Last night marked a historic evening for the Butler Bulldogs. An exciting 63-59 win in the NCAA West Region over #1 seed Syracuse has earned the Bulldogs their first ever trip to the Elite 8. One win away from the school's first ever final four appearance, it seems that everything is going the Bulldog's way. With the final four being held in their hometown of Indianapolis, it looks like a story book ending might be in order.

The Bulldogs relied on relentless defensive play to capture the victory over the Orange last night. Syracuse players were frustrated the entire evening by Butler's persistent man-to-man defense. These efforts were most notable in the clutch. In the 5 minutes preceding the 2^nd half 35 second mark, the Bulldog defense held Orange players scoreless. This facilitated their final run resulting in a marquee victory. Sorry Bear Bryant, it looks like defense wins games and championships.

Continue reading this post »

Taking a 0-28 team to a 15 win season in less than four years is an accomplishment that is pretty hard to miss. This is something Horace Broadnax was able to do with the Savannah State University men’s basketball program. Something even more compelling was Broadnax’s ability to do this with the second lowest basketball budget in all of Division I (339 out of 340)! But what does it really mean in comparison to the rest of college basketball?

Broadnax’s 2009 season produced argubly the best Dollar-Per-Win ratio in modern college basketball. With 15 wins and a budget of $376,968, it came to roughly $25,131 per win. This may sound like a lot, but when you compare Coach Broadnax to his colleagues it is pretty apparent he may be the best bang for your buck in college basketball. Compared to the likes of big names like Howland, Williams, Self, and Donovan, Broadnax’s productivity is astounding. The bottom line is for less than one tenth the cost of the coaches just named, Horace Broadnax can get you a win.

Continue reading this post »

ow that we've passed the mid-way point in the 2009-10 college basketball season and are well into conference play, we will be releasing a bi-weekly ranking of the top 10 Mid-Major teams. Why did we wait so long? Because just like in college football, its rather pointless to rank teams without knowing how they preformed  legitimate number of games. Furthermore, its important to realize that unlike most polls, these are not projections. It is simply an aggregate ranking of the Top 10 teams, as they are playing today, and not how they are projected to finish at the end of the season.

1. Northern Iowa

The Northern Iowa Panthers land at the #1 spot for two reasons. Firstly, they are owners of the best record in Mid-Major college basketball at 15-1, including rattling off 14 straight wins. Secondly, the Missouri Valley has in the past, and certainly is today, the strongest Mid-Major conference in college basketball. So the 6-0 league start definitely adds credibility to the resume, but they will be tested next week with their game at Missouri State.

2.  Gonzaga

The poster child of the successful mid-major, the Gonzaga Bulldogs has not disappointed in the 2009-10 season, currently holding 13-3 record and #14 national record.  With wins over Oklahoma, Illinois, Wisconsin and Cinnci, the Zags  have one of the best non-conference resumes in all of college basketball.

3. Butler

Not surprisingly, the second most tradition rich mid-major program of the last decade, Butler University, follows Gonzaga at the #3 spot. With a record of 12-4, including 6-0 in conference, the Bulldogs are ranked #22 in the national polls. Admittedly, their only solid non-conference wins are against Ohio State and Northwestern, but the Butler Bulldogs should have no problem steam rolling their way through the Horizon League once again.

Continue reading this post »

Mid Major Madness sits down with Kevin Easley, one of the top mid major assistants in the country and North Carolina coaching veteran.

MMM: What do you plan to bring to High Point this season? 

Kevin: Soon after joining the High Point family, I was overwhelmed by the growth and vision of the University. The vision starts internally from the leadership of Dr. Nido Qubein, the President of High Point University. He and his staff have done a wonderful job of providing an ideal environment for the student athlete of the University. HPU was recently voted by News and Report as the "#1 Up and Coming School in the South." Craig Keilitz, Director of Athletics, also has a strategic plan to take HPU Athletics to the next level.  I knew with Mr. Kelietz's plan, I would have an opportunity to bring energy, enthusiasm, and a winning attitude to a distinguished and notable University. There is no doubt to me that the men's basketball program has a lot to uphold at HPU therefore, I try to be better than I was the previous day. This is truly a promising situation for me because this is the first time I have been on a new staff. I believe that finding a niche' and blending in with the rest of the staff is key.

Continue reading this post »

Mid-Major Madness sits down with Arkansas State University assistant coach Elwyn McRoy this week to get inside the mind of one of the best recruiters in Mid-Major college basketball.

MMM: Recruiting has been one of your specialties. What advice would you give to a young high school basketball player looking to play college basketball?

Elwyn: My advice to a HS athlete would be to do the little things that others aren't willing to do. Such as diving on the floor, being a good teammate, handing the ball to the refs, playing through bad calls with no facial expressions or negative body language, always giving eye contact to his coach when being spoken to and be coachable. In short be uncommon, do things that set your self apart from everyone else.

Continue reading this post »

Mid-Major Madness sits down with Drake University assistant coach Kareem Richardson this week to get inside the mind of a MVC coaching veteran.

MMM:  What are the expectations for the Drake basketball program heading into the 2009-10 season?

Kareem:  We are trying to cultivate a very high standard for our guys and program here at Drake. We want to strive for perfection to achieve excellence while maintaining the standard of our personal and collective best in everything we do. Our expectation is excellence or at worse case each individual player's best each game.  If we can get that done then at the end of the year, we as a team, will meet our expectations.

Continue reading this post »

Less than one week after being ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press Poll, Butler earns the top spot in the preseason Mid-Major Top 25.

The Bulldogs, who finished last season with a 26-6 record and a No. 4 ranking in the final Mid-Major poll of the season, received 28 of the 31 first place votes. No. 2 ranked Gonzaga received two first place votes and No. 3 ranked Siena received the other. Rounding out the top five are Northern Iowa and Western Kentucky.

Old Dominion, which won the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, headlines the next five, followed by Creighton, Akron, Wright State and Niagara.

The Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Missouri Valley Conference each boast two teams among the top 10, while the Colonial Athletic Association leads all conferences with four teams ranked in the first Top 25 of the season.

Continue reading this post »

CollegeInsider.com, a nationally recognized website, is proud to announce a newly formed partnership with the Great West Conference which grants an automatic qualifier bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The Great West men's basketball conference tournament champion will automatically be placed amongst the field of 16 teams participating in the CIT.

The seven basketball playing league members of the Great West that will be vying for the bid include: Chicago State University, Houston Baptist University, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), University of North Dakota, University of South Dakota, University of Texas-Pan American and Utah Valley University The agreement makes the CIT the first postseason college basketball tournament outside the NCAA tournament to agree to an automatic qualifier to any NCAA conference.

Ultimately the goal of the Great West champion should be the NCAA Tournament and Plan B  the NIT. But given the number of division I programs and the limited number of spots available, planning to get into these postseason tournaments is wishful thinking.

Of course some pundits will scoff at the notion of the Great West being guaranteed a spot in the postseason, but ask the players, coaches and fans of those programs what they think. For the first time NJIT and the other coaches in the league know there is a reward waiting in March.

Finally a victory, albeit small,  for the Mid-Majors.

West Point Academy, which to sports fans is known simply as "Army" has severed ties with head men's basketball coach Jim Crews, a report it the Times Herald-Record (Middletown, N.Y.) cited.

To say that it is extremely rare for a coach to be fired only weeks before the season starts is an understatement. Crew, who owned a less then stellar 59-140 (0.296) mark at Army, had all four of his top scorers returning from last season. Coaches around the Patriot league agreed that Army finally had its first realistic shot at winning the league in decades.

Word is that Gene Marshall, Army's deputy athletic director, will serve as the interim coach. Marshall coached at Ramapo College (NJ), and was the interim head coach for Army's women's program in 2005 when they were between coaches.

As for a permanent replacement, it might be the perfect opportunity for a little-known coach by the name of Bob Knight to make a comeback at his first Division I coaching gig...

Mid-Major Game of the Week:

Get ready for a good ol' fashion shootout out when Houston visits Oklahoma State in Stillwater this weekend.  With State coming off a huge victory at home over Georgia last week, and Oklahoma down for the count, the Cowboys are looking like the only team that might give Texas a run for the Big XII South title.

Houston, headed by the talented Chase Keenum, has an incredibly high powered aerial attack. Aided by the trio of RB Bryce Beall and receivers Patrick Edwards and Tyron Carrier, Keenum will be give (albeit a much improved) Oklahoma State secondary fits.

Of course, the Cougar defense is in for an even longer day with a ridiculously stacked Cowboy offense. Zac Robinson to Dez Bryant all day, with an occasional 20 yard run from Kendall Hunter will outmatch, outspeed and leave the Cougar D in the dust come Saturday.

The last time these two teams met, Oklahoma State won 56-37. Don't be surprised if this match up ends with even gaudier numbers.

Continue reading this post »

Mid-Major Game of the Week:

Football season is finally upon us and by the graces of the football gods, we are lucky enough to have what may be one of the best match ups of the season for our appetizer.... Boise State v. Oregon.

Arguably the single most important game of the year for the boys in blue, a win against Oregon tonight can put it in the lead or the coveted non-big six BCS spot and continue to cement the Broncos as one of the premiere Mid-Major programs in college football.  Boise won last year in Eugene against a good Oregon team and the Ducks will be looking for a little revenge.

Boise will have to contain the likes of  Heisman candidate running back LeGarrette Blount and QB Jerimah Masoli if they hope to come away with the win. Look for Chip Kelly, in his college coaching debut, to take it to the Boise defense with everything the Ducks can muster.

Continue reading this post »

After weeks of kicking and screaming, FIU head coach Isiah Thomas and Athletic Director Pete Garcia finally agreed to get their butts kicked by North Carolina instead of... getting their butts kicked by Ohio State in the opening round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament this November.

Isiah  and Garcia, who somehow thought he had a better chance at beating a senior laden Buckeye team over the defending national championships (who lost their entire line-up to the NBA) cited that it was simply a conflict of contractual terms with organizer Gazelle Group in his defense. Luckily, both realized that all this bad publicity is probably not the best way to start off Zeke's illustrious tenure as head coach of the Golden Panthers.

Tune in next week, when Isiah tries to sues the Sun Belt for making him lose to Western Kentucky twice in the same season....

Guest post by Kevan at One Bronco Nation Under God

For my 2009 SB Nation WAC preview, I sought the opinion of my fellow WAC bloggers (Pistol Whipping the WAC & Warriors Will Throw), which seemed like a good idea until I remembered that hardly anyone cares enough to blog about the WAC. And then I spent 15 minutes reevaluating the direction of my life.

The good news: My life has meaning. Even better news: The WAC could have its best season yet - both from a competitive standpoint and from an only-firing-one-coach-at-the-end-of-the-year standpoint. The WAC ... it's faaaaantastic!

My call to arms for fellow WAC bloggers did not completely fall on deaf ears. The wordsmiths at Pistol Whipping the WAC (Nevada) and Warriors Will Throw (Hawaii) gave me their two cents, and when I combined that with the nickel I borrowed from Peter Bean a few months back, I had enough to come up with a WAC preview. It's not much. But then again, I don't think you're expecting much.

Continue reading this post »

Conference USA teams are synonymous with college football fans for their ability to put up ridiculous amounts of points and play zero defense. Not surprisingly, the same can be expected of CUSA teams in 2009 and the conference champion will most probably come down to the team that has the ball last.

The West division looks to be a two-team battle. Don't look for Rice to repeat their 10-win season of a year ago, as they lose their record setting quarterback/wide-receiver duo in Chase Clement and Jarett Dillard. Tulane has brought in another defensive coordinator to try and help a defense that ranked 119^th last season. The battle at the top looks like it will come down to Houston and Tulsa. Houston might have the better offense with Keenum at QB, but the experience of Tulsa and their defense should allow them to have a fighting chance in capturing a league title.

The East division, also a seemingly two team race, will be decided when Southern Mississippi travels to East Carolina late in the season.

Continue reading this post »

The Sun Belt has made significant strides over the past few years in terms of its competitiveness over other conferences, especially ones in the BCS. Last season FAU beat Central Michigan, Arkansas State was victorious over Texas A&M and MTSU beat Maryland. Troy also was very competitive against Ohio State and LSU, but was not able to close out.

The conference will get another opportunity this season to show that they can compete at a high level. Sun Belt teams face off against the likes of Nebraska, Alabama, Rutgers, Clemson, Florida and LSU in 09.  Tough out of conference schedules define the Sun Belt, but to gain some respect [and pay bills], you must play the best.

The 2009 Sun Belt conference can be summed up in one sentence: The Trojans of Troy and the 8 dwarfs.  No team in the league seems to have the capability of challenging Troy for its 4^th straight conference title, but that being said FAU and MTSU will have should have decent seasons and be bowl eligible.

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Game Hype

TRE: Purdue needs this game. Enough said. If the Boilers want a bowl game from this transition year, they need to disprove the following statement I made in 2008:

"The best MAC teams trump the worst Big Ten teams"

It's quite simple. Watch the depth of Purdue wear out NIU and give the Boilers hope for a bowl game...Or watch the improved and experienced Huskies team pull out another MAC win and spiral Danny Hope into a possible 1-2 win season.

No one is showing faith in Purdue. The play makers are gone and the defense was forgettable last year. But it's still the Big Ten! The depth of Purdue should win out, our logical minds tell us. The Big Ten athlete is still formidable, we repeat. When this game finishes, we'll know for sure if the 2009 edition of Purdue is downtrodden or still hanging onto respectability.

Continue reading this post »

Every year coaches everywhere enter seasons with unmatched enthusiasms of the things that their programs can achieve. And every year, those very coaches and their teams proceed to fall flat on their faces and accomplish little if anything. Not surprisingly, coaches who are incapable of getting it done don't often last long amongst the ranks of their peers. And so just in case they may have miscalculated their job security, here are 5 mid-major coaches who better make some in roads during the 2009-10 season or they'll be collecting unemployment come January...

#5 Neil Callaway - Alabama-Birmingham

After doubling his win total last year (from 2 wins in 07 to 4 in 08), some say Callaway has UAB headed in the right direction. But anyway you cut it, a 6-18 overall record in the state of Alabama does not usually bode well for football coaches. If Callaway doesn't get to at least 5 or more wins this season, UAB may not be willing to let him stick around from another year. With a ridiculous schedule that includes 7 out of 9 games on the road during one point, Neil better be hoping his team is ready for a break out year.

#4 Doug Martin - Kent State

After what seemed to be a break out year in 2006, when the Golden Flashes finished with a 6-6 record, Doug Martin and Kent State have continued to do what they do best, be totally inconsistent. Martin, who owns a less than stellar 19-39 record entering his 6^th season as head coach, has to finally put everything together to prove to fans and the administration that he can actually put out a winning team. Anything less than a .500 season during 2009, and it will probably be Martins last in Kent.

Continue reading this post »

Dominique Ferguson (PF) , the No. 8 rising senior in the ESPN 100 and No. 16 ranked player on Scout.com's class of 2011, has given a verbal commitment to  come play for Isiah Thomas at Florida International University (FIU).  Ferguson, who was being pursued heavily by the likes of Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Indiana and UCLA chose to play for Isiah Thomas because of his "NBA experience as a player, coach, and evaluator of talent."

Admittedly, anyone with NBA talent is going to get scouted (well maybe not by the Memphis Grizzlies) but its a hell of a risk for a player with that much talent to go to a school that plays on TV as much as the Northwestern girls field hockey team.  More importantly, there is absolutely no way that Isiah will be around to see Ferguson graduate (or make it to his junior year for that matter.)

If Ferguson plans to be one and done, going to FIU form a maximum exposure point of view makes his choice a terrible decision. If he plans to stick around for a few years, the only way it will work out is if Isiah sticks around too... and that's just not happening.

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Coach Todd Dodge looks to keep it in the family, as he will give his son Riley Dodge the starting quarterback role for the 2009 season. Riley Dodge, a redshirt freshman,  played wide receiver until he suffered a season ending injury during the Green Mean’s 2008 campaign. Riley was set to compete for the starting role with last year’s starter Giovanni Vizza until Vizza suddenly decided to transfer out of Denton, TX. The father and son duo should start off on the same page as Todd served as Riley’s coach since his high school days.

Riley Dodge looks to be a decent quarterback prospect due to his versatility that combines a cannon of an arm with great quickness. However this talent is liable to be wasted if the 2009 Green Mean defense does not show drastic improvement from last season. The defense has finished at the bottom of the Sun Belt for the past two seasons and does not look as if there will be much development for 2009. The team is set to lose their 2008 tackle leader, Tobe Nwigwe, who was one of the few players that consistently produced for the Green Mean. Coach Dodge needs to hope that players like Craig Robertson who recorded 94 tackles last year, will show a change for the better from last season.

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »