boise State beat CUSU

9-5: Nevada, UNLV beat CSU

9-6: New Mexico lost at home to AFA and is near the bubble. Pitino Jr - another late season slide.

AAC - Charlotte looked rough in a bad 81-79 loss to Tulsa.

WCC: looking like SMC, GONZ, and SF will be dancing.

SBC: Appy beat the # herd and stays one game ahead of JMU, a winner over GASO.

CUSA: SHSU and La Tech each won to remain tied for first.

Feb 26, 2024

AAC: USF beat SMU to maintain its 3game lead. Memphis beat FAU. Lendeborg(26pts, 12reb) for UAB in a win over Tulane.

Horizon: NKU beat IUPUI. Another Norse late season run?

Feb 27, 2024

Rough 2OT loss for UNCW who falls 1.5GB of COFC. Campbell 105 UNCW 100 Looks like CAA will be a one Dance ticket conference. A. Dell'Orso(34pts,11reb) for CAMP.

Feb 28, 2024

Top five in MWC are no more than a game apart. Boone (24pts, 12reb, 2ast) for UNLV in an OT win over WYO.

 MAC: Akron lost to Ohio, who've won 3 in a row.

Feb 29, 2024

Spillers (18pts, 16reb) for Appy in a 89-64 trouncing of ODU. Ark St, which hasn't lost in 3 weeks, beat CCU and is 4th in the SBC.

March 1, 2024

WCC: SMC crushed PEPP and still leads the Zags by 2 games. G. Ike scored 26 for the Zags in a win over 3rd place SF. WAC: Tarleton beat UTU for its 9th straight win and trails GCU by a half game.

March 2, 2024

Lipscomb(W4) may be the fave to win the ASUNT after beating EKU(L2) last night. APPY(W7) and JMU(W10) won last night and look impressive heading into the SBCT.

March 3, 2024

UNCW got back on track with a win over Towson but needs to win the CAAT to Dance.

WCC: Zags beat SMC - both teams will be dancing.

A10- VCU lost a close one to Richmond.

AAC: USF keeps rolling with a win over Charlotte and FAU gets a win over Tulane and moved into second place. What's going on with SMU(L3) lost to UTSA who got 33 points from Ivy-Curry.

Southern: Keeping my eyes on W. Carolina(W3) who beat CHAT last night.

March 4, 2024

Indiana St beat Murray St and won the MVC regular season. Conwell(24pts, 12reb)

June 10, 2024

Kennesaw St leaves the ASUN  for the CUSA formally this summer. Coach Pettway replaces Rahim, who took the USF job, and will face a more difficult path getting to the Dance

June 23 2024

Upcoming NBA draft: DaRon Holmes II, a center from  Dayton(A10), is stirring some rd1 chatter.  38.6% percent shooting treys last season.

Dillon Jones, G Weber State, Enrique Freeman, F Akron  Jonathan Mogbo, San Francisco 

Ajay Mitchell, G UCSB. Freeman did it all for the Zips. !8.6 ppg, 12.9 reb

June 27, 2024

Nuggets trade draft picks to the Suns to get  the 22nd pick and take  DaRon Holmes II from Dayton(A10). Hopefully he gives Jokic some support in the paint.

June 28, 2024

RD2: Freeman to the Pacers. Mitchell to OKC. I didn't see this one coming . Anton Watson(Gonzaga) to the Celtics. I guess they liked his D and passing ability.

UDFA: Alex Ducas, a guard from Saint Mary's, signed with OKC. Max Fiedler(Rice) signed with 76ers and could be Embid's backup.

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/

Non P6 hoops 2024 part 2

 Horizon: Robert Morris continues a slow climb out of basement. Hastings 31 pts , 15 reb led RMU to a 102 Detroit 99 (OT)win.

OAK 70  YSU 67, IUPUI 85 PFW 79

SunBelt: ULL 86 TXST 68, USM 69  ARST 66,  APP 76 GAST 68

Appy and Marshall are keeping pace with Troy.

MWC: San Diego St beat Nevada to keep pace with Utah St

 Jan 19, 2024

ODU gets its first SBC win, rolling over Marshall. Allete scored 27 for the Monarchs. Budding regional rivalry.

WCC: O'Neil scored 23 for Santa Clara in a win over Pacific. Zags won, too but both trail San Fran, a winner last night over LMU. 

Jan 21, 2024

MWC: Boise edges the Aztecs  67-66 . BSU, SDST , and UNM are nipping at USU's heels.

Summit: Fidler's PPG continues to decrease for Omaha. I guess more teams are focusing on him. UMKC 74 Omaha 72. UMKC made a wise regional move out of the WAC in 2020. HC Billy Donlon, who was 19-12 in the 2021-22 season, left UMKC to become the Associate HC at Clemson. Current HC Marvin Menzies has struggled since replacing Donlon. Menzies resume.

2007–2016 New Mexico State

2016–2019 UNLV

2019–2020 Grand Canyon (assoc. HC)

2022–present Kansas City

Jan 22, 2024

AAC: . UTSA forces FAU into OT but falls 112-103. Davis scored 34 for the victors and Ivy Curry scored 38 for UTSA.

Tulane(3-3 AAC) gets a big 81-79 win over Memphis to stay relevant.

USF gets by Wichita St 82-78.

Jan 24, 2024

MWC: Boise St beat Fresno while Aztecs handled Wyoming. 

Zips keep cruising in the MAC with a 67-58 win over Ohio. Freeman (19pts, 14 reb) for the winners.

Jan 25, 2024

Herd got 22 from Killen in a win over GA St, but Troy and JMU also won. Appy, the top dog in the SBC, plays GA Southern tonight.

Jan 26, 2024

 Ike scored 22 in a big win for the Zags over San Fran. Saint Mary's beat Pacific to remain atop the WCC. 

Appy beat GA Southern to remain atop the SBC.

Goodrick (14pts, 12reb) for Cal Baptist in a win over UTRGV which moves them into a three- way tie with SFA and Tarleton for second in the WAC. SFA lost to Grand Canyon, the conference leader. Tarleton lost to SUU.

Jan 28, 2024

Catching up with the MVC. Conwell scored 22 points for Indiana St in a 95-86 OT win over Bradley. Three ISU losses: Bama, Sparty, and Drake, which trails them by a game in the conference.

SBC: Appy, Troy, and the Herd won. CUSA: LA Tech and Sam Houston are tied for first. LT beat NMST and SHSU beat UTEP yesterday.

Jan 29, 2024

AAC: Lendeborg(23/16/4) for UAB over Memphis. FAU edged UNT and is tied with CHAR for1st. Wichita St over SMU. ECU needed OT to beat Temple.

Jan 31, 2024

Akron and Toledo won last night to remain tied for 1st in the MAC

Zags crush LMU in the WCC.

Dayton, SBON, LOYCH, won in the A10. Holmes(25/12/4) for the Flyers who trail Richmond by a half game.

Feb 1, 2024

UNCG beat VMI and sits a game behind Samford in the Southern Conference. They've been on a bumpy ride since upsetting Arkansas in December.

M. Rice scored 35 points for Boise St in a win over UNM to keep things tight in the MWC. Both teams trail Utah St.

Richmond beat Fordham and sits atop the A10 with an 8-0 record.

St Marys(17-6,8-0) beat Santa Clara and is a game ahead of the Zags in the WCC.

Feb 2, 2024

Appy(1st) and Troy(2nd) keep winning. JMU scores105 in a rout of CCU. Herd lose at home to cellar dweller ODU.

Feb 3, 2024

Akron(MAC) keeps rolling with a 77-70 win over Toledo. Holmes(34pts, 7reb) leads Dayton(A10) to a 76-71 win over the Bonnies. Sure looks like Nevada(MWC) is getting into gear with a 90-60 win over SJST.

Feb 4, 2024

San Diego St and FAU, half of the last season's F4, are playing like they want to be there again.

  LeDee(16pts,8reb) for San Diego St(7-3) in a big win over USU(8-2), who is tied for with Boise St for the MWC top spot.

Davis scored 24 points for FAU in 102-70 blowout of Tulsa in AAC action. They share first place in the AAC with Charlotte and USF.

Feb 5, 2024

Langley scored 30 for UNCG in a narrow 89-87win over Furman and trails Samford by a game in the Southern Conference.  

UNCG is an older section of Greensboro that intrigued me when I lived in that town briefly in 2005.

Feb 6, 2024

J Johnson scored 24 for New Orleans in a blowout of Houston Christian in a Southland Conference matchup of two teams not doing well.

McNesse St (20-3, 9-1) is in first place.

Feb 7, 2024

MWC: Utah St and Boise St lost.  Aztecs and Lobos won. All four are tied (7-3) for first.

A10: Santos scored 21 for Dayton in a 94-79 win over St Joseph. I heard some gambling geeks predicting an upset of Dayton yesterday afternoon, and I laughed at the TV screen.

AAC: USF edges Charlotte and takes a half game lead on FAU.

Feb 8, 2024

WCC BEWARE: Zags take the top spot with a 96-74 win over Portland, also San Diego beat LMU.

CUSA: McHenry(20pts, 3 ast) for WKU in a big win over LaTech

MVC: Avila (27pts,8reb) for Indiana St in a blowout win over VALP.

Feb 9, 2024

Wow, the AAC gets more interesting. Lendeborg(17pts, 21reb) for UAB in an OT win over FAU.

In the WAC, Cal Baptist edged UTA to stay in the race with Tarleton and Grand Canyon.

Feb 10, 2024

A10: VCU 49 DAY 47. Dayton falls out of first place.

MWC: NEV 70 SDSU 66.CSU won and these three teams are not in first place.

Feb 11, 2024

 G Ike scored 23 in a big win for the Zags over Kentucky(SEC). Zags are 2.5 games behind St Mary's and a half game behind San Fran in the WCC.

CUSA: Liberty beat La Tech and WKU beat JVST. WKU sits a half game behind LA Tech and Sam Houston, who are tied for first at 6-3.

SBC/MAC -Solid wins for JMU over Akron and Appy over Toledo. Only two MAC wins, CMU over ODU & BUFF over GASO.

Feb 12, 2024

MVC:  C: Jones scored 24 for UIC in a win N.Iowa.

AAC: Getting mighty crowded in AAC. USF remains in first.  FAU, SMU, UAB, Memphis, and Charlotte won.

Feb 13, 2024

T. Tejada scored 17 points for Towson in an 80-55 win over Elon in CAA play. TU(8-4) is a game behind UNCW and Charleston.

Feb 14, 2024

UNM holds off NEV 83-82.  SDSU cruises past CSU 71-55. Both winners trail Utah St in the MWC.

Kinzinger scored 31 points for ILL St in an upset of Indiana St, who now holds only a game lead on Drake in the MVC.

Non P6 hoops 1

Non P6 hoops- more news- WCC and W2 too

 NCAA requires at least seven active Division I members, which must sponsor men's and women's basketball, and for the conference to sponsor at least 12 Division I sports. Beavers and Cougar of the PAC2 have a two-year grace period in which it can exist without the minimum number of schools.

Oregon St and Wazzoo are working to join West Coast Conference as affiliate members. Zags and San Francisco are off to decent starts this season and are keys to the Alliances as well geography. St Marys has stumbled a bit this season but has been a regular Dance participant in the past 5 years. Dec 20 WCC scoreboard.

Dec 28, 2023

I took a quick look the non power6 hoops standings and focused on Liberty and WKU each being 10-3. LU got rocked by FAU but has a decent win over Wichita St. Flames face Bama today and WKU on 1/6. WKU lost to Wichita St.

Wichita St (AAC) played solid games against Kansas St and Mizzou but lost.

Dec 30, 2023

 Kind of confused by "stuns" in this headline:  San Diego State stuns No. 15 Gonzaga 84-74. Aztecs were in the Dance Final game last season and have less losses than the Zags this season.

Jan 1, 2024

Checked out some of the Summit League matchup of Omaha @ South Dakota. Frankie Fidler is a player to keep your eyes on. He scored 27 and made three steals for Omaha in a 67-51 win. ORU knocked off Denver, who defeated Omaha on Dec 29.

Jan 4, 2024

Omaha 81 Arizona(Big Sky) 55 Fidler 22 points, 2 steals

Marshall is getting healthy playing SunBelt opponents with recent wins over ULL and ULM after the Dec 21 loss to UNCW(CAA), who beat Kentucky earlier this season,

Jan 6, 2024

MAC: Checked in on the end of the Toledo 68 MiamiO 64 game last night. Ragged, physical play and neither team looks like it will fare well against Akron this season. Freeman (24pts,11reb) in the Zips 83-67 win over Bowling Green last night.

Jan 7, 2024

A10 is heating up. GW hung on to win 84-82 at VCU, who were trying to recover from a tough loss to the Bonnies. James Bishop IV made a two-point pullup jump shot for GW with two seconds remaining.

#herd beat TXST for its 3rd straight SBC win

WKU edged Liberty in CUSA action.

Jan 10, 2024

Wow, Aztecs got a scare from San Jose St  SDST 81 SJST 78.  J. LeDee  scored 31 PTS for Aztecs in MWC play.

Zips keep winning in MAC play. Akron 80 Ball State 76

Jan 12, 2024

FAU facing some tough AAC foes . Boyd scored 21 for FAU in an 85-84 win over Tulane.

WCC: Gonzaga(11-5), 4th in WCC lost to  Santa Clara(12-6), 2nd in WCC by the score 77-76

Santa Clara has wins over Oregon and Wazzoo(Pac12) and a loss to  Taco Tech(San Jose St-MWC)

Jan 13, 2024

Friday night is a decent night to check in on the non-P6, but sometimes it ain't pretty. Youngstown St 81 Wright St 71 -looked more like a rugby game at certain points.

Robert Morris 91 Purdue(Fort Wayne) 88. Corbin led RMU with 28 points. Perhaps RMU is finally getting some traction since leaving the NEC in 2020.

MILW 88 CLEV 80

Jan 15, 2024

Ragged game. Surprised Liberty stayed close to the end.  La Tech 80 LU 76. Crawford scored 22 for LT

In AAC play Memphis 112 Wichita St 86.

Plus Tulane lost a tough one to last place Tulsa 94-87 in OT. Haggerty scored 25 for Tulsa.

Jan 17, 2024

Akron remains in first in the MAC. AKR 77 WMU 66. Freeman had 20 pts, 14 reb for the Zips.

June 12, 2024

Wazzoo and Oregon St join WCC hoops as affiliates for the next two seasons . WSU made it to rd2 of the Dance, and  this may help the WCC possibly get three dance tickets in 2025.

Peeking at non-p5 baseball-Carolina style

 ECU(AAC) is 30-6: Josh Moylan, a first baseman, leads the team in RBIs with 39

CCU(SunBelt) is 23-11 and its team batting average is .318

Campbell (Big South) is 30-8:  Bryce Arnold, a SS, leads the teams win Home Runs with 14.

Elon (Colonial) is 24-14.  took down # 2 Wake Forest(ACC). 

April 26, 2023

Rough night for most of the teams I listed. Wake Forest rolled CCU 11-1. Duke edged Campbell 4-2. ECU lost to NC St 5-4. Wake Forest has a killer lineup. I watched some of the game on the ACCN.

April 28, 2023

Not much D1 baseball action last night so I took a peek at the WCC.

BYU (18-21) defeated Portland (22-18) by a score of 9-8.  It's going to be rough for BYU in Big 12 baseball next season.

Tulane 's was leading ECU 9-6 when the game was suspended because of lightning. It will be finished today in AAC action. BTW UTSA(CUSA), who is AAC bound next season, has made it to the top 25.

May 2, 2023

Simon Miller earned his ninth save on Sunday for UTSA, keeping UAB scoreless in the final three innings.

May 4, 2023

Campbell beat Elon 5-2 in a matchup of Carolina teams. Jake Murray is now 3-0.

May 9,2023

Yesterday: Campbell rolled UNC-Asheville 10-3.

CCU 6 App St 5

ECU 11 Cincy 5: Justin Wilcoxen knocked in 5 runs for the Pirates.

May 13,2023

I forgot DBU left the MVC for the CUSA this season. Dallas Baptist got the better of host UTSA in both games yesterday, 11-7 and 11-9

May 15, 2023

A couple of pigskin-like scores in D1baseball yesterday. CCU 15 South Bama 10 in Sunbelt action.

I rarely look at Horizon baseball, but Youngstown St beat N Kentucky 17-13. Andre Good went 4-5 with 3 HR and 4 RBI for the YSU Penguins.

May 18, 2023

Off the beaten path: I wonder how often these teams have played: Miami O 14 McNeese St 8 in a MAC /Southland game.

May 19, 2023

Army may make the NCAA TOURNAMENT. they won the Patriot League regular season and face Bucknell in the conferenceT finals

Kind of surprised to UNC-Wilmington is on the bubble for D1 baseball tournament. Elon has slipped. CAAT starts May 24 with winner getting the one ticket.

May 21, 2023

Brutal day for the Herd: CCU 19 Marshall 1 then CCU 10 MU 9. ECU beat USF 7-1, Campbell beat USC-Upstate 12-9. Why is Oregon St(Pac12) playing Western Carolina(21-32 , 8-12 Southern Conference) a few days before conference tournaments? Oregon St 8 WCU 4.

May 23, 2023

Army and Penn are in the 64. Kinda funny that Rice(21-34), a one -time powerhouse, gets to host the CUSAT this season. CUSA shifted away from Biloxi as the host during Covid. I'll start a new blog as the conference tourneys kick into gear.

Early Non-power conference tourneys March 2023

I'm not seeing a lot of hope for these regular season conference champs to make the Dance if they lose in their conference tourneys. 

SunBelt:  USM deserves to be Dancing regardless of how it does in its tourney, but the Lunardi's don't  have them on their radar. Marshall and ULL had great seasons, and South Bama has been hot and tips off against Appy at 12:30PM.

WCC- Santa Clara may need to win the tourney to Dance. Zags and St Marys are in. I can't get over Gonzaga playing Chicago St last night when the WCCT tips off today.

Horizon: Youngstown St, the regular season champ, has tough matchup today facing Detroit Mercy led by Antoine Davis, who is trying to break Pete Maravich's scoring record.

MVC: Bradley (16-4) and Drake(15-5) had decent seasons, but only the MVCT winner is going to the Dance.

March 3, 2023

 SunBelt:South Bama, Troy, Georgia Southern, and Tx St won yesterday. TX65 ODU 36 is a crazy score.

 Horizon: Davis missed a hurried pull-up 3-pointer in the final seconds of Detroit-Mercy's 71-66 season-ending loss to Youngstown State, leaving him three points shy of tying Pete Maravich’s NCAA career scoring record.

March 4, 2023

WCC: BYU beat Portland to move to rd2 against LMU and needs to build something as the Big 12 move nears. San Fran beat Pacific and faces Santa Clara.

MVC: Bradley got a scare from UNI led by Bowen Born's 34 points but hung on for a 72-66 and faces Indiana St today. Drake gets SIU.

Sunbelt gets back into action today: USM/USA. Marshall TX/ST. Troy/JMU. ULL/Georgia Southern

March 5, 2023

Sunbelt : USM and Marshall fall.  Big game for O. White, guard for South Bama 23PTS 6REB.  South Bama/JMU . TXST/ULL in Pensacola today.

MVC: Top teams, Bradley and Drake are in the MVCT final today.

WCC: Santa Clara's Dance chances look bleak after they lost to San Fran who faces Gonzaga next. R. Williams scored 23 PTS for BYU to defeat  LMU and  move on to face St Mary's.

Horizon: Monday slate: N.Kentucky/Youngstown St.  Milwaukee/Clev St

ASUN Championship - Final: Liberty(26-7 15-3)/Kennesaw State(25-8 15-3). Keep your eyes on D. McGhee for LU.

March 6, 2023

SunBelt: South Bama continues its march from the middle of the pack with a 77-66 win over JMU. They'll face ULL, a winner over TX St. , in the title game.

MVC:  Two-seed Drake blew out top seed Bradley 77-51 for the automatic Dance ticket.

ASUN: Kennesaw St edged Liberty 67-66 to punch its Dance ticket. You can't get any closer than the two teams who tied for the ASUN regular season title being separated by a point. I doubt if the Liberty gets an at large. LU goes to the CUSA next season.

March 7, 2023

I was switching back and forth between the SunBelt and the Horizon games. ULL was the better team last night. Jags were too dependent on Moore to create a shot.

 In the HorizonT N.Kentucky knocked off top seed Youngstown St and Clev St beat Milwaukee. 

In the WCCT St Mary's beat BYU and the Zags beat San Fran. which likely means they'll be the only two WCC teams getting Dance tickets.

March 8, 2023

NKY edged Clev St. Vinson is a sharp kid on the floor. Norse HC Darrin Horn has revived his career. He left WKU for S.Carolina and had a bumpy ride. 

Zags pummeled St Marys.

Quick look at the WAC: Cal Baptist beat Abilene Christian, and Tarleton, coached by Billy Gillepsie, beat UTRGV.

Shout out to Oral Roberts(30-4 18-0 Summit) who beat N Dak St to go dancing.

March 9, 2023

Colgate (Patriot) and Montana state (Big Sky) capped off decent seasons and punched their Dance tickets.

CUSA, MWC, AAC, A10 and MAC are in tourney mode.

AAC: Houston and Memphis are in, but Tulane needs a great AACT run to get an at-large invite.

MWC: San Diego St is in. Boise St and Utah St are on the bubble.

CUSA- FAU should be in regardless of the CUSAT results. Same goes for VCU in the A10.

MAC and WAC- Only one dance ticket reserved for each!

March 10, 2023

Quick takes due to so much action.

MAC: I'm not surprised that Toledo, Kent St, and Akron advanced, but I didn't think Ohio would beat Ball St by 20 points.

MWC:  I checked in and saw San Jose St hang on against Nevada despite the refs taking forever to  keep the game moving in the final minute. I think Nevada is NIT bound despite what Coach Steve Alford thinks.

CUSA: FAU, NTX, UAB advance. MTSU got a trey from Camryn Weston with 19 seconds remaining to nip Charlotte 66-65.

March 11, 2023

AAC: K. Cross(24PTS 13REB) led Tulane to win over Wichita St, and they'll face Memphis who beat UCF. Cincy, a winner over Temple, faces Houston who beat ECU, and the Bearcats have to keep winning to Dance.

CUSA: UAB needed that 22-2 first half start to beat NTX 76-69 and will face FAU in the title game.

MWC: Utah St 's win over Boise St should be enough to get them dance shoes, and they face SDST in the title game today.

MAC: KentSt /Toledo is the final and it's a damn shame one of these teams won't make the dance.

March 12, 2023

 Lopsided games could hurt some teams' Dance chances.

AAC Memphis beat Tulane 96-57 and will face Houston, who beat Cincy 69-48, today.

CUSA: FAU made sure they got a ticket by beating UAB 78-56.

MAC: M. Jacobs (18PTS 13REB 6AST) led Kent St to a 93-78 win over Toledo.

MWC: SDST 62 Utah St 57. Ags will be nervous during selection time tonight.

A10: VCU faces Dayton is the final today and should be Dancing regardless. Dayton, too but Fordham and St Louis are on the bubble

MAAC- Iona -Pittino Sr., Big West- UCSB , WAC : Grand Canyon punched tickets.

March 14, 2023

MWC got four tickets. Just remember Ryan Odom, the Utah St HC, was the UMBC HC in 2018 that knocked off # 1 UVA at the Dance. I'm amazed Nevada got in.

Also, surprised A10 only got one ticket, and AAC only got two tickets.

March 17, 2023

ULL gave Tenn a scare but lost. NKY hung around Houston but lost.

Tough day for MWC- Utah St lost to Missouri, Boise lost to NW, and the Aztecs needed clutch free -throw shooting to survive against Charleston.

(14) Kennesaw State 43 (3) Xavier 36 at the half

March 18, 2023

Xavier roared back to beat Kennesaw 72-67.  Tough loss, good job of representing the ASUN.

FAU upset Memphis 66-65: Rosado FAU 15 PTS , 3 REB , 1 AST

Fairleigh Dickinson upsets Purdue 63-58. Moore FDU (19 PTS , 5 REB). Northeast Conference is definitely one of the weaker conferences.  Big 10 gets too much respect annually.

March 20, 2023

 FAU has allowed Dusty May to build a decent program since 2018. Can they keep him or does a power conference team swoop in? FAU beat FDU to make the Sweet 16.

Ok, I've been remiss in talking about the two best O5 squads. Houston (AAC) faces a MIami (AAC) team that knows how to make deep runs at the Dance. Coach Larranaga has been doing it for a long time and took George Mason , a small school in Fairfax ,VA, to the the F4 in 1999.

Coach Dutcher, who came over from Michigan with will Steve Fisher in 1999 , will have San Diego St(MWC) ready for Bama(SEC). Let's see if a Bama /Houston final occurs or if more brackets get busted.

March 21, 2023

Iona(MAAC) hired Tobin Anderson from FDU to replace Pitino. TA left St. Thomas Aquinas, a Division II school, last offseason for FDU, and in one season he took FDU to the Dance, despite losing to Merrimack by one-point in the Northeast conference championship game. Merrimack was ineligible to compete in the postseason as a transitioning school from Division II. 

BTW, he's paid his dues as a D2 and D3 coach for over 20 years. Quite a story!

 Wichita State(AAC) plucked Paul Mills from Oral Roberts(Summit).

2003–2017 Baylor (assistant)

2017–2023 Oral Roberts

2023–? Wichita State

March 24, 2023

FAU watchout, the Big boys are coming for your head coach Dusty May. FAU 62 Tenn 55. He!! of a post season for the CUSA. 

 Zags pull out a huge win over UCLA. Timme 36 points, 13 rebounds for the victors.

March 25, 2023

In a very physical game, the Aztecs beat Bama(SEC).

 Houston lost to Miami(ACC). You could sense Houston was in trouble early when the Canes rebounders were tossing football passes to their guards for easy layups.

March 26, 2023

Zags got spanked hard in the second half of an 82-54 loss to UConn. 

Hope Dusty May likes Boca Raton or else someone is going to get him with big $$$. V. Goldin(14PTS 13REB) for FAU in a 79-76 win over KST.

March 27, 2023

 So 1 of the 2 non power schools will be in the final with SDST facing FAU on Saturday. Pac12 may need SDST to get through these TV talks.

Miami faces UConn. MWC/CUSA , Big East/ ACC. I'm kind of laughing now at all the Pundits.

March 29, 2023

Amir Abdur-Rahim leaves  Kennesaw St St(ASUN), after getting them to the Dance, for the Head Coaching Position at South Florida(AAC). That's a brutal gig.

April 2, 2023

Aztecs win at the buzzer 72-71 over FAU and faces UConn on Monday night. Tip my hat to FAU for a hell of a season.

A. Martin- FAU 26PTS 7REB

M. Bradley SDSU 21PTS 6REB

April 4, 2023

UConn 76 SDST 59.  Tough to lose but a great season for the Aztecs. Maybe they're headed for the Pac 12, but California may need to fix it's travel issue. Its prohibition which forces sports teams at public colleges and universities to find other ways to pay for road games to states with what California labels anti-LGBTQ legislation.

June 18, 2023

San Diego State is talking exit from the MWC. Main reason:  It needs to give a year of notice to withdraw next June. If it waits past June 30, the exit fee it would owe jumps from nearly $16.5 million to nearly $34 million.

June 24, 2023

 Non power conference draft picks: AAC and WCC each had three kids drafted.

AAC: Houston U: Jarace Walker (No. 8 to Pacers) Marcus Sasser (No. 25 to Pistons)

Central Florida: Taylor Hendricks (No. 9 to Jazz)

WCC: Santa Clara: Brandin Podziemski (No. 19 to Warriors)

Pepperdine: Maxwell Lewis (No. 40 to Lakers)

Gonzaga: Julian Strawther (No. 29 to Nuggets)

MVC: Belmont: Ben Sheppard (No. 26 to Pacers)

A10: Dayton: Toumani Camara (No. 52 to Suns)

MAC: Eastern Michigan: Emoni Bates (No. 49 to Cavaliers) Ann Arbor kid who went to MemphisU than EMU.

Southern: Furman: Jalen Slawson (No. 54 to Kings)

Non P5 hoops, Dance is next month

 This is a slow way to get into to swing for The Dance. San Diego State Aztecs (21-5, 12-2 MWC) 45 Fresno State Bulldogs (9-16, 5-9 MWC) 43. 

Boise State (20-6 10-3 MWC) escaped Colorado State 80-78 in a much- needed win for its Dance chances.

Bad loss for Cincy (17-10 8-6AAC) to East Carolina (13-12 4-8AAC). Ben Jonson scored 16 points for ECU in a 75-71 win.

I'm curious about the SunBelt slate tonight and also the Youngstown St/Milwaukee showdown of the top dogs in the Horizon.

Feb 17, 2023

USM, the Sunbelt leader, got walloped by South Bama 85-54 which allowed ULL and Marshall to move within a game of them. Andrew Taylor hit a shot late in Marshall's comeback 84-83 win over GA Southern, and ULL beat ULM  84-67.

CUSA: MTSU made the free throws down the stretch to hang on and upset FAU 74-70

WCC: St Marys beat San Diego to remain a game ahead of Gonzaga who crushed LMU.

Youngstown St crushed Milwaukee 87-58 to take sole possession of first in the Horizon.

Feb 19, 2023

Sunbelt: USM and Marshall won to stay in the same positions, but JMU's win over ULL leaves those two teams tied for third. FYI: USA has moved to 8-8 in conference play after back to back blowout wins over USM and ULM.

CUSA: North Texas(14-3) beats UTEP 80-72 in OT for eighth straight win and moved a half game of idle FAU(14-2)

AAC: J. Cook(30PTS 7AST 4STL) had a solid night for Tulane(10-3) in a win over USF which moved them into a tie with Memphis for second place.

WCC: St Marys and Gonzaga keep winning while Santa Clara handled Portland and remains a distant third.

Big Sky: Eastern Montana is 15-0 in conference play.

Horizon: Youngstown St crushed Green Bay and Milwaukee lost to Robert Morris. Cleveland St and Northern Kentucky are tied for second behind YSU.

Feb 20, 2023

Most of the AAC  games were televised yesterday but I couldn't find the big dogs. Houston beat Memphis which fell to 3rd place.

Clev St edged NKU 63-62 to gain sole possession of second place in the Horizon. D. Johnson CLEV ST(16PTS 10REB)

MWC: Boise St beat UNLV 73-69 and is 1GB of SDST.

MVC: Bradley edged SIU and Drake beat Belmont which keeps the winners tied for first.

Feb 21, 2023

Houston is ranked first overall, but it doesn't seem appear to be getting the rest of the AAC much respect in Dance talk.

I've been ignoring the Big West. Hawaii(11-5) beat Cal Bakersfield to move into a tie for third with UC-Santa Barbara who lost to Cal St Fullerton(11-5). They trail UC-Riverside(12-5) and Cal Irvine(13-3).

Feb 22, 2023

San Diego St keeps rolling with a win over Colorado St. I doubt if the Aztecs will have trouble adjusting to the Pac 12 in hoops. I'm not sure if Apple TV is the answer for the Pac 12.

Feb 23, 2022

AAC- Houston 89 TUL 59. Big wake up call for second place Tulane. J. Roberts had a solid night for the Cougars (26PTS 7REB)

MWC: Boise St(12-3) handled New Mexico(7-8). Pitino Jr's Lobos have fallen fast after a nice early season start.

SunBelt: Marshall(13-4) moved into a tie for first with USM. Kinsey scored 31 for MU in a win over JMU while USM (13-4) lost to ODU(10-7). I'm keeping my eye on those hot Jags(9-8) who've won 7 of  their last 8 conference games. Isaiah Moore's scored 22 points for South Alabama in a 76-67 win over TXST(6-11).

WCC: St Mary's and Gonzaga remain 1-2 and will play each other on Feb 25. Santa Clara is hanging tough to get a Dance ticket.

CUSA: FAU(15-2) crushed UTSA, and Charlotte upset NTX(14-4)

Feb 25, 2023

Some shake-up before the Sunbelt T begins at Pensacola Bay Center on February 28. USM won the regular season with a win over TX State. Marshall and ULL tied for second after MU lost ODU and ULL beat USA last night.

Feb 26, 2023

AAC- Houston handled ECU. SMU fell to USF and continues to sputter on its way to the Pac12.

CUSA: Florida Atlantic(26-3 16-2C-USA) 75 UTEP(13-16 6-12C-USA) 49

WCC: Zags deliver a dose of reality to St Marys and the teams are tied for first. GONZ 77 SM 68. Santa Clara (23-8 11-5WCC) has to be a bubble team.  SC 81 San Diego 63

Feb 27, 2023

Stephen F. Austin (19-10 11-5 WAC) 80 California Baptist (15-14 7-9 WAC)  58. WAC was televised on ESPN U yesterday.

Memphis beat Cincy and remains in second a game ahead of Tulane in the AAC.

Feb 28, 2023

 Zags host Chicago St tomorrow, and St Mary's regular season is over, and they get the top seed. The tiebreaker was determined by the NCAA Evaluation Tool. The Gaels (25-6, 14-2 WCC) are No. 7 in the NET, while the Zags (25-5, 14-2 WCC) are No. 9. However, the Zags are ranked higher in the polls. It keeps getting goofier. Just toss a coin! 

Queens won its rd1 game against FGSU in the ASUNT, but if they win the tourney, they won't dance for the same reason, the transition to 1A process, Jax St didn't Dance last season.

March 1, 2023

MWC: Aztecs(14-3) were outscored 14-0 over the final 14:47 in a 66-60 loss to Boise St(13-4). Nevada(12-5) lost  to Wyoming(4-13) on Monday and needs to beat UNLV(6-10) to keep their Dance chances alive. SDST finishes against Wyoming, and Boise St ends with UtahSt(11-5)

MAC:  Toledo(15-2) blew out CMU and will win the conference regular season with a win over Ball St or a Kent St(14-3) loss to Akron.

I'll try to do a blog on the early conference tournaments tomorrow.

 

 

Quick peek at Non P5 hoops standings

SunBelt : I was all set to give the #herd  a toast, but ULM behind Blackmon's 35 points beat them Thursday night in double OT. USM and ULL are 7-2. Marshall and ULM are 6-3 in conference play.

Sienna handled Iona(Pittino Sr) last night and sits alone atop the MAAC. Same can be said for San Diego St(MWC), Liberty(Atlantic Sun), and then there are a bunch of undefeated teams in conference play including these three, Charleston (Big South), FAU(CUSA), and Eastern Washington(Big Sky).

However, it's Saint Mary's(18-4, 7-0, WCC) with a one game lead over Gonzaga that has tongues wagging. Aidan Mahaney leads the team in scoring with 15.0 ppg. Their four OOC losses are all by single digits to UW, Houston, Colorado St, and New Mexico. The loss to CSU is the worst of that bunch. 

Jan 29, 2023

I thought Cincy was going to beat Houston after seeing part of the first half, but the Cougars roared back for the win. HOU 75 CIN 69. These two games caught my eye.

I'm keeping an eye on Memphis who beat Tulsa yesterday for its fifth straight W to stay in the AAC race with Temple and Houston.

Feb 2, 2023

AAC: Cincy(6-4) rebounded from the tough loss to Houston with an 81-55 blowout of Tulsa. Tulane(7-3) rode the Mustangs and cruised to a 74-52 win over SMU.

WAC- Wow, NM St has been ragged since Coach Heiar replaced Coach Jans who went to Miss St, but they beat Stephen F Austin 73-65 last night for their first conference win

The other new kids in town had nice nights. Abilene Christian beat Seattle. Southern Utah beat Cal Baptist. Sam Houston beat UTRGV.

 

Big 12 to discuss adding Gonzaga(WCC) to the conference tomorrow, per 

dennisdoddcbs

Feb 3, 2023

#herd got a solid game from Taylor in a win over Appy to remain a game behind USM and ULL who each won.

FAU didn't look like a team who had won 20 straight and lost to UAB in CUSA action.

St Marys(9-0) and Gonzaga(8-1) won in WCC action.

Feb 4, 2023

Ball St(7-3) eked out a 91-90 win over EMU. It was he!! of a battle. Akron(9-1) beat Kent St(8-2) to stay atop the MAC. 

 SDST(18-5, 9-2 MWC) is ready for Pac 12 hoops. Nathan Mensah scored 17 points for No. 22 San Diego State in a 72-52 win over Boise State. 

Feb 5, 2023

WCC: St Mary's beat the Zags and are in a solid spot for the WCCT one seed. BYU is showing a pulse with a win over Pacific and trails the Zags by a game.

CUSA: FAU bounced back from the loss to UAB with a win over Charlotte while UAB beat FIU and may be a threat in the CUSAT.

SunBelt: Two 10-2 teams won yesterday. ULL beat Marshall and USM beat GA St.

AAC: Speaking of GASt, man do they miss Coach Ron Hunter, whose Tulane squad gutted out an 82-81 win over Memphis yesterday and are 1.5 GB of Houston.

ASUN: Queens(6-6) edged Austin Peay. Liberty and Kennesaw sit at the top with 10-2 records. E.Kentucky trails them by a game.

Feb 6 2023

Houston beat Temple. Tulane moved into a tie for second in the AAC.

Feb 7, 2023

Freddy Hicks scored 22 for Tarleton(13-11, 6-5) in a WAC win over UTA(8-16, 3-8). Billy Gillepsie seems to be doing ok and staying out of trouble at Tarleton. UTA is struggling in its first WAC season since the Sunbelt kicked them and Ark-LR to the curb for not having football programs.

Feb 8, 2023

J. Cook(27PTS 14AST) led Tulane to a 101-94 win over Cincy in AAC action.

Houston 80 Tulsa 42- Sasser 25 points. Memphis beat USF and SMU knocked off Temple , who will probably slide more. It's looking more and more like it's HU, Memphis, and Tulane are heading to the Dance. 

WAC: Tough night for Cal Baptist who lost to UVU 71-55. Nice win for Seattle over Utah (Dixie) Tech to stay in the conference title race. 

MWC: M. Bradley - SDSU(18PTS 6REB 3STL) in the Aztecs W over Utah St.

Feb 10, 2023

WCC: Zags handled San Fran while St Mary's got tripped up by ULM. C. Shelton(G - LMU) scored 31 points in the 78-74 win.

SunBelt: USM beat ULL to take sole control of first place.  Andrew Taylor scored 33 points to help Marshall defeat Coastal Carolina 92-74 and move within a game of second-place ULL.

Feb 11, 2023

New Mexico State men's basketball canceled tonight's game at Cal Baptist and suspended its season indefinitely following "new allegations" within the program. Alleged hazing issues are the latest in the mess.

East Carolina won't play its men's basketball game at Tulane tonight after the death of Pirates radio announcer Jeff Charles(70) while with the team Friday in New Orleans.

 Dwayne Cohill scored 33 points for Youngstown State(12-3) who beat Purdue Fort Wayne 81-72 last night and moved into first place in the Horizon Conference

Kent St(10-2) moved into first in the MAC with a win over Buffalo and Akron's(9-3) loss to Ohio. 

Feb 12, 2023

WCC: St Marys took of care of Portland and the Zags beat BYU, who will need a serious boost to survive in the Big 12 next season. LMU was edged 71-69 by Santa Clara.

SunBelt: Taevion Kinsey scored 37 points for Marshall(10-4)  in 88-77 win over Georgia State. ULL(10-4) lost to Troy. JMU(9-5) beat CCU. USM(12-2) remains the top team with a win over ULM.

CUSA: Florida Atlantic(24-2, 14-1C-USA) keeps rolling with a win over La Tech, while NTX(21-5, 12-3C-USA) stays in the hunt with a win over Charlotte.

Feb 13, 2023

Just wondering if some of the culture at N Mex St predates Heiar, was hired from Northwest Florida State, a JC power. He previously worked as an assistant at ETSU, LSU, Wichita State, and S Miss.

 Chris Jans, the previous HC, is the Miss St HC.

Feb 15, 2023

Three of the four teams atop the MAC are from Ohio. Kent State 11-2, Toledo 11-2, Ball State 10-3 ,Akron 10-3.

Muncie, Indiana: Payton Sparks scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Ball State to an 87-77 home victory over NIU.

Feb 16, 2023

I'll end this blog with this: NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu backed AD Moccia's firing of head coach Greg Heiar over the locker room hazing of a male basketball player and claimed that was not reflective of the athletic department or the school overall. You can bet the CUSA will want better answers than we're hearing, and I'm not surprised that Heiar was sacrificed.  However, I doubt this culture started as soon as Heiar arrived on campus.

Non- power confernce teams circling the top 25

 I reviewed some of the major polls and stories and added some comments. Football has most of my attention, but I'm slowly shifting into hoops gear.

AAC: Houston plays good D, which borders on mugging, and this may affect them this season depending on how closely the referees call the games. However, Bama went small ball and handed the Cougars their first loss. Memphis(8-3) Coach Penny recruits well.

MWC: San Diego State  (8-3) New Mexico (10-0); Utah State( 9-0) UNLV  10-0. Conference play will change some of this attention

WCC: Gonzaga(8-3) Saint Mary's (9-3). I added Santa Clara(9-3) because they upgraded their OOC schedule.

CAA: College of Charleston (11-1) I guess they're got a mention because they beat Virginia Tech.

I peeked at the Atlantic Sun and was surprised to see Liberty and Jacksonville off to slow starts. Also, Queens University Royals(9-2), a small private school in Charlotte who moved up from DII, is off to a nice start but isn't eligible for post season play until the 2026-27 season.

Dec 18, 2022

Nice day for AAC members Houston who won at UVA(ACC) and Memphis who beat TAMU(SEC).

Gonzaga was in top form in a 100-90 win over Bama(SEC), and San Francisco handed UNLV (MWC) its first loss in a decent day for the WCC.

Dec 22, 2022

Kinyon Hodges scored 22 points and Caleb Donaldson added 16 for the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a 92-83 upset of Iowa(Big 10). EIU (Ohio Valley) is 4-9 in OOC play, which includes blowout losses to Ohio St and Illinois of the Big 10.

No. 11 Gonzaga beat Montana for its 72nd straight home win.

Dec 27, 2022

Coach Ladner has S.Miss (11-2) fans feeling good with the additions of Mercer big man Felipe Haase, and Ol Miss transfer, Austin Crowley, but one of those two losses was to NW St.  The SunBelt season is about to get in gear so we'll see if the Golden Eagles' talk about Dancing has staying power.

Dec 30, 2022

WCC: Santa Clara beat San Fran last night and is on a nice roll which makes its Jan 7 matchup with Gonzaga interesting.

SunBelt: Marshall handled visiting Appy, and James Madison rolled Georgia St in Atlanta last night. Nothing like a VA/WV interstate battle tomorrow as #Herd host the JMU Dukes in Huntingdon,WV on.

Oops, I missed this one: Reggie Bass drilled a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left for Central Michigan(MAC) in a win over in-state rival Michigan 63-61. Coach Juwan Howard needs more than Anger MGT.

Jan 1, 2023

James Madison led 40-29 at halftime and hung on for a72-66 win over Marshall U. Edwards had 16 point and 6 rebounds for JMU, while Kinsey had 18 points, seven assists and two steals for the Herd.

New Mexico (14-0 2-0 MWC) nipped Wyoming 76-75 last night. Coach Pitino Jr is on a roll. Jamal Mashburn Jr, who followed his coach from Minnesota to UNM, scored 20 for the Lobos. His dad Jamal played at UK for Pitino Sr.

Jan 4, 2023

Mashburn scored 22 for the Lobos, but it was not enough to keep UNM from losing its first game this season and probably falling out of the top 25. Fresno St 71 UNM 67

Jan 6, 2023

AAC- Houston crushed SMU 87-53

WCC- Zags edged San Fran, an erratic team that beat Ariz St this season.  Conference looks like it's stronger this season. Keep your eyes on Santa Clara!

ASUN: Liberty is off to a 3-0 start in conference play with 75-41 win over Jax St. Queens is 2-1with a 75-74 win over Bellamine last night.

Jan 8, 2023

Queens Royals are getting a taste of conference play. They lost to Kenesaw last night. EKU survived C. Arkansas.

ASUN players get quite an education in the geography of the South. Every school is located in a state that was in the Confederacy except for EKU and Bellamine. Kentucky was a border state.

Jan 11, 2023

San Diego St is off to a 4-0 start in the MWC with a win over Nevada last night.

Life in the A10 has been rough for Loyola of Chicago who lost a home game to VCU last night.

Dayton 4-0 - 12-5

VCU 3-1 -       12-5

LoC        0-4   -       6-10

Jan 12, 2023

Houston(17-1 5-0 AAC)  83  USF(7-10 0-4 AAC)   77.  Cougars stay at #1, and USF appears to be showing improvement.

Jan 13, 2023

BYU 's crowd was fired up but the Cougars fell short against the Zags . GONZ 75 BYU 74.  

Nice team effort by Marshall in an 89-67 blowout of USM. Kinsey is a smooth member of the Herd.

Jan 14, 2023

Akron(11-6 3-1MAC) 104 Eastern Michigan(4-13 1-3MAC)  67. Coach Cooper keeps rolling in the MAC

VCU was down 33 -19 at halftime and looked ragged, but roared back to defeat Dayton 63-62 in an A10 matchup.

Kenan Blackshear scored 25 for Nevada in a big MWC win over Utah St. 

San Diego State 4-0

Nevada 5-1

Jan 15, 2023

Riley Battin's 18 points and seven rebounds helped Cal Baptist(11-8, 3-3 WAC) defeat Grand Canyon(12-6, 3-2 WAC) 79-74 on Saturday. Seattle (5-0) sits atop the WAC.

Kinsey scored 24 for the #herd in a big win over ODU to remain in a six way tie(4-2) for first in the SunBelt.

Jan 17, 2023

MLK day was a busy with hoops, and I watched a little of  Florida Atlantic(17-1, 7-0 CUSA) road win over WKU when I got home from work. Boyd led the Owls with 16 points. They've stuck with HC Dusty May, and it appears to be working.

Charleston (19-1,7-0 CAA) handled William & Mary easily.

Hawai'i (14-4, 5-1Big West) are off to a decent start. Bernardo da Silva had an interesting stat line (PTS11, REB 12, Blocks 3) in the Rainbows win over Cal St Northridge.

Jan 20, 2023

Cam Shelton banked in a go-ahead runner with 13 seconds left for Loyola Marymount in an upset 68-67 victory of  # 6 Gonzaga which knocked the Zags out of first in the WCC.

 Saint Mary's 6-0 17-4

Gonzaga 5-1 16-4

Santa Clara 4-2 16-5

Loyola Marymount 4-3 14-7

BYU 4-3 14-8

Sunbelt gets tighter. Marshall, USM, JMU, ULM, and ULL, won games that keep the standings tight at the top.

Jan 21, 2023

It doesn't take long to come back to reality in the MAC. Kent State(16-3 6-0MAC) 86 Ball State (13-6 4-2MAC) 65. I tuned into the game early but didn't stay. Toledo handled Buffalo in other MAC action. 

Mashburn Jr scored 25 for the Lobos. New Mexico 81 Boise St 79 in OT in MWC action.

Jan 22, 2023

Some Horizon news: Detroit Mercy's Antoine Davis scored 42 in a win over UIPUI and  is No. 2 on NCAA D-I scoring list with 3274 points, but he'll need a big finish this season to catch Pistol Pete(3667). They are 3.5 GB of Milwaukee and N. Kentucky in the conference.

Florida Atlantic(19-1, 9-0 CUSA) remains hot with a 67-59 win over UTEP. Their only loss this season is to Ole Miss (SEC).

Cal Baptist rolled Tarleton in WAC play, and Andrew Taylor led Marshall to a SunBelt win over Ark St.

Jan 23, 2023

Temple(12-9, 6-2 AAC) 56   Houston(18-2, 6-1 AAC) 55   Coach McKie's Owls get a huge W. Damian Dunn scored 16 points and made the go-ahead free throw then Kur Jongkuch blocked Houston’s go-ahead shot attempt in the final seconds.

1A Independents start to dwindle in 2023

 I'm chuckling at how quickly USC agreed to swap BYU for San Jose St on its football schedule in 2023 since BYU needs to make room for Big 12 conference games in 2023. BYU was 5-0 against  Pac12 football teams in 2021, including a win over USC.

BYU hoops made be in for a ruder awakening when it exits the WCC .

In other news : Notre Dame opens  @Ohio St and also will play BYU in Vegas later in the 2022 season.

Liberty plays Arkansas, VTech, and Wake Forest this upcoming season.

Previous blog: https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2021/01/1a-ncaa-independents-and-geography-2021.html

May 12, 2022

Another 2023 football swap: Liberty needs to free up space for CUSA games in 2023 so South Carolina(SEC) agreed to drop them and add Jax St, who needs non -conference games in its first 2023 CUSA season.

I'm curious to see if New Mexico St can carry its WAC basketball success to the CUSA. It's football team has some schedule changes to make for 2023.

Would Gonzaga block adding Seattle(WAC) to WCC to fill BYU's spot?

May 26, 2022

Shifting gears to baseball: BYU is a fourth seed in the WCC tournament and faces an uphill battle to upset  1 seed Gonzaga (ranked 10 in the country). Cougars will need a serious upgrade to be competitive in Big 12 baseball.

 Liberty is in the ASUN semi-finals and should be in decent shape when they join the CUSA.

New Mexico State, another future CUSA member, upset Sam Houston to remain in WAC Winner's Bracket.

May 27, 2022

BYU fell to Loyola Marymount 5-1 in a single-elimination game. Today's WCC matchups.

May 28, 2022

I have new favorite a first name. #ThreeHillier hit two home runs for Liberty in a win  over EKU to advance and face Kennesaw State in the ASUN championship game on Saturday for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

NMSU advances to first WAC Tournament baseball championship game since 2018 with stunner over Sacramento State and faces winner of Grand Canyon /Abilene Christian game.

May 29, 2022

Liberty lost and will wait for a possible at-large bid.

New Mexico St won and gets the automatic bid. He!! of a "Cinderella" WACT for the Ags.

June 5, 2022

Liberty was eliminated by Central Michigan (MAC) 3-2 in extra innings. Three Hillier had two hits and scored a run for the Flames in the loss.

NMST was eliminated by Vandy in the CWS.

July 10, 2022

UConn decided that hoops was king and ran back to the Big East ,exiting the AAC and relegating pigskin to Independent status. Huskies HC Jim Mora's goal is to join the ACC. You got a lot of work to do, and it starts with three games in 2022 against ACC teams in Syracuse, Boston College and NC State. Plus, if the ACC ever considers you, it's going to want all sports. You ain't getting the "Irish" treatment. 

July 12, 2022

I've wondered why New Mexico St has kept its football going and found a somewhat big name in its history. Charley Johnson who had a decent NFL career as a QB. He coached briefly for NMST after they fired Hal Mumme in 2008. NFL playing career :

St. Louis Cardinals (1961–1969)

Houston Oilers (1970–1971)

Denver Broncos (1972–1975)

Sept 25, 2022

The Edsel sank UConn pigskin after letting my Terps down. I doubt if Jim Mora Jr can save them. NC St abused them yesterday.

Liberty found enough O to beat Akron. Dae Dae Hunter 18 carries, 118 yards, 1TD for the Flames.

UMass may be considering downgrading to 1AA or quitting pigskin after a 28-0 loss to Temple.

BYU beat Wyoming. Notre Dame beat the no defense Tar Heels.

New Mexico St 45 Hawaii 28. Rare easy lei for the Ags.

Oct 2, 2022

 Freeze O machine doesn't miss a beat. Liberty 38- ODU 24.

How about those Huskies? Devontae Houston rushed for 105 yards. UMass gave E.Michigan a scare but lost 20-13 

BYU handled UTAH St.

 NMST lost 21-7 to FIU(CUSA). Ags hoops team is going to like the move to the CUSA more than its football team. 

Oct 4, 2022

BYU on NBC this week for a visit to Notre Dame. The Hall to Hill connection will give BYU a big road win.

Oct 9, 2022

Mora Jr has UConn looking like a team. UConn 33 FIU 12. Maybe the Cusa will take them for just football since UConn is a hoops first school and they're staying in the Big East.

 ND 28 BYU 20 to give ND 7-2 lead in the series. Liberty took care of UMass, and Army got trounced by Wake Forest

Oct 13, 2022

I doubt if the MAC wants to deal with UMass as a member again, and UConn would be interesting for football only. This weekend UMass hosts Buffalo while UConn travels to Ball St.

An angry Arkansas(SEC) makes an infrequent visit to BYU. Notre Dame hosts Stanford(Pac12). NMST hosts New Mexico(MWC)

Oct 16, 2022

Big Independents, ND and BYU had rough days. Liberty escaped Gardner -Webb.

UConn didn't score in the second half and lost to Ball St. UMass still doesn't know Defense is one of the three parts of football and lost to Buffalo 34-7.

NMST 21 NM 9 in the Rio Grande Rivalry or Battle of I-25.

Oct 20, 2022

Mormons land in Falwell country for an interesting matchup. Liberty got within one of Wake Forest in its only loss but hasn't played as tough as a schedule as BYU. Dae Dae Hunter is an exciting offensive player for the Flames, but he won't be enough. BYU 34 LIB 27.

BTW, Notre Dame hosts UNLV(MWC) in the first matchup ever between these football teams. ND should recover from the bad loss to Stanford. ND 30 UNLV 17

Oct 22, 2022

Wow BYU got killed in Falwell country. They got a lot of work to do before they play a Big 12 schedule. BYU 14 @ Lib 41 F

Dae Dae Hunter Yds-Rc31 Yds-Ru213 TD-Ru1

Notre Dame beat UNLV 44-21. Pyne threw 2 td passes for the Irish

Oct 30, 2022

BYU keeps losing, this time to ECU(AAC). In New England, UConn beat BC, while UMass lost to New Mexico St.

Notre Dame dominated Syracuse and hosts Clemson next week. The game will be on NBC.

Shifting gears to Independent hoops. Chicago St was unable to land in a small, midwestern conference after leaving the WAC and managed to put together a 2022/23 schedule that includes Delaware St, an hour from my home, and Marshall.

Hartford left the America East conference, despite some recent success, as part of its move to Div III.

Oct 31, 2022

No. 23 Liberty is ranked in the AP football poll for the first time since 2020.

Nov 3, 2022

Interesting weekend with the Independents. 

Liberty may fall right out of the top 25 after it visits Arkansas.

Clemson needs to beat Notre Dame to stay in contention for the F4.

Army/AirForce will be close and is occurring at Arlington TX

BYU needs to beat Boise St if it wants to go bowling.

UConn reaches .500 with a W over UMass.

Nov 4, 2022

Man, I'm stunned that Liberty hung on and beat Arkansas 21-19, particularly after Hunter, one of their best O players was injured in the 1q. AFA beat Army and UConn beat UMass.

Hall to Nicau connection saved the day for BYU in a 35-28 win over Boise ST. Notre Dame deserves props for kicking Clemson's butt and the Tigers were exposed

Lewis and Clark hoops somewhat 021822

 East Coast guy catching up. Here's some older blogs:

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

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/01/p5-pigskin-on-hardwood-january-2020.html

I don't think anyone saw this quick of a turnaround for Zona(Pac12) after Tommy Lloyd was named its head coach last April after serving as an assistant coach at Gonzaga(WCC) for the last 22 seasons. Zags have remained top notch w/o Lloyd and Saint Mary trails them by 3 in the conference. 

Arizona is up by three games on USC and UCLA and by four games over Oregon ASU is 5-9 in P12action and I wonder if Hurley will be hurled out of town.

New Mexico St(11-2) remains a #WAC powerhouse, but the infusion of new teams has shaken up the top top tier. Seattle(11-2) is finally having some success, and newcomer Sam Houston (11-3) has been a revelation. Darrion Trammell leads with Seattle with a16.3 PPG, and Savion Flagg leads SHS with a 19.5 PPG. Exploration of small conferences forthcoming.

Feb 20, 2022

Bennedict Mathurin(24 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) helped the Cats survive the Ducks AZ 84, OR 81. UCLA crushed UW 76-50

Zags beat Santa Clara to remain undefeated in WCC play, and St Mary's beat BYU, who have one more season to get in gear for a Big 12 schedule.

NMST, SHS, and Seattle won WAC games yesterday. Riley Grigsby(23 PTS, 5 REB, 1 STL) had a solid game for Seattle in 67-64 win over Cal Baptist.

In Big West action Ajay Mitchell scored 20 points for UC Santa Barbara in an 84-71 win that snapped Long Beach State's 11-game winning streak.

Feb 22, 2022

I don't know if it's good enough for the NCAA committee's NET tool but keep your eyes on San Fran in the WCC. Khalil Shabazz had 21 points as San Francisco(22-7,9-5) rolled past Pacific 104-71.

NMST beat Seattle and remains the WAC boss.

Feb 25, 2022

I tuned into the start of the Gonzaga/San Francisco, game and the Zags didn't miss a shot in the first few minutes and went on to a 89-73 win. St Mary's handled San Diego and will remain in the top 25.

In Pac 12 play Oregon upset UCLA, USC beat Oregon St, and Zona beat Utah to reach 15-1 in conference play.

Feb 27, 2022

St Mary's upset of Gonzaga kept them firmly in the bubble picture. San Fran, Santa Clara, and BYU won WCC matchups to maintain a pulse for Dance hopes.

I'm unsure what to make of Zona 's loss to Colorado, and USC survived Oregon in Pac 12 news.

Chicago St has been horrible for years, however yesterday's 61-59 win over NMST(WAC) on Brandon Betson's game-winning layup with 2.4 seconds fits into yesterday's pattern of big upsets. Some chatter about Chicago St joining the Summit Conference, which is a better geographical fit.

March 5, 2022

In the WCC, Zags and St Marys will be dancing but other teams need big wins and probably to win the WCC tourney. BYU rolled LMU and will face San Francisco while Portland beat San Diego and will face Santa Clara.

March 6, 2022

Shabazz (22 PTS 4 REB 2 AST) lead SANFRAN over BYU and faces the Zags next

Santa Clara rolled Portland 91-67 and plays St Marys

Ducks are sinking under water. They got crushed 91-71 by Wazzoo and are in a three way tie for 5th with Wazzoo and UW in the Pac 12.

March 8, 2022

WCC final at Orleans Arena in Vegas has its top two teams, Gonzaga/St Marys  which will likely mean these are its two Dance ticket teams.

March 9, 2022

Zags were ready to play last night and beat St Marys 82-69. 

Former WAC member Cal St Bakersfield beat CSU Northridge in rd1 of the Big West T. Both teams have had bad seasons. 

Cal Baptist beat UTRGV in rd1 of the WACT.

March 12, 2022

Big West: CSU Fullerton beat Hawaii and Long Beach St beat UCSB to make it the final tonight.

WAC: Well, we have an all southwest flavor to the WACT final. New Mexico St beat GC, and Abilene Christian beat Seattle last night. AC(Southland Conference) beat Texas in rd1 of the 2021 Dance , which was  the final straw for Shaka in Austin,TX, and also led to Joe Golding leaving AC for the UTEP HC job.

Pac12: Zona beat Colorado and UCLA beat USC to reach the Pac12 final. Both these teams are dancing, and USC will slide in and possibly CU, but I think the Ducks played their way out.

March 13, 2022

Before I get to tournament. title games, it appears that Grand Canyon(WAC) HC Bryce Drew is headed back to the SEC. He coached Vandy from 2016-19 and is high on the list to replace Will Wade at LSU.

Big West: E.J. Anosike scored 22 points for CSUF to escape with a 72-71 win over Long Beach in the title game.

Pac 12 : Zona beat UCLA 84-76

Big Sky: X. Bishop(19 pts, 8 assists) led Montana St to an easy 87-66 win over Northern Colorado.

March 18, 2022

WAC: I didn't pick them and good for NMST upsetting UConn. Allen NMST (37 PTS 6 REB 3 AST)

WCC: Zags  rolled Ga St. ,St Mary's crushed Indiana and  San Fran got close but fell in OT to Murray St.

Pac 12- UCLA got a scare from Akron but prevailed.

March 19, 2022

USC lost a tough one to Miami (FL). Trojans didn't have consistent go to guy on offense. Zona got a battle from Wright St before pulling away in the second half.

It didn't take long: Florida hired San Francisco's Todd Golden to be its men's basketball coach just hours after SF lost to Murray St 92-87 in OT of rd1. He was an assistant at Auburn (2014-16) 

March 20, 2022

 Tigers had no answer for Timme of Gonzaga. Arkansas contained New Mexico State's Teddy ''Buckets'' Allen and survived 53-48. NMST represented the WAC well in this Dance. UCLA beat Saint Marys 72-56 .

I forgot that Larry Brown was on the Memphis staff.

March 21, 2022

Zona survived OT and beat TCU. Two Pac 12 teams and a WCC team in the Sweet 16.

Jans leaves NMST for Miss St (SEC)

March 26, 2022

St Peters knocks out Purdue. Nine Dance tickets for the Big 10, zero spots in the E8.  ACC(3) , SEC (1), B12(1), MAAC (1), Big East(1) AAC(1)

March 29, 2022

Wazzoo(Pac12) is in the F4 of the NIT and will face TAMU(SEC) tonight, and that winner faces the Xavier(Big East)/St Bonaventure(A10) winner on Thursday.

New Mexico State(WAC) hired former Northwest Florida State coach Greg Heiar to replace Jans who took the Miss St job. Heiar led NFS to a NJCAA Division I national championship in 2021.

March 30, 2022 NIT

Xavier 84 St. Bonaventure 77

Texas A&M 72 Washington State 56

April 5, 2022

For the second year in a row, Dana Altman will need to replace one of his assistant coaches and top recruiters. Last season Stubblefield left for the Depaul HC gig. And now, Chris Crutchfield will be the next head coach at Nebraska- Omaha(Summit) after spending just one year in Eugene and recruiting Dior Johnson , a five star player, to Oregon for 2022. Johnson says he's staying with the Ducks. Hectic is a mild description of how it is to run a big time program.

April 7, 2022

I guess dusting off Fran Dunphy to take over as HC at Lasalle has started a trend. San Diego(WCC) hired  Steve Lavin who last coached at St Johns in 2015. Let's see if he can get the Toreros to compete with the Zags.

June 2, 2022

Timme pulled his name from the NBA draft pool and will be back with the Zags. Jules Bernard(UCLA) is rolling the dice  by staying in. Most folks see him in the G League. 

WAC news: Chicago St hasn't found a conference since it's WAC exit. Dixie St changed it's name to Utah Tech.

July 30, 2022

Gonzaga(WCC) will play Michigan State(Big10) on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast of San Diego for Veterans Day 2022. Humidity has forced cancellations in the past for some hoops games on carriers. 

Aug 3, 2022

Kentucky(SEC) and Gonzaga(WCC) agree to home-and-home series starting in Spokane. WA in 2022.

BTW, St Marys(WCC) will play Houston in Fort Worth TX and also has games versus San Diego St, and Vandy which could help its Dance resume.

Nov 3, 2022

 Gonzaga has been transparent with the WCC about its conversations to join the Big 12.

Bill Walton hopes UCLA's move to the Big 10 is rescinded.

Nov 8, 2022

Per Dan Patrick: San Diego St is Pac 12 bound.

Nov 10, 2022

A decade after Enfield coached Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16, his USC squad lost to his former team, 74-61, in LA on Monday night in the season opener for both teams. Enfield played hoops at Johns Hopkins U in Baltimore city.

Nov 11, 2022

I used to enjoy complaining about Tobacco Road hoops in North Carolina when Terps were in the ACC, now I just miss it.  Typical November FGCU loses to San Diego(WCC) after beating USC. UCLA hosts Illinois and visits MD in OOC play.

March 25, 2023

Jason Hooten joins New Mexico St after 13 seasons as the HC at Sam Houston State(WAC). He's got a tough task ahead after ex HC Heiar was fired in mid-season due to the numerous scandals on /off the court with the hoops squad. NMST and SHS will be in the CUSA in July 2023.

Circling back to Enfield, the USC HC who will soon be coaching regularly in the Big 10. He was an assistant at Maryland a long time ago.

April 8, 2023

Utah St(MWC) hires Montana State(Big Sky) HC Danny Sprinkle as Ryan Odom’s replacement.  Sprinkle led Montana State to back-to-back Big Sky tournament championships the past two seasons.

July 1, 2023

Pac12 stumbling and bumbling toward a media contract to save it's a^s has San Diego St stuck in limbo, and they will be a great addition, particularly for hoops to the Pac12. Yes, I think the Aztecs will land in the Pac12.

All the neon shining on Deion's football hopes has me wondering if Colorado basketball get some better players out of all the media attention.