Dribblings 1/31/2005 (Media Timeout Edition)

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.)

Sun Belt: Florida International 118, Arkansas-Little Rock 114 (5OT) (story) - Regulation ended in a 73-all tie, and nobody in Miami could have known that there was over a third half of basketball yet to be played. UALR star guard Brandon Freeman scored 38 points and 6'6" Golden Panther juco-transfer Ismael N'Diaye had 34 in a contest that lasted for a World Series-like 3 hours, 41 minutes. It was FIU's first league win of the year (1-6), and plunged UALR to 4-4, one-point-five games behind cross-state rivals Arkansas State in the Sun Belt's East division. This game was still two periods short of the all-time Division I record of seven overtimes (Cincinnati-Bradley, 1981).

Shootaround!

Ivy: After the first weekend of the fourteen-game tournament, Pennsylvania finds itself with the upper hand at 2-0. They handily beat Yale on Friday, as well as a Brown team on Saturday that had topped Princeton the night before. Columbia swept through their home weekend against northern travel partners Dartmouth and Harvard, and lurk behind at 3-1.

Game! Of! The! Night!

Pardon me boy, is that the Mid-Majority choo-choo? Yes, yes! We're headed to the Southern Conference this evening, hold the shine. Chattanooga (13-4, 6-2 SoCon) and Davidson (11-7, 9-0 SoCon) are the leaders of the North and South divisions, respectively, and they'll square off for the first and only time this season at the home of the latter. Chattanooga's Mocs haven't won in the Wildcats' house in eight years, and they're coming off a 62-57 come-from-ahead loss to UNC-Greensboro that forced them to share the North lead for the time being. However, if they meet again in early March it'll be on Chattanooga's home floor - they're hosting the entire tourney this year. Seven o'clock Eastern is the tip time, listen along here.

The biggest news today in mid-major land is, of course, the announcements of ESPN Bracket Buster matchups. The 32 non-conference games on February 19, some of which will be televised by the WWLIS, might help some members of The Mid-Majority get some at-large love on Selection Sunday. Some people love it (me! me!) and think of Bracket Buster Saturday as the WWLIS' finest redeeming quality, but then again some don't. And don't forget: part of the deal is that the home team in each matchup has to schedule a visit to their bracket bustin' partner for 2005-06.

Who will get whom? Who will go where? Speculation runs rampant! We'll likely be talking exclusively about the matchups tomorrow, once we have a chance to digest the pairings (and take something for this recurring first-person plural ailment we seem to have suddenly come down with).

As the alternative media slowly begins to realize that it 100 Game Project Fever, real actual journalists are giving The Mid-Majority some power-conference-sized love. Bob Cook, a talented writer and a now-uncloseted IUPUI grad, kicks out the sports and provides coverage of this site (with a supporting quote or two!) in his weekly column. Thanks, Bob!

Voting ends tonight at midnight Eastern time on the Red State Basketball Goodwill Tour "which way should the doofus point his car" question; the ballot box is over there on the left-hand side of the screen. As of this writing, a mere three votes separate the two possible routes... so your opinion (as always) does indeed count. Change future history and vote today, because you won't get a chance tomorrow.

On a final personal note, I'm happy to report that The Official Wife Of The Mid-Majority™, who was fired along with IPFW coach Doug Noll several weeks ago, starts her new job today. Before leaving the house this morning, she wanted me to make sure to pass along her undying gratitude to those who wrote in with well-wishes. As the old-timers know, she gets mail at officialwifefanclub@midmajority.com (after I filter out all the salacious come-ons and the spam, of course).

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