Prelude
It’s time for another volume of Changing of the Guard. A weekly column here at Bracketeer.Org solely focused on the conference races. This will be your one-stop shop each week to see what is happening in each league race for the regular-season crown for all 32 leagues.
Some leagues provide us with a different leader or a proverbial “Changing of the Guard” at the top of the standings each and every week. Other leagues, may have one team run away with it from wire to wire. No matter how it shakes up, we will be here to provide the summary for you. If you happen to be new to Bracketeer this season, conference race changes are leveraged in each Bracket Forecast update to A) Exhibit a variety of outcomes within the Bracket that could very well be in play come March and B) Give more schools notoriety for the stellar play and achievements during the regular season.
The Disruptors
Virginia Tech - The Commonwealth Clash rivalry triumph over Virginia ruined the opportunity for UVA to go solely into First Place in the ACC. Hokies also held on to some hopes in the At-Large bid arena as well.
Utah Tech - The dynamic duo of Cameron Gooden and Tanner Christensen combined for 47 points in a true upset over Southern Utah. The win yielded First Place in the WAC to a third school from the Beehive State, Utah Valley.
Long Beach State - Winners of the latest version of the Black & Blue rivalry game. The Beach denied UC Irvine the opportunity to obtain a tie for First Place by defeating the Anteaters in OT.
Lipscomb - The Bison knocked off Liberty on a day when Kennesaw State also fell. It denied the Flames an opportunity to be in First Place alone and tightened the Standings across the ASUN.
Niagara - Spoiled Siena’s run as the First Place MAAC squad in a packed MVP Arena on Sunday. The Purple Eagles have now won four in a row in addition to playing this role as “Disruptor.”
USC Upstate - Spartans managed to snap a four-game losing streak to stun First Place UNC Asheville, 76-70. The victory should only deliver some newfound confidence into this Spartan program moving into the last three weeks of the regular season. The loss to UNCA created a First Place tie with surging Radford.
Tennessee Tech - A buzzer-beater, one of three in the OVC on Saturday, spoiled SEMO’s status in First Place. The TTU triumph provided air to Morehead State to ascent into First. Here is the memorable moment that went down in Cookeville:
Alabama A&M - The Bulldogs took First Place Southern to the cleaners in an 82-61 victory. The result means that Alcorn State is back into a First Place tie with the Jaguars.
Changing Of The Guard
A brief summary (this will be reflected on the upcoming Bracketology Big Board) of who our new league leaders are, following this weekend’s action.
Atlantic 10 - VCU Rams
MAAC - Rider Broncs
MAC - Akron Zips
OVC - Morehead State Eagles
Southland - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders
WAC - Utah Valley Wolverines
Conference Race Recap for All 32 Leagues
Big 12 – The Texas Longhorns (8-2) sit atop the Big 12 Standings with a one-game cushion at this point. Texas won a difficult road game at Kansas State and became the first opponent to beat the Wildcats inside the Octagon of Doom. Iowa State (7-3) achieved second-place status alone by knocking off Kansas (6-4) in a convincing 68-53 triumph. Texas will head to Kansas on Monday night, while Iowa State heads to West Virginia this Wednesday. Two tough tasks ahead for the leaders.
B1G – Purdue (11-2) got held up in their demolition of the Big Ten on Saturday. The rival Hoosiers (7-5) got the better of them in Bloomington. The Boilermakers still have a two-game lead in the loss column over second-place Rutgers (8-4). The Scarlet Knights avenged a previous loss to Michigan State by knocking off Sparty in Madison Square Garden, 61-55.
Big East – Xavier (11-2) had its largest blowout win in league play by a fair margin over struggling St. John’s, 96-71. Having a severe weather delay getting to Cincinnati probably did not help the Johnnies’ chances in this one. The Musketeers are neck-and-neck with Marquette (11-2) for the Big East Title chase. The Golden Eagles won its fifth in a row on Saturday vs. Butler in a 60-52 rock fight. Creighton (9-3) and Providence (9-3) are lurking in the background still. Friars had the weekend off, while Creighton handled its business against Villanova, 66-61.
SEC – The Tide kept on Rollin’ this past weekend in Baton Rouge. Alabama (10-0) had just enough breathing room to put away LSU, 79-69. Tigers put up a much better fight this time around, after losing by 50! in Tuscaloosa. With eight conference games to go, Tennessee (8-2) and Texas A&M (8-2) are the Tide’s stiffest competition currently. Vols bounced back with a less-than-sexy win over Auburn, 46-43. The Aggies rolled over Georgia, 82-57. An interesting week coming for Bama – who will host Florida and play at Auburn in Round One of the Hoops Iron Bowl. Texas A&M will host Auburn this Wednesday as well.
Pac-12 – UCLA (10-2) had little trouble dismissing either of the Washington schools this week. Bruins rolled past WSU on Saturday, 76-52. I was on hand this past Thursday for the win over Washington, 70-61. Although the final score appears close, UCLA had this game in hand virtually the whole way. Arizona (10-3) and USC (9-3) also handled their business. Both the LA schools and Arizona Schools hit the road this coming week, which could yield “upsets” ahead. Wildcats will be in the Bay Area, and the LA schools head to the Oregon schools.
ACC – Clemson (10-3) is coming back to Earth a bit following a magical 10-1 start to league play. A home loss to Miami (9-4) yesterday not only puts Clemson in a tight race for first, but also in the thick of a narrow-bubble scenario for today. Pittsburgh (9-3) has emerged into the loss-column tie and joins Virginia (9-3), who had the ability to secure first place on Saturday, but fell to rival Virginia Tech, 74-68. The Panthers had the weekend off and have an appetizing week ahead (in theory), playing both Louisville and Florida State. UVA hosts NC State (9-4) and Duke (8-4), in two key home tilts. And the first-place Tigers have the mid-week off and will need it to prepare for next Saturday’s trip to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels.
MWC – San Diego State (9-2) put on a defensive clinic in Friday’s showdown vs. Boise State (8-3), holding the Broncos to 2-for-18 shooting from distance en route to a 20-point halftime lead. The Aztecs never looked back and won the game by 20. First matchup between these two in a while that did not go down to the wire. Boise State is joined now in a three-way tie for second place with Utah State (8-3) and Nevada (8-3). The Aggies have a dream opportunity when they host SDSU this Wednesday Night on CBS Sports NET.
AAC – Houston (10-1) avenged its only conference loss at Temple, 81-65. The Cougars had a scoring outburst to begin the second half after trailing by four at Halftime. The win gives UH a two-game lead over Temple, Tulane, and Memphis who all have three losses now. The Tulane win at Memphis helped create this additional cushion as well. The Green Wave earned the thrilling 90-89 OT win behind Jaylen Forbes, Kevin Cross and Jaylen Forbes, who combined for 65 of the 90 Tulane points. Houston will host Tulsa this Wednesday in its lone game of the week ahead.
WCC – All eyes were on the WCC on Saturday Night as Saint Mary’s (10-0) won an emotional 78-70 game over Gonzaga (8-2) in come-from-behind fashion. Frosh Aidan Mahaney hit some key buckets when they mattered most despite going just one-for-eight from deep for the game. Drew Timme did everything he could to will the Bulldogs to a key road win, scoring 23. The Gaels now have a two-game edge over Gonzaga and the battle for third place features a quartet of five-loss programs (BYU/Loyola Marymount/Santa Clara/Pacific). Really shows how balanced the rest of the league is. SMC will do its best to navigate its remaining six games to make some history, beginning on Thursday at LMU.
CUSA – Florida Atlantic (12-1) used a dominant second half to flex its muscle on the road against Charlotte, 67-52. The victory comes following the Owls’ first league-play loss at UAB and gave FAU a split on the difficult road swing. North Texas (10-3) is the clear second-place team, but the Mean Green were already swept by FAU. The Owls will host the (Rice) Owls this Thursday and Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
A 10 – Ace Baldwin Jr. scored 37 points as VCU beat Saint Louis on the road, 73-65, on Friday night. Baldwin scorched for 12-of-15 shooting, including four-for-five from distance, and went nine-for-nine from the line for the Rams (9-2). The win put the Rams in first place alone, as they get set to host Dayton (7-4) this Tuesday. The Flyers fell at St. Bonaventure (7-4) this past Saturday. Fordham (6-4) is also in the mix as a four-loss team. The Fordham Rams had the chance to really get in the hunt be fell apart late in a road loss at Richmond on Sunday.
WAC – We seem to get a new leader every weekend in the wild WAC. That is once again the case this week. Utah Valley (9-2) had the safest path of all by getting the weekend bye. The Wolverines sat back and witnessed Southern Utah (8-3) get upended at Utah Tech, 86-79. More WAC carnage included the three 7-4 teams all going down on Saturday. Sam Houston fell at UT Arlington by 12. Seattle U lost its fourth straight at New Mexico State. And Stephen F. Austin was clipped in a tight one at Grand Canyon (6-4), 86-83. UVU will host both California Baptist and Southern Utah this coming week.
Ivy – Princeton (7-2) got the key win on Friday over Cornell (5-4), 89-82, despite playing at a faster pace -preferred by the Big Red. Tigers managed to save room in the tank to handle Columbia with ease, 88-66. Cornell’s road woes carried over to the loss at Penn (5-4) on Saturday and knocked the Big Red into a concerning spot. Yale (6-3) is your second-place team now. The Bulldogs are surging. An 11-point road win at rival Harvard was followed by a 19-point drubbing of Dartmouth on Saturday. Brown (5-4) scored two important road wins over Dartmouth and Harvard to get into a third-place tie with the Quakers and Big Red.
Sun Belt – Louisiana and Southern Miss (both at 10-2) continue to be the class of a complicated league. The Cajuns have now ripped off 10 straight wins after starting league play 0-2. An important test against Marshall was passed on Saturday, Cajuns winning that by 10. They are a perfect 11-0 in the Cajundome. The Golden Eagles completed its road sweep by knocking off Georgia State, 79-71, on Saturday. That’s seven straight wins for the Golden Eagles. The stage is set for an unbelievable showdown in Hattiesburg this Thursday Night, Louisiana at Southern Miss. Must-see Television.
MVC – Drake (10-4) had the biggest scare of the four teams tied atop the wild Missouri Valley race. The Bulldogs were once again led by Tucker DeVries, who had 32 points and 11 boards in a 85-82 Double OT thriller at Valparaiso. The win gave Drake two Double OT wins in single week! Bradley (10-4) picked up an impressive road win at Northern Iowa, 77-69. Belmont (10-4) had a fun win over Illinois State, 90-75. And we had to wait for Sunday, but Southern Illinois (10-4) also picked up a win over Missouri State in a superb performance, 73-53. Three of these four hit the road next, beginning with Drake at Murray State on Tuesday Night. Indiana State (9-5) is waiting in the wings. Sycamores have found their groove again, winning three straight.
Big West – CSUN made a splash in the Big West race by stunning UC Santa Barbara (9-2), 72-67. Never take a trip to the Matadome for granted. A great win for a struggling Matador program who lost to this same UCSB team on the road by 20 in January. A golden opportunity opened and closed for UC Irvine on Saturday, but the Anteaters (8-3) fell in the always rugged Black & Blue rivalry game, 93-88, at the hands of Long Beach State (8-4) in OT. Time to stop sleeping on The Beach – they’ve won six in a row now and host UC Santa Barbara on Thursday. Hawai’i (8-4) recovered from a loss at UC Davis, by knocking off Cal Poly, 69-56. UC Riverside (8-4) had a tough week and dropped two road games, at CSUB and at CSUF on Saturday night.
MAC – Yet another showdown came and went over this past weekend. The Akron Zips (9-1) had this puppy circled on the calendar for a long time, as they handled an outstanding Kent State (8-2) squad by 12. The victory puts Akron in first alone heading into yet another big test on Tuesday vs. Toledo (8-2). The Rockets have the most efficient offense in the MAC going up against the top defense in the MAC (Akron). Going to be a dandy.
SoCon – There are only three teams of ten above .500 in league play. All of them are 10-2 now. The trio is led by Furman, who handled its rival, Wofford, on Saturday to the tune of a 13-point win. The Paladins also own wins over Samford and UNCG (split series) this year. UNCG went to The Citadel and shot it well (near 43% from deep) en route to a 79-59 triumph. The Bulldogs held up their end of the bargain by cruising past East Tennessee State, 73-62. This coming week features Furman traveling to VMI and hosting Western Carolina, in two games that the Paladins are expected to handle.
Big Sky – Eastern Washington (12-0) refuses to lose! Eagles got another road win once again on Saturday. This time it was at Portland State. The Eagles continue to shatter its 30+ year history books in Big Sky play. They had never been better than 5-0 to start league play, EWU has now more than doubled their previous high. Tyreese Davis led the charge with 27 points in the electric 98-88 road win on Saturday. Eagles have six games left in the regular season, with three coming at home. They are off until next Saturday’s short road trip to Idaho. Montana State (10-2) is still within striking distance. The Bobcats have now won five straight following its 75-62 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.
ASUN – Kennesaw State (10-2) had to enter one of the toughest buildings in the ASUN – McBrayer Arena in Richmond, KY. Yes, the home of the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (9-3). EKU squeaked out a 77-74 win behind 24 points from Devontae Blanton. EKU now owns home wins over the top two ASUN squads (Liberty and Kennesaw State). Speaking of the Liberty Flames (10-2), they found some road trouble themselves. Liberty’s defense did not have a good enough answer for the Bisons’ Derrin Boyd, who hit five of six triples and led the way with 22 points. The Sophomore, Boyd, was playing for NAIA powerhouse Georgetown College a season ago. Boyd’s game has clearly translated to the D1 level as he now has been the ”KenPom MVP” in four of the Lipscomb wins. Liberty now returns home to host Bellarmine on Thursday followed by a potential revenge game against EKU on Saturday. The Owls of Kennesaw State will play a tricky home-and-home with Jacksonville State on Thursday and Saturday, beginning on the road.
MAAC – Siena (9-4) got off to a good start on Sunday, but could not hold on as the Saints went cold in the second half. Niagara (8-5) came into a crowded (over 7K+) MVP Arena and stunned the home squad. Noah Thomasson led the way with 18 for the Purple Eagles. All MAAC eyes have now turned to Rider (10-3). A changing of the guard. The Broncs have won seven straight including Sunday’s 67-56 road win at Manhattan. The Broncs also own the tiebreaker over Iona (9-3). The Gaels have recovered nicely this week, gaining a dominant win over Mount St. Mary’s on Friday and getting past Fairfield on the road on Sunday. Iona heads on the vaunted Buffalo roadtrip next week (At Canisius, At Niagara), while Rider hosts Fairfield on Friday and gets Sunday off.
Horizon – Milwaukee (10-3) had the weekend off following a too-close-for-comfort victory at IUPUI on Thursday. Youngstown State (11-3) had a dominant win over fellow title contender Northern Kentucky (10-4), 74-56, in the Game of the Week. YSU held NKU to under 28% shooting from deep and the Norse didn’t get much going on the interior either. Four Penguins finished in double-figures, led by Brandon Rush’s 18. Cleveland State (9-5) took a couple of tough losses on the road. The Vikings had won six of seven prior to Thursday’s trip to Detroit Mercy. They lost there by 18, then played much better before falling in OT at Oakland, 92-89. The Panthers will have a three-game week, all at home. With Green Bay visiting on Monday, Detroit Mercy coming on Thursday, and Oakland visits Saturday. The Penguins have a tough tip to both Purdue Fort Wayne (Friday) and Cleveland State (Sunday).
Big South – The USC Upstate Spartans played spoiler on Saturday in a 76-70 upset over first-place UNC Asheville (10-2). Combine that with Radford’s ninth straight win, this one over Winthrop, and we have a tie at the top on our hands between the Highlanders (10-2) and the Bulldogs. DaQuan Smith was butter with five threes in the win over Winthrop for Radford and finished with a game-high 24 Points. Longwood and Gardner-Webb are each 8-4 and two games back following the Bulldogs fifth straight win over Presbyterian on Saturday and the Lancers bounce back win over Campbell. UNC Asheville hosts Winthrop on Wednesday, while Radford will welcome Gardner-Webb this Thursday in a red-hot game that will feature a combined 14 straight wins between the two squads. Something has to give.
Summit – It is Oral Roberts’ (12-0) world and everyone else is just living in it. ORU went to Kansas City and demolished the Roos by 28. Another dominant performance. With only six games left to be played and a four-game lead over South Dakota State (9-4), the Golden Eagles can actually clinch the league title this week, which is pretty wild to consider. ORU stays on the road and heads to St. Thomas, followed by Western Illinois on Saturday. The Jackrabbits are looking at rivalry week against South Dakota. Playing just once this week, in Brookings this coming Saturday.
CAA – Our fancy new first-place team, Hofstra (10-2), rolled past its local rival, Stony Brook, this past Saturday. The Pride were without Aaron Estrada; however, Tyler Thomas was a machine in this game. Thomas went for 29 points, 11 rebounds and only attempted 17 shots total in a 79-58 win over the Seawolves. Charleston (10-2) kept pace with the Pride by knocking off Delaware, 84-67, on the road. The Cougars took out some frustration following its two-game skid. Dalton Bolon led the way with 18. UNCW (9-3) and Towson (8-3) are still very much in the hunt. The Seahawks head to Charleston on Wednesday in a rematch of what was the Game of the Year so far in the CAA. Towson will face a very manageable schedule from now until the final week (when the Tigers face C of C and UNCW), beginning with Hampton on Wednesday. As for Hofstra, a pair of tricky road tests at Northeastern and at Monmouth are coming this week.
America East – The winning just continues for the Vermont Catamounts (7-2), who have now rattled off five wins in a row. UVM took down Albany in a road game, 87-68, to maintain its two-game edge in the loss column over UMass-Lowell (7-4), Bryant (6-4), New Hampshire (6-4), and Binghamton (5-4). Vermont next heads to Maine, who has won four of its past five, in what could be a tough test this Wednesday.
Patriot League – American knocked off Colgate (11-1), 61-60, to finally end the Raider perfect streak in league play. The Eagles were led by Colin Smalls, who came off the bench to score 17 points. The Raiders own a two-game lead in the race however over Lehigh (9-3). The Mountain Hawks scored a season sweep over their rivals, Lafayette, this past Saturday. Lehigh gets a crack at Colgate this Wednesday. We will have a great race if Lehigh can pull the upset, otherwise Colgate is likely running away with the regular-season crown.
MEAC – Maryland-Eastern Shore (6-1) rested this weekend and will continue to ramp up for the second half of the short 14-game MEAC league schedule. League action resumes next Saturday, and the Eagles will host Norfolk State (5-2) in a possible revenge game. Howard (6-1) also feels good heading into the second half of the league season. The Bison will take on Delaware State on the road next Saturday.
Ohio Valley – No idea where to start! Let’s just say this conference had three different buzzer-beaters in probably the span of ten minutes on Saturday evening. Morehead State allowed the first one to Southern Indiana’s Jack Campion, which forced an overtime session in Evansville. The Eagles (9-3) managed to overcome the Screamin’ Eagles momentum and eventually seal the deal in the extra session, 71-66. SIU-Edwardsville’s (7-5) Ray’Sean Taylor hit about a 62-foot miracle shot to stun Little Rock, 84-81. In a pivotal contest, Tennessee Tech’s (7-5) Brett Thompson sunk a jumper from the elbow as time expired to give the Golden Eagles a crucial 82-80 victory over SEMO (8-4). This put Morehead State in first place alone for the first time this season, and yes, a Changing of the Guard in the OVC. Tennessee-Martin (7-5) had a tough week and fell at D1 newcomer, Lindenwood, 80-75.
Southland – Texas A&M Corpus Christi (8-3) made a road splash on National TV by running away from Southeastern Louisiana (8-3), 83-72. Terrion Murdix had 23 to lead the Islanders. Northwestern State joined the three-loss party atop the Southland Conference by beating Lamar on the road, 72-68. And watch out for D1 newcomer, Texas A&M-Commerce (6-3), who got another win on Saturday over McNeese, 60-58. TAMUC will play the Demons twice this week in a home-and-home exchange. The Islanders are the new leaders for bracket forecasting, thanks to its 2-1 combined record against the other first place squads. Islanders will host Houston Christian and Lamar this week. SELA will head to McNeese and host Nicholls in a Louisiana-heavy week upcoming.
SWAC – Southern U. (8-2) had its three-game win streak snapped at Alabama A&M, 82-61. A thorough victory for the home Bulldogs (5-5). AAMU’s Messiah Thompson went for 20 to lead the charge. That opened the door for our preseason pick, Alcorn State (8-2), to get back into a first-place tie. The Braves got a stiff test from Arkansas Pine Bluff (6-4), yet survived it in a 70-67 win. Grambling (7-3) looked great in a 73-60 victory at Alabama State. The Tigers have some talent and appear to be in this thing for the long haul. Things pick right back up here on Monday with Southern headed to Alabama State, Grambling going to Alabama A&M, and Alcorn State will host MVSU.
NEC – Wagner (5-5) came across the Stateline to New Jersey, and knocked off Fairleigh Dickinson (7-3) in Teaneck, 83-79. The Seahawks had a ridiculously balanced attack as nine players contributed between six and 12 points, which kept FDU on their defensive toes all day. Stonehill (8-3) has a three-game win streak after earning a road win at St. Francis NY, 65-59. Skyhawks are seeking history in its first season as a D1 member. That of course means, they are not postseason eligible anytime soon, so the Skyhawks are really going to fight for this crown, much like Merrimack (7-4) has done in the past. Merrimack is still not postseason eligible. So that leaves the fine trio of Sacred Heart (6-5), aforementioned Wagner, and St. Francis PA (5-5), who are two losses behind pace of FDU out of the eligible programs.