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Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Boston University won its first Patriot League championship, and the long haul for their coach has the desired result at last. Plus many tournaments get going, one postseason event won’t happen at all, and a coach takes ill during a season-ending loss.
Old Dominion won the regular season and tournament titles in Conference USA, which was actually an improved conference again but whose razor-thin difference between many squads mean it didn’t always show.
It took until the NIT, but Texas finally displayed the consistency most were looking for from the Longhorns all season. The Longhorns hit one big shot after another in topping Lipscomb in Thursday’s final.
As the Final Four beckons, in this podcast we focus on coaching changes of note, the three tournaments besides the NCAA Tournament, and then look ahead to Saturday night’s national semifinals.
In the NIT semifinals, the team with the better first half won both games, though one had to battle back after blowing the lead. Plus another championship game matchup is set, a very expected coaching change, and one team might not gain a top recruit next season.
Half of the field headed to New York in the NIT is known, and both could use this as a springboard into next season. Plus more action in the CIT, coaching changes take center stage and more players are on the move as well.
UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara played a late-night dandy reminiscent of Big West games of the past. Also, Houston quietly keeps winning, Carsen Edwards helps Purdue escape and some huge scoring performances in Conference USA.
North Carolina continues to defy common knowledge, this time raining threes to drill Virginia Tech. Kansas survives (again), Michigan State wins Big Ten showdown, plus Western Kentucky and Marshall play a dandy in Conference USA.
Cassius Winston showed why he’s a midseason All-American, leading Michigan State as it stopped Nebraska’s 20-game home winning streak. Hofstra also keeps its streak going, plenty of excitement in the OVC, WCC and Conference USA, another coach ejected and more.
Steve Alford’s firing at UCLA was no surprise. That still doesn’t make it right in the middle of a season.
