Over the Hump
by aGent37 on Mar 26, 2010 10:00 AM PDT
in College Basketball
3 comments
Last night marked a historic evening for the Butler Bulldogs. An exciting 63-59 win in the NCAA West Region over #1 seed Syracuse has earned the Bulldogs their first ever trip to the Elite 8. One win away from the school's first ever final four appearance, it seems that everything is going the Bulldog's way. With the final four being held in their hometown of Indianapolis, it looks like a story book ending might be in order.
The Bulldogs relied on relentless defensive play to capture the victory over the Orange last night. Syracuse players were frustrated the entire evening by Butler's persistent man-to-man defense. These efforts were most notable in the clutch. In the 5 minutes preceding the 2nd half 35 second mark, the Bulldog defense held Orange players scoreless. This facilitated their final run resulting in a marquee victory. Sorry Bear Bryant, it looks like defense wins games and championships.
Conference Tests Determine Post-Season Lives
by dwick on Mar 7, 2010 10:14 PM PST
3 comments
In the dawn of March Madness and the many post-season college basketball tournaments, mid-major conference tournaments are either underway or about to tip-off to crown a champion around the country. CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top-25 rankings (found here: http://www.collegeinsider.com/mmpoll/) feature teams from a number of conferences all over the nation, with many teams vying for a post-season tournament opportunity. Here's a look at some top-conference tourney action and potential post-season members:
The Big South saw the Winthrop Eagles (19-13) shocked top-seeded Coastal Carolina (28-6) in a 64-53 upset to capture the school's ninth conference championship in twelve years on Saturday. The third-seeded Eagles
, only the second #3 seed to win the Big South Conference Tournament title, also secured the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Coastal Carolina, the Big South regular-season champion, will now represent the conference in the National Invitation Tournament.
The Missouri Valley Conference also crowned a champion this weekend as the University of Northern Iowa, led by MVC Coach of the Year Ben Jacobson, defeated Wichita State 67-52 in St. Louis, Missouri. #1 seed Northern Iowa (28-4) rolled through the MVC tournament to face #2 seed Wichita (25-9) Sunday, capturing the school's second-consecutive conference title and solidifying its spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers held the Wichita Shockers without a field goal for over 12 second-half minutes during a 25-3 run that ultimately put the game away. Wichita will have to wait until NCAA Tournament selection day to learn its post-season fate.
More drama unfolded in Colonial Athletic Conference action Saturday night in Richmond, Virginia as #2 seed Northeastern (20-11) out-battled #7 seed Hofstra (19-14) 74-71 in a double-overtime thriller and the longest Colonial tournament game since 1999. Northeastern will advance to the Monday semi-final contest following their snapping of Hoftstra's seven-game win streak Also in quarterfinal play, the third-seeded William & Mary Tribe (21-9) topped #11 seed James Madison (13-20) 70-65 Saturday also to move on to semi-final play.
The West Coast Conference Championship in Las Vegas featured fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount (18-14) knocking off fourth-seeded University of San Francisco (12-19) to advance to a semi-final match-up with #2 seed St. Mary's (24-5). Top-seeded Gonzaga (25-5) will face #3 seed University of Portland (21-9) in the other semi-final game this week.
The Big Sky Conference Championship has also been underway out west in Ogden, Utah. Sixth-seeded Portland State (13-18) upset #3 seed Montana State (15-14) 68-65 Saturday night on a three with 3.7 seconds left. The upset allows the two-time defending champion Portland State to attempt to stay alive in the semi-final round against top-seeded Weber State (19-9) this Tuesday, March 9th. Fourth-seeded Montana (20-9) dominated #5 seed Northern Arizona to also advance, where they will meet #2 seed Northern Colorado (24-6) on Tuesday as well.
While som
e conferences have crowned their champions, others are just tipping-off. Southland Conference Tournament action will begin in Katy, Texas beginning Wednesday March 10th with #7 UT-Arlington facing the defending 2009 regular-season and conference tournament champion in #2 Stephen F. Austin. Wednesday will also feature #6 UT-San Antonio against #3 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, #8 Nicholls State against #1 Sam Houston State and #5 Texas State against #4 Southeastern Louisiana. Semi-Final match-ups are slated for Thursday, with the championship scheduled for Saturday, March 13th in Katy.
Also tipping-off this week is Mid-American Conference Tournament action in Cleveland, Ohio. #9 Ohio will face #8 Ball State, #12 Toledo will battle #5 Buffalo, #10 Bowling Green will meet #7 Western Michigan and #11 Northern Illinois will take on #6 Eastern Michigan in First Round play. Kent State, Central Michigan, Akron and Miami-OH will await their Quarterfinal round opponents as the top four seeds. Quarterfinal and Semi-Final rounds are slated for Thursday and Friday, with the championship planned for Saturday, March 13th in Cleveland.
Streaks Snapped in Friday Upsets
by dwick on Feb 14, 2010 8:42 PM PST
1 comment
The date Friday was the 12th, yet it seemed like Friday the 13th with the madness of mid-major upsets in college hoops. In Ivy League play, the 4-15 (3-2 Ivy) Penn Quakers added a spark to an otherwise dismal season with the upset of the year over the 20-4 (6-1 Ivy) Cornell Big Red 79-64 in Philadelphia. Meanwhile in Niagara, New York the MAAC was shaken up as well. The 14-13 (7-8 MAAC) Niagara Purple Eagles upset the 21-5 (14-1 MAAC) Siena Saints 87-74 to snap the nation's longest overall winning streak at 15, along with an impressive 18-game streak against MAAC opponents.
Penn, who started the season 0-10, found its rhythm from the outside, shooting 56 percent from the field, 52 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the foul line. Leading the Quakers effort was sophomore guard Zack Rosen who posted 22 points, five assists and three steals. Cornell standout Jeff Foote had 10 points, 11 rebounds a
nd blocked 3 shot despite being double-teamed by the Quaker defense throughout most of the game.
Niagara was led by senior leaders Tyrone Lewis and Bilal Benn, who had 24 and 15 points apiece. Lewis grabbed 11 rebounds as well, notching his 10th double-double of the season. As a team, the Purple Eagles shot a season-best 54 percent from the field and put up an impressive 48 points in the second half to put the game away.
Cornell, nationally-ranked at #22 going in to Friday's game, will certainly drop out of the top-25. Both upsets snapped the momentum of Cornell and Siena's respective winning streaks while potentially compromising each team's bid for at-large births in the NCAA tournament. The losses will not help the team's arguments as they each still lack victories over RPI top-50 opponents. Tournament bids are still attainable through automatic births as conference champions.
The Value of a Coach
by aGent37 on Feb 11, 2010 11:12 AM PST
in College Basketball
3 comments
Taking a 0-28 team to a 15 win season in less than four years is an accomplishment that is pretty hard to miss. This is something Horace Broadnax was able to do with the Savannah State University men’s basketball program. Something even more compelling was Broadnax’s ability to do this with the second lowest basketball budget in all of Division I (339 out of 340)! But what does it really mean in comparison to the rest of college basketball?
| Coach | School | Basketball Budget (2008) | Total Wins (08-09) | Average Price-Per-Win |
| Horace Broadnax | Savannah State | $376,968 | 15 | $25,131 |
| Ben Howland | UCLA | $6,625,357 | 26 | $254,821 |
| Buzz Williams | Marquette | $8,958,040 | 25 | $358,322 |
| Bill Self | Kansas | $9,386,335 | 27 | $347,642 |
| Billy Donovan | Florida | $7,815,425 | 25 | $312,617 |
Broadnax’s 2009 season produced argubly the best Dollar-Per-Win ratio in modern college basketball. With 15 wins and a budget of $376,968, it came to roughly $25,131 per win. This may sound like a lot, but when you compare Coach Broadnax to his colleagues it is pretty apparent he may be the best bang for your buck in college basketball. Compared to the likes of big names like Howland, Williams, Self, and Donovan, Broadnax’s productivity is astounding. The bottom line is for less than one tenth the cost of the coaches just named, Horace Broadnax can get you a win.
3 comments | 1 recs |
Mid-Major's Shine in Senior Bowl
by dwick on Feb 1, 2010 8:51 AM PST
0 comments
The North squad dominated the South in the Senior Bowl this past Saturday in
Wide Receiver Jeremy Williams out of Tulane led the South team with 82 yards on six catches, along with a 27-yard gain on an end around. Williams led the struggling South offense and was selected as the South’s Most Outstanding Player.
LeFevour, Miller and Williams certainly helped boost their draft stock throughout the Senior Bowl practice week and in the showcase. LeFevour boasts the highest ranking of the latter prospects to date as the #6-ranked quarterback in the 2010 class. Williams is currently the #14-ranked wide receiver, while Miller is the #15 running back.
Shake-Up in the WCC
by dwick on Jan 31, 2010 11:35 AM PST
0 comments
Gonzaga’s win streak against West Coast Conference opponents was snapped Saturday night at 22 games by the
With the Gonzaga loss, Saint Mary’s moves up a spot in
Pepperdine tied for fourth (3-4), LMU and San Diego tied for sixth (2-5) and Santa Clara rounding out in eighth (1-6).
Four weeks into conference play and the
Mid-Major College Basketball Power Rankings
by aGent37 on Jan 16, 2010 8:24 AM PST
in College Basketball
4 comments
ow that we've passed the mid-way point in the 2009-10 college basketball season and are well into conference play, we will be releasing a bi-weekly ranking of the top 10 Mid-Major teams. Why did we wait so long? Because just like in college football, its rather pointless to rank teams without knowing how they preformed legitimate number of games. Furthermore, its important to realize that unlike most polls, these are not projections. It is simply an aggregate ranking of the Top 10 teams, as they are playing today, and not how they are projected to finish at the end of the season.
1. Northern Iowa
The Northern Iowa Panthers land at the #1 spot for two reasons. Firstly, they are owners of the best record in Mid-Major college basketball at 15-1, including rattling off 14 straight wins. Secondly, the Missouri Valley has in the past, and certainly is today, the strongest Mid-Major conference in college basketball. So the 6-0 league start definitely adds credibility to the resume, but they will be tested next week with their game at Missouri State.
2. Gonzaga
The poster child of the successful mid-major, the Gonzaga Bulldogs has not disappointed in the 2009-10 season, currently holding 13-3 record and #14 national record. With wins over Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and Cinnci, the Zags have one of the best non-conference resumes in all of college basketball.
3. Butler
Not surprisingly, the second most tradition rich mid-major program of the last decade, Butler University, follows Gonzaga at the #3 spot. With a record of 12-4, including 6-0 in conference, the Bulldogs are ranked #22 in the national polls. Admittedly, their only solid non-conference wins are against Ohio State and Northwestern, but the Butler Bulldogs should have no problem steam rolling their way through the Horizon League once again.
Fiesta Wrap-Up: Glass Ceiling in the Desert?
by dwick on Jan 6, 2010 11:41 AM PST
in College Football
11 comments
The battle of unbeaten mid-major conference champions culminated Monday night in an intriguing, yet deceptive, match-up in Glendale, Arizona. Sixth-ranked Boise State (14-0), of the Western Athletic Conference, outlasted third-ranked TCU (12-1), of the Mountain West Conference, 17-10 to claim its second Fiesta Bowl victory in four years and become the second team in college football history to finish with a 14-0 record.
In a game dominated by defensive prowess and sub-par offensive output, Boise State employed trickery reminiscent of its 2007 win over Oklahoma in the same venue. With the score locked at 10-10, nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and both offenses struggling, Boise punter Kyle Brotzman connected with tight end Kyle Efaw for a 29-yard pick-up and a Bronco first down in Horned Frog territory. The fourth down gamble by Broncos coach Chris Petersen paid off, as running back Doug Martin dove in for Boise's lone offensive touchdown of the game and swept away any momentum had by TCU.
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