• 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: Temple Owls
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S9 March 20, 2013 In the A-10 tournament's fourth quarterfinal, the Temple Owls opened up against UMass. Coach Fran Dunphy's team had a fairly good conference season, finishing in a three-way tie for third place, and entering the tournament as the #3 seed due to their win over league champion Saint Louis. During ...
S9 March 18, 2013 Prior to this season, I have not attended many Charlotte basketball games. This game against Temple would be my sixth time at Halton Arena this season. I have enjoyed going to Charlotte this season as a way to acquaint myself with a higher mid-major program in the region. Charlotte's student sect...
S9 March 17, 2013 "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." - J.R.R. TolkienBROOKLYN, N.Y. - This fact was either disturbing or enlightening, or maybe a combination of both depending on your perspective, heading into Friday night's final Atlantic-10 quarterfinal between Temple and UMass. The t...
S9 February 3, 2013 January's schedule provided Butler with an unusual opportunity to become almost a temporarily adopted member of the famed Philadelphia Big 5. After a win over Penn at Hinkle on the 2nd, a road win over Saint Joseph's on the 9th, and a road loss at LaSalle on the 23rd that broke the Bulldogs' 13-g...
S9 January 21, 2013 "Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession." - Apollo CreedPHILADELPHIA - The Broad Street Bullies was one of the great nicknames in all of sports history, just as the building they played in - The Spectrum - was ...
S9 December 23, 2012 "Have no fear of perfection. You'll never reach it." - Salvador DaliNEW YORK- We always want everything to be flawless in our lives. At least that's what we strive for. Whether it's a Thanksgiving dinner, a presentation to our co-workers, o...
S8 February 15, 2012 Game #8-569: Xavier Musketeers at Temple OwlsFebruary 11, 2012 9:00 pmThe Liacouras CenterBBState Stats/RecapWhen I heard that Temple's game Saturday night was going to be a white-out, I was even more excited than I thought possible for the game, which already had everything going for it. Saturday n...
S8 January 30, 2012 Game #8-483: Saint Joseph`s Hawks at Temple OwlsJanuary 28, 2012 4:00 pmThe Liacouras CenterBBState Stats/RecapSometimes, things just turn out better than you might expect them to, even better than you could've dreamed.Last February, when the St. Joseph's Hawks came to the Liacouras Center, the Temp...
S8 January 22, 2012 Game #8-427: Maryland Terrapins vs. Temple OwlsJanuary 21, 2012 11:00 amPhiladelphia, PABBState Stats/RecapFor the longest time, I had never managed seen a game at the hallowed Palestra, the Cathedral of College Basketball. It's always been a matter of finding the right situation to see a game -- Ph...
S8 January 8, 2012 Game #8-358: Dayton Flyers at Temple OwlsJanuary 7, 2012 4:00 pmPhiladelphia, PABBState Stats/RecapBefore the game, Dad and I went over to Dalessandro's in Roxborough for steaks. (That'd be cheesesteaks. Yes, with Cheese Whiz. Those of you elsewhere in the country, particularly the Northwest, please...
S8 January 6, 2012 Game #8-344: Duke Blue Devils at Temple OwlsJanuary 4, 2012 7:00 pmPhiladelphia, PABBState Stats/RecapI've never attended school above the Red Line for a single day. One of the main reasons I haven't is because I've never wanted to go to a school where nights like Wednesday aren't special.As a senio...
S8 January 5, 2012 Game #8-344: Duke Blue Devils at Temple OwlsJanuary 4, 2012 7:00 pmPhiladelphia, PABBState Stats/RecapEven as I write this, I want to re-watch the game again and figure out exactly how Duke lost. Temple is still missing two injured starters; importantly in this match-up, the Owls played without Mich...
S8 December 12, 2011 Game #8-000: Villanova Wildcats at Temple OwlsDecember 10, 2011 5:00 pmThe Liacouras CenterBBState Stats/RecapSometimes, the business side of Our Game is enough to make one start questioning why you even love it to begin with. The recent shuffling of conferences has changed the outlook of the sport....
S8 December 10, 2011 Game #8-213: Villanova Wildcats at Temple OwlsDecember 10, 2011 5:00 pmThe Liacouras CenterBBState Stats/RecapI am going to try my best to follow Rule 7 of the 800 Game Project, but when Temple beats Villanova by 11, it's hard not walk out of the arena with a big grin on your face.This game was not ...
S8 November 28, 2011 Game #8-144: Temple Owls at Bowling Green FalconsNovember 27, 2011 2:00 pmAnderson ArenaBBState Stats/RecapThe Falcons pulled off what might well be their biggest non-conference win of the Orr era and certainly their biggest win in the Stroh Center, as they battled a very good Temple team for 40 tea...
S8 November 16, 2011 Game #8-034: Temple Owls at Pennsylvania QuakersNovember 14, 2011 7:00 pmThe PalestraBBState Stats/Recap "Who are we playing tonight anyway?" My friend asked me as we made the short drive from Temple's campus in North Philadelphia to the Palestra."Penn.""Oh, so it's not a real game then?"The respons...
S8 November 16, 2011 Game #8-034: Temple Owls at Pennsylvania QuakersNovember 14, 2011 7:00 pmThe PalestraBBState Stats/RecapIn the essay E Unibas Pluram, David Foster Wallace (whom you may know from his non-fiction work like Consider the Lobster or his NY Times magazine article on Roger Federer) analyzes the relationsh...
S7 March 30, 2011 Last year, around this time, we talked about the need for The Document, a comprehensive encapsulation of current glory that could be properly referenced and recalled later. It's one thing to offer a rote retelling of events, but it's more important and more difficult to be able to remember how it ...
S7 March 27, 2011 [12] Richmond Spiders vs. [1] Kansas JayhawksMarch 25, 2011 7:27 pmSan Antonio, TXBBState Stats/Recap The distance between the Round of 32 and the Sweet Sixteen is so long, the possibilities so tantalizing. The hopes of an upstart No. 12 seed become outsized, and an Atlantic One's dreams can grow ...
S7 March 19, 2011 CLEVELAND -- From 26 at the start of the week, there are only six teams left from the Other 25 conferences. Three games of local interest today, and while we're assured of one from our side of the Line to move forward, we cannot have more than three of the four advance. It happens. In this case, i...
S7 March 17, 2011 CLEVELAND -- We'd be remiss if we didn't give you The Diff. Especially considering where we are this weekend! We do this every season during the NCAA Tournament: We sidestep the boilerplate game previews and give you the only numbers that really matter. For the games involving teams in Other 25 conf...
S7 March 13, 2011 [9] Dayton Flyers vs. [3] Richmond SpidersMarch 13, 2011 2:00 pmAtlantic City, NJBBState Stats/Recap After ten days, six leagues, 21 games, over 2,000 miles and two all-night drives, Championship Fortnight is at an end for us. It all culminates in the Atlantic 14 title game, and Spider destiny. Bu...
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...
S7 March 13, 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 PointsOn the penult...
S7 March 12, 2011 [12] Saint Joseph's Hawks vs. [9] Dayton FlyersMarch 12, 2011 1:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap [3] Richmond Spiders vs. [2] Temple OwlsMarch 12, 2011 3:30 pmBBState Stats/Recap AP The Atlantic Four become an Atlantic Two, without any Philadelphia representation for the first time since 2007. It does alw...
S7 March 12, 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 PointsA hearty 'Ray'...
S7 March 12, 2011 [10] La Salle Explorers vs. [2] Temple OwlsMarch 11, 2011 6:30 pmBBState Stats/Recap Rhode Island Rams vs. Richmond SpidersMarch 11, 2011 9:00 pmBBState Stats/Recap After a pair of quarterfinal upsets that set up a 9/12 semifinal, the evening session of the Atlantic 14 tourney goes according to se...
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 ...
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...
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...
S7 March 3, 2011 George Washington Colonials at Rhode Island RamsMarch 2, 2011 7:00 pmRyan CenterBBState Stats/Recap There's a bye on the line! Atlantic 14 tiebreakers and scoreboard-watching, another Senior Night (with the student section), A-14 Title R compliance, small amounts on giant checks, Jack Kvancz's ret...
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. ...
S7 February 26, 2011 Saint Bonaventure Bonnies at Saint Joseph's HawksFebruary 26, 2011 4:00 pmHagan ArenaBBState Stats/Recap Phil Martelli: don't call him Coach? Hard times on City Line, Hawk funerals, welding Saint Bonaventure back together after a decade of adversity, buff mascots, and THE BELLYFILLERS. @midmajori...
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...
S7 February 18, 2011 CHICAGO -- Once upon a time in a city of big windy shoulders, there was a basketball game between two schools at the bottom of the Horizon League. Loyola (Ill.) beat the University of Illinois at Chicago 55-50. This wasn't any ordinary game. will go down in history as the first game ever broadcast...
S7 February 18, 2011 Southern Utah Thunderbirds at IUPUI JaguarsFebruary 17, 2011 7:00 pmThe JungleBBState Stats/Recap Bally goes college, the most Caucasian And 1 Mixtape Tour stop ever, Badlands swimming and diving, Mid-Con Appreciation Night, and a return to the scene of an old temp job. @midmajority Game Tweets18...
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 ...
S7 February 15, 2011 RICHMOND, Va. -- For most of recorded history, things that weren't paid for didn't happen. Take the Old West, for instance. You think saloons allowed tabs? As long as there were four-legged vehicles tied to the post out front, every customer represented a potential flight risk. Plus, there was alw...
S7 February 10, 2011 Your Last Man Live entries were quite enjoyable to read. I also got a kick out of trying to figure out who the Conduit was and following the #LastMan and #FindLastMan twitter hashtags. Congrats on making it past day two anyways.- FrankPROVIDENCE, R.I. -- And so after two days, 11 hours, 23 minutes...
S7 February 7, 2011 ?????, ?.?. -- Hello from back here on Sunday evening. As for the future present, we are playing our annual game of Last Man, and avoiding The Knowledge as best as possible. But we must always attend to our regular duties, which is sharing the good kind of knowledge with Hoops Nation. What a crazy...
S7 February 7, 2011 Harvard Crimson at Pennsylvania QuakersFebruary 5, 2011 7:00 pmThe PalestraBBState Stats/Recap The last real Palestra soft pretzel, and double overtime. @midmajority Game Tweets18:12 RT @gashaheen: Be a NCAA Bkb Comm member - Step 1: make YOUR list of no-brainer teams "in" + a list of those whic...
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...
S7 February 3, 2011 Today is National Pixelvision Day, and the festivities will last from 7 pm ET to after midnight. If you'd like to get involved, shuttle down. PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- An old hippie once proclaimed that information wants to be free. He was a publisher whose bound publication eventually folded. Me, I thi...
S7 January 24, 2011 Illinois-Chicago Flames at Loyola (Ill.) RamblersJanuary 22, 2011 4:00 pmJoseph Gentile CenterBBState Stats/Recap In a century of progress, college basketball has proven to be infinitely scalable: from the cramped quarters of the 3,400-seat oldest living Division I gymnasium at Fordham to a 90,000...
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...
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 ...
S7 December 15, 2010 In 1996, Malik Rose recruited me to Drexel University. Not in person, but through a 17-inch TV set. The invite came in the form of slam dunks and jump shots. I was living in Oregon, looking for an east coast school to attend, and there was this 6-foot-7 guy, leading the Dragons to a 12-over-5 upset...
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...
S7 December 7, 2010 @midmajority there have been 59 red line upsets, @TempleUniv has three of them. What is the single-school single-season record?- @clivedaddy (via Twitter)CHICAGO -- That's a fantastic question, Mr. Daddy! We've gone into our six-year archive of RLU history and discovered that the two seasons with th...
S7 December 6, 2010 Hi Kyle, I have been reading TMM religiously since I discovered in in 2007 (the ESPN years) and this is the best Season yet. I had a question about your use of the royal we. I was also a big fan of Deadspin in the old Carl Monday/YWML days, and remember how Will Leitch used it all the time when refe...
S7 December 1, 2010 VESTAL, N.Y. -- The first time I visited Binghamton University for a basketball game was in early 2005. Season One. It was number 34 of the original 100 Games Project. My goodness, how simpler times were back then. The Bearcats, in their fourth year of Division I membership, drew 2,700 people to t...
S7 December 1, 2010 Canisius Golden Griffins at Binghamton BearcatsNovember 30, 2010 7:00 pmMid-Majority Events CenterBBState Stats/Recap I want to just talk to the Binghamton people for a second. Just the Binghamton people. OK, does 30 percent of the student population have red hair? Seriously, what's the deal? @mi...
S6 April 4, 2010 : INDIANAPOLIS -- At this point, the random logic of the heart is far ahead of the reasoning of raw numbers. Of course a little private school with non-scholarship football can beat a mammoth sports machine that spends almost as much on men's basketball ($9 million) as it does on all sports ($11 m...
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 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 14, 2010 Bullet Points Seven championships were decided on the penultimate day of Championship Fortnight. All hail Vermont, back in the Dance for the first time since 2005 (Season 1) and also for the first time in the Mike Lonergan era. Congratulations to Morgan State; the Bears navigated the always-difficu...
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 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...
S6 March 3, 2010 NOTE: The Hoops National will only cover regular-season games for the remainder of the week. Games of Note at Gonzaga 78, Cal State Bakersfield 59 GONZ - 25-5 (12-2) [RPI: 30, State: 33] CSB - 7-22 (0-0) [RPI: 321, State: 295] Star of the Game: Matt Bouldin 15 Pts (5-11 FG, 3-3 FT), 6 Reb No. 1...
S6 March 1, 2010 Big Games Atlantic 14: at Xavier 78, Richmond 76 (2OT) XU - 21-7 (12-2) [RPI: 18, State: 18] RICH - 22-7 (11-3) [RPI: 26, State: 36] Star of the Game: Jamel McLean 9 Pts (2-3 FG, 5-6 FT), 13 Reb Men's Basketball Takes No. 23/24 Richmond to OT2, Pulls Out 78-76 Win - Led by sophomore Terrell Holl...
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 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...
S6 February 11, 2010 The State of College Basketball is a 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 Final Four ...
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 4, 2010 The State of College Basketball is a 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 Final Four ...
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 ...
S6 February 2, 2010 College Hoops... by the Numbers! Last night, Jackson State held off Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the G!O!T!N! by a 72-67 count, stifling the Golden Lions' second-half comeback from out of a 17-point halftime hole. The Tigers withstood disqualifications on fouls to nearly their entire starting five, to ...
S6 January 11, 2010 PHILADELPHIA -- On June 6, 2001, the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-101 in overtime. It was Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and the Allen Iverson-led Sixers catapulted to a quick series lead. It was a promising harbinger of a championship, since the game was out west, on the road. Ph...
S5 March 21, 2009 MINNEAPOLIS -- Just so we're clear, we don't care about your brackets. We know you want to talk about who you "have," about how three of your eight website entries are totally and thoroughly busted, and how you'll never win that $84.50 in the office pool now. We don't want to hear about how you...
S5 March 20, 2009 MINNEAPOLIS -- There's no day more exciting and more highly anticipated than First Round Thursday, and there's no 12 hours quite as difficult to get through. As soon as the games begin, the NCAA Tournament teaches a hard lesson about the perfection that's necessary to compete against enemies with mo...
S5 March 16, 2009 Aside from reality show winners and one-hit wonders, nothing is forgotten quite as quickly as Championship Fortnight when the NCAA Tournament brackets are released. Some of the teams we've been following all season are destined for great and lasting glory, which will be fulfilled and certified once ...
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...
S5 March 15, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a decrepit old 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...
S5 March 15, 2009 Bullet Points Seven championships were awarded on Saturday. Binghamton won its first-ever America East title; Morgan State is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever out of the MEAC. Temple repeated as Atlantic 14 champions; Akron is on the Big Bracket for the first time since 1986. Alabam...
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
S5 March 11, 2009 HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- With our third-to-last GMHN of Season 5, we have a very special treat for you, yes we do. The image you see over and over during Championship Fortnight is students running all willy-nilly onto the floor after their beloved teams win mid-major titles. So it's only fitting that w...
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...
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...
S5 March 5, 2009 Dayton at Xavier (Atlantic 14) Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 9:00 PM EST In a conference with a geographical footprint so big you can see it from space, tonight you can boil everything down to four letters: XU and UD. Or just X and D, if you think the University identifier isn't necessary. There...
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...
S5 March 4, 2009 NASHVILLE -- They're the greatest two weeks in Hoops Nation, these. Conference teams are racked up in brackets according to regular-season performance, we determine a championship for each league on the court, and the ultimate winner gets to go all the way to March Madness, the kind on CBS. League t...
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 ...
S5 February 26, 2009 ATHENS, Ohio -- As was noted in this kind piece by the newspaper I spent my college career wishing I could work for, next week marks the beginning of what we're really here for, what this is really all about. The conference tourneys mark the third of the four seasons within a season in college baske...
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...
S5 February 23, 2009 CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- BracketBusters VII is safely in the history books now. It was more fulfilling than a Dave & Buster's appetizer (six chips do not qualify as "nachos"), and fell somewhere between Buster the crash-test dummy and Buster Bluth on the entertainment scale. Longtime readers will r...
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...
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...
S5 February 12, 2009 Temple vs. Saint Joseph's (Atlantic 10) The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA 7:00 PM EST It's super-exciting in the grand old Atlantic 14 this week, no? Those who tuned into ESPN Classic last night looking for a rerun of the Cheap Seats Superdogs/Superjocks episode were treated to a thrilling ballgame ...
S5 February 6, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a gracefully-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 o...
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...
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...
S5 January 15, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a new-esque 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...
S5 January 7, 2009 The State of College Basketball is a new-ish 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 Fin...
S5 January 6, 2009 Miami (Oh.) at Dayton U. of Dayton Arena - Dayton, OH 7:00 PM EST "Super" Tuesdays are tough for finding games during January and February. It's the in-between night when the power conferences hog all the TV time as well as the good officials, and a number of mid-major leagues have been wise to av...
S5 December 31, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a 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 Final F...
S5 December 30, 2008 LOGAN, Utah -- Yesterday's GMHN closed with a query to the cosmos as to why there will be nearly 300 fewer mid versus major games in 2008-09 than there were in 2007-08. And when I end a daily post with a question, I should expect that my mailbox will contain a few answers. And they arrived! Response...
S5 December 29, 2008 Davidson at College of Charleston (Southern) Carolina First Arena - Charleston, SC 9:00 PM EST As the egg nog wears off all across Hoops Nation, it's time to start operating the heavy machinery that will move us from non-league to conference season. Thanks to the result of a few summer phone calls...
S5 December 22, 2008 NATCHITOCHES, La. -- I can't prove this, because it came out of one of those directionless garbage-time conversations amongst us proud folks who refuse to leave any game early. But one of my most brilliant ideas ever was The Sportswriter's Thesaurus, which would give sportswriters all the material t...
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...
S5 December 15, 2008 CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Let's get this out of the way first: the Atlantic 14 owned this weekend. Pwned it. The A-14 was in yr weekend, steelin yr basketballz. This conference put such a stamp on the last two days that the second weekend in December should be a three-day hoops holiday, by proclamation of...
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...
S5 December 9, 2008 LEXINGTON, Va. -- I think we can chalk up the weekend voting on the Ultimate Project contest an unqualified, unmitigated disaster. There were more complaints about the voting mechanism (clicking through either brought up a "please log in" screen or a full-screen ad to start your own poll) than actua...
S5 December 8, 2008 The Mid-Majority tries to keep it fresh, mix it up, to stay frisky and funky in a world full of stale coach-speak and paint-by-numbers analysis. But this time, it's impossible. For one of the very few times in this site's obscure history, we are recycling a subject line letter-for-letter. For the se...
S5 December 8, 2008 LOUISVILLE -- This week marks the one-month milepost of the 2008-09 season. Most of the action we've seen has consisted multi-team tournaments of questionable merit or importance, early league games, and power-conference teams beating the snot out of mid-majors. While we've made a lot of the signifi...
S5 December 4, 2008 The State of College Basketball is a 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 Final Four ...
S5 November 19, 2008 Charlotte at Appalachian State Holmes Center - Boone, NC 7:00 PM EST Tonight in the rarified air of Boone, two very good teams that were out in the cold when the Big Ball started this past March. Charlotte won 20 games and mounted a run to the semifinals of the Atlantic 14 conference, where it los...
S5 November 19, 2008 PHILADELPHIA -- This blog has been involved in several pet causes... heck, this entire thing is a pet cause. But TMM is getting involved in a new charitable campaign that strikes to the heart of what's important in Our Game. This is all about getting Drexel students to adopt proper rollout procedure...
S4 March 29, 2008 When ESPN.com brought me on in the summer of 2005, my good friend Sarah bought me a Ralph Marlin "Just Balls" tie. It was one of those nice timely things that good friends do -- they buy you things having to do with what you're celebrating just as you're celebrating them. Little did I know that it w...
S4 March 19, 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...
S4 March 19, 2008 We had quite a few mail inquiries and chat questions yesterday about the chat that was published in my weekly blog for the Worldwide Leader. For those of you who are ESPN OutSiders, I listed the top five largest financial disparities in both overall athletic expenses and men's basketball budgets. Pe...
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...
S4 March 16, 2008 Bullet Points The autobid picture is nearly complete, as seven champions were named on Saturday. Kent State and UMBC followed up their regular-season trophies with tourney rings, in the MAC and America East respectively. In a low-seed shocker, No. 7 Coppin State upset No. 1 Morgan State in the MEA...
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 14, 2008 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It's fitting that we're here in Jersey -- just as there were 86 episodes of The Sopranos, there were exactly that many daily weekday posts this year. This right here is the final edition of the season -- this 86th Boubacar, too, was "Made in America." Not that this is the end...
S4 March 14, 2008 Bullet Points No autobids given out on Thursday, but high seeds fell like falling things. Texas-Arlington showed No. 2 Lamar the door in the Southland quarterfinals. In the Atlantic 14, No. 6 Charlotte defeated No. 3 UMass, and there was a six-over-three in the SWAC, as Arkansas-Pine Bluff dumped A...
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...
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...
S4 March 6, 2008 NASHVILLE -- There's a little Fighting Camel in all of us -- that piece of our soul that's tragically misunderstood, a little out of place. It's the part of you that's told you'll never make it, never achieve your dreams. Silly camel, you aren't supposed to fight for or win anything... you're suppos...
S4 March 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...
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 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...
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 25, 2008 FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Sometimes I just have to pinch myself (even though dreams can be complicated enough that I wouldn't wake up if I did). Three years ago, I was just another computer programmer with a college basketball blog, and the next thing I know I'm talking over BracketBusters highlights wit...
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 19, 2008 DELAND, Fla. -- Last night on press row at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, my inbox full of nasty notes from Penn fans (more about that later on), I was reminded once again about the key differences between Ivy League and MEAC basketball. And there are differences, even though both conferences would...
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...
S4 February 13, 2008   William & Mary at North Carolina-Wilmington (Colonial) Trask Coliseum - Wilmington, NC 7:00 PM EST We'll be closely tracking the Rhode Island-Temple battle on the A-14's second tier, as well as the tough test for Drake at Southern Illinois, but tonight's G!O!T!N! spotlight falls on two...
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 February 7, 2008 CLEVELAND -- There are a lot of subtle differences between higher-strata conferences and the leagues at our level. For instance, when a team in the ACC or Pac 10 is having a bad year, the media is still going to write about it, no matter what. The stories usually come with the angle of, "what's goin...
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...
S4 January 28, 2008 HOUSTON -- I was thinking over the weekend, while I wasn't at any games, about all the games I go to. A total of 57 games so far this year, headed for yet another 100-game season. Having done 100 twice now, it's tough to find triple-digit motivation anymore. Need to turn it into some kind of contest...
S4 January 25, 2008   Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart (NEC) William Pitt Center - Fairfield, CT 4:05 PM EST There are a lot of great games this weekend, but precious few mindbendingly awesome ones that will set tones for weeks to come. We're going to be tracking the Cleveland State at Wisconsin-Milwaukee clash in th...
S4 January 22, 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...
S4 January 21, 2008 MORAGA, Ca. -- One of the most-asked question types I get is in regards to these datelines. Where am I? Where have I been? How many games am I up to? I know it's all pleasant small-talk, and folks are just trying to make conversation, but I've been meaning to put together a one-webpage answer to ans...
S4 January 17, 2008 DAVIS, Ca. -- We have a system here, we do a California trip every season and alternate between Southern (odd-numbered years) and Northern (even). We're going to go recover from the jet lag before charging into our annual West Coast Bias weekend, but we have some Easty bits to clean up. UNC-Ashevi...
S4 January 15, 2008   La Salle (Atlantic 10) at Pennsylvania (Ivy) The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA 7:00 PM EST When there's no games featuring conference frontrunners or prospective NCAA teams that are facing soul-baring tests, we here at G!O!T!N! studios usually revert to the game we'll be attending. Since we'...
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...
S4 December 16, 2007 You usually meet the best people by accident, and often in the strangest places. I made the acquaintance of John Kuchar in a PayPal complaint box -- he had subscribed to Basketball State last month but some stray binaries kept his account from being activated. Once that was ironed out, he told me ab...
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 ...
S4 December 4, 2007   Akron (MAC) at Winthrop (Big South) Winthrop Coliseum -- Rock Hill, SC 7:00 PM EST These two teams combined for 55 wins last season, which immediately qualifies it as a mid-major showdown of the highest degree. The Eagles and Zips took different March paths, though: Winthrop beat Notre Dam...
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...
S4 November 30, 2007 DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Welcome to your weekend Big B, the final one of November. Hard to believe it's almost December already. Season's almost a month old. Say, how's the family? Kids alright? Good, good to hear. This weather we're having... never thought we'd still be in short sleeves and singing Christ...
S4 November 23, 2007 I'll allow you a few minutes to put the pieces of your blown mind back together. Okay? Let's go. Big media rivalries, like college sports rivalries, are supposed to be predicated on the idea that the folks on the other side are filthy, writhing subhumans. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that t...
S4 November 19, 2007 PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Wow, what a weekend. So packed with hot mid-major action that I don't have time to tell any jokes here in the intro paragraph. Here we go! Siena's Super Saints. Number 20's been an unlucky spot in the national popularity contest lately. That's where Kentucky sat when Gardner-Web...
S4 November 2, 2007 There's an annual event -- if that's a phrase suitable and grey enough to describe something that doesn't cut it as a tradition -- here in our household. Every year around this time, the satellite television company beams in a solid week of unlimited American professional basketball in a free previe...
S3 February 6, 2007 LOS ANGELES -- I'm not going to get all weird on you and tell you that covering basketball is tantamount to some kind of athletic event, but boy-oh-boy can it take a physical toll. Last night, I ventured out to Gersten Pavilion (a/k/a "Hank's House") to take some notes on theUnnamed Program From t...
S3 January 25, 2007 BOONE, N.C. -- As of press time, 63 of the available 100 entries in Bally's BracketBusters Racket, the only contest in the world that lets you choose all 51 BB matchups, have been snapped up (the limit is in place 'cause I'll be hand-validating the entries, but call it a "soft cap"). Remember: the d...
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 ...
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...
S1 March 17, 2005 Game 094: at St. Joseph's 53, Hofstra 44 Wednesday, March 16, 2005 Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse - Philadelphia, PA An invitation to the National Invitation Tournament is like... it's like kissing your sister. Naw, that's no good. Already been used. How's this: having to play in the NIT is like eatin...
S1 March 14, 2005 MAC, Knifed: A lot of watercooler talk this morning is and will be centered around the Mid-American Conference, more specifically the lack of at-large teams from such. Even Dickie V, who was born on Exit 16W but made his coaching hay in the MAC's geographical sphere of influence, was all over the c...
S1 March 12, 2005 Bullet Points Congratulations to Bucknell, orange-clad kings of the Patriot League. Eight-seed Boise State continued to rip through the WAC bracket, knocking off Fresno State one day after dispatching 1 Nevada. Today marks the grand crescendo of the mid-major season. With finals in the America East...
S1 March 11, 2005 Bullet Points Western Athletic regular season champions Nevada dropped a shock decision to Boise State, clearing the way for a two-bid WAC. There won't likely be many other two-bid mid-major leagues except for, say, the Missouri Valley... apparently the new RPI isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'...
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'...
S1 February 24, 2005 Mid-American: Akron 55, Miami (Oh.) 49 (OT) (story) - Six-four RedHawk guard Chet Mason had the game of his life, with 23 points and 15 rebounds... but as the sportswriters like to say, it was not enough. Despite sending the game to overtime on a last-second three by William Hatcher, Miami (17-1, 11...
S1 February 23, 2005 Mid-Continent: Missouri-Kansas City 77, Oral Roberts 70 (story) - In front of a roaring partisan paid attendance of 7,132, UMKC (15-9, 11-2 MidCon) held off the visitors in what the Kansas City Star pegged as "the most important game in its 18-year Division I era." After a seesaw opening to the seco...
S1 February 2, 2005 Game 046: at Drexel 88, James Madison 60 Saturday, January 29, 2005 Daskalakis Athletic Center - Philadelphia, PA They ended up sending me a bunch of admissions brochures, but Malik Rose was a far better ambassador for Drexel University than any glossy-print booklet could ever be. I remember sittin...
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...
S1 January 25, 2005 Missouri Valley: Wichita State 65, Northern Iowa 57 (story) - The Shockers went on an early game-breaker of a run, but UNI fought back to take the lead just after halftime. Big Paul Miller hit a shot to make it 31-30, and WSU never looked back. Wichita State (14-2, 7-1 MVC) takes a half-game lead ov...
S1 January 24, 2005 Kangaroo legend Michael Watson, the Mid-Continent Conference's all-time leading scorer with 2,488 points, graduated and left his blue and gold uni behind last spring. So someone had to step up and provide some points this year for Missouri-Kansas City, and it turns out that the entire backcourt did....
S1 January 20, 2005 Colonial: Old Dominion 67, Hofstra 66 (story) - As was the case in their recent squeaker against Drexel, Old Dominion raced out to a big lead and then hit the cruise control button too early. The second half was filled with streaky back-and-forth runs, and the homestanding Pride grabbed a 66-64 lead...
S1 December 22, 2004 Alabama State 61, Troy State 48 (story) - Troy is starting from scratch after losing all the starters from their 24-win NIT team of a year ago, and now they're oh and eight. SWAC'ers-on-the-rise Alabama State were the latest to take advantage of the A-Sun club's rebuilding project, beating the Troja...
S1 December 21, 2004 Game 018: at Temple 48, Princeton 46 Monday, December 20, 2004 Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA Hoop-endous! Specta-basket-acular! Huzzah, huzzah! Hoop, whoop, hooray! These are but a few of the reactions and recollections that come to this reporter's mind when he thinks about this past eveni...
S1 December 20, 2004 Boston College 82, Yale 80 (2OT) (story) - When Holy Cross pushed Boston College to overtime in a 63-60 thriller back on December 9, Chris over at Hoop Time suggested that maybe, just maybe, friendly officials had too much of a hand in the outcome. After all, HC outrebounded BC 41-39 and 34 of their...
S1 December 15, 2004 Game 017: at Villanova 68, Fordham 47 Tuesday, December 14, 2004 The Pavilion - Villanova, PA Do you remember where you were on April Fool's Day of 1985? I do. My little 12-year-old self was at my parents' house in southern New Hampshire. My mother had dinner guests that evening, but I had snuck ...
S1 December 14, 2004 Game 016: Wake Forest 67, at Temple 64 Monday, December 13, 2004 Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA There are basically two things you need to know about Philadelphia: Pat's Steaks is a thousand times better than Geno's, and Bill Cosby pretty much owns the town. That's right, owns it. Local politi...
S1 December 13, 2004 Florida International 65, Florida State 60 (story) - This is not the site you go to if you want thoughtful analysis of the ACC, but people who run those sites are saying that the conference might get seven Tournament bids this season. Team number eight is FSU, whose only convincing win so far is ove...
S1 December 10, 2004 Massachusetts 61, Connecticut 59 (story) - There were "Fire Lappas" T-shirts here in Philly too, back when Steve coached Villanova... but the folks in Amherst can put theirs in the closet for a while. Last night saw the best thing to happen to UMass since the Pixies reunion - a squeak win over the d...
S1 December 5, 2004 Game 012: Temple 53, Villanova 52 Saturday, December 4, 2004 The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA My Uncle Pete is about as cool as the side of the pillow that's directly under some sweaty guy's butt. A while ago, I heard him use the phrase "jump the shark" while referring to Penn State football. I hope...
S1 December 5, 2004 Game 011: Pennsylvania 78, LaSalle 67 Saturday, December 4, 2004 The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA Carlos Castaneda's primary life mantra, "fly past the eagle and be free," probably wouldn't go over too well in Philadelphia, a town stuck in a perpetual heartbreak cycle with its football team. But h...
S1 December 2, 2004 Game 010: at Pennsylvania 65, Bucknell 52 Wednesday, December 1, 2004 The Palestra - Philadelphia, PA As anyone who goes to one of its affiliated schools (or anyone who's read The Last Amateurs) can tell you, the Patriot League was created primarily to give Ivy League schools some early-season foot...
S1 November 20, 2004 Game 005: Auburn 80, at Temple 78 Friday, November 19, 2004 Liacouras Center - Philadelphia, PA I never attended Temple University. It was a close call, though - when I moved to Philadelphia back in 1997, I looked long and hard at TU as a transfer option. I mean, it's a great school. But my girlfri...
S1 November 15, 2004 This site has been open for business no more than six days, and it is already being lit up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Most gratifying, however, are the wonderful things that others are saying about The Mid-Majority elsewhere in the b-ball blogosphere. I am touched and slightly overcome by the kind ...
S1 November 9, 2004 One Sunday afternoon in early February, I found myself sitting in a cold, half-empty gymnasium in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. I was watching Rider and Loyola - two of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's perennial doormats - fall all over each other. It was halftime, and the two squads had barely...
S1 November 9, 2004 My earliest basketball memory: it's a cold winter morning in New England, November 1983. I'm eleven years old, and I'm pulling a Greg Ballard Washington Bullets home jersey over my spindly torso (the only one at the sporting goods store that fit me). I'm taller than the other boys in the neighborhoo...
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