Chad Sherwood had a chance to join Ryan Hyatt again today on his Raiderland Show to chat Texas Tech, the NCAA Bubble and a whole lot more!
https://soundcloud.com/user-221484146/chad-sherwood-joins-ryan-hyatts-raiderland-to-talk-big-12-tournament-and-texas-techs-bubble-status
Welcome to the greatest month of the year! We are only 4 days away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, 63 of which were within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 45 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming days predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 15th. 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 we stack up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 133 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Kansas (Big 12)
1: Baylor (Big 12)
1: Gonzaga (WCC): AUTO-BID
1: Dayton (A-10)
2: San Diego State (MWC)
2: Florida State (ACC)
2: Villanova (Big East)
2: Creighton (Big East)
3: Duke (ACC)
3: Michigan State (Big 10)
3: Seton Hall (Big East)
3: Maryland (Big 10)
4: Kentucky (SEC)
4: Oregon (Pac-12)
4: Louisville (ACC)
4: Wisconsin (Big 10)
5: Ohio State (Big 10)
5: Butler (Big East)
5: Auburn (SEC)
5: BYU (WCC)
6: West Virginia (Big 12)
6: Iowa (Big 10)
6: Michigan (Big 10)
6: Penn State (Big 10)
7: Virginia (ACC)
7: Colorado (Pac-12)
7: Illinois (Big 10)
7: Houston (AAC)
8: Arizona (Pac-12)
8: St. Mary’s (WCC)
8: LSU (SEC)
8: Providence (Big East)
9: Marquette (Big East)
9: Florida (SEC)
9: USC (Pac-12)
9: Rutgers (Big 10)
10: Oklahoma (Big 12)
10: Arizona State (Pac-12)
10: Indiana (Big 10)
10: Texas Tech (Big 12)
11: Utah State (MWC): AUTO-BID
11: Wichita State (AAC)
11: Xavier (Big East)
11: Stanford (Pac-12)
11: Richmond (A-10)
11: East Tennessee State (SoCon): AUTO-BID
12: Cincinnati (AAC)
12: Yale (Ivy): AUTO-BID
12: Liberty (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
12: Stephen F. Austin (Southland)
13: Vermont (America East)
13: Akron (MAC)
13: North Texas (C-USA)
13: New Mexico State (WAC)
14: Belmont (OVC): AUTO-BID
14: Bradley (MVC): AUTO-BID
14: Colgate (Patriot)
14: Hofstra (CAA): AUTO-BID
15: UC Irvine (Big West)
15: Eastern Washington (Big Sky)
15: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
15: Little Rock (Sun Belt)
16: Northern Kentucky (Horizon): AUTO-BID
16: Winthrop (Big South): AUTO-BID
16: Prairie View (SWAC)
16: Siena (MAAC)
16: North Carolina Central (MEAC)
16: Robert Morris (NEC): AUTO-BID
Welcome Selection Committee Members!! We realize that you begin meeting tonight, and we are here to offer you the proper guidance so you make the right decisions!!
CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD SURVIVAL BOARD
CLICK HERE for all of the CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT Brackets and Info
Five more bids were handed out as Northern Kentucky won the Horizon League, North Dakota State blew past rival North Dakota in the Summit League, and Robert Morris knocked off Saint Francis U to win the Northeast Conference, Hofstra won the Colonial, and Gonzaga blew past rival Saint Mary’s to win the West Coast. The ACC, MAAC, MEAC and SWAC also got underway, and it was semifinal night in the America East. We run through all the action, and preview a busy day for tomorrow as well.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
Below is all of today’s conference tournament action…
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
METRO ATLANTIC QUARTERFINALS
MEAC QUARTERFINALS
SUN BELT QUARTERFINALS
ACC 2ND ROUND
BIG TEN OPENING ROUND
BIG EAST OPENING ROUND
BIG 12 OPENING ROUND
PAC 12 OPENING ROUND
SEC OPENING ROUND
ATLANTIC TEN OPENING ROUND
CONFERENCE USA OPENING ROUND
BIG SKY OPENING ROUND
SOUTHLAND OPENING ROUND
Conference tournaments are about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The CAA Tournament took place in Washington, DC this week and we could not have been more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD covered all of the angles so we hope you enjoyed our cascade of coverage in the days past. Jon Teitel concludes our series with Tuesday night’s title game:
I am loving the diversity of the pregame meals this week: tonight was make-your-own-tacos!
I thought we might get a larger crowd for the title game between Northeastern and Hofstra (especially since it is a rematch of last year’s title game) but I supposed that it is hard to just pop into DC for the night if you live in New York or Massachusetts. Sadly, 1 of the plenty of good seats available was my own: I assumed my assigned seat remained the same as the 1st 3 rounds, which means I did not read the seating chart and blew my chance to sit courtside: son of a bee-sting! Let’s tip things off:
Exactly 1 minute into the game someone accidentally tore the net on Hofstra’s side of the court, which required a delay while the maintenance guy brought in his stepladder to fix it. Fortunately, he was able to take care of it in just a couple of minutes:
Northeastern got out to a 10-3 lead thanks to a 3 and a layup by SR SG Bolden Brace, forcing Hofstra coach Joe Mihalich to call a quick timeout:
SR PG Desure Buie got Hofstra back into the game with a trio of 1st half threes but Huskies SO SG Shaquille Walters made a pair of pretty fadeaway jump shots including 1 at the end of the half to give his team a 30-28 halftime lead and give the Pride faithful some cause for concern.
The game remained tight throughout the majority of the 2nd half, although Northeastern leading scorer had a shockingly quiet night with 11 PTS on 11 FGs. Coach Mihalich basically played his 5 starters the entire game: 3 played all 40 minutes, 2 played 37 minutes, and the 6 minutes from the subs were inconsequential. However, it seemed to work due to a total team effort: 20 PTS from Buie, 19 from Eli Pemberton, 17 from Jalen Ray, and a career-high 15 REB from JR big man Isaac Kante. Most of the stats between the 2 teams were pretty even, as they both shot exactly 10-25 from beyond the arc(!), but the X-factor was at the FT line: the Huskies only made 1 (1-2 FTM) while the Pride only missed 1 (16-17 FTM). Hofstra used that FT advantage to clinch a 70-61 victory and their 1st trip to the NCAA tourney since 2001, although it was 1 of the most muted celebrations you will ever see with the court staying un-stormed:
A security guard prevented me from taking photos on the court so I just stood behind the Hofstra bench and got the following shots:
Happy band members:
Kante hugging everyone in sight:
Pemberton acknowledging the fans who did show up:
We got hats!
We got t-shirts!
Buie hugging his loved ones:
Kante trying to find a shirt that fits:
Buie sharing the special moment with his daughter Jada:
Still not sure whether she likes being the center of attention:
The Hofstra dance team discussing who will get to travel to the NCAA tourney next week:
The basketball team celebrating on the podium:
Coach Mihalich thanking the fans:
This is probably 1 of the best photos I have ever taken: Ray hoisting the trophy up high (and centered properly!), his teammates reminding everyone that they are the #1 seed, some signage in focus in the background…LOVE IT!
I cannot top that so that’s a wrap, hope you enjoyed it: on to the Madness!
Much in the same tradition of our colleague Lee Delvecchio when the event was held in MAACachusetts, HoopsHD has returned to the opening round of the MAAC Tournament, this year being held in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Day 1 is an amazing six-tuple header of games with three women’s Opening Round games to be followed by three Men’s games. Chad Sherwood was on hand right from the start to cover all (or as many as possible before giving out) of these games.
The day started with an early wake up (especially after staying up to watch the late WCC semifinal and then record a Championship Week Video Notebook podcast last night) and drive to Atlantic City. I parked at Caesar’s Casino, and had a chance to say hello to the mighty Emperor himself on my way in.
It was then off down the Boardwalk to historic Boardwalk Hall for the first game of the day.
The first matchup featured women’s 8 seed Niagara taking on 9 seed Saint Peter’s. The crowds were sparse for such an early game, but Monte the Purple Eagle was still into it.
Niagara came away with the 64-53 victory led by 16 points from Dagny Davidsdottir and 11 from Jai Moore. Coach Pierce noted in the post-game press conference that her team had a size advantage over the Peacocks, and that playing the 9:30 AM game was not as much of a challenge because they had played in the same time slot last season.
Next up was the 7th seeded women’s Iona Gaels taking on 10th seeded Monmouth. Iona was the first team of the day to bring their pep band (joined below by their mascot on trumpet!), while Monmouth, the school closest to Atlantic City, did not even bring any cheerleaders.
Monmouth built a nice lead against Iona and held off several attempts at a 4th quarter rally to win 69-60 and advance to a quarterfinal matchup against 2 seed Marist. Sierra Green led the way with 26 points for the Hawks. Morgan Rachu scored a double-double for the Gaels in her final game of her career. She was understandably broken up by the loss, and the sad fact that for all but a very few teams, the season will end with an L.
The third game of the day (and the final women’s game) featured 6 seed Siena taking on 11 seed Canisius. Despite being only 5-24 overall, Canisius jumped out to an early lead and took a 10 point advantage into halftime. This was not news that Siena’s mascot was taking very well…
Siena cam storming back in the 3rd quarter to take the lead and then surged in the 4th to win by a final score of 58-48. Rayshel Brown led the way for the Saints with 20 points.
With the women done, it was time to turn attention to the men’s Opening Round games, By this point I knew that attending 6 games in one day was looking like an impossible task. However, I was determined to at least get through the matchup between 8 seed Fairfield and 9 seed Manhattan. Steve Masiello’s Jaspers brought the biggest group of fans to date, with their cheer squad and pep band leading the way to dominate the noise levels in the building (including pullout of a giant poster of a blind ref when a bad call went against the Jaspers).
The game was…well, to put it nicely, a defensive struggle. The teams were tied at 19 at halftime. Manhattan started finding the basket in the second half, and opened up a 43-29 lead about halfway through it, eventually winning by a final score of 61-43. Pauly Paulicap was the standout star for the Jaspers, scoring 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.
Four games in a single day proved to be my limit. The MAAC will be back here each of the next two years, and I am definitely going to give this marathon another try. For now, you will have to check out our Championship Week Video Notebook later tonight for details on the two late games — #7 Iona vs #10 Canisius and #6 Niagara vs #11 Marist. Good night for now from the MAAC Tournament and Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall — home of the world’s largest pipe organ!
The coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, has infected a handful of people, and made a few of them very sick, and has made a lot of other people all over the country lose their freakin’ minds. Perhaps this is all justified. I have no medical background whatsoever and am certainly not a qualified expert when it comes to viral outbreaks.
What I do know is that we’ve seen Chicago State cancel two regular season games against Seattle and Utah Valley, Kansas City cancel one (also against Seattle), and we’ve now seen the Ivy League decide to cancel its entire conference tournament. There may be more events either cancelled or altered before this is over, and that could conceivably include the NCAA Tournament. Just today, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine made a recommendation that all sporting events in his state be closed to fans. This would include the MAC Tournament, which plays its quarterfinals on Thursday, as well as the First Four games in Dayton and the 1st/2nd Round games in Cleveland which are scheduled for next week.
So…where to begin….
I actually do have a passion for young people, and also feel that I have an attachment to those who play college athletics. As much as I love college basketball, and as great as the season has been, and as much as I’m looking forward to this year’s NCAA Tournament, I also do not want to have players (who really are just college students playing a game), coaches, and fans in a situation that unnecessarily jeopardizes their health and safety. I think that everyone at Hoops HD feels the same way. As much as we love our hoops, we also love it when players, coaches, and fans are safe and healthy.
But here’s my question…
Why aren’t there more experts, and by that I mean doctors, and scientists, and healthcare professionals, taking the lead on this issue??
Not just in regards to March Madness (because as much as we love it, in the grand scheme of things it really isn’t that damned important), but on the issue as a whole?? You turn on the news and you see reporters, and elected officials, and other sorts of people who I do not believe fall into the category of “medical experts” weighing in on this. Why aren’t the medical experts weighing in more than they are?? We’ve got idiots walking around wearing masks who actually think that by wearing a mask, they won’t get sick. I’d like a little bit of assurance that the people who are making important decisions aren’t as stupid as the people wearing the masks. if medical experts are the ones recommending taking actions such as calling in the national guard and setting up a containment zone around New Rochelle (20 miles from Madison Square Garden where both the Big East Tournament and East Regional are scheduled to be played), or calling for events to be closed to the public, or cancelling all face to face classes and sending students home, then we should probably listen to them. If the people making those decisions are just arbitrarily doing so after they’ve swiped a bunch of masks from a hospital to keep them from getting sick, then we really shouldn’t listen to them at all.
I do know the NCAA has a task force that consists largely of medical experts to advise them on this issue. They meet twice a day every day to assess the situation. So far, they’ve said that there is no need to cancel or alter the NCAA Tournament. That may change, but as of now, it hasn’t. If medical experts are saying that it is dangerous to proceed with the tournament, then I agree that it should at least be postponed (hopefully not cancelled altogether). But if they’re not saying that, and they haven’t so far, then I think that it’s okay to play basketball!!
This event is supposed to be fun, and exciting, and special for the players, coaches and fans. The cloud of the coronavirus, even if it isn’t dangerous, may make it difficult or impossible to provide that atmosphere. If that’s the case, then I understand delaying. But as critical as I am toward the NCAA at times, I do believe they are meticulously monitoring this, and that they will make the right decision. If they say it is safe to proceed, then they are saying so because the medical experts advised them that it was safe. If they say we shouldn’t play, then I’m confident that they are not making that decision arbitrarily, but that it was an informed decision where actual experts recommended that such an action be taken.
We at Hoops HD will continue to cover Championship Week and the NCAA Tournament the way that we always do. I’m not sure if we know how to do it any differently.
