Inside College Hoops

Bracket Watch February 27-28, 2021

What a crazy week this was already. Ohio State, Illinois, Alabama, Iowa and several other top teams have already suffered a loss. We suddenly have a Michigan State team who came back to life, and we have a resurgent St. Bonaventure team who is climbing up to levels that would make it easy for the committee to select them. The temperture only increases from here, folks. Leagues like the A10, MVC, WCC and others will wrap up their regular season in the coming days. Championship Week already commenced with the opening round of the Horizon League. On Saturday we welcome the America East and Big South opening round games. A lot happening across the 31-conference landscape.

There are always matchups that stand out above the rest each week. Now it’s crunch time. Everyone should be paying attention to these games this weekend as they will have likely the biggest impact to the next bracket projection. If you are new to this column, we prefer to break this into three categories: Heavyweight games (typically teams impacting the Top 16), Conference Leader Games and Bubble Games. Final thought for this week: The Heavyweight games are so good this weekend that Texas-Texas Tech and LSU-Arkansas missed the cut. I will add, LSU really needs a road win over a tournament team to get above an eight-seed. Let’s see if the Tigers can do it. In the mean time, check out the highlights from round one of Boise State at San Diego State, an overtime thriller!

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Oklahoma State at Oklahoma, Saturday 3PM ET ABC
Bedlam round one is here. The Big XII is not like the Mountain West or Missouri Valley with back-to-back scheduling formats this season, but it played out this way due to make-up games/rescheduling. Game two will happen on Monday in Stillwater. In round one, its an opportunity for the Cowboys to add a prime road win over their rival. Oklahoma State is stuck in the mess of the 15-24 range of the seed list today. For the Sooners, this is a chance to get right back on the horse after slipping up at Kansas State earlier this week.

4. Florida State at North Carolina, Saturday 4PM ET ESPN
Hard to find a more dominant team lately than Florida State. The Seminoles have tremendous length and athleticsm to really put the clamps on opposing offenses. Well, this matchup is a potential clash of the bigs, as UNC is one of the few teams out there that can size up with the Noles. For the Tar Heels, who are coming off a very disappointing home loss against Marquette, a win here would help everyone forget about what happened on Wednesday and keep them safely above the bracket cut-line.

3. Illinois at Wisconsin, Saturday 2PM ET ESPN
The Badgers were beaten badly in the first matchup. Furthermore, this Wisconsin team still does not have a win against a team currently seeded higher than eight, so they can really use an elite win here to anchor off of to position themselves for a run at a protected seed. For Illinois, they are chasing the one-seed line and another high-caliber road win like this helps a lot. Ayo Dosunmu has a broken nose, I presume he will play - but how effectively?

2. Iowa at Ohio State, Sunday 4PM ET CBS
First meeting of the season for these two. Interestingly, both enter this one coming off of losses to Michigan schools. Iowa comes in after being thoroughly beaten by Michigan. The Hawkeyes are currently on the two/three seed cut-off and a win likely makes them a two-seed again. Ohio State comes in off a loss to Michigan State in which HC Chris Holtmann was ejected late. Buckeyes will want a better performance and may need it to remain a projected one-seed.

1. Baylor at Kansas, Saturday 8PM ET ESPN
The Bears put their undefeated record on the line tonight in Lawrence. Baylor finally returned to action this past Tuesday, and had a lot of issues vs. Iowa State in a narrow victory. Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua was still recovering from Covid earlier this week, unknown yet if he’ll be available. Kansas has been playing their best basketball of the season, winning five of their past six. Jayhawks may be a little extra hungry for two reasons: Be the first to knock off Baylor, and KU is coming off a tough OT loss against Texas.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. Summit: North Dakota State at South Dakota x2, Saturday 4:30PM ET/Sunday 4:30PM ET ESPN3
Behind the tutelage of Todd Lee, this USD Coyotes season has been a roaring success. The Coyotes will likely need to sweep the third-place Bison on this final weekend of Summit League play to lock up the top-seed in the tournament. Sharpshooter A.J. Plitzuweit and Stanley Umede have been a lethal combo. For the Bison, a sweep over South Dakota would guarantee them at least a second-place finish. The other team in the mix is South Dakota State, who beat Kansas City last night. Jackrabbits have just one more game to go and will sit back and scoreboard watch this vital NDSU-USD series, should be a great one.

4. Pac-12: UCLA at Colorado Saturday 10PM ET ESPN2
Bruins just took over first place late on Thursday, following the USC loss to this Colorado team. Now it’s UCLA’s turn to try and crack the code in Boulder. It’s a tall order, Colorado is 10-1 at home this year and traditionally has one of the biggest home-court advantages in the country due to altitude. The Buffs have been stuck in the seven-seed range for a while, this another opportunity to maybe move up the board. In the event of a UCLA upset win, it would not only keep the Bruins in first, it also does wonders for their resume.

3. SoCon: Furman at Wofford, Saturday 7PM ET ESPN+
Two bitter rivals with so much at stake today as the Paladins visit Spartanburg. For Furman it’s simple, a win over Wofford would be their first Southern Conference regular season title since 2016-17 and their first outright title since the 1979-80 season. Wofford comes in with the opportunity to spoil the party for their rival, but also earn at least a co-championship on their senior day. Emotions will be running high in this one.

2. ASUN: Liberty at Bellarmine, Saturday Noon ET ESPNU
Good for the Atlantic Sun Conference. Good on them for making this a reality. The conference first of all worked with both programs to ensure this game was on the schedule after previous cancelations. The league also made the move to make at a winner take all - built for television game instead of a two-game series, which could’ve left us in a co-champs situation. Bellarmine is one of the great stories of this season. The Knights transitioned this year to D1, and have been on fire in league play. After an 0-2 start, they are now 10-2. Tied with league favorites, Liberty. This game will mean the pinnacle for the Knights’ season and they host it.

1. Mountain West: Boise State at San Diego State, Saturday 4PM ET CBS Sports Network
We teased you earlier, you had to know this was coming - right? Two tournament hopefuls Boise State and SDSU are playing for first place again this afternoon in San Diego. If this is anything like the first game, buckle up. Boise State will be looking to earn a split and avoid the possibility of being exluded from the tournament. Broncos were already swept earlier this month at Nevada, they do not have as much margin for error as the Aztecs.


BUBBLE GAMES

5. VCU at Davidson, Saturday 2PM ET ESPNU
Davidson is hanging by a thread to get a tournament at-large bid. Wildcats were just swept by St. Bonaventure and the opportunity may already be gone. At minimum, a home win in the finale against one of the top A-10 teams in VCU, would be a major confidence boost heading into the A10 Tournament. VCU looks to add another quality road win to their resume. A loss for the Rams brings them under further evaluation scrutiny, which is not ideal.

4. Michigan at Indiana (Bubble), Saturday Noon ET FOX
Earlier this week, Indiana fell out of the field entirely. This is an easier decision for the committee when Indiana or any team is just a game above .500 or at .500. Today, Indiana comes in at 12-11 with this major opportunity against Michigan in front of them. On the plus side, the Hoosiers have a sweep of Iowa, which is a positive outlier in their favor. It comes down to winning games now. It starts or stops with the Michigan game today.

3. Creighton at Xavier (Bubble), Saturday 5PM ET FOX
Xavier is free-falling like no other lately. You ave to feel for this Musketeer program, who just has not returned to the same level of play since returning from an activity pause due to Covid-19. In losing three of their last four, Xavier has not looked very competitive in the losses. In comes a streaking Creighton team with its sights on a protected seed. Big chance to turn it around today for the Musketeers, they are currently my first “NCAA Alternate team”.

2. Louisville at Duke, Saturday 6PM ET ESPN
This is a quite the bubble scenario. Duke has everyone’s attention again after beating Virginia last week and blowing out Syracuse this week. The Blue Devils are still needing to pick up a quality road win, they’ll have to wait til next week. The Louisville game provides Duke the opportunity to beat another tourney-caliber team and leave less doubt about if they belong in the field. Louisville finds themselves also quickly slipping on the bubble after inconsistent play all year, and a lack of results away from the KFC Yum! Center. A win in Cameron today would really calm the doubters and keep them solidly in the projected field.

1. Michigan State at Maryland, Sunday 2PM CBS
Two of the wilder bubble case studies in recent memory will collide on Sunday in College Park. Both teams are playing their best basketball as well, which has to make this game appealing even to the casual fan. The Terps just handled Rutgers on the road and have won four-straight. Michigan State comes in on cloud nine. They’ve had an unbelievable week as mentioned earlier. Spartans are back in the picture, but they’ll need to stay locked in for this tough road game. Should be a great contest.

Enjoy the action this weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller



Bracket Watch - February 15-18, 2021

This past weekend was productive for a few bubble teams of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Particularly in the SEC where Arkansas picked up its best win of the season so far with an overtime victory at Missouri, and LSU took down Tennessee at home for its best win of the season. The Valley teams split with each other, and that keeps Drake and Loyola-Chicago both in the thick of the at-large bid conversation. And Western Kentucky handled their business by sweeping a fiesty Rice team.

As for the heavyweights, Michigan came back off pause and won after being down by as many as 14. Baylor extended its pause and it remains to be seen how many or if key games need to be made up. Ohio State is still red-hot. Oklahoma outlasted West Virginia in a classic 2OT thriller. And we had confirmation from the Selection Committee on Saturday that the Top 16 here at Bracketeer.org were the same 16 they had. More on that in tomorrow’s bracket post. Stay tuned!

There are a number of matchups moving forward that will have a big impact on the bracket both for those closer to the top of the field and those that are fighting their way into consideration as bubble teams. Looking to the matchups early this week. There are a few that stand out, and everyone should be paying attention. If you are new to this column, we prefer to break this into three categories: Heavyweight games (typically teams impacting the Top 16), Conference Leader Games and Bubble Games.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Florida at Arkansas, Tuesday 7PM ET ESPN2
The Hogs are hot, and have to be feeling confident after the big win in Columbia over the weekend. Arkansas finally nabbed their first win over a tournament-caliber opponent and did it on the road against a Top-16 team. That’s what the doctor ordered. As for the Gators, they have been off since February 3rd when they were upset by South Carolina. Can the Gators make it to Fayetteville full strength and ready for a resume boosting road win? We shall see.

4. Rutgers at Michigan, Thursday 9PM ET FS1
Wolverines are finally back on the court, and they returned with a great final stretch at Wisconsin to win a key road game. Important to remember that the Wolverines are in a tough stretch now and play at Ohio State on Saturday. Is this is a trap game against a tough Rutgers team?

3. Iowa at Wisconsin, Thursday 7PM ET ESPN
First of two meetings between these two rivals. This year’s series may be the showcase perhaps of any season? In any event, both schools can improve their resume with a key win here. Intrguing battle when Iowa has the ball. The Wisconsin D is a top-10 defense in efficiency and Iowa’s Offense is the best in the game, efficiency wise.

2. Texas at Oklahoma, Wednesday 9PM ET ESPN
This games was moved from Tuesday to Wednesday due to bad weather. Thankfully it is on the schedule still. We have two bitter rivals here and not many teams are hotter than the Sooners. OU is coming off a double OT win at West Virginia. The Horns are looking to avenge a prior one-point defeat to the Sooners back on January 26th.

1. Virginia at Florida State, Today 7PM ET ESPN
Tonight is the night! Yes, Florida State is back on the court after surviving overtime to beat Wake Forest on Saturday. Virginia is coming in hot, winners of four straight and 11 of their last 12. Last season, these teams played a couple of low scoring games (61-56 and 54-50), favoring UVA’s pace. I’d expect that type of game tonight. Whoever gets this victory will solidify their profile. UVA looking to get on the Two-seed line, FSU has a chance to get up to the four-seed line.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. SWAC: Prairie View A&M at Texas Southern, Thursday 9PM ET ESPNU
In the past couple of seasons, these have been the two programs at the top of the SWAC and it is typically a treat to see them get after each other in a growing rivalry. This season Jackson State is spoiling the party, still undefeated. But PVAMU is also 6-0 and looking to keep pace. The Tigers come in 4-2 and a win Thursday keeps hope alive for a SWAC title. Panthers won the first meeting, 71-67.

4. America East: Vermont at UMBC Thursday 7PM ET ESPNU
The Retrievers have asserted themselves this season as a bonafide contender in America East’s regular season race. Typically this league belongs to Vermont in recent years, and the race fades away early. Not so much this season. UMBC at 9-3 has a slight edge over 8-3 Vermont. Retrievers host the first of two on Thursday night on National television. Should be a great battle.

3. Mountain West: Utah State at Boise State, Wednesday 9PM ET CBS Sports Network
After having last week off, Utah State will need to bring their A-game to Boise. This is the first of two games of the series. Boise State really struggled with UNLV last week, but dodged a bullet by winning by two in the second game. For the league Standings, the Aggies hold a game advantage in the loss column. A sweep in Boise could go a long way to winning the league title, conversely a Boise State sweep gives them control back.

2. American: Houston at Wichita State, Thursday 7PM ET ESPN or ESPN2
The league championship may hang in the balance here. Even more key for Wichita State is this may very well be their final chance at an at-large bid. Currently the Shockers are about the ninth team out and will not get many more opportunities before Championship Week. For Houston, this is a chance to get their swagger back and be firm on the two-seed line, plus have a sweep over the Shockers and a grip on the AAC crown.

1. Atlantic 10: VCU at Richmond, Wednesday 7PM ET CBS Sports Network
The battle of Richmond doesn’t get much bigger than this year’s version. VCU has just claimed the first-place lead after knocking off Saint Bonaventure. Richmond has been shutdown, but got a tune up win yesterday over non-D1 St. Mary’s. The Spiders are on the cusp of being a tournament team, and this is massive for those hopes. A win for Richmond (4-2) would also keep them in the A10 Title chase.


BUBBLE GAMES

5. Arizona at UCLA (Bubble), Thursday 9PM ET ESPN or ESPN2
UCLA had a rollercoaster week last week at the Washington schools. A lethargic loss at Washington State and a narrow win at Washington left many wondering about the Bruins outlook ahead. A deeper look under the hood will reveal that UCLA has just a 3-5 record against the top two quadrants with a 48th ranked NET. Thin ice status is here for the Bruins and Sean Miller’s Arizona program would love to spoil it further.

4. Xavier at St. John’s (Bubble), Tuesday 8:30PM ET FS1
The Musketeers are back on the court, that’s the good news. The bad news is Xavier did not look great in their return over the weekend. A home loss to UConn that included a second half meltdown of sorts. St. John’s is the bubble team today, but that can soon be Xavier if they don’t solidify their resume with a quality road win. The Johnnies remain hungry after Butler snapped their six-game win streak last week. SJU currently is within a few spots of the cut-line and this is a home game they absolutely need.

3. Colorado at Oregon (Bubble), Thursday 11PM ET ESPN2
Perhaps a Bill Walton game here? We shall see. Either way, this is a key game for both clubs. Oregon played really well to get a desert road sweep over the Arizona schools last week and don’t want to give one back on their home court. Colorado was just upended by Cal and I’m sure the Buffs are eager to right the ship here in another Pacific Coast road swing.

2. Minnesota at Indiana, Wednesday 9PM ET Big Ten Network
This is a quite the bubble scenario. Both the Gophers and Hoosiers are in the field today. However, both resumes have flaws. Lets start with Minnesota, who is 0-7 in road games. Gophers really could use a road win to feel great about their chances of being selected and only two road games are left! This one with IU and a game near the finish at Penn State. Key chance to lock themselves in here. As for Indiana, they are doing their best to stay above water, aka .500. The sweep over Iowa carries a lot of weight but if Indiana can’t protect home court they will lose their grip on a winning season and that would likely cost them a bid.

1. LSU at Ole Miss, Thursday 5PM SEC Network
These two teams come in riding high. The host Rebels, are playing their best basketball of the season and are winners of their past four contests (including wins over Tennessee and Mizzou). LSU just took down Tennessee themselves on Saturday evening in what may have been their top performance of the year. So this should be a high-quality game, we hope. Tigers are pretty comfortably in the field now, yet the Rebels are still on the periphery. Perhaps an Ole Miss win will be enough to get them into the projected field by this weekend.

Enjoy the action this week everyone!
~Rocco Miller




Weekend Bracket Watch - February 5-7

Coming on the heels of a wild week of upsets, we enter the first weekend of February. The bracket picture has suddenly become less clear than any point of the season. So what does that mean? We need more games! Fortunately, we do have quite a few key matchups coming this weekend on paper. I will break those down for you today. Also, don’t be suprised to see a few more shocking upsets, as we did on Wednesday.

Looking ahead to the busy weekend, I added a few thoughts on the most important matchups as it pertains to bracket forecasting. These are most effictively done in three categories.

  • Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

  • Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

  • Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Iowa at Indiana, Sunday Noon ET FOX
Hawkeyes are the focus here. After suffering another heavyweight loss at the hands of Ohio State last night, they are increasingly under the microscope. Particularly the defense, who has dropped significantly to #135 in Adj. Defensive Efficiency per Ken Pomeroy. The Hoosiers put the clamps on Iowa’s vaunted offense the first time around, can they do it again? IU is in bubble trouble and can really use the victory.

4. Kansas at West Virginina, Saturday 2PM ET CBS
Two of the Big 12 powers that are trending in the wrong direction, collide tomorrow. For the winner, it will be a great springboard into the final monthe of the regular season. For the losing side, it will create further questions than answers. KU comes in a fringe 5/6 seed and WVU enters on the 4/5-seed fringe.

3. Texas at Oklahoma State, Saturday 3PM ET ABC
Longhorns head to Stillwater licking their wounds a bit. Texas was beaten by Baylor on Monday in a game that got away from them late. On the bright side, the Horns are 5-0 on the road this year. It currently serves as an impressive outlier on their resume. To keep that going, Texas needs to beat a hungry Oklahoma State team. Cowboys are also coming off a loss, at TCU on Wednesday. Adding to the Pokes motivation is the revenge factor (Texas nipped Oklahoma State, 77-74 on 12/20).

2. Wisconsin at Illinois, Saturday 2:30PM ET FOX
The Illini come in as the hotter team, winners of three in a row. The Illini are teedering on the 2/3-seed line coming in, while Wisconsin isn’t far behind. This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the two heavyweights. For the Badgers, a major road win opportunity here which would really improve their already strong resume.

1. Alabama at Missouri, Saturday Noon ET ESPN
Two straight weeks that the Tide are in our feature game of the weekend and two straight weeks at the Noon EST slot on ESPN. Bama fans hope this one goes more successfully, as last week they fell short at Oklahoma. Mizzou is a team with a stellar resume and a ton of doubters. Would a win over Alabama silence the critics once and for all? For Bama, this road win would potentially push them into a one-seed position sooner than later.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. Southland: Nicholls State at Sam Houston State, Saturday 6PM ET ESPN+
Sam Houston State and Nicholls are two of the four teams logjammed with one-loss at the top of the Southland Standings. The Colonels got a blessing from the scheduling gods and do not play SFA or Abilene Christian this year. So this game looms large, especially for Nicholls, to take control of the conference race.

4. Summit: South Dakota at South Dakota State x2 Friday 8:30PM ET ESPN3/Saturday 8:30PM ET ESPN3
A showdown series in the Summit League. Coyotes have kicked the rust off a 1-6 start to the season to get off to a red-hot 8-0 start in league. The Jackrabbits have big non-conference wins (Utah State, Iowa State, Bradley), but an unfortunate program shutdown has limited them in conference to a 4-0 record. If history teaches us anything, these two teams will really get after each other this weekend. Great viewing ahead here.

3. Big Sky: Montana State at Weber State Saturday 2PM ET
Weber State put up 96 points in game one last night and handed the Bobcats their first loss in Big Sky play. That leads us to an important game two. A Weber sweep would create a 5-time race for the league, whereas a Bobcat win would keep them in control of the conference.

2. SoCon: Wofford at Furman, Saturday 6PM ET ESPN+
This rivalry is one of the best kept secrets in the country. The two schools have a strong distaste for one another. The game should be very intense. The Terriers and Paladins are two of the schools with two losses in the highly competitive SoCon. The winner stays in control of their destiny, while the loser will need help.

1. Pac-12: UCLA at USC, Saturday 10PM ET ESPN
The battle for Los Angelese takes on additional significance this time around. The Bruins (8-1) and Trojans (7-2) are separted by a single game and the winner has control of the league title race. Also an important win will be added to the resume of the winning team.


BUBBLE GAMES

5. St. John’s at Providence, Saturday 2PM ET FS1
The Johnnies are enfuego! Five in a row and win over Villanova on Wednesday. A road win at Providence would begin to tip the scales toward a favorable inclusion to the next bracket. As for the Friars, they took a tough loss to Seton Hall this week and need to start racking up wins. They really need this one.

4. Maryland at Penn State, Friday 7PM ET FS1
Both the Terps and the Nittany Lions share the same challenge: getting above .500 by a couple of games vs. D1 competition. Maryland is closer, just a win away from NCAA tournament consideration and Penn State is three wins away. PSU however has the higher Ken Pomeroy rating today, so this is an intriguing one. The losing team will have a lot of work ahead to get into the tourney picture.

3. North Carolina at Duke, Sunday 6PM ET ESPN
Incredibly bizarre to be breaking this one down in the bubble watch section! I think we know what’s at stake here for Duke. They need wins, and probably a cluster of them. No better way to get rolling than against your rival. UNC can add another quality road win should they pull off the win. Expect some drama as always in this one.

2. St. Bonaventure at Saint Louis, Saturday 2PM ET CBS Sports Network
Fitting that these two matchup. These are two of the toughest teams to understand, thanks to lengthy program shutdowns. Both programs have promising talent and the Bonnies have only lost once. Bonnies can solidify their grip on first place and a tournament profile with a win. For the Billekins, they need to bounce back desperately after disappointing losses to Dayton and La Salle.

1. Seton Hall at UConn, Saturday Noon FOX
UConn finally returns to the court tomorrow. After 11 days off, will be interesting to see how ready they are for a hungry Pirates team coming off an impressive win at Providence. Neither team is on solid ground right now for making the tournament, creating a quintessential bubble matchup.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller



Weekend Bracket Watch - January 29-31

A shortened season filled with spontaneous program shutdowns tells us one key point: each individual game has more weight this season to a program’s resume than ever before. This Sunday will mark the end of January. We will have conference tournaments starting in late February. That doesn’t leave a lot of time left for resume building opportunities. With that said, be sure to keep your eye tonight on Michigan State at Rutgers, Stanford at Arizona and Memphis at SMU.

Looking ahead to the much busier weekend, I added a few thoughts on the most important matchups as it pertains to bracket forecasting. These are most effictively done in three categories.

  • Heavyweight games: Games that will impact the top 16 teams on the seed list. Better known as protected seeds.

  • Bubble games: Games that will most influence teams inside or outside of the bubble.

  • Conference Leader games: The opportunity for the lead in any given league to change hands.

HEAVYWEIGHT GAMES

5. Michigan State at Ohio State, Sunday 1PM ET CBS
Spartans are jumping straight into the fire following a 20-day absence. A team who needs wins and road wins, gets a major chance on Sunday. For Ohio State, another quality win keeps them trending up with a path to a #2-seed.

4. Virginia at Virginia Tech, Saturday 6PM ET ACC Network
Hokies have had this one circled all offseason. Helping matters for Virginia Tech was an impressive performance on Wednesday at Notre Dame. However, UVA comes in red-hot themselves and winners of seven straight. Much like Ohio State, the Cavs can make a push for a #2-seed with another quality road win.

3. Kansas at Tennessee, Saturday 6PM ET ESPN
Both teams are sitting in my 3rd tier. Kansas can add a second big road win (already won at Texas Tech), which would give them likely enough clout to be a projected 3-seed again. Tennessee’s quality of play has dropped in their past three outings, this is an opportunity to create a springboard of momentum heading into the critical month of February and solidify the resume.

2. Iowa at Illinois, Friday 9PM ET FS1
Overall, this is a B1G powerhouse matchup. Two teams in the top seven of the NET rankings square off in Champaign. Both still have plenty of work to do. Iowa has a realistic shot at getting into a #1-seed by the end of the year. Hawkeyes need to shake off their loss to Indiana and get a big road win like this to make that a reality. Illinois is a team with a very high ceiling this season, but are a disappointing 1-4 in Q1 games. If the Illini want to be in strong position to make the Final Four, they need to show they can beat the Iowa’s of the CBB world.

1. Alabama at Oklahoma, Saturday Noon ET ESPN
The Big XII-SEC Challenge pairings were announced during preseason. Had I told you then that the Tide and Sooners would be in the most impactful game, you likely would’ve laughed at me. Heck, even if I told you that in December, same laugh. Well, here we are. The Tide are on a 10-game win streak and the Sooners have won four straight including the past two over Kansas and Texas. Something has to give on Saturday.

Alabama/Oklahoma are on powerful win-streaks and on a collision course Saturday afternoon in Norman.

Alabama/Oklahoma are on powerful win-streaks and on a collision course Saturday afternoon in Norman.

CONFERENCE LEADER GAMES

5. SWAC: Alabama A&M at Prairie View A&M, Saturday 4PM ET
AAMU is one of the surprise unbeatens in College Hoops. Bulldogs are 4-0 and now 2-0 in SWAC play following a lenghty program shutdown. PVAMU might be the favorite to win the league, and the game will be played in Prairie View. Let’s hope for a tight battle, it would be great for the SWAC if AAMU can compete with the top of the league.

4. Sun Belt: Louisiana at Texas State x2 Friday 5PM ET ESPN+/Saturday 5PM ET ESPN+
Sun Belt was split into two divisions - East and West to help limit travel. This is now the second series between the Bobcats and Cajuns. The Cajuns are the only team thus far to knock off current Sun Belt leader Texas State (5-1) in league play. Two more battles coming up this weekend in San Marcos.

3. WAC: New Mexico State at Grand Canyon x2 Friday 9PM ET, Saturday 9PM ET
So many storylines, I don’t know where to begin. NMSU has had a nightmare campaign with three different shutdowns and not being permitted to play in their own state. The Aggies only managed to play one D1 game thus far, an unfortunate loss to CS-Northridge. This is a major trash-talking rivalry on the West Coast, that the Aggies have complete ownage over the Lopes throughout GCU’s short D1 history. New GCU Head Coach Bryce Drew has pieced together a formaidable roster. Is this the year the Lopes finally break through and make it a true rivalry? We will learn quite a bit in these two games.

2. Southland: Sam Houston State at Stephen F. Austin, Saturday 4PM ET ESPNU
Bearkats have won 10 straight including a showdown victory recently over fellow title contender, Abilene Christian. Now, SHSU has to go on the road to beat perennial Southland powerhouse Stephen F. Austin. SFA is likely to serve their NCAA ban this season, yet that also would make games like this even bigger. It certainly won’t be easy for SHSU, figures to be intense in Nacogdoches on Saturday.

1. Mountain West: Boise State at Colorado State, Friday 11PM ET FS1
A late night, Friday night treat in the Mountain West. Both of these teams are not only fighting for the MWC regular season crown, but also potential at-large bids. CSU stunned the Broncos on Wednesday in a 22-point statement win. Should be much closer in round two.


BUBBLE GAMES

5. Arkansas (Bubble) at Oklahoma State, Saturday 4PM ET ESPN2
Arkansas has climbed up to #28 in NET and are playing efficient basketball. Their resume could still use a bump. Great opportunity here on the road against a tough Oklahoma State squad.

4. Stanford (Bubble) at Arizona State, Saturday 10PM ET ESPN2
Stanford’s win over UCLA last week gave the Cardinal a bit of room to breathe. But here they are this weekend on the always rough desert swing. To make matters more risky, ASU is currently 4-8. A loss to this team would not reflect well for Stanford.

3. Loyola-Chicago at Missouri State, Sunday 3PM ET CBS Sports Network
Loyola-Chicago is skyrocketing up the NET rankings. Missouri State just lost two tight battles against 15-0 Drake. This sets up for a crucial 2-game battle in Springfield. This opener on Sunday will set the tone for if Missouri State can hang in the at-large picture long-term. It will also serve as a fringe Q1/Q2 road opportunity for the Ramblers.

2. Villanova at Seton Hall (Bubble), Saturday 3:30PM ET FOX
For a regular season game, it doesn’t get much bigger than this for the Hall. After Wednesday’s brutal loss vs. Creighton and a 2-pont loss to Villanova last week - this win became paramount. The Pirates already have seven losses and can’t afford to keep letting them pile up. Besides, a win over the Wildcats would do wonders for their tourney hopes.

1. Saint Louis at Richmond, Friday 6:30PM ET ESPN2
This has suddenly shaped up to be quite the bubble matchup. SLU finally returned to action earlier this week. That came along with some rust in a tough home loss to Dayton. The Billikens now are 7-2 and do not have a significant road win. Putting them immediately in the large group of bubble teams. Speaking of, Richmond keeps hanging around the bubble themselves. Despite bad losses to La Salle and Hofstra, the Spiders do have two Q1 wins right now and that starts to stand out in current bubble comparison exercises. Big game all-around.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!
~Rocco Miller

Team of the Week Awards: Jan. 18-24, 2021

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 8 (January 18-24, 2021)

Missouri -
Regardless of Mizzou’s glowing resume heading into the week, there were skeptics everywhere about this team and how good they actually are. The Tigers are not a metrics darling, they were near 40th in KenPom a week ago, for example. Additionally, the Tigers were picked anywhere from ninth to thirteenth in the preseason SEC rankings, depending on your publication of choice (I had them tenth). Head Coach Cuonzo Martin, his staff and his players have no control over such things. They can only prep for the next opponent and be ready to deliver on gamedays. At 8-2 with wins over Illinois, Oregon, at Arkansas, and at Wichita State in hand, Mizzou’s resume was already great given where we are at this point in the season. Tigers had to feel a bit slighted by the pundits not ranking them high and perhaps some disrespect from my peers in Bracketology? Nevertheless, South Carolina was next on the schedule this past Tuesday evening. The Tigers built a double-digit lead early and never let go. Eventually built it to 16 points, en route to a 81-70 win. Big man Jeremiah Tilmon was highly efficient in the victory, scoring 19 (on 8-for-11 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Up next was a highly anticpated trip to Tennessee. Another opportunity to really boost their resume and ideally improve some of the important metrics. One key player that was seeking a turnaround was Xavier Pinson. After all, Pinson was held to just two points against the Gamecocks and had five turnovers. Pinson also struggled against Texas A&M last week, scoring seven while committing four turnovers. So Pinson decided to spend extra time in the film room with Martin between games. One of the key takeaways for Pinson, was the subtle reminder that he is at his best when he is in attack mode. So, thats exactly what he did from the get-go at Tennessee. Pinson was agressive throughout, and Mizzou jumped all over the Vols in this one. They had a 20-7 lead after 10 minutes. About mid-way through the second half, Pinson help lead the Tigers to an insurmountable double-digit advantage. Mizzou would go on to win 73 to 64. For Pinson, he had one of the best games of his career, 27 points and a perfect 3-for-3 from distance. For the team, this sends a message to the SEC. It was only a few weeks ago when Tennessee destroyed Mizzou in Columbia. The confidence is here again for Pinson and the Tigers. And perhaps some new found confidence is on the way from the pundits.

Mizzou moved to 10-2, and in prime position for a #3 seed in Bracketeer’s Bracketology.

Mizzou moved to 10-2, and in prime position for a #3 seed in Bracketeer’s Bracketology.

Oregon State - Daring to predict who the team of the week awards are going to be from one week to the next is an impossible endeavour. At one point this season, this Beaver program was 1-3 vs. D1 competition with losses to Wyoming and Portland at home. Their season quickly looked like a lost cause. The Beavers hung in there and won four of their next six, including a one-point nailbiter over Arizona State last week. Tuesday would bring a different type of test to Corvallis. The USC Trojans came in boasting a top 10 defense nationally and a really impressive resume, with road wins. The game was rescheduled from a December postponement, and was non-standard for the Pac-12’s typical weekend lineup. But nothing is standard in any conference this season. So the Beavers, building off the ASU win, came out with an effective gameplan and got off to a great 31-23 lead by Halftime. As the game went on, things tightened up. The game was tied, when Rodrigue Andela drained two foul shots to put Oregon State ahead, 58-56 with 1:49 to go. Incredibly, those would be the last points of the game as both teams struggled offensively down the stretch. Beavers did not make a field goal in the final 3:13 and USC did not score in the last 2:19. Winning ugly was perfectly fine with this bunch. It also snapped USC’s six-game win streak.

Next up was a trip down I-5 to Eugene and a Saturday night date with rival Oregon. Oregon brought with them a 28-game home winning streak, and Oregon State amazingly hadn’t won a road game over a Top 25 opponent since 1985! However, Oregon did not bring a few key guys with them. Both LJ Figueroa and Chris Duarte were both held out due to Covid Protocol and Will Richardson remained out with an injured wrist. Prime opportunity for these Beavers to compete and possibly win. Early in the second half, the game was tied at 34. That is when the Beavs broke out into an 8-0 run and never looked back. Ethan Thompson scored 19 points, Warith Alatishe had 14 points and 16 rebounds to provide Oregon State one of their most impressive performances in years. Beavers went on to win, 75-64. OSU hopes this will keep them in the top-half of the conference, they are now 4-3 in league play. They’ll need to bring it again next week as they once again face USC, then UCLA on the road.

Florida State - Prior to January 13th, the Seminoles were enduring a 14-day program pause while not knowing for a while when they would get out there. When the green light came on, it really came on for this team. On January 13th, FSU would go on to light up NC State and break several shooting records in a 105-73 victory. Then they were able to keep it up by beating UNC at home. That led us into this week. A week in which FSU was tasked with traveling to Louisville and then looking to avenge a December loss against Clemson. The Seminoles took all the mystery out of the Louisville game and felt right at home out there, building a 42-28 lead by Halftime. Raiquan Gary is a player who has been bringing it since the layoff. Gary would end up scoring 17 points and grabbing eight boards at Louisville. This ultimately was a team effort overall, the team shot nearly 54% and 43% from deep. The offense was crisp with weapons all over the floor. Once again this is looking like the dangerous Florida State teams we’ve come to know under Leonard Hamilton. Noles ultimately finshed off the Cardinals, 78-65.

Saturday brought a Clemson team that had handed FSU a 10-point loss back on December 29th. However, now both programs are heading opposite directions. Clemson was in a funk coming in. Florida State had been waiting for this moment for several weeks, and the Seminoles more than made the most of it. The Seminoles avenged that loss in grand style on Saturday, opening up a commanding lead in the first half and rolling to an 80-61 victory. Here are the highlights:

FSU now sits at 20th in the NET rankings and has a road win against a team in the projected field. The resume is solidifying and more importantly, the Noles are poised to make another run at the ACC title over the next six weeks.

Sam Houston State - Jason Hooten’s Sam Houston State Bearkats were waiting in the wings for several weeks. After all, the Bearkats started 3-5 and hadn’t played a top 200 team since then. The 3-5 start makes it easy for a common fan to overlook this team. However, a closer look under the hood tells you that these losses came against SMU, Texas Tech, Boise State, LSU, and Texas - all tournament caliber clubs! Since the loss to Texas, all they’ve done is win eight in a row. The way the scheduled ultimately played out could be a blessing for Coach Hooten’s team. They were afforded the opportunity to learn invaluable lessons against stiff competition, iron out their rotations, and play a lot of basketball. The streak led to a 5-0 start in the Southland. But up until this past Wednesday, the Bearkats hadn’t faced one of the league favorites (Abilene Christian or Stephen F. Austin). On Wednesday, it was time. ACU was in Huntsville for a visit that must’ve been circled on several Bearkat calendars around town. ACU has made waves this season and we featured them here last month at Bracketeer.org and came into this clash with a four-game win streak of their own.

As the game got a flow, it was the SHSU Bearkats playing the lead role as they built as big as a 12-point first half lead and after a late 5-0 run, took a 39-28 lead to Halftime. The Bearkats were getting tremendous production from two key players, Demarkus Lampley and Zach Nutall all evening long. In the second half, ACU made their move. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to cut the SHSU lead down to 46-44. Then the Bearkats took over, going on an 11-2 run of their own to extend the lead back to 11. Despite committing 18 turnovers, Sam Houston State was the better team on this evening, winning 64-57. This was by far the Bearkats best win of the season, and puts them as the lead dog going forward in the Southland Conference race. Stephen F. Austin remains undefeated, however has requested to take a postseason ban this season instead of next. Thusly, Sam Houston State will be in our brackets this week. Congrats Bearkats!

Look for Sam Houston State in Bracketology this week.

Look for Sam Houston State in Bracketology this week.

Oklahoma - Let’s look at the past four Oklahoma season outcomes, shall we?

  • 2017 - No tournament.

  • 2018 - 10-seed, 1st round exit.

  • 2019 - 9-seed, 2nd round exit.

  • 2020 - projected 10-seed, season ended early.

I’m sensing a trend here. Lon Kruger’s Sooners are a consistent program, and he is an outstanding coach. But what were they going to do differently this year to take the next step up? How are they going to get off the bubble and play up to a much better seed, to have a shot at a deep tournament run? Or should we just get used to them occupying the 9-10 seed area again? Tons of questions coming in. And prior to this past week, it certainly felt like we were on our way to a similar year as 2018-20. But that started to change last week. An easy dismissal of Big 12 bottom-feeders Kansas State (76-50), setup a rematch with Kansas.

OU had played really well just two weeks ago in Lawrence, but fell short late. This time in Norman, would be different. The Sooners played remarkably well in an upset win over Kansas, a seven-point win. Dishing the Jayhawks their first three-game losing streak since 2012-13. OU was led by a scintillating performance out of Sophomore De’Vion Harmon. Harmon knocked down four treys and had 22 points to match his season-high output. The win leaves Oklahoma in a much better position, for both the resume and metrics. The Sooners are now 22nd in KenPom (at press time) and have moved into our “In Safely” tier on the Bracketology Big Board. Perhaps this is the year that breaks the trend and Kruger could have himself a second-weekend of the NCAA’s caliber season ahead. For now, enjoy the win gents.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED

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HONORABLE MENTION

Michigan Wolverines got back on track this week by handling Maryland and winning at shorthanded Purdue on Friday.

Washington Huskies were one of the worst power conference teams before this week, then a bunch of adjustments happened. The Dawgs went on to sweep Colorado and Utah, unthinkable.

Baylor Bears are beginning to play the tougher part of their schedule. Still passing tests though with realitive ease (at OK State and vs. KU).

Miami (OH) Quite a week for the Redhawks. Started with a 10-point win on Tuesday over Ball State. Then, the upset over Bowling Green (96-77) on Thursday. Topped off by a 85-63 road blowout over EMU.

Alabama Severely beat LSU in the Bayou, shot the lights out. Then hung on to beat Mississippi State over the weekend.

Appalachian State Mountaineers played wonderfully well in their sweep of conference kingpin's Georgia State. Star Guard Justin Forrest was the star in the opener (23 pts.) and James Lewis was the man in Game 2 (22/14 rebs.)

Saint Mary's Gaels picked up their first two road wins in amazingly their first two road games of the season. A 65-61 pressure-cooker win over LMU and beat local rivals San Francisco, 67-63.

Syracuse Orange got into serious tourney consideration by winning for the first time against a team (V-Tech) in the projected field. Syracuse also took care of Miami handily on Tuesday.

Jacksonville State JSU's first ever win at Murray State occurred on Thursday. Gamecocks kept the momentum going at Austin Peay on Saturday, defeating the Gov's 76-70.

Stanford Oscar Da Silva had a nifty backdoor cut to get free and catch an inbounds pass that allowed him to quickly make the game-winning shot to beat P12 leaders, UCLA.

Alabama A&M Bulldogs got to 4-0! And it took a win over one of the SWAC heavyweights, Southern U. AAMU was able to win going away, 68-58.

Penn State Nittany Lions snapped a 5-game win streak by beating Rutgers on Thursday. PSU followed that performance up by beating Northwestern.

North Alabama The Lions made some ASUN noise this weekend by sweeping Jacksonville. The sweep puts them in first at 5-1 in the ASUN.

Memphis Tigers made some lineup and defensive adjustments and it yielded great success thus far. A big 19-point home win over Wichita State and a road romp at ECU

Coppin State Golden Eagles were able to twice beat Norfolk State in an important MEAC series. Coppin State is now 5-1 in conference under Juan Dixon.

Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are tearing through the Valley. Two more blowout road wins, Wednesday at Valpo and Sunday at Bradley.

Villanova Returned to action after 26 days away. Picked up two quality home wins over Seton Hall and Providence to shake off any rust.

Green Bay The Phoenix played a fantastic two games against a previously hot Purdue Fort Wayne squad. Green Bay managed to sweep PFW with neither game being close.

Ole Miss Rebels are finally playing better basketball. A road win in basketball's version of the Egg Bowl helps (64-46) over MSU. Then on Saturday, Ole Miss took care of Texas A&M as well by 11.

Akron Stayed hot by beating Bowling Green on the road, coming off the Toledo upset. Then the Zips picked up two more wins in the week, over CMU and WMU.

Wyoming Pokes swept Nevada. Very impressive week for new Head Coach Jeff Linder and staff. This program was in the basement last season. Wyoming also won at Air Force on Monday.

American Swept Loyola-MD in an important early Patriot League series. Game 2 takes the cake here. Jamir Harris had nine 3-pointers including the game-winning buzzer beater!

Davidson Road win at Umass after a great second half surge to get control of the game on Sunday. Wildcats also beat Fordham on Wednesday.

Northern Kentucky Road sweep at Horizon League newcomers, Robert Morris. NKU needed OT in game two, but pulled it out. This sweep also snapped a 4-game losing streak.

Arizona Wildcats won at rival Arizona State with a game-winning basket by Azuolas Tubelis. The controversial ending sent Bobby Hurley into a frenzy. Rematch on Monday.

Longwood A surprise sweep of High Point got the Lancers up to 4-8 in Big South play. They won both games by double-digits and continue to play hard for HC Griff Aldrich.

Notre Dame Emphatic away win at Miami, 73-59 on Sunday. Prentiss Hubb (19), Juwan Durham (16) and Nate Laszewski (16) led the way for the Irish.

Jackson State After a 19-day program pause, the Tigers went to Grambling to win by 14. Impressive performance, and JSU is now 2-0 in SWAC play.

Valparaiso Road sweep at Illinois State came after a five straight blowout losses. Crusaders pulled it together nicely this past weekend.

Boston U. Bounced back after a tough start, by winning twice at Lafayette in the only scheduled meetings this year with the Leopards.

Enjoy the end of January games. Seven Sundays til’ Selection Sunday!
~Rocco Miller

Teams of the Week Awards: Jan. 11-17, 2021

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 8 (January 11-17, 2021)

We are less than eight weeks away from Selection Sunday? Seriously? Possibly more difficult to believe than any other year. Just think, we just saw American and Loyola-Maryland get on the court for the first time this past week, plus programs like New Mexico State and UC Davis who cannot buy a break to get games in during this unprecedented pandemic season of 2020-21. For the rest of the country, we are seeing some crucial teams getting back on the court soon - such as Drake, Saint Louis and hopefully Villanova. That’s enough about the future, let’s review which teams made the biggest impact in Week 8.

AWARD WINNERS!

Virginia - Frustrating and disappointing could definitely describe Virginia Basketball in the early going. A highly anticipated season with lofty expectations, including a preseason number one seed from me, quickly went south. An opening week stunning loss against San Francisco, threw the journey off course in the second game of the year. Then another scare against Kent State, which the Hoos needed an overtime period just to escape in a game against an overmatched opponent on their home floor. Shortly after, a positive Covid-19 test caused the program to take an 18-day hiatus. Then came the blowout loss to Gonzaga, where UVA was hardly competitive. It left the Cavs in the dust with national pundits. It mean a taller task for the rest of the season for Head Coach Tony Bennett’s staff. They knew they had to roll up their sleeves prior to ACC play. Four victories against the bottom tier of the ACC (Notre Dame twice, Wake Forest and Boston College), provided Virginia vital building blocks necessary prior to returning to elite level competition. In hindsight, the early league schedule really benefited UVA in getting this vaunted pack-line defense organized and allow key newcomers to gel. Those newcomers primarily include verterans Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy and Freshman Reece Beekman. All of this backstory, leads us to a stiff road test at Clemson. This isn’t your typical Clemson team, they came in #1 in the country at Defensive Efficiency and they had a 9-1 record with wins over FSU, Alabama, Purdue, Maryland, and others. Prior to this game the Tigers looked perhaps like the team to beat in the ACC this year. Virginia made sure to change that narrative on Saturday. The Hoos busted out to an 18-2 early lead with sharpshooting from the perimeter. During the opening half, UVA had a 15-0 run and a separate 9-0 run. The game was essentially sealed when a third big run of 10-0 occured early in the second half, making the score an insurmountable 76-37. Virginia would end up shooting an amazing 60.7% and 55.6% from three in this clinic. The team hit 15 triples on the way to a 85-50 bashing at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum. Earlier last week was the second of two Notre Dame vs. UVA contests. Virginia nailed 12 threes in that one, en route to a 80-68 win. Suddenly, Virginia looks tough again and will unquestionably recieve national attention. Most importantly, the Cavs are 5-0 and firmly on top of the ACC standings.

Trey Murphy and Virginia steamrolled Clemson in the premier ACC game last week.

Trey Murphy and Virginia steamrolled Clemson in the premier ACC game last week.

Ohio State - There is no time to breathe in the rugged Big Ten Conference. Look no further than this Ohio State Basketball journey. The day after Christmas and coming on the heels of an important non-conference win over UCLA, the Buckeyes had a trip to Evanston on tap to face Northwestern. It looked on paper to be one of the rare occasions that Ohio State could get a victory without needing their best performance. Well, that rationale would’ve been sadly incorrect. They caught Northwestern during their surge and lost a tight 71-70 battle that day. The loss also gave the Buckeyes a disappointing 1-2 record in conference at the time. The lesson? Don’t take anyone for granted, including Northwestern. Allow us to fast forward now to last Wednesday when Northwestern made the return trip to Ohio State. A game that potentially was circled by Duane Washington. Washington played poorly in their first meeting (1-9 shooting, 7 points), but had really turned it on the three games in between. As it turned out, it was indeed Washington who was ready for Nortwestern. The Buckeyes would get their revenge 81-71, and Washington led the way with 23 points and six assists and put up a very respectable 119 ORtg for the game. This set the stage for a road showdown with Illinois. The Buckeyes had already suffered three road losses. The Buckeyes started turning the tides a week prior with a road win at Rutgers. Illinois has been regarded as a top tier Big Ten squad all season. Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell was ready for the challenge. Liddell posted a career-high 26 points for Ohio State. The Buckeyes built a large 18-point lead early in the second half, a truly impressive display. Illinois came back intensely down the stretch, cutting the lead to five with 1:30 left. Clutch free throw shooting (10-for-12 in the final 90 seconds) allowed the Buckeyes to ultimately close out the victory. The fantastic 2-0 week puts the Buckeyes in prime position to be a top 4 seed in our next bracket and alive in the Big 10 title chase. In case you missed the game, here it is consolidated into 10 minutes:

Ohio State vs Illinois 2021 College Basketball HighlightsSee an ad? If you see any ads on the channel that is due to the video being claimed (almost every vi...

Utah State - If you stopped paying attention after the home loss to BYU on December 5th it could be understood. After all, the Aggies were searching for answers following a narrow defeat and staring at a 1-3 start to the season. Fortunately, the Aggies had the rest of December and early January to fine tune their craft against inferior competition. The Aggies would rip off eight wins in a row, which included a 6-0 start in the Mountain West Conference’s new back to back schedule format (designed to reduce travel). That led us to a showdown series against San Diego State. Who could forget one of the final great moments of the 2019-2020 season when Sam Merrill hit the game-winning three to sink mighty San Diego State in the MWC Title Game? It earned Utah State an automatic bid, and left SDSU on the ropes for a number one seed. So now in 2020-21, the two teams meet again…twice. The opening game was all about defense for the Aggies. They made life extremely difficult on the Aztec offense. Star players Neemias Queta and Brock Miller handled the scoring load on the other end. Surprisingly to me, a final run never came from the Aztecs. USU won it in slugfest fashion, 57-45. The momentum was with Utah State pretty clearly heading into Saturday’s rematch. In the Mountain West, they allow a day off in between the back-to-back game format. Conventional wisdom was that the Aztecs would have the needed time to establish adjustments and tweak the offensive attack. It became evident during a late first half surge and SDSU took a 10-point advantage into Halftime. Utah State would charge back and eventually get the lead late in the game. Late clutch free throws helped Utah State get a gigantic two-game sweep. Head Coach Craig Smith could not stop raving about SDSU’s physicality and toughness, he was clearly proud of his guys for meeting the test twice. Quite an exciting week it was in Logan, Utah.

Texas State - Here is the surprise team this week, the Texas State Bobcats. Considering that they had the saga with embattled Head Coach Danny Kaspar, that eventually led to his dismissal. Terrence “TJ” Johnson was left to take the keys to the car and keep the guys bonded. For the most part, TJ Johnson has done a nice job in San Marcos. The Bobcats non-conference slate included losses at Mississippi State and at Texas, nothing wrong there. But an embarassing loss to non-D1 Our Lady of the Lake, left people searching for answers. The Bobcats finished non-conference with a 6-3 record and opened up Sun Belt play with a road split at Louisiana. After a full week off due to cancellations, the third week of conference play was a stiff challenge at defending regular season champs Little Rock for a two-game series. The Bobcats came ready an prepared. An early jump start led to a 25-8 early lead. Bobcats had that lead maintained for almost the duration of the game. Then the final two minutes, things got pretty crazy - despite Texas State eventually pulling out a great 63-59 road win. TX State’s Marlin Davis and Little Rock’s star player, Markquis Nowell got into a scuffle which resulted in a double-ejection.

Game two figured to bring an angry Little Rock team. Both Davis and Nowell were suspended for the game due to their roles in the previous night’s altercation. So essentially both teams picked up where they left off at the end of game one. Passion on both sides was on full display from the opening tip. Despite physical play, the shooters started hot on both sides. A late 8-0 run to end the first half gave the Bobcats a 40-34 advantage. By the first media timeout, the lead grew to 11. Texas State was getting a scintilating performance from Caleb Asberry, who finished with 23 points on 9-for-11 (5-for-6 3-point) shooting. It was a great display from Caleb, the Bobcats would go on to build three different 11-point leads during the second half and ultimately were able to cool off the Trojans, holding Little Rock to 22 second half points. Bobcats finished off the road sweep, 67-56. It puts Little Rock down to the middle of the pack of the Sun Belt at 3-3 now. Many folks picked the Trojans to win the league. Texas State sits at 3-1 now and suddenly are in the mix to become a Sun Belt leader. The league schedule is separated by East and West, with the West teams playing two separate series (4 games total) against each other. Be sure to tune in when these two meet again on February 5th and 6th in San Marcos.

Baylor - By the time you read this, you will know that the Baylor beat Kansas fairly handily in the new Week 9. We will save that talk for next week. With today being a holiday, we didn’t have our usual Monday morning release. With all that covered, let’s take a look back to Saturday. A Saturday that saw a major College Basketball showdown take place in Lubbock, when Baylor visited Texas Tech. These Bears have been a locomotive to opponents this year, building off their incredible 2019-20 campaign. We did unfortunately miss out on a showdown to see how Baylor would stack up against Gonzaga, we can only hope for the future to see that blockbuster matchup. What we do know is Baylor had blitzed everyone on their schedule by at least 11-ponts or more during an 11-0 start. We also knew that Texas Tech came into this game riding high after a huge road win at Texas, thanks to a Mac McClung step-back jumper. The hype was big, I even named this our heavyweight game of the weekend to watch. Baylor came out swinging as usual. The Bears had an early 11-0 run to spark a controlled first half of action. Leading 26-18 at the intermission, Head Coach Scott Drew had to feel pretty good given this was a road game with some fans in attendance. What perhaps he didn’t realize, was what his reserve Sophomore guard Adam Flagler was going to bring. Flagler played his best game of the season, scoring 15 points off the bench. After Texas Tech hung around and made it a tight game for much of the second half, it was Flagler’s jumper with around seven minutes left in this game that would put Baylor ahead for good. The typically steady Jared Butler had a rough beginning, but hung in there and made two important threes down the stretch. Bears got out of Lubbock with a 68-60 win and a perfect 12-0 record.

Highlights from Baylor's 68-60 win at Texas Tech.



STRONGLY CONSIDERED:

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HONORABLE MENTION:

Alabama Tide rolled through Rupp Arena last Tuesday for an unusual victory and by 20 points as well. Then got a visit from Arkansas, and completely dismantled the Hogs by 31. Impressive.

Western Kentucky Home & Away sweep over Marshall was key for the Tops' CUSA title chances. They had to sweat both games out. WKU sits at 4-2 in conference with a much easier schedule ahead.

Northeastern The Northeastern train kept a rolling in Charleston, SC over the weekend. The Huskies pulled off a road sweep over the Cougars to improve to 6-0 in CAA play.

Pacific After 25-day team shutdown, came out and blew out Santa Clara. Followed that up with a 9-point win over Loyola Marymount.

New Hampshire UNH made a major statement by beating previously unbeaten Stony Brook on the road, not once, but twice. Wildcats are suddenly in the thick of the A-East title hunt.

Bradley Braves picked up three wins this week. At Northern Iowa and a sweep of Evansville. Braves are ready to contend in the Valley.

IUPUI Jaguars picked up a stunning sweep at Northern Kentucky over the weekend. These were the Jags first two Horizon League victories of the year.

Virginia Tech Passed the test when Duke visited Blacksburg last Tuesday. Then went on the road to beat Wake Forest yesterday.

UMass Minutemen played well enough to get past URI in Overtime. Followed that up by going to Fordham and achieving a blowout win over the Rams

Bellarmine Road sweep at Florida Gulf Coast. The first two road wins at the D1 level in school history. FGCU had a slim lead atop the ASUN standings prior to the series.

Purdue Boilers took care of business this week by beating Penn State this weekend, and of course the big road win at Indiana on Thursday.

Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners had a wonderful trip to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Hawaii is usually a difficult place to win, but CSUB was able to control both game and got a big sweep. 5-1 now in the Big West.

Auburn Sharife Cooper has bursted on to the CBB scene and led Auburn to two big wins last week at Georgia and vs. Kentucky. Cooper had 28 & 12 assists and 11 & 8 assists respectively.

Lafayette The Leopards pulled off an important home and away sweep over Loyola (MD) this weekend. It was the opening games for Loyola, who was picked 3rd in the preseason poll.

Texas Tech Red Raiders had a season-changing win at Texas, thanks to a Mac McClung step-back jumper. Amazing shot. Raiders later lost a tight one with Baylor over the weekend.

Grambling Grinded out a tough road win at perennial SWAC contender, Texas Southern. Also had a home win over Alcorn State.

Army The Knights went into defending Patriot League Tournament Champion, Boston U.'s house and dominated a 2-game series. Two double-digit wins and Army looks like a Patriot League contender today.

Furman Paladins were the first team to knock off the Citadel in a mid-week game, then they gave ETSU their first conference loss over the weekend. Furman in control of the standings for now.

Indiana State A road sweep at Illinois State gets the Sycamores up to 3-5 in the Valley. They've been showing great improvement in the past two weeks.

Manhattan It's been a struggle for the Jaspers most of the season. But they found a way to sweep Niagara over the weekend and are now .500 for the campaign.

Florida State Back on the right track after two home wins against NC State and UNC. In the NC State game, the Noles shot the lights out (41-for-58 from the field and 12-18 from deep).

Loyola-Chicago Opened the week by getting revenge on Monday over Indiana State (they lost game one in the prior week). Over the ensuing weekend, Ramblers romped Northern Iowa twice which includes a 42-point win on Sunday.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles took a step forward in their program rebuild by sweeping Middle Tennessee. Coach Ladner is starting to gain momentum in Hattiesburg.

Morehead State Eagles continue to impress. Thursday was their largest win ever at Eastern Illinois (by 26) and a road win at SEMO on Saturday. Morehead State is a sneaky 6-2 in OVC play.

UNC-Greensboro Spartans played at a high level in both double-digit victories at Samford. Kent State Golden Flashes hit the road for two wins. First a win at CMU, then a win over favored Ohio (who had Jason Preston back). KSU is now 3-2 in the league.

Pittsburgh De ja vu, Pitt beat Syracuse again this past week. This one was more impressive, a 20-point comeback win fueled by the comeback of Justin Champagnie.

Purdue Fort Wayne Mastadons impressively picked up a road sweep at Milwaukee. PFW has now won 4 in a row to get to 5-5 in their first season of Horizon League play.

LSU Tigers picked up two home wins over Arkansas and South Carolina. Cam Thomas contunues his stellar Freshman campaign/NBA tune up season.

Prairie View A&M Took down SWAC rival Texas Southern. PVAMU was raked about 70 spots lower in KenPom coming in, but rose to the occasion behind Jawaun Daniels who had 21 points/6 rebounds.

Florida Atlantic Owls bounced back in a big way this week. Sweeping rivals FIU in a home & away series. Game two featured an FAU high octane attack that led to a 44-point win.

Wofford Always tough to get back-to-back road wins in the SoCon. Terriers pulled it off by winning at VMI and Chattanooga. Both are tough outs on the road.

Gonzaga Bulldogs got two subtle tests from Pepperdine and at Saint Mary's. But big second half efforts in each game helped quell the threats.

North Texas Mean Green got a dominant sweep over UTEP. North Texas is starting to hit their groove, dangerous team defensively.

Albany Home sweep over NJIT to get back to 3-3 in the America East. The Great Danes were considerably lower in the metrics prior to the series, great weekend at Albany.

Welcome to Week Nine! 55 days until Selection Sunday

~Rocco Miller

Teams of the Week: Week 7 of College Hoops

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 7 (January 4-10, 2021)

This past week saw some amazing finishes across College Basketball. Louisiana’s Cajun Dome turning the lights red with under five seconds to go on Little Rock’s final possession on Friday is an all-timer. But we also had some amazing buzzer beaters in the Youngstown State win at Wright State, Austin Peay’s game-winner against Eastern Illinois, and Xavier’s big shot to beat Providence yesterday. The back-to-back format in several leagues continues to intrigue. Cleveland State has seemingly mastered the concept, starting 8-0 with four sweeps over Horizon League competition. Meanwhile, Western Kentucky was fortunate to start 2-2 in their first two weekends playing under this format and San Diego State has had their own mixed results. On the bigger stage, elite teams are making moves. Gonzaga continues to put on clinics, and Baylor has been a steady force at the top. We do our best to cover the rest in this week’s column.

Freshman phenom Evan Mobley had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead USC to a rare win at McHale.

Freshman phenom Evan Mobley had 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead USC to a rare win at McHale.

USC - 1985. It was 36 years ago, and Trojans Assistant Coach Chris Capko was just a one-year old. This was the last time the USC Basketball program pulled off the rare desert sweep of the Arizona schools. If there were ever a year to do it, this was it. After all, Arizona had just placed themselves on a one-year postseason ban and Arizona State was dealing with multiple personnel issues due to Covid-19. Still, this is no easy task. Arizona was on a 4-game winning streak which included a win over Colorado and a sweep of the Washington schools on the road. USC was coming into the week off a home series split with the Mountain schools. In Tucson, the Trojans found themselves trailing early on until a 10-0 run sparked them to a narrow halftime lead. In the second half, USC was able to overwhelm the Wildcats with their length defensively. Despite Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis having a career-high 31, USC held other Wildcat stars James Akinjo (0-9) Jermel Baker (1-7) to horrific shooting performances. The Trojan lead held steady between four and eight points most of the second half before finally pulling away for good, 87-73. Not only a key road win, but the first true road win of the year for USC. Isaiah White (22) and Evan Mobley (19) led the mostly balanced scoring effort. Then came part two of the desert duo, a game at Arizona State. ASU was coming in short-handed but played very competitively just days before against UCLA with the same roster condition in an overtime loss. USC did the best thing Trojan faithful could hope for, take control of the game early. Trojans rode an early 15-2 run to secure the halftime advantage, 36-32. However, the Sun Devils were in the midst of a 17-0 run to climb all the way back in it early in the second half. Impressive for a team without guards Remy Martin and Jaelen House as well as forwards Jalen Graham and Taeshon Cherry. Trojans trailed by 2 with just over 7 minutes remaining. A 15-3 run by USC put this one away late. Tahj Eddy, a transfer from Santa Clara, scored 12 of his 16 in the second half. Evan Mobley had another double-double (10/13), and his older brother Isaiah Mobley had his own double-double (13/10) en route to a 73-64 victory. The desert sweep puts the Trojans in great shape today for bracket forecasting. They now have two quality road wins to go along with a blowout win over BYU. The Trojans are now 3-1 in conference play with the Washington schools coming next week, where they will be heavily favored in each contest. Quite a week for USC, party like it’s 1985!

Purdue - In the Big 10 Conference you get more at-bats for big wins than anywhere else in America. For a team like Purdue this season, who figures to be fighting for an at-large all year long, what you do with said at-bats will ultimately determine your postseason destination. The Boilermakers entered the week with one game on the schedule after having their contest with Nebraska postponed. That game was a trip to the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. A place where Purdue hadn’t won since 2016-17. Even more daunting was the fact that Michigan State seemingly was figuring things out finally. The Spartans had destroyed a really good Rutgers team in their previous game. So coming into the Purdue matchup, this appeared to be just as tall of an order for HC Matt Painter’s team as any other season. For most of the game, Purdue was outmatched by Michigan State. The Spartans built as much as a 17-point lead in this one and appeared to be cruising to another important home win. Purdue didn't back down with its backs against the wall. In a road game against a ranked opponent, the Boilermakers instead outscored Michigan State 39-23 in the second half, with Trevion Williams' second-half explosion (he scored 24 of his 26 points after halftime) exceeding MSU's scoring output in the second half as a team. That includes his game clinching jumper in the waning seconds of the game to seal the win. Purdue is now sitting at 8-5 overall with some big wins, they also beat Ohio State this year. They key for Purdue will be to stay a couple of games above .500 and they will be selected for the tournament, and likely seeded very well despite a middling overall record. Here is how it all went down at the Breslin Center:

Mississippi State - Time for us to come clean. We had the Bulldogs pegged 13th out of 14 in the SEC for our preseason predictions article. The Bulldogs were not on the initial Bracketology Big Board either. That turned out to be a mistake, and here is why. Three-point shooting, interior defense and second chance opportunities. MSU has excelled well beyond expectations and it is translating into wins. Last week the Bulldogs hosted a hot Missouri team that had the best resume in the SEC at the time. The game provided a key opportunity for this improving Bulldog team to get on the at-large bid map. The first half of the game however was a real struggle, the Tigers were controlling the pace of play and the scoreboard. The deficit at Halftime was 39-27. Things were looking pretty bleak in that moment. Bulldogs came into the contest with four losses including a double overtime heartbreaker against Kentucky the week before. In that Kentucky loss, they blew a 15-point lead. So they were in the complete opposite position on Tuesday night against Mizzou. However, the Bulldogs erupted in the second half. Iverson Mullinar and D.J. Stewart lit it up for the Bulldogs, contributing 22 points a piece. Defensively, MSU had no answers for Jeremiah Tilmon in the first half but made impressive adjustments to contain him in the second half. Overall the Bulldogs just shot the ball extremely well and got on a roll that Mizzou couldn’t solve. Bulldogs secured a 78-63 win and arrived in the periphery of our bracket watch. Before we could celebrate the week, MSU then had to go to Nashville to face an improving Vanderbilt team. Mississippi State got a real test in this one, but thanks to 61% shooting, the Bulldogs had just enough fire power to outlast the Commodores, 84-81. Head Coach Ben Howland went with a shorter bench, and defensively the Bulldogs allowed 15 triples to Vandy. It will be interesting to see how he manages that dilemma going forward, but we do know that this offense is potent and the Bulldogs are much better than the 13th best SEC team.

Northeastern - Bill Coen’s Northeastern program has been a staple in the CAA for well over a decade now. Coming into this year this Huskies was left with a young roster and had to deal with several offseason Covid issues. It nearly left them without a non-conference schedule, as was announced in mid-November by the school. As December rolled around, the Huskies were allowed to resume practice and were anxious to schedule games. They picked up a home & away with UMass, and marquee road games at Syracuse and West Virginia. In total, the Huskies packed five games into a 12-day span against real tough competition. Despite sitting at 1-5 heading into conference play, this team was growing together and Coach Coen was learning more about his team. In the long run, it may have been the best thing to happen for the program to succeed this year. An opening weekend sweep of Elon, set the tone for a showdown series with rival Hofstra. The two-game series was split between Hempstead on Friday and Boston on Saturday. The CAA does this with the travel partner teams when they face each other in the two-game format for this season only. By halftime of the game at Hofstra, it appeared that Northeastern wasn’t ready for this level of fight yet. After all, Hofstra led comfortably 46-29 and were executing their gameplan beautifully. But this Huskies’ squad was tough as nails in the second half and rallied all the way back to get the game into overtime. Outstanding adjustments by Coach Coen and staff really opened up better looks and put the clamps on the Pride defensively. In OT, Shaquille Walters hit a dagger three late to put Northeastern up by 5 help seal the 81-78 win. Back in Boston, Northeastern was ready for game two of the series. The Huskies came out firing often from distance. 37 three-point attempts resulted in 15 makes. More impotantly, the defensive adjustments from game one carried over to game two. Northeastern force 17 turnovers and held Hofstra to just five triples. It was enough to pull away for an 11-point win. Now sitting at 4-0 in CAA with a commanding first place lead, the Huskies are well-positioned to make a run at an unexpected CAA regular season title. Even more encouraging is the Huskies are getting better with each game they play.

Pittsburgh - This Panthers season has already been a rollercoaster. Several pundits wrote this team off early when they lost at home to a local NEC program, Saint Francis. That game resembled a lot of the struggles Pitt Basketball has endured over the past few seasons under both Kevin Stallings and current HC Jeff Capel. Since that rough opener, these Panthers have done all they can to try and right the ship. They ripped off five straight wins including road wins at Northwestern and Miami. The Northwestern win began as an after thought, but gained legs as the Wildcats started having significant Big 10 success. A 10-point loss at Louisville snapped the Pitt win-streak though and left the Panthers as somewhat of an after thought still in the ACC. That led to Wednesday’s game at Syracuse. They were facing the Orange only because Florida State went on activity pause due to Covid-19 related issues and the schedules were adjusted by the conference. Pitt had their own challenges with Covid, they were forced to practice in three groups. Making it increasingly difficult to prepare. Needless to say, the first half wasn’t pretty. Pitt trailed by 14 at the Half and only had 18 total points in the game. It looked like a “get your legs back” type of game. Especially considering only nine scholarship players available. John Hugley, Nike Sibande and Noah Collier were all left home under covid-19 restrictions and Justin Champagnie, the team’s top player and the ACC’s leading rebounder, was out with a knee injury. With seven minutes left, Pitt found themselves down by 12 still. A massive turnaround came next. Pitt managed to rally all the way back and beat the Orange, 63-60. Xavier Johnson said after the game, that Syracuse slipped up and the Panthers wanted it more. They certainly proved that on the glass, outrebounding Syracuse 49-33. The win vaults Pitt into the NCAA at-large conversation. They now have some significant road win pedigree on the resume. Also, the chemistry has to be pretty strong after an experience like this was. Interestingly enough, we will get a rematch this coming Saturday in Pittsburgh. Another key test for the Panthers.

Pitt’s bench rises to their feet as they smell upset inside of Syracuse’s Carrier Dome.

Pitt’s bench rises to their feet as they smell upset inside of Syracuse’s Carrier Dome.

Strongly Considered for Top Honors

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Honorable Mention

Kentucky - ‘Cats had their best week of the season by far. Escaped over Vandy by 3, then went down to Gainesville and took down the Gators in a blow out (76-58).

Radford - Highlanders played four games this week and won them all! Two sweeps over Hampton and Charleston Southern to improve to 7-1 in Big South action.

Purdue Fort Wayne - UIC came into Fort Wayne with a 2-0 Horizon League record and a good amount of momentum. The Mastadons gave the Flames a rude awakening by sweeping them in an OT win and a blowout win.

Indiana State - In lone game of the week, Sycamores rallied to upset Loyola-Chicago 76-71. Tyreke Key was magnificient, 31 pts and 10 rebs.

The Citadel - Hayden Brown missed most of last season with a leg injury, but has come back stronger than ever. A brilliant 37-point game stunned Chattanooga and gave the Bulldogs a big win in their SoCon opener.

Alabama - Tide kept on rollin this week by winning the Iron Bowl of Hoops in Auburn, 94-90 and an impressive 15-point victory over Florida on Tuesday.

Montana State - A road sweep for the Bobcats this weekend over Northern Colorado. Montana St. played fantastic in a 12-point opening win, and grinded out a tough OT win to complete the sweep.

Stanford - Cardinal got three wins this week. At Oregon State and a sweep of the Washington schools. They did it all without Senior leader Daejon Davis.

Toledo - Rockets continued to get it done this week. Toledo beat Kent State on the road in a tight battle and cruised past Ohio at home.

LSU - Tigers notched their first road win of the year in convincing fashion. Downing Ole Miss, 75-61. LSU also escaped a scare from Georgia in OT on Wednesday.

Long Island - Important sweep for the Sharks this past week over St. Francis (PA). Eral Penn and Ty Flowers paced LIU, and the Sharks moved to 3-1 in NEC play.

USC Upstate - For these Spartans things looked bleak during their 0-9 start to the season. But a great sweep over Longwood and an overall 3-game win streak have got them back to .500 in league play.

Tennessee - Vols took care of business this week by beating a tough Arkansas team, then getting a road victory at Texas A&M on Saturday.

St. Francis (NY) - Terriers played at a high level in the sweep of Mount St. Mary's this week. SFNY got it done on the defensive end, limiting the Mountaineers to 55 points in each game.

Missouri State - This feels like a weekly tradition for the Bears. A road sweep in the Valley is incredibly valuable and Missouri State did exactly that in Valparaiso this weekend.

Cleveland State - Vikings continued to roll by sweeping Northern Kentucky. An incredible 8-0 record now in Horizon League action, Cleveland State will be on the next Bracketology Big Board.

Tulsa - Golden Hurricane remain hot. A 61-51 road win at South Florida gets Tulsa up to 4-1 in the AAC. Three of the four wins on road wins too.

Sam Houston State - Bearkats have been putting it all together lately and getting it done on the road. Now with four straight road wins after beating SE Louisiana and Central Arkansas this week.

Loyola Marymount - After a 22-day layoff due to Holidays and Covid-related issues, the Lions showed up for a key WCC win over San Francisco on Sunday evening.

South Dakota - Coyotes grinded out two tough wins at Kansas City. South Dakota is now 4-0 in Summit League play after the key road sweep.

Iowa - Hawkeyes avenged their only B1G loss on Sunday, by beating Minnesota handily. Iowa also added a good road win at Maryland by 22 on Thursday.

Lipscomb - Bison had to play twice at D1 newcomer and darkhorse program, Bellarmine. Lipscomb managed to escape with two narrow victories. At 3-1, Bison still in the hunt for the ASUN title.

North Carolina - Heels got a much needed road win at Miami. Leaky Black led the way with 16 points and 9 boards.

Utah Valley - Mark "Mad Dog" Madsen's bunch came ready to host Cal Baptist. The Wolverines played great in a sweep over the Lancers, winning by 27 in the first game and held on for a 4-point win on Saturday.

Michigan - Wolverines passed another test this week with flying colors by beating Minnesota 82-57. Michigan is now 10-0 and threatening to be a top-seed in Bracket projections.

Charleston - Cougars came into the week 3-6 and behind Drexel in most metrics. But Charleston put it together nicely this weekend to sweep the Dragons and improve to 3-1 in the CAA.

Fordham - Rams get a special shout-out this week for an improbable win over Dayton on Tuesday. Fordham carried out a strong week by taking Davidson down to the wire as well, losing by just 3.

Austin Peay - Star player, Terry Taylor, hit an NBA-ranged bank shot to stun Eastern Illinois, 74-71, in their building. Key road win for the Gov's in dramatic fashion.

Louisville - Cardinals had another test at home, this time with Virginia Tech. Cards were able to pull off a 73-71 victory in a see-saw battle. Another good one for the UL resume.

Colgate - In two rematched of last year's Patriot League Title Game, the Raiders went into Boston University and got a dominant sweep. Colgate won game two by 44 points.

UMBC - Retrievers got another America East sweep at New Hampshire. Quality campaign in the works right now for Ryan Odom's team.

Morehead State - Two more home wins for the Eagles, most impressively beating a hot Jacksonville State team. Also took care of Tennessee Tech.

Check tomorrow for a new Bracketology Big Board and Games of the Week.

~Rocco Miller

Texas Leads Teams of the Week Awards: Week 6

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 6 (December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021)

A very Happy New Year to all! Welcome to the first column of 2021. I hope everyone had the opportunity to celebrate the new year and view some of the best College Basketball action of the season thus far. We have a lot to cover today and some very deserving teams of the week. The choices were not easy.

Before we begin, a few important updates on Bracket projections. Today, the NET rankings have been released. This is significant for being able to assist in sorting teams more accurately for bracketology work. I plan to share the first Big Board of 2021 tomorrow, stay tuned for that. The first complete bracket exercise will come late next week or in two weeks. The reason for patience is two-fold.

  • NCAA Tournament information should be released soon. Including locations, policies, procedures

  • Several teams have limited data. For example, Siena just played their opener yesterday. I’d prefer to give as many of the teams time to play as I can. Otherwise, we are juggling more preseason expectations weight than actual achieved success. Not preferred.

Now, let’s review last week.

Jericho Sims with the emphatic slam. Texas routed Kansas in Lawrence.

Jericho Sims with the emphatic slam. Texas routed Kansas in Lawrence.

Texas - It had been 13 days since anyone had heard from Texas. Shaka Smart’s group had the majority of the Holidays off following a 77-74 win over Oklahoma State back on December 20th. The winners of the Maui Invitational still had some folks wondering how good they will be, or as many have asked, is Texas back? A trip to Lawrence, Kansas and Phog Allen Fieldhouse to open up 2021 was a great way for the Horns and the rest of America to gauge where this team stands in the hunt for a Big 12 title. The Baylor Bears have had an unbelievable past year and a half, and continue to be the front-runners. Then you have perennial power Kansas next in the pecking order. Texas had to feel a bit slighted coming into this game, despite what they achieved in Asheville (home of this year’s Maui Invitational). Now that we’ve established the expectations and build up let’s review what happened. Texas jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the opening stanza. That cushion was sustained throughout the first half, thanks to Kai Jones - who scored all 12 of his points in the first half of play. The Horns carried a 37-29 lead into the break. Dominance ensued in the second half, unlike we have seen before in this building in the Bill Self era. Texas shot 57% in the half, was perfect 7-7 from the line, and went 6-13 (62%) from deep to run away with an 84-59 win. The sheer breaking of the Jayhawks will was astonishing to see. Yes, it is still just a single win. However, this should do wonders for Shaka Smart’s club and for his job security. This firmly established Texas as a National and Big 12 Title contender. There are very little weaknesses on this veteran team, and a ton of talent to work with. This was only the second win ever for Texas at Kansas (2-18 all-time record) and Kansas worst loss at home under Bill Self.

Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane were a major thorn to American Conference contenders in 2019-20 season. Along the way, Frank Haith’s team established themselves as a contender. It all started with an early January home win over Houston, that led to a great AAC run and co-championship at 13-5 in the conference. This season, Tulsa started with a rough 1-3 mark. The team had a mix of newcomers that needed time to gel with regulars Brandon Rachal, Elijah Joiner, and co. Following that start, Tulsa had picked up three consecutive wins including a win over struggling Memphis. Up next was Houston, sound familiar? As amazing as Houston was a year ago, this Houston team appears to be even tougher and several pundits (myself included) have them pegged as a Top 10 team. Needless to say, this appeared to be a matchup a little too difficult for Tulsa. Tulsa also hadn’t beat a Top 5 team since 1996, before any of the current Tulsa players were born. The game itself started rough for the Golden Hurricane, who quickly trailed 15-4 out of the gate. Then a furious 11-0 run got them even at 15. The two teams stayed tight until the half, exchanging leads on four different occassions. In the second half, the Golden Hurricane continued to match baskets with a superior Houston team and did an excellent job overall defensively throughout the second half. With less than a minute to play, Houston’s Marcus Sasser tied the game at 62. On the ensuing possession, Rey Idowu for Tulsa drew a foul and made one of two attempts to get the lead back. UH’s Caleb Mills answered and put Houston ahead by one. In Tulsa’s final possession, Rachal was able to get to the Free Throw line for two high-pressure free throws with one second left. He sunk them both, giving him 20 points on the night and more importantly Tulsa the 65-64 lead that would hold for the major upset victory. HC Frank Haith praised his team, “I thought our guys played with great toughness. Down the stretch we executed. I’m just proud of how we competed.” The effects of the win stayed with Tulsa on Saturday as they played at Cincinnati. Rachal again was a hero, scoring 25 points on 8-11 shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds as Tulsa took down Cincy 70-66. Suddenly, Tulsa is 3-1 in the AAC. Here we go again.

Alabama - We had high hopes for Alabama Basketball this season in our preseason forecast. A projected 5-seed was based on a highly talented roster made of a mixture of parts and the heavy faith in Nate Oats ability to coach great offensive structure. While covering Oats at Buffalo, it was glaring just how well they moved the ball and spread the floor to create open shots. Also, just an overall selfless approach to overall team success permiated across those Buffalo teams. Clearly that will take time to build at Alabama. This season essentially kicked off with a 5th place finish in the Maui Invitational. It was only disappointing because the opening game was a lackluster 18-point loss to Stanford. However a 5th place win over Providence is now aging better. Then two more slip ups happened since then, vs. Clemson in Atlanta and a home loss to Western Kentucky. The loss to Clemson was perhaps more of a setback because this vaunted potential of an Oats-led offense just never showed up that day. Coming into this week the Tide held a 5-3 record with Ole Miss coming in and a brutal road game at Tennessee to open up SEC play. The opener went very well for Bama. Outstanding contributions from the bench (Jahvon Quinerly - 24, John Petty - 13, and Alex Reese -10) led the Tide to a 82-64 drubbing of Ole Miss. The Tide also held Ole Miss to just one 3-pointer all night (1-13). That win had to springboard the confidence level heading into Knoxville. Still, Tennessee had just blown out Mizzou on the road and the game was somewhat overlooked nationally. Once again, three-point defense was Alabama’s friend on Saturday. They stifled Tennessee into 4-21 (19%) shooting from deep and on offense shot the ball beautifully, 10-20 from distance. John Petty is completely back to himself and reentered the starting lineup in this one, adding 19 points and 7 rebounds. Bama’s defensive strategy caused Tennessee stars like Yves Pons and John Fulkerson to have their worst outings of the young season. Final score, Bama 71, Tennessee 63. This makes a significant difference for now on the Alabama tournament resume and gets the Tide on the right side of the bubble.

Check out highlights from John Petty Jr. and the Alabama Crimson Tide as they upset the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers on the road in SEC action during the 2020-...

Evansville - Time for our miracle story of the week. The Evansville Aces came into Week 6 a 2-5 basketball club with losses to UT Martin and Prairie View A&M. The Aces overall are trying to recover from a mostly disastrous 2019-20 campaign which saw Walter McCarty get suspended and eventually dismissed and a complete dismantling (0-18 in the Valley) of what could’ve been a solid team after beating Kentucky in November of 2019. Veteran Head Coach Todd Lickliter is now doing his best to turn things around. The year started with more bad news when their most talented player, Sam Cunliffe, opted out for the season. The one thing Evansville has managed to do really well this season is effectively hit the three-point shot. They currently rank 37th in the nation in 3FG%, but more impressively they a third in the nation in three-point efficiency. The breakthroughs started showing up for real last Monday. In Game 2 against Southern Illinois on the road, the Aces stunned SIU 84-72. Nebraska transfer Samari Curtis put on a show, scoring 29 points on 6-for-8 three point shooing. The Aces shot 17-for-29 from deep in the game, that is 59%. They also controlled the glass 30-21. UNC Asheville transfer Jax Levich had 10 rebounds, another added piece this season. The SIU upset win led us to a weekend series against preseason league favorite, Northern Iowa. UNI has had their struggles since losing star AJ Green, but they still have talent and were widely expected to handle Evansville. Big mistake. The Aces won game one of the series by amazingly holding UNI to 0-for-11 three point shooting, en route to a 65-61 surprise victory. Evan Kuhlman has paid his dues in Aces’ Purple and Orange, had 21 to lead the offense. In Game two, the Aces managed to bring a bit more offense - connecting on 12 triples as a team and getting a great contribution from Canadian-born vet Shamar Givance. Coach Lickliter is really trusting his rotations, he only used seven players in yet another surprising Aces win, 70-64. Suddenly, Evansville is 5-5 and 3-1 in the MVC. Nobody can overlook them now, this quite a story in the Valley.

Colorado State - Niko Medved has hit year three in his stint as CSU head coach. Medved came into Fort Collins back in 2018-19 with fairly high expectations. After all, he had rebuilt Drake in just one year and really turned around Furman in the four season preceeding that. At CSU, it has been tough to rack the top four of the league. They tied for 5th last season at 11-7. This season they returned Sophomore sensations Isaiah Stevens and David Roddy. On a roster with no seniors, these two were entrusted with helping lead the Rams to the top tier of the Mountain West. The non-conference schedule was a rocky road. Program pauses and cancellations meant they didn’t start their season until December 12th. Coach Medved lined up what games he could. The Rams had a stinker at Saint Mary’s where the infamously only scored 33 points in a 20-point loss. CSU kept working, and scored a road win at Santa Clara and then returned home to sweep Fresno State to open up conference play. That gave the Rams a 6-1 record heading into a very daunting San Diego State road series. Game one took place on Saturday. It would be nearly impossible to match what we witnessed. San Diego State came out hot and playing great defense, and built a 33-7 lead. It looked very much over early. However, the Rams woke up and went on a 19-0 run to cut the lead to single digits. Early in the second half, the Aztecs extended their lead back up to 15 and were very much in control. That’s when another spurt from the Rams came, a 14-0 run cutting the lead to one. Despite no fans being at Viejas Arena, you could hear the electricity on the Colorado State bench. But as the game wore on, the Aztecs reestablished control and built a 67-59 lead with 1:53 remaining. For the third time of the day, the Rams geared up to make a charge. Going on a 11-0 run, highlighted by a game wining four-point play by John Tonje, dramatically propelled Colorado State to the biggest comeback win in Mountain West history, 70-67. Importantly, this win puts CSU back in the conversation for an At-Large for the time being as well. One of the games of the year in 2020-21. Congratulations to Coach Medved and staff on this breakthrough achievement, their first win at San Diego State.


Teams Strongly Considered

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Honorable Mention
Seton Hall - SHU went into the Cintas Center and absolutely dominated Xavier, 85-68. The Pirates followed that up by beating Butler over the weekend. Excellent week.

Michigan - Wolverines remained unbeaten with impressive wins at Maryland by 11 and over Northwestern by 19.

Morehead State - Eagles snapped a 13-game losing streak at Murray State and ended Murray State's 25-game home win streak in a 61-56 upset win on Saturday.

Wichita State - Shockers went down to Ole Miss and came away with their 3rd road win of the year, 83-79. Tyson Etienne was brilliant, scoring 29 which included five treys.

Oklahoma - Sooners were able to capitalize on a West Virginia team who just lost their star, Oscar Tschibwe (left team). The 75-71 win was significant for the OU resume.

Bowling Green - Trey Diggs led the Falcons into Athens, Ohio for a key road win over Ohio, 83-75. Diggs had 20 points and 7 boards. Bowling Green capped off the week with a dominant win at NIU.

Clemson - Tigers continued progressing during a real impressive season by taking down Florida State by 10 and winning at Miami.

Wofford - SoCon opening week was a great one for the Terriers. Went into Mercer and played very well, winning by 13. Followed that by beating Samford over the weekend.

Belmont - Victories over Murray State and UT Martin have the Bruins sitting pretty at 4-0 in OVC play. Nick Musczynski is having another stellar year.

UCLA - Bruins overcame the devastating news that All-Pac 12 performer Chris Smith has a torn ACL and is out for the season. UCLA swept Utah and Colorado to move to 3-0 in conference.

Canisius - Impressive two wins over Saint Peter's. Golden Griffins got balanced efforts to grind out wins, Ahamadou Fofana stepped up in Game 2 with 17 Pts, 4 Assists.

Georgia Tech - Yellow Jackets took down North Carolina on Wednesday and followed that up with a blowout victory over Wake Forest. GTech has now won 4 straight.

Cal St. Northridge - Matadors picked up a game against WAC powerhouse, NMSU, on Monday. CSUN was able to capitalize on NMSU's rust to pull off a big 66-63 upset win.

Rice - The Owls managed to pull off a difficult sweep over UTSA in their CUSA openers. Rice now sits at 8-2 overall.

Creighton - Blue Jays extended their win streak to four, by beating Xavier and emphatically taking down Providence at the final second. Christian Bishop's dunk with 0.7 secs left helped the Jays avoid OT.

Eastern Kentucky - Took down Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, 69-61 and followed that by winning at Austin Peay on Saturday. Freshman Wendell Green exploded for 30 points in the win at APSU.

Drake - Bulldogs continue to be the main story in the Valley. Now 12-0 after winning on Monday at Indiana State, and Sunday vs. SIU.

Oral Roberts - 1-2 punch of Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas powered the Golden Eagles to a sweep of Omaha. Obanor had 39/10 in Game 1, 27/12 in Game 2. Abmas 25 points in Game 1, 37 in Game 2.

Little Rock - Trojans took control of the very early Sun Belt title race by sweeping UT Arlington. Ben Coupet was outstanding, scored 27 in Game 1 and 26 in Game 2.

Sam Houston State - Road win at Nicholls State to open up Southland Conference play 1-0. Demarkus Lampley drained 7 threes and finished with 27 Pts./8 Rebs. to lead the Bearkats.

Northern Colorado - Upset road win at Montana to move to 2-1 in Big Sky play on Saturday. Amazingly this is the Bears third straight win in Missoula. Another chance on Monday to win again.

Rhode Island - Rams became the first team to knock off St. Bonaventure, in a 63-57 victory on Wednesday. URI followed that up by beating St. Joe's over the weekend in OT.

Louisiana Monroe - JUCO sensation, now at ULM - Russell Harrison led the Warhawks to a sweep over Arkansas State. Many picked this team to get last place, so a 2-0 start is fantastic for ULM.

Northeastern - Beat a well-coached Elon team twice to open up CAA play 2-0. Huskies played a difficult non-conference schedule, but that should only help prep them for CAA play

Wyoming - In the midst of a big turnaround season. Wyoming won at Fresno State on Saturday to open conference play 1-0. Pokes are 7-1 on the year.

Morgan State - Maybe we shouldn't be so surprised. For the third time the Bears from the MEAC won in a road upset, this time at JMU. Morgan State also won at Iona and Delaware earlier this season.

Oregon - Played well in home sweep of Bay Area schools. The 17-point win over Stanford helps the resume and keeps the Ducks at the top of the Pac-12 alongside UCLA.

Cleveland State - Road sweep at IUPUI to move to an astonishing 6-0 in Horizon League play.

Furman - Paladins held tough to beat Chattanooga on the road in the SoCon opener, 77-73. Furman also beat Mercer in the home SoCon opener over the weekend.

Navy - Kicked off Patriot League play by sweeping Bucknell in Home-Away two game series. Midshipmen at 2-0 are in 1st Place in the league now.

Tulane - Picked up revenge win over East Carolina, 60-56. Jaylen Forbes paced the Green Wave with 20 points and 5 steals.

Siena - After 42-day layoff, the Saints finally opened their season on Sunday. A one-point win over fellow MAAC contender, Monmouth - has Siena out in first for now.

UC Irvine - Finished off the sweep of UCSB on Monday, 73-69. Anteaters were led by Jr., Collin Welp's 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Central Michigan - Chippewas appear to be recovering from a poor 0-3 start. Last Tuesday's 87-60 blowout at EMU is a great sign.

Check back for more posts this week on Bracketology. Enjoy Week 7!
~Rocco










Teams of the Week Awards in College Basketball: Week 5

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 5 (December 21-27, 2020)

The Holiday season came at us in full force last week. However that did not stop the Big Ten, the Horizon League, or Missouri Valley from pushing ahead with pivotal league play. In fact, the majority of College Basketball programs managed to get at least a game in last week, and that produced some worthy recpients of this week’s Teams of the Week Awards. In an interesting twist this year, the Big Ten decided to schedule a quadruple header on Christmas Day. It ended up providing four good games, capped off by an OT win by Minnesota over Iowa. More on that soon. Other programs decided to send their players home for the Holidays and take some time off. Just one of the several dilemmas programs face this year as they try to balance the pandemic challenges with attempting to perform at an NCAA Tournament caliber level. Not easy.

This past week brought to us more great stories as the 2020-21 campaign continues to unfold. We highlighted five programs again this week that had memorable weeks. Lets get to the Award winners.

Northwestern celebrates during a 74-67 victory inside Assembly Hall.

Northwestern celebrates during a 74-67 victory inside Assembly Hall.

Northwestern - When Missouri won back-to-back TOTW Awards, we did our best to explain how rare that was. Perhaps it was a lie. Because we now have Northwestern shattering all previous historical norms for our weekly awards. The Wildcats left us no choice. There was no way to give top honors to anyone but Northwestern, after what we witnessed last week - a road upset win at Indiana, followed by a dramatic home win over Ohio State. Just unthinkable. How is this happening? Let us dive in. Northwestern plays really scrappy, and balanced basketball in a league full of superior talent. The ‘cats are attacking the rim, spacing well, moving the ball, playing aggressive while balanced, and have multiple players willing to take big shots late in games. All of this may make the Wildcats different enough to give them an edge. Regardless of what happens in the future, these team attributes and characteristics certainly showed in both wins last week. In the win at Indiana, Chase Audige made big shot after big shot in a variety of ways (pull ups, clear outs, knife cuts into the lane). We already knew Boo Buie could hit big shots based on the Michigan State-game masterpiece he had. The win over the Hoosiers gave Northwestern a very surprising 2-0 record with a shot at 3-0 when Ohio State visited Welsh-Ryan Arena over the weekend. The game flow was a bit different from the Indiana game, Northwestern was trailing or near tied most of the way. Junior Miller Kopp, the ‘cats leading scorer, had the hot hand and kept them close. He finished with 23 points. But it was Boo Buie who broke a 68-68 tie with about one minute left with stand-still type of three pointer that caught the Buckeyes defense off guard. It was enough for Northwestern to hang on for a 71-70 triumph and the unimaginable 3-0 Big Ten record. Incredible story evolving in Evanston.

Hofstra - Coming into a road game at Richmond, many of us were looking to determine if defending CAA Tournament champions, Hofstra, was really the team to beat still in the CAA or not? After all, we had seen the Pride take three early losses including a tough home loss against Iona. On the other side, was a Richmond team who has had several national headlines in the early season after beating Kentucky and other tournament caliber contenders like Loyola-Chicago. HC Joe Mihalich likes to let his spread the court style allow his shooters to take quality shots, hopefully open looks. Mihalich teams also tend to crash the glass and speed up opposing guards. It allows the Pride the opportunity to go on runs and lead to quick momentum shifts. It led Hofstra to get out of the gate with an 11-0 run against Richmond and an early 18-8 lead. The rest of the first half was mostly back and forth, and the Pride went into the Half with a 36-33 edge. Then it was the Spiders turn to go on a big run, a 14-0 burst to get out in front of Hofstra 55-46. At that moment, it looked like Richmond was out of trouble. Yet, Hofstra had much different plans and quickly recovered with an 11-1 run of their own to regain the advantage. Led by Jalen Ray and Isaac Kante put the Pride on their backs. Kante was a force inside and Ray was deadly from the perimeter. All told, Hofstra shot 70% from three-point range and 70% from the field in the second half and snatched the victory away from Richmond, 76-71. Ray finished with 23, while Kante had a double-double (16/10). It was a spectacular second half performance that really caught Richmond by surprise. This sends a message to the CAA, that Hofstra is still the team to beat and they’re hitting their stride right on the brink of conference play.

MBB: Hofstra vs. Richmond Highlights (12/22/20)

Wisconsin - The jury on this Badgers team has been out since the day they were ranked as high as 4th in the preseason. The jury was out in full force after a tough loss at the buzzer at Marquette. Despite a blowout win over a short-handed Louisville squad, the jury was back for more after somewhat sluggish performance in the win over Nebraska early last week. This all set the stage for Christmas Day in East Lansing. The Badgers were tasked with giving up their Christmas Holiday, and playing in one of the toughest places to win in the nation against a hungry Michigan State team coming off a loss to Northwestern. For Badgers Sr. G D’Mitrik Trice it was a special day. He managed to get his family six tickets, including his brother Travis, who played at Michigan State between 2011-2015. Trice knew he was lucky as only a selected few people were able to attend. He clearly felt the Christmas love that afternoon, as he had a complete performance by scoring a season-high 29 points. Three other Badgers, Aleem Ford, Micah Potter, and Brad Davison also scored in double-figures, as the Badgers went on to score the most points in school history (85) over a ranked opponent in 85-76 victory over MSU. Credit the Badgers for really taking over the second half and showing they are currently a stronger team. This is the kind of win that could mean a lot come time for NCAA Tournament seeding. The win also cements Wisconsin as a top tier team for now. The ridiculous Big Ten makes placing the Badgers a moving target all season long, but they sit in great position to contend for the league championship.

Bryant - The Bulldogs might by the first NEC team to recieve a TOTW Award, and I hope they aren’t the last. Bryant is as entertaining of a team as you will find in College Basketball. They currently ranked 2nd in quickest tempo, 6th in shortest time of possession avg., and 9th in 3-point FG% per the Ken Pomeroy database. These Bulldogs get up and down the court at a rapid pace. They are giving teams fits. A 3-1 NEC start and a close call at Syracuse (1-point loss), has put most of the East Coast on notice now. This all set the stage for a non-conference tussle with UMass. UMass had some A-10 hype coming into the season, and they have a superstar in Tre Mitchell. So this game was circled for us here at Bracketeer.org. By halftime, it was a 48-40 lead for Bryant and extremely fun viewing. You can tell by the score alone, that Bryant was winning the tempo war. And they had several run out fast breaks, which is precisely what HC Jared Grasso wants. Speaking of Grasso, he is as unconventional as you will find in our sport. Not only does he teach and coach this fast break attacking tempo, but he is incredibly aggressive in recruiting transfer players and high school players. It’s a big shakeup for the NEC which has a bit of an old school blue-collar reputation. To call Grasso edgey, would be an understatement. To begin the second half, the Bulldogs opened up a 17-point lead after Michael Green III hit back-to-back threes. UMass would slowly pull closer, led by Carl Pierre’s 23 points. The Minutemen were able to climb all the way back into an 84-84 tie. That is when Green III sliced to the hoop and converted, then intercepted a UMass pass to help secure victory. Bryant left Amherst with a 93-88 win. Green III shattered his previous career high of 24, by putting up 33. Keep your eye on Bryant the rest of the way.

Southern Illinois - Prior to last week, several College Basketball pundits were overlooking SIU’s 5-0 record. After all the Saluki’s had only left Carbondale once, and that was an unsexy opening win at SE Missouri State in overtime. For SIU, this issue was nothing that a little TV boost and road game at a Big East foe couldn’t solve. The Salukis were faced with a road game in Hinkle Fieldhouse against a Butler program holding the nation’s longest non-conference home court winning streak. SIU and second year HC Bryan Mullins has a trio of contributing sophomores. Led by the reigning MVC Frosh of the Year,Marcus Domansk, as well as guards Lance Jones and Trent Brown. The Salukis are also getting outstanding production from Frosh Dalton Banks, a 2-time All-state HS player from Wisconsin. So on paper this SIU team clearly has talent, but perhaps a little premature to think big for this season? Time will tell. At Hinkle, the Salukis let the bright lights hit them early on and stumbled to a 16-9 deficit. That is when some outstanding Saluki defense kicked into high gear, completely breaking down Butler. Butler went on an eight-minute scoring drought, resulting in a 26-2 SIU run. The Salukis would take a commanding 37-24 lead into the break. The second half saw SIU lead by as many as 18, but Butler made a furious rally that almost forced overtime. Brown had the play of the game with 2:40 remaining, converting a rare 4-point play to extend the lead back up to 8. After some late missed free throws by SIU, Butler managed to get the Saluki lead down to 3 and got one final shot after a late turnover. Butler’s 3-point attempt missed, and SIU survived. A valuable game for several reasons, definitely some learning lessons all while getting a program changing win at a Big East venue. Later in the week, SIU opened up MVC play with a 63-57 win over Evansville. Heck of a week for this Saluki Basketball program.

Who was close to receiving top honors?

StronglyConsidered122820.jpg

Honorable Mention:

Norfolk State - Came back from 17-points down to stun George Mason. Spartans are 4-3 now with local bragging right wins over GMU and JMU.

Louisville - Cardinals took care of Pitt on the road and won the Bluegrass State showdown over a hungry Kentucky team. UL close to full strength now, and an ACC contender.

Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane defense was too much for Memphis in a 56-49 rock fight. For Tulsa, it was their first win at Memphis since 2014-15.

Colorado State - Rams became the first team to knock off Santa Clara this season, and did so on the road in a mild upset, 70-57.

Austin Peay - The Gov's exacted revenge on conference rivals Murray State. APSU lost to Murray by 30 earlier in December, came back to Clarksville and got a 74-70 victory.

UC Irvine - Anteaters took down perhaps the Big West favorites, UC Santa Barbara, in the conference opener - 75-56. UCI with an ealry statement.

Illinois - Illini got on track last week by winning by 17 at Penn State and taking care of Indiana at home.

Hampton - Road sweep at Charleston Southern, gets the Pirates to 2-0 in Big South play. Sweeps are tough to find in the 2-game format leagues, especially for road teams.

Gonzaga - Passed another test with ease by beating UVA in Fort Worth, TX. Corey Kispert put on a show with 9 treys and scored 32 in a 98-75 rout.

UNC Wilmington - Seahawks won twice last week and are playing much better. A 19-point win at Campbell and a 24-point cakewalk show that. Having Joe Pridgen eligible is paying big dividends early for UNCW.

Texas Tech - Red Raiders picked up a quality road win at Oklahoma. Terrance Shannon had 21 points before fouling out to lead Tech.

Morgan State - Bears got an impressive 65-59 road win at Delaware last week. Morgan State has also won at Iona this year, and look to be a MEAC contender.

San Diego State - Bounced back from the BYU loss in a major way by blowing out Saint Mary's, 74-49, in a neutral site game.

Wichita State - Shockers went into Tampa and got a key road win in OT against South Florida. Shockers are quietly 2-0 in AAC play after a rocky offseason.

Sam Houston State - Bearkats picked up a road win at UTRGV. SHSU is starting to hit their stride afer a rough start to the year.

Houston - Cougars passed a road test against a hot UCF team, 63-54 and beat Temple earlier in the week.

Portland - Pilots beat Montana State last week, giving the program an amazing 6-2 record. Another game that UP was not expected to win, but they gutted it out.

Oakland - Grizzlies had a brutal schedule and started 0-9. Last week they knocked off rivals Detroit Mercy twice on the road, to pull to 2-2 in conference.

Idaho State - Split series at Northern Colorado. Bengals played well in both games, winning the second game by 15 points was eye opening.

Sacred Heart - Double OT win at Wagner came the day after getting beat by 28. Pioneers showed a lot of poise in the second game.

Enjoy Week 6 everyone!
~Rocco MIller





Teams of the Week in College Basketball: Week 4 Awards

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 4 (December 14-20, 2020)

Another week has been recorded in the 2020-21 College Basketball journal. Week 4 gave us plenty of surprises, realizations about programs, and emerging stars. Some quick observations include the back-to-back game format adopted by several conferences has been going on now in certain leagues for the past few weeks. The losing team in game one, has almost always come back hungrier in game two. We are seeing splits more often than not, and I think that will keep several conference races tight. The teams who do earn sweeps (like Milwaukee and others this past week) will likely get recognition from us here each week, quite frankly it is hard to win back-to-backs. Another observation is, this season continues to be like no other with teams coming and going on pause. The committee has an impossible task on how to weigh all of those factors, plus the diminshing meaning of home-court advantage this season is a unique challenge as well.

Without further ado - lets get to the Team Awards:

UCF’s Brandon Mahan was locked in against Florida State.

UCF’s Brandon Mahan was locked in against Florida State.

UCF - HC Johnny Dawkins and the UCF staff did something unique when the scheduling turmoil hit full climax. They deciding on playing just four non-conference games, but against big-time competition. Those four were Auburn, Michigan, Florida State, and Oklahoma. The Oklahoma game was ultimately canceled. That left the Knights hosting Auburn during the early part of the year and beating an Auburn team suffering from some early season unrest. A trip to Ann Arbor, where UCF was beaten pretty badly by Michigan, 80-58. 13 days later, the Knights were finally tasked with a game at Florida State. Nationally, many had overlooked the Knights in this game. After all, we didn’t know enough about UCF, but we did know that Florida State had wins over Indiana and Florida, plus has an ACC title to defend this season. So the expectations were non-existent for UCF coming into gameday. Then the game started, we witnessed a first half full of crazy runs. First, FSU went on a 13-0 run to go up 21-13. Then, UCF had their own 13-0 run to claim a 32-29 lead. Not to be outdone by FSU’s 13-2 run that led to a 5-point Seminole halftime lead and stretched into part of the second half. Coach Dawkins may have said some wise words at Halftime because the Knights really came ready once the second half had some rhythm to it. Texas A&M transfer Brandon Mahan, who played at UCF last year and averaged 7.5 PPG, went off in the second half - scoring 26 of his 32 in the half. Mahan appears to have made a major leap from last season. Isaiah Adams is a true freshman from Jacksonville, played tremendously well and added 22 (including 9 free throws). Sophomore Darin Green put up 20 of his own points. Between the trio of Mahan, Green, and Adams - they combined for 74 of UCF’s 86 points. All of this led to a stunning 86-74 win at Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee going away. UCF is now 2-1 heading into AAC play, it remains to be seen if they will find more non-conference games or not. In any event, the Knights are quickly a team to watch in the AAC race.

BYU - Not many programs have had the luxury to play nine games this year, but the Cougars have been fortunate. Their schedule resembles mixed results as close to a normal season as you can find. HC Mark Pope believes in playing the toughest possible schedule, as he should. Pope is quite aggressive about it. BYU shifted and turned several times during the offseason to ensure they would play quality teams. They ended up in Connecticut for two games where they split two games against St. John’s and USC. BYU also have had to go over a roster makeover this season. Out are the all-star guards Jake Toolson and Tyler Haws, in are massive front line players highlighted by Purdue transfer Matt Haarms. The strategy this season is mostly transformational, but Pope doesn’t mind - he embraces it. That leads us to another big test in San Diego against from MWC rivals San Diego State. The Aztecs have been featured here in past weeks, been an outstanding team early on with wins at Arizona State, over UCLA, and an unblemished record. From my perspective, this was a matchup nightmare for San Diego State. Not many teams out-physical the Aztecs, however this Cougar front-line is built to disrupt and wreak havoc on opposing front-lines. BYU ended up with a 40-26 rebounding edge in Viejas, which just really jumps off the page. BYU played a near perfect first half and at one point led by 17. In the second half, the Aztecs behind Matt Mitchell, made a tremendous rally to cut to a one-point game. Then it was Brandon Averette’s opportunity to shine, hitting an ice cold triple to distance BYU from the Aztecs for good. Highlights below.

Highlights from the BYU Men's Basketball 72 to 62 win at #18 San Diego State. December 18, 2020 #BYUhoops #GoCougs

Northwestern - Unexpectedly, we welcome Northwestern to their first ever Team of the Week award. This Wildcat program has been through a lot of losing in a loaded Big Ten. 2020-21 brings a clean slate, and it also brought a Top team in the league and perennial Big Ten power, Michigan State. After all, Northwestern hadn’t beat a top-five team since 1979. But these Cats didn’t care, they came equiped for a battle. Boo Buie, Northwestern’s formerly streaky scorer, has been much more steady early on this season. Buie, had a career-high 30, hit five of six from distance in the game. Buie is also averaging 5.6 Assists per game. Northwestern did a tremendous job with ball movement, assisting 19 of their 26 made field goals, en route to a 79-65 upset over Michigan State. The Wildcats took advantage of a somewhat lethargic Spartan defense. Despite an earlier home loss to Pitt, a win like this puts Northwestern back on the map for potential at-large teams. The Big Ten will be rugged, no doubt, but this is a moment that many folks associateed with Northwestern Basketball won’t forget. Well done, ‘cats.

Chattanooga - The Mocs’ could be for real. Before we deep dive on yet another promising SoCon program, let’s rewind to last season. The SoCon was loaded with quality teams a year ago, headlined by ETSU, UNCG, and Furman. However, this Chattanooga program quietly battled their way to a 10-8 league record and knocked off UNC-Greensboro in their finale. They then faced UNCG again in the Conference Quarterfinals and beat the Spartans again! That got the Mocs into a surprise semifinal against Wofford, where they fell by two in a tough loss. That lead to the long offseason and a team who returned a few key players, but also dealt with the loss of Ramon Vila (opted to return to Spain), two departing seniors, Maurice Commander (transferred to UIC), Rod Johnson (transferred to WIU). That meant the only returning starter from the SoCon tourney run was David Jean-Baptiste, a 6-1 experienced guard. But Jean-Baptiste himself, is now in the Transfer Portal as of December 12th.. So this Mocs team is a mash up of mostly newcomers and the job Lamont Paris has done has been outstanding through all of it. Since the Jean-Baptiste departure, redshirt Freshman Jamaal Walker has taken on a much larger role, and Walker is making it pay off by leading the SoCon in 3-point FG percentage. This all leads us to this past week. Another patchwork job by Coach Paris got the Mocs past UNC-Asheville in a mid-week game, 69-66, and setup an undefeated showdown with UAB in Birmingham. Both teams entered 7-0, with very different paths to get there. The Mocs had already played and won in each of their three previous road tests. UAB had only left Birmingham once and had not hosted a team in the Top 280 in KenPom prior to the showdown with the Mocs. So what happened? Chattanooga banded together and fought, especially on the defensive end of the floor. They held UAB to just 3-for-16 shooting from deep. This allowed the Mocs to be in it all the way through. They trailed by a possession with around a minute to go, and held UAB scoreless on three straight trips to end it. On the offensive end, a great ball movement possession landed in Jamaal Walker’s hands, who hit the eventual game winner with 19.9 seconds to go. Malachi Smith stretched the lead to three in the closing seconds with a free throw. Mocs held on for amazingly their second 69-66 victory of the week (yes, the UNCA win had the same score). Chattanooga is 8-0 and leads the nation in D1 wins, despite the rollercoaster roster changes.

Rutgers - Steve Pikiell’s legend continues to grow in Piscataway before our very eyes. If you are reading this, you likely know about the major breakthroughs from last season that led to some raised expectations in 2020-21. Ron Harper, Jr. is back in the fold and in a big way. Jacob Young has been outstanding. And the Scarlet Knights offense is fundamentally sound, ranking 7th in the country in Non-Steal TO% (essentially a lack of unforced errors). This week introduced Big Ten play, beginning with a road game at Maryland. Last year, road games were the achilles heel for Rutgers, going 2-8 away from the RAC (including a loss at Maryland last February). This year’s visit to the Xfinity Center in College Park was much different. After a back and forth first half, left RU trailing by 1 at Halftime, the Scarlet Knights bursted out for a 13-2 run and built up a 12-point lead with 10 minutes to go. The Scarlet Knights would not look back, proceeding to a 74-60 victory. That set the stage for a nationally hyped showdown with Illinois at the RAC. This contest was a treat to view, as Rutgers just flat out outhustled and outplayed a very talented Illinois team. Ron Harper, Jr. had 28 points and 9 rebounds. He would later say, "We have a dog mentality, a pack mentality and we're going to attack you every time we get between those lines." Such is a way of life in today’s Rutgers Basketball world. A late 16-3 run helped push Rutgers past Illinois, 91-88 on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights are slowly bringing back Geo Baker now as well, which really helps their outlook as we move ahead. Congrats to RU on a tremendous start, now its time to focus on Ohio State this Wednesday in Columbus.

Strongly Considered Teams with reasoning:

StronglyConsidered122120.jpg

Honorable Mention:

UTEP - Miners stunned Arizona State on Wednesday, 76-63 in Tempe. Senior Bryson Williams came to play - 22 Pts./10 Rebs.

Purdue - Boilermakers came away with a great week. Picking up wins over Ohio State and Notre Dame. Goes a long way for the Boilers' tourney hopes.

Charlotte - 49ers turned things around this week by beating rivals Davidson at Belk Arena, 63-52. Charlotte also took care of business against NC A&T.

Cleveland State - Road sweep at Purdue Fort Wayne, to spoil the openers for the Horizon League newcomers. JUCO Transfer D'Moi Hodge had an unreal 46 points on 10 treys on Sunday.

Providence - Friars left the Prudential Center with a crucial OT win at Seton Hall. AJ Reeves hit the three in the corner to win it.

Montana - Griz won at Washington for the first time ever, 66-58. UW is down this year, but this was a major win for Montana, following a tough 0-4 start to the year.

Richmond - Built on their impressive resume by beating a tough Loyola-Chicago team in Indianapolis, and also dominated Vandy on the road.

Alabama A&M - 2OT win over South Alabama. Bulldogs only scheduled two non-conference games this season and won both against Sun Belt and SoCon schools.

South Florida - Bulls snapped a 13-game road losing streak at Cincinnati and got over the hump by beating the Bearcats, 74-71 on Wednesday.

UC Santa Barbara - Gauchos improved to 4-1 with an impressive road win at Pepperdine. JaQuori McLaughlin had a fantastic game - 23 Pts./8 Assists/4 Reb's.

Georgia - Bulldogs took down Cincinnati by 15 in an upset win. UGA played very well through GMU transfer Justin Kier (18 pts/3 assts) and Sahvir Wheeler (12 Pts/7 assts)

Kansas - Jayhawks squeaked by Texas Tech in Lubbock to move to 7-1. Important win as KU pursues yet another Big XII Championship.

Dayton - Flyers knocked off Ole Miss in a crucial out of conference home game. Dayton can now also boast - "Egg Bowl Champs", since they also beat Mississippi State.

Wisconsin - Impact week. Took care of Loyola-Chicago late for a 14-point win, then handed Louisville their worst loss since the 1950's.

Virginia Tech - Important win over Clemson to get on track and give the Tigers their first loss. Hokies also took down Coppin State over the weekend.

Georgia State - Avenged an earlier loss against Mercer. Ga. State played exceptionally better in the 88-81 win and handed Mercer their first loss.

Milwaukee - Panthers picked up the road sweep over rivals Green Bay. It's early, but in-conference sweeps have been rare in the league with B2B formats.

Stanford - Key win over Arizona in Santa Cruz, gets the Cardinal in position for a run in the Pac-12 race. Cardinal also beat CSUN on the road.

Marist - Red Foxes won twice at Manhattan, and are a surprising 5-1 now on the campaign. Frosh Ricardo Wright is making progress, scored 18 in the second game at Manhattan.

High Point - HPU went on the road and pounded CAA-member William & Mary by 22. Four Panthers finished in double-figures.

Xavier - XU had a tremendous Big East opener. Musketeers and Marquette played a great game, finished off by a Adam Kunkel buzzer-beater to win it!

Wichita State - Shockers got off on the right foot in AAC play by winning at rival Tulsa, 69-65.

Iona - Coach Pitino had his Gaels ready for a road series with Rider over the weekend. Gaels came away with a sweep, and are now in a tie for first in the MAAC.

Air Force - Split series in Reno against Nevada, for a program who has never won in Reno before deserves a mention. Congrats Falcons!

Florida A&M - Been traveling everywhere, got an upset win at Austin Peay on Tuesday.

Week 5 looks to be lighter with the Holidays approaching, but several schools who need games will hopefully be on the court, and the B1G setup a blockbuster quadruple header for Christmas Day. Happy Holidays, Hoop lovers.

~Rocco

‘Trust the process,’ How Abilene Christian’s Joe Golding built a D-II program into an NCAA tournament team in less than a decade

A transition to D-1, three athletic directors and now the COVID-19 pandemic, Abilene Christian head coach Joe Golding has had to face his fair share of adversity during his ten-year tenure at the small Texas school.

“I was a high school basketball coach and then to make this transition I think God has given me a death wish for coaching,” he joked.

HC Joe Golding brings his fun personality to regular press conferences

HC Joe Golding brings his fun personality to regular press conferences

Still though, that hasn’t stopped him from building up one of the more respectable mid-major programs in the entire country. Collegeinsider.com currently has the program ranked 22 among mid-majors. This year alone, they have already beaten Austin Peay, who is ranked 11th in the same rankings, and only fell to No. 17 Texas Tech by seven this past Wednesday.

This success isn’t new to the 2020-21 team, as Abilene Christian would’ve made four consecutive postseason appearances had last year’s postseason tournaments not been canceled due to the pandemic. This four-year stretch was highlighted by the 2018-19 season when Abilene Christian won the Southland Conference tournament and made the NCAA tournament, both for the first time in school history.

These accomplishments, while obviously making Golding a very proud man, are not what he focuses on now though. Instead he tells his players, “Trust the process.” He laughs at how cliche that phrase is, but made a point to note that it’s how to keep his team focused on the right things. Focused on the goal of improving each and every day, instead of focusing on months down the line about where they could end up on selection Sunday if they managed to win the conference. To not worry about non-conference records, even though their team sits an impressive 5-1 with the lone loss being that almost upset against Texas Tech, and to just focus on getting stronger and better. Focus on making small improvements in their individual abilities each and everyday, so that the team is ready for conference season. As winning the conference is really the only realistic way a school in the Southland has at making the NCAA tournament.

ACU is off to a tremendous start in 2020-21, and perhaps have quickly become the favorites to win the Southland Conference.

ACU is off to a tremendous start in 2020-21, and perhaps have quickly become the favorites to win the Southland Conference.

To sum up all of that, he simply sticks with the phrase, “Trust the process.” Again, it can come off as a cliche phrase but that’s only because it’s a lot easier to trust the Albiene Christian process now. It’s easy to trust a process that has a team 5-1 and one of the top mid-major programs in the country. It’s easy to trust a process that gives a program like Texas Tech a run for their money. It’s easy to trust a process that you can clearly see is working.

That wasn’t the case when the program switched to D-1 before the 2013-14 season. That year, the team’s first five games were losses to Duquesne University (94-75), St. Bonaventure University (75-47), University of Maryland (67-44), University of Iowa (103-41) and Texas Christian University (71-64). The team also had to go up against Xavier University (93-65) that non-conference season, marking six games against tough opponents. 

“It was the most challenging thing I have ever done,” he said. “I think back, I probably would’ve done some things different, but I don’t know if it would’ve made a difference.”

They didn’t get their first D-1 victory as a D-1 team until they defeated conference-foe University of Central Arkansas on a last-second goaltending call. ACU player Parker Wentz had taken the ball across the court in 4.4 seconds before throwing up the lay-up. Tirrell Brown of UCA, who had just hit their go-ahead lay-up, pinned the ball against the backboard as time expired. After a huddle by the officials, goaltending was called and ACU’s D-1 success finally could get started.

It is one of Golding’s favorite memories. And it was really the first time he could say, “Trust the process” without anyone questioning the process itself. Even if, as a young coach, he was still setting measurable goals himself on how many games to strive to win each year, a habit he didn’t break till he became a more seasoned head coach.

Even if he finally got the monkey off the program’s back by winning that game, “trusting the process” was still difficult for his players. As a new D-1 member, Abilene Christian had to wait four years to participate in their conference tournament. The early goal of the program was to raise money and get some exposure. In order to do that, they had to schedule games against programs willing to pay them money to get an easy win on national television. And while no non-conference season was ever as tough as that first one was for ACU, they still had to go up against programs like Nebraska and Oklahoma in the following seasons. And while the athletic department was forced to suffer from these potentially moral-crushing defeats, they went through three different leaders at the top. All three though stayed committed to Golding and his process. That commitment from the school finally being rewarded with their first D-I conference championship in 2019.

It wasn’t just a commitment from the department though as much as it was from Golding and his staff as a whole. Golding is an alumnus from Abilene Christian, both a former player and assistant coach for the basketball program. He estimates that he has spent 17 years there, which is almost 50% of his entire life given he is just 45 years old.

Golding got commitment from his staff, many of which have stayed with him through the egregious transition process. And that’s not to mention the talented players he was able to recruit early on in his tenure.

Which is pretty amazing, as evident by the way Golding talked about those early days. He said if he was a parent of a recruit, he would have told his kid to choose another school. Sometimes it was tough to put on the Abilene Christian t-shirt when he was recruiting in the early days of his head coaching career. Mainly because there wasn’t a whole lot to promise these kids at the time. They weren’t allowed to compete for a conference championship, they were scheduled to play a lot of tough games solely to raise funds for the program and, like any transitioning program, they struggled to win during the early years. Still though, he managed to find commitment from his guys and what he sells now is a form of community among his team. He mentioned that he likes his players to play hard on the court, and love each other off of it. He values those relationships he can build with his players heavily, and given the quick rise of the program since joining D-I, it’s evident that those relationships are building.

“There’s a respect there now. We’re validating our vision,” he said. “We don’t have to sell a vision, they can see what we’re doing.”

Now that his program is built, it’s only fitting that he has another daunting challenge to deal with. Although this one is much different from the others. He doesn’t consider the challenges in staying competitive while the schedule is constantly in flux due to the pandemic as difficult as the task of transitioning to D-I was approximately eight years ago. Still, it’s different. Those challenges were predictable while these ones are not. 

He considers himself lucky though. Most of his players are experienced and have already spent time in his system. Only four of his 15 players are Freshman and ten of them have been with his program for at least three years now. He considers this a major advantage for his program, as the consistently changing practice schedule wouldn’t hurt his team of veterans as much as it would hurt a team made up of mostly Freshman, JUCOs and transfers.

It also means that his players are perhaps motivated to get back to the tournament that they were denied a year ago. While his team wasn’t a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, they still had a double-bye in their conference tournament which put them in a good chance at making it for a second consecutive season. Both tournaments were canceled though, which Golding stressed was the right decision, and the players missed out on a chance to win back-to-back conference titles.

The path to the Southland Championship will likely have to go through the Teague Center.

The path to the Southland Championship will likely have to go through the Teague Center.

Golding admits that is hard to get out of a player’s mind and can see it causing motivation, but he still stresses his players to “trust the process.” The process of getting a little better each and everyday. The process that has turned this D-II school into a D-I mid-major powerhouse. The process of battling adversity by simply striving to get better.

And now 2020 has brought new adversity to his program and, so far, they have responded well. The last question I asked Golding was if he thought that the difficulties he has faced over the last decade helped him prepare for the difficulties of this year. He said that he hasn’t really thought about that, but he thinks it’s taught him to fight adversity.

Of course he hasn’t thought about it, because that would mean that he’d be violating the very thing that he says to trust. The process that got him to 2020. The process that got him through two divisions and three athletic directors. The process that has prepared him to deal with the uncertainty of an ever-changing landscape in 2020. And the very same process that he will use to get through 2020.

All he has to do is, “trust the process.”

--

Logan Carney
Bracketeer.Org Contributor

Teams of the Week in College Basketball: Opening Week

Dream week for the Hokies. Got Villanova to play them last minute, then beat the Wildcats

Dream week for the Hokies. Got Villanova to play them last minute, then beat the Wildcats

College Basketball Teams of the Week – Week 1 (November 25-29, 2020)

Virginia Tech –
A ton of bricks hitting me unsuspectedly. That’s what it felt like after the Hokies took down Villanova, 81-73, in overtime on Saturday evening and I suddenly realized how capable this Hokies team is of having a big season. It felt this way because I did not have them in the preseason bracket or very close to it, despite picking V-Tech to be my darkhorse ACC team. Even more impressive, before this week started the Hokies were only supposed to play Radford in the opener and South Florida at the Mohegan Sun on Sunday. That all changed when Mike Young and Villanova HC Jay Wright got on the phone late on Thursday evening, and struck a deal to have the Hokies arrive at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Casino a day early, to make this game happen. Both schools were impacted by Temple shutting down their program, and the game was a fit on both sides.

In the Radford opener, Virginia Tech struggled most of the first half until a 12-2 run sparked the Hokies into the lead for good. Radford hung around in the second half for a while, but the Hokies left Blacksburg with a 77-62 season opening victory. It truthfully wasn’t the kind of win that left you thinking they would battle Villanova tooth and nail. Yet, Virginia Tech and Villanova indeed battled hard on Saturday night. The Hokies took the lead at 64-62 with 1.3 seconds remaining on a traditional three-point play by Keve Aluma, who scored on a beautiful assist from Cartier Diarra, and then unintentionally made his free throw. Villanova’s Justin Moore then drew a charge on Justyn Mutts on the inbounds play and Moore’s two made free throws sent the game into overtime tied at 64. Mutts made up for that mistake by scoring the first five points in extra time and the Hokies never relinquished the lead, outscoring the Wildcats 17-9 in the extra frame en route to a 87-79 major victory. Villanova was a preseason #2 seed and are the favorites to win the Big East. Hokies had more business to handle this week, as the took on the South Florida Bulls on Sunday evening. The Hokies finished off a perfect 3-0 week by beating USF, 76-58, behind 26 points from Aluma and 25 from Tyrece Radford.  
 
Richmond – Let’s not forget how the Richmond Spiders finished the 2019-20 season. From February 1st through the abrupt ending of the season, the Spiders tore apart A-10 competition by going 9-1 and playing their way back inside the NCAA Tournament bubble. This preseason, Richmond received well-deserved hype and brought back the core of their roster, led by Jacob Gilyard, Blake Francis, and Grant Golden. Then a setback occurred with the loss of Nick Sherod with an ACL tear for the season, however Richmond still possessed the depth needed for an A-10 Title run this year.

That brings us to the start of this season, where Richmond joined the four-team Kentucky event in a round-robin format. The Spiders opened later than expected after Detroit Mercy was a late exit from the event, due to Covid-19 concerns. Spiders would ultimately be left with two games, Morehead State and Kentucky. Richmond cruised to an 82-64 vicotry against the Eagles in the opener, led by Nathan Cayo’s 23 points and Tyler Burton’s 12 rebounds. Then the big test came on Sunday against hosts, Kentucky. The first half was back and forth between the two squads, with UK taking a 32-28 lead into halftime. The second half was a completely different story. Francis and Cayo powered the Spiders to its first road victory over an AP Top 10 team in school history, by scoring 18 points a piece. Richmond ran away with a 76-64 triumph. This will do wonders for Richmond’s at-large tournament hopes and for the Spiders confidence moving forward. A couple sneaky games coming this week for Richmond, at Charleston and vs. Furman – but let’s allow Richmond to celebrate for today.

Gonzaga – The Bulldogs started the year as our #1 overall seed, and it didn’t take long to show why. The Zags had the rare opportunity to face Kansas in a season-opening game down in Fort Myers, after a series of cancellations and shifting over the offseason. Gonzaga came ready to dominate despite traveling across the country and having a few Covid complications with their team personnel. The Kansas win (102-90) was a track meet, that not even a powerhouse like Kansas was ready for. They fluid ball movement and ball handling mastery of Freshman phenom Jalen Suggs (8 assists and 24 points) were too much for the Jayhawks. Drew Timme picked up where he left off from last season, by adding 25 points and six boards. And Corey Kispert, who may be the most important player to any one team’s roster in the country, added 23. Kispert has always displayed a tremendously high level of Basketball IQ and focus on the court, and clearly makes his teammates better. He continues to impress me each year. The Bulldogs followed their emphatic Kansas win up by beating Auburn 90-67. Gonzaga led by double-figures for most of the game, got 28 from Timme and 25 from Kispert. Gonzaga is scheduled to play Baylor this coming Saturday, must watch TV.

Abilene Christian – ACU is only in their 8th season as a D1 program. The former D2 powerhouse in most athletics, made the jump to D1 Basketball ahead of the 2013-14 season. By year six, Head Coach Joe Golding had led his Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament. After going 20-11 last year, many had the Wildcats in the top three of the Southland alongside juggernaut Stephen F. Austin, and up and coming Nicholls State. However, when reviewing the Gulf Coast Showcase bracket (which changed a few times), ACU was somewhat of an afterthought.  After all, ETSU a darling from last season was there and a hyped Austin Peay team came in as the likely favorites. It just so happens that those two teams were up first for ACU. And the Wildcats were more than ready. They blitzed ETSU to kickoff College Basketball season, 70-47, and made a statement. On Friday, they took on Austin Peay and got a very impressive 80-72 victory. In Saturday’s finale, the Wildcats capped off a tournament title by beating Omaha 70-58. For the tournament, ACU held opponents to just 19% shooting from 3 point land, while shooting 54.5% themselves. We are nine days away from ACU at Texas Tech, could be very interesting. For the time being, congrats to the Wildcats on an outstanding Gulf Coast Showcase Title run.

Houston – The Cougars were a hotly debated preseason team among College Basketball’s finest pundits. We landed with Houston as a preseason #5 seed and the clear favorites to win the AAC. As games went on this week, we saw Memphis drop two games in South Dakota, Tulsa lose twice in KC, South Florida had lost, overall the AAC picture was prematurely looking rough. Then knowing Houston’s big non-conference games were Texas Tech and Alabama, this game on Sunday with the Red Raiders suddenly felt even bigger. The Cougars were beyond ready for the test. UH opened up a 37-19 edge at Halftime. Texas Tech made a couple of runs in the second half, but Houston held them off at every turn and went home with a crucial 64-53 victory. Marcus Sasser, Quentin Grimes, Justin Gorham all played a significant role in the victory. Houston also beat Boise State 68-58 and Lamar 89-45 earlier in the week. Just what the doctor ordered if you are a UH supporter.

Strongly Considered

Mercer – Bears went into Georgia Tech and thoroughly beat the Yellow Jackets, 83-73.
West Virginia – Won Bad Boy Mowers Tournament. Clearly stronger than South Dakota St., VCU, Western Kentucky in each round
Clemson – Won the Space Coast Challenge over Mississippi State and looked great in win over Purdue.
Saint Louis – Beat LSU in a key opportunity to build resume, also crushed SIU-Edwardsville in opener.
Georgia State – Won at Georgia Tech in 4OT thriller. Moses Wright had 31 points and 20 boards.

Others Considered

HonorableMention113020.jpg

Enjoy the upcoming games in Week 2!

~Rocco Miller

Pac-12 Media Day 2020 Edition

2020 Pac-12 Media took place on Zoom instead of Pac-12 HQ’s this year.

2020 Pac-12 Media took place on Zoom instead of Pac-12 HQ’s this year.

Welcome to the Bracketeer’s coverage of Pac-12 Media Day. We had six hours worth of coaches and players from all 12 schools join the conference call. Only four weeks until Tip-Off!

1) UCLA
HC Mick Cronin:
- Coach Cronin says it was a priority to get in as many good games as they could, gave praise to the San Diego State and Pepperdine programs coming back and is glad they pulled them on the schedule. Kentucky and Marquette games were preserved as well.
- LA County’s stricter requirements and advised San Diego State to host the games to open the year.
- Picked first in preseason, says it doesn't matter. Appreciates the publicity, but also makes his job tougher.
- Encourages players to focus on what they can control. Not to focus on social media or preseason polls, but rather rebounding and getting stops.
- Johnny Juzang was discussed as a player who has come in and worked hard, could be poised for a great year.

2) Arizona State
HC Bobby Hurley
- Exhausted the MTE process looking for best event. Looked at both hosting events and travel opportunities. He's thankful that Mohegan Sun was well-organized and he’s looking forward to getting out to Connecticut.
- Optimistic on the season, but making no promises or predictions on how things will play out. He eluded to the fact that a lot of factors with getting games in is out of their control, but they are doing everything they can.
- Encourages star NBA prospects like Remy Martin, to go get feedback and go through the draft process. Of course this year was different during Covid, but it worked out well for ASU in the end.

3) Oregon
HC Dana Altman
- Players tested every morning. Guys are incredibly careful, but doesn't prevent positives. Coach Altman provided examples of cases where a player could do everything right and still have a positive test. He also mentioned human interaction on campus being important for the team while taking extreme caution.
- LJ Figueroa waiver is still pending, school is working thru it.
- 3 MTEs cancelled during the course of the offseason, beginning with the event in Florida. Hoping 4th one is a charm out in Connecticut. Heading to CT to play VTech and Mizzou on 12/2 and 12/3.
- Commented on how different it will be without fans this season and said he wishes they had a guy like Dillon Brooks around to bring energy.

4) Stanford
HC Jerod Haase
- Guys spent a lot of time together. Went through unique time having to get practices in outdoors on the campus tennis courts.
- Daejon Davis and Oscar Da Silva will be key leaders during a rocky season. Captains haven't been officially named.
- Coach talked about Oscar Da Silva speaking six languages and being a Stem Cell researcher.
- On Ziaire Williams: he will have a tremendous impact in a lot of different ways. Really talented, but he's not a one-dimensional player. He has the ability to shoot the basketball, penetrate, make plays for others.

5) Arizona
HC Sean Miller
- High praise for Christian Koloko, the 7-footer. Has many facets to his game that will carryover to the NBA.
- Talked about in-game bench players will be spread out with masks on. Will be a significant change to gameday routines and take work to manage it.
- Did not address the sanctions from the NCAA.
- He said the fifth-place projection was much higher than he would’ve anticipated.
- Talked about losing 10 scholarship players from last year, complimented this team with having great work ethic and good consistency thus far.

6) USC
HC Andy Enfield
- Held practices in 95 degree heat during August where players couldn't share the basketball with others.
- Proud of Defensive Efficiency overall last year and want to build on it. Trojans led the PAC12 in three core efficiency categories last season.
- Commented on being in a conservative state for Covid-19, and rules are different in LA County then the rest of the country. He appreciates it. What keeps him up at night, is thinking about what happens when someone on the roster gets infected.

7) Colorado
HC Tad Boyle
- Loves that McKinley Wright feels disrespected by the 7th place prediction. He says the Buffs are usually best when people are sleeping on them.
- Gave more praise to Wright, says he is lucky to be able to coach him. Says he is the epitome of what it means to be a Colorado Buffalo.
- On schedule, Kansas State and Drake are still committed to the Little Apple Classic, a fourth team should be named in the next 48 hours.

8) Utah
HC Larry Krystkowiak

- Went through Pac-12 play without winning a road game last year, he takes that as a reflection on himself.
- Cancelled on South Dakota’s Crossover Classic, due to risks with spread in surrounding area.
- Players are staying as isolated as possible during local surge in cases. Coach noted that they isolate from other athletic programs on campus and work hard at staying disciplined daily.
- Has instructed players to treat any person they come into contact with as if they have the virus.

9) Washington
HC Mike Hopkins
- Prior to the session, UW announced that Erik Stevenson got his waiver and rolled out their non-conference schedule.
- Cole Bajema waiver is not officially approved still, but that's expected to come in soon.
- Did not provide any updates on Naz Carter. Presumed out until further notice.
- Praised Nate Roberts' motor. Big energy when he's on the floor.
- On Stevenson: He’s a proven player at the highest level. Hop is impressed by his competitiveness and high basketball IQ.

10) California
HC Mark Fox
- Coach Fox appears confident that the Bears can exceed expectations.
- Expects Matt Bradley to become a more complete player, Betley and Foreman to bring shooting and leadership.
-Process of teaching his team became difficult to navigate when team had long delays due to local restrictions on workouts, then came another shutdown right after getting cleared, due to Covid-19.
- Coach says schools who have been able to train consistently have a distinct advantage this season.
- Mentioned teams who have a team who has already players recover from the virus, have an advantage because they are less likely to be concerned or have games cancelled.

11) Washington State
HC Kyle Smith
- He was satisfied with the progress in year one. Says they need to keep doing what they are doing to build a program.
- Would’ve loved to keep C.J. Elleby to keep more momentum and have more experience.
- This team is young, and they need to mature game to game. Won’t have the same leader scorer this year, more balanced scoring is anticipated.

12) Oregon State
HC Wayne Tinkle
- Emotional ending to last season ending abruptly. Tough way for his son and Kylor Kelley to end their careers. Used it as a teaching moment for the returning team and preached it as a "life lesson."
- Goal this season for the new bigs to defend at a high level.
- Promises that the Beavers won’t finish 12th while taking notice to the preseason poll.
- Emphasized the importance of 3-point defense. Before Tres Tinkle, the Beavers excelled in this area.

The Final Tally (Media Poll)

Team (First Place Votes) Points

1. UCLA (9) 251
2. Arizona State (5) 246
3. Oregon (7) 241
4. Stanford (1) 209
5. Arizona 173
6. USC (1) 154
7. Colorado 149
8. Utah 131
9. Washington 85
10. California 65
11. Washington State 54
12. Oregon State 36

Preseason All-Conference Teams

First Team
Timmy Allen Utah
Matt Bradley Cal
Oscar da Silva Stanford
Chris Duarte Oregon
Remy Martin Arizona St.
Evan Mobley USC
Will Richardson Oregon
Chris Smith UCLA
Ziaire Williams Stanford
McKinley Wright Colorado

Second Team
Isaac Bonton, Washington State
Tyger Campbell, UCLA
Josh Christopher, Arizona State
Ethan Thompson, Oregon State
Alonzo Verge Jr. Arizona State

A Running Thread: Schedule Updates, what do we know today?

(Updated 1:06pm PST on 11/11, continue to check back for more info)

A framework is in place for what promises to be an unusual 2020-21 season. I decided to build a summary of what we know and what to begin expecting with national College Basketball scheduling efforts. This is an ongoing effort, please feel free to contact me directly with any updates.

What happened with the September 16th NCAA announcement? 

Dan Gavitt provided a framework for the 2020-21 College Basketball season on September 16, 2020.

Dan Gavitt provided a framework for the 2020-21 College Basketball season on September 16, 2020.

  • The regular season was pushed back from Nov. 10 to Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving. Division I teams can start official practices 42 days prior to its first game, which is Oct. 14 this year. 

  • Schools must play at least 13 games (all against Division I opponents), which was cut in half from the current number of 25, to participate in the postseason. The maximum number is 25,  which was reduced by four. The maximum number is a moving target depending if schools participate in a multi-team event and how many games are played.

  • NCAA recommends each team play at least four non-conference games. 

  • The start date coincides with the timing of the general student body leaving campuses across the country, giving basketball teams their own bubble environment to control the potential spread of the virus. They should have all of December and most of January to themselves on campus. 

  • No scrimmages or exhibition games are permitted. 

  • Teams can start practicing as much as 12 hours per week starting Sept. 21.

Event Updates
- The NCAA tournament with take place with the same field size (68). NCAA representatives also said the plans include the Final Four site of Indianapolis. 

- A large amount of events are up against the clock right now to have satisfactory health and safety protocols in place. Further complicating the issue, as of late October, is a rise in Covid-19 cases nationwide. Despite the marketing efforts of many of these events, they are not a true bubble like you saw in the NBA or the TBT this past summer. Some events plan to have fans in fact, and most logistics in these locations cannot guarantee a bubble experience. This is why you will hear the term “controlled environment” from the NCAA, coaches, and administrators.

- The ESPN Events slated for Orlando will no longer happen. Nearly all events were cancelled. The Jimmy V Classic and Champions Classic are looking for a new home now.

- “Bubbleville” is the new name in Connecticut. The Gazelle Group delivers College Basketball events at MSG and the Barclays Center. However, those won’t be viable options now this winter. The new plan involves putting some events at the Mohegan Sun. This may create a scenario where teams pick up games against opponents who came to Connecticut to play in separate events. The tentative plan is to hold the Empire Classic 11/25-26 (Villanova, Baylor, Arizona State, Boston College), Hall of Fame Tip-off Classic 11/28-29 (Minnesota, Marquette, URI, Temple) and the Legends Classic 12/3-4 (UConn, BYU, USC, Vanderbilt). There is also two more bubble windows available for games here at Mohegan Sun, December 7-11 and December 15-20. Developments are coming soon for those dates, as well as any additional games added to the first window.

- Houston event organizer, Rhossi Carron, is planning and prepared to host a successful bubble event for College Basketball this winter. The proposed event will feature 20 teams split into (2) 10-team divisions. Each team will have a chance to compete in anywhere between 4-8 non-conference games between Dec 1-21. Event will also include academic services, branding and social media seminars, player entertainment, social justice platforms and mental health support. Recently added an MTE component to the front end of the bubble event for teams that need both exempt and non-conference games. Also extending the event window to as early as Nov 25. Teams can open with a 2 or 3 game MTE then go into non-conference games based on number of games needed. Goal is to have everything needed on one campus, so you minimize travel and risk of exposure. Participating teams TBD. Expect to see each of the top conferences represented in H-Town.

- The Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta has shifted to a multi-game bubble event featuring Auburn, Memphis, Clemson, Alabama, Mississippi State, Dayton, LSU and South Florida. The event will take place between December 10th and December 17th. Also, Kentucky will face Georgia Tech on 11/27 as a single day event.

- Las Vegas and Indianapolis are prepared to host large events. Las Vegas would be through bdG and MGM Resorts, Indy would be teamed up through Indiana Sports Corp, Russ Potts Productions and Intersport. Las Vegas opportunities are for non-conference and conference play. Several weeks are available for hosting games through mid-February. Major opportunity for the Pac-12, MWC, WCC, WAC, Big West, Big Sky, and Summit League to play not only conference games - but also non-conference games.

- In Indianapolis, the convention center, nearby hotels, restaurants and downtown businesses, many within walking distance of the venue, could safely accommodate up to 24 teams. The 745,000-square foot facility would feature six basketball courts and two competition courts. Anyone entering the convention center would undergo saliva-based rapid response testing, which would be sent to a third-party lab for results. The event also could serve as a dry run for the 2021 Final Four.

- In Nashville, Lipscomb Athletics and Basketball Travelers Inc. have announced that they are jointly working to bring a multiteam tournament for both men’s and women’s basketball to Nashville and Allen Arena to kick off the 2020-21 nonconference season. A maximum of 16 teams participating, the games are scheduled to run from November 25 through December 7. The tournament plans to include pods of four teams with two and three-game tournament options for the participants. The potential to host additional customized tournaments or non-conference games will be available through December 22.

- The Pac-12 voted to return to play in time for the start of the season. This was a crucial step to allow Pac-12 programs to firmly commit and sign contracts for newly structured events in bubble environments and new non-conference arrangements.

- Louisville has proposed a Non Conference Bubble via Coach Mack’s Twitter account between Nov 25-Dec 5. The event wishes to have between 8-12 Teams, with 3-5 games per team. Lodging and medical protocols are in place per Louisville standards. Team information can be found below in the conference summary (see Louisville).

- Nebraska along with Elavate Hoops, is proposing on hosting a potential 16-team event, and they prefer to make it a tournament.. So far LSU, Oklahoma State, Northern Iowa, Nevada, San Francisco, Illinois State, and Cleveland State have been tied to the event with more to come. The number of teams that will be allowed to compete in Lincoln is dependent on what the NCAA says, stay tuned..

- In total, more than 20 different bubble-style proposals for nonconference play are floating around or mostly confirmed now. Bubbles in College Basketball should be considered more “controlled environments” than NBA style-bubbles, according to several organizers. This is because the same level of resources and investments will not happen in College Basketball and there will be varying levels of exposure at each site.

In Review:
- The Division 1 Basketball Committee has voted in favor of maximum scheduling flexibility for this season. Teams can play in two MTEs and two teams from the same conference can play in the same MTE. A non-D1 program may enter an MTE as long as it is within 400 miles of the host school and the MTE cannot have more than one non-D1

- CANCELLED: ESPN Events (8 total) in Orlando, FL. Impacts several programs and sends teams searching for new opponents.
- Maui Invitational moving to Asheville and will be held 11/30-12/2.
Bracket Available Here
- Battle4Atlantis teams moved to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, minus Duke, and will be now called the BadBoy Mowers Crossover Classic. Creighton, Memphis, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Utah, West Virginia, and Wichita State are in the remaining field. Dayton replaced Duke in the field. With Covid-19 caution, Ohio State and Dayton are backing out of the event. St. Mary’s is now in, and Utah State is rumored to be the eighth team, but we are unsure.
Bracket Available Here
- The Champions Classic, which will feature Kansas versus Kentucky and Duke against Michigan State, is reportedly going to take place on December 1st in a location TBD.
- The Jimmy V Classic, which will feature Gonzaga vs. Tennessee and Baylor vs. Illinois is expected to be played on December 2nd in a location TBD.
- The Fort Myers Tip-off had Colorado, Wisconsin, South Florida and Butler. They all withdrew from the four-team field. And the field upgraded to Kansas, Gonzaga, Auburn, and St. Joseph’s. The four teams have set schedules and will get two games in, each.
- A neutral court game has been scheduled between Baylor and Gonzaga in Indianapolis at Banker’s Life Arena on December 5th.
- Cancellation: The Emerald Coast Classic will not be played. The field had Florida, Illinois, Iowa State, and Oregon.
- Cancun Challenge is moving to Melbourne, Florida, but Illinois State has dropped out. Mississippi State, Purdue, Clemson, and Liberty (replaced Illinois State) are tied to the event for now.
- Cancellation: The Cayman Island Classic will not happen. The event had discussions of moving to Destin, Fla., but plans fell thru.
- Gulf Coast Showcase will take place Nov. 25-27 with some of the same teams. (Akron, ECU, Indiana State, Middle Tennessee, Omaha are still in the field and they added East Tennessee State, Abilene Christian, and Austin Peay).
Bracket Available Here
- Cancelled: The Puerto Rico event featuring Southern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Air Force, and Hofstra.
- The Las Vegas Invitational (Santa Clara, New Mexico, Grand Canyon, plus one open spot) is on schedule for 11/26-27. DePaul dropped out of the event.
- The Paradise Jam will now take place in Washington, D.C., has lost all of its previously committed teams. Organizers are looking to find eight local teams to fill the event.
- The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase was relocated to Estero, FL and expected to be around the Thanksgiving Holiday. Austin Peay and Drake are planning to play. Iona is out. That leaves Toledo, LMU, and Drexel left to make decisions and potentially some new invitees.
- Cancelled: The Junkanoo Jam field was scheduled to have BYU, Boston College, George Mason, and Tulsa in a tournament that would’ve been played from November 17-21.
- The SEC-Big XII Challenge is on schedule for January 30th, 2021. Matchups can be found in the teams section below.
- ACC-Big 10 Challenge will likely be played between December 7th-9th dates. Wake Forest will be the only program not participating this year.
- The Big East-Big XII Challenge is happening, and some dates are already confirmed now.
- The Mountain West-Atlantic 10 Challenge was unfortunately cancelled.
- The Annual Crossroads Classic (Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler) is likely to happen, waiting on league scheduling announcements. Matchups would be Purdue vs. Notre Dame and Indiana vs. Butler.
- The Orange Bowl Classic featuring a doubleheader of Florida State/UCF and Florida/Florida Atlantic was moved to the UF and FSU campuses and will be played as standard non-conference games.
- Cancelled: The Jamaica Classic has lost all four teams and is not happening. Teams were Wake Forest, Missouri State, UNCG, and UMass.


Rumors and Rumblings:
- Embrace the fact that things will continue to change all the way thru this season. Programs need to prepare for last-minute changes. COVID-19 infections and contact tracing can throw the schedule off in an instant, as we’ve already witnessed in Football.

- The West Coast Conference is actively exploring the creation of a bubble/pod in Las Vegas for the upcoming college basketball season.

- The proposed bubble in Houston, TX is still being discussed with an emphasis on safety for staff and players. The desired goal of hosting 20 teams. Early indications are that this event will have representation from each of the power conferences and the WCC, A10, MWC, and more.

- Ivy League programs are potentially looking at not playing at all this season. Some early rumors that at least Harvard and Princeton are exploring shutting down for this season.

- The Sun Belt already released a schedule in October, however the league is rumored to be reevaluating the format. Updated changes would mean splitting the league into two divisions and having teams play only against their division in the regular season (four games vs. each opponent).

- Syracuse is in prime postion with NY state laws and a massive facility to host a bubble to local NY schools who are potentially looking for games. Syracuse is highly likely to host an MTE in some capacity.

- The Gavitt Games appear to be unsaveable with their existing setup. The spirit of the event, games between the Big 10 and the Big East, can still be somewhat salvaged with regionally driven matchups like like Seton Hall-Rutgers, Wisconsin-Marquette, etc.

- Brooks Downing — who runs both the Gulf Coast Showcase and Island of Bahamas Showcase — has been working to keep four tournaments in Southwest Florida. From Nov. 25-27, there will be two men’s tournaments, the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena and the Island of Bahamas Showcase, which moved to the Community School of Naples. Both events need more teams still.

- Rumors out of Maryland that the Terps may have a revised MTE in the works. The Terps initially had the Maryland Showcase event with San Jose State, Duquesne, and Cal Baptist. If the new version happens, expect local teams to join. Navy and Mount St. Mary’s are already rumored to be part of it.

- One-off guarantee games in non-conference are going to be much more rare. Varying testing protocols across conferences may prevent even local teams from getting on a bus to play a local rival. The going rate for these games will be dramatically less this season as well.

Conference Summary

ACC
All Programs: League will play a 20-game schedule. They also plan to play two conference games in December as originally scheduled. Select teams may play a third conference game in December on 12/22, according to CBS Sports.

Boston College: Replaced NC State in 2020 Empire Classic at Mohegan Sun. The initial event included Villanova, Michigan (later replaced by Arizona State), and Baylor. The revised event, has BC facing Villanova in one semifinal and ASU facing Baylor in the other. BC is planning to stick around and play against St. John’s in “Bubbleville” on 11/30. The Eagles will host Rhode Island on 12/4. Eagles were due to host South Florida this season, that matchup was later postponed. BC will travel to play at Minnesota on 12/8 in the ACC/B1G Challenge. Just before the Holiday break, BC will host Cal on 12/22.

Boston College Eagles Schedule

Clemson: Annual rivalry game at South Carolina is tentatively planned for 12/19. The Tigers are also set to play Alabama in Atlanta on Dec. 12. The Tigers will open the season in Melbourne, Florida at the Cancun Challenge against Mississippi State on 11/25, the other semifinal has Liberty facing Purdue. Clemson will host Maryland on 12/9 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Tigers will host South Carolina State on 12/2 and Morehead State on 12/22.

Clemson Tigers Schedule

Duke: Hosting an MTE with Elon (12/6), Howard, and Bellarmine (12/4). Duke will only face Elon and Bellarmine. Duke also has a matchup with Coppin State on 11/28, per Coppin State Athletics. Will face Michigan State in Champions Classic on December 1st in a location TBD. The Blue Devils will face Illinois on 12/8 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. The Blue Devils will host Gardner-Webb to open the season on 11/25. Duke is also planning to host Charleston Southern on 12/12.

Duke Blue Devils Schedule

Florida State: FSU has said they will not be participating in an MTE, and will proceed with a 25-game schedule. Noles rivalry game with Florida will be on 12/12 in Tallahassee. The Noles are part of the one-day Orange Bowl Classic against UCF, which was moved to FSU on 12/19. The Noles will host Indiana on 12/9, as part of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. The Noles previously had a home game scheduled against Tulane, that was postponed. FSU opens the season by hosting Gardner-Webb on 11/27 and North Florida on 12/2.

Florida State Seminoles Schedule

Georgia Tech: Facing Kentucky on December 6th in one-day Atlanta event. Georgia Tech Showcase will not happen (other teams were James Madison, Longwood, and Mt. St. Mary’s), however GT plans to host a three-team MTE with local programs Mercer and Georgia State. The Jackets will play at Nebraska in the B1G/ACC Challenge on 12/9. The Jackets travel to Birmingham to face UAB on 12/23. The other two non-conference games are against FAMU (12/18) and Delaware State (12/20). GT and UGA are not scheduled to meet for the first time since 1925. That could always change if games get cancelled or rearranged.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule

Louisville: The big news if you didn’t hear, is UL will now host Kentucky on 12/26. This means the ACC gave the Cards a bye in the first window of the ACC season (12/27-29). The Cardinals originally planned to open the season against Western Kentucky on Nov. 10, hit the road for Cincinnati on Nov. 13 and compete in the MGM Resorts Main Event benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer in Las Vegas Nov. 20-22. The travel to Las Vegas was scrapped and Cincy is out this year. Louisville proposed and will host a large nine-team MTE. Louisville will play five games against Southern Illinois (11/25), Seton Hall (11/27), Prairie View A&M (11/29), Western Kentucky (12/1) and UNC Greensboro (12/4) in its multi-team event. Louisville also will play at Wisconsin on 12/9 in the ACC-Big 10 challenge. Cards game against SE Louisiana won’t happen this year.

Louisville Cardinals Schedule

Miami: Will not participate in a multi-team event, per HC Jim Larranaga. The Canes will move forward with a 25-game schedule, just five non-conference games. That will include a home game with Purdue on 12/8 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Hurricanes will host Stetson on 11/25 to open the season. Then North Florida visits Coral Gables on 11/29. Miami will also host FGCU on 12/12 and Jacksonville U. on 12/19.

Miami Hurricanes Schedule

NC State: The Wolfpack have lined up Charleston Southern to open the season with on 11/25 as part of their four-team MTE. NC State will face either North Florida and EKU on 11/27. HC Kevin Keatts initially said that the Wolfpack were very interested in protecting the 2K Empire Classic, but ultimately gave their spot to Boston College. NC State is in discussions with UConn on playing each other in the Mohegan Sun on 12/5, nothing has been signed yet. The Wolfpack will host William & Mary on 11/30. NC State will be traveling to play Michigan on 12/9 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. The Wolfpack's original schedule had a matchup against Radford on 12/12, but instead the Pack will host Florida Atlantic on that date. To wrap up non-conference play, Campbell visits Raleigh on 12/19.

NC State Wolfpack Schedule

North Carolina: The Tar Heels figure to play the fully allotted 27 games. So far 26 are accounted for: 20 ACC, three for Maui Invitational in Asheville (opener is against UNLV), the CBS Sports Classic event vs. Ohio State in Cleveland on 12/19. UNC will host Charleston on 11/25 to start the season, and the ACC/Big 10 Challenge game at Iowa on 12/8. The games against Hawaii, UNC-Wilmington and Monmouth were not saved. The Elon game was saved, and slated for 12/12 in Chapel Hill.

North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule

Notre Dame: Contracted to play at Rupp Arena against Kentucky on 12/12. The Crossroads classic game vs. Purdue is on track, on 12/19. The game on MLK day (1/18) at Howard is likely to be televised on FOX and broadcasted by Gus Johnson, per Stadium. After initially deciding against playing in an event, ND is now co-hosting an MTE with Michigan State. The Irish have a home game against Western Michigan (12/2) and face Michigan State (11/28) on the road. The Irish will host Ohio State on 12/8, as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. A home game against Tennessee on 12/4 completes the schedule.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule

Pittsburgh: The revised Myrtle Beach Invitational in Orlando, like all events moved to Orlando, are cancelled. The Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia has been postponed. Pitt also pulled out of a deal to play Duquesne in the 2020 edition of the City Game, so that is out. Central Michigan, Drexel and Morgan State were all on Pitt’s orginal schedule, and are up in the air. Gardner-Webb was saved from the original slate, and the two programs will meet on 12/12. We know that Pitt will play at Northwestern on 12/9 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. We also know that the Panthers will host St. Francis (PA) on 11/25 in the season opener.

Syracuse: The Orange prioritized keeping Georgetown on the schedule, the game will likely happen in January. The Gotham Classic scheduled games against Green Bay, Jacksonville State, and Mercer are off. This event also included a game against LSU in MSG, which no longer will be played. Also, the November 10th opener against UMBC is likely to be cancelled. The Orange will play at Rutgers on 12/8 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. The Colgate game is off now, due to the recent Patriot League announcement of no games prior to January. Syracuse has now proposed to host an MTE, details are emerging. The Orange also plans to host Rider this season. The Orange will host Bryant on 11/27.

Virginia: Agreed to play Florida in the Mohegan Sun, CT on 11/27. Cavs will take on Villanova as part of the MSG Showcase one-day event, it is still on track for 12/19. UVA will open at the Mohegan Sun on 11/25 against St. Peter’s. The Cavaliers were also part of the Wooden Legacy event, that has moved to Orlando, FL - which is now cancelled. The Cavs have a marquee matchup against Michigan State on 12/9, part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Cavs will host William & Mary on 12/12. UVA added home games against St. Francis (PA) on 12/1 and Kent State on 12/4.

Virginia Caviliers Schedule

Virginia Tech: Hokies will participate in the Mohegan Sun event(s). As part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, V-Tech will face two AAC programs, South Florida and Temple (on 11/28-11/29). The Hokies also host Penn State on 12/8 this season, as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Hokies will open up with Radford on opening night (11/25) in Blacksburg. Hokies will also host Coppin State (12/19) and VMI.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons will host its own MTE in Winston Salem from 11/25-27. The Deacs will reportedly be joined by Longwood (11/27), Delaware State (11/25), and Alabama State (confirmed to play on 11/26). The Deacs were part of the Jamaica Classic, which was cancelled this year. The Deacs will not participate in the B1G/ACC Challenege, which opens up room for an additional game. Deacs will host Presbyterian on 12/13. The Deacs also will host Troy on 12/2.

America East
All Programs: Conference schedule will be 18-games. The Conference schedule will begin on December 19-20th. Full double round-robin schedule of 18 league games. Schedule will consist of Saturday-Sunday series where a team hosts the same opponent for games on back-to-back days. Teams will play their non-conference games during the first three weeks of the season only.

Albany: One event at the Mohegan Sun is expected to include the Great Danes, Drexel, LIU and Quinnipiac, per sources. UAlbany will play twice at the Mohegan Sun, against LIU on 12/3, and either Drexel or Quinnipiac on 12/4. HC Will Brown has said there is “no chance” the Great Danes will play on opening night, 11/25. The opener will be on 11/28 against Marist at home.

Albany Great Danes Schedule

Binghamton: Will host Canisius in the season opener on 11/25.

Hartford: “We’re trying to figure out our schedule right now,” said Hartford HC John Gallagher, who has a contract to play in a multiteam event at Kentucky. Unfortunately, it did not work out for Hartford, and they will not make the trip. The Hawks will open the season at Merrimack on 11/25.

Maine: Maine is lined up to open the season in Uncasville, CT at the Mohegan Sun. the Black Bears will face Florida in the opener on 11/25, and likely St. Peter’s on 11/27. The Black Bears are scheduled to host Northeastern on 12/2.

NJIT: Highlanders will play against Temple at the Mohegan Sun on 11/25. NJIT plays host to Fairleigh Dickinson on 12/2.

Stony Brook: The Seawolves will be hosting a 3-team MTE with Fairfield and Sacred Heart to open the season. The game vs. Iona was postponed. Seawolves will open the season at Marist on 11/25. SB will head to Hofstra on 12/9, then to Bryant on 12/12, and later to Fordham on 12/22.

Stony Brook Seawolves Schedule

UMass-Lowell: Travel is one advantage that mid-major conferences like the America East Conference have. UMass Lowell takes a bus to face eight of its nine AE opponents, with the exception being UMBC. There are also an abundance of schools in the northeast that the River Hawks could play in non-conference contests. Merrimack and Northeastern are likely to be on the schedule, according to reports.

UMBC: Missed out on a trip to London, where the Retrievers were scheduled to play two games. HC Ryan Odom says it is important to try and play a couple of games against power prorams to get the experience. Retrievers are likely to participate in a Washington D.C. MTE (11/26-11/28). UMBC would be joined by George Mason, Belmont, and Northeastern. Also, UMBC has been linked to a road game at Georgetown. Retrievers are also planning to play at Coppin State on 12/13 and at Mount St. Mary’s on 12/11.

Vermont: The Gulf Coast Showcase will take place Nov. 25-27, but without the Catamounts. Yes, Vermont has dropped out of the event. The Catamounts are now likely to play at the Mohegan Sun between 11/30-12/2 against Iona and Buffalo.

American
All Programs: The AAC will reportedly play 20 full round-robin games during the 20-21 season. Two conference games will be played in December. League was previously at 18.

Cincinnati: The annual Crosstown Shootout vs. Xavier will be played on 12/6. The NIT Season Tip-off event won’t happen this year. It was believed that the Bearcats would play in Orlando for two or three games, but that is cancelled too. Now, Cincy is looking into an MTE in Indianapolis with Loyola-Chicago and two other programs yet to be named (Cincy is rumored to face Duquesne as one of the teams). The Bearcats plan to play at Tennessee on 12/12. The series with Louisville was moved to a future season. Games with Georgia and Northern Kentucky are still possible, but unknown right now.

East Carolina: The Gulf Coast Showcase will take place Nov. 25-27 with the same teams. (Akron, Indiana State, Middle Tennessee, and Omaha remain in the field for now). ECU will host James Madison on 12/19. ECU will host North Florida on 12/10.

Houston: UH was expected to play Texas Tech and Gonzaga was expected to face Auburn in a four-team tournament in Orlando, but the event fell through. UH will now head to Fort Worth for a four-team MTE at Dickies Arena and reportedly host Boise State (11/27) and Texas Tech (11/29 in Ft. Worth). The home-and-home series against Alabama will happen, beginning this season at Alabama on 12/19. The Cougars will also host South Carolina this season. The home-and-home series against LSU will no longer happen this season. UH has a home game against cross-town rival, Rice, under contract as well. The Cougars also plan on hosting a trio of Southland programs, Lamar (on 11/25), Sam Houston State (on 12/9) and McNeese State.

Memphis: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Tigers will face Saint Mary’s (replaced Ohio State) in the opener, then face either Texas A&M or West Virginia on 11/26. That leaves four openings for the Tigers. HC Penny Hardaway prefers to play the toughest schedule possible. A game with Auburn (now part of Atlanta bubble event between 12/10-12/17) is in place. The Atlanta bubble could provide multiple opportunities for additional games. If things do not go the Tigers way with schedule strength preferences, don’t necessarily rule out previously scheduled home game against Murray State. Arkansas State will visit Memphis on 12/2. A key game against Tennessee in Nashville appears to be cancelled. Memphis and Saint Louis have a home-and-home series contracted, but conflicting reports are saying it may be off this season. Previously scheduled games with Georgia and Ole Miss are up in the air currently. Memphis confirmed two of seven home games will be at home.

SMU: Mustangs have confirmed they will host Vanderbilt, Houston Baptist, and UNLV, dates TBD. Also, the game at Dayton appears to be set for 12/5. Originally part of the Global Sports Invitational, that now appears to be cancelled. The pending cancellation would wipe out three would be SMU home non-conference games (Georgia, Wofford, Charleston Southern). SMU’s game against Evansville and series against Arizona State were moved to 2021-22. Mustangs will open the season by hosting Sam Houston State on 11/25.

South Florida: Will face LSU on 12/12 in the Atlanta Holiday Hoopsgiving Event. There is a good chance that the Bulls will have another game while in Atlanta as well. USF was in the Fort Myers Tip-off, but is now out. Instead, USF is heading to Connecticut for the Hall of Fame Tip-Off event. The Bulls will face Virginia Tech and Rhode Island to open the season. HC Brian Gregory said that USF is trying to keep at least two or three of those Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC-type games on the schedule. A trip to Boston College was supposed to happen this year, but was later cancelled. USF will host the Hatters of Stetson on 12/8.

Temple: Withdrew from the revised Diamond Head Classic, now taking place in Orlando, and now will participate in the HOF Classic in the Mohegan Sun (effectively replacing UCF). Temple will face Virginia Tech and Rhode Island to open up the season at The Mohegan Sun. The Owls will also face NJIT there, and have made that the season opening game on 11/25. The Owls will play a Big 5 game at Villanova. The Owls are trying to work out a date to play at St. Joseph’s.

Tulane: The Green Wave will host a four-team tournament from Nov. 27-29, according to a report from Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Tulane will be joined at the event by Lipscomb, IUPUI and Lamar. The game in China vs. Washington has been postponed to a future season. A road game at Florida State is now in doubt.

Tulsa: Replacing Cal in the Kansas City-based Hall of Fame Classic to be played Nov. 28, 29. The Golden Hurricane will face TCU then either Northwestern or South Carolina. The Golden Hurricane not make the return trip to Boise State this season. Tulsa will host Arkansas on 12/8 in a marquee game. UT Arlington will visit on 12/4. The battle of Tulsa will be played on 12/12 at Oral Roberts. The Golden Hurricane have added a home game against Northwestern State on 12/18.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule

UCF: Will not participate in the HOF event, now at Mohegan Sun. The Knights are now staying home in Orlando, where they plan to compete in a four-team event with Saint Mary’s, Missouri, and San Diego State. Also, the Knights are planning on hosting the Oklahoma Sooners on 11/28. The Knights are part of the one-day Orange Bowl Classic at Florida State. HC Johnny Dawkins also mentioned they will host Michigan this season to begin a home and home series.

Wichita State: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Shockers will face Dayton in the opener, then face either Utah or Creighton on 11/26. Marquee nonconference games for Shockers against Oklahoma State (12/12), at Mississippi (1/2) and/or Missouri are more likely to get scheduled, than the contracted “buy” games with Sam Houston State, North Texas, Oral Roberts, Western Kentucky and Central Arkansas. HC Gregg Marshall has already hinted, "There will be no 'gimmees' on our schedule. Every game will be a Quad I or Quad II game on our schedule. We'll have to grow up very quickly," 

Atlantic Sun
All Programs: Conference schedule is HERE!

Bellarmine: Welcome to Division 1! Bellarmine is part of the MTE event at Duke, along with Elon and Howard. The Knights first ever D1 game will be at Chattanooga on 11/25. The Mocs will visit Bellarmine on 12/9 as well. Bellarmine plays at Morgan State on 12/13.

FGCU: Had their scheduled game with USC to open the season on Nov. 14, but that was canceled last month when the Pac-12 announced it was canceling all athletic events through the end of the year. Also appeared to lose a home game with Dartmouth when Ivy League cancelled events through the end of the year. FGCU is still in line to play in the Santa Barbara Slam, which also includes FAMU (11/25) and UC-Santa Barbara (11/27). FGCU also has a road trip to play Robert Morris on 12/2 lined up. Eagles will play at Miami on 12/12. FGCU will host FIU on 12/16 and Georgia Southern on 12/22.

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Schedule

Jacksonville: Planning to host a four-team MTE between 12/8-12/10. The Dolphins are planning to host Campbell, Bethune-Cookman, and New Orleans. Dolphins will head to Kansas State on 12/21 for a road game. JU will play at South Carolina State on 12/13. Dolphins will host Presbyterian on 12/2. Dolphins will play at Miami on 12/19.

Kennesaw State: The Owls will welcome Samford to town on 12/19, per Samford officials. Owls will also host Mercer this season on 12/22. KSU will play at UAB on 12/2. To kick off the season the Owls setup two non D1 games. The Owls travel to Creighton on 12/4 and Belmont on 12/16. The month of December will conclude with the conference opener against Jacksonville.

Kennesaw State Owls Schedule

Liberty: Flames will be unable to play their four games prior to Nov. 25. Those games were an exhibition game at Winthrop, East Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Notre Dame. It is currently unknown if those games will be made up at a later date, but will depend on when conference play begins. Also another non-conference game scheduled on Dec. 9, against Missouri. It is unknown if that game will be affected by other games moving around. We do know today that the Flames will head south to the Cancun Challenge, relocated to Florida, to face Purdue. Mississippi State/Clemson are in the other semifinal. Flames will host South Carolina State on 12/15.

Lipscomb: Announced that they are the host of a wide-ranging “bubble” event in Nashville (see Event updates), however the Bisons made other plans for opening weekend. Lipscomb is now tied to an event in New Orleans. The Bisons will play in a four-team tournament at Tulane University from Nov. 27-29, according to a report from Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Lipscomb will be joined at the event by Lamar, IUPUI and host school Tulane. The Bisons setup an in season home and home against SE Missouri State (12/7 at SEMO, 12/9 at Lipscomb). Lipscomb will play at Arkansas on 12/5.

North Alabama: Setup an in-season home-and-home against Alabama State. The Lions will host on 12/19, and will play at ASU on 12/2. UNA will visit Troy on 12/10. North Alabama also plans to play at Indiana on 12/13. Lions will host Alabama A&M on 12/16.

North Florida: UNF will open their season in the NC State four-team MTE. The Ospreys will face Eastern Kentucky on opening night (11/25), and also face NC State (11/27). Ospreys were able to keep their road game at Florida on the schedule, it will be played on 12/16. UNF won’t host Austin Peay this season, dates couldn’t be worked out. Ospreys will play at Miami on 11/29. UNF will play at Florida State on 12/2, High Point on 12/5 and at East Carolina on 12/10. Ospreys host Florida Atlantic on 12/7 and FIU on 12/12.

North Florida Ospreys Schedule

Stetson: Hatters will open the season at Miami on 11/25. Then have three other road games at FIU (11/27), at Florida (12/6), and at South Florida (12/8). Update: Stetson had to shut down team activities and the Miami game is off.

Stetson Hatters Schedule

Atlantic 10
All Programs: Plans on starting league play Dec. 30 but may float some league games earlier. A-10 teams will play an 18-game schedule.

Davidson: In the Maui Invitational, which was moved to Asheville, NC between 11/30-12/2. The Wildcats will face Texas in the opener, followed by either Providence or Indiana. HC Bob McKillop said dates and venues for other nonconference games against Charlotte, Vanderbilt and Loyola-Chicago are still being worked on. The Wildcats will open the season on 11/25 by hosting High Point.

Dayton: Already confirmed to participate in the Atlanta bubble in December, the Flyers were also originally part of the Myrtle Beach Invitational - which was moved to ESPN’s Orlando bubble. The Flyers have decided to not participate in Orlando, and instead are heading to Sioux Falls, SD to replace Duke in the former Battle4Atlantis event. That means the Flyers open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: Dayton will face Wichita State in the opener, then face either Utah or Creighton on 11/26. The Flyers have confirmed they will host Ole Miss on 12/19. Flyers are on track to host SMU on 12/5. The game with Indiana State has been officially cancelled.

Duquesne: Originally part of the Maryland showcase, which featured a great opportunity to face the Terps, is likely scrapped. Pitt also pulled out of a deal to play Duquesne in the 2020 edition of the City Game, so that is out. The MWC-A10 challenge game against Wyoming is also gone. The Dukes are now tied to an MTE at the University of Louisville, along with UNC-Greensboro, Winthrop, and others. Dukes are also planning to play in Indianapolis against Cincinnati, and perhaps one other opponent.

Fordham: Has agreed to host Iona on opening night of the season, November 25th. The Rams will host Stony Brook on 12/22.

George Mason: Planning to be part of the Washington D.C. MTE (formerly the Paradise Jam) from 11/26-11/28, GMU would be joined by Northeastern, Howard, and Belmont. The Patriots will also travel to Maryland on 12/4. GMU will face James Madison on 12/12 and Old Dominion on 12/13 in Richmond, VA. GMU hosts Coppin State on 12/16. Patriots plan to host Morgan State on 12/8.

George Washington: Will open up the season at Navy on 11/25, as part of the Veteran’s Classic. GW will host William & Mary on 12/5.

La Salle: Will participate in the MTE hosted by St. John’s. Manhattan and a TBD team are also part of the three-game event. The Explorers were supposed to be part of the now cancelled Cayman Islands Classic, which opened up a three-game void. The Explorers are on track to host Villanova this season. La Salle will play at Towson on 12/16.

Rhode Island: Rams lost the Providence game. HC David Cox says the Rams are committed to playing on 11/28 and 11/29, participating in Mohegan Sun HOF event vs. South Florida and Temple. Also, the Rams have setup stand-alone games against Stephen F. Austin (11/25, season opener) and Towson in “Bubbleville.” URI will prioritze a home game against Seton Hall and has road trips to BC (12/4) and WKU. The local rivalry game against Brown is off due to the Ivy League shutdown.

Richmond: Lost the A10/MWC Challenge game against Colorado State, leaves the Spiders with nine non-conference spots. Richmond is playing in Lexington and in theory will get three games against Kentucky, Detroit, and Morehead State. The Spiders recently scheduled a non-conference game at West Virginia on 12/13. The Spiders have an agreement to play at Charleston. The Spiders plan to play at Vanderbilt and host Northern Iowa. That leaves two openings left, rumors are Hofstra, ODU, William & Mary are options.

St. Bonaventure: Withdrew from the relocated Paradise Jam. The Bonnies have reportedly agreed to participate in one of the Mohegan Sun bubble-event. The Bonnies will face Stephen F. Austin in the opening game, and are in a pod with Towson and a fourth team TBD. Bonnies are planning to host Buffalo this season, the two schools are finalizing a date. Tentative matchups with Canisius and at Niagara are still in place for the season. Bonnies plan on hosting Army and Hofstra this year, and HC Mark Schmidt says they plan to play at Akron.

St. Joseph’s: Biggest scheduling news for the Hawks happened late, the Hawks were the fourth team added to the revised Fort Myers Tip-off event. Hawks will face Auburn to open the season on 11/25, and then face Gonzaga on 11/27. Will play a road contest against Big 5 foe, Villanova. The Hawks are supposed to host Temple at some point as well. The Hawks will play at Bradley on 12/5. The Hawks were originally part of the Veteran’s Classic in Annapolis, MD and were matched against Towson, but that game will no longer happen. Hawks will host Mount St. Mary’s on 12/19.

Saint Louis: The season was supposed to begin in Orlando, but sources are now saying that the Billikens are backing out. Now the Billikens will head to the Lincoln, NE event with seven other schools. SLU also had a home game contracted with Boston College and road contests against Memphis and Minnesota. Reports have confirmed the game at Memphis may not work out now. The Atlantic 10-Mountain West challenge was postponed, meaning a highly anticipated home game against San Diego State isn’t happening. SLU will now host Indiana State on 12/15.

UMass: Originally part of the Jamaica Classic, and the event folded for this year. The Minutemen are now planning to participate in an early season MTE, part of the Mohegan Sun hosted “controlled environment.” UMass is currently placed in a pod with Siena and Delaware. The Minutemen also have a game lined up at Northeastern on 12/12.

VCU: Rams missed out on playing Penn State and either Tennessee or Charlotte in the now-cancelled Orlando Events. However, VCU will play in Tennessee’s mini event against the Vols and Charlotte. The Rams also scheduled a game at Penn State, so it worked out in some ways. The return game of the home-and-home series with LSU is now set for December 22nd in Baton Rouge. Rams will host Mount St. Mary’s on 12/5.


Big East
All Programs: League is unlikely to play conference games in any type of bubble format. League will stick with a 20-game schedule. The conference is still hashing out details, but would like to start conference play as early as Dec. 11, although they would have to work around final exams scheduled for that week. There are growing talks that league members will play four, perhaps even five, league games in December.

Butler: Opted out of playing in the Fort Myers Tip-Off and does not intend at this point on opting into another multi-team event. The one-day Crossroads Classic (vs. Indiana) is still being worked out. Butler is not expected to participate in another tournament and is thus confined to a 25-game schedule. Butler is scheduled to host Kansas State on 12/11 in the Big East/Big XII Challenge. Butler will open the season at Hinkle Fieldhouse against Western Michigan on 11/25. The Bulldogs game against Eastern Illinois was moved to 11/29. Final exams at Butler are from 12/2-12/8, and they are trying not to play during that window.

Butler Bulldogs Schedule

Creighton: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Blue Jays will face South Dakota State in the opener, then face either Dayton or Wichita State on 11/26. Interesting to note that HC Greg McDermott says it’s a priority to get as many games in early as they can in the event delays happen later in the season. The Crossover Classic is seeing a handful of teams drop out, so we will see if the tournament can stay in tact. Jays will have a game vs. Kansas, as part of the Big East/Big XII challenge in Lawrence on 12/8. Game with Arizona State was scheduled for 11/21 is in jeopardy. The Blue Jays will host Kennesaw State on 12/4. The Blue Jays added a local game by hosting Omaha on 12/1.

Creighton Blue Jays Schedule

DePaul: Demons will most likely go with a five game non-conference schedule (no MTE) that will include games that were already under contract.  Remaining games that were already under contract include:  at Iowa State (set for 12/6), at Northwestern, and at home versus the Loyola Ramblers (was 12/13). The Blue Demons have dropped out of the Las Vegas Invitational, opens up two more game opportunities. The Blue Demons will host Chicago State on 11/28.

Georgetown: Hoyas will not participate in the 2020 Wooden Legacy in Orlando, and have decided to not play an MTE. This means only a 25-game season is in store. The Hoyas rivalry game at Syracuse will now likely be moved into January. The Hoyas will host West Virginia in the Big East/Big XII challenge. The Hoyas will host UMBC, likely in November. Hoyas will also host Coppin State on 12/8..

Marquette: Six games are at the very least postponed or outright cancelled: Home vs. Lehigh, Home vs. Albany, Home vs. Jackson State, Gavitt Games opponent (Big 10), HoopHall games (2). HoopHall was moved to the Mohegan Sun, and Marquette backed out of the event. The scheduled game at UCLA is on track for 12/11. The Golden Eagles are on track to host Oklahoma State (12/1) in the Big East/Big XII Challenge. You can also expect the game against Wisconsin (12/4). MU and Wisconsin will co-host an MTE with Eastern Illinois and Arkansas Pine-Bluff. The plan is for Marquette to play Ark-PB in the opener on 11/25 and EIU on 11/27. MU also hosts Green Bay on 12/8. Golden Eagles formally announced their non-conference schedule already, but they have one more opening if they choose to schedule another game.

Marquette Golden Eagles Schedule

Providence: The Friars have cancelled a home game against local rivals URI. Providence is playing in the revamped Maui Invitational in Asheville, NC. The Friars will face Indiana in the first round of the Maui Inviatational, and either Texas or Davidson on day two. The game at TCU (12/9) for the Big East/Big XII challenge is on schedule. PC will host Fairleigh Dickinson on 12/5. The season opener will be at Alumni Hall vs. Fairfield on 11/25. That leaves one slot open right now, but it may not be filled due to Big East play beginning on 12/12.

Providence Friars Schedule

St. John’s: Had confirmed earlier in the summer that they would be hosting Sacred Heart and La Salle, along with playing Texas Tech in the Big East vs. Big 12 Challenge on 12/3. All three are going to happen still. The Johnnies are going to make an appearance in “Bubbleville” on 11/30 vs. Boston College. Meanwhile, the Preseason NIT was moved to Orlando’s bubble, and St. John’s will not be participating there. Now, St. John’s is planning to host an MTE between 11/25-27 with La Salle, Manhattan, and a TBD team. The Sacred Heart game will happen separately. SJU will also host Fordham on 12/8. The Johnnies have one opening left for non-conference play.

Seton Hall: Charleston Classic in Orlando was the first to go, then all of Orlando was gone. That meant the Pirates missed out on possibly facing UCLA, Kansas or Boise State. Instead, Seton Hall is now heading to a large MTE in Lousivlle, where they will face the Cardinals on 11/27. They also plan to play Winthrop there. The local matchup against Rutgers is on life support, and may only work if after January, based on the amount of December Big East commitments the Pirates have. SHU has scheduled home games against Baylor on 11/29 and URI on 12/2. Pirates will travel to play Penn State on 12/6. SHU is also expected to play St. Peter’s as well.

UConn: Was slated to play in the Legends Classic on Nov. 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn along with BYU (who replaced Notre Dame), Vanderbilt and USC. The Gazelle Group, which operates that tournament will host the event now in Connecticut between 12/2-12/3. UConn worked hard to keep their road game at Florida on the schedule, now slated for 12/6. A currently scheduled game against Donyell Marshall and Central Connecticut State on Nov. 28 seems to be easily kept on the schedule (perhaps on a different date). Also, UConn plans to host Sacred Heart. In an effort to cut costs, UConn is expected to play just three non-conference “buy games” games this season and will not play any games in Hartford’s XL Center. UConn still has a December game at Florida tentatively on the schedule for 12/6, although travel policies may not permit it to happen. The Huskies are in talks with NC State for a game at the Mohegan Sun on 12/5 to replace the Florida trip.

Villanova: HC Jay Wright said it is a goal to play maximum number of non-conference games beyond the alloted 20 games for league play. Common sense says that Villanova would want to be part of the Mohegan Sun bubble, and any leftover opportunities can be played locally against the Big 5 perhaps, sans Penn. The Empire Classic for now has Villanova playing Arizona State (replaced Michigan), and Baylor vs. Boston College in the other semifinal. The Wildcats do plan to keep their game against Virginia on the schedule as well. The Big East/Big 12 Challenge contest will be at Texas on 12/6. The rest of the Wildcats schedule will be local: at La Salle, and home against Temple and St. Joseph’s.

Xavier: Team has seven newcomers this year, and they had some guarantee games lined up to ramp up for the season, that is now gone. The Musketeers have the Crosstown Shootout at Cincinnati in line for 12/6. Xavier is set to host a Big XII team (Oklahoma on 12/9) and travel to a Big Ten team as part of the Gavitt Games. However, the Gavitt Games are now cancelled. Xavier has put together a season-opening MTE from 11/25-27 with Oakland (11/25), Bradley (11/26) and Toledo (11/27). Xavier added two OVC opponents, Eastern Kentucky (11/30) and Tennessee Tech (12/2). After December 9th, its all Big East Play for XU.

Xavier Musketeers Schedule

Big Sky
All Programs: The league voted in favor of playing two regular season conference games in the same location each week of the conference season. Games will be played on Thursday and Saturday.
Full Conference Schedule HERE

Eastern Washington: A limited non-conference schedule has yet to be released by EWU, however, the school announced that it will consist of limited games due to the early Big Sky Conference start. EWU is unlikely to play at Southern Illinois due to the travel distance this season. EWU will play at Saint Mary’s on 12/15.

Idaho: Planning to compete in the Portland Pilots MTE between 11/25-11/28. The Vandals would also face Cal Poly and VMI over that time period if the event stays in tact.

Idaho State: Planning to participate in the Silicon Valley Classic between 11/25-11/28. Bengals will play against each team in the event: Santa Clara (11/25), Nicholls State (11/27) and UC Davis (11/28). ISU will play at Utah on 12/8 and play at Utah Valley on 12/19.

Idaho State Bengals Schedule

Montana: Plans to play at Arizona on or around the originally scheduled date of 12/22.

Montana State: Bobcats HC Danny Sprinkle confirmed that they have non-conference games aligned with Washington State and Portland. Also MSU has a scheduled road game at Pacific on 12/2. Bobcats will open the season at UNLV on 11/25.

Northern Arizona: The Lumberjacks were initially scheduled to open the season in Tucson against Arizona on 11/10, now they will open on 11/25 together. NAU is planning to play in the Denver Pioneers MTE between 12/19-12/22. Texas State is also in line to be in the event, no word yet if others will join. NAU had a home game against CS-Bakersfield on the early schedule, but that game is up in the air.

Northern Colorado: Will play at Colorado State this season, dates are TBD. A road game is lined up at Arizona, dates TBD still. A road game at Washington State is uncertain now. We do know that UNCO will play in a two-day event in Kansas City between 11/27-11/28. The Bears will face SE Missouri State and either Kansas City or a non D1 program in game two.

Portland State: Vikings are planning to compete in a four-team MTE between 11/25-11/28 in Seattle. Washington (host) and Cal State Fullerton have been tied to the MTE, with a fourth team pending.

Sacramento State: Local rivals UC Davis will come visit on 12/19. Another game vs. UC San Diego was removed. Hornets will play at Saint Mary’s on 12/30. Sac. State will play at Santa Clara on 12/12 and at Stanford on 12/21.

Sacramento State Hornets Schedule

Southern Utah: The T-Birds had big-time road games lined up at Kansas and Michigan, but the KU game has already been moved to 2021-22, and the game in Ann Arbor is unlikely. SUU will host Dixie State on 12/17. Thunderbirds have a season opener lined up at Loyola Marymount on 11/25. T-Birds will play at Utah Valley on 12/9.

Weber State: Wildcats are now out of an MTE event this year, and will be limited to a 25-game schedule. The Paradise Jam cancellation in it’s original format caused this. Also unfortunate for Weber State, they had six games scheduled before November 25th and the fear is they have lost out on all of them. The good news, a home contest against Utah State and a game against BYU currently set for Salt Lake City on 12/23, and a trip to Dixie State on 12/5 are in the cards.

Big South
All Programs: The conference is proceeding with a 20-game league schedule, and two gamedays will likely happen before the Christmas holiday. Back-to-Back format to reduce travel has been implemented.
Complete Schedule Here

Campbell: Camels are planning to compete at the four-team Jacksonville Dolphins (ASUN) MTE. They will reportedly be joined by Bethune-Cookman and New Orleans. Camels will play at NC State on 12/19.

Charleston Southern: The Buccaneers will head to NC State on opening night (11/25) as part of a four-team MTE. The Bucs will face North Florida and Eastern Kentucky while in Raleigh as well (11/26-11/27). The Bucs will also play at Duke on 12/12. Originally, the Bucs were part of the Global Sports Invitational that appears to be cancelled. The Buccaneers will unfortunately miss out on games at SMU, at Georgia, and at Wofford. The Bucs will host North Carolina A&T on 12/1. A game at NC Central on 12/15 was added to the schedule.

Charleston Southern Buccaneers Schedule

Gardner-Webb: The Bulldogs announced they will open the season at Duke on 11/25. Right after, they will play at Florida State on 11/27. Two additional guarantee road games were announced: at Georgia on 11/29 and at Pittsburgh on 12/12.

Gardner-Webb Bulldogs Schedule

Hampton: The Pirates setup a home-and-home series for this season with William & Mary. Hampton will travel to Williamsburg on 12/3, and the Tribe visit Hampton on 12/15. Pirates will play at Norfolk State on 12/7.

High Point: HPU will play at William & Mary on 12/19. Panthers open the season on the road at Davidson on 11/25 and at Elon on 11/28. Panthers will host North Florida on 12/5. Non-conference play concludes on 12/22 at Eastern Kentucky.

High Point Panthers Schedule

Longwood: Reportedly will open the season at the Wake Forest MTE from 11/25-11/27. They will be joined by Wake Forest, Delaware State, and Alabama State. Longwood will host North Carolina A&T this season, scheduled for 12/8.

Presbyterian: PC will play at Wofford on 12/6. The Blue Hose will host South Carolina State on 12/18. PC also travels to Jacksonville U. on 12/2, Wake Forest on 12/13 and The Citadel on 12/22.

Presbyterian College Blue Hose Schedule

Radford: The Highlanders had a matchup with NC State set for 12/12 in Raleigh. It is yet to be announced if that game remains on the calendar. Highlanders are going to be in an MTE at James Madison on opening weekend, facing Norfolk State on 11/28 and JMU on 11/29. The Highlanders will open the season at Virginia Tech on 11/25.

UNC-Asheville: The Bulldogs have a game lined up with East Tennessee State in Downtown Asheville, set for 12/8. Bulldogs will travel to Chattanooga to face the Mocs on 12/16. UNCA announced they will be hosting an on-campus four-team MTE. Each team plays twice, and the Bulldogs will face UNC-Wilmington on 11/27 and Western Carolina on 11/28. UNCA will host South Carolina State on 12/5. The Bulldogs will play at Marshall on 12/22.

UNC-Asheville Bulldogs Schedule

USC-Upstate: Will play at Tennessee on 12/22. USC-Upstate will play at Georgia on 11/27.

Winthrop: The Eagles proposed to host a bubble and all admins are all onboard with the event is approved. MTE + Non-Conference games options for all programs involved. The question is, how many takers will they get? Winthrop is also being tied to an MTE at Louisville, along with UNC-Greensboro and Duquesne. The Eagles plan to play at LSU in December, still firming up a date for the game.

Big 10
All Programs: It appears that the Big Ten will opt to keep its 20-game conference schedule. Which means teams like Purdue, could play up to five non-conference games, plus their two-game multi-team tournament. Power leagues as a whole, are faced with this dilemma and everyone other conference (besides the Ivy) sits and waits. Using the Big 10 here as a prime example.

Illinois: The Illini were also part of the Emerald Coast Classic, which is now cancelled. Home game with Arizona was cancelled. The Illini will likely end up replacing Rutgers in the Jimmy V Classic, now looking for a new location (Orlando was scrapped). The game would take place on December 2nd against Baylor, if finalized. The Illini now plan to host a three-game, round-robin MTE from 11/25-11/27, with Ohio, North Carolina A&T, and Wright State. The Illini will travel to Duke on 12/8 for a blockbuster ACC/Big 10 Challenge game. The “Braggin Rights'“ game vs. Missouri is still trying to be worked out by both schools.

Indiana: The Hoosiers are heading to Asheville, NC for the revamped Maui Classic. IU will face Providence in the opener, and either Texas or Davidson on day two. Opening night at IU will be a contest between the Hoosiers and Tennessee Tech (11/25) The Crossroads Classic game vs. Butler is on track to happen on 12/19. Indiana games previously scheduled against NJIT, Omaha, and Robert Morris are unlikely to happen. The Hoosiers would prefer to play a tune-up game on 11/25 prior to the Maui Invitational. The Hoosiers found out they are traveling to Florida State, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on 12/9. Hoosiers will have another window to host a non-conference opponent on either 12/22 or 12/23.

Iowa: HC Fran McCaffery recently said, the Hawkeyes non-conference schedule should include: Iowa State, now Gonzaga (who replaces Oregon State in Sioux Falls) on 12/19, ACC/B1G Challenge (hosting North Carolina) and host a multi-team event (MTE) between 11/25-11/27. The Hawkeyes have MTE commitments from Southern U. and NC Central.

Maryland: HC Mark Turgeon has said they will not participate in the larger bubble events (D.C., Houston, Indianapolis, etc). The originally scheduled Maryland Showcase had games lined up with Duquesne and Cal Baptist, perhaps Duquesne stays on the Terps schedule, but it remains a mystery for now. The Terps are a candidate to host a revised MTE, and rumors suggest that Navy and Mount St. Mary’s would be part of it. Terps will host George Mason on 12/4. The Terps have a home matchup against Monmouth in the works at last check as well. And we found out that the Terps will play at Clemson on 12/9 as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge.

Michigan: Withdrew from the revised two-game Empire Classic, now at the Mohegan Sun. The Wolverines also forego their home games in that event against CSUN and Georgia State. The London Showcase vs. Kentucky was moved to 2021. Also, the home game vs. Oregon was moved to 2021. HC Juwan Howard says the Wolverines are looking for an MTE that provides sufficient Health and Safety measures. Reports out of UCF are that Michigan will take on the Knights at UCF this season to begin a home and home series. The Wolverines will host NC State on 12/9, as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge.

Michigan State: Plays 20 conference games, leaves room for seven games. Spartans were committed to the Orlando MTE-now cancelled, Champions Classic (now needs to be relocated) and ACC Challenge (at Virginia) on 12/9. Sparty is now in talks with Notre Dame on co-hosting an MTE. If it comes together, MSU would play two home games against Notre Dame and either Central or Eastern Michigan.

Minnesota: Gophers are expected to host Green Bay on opening night, 11/25. Gophers backed out of the Hall-of-Fame Classic in the Mohegan Sun (replaced by South Florida). Gophers would like to find an event more local, per reports, and intend on playing a 27-game schedule. The ACC/B1G Challenge game will happen on 12/8 vs. Boston College. That leaves the originally scheduled game against Purdue-Fort Wayne on 12/9 in doubt. The Gophers also have a matchup with North Dakota lined up for 12/29. That leaves at least four likely cancellations: Albany, Long Island, Kent State, and Mississippi State (confirmed as cancelled).

Nebraska: The Huskers pulled out of the Myrtle Beach Invitational and are having Elevate Hoops host its own bubble-style event in Lincoln. The event is happening and aiming to host 16-teams in a hopeful tournament bracket structure. LSU, UNI, Nevada, Cleveland State, WKU, San Francisco and Illinois State are some of the teams in thus far. ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against Georgia Tech on 12/9 will also be in Lincoln. A three-year series with Kansas State that was supposed to begin this year, was moved to the 2021-22 season.

Northwestern: Expected to stay in the HOF Classic in Kansas City on 11/28-11/29. The Wildcats are scheduled to face South Carolina in the opener, and either Tulsa or TCU the following day. The Wildcats are set to host DePaul this season (Date TBD). The Wildcats will host Pittsburgh on 12/9, as part of the ACC/B1G Challenge. Northwestern will host Chicago State on 12/5. Northwestern will host Prairie View A&M in the season opener on 11/25.

Ohio State: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Buckeyes will face Memphis in the opener, then face either Texas A&M or West Virginia on 11/26. Also expected to play in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge (12/8 at Notre Dame) and the CBS Sports Classic against North Carlolina on 12/19 in Cleveland. The last two openings are going to be home games against Morehead State (12/2) and Alabama A&M (12/5).

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES SCHEDULE

Penn State: HC Pat Chambers resigned, throwing this season into a series of unknowns. PSU was expected to play VCU in a four-team tournament in Orlando during the first week of the season, that is all wiped out now.The Nittany Lions are looking for regional games in which they can rely on bus travel. PSU was supposed to face Florida in the HOF Classic, which has now been moved to the Mohegan Sun. It remains to be seen if that game will happen. We do know that Penn State will play at Virginia Tech on 12/8, in the ACC/B1G Challenge. And PSU will now host Seton Hall on 12/6.

Purdue: Boilermakers are still scheduled to play in the Cancun Challenge, which has moved to Melbourne, FL. They will face Liberty on 11/25, and face either Mississippi State or Clemson on 11/26. HC Matt Painter says they may add a third game while there. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge game will be at Miami on 12/8. The Gavitt Games is now unlikely, however the Crossroads Classic is likely - where Purdue will face Notre Dame on 12/19. Purdue has added a home game against Indiana State on 12/12. A matchup with West Virginia was called off after the two programs couldn’t work out a date. Another game with Valparaiso is in the works for 12/4 at Mackey Arena, the contract was not signed yet at last check.

Rutgers: Unfortunately had to back out of the revised Jimmy V Classic against Baylor. The Rutgers-Seton Hall game is on life support, both programs intended to play it, but now with the Big East moving multiple games to December, the only way it works is in January or February. Rutgers will host Fairleigh Dickinson on 11/27 and Rider on 11/30. Rutgers will host Syracuse in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on 12/8. The Scarlet Knights plan to host Sacred Heart this year at some point.

Wisconsin: The Fort Myers Tip-Off is out, Badgers withdrew from the event. The original 11/11 game with Tennessee is out now as well for this season. The games happening are the ACC Challenge game against Louisville on 12/9 and the Marquette game in Milwaukee on 12/4. Also, Wisconsin and Marquette will co-host an MTE with Eastern Illinois and Arkansas Pine-Bluff. The plan is for the Badgers to play EIU (11/25) and Ark-PB (11/27).

Big XII
All Programs: Conference is holding onto two dates in mid-to-late December to host conference games. Although the specifics of those dates/games has not been made available yet, the idea here is that the Big 12 clearly wants to get things going as soon as possible and has more or less sent out save-the-date correspondence to the schools so they know not to schedule any non-con action on those particular dates. The league will play the traditional 18-game schedule.

Baylor: Reports indicate that the Bears first four games will be in the Mohegan Sun (2 against BC, Nova, and/or ASU), vs. Seton Hall, and in the Orlando bubble (JimmyV Classic vs. likely Illinois) on December 2nd. The Gonzaga matchup will be played on December 5th in Indianapolis as a one-day event. Baylor will play their two league games in December on 12/13 (Texas) and 12/19 (@K-State). Baylor will host Auburn on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. The Bears will host Nicholls State (12/8), Ark.-Pine Bluff (12/21) and Central Arkansas (12/29). The Complete schedule is available.

Baylor Bears Schedule

Iowa State: Cyclones are aiming to land at 25-games, with no MTE. Local rivalry game against Iowa is on track. The Emerald coast Classic was cancelled (included Florida, Illinois, and Oregon). The Cyclones will play at Mississippi State on 1/30. Plus the Cyclones plan on hosting DePaul (on 12/6) in the Big East/Big XII Challenge. ISU will play their two December league games on 12/15 (K-State) and 12/18 (@WVU). ISU will likely have four “buy” games at home to complete the schedule. Two of the home games will be against Jackson State on 12/20 and Chicago State on 12/22.

Kansas: The Jayhawks are committed to the Champions Classic event against Kentucky on December 1st. Where the event will be played is now a mystery, as ESPNEvents is not moving forward in Orlando. This means the Jayhawks season-opening games against Boise State in the Wooden Classic on 11/25 and against either UCLA or Seton Hall on 11/26 will not happen. Instead, the Jayhawks committed to the Fort Myers Classic for two determined matchups against Gonzaga (11/25) and Auburn (11/27). The matchup with Creighton (12/8) is in tact, and a big one regionally. Jayhawks will play their two December league games on 12/17 (@Texas Tech) and 12/22 (WVU). The matchup with Stephen F. Austin was removed from the schedule. Kansas plays at Tennessee on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. The Border War vs. Missouri has been pushed to the 2020-21 season. A game at Colorado was moved to 2021-22. The other home games for KU are North Dakota State (12/5), Omaha (12/11), and Tarleton State (12/13).

Kansas Jayhawks Schedule

Kansas State: Originally, the Wildcats were supposed to face Central Arkansas, UMKC, UNLV, Milwaukee and South Dakota with a game in Kansas City, Mo., against Nebraska, a home game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and a trip to the now cancelled Cayman Islands Classic. KSU decided to plan and host their own MTE on 11/25 and 11/27. Colorado will also be part of the event and face the Wildcats on 11/27, with Drake (plays KSU on 11/25) and South Dakota State (won’t face KSU) joining. The Wildcats are also set to play Butler in the Big 12/Big East conference challenge and host Texas A&M on 1/30 as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. KSU will play their two December league games on 12/15 (@ISU) and 12/19 (Baylor). The games against UMKC (11/30), UNLV (12/5), Milwaukee (12/8) and South Dakota (12/29) did in fact get scheduled as well. A home game vs. Jacksonville on 12/21 was added.

Kansas State Wildcats Schedule

Oklahoma: Opted out of the Diamond Head Classic, now scheduled in Orlando. Sooners plan to play a 25-game schedule. The Sooners will tip-off the season against UTSA on 11/25. OU will host Florida (12/2), play at Xavier (Big East/Big XII Challenge) on 12/9, host Florida A&M on 12/12, and host Houston Baptist on 12/19. A game at UCF on 12/28 completed the non-conference slate. OU will play their two December league games on 12/6 (@TCU) and 12/22 (Texas Tech). OU hosts Alabama on 1/30 in the SEC/Big XII Challenge.

Oklahoma Sooners Schedule

Oklahoma State: OSU announced it plans to open its 2020 season at Pinnacle Bank Arena (in Lincoln, NE) but has since backed out of the event for all intents and purposes. Oklahoma State will open the season at UT Arlington on 11/25, so the games in Nebraska are likely off. The Cowboys are still slated to travel to Marquette on December 1st. Cowboys will travel to face Wichita State on 12/12. Cowboys will host Arkansas on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. A home non-conference game against Oral Roberts is set for 12/8. Pokes have Oakland coming to Stillwater on 12/5. Pokes originally decided to withdraw from the revised Charleston Classic, now in Orlando, and now cancelled anyways. Pokes will play their two December league games on 12/16 (TCU) and 12/20 (@Texas).

Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule

TCU: Will host Providence in the Big East-Big XII Challenge on 12/9. The Frogs will not host Penn any longer as originally planned, due to the current Ivy League shutdown. TCU is slated to play in the HOF Classic in Kansas City between 11/28-11/29, and play against Tulsa, South Carolina faces Northwestern in the other game - Frogs will play one of them on Day Two. TCU will play their two December league games on 12/6 (Oklahoma) and 12/16 (@OK State). The Frogs will play Texas A&M on 12/12 as originally scheduled in Downtown Fort Worth (Dickies Arena). TCU travels to Missouri to face the Tigers on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. TCU’s initial plan to play in Las Vegas on 12/19 vs. Colorado was cancelled. The Frogs will host Houston Baptist (11/25), Northwestern State (12/3), North Dakota State (12/22) and Texas Southern (12/30) to round out the complete schedule.

TCU Horned Frogs Schedule

Texas: The Horns had put together a remarkable slate, highlighted by Gonzaga and Villanova expected to come to Austin. Texas is committed to travelling to Asheville, NC now to play in the Maui Invitational (on the Mainland now), as all eight of the original teams are expected to participate. The series with Gonzaga appears to be pushed back now to 2021-22. However, Villanova is slated to visit Austin on 12/6 as part of the Big East/Big XII Challenge. A tune up game before the Maui Invitational, is in place for 11/25 vs. UTRGV. The Horns will go to Rupp Arena in January to face Kentucky (1/30) as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. The home contest against Louisiana-Lafayette has been removed and the two schools plan to play again in a future season. Also, the BattleGround2K event in Houston was cancelled, which featured a matchup between UT and Louisiana Tech. Texas will play their two December league games on 12/13 (@Baylor) and 12/20 (OK State). UT added home games against Texas State (12/9), Sam Houston State (12/16) and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (12/29).

Texas Longhorns Schedule

Texas Tech: The Preseason NIT was consolidated in Orlando to a four team event with Houston, Auburn, and Gonzaga. All Orlando events have been cancelled. The Red Raiders are now tied to a four-team MTE in Fort Worth and slated to play twice. Texas Tech will face Sam Houston State on 11/27 (in Lubbock) and Houston on 11/29. The original Red Raiders matchup with Gonzaga on 12/19 will not be played this year. Red Raiders will open the season with Northwestern State on 11/25. The Big East challenge game vs. St. John’s will happen on 12/3. Tech will head down to the Bayou to face LSU on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. HC Chris Beard says it is important to play a showcase game or two, so they are working on lining a big game or two up still in non-conference play. Texas Tech will play their two December league games on 12/17 (@Kansas) and 12/22 (Oklahoma). TTU will host Grambling on 12/6, Abilene Christian on 12/9, TAMUCC on 12/12 and Incarnate Word on 12/29.

Texas Tech Red Raiders Schedule

West Virginia: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Mountaineers will face Texas A&M in the opener, then face either Saint Mary’s or Memphis on 11/26. The Big XII/SEC Challenge will happen on 1/30, with the Mountaineers hosting Florida. WVU will play at Georgetown in the Big East/Big XII Challenge. West Virginia has committed to host Richmond for a non-conference game on 12/13. West Virginia’s other non-conference games are currently uncertain. The Mountaineers had originally been slated to play home games against Fairleigh Dickinson (removed), Stony Brook (removed), Robert Morris (now on 12/9), Youngstown State (now on 12/2) and Miami-Ohio (removed), as well as a game against Purdue in Brooklyn that was just cancelled. Only three spots remain open. The Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia has been postponed to next season. A previously scheduled home game against Bowling Green will not happen. WVU will play their two December league games on 12/18 (Iowa St.) and 12/22 (@Kansas).

West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule

Big West
All Programs: Commissioner Dan Butterly is willing to help build MTE’s in the Las Vegas bubble to give Big West programs ample opportunities to play non-conference games. Butterly discussed arranging schedules for a Vegas bubble-type environment and how it’s a bear, but went on to say the most obvious way to do it with the least amount of hassle is determining pool play and putting “like competition” in the same pods. Metrics from previous seasons will be used as a compass, taking the best and worst teams and then they’ll work toward the middle. The league is also close to announcing a December 29th start date for conference play and for a 20-game conference schedule.

Complete Big West Conference Play Schedule

Cal Poly: The Mustangs will compete in the Portland Pilots MTE between 11/25-11/28. The Mustangs face Portland (11/25), Idaho (11/27) and VMI (11/28) over that time period. Mustangs have four other road games in store: at Stanford (12/8), at Fresno State (12/12), at Loyola Marymount (12/19), and at USC (12/22). The lone home non-conference game will take place on 12/16 vs. San Diego.

Complete Cal Poly Schedule

Cal State Bakersfield: The Roadrunners are still on track to play at Arizona this season. Previously scheduled games at Gonzaga and at Northern Arizona are uncertain.

Cal State Fullerton: Titans are planning to compete in a four-team MTE between 11/25-11/28 in Seattle. Washington (host) and Portland State have been tied to the MTE, with a fourth team pending. Titans are scheduled to host Pacific on 12/19.

Cal State Northridge: CSUN will host Pacific on 12/16 in the Matadome.

Hawai’i: Hawai’i is in a unique situation that may force them to only play conference games, depending on Covid-19 regulations on the islands. Tentatively planning on opening the season against D2 Hawaii Pacific on 11/25. The UNC game of course, will not happen now. The Rainbow Warriors are still working it out to play at Santa Clara on 12/2. The thought is if they make it to the Bay Area, they could posiibly get a couple more games while on the mainland. Also, a 12/13 home game against Alcorn State is still pending. Hawai’i is in a unique situation that may force them to only play conference games, depending on Covid-19 regulations on the islands.

Long Beach State: Pulled out of the Paradise Jam, now located in Washington, D.C. The 49ers have experienced practice delays due to COVID-19 and are just now starting to come together. All indications are that they will wait until December to play their opener at UCLA. The road game scheduled at Cal Baptist is now set for 12/19.

UC Davis: Planning to participate in the Silicon Valley Classic between 11/25-11/28 (11/26 is an off day). Also in the event are Santa Clara, Nicholls State and Idaho State - Aggies will face each team once. UC Davis as two home non-league games against Portland (12/5) and Non-D1 William Jessup (12/22). The Aggies travel to Cal Baptist (12/8), Pacific (12/12), and Sacramento State (12/19).

UC Davis Aggies Schedule

UC Irvine: Anteaters are now tied to a four-team MTE in San Diego. They will be joined by San Diego State, UCLA, and Pepperdine. Matchups and dates are TBD.

UC Riverside: The Highlanders will open the season at Pacific on 11/25.

UC San Diego: Welcome to D1, Tritons! UCSD has a scheduled game on 12/11 at Idaho State, game is still up in the air for now. UCSD also had a contract to face Weber State twice this season, it appears the entire series will be moved to a future season now. UCSD had a game planned at Sacramento State, now that is in limbo.

UC Santa Barbara: At last check, still intend to host the Santa Barbara Slam between 11/25-11/29. In line to join UCSB is FAMU and FGCU thus far. Texas-Arlington was also supposed to come to UCSB for a return game (on Dec. 7), but the UTA administration doesn’t want them flying out there (because of the coronavirus pandemic). The Pepperdine game will now be played in December in Malibu, was originally supposed to be played at UCSB. The Gauchos are set to play at Loyola Marymount on 12/12. The game at Saint Mary’s was postponed til next year.

CAA
All Programs: League play will begin on January 2nd. 2021. The league opted to go with two games against the same opponent over a two or three day period, which is increasingly more common in other conferences. Here is the complete SCHEDULE.

Charleston: Has withdrawn from the relocated Charleston Classic in Orlando. The Cougars will open the season at North Carolina on 11/25. Charleston’s coaching staff has confirmed opponents include Richmond (12/2), Marshall (12/9), South Carolina State (12/11) and D2 Limestone. Charleston will get a visit from Western Carolina on 12/18. The Cougars have a date at Georgia State on 12/21.

Charleston Cougars Schedule

Delaware: Dropped out of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Blue Hens are now planning to participate in an early season MTE, part of the Mohegan Sun hosted “controlled environment.” UD is currently placed in a pod with Siena and UMass. The Blue Hens will face Delaware State on 12/5.

Drexel: One event at the Mohegan Sun includes the Dragons, Albany, LIU and Quinnipiac. Drexel will take on Quinnipiac on 12/3, and either Albany or LIU on 12/4. Dragons return home on 12/6 and will host Coppin State. Dragons will play at Fairleigh Dickinson on 12/19.

Elon: The Phoenix will participate in the Duke MTE event. They will face Duke on 12/6 and also take on Howard on 12/8 in Durham. Elon will host High Point on 11/28. Elon also plays at North Carolina on 12/12. So yes, Elon will play both Duke and Carolina this season.

Hofstra: Has agreed tentatively with Monmouth on a non-conference contest on 11/25. The Pride will host Stony Brook on 12/9. The Pride plan to play a road game at St. Bonaventure, date is TBD.

James Madison: The Dukes were able to salvage a road game at Florida, now scheduled for 12/22. JMU will play Radford on 11/29 and Norfolk State on 11/27, in an MTE at JMU. The Dukes and ODU plan on playing a home and home series, with JMU hosting ODU on 12/7. Dukes will face George Mason in Richmond, VA on 12/12. Previously scheduled marquee “buy” game at Virginia was cancelled. The Dukes two home games and a road game at Georgia Tech as part of the Georgia Tech Showcase are gone now. The Dukes added a road game at East Carolina on 12/19 and a non D1 school to their schedule.

James Madison Dukes Schedule

Northeastern: Likely to participate in a Washington D.C. MTE (11/26-11/28). Huskies would be joined by George Mason, Howard, and UMBC. Northeastern also plans to face UMass-Lowell in a non-conference game, date is TBD. The Huskies have two road games on the calendar at Maine on 12/2 and at Georgia on 12/22. The Huskies are scheduled to host UMass on 12/12.

Towson: Has agreed to participate in a Multi-team event in the Mohegan Sun, Connecticut. The Tigers opted to stay closer to home, and leave their previous commitments of playing in the Music City Shootout event in Nashville and the St. Pete Shootout in Florida (which was entirely cancelled). In the Mohegan Sun, Towson is paired with St. Bonaventure (11/25) and Stephen F. Austin (11/27). The Tigers also coordinated a stand-alone game against Rhode Island at the Mohegan Sun on 11/26. The Tigers will host La Salle on 12/16. The Tigers were originally part of the Veteran’s Classic in Annapolis, MD and were matched against St. Joseph’s, but that game will no longer happen. Towson will host Coppin State on 12/3 and Morgan State on 12/19.

UNC-Wilmington: UNCW was originally set for contracted road games with Ole Miss, Wake Forest and ECU. It’s still unknown if any of those games will be played. The Seahawks also were set to complete previously scheduled series with North Carolina (12/15) and Charlotte (no date). It remains to be seen how UNCW will proceed with those games. The Seahawks have committed to a four-team MTE at UNC-Asheville. Each team plays twice, and the Seahawks will face UNC-Asheville on 11/27 and Troy on 11/28. UNCW will arrive early to Asheville and face Western Carolina to open the season on 11/25. The Seahawks will also play at Norfolk State on 12/18.

William & Mary: Will open the season at Old Dominion on 11/28. Tribe then head to NC State on 12/30. Also, W&M will head to Virginia on 12/12. The Tribe setup two games against Hampton (at W&M on 12/3 and at Hampton on 12/15). Tribe play at George Washington on 12/5 and at Norfolk State on 12/9. Tribe will also host High Point on 12/19 and Fairfield on 12/22.

William & Mary Tribe Schedule

Conference USA
All Programs: An 18-game schedule was announced. The conference approved a regular season scheduling model where teams would play the same opponent in the same location twice in the same week on Thursdays and Saturdays. Limited travel helps get more games in and prevent cancellations.

Charlotte: 49ers were expected to play Tennessee and Penn State is expected to face VCU in the first round of a four-team tournament in Orlando during the first week of the season, but the event folded. Instead, the 49ers will play at Tennessee in the opener on 11/25, and then face VCU in Knoxville. The 49ers also expect to face Davidson this season, dates and location are still being worked out. Charlotte will host South Carolina State on 12/7. Charlotte will host Appalachian State on 12/11.

FAU: Will play at Florida on 12/19 now instead of at a neutral site (was originally part of the Orange Bowl Classic). The Owls were part of the Puerto Rico tournament, which was cancelled. Owls will participate in the South Alabama event to open the season, and face South Alabama in the opener on 11/25. FAU will play at NC State on 12/12. Owls head to North Florida on 12/7.

FIU: Pulled out of the Paradise Jam, now located in Washington, D.C. Panthers will host Stetson on 11/27. FIU heads to Fort Myers on 12/16 to face FGCU. FIU plays at North Florida on 12/12.

Louisiana Tech: Planning to host a three-team MTE. between 11/27-11/29. The other programs involved will be UT Arlington (11/27) and Northwestern State (11/29). The Bulldogs were supposed to play LSU in Bossier City, but that game will now be played at LSU on 12/6. The Bulldogs will play at Louisiana-Lafayette on 12/12. Louisiana Tech and UL Monroe have setup an in-season home-and-home series, 12/3 will be at LA Tech, and 12/22 game wil be in Monroe. The Bulldogs have a date with Jackson State on 12/15. LA Tech will host Lamar on 12/19. Bulldogs also have SE Louisiana on the calendar for 12/9 in Ruston.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Schedule

Marshall: Thundering Herd have an agreement to play at Charleston on 12/9. The Herd had a trip to Rupp Arena to face Kentucky, unfortunately cancelled. Marshall plans to host a three-team MTE to open the season on 11/25-11/27 against Coppin State and Tennessee State respectively. Thundering Herd will host UNC-Asheville on 12/22. Marshall will play a two-game road trip in Ohio, at Wright State on 12/2 and at Akron on 12/5. The Herd added three quality home games with Ohio U. (12/13), Northern Iowa (12/19), and Toledo (12/16).

Marshall Thundering Herd Schedule

Middle Tennessee: On track to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase (11-25-11/27). The event still is looking for a couple of spots to be filled. MTSU lost a game with Washington State already, and will likely have the Belmont game moved to next season. MTSU will host Chattanooga on 12/6. MTSU also has a home game against Murray State lined up, date is unknown.

North Texas: Part of the Diamond Head Classic field, that was moved to Orlando. All Orlando events are off now, so the Mean Green need a new home for games. The game at LSU was saved, and will be played on 12/19. The other marquee game for the Mean Green was against Oklahoma State in Dallas, but that appears to be in jeopardy of cancellation. UNT will be part of a mini event where they host Mississippi Valley State on 11/26 and play at Arkansas on 11/28.

Old Dominion: The Monarchs will open the season at Maryland on 11/25. Their scheduled 11/28 game against William & Mary will be the home opener. ODU will get two games in Richmond, at VCU on 12/12 and vs. George Mason on 12/13. The Monarchs were originally scheduled to open the basketball season 11/10 against Penn, but the Ivy League suspended all sports for the fall semester. Games at Richmond and vs. Northeastern were removed from the schedule. The game against Arkansas in Little Rock was already cancelled. ODU signed a new series with Norfolk State, and will play at Norfolk State on 12/2 this season. ODU and James Madison will meet one time this year (originally rumored to play twice), with ODU playing at the Dukes on 12/7.

Old Dominion Monarchs Schedule

Rice: The Owls will compete at the four-team MTE at Incarnate Word (in San Antonio) between 11/27-29. The event includes UIW, Tarleton State, and North Dakota. Rice is on track to play at cross-town rival, Houston, this season. Rice will play at Sam Houston State on 12/19.

Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles committed to a three-game MTE in Milwaukee, hosted by UW-Milwaukee between 11/27-11/29. It appears, they will also face Ball State and North Dakota State while at the event. The Golden Eagles are set to host UL Monroe on 12/19. Southern Miss will play at Lamar on 12/15. USM will no longer host Louisiana-Lafayette on their schedule this season.

UAB: UAB will host ACC foe, Georgia Tech, on 12/23. Blazers are planning to play at East Tennessee State on 12/12. UAB will also host Alcorn State (11/26), SELA (11/28), Kennesaw State (12/2), Southern (12/16), and Chattanooga (12/19). The complete schedule has been released.

UAB Blazers Schedule

UTEP: HC Rodney Terry says everyone in CUSA is waiting for the trickle down from the Power 5 for what scheduling options remain. He also said the league has yet to confirm if they will stick with 18-game model or not. Miners are not in an MTE, so the maximum amount of games they can play is 25. That leaves just seven openings for non-conference play. Ideally for the Miners, four games will come from playing local rivals UNM and NMSU. Miners will play at Saint Mary’s on 12/8.

UTSA: The Roadrunners contract to play at Oregon State remains in question for this season. The teams have not announced a date for the game or if it will be pushed to a future season. UTSA is set to play at Oklahoma to open this season on 11/25, then head to UTRGV on 11/28. The Roadrunners will play at Lamar on 12/22.

Western Kentucky: Hilltoppers have manuevered their way into both Nebraska and Louisville’s large events. Tops will play LSU in a neutral site game in Nebraska as part of Elevate Hoops' MTE, and have a second game there. Hilltoppers will also play Louisville (12/1) in a game at the KFC Yum Center, plus have two other games in Louisville (vs. Little Rock on 11/28 and vs. Prairie View A&M on 12/3). WKU will host Rhode Island on 12/19. WKU also plans to host Tennessee Tech on 12/22.

Horizon
All Programs: Teams will play one League opponent twice each week with games taking place on consecutive days at the same location. Schools will have five home weekends and five road weekends and will play 10 of 11 League opponents. LEAGUE SCHEDULE

Cleveland State: The Vikings’ Paradise Jam plans did not work out, the event is being restructured with an entirely new field in Washington D.C. The Vikings are now heading to Nebraska to be part of the proposed large event in Lincoln. That should get CSU between three or four games in a short amount of time. CSU has a game at Kent State still on the schedule, the new date has not been determined. The Vikings will play at Toledo on 12/1.

Detroit: Kentucky HC John Calipari has frequently pointed to Detroit, where his son, Brad, now plays, as an example of a low-major program that depends on payments from high-majors like Kentucky to play in their home arenas. Kentucky was scheduled to play Detroit on Nov. 13 as part of the Bluegrass Classic in Rupp Arena. It is unclear how many low-major programs, like Detroit, will be able to play a full season because of the financial cost of COVID-19 testing, but it would be safe to assume Calipari would like to keep the matchup with Brad and Detroit on the schedule. Detroit also had a deal to play Northwestern, now that too is in jeopardy. Detroit’s game at Kent State remains on the schedule, but the date has not been confirmed.

Green Bay: Plan is to open the season at Minnesota (11/25). The games tied to the Gotham Classic (Syracuse for example) are likely to be scrapped entirely. The Phoenix will head down state to play Marquette on 12/8. Phoenix will host Eastern Illinois on 12/5.

Illinois-Chicago: Scheduled to open up the Luke Yaklich coaching era at Northern Illinois on 11/25.

IUPUI: The Jaguars will play in a four-team tournament at Tulane University from Nov. 27-29, according to a report from Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. IUPUI will be joined at the event by Lipscomb, Lamar and host school Tulane. Prior to the trip, IUPUI will play at Chicago State on 11/25.

Milwaukee: Planning to host a four-team MTE between 11/27-11/29. Ball State, Southern Miss, and North Dakota State are all planning to participate. The Panthers have a scheduled road contest at Kansas Satte on 12/8.

Northern Kentucky: A local game against Cincinnati is still uncertain to happen. An MTE with Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech was rumored, per Stadium. Now it appears to be separate, can confirm that NKU will play at Chattanooga on 11/28 and host Tennessee Tech on 12/3.

Oakland: Put together a monster nonconference schedule, both pre-COVID-19 and even during the pandemic, with games against Michigan State, Ohio State, Xavier, Oklahoma State and Michigan. Oakland was able to stay in Xavier’s plans, as Xavier put together a season-opening MTE from 11/25-27 with Bradley and Toledo, so the Golden Grizzlies have three games lined up now. Oakland and Oklahoma State worked together and have their game rescheduled for 12/5.

Purdue - Fort Wayne: Tied to an MTE from 11/25-11/30 with UAB, Kent State, Alcorn State, and SE Louisiana. PFW will face SE Louisiana in the opener on 11/25.

Robert Morris: Set to play at West Virginia on 12/8. RMU will host Florida Gulf Coast on 12/2. The Colonials will play at Central Michigan on 11/28, at St. Francis (PA) on 12/5. Just a five-game non-league schedule is in place.

Robert Morris Colonials Schedule

Wright State: The Raiders backed off an initial pledge to play in Nashville in an MTE, only to join the Illinois MTE with Illinois, North Carolina A&T, and Ohio from 11/25-11/27. The Raiders will host Marshall on 12/2.

Youngstown State: Will host a 3-team MTE with Eastern Michigan and SIU-Edwardsville coming. YSU is likely to face each team between 11/27-11/29. Penguins will play at West Virginia on 12/2.


Ivy League
All Programs: Has canceled all sports for the remainder of 2020, which means Men’s basketball teams won’t be starting on Nov. 21, barring any reconsideration by the league. The Ivy may frown upon playing games in a bubble, as well, and there’s a chance the league doesn’t play basketball at all this season. The Ivy League remains a prime candidate to sit out nonconference.

Penn: Originally, the Quakers were committed to play in the Myrtle Beach Classic on ESPN before Thanksgiving. TCU and Penn State were among the nonconference teams on the schedule. HC Steve Donahue is hopeful the Penn State game can still happen, but as of now, everything else is canceled.

MAAC
All Programs: Conference schedule was released! Link: https://maacsports.com/news/2020/9/17/womens-basketball-maac-hoops-schedule-model-revealed.aspx
Update: On Nov. 6, 2020, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Council of Presidents revised the 2020-21 MAAC Basketball scheduling format after taking into consideration evolving COVID-19 testing, travel and venue standards. New schedules will be announced at a later date, following approval.

Canisius: Planning to play a non-conference game at St. Bonaventure. The Golden Griffiths will play at Binghamton to open the season on 11/25.

Fairfield: The Stags will be participating in a 3-team MTE with Stony Brook and Sacred Heart. Fairfield will be opening the season at Providence on 11/25. Fairfield has a road game scheduled at William & Mary on 12/22.

Iona: Will open the season at Fordham on November 25th. Iona will also compete in a 3-team event at the Mohegan Sun from 11/30-12/2 (likely against Buffalo and Vermont). The Gaels also plan to play a fourth game at the venue. That leaves two remaining openings for non-conference games. The Gaels will host Wagner on 12/5.

Marist: Non-conference schedule has nearly wiped clean and started over from scratch. We do know that Marist will play at Albany on 11/28. Marist is restricted or encouraged not to make long trips that require plane travel or overnight hotel stays. HC John Dunne said it’s almost inevitable that some games are going to be canceled at the last moment over COVID outbreaks – he’s very curious about what the NCAA and MAAC guidelines are going to be with quarantine guidelines. Marist is slated to open the season by hosting Stony Brook on 11/25.

Manhattan: Jaspers intend to play a non-conference schedule. According to the official athletics site, this will be announced in the upcoming weeks. The Jaspers are working with St. John’s on playing in a newly created MTE event, which also includes La Salle and an unnamed fourth team.

Monmouth: Marquee home game vs. North Carolina will be unfortunately moved into a future season. The Hawks had four games removed as part of the initial Gazelle Group event, but may have an invite to the Mohegan Sun event. The Hawks have a road game at Maryland in the works, according to HC King Rice. The Hawks have tentative agreements in place to face Hofstra (11/25) and St. Francis Brooklyn.

Niagara: The Purple Eagles plan on hosting St. Bonaventure in a non-conference clash. Niagara will open the season at St. Francis-Brooklyn on 11/25.

Quinnipiac: Recently the Mohegan Sun formed an event that includes QU, Drexel, LIU and Albany. Bobcats will face Drexel on 12/3, and either LIU or Albany on 12/4. Bobcats will open the season against Fairleigh Dickinson at home on 11/25.

Rider: Initially rumored to be part of the Ole Miss MTE from November 25-27, as the Broncs were originally supposed to face Ole Miss on December 1st. However, plans fell through and Ole Miss will not be hosting Rider. Instead, Rider will play a two-game MTE at Rutgers, Fairleigh Dickinson is also part of the event. Rider plans to play a road contest at Syracuse. The Broncs plan to host both Coppin State on 12/29 and Delaware State on a TBD Date. Rumors are out there that Rider is close to scheduling a game with Bowling Green.

Saint Peter’s: Will play at Seton Hall this season, date is still TBD. The Peacocks are lined up to open the season with two games at the Mohegan Sun in Uncascville, CT against Virginia on 11/25 and likely Maine on 11/27.

Siena: A general timeline is in place for the Saints’ non-conference schedule. After opening Nov. 25 on the road, the Saints are on track to play three games at the Mohegan Sun (vs. UMass, Delaware, and Air Force) between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, then play another non-conference game before their Dec. 8 MAAC opener at Rider. A sixth non-conference game on either Dec. 22 or 23 is expected.

MAC
All Programs: After the MAC strongly considered moving to a 22-game conference schedule, they ultimately decided on a 20-game schedule beginning on January 2nd, 2021, which was later moved up to December to allow more time for make-up games.

MAC conference-play schedule has been released!

Akron: Zips are on track to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase (11-25-11/27). Zips will face Middle Tennessee in the opener, and either ETSU or Abilene Christian in their second game. Akron will host Marshall on 12/5. The Zips also plan to host St. Bonaventure this season.

Ball State: The Cardinals committed to a three-game MTE in Milwaukee, hosted by UW-Milwaukee between 11/27-11/29. It appears, they will also face Southern Miss and North Dakota State while at the event. The Cardinals have a date with Indiana State on the road scheduled for 12/19.

Bowling Green: Will unfortunately lose their top two non-conference opportunities, games at West Virginia and at Georgia. Rumors are saying BGSU may have a game against Rider announced soon. Bowling Green will host South Carolina State on 11/28, then travel to play Appalachian State on 11/30.

Buffalo: Withdrew from the Paradise Jam, which was relocated to Washington D.C. The Bulls are now likely to play at the Mohegan Sun between 11/30-12/2 with two games against Iona and Vermont. Buffalo plans to play at St. Bonaventure this season, with a date TBD. However, the Bulls will not face local rivals Canisius or Niagara this season. Buffalo secured a quality road game at West Virginia on 12/29.

Central Michigan: CMU is committed to playing Pittsburgh, but it is still unclear if Pitt has a spot for the Chippewas. CMU is also talking with Michigan State and Notre Dame about an MTE, if it happens - Chips will play both on the road. CMU has agreed to host Robert Morris on 11/28.

Eastern Michigan: Had Syracuse on its original schedule. Syracuse may not be able to honor the game any longer. EMU is now slated to play in a MTE at Youngstown State. SIU-Edwardsville is also scheduled to be there. EMU is likely to play each team there. That MTE may be superseeded by a new MTE. EMU is also talking with Michigan State and Notre Dame about an MTE, if it happens - Eagles will play both on the road.

Kent State: Will not make the trip to Minnesota this season, the two schools may reschedule for a future season. Kent State was able to reschedule the Virginia road game for 12/4. HC Rob Senderoff wanted at least one Power 6 replacement game if he can find it by bus travel. The Golden Flashes will play Cleveland State and Detroit on TBD dates. Kent State has been tied to MTE’s, but plans for each have fallen through thus far.

Miami (OH): Redhawks have a game set at Bradley for 12/19.

Northern Illinois: Will not host Northern Iowa this year, the game will be potentially made up in a future season. NIU will open the season against UIC on 11/25. The Huskies also announced they will host SIU-Edwardsville on 12/2 and Chicago State on 12/18. NIU has said they will have three road non-conference games total and announce them in the near future.

Ohio: The Bobcats plan to play in a three-game, round-robin MTE at Illinois from 11/25-11/27, with Illinois, North Carolina A&T, and Wright State. Bobcats will play at Marshall on 12/13.

Toledo: The Rockets will open the season in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier put together a season-opening MTE from 11/25-27 with Oakland and Bradley also joining the Musketeers. Rockets will play on each day against each team. Toledo setup home games with Cleveland State (12/1), Kansas City (12/12), and Valpo (12/19). Toledo will travel to face Marshall on 12/16.

Toledo Rockets Schedule

Western Michigan: Had deals to play Indiana and Marquette, now in limbo. WMU will open the season at Butler on 11/25.

MEAC
All Programs: The league has moved forward on a proposal to have a 16-game schedule splitting into north/south divisional games. All teams will only play games against teams in their division. This means playing the same opponent four times each.

Complete MEAC Conference Schedule

Bethune-Cookman: BCU has opted to not play sports at all in 2020-21 as an Athletics Department. The Wildcats were planning to compete at the four-team Jacksonville Dolphins (ASUN) MTE from 12/8-12/10. They will reportedly be joined by Campbell and New Orleans.

Coppin State: CSU plans to open the season at Marshall in a three-team MTE. The Eagles would face Marshall in the opener on 11/25, and face Tennessee State on 11/26. The Eagles then plan to play at Duke on 11/28. The Eagles will travel to a pair of CAA programs, Towson (12/3) and Drexel (12/6). Another planned game is in place to play at Rider on 12/29. Coppin State plans to play at Georgetown on 12/8 and host UMBC on 12/13. Coppin State will play at George Mason on 12/16. Eagles added another road game at Virginia Tech on 12/19.

Coppin State Eagles Schedule

Delaware State: Has a planned road game at Rider, the two schools are working out dates. The Hornets will reportedly will open the season at the Wake Forest MTE from 11/25-11/27. The Hornets will be joined by Wake Forest, Alabama State, and Longwood. DSU will play Delaware on 12/5. DSU will play at Georgia Tech on 12/20.

Florida A&M: Set to participate in the Santa Barbara Slam to open the season. UCSB and FGCU are the other listed participants. Rattlers will remain in California to take on Cal Baptist on 11/30. FAMU will play at Oklahoma on 12/12. FAMU heads to face Georgia Tech on 12/18.

Howard: The feature game on MLK day (1/18) against Notre Dame is likely to be televised on FOX and broadcasted by Gus Johnson, per Stadium. The Bison will compete at Duke in a multi-team event. Elon and Bellarmine are also part of the event. Howard is likely to participate in a Washington D.C. MTE (11/26-11/28). Bison would be joined by George Mason, Northeastern, and UMBC. The Bison will have a date with Mount St. Mary’s on the schedule, date is still TBD. There is a chance that the Bison back out of the Duke event now, per Media Day reports.

Maryland-Eastern Shore: The Hawks will skip non-conference play entirely this year, per HC Jason Crafton.

Morgan State: Open the season at home against Mount St. Mary’s on 11/25. Bears will play at George Mason on 12/8. Morgan State plans to host Bellarmine on 12/13. Bears will then head to Navy on 12/16 and Towson on 12/22.

Morgan State Bears Schedule

Norfolk State: Entered into a new series with Old Dominion. NSU will host ODU on 12/2 this season for the first time since 1968. Norfolk State will be part of an MTE at James Madison, facing the Dukes on 11/27 and Radford on 11/28. Norfolk State will host William & Mary on 12/9. NSU hosts Hampton on 12/7 and UNC Wilmington on 12/18. Spartans will travel to North Carolina A&T on 12/29 in a game that won’t count toward the MEAC standings.

Norfolk State Spartans Schedule

North Carolina A&T: Scheduled to play at East Tennessee State on 12/15. The Aggies will not travel to Northern Iowa, the game was cancelled. The Aggies plan to play in a three-game, round-robin MTE at Illinois from 11/25-11/27, with Illinois, Ohio, and Wright State. The Aggies also plan to play on the road at Charleston Southern on 12/1, at The Citadel on 12/3, at Longwood on 12/8 and at Western Carolina on 12/12. UNCG will pay a visit to the Aggies on 12/22. The Aggies and Norfolk State will play on 12/29 in a game that will not count toward the MEAC Standings.

North Carolina A&T Aggies Schedule

North Carolina Central: Eagles will be part of the Iowa MTE, along with Southern University. The event is planned for the opening weekend of the season. Eagles will play at Wofford on 12/3. Eagles are tied to a two day event in Nashville. They would face Tennessee State on 12/12 and either Vanderbilt or Alabama State on 12/13. NC Central will also host Charleston Southern on 12/15.

South Carolina State: The Bulldogs are set to play at Charleston on 12/11. SC State will play at South Carolina on 12/23. At media day, Coach Garvin eluded to having additional games in line with: at Appalachian State on 11/25, Charlotte on 12/7, at Clemson on 12/2, at Liberty on 12/15, at Furman on 12/21, hosting Jacksonville on 12/13, UNC-Asheville on 12/5, at Presbyterian on 12/18, and at Bowling Green on 11/28.

South Carolina State Bulldogs Non-Conference Schedule

MVC
All Programs: League play has been planned to begin on December 30th. A complete conference-schedule has been released. Here is the Complete Conference Schedule.

Bradley: Pulled out of the Paradise Jam, now located in Washington, D.C. The Braves were able to join the MTE that Xavier put together. A season-opening event from 11/25-27 with Xavier, Oakland, and Toledo. The remaining schedule will include a game at Missouri (12/22), South Dakota State (12/8), Miami (OH) on 12/19, and Jackson State (12/17). When Bradley released their scheduled it was revealed that St. Joseph’s from the Atlantic 10 will come to Peoria on 12/5 and non D1 program, Judson visits on 12/1.

Bradley Braves Schedule

Drake: Part of the Islands of Bahamas Classic, that will now be played in Estero, FL. The Bulldogs intend to participate at last check. The Bulldogs are also committed to playing in the Kansas State MTE.. Opening night for the Bulldogs will be against Kansas State on 11/25, and a game against another opponent (South Dakota State just dropped out) on 11/27. Bulldogs will host Chicago State on 12/20.

Evansville: The Aces’ participation in the Dana Point Challenge from Nov. 26-28 over Thanksgiving weekend is out. The Aces are now looking to host a game or two on opening weekend. The”buy” game at Purdue is likely gone, but may be played in a future season. The rest of the Aces’ schedule, for now, includes six games in December: at Tennessee-Martin (Dec. 2), at Southern Methodist (Dec. 5), three straight at home versus Eastern Illinois (Dec. 9), IUPUI (Dec. 12), Tennessee Tech (Dec. 19), and then at Belmont (Dec. 21).  All of which are now in jeopardy of taking place. We do have confirmation that Evansville will host SE Missouri State on 12/15.

Illinois State: Scheduled to originally play in the Cancun Challenge, the Redbirds will now be out of the event, per Coach Muller. The Redbirds are instead, heading to Nebraska to be part of the proposed large event in Lincoln. That should get ISU between three or four games in a short amount of time. Other nonconference games already set up with Milwaukee, Ball State, Northern Kentucky and others geting played or not remains to be seen. ISU does have a home game against Chicago State set for 12/15.

Indiana State: Will proceed with participating in the Gulf Coast Showcase on it’s new date (11/25-27). Game at Purdue (was Nov. 13), is now cancelled. Indiana State has scheduled a contest at Saint Louis on 12/15, and subsequently announced their game with Dayton has been cancelled. Indiana State has two home games with SEMO and Ball State. ISU replaced Wyoming (game cancelled), with a road trip to Purdue on 12/12. Sycamores also added an exhibition game against D2 Indianapolis on 12/6.

Indiana State Sycamores Schedule

Loyola-Chicago: The Myrtle Beach Invitational was one of eight early-season tournaments moving to the site of the NBA bubble in Orlando, which is also cancelled. Now, the Ramblers are looking into an MTE in Indianapolis with Cincinnati and two other programs yet to be named. Beyond that, the Dec. 13 matchup at Wintrust Arena against DePaul will remain on the schedule. The Ramblers also plan to play against Davidson this season, dates still being determined. Rambers will host Chicago State on 12/9.

Missouri State: Looking at playing a home-heavy non-conference schedule, at last check. The Bears have pending games with Missouri, Oral Roberts (12/5), and Little Rock (12/21).

Northern Iowa: UNI is scheduling feverishly and HC Ben Jacobson thinks they have four games locked up. Current games include one home game (unnamed opponent) and contests at Richmond and at Marshall (on 12/19). The UNI-New Mexico State game in Sioux Falls, SD was unfortunately called off. The Cayman Islands Invitational was cancelled, leaving the Panthers scrambling. The Panthers have decided on heading to Nebraska to be part of the proposed large event in Lincoln. That should get UNI between three or four games in a short amount of time. UNI will not play North Carolina A&T or at Northern Illinois as originally scheduled.

Southern Illinois: SIU is a participant in the Louisville nine-team MTE. The Salukis will open the season against Louisville on 11/25. SIU will play three games at the KFC Yum! Center. On 11/27, SIU will take on Prairie View A&M, and finish with Winthrop on 11/29. With the Puerto Rico event called off, that leaves the Salukis with remaining contracts with six non-conference opponents. Southeast Missouri State (on the road Dec. 2) is confirmed. The others remaining, Southern Mississippi (Dec. 5), Murray State (Dec. 11), San Francisco and Eastern Washington are in doubt. The Salukis have an agreement with Saint Louis to return a game from last season, but have not settled on a date. The game against Tulsa will likely be moved to 2021-22. The EWU and USF games are likely to be moved out as well. A game against Nicholls State was added to the docket on 12/23.

Southern Illinois Salukis Schedule

Valparaiso: The Crusaders were in line to participate in a Nashville MTE between November 27th - 29th, but the event folded. Valpo has a road game at Toledo, scheduled for 12/19. Valpo has a game at Purdue in the works, slated for 12/4.

MWC
All Programs: Conference Schedule was released! - See here

Air Force: Was part of the now-cancelled Puerto Rico multi-team event. The Falcons were tied to an early season MTE, part of the Mohegan Sun hosted “controlled environment.” But when recent pods were announced, the Falcons were missing. So we will see if they end up there. Air Force is scheduled to host Lamar on 12/5.

Boise State: Was part of the BattleGround2K one-day event in Houston, that has now been called off. The Broncos were supposed to face Texas A&M in a marquee game. The Broncos were then going to be the fourth team in a revised four-team Wooden Legacy event with Kansas, UCLA, and Seton Hall in Orlando, it is now cancelled. The latest news is Boise State is heading to Fort Worth, TX to play twice. If true, BSU would face Houston on 11/27 and Sam Houston State on 11/29.

Colorado State: Rivalry game against Colorado will proceed as scheduled in Boulder in early December. The Las Vegas based MGM Resorts event will be modified or cancelled, Louisville and Arkansas already withdrew from the event. The Rams are now set to participate in the large Lincoln, NE event, hosted by Elavate Hoops. CSU will also host Denver U. and Northern Colorado this season, dates TBD. The Rams will play at Saint Mary’s on 12/19.

Fresno State: Lost out on home game vs. George Mason, as the MWC/A10 Challenge was postponed. The Dana Point Challenge was also cancelled. We know today that Fresno State will play at Pacific on 11/28. Bulldogs have a home game with Cal Poly set for 12/12.

Nevada: The Wolfpack are heading to Nebraska to be part of the proposed large event in Lincoln. That should get Nevada between three games or so, in a short amount of time. Nevada had originally been part of the now-cancelled Cayman Islands Classic. Nevada is planning to host Pacific on 11/30. The Wolfpack agreed to play San Francisco twice this year (in Reno on 12/2 and in San Francisco on 12/6). The Pack had a home game against Grand Canyon, that is now uncertain.

New Mexico: Aiming to play the maximum nine games in addition to their 18-MWC games. The Lobos were supposed to play in the Continental Tires Event in Las Vegas, which is now up in the air (Grand Canyon remains tied to the event for now). HC Paul Weir is exploring potential multi-team event options. Two traditional rivalry games against New Mexico State are on track, and presumably a date with UTEP. UNM is subject to potentially stricter travel restrictions due to COVID-19, unless things change between now and the season opener.

San Diego State: Originally tied to the Diamond Head Classic, which was moved to Orlando. The events in Orlando were converted into four-team pods. SDSU was reportedly paired with UCF, Saint Mary’s, and Missouri prior to the entire thing being cancelled. Now, SDSU is proposing to host their own MTE with UCLA, Pepperdine, and UC Irvine. The Aztecs game at Arizona State (12/10) remains on track for this season in Tempe. Also, the original game with Saint Mary’s in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center is still up in the air. The game against BYU (originally on 12/1), appears to be off now. Another game, at Grand Canyon is uncertain to be played.

San Jose State: Will not travel to the Maryland Showcase as originally planned. SJSU will host Pacific on 12/6.

UNLV: Part of the revamped Maui Invitational, now taking place in Asheville, NC between 11/30-12/2. The Rebels will face North Carolina in the opener, and either Stanford or Alabama in their second game. On their way back west, UNLV has a scheduled road game at Kansas State on 12/5. The Rebels have a game lined up at SMU, date is still being ironed out. Rumors of a game between UNLV and Washington are out there, but at last check they weren’t able to work out a date. Rebels will host Montana State on 11/25.

Utah State: Aggies were set to travel to the now-cancelled Orlando bubble as part of the Myrtle Beach Invitational. Instead, Utah State will replace Dayton in the Crossover Classic. The Aggies would face Wichita State in the opener, and either Creighton or South Dakota State on day two. USU will host Dixie State on 12/15. USU is also hosting Saint Mary’s on 12/12. USU is still scheduled to play in Panama City Beach, FL against Mississippi State on 12/21.

Wyoming: The Cowboys non-conference schedule was up in the air for quite a while. Jackson State was also scheduled to come, but later cancelled. The Cowboys game at Arizona has been postponed to the 2021-22 season. Wyoming has a game at Utah Valley tentatively set for 12/12. Folks at Indiana State are confirming that Wyoming will play at Indiana State, but was later postponed. The Pokes ultimately set up five home games against Mississippi Valley St. (11/28), Texas Southern (11/30), Incarnate Word (12/2), Denver (12/9) and Omaha (12/17). The Cowboys will play at Oregon State on 12/6.

Wyoming Cowboys Schedule

NEC
All Programs: The conference has had two meetings, but has yet to determine a start date or format for its conference schedule. A mid- to late December start appears most likely. If nonconference games prove impossible, but the NEC can play a full, double round-robin league schedule, the 18 games would be enough for its champion to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Bryant: Was part of the St. John’s MTE, but had scheduling complications and backed out. Bulldogs will play at Syracuse on 11/27 as part of opening weekend. Bryant will host Stony Brook on 12/12.

Central Connecticut State: The revenue from nonconference “buy” games is an important financial piece. The Blue Devils had games vs. UConn and Virginia Tech scheduled, both of which are now in doubt, and a multiteam event at Rutgers starting Nov. 10, which is likely off with the Nov. 25 start date. The cost of moving into a bubble, at Mohegan or Disney, for nonconference games could be prohibitive for CCSU.

Fairleigh Dickinson: Will be part of the Rutgers MTE on 11/27 against the Scarlet Knights, and on 11/30 vs. Rider. FDU will face both teams. FDU also has a road game on track at Providence on 12/5. The Knights will open the season at Quinnipiac on 11/25 and also head to NJIT on 12/2. FDU will host Drexel on 12/19 in the home opener.

Fairleigh Dickinson Knights Schedule

Long Island: Sharks were at one point part of an event at the Mohegan Sun included Drexel, Albany and Quinnipiac, per sources. However, it appears that LIU will not play a non-conference schedule now.

Merrimack: Originally scheduled game at Washington has been postponed. Merrimack plans to face UMass-Lowell in a non-conference game, date is TBD. Merrimack will host Hartford on 11/25.

Mount St. Mary’s: The Mountaineers game with Navy on 11/28, which as a service academy has more leeway to schedule than other Patriot League programs, is now be part of an MTE at Maryland. Mountaineers will also face the Terps on 11/29. The Mountaineers also retained but moved a date with Howard to 12/22 as the landscape keeps shifting. MSM will open the season at Morgan State on 11/25. MSM will travel to two A10 opponents, VCU on 12/5 and St. Joseph’s on 12/19. A home date with UMBC on 12/11 rounds out the schedule.

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers Schedule

Sacred Heart: The Pioneers are planning to play non-conference games. SHU will be participating in a 3-team MTE with Stony Brook and Fairfield. Sacred Heart has verbal agreements to play road games at Rutgers, St. John’s, and UConn.

St. Francis Brooklyn: Terriers have agreed tentatively to play Monmouth, dates/location are TBA. The Terriers will host Niagara ion opening night, 11/25.

St. Francis- PA: The Red Flash have secured a home game against former NEC rivals, Robert Morris on 12/5. Red Flash will open the season at Pittsburgh on 11/25. SFPA also scheduled a road game at Virginia on 12/1.

Wagner: Has a game set with Iona in New Rochelle on 12/5.

OVC
All Programs: The conference is working on have a conference schedule in place. Programs are hopeful will be no later than next week, the league is considering a 20 or 22-game conference schedule. The league should be stronger than usual, led by Austin Peay, Belmont, and Murray State. For the league to obtain two bids, they will likely need top programs to have key opportunities in non-conference play to build their respective resumes.

Austin Peay: The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase was relocated to Estero, FL, APSU elected to withdraw and join the Gulf Coast Showcase instead. The Govs will play three games in the event between 11/25-11/27 and will face Omaha in the opener and either Indiana State or East Carolina on day two. The Governors have also confirmed game against Western Kentucky, date is TBD - per Valley Hoops Insider.

Austin Peay Governors Schedule

Belmont: Head Coach Casey Alexander is in full wait and see mode. The Bruins were part of an ESPN Event that was cancelled in Orlando, however there was never an announcement on Belmont anyway. The game at Evansville on 12/21 remains on track. A game hosting Samford is set for 12/5. The Bruins will host Kennesaw State on 12/16.

Eastern Illinois: EIU is working with both Kansas and Butler (11/29) to attempt and savage those two key guarantee games. The Panthers expect to play a 25-game schedule without an Multi-Team Event (MTE). HC Jay Spoonhour was hopeful to keep Butler and Western Illinois on the schedule, mission accomplished. Panthers play at Butler on 11/29 and host WIU on 12/12. Wisconsin (11/25) and Marquette (11/27) will co-host an MTE where EIU is scheduled to play at each school once. Also, EIU’s road game at Evansville on 12/9 is on track. EIU will host Chicago State on 12/3 and travel to Green Bay on 12/5.

Eastern Illinois Basketball Schedule

Eastern Kentucky: Will open the season and play three games at the NC State MTE (11/25-11/27) with NC State, North Florida, and Charleston Southern. Early indications are that EKU will face North Florida in the opener. The Colonels will travel to play at Xavier on 11/30. EKU will host High Point on 12/22.

Jacksonville State: Gamecocks will travel to Tennessee Tech for their OVC opener on 12/13. JSU will open the season at Alabama on 11/25.

Morehead State: Replaced Hartford in the bubble MTE event hosted by Kentucky (11/25). Detroit (11/29) is also in this event and Richmond (11/27). The Eagles will also head to Ohio State on 12/5. Eagles will play at Clemson on 12/22.

Morehead State Eagles Schedule

Murray State: The Racers will host Little Rock on 12/19, per the Sun Belt website. HC Matt McMahon has said they will play road games at Southern Illinois (12/11) and at MTSU (12/2) this season. The Racers will host Prairie View A&M on 12/15. A couple of non D1 games will kickoff the season for the Racers.

Murray State Racers Schedule

SE Missouri State: The Redhawks are scheduled to play at Indiana State on 12/22. SEMO hosts SIU on 12/2. The Redhawks are part of a four-team two day event in Kansas City on 11/27-11/28, and will play Northern Colorado in the opener. SEMO and Lipscomb have a single-season home and home series established (12/7 at SEMO, 12/9 at Lipscomb). Redhawks play at Evansville on 12/15.

SE Missouri State RedHawks Schedule

SIU-Edwardsville: Slated to play in a MTE at Youngstown State. Eastern Michigan is also scheduled to be there. SIUE would likely play both of them if it comes together. SIUE has a confirmed road game at Northern Illinois on 12/2.

Tennessee-Martin: The Skyhawks still plan on hosting Evansville on 12/2 for now.

Tennessee State: Tigers have been tied to a season-opening MTE at Marshall. The Tigers would face Coppin State on 11/26 and Marshall on 11/27. TSU is tied to another event on 12/12-12/13 against NC Central in the opener. The event is being proposed by Vanderbilt, who would play Alabama State in the other game on 12/12.

Tennessee Tech: An MTE between TTU, Chattanooga and Northern Kentucky appeared to be in place, but now it looks like the games were split up. We know that TTU will host Chattanooga on 11/30 and head to NKU on 12/3. TTU will travel to play at Xavier, the day before on 12/2. TTU plans to open the season at Indiana on 11/25, head to Western Carolina on 12/6 and host Jacksonville State on 12/13. The final two non-conference matchups are slated to be at WKU on 12/22 and at Tennessee on 12/19.

Tennessee Tech Eagles Schedule

Pac-12
All programs: Voted to return to play in time for the November 25th season start date. The league is still aligned with a 20-game schedule for the first time in history. The arrival of rapid-response antigen testing by the end of this month, a system that will allow daily testing, has changed the direction of the conference. The mystery is how will non-conference games and  testing protocols work? Larger bubbles, such as the proposed bubble in Orlando, should have sophisticated testing and can likely be approved by testing standards. Which would help Utah and Arizona State, for example, to participate in such a big event. Las Vegas bubble proposals are very attractive to Pac-12 programs as well.

Arizona: The Gonzaga and Illinois games are gone. The Preseason NIT is gone. Arizona is moving forward with a plan to play all non-conference games at home, and that includes an MTE around Thanksgiving weekend to kick off the season. Likely opponents: NAU (season opener, 11/25), Northern Colorado (12/5). CSU-Bakersfield (12/9), Cal Baptist (12/16), Montana (12/22), Grambling (11/27, in MTE), and a TBD opponent in the MTE. The game against Wyoming has been moved to 2021-22. The game against LMU will be moved to a different season.

Arizona State: In line to replace Michigan and take on Villanova in the Empire Classic, now taking place at the Mohegan Sun. Boston College and Baylor are lined up in the other semifinal for now. ASU was originally supposed to compete in the Diamond Head Classic. That event has been moved to Orlando, it is unclear if the Sun Devils will remain in the field or not. The Sun Devils game vs. San Diego State remains on track for this season in Tempe.

California: Withdrew from the Kansas City-based Hall of Fame Classic, presumably to open up more freedom to play games regionally. Cal will reportedly be replaced by Tulsa in the event. The Bears are proposing to co-host an MTE with Oregon State, and Dixie State has emerged as a likely participant. Dates and venue haven’t been disclosed. The Bears are supposed to play return games and travel to UNLV and Pepperdine this season, but those are pending Covd-19 testing protocol approvals by the Pac-12. Also, a home game against San Francisco is up in the air. Cal will travel to Boston College on 12/22. The Bears will host Nicholls State on 11/30.

Colorado: The Buffs have withdrawn from the Fort Myers Tip-off. Colorado is planning to play twice in a new event at Kansas State between 11/25-11/27 (11/25 vs. South Dakota State and 11/27 vs. Kansas State), that will give the Buffs two games on opening weekend prior to potentially heading to Tucson for the conference opener on 12/2. HC Tad Boyle said the rivalry game against Colorado State will proceed as scheduled in Boulder in early December. The home game against Kansas was moved to 2021-22. The Dec. 19 game against TCU in Las Vegas was cancelled.

Oregon: Emerald Coast Classic (with Illinois, Iowa State, and Florida) is now cancelled. The Ducks also got had the misfortune of losing their originally scheduled marquee games against Baylor and Michigan. A game against BYU in Portland, is now unlikely to be played. Oregon has now been tied to the Mohegan Sun where they would face Missouri and Boston College. Unknown yet if UO will play any other games there. Oregon opens the season on 11/25 against Eastern Washington, and also hosts Dixie State on 11/28.

Oregon State: HC Wayne Tinkle is hopeful to start the season in a pod with several teams, according to an Oregonian report. Beavers had their Cayman Islands Classic plans cancelled. The Beavers had their initial matchup with Iowa in Sioux Falls, SD cancelled, and the Beavers lost out on a game at Iowa State. Beavers will host Wyoming in early December (12/6). The only remaining contract the Beavers have left is a home game vs. UTSA. The league hasn’t announced an official schedule, however the Beavers plan on playing at Washington State on 12/2 to open up conference play.

Stanford: Part of the Maui Invitational, which moved to Asheville, NC from 11/30-12/2. The Cardinal will face Alabama in opening round, and either UNLV or North Carolina next. Before heading out to Asheville, Stanford will host Utah Valley on 11/25. The Cardinal will host Cal Poly on 12/8.

UCLA: Bruins were supposed to open the season in Orlando in a two-day, two-game event with Seton Hall, Kansas, and Boise State - it is now cancelled. Instead, the Bruins are likely heading to San Diego State’s four-team MTE. Also tied to the event is UC Irvine and Pepperdine. The CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky will be played on 12/19 in Cleveland. UCLA’s home game against Marquette is set for 12/11. UCLA confirmed they will host San Diego on 12/9. Long Beach State also plans to visit UCLA in early December.

USC: Had two heavyweight games scheduled originally, Gonzaga and at Kansas. The Gonzaga game was supposed to be in mid-November at the Galen Center, is now off. As for the game at Kansas, USC is pushed to keep the game, but it did not work for KU - so its out as well. The Trojans are part of the original Legends classic (now with BYU, UConn, and Vanderbilt), which moved to the Mohegan Sun. Early indications are that USC will face UConn in the opener. USC will host Cal Poly on 12/22. USC has a season opener set against Cal Baptist in the Galen Center on 11/25.

Utah: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Utes will face Creighton in the opener, then face either Wichita State or Dayton on 11/26. Utes HC Larry Krystkowiak mentioned that they are moving forward with a matchup at rival BYU on 12/12. Utah had a return game at Missouri, which was on the initial schedule, cancelled. Utah and Utah Valley are working together to schedule a game in December. Utes will host Idaho State on 12/8. Utah plans to host South Dakota, dates are still being sorted out.

Washington: The Huskies do plan to host a season opening four-team MTE between 11/25-11/28. CS-Fullerton and Portland State have been tied to the MTE, with a fourth team pending. UW also plans to host Seattle University on 12/9. Huskies planned to take on Oklahoma in Las Vegas on 12/19, but it didn’t work out. The game in China vs. Tulane has been postponed into a future season. The game with Gonzaga is also postponed. The Auburn game at home, is presumably postponed. A game with UNLV was in the works, but is not promising now either. A previously scheduled home game against San Diego is up in the air.

Washington State: Planning to host an MTE Event on-campus. The season opener is scheduled to be against Texas Southern on 11/25. WSU also has a game against Montana State confirmed for now. WSU had home games with North Dakota and Northern Colorado, that are now uncertain. The game against Middle Tennessee will not happen this season. WSU will host Prairie View A&M on 12/21.

Patriot League
All Programs: The league is expected to cancel non-conference games in November and December. The league schedule format is still being debated. There have been discussions about the use of small pods, and even splitting the league into two divisions with home-and-home matchups within a division and one game versus the other, which would reduce league contests from 18 to 13, the minimum requirement for NCAA-tournament eligibility. 

Army: Original schedule for non-conference was nearly wiped clean and started over from scratch. Army is restricted or encouraged not to make long trips that require plane travel or overnight hotel stays. Additional concern is the race to find opponents because of NY state restrictions on travel to and from the long list of states on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s quarantine lists. Due to a service academy exemption, Army will be allowed to appeal to play a non-conference schedule. Army plans to play against St. Bonaventure as well.

Holy Cross: Crusaders Athletics confirms that Holy Cross will not have a non-conference schedule in 2020-21.

Navy: Due to a service academy exemption, Navy will be allowed to appeal to play a non-conference schedule. Navy will open the season with the Veteran’s Classic vs. George Washington on 11/25. A game with Mount St. Mary’s on 11/28 is now part of an MTE at Maryland. Navy will face the Terps there as well. Midshipmen plan to host Morgan State on 12/16.

SEC
All Programs: The SEC league schedule will begin between the dates of 12/29-12/30. The league plans to have 20 playing dates for an 18-game schedule with two open dates. Ten schools will use an open date to play in the SEC/Big XII Challenge, the remaining four schools will play a league contest. Schedules will be rolled out at a later date.

Alabama: The Maui Invitational (three-day event) in Asheville, NC is set for 11/30-12/2. The Tide will face Stanford in the opener and get either North Carolina or UNLV on day two. Tide are scheduled to participate in Atlanta against Clemson on 12/12. Alabama will host Houston on 12/19 and host Furman on 12/15. The Tide will host East Tennessee State this season on 12/22. Bama will head to Oklahoma on 1/30 to face the Sooners in the SEC/Big XII Challenge. The season opener will be against Jacksonville State in Tuscaloosa on 11/25.

Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule

Arkansas: Originally scheduled season opener vs. Oral Roberts was moved to 12/20. The Hogs withdrew from the MGM Resorts event in Las Vegas (with San Francisco, Louisville, and Colorado State). The game vs. Oklahoma in Tulsa on 12/12 is up in the air, but it won’t happen in Tulsa. Arkansas also agreed to play at Tulsa earlier in the offseason, which will be played on 12/6. Another game vs. Old Dominion was scheduled to be played in Little Rock, is cancelled. Previously contracted home games vs. Lipscomb is now going to be played on 12/5. A game with Northern Illinois was postponed. Abilene Christian will visit the Hogs on 12/22. We also know that the Hogs will host Central Arkansas on 12/12. The Hogs will also host North Texas on 11/28, and Mississippi Valley State (11/25) as part of a mini event. UT Arlington visits on 12/2. Come January, the Razorbacks will finish off their non-conference slate with a battle at Oklahoma State on 1/30.

Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule

Auburn: Tigers were originally expected to play Gonzaga and Houston is expected to face Texas Tech in the first round of a four-team tournament in Orlando during the first week of the season. Orlando is cancelled and now the teams are heading to Fort Myers. In the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Auburn faces St. Joseph’s on 11/25 and Kansas on 11/27. Auburn is expect to play at UCF after the Fort Myers event, Date TBD. Auburn will also compete in Atlanta between 12/10-12/17 as part of the Holiday Hoopsgiving events. Auburn is set to face Memphis. Auburn will play at Baylor on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. A scheduled game at Washington was moved to a future season. Tigers will host Troy on 12/19 and Appalachian State on 12/22.

Florida: Will head to the Mohegan Sun, CT to play twice, the Gators take on Virginia on 11/27 and will have an opening game vs. Maine on 11/25. Gators will travel to face rival Florida State on 12/12. Also, the Gators will face Florida Atlantic still in the Orange Bowl Classic, likely to be moved to a home game on 12/19. Gators will host Oklahoma on 12/2. The home game against UConn was postponed late, and instead the Gators will face Stetson on 12/6. The Gators will travel to West Virginia for the SEC/Big XII Challenge on January 30th. Other home games include James Madison on 12/22 and North Florida on 12/16.

Florida Gators Schedule

Georgia: Bulldogs can play 27 games if they are able to enter into an MTE. The Global Sports Invitational is likely not happening. UGA and GT are not scheduled to meet for the first time since 1925. That could always change if games get cancelled or rearranged. A game against Cincinnati is still uncertain to happen. It was recently revealed that UGA had contracted games in December signed to play Northeastern, William & Mary, and Alcorn State. Northeastern is now set for 12/22 in Athens, Alcorn State is in limbo and William & Mary is postponed. A home game against Bowling Green will not happen. A new game has surfaced with UGA hosting Samford on 12/12, per Samford officials. Georgia will host Gardner-Webb on 11/29. Georgia will host USC-Upstate on 11/27.

Kentucky: Champions Classic game against Kansas (12/1) will be played in Orlando as part of a bubble environment of ESPN-run early season tournaments. The Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta features Kentucky against Georgia Tech on Dec. 6th as a one-day event. Kentucky has verbally agreed to play at Louisville (12/26). Kentucky’s game against UCLA scheduled as part of the CBS Sports Classic is on 12/19. The Wildcats will host Texas in Rupp Arena on 1/30, as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. Kentucky’s season opening MTE will include Detroit, Richmond, and Morehead State. The Wildcats have Notre Dame coming in (12/12), and Marshall visiting on 12/29.

LSU: Will no longer be participating in the Gotham Classic, which was to be relocated to the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. LSU will be part of the Atlanta Holiday event, facing South Florida on 12/12. The Tigers have confirmed they will be hosting VCU on 12/22. The Tigers are also heading to Nebraska to be part of the proposed large event in Lincoln, and expect to play three games (LSU will play Western Kentucky there). The game against Louisiana Tech in Bossier City, will now be played at LSU on 12/6. LSU plans to host New Orleans on 12/16 and North Texas on 12/19. LSU will host Texas Tech in the SEC/Big XII Challenge on 1/30.

LSU Tigers Schedule

Mississippi State: Stated they want to maximize the 27 games. Part of the Melbourne, FL event and facing Clemson on 11/25, then either Purdue or Liberty. Bulldogs original plan was scheduled nonconference opponents: Dayton (in Atlanta) will happen on 12/12. Utah State (in Panama City, Florida) is set to happen this season on 12/21. A home game against a Iowa State on 1/30 is set as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. Bulldogs will play host to Texas State on 11/30, North Texas on 12/4, Jackson State on 12/8 and Central Arkansas on 12/16.

Mississippi State Bulldogs Schedule

Missouri: The events in Orlando are now cancelled. Mizzou was been paired with UCF, San Diego State, and Saint Mary’s - but its all gone. The Tigers and Illinois are looking for a date for their regularly scheduled game in St. Louis. The Tigers also plan to play against Bradley this season on 12/22 in Columbia. Mizzou hosts TCU on 1/30 as part of the SEC/Big XII Challenge. Mizzou will host Liberty on 12/9. Tigers will host Oral Roberts in the opener on 11/25. Mizzou travels to Wichita State on 12/6. Tigers will also head to the Mohegan Sun, per CBS, and face both Oregon and Boston College.

Ole Miss: The Rebels will have seven non-conference games scheduled after Nov. 25. Those may include matchups against perennial powers like Memphis and Wichita State. The Rebels were also scheduled to play in the Cayman Islands Classic which is now officially cancelled. The Rebels will now be hosting a preseason tournament in Oxford with Central Arkansas, Arkansas State, and Jackson State set to participate in a three-day, three-game round robin. Ole Miss has recently confirmed they will play at Dayton on 12/19. Ole Miss had a matchup on 12/12 with UNC-Wilmington, that is now up in the air.

South Carolina: The game against Clemson, set for Columbia this year will likely be played on 12/19. The HOF Classic is reportedly being moved to 11/28-11/29 and now invloves South Carolina, Tulsa (replaces Cal), Northwestern, and TCU. Gamecocks will face Northwestern in the opener, and TCU or Tulsa in their second game. SC will travel to play a road game at Houston, the game was confirmed by CBS. Gamecocks have confirmed they will host Wofford on 12/10. The Gamecocks still have scheduled games at Coastal Carolina (Dec. 1) and George Washington (Dec. 14) with agreements to host Rider and Army. A game with South Carolina State is set for 12/23. All are up in the air. Coach Martin also hinted at perhaps playing an Exhibition game against a local school on 11/25 to open the season.

Tennessee: Vols were expected to play Charlotte and Penn State was expected to face VCU in a four-team tournament in Orlando, but that is all cancelled now. Instead, the Vols are exploring hosting their own MTE on campus. Vols plan to face Charlotte in the opener on 11/25, then host VCU on 11/27. The Vols plans to play Gonzaga fell thru, as part of the Jimmy V Classic.. The originally scheduled Vols vs. Memphis game in Nashville appears to be cancelled. The Vols’ game against Wisconsin was initially scheduled on 11/11, and now looks unlikely to occur. The Vols will host Cincinnati on 12/12 and host Kansas on 1/30 in premier non-league games. Another home game will happen against Tennessee Tech on 12/19. The Vols will host Appalachian State on 12/15. The Vols added USC Upstate to the schedule on 12/22. A late addition came when Notre Dame announced they are hosting the Vols on 12/4.

View: Tennessee Volunteers Schedule

Texas A&M: Will open the season at the Crossover Classic from 11/25-11/27: the Aggies will face West Virginia in the opener, then face either Memphis or Saint Mary’s on 11/26. Fort Worth Showcase game against TCU at Dickies Arena, remains on track for 12/12. The Aggies have local schools, Tarleton State (12/2), and UTRGV (12/6) coming to Aggieland. The Aggies will host SE Louisiana on 12/15 and Wofford on 12/21. Finally, the Aggies will wrap up non-conference play at Kansas State on 1/30.

View: Texas A&M Schedule

Vanderbilt: Part of the Legends Classic (with USC, UConn, and BYU), which was moved the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut (12/2-12/3). The event originally provided a couple of home games for Vandy against Liberty and Monmouth, which now appear unlikely. HC Jerry Stackhouse said Vanderbilt could hold a tournament involving two HBCU's and one additional major-conference team. The Commodores also plan to play against Davidson, dates and location are being worked on. Vandy’s game at SMU appears to be on track for now as well. Reports from Richmond say the Spiders plan to play the return game at Vandy this season. Vandy has a mini event setup on 12/12-12/13, the Commodores will face Alabama State and then either Tennessee State or NC Central on the second day.

SoCon
All Programs: Likely to play an 18-game schedule beginning on 12/30.

Chattanooga: An MTE between 11/28-12/2 with Northern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech appears to be in place, per Stadium. The previously scheduled series with Bellarmine and a home game against UNC-Asheville remain uncertain for now. The Mocs will play at UAB on 12/19. The Mocs setup an in-season home and home with Bellarmine. Chattanooga will host NKU on 11/28 and UNC Asheville on 12/16. Their remaining schedule includes road games at Tennessee Tech (11/30) and MTSU (12/6).

Chattanooga Mocs Schedule

East Tennessee State: Proposed to host bubble a few weeks back, now that plan is off the table. The Bucs have also withdrawn from the Cancun Challenge games, and will now be in the Gulf Coast Showcase (11/25-11/27). A game at Alabama on 12/22 is in place. Two home games in December are in tact vs. UAB on 12/12 and North Carolina A&T on 12/15. A game at UNC-Asheville in Harrah’s Cherokee Center is set for 12/8.

Furman: Paladins were tied to the now-cancelled ESPNevents in Orlando. The Paladins are looking like a strong contender this season and are looking to sure up some quality games where possible. Furman has a road test scheduled for 12/15 at Alabama. Paladins will host South Carolina State on 12/21.

Mercer: The Bears will open the season at Georgia Tech’s MTE, facing GT on 11/27, and likely Georgia State on 11/26. Lost out on four games in the wiped-out Gotham Classic (At LSU, at Syracuse, Jacksonville St., and at Green Bay). Previously arranged local matchups will likely now be prioritized (at Georgia Southern and hosting Winthrop), but nothing is official yet. Bears will host Kennesaw State on 12/22.

Samford: Will play three non D-1 programs and six D-1’s. Highlighted by a game at Georgia on 12/12. The Bulldogs will also play at Belmont on 12/5, and host Alabama A&M (11/29), Alabama State (12/9). The last two non-conference road games are at Troy (12/15) and at Kennesaw State (12/19).

Complete Samford Bulldogs Schedule

The Citadel: The Bulldogs will likely have to push three big-money guarantee games to the 2021-22 season, athletic director Mike Capaccio said. Games at Duke, Illinois, and College of Charleston are off the table, but looking to move all three to next year. Capaccio indicated that that they may only get a couple of games in beyond SoCon play. The Bulldogs will host Presbyterian on 12/22. The Citadel hosts North Carolina A&T on 12/3.

UNC-Greensboro: Spartans are heading to Louisville for a large MTE, and will play five games. UNCG will open the season on 11/25 against Little Rock in Louisville, then face Winthrop on 11/27, Duquesne on 11/29, Prairie View A&M on 12/2 and Louisville on 12/4. UNCG will play at North Carolina A&T across town on 12/22.

VMI: Looking at making the trip to Portland, Oregon for an three-game MTE against Portland, Idaho, and Cal Poly between 11/25-11/28. VMI also plans to play at Virginia Tech in early December.

Western Carolina: Catamounts will open the season in a four-team MTE at UNC-Asheville’s campus. Each team plays twice, and the Catamounts will face Troy on 11/27 and UNC-Asheville on 11/28. WCU plans to arrive early and open the season against UNC-Wilmington in Asheville on 11/25. WCU will play at Charleston on 12/18. WCU will host Tennessee Tech on 12/6. WCU will host North Carolina A&T on 12/12.

Wofford: Was part of the Global Sports Invitational that appears to be cancelled. The Terriers will unfortunately miss out on games at SMU, at Georgia, and vs. Charleston Southern. Wofford will be heading to Texas A&M on 12/21 as announced by TAMU. Terriers will open the season against two Non D1 opponents, then host NC Central on 12/3. Wofford will also host Coastal Carolina on 12/15. Terriers have two other road games in non-conference play: at Presbyterian on 12/6 and at South Carolina on 12/10.

Wofford Terriers Schedule

Southland
All Programs: 16-game conference schedule will begin on January 2nd.

Abilene Christian: Will be a replacement team in the Gulf Coast Showcase between 11/25-11/27. ACU will open up play against East Tennessee State, then face either Akron or Middle Tennessee on day two. ACU will travel to Arkansas and face the Razorbacks on 12/22. ACU hosts Tarleton State on 12/5. ACU heads to Lubbock to face Texas Tech on 12/9. Looks like a 23-game schedule at this point for the Wildcats.

Abilene Christian Wildcats Schedule

Central Arkansas: The Bears are committed to playing three games in three days in Oxford, MS. Their opponents will be Ole Miss (11/25), Arkansas State (11/26), and Jackson State (11/27). The Bears have a road game scheduled for 12/12 at Arkansas. UCA will also play at Baylor for the second consecutive year, on 12/29. Bears will play at Missouri State on 12/1, at Saint Louis on 12/6 and at Mississippi State on 12/16. UCA also released their Southland Conference schedule early.

Central Arkansas Bears Schedule

Houston Baptist: A road game at SMU remains on track for now. The Huskies will play at Oklahoma on 12/19. The Huskies open their season on 11/25 at TCU.

Incarnate Word: The Cardinals plan to host a four-team MTE between 11/27-11/29. The event is planned to include Rice, North Dakota, and D1 newcomers Tarleton State. UIW will play at UTRGV on 12/14. Cardinals will play at Texas State on 12/5. UIW plays at Wyoming on 12/2.

Lamar: The Cardinals will play in a four-team tournament at Tulane University from Nov. 27-29, according to a report from Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Lamar will be joined at the event by Lipscomb, IUPUI and host school Tulane. Cards will play at UL Monroe on 12/9. Lamar will play in Ruston, LA on 12/19 at Louisiana Tech. Cards are also slated to play at Houston in the season opener on 11/25. Cardinals have established road games at Air Force on 12/5 and UTSA on 12/22. Lamar wraps up non-conference play on 12/29 vs. SE Louisiana.

Lamar Cardinals Schedule

McNeese State: The Cowboys have a game lined up at Houston, date is TBD.

New Orleans: The Privateers are planning to compete at the four-team Jacksonville Dolphins (ASUN) MTE. They will reportedly be joined by Bethune-Cookman and Campbell. UNO also has two meetings lined up with Louisiana-Lafayette (12/1 at home, 12/4 at ULL). UNO will also head to Baton Rouge to face LSU on 12/16.

Nicholls State: Planning to participate in the Silicon Valley Classic between 11/25-11/28 (11/26 is an off day). Also in the event are Santa Clara, Idaho State and UC Davis - Colonels will play each team once. Colonels will remain in California, to play Cal on 11/30 and at Saint Mary’s on 12/1. NSU will play at Baylor on 12/8. NSU will play at Southern Illinois on 12/23.

Nicholls State Colonels Schedule

Northwestern State: Planning to compete in the Louisiana Tech three-team MTE. The third team appears to be UT Arlington. The Demons will head to TCU on 12/3 for a road contest. Demons will host UL Monroe on 12/1. Demons travel to Tulsa on 12/18. Demons open the season at Texas Tech on 11/25.

Sam Houston State: Previously planned to travel to Arizona and be part of an MTE were replaced by an MTE in Fort Worth. The current proposal has the Bearkats facing Texas Tech on 11/27 in Lubbock, and Boise State on 11/29 in Fort Worth. Prior to those games, SHSU will open the season at SMU on 11/25. The Bearkats also have a date at Texas on 12/16. SHSU also announced their Southland league-play schedule early. Bearkats will play at Houston on 12/9 and go to UTRGV on 12/21. Bearkats host Rice on 12/19.

Sam Houston State Bearkats Schedule

Southeastern Louisiana: Lions were tied to an MTE from 11/25-11/30 at UAB, with Kent State, Alcorn State, and Purdue-Fort Wayne. SELA is set to face Purdue-Fort Wayne on 11/25 to open the season. SELA also has a game at UAB set for 11/28. SELA also has a road game lined up at Texas A&M on 12/29. Another road game at Cal Baptist is set for 12/4. A previously scheduled game at Louisville was removed. Lions are heading to Louisiana Tech on 12/9. SELA will also play at Lamar on 12/29.

Stephen F. Austin: Has agreed to participate in a Multi-team event in the Mohegan Sun, Connecticut. The Lumberjacks have been matched up against St. Bonaventure and is also part of a bracket that includes Towson and a fourth team to be named. While in the Mohegan Sun, SFA also coordinated a stand-alone game against Rhode Island to open the season on 11/25. SFA had a marquee game at Kansas on 12/29, cancelled unfortunately. SFA will play at UL Monroe on 12/12. The Jacks will host Arkansas State on 12/16. SFA will host Alcorn State on 12/5.

Stepen F. Austin Lumberjacks Schedule

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: Game at Texas A&M will not happen this season as originally planned. TAMUCC will play at Texas Tech on 12/12. Islanders setup two games this year against UTRGV on 12/2 (in Edinburg) and 12/10 (home). Islanders host Texas State on 11/28 and SMU on 11/30. TAMUCC has a return trip to face Texas State on 12/15. A trip to Austin to face the Texas Longhorns is set for 12/29.

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi Islanders Schedule

Summit League
All Programs: Plans to play a 16-game conference schedule. Teams will play each other twice at one site. Games will be held on back-to-back days. Full schedules should be out soon.

Denver: Planning to host an MTE between 12/19-12/22. Northern Arizona and Texas State are in line to compete in this. The Pioneers are planning to play at Colorado State, dates are TBD. DU will play at Wyoming on 12/9.

Kansas City: The ‘Roos will head to Kansas State on 11/30. Kansas City has a game at Toledo on 12/12. UMKC will host a four-team even on 11/27 and 11/28. KC will face a non D1 opponent on the 27th, and either Northern Colorado or SE Missouri State on 11/28.

North Dakota: UND will compete at the four-team MTE at Incarnate Word (in San Antonio) between 11/27-29. The event includes Rice, Tarleton State, and UIW. UND is also slated to play at Minnesota on 12/29. A previously scheduled road game at Washington State is uncertain.

North Dakota State: The Bison committed to a three-game MTE in Milwaukee, hosted by UW-Milwaukee between 11/27-11/29. It appears, they will also face Ball State and Southern Miss while at the event. The Bison have a date at Phog Allen Fieldhouse on 12/5 to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. NDSU has another Big 12 opponent on the schedule, at TCU on 12/22.

Omaha: On track to participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase (11-25-11/27). The Mavericks will face Austin Peay in the Opening round game. The Mavs will play at Kansas on 12/11. The Mavs will play at Creighton on 12/1. Mavs play at Wyoming on 12/17.

Omaha Mavericks Schedule

Oral Roberts: In-state game is scheduled at Oklahoma State, the two schools are still determining a new date. ORU had a road game scheduled at Missouri State, which is also up in the air. Others that are unknown with the new schedule include visits to TCU, Wichita State, and a home game vs. UT-Arlington. ORU was able to find a date to play at Arkansas on 12/20. ORU will host cross-town rival Tulsa on 12/12.

South Dakota: Road game is on the calendar for 12/29 at Kansas State. Another road game at Utah is happening, teams are determining a date for the game.

South Dakota State: Was part of the announced Kansas State MTE. But when an opening in the nearby CrossRiver Classic came up, the Jackrabbits jumped all over it. SDSU will face Creighton in the opening game, and play three games against elite competition. The Jackrabbits also have a game at Bradley scheduled for 12/8.

Western Illinois: Leathernecks will play at Eastern Illinois on 12/12.

Sun Belt
All Programs: The league will begin conference play on December 31st and play an 18-game schedule. Here is the complete schedule - Sun Belt Conference Schedule

Arkansas State: Red Wolves are committed to playing three games in three days in Oxford, MS to open the season. Their opponents will be Ole Miss (11/27), Central Arkansas (11/26), and Jackson State (11/25). The Red Wolves are visiting Memphis to take on the Tigers on 12/2. Arkansas State will also play at Stephen F. Austin on 12/16. The non-conference home slate includes Arkansas Pine-Bluff on 12/9 and three non D1 schools in December.

Arkansas State Red Wolves Schedule

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers will open the season at South Carolina State on 11/25. App. State will host Bowling Green on 11/30. A total of four non D1 Programs will visit Boone in the non-conference. The Mountaineers have two games at SEC opponents, Auburn on 12/22 and Tennessee on 12/15. An additional road game at Charlotte on 12/11 rounds out the non-conference slate.

Appalachian State Mountaineers Schedule

Coastal Carolina: CCU will travel to Spartanburg and face the Wofford Terriers on 12/15. Chanticleers are also looking to reschedule matchups with South Carolina and Winthrop, but nothing is solidified.

Georgia Southern: GSU will play at Florida Gulf Coast on 12/22. Eagles have an in-season home and home established with Mercer (at GSU on 12/13 and at Mercer on 12/19). A game at Kentucky was postponed.

Georgia State: A Nashville MTE between November 27th - 29th was scrapped, GSU instead will play crosstown at Georgia Tech’s MTE. The opener on 11/25 is GSU vs. the Yellow Jackets, GSU will likely face Mercer on 11/26. The Panthers do have a confirmed home game against Charleston on 12/21. The Panthers had a road game set at Mercer on 12/4, that is unknown now with the MTE (still possible for them to play twice).

Little Rock: Pulled out of the Paradise Jam, now located in Washington, D.C. The Trojans are now part of the event in Louisville. Trojans will play there five times against: Duquesne (12/3), UNC-Greensboro (11/25), WKU (11/28), PVAMU (11/30) and Winthrop (12/4) plus others. UALR also has published games against two road opponents at Murray State on 12/19 and at Missouri State on 12/21.

Louisiana-Lafayette: Scheduled games at Texas and Southern Miss have been postponed. The Ragin’ Cajuns are not affiliated with an MTE event and do not intend to be. They are looking to play the maximum seven additional games allowed under these conditions. The Cajuns will open the season against NAIA program, Xavier of Louisiana on 11/25.. The Cajuns will play New Orleans twice (at UNO on 12/1, hosting UNO on 12/4). The Cajuns also have a home date against Louisiana Tech on 12/12.

Louisiana-Monroe: ULM and Louisiana Tech have setup an in-season home-and-home series, 12/3 will be at LA Tech, and 12/22 game wil be in Monroe. ULM will play at Northwestern State to open the season on 12/1. Also, a trip to Southern Miss is set for 12/19. The Warhawks will host Lamar (12/9), Stephen F. Austin (12/12) and Grambling (12/16).

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks Schedule

South Alabama: The Jaguars are planning to host a four-team multi-team event at the Mitchell Center to begin the regular season. South Alabama will face Florida Atlantic on 11/25 in the opener. Jaguars are also expected to travel to Auburn at some point in December as well.

Texas-Arlington: The Mavericks announced a big opener against Oklahoma State on 11/25 at home. Then the Mavs are planning to compete in the Louisiana Tech three-team MTE between 11/27-11/29. The third team appears to be Northwestern State. UTA also has a scheduled game at Arkansas on 12/2. A game at Oral Roberts is also pending. The Mavs’ return game at UC Santa Barbara is unlikely, the UTA Administration does not want to travel out there, according to reports. UTA will play at Tulsa on 12/4.

Texas-Arlington Mavericks Schedule

Texas State: Planning to play in the Denver Pioneers (12/19) MTE between 12/19-12/21. Northern Arizona (12/21) is also in line to be in the event. TX State will travel to Mississippi State on 11/30. Bobcats will play at Texas on 12/9. Bobcats will take on the Islanders of TAMUCC twice, in Corpus Christi on 11/28 and at home on 12/15. Incarnate Word visits San Marcos on 12/5.

Texas State Bobcats Schedule

Troy: Trojans will open the season in a four-team MTE at UNC-Asheville’s campus. Each team plays twice, and the Trojans will face Western Carolina on 11/27 and UNC-Wilmington on 11/28. Troy will be hosting Samford on 12/15. The Trojans will hit the road to play at Wake Forest on 12/2 and at UAB on 12/6. North Alabama visits Troy on 12/10. Trojans wrap up non-conference play at Auburn on 12/19.

Troy Trojans Schedule

SWAC
All Programs: The SWAC decided to move forward on a 18-game schedule.

Alabama A&M: Scheduled road game at Ohio State on 12/5. Another road game will be at Samford on 11/29.

Alabama State: Will open the season at the Wake Forest MTE from 11/25-11/27. The Hornets will face Wake Forest on 11/25, Delaware State (11/27), and Longwood (11/26). ASU will head to Samford on 12/9. Hornets added more road games at North Alabama (12/19) and Vanderbilt (12/12) as part of two game event. In the Vandy event, ASU will face either Tennessee State or NC Central on 12/13. Also North Alabama will visit ASU on 12/2.

Alabama State Hornets Schedule

Alcorn State: Braves were tied to an MTE from 11/25-11/30 at UAB, with Kent State, SE Louisiana, and Purdue-Fort Wayne. Location has not been announced, event seems shaky now. The Braves open the season on 11/26 against UAB. Alcorn State also has a game scheduled at Cal Baptist on 12/10. The Braves play at Stephen F. Austin on 12/5.

Arkansas Pine Bluff: Wisconsin and Marquette will co-host an MTE that will include UAPB. The plan is for the Lions to play at Marquette and at Wisconsin. The Lions will also play at Baylor on 12/21. UAPB will play at Arkansas State on 12/9.

Grambling: Planning to travel to Arizona and be part of an MTE, where they would face Grand Canyon and Arizona. Tigers will travel to UL Monroe for a road contest on 12/16. GSU will head to Texas Tech on 12/3.

Jackson State: The JSU staff worked hard to build a guarantee game schedule. Updates - JSU has now committed to playing three games in three days in Oxford, MS. Their opponents will be Ole Miss (11/26), Arkansas State (11/25), and Central Arkansas (11/27). JSU was at one point lined up to play the following games: 12/15 at Louisiana Tech, 12/20 at Iowa State, 12/17 at Bradley. The previously scheduled games at Marquette, Wyoming, and UL Monroe will not happen this season. JSU will play at Mississippi State on 12/8.

Jackson State Tigers Schedule

Mississippi Valley State: Delta Devils will play at North Texas on 11/26 and play at Arkansas on 11/25. Then MVSU heads to Wyoming to face the Cowboys on 11/28.

Prairie View A&M: Panthers are part of the MTE at Louisville between 11/25 - 12/4 to play five times. PVAMU will face Southern Illinois (11/27), Louisville (11/29), Little Rock (11/30), UNC Greensboro (12/2) and Western Kentucky (12/3). Prior to arriving in Louisville, the Panthers will play on opening night at Northwestern on 11/25. And right after Louisville, the Panthers head to Phoenix to face Grand Canyon on 12/5. That is seven games in the first 11 days of the season! For the final two non-conference games, the Panthers head to Murray State on 12/15 and Washington State on 12/21.

Prairie View A&M Panthers Schedule

Southern U: The Jaguars will participate in the Iowa Hawkeyes’ multi-team event, also joined by NC Central. The Jags will also play at UAB on 12/16. SU also is heading to Cal Baptist for a matchup on 12/21.

Texas Southern: Tigers will play at TCU on 12/30. TSU plans to play in the Washington State MTE and will face the Cougars on 11/25. Tigers will play at Wyoming on 11/30.

WAC
All Programs: The league moved forward with a plan that includes playing two regular season conference games in the same location each week of the conference season (similar to the Big Sky).

WAC Conference Schedule

Cal Baptist: Will not participate in the Maryland Showcase now, opens up three games for the Lancers’ schedule. CBU still plans to play at Arizona on 12/16. CBU will host UC Davis on 12/8. The home game against Long Beach State will be played on 12/19. CBU will open the season at USC on 11/25. Lancers will then host Florida A&M (11/30) and SE Louisiana (12/4). A pair of home contests against SWAC programs, Alcorn State (12/10) and Southern U. (12/21) finalized the non-conference lineup.

Cal Baptist Lancers Schedule

Chicago State: Cougars have a scheduled road contest at Northern Illinois on 12/18. CSU will also play at Eastern Illinois on 12/3. Chicago State will host IUPUI in the season opener on 11/25. CSU has road contests setup at DePaul on 11/28, at Northwestern on 12/5, at Loyola-Chicago on 12/9, and at Illinois State on 12/15. The following week, CSU wraps up their non-conference schedule in Iowa - facing Drake on 12/20 and Iowa State on 12/22.

Chicago State Cougars Schedule

Dixie State: DSU has emerged as a likely participant in an MTE co-hosted by Cal and Oregon State, however the games are not listed on the Trailblazers’ schedule release. Dates and venue haven’t been disclosed yet. An in-season series with UC Davis was cancelled. DSU has home games with Weber State (12/5) and four non-D1 schools. Trailblazers will travel to Denver U. (12/12), Utah State (12/15), Southern Utah (12/19), and Gonzaga (12/29).

Dixie State Trailblazers Schedule

Grand Canyon: Planning to co-host an MTE with the Arizona Wildcats. The Lopes would face Grambling at home and another team, but not Arizona with the current plan. The Lopes were supposed to play in the Continental Tires Event in Las Vegas, which is now up in the air (New Mexico is still tied to this event for now as well). Marquee games with San Diego State, at Nevada, San Francisco in Phoenix, and Arizona State are in jeopardy. GCU will host Prairie View A&M on 12/5.

New Mexico State: Home-and-home every season with both New Mexico and UTEP have been a mainstay for the Aggies. Those games become more paramount than ever for the Las Cruces school who is disadvantaged geographically from other programs, especially considering that NMSU has no ties to an MTE of any kind this season. HC Chris Jans says all four games are on track to happen. Also, the Aggies have a game in Sioux Falls, SD against Northern Iowa which is on schedule still.

Seattle U: Has withdrawn from the Diamond Head Classic, which was moved to Orlando. The Redhawks intend to play in a multi-team event still, TBD. Redhawks were planning to host Idaho State, the two schools are looking at new dates or cancelling the game. Seattle U. will play at Washington on 12/9.

Tarleton State: First season in Division 1. TSU will compete at the four-team MTE at Incarnate Word between 11/27-29. The event includes Rice, North Dakota, and UIW. Tarleton has a date at Texas A&M set for 12/2. TSU set up a showcase guarantee game at Kansas on 12/13. And a local road game at Abilene Christian will be played on 12/5.

Tarleton State Texans Schedule

Utah Valley: The Wolverines will open the season at Stanford on 11/25. UVU then will play locally at BYU on 11/28. Utah and Utah Valley are working together to schedule a game at Utah in December. UVU also has a road game at Wyoming that is tentative, the date if it happens will be 12/12. A home game against Idaho State on 12/19 is still on track for now.

UTRGV: The WAC is a geographically diverse league spread across three time zones. It forces UTRGV to play very regionalized and Texas-centric, non-conference schedules which divides the Vaqueros seasons into two distinct halves. Quotes from HC Lew Hill - “We really want to stay close in the non-conference and stay in and around the Texas area so we can just be more on the bus, ride the bus,” Hill said. “Then once we get into conference (play), we’ll be flying all over the place, so we want to stay as close as possible around here. Go to the game, get back home and try to stay as safe as possible. We’re excited.” UTRGV has dates at Texas to open the season on 11/25 and at Texas A&M set for 12/6 in place. Vaqueros will host Sam Houston State on 12/21. Two games with TAMUCC are lined up for 12/2 (Home) and 12/10 (in Corpus Christi). UTSA (11/28) and Incarnate Word (12/14) will visit this season.

UTRGV Vaqueros Schedule

WCC
All Programs: Conference schedule has been released! See here

BYU: Ever since Mark Pope’s first day on the job, he has longed for a challenging non-conference schedule. He has been successful, but now has to deal with the reshuffle. The Cougars are off to a good start, they will replace Notre Dame in the Legends Classic (also includes UConn, USC, and Vanderbilt), which will happen at the Mohegan Sun. The Cougars are also planning to host arch-rival Utah on 12/12. BYU has four games from the original non-conference schedule that could be played with the new start date. Those include in-state matchups against UVU Nov. 28, at San Diego State Dec. 1, and Weber State on Dec. 23. However, a marquee game against Oregon in Portland, is looking unlikely. BYU is trying to reschedule game with Arizona State.

Gonzaga: HC Mark Few has indicated that the 2020-21 non-conference schedule will probably be even more difficult than it was before. He wasn’t kidding. GU will open the season in Fort Myers against the Kansas Jayhawks on 11/25, they also get St. Joseph’s on 11/27. The Zags are lined up to play Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic on 12/2. The original schedule was already pretty difficult with games like Baylor, Arizona, USC, Washington plus the Orlando Invitational (3 games). Now the Bulldogs have confirmed that they will face Baylor in Indianapolis on 12/5. Gonzaga will now face Iowa in Sioux Falls, SD on 12/19. GU was expected to play Auburn and Houston was expected to face Texas Tech in the first round of a four-team tournament in Orlando, but that was wiped out. Zags will host Dixie State on 12/29. Games with Washington and Arizona will not happen. December home games against Tarleton State, Bellarmine, and Northern Arizona are in doubt.

Loyola Marymount: AD Craig Pintens has confirmed that LMU will not be making up the lost game at Arizona this season, although they may persue a new agreement in the future. The Islands of Bahamas Showcase was relocated to Estero, FL, the Lions need to decide soon if they will remain in the event or stay closer to home. The Lions will host UC Santa Barbara on 12/12 and also host Cal Poly on 12/19. LMU is slated to play at Boise State this season, date is TBD. A planned home game against Long Beach State is uncertain for now. LMU will host Southern Utah in the opener on 11/25. Lions will play at Stanford on 12/9.

Pacific: Tigers will host two games on opening week against UC Riverside on 11/25 and Fresno State on 11/28. A stiff test at Nevada comes on 11/30. Pacific hosts Montana State (12/2) and UC Davis (12/12). Tigers have road contests lined up at San Jose State (12/6), CS-Northridge (12/16), and CS-Fullerton (12/19). A previously scheduled game vs. UC Irvine was removed. Tigers will host three Non D1 schools to complete their non-conference slate.

Pacific Tigers Schedule

Pepperdine: Was part of the Dana Point Challenge, which was postponed. Now, Pepperdine appears to be heading to a four-team event at San Diego State, and they will be joined by UCLA and UC Irvine. The Waves will have their December matchup against UC Santa Barbara, but it will now be played at home in Malibu.

Portland: Planning to host a four-team MTE between 11/25-11/28. The Pilots have lined up games against VMI, Idaho, and Cal Poly. Portland has a road contest on the schedule at UC Davis on 12/5. The Pilots will also face Montana State this year, date for this game is TBD.

Saint Mary’s: Gaels were tied to the Diamond Head Classic, which was moved to Orlando. The events in Orlando folded. SMC is now filling in for Ohio State at the Crossover Classic in South Dakota. The Gaels are scheduled to face Memphis in the opener (11/25) and either Texas A&M or West Virginia the following day. The game originally scheduled with San Diego State in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center was postponed. St. Mary’s will play at Utah State on 12/12. The remaining five non-league games will be at McKeon Pavilion: Nicholls State on 12/1, UTEP on 12/8, Eastern Washington on 12/15, Colorado State on 12/19, and Sacramento State on 12/30.

Saint Mary’s Gaels Schedule

San Diego: Toreros will play at UCLA on 12/9, confirmed by UCLA HC Mick Cronin. USD will play at Cal Poly on 12/16. A previously scheduled road game at Washington is up in the air.

San Francisco: The Dons will open the season in Lincoln, NE, particpating in the Elavate Hoops event. USF figures to play three games while there. The Dons also are doing a single-season home-and-home series with Nevada (12/2 at Nevada, 12/6 vs. Nevada). The Dons were scheduled to play at Cal this season, but that game is up in the air until further notice. The game at Grand Canyon is up in the air too. The home game vs. Southern Illinois is likely to be moved out.

Santa Clara: Will host a four-team MTE (likely will become the Cable Car Classic). Nicholls State, UC Davis, and Idaho State are lined up to participate. Broncos will host Sacramento State on 12/12.

Stay tuned for more updates, follow me on twitter @roccomiller8

College Basketball in 2021: Coast-to-Coast Bubbles: Non-Conference Play

By Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8)

Part 1: Non-Conference Bubble Selections

Simply smile more. Practice reframing. Build resiliency. These are the three key areas to boost your positive thinking and reduce stress according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. What does this have to do with College Basketball you may ask? Today I’d say, quite a bit. Especially now. We are living in a pandemic-laden world today, where things are fluid by the hour not only with sports, but more importantly in life. The everyday American today may be feeling a wide-range of emotions or even sadness. In the College Basketball world, we are no different. College Basketball staffs, players, and fans are holding on tightly to hope for some resemblance of a season this coming Winter.

The opportunity to anchor on this new found positive wisdom has become incredibly worth while for myself personally and professionally over time, but this now feels like the real test of will power. College Basketball and College Football are both going thru several layers of a revolution and potentially lost seasons. Without question, the sports world has been like nothing any of us have ever experienced going back to this past March. It was an eye-opening experience to witness how sadness and pessimism can creep in and take over thoughts for an entire collective college basketball community. Many parts of life are deeper and more important than basketball. That has never become more clear to me. And after several webinars and connections with coaches this summer, many agree with me. Life issues have come to the forefront over the past several months.

As an occasional escape and after the successful TBT Tournament, I spent time over the past seven weeks building out a non-conference bubble proposal that can hopefully be looked at as a reality well before we get to January 1, 2021. Let’s first review how we got here.

March 12th. That was our last real glimpse into any College Basketball action. Watching Creighton and St. John’s that morning was unforgettable. The game was stunningly able to go on for an entire first half of play after every other pending conference tournament had been cancelled by then due to the safety concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, the pandemic has still not been handled. We remain in flux, with outbreaks hitting in many parts of the country. College athletic departments remain short on details, as they wait on a plethora of factors ranging from pro-sports success or failure, campus decisions, and vaccine feasibility. Since that Thursday in March, the College Basketball world has been in mourning. We did not make it to Selection Sunday, no NCAA Tournament, no Final Four trip, nothing.

We now look forward to what viable options remain for the 2020-21 season, or perhaps we should just look at the 2021 season? Already aware that the The Ivy League will not be playing any games whatsoever until January 1st, 2021, and the Patriot League and others are predicted to follow suit sometime soon, we know the liklihood of games in November and December is shrinking. This has created many discussions within College Basketball circles on if it would be feasible or not to have a regular season comprised of just conference-only games and be able to select a tournament field based on those results alone. This is a scenario that I’d think is near last resort for the NCAA. NET data would be useful to still determine a percieved strength of a team while selecting the field of 68, but those middling teams (which there would be several) would create a really difficult to near impossible task of coming to a consensus for the committee in the selection room.

Efforts to play basketball on the national scale and within a bubble emerged ealrier this summer, as the TBT Tournament in Columbus, Ohio commenced. It was an overall smashing success. Two teams were forced to drop out of the tournament early on due to one team member testing positive for COVID-19. But out of 26 teams, that was a result that I believe tournament organizers were satisfied with. To follow that up, today we are finding the early returns on the NBA bubble have been tremendous. Last week, zero postive cases were reported out of over 300+ tests to team personnel and extended staff members in the Orlando bubble. We’ve collectively learned a few things about the spread of the virus and how to contain it. It unfortunately becomes very risky to have frequent plane flights, constant changes of scenery, and additonal exposure beyond a controlled environment. These factors are making the options for a traditional College Basketball season in 2020 or 2021, reasonably obselete. The bottom line is, we still have five months til January and three months til November. Teams need games. Teams need non-conference games. Let’s figure this out and create an outline.

The Initial Outline for Non-Conference Bubble assignments

  • 11 National Locations

  • 10 games per team, all 357 teams.

  • 4 regularly scheduled non-conference games

  • 2 Bracketed events per school. *More on this below*

  • 40-day period to complete games.

  • First 12 days are for quarantine, acclimation process, practice.

  • Geography and proximity is the most important factor.

  • Competitive balance is second most important factor.

  • No more than four teams per Conference in same location

  • Proposed dates: January 2nd thru February 5, 2021

For this to even be entertained as reality, all 32 conference commissioners with assistance from the NCAA need to be an agreement. That is probably enough risk to eliminate the entire possibility. But remember, this is College Basketball Reimagined. If College Hoops as a whole is left with little other options such as limiting flights, limiting hotel variance, limiting exposure in general (as it stands today) - then the leagues have really no other choice but to start preparing bubble proposals.

Update: Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweeted:
Several power conferences in college basketball have had preliminary discussions about holding games next season in a "bubble" type setting.  This is one of many potential options on the table, but one that gains traction with student athletes taking classes online.

This proves that there are now ongoing discussions of this prior to publishing time. Simply only involving power conferences is still a little bit of a blow for those of us who love all 357 programs and 32 leagues. Regardless, we are going to include every D1 program in our proposal.

So this is where we’ve landed at Bracketeer.org:

Location Selection
The outline above shows that we need 11 locations. The thought process behind this is to provide coverage to enough geographies to provide a close to home option for as many programs as possible. The other key in the selection process was to come up with 11 locations that actually could facilitate a bubble. Some of these selections, feel spot on and others would take some willingness from the cities to help go the extra mile for safety of the staff and players. In hindsight, we may need to add one additional East Coast location and eliminate a southern location. In doing the exercise within the rules of our outline above, I quickly realized the sheer quantity of East Coast programs was forcing me to send a few to places like Orlando. But in large part I think this was a successful exercise. Without further ado, here are the 11 locations:

GLeague-Mandalay Bay.jpg

Las Vegas

The Mandalay Bay has successfully hosted the G League Showcase for a few years now. The ability to create a bubble on property is as feasible as you will find anywhere in the US.

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Colorado Springs

Wildcard selection. The Olympic Training Facility is a massive 59,000 square foot training facility designed to help elite athletes focus. The venue would be a tremendous experience for College Basketball programs.
Alternative Site: Salt Lake City
Risk: USA Basketball would need to advocate to help make this work and the hotel lodging may be difficult.

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San Antonio

Alamodome is as fitting as a bubble destination as I can think of. With nearby riverwalk hotels and a venue always thirsty for more events, this could be a great match.
Alternative Site: Ford Center at The Star (Cowboys Training Facility), Frisco, TX.
Risk: At press time, San Antonio is in a high risk region with COVID-19. Something to monitor.

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New Orleans

The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center had a major renovation last year and would be an ideal bubble location. Three adjacent hotels connect to the Center and several other lodging options are in close proximity.
Alternative Sites: Smoothie King Center or Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS.
Risk: Ballroom of the Convention center meeting requirements for sanctioned games and television.

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Indianapolis

The Host location for the Final Four is a must for a bubble test run. The NCAA has strong ties in Indy, and realistically could work with the venue to make this happen for non-conference play.
Alternative Sites: Indiana Convention Center or Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Risk: Limited in comparison to other options. A bubble in the Final Four host city is a necessity.

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Columbus

Another first ballot option is Columbus after the mostly successful TBT Tournament last month. I visit this city about 10 times a year (during normal times) and can attest to the convienence of getting to Nationwide Arena from several nearby hotels with ease.
Risk: Like several of the other locations, the temptation to be in the booming downtown scene or head over to Ohio State University for gatherings would be hard on young adults to stay in the bubble.

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Atlanta

The city of Atlanta makes good geographical sense. The venue is up for heavy debate. The new Gateway Center Arena is our choice. The venue is conveniently located right next to the Georgia International Convention Center.
Alternative Sites: State Farm Arena.
Risk: Atlanta is heavily populated and creating a bubble could prove challenging. Georgia as a state has had looser restrictions on businesses as well, which could jeopardize the opportunity.

Nashville-Bridgestone-Arena-Section-214-Row-D-on-1-27-2018f.jpg

Nashville

Nashville serves as an ideal host locations with several surrounding D1 colleges and proven success hosting the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
Alternative Sites: Memphis, TN - FedEx Forum, Myrtle Beach, SC - HTC Center.
Risk: Can they setup, support, and successfully enforce a bubble while being surrounded by a typically busy downtown area?

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Orlando

The number one draft choice is here. The Orlando Wide World of Sports facilities have had amazing success hosting the NBA. With a January start, this is a slam dunk location for College Basketball.

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Atlantic City

Boardwalk Hall has been selected to host College Basketball events in the past and will serve as a getaway to focus on basketball and online studies during winter months for a large quantity of East Coast schools.
Alternative Sites: Philadelphia or Baltimore area

Boston-td-garden-fleetcenter-boston-celtics-arena-nba-basketball-arena.jpg

Boston

The hub for Northeast schools. So many D1 colleges nearby, we need Boston or Worcester to host. The Fleet Center is Plan A, but there are several backup locations that would suffice.
Alternative Sites: Auerbach Center - Boston, DCU Center - Worcester, MA, or Dunkin’ Donuts Center - Providence, RI.

Scheduling in the Bubble

The following format will be applied to 352 teams, the only exceptions will be the newest teams to D1: Merrimack, Dixie State, Tarleton State, UC San Diego, and Belarmine. These five schools will not be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and based on math were the easiest to leave out of the bracketed events. They will still be invited to a come participate in non-conference games at their nearest locations.

Non-Conference Bubble Outline
January 14 -20: Each school will schedule two non-conference games against whom they choose as long as they are not in the same initial bracket or another conference member. Similar to how non-conference games are scheduled now minus some of the financial elements.
January 21-25: Eight-team Bracketed Events. Each location will host four (4) bracketed events.
January 26-31: Two more non-conference games against whom they choose, with same restrictions as before.
February 1-5: Eight-team Bracketed event of Champions plus three (3) additional eight-team bracketed events. Teams in same conference will be separated.

This gives everyone exactly 10 non-conference games. The ability to achieve a tougher strength of schedule by winning. I actually like the model quite a bit as a bracketologist and for non-power conferences. Next, lets break down the Bracketed Events.

All Brackets will follow the same 8-team format as Maui, Battle4Atlantis, Charleston, Cayman Islands, etc. (3 games per school)

SAMPLE BRACKET ONLY. All Bubble Brackets will be played using this format.

SAMPLE BRACKET ONLY. All Bubble Brackets will be played using this format.


Four separate Bracketed Events to be played in each bubble between January 21-25, 2020:

  • UC San Diego (Las Vegas), Merrimack (Boston), Dixie State (Colorado Springs), Bellarmine (Nashville), and Tarleton State (San Antonio) will be available for scheduling and able to play up to 11 games should they be scheduled. Any team who plays against these five schools will also be able to play up to 11 games.

  • SAMPLE Non-Conference Schedule: Indiana

    • 1/15 vs. Middle Tennessee
      1/18 vs. Evansville
      1/22 vs. Belmont
      1/23 vs. Louisville or WKU
      1/25 vs. TBA
      1/27 vs. William & Mary
      1/30 vs. Davidson
      2/1 - 2/5 vs. TBA (3 Games)

For this concept to actually get off the ground, the sport will need several factors to go almost perfectly to actually come to fruition. There is plenty at stake for our 357 D1 Basketball programs if we do not have another NCAA Tournament. There is also plenty at stake if we can’t ensure the safety and health of the players or if the players unite for further economic and social justice change like we saw recently in football. Leaning on the science that is proven and dependable from what has been learned from other bubble environments can only help College Basketball. If this is a plausable solution to have athletes take online classes and play basketball in a bubble for three months? Those are likely the bigger questions at this point.

Under my full proposal, almost all teams will not play in more than three total bubbles during the season and many will only play in two. There are serious health, safety, and testing measures that were needed in order for the TBT and NBA bubbles to work. This will have to be replicated in a more complex manner with college-aged kids, more teams, and 11 different bubbles. A big reason I did not propose more than 11 was for that very reason. The hoops season and selection process is up for major scrutiny with a conference-only schedule. This proposal would solve that reality and then some. I cannot stress enough, how many additional opportunities a mid or low-major program would be able to achieve by winning in these brackets and advancing to a subsequent tournament of champions format in early February.

Coming soon: Conference-play bubbles in Part 2.

COVID-19: Future of College Athletics, LEAD1 Webinar Recap:

by Rocco Miller (@roccomiller8)

As we continue to find more avenues to engage with the College Basketball Community, it is essential to have proper understanding on how a Global Pandemic (Covid-19) will impact our great sport. This webinar today was hosted by the LEAD1 association, which represents athletics directors in the Bowl Subdivision. This panel provided excllent details on what is being considered today in planning for moving forward, how communications with campus, fans, and the community should occur, and what are the biggest obstacles will be to prepare for as it pertains to college athletics. Although the panel was built on football premise, all of these leaders have a large say on what will happen on the hardwood.

I was personally enlightened and encouraged by the responses from the panel. Several AD’s have a reputation of not being transparent in controversial situations. Given the sensitivity and urgency of this specific subject and what the world is facing today - we repeatedly heard honest, thoughtful responses, and even a sense of excitement to move into what will be a new world of college sports as we know it.

Panelists:
Kathy Beauregard, Director of Athletics, Western Michigan
Martin Jarmond, Director of Athletics, UCLA (Formerly Boston College)
Bob Bowlsby, Commissioner, Big 12 Conference
Jack Swarbrick, Director of Athletics, Notre Dame
Amy Perko, CEO, Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics
Tom McMillen, President & CEO, LEAD1 Association

These six panelists helped answer several questions about the future of College Sports.

These six panelists helped answer several questions about the future of College Sports.

ON WHAT WE KNOW TODAY:
Kathy Beauregard:
-
College Athletics will never be the same as what we thought it was before. This transition process will take several years to come completely out of.
- MAC schools are State funded institutions and their Athletic Departments have anywhere between $31M to $34M budgets to operate with. With states going billions of dollars into debt, it creates difficult decisions within athletic departments on how to cut staff, entire programs, or reduce salaries to balance the budget.
- Programs have already been cut (such as Akron Track, Bowling Green Baseball, etc.) in the conference, but Western Michigan is not planning to cut programs. These cuts going forward figure to have the largest impact on Olympic sports.

Martin Jarmond:
-
Athletic Departments need to recalibrate and pivot. Athletics will need to share in the sacrifice of the greater campus and school. Athletic Departments will no longer be able to “outrevenue the provlem.”
- Expect more demand from school Presidents, Athletics will need to give more and release control of operating separately.
- Being sensitive to the needs of your institution as a whole will pay off on the back end of this with faculty and administration.
- Messaging to fans and community members needs to be positive. This is critical. Be even more present in your community. He praised some recent ideas on social platforms of new ways to engage fans and stressed the importance of being innovative in these times. He referenced the Bill Self, Kansas example of live tweeting a memorable game (2008 National Championship).

Bob Bowlsby
- Confident we will get thru this together.
- Changes and requirements may be annoying and different, but everyone has to adjust going forward.
- He was curious about the psychological aspects of these changing times. He mentioned when will fans actually completely feel comfortable assembling together in stadiums next to other strangers. Big assembly anytime soon will be logistically challenging.
- Fearful of the discontinuation of Olympic Sports. If certain sports like gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, waterpolo, etc. leave College Athletics all together, how does that impact us in the olympics on the podium? How does that affect the adoring public?

Jack Swarbrick
- This is a revolutionary period in College Sports. Prior to the pandemic, we were already facing the NIL issue, the results of the Alston case, and a one-time transfer waiver. Sports as we know it will look different on a lot of levels. He is excitied to see the creative approaches on the next generation of college athletics and how it impacts this business.
- Not only concerned about losing programs at different levels, but more concerned about losing entire institutions within the next 3-4 years.
- College athletics is stronger with all levels of participation. Critical time now for a broad solution to be created that allows competition to remain strong and throughout all levels.

Amy Perko
-
The biggest priority is the health and safety of the student athletes.
- Important to maintain an equal opportunity for education and athletic success

SUMMARY OF Q&A SESSION:
Kathy Beauregard:
-
The future will be different, communicate with your community.
- Deepen relationships with your fan-base. Setbacks are ahead, so it is critical to stay close to them.
- More Social expirimenting
- WMU looking at a four-year plan on adjusting to athletic department reality post-pandemic

Bob Bowlsby:
-
In Football this will have to be a linear process. There will be positive tests. Campus-wide response programs will need to be setup. Campus will need disinfectant programs. Social distancing rules will need to be followed. Most importantly: public gatherings is a major risk at this time.
- We could see more enhanced changes to locker room designs, helmet designs to better cover the face, and hospital grade sanitation.
- Met with White House coronavirus task force in recent weeks have led him to believe that such an aggressive testing plan would be viable by football season due to rapid improvements and innovations in test manufacturing. Also that testing will double each month, and he hopes that will hold because it would be a sensitive issue if testing isn’t as easily available for the common student.
- Programs are embedded into collegiate operations within higher education, our task is infinately more complicated than it is with professional teams.
- Things change quickly with the responses and requirements. What’s good today likely won’t be satisfactory a month from now. This is going to be continual voyage of discovery, and we’ll have to innovate going forward to meet the demands.
- Bob mentioned scenario planning and eluded to foresight being a key in preparation for campus life with athletics and students around. He gave a few examples: What happens during cold/flu season during the fall on top of this? How to properly prepare as a department/university? Acknoledge the risks involved. Recent months suggest that plans/ideas are going to take two steps forward and one step back, need to be ready for all of the setbacks.

Jack Swarbrick:
-
Reiterated that Atletics must be part of overall campus effort and solution. He does not care about any competitive disadvantage arguments, it doesn’t matter compared to health and safety.
- Notre Dame decided to reopen early to align all parties involved on a common goal and give everyone some direction and a date to build towards (August 10th).
- Individual coaches and sports are exploring several changes currently. Everything from roster sizes, abbreviated schedules, campus needs, etc. Everyone will have to expect change with this.

Amy Perko
-
Cutting programs should really be a last resort. Let’s look at ways we can cut costs by reducing inefficiencies.
- She referenced a school president who expressed concerns that his university presidential colleagues would overlook the net tuition revenues many of the so-called non-revenue sport participants produce for universities. An analysis that showed on the whole, the so called non-revenue sports created more net revenue for their university in terms of tuition than football and basketball did.

In summary, expect continous changes as we move forward in college sports. Several elements of the infrastructure as we once knew it, will never return. However, there are clear and stable aspects to college basketball. Television revenue figures to remain or increase, which will more than fund many programs. The product will not be as great without an atmosphere if no fans are allowed, but some innovative ideas with microphones on coaches and other new viewing enhancements are now on the table. Fortunately, basketball has a couple of additional months compared to football to make some strategic decisions on how to best adapt to our changed society. We are already seeing this with the revised non-conference schedules which are mainly aiming for less travel. Change is not an option anymore, we all need to adapt together. In the end, College Hoops will continue on to survive and advance.

Bid Thief Report: 2020

What is a Bid Thief?
One of the many joys of doing Bracketology during Championship Week is the constant monitoring of the conference tournaments. More specifically the 10-12 tournaments that have at least one lock to make the field of 68 as an at-large. This opens up the possibility for another non-locked team to steal that league’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. More importantly, this takes a bid away from a projected at-large team. Such teams are commonly known as a bid thief.

2018-19 Murray State Racers - stole a bid from the pool of 36 at-large bids.

2018-19 Murray State Racers - stole a bid from the pool of 36 at-large bids.

Last season, brought us four bid thieves. A rather large amount. Saint Louis (A-10), Saint Mary’s (WCC), Murray State (OVC), and Oregon (Pac-12) would not have made the field without winning their respective conference tournaments. The overall annual average is nearly 2.4 bids stolen per year. You should come to expect two to three bids taken from each bracket you follow during the season. Here at Bracketeer.org, there is special attention placed on this part of the equation.

You will notice on all of the bracket projections on this website, there is a section at the top called “Bids Stolen.” Selection Sunday is right around the corner, just five days away. The major conference tournaments are getting underway now. We just witnessed Utah State secure a bid last weekend after being on the bubble. We don’t know yet if they will qualify as a bid thief or not until this coming week concludes, but there is a chance they stole one.

It is time for a full review of what is still out there to be potentially taken away from the pool of at-large bubble hopefuls. Conferences are listed in order of liklihood of a thief.

Atlantic 10:
Dayton is in. Richmond is projected to be in the First Four.

Potential Thieves
Saint Louis is the team to watch here. The Billikens are the defending A-10 Tournament champions and gave Dayton all kinds of matchup problems during the two matchups this year. Losing a heartbreaker in Saint Louis, thanks to Jalen Crutcher, and a tight one in Dayton. SLU would face Dayton in a potential Semifinal. If Saint Louis can pull off the upset, they will put themselves squarley on the bubble and just needing one more win to secure the auto bid.

Rhode Island Rams are in the next best position to steal the bid because they have a bye into the Quarterfinals. I am not as high on the Rams due to their recent play, losing four of their final seven down the stretch. But keep in mind, two of those were against Dayton and one against the aforementioned SLU. Any team with Fats Russell on it, has a shot.

Duquesne falls under the Darkhorse category most. I do give the Dukes a fairly decent shot to get to the semifinals because they are in the same part of the bracket as struggling URI. If they can get on that type of roll, why stop there?

Saint Bonaventure would need to play their best ball of the season to get past Saint Louis right now, and then there is Dayton after that - I don’t see it happening.

The Rest Davidson, UMass, VCU, GW, Saint Joseph’s, Fordham, George Mason: Good luck!

AAC:
Houston is in. Wichita State is projected to be in the First Four. Cincinnati and Memphis are on the outside of the bubble, both likely need a trip to the Tournament Final in order to be selected, or even strongly considered.

Potential Thieves

Tulsa has been on Bracketeer.org’s projections multiple times this year. The Golden Hurricane won a share of the conference championship with Cincinnati and Houston. From the 3-seed position and with several supporters coming from Tulsa down to Fort Worth, it is pretty realistic to see this team win the tournament.

UConn has played very well down the stretch. This is the final hurrah for Huskies in the AAC, as they are heading to the Big East next season. They will need to take of Tulane, then Wichita State, and Cincinnati to make the final. They are capable of pulling that off. The questions are: how well will they perform in Texas (long ways from home), and how much love will they get from the conference?

SMU has the advantage of being closest to the tournament venue in Fort Worth. The opportunity to play less than 40 miles away from campus should provide the Mustangs with some inherent advantages. Tyson Jolly is also the type of player that can put his team on his shoulders to win a game late. The draw shows they would get Houston in the Quarters, should they take care of Temple. SMU managed to beat Houston in OT in their last meeting. The Ponies have just enough juice to keep your eye on them.

The Rest UCF, USF, Temple, ECU, and Tulane: Need a miraculous run to survive the weekend.

SEC:
Kentucky, Auburn, LSU are locks. Florida is virtually a lock baring a disaster. Mississippi State is on the outside looking in, but can make a strong at-large case with a run to the finals. Especially if they beat UK in the semifinals.

Potential Thieves

Tennessee played a gauntlet of a schedule down the stretch - facing Auburn twice, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Florida. The Vols held their own for the most part, including a signature victory at UK’s Rupp Arena. This demonstrated that we cannot take Tennessee lightly. They will take on Alabama on day one, they would then get another crack at Kentucky. Should the win that to get to the semi’s, the toughest team is behind them with only two rounds to go.

Alabama really struggled in their last two outings, getting dismantled by Vandy and Mizzou. I am not entirely giving up on the Tide because Nate Oats can coach against the elites, and this Tide roster is still really talented. Alabama has the same path as Tennessee if they are able to knock off the Vols.

Texas A&M is playing thier best basketball of the season, and like a team that we do not recognize compared to the first half of the year. Buzz’s bunch has won at Auburn now and finished by going 5-2 in their final seven games. Even better news for the Aggies, they have a realistic path to the title: open with Mizzou, next would be Auburn, then LSU perhaps. Based on recent results, Aggies have a real chance to advance a few rounds and make things interesting.

Arkansas may have the most interesting at-large case, but they also have a rough draw. The Razorback journey begins tonight against an upstart Vanderbilt team and the tournament is in Nashville. Should Arkansas advance, they still need to win five total games in five days. The more realistic path is to win three or four games and really give the committee something to think about for selection. Isaiah Joe missed crucial time earlier this year, and the committee can take that into consideration.

South Carolina shot themselves in the foot by losing to Vanderbilt over the weekend. This likely cost the Gamecocks any leftover chance at an at-large. You cannot completely count out Coach Martin in March and they are on the “nicer” side of the bracket, so keep your eye on them this week.

The Rest Mizzou, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Vanderbilt are longshots.


Pac-12:
Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, USC, and Arizona State are locks. UCLA is on the cusp, and needs a good showing in Las Vegas to earn an at-large. Stanford needs to win likely two games (includes UCLA) in order to feel strongly about an at-large bid.

Potential Thieves

Washington is coming off an impressive trip to the desert where they won at both ASU and at Arizona to grab everyone’s attention. Later today, they will open the conference tournament against Arizona. It is no secret that UW has the talent to play with anyone in the league, did the Huskies finally get it figured out as a team last week? We will find out soon. The path won’t be easy: need to beat Arizona, USC, and likely Oregon just to make the Title Game.

Oregon State is on their final hurrah with their all-time leading scorer, Tres Tinkle. The statrting five contains all upperclassmen. This has been another inconsistent season for the Beavers. We’ve seen glimpses of greatness in their wins over Oregon, at Colorado, at Stanford, and against Arizona. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain in Vegas this week.

The Rest Utah, WSU, and Cal have all shown they can hang. The Pac-12 had a very strong league this season largely because the bottom of the league has vastly improved. This trio has really struggled away from their home courts and because of that, they cannot be considered serious bid thief contenders.


ACC:
Florida State, Louisville, Duke, and Virginia are locks. N.C. State is the key team this week for the bubble picture. Wolfpack are right near the cut-line and likely need two wins this week to feel decent about their chances.

Potential Thieves

North Carolina has stirred up a lot of questions up over the past few weeks. By now, you know that this has been a tremendously uncharacteristic season for the Tar Heels. They dealt with the Cole Anthony injury and he is back healthy now, but perhaps most importantly they have seen outstanding production out of Garrison Brooks. The Heels dismantled Virginia Tech yesterday, to setup a matchup with Syracuse today. They just dominated the Orange recently. After this, they would play Louisville. They win that one, all bets are off. The reality of winning of five games in five days is pretty daunting. If it will ever happen, perhaps this talent-rich UNC team is the one to pull it off. Either way, it will be exciting to watch.

Notre Dame has been hanging with most everyone lately. The Irish were blown out at Duke and let one slip away at Wake Forest, but besides that they have been one of the most competitive team in this league. Finding a way to pull some of these close ones out, is another story and Mike Brey needs to have an answer beginning today. You have to like the Irish draw. They play BC today, then a hot Virginia team tomorrow if they win. ND matches up well there and has a real chance to make noise this week.

Syracuse has had an up and down year. They find themselves in a bid thief position this week, which is not ideal for a program with such a rich tradition. They take on UNC today, will not be easy at all. Should they advance, they get Louisville. The Orange needed to be listed because they have the talent and the 2-3 zone, which can yield upsets.

The Rest Clemson, Miami, BC, Pittsburgh are very much longshots. Wake Forest and Virginia Tech were eliminated yesterday.

Highly Unlikely Bid Thief Conferences:
Big 12, Big Ten, Big East

Potential Thieves

Purdue faces the brutal challenge of trying to beat four tournament caliber teams in four days. The journey begins with Ohio State tomorrow. Boilermakers have shown they belong with a top 35 NET ranking, they just have not won enough games overall to warrant an at-large. Let’s see if they can put a run together in local Indianapolis this week.

TCU beat Baylor not long ago. The Horned Frogs will get another chance to do that if they take care of Kansas State in the opener. In the event they win that one, they would get West Virginia or Oklahoma in the semifinals, not bad at all. Once they get to the final, anything can happen.

Georgetown has been shorthanded all year. The fact that they remained in the bubble picture for most of the season is amazing. Just last weekend, the Hoyas had Villanova on the ropes but squandered the lead late. Now, they may be catching a break if they can beat St. John’s in MSG (never easy to do). Creighton is the top-seed waiting for the winner, and is likely without Marcus Zegarowski. This could open things up for a semifinal run for Georgetown, we shall see.

The Rest Minnesota, Oklahoma State, St. John’s are stretch darkhorses. Nebraska, Northwestern, DePaul, Kansas State, and Iowa State would be ecstatic with even one win this week.

Summary
It is difficult to envision any of these teams winning their tournaments this week and pehaps they won’t. But do we ever see these things coming? Usually not.

Here is a complete Bid Thief Board that will be tracked and updated this week:

Top 20 Rankings in order of most likely to win their respective Conference Tournaments.

Top 20 Rankings in order of most likely to win their respective Conference Tournaments.




Arizona State at Stanford

Cardinal huddle after a foul is called on ASU’s Mickey Mitchell.

Cardinal huddle after a foul is called on ASU’s Mickey Mitchell.

Arizona State:
- ASU came into today #43 on the Big Board, currently an 11-seed
- Sun Devils come in with a 3-game win streak, including a sweep of the LA schools last week
- Devils push the pace. #15 Tempo nationally.
- 4 true road wins, none against teams near the projected at-large cut
- ASU leads the Pac-12 in Conference play with turning other teams over. Bobby Hurley’s bunch uses ball pressure to get teams to cough it up and make rushed decisions.

Stanford:
- Playing without leading scorer (15.9 ppg) and rebounder Oscar da Silva (6.3)
- Only scheduled meeting vs. ASU this season
- Cardinal has dropped 5 of their last 6, looking to stop the bleeding tonight.
- 15th best 3pt. FG% shooting in the nation.

GAME ACTION

Pregame conversations in the media room and just observing Stanford in warmups, you can tell the absence of star Oscar Da Silva is very apparent. Arizona State came out on a mission to attack and expose Stanford tonight, Sun Devils put up the first seven points of the game. ASU star guard Remy Martin opened the game with five quick ones. Stanford bounced back with a couple of Spencer Jones trey’s.
1st Media Timeout: Arizona State 9, Stanford 6

Jaiden Delaire came in off the bench and started filling it up for the Cardinal. Back-to-back layups got Stanford in front for the first time tonight. He also added a free throw during this sequence.
2nd Media Timeout: Stanford 13, Arizona State 12.

This Arizona State offense really goes when Alonzo Verge comes in and gets going. And sure enough, right on queue, Verge drains two jumpers. And on top of that, ASU reserve Jalen Graham had an emphatic jam. Later, Kimani Lawrence got into the act by hitting a three and a layup. Stanford continues to shoot themselves in the foot with careless turnovers. It is now a 17-4 run for ASU.
3rd Media Timeout: Arizona State 29, Stanford 17

Daejon Davis had himself a 3-point play to help Stanford get somewhat back on track. Spencer Jones hit another three and Delaire added a dunk. Remy Martin was able to mix in a made jumper. ASU now playing a bit sloppy, they’ve committed a handful of turnovers lately.
4th Media Timeout: Arizona State 33, Stanford 25

The final sequence of the first half began with Verge and Martin getting to the free throw line and connecting on three free throws. Stanford responded with a couple of their own free throws by Tyrell Terry. Terry came down and contributed a layup in the final seconds of the half.
Halftime: Arizona State 36, Stanford 29

2nd Half

Lawrence draws a quick foul, I am now on the baseline watching for this segment. Lawrence ended up making one of two from the stripe. After a Stanford miss, Romello White came down and drilled a pretty jumper. Tyrell Terry and Daejon Davis would eventually respond. But then Verge ripped off a three layups ad a couple of free throws in just a couple of minutes.
1st Media Timeout: Arizona State 49, Stanford 36

Stanford’s Bryce Wills really showed up during this sequence. The 6-6 sophomore found multiple ways to score with fast break points and a post-up layup. All said and done, the Cardinal are now just down by six.
2nd Media Timeout: Arizona State 55, Stanford 49