And then there were none.
There are no more winless Division I teams this season. Of course, that can change if you define it a certain way (only Division I opponents), but for now we won’t quibble. Every Division I team has now won a game after Monday night.
And for Mississippi Valley State, it’s a long time coming and the end of a long road of losses.
It’s been a long season in Itta Bena for the Delta Devils and first-year head coach Lindsey Hunter. It didn’t start out with any promise, as they surrendered over 100 points in each of their first three games and were routed by an average of 62 points a game; the average score was 129-67. They lost every non-conference game by a double-digit margin, with an average margin of defeat of 31 points in their first 14 games. In fact, only three teams failed to reach 80 points in non-conference, and coming into Monday night’s game at Alabama A&M, no opponent had scored less than 70 points against them.
Considering the Delta Devils have eight freshmen and one sophomore, along with three seniors, one win after another was not expected. They also didn’t play a single non-conference home game, which also makes things difficult. But it’s fair to say this team has been humbled along the way.
On Monday night, they hit the road to play Alabama A&M, and got off to a better start. They even had a nice lead at halftime, going into the locker room up 42-28 on the strength of 51.5 percent shooting, including 6-12 from long range. Before the first media timeout of the second half, they extended the lead to 20 points, at which point you had to feel a little more optimistic about the possibility of the first win of the season.
But there would be a run, and the Bulldogs would rally, aided by a 41-30 rebounding edge on the evening as 16 second-chance points would help keep them in the game. An 11-0 run near the halfway point of the second half got them within four, and with just over four minutes left, they got within 64-63. At that point, the Delta Devil faithful may have been more than a little concerned.
To their credit, the Delta Devils responded like winners. They traded baskets, got an offensive rebound, then two more stops, scoring six unanswered points late to wrap up a 72-66 win. Caleb Hunter, one of those eight freshmen and a son of the coach, had 19 points and five assists to lead the way, while Michael Green added 17.
Mississippi Valley State is not one of those programs that has never won before. They have been to the NCAA Tournament five times, most recently in 2012. Hunter is in a place where he can win, but as the start to this season shows, it will take some time to get them going again.
Side Dishes
Other results of note: Boston University remained right behind Colgate in the Patriot League as they went on the road and routed Loyola (Md.) 85-53; North Carolina A&T joined idle Norfolk State at 3-0 in the MEAC as they took care of Delaware State 98-77 in Dover; Bethune-Cookman got 29 points and 18 rebounds from Cletrell Pope to beat Morgan State 85-78 and stay right behind both teams at 3-1; Alcorn State handed Grambling their first SWAC loss with an 87-69 home win; and Montana moved to 5-1 in the Big Sky by pulling away from visiting Portland State 85-70.
As if the season hasn’t been bad enough in Chapel Hill, North Carolina guard Brandon Robinson was injured in a car crash over the weekend, but he has escaped any serious injury. The junior was hit near an intersection by a driver who had moved into the wrong lane, and that driver was charged with driving while impaired. It is not known when Robinson can return to action, but let’s be thankful he escaped alive and without apparent serious injury.
North Carolina wasn’t a place of good news on Monday, as further south, UNCW fired head coach C.B. McGrath in the midst of another bad year. The former long-time North Carolina assistant was in his third season at the school and was 26-58 with two straight 20-loss seasons and another one appearing likely, as the Seahawks are 5-14. The program has also been through some non-basketball adversity, as they had to leave the campus before last season as Hurricane Florence hit and forced the campus to close for some time. At the beginning of the century, the program was riding high during the days of Jerry Wainwright and Brad Brownell, but since the latter departed they have been down more than they have been up. Assistant coach Rob Burke will take over on an interim basis.
Tonight’s Menu
A busier night of action includes one of the two remaining undefeated teams in action and an early showdown in one conference.
- The night begins in the Big Ten as Ohio State has a good opportunity to break their four game losing streak as Nebraska comes to town (6:30 p.m.), while Iowa visits Northwestern (8 p.m.) and Maryland visits Wisconsin (9 p.m.) in later action.
- ACC action has Duke going to Clemson and Louisville visiting Pittsburgh (7 p.m.), then Wake Forest hosts Virginia Tech (9 p.m.)
- The SEC slate begins with two teams who need to bounce back as Florida hosts Ole Miss (7 p.m.), then Missouri visits a Mississippi State team in search of their first SEC win after letting one get away on Saturday (9 p.m.)
- Two games in the Atlantic 10 have lost a bit of luster, starting with Richmond visiting Davidson (7 p.m.), then an early showdown among preseason favorites as Dayton hosts a VCU team trying to bounce back from a rare home loss on Saturday (8 p.m.)
- Texas Tech tries to bounce back from a tough two-loss week in Manhattan as they visit Kansas State (8 p.m.), and in later Big 12 action, Kansas visits Oklahoma and TCU takes their 3-0 mark into West Virginia (9 p.m.)
- The Mountain West takes over the end of the night as Nevada hosts Wyoming (10 p.m.) and San Diego State tries to stay undefeated in a trip to Fresno State (11 p.m.)
