The Mid-Majority : Season 9: We Are, Together.

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: Howard Bison
Sorted by date

1. MEAC marathon: Game 2 of 5 by Joshua Guiher

S8 March 9, 2012 Game #8-723: Howard Bison vs. North Carolina A&T AggiesMarch 6, 2012 1:30 pmWinston-Salem, NCBBState Stats/RecapThe second game started pretty much right on schedule around 1:30pm. The Aggies of NC A&T jumped out to a quick 13-7 lead before Howard found their rhythm and came back for a 19-13 lea... [more]

2. My Personal Hell by John Willmott

S8 February 21, 2012 Game #8-602: Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks at Howard BisonFebruary 20, 2012 7:30 pmBurr GymnasiumBBState Stats/RecapLast week, before taking in Howard's game against Bethune-Cookman, I had tweeted that I was taking in the "most lovingly disorganized sporting event there is." If you've been following ... [more]

3. IN THE DISTRICT, THE RED LINE IS A BUS LINE by Thomas McCaffrey

S8 February 20, 2012 Game #8-593: Florida A&M Rattlers at Howard BisonFebruary 11, 2012 3:00 pmBurr GymnasiumBBState Stats/Recap The subway is the glamour boy of public transit. New York’s subway, Boston’s T, and the Metro here in the greater Washington area are all, to varying degrees, well-known and reasonably easy to... [more]

4. Stranger in a Familiar Land by John Willmott

S8 February 14, 2012 Game #8-566: Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at Howard BisonFebruary 13, 2012 7:30 pmBurr GymnasiumBBState Stats/RecapThe last time I made a trip to Burr Gymnasium, I pointed out how much of a spartan experience taking in a Howard basketball game was. No tickets, no in-game entertainment, no frills. Fast-f... [more]

5. Unique Traditions by Ian McCormick

S8 January 31, 2012 Game #8-489: Howard Bison at South Carolina State BulldogsJanuary 30, 2012 7:30 pmSHM Memorial CenterBBState Stats/RecapOne of the best things about MEAC basketball is that there are more unique traditions than at other mid-majors. Most other mid-majors seem to borrow traditions from one another as ... [more]

6. Hoops on a Shoestring by John Willmott

S8 December 13, 2011 Game #8-230: Saint Francis (NY) Terriers at Howard BisonDecember 12, 2011 7:00 pmBurr GymnasiumBBState Stats/RecapThe start of my trip tonight to Burr Gymnasium threw me for a bit of a loop. My first stop upon arriving at a new venue is, predictably, to head to the box office to pick up my ticket. T... [more]

7. The Long Road to Redemption by John Willmott

S8 December 10, 2011 Game #8-214: Howard Bison at Georgetown HoyasDecember 10, 2011 12:00 pmMCI CenterBBState Stats/RecapWhen you're the Howard Bison, opportunities for large-scale success don't exactly come around all that often. That's why it has to be absolutely maddening that the Bison squandered the opportunity the... [more]

8. I Do This for Fun, You Know? by Patrick Byrnett

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... [more]

9. Game 7-105: NCAA National Championship by Kyle Whelliston

S7 April 5, 2011 Butler Bulldogs vs. Connecticut HuskiesApril 4, 2011 9:23 pmHouston, TXBBState Stats/Recap Here's how the story ends. @midmajority Game Tweets21:00RT @mlandes1536 @midmajority the season doesn't always end in a loss....it can't #godawgsRT @fangsbites I'm loving @midmajority's tweets from the Fina... [more]

10. Rebirth Of The Cool by Kyle Whelliston

S7 April 3, 2011 AP HOUSTON -- In the early morning of January 20, 2009, after watching South Carolina State and Howard play a MEAC regular season game, I slept for two hours, grabbed my stuffed basketball, and made my way through the spaghetti tangle of Beltways and Metro lines to be on the Washington Mall to witn... [more]

11. Game 7-104: NCAA National Semifinal by Kyle Whelliston

S7 April 2, 2011 Virginia Commonwealth Rams vs. Butler BulldogsApril 2, 2011 6:09 pmHouston, TXBBState Stats/Recap VCU from the Colonial, Butler from the Horizon League. Bulldogs and Rams. Black and gold against @ButlerBlue2. It was nothing less than the unprecedented, unbelievable Mid-Major National Championship.... [more]

12. The Mid-Majority Interview: Ron5Robot by Kyle Whelliston

S7 April 1, 2011 At some point around the #ALLCAPSGAME, a big shiny Robot began appearing at Butler's Horizon League contests games. A Ron5Robot! Ron5Robot is a tribute to Ronald Nored, the Bulldogs' exceedingly unselfish Secretary of Defense, whose battered legs contain surgically implanted metal rods, making No. 5... [more]

13. The Beautiful by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 31, 2011 AP HARTFORD, Conn. -- I remember my first fixed game. It was five seasons ago. In the final minute of a body-bag guarantee matchup in an ACC arena, with the home team up by 14, a player on the home team broke away for a transition layup. But before he could rise to the hoop, players on the bench ye... [more]

14. The Low Point by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 29, 2011 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- On the evening of February 15, 2011, the Siegel Center at Virginia Commonwealth University was packed to capacity, but the home fans were solemn and silent. The visiting team from George Mason had jumped out to a 34-19 halftime lead. The Patriot guards had rained down three-po... [more]

15. Game 7-102: NCAA Southeast Region Final by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 27, 2011 [8] Butler Bulldogs vs. [2] Florida GatorsMarch 26, 2011 4:20 pmNew Orleans, LABBState Stats/Recap It started with a crazy idea. Since VCU and Butler were in the Elite Eight, with the sites just 550 miles away and nine hours from each other in San Antonio and New Orleans, why not go to both? After... [more]

16. What 100 Means Now by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 25, 2011 SAN ANTONIO -- In March of 2005, during the original 100 Games Project, I felt like it couldn't hurt to ask. I called up Brian McCann, the sports information director at Cleveland State, a school that was organizing an NCAA subregional at the Wolstein Center. I explained that I ran a website about c... [more]

17. Game 7-092: NCAA First Four, Game 3 by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 17, 2011 [16] Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners vs. [16] Alabama State HornetsMarch 16, 2011 6:30 pmDayton, OHBBState Stats/Recap It's the second day of the inaugural First Four, and the kind of matchup Dayton is used to: between a SWAC No. 4 seed and a Southland No. 7. Bally lands the greatest temp job in the... [more]

18. Champions Of Hoops Nation 2011 by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 13, 2011 If college basketball has taught us anything, it's that there's nothing that becomes irrelevant more suddenly than Championship Fortnight. Once the NCAA Tournament bracket is released, the previous two weeks slip into history... very quickly. But one thing that has to be remembered: the teams that w... [more]

19. Game 7-081/082/083/084: Mid-American Quarterfinals by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 11, 2011 Bowling Green Falcons vs. Western Michigan BroncosMarch 10, 2011 12:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap Akron Zips vs. Miami (Oh.) RedhawksMarch 10, 2011 2:30 pmBBState Stats/Recap Buffalo Bulls vs. Kent State Golden FlashesMarch 10, 2011 7:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap Ohio Bobcats vs. Ball State CardinalsMarch 10... [more]

20. Tourney Central 3/11/2011 (Day 11) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 11, 2011 h2 {margin-bottom:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:17px;} #droid {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;margin-bottom:8px;} #droid a:link, #droid a:visited {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;}Bullet PointsThere were no ... [more]

21. Tourney Central 3/10/2011 (Day 10) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 10, 2011 h2 {margin-bottom:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:17px;} #droid {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;margin-bottom:8px;} #droid a:link, #droid a:visited {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;} Bullet PointsCongratulati... [more]

22. Tourney Central 3/9/2011 (Day 9) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 9, 2011 h2 {margin-bottom:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:17px;} #droid {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;margin-bottom:8px;} #droid a:link, #droid a:visited {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;}Bullet PointsThree more cha... [more]

23. Tourney Central 3/8/2011 (Day 8) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 8, 2011 h2 {margin-bottom:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:17px;} #droid {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;margin-bottom:8px;} #droid a:link, #droid a:visited {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;}Bullet PointsCongratulation... [more]

24. Game 7-078: Metro Atlantic Championship by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 8, 2011 [5] Saint Peter's Peacocks vs. [2] Iona GaelsMarch 7, 2011 7:00 pmBridgeport, CTBBState Stats/Recap It's a title game. Scissors, nets, ladders, and trophies too. Serious ESPN2 airtime for Bally. Memories of MAAC hair: Mike Frensley and the ponytail, and Ricky Soliver Mohawk Night at Iona. The Jour... [more]

25. Game 7-075/076: Metro Atlantic Semifinals by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 7, 2011 [4] Saint Peter's Peacocks at [1] Fairfield StagsMarch 6, 2011 2:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap [3] Rider Broncs vs. [2] Iona GaelsMarch 6, 2011 4:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap It's the MAAC semifinals. Anthony Kiedis howls in a cavernous arena. It's a day of Tri-State recollection: we remember the Iona 'ha... [more]

26. Game 7-071/072/073/074: America East Quarterfinals by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 6, 2011 [5] Stony Brook Seawolves vs. [4] Albany Great DanesMarch 5, 2011 12:05 pmBBState Stats/Recap [9] Binghamton Bearcats vs. [1] Vermont CatamountsMarch 5, 2011 2:15 pmBBState Stats/Recap [7] New Hampshire Wildcats vs. [2] Boston University TerriersMarch 5, 2011 6:05 pmBBState Stats/Recap [6] Hartford... [more]

27. Tourney Central 3/5/2011 (Day 5) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 5, 2011 h2 {margin-bottom:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:17px;} #droid {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;margin-bottom:8px;} #droid a:link, #droid a:visited {font-size:11px;font-family:Droid Sans, arial;line-height:13px;}Bullet PointsNow it's mad, ... [more]

28. Stardate 115-20110302: One More Chance To Try To Save My Soul by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 2, 2011 KINGSTON, R.I. -- The stars are beginning to flicker and burn out in the elimination games. For others, it's far from over. Here, one final look at the remaining league regular season races as we move towards getting all the rest of the Other 25 conferences in the gate and ready for bracket time. ... [more]

29. Stardate 108-20110223: Shootaround Deluxe by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 23, 2011 CHICAGO -- Every single one of the conference games going on tonight, and tomorrow, and Friday and Saturday too, were scheduled months in advance by a league office (or, in some cases, years ago). Some were circled rivalry games worth driving a day for, others were just-anothers. In early March, t... [more]

30. Stardate 107-20110222: The Stretch Drive by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 22, 2011 CHICAGO -- BracketBusters 2011 can be summed up tidily in one paragraph. Utah State came back from 10 down at Saint Mary's to earn a résumé win. As the Missouri Valley -- the most successful conference in the short and strange history of BracketBusters -- bombed out with a 3-7 showing, three top t... [more]

31. GAME 7-060: BUTLER AT ILLINOIS-CHICAGO by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 20, 2011 Butler Bulldogs at Illinois-Chicago FlamesFebruary 19, 2011 2:00 pmUIC PavillionBBState Stats/Recap The power, passion and glory of #ALLCAPSGAME 2011. @midmajority Game Tweets14:11 ROBO KREPS HAS SCORED THE FIRST BASKET OF THE #ALLCAPSGAME #BEEP #BOOP14:13 COREY GRAY HITS A #SUPERHOOP AND UIC IS ... [more]

32. Stardate 101-20110216: Dream Seasons by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 16, 2011 HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- March really is here before we know it, because there's half a week missing out of February. This month wasn't designed that way -- and nothing was adjusted for our benefit or anything -- but it's still disorienting and disruptive to look at a calendar and realize that in two ... [more]

33. Game 7-056: Howard at Norfolk State by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 15, 2011 Howard Bison at Norfolk State SpartansFebruary 14, 2011 8:00 pmEchols ArenaBBState Stats/Recap Behold the green and gold, most specifically the Spartan Legion band. @midmajority Game Tweets20:22 Game No. 7-056: Howard at Norfolk State. Echols Hall. http://img.ly/30Iq20:27 It's a very exciting ra... [more]

34. 800 Games Project: Practice Run No. 5 by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 11, 2011 It's Friday, so that means it's time to check in on preparations for next season's 800 Games Project, the crowdsourced game reporting that will take the place of our own hundreds of attended games and thousands of driven miles. It's pretty much the same thing as we've been doing -- go to a game and ... [more]

35. Game 7-047: Rhode Island at Temple by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 7, 2011 Rhode Island Rams at Temple OwlsFebruary 5, 2011 2:00 pmThe Liacouras CenterBBState Stats/Recap Hooter's birthday, and fake Zooperstars. @midmajority Game Tweets13:48 Game No. 7-047: Rhode Island at Temple. Temple University welcomes you and your family.13:50 This, friends, is a band. http://img... [more]

36. Stardate 85-20110131: Geeks vs. Madness, Poets vs. Sanity by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 31, 2011 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- What is madness? Back up, let's start this way: the reason and order necessary for understanding and mastery of one's surroundings has no room or space for such anarchic disruption. Madness is the danger where once things were safe, displacing sense and destroying sensibilities.... [more]

37. Stardate 78-20110124: A Brief History of Mid-Major Smac Rap by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 24, 2011 CHICAGO -- American higher learning dates back to before the whole "United States" thing. But until the Civil War was over, no college had a fight song. That idea coincided with the idea of college athletics, and school-specific tunes were written for the purposes of intimidation and inspiration. Ma... [more]

38. 800 Game Project: Practice Run #2 by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 21, 2011 If you're just joining us, or re-joining us, 2011-12 at The Mid-Majority (a/k/a Season 8) will feature an experiment in college basketball crowdsourcing. We're calling it the 800 Game Project, and we're going to try to put together the biggest cross-referenced national spectator game report database... [more]

39. Stardate 73-20110119: Dubl-Bag by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 19, 2011 CHICAGO -- Patterns develop as the season goes on; one seems to be that Wednesday is a perfect day to open up The Form™ and publicly respond to a few letters, many of which have been quite heartfelt lately. There have also been some seriously great game reports, and I think Fridays (before c... [more]

40. Stardate 72-20110118: What If/What Now by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 18, 2011 CHICAGO -- What if the shot went in? BUTLER 62, DUKE 6104/05/2010DUKE 34-5 (13-3) -- K. Singler 7-13 2-2 19; N. Smith 5-15 2-5 13; J. Scheyer 5-12 4-5 15; L. Thomas 3-5 0-0 6; B. Zoubek 3-4 2-4 8; M. Plumlee 0-2 0-0 0; A. Dawkins 0-1 0-0 0; M. Plumlee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 10-16 61.BUTLER 34-4... [more]

41. Stardate 71-20110117: No Love's As Random by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 17, 2011 PEORIA, Ill. - Two years ago yesterday, on January 16, 2009, the news came down. I stared out the window for a little while, got a piece of a song stuck in my head -- it's all beginning/to feel like it's ending -- and wondered how it hadn't made it on to my 160GB iPod. I downloaded the MP3 from Am... [more]

42. Game 7-036: Cleveland State at Valparaiso by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 11, 2011 Cleveland State Vikings at Valparaiso CrusadersJanuary 9, 2011 2:35 pmAthletics-Recreation CenterBBState Stats/Recap Sometimes Our Game is so difficult to understand. Can you wrap your head around the concept of retractable bleachers? Somehow, with hydraulics and sparklepony magic, a wall transfo... [more]

43. Stardate 65-20110111: Football Independence Day (Observed) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 11, 2011 CHICAGO -- America has one more month in its ongoing annual quest to figure out how to allow violence to thrive in tightly-controlled, non-contaminated petri dishes. But as you might have heard, last night marked the conclusion of the Ugly Season. For those of you just joining us this year, we sav... [more]

44. Stardate 64-20110110: Family Business by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 10, 2011 VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Now that January has reached double-digits, the slow transition is, in full essence, complete. It's conference season, and even the teams in the Ivy League are starting to play each other. This is definitely the second part of the beautiful season, the third best of the four. N... [more]

45. Game 7-033: Cleveland State at Butler by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 8, 2011 Cleveland State Vikings at Butler BulldogsJanuary 7, 2011 7:00 pmHinkle FieldhouseBBState Stats/Recap Much of what passes for sports wisdom in enlightened 2011 is so linear and transitive. With so much information to sift and process, the human brain goes into panic mode. It must break matters do... [more]

46. Stardate 58-20110104: Dark Roads by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 4, 2011 Kyle, I just returned home from my first college basketball double header not involving a conference tournament. I drove for about six hours today to watch UNCG play in front of a couple hundred fans at Greensboro Coliseum against Richmond at noon. Followed a few hours later by a UNCW game against... [more]

47. Stardate 46-20101223: Winter Break by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 23, 2010 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- This is the last Stardate until 52-20101229 (a Wednesday), at which time we'll turn our attention away from Red Line Upsets to conference play. There will be a Chat Block on Christmas Eve at 4 pm Eastern, and if there's anybody around, we'll talk about whatever you want to talk ... [more]

48. Game 7-031: Saint Joseph's at Boston University by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 22, 2010 Saint Joseph`s Hawks at Boston University TerriersDecember 21, 2010 7:00 pmCase GymBBState Stats/Recap TMM Throwback Night at the Golden Greek. @midmajority Game Tweets 18:22 Boston. Basketball town. http://img.ly/2Fqg18:56 Game 7-031: Saint Joseph's at Boston University. Welcome to TMM THROWBA... [more]

49. Game 7-024: Mississippi Valley State at Butler by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 13, 2010 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils at Butler BulldogsDecember 11, 2010 7:00 pmHinkle FieldhouseBBState Stats/Recap Hinkle Fieldhouse. The very name oozes basketball history, if letters could ooze. For the first time in Season 7, we went to the home of the Butler Bulldogs on a mid-December Satu... [more]

50. Game 7-023: Butler at Xavier by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 10, 2010 Butler Bulldogs at Xavier MusketeersDecember 9, 2010 9:00 pmCintas CenterBBState Stats/Recap A story: once upon a time, there were two brothers. As sometimes happens with brothers, they could not have been any more different from each other. The older was the mild-mannered and cerebral one, shrew... [more]

51. Game 7-021: Purdue at Valparaiso by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 8, 2010 Purdue Boilermakers at Valparaiso CrusadersDecember 7, 2010 9:00 pmAthletics-Recreation CenterBBState Stats/Recap Hope. (via 30fps) @midmajority Game Tweets 20:54 Game 7-021: Purdue at Valparaiso. Hail Crusaders who rise to glory.20:57 RT @cmlrun: @midmajority Our colors are unfurled.21:00 Awes... [more]

52. Game 7-020: Valparaiso at Loyola (Ill.) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 6, 2010 Valparaiso Crusaders at Loyola (Ill.) RamblersDecember 4, 2010 4:00 pmJoseph Gentile CenterBBState Stats/Recap Think of Chicago. Cold city. Dark. Dark in the winter. But not cold and dark enough for a dude in the LU Wolf suit not to walk around slapping high fives with fans arriving for an early ... [more]

53. Butler: Continuum by Kyle Whelliston

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... [more]

54. Tourney Central 3/12/2010 (Day 11) by Kyle Whelliston

S6 March 12, 2010 Bullet Points There were no bids awarded on Thursday. Instead, many of the late leagues held quarterfinal rounds, setting up semifinals for today. The Southland and WAC put forward their top four seeds, but MEAC No. 5 Hampton snuck past No. 4 Hampton. The SWAC's bracket now has a 2-3-5-8 setup; Tex... [more]

55. Tourney Central 3/10/2010 (Day 9) by Kyle Whelliston

S6 March 10, 2010 Bullet Points Three champions were crowned on Tuesday night. Please give it up for: Butler of the Horizon League, which crushed Wright State in that league's title game; the Sun Belt's North Texas, which has now split the last four championships with Western Kentucky; and Oakland, long-suffering G'... [more]

56. My Journey by Alex Keil

S6 February 26, 2010 Iowa is a word that makes me want to jump in my car and drive far, far away. Iowa is the guilt trip that makes me miss home and asks when I am going to get some common sense and put all this traveling behind me. It's a place that shifts between some of the worst weather any right-minded person cou... [more]

57. Presenting the THEMMA Awards by John Gasaway

S6 February 18, 2010 John's guest-hosting this week while Kyle's in Vancouver. Which of course stands for the Temporary Help's Evaluation of Mid-Major Achievement. Is it presumptuous to dish out awards from the Olympian (you know, that adjective is much more situation-neutral and less confusing 99 percent of the time) ... [more]

58. 36 Hours of Hoops: The Glenn Wilkes Experience by Kyle Whelliston

S6 November 22, 2009 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Cures and diseases are so closely related. They often define each other -- a cure is designed to erase a disease, which in turn must build resistance and immunity in order to survive and destroy. As I found out again this summer, booster shots introduce a small amount of the... [more]

59. NCAA First Round: Thursday's Games by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 19, 2009 MINNEAPOLIS -- Not to get all Jean Shepherd on you, but when I started as an undergrad at the University of Oregon there were no coffee shops near campus. Then one opened up on the corner near the bookstore, and it had couches and soft music and 50 different ways to drink coffee. It was the hottest ... [more]

60. Tourney Central 3/16/2009 (Final Brackets) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 16, 2009 Bullet Points Stephen F. Austin punched Hoops Nation's final NCAA Tournament ticket Sunday afternoon, its first appearance ever. Championship Fortnight is over, and the national postseason is just ahead. Completed brackets and scores for all 23 TMM leagues are included below. Southland Texas... [more]

61. Good Morning Hoops Nation: March 12 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 12, 2009 KATY, Tex. -- Quick programming note: we've run into some technical difficulties here in Texas, so that marathon chat we promised has to be postponed. Next week seems a better fit anyway, since there will be an actual 65-team bracket to talk about. We'll do a regular chat tomorrow from Cleveland at ... [more]

62. Tourney Central 3/11/2009 (Day 9) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 11, 2009 Bullet Points Congratulations to North Dakota State (Badlands/Summit), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) and Cleveland State (Horizon League). All three have reserved space on the Big Bracket with title game victories last night. Two championships tonight: the Northeast Conference and Big Sky will d... [more]

63. Tourney Central 3/10/2009 (Day 8) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 10, 2009 Bullet Points Four more champions were crowned last night, teams that will automatically continue on to the NCAA Tournament. Congratulations to Virginia Commonwealth (Colonial), Siena (Metro Atlantic), Chattanooga (SoCon) and Gonzaga (West Coast). Three autobids will be granted tonight: the Su... [more]

64. Good Morning Hoops Nation: March 9 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 9, 2009 HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Our year is a blur of quick-cut transitions: from total silence to Midnight Madness, pre-season to regular season, games outside conferences to games inside parentheses. Standings grids give way to brackets, and before you know it, campaigns are cut short in early elimination ro... [more]

65. Tourney Central 3/8/2009 (Day 6) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 8, 2009 Bullet Points Radford (Big South), East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun) and Morehead State (Ohio Valley) have qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State, the Horizon No. 3, eliminated No. 2 Green Bay in that conference's semis, and Illinois State upended Creighton in the Missouri Valley... [more]

66. Mid-Majority D.I.Y., Part 1: Scheduling by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 2, 2009 Those datelines you see on this site's posts aren't just a collection of random cities we like, or an indication where we are on our fantasy trip in our dreams, or where the magic teevee is taking us that evening. The city in all-caps is actually where we are, this is not done from home. Getting to ... [more]

67. BracketBusters Saturday 2009 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 21, 2009 So here we are again, it's late February and it's time for Mid-Major Christmas... BracketBusters VII, brought to you locally by Flying J Travel Plazas and Ballito's Powdered Horchata. Here's a handy clip-n'-save list of all Saturday's televised games, with links to handy print-n'-collect Basketball ... [more]

68. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 19 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 19, 2009 MORAGA, Cal. -- I've come to avidly dislike "bracketology" in all its forms, I don't make any bones or excuses about that. I can't stand bubble watching or seed projecting. I respect Joe Lunardi for combining computer power and over-the-top braggadocio to single-handedly ignite a cottage industry, a... [more]

69. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 17 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 17, 2009 SAN JOSE -- Hundreds of votes have been counted, and Lester Hudson now has a nickname. (Figures it would be the one with the cool poem attached to it.) In this space, all future references to Tennessee-Martin's future NBA star will include "Done Ruthless," which is a fantastic anagram of his name, o... [more]

70. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 3 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 3, 2009 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- BracketBusters pairings are out, and we're temporarily reunited with our own bed and desktop computer, so it's a good time for a game reset. Who am I? Why am I here? Seventy-five percent of what The Mid-Majority is about during the regular season is analysis. There are check-ins o... [more]

71. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/22/2009: Wisconsin-Green Bay at Butler by Kyle Whelliston

S5 January 22, 2009 Wisconsin-Green Bay at Butler (Horizon League) Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN 7:00 PM EST Cakewalks, even the kind where no cake is expected, are no fun. Constant winning gets monotonous, boring even, when you don't have to break much of a sweat to do it. Folks get content, bloated, and they... [more]

72. Good Morning Hoops Nation: January 20 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 January 20, 2009 WASHINGTON -- In the next several days, you're likely to read many accounts of these days by special columnists (even some sportswriters) who have spent the last few days being whisked from inaugural ball to celebrity gala, who've worn tuxedos to fine restaurants and will sit in special boxes watchi... [more]

73. The State of the Other 22: Week 3 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 December 17, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

74. Good Morning Hoops Nation: December 11 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 December 11, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Not to get all Good N' Plenty on you, but I am at home for the first day in 17, the last day I'll be home for 56. I've severely cut down on a lot of the deeply personal oversharing from previous years, which has resulted in a sharp and welcome decline in the number of creepy lette... [more]

75. The State of the Other 22, Week 2 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 December 10, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 344 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

76. Good Morning Hoops Nation: November 25 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 November 25, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Tuesdays mean no lollygagging, goldbricking or hanging out in the alley. This is contest day, and we have a prize to give out: a real live stuffed Bally. And in order to keep 99.9 percent of Hoops Nation from feeling sorry for itself, we have another contest on deck. Hello, Bally ... [more]

77. Good Morning Hoops Nation: November 24 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 November 24, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- For my money, the greatest movie about rock and roll music ever made is Stop Making Sense, the 1984 Talking Heads concert film directed by Jonathan Demme. The movie strikes a very personal note for me, because I take a 40 long jacket. Manufacturers don't tend to make that size, so... [more]

78. Game! Of! The! Night! 11/20/2008: North Texas at Sam Houston State by Kyle Whelliston

S5 November 20, 2008 North Texas at Sam Houston State Johnson Coliseum - Huntsville, TX 8:00 PM EST It's great to catch up with our old friends from Texas. At around this time last year, both the Mean Green and Bearkats were burrs in some Big XII saddles -- North Texas beat Oklahoma State by nine, while SHSU took out ... [more]

79. Good Morning Hoops Nation: November 17 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 November 17, 2008 PITTSBURGH -- When something like this happens, when 111-103 happens, when a little military school from western Virginia marches into venerable old Rupp Arena and runs the home team off its own floor, it's never about the victor. That's just the way these things work. The tale, as it's commonly bei... [more]

80. Tourney Central (Completed Brackets) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 17, 2008 Bullet Points In the final final in mid-majordom, Texas-Arlington emerged as surprise Southland champs. All hail! We had 78 entries into our "guess-the-play-in-matchup" contest on Saturday, and not a single correct answer. The correct pairing, as we all know now, is Coppin State (MEAC) against Moun... [more]

81. Tourney Central 3/12/2008 (Day 9) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 12, 2008 Bullet Points Three more automatic bids were awarded last night. Full 100 percent congratulations to Butler, double-champions of the Horizon League, as well as Oral Roberts, three-time titlists of the Mid-Con cum Summit cum Badlands Conference. Western Kentucky is back in the Dance from the Sun B... [more]

82. Tourney Central 3/11/2008 (Day 8) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 11, 2008 Bullet Points Scissors and ladders were indeed used last night, as four mid-major champions ascended to thrones. Davidson streaked to a third consecutive title in the SoCon, George Mason survived the Colonial tourney, Siena is the double-champ in the MAAC, and San Diego stole the WCC title from Gon... [more]

83. Tourney Central 3/9/2008 (Day 6) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 9, 2008 Bullet Points Three autobids were given out yesterday. All hail mighty Winthrop of the Big South, Austin Peay of the Ohio Valley Conference, and the Atlantic Sun's Belmont. All are off to the Big Dance! One final today -- the championship of the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake and Illinois State... [more]

84. Game! Of! The! Night! 3/3/2008: North Carolina A&T at Hampton by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 3, 2008 North Carolina A&T at Hampton (MEAC) Convocation Center - Hampton, VA 8:00 PM EST Morgan State has pretty much run away with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference race, clinching the No. 1 seed last week and winning a 39-36 American-style football game at defending regular-season titlist... [more]

85. The Boubacar 2/29/2008 (Clincher Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 29, 2008 LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- Last night was a great evening for regular-season champions, all of which have now clinched at least a spot in the National Invitation Tournament. In addition to five crownings last night, Belmont took a share of the Atlantic Sun title with an 11-point win over Campbell. We ha... [more]

86. Game! Of! The! Night! 2/28/2008: Wright State at Butler by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 28, 2008 Wright State at Butler (Horizon League) Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN 9:00 PM EST With the way the Horizon League race has shaped up, this could simply be the second of three dogfights between the Bulldogs and the Raiders (who are canines, you know). With a win at home here, Butler ... [more]

87. The State Of The Other 22, Week 15 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 26, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

88. Game! Of! The! Night! 2/23/2008: Drake at Butler by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 23, 2008 Drake at Butler Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, IN (ESPN BracketBusters) 5:00 PM EST If you've been reading along this year, this game needs no introduction. It's the two best chances we here at the mid-major level have for deep NCAA runs, No. 1 (Drake) and No. 2 (Butler) in our . They a... [more]

89. The State Of The Other 22, Week 12 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 5, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

90. The State Of The Other 22, Week 11 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 29, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

91. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/21/2008: North Carolina A&T at Delaware State by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 21, 2008 North Carolina A&T at Delaware State (MEAC) Memorial Hall - Dover, DE 7:30 PM EST The news channels say that this is a day for "remembering" and "celebrating" the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. which has always struck me as a superficial invitation that may or may not include par... [more]

92. The State Of The Other 22, Week 9 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 16, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a brand-new ratings system that uses a lot of good basketball sense, per-game team performance ratings and degradation of older results to rank the teams from No. 1 to 341 (here's the long-winded version). In its overall form, it retroactively picked three of the F... [more]

93. The Boubacar 1/8/2008 (Bob Mo Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 8, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- I want to share with you an idea I had this morning. I'll do anything necessary to make this possible, but I think that next November somebody should hold a Multi-Team Event just for relentlessly uptempo teams. The naming rights are open for purchase by any beverage manufacturer, ... [more]

94. Game! Of! The! Night! 12/28/2007: Butler at Southern Illinois by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 28, 2007 Butler (Horizon) at Southern Illinois (Missouri Valley) The SIU Arena - Carbondale, IL 9:00 PM EST This weekend is the official start of the Valley season, but we've got a little bit of nonconference business to take care of. We have the ESPN-mandated return game of last season's premier B... [more]

95. The Boubacar 12/7/2007 (Boubacar Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 7, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- It's taken a week, but I believe we have all the entries in our Pop Loser contest, most of which took as much time as media mail to arrive because of e-mail clog on this end. And of our 22 entries, I had to eliminate 15 of them. The point was not to point out an instance of refere... [more]

96. Game! Of! The! Night! 12/3/2007: Towson at Delaware by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 3, 2007 Towson at Delaware (Colonial) Bob Carpenter Center -- Newark, DE 7:00 PM EST After a crazy upside-down backwards day in the CAA, we get a night of hoops from members of what's been the bottom half of the league recently. It's the only conference game in Hoops Nation tonight, and it'll be c... [more]

97. The Boubacar 12/3/2007 (Hey! Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 3, 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The "e" in e-mail was supposed to stand for "emproved" and "enstant." It was designed to be better than regular mail, because it would arrive there the second you sent it and you can feel confident enough in the system that every e-mail will be properly received. Sure, you can't ... [more]

98. Game! Of! The! Night! 12/1/2007: Hampton vs. Howard by Kyle Whelliston

S4 November 30, 2007 Hampton vs. Howard (MEAC) Madison Square Garden -- New York, NY (Big Apple Classic) 9:00 PM EST We figure you already know about the big mid-major vs. major games on Saturday's docket (Duke-Davidson in Charlotte, Indiana @ SIU, Michigan @ Harvard, Seton Hall @ Saint Mary's, Texas Tech @ Ce... [more]

99. The Boubacar 11/15/2007 (Free Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 November 15, 2007 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- "Yo," my mid-major "peeps." Before we kick off this morning's Boubacar action, I just wanted to let you know that we're running a free preview of Basketball State today. It's one of your last chances to grab a 12-month subscription at the early season price before it goes up ne... [more]

100. Matters of Life and Death (Epilogue, The Third) by Kyle Whelliston

S3 March 28, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I., Mar. 28 -- All animate organisms, from the globbiest amoeba to the most intricate human machine, share one thing in common: life. Life is what keeps you going, it's the light before the beginning of the tunnel. The meaning of life is simply this: it means so much that nobody can sur... [more]

101. Tourney Central 3/7/07 by Kyle Whelliston

S3 March 7, 2007 Bullet Points Wright State are double-champions of the Horizon League, having beaten a Butler team that's been all up in the national grill this season. Do you take the Raiders seriously yet? Oral Roberts, repeat double champions of the mighty mighty Mid-Con, and North Texas has claimed the champion... [more]

102. Tourney Central 3/6/07 by Kyle Whelliston

S3 March 6, 2007 Bullet Points Three championships were settled yesterday. All hail Virginia Commonwealth, double champions of the grand old Colonial, who held off a pesky George Mason team. And congratulations to Niagara, which beat Siena to claim the MAAC tournament championship. Oh yeah, andUnnamed Major Program ... [more]

103. The Daily Paragraph 1/15/2007 (King Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S3 January 15, 2007 LORMAN, Miss. -- BracketBusters season starts in just under two weeks, and that's why we here at the Mid-Majority have put together this little map, so you can start scouting out the home teams (orange) and away teams (grey) and dream about matchups leading into the pairing announcement on Jan. 28. ... [more]

104. Definitions: What's a Mid-Major? by Kyle Whelliston

S3 December 19, 2006 There's a debate raging in Hoops Nation, one that has very little relevance whatsoever to anything relevant. It's supposed to be about respect, honor and parity. It should be about ball control, free throws and the flex offense. And sure, it's about basketball -- a little bit -- but it's also about ... [more]

105. Nostradumbass by Kyle Whelliston

S1 March 14, 2005 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 e... [more]

106. Tourney Central 3/8/2005 by Kyle Whelliston

S1 March 8, 2005 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. The run of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies of the Mid-Con continued, they'... [more]

107. Dribblings 2/15/2005 (Seeds Of Love Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 February 15, 2005 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 Valent... [more]

108. Dribblings 2/8/2005 (Streaky Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 February 8, 2005 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' seas... [more]

109. Dribblings 2/4/2005 (Geek Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 February 4, 2005 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... [more]

110. Dribblings 1/30/2005 (Shaken and Stirred Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 January 30, 2005 Results from Shakedown Saturday are in! And here they are! Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 88, Oral Roberts 74 (story) - Okay, UMKC Kangaroos, here's your "for real" tag. Wear it proudly. With four minutes left, they were up by only four and had lost their entire two-man backcourt to foul disqu... [more]

111. Intervention by Kyle Whelliston

S1 January 28, 2005 Game 043: at Rider 75, Manhattan 46 Thursday, January 27, 2005 Alumni Gym - Lawrenceville, NJ Nobody ever mistook Alumni Gym for a Hoops Cathedral. Thick clumps of dust and mold cling to its crusty stucco walls and ceiling, and the low-hanging fluorescent cage-lamps assure that a migraine headache ... [more]

112. Dribblings 1/11/2005 (Wrong! Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 January 11, 2005 Mid-Continent: Western IIlinois 85, Oral Roberts 83 (story) - I said last week that we wouldn't be bothering to mention WIU that much this year, but I was brutally incorrect. ORU (11-4, 2-1 Mid-Con) couldn't get through their first conference road trip perfect, and 1,291 Leatherneck fans saw it happ... [more]

113. Dribblings 12/31/2004 (Not-So-Fearless Prediction Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 December 31, 2004 Missouri Valley: IIlinois State 62, Southwest Missouri State 61 (story) - I apologize in advance if this site goes through January and February stretches where it seems like the All-Valley Blog, but this league is going to be red-hot. Illinois State (8-3, 1-1 MVC) is rising Phoenix-like from a disas... [more]

114. Die By The Three by Kyle Whelliston

S1 December 29, 2004 Game 021: at Drexel 76, Monmouth 47 Tuesday, December 28, 2004 Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Like so many great things, it all started at the University of Oregon. Hall Of Fame coach Howard "Hobby" Hobson led the Ducks back in the Forties, and he also served on the NCAA ru... [more]

115. Dribblings 12/19/2004 (Thunder In The Valley Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 December 19, 2004 The West Coast Conference and Missouri Valley have a lot in common these days: both are inspiring mid-major geeks almost to the point of bad poetry, both have decent records against power leagues (MVC: 3-7, WCC: 8-10), and both can say that every team but one has a winning non-conference record so f... [more]

116. Dribblings 11/30/2004 (Agriculture & Mining Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 November 30, 2004 Georgia State 85, Louisiana-Lafayette 78 (story) - A good Atlantic Sun club beat a bigger and stronger Ragin' Cajun team - one picked by many to storm through the Sun Belt Conference this year - by making their free throws down the stretch. It was the front end of a rare non-conference home-and-home... [more]

Resources

Bally Club Signup/Activate
Bally 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