The Tournament That Wasn’t: MEAC

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Chad

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the MEAC, a tournament with a history of giving us surprising champions.  The top two seeds, North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T had already advanced to the semifinals.  There are two quarterfinals left to play — will one of these games give us a Cinderella in the league, or will one of the top two teams be dancing?  It is time to find out!

 

MEAC QUARTERFINALS

With North Carolina Central and North Carolina A&T having already advanced to the semifinals, two quarterfinals remained to be played on Thursday evening.  In the 4 vs 5 game, 5-seed Morgan State built a small lead at halftime and was able to pull away from Bethune-Cookman in the second, scoring a 79-64 win and advancing to a matchup with top seed NC Central.  Despite 3-seed Norfolk State having the tournament in their home city, it was 6-seed Coppin State that pulled the mild upset in the late game, taking down the Spartans 74-69 thanks to 26 points from Kamar McKnight.

 

MEAC SEMIFINALS

Morgan State entered the semifinal matchup with North Carolina Central as a decided underdog.  However, this was the MEAC Tournament – an event with a strong history of upsets during tournament play.  Therefore, it should not have been a shock when the Bears overcame a 6-point halftime deficit to win 87-79.  Sheryn Devonish scored 20 points to lead the way and put his team in the championship game.

The second semifinal featured 6-seed Coppin State taking on the 2-seed North Carolina A&T.  The league looked to be on pace for two semifinal upsets when Coppin built a 9-point lead at the half.  However, the Aggies dominated after the break, storming back to tie the game before the first media timeout and winning the game going away, 80-68.  Ronald Jackson led the way for A&T, scoring 13 points while pulling down 18 rebounds.

 

MEAC CHAMPIONSHIP

Earlier this season, North Carolina A&T had announced that next season would be their last in the MEAC as the Aggies were heading off to the Big South.  On Saturday afternoon, they had a chance to win the league’s automatic bid in their second-to-last attempt ever to do so.  Standing in the Aggies way was the Morgan State Bears, who had stunned top-seed NC Central in the semifinals.  Ronald Jackson and the Aggies were not going to let themselves be upset this day.  Jackson notched another double-double, with 18 points and 13 boards, as his team rolled over Morgan State by a final score of 84-61.  The Aggies were dancing for the first time in 7 years – though a berth in the First Four in Dayton was likely in store for them.

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Basketball and brains: HoopsHD interviews Charlotte Academic All-American Amidou Bamba

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Jon Teitel

In these troubling times when many of us are watching the stock market jump all over the place and employees are getting laid off/furloughed, there is a greater need than ever for someone to tell us how to hold onto our money. In the case of the Charlotte basketball team they can turn to grad transfer Amidou Bamba, who has a 4.00 GPA while getting his MBA. He started his college career at Coastal Carolina and is finishing it with the 49ers, where his team won 10 of its 1st 15 games before learning that the C-USA tourney was canceled last week. Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Amidou about winning a gold meal and the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball.

photo credit: Sam Roberts

You were born in Toronto: how did you 1st get into basketball? When I was younger I played Raptor Ball at the YMCA. Vince Carter was a big influence up there so the Raptors were really big culturally.

You began your college career at Coastal Carolina with Coach Cliff Ellis: what makes him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? His experience made him the coach that he is. After coaching for 40 years he has such great wisdom about the game: I really learned basketball from him.

Why did you decide to transfer to Charlotte? There were 3 main reasons. Mainly I was trying to put myself in a position to make professional connections in a big city where I wanted to be for the long-term. I looked at several cities including Charlotte/Houston/Boston. Charlotte is the 2nd-largest financial center in the country, which seems like a good fit for me. I was also looking for a different basketball experience to see if things would be more beneficial to me at a different program.

In 2017 you won a gold medal with the Canadian U19 national team at the FIBA World Cup in Egypt: what did it mean to you to win a gold medal, and which of your teammates impressed you the most (RJ Barrett/Lindell Wigginton/other)? That was my 1st-ever experience with the national team after trying out and not making it for several years. It was such an important milestone for the country and was a massive turning point for Canadian basketball. RJ impressed me the most: we played team USA in the semifinals and he scored 38 PTS before fouling out. I had never played with him before but to do something like that at age 17 was so amazing to see. Lindell was battling a concussion at the time and was kind of limited but was still very impressive, as was everyone on that team.

In January of 2018 you scored a career-high 18 PTS/8-10 FG in 22 minutes off the bench during a 10-PT win over Little Rock: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yes. I did not play with a chip on my shoulder but definitely had an edge and I felt that every shot I took was a good shot. My teammates got me in the right spots and I was able to exploit the way that Little Rock was defending us inside.

Your favorite pro team is the Toronto Raptors: what did it mean to you see them win the NBA title last summer? It was huge! There is no ill-will toward Kawhi Leonard after he decided to leave the following season: he played 1 year for us and brought us a championship. Everyone was a Raptors fan that summer as we all came together to celebrate a huge moment in our country’s history.

You finished your career as a 57.3% FG shooter: what is the key to being a good shooter? A lot of repetition: I think of myself as having a patented left-hand hook. Every day Cliff taught me to shoot 40 hooks before practice. When you put shots up constantly in the gym and know when to take those shots by assessing the situation it helps you make a lot of shots. You should not go out of your element.

Earlier this month you were named an Academic All-American for the 2nd straight year: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Time management for sure. I have always excelled academically so it just came down to budgeting time for each thing. I try to go the extra mile for basketball when I am on the court and go the extra mile for academics when I am off the court. I try to not put things off or waste time so that I can do everything at a high level: you cannot dedicate all of your time to just 1 thing.

You got a degree in finance at Coastal Carolina and have a 4.00 GPA while working on your MBA: why did you choose business, and what is the post-graduation plan? I was originally a biochemistry major and wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon. I want to help people improve their current situation and took that desire to finance because I have always liked the business world and am good with numbers. I started to realize that the best way for me to help people was via financial planning so that I can help people gain some financial stability. It was natural for me to go into the business world because I always had a knack for understanding money.

Any thoughts on the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball this month? From a collegiate standpoint it is very tough. The virus has far-reaching ramifications: the seniors who wanted to boost their draft stock, the players who had 1 opportunity to make the NCAA tourney, etc. You feel like you have unfinished business but do not have the chance to redeem yourself. Even for the younger players who did not get to complete their season it is tough. It is heartbreaking for coaches who worked an entire season with their players: we become like family and there is no way to get that back. From a fan standpoint you become so invested in these programs and then it hurts to see everything get stripped away. There were people who had already made travel plans to watch more basketball, and then to have it taken away made it difficult on them. I think it was the right/prudent decision to mitigate the circumstances…but it is never easy to come to terms with it. Some spring athletes just started their season before everything got canceled. As a family of athletes it helps that we are all going through it together. I think as a community going through it together it helps in a sense, although it is never easy. I hope this can be contained in the near-future so that something like this never happens again.

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The Tournament That Wasn’t: Mid-American

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Chad

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.  The opening round on campus sites Monday night had seen a major upset when 12-seed Miami-Ohio took down 5-seed Buffalo.  Would the Redhawks continue their run?  Would top seeds Akron and Bowling Green reach the finals?  It is time to find out!

 

MAC QUARTERFINALS

Every now and then, something happens at a conference tournament that seems completely inexplicable.  That is how the entire day felt at the Mid-American Conference quarterfinals.  It began with 8-seed Ohio University shocking top-seed Akron 91-79, as Jordan Dartis, Jason Preston and Ben Vander Plas all scored over 20 points for the Bobcats.  Up next, 12-seed Miami-Ohio, a team that has shocked 5-seed Buffalo on the road in the opening round, continued their magic, turning a 1-point halftime deficit into an amazing 25-point win, 88-63.  The first semifinal was set, and it was the 8 seed versus the 12!

After an amazing afternoon of upsets, the MAC was expected to return to normalcy in the evening session when 7-seed Toledo took on 2-seed Bowling Green.  The game was not even close.  However, it was Toledo that rolled in this one, grabbing a 53-35 halftime lead and rolling by a final of 93-65 thanks to 30 points from Marreon Jackson and a double-double (21 point and 17 rebounds) from Willie Jackson.  The craziness was still not over, however, as 6-seed Kent State made the lower seeds four-for-four on the day, overcoming a 5-point halftime deficit to win 83-74 behind 20 points from Anthony Roberts.  And so, the MAC semifinals were set:  8 vs 12 and 6 vs 7!

 

MAC SEMIFINALS

Miami-Ohio had only won 5 conference games all season, but the underdog Redhawks were suddenly in the semifinals, and amazingly matched up with the 8-seed, Ohio University.  The lower-seeded teams were already 4-for-4 in the games being played in Cleveland, but it appeared that streak might end when Ohio built a 5-point halftime lead.  Miami came out red-hot in the second half, however, and the Bobcats could not recover.  The Redhawks ended up winning again, by a 70-55 blowout margin, and were suddenly one win away from turning a last place finish into an NCAA Tournament bid!  Nike Sibande led the way for the victorious Redhawks, scoring 22 points in the win.

With the lower-seeded teams now 5-for-5 in Cleveland, it would figure that 6-for-6 would happen in the battle between 6-seed Kent State and 7-seed Toledo.  And, of course, it did.  The Rockets came out strong early and never looked back, cruising to a 75-61 win and a spot in the MAC title game against Miami.  Luke Knapke led the way for the Rockets, scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.  And with the win, we had an amazing 7 vs 12 game set to determine who would win the MAC automatic bid!

 

MAC CHAMPIONSHIP

7-seed Toledo.  12-seed Miami-Ohio.  Neither team was expected to make it past the quarterfinal round, and in Miami’s case, the team wasn’t even expected to make it past the opening round and into the quarters.  Yet here we were, with one of the wildest tournament final matchups we had ever seen.  Miami was the lower-seeded team, and given what had happened the prior two days, that practically made them the favorite to win this game!

The first half was back and forth, with neither team able to establish any serious momentum, and Toledo held the narrow 38-37 edge at the break.  The second half, however, saw the Rockets come out on fire, building a 13-point lead by the under 12 timeout.  Miami was never able to make another serious run after that point, and, for the first and only time in the games in Cleveland, the higher-seeded team had a victory.  Toledo was off to the Big Dance for the first time since 1980 thanks to an 83-74 win!

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The Tournament That Wasn’t: Metro Atlantic

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Chad

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Metro Atlantic Tournament, in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.  The Iona Gaels has come into the season winning four consecutive conference tournament titles, but with head coach Tim Cluess sidelined with health issues that led to his retirement, the Gaels were the 7-seed and had already been eliminated on Wednesday evening by 2-seed St. Peter’s.  Top-seed Siena had also already advanced to the semifinals, but two more quarterfinals were on tap for Thursday.  Let’s see what would have happened in them and the rest of the event!

 

METRO ATLANTIC QUARTERFINALS

With the top two seeds, Siena and St. Peter’s, already having advanced to Friday’s semifinals, the final two quarterfinals were set to be played on Thursday of Championship Week in the Metro Atlantic.  Up first, was 4-seed Monmouth taking on 5-seed Quinnipiac.  Monmouth, who had led the conference standings at points this season, did not appear ready for the Bobcats, as they fell down by 12 at halftime and were unable to make any serious second half run.  Quinnipiac advanced by a final score of 84-70, thanks to 21 points from Rich Kelly and 15 points and 15 boards from Kevin Marfo.

In the final quarterfinal, 6-seed Niagara gave 3-seed Rider all the could take and more.  Although the Rider Broncs had opened a 9-point lead at halftime, the Purple Eagles, led by 15 points from Marcus Hammond, came storming back in the second.  Hammond’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds left cut the lead to 1, and after the Broncs only made 1 of 2 free throws, Niagara had a couple of chance to tie or take the lead.  However, one shot missed and the final possession ended in a turnover, leading to a 2-point win for Rider, 69-67.

 

METRO ATLANTIC SEMIFINALS

The first semifinal of the day gave us an amazing thriller, as 5-seed Quinnipiac and 1-seed Siena squared off for a spot in the MAAC Championship game.  Quinnipiac extended a 3-point halftime lead out to 10 early in the second, but Siena was not done.  The Saints fought back and were finally able to tie the game with just under 2 minutes left to play.  A pair of free throw’s by Siena’s Elijah Burns gave the Saints a 71-70 lead with 33 seconds to play, but Quinnipiac looked poised to steal the win when Aaron Falzon sunk a jumper with 6 seconds left on the clock to put the Bobcats up 72-71.  It was then Don Carey’s chance to play hero, as his three-pointer at the buzzer found nothing but net and his Siena teammates mobbed him on the floor, celebrating a buzzer-beating 74-72 victory.

The second semifinal was a battle between two New Jersey schools, 2-seed Saint Peter’s and 3-seed Rider.  The Peacocks built an early lead which they took into the halftime break, but the second half was all about Rider.  The Broncs, led by 16 points from Frederick Scott and a double-double from Tyere Marshall, won 77-67 to set up a matchup with Siena in the championship game.

 

METRO ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIP

Siena entered the MAAC title game fresh off of their amazing buzzer-beater semifinal win over Quinnipiac.  It was likely the momentum from that victory that saw them get off to a great start in this one, building a 20-9 advantage early and coasting to a 43-28 halftime lead.  Rider had one last run left, however, as the Broncs fought had enough to close the game down to a single possession in the final minute.  They did not have quite enough left to get over the top, and when the final horn sounded, the Siena Saints, a team that had been unable, during five years of hosting the MAAC Tournament in Albany, to capture a single championship, were cutting down the nets in Atlantic City and on their way to the Big Dance for the first time in a decade.

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Basketball and brains: HoopsHD interviews Mercer Academic All-American Djordje Dimitrijevic

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Jon Teitel

In these troubling times when many of us are working from home with slow computers that we would like to toss out a window, the only thing rarer than finding some toilet paper on a supermarket shelf is finding a handy-dandy IT person to save the day. In the case of the Mercer basketball team they can turn to SR G Djordje Dimitrijevic, who has a 3.87 GPA while getting his degree in computer science. He started his college career at Western Nebraska Community College and is finishing it with the Bears, where his team won 11 of its final 14 regular season games before losing to Western Carolina in the SoCon tourney. Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Djordje about scoring 34 PTS in a game last January and the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball.

You were born in Serbia: how did you 1st get into basketball? Basketball is big in Serbia. I had some friends who played the sport when I was a kid and after I got interested in it I told my dad that I wanted to play basketball.

You began your college career at Western Nebraska Community College: what made you eventually choose Mercer? When I took my official visit to Mercer I realized all of the great opportunities here: a nice community, a team that has experience with international players on its roster, etc. It was an easy decision for me because it would give me room to grow.

You finished your JUCO career with 89 FT%/44.7 3P%: what is the secret to being a great shooter? You can be as talented as you want but you still need to consistently spend time in the gym shooting all of the time. Confidence is also important.

You played in all 31 games during your 1st year in Macon: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? My work ethic and the way I fought allowed me to make an impact. Even if it was not playing time I wanted to have an impact on the culture, which goes back to my decision to come here.

How easy/difficult was the coaching transition from Bob Hoffman last year to Greg Gary this year? Coach Gary’s style is more similar to that of my JUCO team so it was an easy transition for me.

In early-January you scored a career-high 34 PTS/10-19 FG in 37 minutes in an 8-PT loss at Western Carolina: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I was not really focused on my scoring: I was locked in and my shots were falling but I was just playing the game.

In late-January you scored a game-high 18 PTS while becoming 1 of 4 teams to beat East Tennessee State this season: how did you pull off the upset, and do you think that the Buccaneers were good enough to win a game in the NCAA tourney? That was a great game for us. Our defense was the most important factor: when we are physical we win games. We knew that we had nothing to lose and played very freely while sharing the ball. I think that ETSU is a great team and could definitely have won 1-2 games in the NCAA tourney.

Last week you were named an Academic All-American: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I do not focus on balancing the 2 things: I just try to do everything on time and stay on top of my schoolwork. My professors are always flexible, which helps a lot.

You have a 3.87 GPA while working on your degree in computer science: why did you choose that subject, and what is the post-graduation plan? I chose computer science because I have always been interested in computers since I was a young kid. I focused more on sports as I got older but after coming to the US I had to pick a major and thought that IT was a field that was constantly developing. I would like to keep playing basketball after graduation.

Any thoughts on the impact of the coronavirus on college basketball this month? Everybody needs to stay safe and follow the rules. I know it is a hard time for everybody with classes being canceled and people not being able to travel abroad but we have to be patient and trust the people in charge.

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The Tournament That Wasn’t: Ivy League

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Chad

HoopsHD continues its series leading up to Selection Sunday and March Madness, as we simulate what would have happened in TTTW (The Tournament That Wasn’t).  Up next is the Ivy League.  Yale won the regular season title in the Ivy, but the tournament was being played at second-place Harvard’s home court, leading many to believe that the Crimson were in fact the favorite to claim the automatic bid.  Before the two teams would even meet, however, semifinals against Penn and Princeton were looming.  It is time to find out just what would have happened!

 

IVY LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

Yale won the Ivy League regular season championship, and promptly had to go play the conference tournament on Harvard’s home court.  Before a potential title game matchup with the Crimson, however, the Bulldogs first needed to get past the Penn Quakers.  That proved to be no problem at all, as Yale jumped out to an early lead and cruised home for a 98-62 win.  Azar Swain led the way with 26 points while Jordan Bruner had 14 points and 18 rebounds.

The second semifinal was a lot closer, as Princeton kept pace with Harvard throughout most of the game.  In fact, with 5 minutes left to play, the score was knotted at 70.  However, Harvard was able to use its home court advantage to put together one final run and came out on top by a final score of 82-76.  The win set up a huge championship game against Yale, a team that Harvard had already beaten twice during the season.

 

IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

They say that the third time is a charm, and for the Yale Bulldogs on Selection Sunday, it most certainly was.  Despite being swept in the regular season by the Harvard Crimson, Yale took care of business fairly easily in this game, building a 7-point halftime lead and then rolling in the second half to win Ivy Madness by a final score of 79-58.  Five Bulldogs scored in double figures for the game, led by 17 points from Paul Atkinson.  With the win, Yale had qualified for back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history.

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