February 2005 Archives
Mid-American: Bowling Green 57, Miami (Oh.) 56 (story) - Despite the fact that the game's telecast was cancelled after an hour's delay because BGSU's Mawel Soler shattered a backboard during pregame warmups, Falcon senior forward Josh Almanson's jumper with six seconds remaining was a shot heard 'round the MAC.
Not only did it help the Falcons keep pace with Western Michigan in the MAC West at 10-6, it took down a Miami team (17-8, 11-5 MAC) that had been streaking towards at-large consideration until last week. Now the RedHawks, losers of two straight, may not even win the MAC East - they have a four-strong squadron of teams (Buffalo, Akron, Ohio and Kent State) on their tail at 10-6 heading into the final week of the regular season. Bye bye, Bubble, bye bye?
Ivy: Pennsylvania 80, Columbia 72 (story) - Congratulations to the Quakers! The first ticket to the NCAA Tournament was punched last night as Penn (17-8, 10-1) clinched the Ivy League regular-season title. They stormed to a win on the Lions' home court, bolstered by 68% second-half shooting and a late 18-4 spurt. Picked by many to finish the season in third place and plagued with December road struggles, the 2004-05 Penn season turned around with a single run.
Game 066: at Boston University 66, Maine 50
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Case Gymnasium - Boston, MA
Atlantic Sun: Central Florida 58, Gardner-Webb 55 (story) - G-Webb (15-11, 12-7 ASun), who finished ninth and out of the conference tournament last year, could have clinched the regular-season title and the tourney one-seed right there on their home floor. The Runnin' Bulldogs From Boiling Springs came roaring back from a sharp halftime deficit, but defending A-Sun champions UCF (19-8, 12-7 ASun) didn't let them pass, instead forging a first-place tie. Golden Knight bench hero Justin Rose scored 15, a total which included the last bucket of the game with 30 seconds left.
So instead of providing clarity to a conference in which the teams in the top eight positions all have winning records, it's just as muddled and muddy as ever heading into next week's conference tournament. "I think next week is going to be a war every single night," Webb coach Rick Scruggs told the Shelby Star. "It wouldn’t surprise me if the eight seed, whoever that is, won the whole thing."
Game 065: at Fairleigh Dickinson 63, Central Connecticut State 58
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Rothman Center - Teaneck, NJ
Click image for larger version, apologies to David Rees.
Actual Game Recap | Photo Gallery
Mid-American: Akron 55, Miami (Oh.) 49 (OT) (story) - Six-four RedHawk guard Chet Mason had the game of his life, with 23 points and 15 rebounds... but as the sportswriters like to say, it was not enough. Despite sending the game to overtime on a last-second three by William Hatcher, Miami (17-1, 11-4 MAC) fell to Akron's total team effort and could only score two points in the extra session. The 'Hawks cling to a one-game lead in the Eastern division, and have lost two of their last four.
This is the most dangerous time of year for mid-majors with at-large aspirations - one loss, no matter to whom, can blotch your resumé and start you thinking about NIT home games. Of course, Miami isn't the only one with this concern - Akron (17-7, 10-5 MAC) has been mentioned in this discussion for a couple weeks now, and their win streak is now at four. It's unlikely that three MAC East teams (10-6 Buffalo being the other) will be allowed into the Dance, but next Saturday's (that's March 5th) Zip-Bull matchup in Buffalo looks mighty important.
Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 77, Oral Roberts 70 (story) - In front of a roaring partisan paid attendance of 7,132, UMKC (15-9, 11-2 MidCon) held off the visitors in what the Kansas City Star pegged as "the most important game in its 18-year Division I era." After a seesaw opening to the second half, the Kangaroos bounded to a 10-0 run highlighted by some crowd-pleasin' Globetrottin' skywalkin'. This aerial display infuriated Oral Roberts to the point that these two unlikely rivals scored a double-technical as time slipped away. Quinton Day led the 'Roos with 22, and former MMBOW Brandon Temple chipped in with 19. UMKC now has a half-game lead in the standings - should they need it, they also own a one-seed tiebreaker over ORU by virtue of the season sweep.
Atlantic 10: St. Joseph's 63, Temple 56 (story) - In yet another storied chapter of Big Five history, John Chaney sent thug benchwarmer Nehemiah Ingram into the game to protest what he felt were moving Hawk picks. "I was sending a message," Chaney told the media afterwards. "I sent in my goon." 'Least he's honest.
Northeast: St. Francis (NY) 110, Fairleigh Dickinson 103 (story) - Nope - not an overtime game, and not something straight out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The two teams created an old-school NBA score in just 40 minutes despite each shooting just a little over 50% - needless to say, the game's pace was a little on the fast side. Gordon Klaiber, FDU's monstrous inside presence (relatively, mind you - this is the NEC) dropped 34 points and 13 boards - their flashy guard Tamien Trent ladled in 36. "New York" (or "College") point guard Tory Cavalieri, who was forced to take up more of the scoring load when disgruntled Terrier backcourtmate John Quintana left after last season, found a guard double-double in his pocket: 30 dollars and 10 dimes. St. Francis, last year's two-seed, is streaking towards the conference tourney with four straight wins.
The boys from Teaneck (15-11, 11-4 NEC) had crept by archrival Monmouth (13-12, 12-4 NEC) for the top slot over the weekend, but Fairleigh Dickinson failed to capitalize. As for the top seed, it might come down to tiebreakers. Monmouth and FDU split the season series so it might be settled on the fourth tiebreaker, which is the record against the third-place team. If it does turn out to be these Terriers, and Monmouth wins there next Monday, MU would take the top slot by virtue of a season sweep. One-seed gets to play the title game at home should they make it that far, so it's important.
Game 064: at Charleston 85, Virginia Commonwealth 75
Saturday, February 19, 2005
John Kresse Arena - Charleston, SC
America East: Northeastern 63, Boston University 48 (story) - It's a dog-eat-dog world, and nowhere is that more true than in this conference. The Terriers of BU (19-6, 13-3 AE) stifled junior sharpshooter and former MMBOW Jose Juan Barea (2-for-17, 10 pts) on Senior Day, and held on to a lead for nearly 30 minutes. But at the 12-minute mark of the second half, the Huskies of NU (17-8, 13-3 AE) began unraveling a scorching 30-7 run that overtook and enveloped their hosts. The two teams are now tied for second in the league, two games behind Vermont.
Vermont, as mentioned yesterday, lost to the Nevada Wolfpack (on TV!) this weekend. They'd probably be well-served to make it to the tourney title game if they want to feel safe on Selection Sunday. If this happens, and one of these two Dogpacks nips them in that final to earn the automatic Dance ticket, we might actually, really, truly see a two-bid America East.
After Nevada's streaking ascent to the Sweet Sixteen out of a 10-seed (they defeated Michigan State and UMPFN before falling to eventual national runner-up Georgia Tech), they lost their coach (Trent Johnson) to Stanford and their top scorer (Kirk Snyder) to the NBA. Most preseason publications had them contending, but not winning, a tough Western Athletic Conference. They only offered superlatives-in-passing for a tall lanky white guy who made the WAC All-Newcomer team and set a school record for freshmen with 429 points, even as they wondered where Snyder's missing production would come from.
Nevada 74, Vermont 64 (story) - You can either contain Taylor Coppenrath or not (18 points here), but the real key to beating Vermont (19-5, 14-1 AEast) is stopping sharpshooter and former MMBOW T.J. Sorrentine. T.J. had 24 total, but only nine of those were in the second half. Nevada's (20-5, 11-2 WAC) Nick Fazekas had a very Tournament-like game, scoring 31 and grabbing 14 boards.
Pacific 73, Texas-El Paso 66 (story) - The Tigers (22-2, 15-0 BWC) broke off a 15-4 run in the first half, then fought off foul trouble and a hungry crew of UTEP Miners (20-7, 10-4 WAC) to defend the lead to the wire, as a packed Spanos Center looked on. It was the little guy who pulled it out of the fire - 6'2" David Doubley led UOP with 21 points and made 9-of-10 free throws. It was Pacific's 18th win in a row.
Atlantic Sun: Gardner-Webb 67, Belmont 58 (OT) (story) - G-Webb (15-9, 12-5 ASun) used a five-minute rally to storm back from a 12-point deficit late in the second. The homestanding Bruins controlled the flow for 35 minutes, and that included a 12-0 run midway through the second half to break the game open. GWU's momentum carried through to the extra period - they scored the first five points, and that was all she wrote. The Bulldogs, winners of four straight, are now two games up on a group of four 10-7 teams (Belmont, Jacksonville, Central Florida and Georgia State).
Shootaround!
Game 063: Arkansas-Little Rock 55, at Western Kentucky 53
Thursday, February 17, 2005
E.A. Diddle Arena - Bowling Green, KY
Game 062: at Evansville 76, Bradley 66
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Roberts Stadium - Evansville, IN
Colonial: George Mason 74, Old Dominion 58 (story) - Shall I compare last night's performance by the Old Dominion Monarchs to a summer day? Hell, no. The CAA leaders shot just 33 percent from the floor, because their hosts did a lot of spear-shaking on the defensive end. By handing ODU their second conference loss of the year, the 'Mason Pats (15-10, 10-6 CAA) made a solid case for an upper tourney seed; they currently sit in fourth position as five teams battle to the wire over final positioning going into Richmond. Oh - and it may not have been a poetic game by any means, but most of the players' feet were Longfellows. Get it? Umm, moving along...
Missouri Valley: Creighton 82, Wichita State 68 (story) - As they have in most of their recent games, the Shockers sped to an early lead. But when your opposition shoots 84% in the second half, you really don't have a chance at winning, whether you're at home or not. Bluejay Nate Funk was the hero, blasting Wichita for 35 points. The Shox (18-5, 11-4 MVC) fall into second place behind Southern Illinois, who will get rising Northern Iowa next week when everyone comes back from Bracket Bustin'.
HENDERSON, KENTUCKY - There are certain things that one learns about the rhythms of the road. When a gas station claims to have "spotless" restrooms, that means that the dirt and gunk areas are too big to be classified as spots anymore. Also, fast food restaurants do not offer baseboard outlets in the seating areas.
We grudgingly deal with the first one, but that latter issue has been a killer. Yesterday, the power outlet in the family Civic blew, and I can't charge my laptop and cellphone while I drive. This car trouble, and the financial issues present in any trip like this, have necessitated a slight change in plans. I will not be traveling to Alabama on Friday to see Troy State. It would have been a 500 mile one-day jaunt, and I received indications that I wouldn't exactly be welcomed with open arms.
Game 060: at Chattanooga 82, North Carolina-Greensboro 68
Monday, February 14, 2005
McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, TN
Game 061: at Austin Peay 73, Jacksonville State 65
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Dunn Center - Clarksville, TN
Shootaround!
Mid-American: Two games last night in the East division. In yesterday evening's G!O!T!N!, Buffalo (16-7, 9-6 MAC) kept Kent State in check on their home court, 77-66. Turner Battle had 22 points and helped power a 17-5 second-half run that brought Buffalo back from a nine-point halftime hole. That's three in a row for the hot ticket Bulls, who move into E2 position by a half-game. Miami (Oh.) (16-6, 11-3 MAC) is still the top 'Hawk, they beat Marshall easily.
Mid-American: Akron 81, Toledo 79 (OT) (story) - It was a clash between teams with MAC high-seed aspirations. But most games this year in this league are like that. Eight of the 13 teams currently have winning records, mostly because Marshall and Central Michigan are so awful. But this was no Valentine's Day display of bloated-record Blutos looking for love: eight-and-five Akron of the East beat 8-6 Toledo of the West in a contest that went down to the wire. Actually, make that two wires. Toledo's point guard Justin Ingram hit a three with one tick left in regulation to hush the home crowd, but Zip forward Romeo Travis' soft layup at the end of the extra session held up through 15 seconds of Foul Time. And afterwards, nobody had to kiss a weird-looking girl with no knees and a city accent.
Shootaround!
When the Big South decreed that two of their postponed games would be made up during a week that they already had a pair scheduled, some Winthrop fans believed the fix was in. Some thought that the move to bestow a four-game, six-day strech on the Eagles was made solely to sabotage their season - they had, after all, been running away with the conference with dominating play and a long string of wins. Maybe, just maybe, the BSC were taking a page from the Tour de France organizers' manual (each year, they try to stack the deck against Lance Armstrong by putting all the worst mountain stages in a row) and trying to achieve a little quickie parity by tiring them out. But any and all conspiracy theories melted away when a tall, athletic guard with soft hands stepped up, and led Winthrop to a convincing and resounding sweep of the killer four-game stretch. Torrell Martin is our fourteenth Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week.
So it turns out that Hot Sh*t Saturday was a great success. Six games, all good. Thrillers, comebacks, overtime, great shooting, great defense... HSS had something for everyone. Let's review:
Big West: Pacific 64, Utah State 63 (story) - With 31 seconds left, homestanding Utah State was leading 61-53. Warm up the bus, right? Wrong! An improbable series of events which included a lot of missed free throws brought UOP back into the game, and Christian Maraker's jumper with two ticks left won it. We'll now have to make the pair of Pacific-Utah State games a bonus two-DVD gift set, and hope like hell they meet up again in the Big West finals. Pacific is now 20-2 overall and 14-0 in conference, and their Tournament aspirations may finally be bulletproof against a possible tumble in said conference tourney.
Game 059: Wagner 62, at St. Francis (NY) 61
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Pope Center - Brooklyn, NY
Game 058: at Long Island-Brooklyn 76, Quinnipiac 72
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Schwartz Athletic Center - Brooklyn, NY
Game 057: at Fordham 63, Massachusetts 56
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Rose Hill Gym - Bronx, NY
Game 056: at Pennsylvania 73, Columbia 66
Friday, February 11, 2005
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Game 055: Virginia Commonwealth 62, at Drexel 59
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA
Game 053: at Delaware 76, William & Mary 47
Saturday, February 6, 2005
Bob Carpenter Center - Newark, DE
Big South: Winthrop 69, Liberty 61 (story) - I'd like to introduce you to a young man named Torrell Martin. He's a 6'5" sophomore shooting guard for the Winthrop Eagles who can shoot. During the Winthrop Gauntlet - a six-day, four-game stretch from hell - Martin has been completely lights out: 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting against North Carolina-Asheville on Monday, 21 on 7-for-10 at High Point on Tuesday, and 18 on 8-of-12 last night. Yes, folks, I have a calculator and it says that Torrell is shooting 69% from the floor, and carrying weary Winthrop (18-5, 10-1 BSC, 10 straight wins) on his MMBOW-worthy back (and his surgically-repaired knee as well). This was a blowout in which the visitors eased up, so pay no attention to the scoring margin. One more to go, that's Gold Rush Night on Saturday versus middling Birmingham Southern.
Shootaround!
Game 054: at Pennsylvania 70, Princeton 62 (OT)
Tuesday, February 8, 2005
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Firstly, a big "yo" to all Philadelphia Inquirer readers who scoped Janet Paskin's piece instead of the sports-section leader about Donovan McNabb's vomit. Welcome to TMM, here's the first page. Despite both what The Official Wife Of The Mid-Majority™ says and Herculean efforts by the gentlemanly John Costello, I don't photograph well at all. Onward...
Mid-American: Miami (Oh.) 54, Ball State 52 (story) - Last night's G!O!T!N! was indeed the Game Of The Night, that muddy slog between Duke and North Carolina notwithstanding. Because the game was not televised (all the trucks were apparently in Durham), a rebound tip-in off a halfcourt heave by Miami's (15-5, 10-2 MAC) Nathan Peavy as time expired could not be reviewed at the scorer's table. The Nest went nuts, and this amusing headline might be the work of an embedded BSU grad at CSTV.
Big South: Winthrop 72, High Point 55 (story) - The Winthrop Gauntlet, as mentioned yesterday, is a four-game, six-day stretch; they'll take any break they can get. Last night, they took advantage of the indefinite suspension of HP's star forward (and defending Big South Player Of The Year) Danny Gathings, and used a big second half to throttle the Panthers in front of their own fans. The Eagles have now won nine straight, and are halfway through the Gauntlet - tomorrow they get a roadie at second-place Liberty, which sits two games back. Do you think they'll be tournament-ready after this? Yep.
Shootaround!
Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois 58, Drake 57 (story) - Faraway, so close. Sure, SIU's RPI is great, but they're really struggling right now. At Drake, they had to be bailed out by bigman Josh Warren's last-minute jumper - they shot 40% and only made two free throws all evening. The Bulldogs' season could have been given a brief glimmer of meaning if only they could have converted either of their two chances in the final five seconds: a jump shot (blocked), or free throws (missed front end of the one-and-one). The Salukis (16-6, 9-3 MVC) survive and stay in second; the Bulldogs fall to four and nine.
Shootaround!
Letters. Who doesn't love 'em? I read each one, answer a few directly, and on a good day am able to post a "Mid-Majority Mailbag" entry. Here, then, are the results from my second good day.
Wanted to say that I appreciate your site. I graduated from Albany 20 years ago. Went to almost every game as a student but didn't follow any more until they went D1 a few years ago. I'm still learning about the teams in their conference, so reading about your visits to Boston University, Northeastern and Binghamton certainly help with that.
Game 052: at Delaware State 71, Maryland-Eastern Shore 45
Saturday, February 5, 2005
Memorial Hall - Dover, DE
When the final gun sounded at the Super Bowl yesterday, the city of Philadelphia was again spared the property-damaging bonfire a quarter-century in the making. While the majority of American sports fans will be spending the day mourning and mothballing their screen-printed replica jerseys, a few of us will be breaking out the party hats. There might even be cake, and this guy is invited.
Because this is the first day of the rest of college basketball season, my friends. In a few days, hoops action will swarm over SportsCenter's daily hour like a full-court trap defense. Now that the plodding and needlessly complicated game that is American football is safely back in the closet for another extended spell, we can concentrate on the really important questions: who the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model is going to be, and who's going to win the Patriot League.
Western Athletic: Nevada 76, Louisiana Tech 58 (story) - In the most decisive result of Really, Really Exciting Saturday, Nick Fazekas scored 27 points and Nevada (15-5, 9-2 WAC) dominated the previously surging LTU Bulldogs, who were led by former MMBOW Paul Millsap with his 20 and 8. Insodoing, they served notice to the rest of the WAC that the Wolves are top dogs. Did we mention they get to host the conference tournament, too? Yep, it all adds up to big trouble for everyone else.
Colonial: Old Dominion 74, North Carolina-Wilmington 63 (story) - Homecoming is always a special time of year, and if you're not a football school it comes in February. UMCW had all the banners up in Trask Coliseum, but the Monarchs (21-3, 11-1 CAA) came in and spoiled the party in a big way. Old Dominion clicked on all three of its major cylinders (6'9" Alex Loughton, combo guard Kiah Thomas, waterbug Isaiah Hunter), and used an early second-half run to bring tears to the eyes of the king, queen, and all their subjects. ODU's final test of the regular season will be next Saturday at home against Virginia Commonwealth - they're the "1" on the right side of their league record.
At the start of the season, folks thought the Big Sky conference would play out as usual - last year's Dancers Eastern Washington, traditional powerhouse Weber State, maybe one of the Montana schools would be in the mix. Nobody - and I mean nobody - saw Portland State coming. The Vikings had only 11 wins last season, and that six-game upswing from 2002-03 stood as the biggest improvement in the league. They now stand at 16-6 overall and 8-2 in conference, have won 12 of their last 14 games, and are locked into one-seed position headed down the stretch. A big reason for PSU's surprise surge is the increasingly hands-down Big Sky Player Of The Year. Seamus Boxley is our thirteenth Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week.
Game 051: Pennsylvania 70, at Harvard 57
Friday, February 4, 2005
Lavietes Pavilion - Cambridge, MA
Western Athletic: Tulsa 65, Texas-El Paso 54 (story) - The Golden Hurricane (5-14, 2-8 WAC), playing for nothing but pride, had this one in hand early on, leading by as many as 17 in the first half. UTEP made their run, but the knife-twist was delivered with two minutes to go and Tulsa leading 56-53: TU's Jarius Glenn hit a three-pointer with a second left on the shot clock, off an inbound. UTEP falls to seven and three and Nevada now has first place to themselves - the Pack beat Southern Methodist last night, 73-59.
Ohio Valley: Samford 64, Tennessee Tech 57 (story) - Boosted by the sexy presence of a reality TV star behind the bench, Samford (12-8, 7-2 OVC) raised their ratings and took a share of the conference lead (emphasis added solely to highlight my incredibly funny puns). A brother of said personality, J. Robert Merritt, was the star of the show by scoring 23 points and grabbing eight boards. We don't know who will win Jen's heart yet, but we know that there's a three-way tie at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference at 7-2. That third one-seed suitor is Murray State, who climbs up to first as well - they beat Eastern Illinois last night.
Game 050: at Central Connecticut State 78, St. Francis (PA) 60
Thursday, February 4, 2005
Detrick Gymnasium - New Britain, CT
Colonial: North Carolina-Wilmington 71, George Mason 67 (story) - The Seahawks won a rock-'em-sock-'em game of runs, and as the announcers like to say, the last run was theirs. On a night when UNCW retired Brett Blizzard's jersey, sophomore guard T.J. Carter pulled a "Blizz" and scored 12 points in the final seven minutes - including a run of nine unanswered. Wilmington has won seven of eight, and will face Old Dominion for first place on Saturday. The Monarchs remain on top of the league and a game up (for now) after beating two-left-footed Towson at home, 70-59.
Shootaround!
Game 049: at Manhattan 69, Fairfield 61
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Draddy Gymnasium - Bronx, NY
Game 048: at Columbia 57, Harvard 55
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Levien Gymnasium - New York, NY
Game 047: at Pennsylvania 83, Brown 60
Saturday, January 29, 2005
The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA
Game 046: at Drexel 88, James Madison 60
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA
Missouri Valley: Creighton 73, Wichita State 69 (story) - If ever there was a year when Wichita fans believed they could end their decade-long curse and win a game at Creighton, this was it. But in the land of big steaks, the Bluejays ran off a big 19-3 streak after finding themselves in a halftime hole. Wichita was playing its fifth game in 11 days; six-eight Rob Kampman had the breakout game that Shocker Nation had been waiting for (24 points, 6-for-7 3ptFG), but it wasn't enough to hold off the Jays. Wichita State (16-3, 9-2 MVC) loses profile points but not its first-place lead, and Creighton peeks above the horizon at 6-5.
Jake Blues once said, "I recommend buying as many blues records as you can find," and I'm telling you now to watch as much Missouri Valley basketball as humanly possible. It remains to be seen whether the NCAA Selection Committee will offer their appreciation to a league where teams enjoy overwhelming homecourt advantages and routinely deal haymaking body-blow runs at each other (one not named "Big East," anyway), but you don't have to wait around for that particular brand of justice. Whomever gets to hang the 2005 MVC regular-season championship flag in their house will know exactly how hard-won it was, and so will the nine teams who will have to look up at it on their visits next year.
Southern: Davidson 67, Chattanooga 53 (story) - Davidson built a fourteen-point lead going into halftime, and both teams treaded water for the second half. Despite outrebounding their hosts, the Mocs shot themselves in the foot by shooting just 30% from the floor. Davidson (14-7, 10-0 SoCon) tightens its grip on the SoCon South, and their nine-game streak has featured just about every possible way to win a basketball game. The Mocs stay atop the North at 6-3 because co-leaders North Carolina-Greensboro lost as well, dropping an embarrassing 54-50 decision to a 3-19 Elon club.
Shootaround!
Game 045: Duquesne 72, at LaSalle 67
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Tom Gola Arena - Philadelphia, PA
|
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.
If you need to contact me for any reason, you can do so with this form. If you're looking for the stats, maps or budget data, it's all over here now.
Enter your e-mail address here and get instant notifications of mid-major upsets in your e-mail. More info here.
|
|
|
