• Season 9 SuperTicker presented by BLAPP
#TMM9
Having recently completed its 9th season, The Mid-Majority is a community chronicle of the smaller Division I college basketball conferences. Last year, the theme was Team. Six groups of five (plus a fantasy mid-major player) were engaged in friendly Amazing Race-style competition, criss-crossing Hoops Nation to provide awesome college basketball content. Season X (2013-14) will be our final one.

Recent Game Recaps

Epilogue, The Ninth: Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Memories

So We Meet Again

Rte. 139 - End of the Line

Hanging On

A Championship in Pictures

This Time of Year

Dotson Leads Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen

Grizzlies Overwhelmed by Orangemen

Empire

Challenge 11: Final Four Memories

By George, UConn is Dead

Butler and Us

Donning the Black and Gold

Challenge 10: Tourney Memories

The Madness of the Horizon League

The Rare Ivy League Conference Tournament

MAC Madness

Anything Can Happen in the MAAC

Challenge 9: Shock The Neighborhood

A Youthful Surprise

From Worst to First

Peers and Seers

Tag: American Eagles
Sorted by date
S9 March 13, 2013 As is a tradition every year, the final home game of the season for every team is devoted to honoring their seniors. Before the game (or after, as is the case in some schools, like Indiana), the team's seniors are called out one by one, typically escorted by their parents, and receive an ovation an...
S9 March 10, 2013 One of the things I've noticed about the games that I've been to this season that is many of them have not been very competitive. Part of this is simply the teams that I'm watching. While there have been a couple of exceptions, many of the teams that I'm watching are between two teams that are on op...
S9 January 26, 2013 Coming into this year, expectations were high for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Last year, they upset Bucknell on the road to win their second Patriot League championship, and followed it up with an upset over Duke in the NCAA Tournament. While their journey in a third round loss to Xavier, it was def...
S9 November 13, 2012 Game #9-020: American Eagles at Quinnipiac BobcatsNovember 12, 2012 7:00 pmTD Banknorth Sports CenterBBState Stats/Recap "How did it get so late so soon?"- Dr. SeussHAMDEN, Conn. - For whatever reason, I've found a niche in coaching younger kids, 9-11 year-olds. It's fun, there's not much pressure ...
S8 March 21, 2012 Game #8-781: Buffalo Bulls at American EaglesMarch 14, 2012 8:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapI spent a lot of time trying to decide whether or not to attend the first round CIT game between American and Buffalo. My last game, two weeks earlier, more or less served as my epilogue on my #800GP ex...
S8 March 3, 2012 Game #8-652: Army Black Knights at American EaglesFebruary 29, 2012 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapAll good things come to an end, and on Wednesday night, my 800 games project journey did so, as I made one last trip to American University to see the Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinal betw...
S8 March 1, 2012 Game #8-652: Army Black Knights at American EaglesFebruary 29, 2012 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/Recap"Lately it occurs to meWhat a long, strange trip it's been."-The Grateful Dead, "Truckin'"If a conference tournament is being played at campus sites, and games aren't close to sold out, doesn't ...
S8 February 28, 2012 Game #8-641: Lafayette Leopards at American EaglesFebruary 25, 2012 4:00 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapMy last game of the regular season took me back to Northwest DC, where the American University Eagles were taking on Lafayette in their season finale. It’s hard for me to believe that the regula...
S8 February 25, 2012 Game #8-622: Bucknell Bison at American EaglesFebruary 23, 2012 7:00 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapSometimes business travel comes at inopportune times for those of us heavily dependent on basketball schedules to arrange our winter evenings. This season, I have been away from Las Cruces, N.M., on...
S8 February 20, 2012 Game #8-600: Lehigh Mountain Hawks at American EaglesFebruary 9, 2012 7:00 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapThe vast majority of the games that I have covered for the 800 games project have been games where I am simply a neutral observer, and had no rooting interest in the game. The only exception ...
S8 February 12, 2012 Game #8-552: American Eagles at Holy Cross CrusadersFebruary 11, 2012 2:00 pmHart Recreation CenterBBState Stats/RecapI am a Holy Cross graduate and a Worcester native. I have skipped all of my reunions. But I have attended games in the Hart Center since it opened in 1975 when I was seven. I come ba...
S8 February 12, 2012 Game #8-552: American Eagles at Holy Cross CrusadersFebruary 11, 2012 2:00 pmHart Recreation CenterBBState Stats/RecapIn a very unpatriotic performance, the Holy Cross Crusaders were able to repel the American University forces and withstand a furious second half charge to emerge victorious 59-52.Th...
S8 January 17, 2012 Game #8-391: Holy Cross Crusaders at American EaglesJanuary 14, 2012 2:00 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapIf you had made me guess which of my friends would have been most likely to join me for a game during the 800 Games Project, my died-in-the-wool Ohio State Buckeye fan of a co-worker probably w...
S8 January 14, 2012 Game #8-391: Holy Cross Crusaders at American EaglesJanuary 14, 2012 2:00 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapConference play has always been much more exciting for me than non-conference games. It always seems to me like the games mean so much more when January rolls around and, consequently, are much...
S8 December 18, 2011 Game #8-249: American Eagles at Georgetown HoyasDecember 17, 2011 12:00 pmMCI CenterBBState Stats/RecapUsually, I don’t attend live games when a team is above the red line. I’ve grown to prefer the smaller setting that many of Our Team’s gyms have. Part of this is because there were no major schools...
S8 December 2, 2011 Game #8-165: Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers at American EaglesDecember 1, 2011 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapIt saddens me a bit to see UMBC's basketball program going through its current state of affairs.You see, the Retrievers hold a special place in my mid-major heart. In a lot of w...
S8 November 30, 2011 Game #8-156: Howard Bison at American EaglesNovember 29, 2011 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/Recap“Would either of you be interested in participating in a halftime contest?”A young woman with a walkie-talkie leaned into our row, waiting for an answer. Friend and #800GP partner-in-crime Thomas McCa...
S8 November 24, 2011 Game #8-105: Quinnipiac Bobcats at American EaglesNovember 22, 2011 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/RecapThere are a number of ways the Quinnpiac-American game could have felt familiar to me. I’d spent two weeks on campus in the summer of 1997, at a camp for high schoolers interested in government....
S8 November 17, 2011 Game #8-043: Florida Atlantic Owls at American EaglesNovember 16, 2011 7:30 pmBender ArenaBBState Stats/Recap Sometimes it’s all about the little steps for a program. Take American’s home opener tonight at Bender Arena, which was the first of six games to be picked up this year by the local Comca...
S6 April 4, 2010 INDIANAPOLIS -- It's even uglier up close. I mean, the architecture of it isn't offensive; its tall flat surfaces of impossibly smooth brickface appear as out of a three-dimensional CAD drawing, a simulation come to life. But Lucas Oil Stadium (or "Sports Bubble Stadium," if you prefer) is repulsi...
S6 March 27, 2010 HOUSTON -- Bally and I won't be there in Salt Lake City today. We're still in Texas, in the expansive and quiet Reliant Stadium media room. There are so many moving logistical chutes and ladders with something like this, and there simply wasn't enough time to change course. I can't tell you how mu...
S6 March 26, 2010 Down 68-65 with 1:16 left in regulation of a second round NCAA game at Providence's Dunkin' Donuts Center, Villanova called time out. We'll never really know exactly what was drawn up in that huddle, but what emerged was a play that only a team full of McDonald's All-Americans could ever execute. ...
S6 March 25, 2010 What's a mid-major? What isn't? Have you had enough of this crap? Yeah, we have too, since Season 3 or so. It's an impossible discussion to have, especially when one-third of the people in the debate think it's a snapshot measure of basketball quality, another third insist it's about intangibles l...
S6 March 24, 2010 It always ends in a loss; that is cold fact. Back in 2008, on a warm Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, Alabama, Butler's season came to a close in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32. That squad's terminal drop came in overtime, to a Tennessee team it was superior to, on borderline calls and bad break...
S6 March 21, 2010 PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- What strange psychology is this? The nation at large usually loves a Goliath. America seeks out the commanding and the dominant, places them in high matrices of "best ever" and "all time," all the while ignoring the struggles of the anonymous and faceless David Does below. Unti...
S6 March 20, 2010 "Cinderella" is such a dumb metaphor for all of this. For one thing, this isn't women's basketball; where I come from, calling a dude a lady will get you into a knife fight. Also, none of our teams get to ride a magical McDonald's All American to the Dance who turns into a pumpkin at midnight. I thi...
S6 March 20, 2010 PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- In the big picture, the really big picture, it doesn't mean much at all. It's a basketball show. This is entertainment for rich people, a diversion for any remaining members of the American middle class with disposable time. The performers are judged on whether their effort ple...
S6 March 19, 2010 PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- I have a bobblehead doll of Bryce Drew releasing The Shot that beat Ole Miss in 1998, and a picture on my wall of Northwestern State's Jermaine Wallace uncorking the three-pointer that eliminated Iowa in 2006. I'll admit that I have to think for a minute to remember the names o...
S6 March 16, 2010 DAYTON, Ohio -- Just the word "playoffs" tightens heart muscles, bates breaths, causes sleepless and nervous palpitations. Fans can't wait for the fun to begin. In the professional ranks of American-Style Football, "wild card weekend" is the start of a month of lost weekends. ALDS and NLCS and con...
S6 March 15, 2010 INDIANAPOLIS -- We pause to repect the accomplishments of Utah State, Richmond and Xavier. Heck, even Gonzaga. And even though we don't draw the line between power conferences and "none of the above" the same way as the people on TV, there were some other schools that don't play in the Premier Leagu...
S6 March 13, 2010 Bullet Points In the Patriot League, your champions are the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The former Engineers defeated their cross-valley rival Lafayette with a strong second-half burst, and will go to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time. Higher seeds were 12-4 on Friday. The No. 3 over No. 2 upset w...
S6 March 12, 2010 CLEVELAND -- It was February 19, 2009, 11:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, during our nine-hour BracketBusters marathon chat. We have a lot of people sign in with names that aren't theirs, but we hadn't had any multi-platinum rock stars show up before. [Comment From Tom Petty]  Two questions. 1) Wh...
S6 March 11, 2010 CLEVELAND -- Just as you don't need to put lipstick on the P.I.G., Championship Fortnight doesn't need any pretty dressing. It's compelling competition that sells itself. March basketball is elimination basketball, and we need to get 31 from 347 before we whittle 65 down to a single champion. It...
S6 March 11, 2010 Bullet Points Upsets! Congratulations to our unexpected champions from last night, as Robert Morris repeated in a sticky NEC final at top-seeded Quinnipiac, and Montana engineered a comeback for the Championship Fortnight ages in the Big Sky. The No. 4-seeded Grizzlies were down by 20 at halftime t...
S6 March 7, 2010 Bullet Points A mighty congratulations to the first three conference tourney winners. Winthrop is the Big South representative for the ninth time in 12 seasons. East Tennessee State repeated in the Atlantic Sun, out of a No. 5 seed. And dangerous Murray State won the championship of the Ohio Valley...
S6 March 6, 2010 NOTE: The Hoops National will only cover regular-season games for the remainder of the week. Big Games Ivy League: Cornell 95, at Brown 76 CORN - 26-4 (12-1) [RPI: 46, State: 50] BRWN - 11-19 (5-8) [RPI: 250, State: 281] Star of the Game: Jon Jaques 20 Pts (7-9 FG), 7 Reb Men's Hoops Claims Thir...
S6 March 5, 2010 NOTE: The Hoops National will only cover regular-season games for the remainder of the week. Big Games Atlantic 14: at Richmond 60, Dayton 56 RICH - 23-7 (12-3) [RPI: 30, State: 32] UD - 19-10 (8-7) [RPI: 41, State: 51] Star of the Game: Kevin Anderson 22 Pts (6-14 FG, 9-10 FT) Spiders Finish 14...
S6 March 4, 2010 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- In 1995, when the internet only had 200 sites on it, there was Mirsky's Worst of the Web. Every day, a mysterious dude named Mirsky would post a link to a badly designed or horribly conceived site, and make snarky fun of the design and content. Most webmasters had nightmares abo...
S6 February 25, 2010 Traveling into Athens, OH from the west along Route 33 -- or from any direction for that matter -- is a bleak drive. It's a town set in the middle of nowhere, founded with big dreams of becoming a gateway into the Northwest Territory. The trip in takes you through a series of towns that inspire id...
S6 February 25, 2010 Big Games Atlantic 14: at Temple 49, Dayton 41 TU - 23-5 (11-2) [RPI: 13, State: 21] UD - 18-9 (7-6) [RPI: 43, State: 51] Star of the Game: Lavoy Allen 9 Pts (3-8 FG, 3-5 FT), 17 Reb #18/20 Men's Basketball Tied For First In A-14 With 49-41 Win Over Dayton - PHILADELPHIA – Sophomore Ramo...
S6 February 24, 2010 The first time I came to the Idaho Palouse, a California kid on a college tour of the middle of nowhere, the Kibbie Dome was the first thing I saw of the University of Idaho. Driving east on Highway 8 and rounding the bend at the Washington state line, its grand, curving arch pops out of the monoton...
S6 February 22, 2010 The College of William & Mary is known for many things across the country. Unfortunately, basketball is not one of them. Founded in 1693, this school located in the old-folks hideaway of Williamsburg, Virginia is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the United States -- second only t...
S6 February 22, 2010 Big Games Atlantic 14: at Duquesne 73, Dayton 71 DUQ - 15-12 (6-7) [RPI: 98, State: 118] UD - 18-8 (7-5) [RPI: 37, State: 48] Star of the Game: Eric Evans 14 Pts (6-9 FG, 2-2 FT) Dukes Down Dayton, 73-71 - Damian Saunders, who scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, hit a driving layup w...
S6 February 19, 2010 Kyle once said, "Dayton is a program that never asked for anyone's sympathy," a fact that shows exactly how the Dayton Flyers reflect the attitude of the city that has adopted them, blue-collar, hardworking and a "won't quit" attitude that always leads to great things. Our Game, college basketball...
S6 February 18, 2010 Big Games Western Athletic: at Utah State 67, Louisiana Tech 61 USU - 21-6 (11-2) [RPI: 45, State: 32] LTU - 20-6 (8-4) [RPI: 77, State: 70] Star of the Game: Nate Bendall 11 Pts (5-8 FG, 1-1 FT), 9 Reb Aggies Collar Bulldogs, 67-61, Wednesday For 11th-Straight Win - Junior guard Pooh Williams ...
S6 February 17, 2010 It was February 28, 1998. I was a sophomore at Western Michigan University, driving home to my parents' house in Metro Detroit for Spring Break. Four hours previous, Miami RedHawks head coach Charlie Coles had a heart attack on the University Arena court. There was 11:23 left in the first half wh...
S6 February 17, 2010 John's guest-hosting this week while Kyle's in Vancouver. The NCAA is considering expanding the D-I men's basketball tournament to either 68 or 96 teams, and it is the latter scenario that has occasioned the most discussion and debate. After all, adding three more teams is less interesting and not...
S6 February 16, 2010 Driving Eastward on interstate 255 from St. Louis there's large billboard with the simple phrase "Cougars rising," and each time I see it I inevitably crack a smile, because the Cougars are my work, education and my life. I'm rising too. A short 20 minute drive from that billboard lies our den; a q...
S6 February 16, 2010 John's guest-hosting this week while Kyle's in Vancouver. I occasionally receive email like this: I have a question regarding the comparison of players from different conferences. How can one compare, say, Freshman A from Conference USA to Freshman B from the Big 12 in terms of production, given...
S6 February 15, 2010 Big Game Mid-American: at Akron 91, Ohio 88 (2OT) AKR - 19-7 (9-3) [RPI: 119, State: 102] OHIO - 14-12 (5-7) [RPI: 154, State: 162] Star of the Game: Chris McKnight 25 Pts (7-12 FG, 11-17 FT), 18 Reb Men's Basketball Outlasts Ohio in Double Overtime - Chris McKnight and Jimmy Conyers each po...
S6 February 11, 2010 Last summer, a friend in the basketball world sent me a brochure about an organization that puts together popular pursuit challenges in major American cities. The way the game works is that you're locked in the trunk of a car, your hands bound with tape, then you're taken to a undetermined locatio...
S6 February 11, 2010 Big Games Atlantic 14: Richmond 69, at Rhode Island 67 RICH - 19-6 (8-2) [RPI: 31, State: 39] URI - 19-4 (7-3) [RPI: 14, State: 25] Star of the Game: David Gonzalvez 19 Pts (7-12 FG, 2-3 FT), 2 Stl Surging Spiders Grind Out Road Win At Rhody, Move Into A-14 First-Place Tie - KINSTON, R.I. - Dav...
S6 February 10, 2010 Colonial: at George Mason 82, Virginia Commonwealth 77 (OT) GMU - 16-9 (11-3) [RPI: 132, State: 104] VCU - 17-6 (9-5) [RPI: 49, State: 41] Star of the Game: Michael Morrison 18 Pts (8-10 FG, 2-3 FT), 10 Reb Men's Basketball Rallies Late, Downs VCU in Overtime - Cam Long hit a pair of free throws ...
S6 February 9, 2010 Big Games Western Athletic: at New Mexico State 70, Louisiana Tech 68 NMSU - 15-8 (8-2) [RPI: 78, State: 94] LTU - 19-5 (7-3) [RPI: 71, State: 67] Star of the Game: Troy Gillenwater 19 Pts (7-12 FG, 4-4 FT), 8 Reb, 2 Stl Laroche Hits Game Winner over LA Tech, 70-68 - New Mexico State sophomore ...
S6 February 8, 2010 Big Games Atlantic 14: at Richmond 71, Temple 54 RICH - 18-6 (7-2) [RPI: 31, State: 41] TU - 19-5 (7-2) [RPI: 17, State: 35] Star of the Game: Kevin Anderson 29 Pts (11-17 FG, 5-5 FT) Richmond Topples Temple, 71-54 (via Richmond) Atlantic 14: at Dayton 90, Xavier 65 UD - 16-6 (5-3) [RPI: 33, S...
S6 February 3, 2010 I'll never forget Christmas 1987. The anticipation made my little underdeveloped heart jackrabbit in its bony cage. I recall bounding down the old toasty staircase, pushing my little sister aside, my eyes wide as canned hams. And there, 'neath the tinsel-topped tree, was the box I'd longed for so ...
S5 January 9, 2009 Lehigh at American (Patriot League) Bender Arena - Washington, DC Saturday, 2:00 PM EST Looking back at the first two months of our fifth season here at TMM, we've only referenced the Patriot League in passing, if at all. There are reasons for that; things have changed over the years. The Formerly...
S4 March 15, 2008 Bullet Points Bow down before the altar of American, poxy fules. The Eagles are going dancing out of the Patriot League for the first time in school history. Today will see the crowning glory in seven conferences. The America East, Atlantic 14, MAC, SWAC, MEAC, WAC and Big West will all have champi...
S4 March 3, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- The calendar does not deceive you, it's been March for two-plus days now and we haven't seen one conference tournament game. We'll take care of that tomorrow (the Big South, OVC and Horizon get underway), but this in-between day gives us a chance to catch our collective breath and...
S4 February 28, 2008 WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- One of the great traditions in college basketball is Senior Night, the last home game of the regular season. All outgoing seniors, no matter if they were four-year starters with awards and all-league selections, or guys who played the parts of opposing players on the practi...
S4 February 27, 2008   American at Navy (Patriot League) Alumni Hall - Annapolis, MD 7:00 PM EST Perhaps it has something to do with the Presidential race or something, but the balance of power in the Patriot League has definitely tilted towards America's capitol region. The champions of recent years, Bucknell a...
S4 February 26, 2008 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- We're all just getting over the thrills of BracketBuster weekend, but there's plenty to get to as the regular season winds down to its electrifying conclusion. Just 19 days until Selection Sunday... Saint Mary's. In last night's G!O!T!N!, the Gaels proved that yes, they can ...
S4 February 21, 2008 JACKSONVILLE -- Lots and lots to get to today with a full slate of red-hot mid-major action, but first I wanted to pimp n' plug tomorrow's Gigantic BracketBusters Marathon Chat on ESPN.com. There are always hundreds of people who don't get their questions attended to during the regular Wednesday dea...
S4 February 18, 2008 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Plenty of folks have the day off for the holiday today, but we have a patriotic duty to provide you with a Supersized Boubacar that takes into account all the action from the weekend that was. We'll get to that in a second, but I wanted to share with you my most recent fantastic...
S4 February 11, 2008 HAMDEN, Conn. -- We have been, and we stand, accused. Accused! Of having too much fun around here, of shifting the focus off basketball and running too many contests, pictures of pretty girls, cartoons and snapshots of pet basketballs. So we're going to put on our super-serious faces, talk in our su...
S4 December 24, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- As promised, we're going to crown our ARRRGH contest winner today and give out a free stuffed Bally. We were looking for the best mid-major ARRRGH moment, the worst instance of thwarted victory, the most crushing realization that the big guys have won again and that "Hoosiers" mom...
S3 January 30, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Before we begin our supersized DP, I just want to share with you something I wrote yesterday. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (fourth edition, 2004, published by Houghton Mifflin) defines the word "champion" as "One that wins first place or first prize in...
S3 January 9, 2007 NASHVILLE -- I guess it's basic human nature that we try to build fences and walls, to divide the included from the excluded, to protect what's inside from what's outside. There's nothing worse than the idea that the world doesn't make sense -- that's the fundamental building block of organized reli...
S1 February 7, 2005 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...
S1 January 25, 2005 Game 040: at Holy Cross 80, American 56 Monday, January 24, 2005 Hart Center - Worcester, MA ...
S1 December 14, 2004 Welcome to Mid-Majority Finals Week) are suffering through final examinations, we're taking advantage of the dearth of ballgames this week to offer an exciting mid-major quiz. And fill blog space. So here's the deal. For the next four days, I'll be posting four ten-question quizzes about various as...
S1 November 13, 2004 It is designed to do a lot of things, but it certainly is not designed to break your heart. The game begins in the late autumn, when everything else has shriveled and fallen and died. Its blossoms come slowly in winter's course like crocus starts popping through icefields. And when it does stop, it ...
Sunday Funnies: Media Day!|Sunday Funnies: In Training!|Sunday Funnies: ...Strikes Back!|Sunday Funnies: Conspiracy?|Sunday Funnies: Balltamont|