06Nov20 - Mid-Nomers
Mid-Nomers
Under the guise of Political Correctness, nobody wants to call The Little Guy "The Little Guy" anymore. Make no mistake about it: that was no "Mid-Major" that waltzed into Lawrence and knocked off #2 Kansas, 78-@71; that was a true Giant-Killer (Oral Roberts) from a One-Bid-Conference (the Mid-Continent). And that was GK-Vermont from the 1BC-America East that marched into Chestnut Hill and routed Boston College, 77-@63. Winthrop, from the 1BC-Big South, nearly joined them, giving North Carolina all it could handle into the second half before the Eagle ironmen gave into fatigue against the fresh depth of the Tar Heels and fell, @66-@73. Look it: in order for there to be a "Middle", there has to be a "Top" and a "Bottom". Even with those fantastic wins on their resumes, if any of those teams fails to dominate in-conference and loses in their tournament, there's no at-large bid coming their way no matter what. There are about 15 conferences that are traditionally one-bid-only: (Southern, Patriot, Big Sky, Big West, Metro Atlantic, Mid-Continent, Big South, Southland, Ohio Valley, Ivy, Northeast, Atlantic Sun, SWAC, MEAC and America East). If a team from one of those conferences knocks off a "Super 6"/BCS team, especially on the road, that is real David vs. Goliath stuff. Even the Mid-American, Sun Belt and Horizon haven't sent two teams dancing for a while; and the West Coast only manages to send two if Gonzaga messes up and loses its conference tourney.
The real mid-majors are those conferences who can send two teams in a good year, but may only send one team in a down year. Nowadays, that applies to the Mountain West, WAC, Conference USA and the Atlantic 10. The Missouri Valley and Colonial stepped a cut above (into "Junior-Major" status, let's say) last year; but this year it looks like the MVC will stay there while the Colonial teams are generally having a rough go of it early on. Except for Old Dominion, that is. The Monarchs took apart Georgetown in its on-campus gym, 75-@62. Butler may elevate the Horizon back to full "Mid-Major" status again, thanks to two heart-stopping wins against in-state rivals Notre Dame, @71-@69, and Indiana, @60-@55, in front of split crowds in Indianapolis to advance to New York in the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF as Mighty Mites 6-1 gA.J. Graves(28p;GW3, 20p;10/10ft) and 6-0 gMike Green(19p12a6r, 17p) led the way. (Don't expect the ride to continue in New York against the likes of North Carolina, Tennessee and Gonzaga; but give the Bulldogs their full due in this moment in the sun.) Air Force will crash the party in Kansas City at the COLLEGE BASKETBALL CLASSIC (GUARDIANS) CLASSIC after a tight 69-68 win over Long Beach State and then a 79-@45 thrashing of host Stanford, thanks mainly to fJacob Burtschi(22p5r, 24p12r;10/15fg).
The New York debut of Texas' tKevin Durant (21p9r, 29p10r) was as good as advertized even though the Longhorns split their two games in the COLLEGE HOOPS (COACHES VS CANCER) CLASSIC, losing 61-63 to Michigan State and winning 77-@76 against host St. John's. Durant is a wiry 6-9/204lb, has smooth offensive skills (three-point range, decent ball-handling), but he and his young teammates have a ways to go on team defense and physical stamina. MSU's gDrew Neitzel(16p6a6r;GWFG, 21p5a) drove the lane for the game-winning layup against UTx, but couldn't pull it off a second time against champion Maryland in the final. The Terrapins have more depth this year and used it to blitz every opponent except the Spartans, who were able to hang around and make it a halfcourt game. Despite losing their stars from last year, Michigan State's one holdover point guard has the Spartans on an even keel. (The same can be said for Villanova with gMike Nardi back to guide the ship after their great guard trio from last year departed. Of course, VU is much aided by the return of fCurtis Sumpter after sitting out last year due to knee surgery. The Wildcats played tough in a 66-71 defeat in the semis of the PARADISE JAM against Xavier, which is bolstered by the addition of Oklahoma transfer pDrew Lavender.)
Wichita State held up the MVC banner with a 72-@66 revenge win at George Mason (who beat them twice at the end of last year, in a BRACKET BUSTER game and in the NCAA Sweet 16). Creighton fell at in-state rival Nebraska, 61-@73, (despite 28p from gNate Funk). Southern Illinois will get its chance to shine this week in the new 8-team ESPNU/OLD SPICE CLASSIC at Orlando, FL. Utah State may make the WAC a two-bid Mid-Major again this year, thanks to taking the TOP OF THE WORLD crown (behind gJaycee Carroll's 27p, 24p10r4a, 21p). Pittsburgh (COLONIAL CLASSIC-NORTH), Texas A&M (SHELBY METCALF CLASSIC), Washington (TRAVELERS CLASSIC), Connecticut (HISPANIC COLLEGE FUND-NORTH CLASSIC) and Florida State (COLONIAL CLASSIC-SOUTH) all rolled to easy wins in three-day/four-team showcases. (Pittsburgh gets to have a real game when it hosts Florida State on Friday for the COLONIAL "NORTH/SOUTH" crown.)
Thanks to Oral Roberts, Saturday's Florida-Kansas matchup (in the pre-set final of the LAS VEGAS [THANKSGIVING] INVITATIONAL) is no longer #1 vs #2, but it's still likely the best preseason game we'll get to see. North Carolina won't run away with things against the likes of Gonzaga or Tennessee in the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF, but neither will they stumble. Wisconsin won't face any worthy competition from Oklahoma State, Missouri State, Auburn or Sam Houston State in the SOUTH PADRE INVITATIONAL. UCLA will likely have the toughest time getting past the likes of Memphis, Kentucky and even young Georgia Tech in the MAUI INVITATIONAL. Duke may struggle a bit against Air Force's size, but smallish Texas Tech and Marquette won't worry them as much in the CBE (GUARDIANS) CLASSIC. The PARADISE JAM Final (Alabama-Xavier) features a nice point guard matchup in pRonald Steele vs pDrew Lavender -- (look for the Tides' inside strength to prevail). Hofstra is off to an 0-2 start after two road losses (at Charlotte and at Manhattan), but the Pride could bounce back and take the weak field in the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT, anyway.
If Winthrop can hang with North Carolina, no reason they can't do the same with Maryland on Monday. The MVC's two-year campaign for "Junior-Major" status continues this week as Wichita State travels to LSU and Creighton tries to double the pain of visiting George Mason, both on Saturday.
-- Ron
Key games this week:
- Monday:
(Alabama-Xavier, 3rd:Villanova-Iowa, 5th:VCU-Toledo, 7th:ColofCharleston-MidTennessee),
(Duke-AirForce, TexasTech-Marquette),
(UCLA@{Chaminade}, Memphis-Oklahoma, Kentucky-DePaul, GeorgiaTech-Purdue),
(A: @Florida, @BallSt, Chattanooga, PrairieView,
B: @Kansas, @WeKentucky, TennesseeSt, Towson,
Sat 25 Nov @ Las Vegas NV /OHA/ : Florida-Kansas),
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND INVITATIONAL 2x4 RndRob Tue:on-campus, Fri-Sat:@ South Padre Island TX
(A: @Wisconsin, @MissouriSt, Southern, DelawareSt, [{LincolnU}],
B: @OklahomaSt, @Auburn, SamHoustonSt, ETennesseeSt, [MoreheadSt], [{LouisianaCol}], [{MilesCol}]),
CHICAGO CHALLENGE INVITATIONAL 2x4 RndRob Tue:on-campus, Fri-Sat:@ Chicago IL
(A: @Illinois, @Rutgers, JacksonSt, SavannahSt, [{StThomasAquinas}],
B: @Bradley, @MiamiOH, @ILChicago, FloridaA&M),
(NCarolina-Gonzaga, Tennessee-Butler),
(Wed: Pacific-MOKansasCity, LoyolaMarymount@{AKAnchorage},
Thu: Hofstra-Hawaii, California-Marshall),
(SoIllinois-Arkansas, Marist-Minnesota, VirginiaTech-WeMichigan, Montana-WVirginia),
COLONIAL CLASSIC NORTH/SOUTH Final
(@Pittsburgh-FloridaSt),
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Top 25 - 06 Nov 20 - [] Column
- Florida (4-0)
- Louisiana State (2-0)
- North Carolina (3-0)
- Ohio State (4-0)
- Wisconsin (3-0)
- Pittsburgh (5-0)
- UCLA (1-0)
- Duke (3-0)
- Kansas (2-1)
- Alabama (3-0)
- Tennessee (4-0)
- Syracuse (4-0)
- Texas A&M (4-0)
- Maryland (5-0)
- Gonzaga (4-0)
- Illinois (4-0)
- Memphis (1-0)
- Washington (4-0)
- Connecticut (3-0)
- Wichita State (2-0)
- Xavier (3-0)
- Nevada (2-0)
- Air Force (4-0)
- Southern Illinois (1-0)
- Butler (3-0)
Honorable Mention:
- Oral Roberts (1-1), Vermont (2-2), Old Dominion (4-1), Michigan State (4-1),
Nebraska (1-0), Utah State (3-1), Florida State (4-0), Winthrop (2-1).
posted by Ron @ Monday, November 20, 2006
