Non power hoops, it's mid February

 Enis scored 27 for first place USF(AAC) who needed OT to get by FAU.

Wells scored 19 for RMU(HOR) in a win over OAK. Fourth straight win for the Colonials.

Smiley scored 21 for first place BEL(MVC) in a win over MUR.

Feb 17, 2026

Fricks scored 27 for the Herd in a win over USA that places them in a 3 way tie for second with Troy and USA behind first place Appy.

Coppin St edged SCSU in MEAC action for its third straight win.

Feb 18, 2026

MOH beat UMass but Akron beat WMU to remain 1GB.

Henley scored 21 for GC in a big MWC win over the Aztecs.

Feb 19, 2026

ASUN: C. Ark has won 10 straight to move within a game of APU. Last night QUE beat UNA to move into third.

T. Moore scored 27 for WKU(CUSA, 3rd) in an OT win over DEL.

Feb 20, 2026

J. King scored 24 pts for UMBC in a win over VER, that puts them atop the AM.East

Marshall knocked off APPYwith a strong second half and moved into a tie for first with Troy in the SBC. Speer scored 24 for the Herd

Non power hoops- conference play in January

 I thought UMass would start off better playing in the MAC , but they are 0-3 in MAC play with an OT loss to BGSU. J. Campbell scored 47 points for the Falcons

ORU/NDSU was a back and forth affair in Summit action , Strickland scored 15 for  the Bison in the double OT win.

CHAR beat WICH in OT in AAC action. Mingo scored 29 for the 49ers.

Herd move 2-1 in the SBC with a W over Appy. Speer scored 21 for MU.

Jan 6, 2026

Green Bay 8-8 ,3-2(HORIZON) edged MILW 79-76 in Horizon play. Gottlieb is having a better season than last year. J.Allen scored 21 points for the Phoenix

Jan 7, 2026

Definitely didn't expect  the Cowboys to squash the Rebels. WYO 98 UNLV 60. Walker scored 28 for WYO.

Dayton  played a sluggish first half against GW but  were only trailing  by 5 at halftime and outscored GW by 12 in the second half for  79-72 W. Bennett scored 20 for the Flyers.

Jan 9, 2026

Gonzaga outscored Santa Clara, 52-40 in the second half for an 89-77 win. Ike scored 34 for the Zags.

LMU outlasted SF in OT. R.Beasley of the Dons was the high scorer of the game with 32 points

Beavers beat the Redhawks

Ok, I still check in on Chicago St. They played decent  but went to 0-3 in the NEC with  a 70-63 loss to FDU. Attendance was 329 and, it was not snowing in Chitown yesterday.

Jan 10, 2026

MAC: Woolfolk scored 20 for MOH(17-0, 5-0)  in a W over Toledo, Lyles(18, 10) for Akron(12-4, 3-1) in a W over BGSU.

Jan 11, 2026

W. Fricks (21PTS10REB3ST) wasn't enough for Herd who fell to G St.  He!! of a matchup in  in VA. JMU out scored ODU 43 -25 in the second half for a home W.

Troy, CCU,USA, USM, Ark St won yessterday. USM is in first by a half game.

Jan 14, 2026

MOH(MAC) remains undefeated, pummels CMU

In MVC action UIC edged UNI Momoh scored 21 for the Flames.  J.Johnson scored 35 for BRAD in an OT win over EVAN.

Jan 15, 2026

It appears UAB is waking up. KLM (19, 12) for the Blazers in a win over TUL.

WTH happened to USM. Campbell scored 30 for the Trojans in a 91-65 W over USM . Troy is in first place in the SBC

Winthrop beat  High Point to move into a tie for first with them in the Big South.

Jan 17, 2026

MAC Friday: Zeigler(28 7 4) led Ball St to a W over Ohio. Kent St survived TOL and sits 1GB of MOH

Jan 18, 2026

Moore (20pts, 6ast) led GCU to a big win over USU . UNLV, NEV, & SDSU also won among theMWC top 6 teams.

Queens sit atop the ASUN after a win over  STET. Mann(20, 10, 6) for Royals

Jan 20, 2026

GMU (FT 49%, FT 65%) survived GW in a nip & tuck game and sit atop the A10 by a half game over SLU who 's ranked 24th in the  AP25

Jan 21, 2026

Suder(MOH) and Whaley(KENT) put up  solid numbers.  The Red Hawks survived in OT 107-101. AKR rolled BUFF and 1.5GB MOH in the MAC.  SLU beat DUQ to move into a tie for first with GMU in the A10.

Jan 22, 2026

It took 2OT for  Seng(34pts) & Troy U to beat ODU and remain atop the SBC. Tulsa handled MEM easily in AAC action. FAU sits atop the AAC

Jan 23, 2026

I have to mention the Herd hitting 26/52 treys in a 115-60 win over ULM. Duninsky and Hollenback each hit 5 treys.

MOSU is in the thick of the CUSA race. Palek score 26 in the Bears win over NMSU.

Hawaii and UCI remain tied atop the Big West. HAW beat CSB and UCI beat UCR.

Jan 24, 2026

Billikens spanked the Bonnies in A10 action

G. Emejuru (16reb) for ECU getting  its first AAC win. ECU 63 NTX 59

UMass is finding its way in the MAC up to 4-5 with a W over BUFF

Jan 25 2026

MEM loses again , this time to WICH. 

TEM and Tulsa each won and are 1GB FAU(AAC)

K.Williams scored 21 for MOSU(CUSA-2nd) in a win over UTEP

Jan 28, 2026

MAC: MOH edged UMass to remain undefeated.

A10: A. Williford, JOES guard had 17pts and 10 reb, in a blowout of LOYCH. T. Green scored 23 for 1st place SLU in a win over GW.

Jan 30, 2026 

Metheny scored 29 for the Flames (10-0, CUSA)in a W over MTSU

C.Davis scored 23 in JMU's upset of first place Troy(SBC)

Pierce(25pts, 10 reb) was not enough for PREB to knock of first place High Point(Big South)

Jan 31, 2026

Horizon: Detroit led by Spratt's 28 points beat NKU. Burch scored 18 in WRST win over MILW and lead Oakland  by a half game.

 Charlotte(AAC) beat Rice for its 4th win in a rowand takes over the top spot.

O5 title games -2024

Jacksonville State 24 Western Kentucky 21: Stewart  rushes for over 100 yards for Jax St.

Tulane 17 Army 16:  Just a gut feeling the Green Wave D recovers from the Memphis game.

Boise St  31 UNLV 20: Jeanty rides on!

Miami(OH) 34 Ohio 24:  Gabbert tosses a few TDs in the Red Hawks win.

Marshall 28 ULL 27: Coach Huff has rounded the Herd into shape.

Dec 7, 2024

Big games for RBs

Wrong on TUL as Udoh of Army rushed for 158 yards and a TD

Right about JVU and Boise St. Jeanty(BSU) and Stewart JVU each rushed for over 200 yards.

Dec 8 2024

Split yesterday. Correct on the Herd who rolled the Cajuns 31-3. Wrong on MO who were handled by Ohio.  Ohio's HC Tim Albin is likely headed to Charlotte(AAC).

Appy is hiring Loggains, the South Carolina OC, to be its next HC. 

Dec 10, 2024

O5 hires: Huff stays in Sunbelt, leaves Marshall for USM. Tony Gibson (NC St DC) replaces Huff.

Willie Simmos(Duke RB  coach) takes over at FIU.

Mendenhall stays in MWC, leaves UNM for USU

Jerry Mack (Jacksonville Jaguars RB coach) takes Kennesaw St  HC job.

Week 14 Turkey and more

Over the years, TX/TAMU or MissSt/ Ole Miss have been in the Thanksgiving night time slot. Tonight it's Tulane/Memphis in an AAC matchup. If Tulane wins tonight then beats Army in the title game, I doubt if it will be enough to get them in the F12.

Each team has decent QBs and starting RBs. Green Wave is on a roll. TUL 31 Mem 27

CUSA: Liberty wins and they're in the CUSA title game  against JVST. Cooley rushed for 100+ yards for the Flames in 24-13 win over SHSU.

MAC: Four teams left in the MAC title race. Buffalo won Tuesday but needs a ton of scenarios to occur to get in. Ohio has a shot  (Miami OH) and Bowling Green , the other two teams vying for a title game chance, will play Friday at Noon.

Fannin, the BG TE, is a game time decision to play. I'll roll the dice . BG 27 Miami(OH) 21.

MWC: UNLV wins and they're in cuz they have a higher CFP metric than Col St. They did not play H2H this season.

UNLV plays Nevada.  CSU  plays an improving USU.

CSU wins 17-14 with a late TD pass from Nicosi.

SBC: Ton of title game  scenarios  in a conference with divisions.South Alabama clinches with a win AND a loss by ULL.

USA will beat TX St  24-23 to keep the pressure on ULL who faces ULM. Bothwell rushes for 100 yards for the USA Jags.

Nov 29 2024

Wrong on Tulane who didn't score in the 2nd &3rd quarters. Mario Anderson rushed for 177 yards for Memphis. MEM 34 TUL 24

Continue to be wrong: Liberty lost to SHSU. BG lost to Miami (OH), and South Bama lost to TX St

Red Hawks were focused on slowing down Fanin 8 REC , 47 yards

CSU was my sole correct pick. Nicosi threw 4 TD passes and ran for the game winning TD late in the 4th. I predicted a game winning toss. CSU 42 USU 37

Dec 1, 2024

Tip my hat to the #herd on its big 35-33 OT win over JMU. In the second OT MU converted a two point play, JUM did not. MU has won 6 straight and faces ULL in the SBC title game.

Other  notes:  Aztecs(MWC) lost 6 in a row to finish 3-9 for the season.

MAC title game in Detroit feature Ohio teams: Miami(OH) /Ohio.

WKU upset JVU  to gain the chance to play them again next week for the CUSA title. JVU hosts the game.

Dec 3 2024

Kittley, a year as the WKU OC , then 3 at Texas Tech  , is the new HC at FAU (AAC). TT's O was eighth in scoring in 2024.

Appy fires Shawn Clark, Rough season not sure this is the answer.

Aug 13, 2025

I got curious about ULM head coaches after reading  that Bryant Vincent, the current HC, will also be the interim AD. For you old timers, John David Crow, the 1957 Heisman trophy winner from TAMU and an NFL RB, was the HC from 1976-80. 

Oct 1, 2025

Tory Horton, rd5 pick from Colorado St , is off to a solid start in the NFL for SEA. He played at Nevada before moving to CSU.

Non-P6 NIT action

 J Kent (35pts,9reb) for INST in a 101-92 win over SMU. St Joe's gave Seton Hall a scare but fell, while VCU beat NOVA.  San Fran edged by Cincy(B12) and Appy lost to Wake Forest(ACC). 

Noteworthy to see LOYCH(A10) lose to Bradley, its one-time MVC foe.

UNLV beat Princeton.

March 24, 2024

Reigning NIT champion NTX(AAC) fell to Seton Hall(Big East) 72-58. The Pirates will host the winner of UNLV/Boston College next week. Bradley(MVC) lost to Cincy(Big12), 74-57.  Jizzle James(what a first name) scored 25 for Cincy.

Looks like Coach May is leaving FAU for Michigan

March 25, 2024

 Indiana St vs Cincy - great regional matchup in the NIT. also upcoming: Seton Hall vs. UNLV . 

VCU vs. Utah, Ohio State vs. Georgia

March 26, 2024

Utah St loses Sprinkle to UW. Last year Sprinkle left Montana St to replaced Odom who took the VCU job.

Marshall promotes Cornelius Jackson to replace Dant0ni who was given a nudge out the door.

Vanderbilt hires James Madison’s Mark Byington.

Drake loses DeVries to WV.

March 27, 2024

Avila(22pts, 6ast) for Sycamores in a win over Cincy.  GA edged Ohio St. It was only the second time GA and OSU met in hoops.

 Buckeyes beat the Bulldogs 84-80 in OT Dec. 28, 1997, in the Louisville Holiday Classic.

March 28 2024

P6 schools have three of the NIT F4 slots. Seton Hall pounded UNLV and Utah handled VCU. 

Georgia vs. Seton Hall, Indiana State(MVC) vs. Utah

Louisville agrees to 5-year deal to hire Pat Kelsey from Charleston(CAA), as men’s basketball coach. Long time ago he was on Chris Mack's Xavier staff.

March 30, 2024

Siena(MAAC) hires Gerry McNamara, former Cuse PG and assistant coach.  When he played on Orange title team, I was inundated with questions of is he your relative and I'd say no, McNamara is a fairly common last name in most countries with English as a first language.

FAU(AAC) gets Baylor assistant John Jakus

Rice (AAC) Out : Scott Pera | In : Rob Lanier (just canned by SMU)

April 2, 2024

Does USC raid Non P6 to replace Enfield(headed to SMU) for Medved of CSU or Terada of St Mary's?  Or Hart(G League) who was an assistant at USC from 2013-2021.

Apr 3, 2024

Enfield says SMU being in the ACC made the difference.

How about Indiana St getting 27 points from Conwell and advancing to the NIT final to face Seton Hall who beat GA?

April 4, 2024

Ben McCollum of Div II NW Missouri State, takes the Drake job and has recruited in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois.

April 5, 2024

Sycamores came back to take a 7 point lead late in the game, but Seton Hall finished with a 9 point run  SH 79 Ind St 77

J. Larry G - INST (18PTS 6AST)

April 6, 2024

Utah St replaces Sprinkle with Faukner from YSU(Horizon). JMU hires Spradlin from Morehead St. EWU loses Riley to Wazzoo. INDSU(MVC) is likely losing Shertz to St Louis(A10).

 Is Wade leaving McNeese St to return to SEC, this time at Arkansas?

April 13, 2024

Is the College Basketball Crown, the Fox Sports/AEG launch next year, going to squash the NIT? And will it ignore non-P6 teams?

Josh Loeffler, a Bearcats assistant, takes the Loyola -MD (MAAC)job.  He was the Johns Hopkins HC(2017-23). ODU(SBC) hired Mike Jones off the Terps staff -he has strong DC area ties.

April 16, 2024

Long Beach State: Chris Acker replaces Monson and will reunite with athletic director Bobby Smitheran, who was at SDSU until the summer of 2023. So, it's about getting your own guy?

April 18, 2024

Mark Montgomery, an Izzo assistant, replaces Mike Davis at Detroit(Horizon). Definitely looks like a good hire. Detroit was 1-31last season.

May 15, 2024

Doug Gottlieb gets the UW-Green Bay(Horizon) HC job. His only coaching experience is being on Bruce Pearl's staff at the Maccabiah Games. His dad coached at UW- Milwaukee in the mid 1970s.

Sundance Wicks left Green Bay to take the Wyoming job.

June 13, 2024

Coach Josh Schertz got Avila and Swope to follow him  from INST to St Louis, and now the Billikens  are getting ink as a pre-season fave to win the A!0, Big leap?

July 25, 2024

Chris Mack  (278-133) landed at Charleston(CAA). That bumpy ride in Louisville took its toll.

I was surprised when Isaiah Crawford went undrafted, but the former La Tech  player is having a nice summer for Sacramento.

Most NIL movement is to or among the P6. However, Memphis (AAC) got Tyrese Hunter from Texas and Dain Danja from Illinois. 

Aug 21, 2024

Michigan(B10), Oakland (Horizon) will play a Hoops. charity exhibition at Little Caesars Arena on 10/20. Oakland is 1-8  in the series.

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.

Dec 15, 2025

Stunned that Chicago St(NEC) beat LOYCH(A10). Cockrill scored  22 for the Cougars in the 84-75 W.

 

 

Hovering over Chi-town area college hoops

 Impotent Evansville scored 12 +19 in an 82-31 MVC loss at Loyola of Chicago. L of C is tied with NIU for the MVC lead and I'm sure they'd like another MVC title before they join the Atlantic 10 next season. SIu rolled Illinois St 90-69 in other MVC action.

Earlier blog on Chicago hoops: https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2021/02/chicago-hoops-weak-depaul-and-more.html

Feb 25, 2022

Zion Griffin had 21 points as UIC turned back Green Bay 81-77 in Horizon action , and Clev St fell to Detroit Mercy, which used to be the U of Detroit when Spencer Haywood and Dick Vitale were there. 

Feb 27, 2022

NIU outscored LoC 15-9 in OT for a 102-96 win and the MVC regular season title.

Feb 28, 2022

Javon Freeman-Liberty scored 39 points as DePaul(14-14, 5-13 Big East) turned back St. John's 99-94  while UConn kept GTown winless in the Big East. 

March 2, 2022

 Kevin Johnson scored 21 points for UIC in an 80-69 win over Milwaukee in the first round of the Horizon League Tourney. Flames won their final three regular season games in the Horizon and could be a spoiler.

March 3, 2022

That Liberty kid went off again for DePaul again last night in a win over Marquette. If they beat UConn, a loser to Creighton last night, on Saturday, you can expect the Blue Demons(15-14, 6-13) to upset someone in the Big East T.

Chicago St(WAC) follows up its upset of NMST with a 62-53 loss to Cal Baptist in conference play.

MARCH 4, 2022

UIC lost to Purdue- Fort Wayne in the HorizonT

Ill St beat Indiana St to advance in the MVCT

March 5, 2022

MVCT: Loyola of Chicago cruised by Bradley so we may see the nuns in the stands at Dance again. Ill St lost to UNI and SIU lost to Drake.

LoC faces UNI, and Drake faces Missouri State today.

March 6, 2022

DePaul gave UConn a tough game but could not stop Sanogo (26 PTS 11 REB 1 AST) under the basket.. UConn 75 DEP 68

Lookout for the nuns : Loyola of Chicago handled UNI easily and will face Drake in the MVCT final.

March 8, 2022

 WAC tournament tips of at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, NV.  B. Betson(14.3 ppg)  and his Chicago St(7-24, 3-15) teammates face UVU in what  may be one of its last one WACT s as they look for a conference closer to Chicago.

Wright State(20-13, 15-7) faces Northern Kentucky(20-11, 14-6) in the HorizonT final

March 20, 2022

Wright St won the play in game over Bryant and gave Arizona a hard time in the first half before  getting rolled.

Loyola of Chicago lost to Ohio St.

Illinois played a ragged game and was lucky to survive Tenn-Chattanooga

In the NIT, UNI got rolled by BYU

Sean Miller escaped the mess in Arizona and reportedly turned down South Carolina to return to Xavier(Big East)

March 21, 2022.

Houston rolled Illinois, who looked ragged.

Missouri is reportedly close to hiring Dennis Gates of Cleveland State(Horizon). He's had some solid seasons but not awesome for a smaller conference.

March 22, 2022

Ryan Pedon , ex Ohio State assistant coach, who was the No. 2 pick for the Cincinnati job a year ago, is the new Illinois State HC. I didn't recall him being that close to Cincy job last off-season.

May 23, 2022

After stumbling at Georgia, Tom Crean could be headed back to the state of Indiana. Evansville has him on its list. He compiled a 190–66 record at Marquette (.664) and 166–135 record at Indiana (.551). 

July 9, 2022

Chicago St remains in limbo since leaving the WAC. It won't survive in 1A hoops as an Independent.

Crean didn't get the Evansville gig. David Ragland joins Evansville following a 1-year stint as an assistant coach at Butler University.

Nov 13, 2025

Kevin Mackey (August 21, 1946 – November 11, 2025) . His Cleveland St team upset Indiana and Saint Joseph's to make the Sweet 16 in the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. 

He got in some trouble later

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.

Chi-town area Saturday (Jan 13) hoops

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

jan 17, 2019

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

Jan 19,2019

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

Jan 20, 2019

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

Jan 24, 2019

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

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

Jan 28

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

jAN 30

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

Jan 31, 2019

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

Feb 2

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

feb 3

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

feb 4

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

feb 5

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

feb 6

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

feb 10

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

feb 11

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

feb 13

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

feb 14

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

feb 17

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

feb 18

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

Feb 21

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

Feb 23

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

Feb 24

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

feb 28

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

march 3

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

march 6

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

march 7

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

march 8

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

March 9

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

March 10

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

March 14

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

March 15

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

March 30, 2019

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

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

April 4, 2019

#depaul survived some sloppy play at the end of regulation to defeat USF 100-96 in OT.  Paul Reed was big for the Blue Demons ( 28 PTS, 16 REB, 2 AST)

april 6

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

april 18

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

Sept 27, 2025

Remember the F4 run in 2018. Sister Jean , chaplain at LOYCH, retires at the age 106 .  

Moser has been decent not great at OK.

Chicago St is at the bottom of the NEC.

DePaul hasn't improved a whole lot.

NW has been up and down

Where do all those Chicago area hoopsters  take their talents. 

Vegas to Diamondhead- those players' first names

I was scanning the 12/23/18 scores of the smaller hoop conferences  and the names JoJo, Fatts, Amauri, Zigmars, and Lamine  leapt off the page.
Jo Jo Zamora scored 28  for N.Mex St  (WAC) in a win over Wash St (Pac12). Of course, I remember Jo Jo White, of Kansas then the Celtics.
Fatts Russell scored 20 for Rhode Island (A10) in a win over Charlotte (CUSA).
Amauri Hardy scored 22  for UNLV (MWC) in its loss to Indiana St(MVC)

Zigmars Raimo (14 PTS, 17 REB, 3 AST) in Hawaii's (Big West) win over Colorado (pac 12) 

Lamine Diane (24 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST ) for CSU Northridge (Big West) in a narrow win over Rider(MAAC)

April 20

Making the transition to  college baseball players' interesting first names.

Alsander Womack

Norfolk St. batting

.463.

Easton Walker has a .82 ERA for BYU.

 Adley Rutschman batting  .420 for Oregon St.  Equon Smith has 32 SB for Jackson St.
Andru Summerall (FAU) scored 29 runs

may 7, 2019

I guess this first name isn't too rare.  #davonJones, a BC  RUNNING BACK grad transfer, will be reunited with former Boston College assistant coach Scot Loeffler, who is now the head coach of Bowling Green (MAC).

may 26,2019

 The spelling of  #CodiePaiva,  Loyola Marymount pitcher (7-5, 1.71 ERA), first name is different. BTW, LMU won the WCC tournament.

june 19

Try learning how to spell this first name as a kid:  Kent St defensive back #QwuantrezzKnight will appeal the NCAA's denial of his waiver request for immediate eligibility, which he says is based on depression he developed while playing at MD.

July 13

 #Tyree Appleby 's name has some commercial potential ,  but he was the Cleveland St (Horizon) best basketball player, and his transfer request may have played a role in yesterday's dismissal of head coach #DennisFelton and his staff in the middle of the only July live period. Felton's resume includes HC stints at #wku and #uga .

aug 20

 Wisconsin football reinstates WR Quintez Cephus after being acquitted on two counts of sexual assault.
 aug 26:  Cephus is practicing and listed behind Pryor on the WR depth chart.
sept 2: Cephus had three catches for 39 yards in a Wisky blowout  49-0 win over USF . Bigger question is USF HC Charley Strong  headed for the exit?
sept 24:  Healthy Houston QB D’Eriq King is going to use the red shirt rule to eventually grad transfer elsewhere in 2020.  Self absorption reaches a new high

May 3 , 2020 

I omitted #pookawilliams, RB for Kansas, in my list. He'll be back for his junior year this season.  He's first Kansas U football player since Gale Sayers in 1963 to reach 2,000 career rushing yards in his first two seasons. BTW, Kansas is renewing a Big 8/ big 12 border war in 2025 with Missouri who left for the SEC in 2011.

August 18, 2020

Jahmi'us Ramsey, a Texas Tech freshman hoopster is expected to be a rd1 pick in the NBA draft. The spelling of his name has me wondering if the clerk hit the ' in error while typing his birth certificate.

Jan 10, 2021

Sometimes checking out these rare first names keeps me in the loop. I caught some action on the Red Zone and noticed that #QuintezCephus saw a lot of action in final four games for the Detroit Lions.

May 8, 2021

#JakubDombek and his Hartford U teammates can't be happy with this. Their reward for winning  the school's first America East championship and first Dance ticket is to learn its dropping all sports  from Division I to Division III. Consultants claim the move will save 9M.

May 9, 2021

Cashius McNeilly, a Texas A&M point guard and a native of Scarborough, Ontario , transferred  to TCU . Maybe he'll change the spelling to $$$$ius to take advantage of  the coming laws that allow college athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness rights.

May 11, 2021

BTW, Pooka Williams was signed as a FA by the Bengals 

May 27, 2021

"It's the lack of respect for the area that bothers me," Hartford U hoops Coach Gallagher said. "It's the '(Hartford) Whalers Syndrome.'

Aug 9, 2022

Checking back in! Pooka Williams, spent most of last season on the Bengals training squad and played one game in December at kick returner. He's been a returner during 2022 Bengals training camp.

Sept 9, 2022

Some tough games to pick among teams with a long matchup histories took me another odd first name. Jirehl Brock, RB for Iowa St. Iowa/Iowa St and Kansas St /Missouri are some tough games to predict this weekend.

Dec 29, 2022

Jalon Daniels was back for the Jayhawks who nearly completed a huge comeback against Arkansas but fell 55-53 in OT. Texas Tech spanked Ol Miss last night. I was hoping for a 2-0 Big 12 night.

Circling back to the original blog topic, I noticed Pooka Williams only lasted a season with the Bengals and is now in the XFL.

Sept 16, 2025

I grew up a Terps fan but always looked to see if an SWC game was on national TV. This week two former SWC schools matchup. SMU(ACC) @ TCU(Big 12)

I bet the TCU kicker, Nate McCashland , hears comments on his last name. @Robert Ash

Iron Skillet is on.

.

Coaching hoop moves or not, post Madness

Is it  the $$$ tempting  #chrismack to consider  leaving a solid hoops program at Xavier (BIg East) for the Louisville swamp?
#TubbySmith had Memphis close to a Dance ticket and he's gone as theyre chasing Penny Hardaway to take over.
#umbc doesn't have a lot of money but I suspect Odom stays.
#hurley sounds like he'll stay at URI.  A10 is a solid hoops conference Why would he take the #Pitt job?
Can #nevada keep the #Mussbus in it's garage?
Pitino Jr Gophers were bad. Is he out?
Pearl is in deep  crap again? Is he out at Auburn
Crean took the #georgia job? Not sure if that's a great fit.
Is Depaul thinking Moser, the Loyola Chicago HC should come on over?

March 22,2018

#padgett out! I thought he did a decent job. Is #utahst  his next stop? Pitt doesn't have enough issues. and now the #seanmiller rumors

March 23, 2018

#coloradost  raids the MVC and hires #Medved, who spent six seasons as an Asst at CSU and was 17-17 at #Drake last season.
Moser's stock rises

march 24 update.

 #markgottfried has had high & lows at Bama and NC St and has landed at Cal  St Northridge(Big West). Lorenzo Romar from St Louis to Washington with a one year pit stop as an assistant at  Zona is back at Pepperdine(WCC).   CUSA news: Dusty May  from Florida assistant to FAU.  Ron Sanchez from UVA assistant to Charlotte.   South Alabama  hired Nicholls State (2018 Southland co-champs) head coach Richie Riley.

march 25: 

#loyolachicago is in the F4. I bet Chicago sportswriters are typing : Wake up DePaul U.
#mtsu hires #McDevitt  who has won at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons at UNC Asheville  which includes trips to the NCAA tournament in 2016, the CIT in 2017 and the NIT this  season.

March 27

#uta (Sunbelt) needs a reality check after firing #scottcross who won 72 games over the past three seasons, including a Sun Belt regular-season title in 2016-17. #UMBC (America East) keeps Odom

March 28

Besides 4M a season for 7 years, Mack must've received assurances that #Louisville isn't facingmore penalties. Pitt hires #Jeffcapel, whose last HC stint at Oklahoma didn't go well.  Tubby Smith takes over at his alma mater High Point  of the Big South.
March 29 : Is Xavier looking at #Moser of Loyola Chicago. How about #UIC, another Chicago team in the #CIT final
April 5: #ECU  hired #JoeDooley of Florida Gulf Coast as its hoops head coach. It's Dooley's second stint at ECU and he faces a tough gig with a team that finished next to last in AAC.
April 9 : Not a big surprise- #lasalle (A10) is expected hire #AshleyHoward , a Villanova Asst, as Head Coach
april 13: #rodneyterry left fresno st for the #utep job. Hutson left the san diego st to take over at Fresno

April 16, 2018

#Patsos resigned from #sienna (MAAC) on April 13 after reports of allegations that he verbally abused a team manager. He left Loyola of Baltimore five years ago because they moved from the #MAAC  to the Patriot League, which was stronger in lacrosse and weaker in hoops. He has been a fiery coach with mixed results on the courts.  Apparently ,Belein's son   has a good chance at the job.

april 20, 2018

#fiu hasn't hired a hoops coach.Is this the curse of #isiahthomas

april 22, 2018

UNC Asheville hired #MikeMorrell , an assistant on Shaka Smart's staffs with Texas (2015-18) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011-15). Morrell knows the area from his VCU. I look forward to the High Point game when he faces Tubby in the Big South regular season.
Shaheen Holloway, a #setonhall, asst, has been named St Peters men's basketball coach.

april 26, 2018

Loyola-Chicago reached a new contract agreement with #Moser that will extend his deal through 2026 with what the Chicago Tribune called a big raise” on his $420,000 per year salary, 
Here's why from Moser : "I am a Catholic kid from Chicago who played in the Missouri Valley Conference,” . He played at Creighton when it was in the MVC.

May 3, 2018

#siena (MAAC)  keeps raiding MD schools for head coaches. They hired #JamionChristian of Mt St Mary's (MD) to replace Patsos, who was hired away from Loyola U in Baltimore MD a few years ago.

may 6, 2018

Cool scheduling : Rematch of the Sweet 16 thriller , Nevade/Loyola-Chicago, headlines the 2018 edition of the annual #mwc #mvc  Challenge. Medved, the new Colorado State coach,  will host #SIU. .

may 15, 2018

Donations up 660% for Loyola -Chicago. The school hasn't tallied the increase in licensing revenue.

may 19, 2018

#CUSA : #FIU hired  #jeremyballard, a long time assistant at  several schools Colgate, as well as Tulsa, Virginia Commonwealth, Illinois State, Pitt and VCU  to his first head coach gig. On a side note to the NCAA , please don't expand March Madness to 72 teams.

may 21, 2018

And now the Houston Cougars (AAC) may need a head coach. Orlando Magic are reportedly targeting Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson  who has had assistant jobs with the Bucks and Rockets

june 3, 2018

Detroit, Delaware State and Chicago State have been without a permanent person in charge of their basketall programs since mid-March 2018. On a side note, we used to pay to park on someones grass near #delawarest  and walk a mile to to Dover Downs Nascar race. 

June 6

#mikedavis is the new HC at Detroit-Mercy.  He's been around: Indiana, UAB , Texas Southern. He took Texas Southern  to four NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons

june 12

It took awhile for the local Baltimore papers to get the news via public records that #UMBC coach #RyanOdom will make $425,000 per season through 2023 -a 200K boost  as part of his new contract agreed to in March, which also  includes $75,000 for appearances and a number of incentives for postseason appearances.

June 14

Will a lot of NBA flavor work at #memphisU ? Hardaway adds #sammitchell , a former NBA Head coach and assistant  to his staff where he joins former NBA player Mike Miller.

June 17

#mtsu new HC  #McDevitt  had a brutal week David Simmons  (17.9 PPG)  and Tyrik Dixon intend to transfer while Antwain Johnson and  Davion Thomas were dismissed. from the team

june 26, 2018

#JohnnyJones who  went 90-72 in five seasons at #LSU, is taking over at #TexasSouthern. You may recall that he was the HC who didn't qualify for the NCAA tournament with a team that featured Ben Simmons.