Old Dominion 66, St. Joseph's 62 (story) - They're wearing uniforms this year that say "OLD DOMINION" and "MONARCHS" on the front in large blocky text, 'cause they don't want there to be any doubt in your mind about who they are. They're now 11-1 after ripping into the tattered remains of last year's Elite Eight club. Homestanding ODU was up by 10 with five minutes to go, but the Hawks cut into the lead with threes before being put down by a free throw barrage. Both teams shot over 50%, but the Joes turned the ball over 23 times.
Iona 77, Virginia Commonwealth 72 (story) - Nick George, VCU's emotional leader, turned an ankle just before halftime, and the defending Colonial champs weren't the same after that. After a nip/tuck first half in New Rochelle, the MAAC's Gaels (3-5) held the hobbling George to two points in nine minutes, and turned back a late Ram rally to win. Greg Jenkins gave Iona a ton of inside muscle with 23 points and 11 boards.
And nothing says "holiday season" quite like allowing your mind to leave for Christmas break before the rest of you does. When you play for a Division I basketball team, however, the consequences of doing so may include dropping an embarrassing decision to a provisional D1. Coaching staffs at Tennessee State (82-80 loss to South Dakota State) and Texas State (86-82 loss to Northern Colorado) will likely be leaving their players some extra coal-lumps in their stockings, or enclosing "invitations" to perform some extra laps with their Christmas cards.
Alabama 76, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 54 (story) - Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over. They hung around with the Tide for twenty minutes, but the Islanders' chances to crash the Tournament as an independent are all but gone after nine second-half minutes without a bucket. The national media will likely be exploring the undersides of other rocks ::cough::missourivalley::cough:: for mid-major darlings to write puff-pieces about, but rest assured that The Mid-Majority will continue to be your trusty source for periodic TAMCC updates. 'Cause that's what we're here for.
