January 2005 Archives
Mid-American: Miami (Oh.) 74, Akron 63 (story) - It was a bonus Shakedown Saturday game that happened to fall on Sunday. The RedHawks of Miami were up by 20 and had the game well in hand going into the final five minutes, but the zippy Zips zipped off an 18-1 run to cut the lead to four. In a rare garbage-time cancellation, Miami (12-5, 7-2 MAC) closed the door with an 8-1 run of their own, and the 'Hawks maintain their lordship over the MAC East manor. Miami power forward Danny Horace dub-dubbed with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Patriot: Navy 69, Bucknell 62 (story) - According to Hoop Time's Chris Courogen, a man who never forgets to mention Memphis, lowly Navy won it with a zone defense that kept the Bison away from their post strength. I wasn't anywhere near the game, but I suspect it was the juice. Bucknell (14-6, 5-2 PL) suffered through a lost weekend in the Capitol region, and suddenly Holy Cross sits atop the conference at six and one. (There's the alternate theory that the Bison just wanted to shake their wagon free of idiot journalists who go around blowing coaching leaves-of-absence to huge proportions, but that one's got holes in it.)
Miami (Oh.) made an early splash this season with a huge "Miami Valley Conference" win at Xavier, but they fell off the map somewhat after a letdown-game loss against a weak Butler club. The RedHawks have shaken off a slow conference start with a four-game winning streak, and they've done it with the help of one of the nation's leading rebounders. Danny Horace is our twelfth Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week.
Results from Shakedown Saturday are in! And here they are!
Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 88, Oral Roberts 74 (story) - Okay, UMKC Kangaroos, here's your "for real" tag. Wear it proudly. With four minutes left, they were up by only four and had lost their entire two-man backcourt to foul disqualification. The ORU fans smelled blood, but reigning MMBOW Brandon Temple (25 points) and the rest of the 'Roo guard troika stepped up. Said Quinton Day, the transfer pointman who freed up Temple to play two-guard, "I told him to keep shooting the ball like that and I will keep throwing it to you." UMKC (10-7, 8-0 Mid-Con) has won a school-record ten straight and are now two full games up on the Golden Eagles (14-5, 6-2 Mid-Con).
Game 044: Brown 57, at Princeton 52
Friday, January 28, 2005
Jadwin Gym - Princeton, NJ
Big West: Pacific 66, Cal State Northridge 62 (story) - The Tigers (15-2, 10-0 BWC) proved last night that they are not only Mad, but Beyond Matadome as well. They marched into Northridge and held off a late run by the perennial upstart Matadors (9-9, 7-3 BWC), who sunk further into second place. Like a lot of sequels, this game had a similar plot to the unexpected title game matchup in Anaheim last March: UOP held off a fierce rally by CSN and won by a tight margin. All-Everything Pacific six-niner Christian Maraker led the house with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
West Coast: San Francisco 62, Santa Clara 60 (story) - USF's (13-6, 4-2 WCC) resurgence has been undermined somewhat by road woes, but an Alan Wiggins baseline jumper with half-a-tick left helped fix all that for now. Don star guard John Cox got some pregame Philadelphonic love from his pops, and put up 21 at the cross-Bay rival Broncos' house. There's now a three-way tie for second in the WCC at four and two, they're all chasing 5-1 St. Mary's.
Game 043: at Rider 75, Manhattan 46
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Alumni Gym - Lawrenceville, NJ
Game 042: Richmond 78, at LaSalle 71
Wednesday, January 27, 2005
Tom Gola Arena - Philadelphia, PA
Missouri Valley: Southwest Missouri State 92, Southern Illinois 77 (story) - The homestanding Bears took a 14-point lead into halftime, and stepped on the gas out of the break with an 11-4 run. Despite what the two teams' records would indicate, this was a classically-styled "romp" - a 57%-38% field goal margin and an eight-rebound edge. SIU (13-5, 6-2 MVC) went five minutes without a basket in the second half and made a 10-0 late spurt to make the scoreboard look good - they've now lost two MoVal contests in a row for the first time in, like, forever. They also just made SMS' (8-8, 3-6 MVC) entire season.
Mid-American: Miami (Oh.) 85, Western Michigan 60 (story) - In the tussle between division leaders, the East won in convincing fashion. Miami (11-5, 6-2 MAC) has built a reputation this year for grinding out tough wins, so the "60" isn't much of a surprise. But then there's that other number - the Redhawks shot a blistering 58% against the league's best defense, and outrebounded the MAC's top rebounding team 41-34. They were up by as many as 32 points in the second half, but refused to let up. Said point guard Chet Mason to the Cincinnati Enquirer, "We told each other the score was 0-0 and not to look up at the scoreboard."
Missouri Valley: Illinois State 77, Evansville 58 (story) - The Redbirds have overachieved this season with explosive offense and discipline - they used a 50-point second half and extreme ball control to sink the Aces. Three-point specialist Trey Guidry scored 25 points in just 21 minutes. So what now? Is ISU just muddying the conference picture, or are they making a real run at Tournament glory? This weekend should provide some clarity: they'll get their first shot at league-leading Wichita State. In the middle of the table, Bradley will attempt to avenge their MoVal-opening loss at Creighton on their home floor tonight.
Shootaround!
Game 041: Pennsylvania 67, St. Joseph's 59
Tuesday, January 26, 2005
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Missouri Valley: Wichita State 65, Northern Iowa 57 (story) - The Shockers went on an early game-breaker of a run, but UNI fought back to take the lead just after halftime. Big Paul Miller hit a shot to make it 31-30, and WSU never looked back. Wichita State (14-2, 7-1 MVC) takes a half-game lead over Southern Illinois, the team they beat on Saturday.
Shootaround!
Game 040: at Holy Cross 80, American 56
Monday, January 24, 2005
Hart Center - Worcester, MA
Photo Gallery | Actual Game Recap
Kangaroo legend Michael Watson, the Mid-Continent Conference's all-time leading scorer with 2,488 points, graduated and left his blue and gold uni behind last spring. So someone had to step up and provide some points this year for Missouri-Kansas City, and it turns out that the entire backcourt did. Out of a guard corps that was rated second-worst in the league by the Blue Ribbon Yearbook at the start of the season, three came forward to contribute scoring for a team that's rattled off eight straight wins and now leads the Mid-Con with an unblemished 6-0 record (8-7 overall). One of those guards, Brandon Temple, is our eleventh Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week.
Patriot: Army 63, Navy 43 (story) - I've been talking so much about the Academies lately, might as well share the biggest upset of the day. Having observed the wide gulf of talent between Army (3-14, 1-4 PL) and Navy (3-15, 0-5 PL) within the past week, I'm in slackjawed disbelief at a result that shows the USMA's first win over USNA in their last nine tries. Most folks were kept away from West Point's Christl Arena by the blizzard, and the television coverage was "scrapped," so I'm wondering if this really occurred as reported. I mean, how difficult is it for the government to brainwash two thousand people, fabricate game recaps, and pay off feature writers? Mulder, Scully and Sydney Bristow may be unavailable, but the truth is out there.
Shootaround!
Missouri Valley: Wichita State 58, Southern Illinois 56 (story) - The Shockers had the boards (42-32) and the defense (held SIU to 32% shooting in the second half), but the Salukis had enough streaks and runs to keep it close. WSU's Illinois transfer forward (and possible "evil twin" of your humble narrator) Kyle Wilson scored down low with a half-minute remaining; as time ticked away, Southern could not piece together a successful overtime-forcing possession. SIU lost its fourth MVC regular-season game in the last three seasons, and both teams are now 6-1 in the toughest mid-major league in all the land.
Mid-American: Ball State 66, Western Michigan 65 (story) - The Broncos' (13-4, 6-1 MAC) 25-game home winning streak, second longest in the nation, is now history. The Ball State (9-5, 4-2 MAC) players claimed afterwards they didn't know the streak existed - that may be a white lie, but they played blissfully ignorant defense all game. Reigning MMBOW Levi Rost was scoreless for the second half after tallying 14 in the first, and co-leader Ben Reed was held without a point for the entire game. In a rarity for such a tight contest, neither team scored in the final three minutes.
Game 039: at Holy Cross 79, Navy 56
Friday, January 21, 2005
Hart Center - Worcester, MA
Like the saying goes, we do indeed get letters.
Dude, you're only at 37 and you have two and a half months left. You're never going to make it to 100. Good luck though.
West Coast: San Francisco 73, UMPFN 70 (story) - The proud Don tradition lies buried under decades of moldy mediocrity - behind Bill Russell, they rattled off 60 straight wins back in the Fifties. With a new imported coach (Jessie Evans, formerly of Louisiana-Lafayette), they're hoping to get dynastic again someday. A win over the blue-clads from Spokane is a step in the right direction - USF took advantage of their visitors' 30-minute sleepwalk with excellent guard play (6'4" Virgin Islander Jerome Gumbs had 18 points and 13 rebounds), and held off the hectic final rush to achieve the victory. If WCC teams continue to have success shooting long-range over UMPFN's defense, maybe we'll have to stop calling them the Unnamed Major Program From the Northwest.
Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 81, IUPUI 76 (story) - So, how are those New Year's resolutions doing? Have you finally quit smoking, still making it out to the gym? The Kangaroos (8-7, 6-0 Mid-Con) are sticking to their goal just fine - they resolved to stop losing, and haven't yet in eight 2005 tries. What's their secret? Whip-crack discipline, and a lot of drawn fouls. Both teams shot 51%, but the difference was that the homestanding 'Roos hit 23 of 30 free throws - insoding, they sunk Ooie-Pooie for the second time this year. We'll have to wait until next Saturday to see if UMKC is just keeping the first-place seat warm for Oral Roberts (12-4, 4-1 Mid-Con), who were 94-89 winners versus Oakland last night.
Game 038: St. Francis (NY) 69, at Quinnipiac 63
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Burt Kahn Court - Hamden, CT
Colonial: Old Dominion 67, Hofstra 66 (story) - As was the case in their recent squeaker against Drexel, Old Dominion raced out to a big lead and then hit the cruise control button too early. The second half was filled with streaky back-and-forth runs, and the homestanding Pride grabbed a 66-64 lead on a Antoine Agudio trey with two minutes to go. But the final basket would be ODU's - reserve swingman Kiah Thomas answered with a three, and the Monarchs stayed perfect in conference (16-2, 6-0 CAA). Troubling foreshadowy statistic of the game: Old Dominion was outrebounded by a smaller Hofstra team, 42-27.
Southland: Southeastern Louisiana 66, Lamar 60 (story) - SELU (11-6, 4-1 SLC) has shown their mettle by twice holding Lamar - a team accustomed to the 80's - down in the grittier neighborhood of the 60's. In this victory, the Lions outhustled, outworked and out-everythinged this site's conference pick, and beat 'em up good. When you see a team get seven assists from their center, you know they were able to do pretty much anything they wanted. The only bad mark on SELU's Southland record is last weekend's failed comeback at 4-0 Northwestern State; at press time, it looks like a two-team race.
Game 037: at Northeastern 77, Boston University 75
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Matthews Arena - Boston, MA
Mid-American: Ball State 86, Bowling Green 62 (story) - BSU went into the break with 49 points and a 12-point lead, and magically doubled the margin despite shooting 30% in the second half. The Ball State Basketball Cardinals (8-5, 3-2 MAC) executed their first-half battle plan perfectly, driving and dishing the plodding Falcons into an orange-colored state of flummoxment. Their poor second-half shooting was candy-coated by a 16-2 game-closing coast - forty-minute efforts have been an issue with this crew, but they got away with it tonight against a fading Falcon squad. Early MAC West leaders BGSU (9-4, 4-2 MAC) may have peaked too early, and now the book's out on them. Six-three senior Dennis Trammell led all scorers with 22, and speedy three-slotter Skip Mills added 20.
Shootaround!
Southern: Georgia Southern 102, Chattanooga 84 (story | play-by-play) - Throw out the record book! The SoCon team record for three-point goals made in a game was set last night in Statesboro, Georgia, where the Eagles (8-7, 4-2 SoCon) nailed 22 to bring down the North division-leading Mocs. Diminutive (5'8") guard Elton Nesbitt made 11 of those and finished with 43 points (tied for best in Division I so far this year), and his backcourt-mate Terry Williams dropped eight on the way to 26. On any other night, Chattanooga's 84 points would probably have been enough to win and stay undefeated - they fall to 4-1, 11-3 overall.
Shootaround!
Game 034: New Hampshire 69, at Binghamton 60
Sunday, January 17, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Game 036: Canisius 84, at Siena 80 (OT)
Monday, January 17, 2005
Pepsi Arena - Albany, NY
Game 035: Rider 89, Loyola (Md.) 69
Monday, January 17, 2005
Pepsi Arena - Albany, NY
America East: Albany 58, Maine 49 (story) - We recently rattled off a list of conference teams that UAlbany could beat, but we didn't indicate a perceived ability to topple upper-division hopeful Maine. Since they were able to do so - up in Orono, no less - speaks to their meteoric rise through the America East ranks. Albany broke open a tight game in the final ten minutes, thanks to Lucious Jordan and his 19 points. The Danes only shot 33% for the game, but they stymied the homestanding Black Bears with lockdown D and were able to get to the line and convert - they hit 21 of 25 of their freebie ops.
Game! Of! The! Night!
Metro Atlantic: Marist 88, Niagara 87 (story) - The half-asleep Purple Eagles (9-6, 4-3 MAAC) were spent emotionally and physically after their tough loss at Manhattan the other night, and almost had enough to sleepwalk through this one. But the upstart Red Foxes (who are now a surprising 5-1 in conference) held Niagara to 28% second-half shooting, paving the way for a comeback from a 12-point halftime deficit and a successful opportunity to win it at the line. Center Will McLurkin got it done down low for Marist, earning 24 points and eight caroms.
Mid-American: Western Michigan 70, Bowling Green 61 (story) - BGSU has received many recent Mid-Majority Mentions™ for their unexpected four-game win streak in the face of tough conference competition. But Western Michigan (11-2, 5-0 MAC), last year's champs, came into their house and showed the Falcons (9-3, 4-1 MAC) who still owns the MAC Western division. Six-seven Bronco forward Levi Rost had 20 points in the win. The East? So hazy that the magic eight-ball won't even return an answer.
Game 033: at Bucknell 63, Army 46
Sojka Pavilion - Lewisburg, PA
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Not very many people outside Kalamazoo were taking the Western Michigan Broncos seriously this year in their quest to defend their Mid-American Conference crown. After all, they lost the reigning MAC Player of The Year, forward Mike Williams - WMU rode his coattails on many occasions last year on their way to the Tournament. So they needed someone to step up in 2004-05, and someone did. Levi Rost is our tenth Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week.
Game 032: at Loyola (Md.) 70, Canisius 68
Friday, January 14, 2005
Reitz Arena - Baltimore, MD
Big West: Pacific 73, Utah State 66 (2OT) (story|box) - If only this game was televised, so I could pass out burned DVD copies to all the people who blather on at me about how boring mid-major basketball is. This battle between last year's co-regular season champions had it all: lead changes, scoring spurts, screaming fans, and serious tourney seeding implications. Pacific (11-2, 6-0 BWC) held the nation's field goal percentage leaders to 33%, but the Aggies (11-4, 2-2 BWC) had the rebounding edge and hung in with timely runs. The Tigers took control at the beginning of the second overtime, sparked by a thundering Christian Maraker drive-and-dunk, and he pulled down all of nine rebounds after regulation time had ended. Pacific, a program that finally can afford air conditioning, has won 19 straight Big West basketball contests.
Metro Atlantic: Manhattan 78, Niagara 72 (story) - Spectator sports require storylines and patterns, otherwise it would be a lot harder for us to stay interested (remember that time you tried to get into indoor lacrosse?). Anyway, here's one: Manhattan always beats Niagara. Even though the loaded Purple Eagles (9-5, 4-2 MAAC) are making a strong run at their first Tournament appearance in 25 years after the graduation of the Jaspers' All-Everything Luis Flores, Manhattan still has a little spice left. Senior small forward Peter Mulligan was the hero, scoring 32 points and keeping big Juan Mendez contained. Manhattan has won seven straight against Niagara, including last year's down-to-the-wire MAAC title game.
There is no question that that this is a deeply divided nation, this America. The election last November showed a country split between Republicans and Democrats, retro and metro, blue states and red. And across those thin black battle lines flew the arrows of misunderstanding, hate and prejudice. Just over two months later, things aren't any better than they were during that contentious campaign.
But there's one thing that binds us all together as one nation - college basketball. In every corner of the land, you can find gymnasiums and teams and games and cheerleaders and bands. No matter what your belief structure, no matter whether you voted for Bush or Kerry, deep down we all have Hoop Love in common. The game that was born here in America has the power to transcend all of our ideological, geographical and racial barriers. We may look or talk differently, or disagree on abortion or Iraq or taxes, but there is no denying that we all rise together as one for a thundering slam dunk or a buzzer-beating three.
Western Athletic: Texas-El Paso 83, Nevada 80 (OT) (story) - UTEP (11-2, 4-0 WAC) has passed its early tests against Rice and Nevada, and have established themselves as the true team to beat in the conference. But it wasn't easy on this night, against the team with whom they shared last year's regular season championship. In front of a national ESPN2 audience, the Miners let a 24-point first-half lead slip away by allowing a 31-3 run, and needed a last-second trey from Filiberto Rivera (23 points) to force overtime. Quipped Miner Coach Doc Sadler, "I think UTEP fans got to see two different teams tonight. The one that played defense and the one that didn't." Omar Thomas was UTEP's leading scorer with 28, and Nevada (10-4, 4-1 WAC) was led by WAC player of the week Nick Fazekas' 29 points.
Shootaround!
Game 031: at Lehigh 63, Lafayette 57
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Stabler Arena - Bethlehem, PA
Southland: Southeastern Louisiana 56, Sam Houston State 54 (story) - We sold this yesterday as big O versus big D, and the defense won. (I've also heard that it wins championships, but the evidence is inconclusive.) Southeastern kept the Bearkats' normally streaky offense in check, and backup guard Neill Berry laid it up and in with less than a second to go to clinch the home win. Last season, SELU came out of nowhere (or rather Hammond, Louisiana - population: 17,000) to win the Southland regular-season title with an 11-5 record, but did not appear on your office-pool bracket because eventual 16-seed Texas-San Antonio nipped them in the Southland semis. The Lions (8-5, 3-0 SLC) intend to correct that this year.
St. Mary's 59, Air Force 58 (story) - The Gael-wagon is a lot more crowded this week after their thrilling win over UMPFN, and it nearly collapsed whilst driving over The Academy's speed bump. Despite taking a 13-point lead into the break, they couldn't manage a basket for seven second-half minutes against the Falcons' Princeton-style grind, a style the California school has not encountered in over two decades. The non-conference win over AFA was SMC's ninth in a row, and was played in the middle of conference season due to a desperation three-way schedule-filler deal last summer (third wheel: Rutgers).
Game 030: at LaSalle 74, Florida International 72 (OT)
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Tom Gola Arena - Philadelphia, PA
Mid-Continent: Western IIlinois 85, Oral Roberts 83 (story) - I said last week that we wouldn't be bothering to mention WIU that much this year, but I was brutally incorrect. ORU (11-4, 2-1 Mid-Con) couldn't get through their first conference road trip perfect, and 1,291 Leatherneck fans saw it happen. Widebody Florida International transfer Eulis Baez led the way for Western with 30 points, and juco transfer Troy Okeson sunk two freebies with 20 seconds left to win it. The Golden Eagles' wonder twin powers Caleb Green and Ken Tutt combined for 49 points, but they could have used a little help tonight.
Atlantic Sun: Troy State 77, Gardner-Webb 71 (story) - G-Webb dropped a 24-7 run to make up a 15-point halftime deficit against the nation's leading three-chuckers, and the stage was set for a thrilling finish. Troy took the lead at 73-71 with seconds to go, and Bulldog star Brian Bender launched a mid-air shot with time running out whilst being contacted by an opposing hand. There's nothing as depressing as having the refs ruin an otherwise good game by calling a double technical on the bench for protesting a missed foul call, but that's what happened here. Troy's Ryan Heck was given four free throws, and hit them all. The Bulldogs, TMM's A-Sun pick to go Dancing, fall to 4-1 in conference play.
Game 029: at Delaware State 68, Morgan State 53
Monday, January 10, 2005
Memorial Hall - Dover, Delaware
Game 028: at Boston University 69, Binghamton 54
Sunday, January 9, 2005
Case Gymnasium - Boston, Massachusetts
Since this has turned out to be America East week here at The Mid-Majority (four of the last five 100 Games Project tilts have been from that particular league), it's only fitting that an AE guy is the recipient of our regular weekly honor.
West Coast: St. Mary's 66, UMPFN 61 (story) - Well, that didn't take long - now the folks who compile those goofy "mid-major polls" have to pick someone else. Homestanding St. Mary's used Mr. Three to take down the Unnamed Major Program From the Northwest, knocking down 16 of them. Senior guard Paul Marigney scored 30 and was responsible for seven of those treys. UMPFN (11-3, 1-1 WCC) had won 17 straight conference games dating back to an early-2003 loss to Portland, and it was the Gaels' first victory against them after a string of 17 straight failures. The floor was indeed stormed.
America East: Vermont 67, Maine 66 (story) - Rock star Taylor Coppenrath tipped in a layup with seven seconds remaining, and UVM escaped their primary league rivals in a game of extended runs. Guard Ernest Turner, a UNLV transfer, scored 28 points for the Black Bears (7-6, 2-2 AE); but it was not enough to take down the mighty Ultra-Violence Mechanism. Catamount pointman T.J. Sorrentine matched Coppenrath's output with 25.
West Coast: Loyola Marymount 68, San Francisco 65 (story) - It does indeed rain in Southern California - man, it pours. While the water came down outside Hank's House, two up-and-coming WCC teams played soggy ball in the first conference tilt for both. Both teams traded baskets and shot poorly, and 6'8" Australian Matt Knight blocked what would have been the winning basket as time ran out. It was the first time new Don coach (and former savior of the Louisiana-Lafayette program) had lost a conference opener.
One of today's games, a Cornell-Dayton non-conference contest to be held at the beloved home of the 65-vs.-64 Tournament play-in game, might not tip-off as planned.
WAC: Texas-El Paso 96, Rice 67 (story) - Reigning MMBOW Michael Harris had 10 points and 15 rebounds - but most were during the first ten minutes, when the visiting Owls established dominance down low. UTEP was able to make successful adjustments, and for the remainder of the game they kept Rice out at the perimeter and away from their point of strength. A track meet ensued, and lanky Miner forward Omar Thomas scored many of his game-leading 26 points in transition. It could just be that the Western Athletic is as stratified as Neapolitan ice cream - with UTEP (12-2, 2-0 WAC), then Rice (7-4, 2-1 WAC), and the rest of the pack stuck in the plain-vanilla area. But which flavor will Nevada be? They beat Louisiana Tech 64-56 last night.
Northeast: Mount Saint Mary's 64, Central Connecticut State 63 (story) - Central is a small and smart ball control team, but li'l Blue Devil Lenny Jefferson travelled with 23 seconds to go. This set off a Mountaineer five-point rally that allowed them to overtake and defeat CCSU, behind the heroics of junior combo guard Landy Thompson. Thompson scored the last five MSM points, and hit the winning live-action free throw as time ran out. Central, the Mid-Majority's conference pick, is now 0-2 in league play, but we're not worried yet - they did the slumbering-giant act last year.
Game 027: at Boston University 73, Hartford 22
Thursday, January 6, 2005
Case Gymnasium - Boston, Massachusetts
Colonial: Old Dominion 60, Drexel 59 (story) - You can't tell much about this game from the boxscore - both teams shot around 40%, were even on rebounds, and neither club turned the ball over that much. But ask one of the 2,000 or so who showed up at Drexel's DAC, and they'll tell you how truly ugly this contest was. Old Dominion (12-2, 2-0 CAA) was on their way to a rout at 49-32 when narcolepsy struck. They ended up scoring only 19 points in a sludgy second half that saw neither team score for five entire minutes; Monarchs guard Arnaud Dahi had to bail his team out with a last-second jumper. Looming for the Dragons (4-6, 0-2 CAA) is a Saturday jaunt to Long Island to play 10-1 Hofstra, who kicked around William & Mary last night.
Atlantic Sun: Gardner-Webb 79, Belmont 75 (story) - A gentleman from Florida recently asked me if I was "drunk" for picking G-Webb to win the A-Sun. The school's athletic department was made an example of by the NCAA for "lack of institutional control" during the school's recent ascension to D1: Their 2000-01 record was wiped out, they're down a scholarship, and they're on three-year double-secret probation. So they're playing angry, and could slice their way through a soft conference which they've been granted eligibility to win. They have a little talent too: Brian Bender is a name you might consider becoming familiar with (it'll be easier to remember if you're a Futurama fan). He's a physical 6-6 player with a feathery touch, and ended up with 27 points and 14 rebounds in this one. It was the first-ever victory over the Belmont Bruins for the Runnin' Bulldogs from Boiling Springs, who are now 4-0 in conference play.
Game 026: Vermont 75, at Northeastern 60
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Cabot P.E. Center - Boston, Massachusetts
Hoops Nation rejoice! College football season is finally over!
Mid-Continent: Oral Roberts 73, Southern Utah 67 (story) - It was a ho-hum night for the Golden Eagles' wonder twin powers: pocket-sized guard Ken Tutt dropped 22 points, and Caleb Green dub-dubbed with 14 points and 11 rebounds. ORU also doubled up SUU on the boards 40-20 (including 16 offensive rebounds). So why was this, a home game for Oral Roberts (10-3, 1-0 MidCon) against the sad-sack Thunderbirds, even a close one? The Eagles committed 20 turnovers (seven above their season average), a figure which included 15 butterfingery moments for the starting frontcourt. This was such a factor that Tutt found himself shooting crucial free throws with a minute remaining.
Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 77, IUPUI 61 (story) - If anyone's going to catch Oral Roberts in the Mid-Con this year it's IUPUI, who made a name for themselves (errr, make that an acronym for themselves) by going to the Tournament in 2003, then coming five points short last year. UMKC, whose only recent accomplishment is adopting a ridiculous new mascot with uneven arm lengths, came into their first conference game with a 0-7 pre-league record. But after a closely fought first half, the visiting Kangaroos bounded out to a 7-0 run after halftime, scored 46 second-half points, and ended up shooting a blistering 58% (30 for 52) on the game. Wiry sophomore guard Quinton Day was the Jaguars' main nemesis, leading UMKC with 21.
Metro Atlantic: Rider 95, Saint Peter's 86 (story) - The SPC Peacocks are known around their league as the Keydren Clark Show. But on nights when the nation's defending scoring champ can only manage about half his average (14 tonight) and can't connect on threes (0-for-12), their other shooters can pick up the slack: Ron Yates had 23 here. Their problem is defense - they've allowed almost 90 a game in their three MAAC contests. And is it time to start the Rider watch yet? They're 3-0 in conference so far, had six players score in double figures on this night, and they put Saint Peter's away with a scorching 15-2 late run. The Broncs will find out where they really stand when they play Fairfield and Niagara in mid-January.
Game 025: at Providence 79, Brown 63
Monday, January 3, 2005
Dunkin' Donuts Center - Providence, Rhode Island
Our eighth Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week is Michael Harris of the Rice Owls, who also happens to be the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week as well. The 6-6, 240-lb. senior power forward wants to let everyone know that Rice isn't just about baseball, and wishes to end the Owls' 35-year Tournament absence in their final WAC season (they'll be in the Conference USA caravan). He made his first major non-verbal statement to that effect on Saturday, when he bedeviled outgoing MMBOW Paul Millsap with 27 points and 14 rebounds, as Rice applied a 78-57 atomic wedgie to Louisiana Tech. He also dub-dubbed against Southern Methodist last week, going 16 and 13 - add the two games up, and Rice has raced out to a 2-0 conference record. Their tilt this Thursday against Texas-El Paso (the only WAC school that fancies itself too big for next month's Bracket Buster Saturday) remains the Mid-Majority's Your-Company-Name-Here Spotlight Special for this week (if such a thing existed).
Game 024: Boston University 72, at Albany 69
Sunday, January 2, 2005
Recreation and Convocation Center - Albany, New York
Bucknell 69, Pittsburgh 66 (story) - How important was this win by Bucknell at Pittsburgh, the first time they had beaten Pitt anywhere since Jimmy V roamed the Bison sideline in the Seventies? How big was an balanced offensive attack that saw three Bucknell players score in double figures, a team effort over a Big East club that outshot and outrebounded them? How huge was the biggest win in the history of the Patriot League?
It was important enough that your humble narrator broke away from his luxurious and romantic extended-weekend Saratoga Springs getaway with The Official Wife Of The Mid-Majority™, just to make brief mention of it. Navigating through the dimly lit hallways of a 18th Century mansion, braving dodgy electricity and wrangling with bizarre internet settings was required, but when I saw the headline in the Albany Times-Union this morning, I knew it had to be done. Chris over at Hoop Time will ably take the details from here; I have to go finish my croissant and fresh-squeezed orange juice in my plush terrycloth bathrobe.
WAC: Nevada 58, Hawaii 55 (story) - Anyone in the East who stayed up until 2 in the morning (or owns a TiVo) got to see a thriller from America's favorite high elevated upper mid-major conference, full of 8-0 runs and a back-and-forth finish. Heavily-inked Rainbow Warrior pointman Matt Gibson scored 19 points, but was forced to play foul sponge against Nevada frosh Ramon Session, who scored the last six points of the game from the free-throw line. Hawaii started out 8-0 with their only roadie against anemic St. Louis, but their first week away from the islands brought them two WAC defeats by a total of three points.
WAC: Rice 78, Louisiana Tech 57 (story) - Yep, there's a statement game for you. Rebounding machine and reigning MMBOW Paul Millsap was effectively collared by the Owls, going 14 and 8 before being disqualified on fouls, and Rice destroyed LaTech on the boards by a 37-24 count. Scoring machine and reigning WAC preseason Player Of The Year Michael Harris was free to roam freely about the floor, powering his way to 27 points and 14 rebounds. We should know in the next few weeks whether the WAC is a one-bid league or just tragically misunderstood; UTEP and Rice square off on Thursday.
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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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