Sunbelt 2018/19 Hoops Hunches

1) Georgia Southern Eagles: My favorite named player , #TookieBrown , will keep the Eagles near the top
2) Georgia State Panthers: D’Marcus Simonds is the main man.
3) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns hung with Kansas and beat Tulane early this season
4) Appalachian State Mountaineers- Justin Forrest 19.2ppg and crew have weathered a tough OOC schedule.
5) Troy Trojans: Varnado has been solid.
6) UL Monroe Warhawks: Travis Munnings has been decent but will need some help.
7) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Cuthbertson 20.4 PPG
8) South Alabama Jaguars needs O.
9) Texas State Bobcats:  Nijai Pearson is the player to watch.
10) Arkansas State Red Wolves: Rough  out of conference start except for Ty Cockfield 21.1ppg
11) UT Arlington Mavericks- Rebuilding
12) Little Rock Trojans- Good luck to Coach Darrell Walker, a former NBA player, in finding some O.

jan 8, 2019

 Texas St held of Georgia Southern 73-70 to open league play and hung tight in a 73-69 loss to conference leader Georgia St.

jan13, 2019

 Tre Nottingham and Nijal Pearson scored 16 points apiece and #TXST (14-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) defeated #appst. It may be time to get join the Bobcats' pack.  GST, UTA, ARLR, Troy, and ULL also won yesterday.

jan 18, 2019

Texas St (15-3 4-1), my pre-season  sunbelt -9th team , blew by ARLR LAST NIGHT as Tre Nottingham scored 24 points and Nijal Pearson added 19 . Other winners: UTA, GAST, and Georgia Southern

jan 23, 2019

Texas State (5-1) Nijal Pearson had 29 points and 11 rebounds and TXST went on 30-0 run to beat Ark St 77-64 on Jan 19. Varnado's 3-pointer  with 1.7 seconds on the clock gave Troy the victory over  Georgia State (5-1)
feb 1, 2019
 Zac Cuthbertson had 29 points and Devante Jones scored 25 in Coastal Carolina.'s win over ULM.
Tyrell Johnson scored 20 points in 16 minutes for App St in its 104-77 romp over ULL.

Feb 3

It's getting crowded at the top of the Sunbelt heap. 

Georgia State  (7-2) D'Marcus Simonds scored 29 points in a win over Georgia Southern

Texas State (6-3) #BrianWarren scored  30 points in a 83-77 OT win over UT Arlington(6-3)

 Coastal Carolina (6-3) #ZacCuthbertson scored 24 points in a win over ULL

Feb 9
Good Friday night for the Louisiana schools: ULM beat Georgia Southern and ULL beat Georgia St

Feb 10

Texas St remains tied for first with UTA for first- he!! of a season. NPearson scored 17 points  for TXST in the win over CCU remaining tied with UTA  beat appst.
Feb 16
Both Georgia schools got big Friday night Sunbelt wins:  Malik Benlevi scored  26 points as Georgia St defeated South Alabama 90-81,and Tookie Brown and Isaiah Crawley scored 16 points apiece as GA Southern rolled over South Bama to a 76-51. TXSt 9-3, GA St 9-4, UTA 8-4, GS 8-5

feb 22

TX St fell to ULM(7-6)  which allowed Georgia St , a winner over AppSt (4-9) ,to move into a tie for first with them at 10-4. Tookie Brown had 17 for  Georgia Southern(9-5) in its win over CCU (6-7). UTA(8-6) lost to ULL (7-6)

feb 24

Brian Warren scored  33 points for TXST(11-4) in its OT win over ULM and took sole possession of first place when  Ga St(10-5) lost to Coastal Carolina. Ga Southern (10-5) get 28 points for Tookie Brown in its win over AppSt.

Mar 2

TXST(12-4) hasn't folded  and beat Troy to stay one game ahead of Ga St (10-5), a winner over Ark St thursday night  in the Sunbelt race. UTA(10-6) beat South Bama. GA Southern (11-5) was idle.

March 9

Two intrastate games , GA St/Georgia Southern and UTA/TXSt , will determine the regular season Sunbelt winner. UTA is 11-6, the other three teams are 12-5. TXSt had a bad loss to South Bama last week buthas had a he!! of a surprising season.

 March 10

 Kane Williams scored a career-high 23 points helping Ga Southern beat Ga St to clinch the Sunbelt title because TXST lost to UTA

march 13

Nice second half from South Bama in a rd1 win over Ark St  ULM knocked off App St. Troy and Ark LR didn't qualify, and the top four teams get double byes.

March 15

 South Bama is shaking up the Sunbelt T. Rodrick Sikes made one of two free throws with four seconds left to give USA a 70-69 win over ULL. Michael Ertel had 20 points as Louisiana-Monroe crushed Coastal Carolina 80-50.

March 16

TXST halted South Bama's Cinderella move with 79-67 win while Georgia Southern beat ULM. TXST plays GA St and GA Southern faces UTA today.

March 17

Malik Benlevi tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 59-46 win over Texas St who scored only fifteen points in the first half. Brian Warren scored 21 points as Texas-Arlington beat Georgia Southern 67-58 and prevented all Georgia SunbeltT final.

March 26,2019

 I thought he was Georgia St lifer: Coach  Ron Hunter, fresh off a dance loss to Houston on Friday in, took the #Tulane (AAC) opening.

April 1, 2019

#chrisbeard , the Texas Tech HC , is big news these days. It wasn't long ago he had Arkansas -Little Rock fans ecstatic when they beat Purdue in rd1 of the 2016 Dance then fell to Iowa St in rd2

april 7

  #PhilCunningham took #troy to the dance in 2017 and now he's out. Wow!  They hired  Scott Cross, who some success at UTA through the 2017-18 season.
App State hired  Dustin Kerns , who led Presbyterian (Big South) to  solid 20-16 season and a CTI  invitation after a weak 11- 21  record in 2017-18. It's not the greatest resume.

april 15

 Georgia State hired Tennessee assistant Rob Lanier, a longtime assistant for Rick Barnes at Texas and Tennessee, as it's new HC. He was the HC at Sienna (MAAC) from 2001-05.

MAC 2018/19 Hoops Hunches

EAST
Buffalo Bulls: C.J. Massinburg, Nick Perkins & Jeremy Harris are back from last year's team that upset Zona  during March MaDNESS.
Kent State Golden Flashes: Jaylin Walker continues to impress.
Akron Zips: Utomi has been scoring well
Ohio Bobcats: Keep your eyes onJason Carter!
Bowling Green Falcons:  Wiggins & Turner show
Miami (OH) RedHawks: Dalonte Brown may be the guy.

WEST
Eastern Michigan returns four starters, including its top three scorers in Minnie, Thompson, and Paul Jackson, from last season's  squad that finished the year 22-13 overall and 11-7(MAC)
Toledo Rockets : Willie Jackson has been solid  in the first month.
Ball State Cardinals Tayler Persons will keep the Cards from the bottom of the West deck.
Central Michigan Chippewas: Larry Austin Jr  19 ppg this season.
Northern Illinois Huskies: Eugene German  23.4 PPG
Western Michigan Broncos: Seth Duga 18.9ppg  10.6 rbg

dec 19, 2018

How about #buffalo beating  regional foe Syracuse (ACC) 71-59. #massingburg led the Bulls with  25points, 8 rebounds  and  five assists. Big win for the #MAC.
dec 22: #marquette outscored #buffalo 64-47 on its way to 102-85  win. First loss for Buffalo who will probably tumble from its # 14 ranking.

jan 5

I checked in on some Friday night MAC action last night and was impressed at how #BallSt pulled away from Toledo early in the second half and never looked back . Teague scored 20 points with and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cards.
Montell McRae scored a career-high 18 points in Buffalo's win over EMU.

jan 9

#buffalo scored 65 points in the second half on the way to a 110-80 win over #toledo . 

jan 15, 2019

Yes, Buffalo looks dominant, but Bowling Green and NIU are also 3-0 in conference play. BG 's first chance to play Buffalo is Feb 1 and then they 'll meet in  regular season final game (3/8)  in what could be key games to decide the East. NIU (West) faces Buffalo on Jan 22.

Jan 16, 2019

 Shawn Roundtree hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points  for CMU as they gave NIU its first conference loss. Turner and Plowden scored about half of Bowling Green's points in a 79-78 win over Ball St that keeps them in a MAC East tie with Buffalo , who got a battle from WMU but prevailed 88-79.

jan 19, 2019

#emu crept close to Buffalo last night, but the Bulls led by  #cjmassingburg (31 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST) pulled away for 77-65 win. Toldeo blew out Ohio 75-52 

jan 20, 2019

I cursed NIU- they lost again this time to Kent St., but Bowling Green(13-5, 5-0 MAC) won their ninth straight game. Miami O beat Akron and Ball St beat CMU

Jan 23

And just like that NIU (4-2 MAC) recovers and upsets Buffalo (5-1 MAC) 77-75. Meanwhile  Bowling Green (14-5, 6-0 MAC)beat EMU to remain undefeated in MAC play and one game up on Buffalo in the East. NIU is one game up on on Toledo and CMU in the West.

Jan 26

#kentst  (15-5, 4-3), who was hosting its first ranked opponent since 1989, gave #Buffalo

(18-2, 6-1) a scare, but Massinburg and the Bulls got it together, particularly on D, to pull out a 88-79 win. Bowling Green (14-5, 6-0) needs to win at Miami O to stay ahead of Buffalo in the East.

feb 2

#bowlinggreen  recovered from it's  loss to Miami O last week to upset #buffalo 92-88 last night. Frye scored 25 points for BG while Massingburg led Buffalo with 26 points
feb 6: Bowling Green beat WMU, and Kent St  edged Miami O
MAC East:

feb 9 Loren Cristian Jackson had 18 points as #Akron  topped KentState 72-53 . MAC East Bowling Green 8 -1                         Buffalo 7-2           Kent St. 6-4                        Akron    6 -4         . Miami (Ohio)     4 -6         Ohio      3 -6  feb 10 Toledo knocked off Bowling Green while Buffalo beat CMU  . Miami O crushed ohio Bowling Green 8 -2                         Buffalo 8-2           Kent St. 6-4                        Akron    6 -4         . Miami (Ohio)     5 -6         Ohio      3 -7 feb 13 Buffalo and Bowling Green won to remain tied for 1st in the East. Massinburg scored 21 for Buffalo in its win over Akron, and Frye scored 23 for BG in its win over  CMU . WMU  beat NIU for its first MAC win this season , and EMU beat Ohio. feb 16 Perkins 26 PTS, 10 REB, 1 BLK doesn't have the best shot selection but he hit a key trey late as Buffalo(10-2) survived Toledo (8-4 East)  88-82 . Bowling Green plays NIU today. feb 20 Buffalo destroyed ohio 114-62  and Bowling Green survived akron  keeping both teams tied at 11-2 in the East.  #ShawnRoundtree had 20 points as Central Michigan(7-6) beat Kent State 84-74 to move within a game of Toledo(8-5) ,who fell to EMU, in the West. feb 23 Bowling Green(11-3-MAC) played poorly and still took the game to OT at Ohio (4-10)  before losing, while Buffalo(12-2) cruised over Kent St(8-6) to take a one game lead in the East. Nick Perkins put up some nice numbers for Buffalo :27 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST.  feb 27 Buffalo(13-2) got a battle from akron but  won 77-64 to take a two game lead in the East  over  fading Bowling Green (11-4)who lost to Miami O . Marreon Jackson scored 19 points  for  Toledo(10-5) in an 80-72 win over Ball St.  that keeps them one game up in the West on CMU(9-6) , a winner over EMU.  March 2 #bowlinggreen (12-4) found a way to win again with a 77-72 win over Kent St which keeps them two game behind Buffalo(14-2) who beat Miami O. Both teams will get rd1 byes in the MACT in Cleveland . Toledo (10-5) and  CMU (10-6 ) are the  strongest candidates for the other two byes. MAC season has 18 games. March 6 A solid game from Jeremy Harris(20 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST)helped Buffalo(15-2) eke out a win over Ohio while Bowling Green(12-5) got trounced by Akron. Toledo(12-5) beat WMU to lock up the West. The final bye slot is p for grabs between Kent St (10-7) and CMU & WMU each 9-8. march 16 Bowling Green stumbled through February but hung on to beat  NIU 71-67 and move on to face Buffalo, who struggled to to beat CMU last night, in the MACT final. March 19 Buffalo hasn't looked dominant  in MAC play in the last few weeks and I have some doubts they'll get by the winner of the ASU/St john's play in game. BTW, Bobby Hurley, the ASU coach and former Buffalo coach, recruited some of those Buffalo players. March 28 And #Buffalo loses another head coach. Oats accepted the job at Alabama  April 7 #Ohio has some lofty expectations : Saul Phillips is out at Ohio after five seasons. He came to the Bobcats after taking North Dakota State into the Round of 32 in 2014  The Bobcats had back-to-back 20-win seasons in Phillips’ second and third season, reaching the CBI in 2016. His replacement ,Jeff Boals, was the head coach Stony Brook and a former team captain of Ohio's 1994 NCAA tournament squad.

O5 title games

AAC- #MEMPHIS is hot and #ucf will miss Milton.Tigers lost by 1 to UCF in October. Henderson/Patrick rushing attack willl be the ley in a 27-26 win.
CUSA: UAB lost to MTSU 27-3 last week and will lose again 17-13, this time. MTSU QB Stocksill remains the man
MAC: Ok , Buffalo has home field but NIU QB Childers will step up in 19-17 win
MWC: I don't think the Fresno D will contain Boise St QB Rypien and  RB Mattison for long on the blue turf. BSU 30 Fresno 20
Sunbelt:  APP St D will step up in a narrow 17-16 win over visiting ULL.
dec 1: #childers woke up in the second half and led #NIU back from a 29-10 deficit to a 30-29 win over Buffalo. Tears and Brown made nice TD catches for the Huskies  in the 4th Q
dec 2: UCF found a little defense and their O roared back for 56-41 win over Memphis. UAB won the seasaw battle 27-25 with MTSU. Stocksill struggled in the the 4th Q against the UAB D. I picked the wrong week to jump off the Fresno train. Fres 19 Boise16 OT. How does  Boise only score  16 points when Mattison rushed for 200 yards? Niu was my only correct pick.
dec 14 : Ok, I also got App St pick right as they beat the ULL 30-19 in early December, and yesterday their HC #Satterfield took the Louisville job- that's a huge step.  #Drinkwitz, the NC St OC became the 21st football coach in #appst history.

Dec 19, 2018

Ok so I've been lukewarm on the CUSA in bowl mania and am 2-1. I was correct on MTSU losing to App St and NTX losing to Utah St , but was wrong for not taking UAB who blew out NIU so  I'll roll the dice on Marshall D to slow down USF  tomorrow and win a squeaker.

Dec 20

A.J. Ouellette  (29 CAR, 164 YDS) led the #ohio O while it's D blanked #sdst  (MWC) 27-0. Nice win for the MAC.

Dec 21

Herd D did enough and the O  led by Keion davis on the ground (94 yds, 2 TDS) was solid in a 38-20 win over USF. He!! of a night receiving for Randall St. Felix 6 rec 165 yds 2TDS

dec 22

Rough friday for the #MAC:. Toldeo lost to FIU and WMU was trounced by BYU. Some poor D
in the FIU game but it was entertaining. BTW the announcers noted that Butch Davis, the FIU HC,
was the last head coach to get the Browns to an NFL playoff game.

dec 23

Troy (Sunbelt ) beat #Buffalo handing the MAC another loss. Sawyer Smith tossed for 320 yards and 4 TDs leading the Trojans over the Bulls
42-32 win over the Bulls. Ohio is the only MAC bowl winner. La Tech (CUSA) handled Hawaii (MWC) 31-14

dec 28

It's been a tough bowl season for most of the AAC. Houston got rolled over by Army. 
Memphis fell apart at the end against Wake Forest. 
Temple was handled by Duke .USF lost to Marshall. Tulane beat ULL for the sole conference win. 
Cincy plays Va Tech and UCF faces LSU.

dec 30

MWC bowl record is 3-2  after Nevada found some o in Ot and won 16-13. Still not sure why the Boise St /BC bowl game wasn't rescheduled.

dec 31

#MichaelWarren ran for a career-high 166 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:29 left to carry Cincy (AAC) past VT 35-31

jan 11. 2019

 #Temple (AAC) raided the MAC last night and hired #NIU HC Rod Carey. Former NIU star Thomas Hammock,  the Ravens RB coach., is a top candidate to replace Carey.

july 10 , 2019 

 Gov #Ige signed a law  that starts the process of redeveloping the 44-year-old Aloha Stadium into a mixed-use sports and entertainment district. Maybe one day #Hawaii will  win the MWC West and host a MWC football title game?

July 16

 #sawyersmith goes from leading #troy to a bowl win over Buffalo to vying for the starting QB job at Kentucky (SEC) via the grad transfer route.

July 20 

In April 2019 #FenwayPark in Boston annnounced it will host  anew 2020 college football bowl game between ACC,AAC teams and two months later the UConn, the closest AAC team announced its leaving that conference.

CUSA 2018/19 Hoop predictions

1) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, with scorers like Jared Savage, may win the CUSA
2) North Texas Mean Green- A couple of dudes named Simmons  and a CBI 2018 title. Mean Green will be in the CUSA top five.
3) Marshall Thundering Herd- I was going to take the #herd higher, but they crumbled against the Terps last night. I suspect  #jonelmore will get "hawked" until the Herd adjust.
4) Charlotte 49ers upset OK ST. I'm bumping them up.
5) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Amorie Archibald and  the Bulldogs are going to be in the hunt.
6) Florida International Golden Panthers: Andrews and beard are their top scorers.
7) Southern Miss Golden Eagles. T Griffin and crew  continue the slow climb out of the CUSA cellar
8) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have lost to some good teams, UVA and Stanford, in pre-conference play and should finish in the middle of the CUSA.
9) Florida Atlantic Owls- Seabrees is a freshman to watch
10) UAB Blazers- Zack Bryant has been solid, so far
11) Old Dominion Monarchs- BJ Stith will need a lot of 20+ nights
12) UTEP Miners got a way to go to see the light
13) UTSA Roadrunners- J Jackson will need to hit a lot of treys
14) Rice Owls will be hanging on a cellar limb

Dec 6, 2018: Checking in the CUSA OOC play last night: Taveion Hollingsworth 
WKU (24 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST) lost 84-78 to  Missouri St (MVC)led by 
Tulio Da Silva (18 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST). Ryan Woolridge's triple-double led North Texas past Indiana St (MVC) 80-69. CJ Burks scored 26 but that wasn't enough for the #herd in a 93-82 loss to Duquesne (A-10). MTSU got crushed by Vandy (SEC). FAU edged Mercer (Southern).

dec 16, 2018

BJ Stith (18pts, 10reb)  led ODU to a big  road win over Cuse. Maybe I under-estimated the Monarchs? #JonElmore totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Marshall road  75-74  win at Akron . #herd was0-2 against MAC schools with recent loss to Ohio and Toledo.
dec 30
 Hollingsworth (22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST)  and Banton with a triple double led #wku (7-6) over Wisconsin (B10) 83-76. It's been a strange first two months for the Hilltoppers including losses to Missouri St and Indiana St

jan 4, 2019

#usm hoops had a rough #Cusa start in a loss to Rice.  #herd get 20 points and 10 assists  from  Elmore in  a win over ODU.  NTX beat La Tech and is now 2-0 in the CUSA and 14-1 overall. #wku rolled charlotte. UTSA beat UTEP. UAB beat FAU. Beard and Jacob combined to hit eleven treys and score 48 points in #FIU 's win over MTSU.

jan 6, 2019

 Wow, Rice won again- this time over LA Tech. Herd squeak by Charlotte thanks to Burks. #wku fell to ODU. FAU over mtsu, ntx edged usm, uab over fiu. And this is some goofy scheduling: #JhivvanJackson scored 24 points to help UTSA beat UTEP for the second time in three days.

jan 11, 2019

NTX beat Utep moving to 4-0 in CUSA play. Rice cooled off in a loss to UTSA. MTSU  stumbled further in a loss to USM. FAU, FIU, and LA tech beat respectively, ODU, Charlotte, and UAB. 
jan13: How about the #herd knocking off #wku  70-69. Nice night from Hollingsworth ( 20 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL). Also NTX lost to UTSA) ???

jan 18, 2019

Burks and Elmore led the #herd by FAU 96-84  last night, and MTSU edged UTSA for it's first CUSA win. Other winners: ODU, uab, fiu, and usm.
JAN 20 , 2019

Herd 105 FIU 97 Burks scored 30. WKU got back in the win column 72-66 over FAU. NTX survived Rice 76-75

jan 22, 2019 

Josh Anderson(25 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST) was a big factor in WKU 68-59 victory over the #herd. B.J. Stith scored 22 points and Ahmad Caver added 20 in ODU's second half comeback win over Charlotte.

 Jan 25, 2019 

A lot of shake up in the standings in a week . Last night WKU survived a big second half from USM. UAB nipped NTX. ODU struggled but won over UTEP, and the #herd  fell to La Tech despite a big effort from Burks. ODU (6-2). At 5-2 - Marshall, UAB, UTSA, NTX.. At 4-3: WKU , FIU

jan 27, 2019

 I did a double take when I saw the #herd score USM 101 MU 51 scroll across the bottom of my TV screen.The 31-6 USM run at the start was a killer . UAB, UTSA, NTX are tied for first after win over respectively Rice,  ODU,  & MTSU
feb 1
 What a night for Elmore(44 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST) in the #herd win over UTEP. Leonard Harper-Baker scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting for streaking USM in a win over FIU. FAU, ODU, and WKU defeated respectively LT, NTX, and UTSA.

feb 10

Great Saturday for the Texas  CUSA schools. UTSA(9-3), UTEP, and Rice beat respectively, Fau, Marshall and FIU. USM, WKU (8-4), Charlotte, and ODU(10-3) were the other winners. 

feb 15

Jared Savage tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds for #wku  (9-4) in a win over MTSU.
Cortez Edwards had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for USM(8-5) in its win over UTSA(9-4). NTX (8-5) lost to FAU.  #herd lost to UAB.

feb17

wku(9-5)  and utsa(9-5) losses to respectively La Tech and UAB helped the hot  ODU(11-3) and USM(9-5) squads who won last night. #herd beat mtsu 98-93 in the no D special last night.

  Feb 24

while the #herd (7-7) waits to play, ODU(12-3) beat wku (9-6) and and UAB(9-6) beat USM). NTX fell to 8-7 with a loss to La Tech (8-7)

March 1

 Elmore had 34 in the #herd win over La Tech. I caught the end of the #odu hanging on at UTSA in a fierce final four minutes to clinch the regular season title. WKU beat UAB.  ODU, WKU, UTSA, and USM are getting the rd1 byes at this moment.

March 4

 C.J. Burks scored 21 points in Marshall's 85-82 win over NTX and has a slim chance to get a rd1 bye . WKU beat USM to take a half game lead over UTSA, a winner over UAB,  for second  place.

Old Dominion	13-3
Western Kentucky	11-6
UTSA	10-6
Florida International	9-7
Southern Miss	9-7
Marshall	9-7

March 7

Another great night for Burks(21 points) in the #herd win over FIU. USM beat ODU while WKU lost to UTSA who got 29 points from J.Jackson. After ODU(13-4) UTSA is 11-6 and a win guarantees them a rd1 bye. USM and Marshall are 10-7 with a game to go.WKU finished at 11-7. FIU and UAB are 9-8.

march 10

USM beat UTSA and Marshall beat FAU moving to 11-7 creating a four way tie with WKU and UTSA for the three remaining byes after ODU (13-5). I'm not sure how this shakes out . Is it pod play?

march 14

Big game for Elmore (32 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) in the #herd 82-65 win over Rice. La Tech in a squeaker over FAU.NTX beat FIU and UAB handled MTSU.

March 15

 ODU needed a last second trey from Ahmad Carver's  to eke out a 57-56 win over La Tech. Elmore had another solid game for Marshall but they fell to USM. UAB beat UTSA and WKU beat NTX.

March 17

#xaviergreen  scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead ODU to a 62-56 victory over #wku in the CUSAT, and will likely be the only CUSA team at the Dance. My pre-season rating of  Old Dominion finishing 11th in the CUSA was pretty bad.

March 21

 USM lost to Longwood and UAB fell to Brown in CBI action.

March 22

ODU only scored 19 in the first half and lost to Purdue 61-48 at the Dance.

April 5

I've been remiss in my #CUSA coverage. #herd got (28 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) from  C.J. Burks to win the #CIT . Elmore added  17 points and 6 rebounds for Marshall in the 90-70 victory over Green Bay (Horizon Conference).

april 14

#docsadler , stepped down as USM HC after a 20-13 season and will become an assistant for Hoiberg at Nebraska

june 25

 Ryan Woolridge, a grad transfer from #NorthTexas, announced he will play his final season of eligibility for #gonzaga.  He was injured all of last season.

AAC 2018-19 HOOP Predictions

1. Houston: Corey Davis Jr-it's your time.
2. Cincinnati minus Clark but the Bearcats are still solid. #jarroncumberland 's time
3. Memphis- Coach Hardaway here we go !
4. UCF- Will Coach Dawkins finally get the Knights in gear
5. UConn- Hurley-time . Is #jalenadams another Kemba?
6. Wichita State- A bit of a shock as they need to replace eight players who played in 30 games last season
7. Tulsa- Coach Haith- where's the D?
8. Tulane- Can Coach Dunleavy summon up some D?
9. SMU- off to a shaky start
10. Temple- Rebounders please apply
11. East Carolina-  Freshmen Center Roci Quinton may help them climb out of the cellar.
12. South Florida- David Collins scored 21 in a narrow loss to Georgetown. Maybe there will a Bulls rush?

dec 9, 2018

#tulsa hung on last night for a 47-46 win over #16 KSt. Earlier in the week they beat OK St giving them a 2-0 week over the Big 12. Houston beat OkSt last night, but Oklahoma (B12) pounded Wichita St.

dec 21, 2018

#houston is 11-0. Last night they beat Utah St  (MWC) 60-50 in matchup that doesn't occur often. Cincy (9-2) will probably be the Cougars toughest foe when AAC  starts soon. Bearcats lost to Miss St then crushed UCLA this week.

jan 6, 2019

 Aubrey Dawkins scored  23 points to lead UCF over UConn. Curran Scott hit a trey as the buzzer sounded giving Tulsa a 78-75 victory over USF.  And, I had to read this one a few times, Obasohan's last-second block on Saturday helped #ecu hold off Cincy 73-71

jan 10, 2019

Some of my cellar picks are playing well.  #quintonrose (22 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led Temple over over Houston and USF beat Tulane.

Jan 17, 2019

Both head coaches got tossed in Tulsa's win over Uconn. Wichita St got by UCF for it's first AAC win . Houston and Temple  moved to 4-1 in AAC play with wins over respectively, SMU and ECU.

Jan 28, 2019

My pre-season top 3 are doing  ok. Cincy came back to beat Temple  while Houston beat Tulsa to keep them tied for first at 7-1. Memphis moved to 5-2 pounding UCF.

feb 3, 2019

Cincy moved to 8-1 in AAC play with a 73-68 win over SMU. #JarronCumberland scored 24 points for the victors.Temple (6-3) stay in contention with a 75-67 win over Tulane.

feb 8

Houston  beat  Memphis 69-64 and Cincy beat UCF(6-3) to remain tied for first at 9-1 in the AAC.  David Collins hit two  3-pointers in the final 72 seconds for USF in its win over SMU.

feb 11

Houston(10-1) held Cincy (9-2) to 33% FG shooting in  a 65-58 win. Aubrey Dawkins scored 26 points for Central Florida(7-3) in a 71-65 win over SMU. USF (7-4) beat ECU in OT.

feb 15

D. JARREAU (18 PTS, 3REB, 7 AST) led Houston to a win over UConn while Tulsa pounded Tulane. Top four teams get a rd1 bye in AACT.

Houston    11 1 .
Cincinnati    9 2
UCF 8 3
Temple 8 4
South Florida  7 5
Memphis  7 5
Wichita St. 5  6
Tulsa     5 7 .
Connecticut 4 8
SMU     4 8
East Carolina 2-10
Tulane     0 11 

feb 20 

Houston 12- 1 .Cincinnati 10- 2 UCF 9 3 Temple 9 4.My gut says the AAC IS ONLY GETTING THREE dance tickets and Houston and Cincy are in regardless of AACT results

FEB 24

UConn made a he!! of a late run at Cnncy but lost 64-60  and UCF pounded SMU 95-48. Meanwhile Memphis has moved up to bubble status for the Dance.
Houston    13 1 .Cincinnati    12 2 UCF 10-4 Temple 10 4 Memphis  9-6 South Florida  7-7

feb 28

Top three teams won. Cincy(13-2) barely survived SMU 52-49 while Houston(14-1) rolled over ECU 99-65. UCF(11-4) got 18 points from Fall in a 75-63 win over USF.

March 3

UCF (22-6, 12-4 American) moved a step closer to a dance ticket with a 69-64 win over # 8 Houston.  Collin Smith had a solid night for UCF: 21 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST. # 24 Cincy beat Memphis(18-12, 10-7 American) 71-69.

March 8

BJ Taylor(22 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led UCF to a big 58-55 win over Cincy while Houston beat SMU. I think Temple , a winner over UConn, is still on the bubble while UCF earned a Dance ticket last night. Houston   15-2 .Cincinnati    14-3 UCF 13-4 Temple 12-5 

March 17

Memphis gave Houston a battle but fell while Cincy beat Wichita St setting up today's AACT title game. 
Temple remains on the bubble and UCF should get in the Dance.
March 17 evening
Great game from Cumberland in Cincy's stunner over HU. UCF got in and Temple plays Belmont in a play-in game

March 25

  #AAC has had a decent post-season. Houston advanced to the Sweet 16 and UCF was a tip-in away from beating Duke to make the 16. Cincy's rd1 loss was surprising and Temple's play-in loss to Belmont wasn't. Wichita St beat Clemson to make the final 8 of the NIT.
April 1: Depaul lost game 1 to USF 83-81 in the best of CBI final series three series.


Eli Cain DEP - G 19 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST


David Collins USF - G 23 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST


April 3: Wichita St lost to Lipscomb 71-64 in the NIT. D Dennis led the Shockers with 13 points


aPRIL 4: #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), usf (aac) PLAYS GAME 3 ON THE ROAD IN cHICAGO - Big move by Houston:  Kelvin Sampson  signed a 6yr, 18m contract extension to remain with the Cougars through the 2024-25 season. He  had been the primary candidate for the Arkansas job.
april 6  DePaul played sloppy ball in stretches and lost  77-65 at home to USF(AAC) in the final game of the 2019 CBI.  David Collins led the Bulls with 19 points.
 

april 10

 Here's some potential candidates to replace Cronin: Matt McMahon, Murray State head coach. Erik Martin, former Bearcat and assistant on Huggy's staff. Darren Savino, associate head coach for UC since 2010. John Brannen, Northern Kentucky University HC. And then there's Nick van Exel former Bearcat star and an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies (NBA).

april 15

Cincy didn't look to far to replace Cronin.  #JohnBrannen had been the Northern Kentucky HC for four seasons, leading the Norse to two NCAA Dances and two regular-season Horizon League titles over the past three seasons.

May 1

 SEC and AAC have agreed to a scheduling alliance in men's basketball beginning in the 2019-20 season.  Four schools from each conference will participate in two-year, home-and-home series,and no matchups have been scheduled yet. How about Houston/LSU ?
Aug 14- Follow-up on Kevin Ollie The arbitrator in the dispute between UConn and Kevin Ollie has ruled that the former basketball coach is protected by a union contract. UConn argument that Ollie’s personal contract superseded the union deal has been nixed and its case has become tougher.

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Week 13 O5 Impact games

MWC- I picked Utah St (10-1, 7-0 MW)to win the conference in my pre-season blog and they'll survive at Boise St (9-2, 6-1 MW)  to win the Mountain division . Brett Rypien  BSU (263-384, 3270 YDS, 28 TD ) has some impressive stats, but look for Jordon Love, the Ags,QB, to rise to the occasion  on the Boise blue turf.
AAC- Memphis O has been smoking and they'll cut down the King-less Cougars to tie Houston for AACW.
MAC- Ragland's  RedHawks will  edge Ball St and move Miami O  into a possible tie with Buffalo for the East depending on the Buff/BGSU game  outcome.
CUSA: #herd travels to FIU with a chance to tie  for the East.  Herd D vs FIO O. Home team win 27-26
Sunbelt- Troy travels to APPSt with a chance to win the East outright. Treoy relied on FGs to beat TX St last Saturday. APP St has a solid rushing attack anchored by Darrynton Evans. Topsy--turvy league. My guess is Troy 19 App St 17

Nov 22, 2018

#AlonzoSmith  M-OH (18 CAR, 207 YDS, 3 TD) in a big 42-21 win over Ball St. Ragland rushed for 2 TDs and tossed one TD pass.  Red Hawks  six wins  are in conference play (6-6, 6-2 MAC)

Nov 24

Nailed the Memphis pick. Memphis  scored 21 while shutting out Houston in the fourth quarter of 52-31 win.
Nov 25, 2018.
I lost my last three picks  of the batch. #herd 28 FIU 25 , Nice rushing average from Knox 19 carries for for 110 yards, and Brady caught two TD passes while the MU D made FIU settle for field goals early. FIU loss enabled MTSU to make the CUSA title game against UAB.
QBs, Rypien (BSU) and Love (USU) ,had solid games but Mattison (BSU) rushed for the 200 yards  and 3TDs. BSU 33 USU 24.  BSU face Fresno St in the MWC title game
Zac Thomas tosses 2 TD passes in their 21-10 win over Troy and they'll face ULL in the Sunbelt title game
MAC title game: Buffalo/NIU