AAC 2020 pigskin and hoops memos

NCAA rejected former basketball coach Kevin Ollie’s appeal over UConn violations. Here's one violation that appears to be petty when you see all other big time scandals in college sports: improper pickup games at which student managers kept statistics for coaches. This occurred before UConn left the AAC for the Big East in hoops.

Some NBA mock drafts have JAMES WISEMAN who played in a few games for Memphis going first overall to the Golden State Warriors. And his Memphis teammate Precious Achuwa going to the Spurs as the 11th overall pick.

Notre Dame / Navy(AAC) football game is being moved from Dublin ,Ireland to Annapolis, MD at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It will the first time the rivalry game will be played in this venue.

I'm curious as to how Jeff Scott, former  Clemson OC, does in his first season as the USF HC .

June 6, 2020

Oklahoma’s Ryan Jones is fifth P5 transfer added by East Carolina this spring, but not all of the transfers have been regular starters. Jones, a native of Charlotte, NC, played LB  the last two seasons , but he's joining the Pirates to play in a WR/TE role; a position that he was originally recruited for by OU.

June 7, 2020

Here's one possible reason James Madison football didn't  move up to 1A and join the AAC:  It didn't want to be erratic in the way  Old Dominion(CUSA) has been since moving up to 1A. Plus moving from the CAA to AAC in hoops would've been a huge move.

June 10, 2020

I saved a list from a print newspaper of interesting non -conference battles in 2020. This one could be a barn-burner. Cincy (AAC) visits Nebraska (B10) on 9/26/20.  Nebraska beat Cincy in 1906 for 1-0 series edge. JD Spielman, Nebraska's leading wide receiver from the 2019 season will enter the transfer portal. He's been dealing with a "personal health matter" , whatever that means. Cincy will need to fill the void of Michael Warren III moving on to the NFL.

June 13 2020

Memphis(AAC) and Mississippi State(SEC) have added more future matchups. Miss St has won 12 in a row and leads the series 27-10.  Memphis won at 45-35 at Miss St in 1993 under Coach Chuck Stobart and were in the CUSA Conference. Jackie Sherill was the Miss St HC.

Isaac Bruce  was a WR on that Memphis St squad and went on to a long NFL career with the Rams. 

june 18, 2020

 Fran Dunphy, who retired from coaching hoops at Temple in 2019, is back working for the school as acting AD  after Patrick Kraft left the post to become the new AD at BC.

June 28, 2020

Syracuse(ACC)  visits Independent UConn for a football game in in 2022. In 2012 they were  members of the Big East, but Cuse moved to the ACC, and UConn became a part of the AAC in 2013.

July 8, 2020

 Ruffin McNeal, who was the HC of East Carolina from 2010-15 during its move from the CUSA to the AAC, has been hired as a special Asst at NC St.

July 15, 2020

 I found this in a article about starting Tulsa safety Cristian Williams ,who was  popped for  a DUI and suspended In bringing back Head Coach Montgomery for a sixth season,  Tulsa made it clear that it’s a bowl game or bust in 2020.  I haven't read of a change in that thinking since the pandemic started.

July 16, 2020

Moussa Cisse, a power forward regarded as a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, committed to Memphis . Last season he moved from NYC to Memphis to play high school ball. Did Coach Hardaway keep his distance. Is this another possible "Wiseman" scandal?

July 18, 2020

Army and Navy(AAC) ADs: ‘If there’s only one game we’re going to play, it’s the Army-Navy game’. This needed to be said.

Oct 9, 2020

 The investigation  of Gregg Marshall's Wichita State(AAC) basketball  program, which started after seven players transferred out is nearly over. He's been accused of shoving some players, particularly Shaq Morris, and of not being a nice guy around campus. I bet he survives for this season but faces a huge hurdle in recruiting.

Nov 18, 2020

Gregg Marshall resigned from Wichita St and agreed to a settlement of $7.75 million to be paid over the next six years. Assistant coach Isaac Brown will be the interim HC.

Nov 19, 2020

 Wiseman from Memphis of the AAC goes 2nd overall to GSW in the NBA draft. Edwards from Georgia(SEC) went 1st.

Jan 21, 2022

I started this blog mentioning Kevin Olie, former UConn hoops coach when they were in the AAC, and yesterday an arbitrator awarded him 11M from UConn for improper firing. His membership in the American Association of University Professors union was a factor in the decision.

May 7, 2022

I pulled up this old blog when I saw that Wichita State(AAC) fired its athletic director Darron Boatright. My initial reaction was it must be tied in some way to the sloppy way hoops Coach Marshall left there in 2020. However , most of the chatter is about how Boatright was slow to get on the NIL "fundraising" train. Funny world.

MWC players then others in the 2020 NFL draft

MWC: RD1: #Jordan.Love QB from Utah St went the the Packers . RD2: Ezra Cleveland, OL from Boise St went to the Vikings . RD3 Logan Wilson LB from Wyoming to Bengals
SunBelt: RD2: Robert Hunt OL from LA Laf to the Fins. RD3 Darrynton Evans RB from AppSt went to the Titans.
AAC: RD3 Antonio Gibson RB from Memphis went to the Redskins. Josh Jones OL from Houston went to the Cardinals. Matt Hennesy OL from Temple went to the Falcons. Josiah DeGuera TE from Cincy went to the Packers. Matt Peart OL from UConn went to the Giants
CUSA: RD3 Alex Highsmith Edge rusher from Charlotte went to the Steelers.
MAC- No one taken in first three rounds. Maybe in the next few rounds?
Rounds 4 through 7 -what caught my attention
First MAC player drafted was in rd5. Danny Pinter, an OL from Ball St, went to the Colts
Justin Rohrwasser, a kicker fromMarshall (CUSA), went to the Pats
Cole McDonald, a prolific passer from Hawaii(MWC) didn't go to rd7 to the Titans.
Undrafted FA signings
I thought these O5 guys would've been drafted: Benny LeMay, RB, Charlotte(CUSA) signed by Browns. Michael Warren, RB, Cincinnati (AAC) signed by the Eagles, Patrick Taylor, RB, Memphis (AAC) signed by the Packers. Warren was the biggest surprise- In 38 games with the Bearcats, he ran for 2,918 yards and scored 34 rushing TDs

May 6, 2020

Grambling St is scheduled to be the Jags first opponent on Sept 12 at the South Alabama's new Hancock Whitney stadium. Maybe this will help the Jags recruit better. Jags have had one player drafted since 196o who played in the NFL . Rams drafted Gerald Everett in rd2 in 2017.

May 22, 2020

Big  Mack time in Chicago.  #LedariusMack , a FA DL from Buffalo U (MAC) , will get a chance to play alongside his  brother, Khalil, with the Chicago Bears.

May 25, 2020

 Pats signed  QB J’Mar Smith,  an undrafted FA from Louisiana Tech(CUSA). Talented kid that BB will play somewhere other than at  QB.

June 13, 2020

 Another Ju Ju in the league. Rams signed Ju Ju Hughes, a UFA  safety from Fresno St (MWC).

June 23, 2020

Rams also signed the other Love. Josh Love, San Jose St QB and MWC Offensive Player of the Year (2019).

June 25, 2020

Saints signed Jordan Steckler, ALL MAC  OL from  Northern Illinois. Brees needs all the protection he can get.

July 2, 2020

I missed this earlier. Two Charlotte (CUSA) players were drafted. Defensive end Alex Highsmith was taken by the Steelers in the third round and offensive lineman Cameron Clark went in the fourth round to the Jets. Ol Miss will become the first SEC team to play the 49ers at home and it will also mark the first meeting between the programs.It's part of a 2026 and 2027 home and home series.

July 9

I was reading a column that had Brent Brennan, the SJST HC, on the hot seat and started wondering about SJST players who have played in  the NFL. Steve Deberg, who was drafted by Dallas in 1977,  stands out. He played for a few teams,  and was the QB for Denver in the 1983 playoffs and KC in the1990, and 1991 playoffs.

Oct 6

Remember when the Packers use of a rd1 pick for Jordan Love , a QB, was going to cause problems. GB is 4-0. Rodgers tossed four TD passes in last night's win over Atlanta.

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/charlotte-49ers/article242315471.html#storylink=cpy

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.

 

Iona basketball has lost its mind by hiring Pitino

Iona has lost its mind. MAAC HOOPS IS NOT THAT DEEP. I grew up following the MAAC because Loyola(Baltimore) was in that league . Loyola left it a few years ago for the Patriot League, and one reason given was that the Patriot was a better Lacrosse league.
It was exciting when  Coach Patsos  took the Greyhound to the Dance in March 2012 .
If Pitino manages to stay in the NCAA and not receive the 15-year penalty, he'll be looking a for a big time job ASAP.
I'll come back from time to time to see how Slick Rick is doing.

March 16

 ....and it gets better: " #RobertLaPenta , top Iona booster, formerly partnered with Pitino in ownership of racehorses.

March 24

  Pitino wants Iona to Play Kentucky, but he won't Play Louisville . He's still tight with Calipari.

May 5, 2020

And the hits keep coming: Louisville received a notice of allegations from the NCAA that included one Level I allegation and three Level II allegations, including one against former Louisville and current Iona head coach Rick Pitino. Pitino was hit with a Level I allegation, which includes charges against former assistant coaches Jordan Fair and Kenny Johnson, involve the $100,000 offer that was made to former signee Brian Bowen Jr in 2017

May 13, 2020

Fallout continues:  Lasalle let Kenny Johnson, an Asst Coach and  a key figure in the NCAA's infractions case against Louisville , go.

Jan 21,2021

I'm revisiting Iona(5-3, 3-1 MAAC) since the Gaels recently played two Baltimore  city schools  that play in the MEAC. They beat Coppin St but lost to Morgan St. Iona's other losses are in conference to Fairfield and a blowout loss to Seton Hall (Big East)

#ISAIAHROSS is the Gaels leading scorer at 22.2 PPG

Feb 21, 2021

Iona shut down its regular season on Feb 21 due to Covid, but the Gaels, who are 6-3 in MAAC  play, are expected to return for the MAACT, which begins on March 8 in Atlantic City. Crazy season!

March 10

Isaiah Ross had 15 points as ninth-seeded Iona easily defeated eighth-seeded Quinnipiac 72-48 in a rd1 MAACT game.

March 21, 2021

At halftime of the Bama/Iona game, Barkley kept telling  the rest of the TBS panel that Bama will increase its one point lead and win by 12 or 14, and they kept telling him Pittino will find a way to win. Bama went on an 11-0 run late in the second half and won 68-55. Isaiah Ross scored 19 points for Iona and Herb Jones scored 20 for the Tide.

May 19, 2021

Pittino may have left Louisville , but the basketball program still has issues. #DinoGaudio, a former assistant coach for Chris Mack, was  federally charged for an attempt to extort  the Louisville program for 17 months of salary. He threatened to inform members of the media of alleged NCAA violations.

Also,  the NCAA case against Pittino is still being adjudicated through the Independent Accountability Resolution Process.

Nov 26, 2021

Wow, Pitino took Iona to Bama and won by curtailing their 3 -point shooting

Jan 26, 2022

Slick Rick is probably smiling this morning. Iona is undefeated in conference play and 17-3 overall including its upset win @  Bama earlier this season. Louisville is working on buying out Coach Mack who is facing some turbulence including players not buying in, etc. Furthermore, Louisville hasn't replaced its school President since since Neeli Bendapudi left for Penn State.

Feb  18, 2022

Pitino again denied knowledge of a $100,000 payment via Adidas made to Bowen to lead him to Louisville, and denied  knowing his accuser Merl Code, who's going to jail for nine months on corruption charges. NIL has made this kind of activity legal.

March 4, 2022

Pitino denied interest in the Terps job and his Iona(24-6, 16-3 CONF) squad went out and lost Manhattan(15-14, 8-12 CONF) in MAAC play. I doubt if Maryland was going roll the dice that much.

March 10, 2022

 I don't think Pitino is dancing this season. Rider 72 Iona 71 in the MAACT. Win over Bama earlier in the season won't be enough.

March 17, 2022

Iona gave FLA a he!! of an NIT game  but lost 79-74. NELLY JUNIOR JOSEPH scored 18 for the Gaels. Pittino   understands how to play SEC teams.

March 18, 2022

St Peters, who won the MAACT, Pitino's conference, knocked off Kentucky.

April 16, 2022

Pitinos arrange a home/home series. Iona travels to The Pit @ New Mexico during the 2022/23 season, and the Lobos will travel to New York during the 2023-24 season.  Lobos were terrible last season in the MWC so I'm guessing Dad's Iona squad wins on the road next season.

Dec 23, 2022

I was wrong on my April 16th hunch: Dad's team Iona lost at The Pit to his son's Lobos 82-74 on Dec 18.  Then Dad had a double-digit lead in Hawaii against SMU(AAC) and lost.

March 20, 2023

Wow, Pitino gets the St John's gig after taking Iona to to the Dance two out of three seasons. ST Peters got the MAAC ticket in 2022. I guess Iona got something out of his time there and weren't as crazy as I thought in my original post. Slick Rick has a daunting task with the Johnnies who have been to just three Dances since 2002.

Jan 20, 2024

After Pitino IONA 8-9 3-3(MAAC), Griffins beat Canisius 70- 58 last night. Meanwhile, the Johnnies are 4-3 in the Big East. Losses to UConn, Creighton, and Seton Hall

Iona's HC is Tobin Anderson who took FDU to the Dance last spring.

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.

MACkin into 2020 hoops

Coach Groce rode his success with Ohio to a B10 job at Illinois which didn't go well ,and now it appears he has #Akron on the rise. #XeriusWilliams scored 23 to lead Akron(13-3, 3-0) past Ball St(9-7,2-1). 75-60 just when I thought the Cards were playing well. Akron's OOC losses were close ones to Louisville, West Virginia, and by 13 to Liberty. Kent St(12-3,2-0) and Central Michigan(9-6,2-0) are the other MAC teams undefeated  in conference play. 
Buffalo(10-6, 1-2 )  beat Miami (OH)(7-9, 0-3 ) 83-78 for its first MAC win this season.

Jayvon Graves BUFF (25 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) . Dalonte Brown M-OH (18 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST)

jan 19

 Marreon Jackson hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 36 points for Toledo in a 99-89 win over Akron(4-1), which is the Zips first MAC loss. Bowling Green(4-1) nipped NIU 66-64 to  move into a tie with Akron atop the MAC East
  Ball State(4-1) used balanced scoring in its defeat of Miami (Ohio) 71-62 to remain atop the MACW.

Jan 25

 #DannyPippen had 20 points for Kent State(4-3) in a 70-66 win over Buffalo(4-3) which ended their three game losing streak . Akron and Bowling Green  sit atop the East with 5-1 records while Ball St(4-1) leads the West.

Jan 29

  Gabe Grant's blocked a shot with ten seconds to go  to preserve  Buffalo(5-3) 77-74 win over Akron(6-2). Troy Simons scored 21 points in Kent St(6-3) win over Toledo. Troy Diggs scored 25 point for Bowling Green (7-1) in a win over Ball St  to take sole possession of first in the East.

Feb 1

  Justin Turner scored 23 points and Dylan Frye added 17  for Bowling Green(8-1) in a 78-77 win over Buffalo(5-4) while Kent St(6-3) edged Akron(6-3). CMU(4-2) and NIU(5-3) are tied for the first in the West.

Feb 6

 Dallas Morgan scored  29 points for  Central Michigan(6-2) in a 92-82 win over Bowling Green(8-2), the East leader,  and moved into a tie for first in the West with NIU(7-3), a winner over Toledo. Ball St (6-3)is a half game back in the West.

Feb 8

Buffalo's win over CMU(6-3) gave NIU(8-3) the chance to gain ground in the West and they did with a narrow 57-54 win over Kent St.  Eugene German NIU - G (27 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST)

feb 12

Akron(8-3) got a big win over Bowling Green(9-3)  in the East battle while Ball St(7-4) gained ground in the West its win over NIU(8-4) . Loren Cristian Jackson scored 28 points for Akron.

feb 15

 Loren Cristian Jackson scored 31 points for his third 30-plus for Akron(19-6, 9-3 MAC)in a 80-67  win over CMU(13-11, 6-5 MAC) . Buffalo(16-9, 7-5 MAC) who defeated Toledo last night. Akron is tied with Bowling Green for first in the East while Buffalo is 2GB. CMU fell  further behind  NIU(8-4) and Ball St (7-4) in the West.

feb 22

Buffalo (7-5) got a big win over Kent St in a wild OT game last night to stay within striking distance of East leaders Akron , and Ball St  who are tied at 10-3.

feb 29

 Loren Cristian Jackson scored 35 points for Akron(12-4) in an 85-73 win over Buffalo which mioves them into a tie for first with Bowling Green in the East.

march 7

Akron hung on against feisty Kent St while Buffalo beat Bowling Green,  which enabled the Zips to win the East and also nab the the 1 slot in the MACT. Ball St trounced NIU to tie for first in the West and get the three seed. BG is the 2 and NIU is the four. Top 4 earned round 1 byes.

MWC hoops enters 2020

I didn't do my annual MWC prognostication but I'll try to catch up. New Years day conference  games
R. Washington SJST (25 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST) had a big night in a mild (88-85) upset of New Mexico.
San Diego State ( 14-0,3-0) beat Fresno St 62-51
J. Jessup BOISE ( 20 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) was the key in a 65-54 win over Wyoming.
B. Hamilton UNLV 20 PTS, 6 REB was the key in a 70-53 win over Utah St
Harris scores 20 to lead Nevada over Colorado St. 67-61. Steve Alford, who replaced Eric Musselman who took the Arkansas job, has Nevada  2-0 in MWC play and 9-5 overall
Air Force was idle.

Jan 10

 San Diego St(16-0, 5-0MWC) is 7th nationally. Malachi Flynn (16.1 PTS)(3.4 REB)(5 AST)

Jan 15

#MalachiFlynn (22 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST )  rolls on for SDST((18-0, 7-0 MWC) in a 64-55 win over Fresno St . Jalen Harris scored 20 points including the winning layup for Nevada with nine seconds left. NEV 68 WYO 67

jan 18

 A dash of NBA with MWC hoops: Kawhi Leonard will attend the Feb 1 game against Utah St and become the first San Diego State basketball player to have his jersey retired. SDST is 7-0 in conference play this season and has 1.5 game lead on UNLV(5-1).

jan 26:

While Boise St and the MWC battle over football TV $$, the Blue-turfers hoops team romped over Fresno St 87-63.  Zouzoua scored 20 for Nevada in a 76-74 win over New Mexico. San Jose St beat AFA, and Utah St beat Colorado St. San Diego St (9-0) and UNLV(6-2) were idle in MWC action yesterday.

jan27

 Flynn scored 21 points, Pulliam added a career-high 18 points and the fourth-ranked Aztecs (21-0, 10-0 MWC) held off  UNLV (11-11,6-3MWC) for 71-67 win. UNLV and Nevada are tied for second with 6-3 MWC records.

Jan 30

San Diego St  crushed New Mexico 85-57 to remain undefeated, and is four games up on Colorado St, a winner over Nevada, and Boise St, a winner over San Jose St. UNLV was idle and is 3GB .

Feb 13

San Diego St is a lock for the dance, but   Nevada (16-10, 9-5 Mountain West) has an outside shot and got a much needed win  over UNLV(12-14, 7-6 Mountain West). Jalen Harris had a solid night for Nevada ( 29 PTS, 14 REB, 5 AST) In other action Fresno State (9-16, 5-9 Mountain West)  defeated San José St (7-18, 3-10 Mountain West) 84-78 in OT.

Feb15

San Diego St deserves a 1 seed at the Dance if they finish the season undefeated. They have OOC wins over Creighton, Iowa, and BYU.

feb 19

If MWC  gets a second dance ticket, it will likely be Nevada(17-10, 10-5) who won 88-74 at  New Mexico thanks to a big night from Jalen Harris(28 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST). Nevada is tied for second with Utah St..UNLV (9-6) blew out Col. St (9-6) 

feb 23

Nevada eked out a win over Fresno St to hang on to second place ahead of UNLV who handed SDST it's first loss of the season and Colorado St who defeated SJST. Nevada and Utah St are tied for second with 10-5 records.

Feb 26

Aztecs recovered from their first loss and beat CSU.  Nevada  and UTAH St, two 12-5 teams are around the bubble after wins respectively over  Wyoming and SJST.

March 6

MWCT Round1:Wyoming burst any bubble chances Nevada had .K. Marble II (24 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST) led WYO to a 74-71 win.  Boise St and Utah St kept their hopes alive with wins. SDST kept rolling. BSU 67 UNLV 61. Utah St 75 UNM 70. SDST 73 AFA 60

March 7

Utah St held off pesky Wyoming and Utah St  beat Boise St. to set up the MWCT final. Utah St should get the 2nd ticket  if they play the Aztecs close. Big night for Sam Merrill USU - G(27 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST)

March 8

 Sam Merrill (27 PTS, 6 REB, 1 STL) hit a trey with 2.5 seconds left on the clock  for Utah St in a 58-55 win over SDST  in the MWCT final. The Ags are going to the Dance, and the Aztecs won't be a 1 seed.

April 1

AFA brings back Joe Scott who coached them to the Dance in 2004 . Scott has been an asst at Georgia for the last two seasons.