February 1, 2005 6:23 am ET by Kyle Whelliston |
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!
Atlantic Sun: Gardner-Webb (11-8, 8-4 A-Sun) was flying high a week ago, but has now lost two straight in the state of Florida and suddenly finds Jacksonville in the rearview, closer than they appear at 8-5. Last night, the Dolphins beat the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs from Boiling Springs by a 69-58 count, holding them to 30% shooting. But if it's points ye seek, come to the A-Sun's fertile middle-land: Belmont beat Florida Atlantic 103-100, and Mercer beat Troy State 105-101. After G-Webb and Jax, there are eight teams within two games of each other - then there's Campbell at 0-12.
Colonial: After slipping on Saturday to Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion (19-3, 9-1 CAA) took out their frustration on Drexel, 86-72. It looked like the pattern from their first meeting, and the Dragons rallied from a big deficit to tie the score with 15 to go. But the Monarchs were in no mood for toying around, and put the game away. The VCU Rams (11-8, 7-3 CAA) are two games behind after a 70-43 beatdown of the team they had lost to before the ODU game, James Madison. The Seahawks of North Carolina-Wilmington sit in second with a 7-3 league record.
Mid-Eastern: Coppin State (7-11, 7-2 MEAC) is still percentage points ahead of the pack; they beat Norfolk State 54-39 despite shooting 30% - they converted 25 Spartan turnovers into 24 points. Delaware State (8-9, 6-2 MEAC) had a scheduled date with Bethune-Cookman, but ran into travel problems related to recent the southeastern storms. They'll make it up tonight.
Northeast: Worst beat first as Monmouth (8-9, 7-1 NEC) took a bad 44-41 loss at last-place Sacred Heart. The Hawks, who rely heavily on Mister Three, only hit five of their 30 attempts. Fairleigh-Dickinson is now 8-2 after beating Long Island in their house of mirrors, 85-65.
Game! Of! The! Night!
Big South, big fun. Here's a battle for second place in the BSC between High Point (10-10, 5-2 BSC) and Liberty (7-12, 5-3 BSC). They're lining up behind league-leading seven-and-one Winthrop; from the looks of things, these two are the only teams who have any chance at keeping the Eagles out of the Tournament. HPU still has two shots at 'em, Liberty's already lost once to Winthrop. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM Eastern, the webcast is here.
Ooh yeah, ooh yeah... I wanna bust that bracket! ESPN Bracket Buster 3: The Spawning is February 19, and the slate of 32 games was announced yesterday afternoon. Most of these look like good, solid contests on paper... after all, we know that the good scientists at Bristol Labs spent months and months formulating these matchups. Right? Sure! But how do these pairings grade in terms of the titular goal: actually busting this damn thing?
A+
Will have serious seeding ramifications, and the winner will almost assuredly secure an at-large berth should they fail in their conference tourney.
Vermont (America East) at Nevada (WAC) [TV]
A
These games feature two likely Tournament teams, and the two winners could receive support within the Selection Committee should one or the other fail in their conference tourney.
Texas-El Paso (WAC) at Pacific (Big West) [TV]
Wichita State (Missouri Valley) at Miami (Ohio) (Mid-American) [TV]
A-
These game could be "A" lot more interesting when the time comes, or they might "B" Buster busts. Depends on these teams' performances over the next few weeks whether they'll still be fence-sitting on February 19.
Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) at Kent State (Mid-American) [TV]
Western Michigan (Mid-American) at Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) [TV]
B
These games won't help anybody get any at-large consideration, but a win for a team in this bunch here might end up knocking a digit or two off the seeding number on an automatic bid.
Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial) at Charleston (Southern)
Portland State (Big Sky) at Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt)
Murray State (Ohio Valley) at Rice (WAC) [TV]
C
No at-large consideration at stake, but all these contests look like good games between good teams. Some of these squads will end up as conference-tournament winners. Then again, winners of these Busters may be busting that other bracket, and locking up first-round NIT home games.
Bradley (Missouri Valley) at Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
Cal State Northridge (Big West) at Fairfield (Metro Atlantic)
Illinois State (Missouri Valley) at Wisconsin-Green Bay (Horizon) [TV]
Drexel (Colonial) at Ball State (Mid-American) [TV]
Niagara (Metro Atlantic) at Akron (Mid-American)
New Orleans (Sun Belt) at Louisiana Tech (WAC)
Chattanooga (Southern) at Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Valparaiso (Mid-Continent) at Butler (Horizon)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Horizon) at Hawaii (WAC) [TV]
Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent) at Southwest Missouri State (Missouri Valley)
Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt) at Bowling Green (Mid-American) [TV]
D
Decent-looking contests, but when it comes down to it, we're just making new friends or revisiting old acquaintances here.
Austin Peay (Ohio Valley) at East Tennessee State (Southern)
Manhattan (Metro Atlantic) at George Mason (Colonial)
Southern Methodist (WAC) at Toledo (Mid-American)
Ohio (MAC) at Detroit (Horizon)
Loyola (Ill.) (Horizon) at Evansville (Missouri Valley)
Georgia Southern (Southern) at Illinois-Chicago (Horizon)
Weber State (Big Sky) at Boise State (WAC)
Buffalo (Mid-American) at Fresno State (WAC) [TV]
San Jose State (WAC) at Drake (Missouri Valley)
F
No really, thanks for participating.
Cleveland State (Horizon) at Central Michigan (MAC)
Northern Arizona (Big Sky) at Tulsa (WAC)
Northern Illinois (Mid-American) at Wright State (Horizon)
Eastern Michigan (Mid-American) at Youngstown State (Horizon)
Okay, there are three games here that could, in essence, provide some bracket-busting excitement. Not bad, ESPN. All of the above grades are subject to change as teams rise, fall or somnambulate through February. At the very least, we'll have a lot of fun and see styles of ball that complement each other well.
The West Coast Conference suspended three officials for using video review to settle a shot-clock violation matter in Sunday's San Francisco- St. Mary's contest. After a three-pointer by the Dons' Dommanic Inerson, the officials conferred, watched the replay, and disallowed the basket after deciding that the 35-second clock had expired. Problem is, they can only go to the videotape at the end of a period, when it's a game clock issue. St. Mary's won the game, 68-64.
Arkansas State has "come clean" and announced that they've been inflating their attendance figures. I always thought everybody did this.
The Red State Basketball Goodwill Tour voting is complete, and the "Dark Red" route has won. My thanks to the over 400(!) different people who voted, and the final margin was only eight. Starting February 14, your humble narrator will be heading through the Volunteer State for Chattanooga and Austin Peay home games, then will cross over into Indiana for a tight Valley tilt between Bradley and Evansville. A visit with the ever-lovable Big Red in Western Kentucky will follow, then a dip into the deep south to experience Troy State's crazy three-point show. The trip will conclude with a good Saturday 'Buster matchup between College of Charleston and Virginia Commonwealth.
And despite what the scoreboard on the left says, the 100 Games Project is currently up to 49. Pictures for all recent games are now up in the gallery, and recaps will be trickling in over the next day or so.
Shootaround!
Atlantic Sun: Gardner-Webb (11-8, 8-4 A-Sun) was flying high a week ago, but has now lost two straight in the state of Florida and suddenly finds Jacksonville in the rearview, closer than they appear at 8-5. Last night, the Dolphins beat the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs from Boiling Springs by a 69-58 count, holding them to 30% shooting. But if it's points ye seek, come to the A-Sun's fertile middle-land: Belmont beat Florida Atlantic 103-100, and Mercer beat Troy State 105-101. After G-Webb and Jax, there are eight teams within two games of each other - then there's Campbell at 0-12.
Colonial: After slipping on Saturday to Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion (19-3, 9-1 CAA) took out their frustration on Drexel, 86-72. It looked like the pattern from their first meeting, and the Dragons rallied from a big deficit to tie the score with 15 to go. But the Monarchs were in no mood for toying around, and put the game away. The VCU Rams (11-8, 7-3 CAA) are two games behind after a 70-43 beatdown of the team they had lost to before the ODU game, James Madison. The Seahawks of North Carolina-Wilmington sit in second with a 7-3 league record.
Mid-Eastern: Coppin State (7-11, 7-2 MEAC) is still percentage points ahead of the pack; they beat Norfolk State 54-39 despite shooting 30% - they converted 25 Spartan turnovers into 24 points. Delaware State (8-9, 6-2 MEAC) had a scheduled date with Bethune-Cookman, but ran into travel problems related to recent the southeastern storms. They'll make it up tonight.
Northeast: Worst beat first as Monmouth (8-9, 7-1 NEC) took a bad 44-41 loss at last-place Sacred Heart. The Hawks, who rely heavily on Mister Three, only hit five of their 30 attempts. Fairleigh-Dickinson is now 8-2 after beating Long Island in their house of mirrors, 85-65.
Game! Of! The! Night!
Big South, big fun. Here's a battle for second place in the BSC between High Point (10-10, 5-2 BSC) and Liberty (7-12, 5-3 BSC). They're lining up behind league-leading seven-and-one Winthrop; from the looks of things, these two are the only teams who have any chance at keeping the Eagles out of the Tournament. HPU still has two shots at 'em, Liberty's already lost once to Winthrop. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM Eastern, the webcast is here.
Ooh yeah, ooh yeah... I wanna bust that bracket! ESPN Bracket Buster 3: The Spawning is February 19, and the slate of 32 games was announced yesterday afternoon. Most of these look like good, solid contests on paper... after all, we know that the good scientists at Bristol Labs spent months and months formulating these matchups. Right? Sure! But how do these pairings grade in terms of the titular goal: actually busting this damn thing?
A+
Will have serious seeding ramifications, and the winner will almost assuredly secure an at-large berth should they fail in their conference tourney.
Vermont (America East) at Nevada (WAC) [TV]
A
These games feature two likely Tournament teams, and the two winners could receive support within the Selection Committee should one or the other fail in their conference tourney.
Texas-El Paso (WAC) at Pacific (Big West) [TV]
Wichita State (Missouri Valley) at Miami (Ohio) (Mid-American) [TV]
A-
These game could be "A" lot more interesting when the time comes, or they might "B" Buster busts. Depends on these teams' performances over the next few weeks whether they'll still be fence-sitting on February 19.
Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) at Kent State (Mid-American) [TV]
Western Michigan (Mid-American) at Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) [TV]
B
These games won't help anybody get any at-large consideration, but a win for a team in this bunch here might end up knocking a digit or two off the seeding number on an automatic bid.
Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial) at Charleston (Southern)
Portland State (Big Sky) at Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt)
Murray State (Ohio Valley) at Rice (WAC) [TV]
C
No at-large consideration at stake, but all these contests look like good games between good teams. Some of these squads will end up as conference-tournament winners. Then again, winners of these Busters may be busting that other bracket, and locking up first-round NIT home games.
Bradley (Missouri Valley) at Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
Cal State Northridge (Big West) at Fairfield (Metro Atlantic)
Illinois State (Missouri Valley) at Wisconsin-Green Bay (Horizon) [TV]
Drexel (Colonial) at Ball State (Mid-American) [TV]
Niagara (Metro Atlantic) at Akron (Mid-American)
New Orleans (Sun Belt) at Louisiana Tech (WAC)
Chattanooga (Southern) at Creighton (Missouri Valley)
Valparaiso (Mid-Continent) at Butler (Horizon)
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Horizon) at Hawaii (WAC) [TV]
Oral Roberts (Mid-Continent) at Southwest Missouri State (Missouri Valley)
Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt) at Bowling Green (Mid-American) [TV]
D
Decent-looking contests, but when it comes down to it, we're just making new friends or revisiting old acquaintances here.
Austin Peay (Ohio Valley) at East Tennessee State (Southern)
Manhattan (Metro Atlantic) at George Mason (Colonial)
Southern Methodist (WAC) at Toledo (Mid-American)
Ohio (MAC) at Detroit (Horizon)
Loyola (Ill.) (Horizon) at Evansville (Missouri Valley)
Georgia Southern (Southern) at Illinois-Chicago (Horizon)
Weber State (Big Sky) at Boise State (WAC)
Buffalo (Mid-American) at Fresno State (WAC) [TV]
San Jose State (WAC) at Drake (Missouri Valley)
F
No really, thanks for participating.
Cleveland State (Horizon) at Central Michigan (MAC)
Northern Arizona (Big Sky) at Tulsa (WAC)
Northern Illinois (Mid-American) at Wright State (Horizon)
Eastern Michigan (Mid-American) at Youngstown State (Horizon)
Okay, there are three games here that could, in essence, provide some bracket-busting excitement. Not bad, ESPN. All of the above grades are subject to change as teams rise, fall or somnambulate through February. At the very least, we'll have a lot of fun and see styles of ball that complement each other well.
The West Coast Conference suspended three officials for using video review to settle a shot-clock violation matter in Sunday's San Francisco- St. Mary's contest. After a three-pointer by the Dons' Dommanic Inerson, the officials conferred, watched the replay, and disallowed the basket after deciding that the 35-second clock had expired. Problem is, they can only go to the videotape at the end of a period, when it's a game clock issue. St. Mary's won the game, 68-64.
Arkansas State has "come clean" and announced that they've been inflating their attendance figures. I always thought everybody did this.
The Red State Basketball Goodwill Tour voting is complete, and the "Dark Red" route has won. My thanks to the over 400(!) different people who voted, and the final margin was only eight. Starting February 14, your humble narrator will be heading through the Volunteer State for Chattanooga and Austin Peay home games, then will cross over into Indiana for a tight Valley tilt between Bradley and Evansville. A visit with the ever-lovable Big Red in Western Kentucky will follow, then a dip into the deep south to experience Troy State's crazy three-point show. The trip will conclude with a good Saturday 'Buster matchup between College of Charleston and Virginia Commonwealth.
And despite what the scoreboard on the left says, the 100 Games Project is currently up to 49. Pictures for all recent games are now up in the gallery, and recaps will be trickling in over the next day or so.
Resources
Bally Club Signup/ActivateBally Club Message Board
Basketball State
Women's Basketball State
TMM9 Summer Camp
Mid-Merchandise Shoppe
Mid-Major Radio
Contact TMM via The Form™
The Game
| Pts | |||||
 | | Hickory Picket Fences | 27629 | ||
| |||||
| | The Hopping Cats | 21526 | ||
| |||||
| | Ballyfest Destiny | 18919 | ||
| |||||
| | Under a Blood Red Line | 10379 | ||
| |||||
| | Jen Folds Five | 6895 | ||
| |||||
| | Prestige Worldwide | 1614 | ||
| |||||
Red Line Upsets
2012-13 Upsets 158/933 (16.9%)
2011-12 Upsets 153/988 (15.5%)
2010-11 Upsets 164/954 (17.2%)
Black Line Upsets (and the Stendhal)
Social Media
TMM Meta
800 Games Project (Season 8)100 Games Project (Season 1)
The Epilogues
Chats
Kyle's Travel Maps (Seasons 1-7)
Cartoons (Season 2-6)
Glossary (Season 7)
Historical Design Gallery
Colophon
© 2004-13 The Mid-Majority Basketball Concern Ltd. and ComputerPants Robotics. Your host and commissioner is Kyle Whelliston.
All rights reserved. All times Eastern. Made in Chicago, Illinois, USA.