Non P6 tourneys early days

ASUN: I like Lipscomb who opens against N Bama. Jacksonville and Queens won last night and face respectively, EKU and Stetson today. N.Florida faces APU.

HorizonT starts today with Oakland, the conference winner, on a bye. Northern Kentucky is notorious for good tourney runs.

March 6, 2024

ASUNT:  Lipscomb falls to UNA and EKU falls to JAC while Stetson and APU advance.

MAC: Akron falls to EMU and into a tie with Toledo for first.

MWC: UNLV beat SDSU, NEV knocked BSU, and both winners trail USU by a half game.

March 7, 2024

I. Milicic (26 PTS,10reb) for Charlotte(AAC) in a win over Rice to stay in 3rd behind FAU who beat UNT.

Richmond's win over JOES wasn't pretty but it kept them ahead of LOYCH who beat DAV(A10).

Wagner upset Sacred Heart in rd1 of the NECT.

March 8, 2024

ASUNT: Stetson & PEAY advance to the final. Swenson scored 29 for STET in a win over JAC.

Warrick scored 35 for NKU in an OT win over Wright St. Norse magic back for March.

MVC: UIC upset SIU. Murray St only scored 35 in a loss to MOSU.

March 9, 2024

Conwell scored 20 for the Sycamores in a win over MOSU and faces UNI(MVC) next. BRAD/Drake in the other semifinal game.

UALR and MHST advanced to the OVC final.

Sloppy Akron lost to WMU and is limping into the MACT.

Boise ST beats the Aztecs(5th in MWC)in OT

March 10, 2024

UNCG(Southern) went from upsetting UK to no shot at the Dance after losing to ETSU yesterday. Morehead St upset UARL to get OVC ticket.

FAU(AAC) put MEM nearly in the NIT, USF lost to Tulsa. Appy(SBC) needed OT to escape GASO.

Indiana St/Drake. Can goggle guy Avila keep it going?

Towson U beat W&M to advance in the CAAT.

March 11, 2024

 Williamson scored 18 for Towson U in a win over UNCW and faces Co C in a CAAT semi-final.

Drake gets the MVC ticket. Does INST get screwed? STET survived PEAY for the ASUN ticket.

Omaha upset NDak in a Summit semi. Will we see two Nebraska teams at the dance?

March 12, 2024

Zags beat SF and face SMC in the WCCT final. SF likely to the NIT. JMU wins SBCT, Appy likely NIT. 

Denver, with the nation’s leading scorer, Tommy Bruner, beat Omaha and faces SDAK St in the Summit final. Fidler scored 27 for Omaha.

 Towson fell to CoC, who faces Stony Brook in the CAAT final.

March 13, 2024

Mahaney (23pts) for SMC over the Zags in the WCCT final. Oakland won the HorizonT-big night for Townsend(38pts, 11reb) SDAK St won the Summitt. CofC struggled but survived Stony Brook in the CAAT final.

March 14, 2024

WACT: SFA beat AB. Tchoukuiengo (21pts, 10ast) for Cal Baptist in OT win over UVU.

CUSAT: one seed SHS beat FIU, two seed La Tech lost to MTSU

Big WestT: AMitchell(36pts,9reb, 5ast) for UCSB in a loss to CSN.

March 15, 2024.

UTA blew out SFA in the WAC. MEM and SMU are toast in the AAC. Akron won. Toledo upset by WMU in the MAC. I wonder how Nevada's loss to CSU affects Dance tickets.

March 16, 2024

Wilson scored 28 for UTA who edged Tarleton to face GCU in the WACT final.

Freeman(24pts, 21reb) for Akron who held off Ohio to face Kent St in the MACT final.

Aztecs handled Utah St 86-70. UTEP upset SHS in the CUSA. UAB,FAU, UAB, & Temple remain in the AACT.

March 17, 2024

Greg Tribble makes both free throw for Akron after getting fouled in the backcourt court with 4 seconds on the clock. AKR 62 Kent 61.

UAB and Temple in the AACT final today. Few foresaw that one.

Lobos win MWCT. GCU beat UTA in the WAC.WKU over UTEP in the CUSA.

L Traore and Thompson each scored 25 points for Long Beach St in a win over UC Davis in the Big West. Dan Monson, who was fired by LBST on Monday, gets to coach a little longer this season. 

March 18, 2024

USF(AAC) and Indiana St(MVC), regular season champs, got hosed by the Dance committee.

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2024/02/non-p6-hoops-2024-part-3.html

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

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.

 

 

Chi-town area pre xmas 2019 hoops

Sometimes reading a print edition of the paper wakes me up to items I've missed.
The Coppin St Eagles , a Baltimore City university, who've been floundering in the MEAC for a few seasons beat Loyola of Chicago (MVC) early in November and just as I thought the Ramblers had stumbled in to a ditch, they upset Vandy(SEC)  76-72 last night .Krutwig  (22 pts, 10 assists)
DePaul (BIG East) has done well in pre conference play with wins over Iowa, Cincy, and Minnesota. Their sole loss was to Buffalo (MAC).
UIC Horizon) and Chicago St(WAC) have struggled big time.
Northwestern(Big10) had a nice win over Providence in November and came close against Sparty last night.

dec 21

It never fails:  I mentioned UIC's struggles and they go out out and beat UC Irvine(BIG West) 76-67. Ottey scored 18 for #UIC .

dec 25

On Sunday Dec 22 Chicago St Cougars lost to Indiana St(MVC) 85-64.Xavier Johnson and Isaiah Lewis led each scored  17 points in the defeat. Cougars head to Missouri(SEC) for a game on Dec 30
Loyola of Chicago lost to Davidson (A10). Marquise Kennedy scored 16 points off the bench for the Ramblers in  the loss.

DEC 29

#GodrenBoahen scored 21 points off the UIC bench in a 71-66 win over Cleveland St

jan 5, 2020

#depaul is missing those pre Xmas days. They're 0-2 in the Big East. Paul Reed had 24 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks for the Blue Demons in a 66-65 loss to Providence who won when Nate Watson sank a free throw with a second left. Depaul lost to Seton hall 74-63 on Dec 30.

jan 19

DePaul got its first Big East win this season by knocking off # 5 Butler . #paulreed was the top Blue Deacon (23 PTS, 9 REB, 1 AST) 79-66. Northwestern(B10) hung close but lost to Illinois 75-71. Tarkus Ferguson(16 PTS, 9 REB, 9 AST) led UIC to a 75-66 win in Horizon Conference action.

feb 6

Loyola of Chicago only scored 16 points in the second half of  68-39 loss  to Indiana St in MVC game . Both teams are tied for third with 7-4  records. NIU (9-2) SIU( 8-3) are ahead of them in the MVC

feb 15

My occasional interest in Chicago area teams caused me to check in on the UIC((12-15, 7-7)/Wright St(22-5, 12-2) game last night. Tarkus Ferguson scored 18 points  for UIC in its 75-58 loss. Wright St has a one game lead over Northern Kentucky(19-7,11-3) , who hasn't appeared to be miss  a beat since Coach Brannen moved on to Cincy,  in Horizon League.

March 10

 Tarkus Ferguson scored 25 points for Illinois-Chicago in 73-56 win over Wright St to  advance to its first Horizon League title game since 2004. They'll face Northern Kentucky. Wright St finished first in Horizon in regular season play but may miss the Dance.

March 11

UIC made a run at NKU late and their press did some damage , but NKY punched the Horizon Dance ticket with a 71-62 win. 

T. Ferguson (ILLCH)I15 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST

T. Sharpe (NKY)16 PTS, 3 AST March 26 UIC has been talking a lot about getting to the Dance since they haven't punched a Dance ticket since 2004. They hired LukeYaklich, an assistant coach at Texas and a native of Illinois, to replace Steve McLain, who had three consecutive winning seasons. I bet McLain gets another HC gig soon. april 3  #DaveLeitao received a contract extension through 2023-24. I guess Depaul ADMIN saw signs of improvement, but after starting 12-1 last season they  finished16-16 overall. The Blue Demons  had solid victories against Iowa, Texas Tech and Butler but collapsed during the Big East Conference season. may 19, 2020  I was reading through my blog to see if I missed any hints that  Green Bay would fire Linc Darner who had a winning record in three of the past four seasons and took them to Dance in 2016, his first season. He was 96-80 in five seasons and  had Amari Davis,  Horizon League Freshman of the Year, returning this season.The "Zoom" coach search begins. June 9, 2020

Green Bay(Horizon) announced Will Ryan , the son of former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, as its next HC. He was HC at Div II Wheeling U in West Virginia last season. I'm still looking for published reasons as to why Darner was canned.

June 17, 2020

Robert Morris(NEC) is joining the Horizon League beginning in the 2020-21 academic year for everything except football. The school is  located in  Moon Township, Pennsylvania and most of the Horizon League is located in the Midwest. RMU will join Fort Wayne as the conference’s 11th and 12th members this fall.

July 15, 2020

Robert Morris stays in the news. They will replace Fordham on Hawaii's 2020 football schedule. The football team is a 1AA Independent this season before moving to the Big South.

Nov 22, 2020

 #carmitacoleman , a former Chicago State University professor, faces federal charges for allegedly embezzling over $650,000 from Student National Pharmaceutical Association, a national organization geared toward providing opportunities to minority students.  Perhaps this is one of many reasons Chicago St, a WAC member, has so many financial problems.

Feb 14, 2021

Checking back in with Chi-town hoops. It's appears  those Catholics at Loyola-Chicago are getting into Dance mode. Aher Uguak sparked the Ramblers (18-3, 13-1 MVC) scoring eight points in a two-minute span and finishing with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 81-54 win over Drake (19-2, 10-2 MVC).

UIC  was swept by IUPUI, a Horizon League foe.

DePaul Blue Demons (3-9 Overall | 1-9 Big East - 11th) lost to Providence and sits alone in the Big East cellar.

Chicago St (0-9) hasn't played since just before Xmas 2020 and did play a WAC opponent. It sure appears as if  its sports program is nearly dead.

Feb 15, 2021

In the season of back to back matchups, Tremell Murphy scored 17 points, for Drake who rallied past No. 22 Loyola Chicago 51-50 on Sunday.

Aug 1, 2023

Appears NW football is setting up Skip Holtz, now a special assistant, to be the HFC in 2024. Somehow NW hoops HC Chris Collins has escaped the "hazing " storm?

Loretta Lynch will likely try to emasculate football at NW. Big 10 may need to raid another conference.

She stayed loyal to the Clintons during email scandal etc.

Aug 4, 2023

Here come the lawyers: Packers CEO Mark Murphy, the NW AD from 2003-07, is a defendant in a lawsuit by two former players, who both filed under "John Doe," were at Northwestern from 2004 to 2008.

Aug 10, 2023

'Cats Against the World' t-shirts," worn by players. NW AD says tone deaf. HC says I don't censor.

Sept 4, 2023

Rutgers 24 NW 7. It going to be a long season in Chicago. UTEP(CUSA) comes to NW- Cats looking at (0-2)?

Also, NW plays Chicago St in hoops this December.