Mid Major Hoops

Quick Notes and a Quick Look at the Top 10

Quick Notes on tonight's action

How's this for a trifecta

1) A 25-2 run against UConn. 
2) A 25-2 run when you are down 19 to UConn
3) A 25-2 run and you still lose the game by one point.   

Yes, only the tough luck Notre Dame Fighting Irish managed to do this trifecta tonight, losing 75-74 at UConn.  After being down 19 in the second half, the Irish went on a 25-2 run to go up six 69-63.  Then UConn stepped up its defense, but Notre Dame also failed to capitalize on many scoring chances late to put the game away and David Williams tied the game for the Huskies and sent it to overtime.  In overtime, neither team could score until 1:41 left when the Huskies took the lead.  However Notre Dame came back to take the lead on a three by Rob Kurz.  Again the Irish had a chance to extend the lead but failed and UConn hit two free throws to go up by one.  Notre Dame had the ball with 27 seconds left and the shot clock off but failed to convert.  Notre Dame should have won this game but just too many terrible possesions late in the game and in overtime.  UConn survives a major scare and the Irish may have just killed their chance to get into the Big East tournament.

That's because St John's went ahead of them in the standings by defeating Seton Hall at MSG tonight.  Seton Hall is doing its best to run their NCAA tournament chances into the ground.  First, they lose at home to Notre Dame by 13 on Saturday.  Then tonight, the Hall scores only 47 points in their 11 point loss to the Red Storm.  The Pirates are in danger of getting passed by both Cincinatti and Syracuse for the NCAA tournament bid as now both teams are tied with them in the standings for seventh. 

Michigan got a huge win over Ilinois tonight, 72-64, further cementing their at large bid to the tournament. With an 8-6 conference record, Michigan is guaranteed at least a .500 record in conference.  If they can win one of their two remaining games (at Ohio State, home to freefalling Indiana), they will finish over .500 in the Big Ten, which should lock them into a bid. 

#13 Boston College stumbled on the road losing to Virginia 72-58.  Virginia has the unlikely possibility of finishing over .500 in the ACC in regular season but not getting a bid to the NCAA tournament.  With 10 losses and a RPI of 72, the Cavaliers are a long shot for a bid to the dance.  Yet if they win two of their remaining three games (at Clemson, at North Carolina and home to Maryland), they could give the tournament selection committee some aggravation when trying to leave out an over 500 ACC conference team (it would be the right move however.  There are more deserving teams than the Cavs.

#16 Kansas continues its roll by beating the Baylor Bears 76-61.  The Jayhawks were up by as many as 25 points in the second half.   The game with Texas on Saturday night looks really huge now. With a win Saturday night, Kansas could make a strong case for a #3 seed in the tournament.  Don't think many people were thinking that when the Jayhawks were 3-4 after losing to St Joe's early in the season. 

Finally, the Xavier freefall continues as Dayton downed Xavier 66-62.  Right now, I only see one A10 team making the tournament, GW, unless there is an upset in the tournament.

Now, A quick look at the current top 10 in the coaches poll;

#1 Duke -  Prognosis - Excellent.  Next two games are at Georgia Tech and Temple.  Both games should be wins if Duke comes to play.   Duke would clinch the #1 seed in the ACC tournament with a win against the Yellow Jackets.  The two games after that should be interesting at Florida State then home to North Carolina.  The Florida State game could be critical for the Seminoles to win to make the NCAA tournament.  North Carolina could also provide a serious test but the game is home.  Duke could go thru the ACC regular season undefeated, even in a down year for the ACC a still remarkable feat.  Barring a complete meltdown, they will be a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

#2 Villanova - Prognosis - Very Good.  Tough schedule the rest of the way; at Cincinatti, then at Georgetown, then home to St John's, then at Syracuse.  A win for the Bearcats over the #2 Wildcats might give them a bid, so that will be a very difficult game.  Then Saturday at UConn.  Enough said. They shouldn't have too difficult a time with the Johnies, which leaves the dangerous game against what could be a desperate Syracuse team.   If Nova wins 3 out of 4 into the Big East tournament then makes it the Big East final, that's worthy of a #1 seed.

#3 Memphis - Prognosis - Excellent.  Three of their last four Conference USA games are at home (UTEP, Tulsa, and Houston) with their only road game @UAB being the toughest game.  UAB might be playing for its at large tournament bid life and Memphis only won the first game at home by seven.  Still, Memphis should win that game.  Look for the Tigers to finish the regular season in Conf USA undefeated and nothing suggests that they will lose in the Conf USA tournament, so a #1 seed looks awfully good right now.

#4 UConn - Prognosis - Excellent now that they survived Notre Dame. Three games left.  Two home games are Villanova, a huge game and a wounded and soon to be done Louisville now that David Padgett is out for the year.  The one road game...Big East patsy South Florida.  UConn runs the regular season table and finishes as co Big East regular season champ with Nova.  If they get to the Big East final, they are a #1 seed as well.

#5 Gonzaga- Prognosis - Very Good.  Last two games are at home with San Diego and San Francisco. Should win both.  Hard to see any teams beating them in the West Coast Conference Tournament.  Problem for them is that their conference is so weak (in the past couple of years, St Mary's or Santa Clara would be a true test for them and a worthy NCAA tournament team) that this will give them at best a #2 seed in one of the regionals.  Also the heavy reliance on Adam Morrison may cost them in a second round NCAA tournament game.  However, Gonzaga has played quality opponents early on in the season unlike the next team...

#6 George Washington - Prognosis - Good.   The fact that the A-10 is weaker than in past years is hurting GW, along with their weak non conference schedule (only two good teams were Maryland - win, NC State- lost by 21).  A good test will be a home game tomorrow against surging LaSalle (they play a potential trap game at Fordham, then at St Bonaventure, then home to Charlotte).  GW can not afford to lose in the A10 tournament otherwise they will get a four or five seed.  Even if they win the A10 tournament, their weak RPI might result in a #3 seed in the tournament. 

#7 Texas - Prognosis - Very Good.  Texas has a tough schedule remaining, but the tough games; Kansas and Oklahoma are at home (they are also on the road at Kansas State and Texas A&M).  The Oklahoma loss hurt, but not that much damage.  Kansas will be a really good test for the Longhorns, a team that's on a roll.  If Texas can put up an impressive win against the Jayhawks, get revenge on the Sooners, then get to the Big 12 tournament final. the Longhorns should get a #2 seed with their schedule.

#8 Illnois - Prognosis - Falling seed wise.  Lost at Michigan tonight, which may have clinched the Wolverines bid to the NCAA tournament.  Next for Illnois is home to #20 Iowa, then at Minnesota (who knocked off Iowa), then at #16 Michigan State.    Very good chance they may finish fifth in the conference.  Unless they have a real good showing in the Big Ten tournament, they are looking at best a fourth seed, perhaps even a fifth seed in the tournament.

#9 Florida - Prognosis - Falling seed wise as well.  For the longest time, they looked to be a strong #2 perhaps with a shot to be a #1 seed.  Now they will be fortunate to be a #3 seed. They desperately need a win at home tomorrow against Tennessee, who they are two games in back of in the SEC East.  Then after the Volunteers, the schedule is not any easier going on the road to surging Alabama, then home to Georgia, then finishing the season at Kentucky, a team that may desperately need a win to clinch their NCAA tournament bid themselves (Kentucky has road games at LSU and Tennessee before facing the Gators).  If Florida wins 3 of the 4, then has a good SEC showing, then a #3 seed and no lower than a #4 seed should be in the Gators future.

#10 Pittsburgh - Prognosis - Good.  Last three games are home to Providence, then a rematch of the backyard brawl at West Virginia (Pitt won the first game by four), then home to Seton Hall.  The Panthers game with West Virginia will decide who finishes third in the conference.  If Pitt finishes third in the conference and gets to the Big East Semis, then they should be a lock for a #3 seed.

Hofstra Wins their 20th Game

The Pride did what they needed to do as they crushed William and Mary on the road 82-57.   Hofstra (12-4 in CAA, 20-5 overall) won its 20th game of the season, and more importantly put themselves one win away from clinching a bye in the first round of the CAA tournament.  Loren Stokes had 19 points, Antoine Agudio had 16 and Aurimas Kieza and Adrian Uter each had 14 points to lead a balanced Pride attack.  Hofstra now has back to back 20 win seasons and its the seventh time in Hofstra's history that they have had 20 wins in Division I play.  Hofstra outrebounded William and Mary 37-24. 

Hofstra now plays their last two games at home.  The first game is against #25 ranked George Mason on Thursday.  It will be the first time ever that the men's basketball team has hosted a game against a nationally ranked team.   The Pride then finish their season at home on Saturday vs. Drexel.  Hofstra is up one game on fourth place Old Dominion and more importantly two games up on both Northeastern and VCU for the first round bye in the CAA tournament.  The top four teams in the CAA get a first round bye into the tournament.  Teams that don't finish in the top four (seeds five through twelve) must play four games to win the CAA tournament.  A place Hofstra hopes not to be after Saturday.

Update - Hofstra shot 73.9 percent from the field in the first half and 56 percent for the game.  The Pride also shot 47 percent from the three point arc.  Adrian Uter set a Hofstra record hitting a consecutive 18 shots from the field.  He was 6 of 6 from the field tonight and hit his last 12 shots in the game against Siena on Saturday.  The NCAA record for consecutive field goals is 25. 

Iona Clinches Bye on Senior Day

The Iona Lady Gaels clinched a first round bye in the MAAC tournament as Martina Weber scored a career high 28 points to lead the Lady Gaels to a 83-69 win over Siena.   The final score was not indicative of how close the game was for the most part.   Siena led by as many as nine in the first half, 24-15 before Iona went on a 21-6 run to go up 36-30 at the half.   

Siena though scored the first seven points of the half and took a 37-36 lead.   Iona regained the lead but Siena stayed close 55-53 with 8:14 left.  That's when Iona went on a 9-2 run to lead 64-55 with 5:41 left and Siena never recovered.

As when the teams met the first time, Iona used its significant height advantage by working the ball into Weber, Jessica Anger, and Anna McClean in the paint in the second half.  Tiara Headen had 14 points and 7 rebounds for the Lady Gaels, while McClean had 10 points and 7 rebounds and Anger added 8 points.  In her final home game, Iona's lone senior, Melissa Yeagley totaled three points, two rebounds, and a career-high six assists.   The Lady Gaels outrebounded Siena 42-31 and shot 49 percent from the field for the game, including 55 percent in the second half.  The Lady Gaels also limited Siena to 39.6 percent from the field.

Iona is now 11-5 in conference tied with Loyola for third place in the MAAC conference, however Loyola has the tie breaker, having won both games against the Lady Gaels. Iona is also now 14-11 overall.  Iona has also now tied the school record for wins in a season as a Division I program with 14  and has guaranteed itself its best finish ever in the MAAC. 

If coach Tony Bozzella does not get MAAC coach of the year for taking a preseason ranked #9 team to its best MAAC conference record in school history and a first round bye, there ought to be an investigation.

Iona finishes the regular season at Rider on Friday, then finishes with a televised road game at Manhattan next Sunday on MSG.  Its part of the Manhattan-Iona men's women's doubleheader with the men's first game possibly deciding who gets the first seed and double bye in the MAAC tournament. 

Quick Post on Hofstra Game

There was serious question before the start of yesterday's game whether or not Coach Tom Pecora would sit several of his Hofstra Pride starters for yesterday's bracket buster game against Siena.  He openly speculated to Newsday after Hofstra's loss to UNC Wilmington that he might sit Aurimas Kieza, Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera to save them for their 3 games in 6 days stretch this upcoming week.

Pecora answered the speculation by starting all his regulars yesterday and early on, it seemed like it would be a blow out.  Hofstra stormed out to a 14-6 lead and led 22-15 when suddenly Siena ran off a 23-8 spurt and was up 38-30.  Hofstra would score the last four points in the half to trail 38-34 at halftime. 

Hofstra came out in the second half with a quick spurt to go ahead but Siena tied it up.  Then in one of the most bizarre moments I've seen in a long time, during a timeout, Siena coach Fran McCaffrey was called for a technical, then completely lost it as he went after the referee.  As the Saints' assistant coaches tried to restrain him, he got his second technical and was tossed from the game (even more bizarre, his wife got tossed out later for yelling at the referees - I didn't see it, so it must have come at the end of the game because I had to leave with 2 minutes left).  Antoine Agudio hit 3 of the 4 technical free throws and Hofstra never looked back winning 76-62.

The key factor was Hofstra's center Adrian Uter who scored 16 of his career high 27 points in the second half.  Siena had no answer for the senior center who only started playing basketball in high school.  Uter also had 4 blocks to go with his career high point total. Agudio added 19 and Greg Johnson gave Carlos Rivera much needed rest with 9 points in 25 minutes of play.

Hofstra now plays a big game in the CAA at William and Mary tomorrow night.  Third Place Hofstra needs to win its two out of next three games to clinch a bye in the first round of the CAA tournament.  As Coach Pecora stated to Newsday's Tom Rock, "If you don't realize how big that game is Monday night, you're just stupid, and I don't think we have anybody that dumb on our team."

You get the feeling, the Pride will be ready to play tomorrow night.

Final Bracket Buster Results and Awards

Here is a recap of all the televised bracket buster scores

Northern Iowa 65 Bucknell 61 2 OT
Iona 93 Buffalo 75
Kent State 80 Butler 76 OT
Western Kentucky 79 Northern Arizona 58
Missouri State 72 Wisconsin Milwaukee 63
Old Dominion 84 Marist 71
Ohio 64 Samford 52
Louisiana Tech 54 Southern Illinois 51
George Mason 70 Wichita State 67
Utah State 66 Northwestern State 63
Creighton 67 Fresno State 62
VCU 70 Albany 67
Nevada 88 Akron 61

And now the Televised Bracket Buster Awards

Best Game - Northern Iowa's thrilling double overtime win over Bucknell.  A NCAA tournament quality game with great defense (only 14 foul shots combined for both teams with a score in the sixties with double OT).  Both teams deserve a bid to the tournament.  Runnerup - George Mason - Wichita State and Butler - Kent State

Worst Game - Akron vs. Nevada.  Game was never close and should have been a little better considering Akron's decent RPI, but just wasn't. 

Did We Really Want to Play Like That on National TV - Unfortunately a three way tie to Buffalo, Akron and Northern Arizona.  These three teams lost by 18, 27 and 21.  Akron's and Northern Arizona's hurt the most as possible seeding in the tournament should they make it.

Team That Helped Its NCAA At Large Bid The Most - George Mason.   To go on the road to beat the first place Missouri Valley Conference team, Wichita State, a team with a RPI of 17 is absolutely huge.  Memo to NCAA Tournament Committee - Put the bid in an envelope, seal it and send it same day to Fairfax, Virginia.  Patriots, you are in the tournament.

Team That Helped Its NCAA At Large Bid The Most Runnerup - Missouri State   Yes, Adrian Tigert was out for Wisconsin Milwaukee (had I known, I would have changed my prediction), but this is still a huge road win for the Bears over a quality Panther team, a team that won two games in the NCAA tournament last year.   As far as tournament bids to the MVC, Missouri State just moved ahead of the the team I will mention next

Team That Hurt Its NCAA At Large Bid The Most - Southern Illinois.  By losing to a team with a RPI of 81 that had no quality non conference wins till now, plus with four other Missouri Valley teams to contend with, Southern Illinois losing at home really hurt their at large bid chances.   They now have to be considered the 5th rated team in the Missouri Valley and put themselves on the bubble big time.  Their problem - They can not score points.  They struggled again yesterday to put the ball in the basket. 

Team That Hurt Its NCAA At Large Bid The Most Runnerup - UW Milwaukee.  They lost at home to a Missouri Valley team that they might be competing for an at large bid with.  Plus losing four of their last six games does not help.  Yes, Adrian Tigert was out, but still, the committee will look at this game if UW Milwaukee does not win the Horizon tournament when judging UW Milwaukee's fate.

Despite Losing, The Team That Has Nothing to Worry About - Bucknell.   They played a great defensive game on the road yesterday.  The game went two overtimes.  And Syracuse winning last night helped their cause (Bucknell's signature road win came at Syracuse), so the Bison did nothing to hurt their NCAA at large bid chances.  Of course everyone hopes they win out the Patriot League tournament as they should.  But seal the bid for the Bison, they are in.

Team that Showed They Were Better Than I Thought - Kent State.  Give it up to Kent State for coming from behind to force overtime against a solid Butler team, then winning in overtime.  A nice solid win for the MAC.  Runnerup - Fresno State.  Fresno State battled Creighton and every time it seemed like Creighton would pull away, the Bulldogs came back.  Good job.

Best Mid Major Conference on Bracket Buster Weekend - CAA.  The CAA went 3-0 in televised bracket buster games, including George Mason's big road win over Wichita State.  In fact the CAA's top five teams all won their bracket buster games (Hofstra and Northeastern won non televised games, UNCW was not part of the Bracket Buster tournament).   Again proves that the CAA is the second best mid major conference in the country (next to the MVC) and I think better than the A10 (yes, you heard it right).  Runnerup - WAC.  WAC went 3-1 with Nevada, Louisiana Tech and Utah State all winning, while Fresno State gave a credible performance in a loss to Creighton.

Worst Mid Major Conference on Bracket Buster Weekend - Horizon.   Two best teams, one of which, UW Milwaukee, was a sweet sixteen team from last year playing at home, the other, Butler, a team that prides itself in great defense, both slip up on the day and lose.   

Best Crowd in a Bracket Buster Game - Creighton.  15,000 fans, a Nebraska college basketball attendance record came out for a 11PM central time zone game to watch the Blue Jays beat the Bulldogs.  Ok, it helped that it was on ESPN.  But still, very impressive.

Final Record on Predictions 10-3 -  It was a good weekend for me.

Next posting later will be a quick posting on Hofstra's win over Siena.

Finally Got One Wrong

Kent State tied up their game with Butler on a three pointer to force overtime, then went on and defeated Butler 80-76 in overtime.   Missouri State and Western Kentucky are winning their games at the moment.

Bracket Buster Game Results

In a NCAA tournament quality game and one of the best games on TV this year, Northern Iowa defeated  Bucknell in double overtime 65-61 (I was pretty close on the score, I had it 65-63 Northern Iowa).  Give both teams a bid right now to the tournament.  They deserve it.

In other bracket buster games, as predicted,  Iona pounded Buffalo 93-75.   Steve Burtt had 27 points to lead the Gaels. 

Kent State just hit a three to send the Butler - Kent State game into overtime tied at 69. 

Remaining Bracket Buster Predictions

Marist (16-8 overall, 10-6 MAAC, 108 RPI) vs. Old Dominion (18-8 overall, 11-5 CAA, 51 RPI)

Marist has nice, balanced scoring with four players in double figures led by Jared Jordan's 16.3 points per game and Wil Whittington's 15 per game.  Marist has played a decent non conference schedule, losing to Seton Hall and Ohio, defeated St John's at MSG, and in conference winning at Iona and at home to Manhattan.

Old Dominion, the defending CAA champs are led by 2004-05 CAA player of the year Alex Loughton, who averages 13.8 points per game and Isaiah Hunter who averages 13.9 points per game.  The Monarchs in non conference games have defeated Georgia, Fordham and Virginia Tech, while barely losing to Wisconsin and were crushed by UAB.

Prediction - Outside of Seton Hall, RPI wise this is the best team Marist has faced all year and Old Dominion has only lost two games at home the last two years (both games to Hofstra).   Marist will keep it close, but at the end, the depth of the Monarchs will be too much.  Old Dominion 68 Marist 60.

Buffalo (15-9 overall, 6-8 MAC, 128 RPI) vs. Iona (19-5 overall, 13-3 MAAC, 69 RPI).  Buffalo is led by Calvin Cage, who averages 18 points per game.  The Bulls are 9-1 non conference, with their signature wins being victories at home over Fresno State (RPI 142) and Rutgers (RPI 77) (also lost to Boston College RPI 33).  Iona is led by Steve Burtt, who averages 24.6 points per game and Ricky Soliver who averages 16.5 points per game.  Iona is 6-2 non conference, with their signature win at Iowa State (RPI 61), a win at Fresno State, plus a close loss at Kentucky (lost by six) and lost to Seton Hall.  They have struggled at home, losing all of their three conference games at home to Manhattan, Marist, and St Peter's.

Prediction - I don't like making negative commentaries in my predictions, but I think this is warranted.  Especially after their 10-1 start, I thought Buffalo would be the elite team in the MAC and a dangerous team in the NCAA tournament.  Buffalo has struggled in conference and it seems on the defensive end as well.   They have been one of the five biggest disappointments I think in college basketball this year (Stanford, Louisville, Kentucky, and Maryland the others).  Iona has no qualms about playing a high scoring game and I like the Gaels to run to a 89-79 win over the Bulls.

Louisiana Tech (16-10 overall, 9-4 WAC, 81 RPI) vs Southern Illinois (18-8 overall, 11-5 MVC, 24 RPI).  The Bulldogs are led by Paul Millsap, who averages 19.7 points per game.  He is the only player on the Bulldogs who averages in double figures.  The Bulldogs have six other players who average between 5.6 and 8 points a game.  Louisiana Tech is 7-6 non conference and has struggled on the road losing to Alabama (43 RPI) but also losing to the likes of Nebraska (102 RPI), Yale (188 RPI), and Southern U. (162 RPI).   The Salukis are 7-3 non conference having defeated the likes of Kent State (97 RPI) and Murray State (84 RPI).  Southern Illinois is led by juniors Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young who have combined for 27 points per game.

Prediction - The Salukis may struggle on offense, but they play terrific defense.  Combine that with a Louisiana Tech team that has one player who averages in double figures and who averages 11 points more than the next leading scorer, plus the Bulldogs struggle on the road, plus the Salukis are undefeated at home and you get a Salukis win.  Low scoring game - Southern Ilinois 65, Louisiana Tech 52.

Samford (17-8 overall, 13-5 Ohio Valley, 79 RPI) vs. Ohio (13-8 overall, 8-6 MAC 110 RPI). 

Samford is 4-3 in non conference games, defeating no one of consequence RPI wise and losing to Texas and Oklahoma by wide margins.  Samford also split their season series with Murray State (84 RPI).  Ohio is 5-2 in non conference games with wins over Marist (108 RPI), Rhode Island (129 RPI) and losses to Cincinnati and Kentucky (

Prediction - Ohio has played a stronger non conference schedule plus has the home advantage.  Ohio wins one for the MAC 73-65. 

Other Bracket Buster Predictions -

Fresno State (13-10 overall, 6-6 WAC RPI 142) vs Creighton (17-7 overall, 11-5 MVC, 29 RPI) - Fresno State will come out strong early with nothing to lose and this game being their championship game (Fresno is on probation, but the Bulldogs have only two road wins all year.  Combine that with a Creighton Blue Jays team that has played a good non conference schedule and Creighton wins going away 83-69.   Watch Creighton's leading scorer Nate Funk and 3 point bomber Johnny Matthies and Fresno State's dual scoring threat of Qunton Hosley and JaVance Coleman in this game.

Northern Arizona (18-7 overall, 11-1 Big Sky, 146 RPI) vs. Western Kentucky  (19-5 overall, 11-1 Sun Belt, 48 RPI).     Balanced Northern Arizona is led by four players, who average between 11 and 14 points a game; Kelley Golob, Ruben Boykin, Tyrone Gazy and Steve Sir. Northern Arizona is 6-6 non conference having lost to Arizona, Air Force and Arizona State with no big wins of consequence non conference wise.   Western Kentucky is 8-4 vs non conference teams with wins over Austin Peay, UAB (RPI 50), and Virginia (RPI 53) and barely losing to Georgia (82 RPI) by 4 points, at Arizona (20 RPI) by 5 points and at Bradley (63 RPI) by 2 points.   Western Kentucky is led by their dual threat of Anthony Winchester and Courtney Lee who combine for 36 points a game.   I like Western Kentucky  to win by double digits, 82-69.

Northwestern State (18-6 overall, 11-1 Southland,  71 RPI)vs Utah State (16-6 overall, 7-4 WAC, 56 RPI).  This might be the best sleeper game of the Bracket Buster Saturday. Northwestern State has won at Mississippi State (RPI 113), at Oklahoma State (RPI 96) and at Oregon State and barely lost at Wichita State by 2.   Northwestern State is led by leading scorer and rebounder Clifton Lee. Utah State is led by Nate Harris and Jaycee Carroll who each score 17 points a game.  Harris is also their leading rebounder at 7 rebounds a game.    Utah State is 9-2 non conference with a win over BYU (RPI 60).   I like Utah State to sneak by winning 74-70.

Butler - Kent State Bracket Buster Prediction

Last Bracket Buster Prediction for the Night.

Butler (86 RPI) 10-4 Horizon, 17-9 overall.  Kent State (97 RPI) 12-2 MAC, 18-7 overall. 

Butler is 7-5 vs. non conference opponents.  Lost to UNC Wilmington (45 RPI), #17 Ohio State (8 RPI) and Michigan (30 RPI), beat Bradley (RPI 63) and split with UW Milwaukee (RPI 41).  Butler is first in the Horizon in scoring defense at 59.9 per game and first in 3 point FG percentage defense at 30.2%.  Tied with UW Milwaukee in scoring margin at +8.3.  First in the Horizon in FG percentage at 46.3%. Butler does struggle on the boards, getting outrebounded on average by 7 rebounds a game.  Butler is led by Brandon Polk who averages 17.7 points per game.  AJ Graves chips in with 13.5 points per game and Bruce Horan averages 11 points per game and 94 percent from the free throw line.

Kent State 6-5 vs. non conference opponents.  Lost to Rutgers, Southern Illinois and Syracuse.  Quality wins, one  vs Akron (68 RPI).   Kent State second in scoring offense in the MAC at 71.9 points per game and second in scoring margin behind Akron.  Kent State is in the middle of the conference in most statistical categories except first in three point field goal defense percentage at 32.2%.    Kent State is led by Jay Youngblood (14.4 points per game), DeAndre Haynes (12.5 points per game) and Kevin Warzynski (10.2 points per game), all seniors. 

Prediction - I love a team that plays good defense and and shoots the ball well despite not being a high scoring team.  Butler does both.  Couple that with the fact that Kent State has only one win vs a team with a RPI under 100, Akron, who was smoked by Nevada by 27 tonight, that does not bode well for Kent State.   As long as Butler doesn't allow too many second chances with Kent State's rebounding advantage, they should be fine.  Even though Kent State is at home, I like Butler to win in a relatively low scoring game 64-59. 

Tomorrow, I will give short predictions of the other seven bracket buster games.

Nevada Wins Going Away

As I predicted, Nevada won at home tonight by double digits.  The final score though was much more than I thought it would be;  Nevada 88 Akron 61.