Your Home For College Hoops
Sunday, December 22, 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.
Part 3 of our reflection, research and review of Selection Sundays and the NCAA Tournament bubble over the last 35 years looks year-by-year at 1995-99. The stretch saw conference champions like Manhattan and Miami (Ohio) rewarded in 1995, a shift towards mid-pack majors as the 90s drew to a close but also surges by a trio of Midwestern leagues.
At long last, Texas gets the kind of win they had yet to pick up under Shaka Smart, and not a moment too soon. Plus a Pirate star is out for a bit, a bounceback attempt continues, and some extra sessions were needed on the day.
Few may have known it, but the Mid-American Conference was a top-10 league in 2018-19. Most were plenty familiar with the team leading it, though, as Buffalo continued an historic run with one of the finest seasons in league history.
Notes on the opening night of college basketball, which was essentially for diehards only after being buried by poor decision-making that set the season’s start date on…Election Night? The night did include a few upsets and some individual standouts amidst a mass of buy games.
As consistently balanced as it is, the MAC has rarely had a program that is a true bully, but Buffalo may be nearing that stage.
A New Year edition of notes, numbers, thoughts and assorted gibberish from around college basketball, and maybe outside it, too. Our latest college hoops notebook:
Milwaukee dropped its final non-conference contest against Western Michigan on Friday, but the Panthers still have made progress and appear capable of a run in the Horizon League this year.
A hometown hero has Providence poised to continue to even greater heights never before seen. Plus more tournament action gets going, and another 20-20 game is in the books but in a losing effort.
We conclude our look at our favorite games for every day of the season from November through February, our ultimate dream road trip through an entire college basketball season.
