December 2004 Archives
Game 023: St. John's 63, N.C. State 45
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Madison Square Garden - New York, New York
(click for close-up)
Photo Gallery (Games 022/023)
Game 022: Columbia 64, Canisius 58
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Madison Square Garden - New York, New York
Missouri Valley: IIlinois State 62, Southwest Missouri State 61 (story) - I apologize in advance if this site goes through January and February stretches where it seems like the All-Valley Blog, but this league is going to be red-hot. Illinois State (8-3, 1-1 MVC) is rising Phoenix-like from a disastrous two-year stretch, and the Barry Hinson's Bears are a lunch-pail gang that's a joy to watch. Redbird go-to guy Trey Guidry nailed two free throws with four seconds left to make the Illinois State lead bulletproof, and they withstood a valiant buzzer effort by rapidly rising SMS star big guard Tyler Chaney. Juco transfer Lorenzo Gordon, a widebody who can shoot, led the Redbirds with 17.
Missouri Valley: Drake 74, Indiana State 69 (OT) (story) - The Sycamores burst out of the gate early behind former MMBOW David Moss. But now he's getting a lot of extra defensive attention, and the others aren't able to pick up the requisite slack. A five-game losing streak includes a Worst Hawaiian Vacation Ever, in which they lost all three of their Rainbow Classic games and managed 37 points against a dismal Long Beach State squad. Eric Gray, who always kills Drake, stepped up and poured in 29 - but there was no denying the Bulldogs this night, who scorched the nets with 69% shooting. Moss went 2-for-17 for eight points.
Southeast Missouri 65, Saint Louis 49 (story) - When you have a defensive club that has trouble scoring points, you'll still end up beating a few teams. When your defense goes missing and you still can't score points, everyone will beat you. This is the story of the Billikens, whose lost season (2-9) continued last night with a home "L" against an Ohio Valley school that won four conference games last year. SEMO (4-6) shot 52 percent, held St. Louis to 18 first-half points, ran out to a 26-point second-half lead before letting up late, and joyfully exited the building with a $45,000 check (I'd like to imagine it was an oversized golf-tournament check, but it wasn't). "You always expect a team at home to make a run, but they never did," said Indians coach Gary Garner afterwards. In-yo-face, weird white Dr. Seuss-lookin' thing!
And what urge? When the Billikens (and Charlotte too) bolt from the "structurally improved" C-USA next season to join the Atlantic 10, there's a good chance they'll be sliding down the conference RPI ladder.
Bucknell 69, St. Joseph's 62 (story) - This was the second straight win over the top half of the RPI for Bucknell (Niagara last Wednesday), so I'm as ready as anyone to join the chorus of those who would give them the Patriot League crown before it's actually awarded. Most importantly, this will likely keep them from having to make an extra trip to Dayton for the Tournament play-in game. A 17-6 run in the opening minutes of the second half, as well as blistering 63% shooting against a loose St. Joseph's defense, lifted Bucknell to victory. Bison junior guard Kevin Bettencourt went wild (you thought I was going to say "buck," didn't you) for 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting, and 6-11 Chris McNaughton dominated Hawk bigman Dwayne Jones down low.
So wither St. Joe's, who lost for the first time at home in two seasons, and lost for the first time against Bucknell since 1979? "They don't know what's wrong, and so they don't know how to fix it," head Hawk Phil Martelli told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's bewildering to everybody." Well, call it the Curse Of The Hawk then - this is a team that will have to run plays after several years of relying upon an on-court magician's creativity, one that will constantly have its inside shortcomings exposed (a weakness nobody really punished them for last year, except for Xavier in the A-10 tourney), and one that will likely suffer such a dramatic dropoff as to nullify any recruiting bounce from last year's Elite Eight run.
Game 021: at Drexel 76, Monmouth 47
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Iona 77, Rhode Island 62 (story) - URI has made two straight trips to the NIT, but their 1-7 start must be reminding fans of the bleak three seasons that constituted the post-Lamar Odom era. "Murphy's Rams" just can't seem to score points or catch a break this year. In addition to losing 23 points per game to graduation and bad grades, their entire starting backcourt (and 20 ppg) had been in the infirmary until last night. Point guard Dawan "Bounce Wit' Me" Robinson and shooter Jamaal Wise returned against Iona, but Robinson reinjured his foot a minute into the game and hobbled off. Jeff Ruland's Gaels (4-5, 0-2 MAAC), who also knocked off Virginia Commonwealth last week, were led by their backcourt - Steve Burtt had 19 and Ricky Soliver added 17.
Holy Cross 82, Northeastern 76 (story) - The Crusaders are as all about the 50's as hoop skirts, Buddy Holly and Princeton - but they scored 84 in last week's win against Brown, and dropped 82 here as they pulled away early against the America East's Huskies (4-5). So they're making a deal with the devil, and coach Ralph Willard knows it. "I'll tell you one thing," he told the Boston Herald. "(Today's) practice will focus totally on defensive basketball." NU's national fifth-ranked scorer and former MMBOW Jose Juan Barea was unsuccessful at shooting himself out of a slump, going 4 of 22 for 12 points.
Because I took an extra day of X-Mas break yesterday, this week's MMBOW only has six days to rule over the mid-major world instead of the normal seven. I'm feeling a little guilty about this and it even kept me up last night for a few extra minutes, so I wanted to do something extra-special for this winner. So I went ahead and Photoshopped a Santa Hat on him.
Game 020: at Villanova 81, Middle Tennessee State 62
Monday, December 27, 2004
The Pavilion - Villanova, Pennsylvania
Missouri Valley: Evansville 63, Creighton 61 (story) - The first Valley game for both teams offered a glimpse of the red-hot action this ten-deep league will offer. A seesaw second half culminated in a buzzer-beating jumper by Evansville guard Kyle Anslinger, the only Ace starter who didn't post double figures. Creighton has lost three of four after a seven-game win streak, and Evansville has put together a 7-2 record despite early-season legal distractions.
Bucknell 76, Niagara 74 (story) - The consensus MAAC favorite Purple Eagles have been difficult to figure out early on. They pushed Providence to the limit in the Preseason NIT and lead the nation with 90 points per game, but they've taken red-faced road losses at Loyola (Md.) and Bucknell. The Bison were able to keep the country's second-leading scorer Juan Mendez (26 ppg) in check, holding him to 18 points in 23 minutes and fouling him out with six to go in the game. More buzzer-beating thrills here: Abe Badmus, one of TMM's favorite point guards, rose up high to get a rebound with seconds to go; out of a timeout, swingman Charles Lee hit an open long-range jumper as time expired. [corr., credit to attendee Chris]
Game 019: at Villanova 86, Albany 72
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Pavilion - Villanova, PA
Alabama State 61, Troy State 48 (story) - Troy is starting from scratch after losing all the starters from their 24-win NIT team of a year ago, and now they're oh and eight. SWAC'ers-on-the-rise Alabama State were the latest to take advantage of the A-Sun club's rebuilding project, beating the Trojans at home. After a tight first half, Troy went on a 10-2 run - but the Hornets surged late with a 20-7 burst, overtaking the Trojans with five to go and then pulling away for the 13-point win. Senior forward Kevin Spicer had 16 points for ASU.
Southern: The Citadel 65, Western Carolina 60 (story) - When you win six games in a season, you might want to think about ramping down your early-season schedule a bit. That's what The Citadel did after 2003-04, exchanging their South Carolinas and Central Floridas for a raft full of Division II patsies. They headed into SoCon league play last night after compiling one of the least impressive 6-2 records in the nation, and upset a Western Carolina team that had beaten C-USA East Carolina a week before. The Catamounts led throughout, but WCU went into a six-minute stretch without a field goal to kill any hope of a sustained rally. Warren McLendon, a Charles Barkley-esque freshman, had 18 points and 16 rebounds for The Citadel, and his older yet shorter brother Donny added 15 points.
Game 018: at Temple 48, Princeton 46
Monday, December 20, 2004
Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA
Louisiana Tech 64, Memphis 55 (story) - Homestanding Memphis dominated the first period, leading 28-16 at the half after ripping down 24 boards and holding WAC middleton LaTech to 13% shooting (4-for-31). But they let it all slip away by holding themselves to 23% shooting after the break. Memphis started hacking early, but the Bulldogs kept making their free throws and ended up outscoring the Tigers 48-27 in the second twenty. LaTech power forward Paul Milsap had his 27th career double-double (19 and 15). Guess what? He's a sophomore.
Sam Houston State 77, Arkansas State 74 (box) - Ask someone at SHS what a Bearkat is, and they're duty-bound to lie to you. But for God's sake, a bearkat is not a kinkajou. The mediocre Southland squad in question defended their turf against Arkansas State, a team with first-division aspirations in the Sun Belt. The Indians made it close at the end, but Sam State was in control throughout. Second-year senior Joe Thompson had 21 for the 'Kats, 18 of those points coming on threes.
 This took longer than expected, but we finally have winners in the excitingly academic Finals Week competition! Shockingly, it did come down to timestamps - there were six clean A+ 100% sheets out of 32 completed entries, can you believe it? And nobody had fewer than 34 correct answers. I just want to thank everyone who participated, you all did great!
I'll be notifying the three winners directly and inviting them, one at a time, to select a valuable keepsake from the list of the remaining items in the Mid-Majority Swag Closet. Just get back to me with your postal mailing address, then I'll go on down the line from first to third. The envelope please!
Boston College 82, Yale 80 (2OT) (story) - When Holy Cross pushed Boston College to overtime in a 63-60 thriller back on December 9, Chris over at Hoop Time suggested that maybe, just maybe, friendly officials had too much of a hand in the outcome. After all, HC outrebounded BC 41-39 and 34 of their 60 points were in-the-paint ones, but they only managed to shoot 15 free throws resulting from 16 Eagle fouls (as opposed to 30 freebies off 24 Crusader fouls). "All I know is that I have watched a ton of basketball over the years," Chris said at the time. "And it is not often that the team that is dominating inside is the one doing the preponderance of the fouling."
Well, lightning can strike twice, you know - fast-forward to yesterday. Li'l Ivy Yale (2-6) dominated 8-0 Boston College on the glass 49-36, and the Boston Globe describes Bulldog Dominick Martin as having "tortured BC inside with 22 points and 14 rebounds." But the refs only called 15 BC fouls for the whole game (a game that had ten extra minutes) and Yale only had the opportunity to toe the line 17 times - the Eagles got 24 stripe-shots on 23 Yale fouls. Unless the BC bigs were kindly holding the door open Waldorf Astoria-style so that Martin could strut right into the paint with his suits and luggage, there had to have been a slap or two that were somehow overlooked. And with 6-7, 265 lb. Craig Smith (29 points, 8 rebounds) and 7-0 Canadian lumberjack Nate Doornekamp (the lone BC player in foul trouble) around, dainty-lady D is hard to imagine.
I know why you really visit this site. Once March comes around, you'll be filling out your brackets with confidence - you'll know each of the teen-seeds inside and out. While the CBS pregame camera is trained on some guy from conference X who's shooting jumpers in his sweats, and Billy Packer is fumbling around trying to find something to say, you will be able to confidently proclaim, "Yeah, I've known about that guy ever since he was Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week." Won't your buddies be impressed? Both you and I know about the under-the-table pool cash, complimentary beers, and admiration from exotic women that are at stake here.
The West Coast Conference and Missouri Valley have a lot in common these days: both are inspiring mid-major geeks almost to the point of bad poetry, both have decent records against power leagues (MVC: 3-7, WCC: 8-10), and both can say that every team but one has a winning non-conference record so far (MVC: Drake, WCC: San Diego). But the Valley has the edge in something called "conference RPI." So let's begin there, shall we?
Ball State 65, Indiana State 59 (story) - I've been hyping this game for a week now, and this physical Hoosier hoedown certainly lived up to expectations. Both teams played in-your-jersey defense all game, and the refs took a "no autopsy, no foul" approach. Indiana State struck first with an 11-2 run to start the game, but Ball State charged to a nine-point halftime lead and withstood 50% Sycamore shooting to eke out the six-point win. The key to victory? BSU's refusal to concede an inch of the baseline to reigning MMBOW David Moss, who was held to eight points on eight shots and didn't score a basket until five minutes left in the game. Cardinal senior swingman Terrance Chapman collected 16 points, 11 rebounds, and six stitches in his face.
When I put together the Finals Week quiz, I thought that it would be some nice blog-filler for a light week of hoops. I had no idea that people would actually complete it and send it in, and that I'd find myself "grading" 32 tests despite my total lack of teaching experience. I talked to the Official Wife Of The Mid-Majority™ last night about this, and how it might affect any Sunday afternoon plans.
"But I told them I'd post the winners and stuff," I whined. "I told them!"
Winthrop 70, East Carolina 55 (story) - With embarrassing losses to D2 teams and potential school-poaching by the Atlantic Sun, it hasn't been the Big South's day, their week, their month, or even their year. But Winthrop has been a big bright spot, running out to a 7-2 record that includes two wins over power-conference teams - last night's victims were the C-USA's East Carolina Pirates. The Eagles built an 18-point halftime lead on the strength of a 29-9 run, and they didn't have to expend much energy protecting that lead in the second half. Their generally-loquacious coach Gregg Marshall called the run "a blur." Pirate coach and old buddy Bill Herrion was a bit more detailed: "I am embarrassed right now that people had to watch what was on the floor tonight."
After a four-year study, the NCAA basketball committee has revised the Ratings Percentage Index. Gone is the old win-is-a-win version that rewarded victory in the same fashion regardless of venue, and that didn't take into account the crucial fact that teams lose two out of every three in hostile environments. Now, home wins will be given a relative weight of 0.6, neutral site wins will be valued at 1.0, and road wins will be weighted at 1.4. My amateur stabs at a rating system have been all about measuring a team's performance against expected results, so this sounds good to me.
 And here it is, the last day of Mid-Majority Finals Week! I've got to say that making up questions was nowhere near as difficult as finding wacky pictures to accompany the posts. I was given a reprieve today by a reader who had issues with the severity of the math portion, and who was kind enough to send along a piece of vaguely disturbing clip art. It's good for everyone involved that there's no physics quiz, because any force/velocity calculation involving this young rapscallion would have to include Steve Lavin's hair gel.
So here's the deal... you have until Saturday at 6:00 PM EST to send in your answer sheets to finalsweek@midmajority.com. Winners will be notified and all answers will be posted sometime on Sunday. Remember, the timestamp on the e-mail containing your answers for questions 31-40 (the ones below) will be used when breaking ties - the earlier one wins. Granted, we're not fighting over very valuable merchandise here, but there's pride and bragging rights involved here.
No recap-worthy games or newsworthy news in the college hoops world on Thursday, so we're really "faking the funk" today.
In August 2003, the Connecticut Post printed a story based on an anonymous letter that charged that Fairfield's basketball program was a cesspool of cash, third-party schoolwork and other people's pee. Now, the school appears to be off the hook and will not be sanctioned by the NCAA. The Kansas attorney who led the independent investigation was left to wax Zen-like in a tree-falling-in-the-woods kind of fashion.
Lander 67, Charleston Southern 59 (story) - To get beat by a Division II team, you usually have to go to Alaska or Hawaii. But this game marked just the third time this season that a true D2 has beaten a D1 - and the first time it's happened at the big school's house. Charleston Southern has traditionally served as the roll of TP next to the Big South's commode, but the Lander Bearcats cemented an eternal place in Peach Belt Conference lore next to defending D2 national champs Kennesaw State by notching the league's first-ever win over a top-level opponent. And what lore it is. Gimme a straight G, boys.
 Yes, it's still Mid-Majority Finals Week! It's the third day of it, in fact. Today, we have some fine mathematical and statistical questions for you that mostly have to do with mid-major basketball-related things.
"Pencils down" time is Saturday at 6:00 PM EST. But you knew that. Unless you just showed up. In that case, hi! Click here to read the rules and guidelines and stuff, which have now fallen off the front page. Once again, send your completed answer sheets to finalsweek@midmajority.com. First 10 questions (history) here, second 10 questions (geography) here, third 10 questions start... now!
Siena 79, Youngstown State 78 (4OT) (story) - The Saints and Penguins were tied at 50 after regulation, and the teams struggled to make baskets in what amounted to a complete third half - Siena barely outshot host YSU 36%-35% for the whole game. Diminutive (5'9") Tay Fisher hit three treys in the fourth OT, including the game-winner with eight seconds left. Penguin guard Derrick Harris led his team with 22. As Ken Pomeroy points out, quadruple overtime doesn't happen very often - the last time was a 2003 Ohio-Akron match. The most overtimes ever in an D1 game is seven, which happened when Cincinnati beat Bradley in 1981. See a pattern? Both "overtime" and "Ohio" start with "O." Spooky!
California-Irvine 70, Santa Clara 58 (story) - Zot! Zot! Zot! UCI is several years removed from its relative glory days of hot-shooting Jerry Green, 20-win seasons, Big West semifinal trip-ups and NIT berths. They helped early-season giant-killer Santa Clara continue the slump Cal Poly started for them on Sunday by knocking them out right there in the Broncos' building. Santa Clara made up the deficit from an early second half UCI run of 19-6, but let it slip away in the final minutes. Big Greg Ethington had 14 points and nine boards for the Anteaters.
 Welcome back to Mid-Majority Finals Week! Not a lot of basketball going on this week as most kids are taking their finals, so we're letting you compete for big prizes (approximate retail value of each one: $15!!!) whilst displaying your remarkable grasp of all things mid-major.
To repeat! "Pencils down" time is Saturday at 6:00 PM EST. Send your completed answer sheets to finalsweek@midmajority.com. The rest of the details about rules and prizes and stuff can be found here, along with the first 10 questions.
Game 017: at Villanova 68, Fordham 47
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
The Pavilion - Villanova, PA
San Diego 75, Eastern Washington 56 (story) - San Diego was the 298th-best team in the nation last year in terms of RPI, and now here they are beating the stuffing out of the defending Big Sky champions. EWU is now 2-5, mostly against lower-tier WCC and Big West competition. Is the door open for Weber State and/or Montana (provided they get their respective poop together)? A 11-0 run midway through the first half and a 7-0 salvo early in the second was all it took to send the Torero faithful happily away from the Jenny Craig Pavilion, out into that balmy San Diego night.
Lamar 66, Air Force 59 (OT) (story) - When a Princeton-style system meets up with a team that subscribes to the early-Eighties Denver Nuggets philosophy of quick shots and no defense, general wackiness is sure to ensue. Look at these zany stats: Air Force went 6-for-28 from behind the arc, held Lamar to 49 shots (well short of their average of 67 per game), and yet Lamar doubled up AFA on the boards 42-21. Knowing that the Falcons only go five deep, Lamar coach Billy Tubbs threw the bench at 'em - the Cardinals' reserves outscored Air Force's by a staggering 41-5 margin.
 Welcome to Mid-Majority Finals Week! While students at many American colleges (maybe even you!) are suffering through final examinations, we're taking advantage of the dearth of ballgames this week to offer an exciting mid-major quiz. And fill blog space.
So here's the deal. For the next four days, I'll be posting four ten-question quizzes about various aspects of mid-major basketball, each with a distinct discipline: history, geography, mathematics and bracketology.
Game 016: Wake Forest 67, at Temple 64
Monday, December 13, 2004
Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA
Kids sometimes ask me what it takes to be Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week. "Eat your vegetables," I tell them. "And always listen to your parents." After they tell me to go "F" myself, I bemoan the general coarsening of the Great American Dialogue. Then I say that they might achieve their dreams if they develop a secret super-identity, like in that new computerized cartoon movie everyone loves so much.
Game 015: at Drexel 66, Quinnipiac 59
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA
Florida International 65, Florida State 60 (story) - This is not the site you go to if you want thoughtful analysis of the ACC, but people who run those sites are saying that the conference might get seven Tournament bids this season. Team number eight is FSU, whose only convincing win so far is over Shawnee State. FIU, a team that's been the Sun Belt's spitoon for many years, lost to Connecticut by 51 points two weeks ago and didn't exactly put in a stellar performance here either. But the Seminoles were even more stinky-poo, falling behind by 15 in the second half and shooting 35% for the game. The Golden Panthers had never beaten an ACC school before, ever.
Cal Poly 98, Santa Clara 89 (story) - Santa Clara has a rich basketball tradition, is the alma mater of Steve Nash and Kurt Rambis, and looks like a strong contender to knock Gonzaga off the top of the WCC with early wins over North Carolina and Stanford. Cal Poly... has a weird fight song. But the Mustangs prevailed in this particular horse show, nearly dropping a century on the Broncos on the way to their first win of the year. Cal Poly's Nick Enzweiler (22 points) drained threes like they were going out of style, hitting 6 of 6.
UPSETS
Southern 67, Southeastern Louisiana 65 (story) - They say "SWAC" stands for "Southern Wins Another Championship," but their hoopsters haven't Danced in 11 years. A squeaker over a SELU team that won 20 games last year will likely stoke the high hopes in Baton Rouge, and help Jaguars fans forget that upset Grambling pulled on them in the Bayou football Classic.
Cal State Fullerton 70, Eastern Washington 68 (OT) (story) - Fullerton, an afterthought in the Big West, was leading by as many as 18 in the second half. But the defending Big Sky champion Eagles narrowed the gap in a free throw festival down the stretch, and forced overtime when EWU's Marc Axton was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three of his freebies. In the nip-and-tuck extra session, the Titans' Jermaine Harper hit a three with four seconds remaining.
Friday nights are generally light ones for college hoops (even once the Ivy and Patriot seasons get going), and there's nothing on TV anyway, so they're perfect for firing up the old game console and getting your cyber-hoop on. North Jersey.Com reviews ESPN College Hoops 2K5; I agree about the free throw thing.
Massachusetts 61, Connecticut 59 (story) - There were "Fire Lappas" T-shirts here in Philly too, back when Steve coached Villanova... but the folks in Amherst can put theirs in the closet for a while. Last night saw the best thing to happen to UMass since the Pixies reunion - a squeak win over the defending national champs in the sleepy west of the woody east. Minuteman Rashaun Freeman laid it in with four seconds to go, and the students stormed the floor. It's educational.
Indiana State 70, Valparaiso 68 (OT) (story) - In 2001, the MVC's Indiana State won 22 games (including a first-round Tournament win against Oklahoma), and went on to win exactly that many over the next three seasons. Tree Fever may be coming back to Terre Haute - they're overachieving with defense, and are 4-2 with a near-miss against Indiana. The Crusaders (0-5) were up by 12 at the break, but the Sycamores slowly chipped away at the lead. Go-to guy David Moss, who had 27 and 16 on the night, hit two free throws with 11 seconds left to put Indiana State up by two... but Valpo's Dan Oppland tied it as time ran out. Point guard Tyson Schnitker drained a 3-pointer with five seconds left in overtime to win it for the Trees.
Alabama A&M 68, Stephen F. Austin 42 (story) - SFA is one of the many heartbreaking faraway-so-close stories you see in the small-college world. The reason you've never heard of them (unless you have, natch) is because for the past two years, they've won 21 games per season but have fallen a couple of baskets short in the conference title game. The Southland's Lumberjacks, who have never "Danced" before, are way down due to graduations and will unlikely make it past Sam Houston and UTSA this year. Allowing a middling SWAC team to score 30 points off 27 turnovers won't help matters.
Southern Utah 62, Weber State 56 (story) - Weber State has a proud basketball history, having been to the Tournament 14 times. And remember, it's "WEE-burr" not "WEB-burr." And while they labor in Eastern Washington's Big Sky shadow these days, they have an extremely fascinating team that your narrator will be reporting on in more detail later. But last night, they were run into the ground at home early by a fast (if not mediocre) Mid-Con squad and its two hot guards Rand Janes and Tim Gainey, who shot a combined 14 for 19 from the floor. Burly Utah transfer Lance Allred (18 points and 17 rebounds) led Weber.
Game 014: Central Connecticut State 60, at LaSalle 48
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Tom Gola Arena - Philadelphia, PA
IUPU-Fort Wayne 64, Utah State 59 (story) - At the IUPU schools, you can choose between a University of Indiana degree and a Purdue one - their marketing people call it "the power of two." Big West co-favorites USU played flat coming off big wins over BYU and Utah, and allowed a hungry IPFW to use the "power of three" to upset them: they were 9 for 18 from behind the arc, and center David Simon gained numerous and-ones on his way to 16 and 10. The conference-less Mastodons have now equaled last year's win total with three - could this be the year of the independents? Highly unlikely, but as Ken Pomeroy notes, this result could help lead to the Mountain West receiving as many Tournament bids as the Big Sky.
Central Michigan 88, East Tennessee State 77 (story) - The SoCon co-favorite ETSU Buccaneers are loaded with weapons - that was evident on Saturday when they took conference foes Charleston to the wire without significant input from SI double-page layout subject Tim Smith (jinx!). But they will rely on him heavily this year, and won't be able to win much if Smith shoots 4-for-18. On this night, they didn't. The MAC's Chippewas are tough at home, and rained threes on the Bucs at a 13-for-24 clip. Junior 6-3 speedster Kevin Nelson had 21 for CMU in the win.
Northwestern State 85, Tulane 72 (story) - Northwestern (Louisiana) State is the answer to a trivia question - who won the first NCAA Tournament 65-vs.-64 play-in game? (against Winthrop, 2001). They also beat Kentucky 16 years ago. Not known for their long-range accuracy, the Southland Conference's Demons sank 10 three-pointers on this night. They also hit 15 free throws in the final three minutes to stop their much more well-known in-state rivals from the C-USA.
Cornell 75, Lafayette 72 (story) - Cornell ran away early, but a 14-2 Lafayette run in the fifth five minutes set up the big finish. The scrappy Leopards fought and clawed to stay in this game, but fell just short - Bilal Abdullah's three-point try went long as the buzzer sounded.
The U.S. Postal Service recommends that folks get their holiday mailing done early, because an estimated 20 billion pieces of mail will be sent through the pipes during these next few weeks. That's a lot of mail. So just because there are 16 whole shopping days left until Christmas doesn't mean you can afford to wait until December has reached double-digits before you finally get around to holiday shopping, and still expect everything to get there in time. And look, Hanukkah's started already. Get crackin', slackers!
We celebrate the holidays too, here at The Mid-Majority - but we do it in a very special mid-major sort of way. To help you avoid any last-minute rush, I've put together a Holiday Shopping Guide of items for the college basketball fan who has everything. They already know you're not getting them an iPod, and it's not very likely they have any of this stuff.
Metro Atlantic: Loyola (Md.) 97, Niagara 89 (story) - Bottom beat top in the MAAC. Shane James, a member of the Canadian junior national team, went 9-for-9 to lead Loyola, who outshot the Purple Eagles 55%-39% and scored 37 of their points on 58 free throws. Despite the fact that Niagara's bruising bigs pounded Loyola on the glass by a 46-33 margin, the Greyhounds now have as many conference wins as they did all of last year. LMAO!
George Washington 101, Maryland 92 (story) - OMG, what an upset! Watching this game on TV out of the corner of my eye, I had the distinct impression that Maryland was being swarmed and engulfed by tiny dark-blue insects. GW, who also upended Michigan State on the way to the BB&T Classic "championship," simply outtempoed the Terps to death - senior guard T.J. Thompson had 27 on L33T 10-for-15 shooting, and sophomore J.R. Pinnock chipped in 22 with three steals.
The other day, I was doing something I rarely do - watching SportsCenter. (I'm more of an ESPNews guy.) They were coming in from a commercial break, and they showed a 30-second quick-cut highlight reel of all the Heisman Trophy candidates, set to hot and funky urban beats. There was a repeated loop sung by one of those "hook girls"... it went something like, "You know you got the power!"
And that's when it hit me. The Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week Award needs a theme song.
Virginia Military Institute 72, Virginia Tech 68 (story) - Perennial Big South basement dwellers VMI had been blown out by Old Dominion 86-38 three days previous, so stopping an ACC team they hadn't beaten since 1964 was a bit, umm, unexpected. The Keydets kept the Hokies even on the boards, but shot only 39% - they used the three-point basket (13 of 'em) to seal the win. Always wondered what a "Keydet" is? Well, here you go.
Utah State 71, Utah 45 (story) - The Aggies have served notice in the Beehive State by destroying two Mountain West schools - BYU and the conference-favorite Utes - on their home court. In this game, an 82% second-half shooting performance did the trick. Now, Utah State looks ready to renew its tussle at the top of the Big West with Pacific (who, to follow up, lost to Kansas by 11).
Game 013: Drexel 57, St. Joseph's 49
Saturday, December 4, 2004
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Game 012: Temple 53, Villanova 52
Saturday, December 4, 2004
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Game 011: Pennsylvania 78, LaSalle 67
Saturday, December 4, 2004
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
UNC-Greensboro 79, Southern Mississippi 78 (story) - At Iowa's Hawkeye Challenge, the C-USA's Golden Eagles were up by eight at the break against a second-division SoCon school... but blew the lead and let the Spartans spurt after a Larry Eustachy technical. UNCG's Ricky Hickman led all scorers with 29, and was fouled on a last-second trey attempt with the score knotted at 78. He missed the third foul shot intentionally to deny USM an inbound, and that was that. Eustachy's Iowa State "reunion" with former player Adam Haluska (who transfered across the state to Iowa) has been called off.
Beloved former New Mexico coach Bob King has been upgraded to serious condition. What looks like a tough upcoming season for the Lobos in the Mountain West could soon become a very sad one too.
Indiana State 62, Birmingham Southern 55 (story) - The prohibitive favorites in the Big South - and champions of the recent Marist Classic - went to Indiana and got beat by the worst team in the Valley. The Sycamores (or the "Trees" if you're cool) did the Panthers in with stingy perimeter defense, limiting a team that relies heavily on the trey to "only" 17 three-point attempts. Birmingham cut into a 20-point lead by pressing late, but it was not enough.
Ohio 64, Butler 58 - I went to a school with a 10-week trimester system, and people thought I was pretty weird. Ohio is on quarters, and they pay for a Thanksgiving-to-New-Year's break with a tiny one-month summer vacation in July. Their late-arriving hoopsters, the consensus last-place pick in the MAC East, are done with Fall finals and feeling fresh. Their second victim: Horizon League middletons Butler, who were put away early with a first-half Bobcat burst.
UC Davis 72, Sacramento State 63 (OT) (box) - Davis has to wait until 2007 to achieve full Division I status and join the Big West, but they're wasting no time. The 1998 D2 national champions beat the Big Sky's Hornets in the "Hornets' Nest" by a sizeable margin in overtime, despite never having had a lead in regulation.
Western Carolina 75, Liberty 63 (story) - Western lost the nation's second-leading scorer when Kevin Martin left early to warm Sacramento's bench, so the Catamounts will have to rely on muscle. They did just that against the defending Big South champs, overcoming 39% figures in both field goals and free throws with a 43-35 rebounding advantage.
Game 010: at Pennsylvania 65, Bucknell 52
Wednesday, December 1, 2004
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Winthrop 60, Providence 54 (story) - The once-mighty Eagles of the Big South are rebuilding (only one upperclassman on the roster) but put in a respectable performance at the Paradise Jam, beating Troy State and Austin Peay after being thrashed by Arkansas. The Friars gift-wrapped this one, going cold from the floor (19% in the second half) and letting Winthrop rally from a 16 point deficit.
Eastern Michigan 90, Marshall 88 (story) - The MAC's first game was a track meet between two teams on the move... the EMU Eagles towards respectability and Marshall to the C-USA. More comeback heroics in this one, as Eastern was up 17 with 10 minutes to go. Two last-second three-point heaves wouldn't go in for the Herd.
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Having recently completed its fourth season, The Mid-Majority is a blog about the 22 smaller Division I college basketball conferences (and independents) by me, Kyle Whelliston. I write for ESPN.com and Basketball Times, and maintain the Basketball State statistics website as well.
Here's a brief note on who we talk about, and why.
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