All-Access at the ACC Tournament: HoopsHD interviews Miami Sunsation Lilly Miller

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The ACC Tournament tips off this week in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the week ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage with an interview of Miami Sunsation Lilly Miller.

You are from Farmington, MN: what made you choose Miami? The weather, obviously! I spent my 1st 2 years of college at Minnesota, which was fun, but I wanted to experience something new.

You are majoring in Pre-Physical Therapy with minors in psychology/sports medicine: why did you choose those subjects? I had a lot of hip issues when I was younger and have been in and out of physical therapy ever since middle school so this is a way that I can help others with their own physical problems.

You are a senior: what is the post-graduation plan? I am going to stay in Miami and explore some schools: I am just playing it by ear.

You have been dancing for most of your life: how did you 1st get into it, and what is the best part of being on the dance team? My neighbor when I was growing up owned a dance studio so that is how I got into it. The best part is that I have met my best friends on the team and they will be with me throughout my entire life.

You volunteer at dog shelters: how much importance do you place on community service? The service opportunities I have are some of the best parts of being at this school. I am obsessed with dogs and to take 1 out for a day and help them is something that I love doing.

You have been on the team for 4 years, which means you got to experience last year’s legendary Final 4 run: did you get to dance in Albany/Kansas City/Houston? We were only in Albany but we did perform at a lot of watch parties on campus. We all love “Coach L” and it was amazing to see a bunch of athletes that we know make that run!

This year’s team got off to a great 11-2 start but has faded down the stretch: is it harder to dance for the fans when the team is not doing as well? No: we still love dancing regardless of how the team is playing.

What has been your favorite memory from this season: going to the Bahamas, beating Clemson at home in January, Senior Night vs. BC last week, other? That Clemson game was the most fun. We have 1/2 our team do a dance in the 1st half and 1/2 in the 2nd half: the stadium was so loud throughout the game and the fans were super-hyped.

How does your school decide who gets to go to DC, and what will it mean to you to see your group doing its thing in front of a national TV audience? Our coach decides who gets to go. Traveling for postseason basketball games is different from football games and so fun. We are a newer dance team so the chance to get our name out there a little more is nice.

Any predictions for the conference tourney? We are taking it all: ACC champs!

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Bracketology 2024: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.1)

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Jon Teitel

We are only 6 days away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the 2023 tourney with 65 of his 67 within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 53 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming week predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 17th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how he stacks up with other websites (ranked 11th out of 174 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Purdue (Big 10)
1: Connecticut (Big East)
1: Houston (Big 12)
1: Tennessee (SEC)

2: North Carolina (ACC)
2: Arizona (Pac-12)
2: Iowa State (Big 12)
2: Marquette (Big East)

3: Baylor (Big 12)
3: Creighton (Big East)
3: Duke (ACC)
3: Kansas (Big 12)

4: Kentucky (SEC)
4: Alabama (SEC)
4: Illinois (Big 10)
4: Auburn (SEC)

5: BYU (Big 12)
5: San Diego State (MWC)
5: Clemson (ACC)
5: South Carolina (SEC)

6: Wisconsin (Big 10)
6: Utah State (MWC)
6: Washington State (Pac-12)
6: Dayton (A-10)

7: Florida (SEC)
7: Nevada (MWC)
7: Texas Tech (Big 12)
7: Gonzaga (WCC)

8: St. Mary’s (WCC)
8: Boise State (MWC)
8: Texas (Big 12)
8: Colorado State (MWC)

9: Northwestern (Big 10)
9: Oklahoma (Big 12)
9: TCU (Big 12)
9: Michigan State (Big 10)

10: Nebraska (Big 10)
10: FAU (AAC)
10: Mississippi State (SEC)
10: Seton Hall (Big East)

11: Virginia (ACC)
11: St. John’s (Big East)
11: Colorado (Pac-12)
11: Villanova (Big East)
11: Drake (MVC): AUTO-BID
11: Richmond (A-10)

12: South Florida (AAC)
12: Princeton (Ivy)
12: Grand Canyon (WAC)
12: James Madison (Sun Belt)

13: McNeese (Southland)
13: Samford (SoCon)
13: UC-Irvine (Big West)
13: Vermont (America East)

14: Charleston (CAA)
14: Toledo (MAC)
14: Oakland (Horizon)
14: Morehead State (OVC): AUTO-BID

15: Colgate (Patriot)
15: Sam Houston (C-USA)
15: Montana (Big Sky)
15: South Dakota State (Summit)

16: Quinnipiac (MAAC)
16: Longwood (Big South): AUTO-BID
16: Stetson (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
16: Norfolk State (MEAC)
16: Grambling (SWAC)
16: Merrimack (NEC)

1ST 4 OUT
Indiana State (MVC)
Iowa (Big 10)
New Mexico (MWC)
Providence (Big East)

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Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 7

Posted on March 11, 2024 by David Griggs

WELCOME SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS!!! We are here to do your job for you!! Just watch, listen, and do what we say, and it will all be alright!!!

Boise is the city where chalk goes to die. All six games in the Big Sky conference tournament have been upsets, including two big ones today with Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado going down. We had three more teams earn automatic bids as Stetson won the ASun for the first time ever, Longwood dominated the Big South championship game, and Drake knocked off Indiana State in a thriller. We discuss all that, and more!

Check out the HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD, which shows who is a lock, who is on the bubble, and who needs the auto-bid

Also, don’t miss our CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT PAGE, which has brackets, times, and viewing information for all 32 conference tourney

Check out our new HOOPS HD TEAM SHEETS AND DEFCON RATINGS for all 362 D1 teams

Finally, be sure to keep an eye on our most recent BRACKET PROJECTIONS

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

SOCON CHAMPIONSHIP:

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP:

WEST COAST SEMIFINALS:

CAA SEMIFINALS:

HORIZON LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:

SUMMIT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:

SOUTHLAND QUARTERFINALS:

BIG SKY QUARTERFINALS:

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All-Access at the CAA Tournament: Quarterfinal Sunday

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Jon Teitel

Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, parents, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament is taking place this weekend in Washington, DC, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD will be covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of articles in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage with a recap of the quarterfinal quadruple-header on Sunday.

The food selections today were much better. Make-your-own tacos for lunch were good (although the lack of taco shells did not help), and BBQ sandwiches/cheesecake for dinner was delicious. Let’s tip it off:

GAME #1: Monmouth-Charleston
Monmouth G Xander Rice came out firing in the 1st half with a pair of threes, a floater off the glass, and a layup. However, Charleston F Frankie Policelli one-upped him with a trio of trifectas as the Cougars got out to a big 44-29 halftime lead. His fellow big men poured it on in the 2nd half as Ben Burnham made a couple of long-range shots and Ante Brzovic made a bunch of short jump shots as Charleston cruised to an 83-59 win and will play again on Monday night.

In the postgame press conference I asked Burnham what it was like to play with Policelli this year after playing against him in last year’s tourney. He joked that he would rather have Frankie on his team then play against him and that he likes having him on his side:

GAME #2: Towson-UNCW
UNCW F Trazarien White came out white-hot in the 1st stanza with a couple of threes, a couple of layups, and a total of 18 PTS in just 16 minutes (while the rest of his team scored a combined 12 PTS) as the Seahawks SHOULD have held a 30-26 lead at the break. Fortunately for sports highlight shows, Towson FR Tyler Tejada decided to make the shot of his life by banking in a 75-footer to end the half (go to the 1:05 mark here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqQCMilJxVI)! UNCW G Shykeim Phillips almost singlehandedly kept his team close in the 2nd half by knocking down a baseline leaner and a 3 from the top of key but Towson G Dylan Williamson almost made more FTs (11) then the entire UNCW team (12) as the Tigers pulled away to win 66-56. Due to a hard foul right before the buzzer the coaches were the only ones to shake hands as the players headed to their respective locker room to avoid any incidents.

I wondered how Williamson was able to shake off the past 5 weeks when he only made 4-12 FTs by converting 17-18 this weekend. Towson coach Pat Skerry said that it was because he is a confident kid: even though they “have had some adventures at the line this year,” the whole team shot them well during the tourney:

GAME #3: Stony Brook-Drexel
After the 1st 2 games were decided by double-digits you just had a feeling that the 3rd game would be the charm…and it was. Stony Brook G Dean Noll and Drexel F Lucas Monroe 1st played against each other when Monroe’s Penn team had a 6-PT win at Noll’s Cornell team back in 2020. Their Ivy League rivalry has continued in the CAA and Drexel got out to a 36-28 lead at halftime. Drexel SR G Luke House made 3 shots from behind the arc in the 1st half…and 3 more from behind the arc in the 2nd half en route to a career-high 28 PTS. I assumed that Stony Brook would run out of gas after playing last night but C Keenan Fitzmorris ended up scoring 16 PTS off the bench, SR G Aaron Clarke made a ton of midrange jumpers, and SR F Chris Maidoh had a huge dunk to tie it with 12 seconds left and send the game to OT. The game went back and forth in OT with Maidoh hitting the offensive glass for multiple put-backs, and Clarke made yet another jump shot with 9 seconds left to send us into a deep sleep…I mean double-OT! It was Drexel who ran out of glass as Maidoh set a career-high with 25 PTS and Clarke made a bank shot and resulting FT to give his team a 3-PT lead with 8.2 seconds left and give himself a career-high 27 PTS as Stony Brook won this thriller by the score of 91-88.

I could not believe that Clarke was able to sit upright after playing more than 48 minutes. He smiled and explained that March is the time to “rev it up” and that he will be fine thanks to his team’s great trainers:

GAME #4: Delaware-Hofstra
I am sure that it was a great game…but after attending 8 games this weekend I am calling it a wrap for tonight, check back tomorrow for the semifinal doubleheader.

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Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews Omaha legend Dean Thompson Jr.

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Jon Teitel

There is more to “Omaha” than a Peyton Manning audible. Back in the day it was Dean Thompson Jr. who was synonymous with the school’s basketball success: he set a school record for career PTS, was top-5 in AST/STL, and was even named All-American/conference POY. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Dean about all of his amazing accomplishments. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the final game of Dean’s college career, a 3-PT win over Northern Michigan in the D-2 tourney on : March 10, 1984, so we take this time to look back at a legend.

You played in 3 Nebraska Class A tourney finals with Omaha Westside and won it all in 1980: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was a lot of fun, as I have always loved the game: it is 1 of the highlights of my career.

Your dad Dean Sr. played basketball at Omaha: how big of an influence was he on your own college decision? He is a huge influence in general: I got to watch him play and read his clippings, and he still plays in his late-70s! I made my own decision on what was the best fit, but he was certainly a factor.

What are your memories of the 1982 D-2 tourney (9-PT win over Lewis)? They had an All-American player who was very good. In those days the regional was always very competitive…and it was very cold in North Dakota.

What are your memories of the 1983 D-2 tourney (1-PT loss to Morningside)? My wife always tells me that I remember too many details about my career. We had a great rivalry with them, and they went to the Final 4 that year. There was a block/charge call late in the game, and the ref actually called a block before changing his mind and calling a charge.

What are your memories of the 1984 D-2 tourney (3-PT win over Northern Michigan)? We had a top-10 team for a good chunk of the year and set a school record for wins. I set the school scoring record a few months into the season and thought we were going to go a long way in the tourney. We actually lost to Wayne State in the 1st round, which was very disappointing, but we were able to win the consolation game.

In 1984 you were named All-American/conference POY: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Any time you get such notoriety like that it is a reflection of your team. It does not happen on your own: you need to have success as a team and an SID that lets people know what you have done. It was a nice cap on that era of Omaha basketball.

You remain the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were, and do you think that anyone will ever break your record? Records are made to be broken, and my own hope is that it gets broken someday. That would mean that someone came in and was successful for a 4-year stretch, and the team is doing great at the moment. I never thought it would last this long: the record holders before me were also Omaha guys whose records were broken after 7-10 years.

After graduation you played in the CBA for the Omaha Racers: how exciting was it to play for your hometown team, and what is the biggest difference between college basketball and pro basketball? I aspired to keep playing basketball as long as I could, and I played in an AAU tourney in Montana after our early elimination from the D-2 tourney. My backcourt mate was a short guy named John Stockton, and we both played pretty well up there. I felt comfortable with my basketball career so I felt okay going into the business world before later joining the Racers. I have represented my city for most of my life, which not a lot of players get to do.

In 1992 you won your 2nd straight Hoop-It-Up world championship: what is the key to winning a 3-on-3 tourney? A hard head! We did not always have officials back then so we would have to call our own fouls, and occasionally you would get thrown into the backboard support. We ran a lot of pick-and-roll plays: you are always looking for numbers, and I really enjoyed the strategic elements.

You run a basketball clinic in the Midwest with your brother Tom, who is the all-time leading 3-PT shooter in conference history and all-time leading FG shooter in school history: what makes your clinic different from other clinics, and who is the best player in the family? I do not think I am going to answer that last part! Our family is large on faith and mentoring kids in a loving fashion while teaching them to enjoy what they are doing. Sports is designed as a microcosm of life with highs and lows and obstacles, and I see our clinic as a “basketball party”: at the end of the week we are all depressed that it has come to a close. Kids still want to enjoy the game, so we just enjoy helping them become better.

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Bracketology 2024: March Madness Predictions (Version 10.0)

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Jon Teitel

For today’s HOOPS HD DAILY RUNDOWN – CLICK HERE

We are only 7 days away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the 2023 tourney with 65 of his 67 within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 53 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming week predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 17th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how he stacks up with other websites (ranked 11th out of 174 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Purdue (Big 10)
1: Connecticut (Big East)
1: Houston (Big 12)
1: Tennessee (SEC)

2: North Carolina (ACC)
2: Arizona (Pac-12)
2: Marquette (Big East)
2: Iowa State (Big 12)

3: Baylor (Big 12)
3: Kansas (Big 12)
3: Creighton (Big East)
3: Duke (ACC)

4: Kentucky (SEC)
4: Alabama (SEC)
4: Illinois (Big 10)
4: Auburn (SEC)

5: BYU (Big 12)
5: San Diego State (MWC)
5: South Carolina (SEC)
5: Clemson (ACC)

6: Wisconsin (Big 10)
6: Washington State (Pac-12)
6: Dayton (A-10)
6: Florida (SEC)

7: Utah State (MWC)
7: St. Mary’s (WCC)
7: Gonzaga (WCC)
7: Nevada (MWC)

8: Texas Tech (Big 12)
8: Texas (Big 12)
8: Boise State (MWC)
8: Colorado State (MWC)

9: Northwestern (Big 10)
9: Oklahoma (Big 12)
9: Michigan State (Big 10)
9: TCU (Big 12)

10: Nebraska (Big 10)
10: FAU (AAC)
10: Mississippi State (SEC)
10: Seton Hall (Big East)

11: Virginia (ACC)
11: Villanova (Big East)
11: St. John’s (Big East)
11: Colorado (Pac-12)
11: Indiana State (MVC)
11: Richmond (A-10)

12: South Florida (AAC)
12: Princeton (Ivy)
12: Grand Canyon (WAC)
12: McNeese (Southland)

13: Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
13: Samford (SoCon)
13: UC-Irvine (Big West)
13: Vermont (America East)

14: Sam Houston State (C-USA)
14: Toledo (MAC)
14: Charleston (CAA)
14: Oakland (Horizon)

15: UNC-Asheville (Big South)
15: Morehead State (OVC): AUTO-BID
15: Colgate (Patriot)
15: Eastern Washington (Big Sky)

16: Quinnipiac (MAAC)
16: South Dakota State (Summit)
16: Stetson (Atlantic Sun)
16: Norfolk State (MEAC)
16: Grambling (SWAC)
16: Merrimack (NEC)

1ST 4 OUT
Iowa (Big 10)
New Mexico (MWC)
Providence (Big East)
Utah (Pac-12)

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