Small Conference Game of the Day – February 26

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Chad

VMI at HIGH POINT, 7:00 PM Eastern, bigsouthsports.com

The Big South continues to be one of the most exicting, wide open conferences this season.  That does not mean they are a good conference — in fact there is only one team in the league with a top 200 RPI, and no teams in the top 200 BPI or KenPom.  The conference tournament champion appears to be destined for a trip to Dayton and a First Four “play-in game”.  Just who that champion will be, however, is still anyone’s guess.

Entering tonight’s action, two teams stand at 10-4 in conference play, three more teams are 9-5 and two teams are 8-6, putting more than half the conference still alive for the two division titles with only two games left to play.  As for the North Division, tonight’s SCGD matches up the two co-leaders (and the two teams that are 10-4 in Big South play), the VMI Keydets against the High Point Panthers.  VMI enters the game at 17-10 overall and plays one of the most exciting styles of play in the country.  Their adjusted tempo of 75.2 is second in the nation behind only Northwestern State.  They have hit triple digits 8 times so far this season (and are 8-0 in those games).  The Keydets are led offensively by QJ Peterson, Rodney Glasgow and D.J. Covington, all three of whom average more than 18 points per game.

High Point enters tonight’s game at only 14-13 overall, but their 182 RPI is tops in the Big South.  They have won 8 of their last 9 games, making them the hottest team in the conference and helping them surge into a tie for first place.  They did lose at VMI back on January 22, 82-80, and will be looking to avenge that loss at home tonight.  The Panthers got their first ever postseason bid last season, playing in the CIT.  They are looking to improve on that this year, with a possible automatic bid to the NCAA tournament within their grasp.

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Small Conference Game of the Day – February 25

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Chad

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL at NJIT, 7:00 PM Eastern, No TV

The 2013-14 season is beginning to near its end.  Tonight, the NJIT Highlanders, the lone independent school, will play their final game of the season.  At 13-15 overall entering the game, NJIT will finish the year below .500 and will not even have a chance to play in the CBI or CIT.  The Highlanders did manage to put together a slate of 29 games this season, but it was not easy for Jim Engles’ team.  While at one time being an Independent was not so rare and scheduling, given that you could book games against other Independents right through into March, was not that difficult.  This is simply no longer true and the Highlanders need to find themselves a home before next season.  The team continues to look towards the Northeast and America East conferences and hopes to have something in place before the start of next season.  The addition of lacrosse and a planned new arena to replace/upgrade the Fleisher Center in Newark (the school is currently soliciting quotes from architects for an approximately $80 million investment in an upgrade to its facility) should make NJIT more attractive to these leagues as the school moves forward.

In order to compile a schedule for this season, Jim Engles was forced to frontload most of the team’s games so they would be played in November and December when other schools were willing to play non-conference games.  He scheduled the maximum number of non-Division 1 games (four) and played them all in February.  Finally, the end of the calendar was filled in with a handful of games against MEAC teams — because the MEAC’s 13 team size guaranteed that one team would always have an open spot in its calendar.  That is exactly how tonight’s game against North Carolina Central (actually one of two times the Highlanders played the Eagles this season) came about.

The NC Central Eagles enter tonight’s game at 21-5 overall and 12-1 in the MEAC, on pace to secure their first ever NCAA tournament bid if they can keep their winning ways up through the MEAC tournament.  They have an RPI of 124, BPI of 117 and KenPom of 102, all tops by a wide margin in their conference.  HoopsHD currently projects the Eagles solidly as a 15 seed in the NCAA tournament.  The Eagles beat NJIT 71-55 back in mid-January at home and there is no reason tonight’s score will not be similar.  Tonight’s game is NC Central’s second to last road game of the season, with only a trip to Norfolk State (arguably the second best MEAC team) left away from home.  Of course, this may not be a road game at all.  After all, this is a trip by a team from Durham, North Carolina to Newark, New Jersey . . . and as all college basketball teams know, New Jersey is the home away from home for at least one team from Durham.

NJIT has survived its first season of being the lone Independent.  If the chips fall right, it will be their only season as such.  While the college basketball season has come to an end for the Highlanders after tonight, the next few months could very well shape the direction of this program for years to come.

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Small Conference Game of the Day – February 24

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Chad

Check out this week’s Bracket Racket here: https://hoopshd.com/2014/02/24/bracket-racket-022314/

Check out my Monday Morning Bracketology here: https://hoopshd.com/2014/02/24/monday-morning-bracketology-february-24/

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY at ALABAMA STATE, 8:30 PM Eastern, No TV

Southern University continues to lead the SWAC . . . but that may be meaningless if the NCAA does not clear the school for postseason play.  As we detailed here last week, the Jaguars received a mid-season ruling of ineligibility for all their sports due to discrepancies with the reporting of APR and GSR data to the NCAA from 2003-2009, before any of the current members of the team even decided to come to Baton Rouge.  The school is working hard to clear up eligibility for both the men’s and women’s basketball team before the March 11 starts of the SWAC tournament.  With Southern sitting at 12-2 in conference and 16-11 overall, and holding the only top 200 RPI and KenPom in the SWAC, the final decision by the NCAA will have a huge impact on the SWAC this season.

If Southern does not regain its eligibility, the next best team in the conference may be Alabama State.  The Hornets are two games behind Southern at 9-4 in conference and are the only other team in the SWAC above .500 at 15-9.  However, that 15-9 may be somewhat misleading.  Most SWAC teams tend to schedule “guarantee” games — road games at power conference schools for which the school is paid but does not get a return home game the following year.  Alabama State avoided doing that.  They instead scheduled the #335 non-conference SOS, resulting in the overall worst SOS in the entire country.  In fact, amazingly, tonight’s game will be only their fourth game all season against an RPI Top 200 team, and one of those was a loss back on January 27 to this same Southern team (the other two were losses to Illinois and Milwaukee).

As a side note, Alabama State is no stranger to academic ineligibility themselves.  The Hornets were one of four SWAC teams that were declared ineligible for postseason play this year due to their APR numbers (joining Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi Valley State and Grambling State).  Alabama State filed an immediate appeal of their ban and were able to demonstrate to the NCAA that some of the data that had been used was inaccurate.  As a result, their APR numbers were recalculated and met the minimum standards, resulting in a lifting of their postseason ban.  We can all only hope that Southern University is just as successful in their current appeal process, because the team that wins this conference and represents the SWAC in the NCAA tournament should be decided on the court — not in some NCAA paper pusher’s office.

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Monday Morning Bracketology – February 24

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Chad

It is time for some more Monday Morning Bracketology.  Here is my projected bracket through games of February 23, plus some notes on this week’s field.  Please note that I am predicting what the committee will do as of today:

WEST REGION
San Diego
(1) Arizona vs (16) Davidson
(8) George Washington vs (9) Baylor

Spokane
(5) San Diego State vs (12) BYU
(4) Louisville vs (13) Belmont

Orlando
(6) Massachusetts vs (11) Minnesota/Missouri
(3) Virginia vs (14) Mercer

Buffalo
(7) Stanford vs (10) Gonzaga
(2) Villanova vs (15) Boston University

EAST REGION
St. Louis
(1) Kansas vs (16) Robert Morris/Southern
(8) California vs (9) SMU

San Diego
(5) Kentucky vs (12) Green Bay
(4) Saint Louis vs (13) Stephen F. Austin

Raleigh
(6) North Carolina vs (11) St. Joseph’s
(3) Michigan State vs (14) Iona

Buffalo
(7) Connecticut vs (10) Nebraska
(2) Syracuse vs (15) North Carolina Central

SOUTH REGION
Orlando
(1) Florida vs (16) Vermont
(8) VCU vs (9) Arizona State

Spokane
(5) Iowa vs (12) Toledo
(4) Cincinnati vs (13) North Dakota State

San Antonio
(6) Texas vs (11) Louisiana Tech
(3) Wisconsin vs (14) New Mexico State

Raleigh
(7) New Mexico vs (10) Pittsburgh
(2) Duke vs (15) Georgia State

MIDWEST REGION
St. Louis
(1) Wichita State vs (16) Weber State/VMI
(8) Memphis vs (9) Kansas State

San Antonio
(5) Ohio State vs (12) Providence/Florida State
(4) Iowa State vs (13) Harvard

Milwaukee
(6) UCLA vs (11) Dayton
(3) Michigan vs (14) UC-Santa Barbara

Milwaukee
(7) Oklahoma vs (10) Colorado
(2) Creighton vs (15) Towson

National Semifinals: West vs East, South vs Midwest

Last four in: Minnesota, Providence, Missouri, Florida State
First four out: Georgetown, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Arkansas
Others considered: Richmond, Clemson, St. John’s, Marquette, Xavier, Middle Tennessee, Southern Miss, Oregon, Utah, Tennessee

A few notes about this week’s bracket:
The Big Ten took the lead this week with 7 teams in the field, followed by the Big 12, Pac-12, ACC and A-10 all with 6 teams each.  The American has 5 teams in, the Big East and SEC have 3 each, and the Mountain West and West Coast each had 2.

Once again some fun matchups showed up this week, all unintentionally.  In the West, San Diego State vs BYU is an old Mountain West rivalry.  In the East, Michigan State got kind of screwed, having a to potentially play North Carolina in Raleigh in the Round of 32.  We also have a potential round of 32 “Big East” matchup between UConn and Syracuse.  Finally in the Midwest, Wichita State has a potential Round of 32 game against Kansas State (in St. Louis), and if seeds hold up, could play Creighton in the Regional Final.

Syracuse’s tough week knocked them from the #1 team overall last week all the way down to the 2 line, opening a spot for Kansas to move back into the top line.  Pitt suffered a tough home loss to Florida State Sunday night that had two effects.  First the Panthers are sliding down the bracket and are now barely holding on at a 10 seed.  They simply do not have the quality wins needed to be called safely in the field.  The win was also huge for Florida State, and when push came to shove I ended up liking the Seminoles’ overall profile just slightly better than the rest of the Bubble, giving them my final at-large spot.

Dayton and St. Joe’s have been two of the hotter teams in the country among bubble teams, and as a result both teams not only made this week’s field, but even avoided the First Four.  UMass also had a great week in the A-10 winning at George Washington and at home against VCU.  The Minutemen are solidly on the 6 line and have a chance to move higher if they keep winning.

The Big East took the hardest hit this week, as it appears this league could have anywhere from 2-7 teams in the field still.  Villanova and Creighton are solid on the 2 line, but the only other team in the field is Providence. and they are in the First Four.  Georgetown was my very last team left out, while St. John’s, Marquette and Xavier are all still on the board.  None of these teams seems to want to assert itself and grab a bid, and in fact Xavier is heading in the wrong direction entirely at the moment.

In the SEC, Missouri barely hung on to a spot in the field, though they have no margin for error left.  Arkansas (one of my first four out) has been playing itself back into contention and with a trip to Kentucky looming this week, could get a true signature win.  Tennessee, on the other hand, fell right out of my field and has a ton of work to do if they want to get back in.

Another new team to the field this week is BYU.  While they have four bad losses, they have offset them with wins away from home against Stanford and Texas teams that are single digit seeds, and picked up a solid home win this week over Gonzaga.  The Cougars must win their final regular season game next weekend, at dangerous San Diego, and pick up at least one if not two wins in the WCC tourney still.  BYU’s inclusion required me to shift one of the First Four games up to the 11 line and them down to the 12 in order to make certain they did not play a game on a Sunday.

Finally, among the single bid conferences, Delaware has lost 2 of 3 games prompting me to make the change and call Towson as the Colonial champion, especially with the conference tournament in their backyards in Baltimore this year.  VMI is my new pick in the crazy race for the Big South as Coastal Carolina suffered two losses this week.  Finally, Southern is still in my field and will remain my pick in the SWAC until their fight to regain eligibility before the start of conference tournament play is done.  In fact, I now like their resume better than both Weber State and VMI, and have them ranked #66 overall.

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Bracket Racket 02/23/14

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Johnny Basketball

HHDpodsOn our latest edition of the Bracket Racket, we recap what was a busy week in college basketball, focusing on:

  • Jim Boeheim’s silly meltdown at the end of Duke-Syracuse, and Cuse’s danger zone to end the season
  • Michigan’s surprise sweep of Michigan State and the implications it had for the Big Ten race
  • Wisconsin’s sudden resurrection
  • Nebraska’s tournament chances
  • The still-existent possibility of a 2-bid SEC
  • The muddle of the Atlantic 10 and Big East

We also preview the upcoming games this week, with special looks at St Joseph’s vs Dayton, Iowa vs Minnesota, and Nebraska vs Illinois.

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Small Conference Game of the Day – February 23

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Chad

YALE at COLUMBIA, 1:30 PM Eastern, NBC Sports Network

Heading into the season, Harvard appeared to be the clear favorite to run away with the Ivy League regular season title and the automatic bid that comes with it.  After the first month of the year, Princeton looked like the one team that might be able to challenge the Crimson.  As we got closer to the start of the conference season, Columbia looked like it might be the team instead.  However, the Ivy League regular season was disastrous for both.  Princeton has already been mathematically eliminated from the conference title race and Columbia sits three games back in the standings with only five games left to play.

With Princeton and Columbia’s failings in Ivy League play, most people would not have been surprised if Harvard had already clinched the conference title by now.  That has not happened.  The Yale Bulldogs, a team given up for all but dead after a 5-8 non-conference record that included losses to the likes of Bryant and Albany and no win better than Hartford, have streaked through the Ivy League season, standing at 8-1 in conference heading into today’s game including a 74-67 win at Harvard (their lone loss is a somewhat mystifying 73-56 loss at Brown).

Yale’s 8-1 Ivy league mark places them half a game behind Harvard with a chance to move back into a first place tie with a win today at Columbia.  Yale controls their own destiny, as winning all remaining games would give them an outright first place finish in the Ivy.  They could even afford one loss, as long as it is not their home contest March 7 against Harvard, and guarantee no worse than a tie and a one game playoff for the Ivy League title.  However, they do need to win games, and today’s game at Columbia plus their next game, Friday night at Princeton, are their two toughest contests in conference other than the Harvard games.

Columbia enters today’s game at 5-4 in the Ivy and 16-10 overall.  The Lions’ 147 RPI is third best in the Ivy behind only Harvard and Yale.  Kyle Smith’s team has been competitive all season, including a game back in November at Michigan State that they were in almost all the way and a six point loss to St. John’s in December.  While the Lions will probably not be in postseason play this year unless the CIT comes calling, they have definitely shown the ability to play with the “big boys” this season.  And they will definitely impact the balance of the Ivy League schedule as they not only host Yale today, but have a trip to Harvard (whom they lost to in double OT last weekend) next Saturday.

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