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: Saint Louis Billikens
Sorted by date

1. Dotson Leads Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen by William P Harty Jr

S9 March 30, 2013 In the round of 32 in San Jose, the first game of the afternoon matched fourth-seeded Saint Louis University with the (underseeded?) twelfth-seeded University of Oregon. The Billikens (28-6) reached this game by defeating WAC Champion New Mexico State 64-44 on Thursday; they had won their prior fiv... [more]

2. Dwayne Evans Too Much for the Aggies by William P Harty Jr

S9 March 30, 2013 I was sure at the end of my nineteen-game week in Las Vegas (the WCC final, all 18 M/W WAC tournament games) that my season was over. I was so tired that I slept the entire trip on the plane home, through the St. Patrick's Day party at my spouse's college roommate's home, and through the family bir... [more]

3. The Billikens Win The War by Craig Hanford

S9 March 26, 2013 Game 11 of the Atlantic 10 tournament was the championship game between the league's two best teams. Last month, in its Chaifetz Arena, Saint Louis had defeated VCU handily, keyed by a 21-1 first half run that left little doubt as to the ultimate result. In this rematch at the Barclays Center, th... [more]

4. Reflection and Anticipation by Raymond Curren

S9 March 19, 2013 "When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived."- Henry David ThoreauBROOKLYN, N.Y. - For most of us, reflection is not a large part of our daily lives. We have a list of things in our brain that we feel we have to accomplish, and we mentally cross them off when they are compl... [more]

5. Success and Perspective by Raymond Curren

S9 March 17, 2013 "Or watch the things you gave your life to broken;And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools." - If, Rudyard KiplingBROOKLYN, N.Y. - Because you get oblivious to such things in March, I was totally unaware New York City was having its St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday instead of Sunday this ... [more]

6. The Billiken Hat Trick by Craig Hanford

S9 March 17, 2013 Butler got its third shot at Saint Louis this season in the A-10 semifinal. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Billikens were determined to be their "local rival," so that they were the one team that Butler played twice in conference play. Gee, thanks a lot! Saint Louis blasted Butler at their ... [more]

7. Workmanlike Billikens by Raymond Curren

S9 March 16, 2013 "I like boring things."- Andy WarholBROOKLYN, N.Y. - Look, I understand my job here is to try to make every game I attend as interesting as possible, but it's also to be honest to you. That's hopefully where my credibility and reliability come from; you as the reader can trust me to bring you the b... [more]

8. The One with the 13-0 Run by Craig Hanford

S9 March 16, 2013 Saint Louis University has been the class of the Atlantic-10 Conference this season. They have ridiculous balance and good depth, so while no particular individual may scare you significantly coming into a game, they have six or seven guys who are more than capable of being the star on any given n... [more]

9. Dawgs Chasing Cars by Craig Hanford

S9 March 3, 2013 As the end of February approached, we finally reached the first conference home game on the schedule that all Butler fans had circled - the rematch against Saint Louis. The Bulldogs were embarrassed by the Billikens in late January, and this game would allow them the opportunity to avenge that loss... [more]

10. Rematch at Hinkle by James Squire

S9 February 25, 2013 After the beat-down I witnessed at Chaifetz Arena 3 weeks ago, I was hoping to see a much better game tonight in the rematch. I regret that I failed to give myself plenty of time to get there. I had meant to give myself an extra hour, in case there were traffic problems, but once I hit the road, I ... [more]

11. Havoc Quelled by James Squire

S9 February 25, 2013 Butler and VCU both home games for the A-10 school that plays in the metropolitan area where I live? I'm there, looking to see how these Final Four combatants from 2 years ago will fair. The Butler game turned out to be one-sided, but I was still pumped to see how #HAVOC would fare at Chaifetz Aren... [more]

12. Living Forever, Temporarily by Raymond Curren

S9 February 23, 2013 INDIANAPOLIS - The biggest dilemma in writing, no matter what the genre, often doesn't come down to what to include, but what to omit.Wonderful scribes sometimes get bogged down in detail, leaving their audience moving one way than another, never quite wrapping the seemingly wonderful details into ... [more]

13. Those Darn Kids by Daniel Spewak

S9 February 19, 2013 Kids these days. The worst, right? No respect for authority. No maturity. Always need something handed to them, don't know the meaning of hard work, never had to fight for anything in their lives. They play too many video games. They don't read enough books. They are too overweight. They don't vote... [more]

14. Gone But Still Here by Raymond Curren

S9 February 8, 2013 "Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or ... [more]

15. This is not Butler by James Squire

S9 February 5, 2013 So might have said Bob Ramsey after this one. Or not; I didn't listen to much of the post-game show.I hadn't planned to go to this game, but a friend of mine had an extra ticket at half-price through something called "Living Social", so I jumped at the chance. He brought his two young boys along an... [more]

16. This is not Savannah State by James Squire

S9 February 5, 2013 So said, St. Louis' own Bob Ramsey, who ritually announces a Billiken 3 with "BANG!" As I pulled out of the parking garage next to Chaifetz Arena, Ramsey wanted to make sure SLU fans knew that this was no cupcake win. Either that, or he was just so blown away by what he had seen that his Hype-O-Me... [more]

17. Avoiding the Obvious by Donovan Potts

S9 January 3, 2013 "You know, I could always go down and get post-game sound from SIUE and SLU."I had thrown it out there just as a suggestion, an effort to stave off boredom or keep myself from a worse fate. With a light snow continuing to fall around St. Louis, it was only a matter of time before those in charge of... [more]

18. My Hero, In Front of Me by Daniel Spewak

S9 January 1, 2013 As a teenager, I read only one genre. Sports. No Harry Potter. No Lord of the Rings. If I was going to read something, it was going to be real, dammit, not a story about magicians or hobbits.My favorite book of all-time is "Season on the Brink" by John Feinstein, detailing Bobby Knight's 1985-86 In... [more]

19. Missing Rick Majerus by Daniel Spewak

S9 January 1, 2013 The only physical reminder of the late Rick Majerus sits high atop the rafters at Chaifetz Arena, a simple, blue-and-white banner commemorating his 517 career victories.There is nothing glamorous about it. It sums up Majerus' contributions to college basketball from a purely utilitarian perspective... [more]

20. Life is in Charge by James Squire

S9 December 5, 2012 Game #9-124: Valparaiso Crusaders at Saint Louis BillikensDecember 2, 2012 4:30 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/Recap Today's game takes place under the shadow of death. Last night, as I waited to place my dinner order with 20-30 Valpo alumni from the St. Louis area in a private room at Joe Buck's Res... [more]

21. Teamwork is Sacrifice, and Sacrifice is Hard by James Squire

S9 November 11, 2012 Game #9-008: South Carolina-Upstate Spartans at Saint Louis BillikensNovember 9, 2012 8:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/Recap It’s hard to get past the fact that until this year I had never even heard of USC Upstate. A brief scan of their website suggests that they were Division II until a few year... [more]

22. Then And Now Mark I -- A-10 Rumpus by Craig Caswell

S8 February 2, 2012 Game #8-494: Saint Louis Billikens at Dayton FlyersJanuary 4, 2012 8:00 pmU. of Dayton ArenaBBState Stats/RecapAUTHOR’S NOTE: Once every so often, I get so excited about something that I tend to bite off a bit more than I can chew. It has become readily apparent to me that my most recent something i... [more]

23. Instant Karma`s Gonna Get You by Mike Miller

S8 January 26, 2012 Game #8-460: Saint Louis Billikens at Xavier MusketeersJanuary 25, 2012 7:00 pmCintas CenterBBState Stats/Recap“Instant Karma's gonna get you, gonna knock you right on the headyou better get yourself togetherPretty soon you're gonna be dead.” Karma seems to have gotten the better of Xavier lately. ... [more]

24. Dressing Up Like the Haves by James Squire

S8 January 23, 2012 Game #8-442: Duquesne Dukes at Saint Louis BillikensJanuary 21, 2012 8:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/RecapGigantic arena with all the bells and whistles. Big time coach that once led a team to the final four. Your own ESPN commercial featuring your own mascot. The mystique of that mascot. A big m... [more]

25. When You Say Saint Louis... by Donovan Potts

S8 December 30, 2011 Game #8-310: Texas Southern Tigers at Saint Louis BillikensDecember 27, 2011 8:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/RecapThey came filing into the Jewel of Midtown slowly, each one wearing their trademark blue and white rugby shirts, carrying an instrument case in one hand and a music stand in the other... [more]

26. Double Duty by Donovan Potts

S8 December 18, 2011 Game #8-248: Alabama State Hornets at Saint Louis BillikensDecember 17, 2011 8:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/RecapVideographer. Photographer. Photojournalist. “Hey, Camera Guy!” I’ve answered to all of these. According to my current employer, my job title is Cameraperson. I work at a television s... [more]

27. RLU - Washington at Saint Louis 11/20/2011 by Brian Hayes

S8 November 22, 2011 Game #8-089: Washington Huskies at Saint Louis BillikensNovember 20, 2011 12:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/RecapLike most people who follow The Mid-Majority, I love basketball. Less than some, more than others, but it is one of the few things in life that I have always instinctually loved. Like m... [more]

28. St. Louis at SIU: Marathon Part 2 - You Can Go Home Again by Donovan Potts

S8 November 16, 2011 Game #8-038: Saint Louis Billikens at Southern Illinois SalukisNovember 15, 2011 8:05 pmThe SIU ArenaBBState Stats/Recap“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned... I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” ... [more]

29. Redrawing the Red Line by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 21, 2011 CHICAGO -- It may be a week from now, and it may be two weeks from now, but this is certin: no matter what, the Epilogue is coming. Judging from the outlines and drafts, this season's final post will be the longest yet. There's a lot of complicated information about the future to package as a downlo... [more]

30. 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]

31. 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]

32. Game 7-079: Princeton at Penn by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 9, 2011 Princeton Tigers at Pennsylvania QuakersMarch 8, 2011 7:00 pmThe PalestraBBState Stats/Recap The final conference regular season game in the country, one of the most ancient and storied rivalries in Hoops Nation. A lot on the line, too. Princeton wins to force an Ivy playoff against Harvard at Yal... [more]

33. 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]

34. Tourney Central 3/6/2011 (Day 6) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 March 6, 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]

35. 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]

36. 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]

37. Stardate 113-20110228: Like Sonny Liston by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 28, 2011 BOSTON -- There was never any master plan to any of it. The four-stage season and its familiar rhythms were formed by generations of pushes and pulls, and the best concepts became traditions. Putting the non-conference games at the beginning, holding separate league round-robins and eliminators, t... [more]

38. 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]

39. 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]

40. 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]

41. 800 Games Project: Practice Run No. 4 by Kyle Whelliston

S7 February 4, 2011 Friday mornings have become extra-enjoyable, because these game reports that are coming in are really great. While there's a lot of Season 7 left, I'm excited about Season 8, and the prospect of having well-written, well-executed student and passionate fan accounts of games across Hoops Nation to re... [more]

42. Game 7-038: Missouri State at Bradley by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 18, 2011 Missouri State Bears at Bradley BravesJanuary 16, 2011 8:00 pmCarver ArenaBBState Stats/Recap If one were to choose the city in the United States most victimized in jokes and anecdotes by theatrical personalities, the selection of Peoria, Illinois, would be a popular, if not likely choice. Two of ... [more]

43. 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]

44. Stardate 60-20110106: I.D. by Kyle Whelliston

S7 January 6, 2011 CHICAGO -- Many of the conferences in college athletics were born in hotel ballrooms somewhere, converted from ideas into working cooperatives by men in suits who took turns talking and occasionally sipped glasses of water. The league names and statements of purpose and guiding principles and slog... [more]

45. Stardate 44-20101221: The One With Embedded Charts by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 21, 2010 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- When do Red Line Upsets happen? Well, one timeframe when they don't is January and February. That's when everybody's playing conference games. So that means we are closing in on the end of rooting for the little guys, surprise @RedLineUpsets alerts on Twitter, and all of the oth... [more]

46. Illinois State Wins "The Moment" by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 17, 2010 We are pleased to announce that we have a winner in our "The Moment" writing contest. With 36 percent of a heavy vote and a very organized campaign, Stephen Spence and Illinois State have taken the prize home to Normal, and to the Valley. For his efforts, Stephen will be receiving a red and white ... [more]

47. Game 7-027: Jacksonville at Saint Louis by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 16, 2010 Jacksonville Dolphins at Saint Louis BillikensDecember 15, 2010 8:00 pmChaifetz ArenaBBState Stats/Recap Saint Louis University and Jacksonville University are two institutions of higher learning that aren't hiding from anybody. Their names betray their exact GPS locations, no state-location haystac... [more]

48. Stardate 39-20101216: Lunchbang by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 16, 2010 15:08@whelliston I just straight-up lunchbanged some Casey's General Store pizza and potato cheese wedges. #boOMFG15:38@caseysgenstore @whelliston: Happy to hear you enjoy our pizza :-)16:54@whelliston: I love it and want to marry it! RT @caseysgenstore: @whelliston: Happy to hear you enjoy our pi... [more]

49. Game 7-026: Trinity International at Chicago State by Kyle Whelliston

S7 December 15, 2010 Trinity International (NAIA) at Chicago State CougarsDecember 14, 2010 8:00 pmDickens CenterBBState Stats/Recap Chicago State is one of the weirdest ongoing stories in Division I, much less higher education. And while framing a New York Times story by using a nearly-empty basketball arena as a meta... [more]

50. Games 7-009/010/011: CBE Classic Subregional at Miami (Oh.) by Kyle Whelliston

S7 November 26, 2010 Green Bay Phoenix vs. San Diego State AztecsNovember 20, 2010 5:30 pmOxford, OHBBState Stats/RecapIUPUI Jaguars at Miami (Oh.) RedhawksNovember 20, 2010 8:00 pmMillett HallBBState Stats/RecapSan Diego State Aztecs at Miami (Oh.) RedhawksNovember 22, 2010 7:00 pmMillett HallBBState Stats/Recap Mil... [more]

51. Champions of Hoops Nation 2010 by Kyle Whelliston

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... [more]

52. The Hoops National: March 7, 2010 by The Robot

S6 March 7, 2010 This is the final Hoops National of the 2009-10 season. Big Games Atlantic 14: at Massachusetts 69, Rhode Island 67 MASS - 11-19 (5-11) [RPI: 200, State: 205] URI - 21-8 (9-7) [RPI: 30, State: 48] Star of the Game: Ricky Harris 28 Pts (10-21 FG, 6-11 FT), 7 Reb UMass Into A-14s With 69-67 Win O... [more]

53. The Hoops National: March 4, 2010 by The Robot

S6 March 4, 2010 NOTE: The Hoops National will only cover regular-season games for the remainder of the week. Big Games Atlantic 14: Temple 57, at Saint Louis 51 TU - 25-5 (13-2) [RPI: 19, State: 19] SLU - 19-10 (10-5) [RPI: 87, State: 80] Star of the Game: Lavoy Allen 18 Pts (9-12 FG, 0-1 FT), 14 Reb #16/20 Tem... [more]

54. The Hoops National: February 28, 2010 by The Robot

S6 February 28, 2010 Big Games Colonial: at Old Dominion 73, Virginia Commonwealth 70 ODU - 23-8 (15-3) [RPI: 42, State: 42] VCU - 20-8 (11-7) [RPI: 62, State: 49] Star of the Game: Frank Hassell 17 Pts (8-9 FG, 1-3 FT), 6 Reb REGULAR SEASON CAA CHAMPS: ODU Ends Perfect Home Season With Win Over VCU - Gerald Lee scor... [more]

55. The Hoops National: February 25, 2010 by The Robot

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... [more]

56. The Hoops National: February 18, 2010 by The Robot

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 ... [more]

57. The Hoops National: February 14, 2010 by The Robot

S6 February 14, 2010 Big Games Missouri Valley: at Bradley 68, Northern Iowa 59 BRAD - 13-12 (8-7) [RPI: 125, State: 147] UNI - 22-3 (13-2) [RPI: 15, State: 16] Star of the Game: Chris Roberts 13 Pts (6-8 FG, 1-1 FT), 2 Stl Bradley Knocks Off #18/19 UNI - Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebe... [more]

58. The Hoops National: February 9, 2010 by The Robot

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 ... [more]

59. The Hoops National: February 3, 2010 by Kyle Whelliston

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 ... [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. Tourney Central 3/14/2009 (Day 12) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 14, 2009 Bullet Points American won its second consecutive Patriot League championship, and is on to the NCAA Tournament once again. Dayton and Xavier, the two higher seeds, went down in the Atlantic 14 semifinals; this sets up an improbable 4/7 matchup between Temple and Duquesne. Other semifinal w... [more]

62. Tourney Central 3/13/2009 (Day 11) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 13, 2009 Bullet Points One championship to be decided this afternoon: that of the Patriot League, which has been winnowing down its field verrrry slowly since Tuesday, March 3rd. The Atlantic 14, MEAC, MAC, Big West, Southland, SWAC and WAC are down to final fours as the last weekend of Championship Fo... [more]

63. Tourney Central 3/12/2009 (Day 10) by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 12, 2009 Bullet Points Two more titlists after last night's action. Portland State defended its Big Sky title, and Robert Morris will return to the NCAA Tournament out of the Northeast Conference. The Southland Conference begins today with quarterfinals in Katy, Tex.. It's the last of our 23 conference... [more]

64. 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]

65. 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]

66. The State of the Other 22, Week 14 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 6, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a rapidly-aging 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 t... [more]

67. Good Morning Hoops Nation: March 5 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 5, 2009 NASHVILLE -- You might recall that there was a marathon chat announced to be held Friday (tomorrow) from the Valley quarterfinals. Due to a number of factors, that's being postponed. Instead, we'll try for a 12-hour chat next Thursday, and do a regular chat at 3:00 EST tomorrow that will overlap wit... [more]

68. Game! Of! The! Night! 3/4/2009: Saint Louis at Duquesne by Kyle Whelliston

S5 March 4, 2009 Saint Louis at Duquesne (Atlantic 14) A.J. Palumbo Center - Pittsburgh, PA 7:00 PM EST Last year's A-14 geosuperleague standings presented a big problem, you might remember: you had teams with high noncon content like Dayton and Rhode Island finding their .500 league records were good for one-way ... [more]

69. The State of the Other 22, Week 13 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 27, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a relatively 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 ... [more]

70. Game! Of! The! Night! 2/25/2009: Dayton at Rhode Island by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 25, 2009 Dayton at Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) Ryan Center - Kingston, RI 7:00 PM EST While the titans of college basketball sportswriting are off drooling over Kansas, or boo-hooing over Pittsburgh, or whatever they do up there, they're missing out on the big fun of the high-stakes race at the top of the A... [more]

71. The State of the Other 22, Week 12 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 20, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a somewhat 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 th... [more]

72. The State of the Other 22, Week 11 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 12, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a kinda-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]

73. Good Morning Hoops Nation: February 5 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 February 5, 2009 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Let's get this out of the way first: when the first place team loses to the last place team, it's definitely not good for the league profile. And when the overwhelming preseason favorite takes one in the collective stomach from a team that long ago unanimously passed a team rule b... [more]

74. The State of the Other 22, Week 9 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 January 30, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a sorta-newish 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 th... [more]

75. The State of the Other 22, Week 8 by Kyle Whelliston

S5 January 22, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a sorta newish 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 th... [more]

76. Game! Of! The! Night! 1/15/2009: Xavier at Rhode Island by Kyle Whelliston

S5 January 15, 2009 Xavier at Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) Ryan Center - Kingston, RI 7:05 PM EST On seventh thought, maybe the conference that contains four more teams than advertised and extends to the Gateway Arch should just rename itself the American 14. Think of the marketing excitement that would generate: "The ... [more]

77. Game! Of! The! Night! 12/4/2008: Saint Mary's at Kent State by Kyle Whelliston

S5 December 4, 2008 Saint Mary's at Kent State Memorial Athletics Center - Kent, OH 7:00 PM EST It was the BracketBuster game few stayed up to watch, but its effects had a resounding impact on the way the 2008 bracket was shaped. Al Fisher (28 points) helped propel the Golden Flashes over the nationally ranked Gaels ... [more]

78. 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]

79. 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]

80. Tourney Central 3/13/2008 (Day 10) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 13, 2008 Bullet Points Make way on the big bracket for two more mid-major champions: Mount Saint Mary's, surprise winners of the NEC out of a No. 4 seed, and Portland State, double-champions of the Big Sky. There were three exciting finishes in the Atlantic 14, with La Salle, Dayton and Charlotte pulling ou... [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. The Boubacar 3/10/2008 (Fifth-To-Last Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 March 10, 2008 ALBANY, N.Y. -- Yes indeed, the regular season is over. Everybody's into their conference tournaments now, and four are over already. And since The Boubacar is a regular-season thing, we'll be winding down this particular portion of the entertainment this week. But first and foremost, I wanted to l... [more]

83. 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]

84. The Boubacar 2/14/2008 (Streak Stopper Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 14, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- If you're an eagle-eyed reader, or just someone who can see things that are orange against a tan background, you have likely noticed the new Welmer-Whelliston Widget™ on the right side of the page. I can't believe the response to this since I announced it a couple weeks ago... [more]

85. The Boubacar 2/8/2008 (LOLBally Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 February 8, 2008 CHICAGO -- We're holding off on announcing the winner of our Hunan: Return of the Phoenix movie contest, because there are two sterling entries that we're having trouble choosing between. Right now, we're in the process of sending them to friends and asking them to tell us which one makes them laugh... [more]

86. The Boubacar 1/25/2008 (The Other Red Line Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 25, 2008 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- I tried to make it simple, I tried to offer the sound-bite answer. I tried to simplify things on the far side of complexity, because 'tis a gift to be simple. But I attempted to shave with Occam's razor, but ended up having to wear a small piece of toilet paper, attached with spit... [more]

87. The Boubacar 1/14/2008 (Stripped to the Waist Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 14, 2008 CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It's Monday, which means no cutesy-cutesy, no how-do-ya-do, no warm-up act jokes. Nearly every one of the 245 teams in Hoops Nation played over the weekend, and we're totally committed to mention at least two percent of those. It's all basketball today. Drake. No leading score... [more]

88. The Boubacar 1/11/2008 (Big Time Edition, Part 2) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 11, 2008 GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Super-size fast-food. Big Dog t-shirts. Enzyte. This is America, and everything is big. Real big. We all want to be big-time, and some of us do it by leading pieces with the kind of stuttering, oddly conversational, and totally incomplete sentences that have vaulted hack sports... [more]

89. The Boubacar 1/4/2008 (Atlantic 14 Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 January 4, 2008 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- I attended my first-ever Summit League game last night. Oh sure, I've been to plenty of Mid-Continent Conference games before, but things are different now. They've got a new name, new colors, and a new clip-art logo. Are their feelings of inadequacy solved? Hope so! Folks fro... [more]

90. The Boubacar 12/17/2007 (ARRRGH! Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 17, 2007 YOUNGSTOWN, Oh. -- It takes me so long to write these Boubacar intros, you can't even imagine. The pressure to write something clever and erudite is just... so immense. Usually takes about an hour just to have an idea, and that's after banging my forehead on the table until something figuraliterally... [more]

91. The Boubacar 12/14/2007 (Ginormous Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 14, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- It had to come to an end eventually, these two weeks of sitting at home, watching basketball, cooking dinner for the Official Wife and digging out the driveway. This weekend, I go out on the road again for a seven-day, eight-game trip through Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania. But ... [more]

92. The State Of The Other 22, Week 4 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 December 11, 2007 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 11/26/2007 (Supersize Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 November 26, 2007 BOONE, N.C. -- The problem with taking the holiday off from posting is that things happen, build up, force a gigantic Monday post. Here, then, is your long weekend in mid-major land. Saturday, November 24, 2007. After the pitch-blah of Black Friday came a sunburst of brightness, as hungry mids ove... [more]

94. The Travelogue: Chapter 1 by Kyle Whelliston

S4 November 12, 2007 Pittsburgh Late Saturday night, in the temporary Saint Louis locker room underneath the University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center, new Billikens head coach Rick Majerus rubbed his face crosswise and lengthwise, trying to invent things to say about a blowout win over Houston Baptist. Failing... [more]

95. The Boubacar 11/12/2007 (First Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S4 November 12, 2007 COLUMBUS, Oh. -- Daily roundups have been a Mid-Majority staple over the past three-plus years. They were known as "Daily Dribblings" during the first season, weren't given titles in Year Two -- an open pander to the surrealist Samuel Beckett fans who make up a good portion of my audience. Finally, ... [more]

96. Tourney Central 3/12/07 by Kyle Whelliston

S3 March 12, 2007 Bullet Points http://schools.basketballstate.com/TAMCC class=optn>Texas A&M-Corpus Christi won the Southland final, and Championship Fortnight has come to a close. It's Tournament Time! The Last Bracket All brackets on the Bracket City page have been replaced with the completed versions. ... [more]

97. 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]

98. Epilogue, The Second by Kyle Whelliston

S2 April 9, 2006 INDIANAPOLIS, Apr. 2 -- There are huge signs all over town -- on airport walls, strung over streetlights, over the main gate to the RCA Dome. They all read, "The Road Ends Here." There's also a giant logo on the side of the 45,000-seat venue, a green and gold star with zag-zigging trailers that has... [more]

99. Love It Or Give It Back by Kyle Whelliston

S1 March 10, 2005 Game 083: (W4) Richmond 68, (E5) Rhode Island 60 Atlantic 10 First Round Wednesday, March 9, 2005 U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH After driving through a snowstorm in the West Virginia mountains to make it to Cincinnati in time for the A-10 first round, I arrived at the riverfront U.S. Bank Aren... [more]

100. Mid-Majority Mailbag by Kyle Whelliston

S1 January 22, 2005 Like the saying goes, we do indeed get letters. Dude, you're only at 37 and you have two and a half months left. You're never going to make it to 100. Good luck though. Dave Champaign, IL Thank you for writing, highly-ranked power-conference friend. If I am between 45 and 50 by the end of January... [more]

101. Dribblings 12/30/2004 (ZZZ-fense Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 December 30, 2004 Southeast Missouri 65, Saint Louis 49 (story) - When you have a defensive club that has trouble scoring points, you'll still end up beating a few teams. When your defense goes missing and you still can't score points, everyone will beat you. This is the story of the Billikens, whose lost season (2-9... [more]

102. MMBOW #5: David Moss, Indiana State by Kyle Whelliston

S1 December 13, 2004 Kids sometimes ask me what it takes to be Mid-Majority Baller Of The Week. "Eat your vegetables," I tell them. "And always listen to your parents." After they tell me to go "F" myself, I bemoan the general coarsening of the Great American Dialogue. Then I say that they might achieve their dreams if ... [more]

103. Dribblings 11/28/2004 (C-USA Beatdown Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 November 28, 2004 A stocked slate of 113 games yesterday. Where to begin? Alaska-Anchorage 66, High Point 65 (story) - The Great Alaska Shootout gives us the season's first upset of a D1 team by a D2. The Big South's Panthers were up 12 halfway through the second half and let it slip away. Northern IIllinois 84, De... [more]

104. Dribblings 11/22/2004 (Upset City Edition) by Kyle Whelliston

S1 November 22, 2004 OK, so there are the headline upsets of this past weekend, like Santa Clara over North Carolina and Virginia over Arizona. But here are some other first-weekend results that stick out from the thicket. Long Island over Lehigh, 66-56 (story) - Patriot League defending champs give Penn State a game o... [more]

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