Good morning.
Hoopville czar Phil Kasiecki gets a brief break again today from the Morning Dish. In the meantime, in the spirit of Phil’s look at the state of conference races as their play begins in full soon, we continue going conference-by-conference looking at some of the biggest surprise storylines so far this season.
We started with the America East through the Big West yesterday, today we go from C (Colonial Athletic Association) through O (Ohio Valley Conference):
Colonial: It looks to be a wide-open year in the CAA, which makes a team like Delaware even more worth keeping an eye on. The Blue Hens got off to a 9-0 start and are 10-3 overall. There were early wins over Oakland, Southern Illinois, Stony Brook and Texas-San Antonio, and UAB transfer Nate Darling has been a revelation, averaging 21.4 points and hitting 3.5 three-pointers per contest.
Conference USA: Very quietly, Florida International is backing up its surprising performance of a year ago, a 20-win season in Jeremy Ballard’s first year. The Golden Panthers are 9-3, and though the win resume is hardly inspiring, FIU was close in losses at Mississippi State and North Carolina State. Osasumwen Osaghae is also one of the more fearsome inside forces no one knows about, averaging 13.4 points (on 72.6% shooting), 8.2 boards and 4.6 blocks per game.
Horizon League: While Wright State and Northern Kentucky appear to be the class of the league again to the surprise of no one, Youngstown State quietly looks ready to move up the standings. The Penguins are 7-6 and recently played West Virginia well before succumbing. Sophomore Darius Quisenberry is becoming one of the premier players in the Horizon and averages 15.8 points plus nearly two steals a game.
Ivy League: Dartmouth jumped out to a 5-1 start including a win over Buffalo, and the Big Green are 7-6 now with four losses by seven points or less or in overtime. A solid starting five includes James Foye (shooting 51.7% from three), and the Green will be a contender to break into the top four and get to the Ivy’s tournament.
Metro Atlantic: Few surprises so far. Maybe the closest thing is Marist off to a 1-8 start. The Red Foxes were drilled by Bethune-Cookman by 29 points in their last game before Christmas, though their previous five games-all losses-were decided by 10 points or less, including two in overtime. John Dunne’s team is still playing the same slow pace his teams usually play, but even the slowest, most stubborn defensive teams need some offense, and 37% shooting isn’t cutting it so far.
Mid-American: Akron has looked like one of the MAC’s best teams in November and December. The Zips are 9-3 with only losses to Louisville, West Virginia and undefeated Liberty, and have four capable scorers led by pint-sized (5-foot-8) Loren Christian Jackson. Akron also holds teams to 25.8% shooting from three-point range.
MEAC: Coppin State is 4-10, but the Eagles have some solid wins over Cornell, East Carolina, James Madison and Loyola (Ill.). There’s some light at the end of the tunnel for a program that won no more than nine games each of the last five seasons.
Missouri Valley: Some might say Missouri State’s 6-7 start is a surprise, but the chatter about the Bears was based way more on name-brand transfers than anyone having a real read on how they’d mesh. Northern Iowa is the MVC’s biggest story. The Panthers being a contender in the Valley is never really a surprise, of course, but Ben Jacobson’s team is on the fringe of the top 25 and is a late collapse against West Virginia (aided by some curious officiating) from being undefeated.
Mountain West: San Diego State is one of the surprises in the country, off to a 12-0 start and looking good doing it. The Aztecs have beaten BYU, Creighton, Iowa and Utah among others, hold opponents to 36.3% shooting and outscore them by an average of nearly 21 points per game. SDSU also is shooting a shade under 40% from three-point range, too. Can the Aztecs keep that up? If they do, a 2 or 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament looks very doable.
Northeast: Bryant continues to make quick progress under coach Jared Grasso, and the Bulldogs are 8-4 with a host of solid regional wins plus three of their four losses by two points or in overtime. Bryant finished 10-20 a year ago but looks like an NEC contender this year, quite a two-year climb for a program that went 3-28 just two years ago.
OVC: There’s a lot to be settled in an OVC where early on none of last year’s dynamite quartet of contenders (Belmont, Murray State, Austin Peay and Jacksonville State) is at their 2018-19 level. Tennessee State, though, is 8-5-just one win from its total all of last year in a 9-21 campaign. The Tigers shoot it well (48.4%), pound teams on the glass (+7.6 rebound margin) and were competitive even in losses at San Diego State and Texas Tech.
Side Dishes:
- The latest episode of Talking Hoops with Ted Sarandis is live on Hoopville, with Phil Kasiecki joining Ted to recap the Diamond Head Classic, other holiday hoops action plus James Wiseman’s departure from Memphis. You can listen to it here.
- Stunning news from Evansville, where second-year coach Walter McCarty has been put on administrative leave during an investigation into alleged violations of the school’s Title IX policy. (More on it here from the Evansville Courier & Press) An internal letter to staff noted that McCarty had received reports before about “unwelcome behavior” by McCarty, discussed it with him and then received another report recently. Evansville this year is 9-4 entering Missouri Valley play starting Tuesday against Missouri State, and notably the Purple Aces knocked off then-No. 1 Kentucky early this season. Bennie Seltzer will take over as the Aces’ interim coach, and he does have head coaching experience having led Samford for two years from 2012-14.
- Friday night included just two games. Loyola (Md.) shot 62.7% in outlasting Massachusetts-Lowell 93-81, with Andrew Kostecka putting up 27 points and 10 boards. Also, Mount St. Mary’s rolled past Coppin State 79-55 with Jalen Gibbs (27) and Vado Morse (22) combining for 49 points including 11 three-pointers between the two. The Mount hit 14 of 30 from three in all.
Today’s Menu: It gets a bit busier, including some conferences tipping off league play, though the slate also has a number of schools consuming holiday sweets with non-Division I cupcakes…
- The day starts with Duke hosting Brown early at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, and on ESPN2, of course.
- Other early TV offerings include Central Michigan at Purdue (Noon, Big Ten Network) and American at Georgetown in an all-D.C. matchup (Noon, FS1).
- There’s a big doubleheader on CBS. First up is Wisconsin at Tennessee (1:30 p.m.), an opportunity on the road for the Badgers. That’s the undercard before Louisville goes to Kentucky (3:45 p.m.) in what has become nothing less than one of the country’s top rivalries.
- CAA play gets rolling with matchups like Northeastern at Towson (2 p.m.), and James Madison hosting Hofstra (4 p.m.).
- The Horizon League loop also starts, including a big one between rivals with Detroit Mercy at Oakland (3 p.m.).
- Interesting matchup in the Twin Cities as Minnesota hosts Florida International, Richard Pitino’s previous coaching stop (4 p.m., Big Ten Network). The Gophers have come alive of late, while FIU has dominated lesser competition on its schedule but is still hard to get a complete read on. Potentially the best under-the-radar game of the day.
- Good Big Sky opener with a pair of surprising teams squaring off with Sacramento State at Montana State (6 p.m.). Also, there’s an early in-state battle with Idaho at Idaho State (9 p.m.).
- Two quality (and still-dangerous) programs meet with Belmont going to Western Kentucky (7:30 p.m.). Will be fascinating to see how the Hilltoppers continue to adjust after the loss of Charles Bassey.
- Nice theological matchup as distinctly Christian Oral Roberts goes to distinctly Mormon Brigham Young (9 p.m., BYU Network).
- Surprising UC Riverside takes a shot at Fresno State on the road (9 p.m.).
Have a great Saturday of the holiday weekend.
