(02-11-2023 10:23 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(02-11-2023 09:22 AM)Midwestan Wrote:  Of interest from Friday's action:

Kent State 72, Buffalo 65
Ohio University 90, Akron 81
Akron got knocked out of a first place tie in the MAC following its loss in Athens. The Golden Flashes hit the 20-win mark (now 20-5) after its win in Buffalo. Today, Toledo takes its 8-game winning streak to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan. A Rockets win will keep them tied for first place with Kent State.

Rider 58, Fairfield 57
Iona 80, Canisius 59
Niagara 79, Quinnipiac 73 (OT)
Siena 72, Mt. St. Mary's 65
There are just 6 or 7 conference games left for the top 5 MAAC contenders. Rider maintains a half-game lead over Iona after the Broncs scored a late basket to stave off Fairfield. Siena is one game behind Rider and the Niagara Purple Eagles are 2 games off the pace. Quinnipiac has faded to 5th place and is 3 games behind RU, but the Bobcats are tied with Iona for most overall wins (17).

Youngstown State 81, Purdue Ft. Wayne 72
Cleveland State 57, Robert Morris 55
Wright State 83, Northern Kentucky 65
In NHL circles, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a consistent winning team over the years. For the Penguins of Youngstown State in Horizon League hoops...not so much. Maybe this year will be different. YSU remained in first place after its win in Indiana and notched its 20th win of the season for the first time since 1998 (now 20-6). Wright State dominated the second half in its win over NKU which cost the Norse a chance for a second-place tie in the conference. Instead, Northern Kentucky is now tied for 3rd with Cleveland State, after the Vikings got a put-back basket off a missed shot with 3 seconds to play in its win over Robert Morris.

Butler 69, Xavier 67
The Bulldogs squandered a 14-point halftime lead, but managed to spring the upset on a controversial call with 2 seconds to play (goaltending call against Xavier on a Butler dunk attempt). It was a bright spot in an otherwise dull basketball campaign for Butler, who are just 13-13 on the year and in 8th place in the Big East. The loss by the Musketeers put them in a first place tie at 11-3 with Marquette. Creighton and Providence lie just a half game back at 10-3.

Dayton 70, St. Louis 56
The Flyers upended the Billikens who were bidding to move into a first place tie in the Atlantic 10 with VCU. As it is, St. Louis now sits in 3rd place, while Dayton is a half game behind the Rams.

Air Force 89, New Mexico 77
Nevada 77, Fresno State 66
Clune Arena turned into New Mexico's house of horrors as Air Force toyed with the Lobos in the second half. A 7-point Falcon halftime lead grew to as much as 22 before UNM knew what hit them. Nevada left it a little late against the Bulldogs, but prevailed in the end to preserve its spotless home record (now 13-0 at the Lawlor Events Center). Even though the top 5 teams in the Mountain West are on the cusp of 20-win seasons (achieved first by the Wolf Pack last night), teams like UNLV, Fresno State, San Jose State, and even Air Force can't be taken lightly when the conference tournament tips off three and a half weeks from now.

There were 15 games played Friday, and 15 more are scheduled on Sunday. But today is the 'Mother of All College Basketball Games' as 151 will be played. The total would have been 153 were it not for a couple of sad events---the mess going on in Las Cruces which caused the suspension of New Mexico State's men's basketball season, and the postponement of today's East Carolina at Tulane game, following the sudden death of ECU radio play-by-play man, Jeff Charles, who was 70. RIP Jeff.

I am strongly enjoying these assessments. Keep up the quality work.

Thanks, Bill! I had some time on my hands lately, and I enjoy the mad dash to the finish of the regular season in college basketball. I was hoping to do the same for all the conference tournaments, but I'm going to be gone for a few days in early March and won't have access to a computer. I could do it on the phone, but it's too much of a hassle to post so much information and give it the attention I think it deserves, so as to be informative to those who wish to read it.

St. John's 73
Providence 68

Not easy winning on the road in the Big East ... well except at Villanova these days.

Missouri 86
Tennessee 85 (In Knoxville)

2nd upset loss in a row for the Vols.

Big game for them hosting Alabama next Wednesday. Still have to go to Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Auburn.

(02-11-2023 11:08 AM)Midwestan Wrote:  

(02-11-2023 10:23 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(02-11-2023 09:22 AM)Midwestan Wrote:  Of interest from Friday's action:

Kent State 72, Buffalo 65
Ohio University 90, Akron 81
Akron got knocked out of a first place tie in the MAC following its loss in Athens. The Golden Flashes hit the 20-win mark (now 20-5) after its win in Buffalo. Today, Toledo takes its 8-game winning streak to Ypsilanti to face Eastern Michigan. A Rockets win will keep them tied for first place with Kent State.

Rider 58, Fairfield 57
Iona 80, Canisius 59
Niagara 79, Quinnipiac 73 (OT)
Siena 72, Mt. St. Mary's 65
There are just 6 or 7 conference games left for the top 5 MAAC contenders. Rider maintains a half-game lead over Iona after the Broncs scored a late basket to stave off Fairfield. Siena is one game behind Rider and the Niagara Purple Eagles are 2 games off the pace. Quinnipiac has faded to 5th place and is 3 games behind RU, but the Bobcats are tied with Iona for most overall wins (17).

Youngstown State 81, Purdue Ft. Wayne 72
Cleveland State 57, Robert Morris 55
Wright State 83, Northern Kentucky 65
In NHL circles, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been a consistent winning team over the years. For the Penguins of Youngstown State in Horizon League hoops...not so much. Maybe this year will be different. YSU remained in first place after its win in Indiana and notched its 20th win of the season for the first time since 1998 (now 20-6). Wright State dominated the second half in its win over NKU which cost the Norse a chance for a second-place tie in the conference. Instead, Northern Kentucky is now tied for 3rd with Cleveland State, after the Vikings got a put-back basket off a missed shot with 3 seconds to play in its win over Robert Morris.

Butler 69, Xavier 67
The Bulldogs squandered a 14-point halftime lead, but managed to spring the upset on a controversial call with 2 seconds to play (goaltending call against Xavier on a Butler dunk attempt). It was a bright spot in an otherwise dull basketball campaign for Butler, who are just 13-13 on the year and in 8th place in the Big East. The loss by the Musketeers put them in a first place tie at 11-3 with Marquette. Creighton and Providence lie just a half game back at 10-3.

Dayton 70, St. Louis 56
The Flyers upended the Billikens who were bidding to move into a first place tie in the Atlantic 10 with VCU. As it is, St. Louis now sits in 3rd place, while Dayton is a half game behind the Rams.

Air Force 89, New Mexico 77
Nevada 77, Fresno State 66
Clune Arena turned into New Mexico's house of horrors as Air Force toyed with the Lobos in the second half. A 7-point Falcon halftime lead grew to as much as 22 before UNM knew what hit them. Nevada left it a little late against the Bulldogs, but prevailed in the end to preserve its spotless home record (now 13-0 at the Lawlor Events Center). Even though the top 5 teams in the Mountain West are on the cusp of 20-win seasons (achieved first by the Wolf Pack last night), teams like UNLV, Fresno State, San Jose State, and even Air Force can't be taken lightly when the conference tournament tips off three and a half weeks from now.

There were 15 games played Friday, and 15 more are scheduled on Sunday. But today is the 'Mother of All College Basketball Games' as 151 will be played. The total would have been 153 were it not for a couple of sad events---the mess going on in Las Cruces which caused the suspension of New Mexico State's men's basketball season, and the postponement of today's East Carolina at Tulane game, following the sudden death of ECU radio play-by-play man, Jeff Charles, who was 70. RIP Jeff.

I am strongly enjoying these assessments. Keep up the quality work.

Thanks, Bill! I had some time on my hands lately, and I enjoy the mad dash to the finish of the regular season in college basketball. I was hoping to do the same for all the conference tournaments, but I'm going to be gone for a few days in early March and won't have access to a computer. I could do it on the phone, but it's too much of a hassle to post so much information and give it the attention I think it deserves, so as to be informative to those who wish to read it.

With Belmont now in the Valley, I'm following the league a bit. Your posts, Midwestan, have been very helpful.

Stanford 88
#4 Arizona 79

Stanford is under.500

4 Arizona 79
Stanford 88

FINAL

Arizona has some of the worst losses of any top 25 team, let alone 1-seed candidate.

(02-11-2023 08:58 PM)schmolik Wrote:  Missouri 86
Tennessee 85 (In Knoxville)

2nd upset loss in a row for the Vols.

Big game for them hosting Alabama next Wednesday. Still have to go to Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Auburn.

To be fair, I think Tennessee played without two starters.

(02-11-2023 10:10 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  4 Arizona 79
Stanford 88

FINAL

Arizona has some of the worst losses of any top 25 team, let alone 1-seed candidate.

Major surprise.

I was going to pick on Arizona but people beat me to it.

In that case...

Texas Tech 71
Kansas State 63

A stat I posted said the Big 12 had the highest home win % for a conference. Even winning in Lubbock is hard for a visiting team.

Louisiana Tech 85
26 Florida Atlantic 90

FINAL/OT

FAU survives what would have been a devastating blow to their potential at-large profile by holding off La. Tech.

Cal Baptist 132
West Coast Baptist 46

WCB was a last minute fill in for NMSU.

St. John's 73, Providence 68
Creighton 56, Connecticut 53
Marquette 89, Georgetown 75
Hard to believe the Hoyas are just two years removed from winning the Big East tournament. The team is propping up the league this year with a bad 6-20 record. Marquette took over first place in the conference with this win and became the first Big East team to hit the 20-win mark (now 20-6). Creighton and Xavier are a half game off the pace set by the Golden Eagles. Providence could have joined them in second place, but the Friars stumbled on the road to the Red Storm.

North Carolina State 92, Boston College 62
Pittsburgh 83, Florida State 75
North Carolina 91, Clemson 71
Virginia 69, Duke 62 (OT)
Wake Forest 71, Georgia Tech 70
Miami 93, Louisville 85
Virginia prevailed in its game thanks to a missed no-call at the end of regulation when a Duke player got creamed on his way to a potential game-winning dunk/layup. The ACC said afterward that the refs made a mistake in not calling a foul, which would have given the Blue Devils a chance to win the game from the free throw line. Is it midnight or close to it for Cinderella Clemson? Tigers fall out of a first place tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference after taking a heavy defeat in Chapel Hill. Miami struggled at home against Louisville before coming out on top, and the Ramblin' Wreck almost did that to Wake Forest's fleeting at-large aspirations, before the Deacons survived in Winston-Salem. NC State's win in Chestnut Hill was particularly impressive. Boston College isn't great this year, but the Eagles aren't horrible either. Pittsburgh and Virginia share the top spot at 11-3. Miami is 11-4. Clemson is 10-4 and North Carolina State is 10-5. Overall, Miami (20-5) and NC State (20-6) became the first 20-win ACC teams this season.

Georgia 75, Kentucky 68
Missouri 86, Tennessee 85
Mississippi State 70, Arkansas 64
Alabama 77, Auburn 69
Texas A & M 74, LSU 62
Did the Bunson Burner get turned up under John Calipari's seat with this latest Kentucky loss? Missouri needed a desperation 40-foot shot to spring the upset in Knoxville, but the Tigers played very well throughout the game to give themselves a chance at the end. The MSU Bulldogs have the same overall record as Arkansas (17-8), but they are under .500 in SEC games. Did the road win in Fayetteville prop up their credentials? Did the home loss hurt the Razorbacks' at-large chances? Many fans thought the Crimson Tide's unbeaten conference run would end at rival Auburn, but Alabama had other ideas and prevailed. The Texas Aggies jumped into 2nd place in the conference with its win in Baton Rouge. Except for Kentucky, it was an exceptional (and unusual) day for road teams here. South Carolina won at Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt stopped Florida in Gainesville.

Texas 94, West Virginia 60
Kansas 78, Oklahoma 55
Baylor 72, TCU 68
Oklahoma State 64, Iowa State 56
Texas Tech 71, Kansas State 63
The Longhorns and Jayhawks scored lopsided wins, as Texas maintained its lead in the Big 12 (9-3). Baylor joined Kansas in a second place tie at 8-4. Oklahoma State asked, "What is this 'Hilton Magic' we keep hearing about?". Cowboys send Iowa State down to defeat in Ames to sweep the season series with the Cyclones. The Bears held on at the end to beat TCU in Ft. Worth. Kansas State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State are all 2 games back of Texas with 6 games to go. Is the fork officially stuck in West Virginia now? Taking a huge loss at this point of the season isn't the best look to give to the Selection Committee.

Ball State 93, Bowling Green 72
Toledo 70, Eastern Michigan 63
Not laughable scores, but significant, as Toledo's win moved the Rockets into a first place tie with Kent State in the Mid-American Conference (at 10-2). Ball State is tied with Akron for 3rd place (both are 9-3). There are just 6 conference games remaining and the top 8 schools make the MAC tournament in Cleveland. Currently, Bowling Green is tied with Central Michigan (4-8) for the last tournament spot.

Brown 80, Cornell 66
Pennsylvania 80, Harvard 72
Dartmouth 83, Princeton 76
Yale 99, Columbia 68
Only the top 4 schools make the Ivy League tournament, which is hosted by Princeton this year. The Tigers' loss at Dartmouth enabled Yale to move into a first place tie with 4 games to go (both are 7-3). Penn and Brown are 6-4, while Cornell and Dartmouth are 5-5. Yale's big win at home avenged a New Year's Eve defeat at Columbia, which so far, is the Lions' only conference victory.

Hofstra 86, Monmouth 57
Charleston 83, Hampton 70
North Carolina-Wilmington 71, Northeastern 59
Charleston was getting some good and deserved press coverage until a couple of weeks ago when the Cougars suffered back-to-back losses to Hofstra (at home) and Drexel (in Philadelphia). Since then, Hofstra have been the hottest team in the CAA, as the Pride picked up its 7th straight win with a blowout at Monmouth. Both Charleston and Hofstra are 12-2, while UNCW is 10-4. Any one of these 3 schools look like NCAA contenders when the conference tournament starts March 3rd in Washington, D.C. Overall, Charleston is 24-3. Wilmington is 20-7. Hofstra is 19-8.

Belmont 98, Illinois-Chicago 71
Indiana State 80, Northern Iowa 62
Bradley 83, Murray State 48
Drake 82, Southern Illinois 59
This time last week, there was a 4-way tie for the Missouri Valley top spot. Today, there are only 2. The conference's heavy hitters were on display yesterday, and they didn't disappoint. Well, SIU did, as the Salukis ran into a buzzsaw in Des Moines and were knocked out of the 3-way tie with Drake and Bradley. Belmont's win over UIC was routine and predictable, while Bradley ended the first half on a 21-5 run in Peoria and went on to a surprisingly easy win over Murray State. For the MVC newcomers, Belmont seems right at home in its new digs, but the Racers are struggling down the stretch. That upset win over Texas A & M prior to Thanksgiving seems like it was a lifetime ago. Indiana State's win came on the road and may have been the most impressive of the contending teams, since Northern Iowa has proven to be a difficult place to play over the years. Drake and Bradley are both 12-4 now with 4 games left to play. Belmont, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois are all 11-5. Top 4 teams get byes to the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament, and all 5 schools could reach the 20-win mark by the time they get to St. Louis. Drake's overall record of 21-6 is the best of the bunch.

Troy 80, Louisiana 65
Southern Mississippi 76, Louisiana-Monroe 67
Marshall 88, Georgia State 77
James Madison 73, Coastal Carolina 66
The Ragin' Cajuns seemed to be adjusting fine to its recent loss at Southern Miss, as Louisiana were up by 5 at Troy by halftime, but the wheels came off in the second half as the Trojans outscored their guests, 50-30. USM, hung over a bit from its big midweek win over UL, found itself down at halftime against the visiting Warhawks before asserting itself. Marshall added to its win total with a road win in Atlanta, and JMU moved to 18-9 with its road win in Conway. Conference-wise, USM is 12-2. Louisiana and Marshall are 10-4. James Madison is 9-5. The Sun Belt tournament tips off two weeks from Tuesday in Pensacola, Florida.

Oral Roberts 82, Western Illinois 73
The Golden Eagles improved to 14-0 in Summit League play and are just 1 win away from wrapping up the number one seed for the upcoming conference tournament. Playing in Macomb, ORU built up a 51-30 halftime lead and was able to weather a Leatherneck comeback that got as close as 6 points down the stretch. With 4 league games to go, ORU is 14-0 and 23-4 overall. South Dakota State is in second place at 10-4.

Fordham 73, Davidson 71
Again, not a laughable score. More along the lines of 'remarkable'. Fordham's win at Davidson Saturday moved the Rams to 20-5 on the season; the first time FU has won 20 games in 32 years! Sure, the A-10 is having a down year and will likely be a one-bid league this season, but don't tell that to long-suffering Fordham fans. Fordham is now tied for 3rd place with St. Louis (both are 8-4 in conference games). VCU still sits atop the Atlantic 10 at 9-3. Dayton is 9-4. In the past, Fordham was never a factor in the conference tournament, despite it being held in Brooklyn. This year might be different.

Samford 76, The Citadel 70
Furman 93, Western Carolina 59
Both teams stayed tied for the Southern Conference lead, although Furman had a much easier time in its home win than Samford did. Both sides are 12-2 in SoCon play. UNC-Greensboro hosts Wofford this afternoon and could join the duo with a win.

Nebraska 73, Wisconsin 63 (OT)
Illinois 69, Rutgers 60
Indiana 62, Michigan 61
Illinois used a 19-0 run in the second half to turn an 8-point deficit into an 11-point lead before the Scarlet Knights stopped the bleeding. The win moved the Illini into a 3rd place tie in the Big 10 with Northwestern. Indiana's narrow win in Ann Arbor put the Hoosiers into second place behind Purdue, which has a 3-game cushion on its in-state rivals. The Badgers blew a 17-point second half lead in Lincoln as the Cornhuskers may have given Wisconsin 'the fork test'.

Central Connecticut State 77, Fairleigh Dickinson 73
Fans can debate which conference is the toughest from top to bottom. As for the weakest? It may very well be the Northeast Conference this year. All 9 teams in this conference have NET ratings near or above 300. CCSU came into this road game in 8th place, while FDU was in first place. Now, Merrimack and Stonehill are tied for the NEC lead at 9-4. FDU is 8-4. Stonehill cannot participate in the conference tournament this year, so Long Island (3-22 overall) is the defacto #8 seed for the conference tournament. Merrimack can play in the tournament, but the Warriors are not eligible for the NCAA bid. Should Merrimack win the tourney title, the team it beats in the championship gets the auto-bid.

Howard 86, Delaware State 85 (OT)
Norfolk State 76, Maryland-Eastern Shore 73
The Bison took over the lead in the MEAC, while the Hawks fell at home to conference pre-season favorites, Norfolk State. Howard is 7-1 with 6 games left to play. NSU and UMES are both 6-2.

Morehead State 65, Southeast Missouri State 59
Tennessee State 67, Tennessee Tech 53
Eastern Illinois 84, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 73
Tennessee-Martin 84, Little Rock 61
Southern Indiana 74, Lindenwood 64
If you like roller coaster rides, the Ohio Valley Conference is right in your wheelhouse. Morehead State has created a bit of separation between itself and its chasers with 4 conference games to go. The Eagles are 10-4, but 5 teams are tied for second place at 8-6 (SEMO, SIUE, UT-Martin, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech). And for good measure, Southern Indiana is at 7-7. Tennessee State is the hot team in the OVC for now, as the Tigers have won 5 in a row. Eastern Illinois' upset win at SIUE moved the Panthers into the final tournament playoff spot (Panthers are 5-9, Lindenwood and Little Rock are 4-10).

Kennesaw State 74, Jacksonville State 71
Liberty 83, Eastern Kentucky 73
North Florida 92, Stetson 81
North Alabama 80, Lipscomb 70
Both KSU and LU held serve in homecourt wins, as both moved to 12-2 in conference play with 4 games left before the ASUN tourney tips off two weeks from Monday. EKU is 10-4, while Stetson is hanging onto 4th place at 9-5, despite its loss in Jacksonville. North Alabama and Lipscomb are right behind in 5th place with 8-6 marks. Kennesaw State is now 20-7; the first time the Owls have reached 20 wins since it joined Division 1.

Stanford 88, Arizona 79
UCLA 70, Oregon 63
Oregon State 61, USC 58
Good luck trying to handicap Arizona when filling out your NCAA tournament bracket. The Wildcats look as good as anyone in the country when they are 'on'. When they're off, they stink! All 4 losses have come to Pacific 12 rivals, and none of them are going to the NCAA's unless they win the conference tournament. Unless someone catches fire down the stretch, it looks like UCLA and Arizona are it for carrying the Pac-12 banner this year.

Eastern Washington 73, Idaho 66
Montana State 58, Idaho State 52
The nation's longest winning streak nearly ended in Moscow, but the Eagles finally took control in the final minute of play and made enough free throws to hold off the Vandals. EWU have won 15 straight and are 13-0 in Big Sky play. Montana State, defending conference champs, are in 2nd place at 11-3 after its win in Pocatello.

Milwaukee 80, Oakland 77 (OT)
The Panthers rallied from a double-digit second half deficit to force overtime and pull off the home win over the Golden Grizzlies. Milwaukee is now 12-4 in Horizon League play, just a half game behind Youngstown State who plays at Cleveland State today.

North Carolina-Asheville 76, Presbyterian 72
Radford 90, Charleston Southern 71
Longwood 70, High Point 67
Gardner-Webb 77, Campbell 73 (OT)
Despite only 5 wins on the year, Presbyterian have played the top teams in the Big South tough at home. Close losses to league-leading UNCA and second place Radford, and a win against Longwood. The Asheville Bulldogs are 12-2 here. Radford is 11-3. Longwood and Gardner-Webb are 10-4, with Gardner-Webb having the longest winning streak of all conference teams (currently at 7).

Gonzaga 88, Brigham Young 81
St. Mary's 81, Portland 64
Santa Clara 71, Loyola Marymount 69
St. Mary's broke open a close game in the second half at Portland to register its 22nd win of the year. BYU turned its game at Gonzaga into a hackfest, as the Cougars got whistled for 28 fouls. The SCU Broncos moved to 19-8 overall with its win at home and into 3rd place in the West Coast Conference.

Florida Atlantic 90, Louisiana Tech 85 (OT)
North Texas 67, Charlotte 43
FAU maintained its 2-game lead over UNT after its closer-than-expected win against the Bulldogs. Overall, the Owls are 24-2. The Mean Green are 21-5, and while you might think these are the two best hopes for Conference USA, you can't overlook teams like UAB, Middle Tennessee, LaTech, and even Western Kentucky to spring a possible surprise or two in the conference tournament.

Utah Valley 90, Southern Utah 83
Seattle 63, Grand Canyon 58
Sam Houston 77, Abilene Christian 62
The UVU Wolverines won its home showdown with Southern Utah. Had SUU won, the teams would have been tied atop the WAC standings. As it is, Utah Valley is now 11-2 and 20-6 overall. Seattle's home win moved the Redhawks into a 2nd place tie with SUU at 9-4. Sam Houston is right behind at 8-4 after its big road win. I can't remember which game I was watching on ESPN+, but during a timeout, the Western Athletic Conference standings shown on the screen did not include New Mexico State...just 12 instead of 13 teams.

San Jose State 69, Utah State 64
Boise State 75, Wyoming 63
San Diego State 82, UNLV 71
If you thought New Mexico's Friday night loss to Air Force severely damaged the Lobos' at-large chances, what do you think about the Aggies falling at San Jose State? The Utah State loss wasn't as ugly as New Mexico's, since SJSU is now tied for 5th place in the Mountain West standings (with New Mexico). Still, it's not a good way to impress the Selection Committee if you have to rely on winning the conference tournament...and that tournament is shaping up to be as competitive as this one usually is.

McNeese 79, New Orleans 78
Cowboys hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to rally from a 5-point deficit with 45 seconds to play. McNeese is tied with Lamar for the final tournament spot in the Southland Conference (only top 8 teams advance). It would be embarrassing if the Cowboys didn't make it since it's serving as the Southland Tournament hosts for the next 5 years. The league moved the championships from Katy, Texas where it's been played for the last 15 years as an enticement to get McNeese to stay in the conference. The Cowboys were rumored to be considering a move to either Conference USA or the WAC, and the Southland didn't want to see its last charter member get lured to greener pastures. Both Texas A & M-Corpus Christi and Northwestern State won home games to stay atop the standings at 10-3. Lamar and McNeese, conversely, are 4-9. New Orleans is in last place at 3-10 with just 5 games remaining.

Cal State Fullerton 52, Hawaii 51
Final game of a long Saturday of basketball saw the Titans hold off the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu. Fullerton had built a 37-19 lead early in the second half before Hawaii made its comeback that fell just short in the end. UH had 3 shots at the basket for the win in the final 16 seconds, but nothing would fall for them. UCSB continues to lead the Big West with an 11-2 league mark. UC-Irvine is in second place at 10-3. Hawaii is now tied for 3rd with Long Beach State and UC-Riverside at 9-5. Fullerton State lies a game back of that, at 8-6. Teams have 6 or 7 conference games left before the conference tournament is held in Henderson, Nevada.

1 Purdue 58
Northwestern 64

FINAL

Guess whose back at number 1 tomorrow?

Never considered that Northwestern would have been good enough to beat Purdue. That big win for the Wildcats puts them in a 2nd place tie with Indiana at 9-5. Northwestern is 18-7 overall and looks good for at-large status as long as they don't go into a post-upset funk. Is Chris Holtmann still in good standing with the Ohio State athletic director? I know the Buckeyes were sort of re-building this year, but getting hammered at home by a good, but not great Michigan State team to the tune of 62-41 just seems to heap misery upon misery for Ohio State.

Cleveland State 81, Youngstown State 78
Horizon League leaders fall at CSU, which means Milwaukee and Youngstown State are tied for the conference leadership at 12-4. The Vikings helped their cause too by moving into a 3rd place tie with Northern Kentucky at 11-5.

Iona 72, Niagara 55
Siena 73, Marist 65
Iona's win moves the Gaels into a first place tie in the MAAC with idle Rider at 11-3. Siena is in 3rd place at 11-4.

Memphis 86, Temple 77
The Tigers moved into a 2nd place tie with Tulane in the AAC at 9-3. For conference tournament seeding purposes though, the Green Wave have the advantage, having beaten Memphis twice this season.

(02-12-2023 05:18 PM)Midwestan Wrote:  Never considered that Northwestern would have been good enough to beat Purdue. That big win for the Wildcats puts them in a 2nd place tie with Indiana at 9-5. Northwestern is 18-7 overall and looks good for at-large status as long as they don't go into a post-upset funk. Is Chris Holtmann still in good standing with the Ohio State athletic director? I know the Buckeyes were sort of re-building this year, but getting hammered at home by a good, but not great Michigan State team to the tune of 62-41 just seems to heap misery upon misery for Ohio State.

Cleveland State 81, Youngstown State 78
Horizon League leaders fall at CSU, which means Milwaukee and Youngstown State are tied for the conference leadership at 12-4. The Vikings helped their cause too by moving into a 3rd place tie with Northern Kentucky at 11-5.

Iona 72, Niagara 55
Siena 73, Marist 65
Iona's win moves the Gaels into a first place tie in the MAAC with idle Rider at 11-3. Siena is in 3rd place at 11-4.

Memphis 86, Temple 77
The Tigers moved into a 2nd place tie with Tulane in the AAC at 9-3. For conference tournament seeding purposes though, the Green Wave have the advantage, having beaten Memphis twice this season.

And Memphis still has to play Houston twice, including next Sunday.

North Carolina-Greensboro 97, Wofford 89 (OT)
UNCG couldn't hold onto its slim lead in the final minute of regulation, but asserted itself in the extra session by outscoring the Terriers 16-8. The Spartans move into a 3-way tie for first in the Southern Conference at 12-2 with Furman and Samford.

(02-12-2023 05:20 PM)_C2_ Wrote:  

(02-12-2023 05:18 PM)Midwestan Wrote:  Never considered that Northwestern would have been good enough to beat Purdue. That big win for the Wildcats puts them in a 2nd place tie with Indiana at 9-5. Northwestern is 18-7 overall and looks good for at-large status as long as they don't go into a post-upset funk. Is Chris Holtmann still in good standing with the Ohio State athletic director? I know the Buckeyes were sort of re-building this year, but getting hammered at home by a good, but not great Michigan State team to the tune of 62-41 just seems to heap misery upon misery for Ohio State.

Cleveland State 81, Youngstown State 78
Horizon League leaders fall at CSU, which means Milwaukee and Youngstown State are tied for the conference leadership at 12-4. The Vikings helped their cause too by moving into a 3rd place tie with Northern Kentucky at 11-5.

Iona 72, Niagara 55
Siena 73, Marist 65
Iona's win moves the Gaels into a first place tie in the MAAC with idle Rider at 11-3. Siena is in 3rd place at 11-4.

Memphis 86, Temple 77
The Tigers moved into a 2nd place tie with Tulane in the AAC at 9-3. For conference tournament seeding purposes though, the Green Wave have the advantage, having beaten Memphis twice this season.

And Memphis still has to play Houston twice, including next Sunday.

There is a strong chance Memphis will be without two of its six best players in Sunday's game: combo guard Alex Lomax and PF/C Malcolm Dandridge. The two have simultaneously missed multiple games. If they miss the game in Houston, we will not be seeing the full Tiger team.