News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 7th (***SEASON OPENER!!!***)

Posted on November 7, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

HAPPY COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON EVERYBODY!!!!  Today, we celebrate the start of the season with a slate of games that’s…well…not all that much better than the exhibition games we’ve been watching for the last two weeks.

-I think one of the things that’s a little broken with college basketball is how the season typically starts.  Most power programs have a tendency to want to easy in to their seasons, so right out of the gate it’s predominantly buy games.  Whereas the NBA and MLB have compelling games to kick things off, college basketball gives us a schedule of games that even most people who are big fans would not want to buy a ticket to go see.  And, there seem to be more and more games against nonD1 opponents, which even if a team wins those they don’t mean anything.  So, instead of starting off with a bang, we typically start off with a little popgun pop.

-Technically speaking, though, everyone is starting off at zero.  Presumptions don’t matter.  For all we know, we could see the SWAC, MEAC, and NEC go undefeated today and win 90 percent of their OOC games, and the ACC and Big 12 could turn out to be one bid leagues.  It’s all about what happens on the court.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

There are at least a smattering of games today that are worth watching.  Below is the rundown…

-MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE AT BAYLOR.  We start the season off with what may end up being the worst game you’ll see all season between two D1 teams.  In fact with 361 teams this year, by the end of the year it’s possible that this will end up being the biggest mismatch in history that actually featured two D1 teams.  It’s technically a buy game, and we’d almost never highlight a game like this, but we always highlight the first game.

-HARVARD AT MOREHOUSE (nonD1).  Highlighted simply because Harvard is on the road at a non-D1 school.

-LA SALLE AT VILLANOVA (Big Five).  It’s a historical rivalry, a bit of a current rivalry, but more of a huge mismatch.

-VALPARAISO AT TOLEDO.  This is technically not a buy game, but it may end up seeming like one.  If Toledo is going to make a run at the bubble, they pretty much need to hold serve in all their games, especially ones like this one.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT AKRON.  This is actually one of the better games of the day.  Both teams are good Under the Radar programs, and both appear to be solid this year.  If the goal is to land inside the bubble, then this is the kind of game both teams need to be able to win.  At least we get ONE decent game tonight!

-NJIT AT SAINT PETER’S.  I highlight this game only to highlight how much Saint Peter’s has lost.  This could have been a spotlight year for them, but instead their top six scorers and head coach from last year’s magical Elite Eight run are gone.

-COLGATE AT BUFFALO.  I like this Colgate team, and although the bubble may be a bit of a long shot for them, if they’re going to get there then this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win.

-KENT STATE AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY.  The bubble may seem like a long shot for Kent State, but if they want to make a run at it then this is the kind of game they need to be able to win.

-MANHATTAN AT VCU.  This SHOULD HAVE been a really good game and a nice opportunity at a notable road win for Manhattan, but with all the distractions at Manhattan with them losing their coach it may end up looking more like a buy game.

-PENN AT IONA.  A nice match-up between two Under the Radar conference frontrunners.

-MARSHALL AT QUEENS.  Welcome to D1 Queens!!  They get to host a pretty good Marshall team at home in their D1 debut.

-HOFSTRA AT PRINCETON.  It’s not likely that either team will land inside the bubble, but both could end up being pretty good Under the Radar teams this year, and who knows?  Perhaps one or both of them are good enough to string together quite a few wins.  It’s a good game for both teams to open with.

-OHIO U AT BELMONT.  Both programs are really solid, but the teams that they each have this year appear to be in a bit of a rebuild mode, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do against each other.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT HOUSTON.  This is a buy game, but it’s actually got a halfway decent storyline to it.  Northern Colorado should be one of the better teams in the Big Sky, and Houston is arguably the best team in the nation, so…we’ll highlight it!

-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT ARKANSAS.  North Dakota State is normally a Summit League frontrunner, but they appear to have taken a step back this year.  Arkansas is stacked with talent, but the roster is so new that it may take a little bit of time as they get used to playing with one another.  They’re at least starting things off against a semi-decent team tonight.

-CENTENARY AT LOUISIANA.  We will ALWAYS highlight any game where Centenary is playing a D1 opponent.  This is the program the Centenary Award is named after!!

-MURRAY STATE AT SAINT LOUIS.  Murray State had a great year last year, but they’ve gone through so much turnover that it’s a completely new team and completely impossible to forecast.  Saint Louis looks to be a Tournament caliber team, and at least has a somewhat decent game to start their season off with.

-MEMPHIS AT VANDERBILT.  This game has some appeal.  It’s possible that Vanderbilt is better than what some of us are expecting, and they’re at home, and while Memphis is talented, they also have a recent history of being rather inconsistent.  It’s a great test for both teams to kick off the season!

-LONGWOOD AT ALABAMA.  This is a buy game, but since Longwood is a Big South preseason favorite we will go ahead and highlight it.  They’re probably overmatched in this one, though.

-SOUTH DAKOTA AT WISCONSIN.  I think Wisconsin is undervalued in the Big Ten, and I think South Dakota could be a dark horse to win the Summit League.  This is a buy game, and a likely mismatch, but the game at least has a storyline.

-MONTANA STATE AT GRAND CANYON.  This is yet another match-up between two teams that are favored to win their conferences and who should be really good Under the Radar teams this year.  You like to see teams like this open their seasons with games like this.

-ORAL ROBERTS AT SAINT MARY’S.  Oral Roberts is picked to finish toward the top of the Summit League, and while Saint Mary’s looks to have the better team they better not totally overlook ORU.  This could end up being a pretty good game.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT CAL BAPTIST.  I’m highlighting this because I think The Beach is really good this year and this should be a winnable road game for them.

 

BUY GAMES:

-Pacific @ Stanford
-Howard @ Kentucky – another unbelievably mismatched game
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Michigan – PFW is expected to be a player in the Horizon League, but they’re probably overmatched in this one
-New Orleans @ Butler
-Merrimack @ Saint John’s
-Jacksonville @ Duke
-Tennessee Tech @ Tennessee
-Morehead State @ Indiana – both teams are the preseason picks to win their conferences, but one plays in what appears to be a slightly stronger conference than the other
-Lindenwood @ Dayton – welcome to D1 Lindenwood!
-Guilford (nonD1) @ Davidson
-Chaminade (nonD1) @ Cincinnati
-Albany @ Towson – it’s probably technically not a buy game, but it will probably seem like one
-Wagner @ Temple – Temple’s been down for a while, but I like their team this year
-Saint Francis PA @ Saint Bonaventure
-Regent (nonD1) @ Liberty
-VMI @ Richmond
-Northern Arizona @ Michigan State
-Tarleton State @ Arizona State
-Columbia @ Rutgers
-Winthrop @ Penn State – Winthrop is normally pretty good, but it’s hard to say what they’ve got this year.  In most years they’d be able to give Penn State a game
-Robert Morris @ Ohio State
-Niagara @ Maryland
-Bethune Cookman @ Iowa
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ West Virginia
-UT Marin @ Pittsburgh
-Stetson @ Florida State
-The Citadel @ Clemson
-Texas State @ Washington State – can one of the better teams from the Sun Belt hang with Wazzu?
-TAMUCC @ Mississippi State – TAMUCC is favored to win the Southland, but they are overmatched today
-Central Connecticut @ UMass – Angry Frank’s UMass debut!!
-Alabama State @ UAB
-Morgan State @ Xavier
-Stonehill @ UConn – welcome to D1 Stonehill!!
-Lafayette @ Miami FL
-Loyola MD @ DePaul
-Omaha @ Kansas
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ TCU
-George Mason @ Auburn
-Little Rock @ Southern Illinois
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Loyola Chicago
-Sam Houston @ Oklahoma
-IUPUI @ Iowa State
-UL Monroe @ Texas A&M
-Southern Indiana @ Missouri – welcome to D1 Southern Indiana!!
-Western Carolina @ Georgia – Mike White’s debut at Georgia
-Stony Brook @ Florida
-Fairfield @ Wake Forest
-Lehigh @ Syracuse
-Austin Peay @ NC State
-Saint Thomas @ Creighton
-TAMU Commerce @ SMU – welcome to D1 TAMUC!!
-UMBC @ Tulane – we are REALLY big on this Tulane team this year
-Radford @ Marquette
-UC Riverside @ Colorado
-UNC Wilmington @ North Carolina
-North Florida @ Gonzaga
-UTEP @ Texas
-NC Central @ Virginia
-Eastern Illinois @ Illinois
-Northwestern State @ Texas Tech
-Colorado Christian (nonD1) @ Wyoming
-UT Arlington @ Oklahoma State
-Idaho State @ BYU
-Utah Valley @ Utah State (Beehive)
-Gardner Webb @ Colorado State
-Western Michigan @ Minnesota
-UTRGV @ Kansas State
-Alcorn State @ Ole Miss
-Delaware State @ Virginia Tech
-Nicholls @ Arizona
-FGCU @ USC
-Cal State Fullerton @ San Diego State
-Florida A&M @ Oregon
-Texas Southern @ San Francisco
-Utah Tech @ Nevada
-Southern @ UNLV
-Weber State @ Washington
-Long Island @ Utah
-UC Davis @ California
-Sacramento State @ UCLA

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Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews South Dakota State legend Mark Tetzlaff

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Jon Teitel

South Dakota State has owned the Summit League recently, making 6 NCAA tourneys during the past 11 years, but 1 of their 1st big stars did not show up until the 1980s. Mark Tetzlaff helped lead the Jackrabbits to the 1985 D-2 title game and was named tourney MOP even after losing that game by a single point. He set the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding records and remains the school’s all-time leading shooter with 60.7 FG%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mark about his athletic family and almost winning a title. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Mark’s induction into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame on November 6, 2010, so we take this time to reflect on his remarkable accomplishments.

Your family has a very impressive athletic lineage (your dad finished 3rd in the 1949 state Class B boys basketball tournament, your brother Harley won a state basketball title, your brother Kevin was an All-American nose guard at South Dakota State, your daughter Jessica won a state basketball title, and your son Dustin was Class AA POY): was it a coincidence that you had such an athletic family or do you credit at least some of your success to genetics? I guess that both genetics and family tradition go a long way. My folks helped by letting us get involved in all sports.

Why did you choose to go to South Dakota State? I was impressed with the recruiting process and my personality seemed to mix well with that of Coach Gene Zulk. It was a large school that was close to home, which also helped a lot.

In 1985 your team lost the D-2 title game to Jacksonville State by 1 PT but you were still named tourney MOP: what are your memories of the game, and how did it feel to win MOP while losing the title? I would have given up the MOP to win the title. We were up by 5 PTS with a couple of minutes left. There might have been a few bad calls at the end…but they have never changed them even to this day! It was 1 of the biggest crowds we had ever seen. We did not have the most talent in the world but practice was a war zone because none of us ever gave up. Coach Zulk was 1 of the best in my eyes because not only was he a good coach but he cared about us as players.

After retiring as a player you became an agricultural and commercial banker: how did you get into that line of work, and how do you like it? I enjoy banking very much: my degree was in commercial economics and I have been in the banking industry for decades.

Your son decided to play college basketball at your archrival (South Dakota): how did you feel about his choice of college? He went to USD but later transferred to Northern to play ball there.

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Handing out the Hardware: Exhibition players of 2022

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The start of November means that the regular season is right around the corner: FINALLY! We take this time to recognize the best players in college basketball from the 2022 exhibition season. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has reviewed all of the numbers and is ready to announce his picks for the 5 best performances from the past few weeks based on all-around stats for both D-1 and non-D-1 teams. If you think that he has overlooked anyone then feel free to tweet us your comments.

D-1 players of the exhibition season
G: Sardaar Calhoun, Drake: 35 PTS/7-9 3PM in win over Minnesota Duluth

G: Skyelar Potter, Jacksonville State: 42 PTS/8-12 3PM in win over Auburn-Montgomery

F: Ben Krikke, Valparaiso: 25 PTS/9-16 FG/13 REB in win over Cedarville

F: Darnell Brodie, Drake: 25 PTS/9-17 FG/15 REB in win over Minnesota Duluth

C: Armando Bacot, North Carolina: 12 PTS/6-9 FG/20 REB in win over Johnson C. Smith

Non-D-1 players of the exhibition season
G: Jalen Canada, Erskine: 34 PTS/13-21 FG in loss to Gardner-Webb

G: Da’Zhon Wyche, Alaska Anchorage: 32 PTS/6-11 3PM/0 TO in loss to UC Irvine

F: Milos Vicentic, McKendree: 32 PTS/13-20 FG/12 REB in loss to Northern Illinois

F: Keyshawn Celestino-Clyde, SAGU American Indian: 22 PTS/9-14 FG/10 REB in loss to Northern Arizona

F: Jacob Drees, Cedarville: 22 PTS/3-8 3PM/14 REB in loss to Valparaiso

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Happy Birthday! HoopsHD interviews former Tennessee-Martin coach Bret Campbell

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Bret Campbell is another basketball lifer who successfully made the transition from player to coach. He started for 3 years as a PG at Valdosta State and graduated as the school’s all-time leader in AST. He was hired as head coach at Tennessee-Martin in 1999 and a decade later was named OVC COY after going 22-10 in 2009. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bret about leading the Skyhawks to their 1st-ever OVC title and making the NIT. Today marks Bret’s 62nd birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

You were a guard at Valdosta State and graduated with the most AST in school history: how good a player were you back in the day, and what is the secret to being a good PG? I was fortunate to grow up in Indiana where I had a good fundamental base to give me an understanding of the game. I am not sure how good I was but I knew how to find my good teammates who were open!

In 1983 you started your coaching career as a graduate assistant at your alma mater: was it weird to be coaching guys who you had been teammates with the previous year? It puts you in a different position: you have to act a little differently with guys who are your buddies.

What are your memories of the 1996 NCAA tourney when you were an assistant at Austin Peay (Drew Barry had 11 AST in a win by Georgia Tech)? I remember that they were just loaded with guys like Stephon Marbury/Matt Harpring/Barry, etc., but we were in it until the final few minutes.

In 1999 you became head coach at Tennessee-Martin: why did you take the job, and were you concerned about taking over a program that had not had a winning record in a long time? It was an opportunity to become a D-1 head coach, first and foremost. I knew it would be challenging but I saw it as an opportunity to succeed…and we had a winning record within 3 years.

Your best recruit was 2-time OVC POY Lester Hudson: how were you able to recruit Hudson, and what made him such a great scorer? I think that Lester knew some of my former players who encouraged him to go there. He was always a good scorer…but after developing his 3-PT shot during the year that he sat out he became 1 of the best college players I have ever been around.

In 2009 you led the school to its 1st-ever OVC title and were named conference COY: how big a deal was it to win the conference title, and what did it mean to you to win such an outstanding honor? It was a great honor for our team/community/school: we were listed #331 in basketball budgets in the country only a few years before!

In the 2009 NIT (the 1st postseason D-1 appearance in school history) Hudson had 33 PTS/12 REB in a 5-PT loss to Auburn: how close did you come to pulling off the upset? Anytime you make it to the postseason it is memorable. It was quite exciting for our program and we kept it close until the last 5 minutes.

In 2009 you resigned after an internal audit in which you admitted that “mistakes were made” by yourself and you became Director of Basketball Operations at Murray State: what was the biggest mistake you made, and how were you able to move on with your life? It was portrayed incorrectly as a “resignation”. My dismissal would not have taken place at 99% of the schools in the country because there were no NCAA violations: just a policy in regard to sports camps that was not followed completely. I have run camps for decades at many schools and did nothing differently but it was viewed as a reason to dismiss me. I have nothing to be ashamed of but the situation was blown out of proportion. People around the OVC realized that I was still a viable basketball coach so I thank Billy Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to be a part of a special team at Murray State that had an exceptional season.

You were later named assistant coach at Austin Peay, where you had previously been an assistant to Dave Loos during the 1990s: what did it mean to you to head back to Clarksville, and what made Loos such a great coach? I have always respected Dave: I previously worked for him for 7 years. He was a great coach but also a great person/D-1 athletic director. His experience and toughness helped him become the most successful coach in the OVC.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want to be remembered as a coach who really cared about his players while challenging them to become better.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: Preseason Special

Posted on November 3, 2022 by David Griggs

A full panel is on hand tonight as Chad reveals his Hoops HD Preseason Bracket!  We go through each team line by line and assess how good we think each of them are, and the panel discuss whether or not the agree with disagree with Chad’s picks as we go along.  Check out who the #1 seeds are, who the protected seeds are, who’s safely in the field, who just made it, and who just missed it.

Below is the final bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!!

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

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Under the Radar: Preseason Special

Posted on November 2, 2022 by David Griggs

Chad and David (and later John Stalica) run through all 22 Under the Radar leagues and preview each one of them.  We discuss who we think the favorites will be, what possible seed line we think they might end up on, and other teams that we think have a good chance at finishing at or near the top of each conference.  We also discuss teams like UAB out of Conference USA, Toledo and Kent State in the MAC, and Drake out of the Missouri Valley as teams that could end up inside the bubble come Selection Sunday and not need to win their conference tournaments to make the NCAAs.  All that, and more on this extended preseason version of Under the Radar

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

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