March 2005 Archives
Epilogue
With the notable exception of our friends in the Ivy League, very few choose to be mid-major people.
Kyle, Bally and The Official Wife say goodbye to the 2004-05 season.
Game 100: (5) Michigan State 72, (13) Vermont 61
NCAA Tournament, Second Round (Austin Bracket)
Sunday, March 20, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 099: (10) North Carolina State 65, (2) Connecticut 62
NCAA Tournament, Second Round (Syracuse Bracket)
Sunday, March 20, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 098: (5) Michigan State 89, (12) Old Dominion 81
NCAA Tournament, First Round (Austin Bracket)
Friday, March 18, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 097: (13) Vermont 60, (4) Syracuse 57 (OT)
NCAA Tournament, First Round (Austin Bracket)
Friday, March 18, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 096: (2) Connecticut 77, (15) Central Florida 71
NCAA Tournament, First Round (Syracuse Bracket)
Friday, March 18, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 095: (10) North Carolina State 75, (7) Charlotte 63
NCAA Tournament, First Round (Syracuse Bracket)
Friday, March 18, 2005
DCU Center - Worcester, MA
Game 094: at St. Joseph's 53, Hofstra 44
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse - Philadelphia, PA
Oakland
Seed: 16
1st Round Opponent: North Carolina
Record: 13-18 (9-9 Mid-Continent)
Delaware State
Seed: 16
1st Round Opponent: Duke
Why trust those Johnny-come-latelies? We've been covering these guys all season. Here, then, is the first of four capsule sets of the mid-major teams who will appear on your television screens starting on Thursday, along with a few clips of their TMM appearances.
Montana
Seed: 16
Fairleigh Dickinson
Seed: 16
1st Round Opponent: Illinois
Game 093: (4) Ohio 80, (7) Buffalo 79 (OT)
Mid-American Championship
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
MAC, Knifed: A lot of watercooler talk this morning is and will be centered around the Mid-American Conference, more specifically the lack of at-large teams from such. Even Dickie V, who was born on Exit 16W but made his coaching hay in the MAC's geographical sphere of influence, was all over the cablewaves last night talking about how those poor kids got robbed, jobbed and maybe even Bobbed. Buffalo has emerged as the conference's tragic figure, this year's patron saints of getting screwed.
But having seen all of the league's elite eight with my own eyes this past week, I can understand this. When they're not rewarding prominent members' hometown schools, the Committee is planning a three-week TV extravaganza. While the three-bid Missouri Valley Conference, a/k/a the toughest mid-major league in all the land, spent the year beating each other up, they did it on regional and national television. As the MAC ate its own tail all year (Marshall over Miami (Oh.), etc.), most faraway observers were left to gasp at the box scores and shake their heads. Me, I'm wondering if Bowlsby & Co. had a hard time finding MAC footage to review.
In the heat of the postseason, it's easy for people to quickly sweep their preseason conference picks under the rug. What? Huh? I picked Princeton? Look over there, a birdie!
But not this one; I face my failures head-on. For your amusement, here are my picks from late December. Note that I had an extra month and a half to scout the teams. Appended to each selection is what really ended up transpiring in each of the Mid-Majority's fine basketball conferences.
Game 092: (7) Buffalo 75, (3) Western Michigan 68
Mid-American Semifinals
Friday, March 11, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Bullet Points
- Six more teams are in: Vermont (America East), Ohio (MAC), UTEP (WAC), Delaware State (MEAC), George Washington (A-10), and Utah State (Big West).
- Championship Week concludes today with a pair of games: the SWAC and Southland finals.
T1. Southern Illinois, Missouri Valley (23-10, 13-7 MWC, 18 RPI) Chicago 7
T1. Nevada, Western Athletic (24-6, 16-3 WAC, 33) Chicago 9
3. Pacific, Big West (26-3, 19-1 BWC, 22) Albuquerque 8
4. Miami (Oh.), Mid-American (19-10, 13-7 MAC, 43)
Game 091: (4) Ohio 63, (1) Miami (Oh.) 56
Mid-American Semifinals
Friday, March 11, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Game 090: (4) Ohio 62, (5) Kent State 55
Mid-American Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Bullet Points
- Congratulations to Bucknell, orange-clad kings of the Patriot League.
- Eight-seed Boise State continued to rip through the WAC bracket, knocking off Fresno State one day after dispatching 1 Nevada.
Game 089: (1) Miami (Oh.) 85, (8) Bowling Green 65
Mid-American Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Game 088: (3) Western Michigan 66, (6) Akron 60 (OT)
Mid-American Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Game 087: (7) Buffalo 85, (2) Toledo 72
Mid-American Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Gund Arena - Cleveland, OH
Bullet Points
- Western Athletic regular season champions Nevada dropped a shock decision to Boise State, clearing the way for a two-bid WAC.
- There won't likely be many other two-bid mid-major leagues except for, say, the Missouri Valley... apparently the new RPI isn't all it's cracked up to be. I've been saying for weeks that the Selection Committee will find a way to snub Tournament-quality teams that play in the Mid-Majority, and here is that Philips-head screw. So Nevada and Southern Illinois yes, pretty much everyone else no.
Game 085: (E4) Fordham 65, (W5) Duquesne 53
Atlantic 10 First Round
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
Game 084: (W6) LaSalle 70, (E3) Massachusetts 64
Atlantic 10 First Round
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Game 086: (W3) Dayton [-14.5] 78, (E5) St. Bonaventure 48
Atlantic 10 First Round
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
Bullet Points
- Two more Dance tickets were printed and punched last night: Fairleigh-Dickinson out of the NEC, and Montana from the Big Sky.
- Defending champion Florida A&M was ousted from the MEAC tournament.
Game 083: (W4) Richmond 68, (E5) Rhode Island 60
Atlantic 10 First Round
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
Bullet Points
Oakland of the Mid-Continent Conference pulled the low-seed surprise of the year, taking down 1 seed Oral Roberts in the league's title game by a 61-60 score.
- Two other proud conference champions, and two overjoyed satellite campuses: Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Louisiana-Lafayette.
Bullet Points
- Four champions are crowned: Creighton (MVC), Niagara (MAAC), Old Dominion (CAA) and UMPFN (WCC).
- Three more tonight: the Sun Belt, Mid-Continent, and the Horizon league matchup of Detroit and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Game 082: (8) Bethune-Cookman 76, (9) North Carolina A&T 62
MEAC First Round
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Arthur Ashe Center - Richmond, VA
Game 079: (2) Northeastern 86, (6) Maine 73
America East Semifinals
Sunday, March 6, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Game 078: (1) Vermont 76, (5) Binghamton 65
America East Semifinals
Sunday, March 6, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Game 081: (1) Old Dominion 73, (2) Virginia Commonwealth 66 (OT)
CAA Championship
Monday, March 7, 2005
Richmond Coliseum - Richmond, VA
Game 080: (6) Morgan State 77, (11) Maryland-Eastern Shore 56
MEAC First Round
Monday, March 7, 2005
Bullet Points
- No finals yesterday, four tonight.
- The Missouri Valley, as expected since the beginning of the season, was no cookie-cutter cakewalk for top seeds. Both 1 Southern Illinois and 2 Wichita State went down, but the Salukis remain bulletproof on Selection Sunday.
Bullet Points
- Four Dance tickets were punched: Winthrop, Eastern Kentucky, Central Florida and Chattanooga. Despite the two-digit numbers that the Selection Committee will hand them one week from today, all are champions.
- One-seeds fell like mighty trees. Arkansas-Little Rock, the E1 in the Sun Belt, and Gardner-Webb of the Atlantic Sun both lost.
Game 075: (1) Vermont 76, (9) Maryland-Baltimore County 61
America East Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Game 074: (5) Binghamton 76, (4) Albany 70
America East Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Game 077: (6) Maine 47, (3) Boston University 45
America East Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Game 076: (2) Northeastern 90, (7) Stony Brook 79
America East Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 5, 2005
Events Center - Binghamton, NY
Bullet Points
- Two one-seeds went down: Tennessee Tech lost in the OVC semifinals, and Davidson was eliminated in the Southern Conference semis.
- Four automatic bids will be handed out today, as the ESPN networks begin a schedule of court-stormings every two hours or so. We have the Big South's matchup of 1 Winthrop and 7 Charleston Southern (noon), the Ohio Valley (4 pm ET), the Atlantic Sun (6 pm ET) and the SoCon (8:00 pm). All games are on "The Deuce."
Game 073: (6) Manhattan 76, (9) Loyola (Md.) 67
MAAC First Round
Friday, March 4, 2005
HSBC Arena - Buffalo, NY
Game 072: (7) Canisius 62, (8) Marist 60
MAAC First Round
Friday, March 4, 2005
HSBC Arena - Buffalo, NY
Game 071: (5) Siena 68, (10) Iona 51
MAAC First Round
Friday, March 4, 2005
HSBC Arena - Buffalo, NY
Bracket Wrap
Southern: The favorites prevailed, but all their SoCon South division-mates have been wiped out. (recaps)
Game 070: at New Hampshire 76, Stony Brook 66
Sunday, February 28, 2005
Lundholm Gymnasium - Durham, NH
Game 069: at Harvard 80, Brown 68
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Lavietes Pavilion - Cambridge, MA
Mid-American: Miami (Oh.) 70, Kent State 45 (story) - Total domination. The RedHawks (18-8, 12-5 MAC) sent a message to the rest of the league, and to the Selection Committee as well, saying that they'd sure like to be invited to that Dance thingy if there's room on the list. But they didn't ask nicely - they held Kent to 11 first-half points on 9% shooting, and former MMBOW Danny Horace put up yet another double-double (19 and 15). Kent (18-11, 10-7 MAC) slides back down the ladder, while Miami can wrap up the tourney one-seed with a gimmee at Marshall on Saturday.
Adding to the clarity in the Eastern division was 11-6 Ohio's 90-77 steamrolling win over 10-7 Buffalo, a reversion to the poor defensive play that made the preseason darling Bulls a Bubble team to begin with. While Buffalo's little light may now be hidden under a bushel, Western Michigan's (18-10, 11-6 MAC) flickered just a wee bit brighter - they demolished Bowling Green 77-52 on former MMBOW Levi Rost's Senior Night to take the undisputed West lead.
When I told a friend of mine - let's call him Jack - that I was taking the week off from basketball, I received the expected response.
"You're never going to make 100!" he exclaimed. "Never! Never! Woooohahahaha!"
Bracket Wrap
Big South: The way is now even clearer for the dominant one-seed in this league; after the campus-seed quarterfinals, the BSC bracket is blown apart.
Game 068: at Holy Cross 66, Army 49
Saturday, February 27, 2005
Hart Center - Worcester, MA
Game 067: at Harvard 82, Yale 66
Friday, February 26, 2005
Lavietes Pavilion - Cambridge, MA
Missouri Valley: Northern Iowa 67, Wichita State 66 (story) - It's painful watching them keep losing, because it heightens the twin possibilities that the Valley will only get a single bid and the Big East will get (shudder) eight. Six-three Panther guard Ben Jacobsen lit up the scoreboard with 24 points, and hit the winning three-point shot on WSU's home floor. Wichita has lost five of their last six - the Shockers are now so off the bubble, they're chewing gum. "This really hurts," coach Mark Turgeon told the press.
With the end of February, we say goodbye to the Daily Dribblings format. From here until Selection Sunday, it's all about conference tournaments - seedings, matchups, brackets and upsets. Tonight we begin with first-round action in the Horizon, OVC and Big South (see right-hand panel), but there are some pairing matters to take care of first.
Darren is a senior guard for the Saluki-men who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 205 pounds. SIU's team leader uses his quick hands to steal, his long arms and powerful hops to snare rebounds, and his soft touch to score points. And he scores a lot.
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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.
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.
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