O5/SEC showdowns and more

 I love rooting  for the O5 teams  against the P5 ,but my gut is screaming that Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers , who passed  for 1,828 yards in five games, will  run Leach's offense better that Zach Smith runs the Tulsa O today. Miss St 24 Tulsa 22.

Same thing here as I'm taking JT and the Dawgs in a squeaker over Cincy. Bearcats will need to get its rushing attack in gear quickly to stay in this contest. UGA 28 Cincy 25.

A lot of deserved attention has been shown to the undefeated San Jose Spartans, but their O tends to sputter at times. I like the Ball St Cards who have been dealing some strong offensive Cards and Plitt will pass them to 30 23  victory.

So it's both Dawgs over AAC teams and those MAC cards.

Jan 1, 2021

2-0 yesterday, but never suspected that two Ints, one a  pick6, would be the key factors for a Leach -coached team. Miss St 28 Tulsa 26

Ball St had a pick 6 during its  to a 27-0 first quarter pouncing of San Jose St  and won 34-13

Jan 2, 2021

I thought Georgia was going down, but after the Dawgs D gave up a long rushing TD to Jerome Ford early in the third quarter, it held Cincy scoreless the rest of the game and scored a safety. The offense struggled in the red zone, and I'm still not sure why they turned down FG opportunities in the third quarter. Bearcats played a he!! of a game. UGA 24 Cincy 21

3-0 for this blog entry.

Retroactive Vandy

Sports news is slow  and when I read that "Woody" Widenhofer, former Missouri(Big Eight-1985-88) and Vanderbilt(SEC-1997-2001) head coach, and Steelers assistant coach  died at the age of 77 due to a stroke, I got curious about Vanderbilt's football history and found that QPRS, a major selector in the NCAA Division I FBS Record Book, selected Vanderbilt, then a member of the Southern Conference, as champion based on retroactive analysis of the national 1921 and 1922 seasons.  I wonder if that type of analysis is a growing trend and am not sure if I'm buying it.

March 28

 Georgia leads the series 57–20–2 against Vandy

March 30

Arkansas  leads the series against Vandy 7-3. They played in 1949 and 1950 then  not again until 1978 .
For some years in the early part of the 20th century, Georgia and Clemson  were in the SIAA together.

April 2

 1892–1927: Vanderbilt went 19–2–3 against Tennessee. Vols lead the series with 76–33–5 record.

April 4

Maybe Jay Cutler wasn't the best QB to play at Vandy. It could've been Billy Wade, who played for the Rams and the Bears from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s. Here's  snapshot of the possible best ten Vandy grads to play in the NFL .

april 10, 2020- I've always considered #PatToomay, a Cowboy, but he also played for Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Oakland Raiders

april 13

 Ricky Anderson was a a consensus All-American  Punter in 1984 . He was  also Vandy's placekicker ^{. St Louis cardinals drafted him in round 11 in 1985. Some sites says hewas on the Atlanta Falcons in 1987, but I can't find any stats. Maybe he was on the taxi squad briefly}

^{april 16}

 ^{It's getting bumpy for Coach Mason with Vandy coming off their sixth straight sub-.500 season,and eight players have entered the transfer portal since the end of the 2019 season.}

^{april 20}

The Packers used the fifth overall pick in the 1960 draft to select #TomMoore. Packers also had Hornung and Jim Taylor. Zac Stacy, a former Commodore, was drafted in round 5 of the 2013 draft by the Rams.

april 21 

Vandy RB, #Ke’ShawnVaughn , who runs a 4.5 forty yard dash and rushed for over 1K last season, has moved up in the draft rankings

april 24

Bucs roll the dice on Vaughn in round 3 

april 27

 Mildly surprised #Jared Pinkney , TE, Vanderbilt. went undrafted. Nice signing by the Falcons.

april 29

While Vandy had only one player selected in the draft, Missouri, Tennessee, and TAMU each only had two players taken. 

May3

Because I've been chatting with a Buckeyes fan about the lack of sports news here's some minutia. Ohio St is 3-1 against Vandy. They haven't played each other since the Great Depression.

May 12, 2020

 Riley Neal, Vandy starting QB last season after spending a few years at Ball St (MAC), was signed as a FA by the Denver Broncos. He's a big kid 6'6 , 225 but his collegiate career  was so-so. Will Elway  give Cam a one year deal?

June 24, 2020

If you are driving around town and want to listen to your local team's game, a radio station change you forgot about can  piss you off. Vandy announced Cromwell Media as a new radio affiliate to broadcast football and men's hoops games. They will air on 93.3 in the Nashville area, or 101.9 in Robertson and Sumner Counties.. Games were previously aired live on WNRQ 98.3 FM and WLAC 1510 AM.

July 24, 2020

Hey it's a slow CFF news day. UConn  is playing Vandy on October 2, 2021, in Nashville in a one off. Vandy leads the series 2-1. Also UConn  will play a future home and home series against Georgia St.

Aug 3, 2020

Kyle Shurmur,  a former Vandy Qb who was recently waived by the Chiefs, is returning to Vandy as a volunteer Asst Coach.

His dad Pat , the former Giants HC, is the Denver Broncos OC.

Aug 5, 2020

Without a conference, UConn cancelled football in 2020. Vandy has already nixed it's OOC scheule.

Aug, 10, 2020

Speaking of Nashville, I saw this quote, from Phil Wood, a baseball writer who covered the Senators and Nats , and did a lot of baseball talkTV on MASN. “I kind of talked in general about what it is that I do and about the Nationals,” Wood said. “I also shared how I’m convinced that in 10 years there will be a baseball team in Nashville. It’s a great market. The research shows that in this part of the country, people have no issue driving two or three hours to a sporting event. " 

This quote was from late March, 2020 before the pandemic went boom.

sept 7,2020

Denver cut Riley Neal earlier this summer. Falcons cut Pinckney this week . Ke"Shawn Vaughn survived the cuts at TBay.

April 11, 2021

Vandy baseball was hot until they played Georgia, and in a rare event , a Commodore , Scotty Pippen Jr, is leaving school early to enter the NBA draft. Meanwhile their new football HC, Clark Lea , who Jay Cutler handed off to a few times, has a daunting task in turning around the program.

April 27, 2021

#vanderbilt will invest 300M in Vanderbilt to improve football and basketball facilities. Good luck Clark Lea and Jerry Stackhouse.

July 8 2021

Hearing chatter Bosox at 4 have a decent shot #jackleiter

July 10, 2021

Another Vandy pitcher, Kumar Rocker is expected to go high in the draft. His dad, Tracy Rocker, played college football at Auburn and two years in the NFL for the Skins, and is the DL coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. 

July 12, 2021

Jack Leiter went to the rangers @ 2. Rocker went to the Mets @ 10 

Aug 2, 2021

Due to concerns with Rocker's right elbow and fruitless negotiations with Boras on a reduced signing bonus, the Mets and Rocker didn't reach a deal before Sunday's 5 p.m. ET signing deadline.   Because he was drafted this year, he is not allowed to sign with another MLB team until after the 2022 draft, but he can sign with an Independent team or return to Vandy.

Dec 7, 2021

Jared Pinckney has been bouncing around practice squads in 2021 and is now with the LA Rams. No updates on Kumar Rocker.

Jan 18, 2022

Ke’ShawnVaughn, a former player at Vandy, will probably return to the Bucs bench with the return of Fournette to the lineup.

May 13, 2022

Former Vandy right-handed pitcher Kumar Rocker has signed with the Tri-City Valleycats of the Frontier League, an Independent league  He was drafted 10th in 2021 by the Mets but not signed. He will be eligible to be re-drafted.  Valley Cats home is in Troy, NY.

July 18, 2022

Kumar Rocker got re-drafted and went 3rd overall to the Rangers.  He was 1-0 with a 1.35 earned-run average for Tri-City. He struck out 32 batters in 20 innings. 

Nov 17, 2022

Even Vandy can't escape social media messes. Vandy DB coach Jackson will step back and also apologized for a comment saying Ye was "two steps ahead of everyone else ". Ye= Kanye West

April 25, 2023

Heard this comparison at a few places today. Will Levis from UK /Jay Cutler. Big arm but questionable in other areas.

May 29, 2023

Vandy won the SECT for the automatic bid to the baseball field of 64. Commodores beat TAMU 10-4.

May 30, 2023

SEC 10 (Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt)

Ten seems high for one conference. Nashville Regional hosted by Vanderbilt #2 Oregon (37-20) vs. #3 Xavier (37-23), 1 p.m., ESPN+ #1 Vanderbilt (41-18) vs. #4 Eastern Ill. (38-19), 8 p.m., SECN

ACC 8 [Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest] Big 12 6 (Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia) Pac-12 5 (Arizona, Oregon, Oregon St., Stanford, Washington)

July 23, 2023

Did those who gave Vandy preseason first place votes in the SEC poll think Jay Cutler was coming back?

March 18, 2024

Where does Vandy go after Stackhouse? Chris Mack, former Xavier and Louisville HC, is getting a lot of pub. So is Henderson of Princeton.

March 25, 2024

Vanderbilt is hiring James Madison’s Mark Byington as its next HC,- tough gig. Win over Wisky probably sealed the deal.

May 26, 2024

Tough loss for Vandy to Tenn keeps them on the CWS bubble.. In football no one was drafted. Two UDFAs- Matt Hayball, a punter to the Saints. Jaylen Mahoney , a DB to the Niners.

May 28, 2024

Vanderbilt faces Coastal Carolina in rd1. They've never met on a baseball diamond. Watch for Commodore, R J Austin(4hr ,51rbi, 26 sb)

June 1, 2024

CCU handles Vandy(SEC) 13-3 . Bodine :;3 for 5, 2 Rbis for the victors.  Bama was the other SEC team that lost. And Vandy gets eliminated by High Point.

Aug 3, 2024

Watson Brown, Vanderbilt’s quarterback, led to the Commodores to a rare win over Bama in 1969. When he chose to back out of a scholarship to Bama, his dad drove him south to tell Bear in person. No phone call!

Oct 21, 2024

Vandy football is ranked in the top 25 for the 1st time since the 2013 season when James Franklin was the HC and AC Samuels, the QB.

They beat Houston 41-24 in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

P5 pigskin on the hardwood January 2020

ACC: Louisville and FSU sit atop the ACC with 6-1 records. Duke(5-2) looks ragged and UNC is as bad as their head coach says they are. A bunch of teams with 4-3  conference records including Cuse.
B10: Terps(4-3) woke up yesterday and beat Purdue, but the Buckeyes(2-5) descent continues with a loss to a much improved PennSt (4-3) squad. Here's the top three. MSU (6-1) Illinois(5-2) Rutgers(4-2)
B12: Baylor is 5-0 and Kansas is 4-1 while Texas Tech(4-2) is hanging around. I thought Huggy had WVU(4-2) turned around but they lost to a so-so KSt squad yesterday and haven't looked sharp lately.
Pac12: Another wild week  out west.  WSU loses its football coach , Mike Leach, and its hoops squad knocks off Oregon then Oregon St to move to 3-3 in conference play. #OnyekaOkongwu scored 22 for USC in an overtime win over Stanford which left both teams tied for first with 4-1 records.
SEC: I loved South Carolina knocking off Kentucky at the buzzer, but the Gamecocks weren't done as they headed west and beat TAMU. Rough week for Auburn who lost to Bama and Auburn. Madness tickets are up for grabs to everyone but Ol Miss and Vandy who are 0-4. Georgia is 1-3 but they have Anthony Edwards

Jan 22

 Illinois remained in second with a win over Purdue who 's headed toward the B10 cellar. Bane led TCU to an upset of TT in B12 play. #Lsu (6-0) held off the Gators 84-82 to remain a game ahead of UK in the SEC.

Jan 24

Topsy-turvy action continues. Indiana upset Sparty(6-2) 67-63 in B10 play., which knocked Sparty into a tie for first with Illinois(6-2) . OhioSt (2-7)lost to Minnesota and is only one game out of the cellar. In the Pac 12 Oregon inched closer to Stanford with a win over USC, and Washington stumbled closer to the basement with a loss to Utah

Jan 26

Pac 12:  #remymartin (24 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST) played a key role in ASU comeback victory over #22 Arizona. #23 Colorado beat fading Washington.
ACC:  Wyatt Wilkes scored 19 points for# 5 Florida State in a narrow win over Notre dame. # 6 Louisville rolled over Clemson.
B10: #21 Illinois survived Michigan and #24 Rutgers edged Nebraska.
SEC / B12 showdown ended in a 5-5 tie yesterday. SEC winners: Kentucky won at Texas Tech in OT. LSU beat Texas. Auburn beat Iowa St. Arkansas beat TCU. Alabama beat Kansas St .
B12 winners. Baylor over FLA. Kansas over Tenn. OK over Miss St. OK ST over TAMU. West Virginia over Missouri

Jan 27

 I've heard way too much chatter about how 11 of the 14 B10 teams may get Dance tickets, that's goofy. Illinois and MSU are tied at the top at 7-2. Terps squeaked out a big win over Indiana yesterday and are tied for second with with Rutgers at 6-3. 

Jan 29

Rutgers beat Purdue(11-10, 4-6) last night which should put the Boilermakers on the bubble. In the SEC Miss St got a big win over FLA, Auburn survived last place Ol Miss, and TAMU beat Tenn. Missouri beat GA but both those teams, Ol Miss and Vandy need big winning streaks just to get on the Dance bubble.
In the ACC VTech loss to Miami hurt, while VA got a big win over FSU which gives Louisville sole possession of 1st.. Duke beat Pitt.

Jan 31-

Cowan led my Terps to a win over Iowa, and Illinois beat Minnesota to keep things tight at the top of the B10. The Pac 10 is growing a big middle. Pritchard led Oregon(18-4, 7-2 Pac-12) to a win over Cal(9-11, 3-4 Pac-12). Chris Smith scored 30 for UCLA(11-10, 4-4 Pac-12) in a win over Colorado
(16-5, 5-3 Pac-12). Zona(14-6, 4-3 Pac-12) squeaked by Wash(12-10, 2-7 Pac-12).
USC (17-4, 6-2 Pac-12) beat Utah(12-8, 3-5 Pac-12) and Oreg St (13-8, 3-6 Pac-12) beat Stanford 
( 15-5, 4-3 Pac-12) 

feb 2

Wacky Pac 12  results continue with Washington's  descent remaining a constant . Stanford upset Oregon. Cal edged Oreg St.. Zona beat Wash St. ASU beat Wash

feb 4

Big dogs kept rolling in the B12 last night.  Baylor (20-1, 9-0) beat KSt , and Kansas(19-3, 8-1) got a solid game from Azubuike(17 PTS, 12 REB, 2 BLK) in a 69-58 win over Texas. 

feb 5

Terps(8-3) take over first  in the B10 with their win over Rutgers(7-5) and Mich St(8-4) loss to Penn St (7-4). Auburn(7-2) survived Arkansas in OT while UK(7-2) beat Miss St  which moved them into a tie for second in the SEC behind LSU(8-0)

feb 6

In the SEC Florida handled Georgia, while Vandy stunned LSU thanks to a big night from Saban Lee
(33 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST). And SEC cellar dweller Ol Miss got (38 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST ) from Breein Tyreee in an upset of South Carolina. Wake Forest collapsed in the second half against Louisville who outscored them 52-30  for a 86-76 ACC win.Another wacky big 10 final score Purdue 104 Iowa 68. West Virginia stayed in the B12 race with a 76-61 win over Iowa St.

feb 7

Maybe the Pac 12 is filtering out the decent from the mediocre? ASU(5-4) made fourteen treys in a win over UCLA(5-5). Zona(6-3) beat USC(6-4) 85-80. Colorado(7-3) beat Cal(4-5). Utah(4-6) beat Stanford(5-4). Or maybe not? 

feb 8

Big win for the Terps with the D holding Illinois to 24 points in the second half of 75-66 win. Anthony Cowan Jr. MD - G (20 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST)

feb 9

 Sparty loss to Michigan yesterday was great for the Terps. Minnesota fell off the bubble in its loss to Penn St yesterday. Zona's loss to UCLA makes the P12 messier. Auburn looked ragged at the beginning but managed to beat LSU in OT and move in to a three way tie for first place in the SEC with UK and LSU

feb 11

Tre Jones did a great job of  helping Duke overcome a ton of turnovers to beat Florida St 65-60. T. Forrest led FSU with.18 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST. In B12 play Texas Tech crushed TCU and Baylor got by Texas.

feb 12

SEC basement kids are shaking things up. Ol Miss(4-7) beat Miss St(6-5) 83-58 and Mizzou(3-8) gave LSU(9-2) a battle before losing 82-78.

feb 16

Terps blew a big lead then came back behind Cowan in the final two minutes to knock off Sparty. I'm proud they didn't choke. PennSt  beat Northwestern to stay 1GB of the Terps in the B10.
SEC: The basement kids are at it again. Mizzou knocked off Auburn and OL Miss gave UK quite a scare before losing 67-62. Meanwhile Bama stayed on the  bubble  by beating LSU.
 In the B12 Baylor beat WVU and  Kansas handled OK, while Texas Tech was upset by OK St. In the ACC, Louisville  was upset by Clemson while FSU survived Cuse and Duke rolled Notre Dame.
It's getting mighty crowded near the top of the PAC. Colorado(9-4) beat Oregon St, USC (8-5) handled Wash St, UCLA(8-5) beat WASH, and Zona(8-4) beat Stanford. Oregon(8-4) and ASU(7-4) were idle.
feb 19

Why is Ohio St 25. Do conferences records matter?

feb 20

SEC:Georgia(3-10) upset Auburn(9-4) and TAMU(7-6) moved up while knocking Bama(6-7) down the basement steps .Miss St(8-5) edged South Carolina(8-5) which creates more havoc for the Dance Committee.
ACC: NCSt(8-7) upset Duke(12-3) while Louisville(13-3) got back in gear with a manhandling of Cuse(7-8). UVA(10-5) may be off the bubble with a win over BC. 
Texas Tech(17-9, 8-5 Big 12)got a much needed win over KST

feb 21

PAC12: Oregon(9-5) fell out of first in a  77-72 loss to ASU(9-4).Rob Edwards ASU - G(24 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST) had a solid night.Colorado(10-4) edged USC(8-6) to take over first place. Zona(9-4) beat Oregon St and UCLA(9-5) beat Utah.

feb 23

B12: Baylor missed too many free throws and easy shots in a loss to Kansas. The B12 has become a more physical conference and the refs  are allowing it . Texas tech  should be off the bubble while WVU's loss to TCU hurt.
Pac12: Buckle up! Here come the Bruins(10-5) who knocked off first place Colorado(10-5). ASU survive Oreg St to remain  alone in first place.Oregon (10-5) survive Zona.
SEC: TAMU  kept rolling with a win over Miss St. Kentucky and Auburn did enough to survive, respectively, Florida,,and Tenn.

feb 24

 Terps lost to the Buckeyes and Penn St lost to Indiana . Sorry to say that means the B10 may get ten tickets to the Dance.

feb 25

FSU took over first place in the Acc with an impressive come from behind win over Louisville. WVU is on the bubble after back to back B12 losses to TCU and Texas.

feb 27

He!! of a comeback for the Terps last night over Minnesota. The74-73 loss nails the coffin on any Dance tickets for the Gophers(13-14, 7-10 Big10). Rutgers' 65-64 loss to Penn St moved the Knights(18-11, 9-9 Big Ten) closer to the bubble
SEC: FLA spanked LSU. South Carolina survived GA in OT. Big night for Anthony Edwards UGA - G(36 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST)

feb 28

 Good luck to the Dance committee sorting out the Pac 12 tickets. Last night Colorado lost Cal. USC beat Zona. UCLA beat ASU. Oregon beat Oreg St.

mARCH 1

 UCLA beat Zona taking sole possession of first place in the P12 pending the outcome of the Ducks game today. Terps, Duke, FSU, and Baylor lost yesterday, too.

march 3

Baylor pushed Texas Tech(18-12, 9-8 Big 12) closer to the bubble with an OT win and Duke did the same to NC St(18-12, 9-10 ACC) via a potent second half .

March 5

ACC: UVA has been hot but barely beating Miami 43-41 puts their O in doubt again. FSU survived Notre Dame . SEC: Tenn upset UK on Monday, and last night TAMU upset Auburn and Arkansas upset LSU.  Dance committee will have some tough decisions.

March 6

ASU lost to the basement Huskies- it appears the Pac12 T would sort out the Dance tickets. 

March 8

 Oregon took the opening of UCLA's loss to USC and the Pac12 crown with a win over Stanford. Zona and Colorado had bad losses to respectively, Washington and Utah. West Virginia got a big win over Baylor in the B12 and TX got rolled by OK St.

March 21

 Sometimes the one and done guys don't improve their draft value. It's no surprise #AnthonyEdwards is leaving Georgia for the NBA, but I think his season was decent not great, and it may hurt him a little during the draft. In his final three college games, he shot 11-for-55 from the field.

March 29

 Shaka stays: Smart is 90-78 (40-50 Big 12) in five seasons and has led Texas to two Dance appearances. Horns were right on the bubble before Covid short circuited the season.

april 30,  2020

 #DaishenNix became the third high school prospect to agree to enter the G League’s professional pathway program, agreeing to turn pro instead of attending UCLA. It appears the Gatorade group will reduce the number of  one-and-doners.

May1, 2020

 Steve Forbes, the new Wake Forest HC, and Currie, the WF AD, worked together when they were both at Tennessee. ETSU (Southern Conference) replaced Forbes with assistant Jason Shay who will be the interim HC for now.

May 24, 2020

When I saw the news that #EddieSutton , HoF coach , died , I thought about the Terps loss in rd2 of the 1988 Dance to his Kentucky team. That was a great season for Terps Coach #BobWade , a one-time legendary HS coach at Baltimore Dunbar High School, who would be forced out at MD by the end of the 1989 season.

June 2

Jason Terry is returning to Arizona his alma mater as an Asst Coach on Sean Miller's staff. He played on six NBA teams including the Mavs 2011 title team.

June 12

 A 10-year NCAA-mandated disassociation with the USC program ended on June 10 for Reggie Bush and basketball player O.J. Mayo. Both players were subject of a huge probe into USC's athletic programs.

June 27,2020

In his first full recruiting cycle since taking over Arkansas(SEC) in 2019, Musselman signed four freshmen in the nation's No. 7 recruiting class and reeled in Indiana (B10) transfer Justin Smith.

7/4/20

Musselman keeps busy: David Patrick, the HC at UC Riverside(Big West), will be the Razorbacks' new associate head coach. Patrick was a major factor in LSU recruiting Ben Simmons. Highlanders elevated Mike Magpayo to replace Patrick.

7/24/20

#stanleyjohnson , who played for  UConn from 2006-10, was found dead in his home. No cause of death but foul play was ruled out. He was a former Mr Alabama of high school hoops.

03/27/21

I  blog from time to time  about the power conferences, and I'm starting to wonder if Austin is the blues capital for men's football and hoops. Or is Shaka not so Smart? Marquette  hired #ShakaSmart as its new head coach. He's a Wisconsin native and was 109-86 overall at Texas with a 52-56 mark in the Big 12 and no NCAAT victories. The rd1 Dance upset to Abilene Christian. may have been the final straw.

 He replaces Steve Wojciechowski, who may be on DePaul's wish list. He certainly has the Catholic background which includes playing basketball at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Baltimore City, but I'm not sure if he'll recruit  well in the Chicago area.

3/29/21

Heavy LA  flavor in the Elite 8 with USC beating Oregon  and UCLA beating Bama yesterday.

Three of the four teams playing today are former  SWC  schools.. Arkansas plays Baylor and Houston plays Oregon St, which wasn't a SWC member.

3/30/21

One former SWC team, the winner of Hou/BAY, will be in the final.  And, how about this in Hoosierland : They hired former Ohio State coach Thad Matta as an associate AD for basketball to serve in an advisory role to Mike Woodson , IU alum and new HC.  

4/1/21

TX hired Chris Beard(UT class of 95) from Texas Tech to be their new hoops HC, but will owe TT a $4 million buyout payment since he is leaving for another school within the state.It would have been 5m but dropped to $4m today under terms of his contract .

Vic Shaefer, who TX hired away from Miss St, got the Horns gals to the Elite 8, while his replacement, Nikki McCray-Penson in Starkville, had a rough season with a talented Dawgs squad. She's on the hot seat after her first SEC season, and maybe thinking it was nicer at Old Dominion.

Hating the Tar Heels is in my Terp blood, but props to Roy Smith who retired today claiming he was no longer the right man for the job.

4/15/21

Tommy Lloyd, a longtime Gonzaga assistant , takes over the Arizona program, despite former Zona players lobbying for Zona guy which included Gilbert Arenas' silly comment that it's an error to hire an assistant coach to be a head coach.

5/15/21

Pac-12 hires MGM Resorts executive #GeorgeKliavkoff as commissioner to replace Larry Scott as Commish. So there were no other qualified candidates with NCAA resumes? I heard Oliver Luck was in the running.

5/16/21

Gonzaga and UCLA hoops have been working to run back Final Four classic in the 2021/22 regular season, which is a great move.

june 22, 2021

Love this hoops matchup: Colorado will play Tennessee in Nashville on Dec . 4, 2021

Jan 14, 2023

By the skin of his teeth, Kevin Warren avoided hurting the Big 10 by deciding to at least play a shortened football schedule in 2020. Jury remains out on how much acquiring USC and UCLA will help the conference. Now he's off to run the hapless Chicago Bears. I don't think he's the answer for Chi-town.

AAC HOOPS 2019/20 predictions

Houston guard DeJon Jarreau leads a solid squad but that BYU loss stings
Memphis: Wiseman(suspended til January) but a successful return should keep the Tigers in the Dance picture. Quinones is a decent guard
Cincinnati has a new HC, John Brannen, and Jarron Cumberland is still a Bearcat
Temple-New HC  McKie inherits guard Quinton Rose and some other solid players
USF is led by guard Laquincy Rideau and is receiving a lot pre-season hype. I'll wait and see.
Wichita St needs a lot from Dexter Dennis early in the season
UConn-  Bouknight and Gilbert form a dynamic backcourt.
UCF is going to miss Tacko
Tulane -New HC Ron Hunter has a lot riding on incoming transfer KJ Lawson
Tulsa- DO or die time for Coach Haith
ECU- A lot rides on the JUCO transfers
SMU- Erratic team. Darius McNeil has the potential to be a solid lead guard

Nov 23

 I posted the blog in the morning and by nighttime Houston lost to Oregon . Cincy barely survived Illinois St. UConn lost to Xavier, a team they'll face more often when they return to the BigEast next season. And East Carolina blew out the same Evansville squad that beat Kentucky earlier this season. Also Coach Hunter, formerly of GA St, Tulane squad beat MTSU. Temple beat USC.

dec 28

 Fabian White Jr. and Caleb Mills scored 19 points each in Houston's (AAC) rally to a 75-71 win over No. 21 Washington(PAC12) in the  Diamond Head Classic. It could be an important part of the Cougars resume for March Madness

jan 4, 2020

Houston took care of business with a 78-63 win over UCF, but the WTH happened to Temple last night. They only scored 17 in the first half of  70-44 loss to Tulsa, who was led by
J. Horne( 23 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST)

jan 5

 Yesterday's results from the new SEC/AAC SCHEDULING Alliance of four games a season. Hammond had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia in a surprise 65-62 win over Memphis. Wichita St crushed Ol Miss 74-54. Kendric Davis scored 24 points and Tyson Jolly added 21 for SMU in a 92-81 win over Vandy. On Dec 8 Houston beat South Carolina 76-56. AAC 3 SEC 1 this season

jan 12

AAC standings tighten with Tulsa's big 63-61 win over Houston. Coach Ron Hunter's move from Ga St of the  Sunbelt to Tulane and  has been erratic. In their last five games they've defeated Cincy and Temple but lost to Memphis, Uconn, and Towson(CAA).
Wichita St is the lone undefeated team in AAC play

Jan 16

Quinton Rose scored 19 points for Temple who handed Wichita St its first AAC loss this season.
Brandon Rachal scored 21 points for Tulsa in a 65-49 win over ECU. Houston beat SMU 71-62. wICHITA, tULSA, and Houston are tied at 3-1 with Cincy atop the AAC.

 jan 23

WTH to Memphis?  Jeriah Horne (21 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST)  led Tulsa to an 80-40 rout of Memphis.
Cumberland cousins helped Cincy beat Temple 89-82. SMU crushed ECU  84-64. Tulsa is in first place, ahalf game up on Cincy and Houston.

jan 29

Jarron Cumberland (28 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST)  led Cincy in a 65-43 pounding of SMU.

feb 2

 The Bearcats moved into a tie with Houston for second place in the AAC after coming back from fifteen point deficit to beat the Cougars 64-62. Both teams trail first place Tulsa who defeated Wichita St 54-51 thanks to a solid game from  Elijah Joiner (22 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST).

Feb 9

Cincy(8-3) lost an OT game to UConn while Houston(9-2) crushed Wichita St to take over first place.Tulsa(7-3) was upset by UCF.(4-7) was led by Darin Green Jr. (26 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST) .

feb 17 

Tre Scott (14 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST) was key factor in Cincy's OT win over ECU and UConn put a damper on Memphis Dance hopes with a 64-61 win. Wichita St handled Tulane. SMU's upset of Houston on Saturday allowed Cincy to move into a tie for first.

 feb 20

Yes, the Cincy loss to UCF hurts them some, but SMU has to be off the bubble with a loss to cellar dweller Tulane.  Tulsa fell to third place with 76-43 loss to Houston. Memphis edged ECU.

feb 23

Memphis upset of Houston(11-4)  made the battle for first more interesting. Tulsa (10-4)   and Cincy 10-4) are .5 GB. Martins Igbanu scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds for Tulsa in its 79-57 blowout of SMU. Cincy plays Wichita St today

feb 29

How is it that Cincy is being considered  an out for the Dance. The AAC is a decent hoops conference and deserves a minimum of three Dance tickets. Cincy , Houston , and Tulsa are tied for first in the AAC at 11-4.