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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 5, 2022 11:37:32 GMT -5
What to Watch on March 5. Plenty of action. Here are some highlights.
Noon #14 Arkansas vs #13 Tennessee. ESPN.
2:00 PM #7 Kentucky vs Florida. CBS. Rivalry game.
2:00 PM Ray Tolbert vs #8 Russell Cross vs ESPN. Indiana trying to get to the Big Dance. Purdue looking to land a number one seed. Rivalry game.
6:00 PM North Carolina vs #4 Duke. ESPN THE rivalry game.
9:00 PM Marquette vs St. John's. FS1.
10:00 PM #16 USC vs #17 UCLA. Rivalry game.
10:30 PM BYU vs San Francisco. ESPN2. Conference tourney. Loser is likely out of the Big Dance.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 5, 2022 11:38:49 GMT -5
SBU is pretty isolated, and (as has been said) is the only show in a town that doesn't have much else going for it anymore (Olean Tile was a huge employer, but it's gone now). It's not a commuter school, and their students are incredibly loyal and support the team. Get 800 or so students, throw in 3K townies and the place is rocking. I saw UD beat SBU there in 1975-76. My whole family was born in Olean and my roots of many previous generations are in the area. My dad got his MA there, my great aunt worked there for 30+ years. Yeah, the Horizon always likes to talk about the huge markets it represents, and that is potential, but I think realizing potential is clearly easier in small markets. Back in the old MCC days, before Butler and X became National powers, it was Evansville that had the best attendance in a league with teams in Chicago, Detroit, Cincy, St Lou, etc. Gonzaga is a monster now and would sell out anywhere, but 20 plus years ago it was helpful to launching to status as a national power to be the only game in town in a metro area of 600k. Murray State is another school that combines excellence with isolation to get huge attendance. Siena is the best drawing team in the MAAC, though all the others are in larger metro areas and Iona, and lately Monmouth, are the dominant teams. New Mexico State rocks out in Las Cruces. Northern Iowa in the MVC; Wichita St in the American— these programs combine winning and a smaller metro area to become the hot ticket in their area. Even at the current rate of decline, it’ll take a few more decades for Detroit to challenge them in smallness. We can’t be St Bonaventure. We need to establish a niche like St John’s in NY, DePaul in Chicago (though 3 decades of true mediocrity are starting to jeopardize their status); perhaps what Butler has done in Indy or what USF is slowly re-establishing in the Bay Area. To do that, we have to win, win often, win consistently. Having a marketer like Vitale and a competent AD will help, but in the end, even for Vitale, those sell out crowds were the result of winning. I hope Davis is the guy who can do that for us. I see progress. It took Mark Schmidt a decade to rebuild St Bonaventure into a consistent winner. Quick turnarounds are nice but not common.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 6, 2022 8:06:29 GMT -5
Saturday, March 5
Titan Non-Conference Opponents Wyoming 68, Fresno State 64 (OT). Wyoming (24-7) firms up its credentials.
Virginia 77, Louisville 71. Louisville finishes the regular season 12-18. Texas A&M 67, Mississippi State 64. Mississippi finishes the regular season 17-14.
Northeastern 68, William & Mary 63. Opening round of the CAA tournament.
Other Games North Carolina 94, #4 Duke 81. UNC (23-8) spoils Coach K's final game in Durham, and greatly solidifies its spot in the NCAA field in the process. Hard to believe that a) a 22-8 UNC team was considered "on the bubble;" and b) that the reason an ACC runner-up would be "on the bubble" was a lack of quality wins. It'll be interesting to see how the ACC does in the tournament after this "down" year.
#2 Arizona 89, California 61.
#3 Baylor 75, Iowa State 68. Baylor (26-5) and Kansas tied for the Big 12 crown. The Jayhawks will be the #1 seed in the conference tournament. #6 Kansas 70, #23 Texas 63 (OT). Texas's Jalen Coleman-Landis swished a trey from corner at the buzzer in regulation, giving Texas a big win in Lawrence. Actually, Coleman's shot was ruled as coming just a fraction after time expired, and Kansas (25-6) took over and won in the OT.
#5 Auburn 82, South Carolina 71. #7 Kentucky 71, Florida 63. #8 Purdue 69, Indiana 67. Indiana (18-12) finishes the regular season on a 2-7 string that may have them out of the big dance.
#11 Villanova 78, Butler 59. Oklahoma State 52, #12 Texas Tech 51. The Cowboys (15-15) held the Red Raiders (23-8) scoreless for nearly 9 minutes down the stretch, enabling them to overcome a 10 point deficit and win in Stillwater.
#13 Tennessee 78, #14 Arkansas 74.
#17 UCLA 75, #16 USC 68. #18 Connecticut 74, DePaul 68.
#22 Murray State 71, Morehead State 67. Murray State is the first team officially in the tournament. The Racers jumped out to a 12-2 lead, but Morehead responded with 15 straight points to go up 5. Then began 32 minutes of non-stop back and forth, including 12 ties and 7 lead changes, with neither team ever going up more than two posessions. In the end, Murray State (30-2) hit free throws down the stretch, and Morehead State (23-11), one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, did not (the Eagles ended the game 8-18 at the line). Murray State will leave the OVC on top.
LSU 80, #25 Alabama 77.
Notre Dame 78, Pitt 74. Notre Dame (22-9) winds up tied for second in the ACC, their best finish since joining the conference 9 years ago. Miami 75, Syracuse 72. Clemson 63, Virginia Tech 59. Every time Tech (19-12) looks like it might snatch an NCAA bid, something like this happens. Florida State 89, NC State 76.
Oklahoma 78, Kansas State 71. West Virginia 70, TCU 64. West Virginia (15-16) snaps a 7-game losing streak. TCU (19-11) would be smart not to lose in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. One win should be enough for the Frogs, however.
Seton Hall 65, Creighton 60 Xavier 97, Georgetown 75. Marquette 85, St. John's 77.
Loyola 66, Northern Iowa 43. Loyola (24-7) routed Northern Iowa in a rematch of last week's game that gave UNI (19-11) the MVC title. UNI heads to the NIT. Drake 79, Missouri State 78 (OT). It'll be Loyola vs. Drake (24-9) in a rematch of last year's Arch Madness final. Drake made it to the final thanks to a pair of Tucker DeVries free throws with 1 second left in overtime.
Dayton 82, Davidson 76. Dayton (22-9) finishes second, one game behind Davidson (25-5) in the A10. St. Louis 69, VCU 65. VCU (21-8) could have tied Davidson with a win, but instead ends up tied with the Flyers. St. Louis is 21-10.
San Diego State 79, Nevada 78. The Aztecs (21-7) blew a double digit lead in the final 4 minutes, and leading by a point turned it over with 8 seconds to play. But Nevada (12-17) was unable to convert and SD State won by one point for the second time this week.
Colorado State 71, Boise State 68. Washington State 94, Oregon 74.
UTEP 70, North Texas 68. UTEP (18-12) snaps the Mean Green's 15 game winning streak. But this game also makes it much less likely that North Texas (23-5) swipes an at-large bid should they lose in the CUSA conference tournament.
Jacksonville 54, Jacksonville State 51. No, these are not crosstown rivals. The schools are over 440 miles apart. The loss in this Atlantic Sun semifinal means that Jacksonville State (21-10) will play in the NIT, the first definite selection of the year for that tournament. Jacksonville (21-9) will be playing for its first NCAA bid since 1986 in the tournament final on Tuesday.
Bellarmine 53, Liberty 50. 19-13 Knights will be playing Jacksonville for an NCAA bid in just their 2nd year in Division I. Liberty is 22-11 and a good bet to play in a third-tier tournament.
Princeton 93, Penn 70. The Tigers (22-5) defeated arch-rival Penn (12-15) to claim the Ivy League title outright. Nicholls 92, New Orleans 85. Nicholls (21-10) beat New Orleans (17-14) in a showdown for the Southland regular season championship.
Seattle 74, Chicago State 66. New Mexico State 62, Utah Valley 46. Stephen F. Austin 93, UT-Rio Grande Valley 63. Seattle (23-8), New Mexico State (24-6), and SFA (22-8) end up the regular season tied for the WAC title.
San Francisco 75, BYU 63. San Francisco (24-8) is probably in; BYU (22-10) is probably out. The Dons next face #1 Gonzaga in the WCC semis.
Mid-Major Win of the Day: Lots of candidates, especially Murray State and Drake, which won close, dramatic games. But we'll go with: UTEP 70, North Texas 68. UTEP (18-12) snaps the Mean Green's 15 game winning streak. But this game also makes it much less likely that North Texas (23-5) swipes an at-large bid should they lose in the CUSA conference tournament.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Mar 6, 2022 8:42:29 GMT -5
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 6, 2022 22:51:59 GMT -5
Sunday, March 6
Titan Non-Conference Opponents Charleston 92, Hofstra 76. John Meeks scored 31 points as 7th seed Charleston (17-14) ambushed 3rd seed Hofstra (21-11) in the CAA quarterfinals.
Towson 68, Northeastern 61. Northeastern's worst season in 20 years ends with a 9-22 mark.
More Important or Interesting Games Michigan 75, #23 Ohio State 69. Michigan needed this one, but if I were UM (17-13), I'd still plan to win a couple games in the B10 tourney. Michigan State 77, Maryland 67. Tom Izzo passes Bobby Knight to become the Big 10 all-time winningest coach.
Nebraska 74, #10 Wisconsin 73. Retaining Fred Hoiberg was genius! Memphis 75, #14 Houston 61. Memphis (19-9) is probably on the right side of the bubble, for now. #20 Illinois 74, #24 Iowa 72. The Illini (22-8) took advantage of Wisconsin's loss to tie the Badgers for the Big 10 title.
Loyola 74, Drake 68. Loyola (25-7) is heading back to the Dance after holding off a stubborn Drake squad. Bubble teams everywhere were happy with the result. It was almost like being back in the HL as former Golden Grizz Braden Norris gave Drake the final shiv by hitting a pair of free throws with 6 seconds left after being fouled by former Phoenix Tank Hemphill. Loyola's rapid transformation into a national power is really one of the stunning stories of the past decade. Drake(24-10), which beat the Ramblers twice in the regular season, will hope their 24 wins and 82 NET rank is enough for an NIT bid.
Rutgers 59, Penn State 58. Rutgers (18-12) needed the win. Temple 75, South Florida 47.
Georgia State 71, Appalachian State 66. Georgia State (16-10) advanced to the Sunbelt tournament final behind 29 points, 8 assists, and 6 rebounds from our old friend Corey Allen.
Chattanooga 79, Wofford 56. Regular season champ Chattanooga (26-7) advances to the Southern final. Navy 85, Boston U. 80 (OT). After a tense win today in Annapolis, Navy (21-10) will play Colgate in the Patriot Conference final.
Mid-Major Win of the Day: Longwood 79, Winthrop 58. Even though Longwood won the Big South regular season title, most folks still seemed to think that, when all was said and done, perennial conference power Winthrop (23-9) would claim the league's NCAA bid. Not so. Longwood (26-6) led start to finish, was up 18 at halftime and by as much as 28 in the second half before coasting home. This will be Longwood's first NCAA appearance--indeed, it's only the second time the Lancers have had a winning record in 18 years of D-1 play, the other coming way back in 2009. The Lancers, picked to finish 5th in the conference pre-season poll, have won 19 of their last 20.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 8, 2022 3:19:38 GMT -5
Monday, March 7 Upsets in the HL lead to a familiar matchup, and a big night for former Titan Cory Allen.
Horizon League Wright State 82, Cleveland State 67. Cleveland State (20-10) limped across the finish line with 4 losses in its last 7 regular season games, then got an easy quarter-final draw after Robert Morris upset Youngstown, but the Vikings' luck ran out tonight. Wright State (20-13) dominated this one start to finish, with Grant Basile leading the way with 27 points and 11 boards. This is probably good for the HL, pretty much assuring a play-in game for the tournament winner, and hence a good chance for a second NCAA revenue unit, and also getting the conference a team in the NIT, which they otherwise wouldn't have gotten.
Northern Kentucky 57, Purdue-Fort Wayne 43. Fort Wayne (21-11) is a team that relies on good shooting, and tonight they couldn't shoot straight. The #23 team in the country in three point shooting, Fort Wayne shot 3-19 from behind the arc--with two of those made coming in the final minute with PFW down 20. Overall they shot below 30% from the floor. In two HL tournament games, NKU (20-11) has held two of the top 35 teams in the country in three point shooting to a combined 10-47 from deep. It's small consolation, but the Titans remain the only team to beat NKU since mid-January. The Norse are 14-2 since losing to Robert Morris on January 15.
Eye Poppin' Hoops #1 Gonzaga 81, San Francisco 71. This game wasn't as close as the final 10 point margin suggests. San Francisco (24-9) has probably done enough to claim an NCAA at-large bid, but I'll bet they'll be a bit nervous between now and Sunday.
#17 St. Mary's 75, Santa Clara 72. After trailing all game, Santa Clara (21-11) closed to within a point in the final seconds and had Jalen Williams, an 18 ppg guy, driving the lane for the winning hoop. But the Gaels' Logan Johnson blocked the shot, then hit a pair of free throws with 2 seconds left to secure the win. The Gaels will play Gonzaga for the WCC title.
Georgia State 80, Louisiana 71. Georgia State (18-10) will make its first NCAA appearance since Ron Hunter left. The Panthers won the Sunbelt behind ex-Titan Cory Allen, who followed up his 29 point, 8 assist, 6 rebound performance in the semifinal with 29 points and 6 assists in the final. Corey was a very efficient 5-6 from three and 12-12 from the foul line, including 8-8 in the final 90 seconds to keep Louisiana at bay. Not surprisingly, Corey was named the Outstanding Player of the Conference Tournament.
South Dakota State 83, South Dakota 60. SD State (29-4) won it's 20th in a row, beating their in-state rival in the Summit semis. North Dakota State 92, Oral Roberts 72. The Bison (23-9) will take on the Jackrabbits in the final.
Delaware 69, Towson 56. CAA regular season champ Towson (25-8) uses the CAA semi-final to clinch an NIT bid.
Mid-Major Win of the Day: Chattanooga 64, Furman 63 (OT). This was a zowie! overtime game in the Southern final. After a 20 point swing left Furman (22-12) down 7 with 4 minutes to play, the Paladins rallied to force overtime on Michael Bothwell's three with four second left in regulation. In the OT, another Bothwell basket gave Furman the lead with 5 seconds to play. But Chattanooga's David Jean Baptiste took the in-bounds, dribbled across half court, and with two defenders all over him, swished a three from the logo for the win. Chattanooga will enter the tournament at 27-7. Furman is 111-46 in 5 seasons under 38-year old Bob Richey, but has not been able to garner an NCAA bid.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 8, 2022 13:51:05 GMT -5
What to Watch on March 8. It's Championship Week!
If you have the ACC Network, ACC tournament play is on beginning at 2:00 PM.
Other action:
5:00 PM Jacksonville vs Bellarmine ESPN2. Atlantic Sun championship game. Both teams finished second in their respective divisions in the ASUN.
7:00 PM Wright State vs Northern Kentucky. ESPN. The HL championship game gets prime coverage from the Mothership.
9:00 PM St. Mary's vs Gonzaga. ESPN. Championship game of the West Coast Conference. GU is a 13 point favorite.
9:00 PM North Dakota State vs South Dakota State. ESPN2. Summit league title game, battle of the Dakotas.
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Post by terrytylerfan on Mar 8, 2022 16:54:19 GMT -5
What to Watch on March 8. It's Championship Week! If you have the ACC Network, ACC tournament play is on beginning at 2:00 PM. Other action: 5:00 PM Jacksonville vs Bellarmine ESPN2. Atlantic Sun championship game. Both teams finished second in their respective divisions in the ASUN. 7:00 PM Wright State vs Northern Kentucky. ESPN. The HL championship game gets prime coverage from the Mothership. 9:00 PM St. Mary's vs Gonzaga. ESPN. Championship game of the West Coast Conference. GU is a 13 point favorite. 9:00 PM North Dakota State vs South Dakota State. ESPN2. Summit league title game, battle of the Dakotas. One more game that might be worth a quick look: Wagner vs Bryant, 7:00 ESPN2, NEC title game. Bryant’s Peter Kiss is the NCAA leading scorer at 24.7 ppg (one of two guys ahead of Antoine). I’ve yet to see a single clip of him ... never even heard of him until looking up the leaders last week.
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Post by motorcitysam on Mar 8, 2022 17:22:03 GMT -5
What to Watch on March 8. It's Championship Week! If you have the ACC Network, ACC tournament play is on beginning at 2:00 PM. Other action: 5:00 PM Jacksonville vs Bellarmine ESPN2. Atlantic Sun championship game. Both teams finished second in their respective divisions in the ASUN. 7:00 PM Wright State vs Northern Kentucky. ESPN. The HL championship game gets prime coverage from the Mothership. 9:00 PM St. Mary's vs Gonzaga. ESPN. Championship game of the West Coast Conference. GU is a 13 point favorite. 9:00 PM North Dakota State vs South Dakota State. ESPN2. Summit league title game, battle of the Dakotas. One more game that might be worth a quick look: Wagner vs Bryant, 7:00 ESPN2, NEC title game. Bryant’s Peter Kiss is the NCAA leading scorer at 24.7 ppg (one of two guys ahead of Antoine). I’ve yet to see a single clip of him ... never even heard of him until looking up the leaders last week. Great point, TTF. Definitely worth a look.
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 8, 2022 20:21:37 GMT -5
What to Watch on March 8. It's Championship Week! If you have the ACC Network, ACC tournament play is on beginning at 2:00 PM. Other action: 5:00 PM Jacksonville vs Bellarmine ESPN2. Atlantic Sun championship game. Both teams finished second in their respective divisions in the ASUN. 7:00 PM Wright State vs Northern Kentucky. ESPN. The HL championship game gets prime coverage from the Mothership. 9:00 PM St. Mary's vs Gonzaga. ESPN. Championship game of the West Coast Conference. GU is a 13 point favorite. 9:00 PM North Dakota State vs South Dakota State. ESPN2. Summit league title game, battle of the Dakotas. One more game that might be worth a quick look: Wagner vs Bryant, 7:00 ESPN2, NEC title game. Bryant’s Peter Kiss is the NCAA leading scorer at 24.7 ppg (one of two guys ahead of Antoine). I’ve yet to see a single clip of him ... never even heard of him until looking up the leaders last week. This saddens me, because it means you're not reading the scoreboard regularly, or you'd know of Peter Kiss. Read the scoreboard every night and you'll know all you need to know about the ongoing season.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Mar 8, 2022 21:42:20 GMT -5
Wright St. erases 16 point deficit to beat NKU. It will be interesting to see if WSU gets selected for a playin game in Dayton, or is pegged as a 16 seed.
Very ugly end to the NEC championship game. Fisticuffs between Wagner and Bryant fans with about five minutes left in game. Play was halted for about 45 minutes. Top-seeded Bryant was up by a large margin on its home court and ultimately won the game.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Mar 8, 2022 21:58:33 GMT -5
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- CJ Fleming scored a career-high 27 points, Dylan Penn added 22 and Division I newcomer Bellarmine defeated Jacksonville 77-72 in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament final on Tuesday, handing the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament to regular-season champion Jacksonville State. Bellarmine is not eligible for the NCAA tournament as it is in the second of a four-year transition to Division I. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Louisville, Kentucky-based school is the first men's team in the past 25 seasons to win its conference tournament while being ineligible for postseason play. Instead, the Knights became heroes in Jacksonville, Alabama. Top-seeded Jacksonville State fell at home 54-51 to the Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday, but since Bellarmine is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, the Gamecocks will go dancing.
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Post by uofdfan1983 on Mar 8, 2022 22:52:55 GMT -5
I am now sold on adding Bellarmine to the Horizon, based on the fact they appear to be a solid Program and would add a 2nd small Catholic School to our league. But what's the reason they would leave the A-Sun? It's a crappy league vs crappy league comparison. Only difference is we would provide a more compact league requiring less travel for Bellarmine. Is that it?
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Post by Commissioner on Mar 8, 2022 23:02:42 GMT -5
Tuesday, March 8 Personally, I find championship week more fun than the NCAA tournament.
Horizon Wright State 72, Northern Kentucky 71. For 28 minutes NKU steadily pulled ahead until the lead hit 16. Give credit to Scott Nagy, who switched both his offense and defense, triggering a 14-0 WSU run and a great final 8 minutes in which the two teams traded blows like a couple of weary boxers. NKU (20-12) got the lead on a Marquis Warrick three with 22 seconds to play, but WSU (21-13) struck back on a Trey Calvin basket from in the lane. On the Norse's final possession, Sam Vincent spotted an open Bryce Langdon in the corner, but the pass was a bit high but and by the time Langdon pulled it down WSU had closed on him, and the little guard had to do a desperation heave that was off the mark. Look for Wright State to be in a play-in game unless there are some big upsets in some more mid-major tournaments.
Titan Non-Conference Opponents Louisville 84, Georgia Tech 74. The "Ville (13-18) is not dead yet.
Championship Week
Boston College 66, Pitt 46. First round, ACC. Clemson 70, North Carolina State 64.
South Dakota State 75, North Dakota State 69. In a close game decided in the final minute, the Jackrabbits (30-4) won the Summit tournament, and their 21st game in a row. They'll probably be a #11 or 12 seed.
Delaware 59, UNC-Wilmington 55. Delaware (21-12) outlasted top-seeded UNC-Wilmington (23-8) to win the CAA tournament. The biggest lead in this game was 7 for UNC-Wilmington, early in the second half.
Bryant 70, Wagner 43. Wagner (21-6) was the hot team in the Northeast Conference early in the year, winning 16 straight at one point, including a 14 point drubbing of VCU. But the Seahawks stumbled down the stretch and lost 3 of their last 5 regular season games before winning two in the conference tournament. Bryant has been the hot team in the second part of the season, winning 16 of 17. Tonight the Bulldogs were all over Wagner, jumping out to a 36-6 lead and rolling to victory. The Seahawks' leading scorer and the NEC Player of the Year, Alex Morales (18 ppg) was 0-16 from the field. This earns Bryant its first NCAA appearance, in its 14th season in D-1. The Bulldogs (22-9) feature the nation's leading scorer, Peter Kiss, who had 34 tonight. The Bryant gym holds just 2670, but they've sold out their last 6 games. Bryant is located in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Bellarmine 77, Jacksonville 72. Jacksonville's NCAA drought continues--now 37 years since the Dolphins (21-10) last qualified. Bellarmine (20-13) can't go to the NCAA because they're still in transition, and so Jacksonville State--the league's regular season champ, and not to be confused with Jacksonville--backs into the NCAA tournament. If the Horizon League wants Bellarmine, maybe they ought to snatch them up sooner rather than later.
Mid-Major Win of the Day: #1 Gonzaga 82, #17 St. Mary's 69. We should recognize that Gonzaga (26-3) is a mid-major. It plays in a clearly mid-major league, it's not a traditional power, it doesn't have the resources of huge state schools. But for the fact that beats the crap out of everybody, we'd all still recognize that Gonzaga is a mid-major. Well, since when did mid-major mean "loser"? St. Mary's has the 6th best record in college basketball over the past 6 years. They'll be wearing home jerseys in their first round NCAA game. This is mid-major basketball at its best, all that it can be.
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Post by terrytylerfan on Mar 9, 2022 11:43:42 GMT -5
One more game that might be worth a quick look: Wagner vs Bryant, 7:00 ESPN2, NEC title game. Bryant’s Peter Kiss is the NCAA leading scorer at 24.7 ppg (one of two guys ahead of Antoine). I’ve yet to see a single clip of him ... never even heard of him until looking up the leaders last week. This saddens me, because it means you're not reading the scoreboard regularly, or you'd know of Peter Kiss. Read the scoreboard every night and you'll know all you need to know about the ongoing season. Oops! Keep in mind that this student’s failure to absorb the lesson is no reflection on the quality of the teaching
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