CUSA MBB Week #9

All games times are CST
All Power 6 opponents in BOLD and in blue.
All Non-D1 opponents in Italic and in pink because they’re cupcakes.

Monday – January 1st

Happy New Year!
Liberty vs. Boyce (Non-D1) – 10:00 AM (ESPN+)... 88-46 Win

Tuesday – January 2nd

Sam Houston vs. University of Dallas (Non-D1) – 4:00 PM (ESPN+)... 93-52 Win

Wednesday – January 3rd

Louisiana Tech vs. Dallas Christian College (Non-D1) – 6:00 PM (ESPN+)... 96-55 Win
Middle Tennessee vs. Reinhardt (Non-D1) – 6:30 PM (ESPN+)... 84-47 Win

Thursday – January 4th – Start of Conference Play

New Mexico State vs UTEP – 6:00 PM (CBS Sports)... 63-53 Aggie Win

Saturday – January 6th

Jacksonville State vs. Florida International – 4:00 PM (ESPN+)... 70-63 Gamecocks Win
Sam Houston vs. Louisiana Tech – 4:30 PM (ESPN+)... 81-77 Bearkats Win
Western Kentucky vs. Liberty – 5:00 PM (CBS Sports)... 70-68 Hilltoppers Win

Sunday – January 7th

UTEP vs. Chicago State (Independent) – 3:00 PM (ESPN+)... 74-69 Win

Week #8 Awards

Player of the Week: Western Kentucky's Khristian Lander
Freshman of the Week: Middle Tennessee's Chris Loofe

Conference Record after Week #8

AAC................... 3-5
America East....... 2-0
Atlantic 10.......... 0-1
ACC................... 0-2
ASun.................. 4-3
Big 10................ 0-1
Big 12................ 0-4
Big Sky............... 1-0
Big South............ 0-1
Big West............. 1-1
Coastal............... 0-1
Horizon League.... 2-0
MAAC................. 0-1
MAC................... 2-2
MEAC................. 2-0
Missouri Valley..... 2-7
Mountain West..... 1-5
Northeast............ 1-0
Ohio Valley.......... 2-0
SEC.................... 0-3
Southern............. 1-3
Southland............ 6-2
Summit League.... 1-0
Sun Belt.............. 5-2
SWAC................. 2-0
PAC-12................ 1-2
WAC................... 8-12
WCC................... 1-3
Non-D1............... 19-0

Well, we finished the preconference schedule 11-4.
Four Losses- Alabama, FAU, CoC, GCU. We never should have lost to GCU or CoC. And we were not even remotely competitive against either FAU or Alabama.
Wins over Vermont (9-5), Wichita St. (8-5) are notable so far.

Gonna try and make it to the game at WKU on saturday.

(01-01-2024 06:13 PM)army56mike Wrote:  Well, we finished the preconference schedule 11-4.
Four Losses- Alabama, FAU, CoC, GCU. We never should have lost to GCU or CoC. And we were not even remotely competitive against either FAU or Alabama.
Wins over Vermont (9-5), Wichita St. (8-5) are notable so far.

Gonna try and make it to the game at WKU on saturday.

Liberty has had WKU’s number for the past few years…. I hate this being the first conference game and I expect a tough game

CUSA Top 20 Attendance for the season thus far...

1. UTEP vs. UC Santa Barbara............................. 7121
2. New Mexico State vs. Western New Mexico........ 5908
3. New Mexico State vs. Northern Colorado........... 5656
4. New Mexico State vs. New Mexico.................... 5182
5. UTEP vs. Austin Peay...................................... 4871
6. UTEP vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.................. 4671
7. New Mexico State vs. Sul Ross State................ 4507
8. UTEP vs. Seattle U......................................... 4391
9. New Mexico State vs. California Baptist............ 4226
10. UTEP vs. Nicholls State................................. 4193
11. New Mexico State vs. Univ. of the Southwest... 4135
12. Liberty vs. Grand Canyon.............................. 4052
13. Western Kentucky vs. Abilene Christian........... 4011
14. New Mexico State vs. Northern New Mexico..... 3961
15. Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan........ 3890
16. UTEP vs. McMurry......................................... 3782
17. Liberty vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian..................... 3664
18. UTEP vs. Western New Mexico........................ 3656
19. UTEP vs. USAO............................................. 3514
20. Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky........... 3511

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  CUSA Top 20 Attendance for the season thus far...

1. UTEP vs. UC Santa Barbara............................. 7121
2. New Mexico State vs. Western New Mexico........ 5908
3. New Mexico State vs. Northern Colorado........... 5656
4. New Mexico State vs. New Mexico.................... 5182
5. UTEP vs. Austin Peay...................................... 4871
6. UTEP vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.................. 4671
7. New Mexico State vs. Sul Ross State................ 4507
8. UTEP vs. Seattle U......................................... 4391
9. New Mexico State vs. California Baptist............ 4226
10. UTEP vs. Nicholls State................................. 4193
11. New Mexico State vs. Univ. of the Southwest... 4135
12. Liberty vs. Grand Canyon.............................. 4052
13. Western Kentucky vs. Abilene Christian........... 4011
14. New Mexico State vs. Northern New Mexico..... 3961
15. Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan........ 3890
16. UTEP vs. McMurry......................................... 3782
17. Liberty vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian..................... 3664
18. UTEP vs. Western New Mexico........................ 3656
19. UTEP vs. USAO............................................. 3514
20. Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky........... 3511

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

(01-01-2024 09:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  CUSA Top 20 Attendance for the season thus far...

1. UTEP vs. UC Santa Barbara............................. 7121
2. New Mexico State vs. Western New Mexico........ 5908
3. New Mexico State vs. Northern Colorado........... 5656
4. New Mexico State vs. New Mexico.................... 5182
5. UTEP vs. Austin Peay...................................... 4871
6. UTEP vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.................. 4671
7. New Mexico State vs. Sul Ross State................ 4507
8. UTEP vs. Seattle U......................................... 4391
9. New Mexico State vs. California Baptist............ 4226
10. UTEP vs. Nicholls State................................. 4193
11. New Mexico State vs. Univ. of the Southwest... 4135
12. Liberty vs. Grand Canyon.............................. 4052
13. Western Kentucky vs. Abilene Christian........... 4011
14. New Mexico State vs. Northern New Mexico..... 3961
15. Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan........ 3890
16. UTEP vs. McMurry......................................... 3782
17. Liberty vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian..................... 3664
18. UTEP vs. Western New Mexico........................ 3656
19. UTEP vs. USAO............................................. 3514
20. Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky........... 3511

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

WKU's Diddle Arena used to hold 14,000. It was then reduced to about 12,000 and then a major remodel and skyboxes happened and they reduced it to about 7,200.

(01-01-2024 09:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  CUSA Top 20 Attendance for the season thus far...

1. UTEP vs. UC Santa Barbara............................. 7121
2. New Mexico State vs. Western New Mexico........ 5908
3. New Mexico State vs. Northern Colorado........... 5656
4. New Mexico State vs. New Mexico.................... 5182
5. UTEP vs. Austin Peay...................................... 4871
6. UTEP vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.................. 4671
7. New Mexico State vs. Sul Ross State................ 4507
8. UTEP vs. Seattle U......................................... 4391
9. New Mexico State vs. California Baptist............ 4226
10. UTEP vs. Nicholls State................................. 4193
11. New Mexico State vs. Univ. of the Southwest... 4135
12. Liberty vs. Grand Canyon.............................. 4052
13. Western Kentucky vs. Abilene Christian........... 4011
14. New Mexico State vs. Northern New Mexico..... 3961
15. Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan........ 3890
16. UTEP vs. McMurry......................................... 3782
17. Liberty vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian..................... 3664
18. UTEP vs. Western New Mexico........................ 3656
19. UTEP vs. USAO............................................. 3514
20. Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky........... 3511

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

UTEP’s Don holds 11,800 and attendance is going to crater even more with the way this team is playing.

(01-01-2024 09:15 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  WKU's Diddle Arena used to hold 14,000. It was then reduced to about 12,000 and then a major remodel and skyboxes happened and they reduced it to about 7,200.

I went to Diddle sometime either in ‘87 or ‘88. Yall use to have a tournament back then. I was a student at Kentucky Wesleyan at the time (back when they were great and cared about basketball) and saw them play Auburn and WKU.

IMO 5,000 capacity should be an absolute minimum for any CUSA team--but that's just me.

(01-01-2024 10:16 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 09:15 PM)WKUApollo Wrote:  WKU's Diddle Arena used to hold 14,000. It was then reduced to about 12,000 and then a major remodel and skyboxes happened and they reduced it to about 7,200.

I went to Diddle sometime either in ‘87 or ‘88. Yall use to have a tournament back then. I was a student at Kentucky Wesleyan at the time (back when they were great and cared about basketball) and saw them play Auburn and WKU.

Yep, was called the Wendy's Classic. That was when we'd have 14,000 packing the place. BTW, I'm from Owensboro. KWC isn't what it used to be in bball but I hear they have a decent bball team this year. They beat Louisville in an exhibition this season

These might not be the most complete attendance numbers, but these are the top attendance years at each school dating back to 1978 as per the NCAA records.

Florida International... Attendance: 1,474..... Year: 2014... Record: 15-16... Coach: Anthony Evans
Jacksonville State....... Attendance: 3,821.... Year: 1990... Record: 24-5... Coach: Bill Jones
Liberty...................... Attendance: 5,594..... Year: 1997... Record: 23-9... Coach: Jeff Meyer
Louisiana Tech........... Attendance: 5,009..... Year: 1985... Record: 29-3... Coach: Andy Russo
Middle Tennessee....... Attendance: 6,774..... Year: 2018... Record: 25-8... Coach: Kermit Davis
New Mexico State...... Attendance: 10,545... Year: 1991... Record: 23-6... Coach: Neil McCarthy
Sam Houston............ Attendance: 2,587..... Year: 2003... Record: 23-7... Coach: Bob Marlin
UTEP........................ Attendance: 11,560... Year: 1984... Record: 27-4... Coach: Don Haskins
Western Kentucky...... Attendance: 9,097..... Year: 1980... Record: 21-8... Coach: Gene Keady

Kennesaw State........ Attendance: 1,681...... Year: 2023... Record: 26-9... Coach: Amir Abdur-Rahim
Delaware.................. Attendance: 4,989...... Year: 2000... Record: 24-8... Coach: Mike Brey

BTW, Kennesaw State is currently on track to top last season's attendance numbers.

Ours doesnt hold 5000 but truthfully we do not need it except for high school games.

Basketball has changed a lot since most of these record years. The version of basketball played today is not very entertaining to watch. Quit going years back because it was just not fun to watch.

South Carolina bailing on us robbed us of a potentially strong attendance game in OOC. Solid attendance over a break for Abilene Christian gives me hope that fans are starting to buy in on this team. Should have a good turn out for Liberty.

(01-01-2024 09:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  CUSA Top 20 Attendance for the season thus far...

1. UTEP vs. UC Santa Barbara............................. 7121
2. New Mexico State vs. Western New Mexico........ 5908
3. New Mexico State vs. Northern Colorado........... 5656
4. New Mexico State vs. New Mexico.................... 5182
5. UTEP vs. Austin Peay...................................... 4871
6. UTEP vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi.................. 4671
7. New Mexico State vs. Sul Ross State................ 4507
8. UTEP vs. Seattle U......................................... 4391
9. New Mexico State vs. California Baptist............ 4226
10. UTEP vs. Nicholls State................................. 4193
11. New Mexico State vs. Univ. of the Southwest... 4135
12. Liberty vs. Grand Canyon.............................. 4052
13. Western Kentucky vs. Abilene Christian........... 4011
14. New Mexico State vs. Northern New Mexico..... 3961
15. Western Kentucky vs. Kentucky Wesleyan........ 3890
16. UTEP vs. McMurry......................................... 3782
17. Liberty vs. Mid-Atlantic Christian..................... 3664
18. UTEP vs. Western New Mexico........................ 3656
19. UTEP vs. USAO............................................. 3514
20. Western Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky........... 3511

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

Everything I can find, including ESPN attendance record from our last game, shows the PanAm holds 12,572. We added suites and lost around 500-600 seats, so the capacity should be around 12,000.

(01-02-2024 09:19 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 09:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

Everything I can find, including ESPN attendance record from our last game, shows the PanAm holds 12,572. We added suites and lost around 500-600 seats, so the capacity should be around 12,000.

Wikipedia has the Pan American Center capacity at 12,482 currently but I'm not sure where they get those numbers. I suspect you are right that with the new luxury seats, the arena capacity should be much closer to 12,000 now. When the Pan American Center was originally opened in 1968 its capacity was listed at 13,222.

(01-02-2024 11:31 AM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

(01-02-2024 09:19 AM)PojoaquePosse Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 09:03 PM)army56mike Wrote:  

(01-01-2024 07:43 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  

Very telling. What are the capacities of UTEP, NMSU, WKU, and Liberty (4,000). I was against building Liberty’s arena so small a few years back. It needed to be at least 6,000. I know they wanted to scale down from the previous arena, Vines Center, which held 9,500. But we went too small in my opinion.

Everything I can find, including ESPN attendance record from our last game, shows the PanAm holds 12,572. We added suites and lost around 500-600 seats, so the capacity should be around 12,000.

Wikipedia has the Pan American Center capacity at 12,482 currently but I'm not sure where they get those numbers. I suspect you are right that with the new luxury seats, the arena capacity should be much closer to 12,000 now. When the Pan American Center was originally opened in 1968 its capacity was listed at 13,222.

I checked Wikipedia, too. The capacity number referenced was from 2018. I guess the capacity is anywhere from 12,500-12,000.

(01-02-2024 12:00 AM)TOPSTRAIGHT Wrote:  IMO 5,000 capacity should be an absolute minimum for any CUSA team--but that's just me.

I totally get what you're saying -- and I agree we don't want little 1,000-seat high school gyms representing our conference -- but I don't think the minimum capacity should necessarily be set at some arbitrary number.

Just looking at JSU:

The capacity of Pete Mathews Coliseum used to be around 5,300. But most of that seating was bleachers. It was a bland, uninspiring venue. Beginning in 2015, and again following tornado damage in 2018, the Pete was transformed into a far more modern basketball arena. As part of these changes, seating capacity went down a whopping 1,800 seats to 3,500.

But if you gave me a choice between a sold out 2012-era Pete Mathews Coliseum or a sold out 2023-era Pete Mathews Coliseum to watch a big conference showdown, I'm picking the 2023 version and it's not even close.

I guess what I'm saying is, it's not JUST the seating capacity which needs to be factored in. It's the overall ambience of the basketball arena.

Seating capacity is fluid and the ideal number changes radically from school to school. A 7,000-seat arena might be way undersized at one school and ridiculously oversized at another.

But having an arena that FEELS like the home of a D-I basketball team has nothing to do with the number of seats. You know it as soon as you walk in.

And people should get that feeling at every CUSA school.

Four CUSA games played this week and four home court wins. Getting a road win might be tough.

(01-06-2024 09:34 PM)NMSUPistolPete Wrote:  Four CUSA games played this week and four home court wins. Getting a road win might be tough.

That’s been the normal in CUSA over the years

JAX State 70

FIU 63