Hanging with the Hall of Famers: HoopsHD is in the house for Butler-Georgetown

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel has spent the past few months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with a very special reward coming next month. Even though he has met his quota, he will still cover a few more games to keep from getting rusty. Saturday afternoon Butler came to DC for its 14th overall meeting with Georgetown (in a series that only commenced a decade ago).

Thanks to the subway being closed it was a hurried pregame meal at the arena of an egg croissant and a pastry. Today’s game featured 2 of the 3 current Big East coaches who work for their alma maters: Patrick Ewing (Georgetown class of 1985) and LaVall Jordan (Butler class of 2001). There were no pregame notes available because I showed up late, but 1 thing they did not run out of was t-shirts for all the fans as part of the “gray-out” listing the names of some of the best Hoyas ever:

I usually try to focus on the on-court action but there were so many celebrity sightings it was hard to concentrate:

Alonzo Mourning in the front row!

Dikembe Mutombo in the front row!

Side note (because I actually have a Mutombo story): about 20 years ago Mutombo was in Phoenix for a game against my Suns, I was having a mid-afternoon beverage while catching up with a high school friend at a Cheesecake Factory that was located across the street from a Ritz-Carlton where the Suns’ opponents often stayed, we were minding our own business when the tallest man I have ever seen in person walks into the restaurant wearing a maroon velvet tracksuit, I sprint to the bartender and beg him to charge whatever drink the guy orders to my tab, the guy orders a beverage, the bartender explains why it is free and points in my direction, and the guy turns toward me and gives me the slightest of nods…and that is how I bought a drink for Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo!!

Do not forget about Ewing:

I felt like I had traveled back in time to the 1995 NBA All-Star Game in the great city of Phoenix, AZ:

If St. John’s (and its assistant coach Mitch Richmond) was the opposing Big East team and Grant Hill was covering the game for CBS, then we could have just replayed the entire game almost 24 years later to the day!

1 famous face who was not sitting courtside but rather in a corner suite at the top of the lower level was Vice President Mike Pence. The former Indiana governor’s wife Karen is a Butler alum, and apparently the VP is such a big fan himself that he had allegedly planned to travel to Memphis back in 2017 to watch the Bulldogs face the eventual-champion Tar Heels in the Sweet 16…but had to change his plans because the Republican party needed his help coming up with a plan to get rid of Obamacare. He did not make it onto the Jumbotron in his blue shirt from the front row of the suite, which is why this long-range photo from my baseline seat was the best that I could do:

And away we go:

Georgetown SO wing Jamorko Pickett put together 1 of his best offensive performances of the season in the 1st half via a corner 3, a layup, and 2 big dunks. His teammate Mac McClung was not too shabby either: he made a few jump shots, had a 4-PT play, and even made a corner 3 after getting his shot blocked. I attribute his success to his brand-new haircut/headband:

Or maybe he was inspired by the mascot driving an SUV:

Jordan Tucker is a Duke transfer who thought about joining the Hoyas before signing with Butler. His 1st 4 starts this season were simply terrible in terms of 3-PT shooting (5-26), but he got it going early today by making a trio of 3-PT shots and also converting an old-fashioned 3-PT play on a drive/layup/foul/&1. SR SG Paul Jorgensen made a triumphant return to DC (after spending his 1st 2 years of college as a player at GW) with a pair of jumpers and a 3-PT shot to help give his team a 41-35 lead at halftime.

The 2nd half quickly turned more physical as Butler G Aaron Thompson was whistled for a flagrant foul after taking down McClung on a breakaway drive to the hoop. “McClutch” was slow to get up and then limped around for several seconds with the assistance of some teammates:

He somehow made the 2 FTs and the subbed out for a brief moment before subbing back in and continued to play well throughout the game (finishing with a game-high 21 PTS). Alonzo Mourning’s son Trey did make a layup after halftime but got the paternal jinx by missing a pair of FTs after the arena staff showed his dad on the Jumbotron. Pickett only made 6 threes in the entire month of January but apparently saw his shadow last weekend as he now has 9 threes through 3 February games en route to a season-high 18 PTS:

The Hoyas kept it close throughout the 2nd half but PG Kamar Baldwin kept making tough layup after tough layup and matched Pickett with 18 PTS of his own while helping Butler hang on for a 73-69 victory. The visiting team has now won a whopping 7 straight games in this series with all 7 being decided by single digits. Georgetown is many things but unexciting is not 1 of them: they have played 6 home games this season in conference play and all 6 have been decided by 7 PTS or less. I asked questions of Tucker/Ewing/McClung in the postgame press conference but to be honest none of their answers were earth-shattering so I will just close with some photos of all the speakers, plus a combo shot of the 2 legends standing head and shoulders above everyone (both literally and figuratively):

  

  

Check back in the weeks ahead for our continuing coverage.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: New Mexico State at Grand Canyon

Posted on February 9, 2019 by John Stalica

For today’s News, Notes and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

New Mexico State (19-4, 8-1 WAC) at Grand Canyon (14-8, 7-2 WAC) – 9:00 PM EST (ESPN3)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the Valley of the Sun where the Grand Canyon Antelopes will play host to the New Mexico State Aggies in what has become the WAC’s showcase rivalry during the past three seasons. Not only did New Mexico State beat the Lopes to claim the WAC’s auto bid last year, they also won the first meeting in Las Cruces on a half-court 3-point shot back in January. As if that weren’t dramatic enough, the Aggies upped the ante after coming back from a 10-point hole in regulation at Bakersfield on Thursday night to extend the game to overtime and also hit a game-winning 3 to win that game as well. Terrell Brown leads the Aggies at 12 points per game.

Grand Canyon came into Thursday night’s game as co-leaders in the WAC, but ended up losing a stunner at home to Texas-Rio Grande Valley coming into tonight’s game. The Lopes did challenge themselves with a tougher noncon schedule compared to last year, but unfortunately lost every game of note (South Dakota State, Seton Hall, Utah, Texas, San Diego and Nevada) going into WAC play. Alessandro Lever leads the Lopes at 12.7 points per game, but both teams will tell you that defense is their calling card; both teams are top 2 in points allowed in conference play.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Feb 9th

Posted on February 9, 2019 by David Griggs

We’ve got another fully loaded Saturday!!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-DUKE AT VIRGINIA (ACC) (***Spotlight Game***).  The first meeting was a thriller, and this one may not be any different.  If Virginia wins and evens the score, I think the end result is that both teams have a clear shot at the #1 line.  If Duke wins, then I still think Virginia can (and will) end up on the #1 line, but evening the score would make it seem a lot more like a slam dunk.

-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan is a probable protected seed, and with six straight wins Wisky could be on their way to ending up as one.  Needless to say this will be a quality win on the resume of the team that pulls it off.

-MIAMI FL AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  North Carolina is playing like a #2 seed and should remain in that range so long as they hold serve.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT CLEMSON (ACC).  I like Virginia Tech, but not nearly as much as the voters do.  They’re currently ranked #11th, and I don’t even think they have a protected seed caliber profile at the moment.  Still, this would be a nice road win if they’re able to pull it off.  Clemson needs to string together some wins just to end up in the conversation.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Kansas has been struggling, but not at home.  This is a winnable game for them and they just need to hold serve.

-PROVIDENCE AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  The Johnnies are coming off a huge win at Marquette, and seem to be coasting to an NCAA Tournament berth.  They are looking to hold serve today at home.

-BUTLER AT GEORGETOWN (Big East).  Georgetown is on the outside looking in, but they are still within reach of the bubble.  This win would put them over .500 in conference and they can still make the dance if they can string together some wins.

-TEMPLE AT TULSA (American).  Temple is a bubble team, and is clearly the better team in this game.  But, it ain’t easy winning at Tulsa.  They’re 11-2 at home and if Temple can pull this off they deserve some credit for it.

-KENTUCKY AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  This will be a tough road test for Kentucky, but they’ve been tested in tough road environments before and have passed with flying colors.  Mississippi State is coming off a close loss to LSU, and this would be a great win for them to have on their resume.

-DAVIDSON AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten).  If Davidson wins out they may get some love from the committee, but as well as they’re playing they’ll probably still need to win the A10 Tourney in order to feel safe.

-OLE MISS AT GEORGIA (SEC).  This is a winnable road game for Ole Miss.  They’re not totally screwed if they don’t win it, but they really need to win the road games against sub-NIT caliber teams to demonstrate that they themselves are a solid NCAA team.

-MINNESOTA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State has lost two straight, and although their paper is still solid, I think they need this win at home for their mental health as much as anything.  Minney is inside the bubble and this certainly won’t knock them out of it, but a win would really help stabilize them.

-TCU AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  TCU has two problems.  They lack good wins, and they lack road wins of any kind.  They can address both of those if they’re able to win at Iowa State today.  But, that’s easier said than done.  Iowa State is looking more and more like a protected seed and will stay on that track if they’re able to hold serve.

-AUBURN AT LSU (SEC).  This would be Auburn’s biggest win of the year, by a long shot, if they’re able to pull it off.  I’ve been criticizing them all season, but will certainly back off if they pick this one up.  LSU, on the other hand, has just one conference loss and is continuing to build a very impressive resume.

-VCU AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten).  If VCU wins out I think they’ll get some love from the committee and will get in even without the automatic bid.  But, anything short of that and they are in real trouble.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  This is a game that Syracuse should win, and it would damage them if they don’t win.  Having said that, one never knows what Syracuse is going to do.

-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West, Front Range).  We at Hoops HD Love the…..OH FORGET IT!!!

-NC STATE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  NC State is just 2-4 on the road, and although Pitt isn’t exactly a tournament team, NC State’s margin for error is razor thin and putting another road win on their resume will certainly help.

-VILLANOVA AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  These are the two flagship programs in the Big East.  Nova has a two game lead, and a win puts it almost out of reach for Marquette, plus it gives Nova a win against a potential protected seed on the road, which furthers Nova’s resume.  Marquette can get back within range of a first place finish if they’re able to pull off the win, plus put another huge win on their resume.

-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT BUFFALO (MAC).  Every game for Buffalo feels like a stakes game because the losses are more damaging when they’re not facing other tournament caliber teams.  They’re back at home today, and should be able to pick this one up and stay within a game of first place.

-ARKANSAS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  We still have Arkansas outside of our bubble, but they are definitely moving in the right direction and a conference road win would be another big step forward.

-FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee is ranked #1, on pace to end up as a #1 seed, and playing at home in another winnable game.  Florida has been playing better, but they’ll need to play insanely better to beat the #1 team on the road.

-LOUISVILLE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  We have Louisville all the way up on the #2 line, and although the real committee may not have them that high yet, a win today would be their third true road win against a ranked team.  As of now, they are the only team with two.  Easier said than done, though.  Florida State went through a bit of a skid, but has won four in a row and playing really well at home.

-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve).  This is a huge game for both teams.  For Texas Tech, the resume is a little flimsy by protected seed standards and adding a quality road win would certainly help.  For Oklahoma, they are currently four games under .500 in conference play and their chances of making the NCAA Tournament will evaporate if they don’t get that turned around in a hurry.

-NEW MEXICO AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  The first time these two met, Nevada suffered their only loss of the season.  And, they didn’t just lose.  They were pile driven.  I think that was more of an anomaly than anything else, and we could see the same thing in reverse today.

-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  Believe it or not, K State is your current Big 12 leader!  And Baylor will overtake them if they pull off a win in this game.  Neither team was spectacular out of conference, and Baylor was flat out bad, but both are on fire now and this one should be fun.

-TEXAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  Texas has been very schizophrenic and their resume could really use some stabilizing.  One just never knows what they are going to do.  They should beat the worst team in the conference on the road, but will they?

-COPPIN STATE AT SAVANNAH STATE (MEAC).  The Team of the People is going after their third straight win!!

-CREIGHTON AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Seton Hall basically needs to stop sucking.  They’ve lost five of their last six and are in a complete freefall.  This is a home game against a team that is not a tournament caliber team.  They need to win it.

-NEBRASKA AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Nebraska is pretty much out of the race.  They’ve been in freefall mode since the injury bug hit them and they don’t seem to be coming out of it.  Purdue, on the other hand, is playing like a protected seed after a bit of a sluggish start, and will remain on that pace if they hold serve today.

-ALABAMA AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Bama is inside our bubble, but I’d hardly call them a team that is ready to just cruise on in.  This is a road game against a non-tournament caliber team, and these are the kinds of games they need to be able to win.

-SAINT MARY’S AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  This is a big rivalry game, but this edition of it appears to be a huge mismatch.  Gonzaga is on pace to get a #1 seed, and SMC will maybe make the NIT.  Maybe.

-UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  I suppose Utah State’s at-large hopes are barely flickering, but they pretty much need to win out and pick up a win against Nevada at some point.

-WASHINGTON AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve).  This is probably the toughest game Washington has left, and assuming they keep playing like they have been it’s probably their toughest game until they play in the Round of 64.  Arizona State inexplicably lost to Wazzu on Thursday.  By a lot.  They need this win, and maybe all the rest of them, to end up on the right side of the bubble.

UNDER THE RADAR

-BOSTON U AT BUCKNELL (Patriot League).  Bucknell has a one game lead with seven games remaining.  A win today gets them closer to clinching home court advantage.

-ALBANY AT VERMONT (America East).  Vermont is trying to hold on to first place in the AEast.

-HIGH POINT AT RADFORD (Big South).  Radford can sustain their two game lead, and perhaps widen it to three, with just seven games to go.  Home court advantage is what they are playing for.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT FURMAN (SoCon).  Neither team is likely to land inside the bubble, but both are among the four best teams in the conference and both are capable of winning the auto-bid.  Should be a fun one today.

-BELMONT AT MOREHEAD STATE (Ohio Valley).  Belmont is in the hunt for first place in the OVC, and if they win out but lose in the conference tourney I think the committee will take a serious look at them.

-JACKSONVILLE AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun).  I say this every week, but if Lipscomb wins out I think they should be in

-COASTAL CAROLINA AT TEXAS STATE (Sun Belt).  Just won game separates the top five teams in this league, and these are two of the five teams that are part of that logjam.

-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley).  Austin Peay is part of a tight OVC race.

-NORTH DAKOTA AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Summit).  South Dakota State has a one game lead with just six games remaining.  They’ve got a clear shot at an outright first place finish.

-TOLEDO AT BOLWING GREEN (MAC).  Bowling Green is coming off a huge win against Buffalo, they’re unbeaten at home, and they’re in first place in the MAC.  They’ll be tested again today against a pretty good Toledo team.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT NORTH TEXAS (Conference USA).  Just one game separates the top four teams in CUSA, and these two are right in the mix.  WKU has been disappointing this year, but they have won 6 out of 7 and appear to have righted their ship.

-WESTERN CAROLINA AT WOFFORD (SoCon).  If Wofford wins out, or even if they just drop one more game, I think the committee should (and will) take them regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT CHATTANOOGA (SoCon).  UNCG is just one game back of Wofford and they’ll get another shot at them later this season.  If they can keep winning and keep pace the committee should at least look at them.

-UMASS LOWELL AT STONY BROOK (America East).  Stony Brook is just a game behind Vermont and is chasing them to try and gain home court advantage throughout the AEast Tourney.

-SIUE AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley).  Murray is part of that four team race that’s gunning for first place in the OVC.

-PRAIRIE VIEW A&M AT TEXAS SOUTHERN (SWAC).  These are the top two teams in the SWAC, and if PVAM wins they don’t mathematically clinch it, but I don’t think anyone in the conference will catch them.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT GRAND CANYON (WAC).  Hell yeah!!  This game would have had a much better storyline had GCU not lost on Thursday, but New Mexico State is in first place and GCU is just a game behind them and can pull even with a win.  And, these two teams have a fantastic feud going!

-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT MONTANA (Big Sky).  Montana is the first place team and is at home, but EWU has come to life lately.

-HAWAII AT UC IRVINE (Big West).  UC Irvine has a clear path to a first place finish, and I think is good enough to win out.

Posted in News and Notes | 1 Comment

Call from the Hall: HoopsHD interviews new Hall of Famer Valerie Still

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Jon Teitel

On Monday the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 7 members of its Class of 2019: Ticha Penicheiro, Ruth Riley Hunter, Valerie Still, Carolyn Bush Roddy, Beth Bass, Joan Cronan, and Nora Lynn Finch. The Kentucky Wildcats’ men’s basketball team is recognized as the most successful D-1 program ever in terms of both all-time wins/all-time winning percentage. However, the leading scorer/rebounder in the history of the school is not a male player like Dan Issel or Jack Givens but rather Valerie Still (2763 PTS/1525 REB). She was a 3-time All-American in Lexington, a 9-time All-Star in Italy, and a 2-time MVP of the ABL Championship Series with Columbus. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with the brand-new Hall of Famer about averaging a double-double during each of her 4 years on campus and winning a pair of ABA titles. Feel free to check out her “Still Talkin'” podcast at: www.bigbluebanter.com.

 (photo credit: Valerie Still Private Collection)

You grew up in New Jersey: what made you choose Kentucky? I was born/raised in Camden. I chose Kentucky because 1 of my older brothers went there and had a wonderful experience.

You were 1 of the 1st female athletes to receive an athletic scholarship shortly after Title IX was passed in the 1970s: how big a deal was it at the time? It was huge. Title IX was passed in 1972 to prohibit discrimination based on sex. People thought that it would affect female professors but right away it affected college athletic programs. It was not until 1978 that women were offered full scholarships and I graduated in 1979. I lucked out thanks to people like the Godmother of Title IX: Bernice Sadler.

You had a 30-game home court winning streak from 1980-82 and in 1983 you helped lead the Wildcats to an upset of Old Dominion before a record crowd of 10,622: how much of a home-court advantage did you have at Memorial Coliseum? Kentucky had just won a men’s championship in 1978 but when I arrived the women only had around 300 people in attendance at their games. The ODU game featured the largest women’s crowd ever at the time: we were both top-5 teams so that was definitely a highlight of Kentucky women’s sports. They are getting ready to make a $15 million renovation of Memorial Coliseum soon. Pat Summitt was the coach at Tennessee at the time: she wanted to come to Kentucky but they would not pay her $200 in moving expenses! Debbie Yow was the Kentucky coach who recruited me, although I made it clear I was going there. Debbie later became the 1st female AD at a D-1 school and is 1 of the most 100 influential people in college sports. I had some great role models: she was like a mother figure to me and was the very 1st person I called after becoming a Hall of Fame finalist.

You averaged a double-double during each of your 4 years on campus and you remain the leading scorer/rebounder in school history (male or female) with 2763 PTS/1525 REB: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding? Debbie tells a funny story about this. Coming out of high school my stats were based on raw talent: I did not even know what “boxing out” was! As a girl playing among boys I had to work hard for everything I got and always tried to chase down rebounds. A lot of times in college I would miss a shot and then go get the rebound: some of my teammates joked that I was just padding my stats. I had 27 REB in 1 game.

You were a 3-time All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? I had no clue about what was going on with awards: I was just a kid with a dream who wanted to play basketball. I was not looking at breaking any records…but I did want my name listed in the back of the media guide.

You played pro basketball in Italy for 12 years and were a 9-time All-Star who led the league in scoring several times: how were you able to head overseas and dominate for more than a decade? It was just my destiny. In college we would tour Japan and play against some pro teams, so I knew I had that option if I wanted it. There were a couple of Italian agents who attended my final college game in 1983 and asked if I was interested in playing abroad. My mom did not want me to go overseas but I told her that I would do it for a year before returning to finish my degree. Those were the best years of my young life: if it were not for the Italian League I would have probably become a veterinarian.

After returning to the US you joined the ABL and were a 2-time MVP of the ABL Championship Series with Columbus: what did it mean to you to win a pair of titles? It signified quite a few things. As 1 of the older players who played pro basketball overseas it was incredible because a lot of players who came before me did not have that opportunity. In the spring of 1996 I was retired with a very young son but 1 of my former assistant coaches told me about a new league that was forming after the 1996 Olympic team sponsored by Nike went undefeated. 3 players decided to hold out and wait for the WNBA but everyone else joined the 8-team ABL. Katie Smith was the big name in Columbus and the league had teams in other women’s basketball hotbeds around the country such as northern California/Connecticut. Columbus had already conducted its draft but did not have a lot of post players and was only 3 hours away from me in Lexington. I tried out against some kids who were half my age and they offered me a contract right then and there. The ABL played from October-April while the WNBA played during the summer. We were the 1st women’s team ever invited to the White House! I was picked up by Washington in 1998 after the ABL folded but I had suffered a bad knee injury. The Mystics were a terrible 3-15 team when I arrived but they had the best fan support in the league: I remember Al Gore dropping by to say hi after 1 game. Michael Jordan joined the Wizards around that time and we would watch him practicing after we did.

You got your undergraduate degree in Animal Science/Pre-Vet, a Master’s degree in African and African-American Studies, and a PhD in Sports Humanities at Ohio State, and you currently work for the Palmyra, NJ school district: how much importance do you place on academics? It is the key! I left UK 15 credits shy of graduating because most of my production courses were scheduled at the same time as our practices in the afternoon. I came back in 2000 to finish my undergrad degree and was later thinking of getting back into vet school but decided to get my Master’s instead. I took a sports psychology class and it was just so incredible: it covered so many different topics like literature, philosophy, management, etc. The department head suggested I get my doctorate…so I did. I still have to write my dissertation but education is freedom. You just have to be in the know: sports only last so long but there are so many other opportunities out there.

In 1998 you founded the Valerie Still Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists youth in their development and helps young girls grow into mature women through innovative programs: what have you been able to accomplish over the past 2 decades? That was awesome! We did so many things: reading programs, building courts, etc. I had young girls look up to me as a champion so the opportunity to empower them was intriguing to me. I stay involved because you have to give back by paying it forward.

Earlier this week you were announced as an inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is an incredibly fantastic honor. I have been on the Hall’s radar for a while even though I just played basketball for the pure joy of it. Last December when they announced I was up for the Naismith Hall of Fame it felt surreal. I was on both lists last year and it was exciting! It is not about success now but being significant. I want to use it as a tool to teach kids to not let anyone deter them from their passion. Nobody wanted me to play sports as a young girl but if you stick to what is inside of you then things like this can happen. Fortunately, I have always been a Hall of Famer to the people who love me.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Princeton at Yale

Posted on February 8, 2019 by John Stalica

For last night’s Bracket Rundown podcast – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Mark Monteith and Alan Karpick about Hall of Fame coach John Wooden – CLICK HERE

Princeton (12-5, 4-0 Ivy) at Yale (13-4, 3-1 Ivy) – 7:00 PM EST (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to an institution of past, present and future leaders of the world – the Yale Bulldogs will play host to the Princeton Tigers in an Ivy league matchup. The Tigers swept both Columbia and Cornell last weekend; they also have a sweep of Penn under their belts to put them in prime position for one of the four slots in the season-ending Ivy League Tournament to be played at Yale come March. Their other notable win was at Arizona State back in December; their only losses were at St. John’s at Duke as well as a Saint Joe’s team that was healthy earlier in the year. Devin Cannady leads the Tigers with 19.5 points a game and 6.2 rebounds a game.

Yale more or less held serve (by Ivy League standards) with a split of their road trip last weekend; they lost at Harvard but were able to win at Dartmouth last weekend. They also swept their travel partner Brown earlier in January. Their only other losses were all respectable – at Memphis, at Duke and at Vermont. Their best noncon win was against the Miami Hurricanes. Miye Oni leads the Bulldogs with 16.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 3.8 APG.

NEWS AND NOTES

– It was quite a notable night in the Pac-12 last night. Washington won without too much difficulty at Arizona to put the Huskies head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Arizona State was the real surprise last night – they dug an early hole at home against a Washington State team that had only one conference win and never recovered en route to a 91-70 loss against the Cougars. Time will tell if this is a fatal blow to the Sun Devils’ at-large tournament hopes; they absolutely must beat Washington at least once this season. Saturday night is their only opportunity in the regular season to do so.

– Iowa continued their string of quality wins in the Big 10; they got a decent road win at an Indiana team that was coming off of a monster win at Michigan State last weekend.

– Houston and Cincinnati have separated themselves as the class of the American; the Cougars won fairly comfortably at UCF and the Bearcats did have to mount a 2nd half comeback before winning at Memphis last night. South Florida is also in the midst of a nice turnaround season under Brian Gregory; they’re an NCAA longshot but may actually have decent NIT hopes this season. The Bulls hit a game-winner in the closing seconds to get a 1-point win at SMU.

– Wofford needed extra time, but got a big win at East Tennessee State last night in the SoCon. The Terriers get more brownie points towards a potential at-large bid should they end up not winning their conference tournament. UNC-Greensboro also beat Samford at home and remains a game and a half behind Wofford for first place.

– Radford’s Carlik Jones had quite the night. First he hit a game-tying three point shot to send their game against Hampton to overtime and ended up finishing the game with a buzzer-beater 3 to give the Highlanders a road win.

– New Mexico State was living the high life in the WAC last night. They were down two late in OT after Bakersfield took the lead with under 10 seconds to play, but Trevelin Queen hit a buzzer-beating 3 to give the Aggies a crucial road win at Bakersfield and put themselves two games ahead of the Roadrunners in the process. They also got unexpected help from Texas-Rio Grande Valley; the Vaqueros pulled a stunner with a win at Grand Canyon last night to give New Mexico State the outright WAC lead by a full game against the Lopes.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-COLUMBIA AT HARVARD (Ivy League). The Crimson are tied with Yale for second place in the Ivy League right now and need to hold serve at home this week to maintain a top-4 finish in the Ivy.

-PENN AT BROWN (Ivy League). It’s an even more critical night for the Quakers – if they slip up tonight, they’ll fall even further behind Cornell for the 4th and final spot in the Ivy League Tournament.

-CANISIUS AT RIDER (MAAC). Rider suddenly finds itself tied with Monmouth for first place in the conference after losses in their last three road games. They did win the first matchup on the road against Canisius earlier this season, though.

-CORNELL AT DARTMOUTH (Ivy League). The Big Red have a 1-game lead over Penn for 4th place and have a winnable game that they must take advantage of tonight.

-GEORGIA STATE AT LOUISIANA (Sun Belt). Georgia State now finds themselves tied for first place with Texas State again after losing at Louisiana-Monroe earlier in the week coupled with Texas State’s comeback win against Appalachian State last night.

-KENT STATE AT AKRON (MAC). The Wagon Wheel’s first matchup this year will be played tonight – the Golden Flashes are a perfect 8-0 in games decided by 5 points or less this season. Winning at Akron never comes easy, though.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: February 7th

Posted on February 8, 2019 by David Griggs

This show was recorded at 10:30pm on Thursday, Feb 7th.  The bracket and seed list do not reflect any games that were not completed after that time.

This is a CHECKPOINT of what we think the NCAA Tournament SHOULD look like if the season ended TODAY.  This is not an attempt to guess what the actual committee will do on Selection Sunday.

Jon Teitel arbitrates as Chad, David, and John build a seedlist line by line, and debate, discuss, assess, and sometimes argue about each team as we place them into the bracket.

 

Below is the bracket of the seedlist, but do not 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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