Mid-Major Madness - Mid-Major Madness Year in Review: Thank You for Making 2013 Fantastic"So what are they going to call it? NonPower5Madness.com?"https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50397/midmajor-fav.png2014-01-01T20:00:02-08:00http://www.midmajormadness.com/rss/stream/50070112014-01-01T20:00:02-08:002014-01-01T20:00:02-08:00MMM Year in Review: The Canaan and Clark Show
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<img alt="Isaiah Canaan was one half of an amazing performance" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0zoVP0aW51BnBAaoK8B48ASXN_o=/0x21:500x354/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26108327/137293044.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Isaiah Canaan was one half of an amazing performance | Andy Lyons</figcaption>
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<p>Nate Wolters wasn't the only player to put on a show in early February. Murray State and Belmont met the same night and Isaiah Canaan and Ian Clark gave us all a treat to remember.</p> <p>On the same night that <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/26/5245588/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-nate-wolters-broke-game-score/in/5007011">Nate Wolters was busy spoiling us with his 50-point affair</a>, there was a game between Belmont and Murray State.</p>
<p>This game spoiled us for a different reason. The two leaders in the Ohio Valley Conference gave us a chance to see the showdown between <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53270/isaiah-canaan">Isaiah Canaan</a> and Ian Clark, maybe two of the best shooters on the floor anywhere last year.</p>
<p>And they sure showed it that night. Murray State took a lead, but Ian Clark wasn't ready to concede anything to the defending conference champs. The Bruins leader took two amazing 3-pointers in less than a minute that brought the game back into reach for Belmont.</p>
<p>But it wasn't to be.</p>
<p>Because Isaiah Canaan was on the other side, and he nailed one of the most cold-blooded daggers that you could imagine.</p>
<p>This game was on television, unlike the Wolters show. And this might have brought out the most hooting and hollering of any game during the last regular season. It was a joy to watch almost every minute, no matter who was on the winning side in the end.</p>
<p>Here is the look back at <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/7/3966262/belmont-comeback-falls-short-isaiah-canaan-murray-state-bruins/in/3730253">the Canaan and Clark show</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/1/1/5265020/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-isaiah-canaan-ian-clarkBenjamin Miraski2014-01-01T18:53:25-08:002014-01-01T18:53:25-08:00MMM Year in Review: The Game Akron Wants to Forget
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<img alt="Don't even try to play basketball, Akron." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZikJqZLoH0DGzZV-SgCp20R7bsI=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26106765/164253107.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Don't even try to play basketball, Akron. | Gregory Shamus</figcaption>
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<p>Akron was the big hope for Mid-Major Madness going into the NCAA Tournament last year. The Zips had quite a season going until losing their point guard, and then two more players thanks to illness. The results were less than ideal.</p> <p>Akron had one of the top regular seasons among mid-major teams last year. But things started to come apart in soon after beating <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">D.J. Cooper</a> and Ohio in the MAC Championship game.</p>
<p>First Alex Abreu got himself arrested, thanks to some extra-curricular activities. Then a flu bug ravaged the team, leaving them at less than full strength, but in terms of manpower and strength.</p>
<p>That is not a formula you want to have just before taking on VCU in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/march-madness">NCAA Tournament</a>.</p>
<p>The forces of HAVOC rained down upon the Zips something fierce, making the team that so looked like a potential Sweet 16 dark horse look like a glorified 16 seed instead. That was nothing that Akron could do to either score, or slow down the Rams, and the result <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-ncaa-tournament/2013/3/21/4134166/2013-ncaa-tournament-virginia-commonwealth-akron-recap">was an 88-42 loss</a>.</p>
<p>It was brutal in every sense of the word. And at the end of it all, it was hard to get that much carnage out of your head. This wasn't a Southern-Champion Baptist mismatch. This was an Akron team that was supposed to compete and just couldn't</p>
<p>We attempted to pull it together long enough to chronicle the loss, part of the almost non-stop coverage we gave to the NCAA Tournament from Selection Sunday on. It was difficult, but it was fun still the same.</p>
<p>Here is the <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-ncaa-tournament/2013/3/21/4134166/2013-ncaa-tournament-virginia-commonwealth-akron-recap">game when Akron died</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2014/1/1/5264928/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-akron-stomped-ncaa-tournamentBenjamin Miraski2013-12-31T13:11:35-08:002013-12-31T13:11:35-08:00MMM Year in Review: Doug McDermott is Like...
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<img alt="You see that plant over there. Don't let it eat you." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/s756rQxN5S5_tGvIUgx1dAjuWcw=/0x192:2662x1967/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26045661/20131111_kdl_bw5_092.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>You see that plant over there. Don't let it eat you. | Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>We all know the fun that can be had with Googling your name and the words "is a". So we decided to see what Creighton's Doug McDermott brought out in terms of comps when we typed "Doug McDermott is like".</p> <p>Google is a weird beast. You never know what you are going to get from the search engine, which is why it is the perfect way to seek out comps for your favorite college basketball players.</p>
<p>After all, we are certain that someone out there has compared everything to everything else. It is only a matter of looking to tie it all together.</p>
<p>Last season, we decided it would be <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/features/2013/1/18/3892544/comping-doug-mcdermott-glen-rice-keith-van-horn-creighton">interesting to see who Doug McDermott was being compared with</a>. We expected a couple of the answers, namely Larry Bird and Keith Van Horn.</p>
<p>But there were many that we couldn't have anticipated.</p>
<p>So in one of our favorite articles of the year, we had a Little Shop of Horrors reference, Keith Van Horn, Glen Rice (possibly my favorite shooter of all time), Larry Bird (who we so tried to get as our logo for MMM) and Google craziness. What could be better than that?</p>
<p>As Doug drives his way through the Big East this season, we hope he is living up to these comps and more.</p>
<p>Here is <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/features/2013/1/18/3892544/comping-doug-mcdermott-glen-rice-keith-van-horn-creighton">"Doug McDermott is like..."</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/31/5261598/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-google-doug-mcdermott-likeBenjamin Miraski2013-12-30T09:02:32-08:002013-12-30T09:02:32-08:00MMM Year in Review: The Vermont Apology
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<img alt="No, I want to play with the ball" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/srfB5dqGWbBT7qAqEXULVjJBY2o=/0x74:4000x2741/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25965929/20131124_jla_ad5_345.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>No, I want to play with the ball | Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Vermont had no business pushing a top 10 team in the country to the brink. But the Catamounts did just that against Duke leading to a lengthy apology to our mid-major fans.</p> <p>Duke was a top 10 team in the country; Vermont wasn't even receiving votes. Most people hadn't even picked the Catamounts to do much in the America East conference.</p>
<p>So this was going to be far from a potential tournament matchup, or a even a game at all, right? This is Cameron Indoor Stadium in November. The Blue Devils don't lose to nonconference opponents at home, before Thanksgiving.</p>
<p>And yet Vermont pushed Duke to the brink, hanging on when things looked bleakest. <br><br>Of course I didn't watch much of the game -- only the last few minutes really -- because this game shouldn't have been close.</p>
<p>And then it was.</p>
<p>And then there was the the 4-point play by <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/101988/candon-rusin">Candon Rusin</a>:</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3625051/4ptplay.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="4ptplay_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/3625051/4ptplay_medium.gif"></a></p>
<p>So here I was trying to figure out what to say about a game I hadn't seen. Well, there is always room for <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/11/24/5141946/vermont-vs-duke-2013-game-recap-rusin-parker">a good apology and a strong recap of the final four minutes</a> though right?</p>
<p>The thing that stood out most to me about this one is that when you cover teams like Vermont, or any mid-major, even down to the SWAC, your view of the college basketball changes. You tend to always believe there is a chance, even when there might not be.</p>
<p>I should have known better than to just write Vermont off. I watch too many teams that have the ability to pull a big upset on any given night.</p>
<p>This game reminded me of that, and was a lot of fun to watch down the stretch.</p>
<p>Here is <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/11/24/5141946/vermont-vs-duke-2013-game-recap-rusin-parker">the Vermont apology</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/30/5257136/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-vermont-restores-faith-in-mid-majorsBenjamin Miraski2013-12-27T10:15:37-08:002013-12-27T10:15:37-08:00MMM Year in Review: Mid-Major 5 Dominates ESPN
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<img alt="Zeke was a beast inside for the Mid-Major 5" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-cJ2QEJbW8Fkby-Cqhaxtt_QiSE=/0x37:448x336/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25798493/20120310_pjc_aq4_324.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Zeke was a beast inside for the Mid-Major 5 | Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>There is perhaps no greater travesty in college basketball reporting than the annual ESPN talking heads' starting five selections. The picks left a lot to be desired, so we decided to field our own starting lineup: the Mid-Major 5.</p> <p>Here I was sitting in my living room one cold February morning and ESPN decided to really treat me. They had Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Jalen Rose, all pick fantasy teams of five players whose stats would be tracked until Selection Sunday.</p>
<p>We watched as the picks rolled off the board, with high profile names, and multiple players from the same team. It was like none of these guys had ever participated in a fantasy draft before.</p>
<p>Sure, you can pick a big name player, but make sure he has the consistent stats every game and that his teammates aren't going to cannibalize him. That gave us our favorite <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/9/3972398/espn-gameday-college-basketball-fantasy-league-mid-major-digger-bilas-jalen-rose">#theyredoingitwrong moment of the year</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps the only head on the panel who got the concept (and the concept is to win, and win by showing that you know more about college basketball than any of your fellow panelists, not just picking the flashy names), was Jalen Rose.</p>
<p>Rose picked both <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123401/doug-mcdermott">Doug McDermott</a>, who as you saw could dominate a game, and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53270/isaiah-canaan">Isaiah Canaan</a>: two solid mid-major players who were going to get the bulk of the scoring and other numbers used in the calculation.</p>
<p>It is no wonder that Rose ended up the winner and forced his fellow talking heads to wear Michigan jerseys as punishment.</p>
<p>Only Rose didn't win, because <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/9/3972398/espn-gameday-college-basketball-fantasy-league-mid-major-digger-bilas-jalen-rose">we put together a starting five of our own</a> and dominated the three ESPN experts so badly that at the end of the season, we were at least 100 points ahead of them (final scores were never actually announced by the WWL). It should also be no shock that the actual fantasy picks were not tracked online anywhere on the ESPN site. Too much potential embarrassment since they got licked by our starting five:</p>
<ul>
<li><span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100880/mike-muscala">Mike Muscala</a></span></li>
<li><span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100006/jerrelle-benimon">Jerrelle Benimon</a></span></li>
<li><span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100459/zeke-marshall">Zeke Marshall</a></span></li>
<li><span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/101126/nate-wolters">Nate Wolters</a></span></li>
<li><span><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123451/ray-mccallum">Ray McCallum</a></span></li>
</ul>
<div>Tracking how badly they were stomping on the Game Day hosts' picks might have been the best part of my February.</div>
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<div>Here is the Mid-Major 5's domination<a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/9/3972398/espn-gameday-college-basketball-fantasy-league-mid-major-digger-bilas-jalen-rose"> from start</a>, to almost <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/24/4021666/mid-major-5-continues-to-lead-espn-analyst-picks">finish</a>, once again.</div>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/27/5248270/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-mid-major-5-dominate-espn-talking-headsBenjamin Miraski2013-12-26T17:16:48-08:002013-12-26T17:16:48-08:00MMM Year in Review: Doug McDermott is a Tease
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<img alt="Such a tease" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hjAJ4raxLgI195JhTZjPF2Pi678=/0x172:2662x1947/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25766447/20131222_lbm_bw5_266.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Such a tease | Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Doug McDermott and Creighton were some of our favorite topics here last season before they bolted together for the Big East. One night, McDermott looked as if he was mortal, until he wasn't. It was one of my favorite pieces of the past year.</p> <p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123401/doug-mcdermott">Doug McDermott</a> seemingly never had a bad night. No matter who the opponent was, or how much they keyed on him, he managed to get his 20 and usually add about 10 rebounds to that.</p>
<p>But there was one night when it looked like McDermott couldn't get it going and it happened against Missouri State.</p>
<p>Doug started the night going 1-for-4 from the field and looked bad doing it. It was like an alien had taken over McDermott's body and was secretly making him miss.</p>
<p>All of this was a mirage though. The <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/1/11/3868020/creighton-doug-mcdermott-dominate-missouri-state-39-points">real Doug McDermott was still there</a>, and he proceeded to hit 14 of his next 15 shots, finishing with 39 points and beating down the Bears in the process.</p>
<p>It was a fantastic performance, going from a player who couldn't make a shot to one that couldn't miss. The Bears had no answer and it was maybe the performance that put McDermott squarely in the POY race more than any other last season.</p>
<p>He will still have his critics, and he is doing his best to silence them with his team's move to a bigger conference this year. But this night was magical.</p>
<p>So here is<a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/1/11/3868020/creighton-doug-mcdermott-dominate-missouri-state-39-points"> Doug McDermott is a tease</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/26/5246514/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-doug-mcdermott-was-a-teaseBenjamin Miraski2013-12-26T10:33:20-08:002013-12-26T10:33:20-08:00MMM Year in Review: Nate Wolters' Ridiculous Night
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<img alt="Naters got to Nate" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Awe77LzYLqSrOv4UpPGxBtfW10s=/0x420:2667x2198/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25750955/20130325_ter_aa1_080.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Naters got to Nate | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Nate Wolters had just one of the performances that made February 7, 2013, a night to remember in college basketball. And then when we looked further, his performance became one for our site's record books.</p> <p>The night of Feb. 7 turned out to be a wild affair in mid-major college basketball. It all started when a little tweet by the Chicago State AD got us turned around and thinking that big things were about to happen with the WAC.</p>
<p>He wasn't kidding. Before the season was out, we would see the former basketball and football power turned on its head.</p>
<p>But the night was young, and before it was over we had one of the most amazing performances of last season.</p>
<p>South Dakota State's <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/7/3966034/jackrabbits-wolters-drops-53-on-fort-wayne/in/3730253">Nate Wolters torched IPFW for 53 points</a>. That was 53 out of the 80 that his team scored, and what if I remember correctly was the best Division 1 performance of the season by a single player.</p>
<p>That alone would have been amazing. But it was only after we plugged that performance into our Game Score calculation that we saw maybe the most ridiculous part of it. Wolters' <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/8/3966514/south-dakota-states-nate-wolters-is-worth-more-than-a-win">performance was worth more than a win</a>.</p>
<p>After all the time and energy that went into making HOOPWAR and then turning it into Game Score, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/101126/nate-wolters">Nate Wolters</a> went and broke it.</p>
<p>It was an amazing night, and one that will be hard for any player to top. The game doesn't work this way that often where someone is going to be ON FIRE like that all night. And few teams are so focused around a single player these days to where you are going to see them take that high a percentage of the chances (He had 50 percent of the possessions for his team in this one) -- not if that team is thinking they are going to win.</p>
<p>Nate Wolters was a special player, one that we got to watch too rarely thanks to the Summit League television availability being rather sparse.</p>
<p>But that didn't mean we didn't get to be entertained by the crazy, unbelievable nights like this one.</p>
<p>Here is our reaction to the <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/2/8/3966514/south-dakota-states-nate-wolters-is-worth-more-than-a-win">breaking of the Game Score</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/26/5245588/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-nate-wolters-broke-game-scoreBenjamin Miraski2013-12-25T16:00:02-08:002013-12-25T16:00:02-08:00MMM Year in Review: Harvard Shocks New Mexico
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<img alt="Harvard likely had no business beating New Mexico" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YwIuPjzafvWnkqTwynO1RMSeqmc=/426x0:3995x2379/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25723105/20131313_mbr_ad3_039.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Harvard likely had no business beating New Mexico | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Harvard probably had no business winning an NCAA Tournament game given the way its season started. But the Crimson knocked off New Mexico in one of the more shocking results of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Let's take another look in our Year in Review.</p> <p>Harvard has certainly been impressive this season. The Crimson's depth -- partially because of a little academic misstep prior to last season -- is something that is going to pay dividends throughout the rest of the year, and into what is likely a spot in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/march-madness">NCAA Tournament</a>.</p>
<p>But last season, given the way it started, shouldn't have ended the way it did, with the Crimson representing the Ivy League in the NCAA Tournament.</p>
<p>And <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-ncaa-tournament/2013/3/21/4134328/harvard-new-mexico-upset-ncaa-tournament-longshot-chambers-saunders">we certainly never thought that Harvard was going to win a game</a>, let alone against a very difficult New Mexico team.</p>
<p>Yet at the end of the day, Tommy Amaker's team was the one moving on to the third round, and not going home as another Ivy opening game loss. It was an impressive win, and one that gave us a glimpse of what Harvard could do entering this year.</p>
<p>The additions of <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100433/brandyn-curry">Brandyn Curry</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100437/kyle-casey">Kyle Casey</a> were just going to make the team that much better given all they had accomplished last year. We are in for a special treat if the Crimson can keep up what they have shown so far.</p>
<p>Admittedly, a lot of our favorite moments came during the NCAA Tournament. Florida Gulf Coast, Wichita State, and now Harvard. But the Tournament served as a showcase for how good some of the basketball being played outside of the major conferences was during last year. It let some of the teams that we loved all year long shine and then achieve something that no one expected.</p>
<p>Harvard certainly was one of the biggest shocks, and well worth another look.</p>
<p>Here is <a href="http://www.midmajormadness.com/2013-ncaa-tournament/2013/3/21/4134328/harvard-new-mexico-upset-ncaa-tournament-longshot-chambers-saunders">the Harvard miracle</a>, once again.</p>
https://www.midmajormadness.com/2013/12/25/5243972/mid-major-madness-year-in-review-harvard-glimpse-year-aheadBenjamin Miraski