Hoops HD Preseason Bracket Rundown

Posted on November 4, 2019 by David Griggs

On this show, we unveil the first of what will be many brackets this year!  Chad reveals what he thinks the NCAA Tournament will look like on Selection Sunday this March.  We go through it line by line and discuss, debate, and assess each team as it is revealed.  The panel takes turns either agreeing with him, or telling him that they think he is completely nuts.

Below is the final preseason 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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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews St. Mary’s JR SF Elijah Thomas

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

We conclude our season preview coverage with St. Mary’s JR SF Elijah Thomas. Coach Mark Few deservedly gets the majority of the attention on the West Coast but Randy Bennett is up there as well: 12 straight seasons of 21+ wins, the winningest coach in school history, and 7 NCAA tourneys under his belt. Almost every single player on last year’s roster is back as they try to rebound from last year’s 4-PT loss to Villanova in the NCAA tourney. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Elijah about hailing from the great state of Arizona and facing the mighty Zags.  Hope you enjoyed all the previews: on to the regular season!

You grew up in Arizona: what made you choose St. Mary’s? I liked the fact that they had won a lot of games and the coaches gave me the 1-on-1 attention that I needed.

You play for Coach Randy Bennett: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He teaches us to be prepared for everything and to put in the work. This is my 4th year here and I am still learning things from him.

In your last 2 season debuts (a 2017 win over St. Francis PA and a 2018 win over McNeese State) you made a combined 6-7 3-PT shots: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? There is not much to it: get your feet set and have the confidence to make it. It just kind of happens.

You started the 1st 12 games of the season last year: what is the biggest difference between being a starter vs. coming off the bench? I do not think there is a big difference but when you come off the bench you still need to do your job and bring some energy. Even when I am coming off the bench I prepare for every game as if I were a starter.

In the 2019 NCAA tourney you played 3 minutes in a 4-PT loss to Villanova: how close did you come to beating the Wildcats, and what did you learn from that game that will help you this year? The biggest takeaway is experience. We learned that were good enough to make it to that stage.

You have 9 guys on the roster from foreign countries: is it hard to get everyone on the same page? It has been really cool to learn about different cultures so I have definitely enjoyed it.

1 of your new assistant coaches this year is former St. Mary’s star Mickey McConnell: what does he bring to the table? He brings a lot. He was obviously a great player here and knows the game. He has also been through everything that we are going through so he can help us with that.

In your 56 regular season games you have gone 0-3 vs. Gonzaga and 42-11 vs. everyone else: what makes the Zags so good, and how intense is your rivalry with them? I think that it is 1 of the best rivalries on the West Coast. You will get a good game every time you see us play them: it is a lot of fun.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Wisconsin/Cal/ASU/Nevada: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? My mindset is to take it game by game: I do not really like to look past the next team that we are playing.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? The expectation is to come out and play hard each game. We want to play better defense and win a national championship: you gotta go big, right!?

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

We continue our season preview coverage with Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin. He has had success everywhere he has been: the 1994 Elite 8 as a player at Purdue, the 2010 CIT title as coach at Missouri State, a Sweet 16 as coach at Tennessee, 2 straight 20-win seasons as coach at Cal, and an NCAA tourney appearance in his very 1st year as coach at Missouri in 2018. The Tigers backtracked last year with a 15-win season but hope to get things going in the right direction this year. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Martin about being a great 3-PT shooter and having a brutal non-conference schedule.

You were a player/assistant to Gene Keady at Purdue: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you learned from him? Coach Keady pushed us to become men and challenged us to be great in all walks of life. I learned the kind of work ethic it takes when the lights are off and when no one is watching to truly be successful. That is where the separation happens: the extra time that you put in.

You set a school record with 8 3PM in a 1994 Sweet 16 win over Kansas and your 45.1 career 3P% remains the best in school history: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? Again, it is putting in the time and getting those extra reps up. When I got to Purdue, I really could not shoot the 3-ball and was encouraged not to because it was not part of my game…but I made it part of my game. I worked at it and worked at it and made it a part of my lifestyle. The repetition just gets to a point where you do not think about it because you have put in the time. Every shot feels the same and feels like it is going in.

In the 2010 CIT title game as head coach at Missouri State you beat Pacific: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was a great experience for those guys: any time you win a championship at any level it is special.

In the 2011 World University Games you were an assistant to fellow Boilermaker Matt Painter on team USA: could you have imagined at the time that Draymond Green would become a 3-time NBA champ? Yes, because of the type of guy he is in terms of how much he wants it and how hard he works on his craft. It does not surprise me: it only works out for guys like that.

You spent 3 years as head coach at Cal: how do you think that your job would have changed had the state legislature passed a Fair Pay to Play Act while you were still in Berkeley? Recruiting-wise you are still looking at players based on their character, work ethic, and who fits your system both on and off the court so that part would not change. It is still unknown what all the rules will be from an NCAA standpoint so it is hard to say how you would approach it differently in California compared to other states, regardless of your own state legislature.

Your brutal non-conference schedule includes games against Xavier/Butler/Illinois/West Virginia and 1 of Oklahoma/Stanford: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? True road games are always great and give our guys a chance to grow. The SEC is pound-for-pound one of if not the deepest and best leagues in the country so it is good to get those opportunities early and then learn from them.

You have 3 juniors on your roster named Smith (Dru/Mark/Mitchell): was that just a happy accident, and how is Mark’s left ankle doing after having surgery last March? Happy accident but we are thrilled to have all three who bring different things to the table for us. Mark is back and fully in the fold practice-wise.

Reed Nikko is the only senior on the roster: how much pressure is there on him to be a leader this year? Reed has always been a great locker room guy: just steady. He is one of the most vocal guys we have on the court and one of those guys who does not change his demeanor for anything.

There were 7 SEC teams who made the NCAA tourney as top-10 seeds last March: where do you think that your conference ranks among the best in the nation? As I said, one of the strongest in the country. Every night is a battle with how deep the league is. We were picked 13th in the preseason in the SEC. If we do end up finishing 13th that will mean this will be one of the greatest seasons for any conference in history!

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I expect to be as good as anybody and compete for an SEC title.

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Bracketology: The 2019-20 Preseason Media Bracket

Posted on November 2, 2019 by John Stalica

For our extensive preseason coverage of the 2019-20 season – CLICK HERE

We are now just three days away from the beginning of college basketball’s regular season – now that the preseason polls from all 32 conferences have been released along with the preseason AP and Coaches’ polls, we have our annual preseason media bracket ready to be unveiled. The teams are sorted by average order of where they were slotted in the polls and single-bid UTR conferences are represented by the teams picked to win their respective conferences.

Every team above the first four (including UTR teams Liberty and Harvard) received votes in both the AP and Coaches’ polls; the teams in the First Four (Missouri, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Wisconsin) were the top vote-getters that only appeared in one of the respective polls apiece.

And without further ado:

This is also the first season I can remember where the four teams in the Champions Classic (Michigan State, Kansas, Duke and Kentucky) are the top four teams in the preseason polls! Couple that with the ACC opening the regular season with conference games for everyone else and you’ve got a helluva Opening Night.

Also keep in mind that Gonzaga is eligible to play in Spokane since Idaho is the host institution for first and second round games being played at Spokane Arena this year. If these subregions ever came to fruition, good luck trying to get tickets if you’re not a resident in the Pacific Northwest.

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Sun Belt Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 2, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. South Alabama
  2. UT Arlington
  3. Georgia Southern
  4. Texas State
  5. Louisiana
  6. Georgia State
  7. Coastal Carolina
  8. UL Monroe
  9. Appalachian State
  10. Arkansas State
  11. Little Rock
  12. Troy

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Trhae Mitchell – South Alabama, SR F

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 1ST TEAM

Quan Jackson – Georgia Southern, JR G
Josh Ajayi – South Alabama, SR F
Trhae Mitchell – South Alabama, SR F
Brian Warren – UT Arlington, SR G
Nijal Pearson – Texas State, SR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 2ND TEAM

Justin Forrest – Appalachian State, JR G
DeVante Jones – Coastal Carolina, SO G
Ike Smith – Georgia Southern, SR G
Kane Williams – Georgia State, JR G
Michael Ertel – UL Monroe, JR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 3RD TEAM

Isaac Johnson – Appalachian State, SR F
Isaiah Crawley – Georgia Southern, SR F
Cedric Russell – Louisiana, JR G
JD Williams – UL Monroe, SR G
Don Coleman – South Alabama, SR G

COMMENTS FROM DAVID.  South Alabama, who didn’t even manage a winning conference record last year, is this year’s preseason favorite.  They did show signs of improvement a year ago, but they still only made it as far as the quarterfinals of the conference tournament and had a losing record against D-1 teams.  I do think they’ll be better.  I also think that most of the rest of the conference won’t be quite as good.  But I’m not entirely on board with them being the conference favorites.  They do have an impressive combination of both talent and experience, including the preseason conference player of the year, and they also have guys that can score.

UT Arlington is another team to keep an eye on.  After a miserable start to the season last year, they were much improved in the second half of the season and have all five starters back for this year.  It’s Chris Ogden’s second year as head coach, and it wouldn’t shock me if they ended up finishing at the top of the league.

Georgia Southern had a fairly impressive year last year despite the fact that they had to battle injuries for much of it.  They did lose one of their top players, but with three starters back and a quality JUCO player joining the roster, they should be able to contend again this year.

Texas State lost a lot of key pieces from last year’s team and are turning to some JUCO transfers in the hopes of getting some production right away.  They should get some pretty solid play out of their guards, but I don’t think they’ll end up being as good as the three previously mentioned teams.

Cliff Ellis is starting his 13th year at Coastal Carolina, which is kind of hard to believe.  They’ve got some key players back, including a solid PG in DeVante Jones, and have some pretty solid JUCO players joining the roster as well.  Coastal could end up having a better year than expected.

Louisiana has been one of the better teams in the league in recent years, but they appear to be in rebuilding mode now with just two starters back.  Bob Marlin has done a great job as head coach, but he’s got his work cut out for him this year.

Georgia State has been the flagship team of the conference in recent years.  They’ve won 20+ in four of the last five seasons, and captured last year’s title before winning the conference tournament.  The problem is Run Hunter, who was a big part of that success, left to be the head coach at Tulane.  They have just two starters back and look to be in complete rebuilding mode.

UL Monroe had a lot of guys that could score last year and were oftentimes fun to watch.  They are going through a fair amount of roster turnover, so it’s hard to say how good they’ll be this year.

At the time I’m writing this, Appalachian State’s football team is undefeated!!  They are having a HOT HOT HOT season!!  For basketball, it may be an entirely different story.  While four starters are back, the team won just 11 total games a year ago and finished near the bottom of the league.  I think they’ll be a little better this year just due to their experience, but I still think they end up finishing closer to the bottom than the top.  They do have a really good guard in Justin Forrest, but they’ll need some other players to step up as well.

Arkansas State lost four starters from a team that wasn’t all that good in the first place.  They are kind of in reset/rebuild mode right now.

Little Rock and Troy are also likely in for long seasons.  Troy made a fantastic coaching hire over the summer when they got Scott Cross, but he’ll need a few years to get them going.

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MAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 1, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

East Division

  1. Bowling Green
  2. Buffalo
  3. Kent State
  4. Miami OH
  5. Akron
  6. Ohio

West Division

  1. Toledo
  2. Northern Illinois
  3. Ball State
  4. Central Michigan
  5. Western Michigan
  6. Eastern Michigan

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAC EAST DIVISION

Justin Turner – Bowling Green, JR G
Dylan Frye – Bowling Green, SR G
Philip Whittington – Kent State, SR F
Nike Sibande – Miami OH, JR G
Jayvon Graves – Buffalo, JR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAC WEST DIVISION

Eugene German – Northern Illinois, SR G
Tahjai Teague – Ball State, SR F
Marreon Jackson – Toledo, JR G
Luke Knapke – Toledo, SR C
Michael Flowers – Western Michigan, JR G
David DiLeo – Central Michigan, SR F

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  The MAC is consistently one of the strongest UTR conferences, and last year was no exception with Buffalo earning a #6 seed and making it to the Round of 32.  I don’t foresee anyone from this league getting that far inside the bubble again this year, but I do think that there are a couple of teams who can get close to it or even inside of it.

Bowling Green is the preseason favorite, and seeing as how they return four starters from a team that won 22 games, that that makes sense.  Their backcourt is really solid, and they should be able to get some help from their bench as well.  They didn’t exactly finish the season strong.  Four of their six regular season conference losses came in the final five games of the season.  But, up until that point they were one of the better teams in the league.

Kent State is another team that I’m big on.  I personally at least like them as much as Bowling Green, and maybe a little bit more.  Four starters are back from a 22-win team that went 11-7 in conference play, and with the addition of a couple of transfers they should get some decent help from their bench as well.

As was previously mentioned, Buffalo has owned this league for the past four or five years, but with head coach Nate Oats leaving for Alabama and the loss of several key players, they probably won’t be the dominant team this year.  They’ll still be really good, but not quite as dominant.  They will have an experienced backcourt, and Middle Tennessee transfer Antwain Johnson should help them out in the frontcourt.

Toledo is picked to win the West Division, and with three starters back from a 25-win team that’s a pretty solid pick.  They’ll have one of the better backcourts in the conference and also have one or two nice additions to the roster.

Akron has been one of the better programs in the conference over the years, but they finished below .500 against D-1 competition last year, and while they should be better this year they still look like they’re in building mode.

Miami OH, one of John Stalica’s favorite teams, has four starters back and should be improved this year.  They did lose five of their last six games, so there is quite a bit of room for improvement.

Northern Illinois has three starters back, including one of the best players in the conference in Eugene German.  I don’t think they’ll be in a position to contend for a division title, but it is a program that has shown improvement in recent years and will likely continue to improve.

Jeff Boals takes over at Ohio U, and he’s got his work cut out for him.  Just one starters is back from a year ago, and they don’t exactly blow you away with the experience that they do have.

Central Michigan won 23 games last year and has three starters back.  The media doesn’t seen to be big on them, but I like Keno Davis as a coach and think they can exceed expectations this year.  I realize they lost some key players, but with three JUCO transfers and three starters back they should at least be respectable this year.

The other two Michigan schools, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan, could both be in for long seasons.

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