NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s All Conference Awards for 2015 – CLICK HERE
-Xavier suffered their first loss of the season two days ago when they were completely curb stomped by Villanova, but they lost more than just the game. Xavier PG Edmond Sumner needed to be taken off the court on a stretcher about a minute in. The good news is he was released from the hospital and traveled back with the team, so it is likely that he will be able to return at some point.
-Utah has some good wins on their tournament resume, but one thing that they still don’t have is a true road win. They fell at Stanford in overtime last night.
-Providence had a big win at Butler two days ago. They’ve now beaten Arizona on a neutral floor and have a true road win at Butler. Their only loss was a close game to a top ranked Michigan State team, who was at full strength at the time. Most people aren’t thinking of them as a #1 seed, and perhaps they won’t be there in the end, but as of now they’ve certainly looked the part.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-DEPAUL AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall is an impressive 11-2 on the year and unbeaten at home. They can improve to 2-0 in league play with a very winnable game today.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). WVU is really good, but they have just one true road win and K State has yet to lose at home. If K State wants to make the dance then they need to pick up wins in games like this.
-JAMES MADISON AT DELAWARE (Colonial). JMU’s home loss to College of Charleston was a huge surprise. I do believe that was their last strike. Having said that, I do believe that it’s possible that they can still run away from the league.
-HOUSTON AT TEMPLE (American). Houston has just two losses, but they’ll need to blow through league play in order to get noticed because their OOC schedule was so weak.
-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). People have kind of mailed it in on Michigan. A win in this game gets them to 12-3, which is anything but bad.
-FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Florida State traditionally struggles on the road, but they’re coming off a huge road win against Florida and have a winnable conference road game today against Clemson.
-GEORGIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Georgia Tech is 10-3, but we’re still not sold on them. That will change if they pull off the upset win today, though.
-RICHMOND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). We’ve kind of written off the A10 as just a two bid league, but Richmond has made a little bit of noise this year and Saint Joe’s is a very surprising 10-2, so the door is open for both of them. Having said that, the margin for error is small.
-CHATTANOOGA AT THE CITADEL (Southern). The Citadel is much improved, but they’re probably not good enough to knock off an at-large caliber team, which is what Chattanooga appears to be.
-BUTLER AT XAVIER (Big East). Both are trying to recover from losses in their conference openers and avoid starting out 0-2. Xavier was clobbered at Villanova, and lost Sumner, whereas Butler fell to Providence at home. Neither team is in any danger and both could still end up as protected seeds, but it’s a game with a sense of urgency. It’s also a game with a little bit of heat as this series appears to be a budding rivalry.
-TEXAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). Texas needs road wins. Texas Tech has some decent wins, but all came at home and not many were of this caliber. Both teams need conference wins, so this is a big early conference game for both of them.
-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Many of us have stopped paying attention to NC State, but they’re a very respectable 10-3 and they’ll explode onto the national scene if they’re able to make some noise in ACC play.
-UIC AT VALPARAISO (Horizon League). Valpo can land inside the bubble, but they’ll need to blow through HL play in order to do it.
-SYRACUSE AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Syracuse is 0-3 in true road games, so a win in this game would jack up the value of their profile in a very big way. Miami has multiple impressive wins and has just one loss, which came at the buzzer.
-DAYTON AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten). Dayton has a solid profile, but they’ve had to sweat out their last two games, both of which were at home against weak teams. Duquesne probably isn’t a tournament team, but they are 10-3 and are also unbeaten at home. This will be a tougher game for Dayton to win than the previous two that they’ve had to sweat out.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Michigan State is looking to rebound from their loss at Iowa. I still don’t think they’re at full strength, but this is still a game they should be able to win.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). With wins away from home against Arizona and Butler, and just one loss on the season, Providence’s case for a #1 seed is currently very strong. We have a long way to go, though.
-BAYLOR AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Baylor’s team is good, but their profile needs lots of work. If they win this game today, then their profile will no longer need lots of work. Kansas, like most years, already has some big wins and will contend for the league title and a #1 seed.
-CHARLESTON AT WILLIAM & MARY (Colonial). CofC picked up a HUGELY impressive win at James Madison the other night, and if they get another road win against another conference favorite, then at this point we have to start thinking of them as the conference favorite. There is room for an at-large bid for the first place finisher of this league so long as they avoid bad losses.
-TULSA AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati is coming off a surprising home loss to Temple, who is not a tournament caliber team. They can’t afford too many more of those. Tulsa, on the other hand, needs to start blowing through their schedule if they want the committee to notice them.
-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). As disappointing as many feel Indiana has been, they’re still 11-3 and can still have a big year if they can get their defense figured out. Picking up a conference road win would certainly help things.
-EVANSVILLE AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). Evansville is 12-2 and it’s very possible that they’ll land inside the bubble come Selection Sunday. They need to avoid losses in games like this, though.
-ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU can improve to 11-2 on the season and remain in solid shape.
-DUKE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). This is Duke’s first true road game of the season, but they’ll probably be less tested than they were in many of their neutral floor OOC games.
-NOTRE DAME AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Notre Dame was a little sluggish at the start, but they are 9-3 and can change the entire complexion of their season if they can pick up a monster road win against a UVA team that will likely end up on one of the top two lines. That’s much more easily said than done, though.
-LITTLE ROCK AT TROY (Sun Belt). Little Rock has just one loss on the year and will be good for a bid if they keep winning at that clip.
-MARQUETTE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Marquette was blown out at home in their conference opener, but they still sit at a relatively healthy 10-3 and will be in good shape if they can pick up a conference road win today.
-MEMPHIS AT SOUTH CAROLINA. South Carolina is trying to remain unbeaten, and Memphis is trying to pick up their best win of the season so far. This is actually Memphis’s first true road game, so it’s one of their bigger tests so far.
-IOWA AT PURDUE. Iowa is coming off the win against Michigan State, but it was at home against a short handed Spartan team. Winning at Purdue will probably be a tougher test.
-NORTHEASTERN AT UNC WILMINGTON (Colonial). As mentioned earlier, the first place finisher in the Colonial will likely be in the discussion for an at-large bid.
-COLORADO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise State is probably good enough to run through the league and land inside the bubble, but anything short of that likely won’t be enough.
-OLE MISS AT KENTUCKY (SEC). People haven’t been that excited about Ole Miss, but if they can pull off the huge upset they’ll explode onto the national scene. They’re 10-2 with four true road wins. They don’t have anything of this caliber on their profile, though.
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Both teams are likely protected seeds, and both are good enough to potentially play their way up to the #1 line. It’s a huge game that’s as much of a litmus test as it is a chance for a quality win.
-SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA). It’s a long shot, but LA Tech is 11-2 and has a chance of being in the discussion if they blow through conference play.
-CONNECTICUT AT TULANE (American). UConn will remain safe so long as they don’t lose games to non tournament teams. This game would certainly qualify.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT SMU (American). SMU is still unbeaten. They are also still ineligible.
-GEORGIA AT FLORIDA (SEC). Both these teams need this game. Both are good. Both are improving, but both also need quality wins on their profile.
-MARYLAND AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern won their conference opener. At 13-1, this would be as big of a statement win as any they’ve had this year even though it’s a home game. It would also be one of Maryland’s more notable wins as well. In fact, Maryland hasn’t won a true road game yet.
-DAVIDSON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). I don’t think either team will be there in the end, but for now both are 8-3 and still have a chance if they can pick up some big wins in league play.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley). Southern Illinois has a bloated record, but they haven’t beaten any good teams. Northern Iowa has beaten some really good teams, but has also lost to teams that are nowhere near the tournament picture. Both teams have a lot of work to do and it’s an important early conference game.
-GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT UT ARLINGTON (Sun Belt). Arlington can still land inside the bubble, but they’ll have to blow through the league and avoid bad losses in order to do it.
-LSU AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Vanderbilt looks like a tournament team that needs to strengthen its profile. LSU looks nothing like a tournament team and needs to start playing like one before it’s too late.
-SAN DIEGO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). It’s the same narrative as always. I’m not a believer in SMC, but we’re still paying attention and entertaining the possibility that they might be good due to them due to their bloated record against weak teams.
-VILLANOVA AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Nova blew out Xavier in their conference opener, and is now looking for just their second true road win of the season.
-GONZAGA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). Gonzaga’s road just got a lot tougher seeing as how they’re now without Karnowski for the rest of the year. If they blow through the league they’re still likely a first ballot team, but but if they end up dropping several they could be in real trouble.
Norfolk State @ Alabama – (buy game)
-UMES @ Pittsburgh – (buy game)
Throwback Thursday: The Great Midwest Conference
Link #1 – Jon Teitel’s Midterm All-Conference Teams
Link #2 – David Griggs’ highlighted games and Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game Of The Day
Link #3 – 12/30/2015 Under The Radar Podcast with David Griggs and Chad Sherwood
Programs like Cincinnati and Memphis have a long history with each other – not only were they members of the Missouri Valley Conference, they also have the distinction of being charter members of four different conferences with each other. Those conferences include the Metro Athletic Conference, Conference USA, the American Athletic Conference, and today’s featured conference, the long-lost Great Midwest Conference. Even Saint Louis was a charter member with UC and Memphis in 3 of those conferences; they moved to the Atlantic 10 (with Charlotte) beginning with the 2005-06 season after DePaul and Marquette left Conference USA to join the Big East.
In the 1991-92 season, the Great Midwest Conference featured 6 charter members – 2 of which came from the Metro in the form of Cincinnati and Memphis. Saint Louis and Marquette had a brief stay in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference before joining the Great Midwest. UAB had been quite successful in the Sun Belt in their short history, and DePaul had been independent before joining as the 6th charter member. Dayton joined for the 1993-94 season, but unfortunately for them, their program was at its historical nadir.
Cincinnati was the most consistent program in the 4 years of the conference; they were 30-14 in 4 seasons of conference play and featured stars like Herb Jones, Nick Van Exel, and head coach Bob Huggins who had rebuilt a floundering UC program when he arrived in 1989. He led them to a Final 4 in 1992, an Elite 8 in 1993 which featured an overtime loss to eventual champion North Carolina, and 2 other NCAA appearances in that timespan. But 1992 still remains the high water mark in the last half century for the Bearcats; they whacked Xavier in the Crosstown Shootout, avenged an earlier loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, and would also beat then-Memphis State 4 times in the same season. Click here to see them defeat the Tigers to earn a trip to the Final 4 in Minneapolis that season. The Bearcats also won all 4 Great Midwest Conference Tournaments and further tormented Memphis by beating them each year en route to their titles!
Memphis was not far behind at 25-19; the Tigers themselves had a memorable season in 1991-92 as well. Led by All-American guard Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, the Tigers upset Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament and defeated giant-killer Georgia Tech before bowing out to Cincinnati in the Elite 8. They would also qualify for the 1993 NCAA Tournament and had a rare losing year in 1994 before rebounding the following season. Even that season almost featured a Cinderella run in conference tournament play; they upset UAB and Saint Louis before losing to the hometown Cincinnati Bearcats in the final. Led by Lorenzen Wright, the Tigers would win the regular season title in 1994-95 and also make it to the Sweet 16 that season.
Marquette would actually have a better record in 4 seasons of conference play (28-16), but they weren’t as successful as the Tigers were when it came to postseason play. Their best season was in 1993-94 when they won the Great Midwest regular season title and would advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in the post-Al McGuire era before losing to Duke. One of their more notable players was William Gates; he was a co-star with Arthur Agee in the documentary film Hoop Dreams. Although the film was devoted largely to their high school careers, Gates would be an on again/off again player at Marquette before ultimately earning a degree at Marquette. Marquette would also make the NCAA Tournament in 1992-93 and would finish as the NIT runner-up in 1995.
UAB was still relatively new to Division I ball when they joined the conference; they had actually transitioned up to Division I after Gene Bartow left UCLA in the late 1970s. The glory days for the Blazers were in the early 1980s (in their Sun Belt days) that featured a trip to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in 1981 and 1982, respectively. In the Great Midwest, the Blazers had a pedestrian 22-22 record that saw an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1993-94 preceded by two NIT appearances (including a trip to the NIT Final 4 in 1993 before losing to eventual runner-up Georgetown).
DePaul had enjoyed many years of success as an independent under the father-son head coaching duo of Ray and Joey Meyer. Joey Meyer would make the NCAA Tournament in 7 of his first 8 seasons, although Sweet 16 appearances in 1986 and 1987 were later vacated due to NCAA violations. After tying with Cincinnati for the regular season title in the Great Midwest in 1992, the Blue Demons would reach the NCAAs for the last time under Joey Meyer. The next 3 seasons saw a steady decline in the Blue Demons’ program, although they did qualify for the NIT in the 1994 and 1995 seasons. DePaul would finish 21-23 in their 4 seasons of Great Midwest play.
Saint Louis was 17-27 during their tenure in the Great Midwest Conference due to their first two seasons being downright horrific; they only managed a home win over DePaul in that timeframe. But the Billikens did manage a swift turnaround with Charlie Spoonhour as head coach; they improved from a 5-23 season in 1991-92 to a 23-6 season 2 years later that also featured a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 37 seasons. The following season featured a return trip to the NCAAs and even included a win against Minnesota in the 1st round before falling to top-seeded Wake Forest in the 2nd round.
Last, and certainly least are the Dayton Flyers. While the Flyers had a storied history that included multiple NIT titles and a trip to the 1968 NCAA Championship, their talent cycle had completely bottomed out under head coach Jim O’Brien. They finished 1-23 in their 2 seasons of conference play with their only win coming against a ranked Saint Louis team at home in 1993-94. Oliver Purnell took over as head coach for the 1994-95 season, but he was ultimately able to rebuild the Flyers after a season that saw them go winless in conference play in 1995.
With major realignment taking place after the 1994-95 season that saw the Southwest Conference dissolve, all the original members of the Great Midwest Conference would join Louisville, UNC-Charlotte, Southern Miss, Tulane and South Florida (from the Metro Conference) and Houston (orphaned from the Southwest Conference) in the newly-formed Conference USA. Dayton would be invited to the Atlantic 10 along with Xavier, Virginia Tech, La Salle and Fordham after the A-10 lost West Virginia and Rutgers to the Big East.