MVC

College Hoops Saturday Recap: Three More Tickets Punched

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:24:28 -0500

Cornell got things started on Friday night with their third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and three more guaranteed themselves spots in the Field of 65 on Saturday. In the most anticipated of the three finals it was Murray State picking up their 30th win of the season, dethroning defending Ohio Valley champ Morehead State 62-51 in Nashville. Isaiah Canaan scored 16 points off the bench to lead the way for Billy Kennedy's team, who will represent the OVC in the Big Dance for the first time since 2006. And true to the team's balance all five starters scored between seven and nine points while Morehead State struggled mightily on offense outside of Demonte Harper (20 points). Murray played solid defense and was able to pull away in the second half once they knocked down a few shots.

"I thought we played hard defensively the whole time and when you start making shots and scoring your defense gets even that much better," said Coach Kennedy, who also described the win as a relief (quote courtesy of the Ohio Valley Conference). That's the sad truth for a few teams in one-bid leagues: the pressure to "validate" a season's excellence their year comes down to a weekend that can play out like a crapshoot. The Racers are a dangerous team due to their depth and balance; they'll likely end up with a fourteen seed and scare the you-know-what out of someone in the first round. And as for conference tournaments being a roll of the dice look no further than the Atlantic Sun, which saw three of its top four seeds bounced in the quarters.

But when that tournament ended it was East Tennessee State that won, picking up their second consecutive A-Sun title with a 72-66 win over Mercer on the Bears' home court. Justin Tubbs led the Bucs with 18 points while tournament MVP Micah Williams added 13 points and nine rebounds. Five ETSU players reached double figures while E.J. Kusnyer led Mercer with 16 points. Leading scorer James Florence struggled from the field (2-11, 9 points) and Kusnyer scored just four points after halftime but it was turnovers (16) that did in the Bears in the end. Those two were considered to be longshots to even reach the final while Coastal Carolina rolled into the Big South final with a 28-5 record and the title game on their home court.

But that didn't matter to Randy Peele's Winthrop Eagles, who used a 13-3 second half run and some stifling defense to knock off the regular season champs 64-53. Mantoris Robinson led three Eagles in double figures with 14 points and more importantly Winthrop limited CCU to 36.5% shooting and forced 14 turnovers. Similar to their win over Radford on Friday night Coach Peele's team defending the three extremely well as the Chanticleers made just three of eighteen attempts. Winthrop and ETSU are both teams that look to be headed towards a fifteen or sixteen in regards to tournament seeding.

Three Key Happenings

1. Kyle Kuric helps Louisville close out Freedom Hall in style. On what was a special day in the history of Louisville basketball a player who'd scored six points all February went on a special run. Kyle Kuric came off the bench to score 22 second-half points in leading the Cardinals to a 78-68 win over top-ranked Syracuse, their second win of the season over the Orange. The win should push the Cardinals into "lock" status for the NCAA Tournament and gives them a good push into Big East Tournament play. Kuric made nine of eleven shots from the field (4-6 3PT), entering the game when Reginald Delk left due to a cramp.

"He may be their best shooter, we just don't know because he doesn't play that much," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "I've never seen anyone come off the bench and do that (quote courtesy of Louisville Athletics)." And as a team the previously cold Cardinals shot 58.1% from the field in the second half and outscored the Orange 48-33. Scoop Jardine scored 20 points off the bench while Wes Johnson added 18 for Syracuse but it wasn't enough to make up for quiet afternoons from Andy Rautins (1-9, 4 points) and Kris Joseph (1-4, 2 points). And it wasn't enough to account for the hot-shooting Kuric either.

2. Overall, the Atlantic 10's bubble teams had a rough day. The one good result for the conference was Saint Louis' 70-60 win at...Dayton. That should sum up the carnage that took place within the Atlantic 10, which starts on Tuesday a conference tournament that many BCS conference bubblers will observe with high interest. Richmond, Temple and Xavier are all locks at this point but who will (if any) join them? The young Billikens took advantage of a backloaded conference schedule to pick up wins over the Flyers (twice) and Rhode Island while taking Xavier to the brink before falling. But the other three teams limp across the finish line, with Charlotte, Dayton and Rhode Island all taking on "water" that more than likely will sink them come Selection Sunday.

The Rams dropped a 69-67 decision at UMass on Saturday, with Ricky Harris' shot in traffic giving the Minutemen the win and a berth in the conference tournament. Jim Baron's team has lost five of their last seven and host St. Joseph's in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Tuesday night. They're going to have to get to Atlantic City and do some serious damage if they're to earn a bid. And the same goes for Charlotte, who lost 89-84 at home to Richmond in overtime. The 49ers went 1-6 in their last seven games and will host UMass on Tuesday; they may have to win the conference tournament and the same goes for Dayton. What once looked to be a six-bid conference could be down to no more than four.

3. Baylor grabs a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament. With multiple NBA scouts in attendance Baylor forward Quincy Acy picked the right time to put together one of his best performances of the season. The forward had ten dunks on his way to a career-high 24 points in leading the Bears to the 92-77 win over Texas to wrap up a first-round bye in the Big 12 Tournament and the program's winningest regular season in 64 years. LaceDarius Dunn scored 30 to lead all scorers but Acy's dunks and blocked shots were the talk of the game. Gary Johnson led Texas with 25 points off the bench but outside of Damion James (18 points) Rick Barnes received very little from his starters. What sets Baylor apart is how willing guys are to share the basketball; 23 of their 36 baskets were assisted and this team is a far cry from teams in seasons past that would shoot first and ask questions later. Rest assured this is a team with the ability to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Top Three Games

1. Arizona 86, USC 84 (2OT) It was only fitting that Nic Wise would be the one to hit the game-winner for the Wildcats on Senior Day. His shot gave Arizona the victory but if not for Kyle Fogg hitting three free throws with two-tenths of a second remaining in regulation things never get to that point.

2. Notre Dame 63, Marquette 60 (OT) Carleton Scott came up big for the Irish at the end of regulation, knocking down a three off of a scramble situation just as time expired. That allowed Notre Dame to win in the extra session and lock up a first round bye in the Big East Tournament, as well as give them a solid win for NCAA Tournament purposes.

3. West Virginia 68, Villanova 66 (OT) Da'Sean Butler's shot with 5.8 seconds left in overtime gave the Mountaineers an important road win going into the Big East Tournament. Butler led all scorers with 24 points while also grabbing ten rebounds.

Three Notable Performances

1. C Patrick Sullivan (Southeast Louisiana St) Sullivan ended his regular season in grand fashion, scoring 24 points while also grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking five shots in the Lions' 86-77 win over Northwestern State.

2. F Gilberto Clavell (Sam Houston St) Clavell scored 35 points and grabbed ten rebounds in the Bearkats' 101-97 overtime loss to Texas State.

3. G David Gonzalvez (Richmond) The senior helped lead the Spiders to the 89-84 overtime win at Charlotte with 29 points and 10 rebounds.

College Hoops Thursday: Your Commentary

Raphielle Johnson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:47:24 -0500

In regards to bubble teams Wednesday saw a lot of teams leave the door open for someone to sneak in and grab an at-large bid, and it's made quite the case why we're just fine with sixty-five teams. But with this arguably being the weakest bubble pool in the 64/65 era there are ample opportunities for teams seemingly off the radar to sneak in and grab a bid. One of those teams is Dayton, who visits a Richmond team that looks to be a safe bet for the Big Dance. Just 2-5 in conference road games, the Flyers have dropped four of their last five on the road and while there's no shame in losing to a Temple or Saint Louis those defeats at Saint Joseph's and Duquesne have them in a bit of trouble going into the regular season's final weekend.

Dayton's going to play at a slightly higher pace that the Spiders but by no means is Brian Gregory's team an all-out running squad. The key for the Flyers: rebounding. Dayton's especially good at hitting the offensive boards with the likes of Chris Wright, Chris Johnson, Kurt Huelsman and Devin Searcy, boasting a offensive rebounding percentage of 34.7%. This ability boosts their overall offensive efficiency numbers but they do have issues with shot selection on occasion, something that will almost guarantee defeat at Richmond if they aren't judicious with the looks they find. Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez lead the way offensively while Justin Harper and Dan Geriot are the Spiders' best interior scoring threats.

Richmond's among the most efficient teams in the Atlantic 10 and they do a good job of taking care of the basketball, averaging just over eleven turnovers per game. London Warren and Rob Lowery will have to be pests on the defensive end in order to take Anderson and Gonzalvez out of their comfort zones and the same goes for every member of Dayton's rotation. Chris Mooney's team is the kind that can pick you apart offensively if allowed to run their stuff without any kind of pressure, and this will likely determine the outcome Thursday night.

TV GAMES

6p ESPNU Winthrop vs. Radford (Big South Semifinal)
7p ESPN2 Penn St at Michigan St
7p ESPN Seton Hall at Rutgers
7p CBS-College Dayton at Richmond
8p UNC Ashville at Coastal Carolina (Big South Semifinal)
8:30 FSN USC at Arizona St
9p ESPN Providence at Pittsburgh
9p ESPN2 LSU at Mississippi
10:30 FSN UCLA at Arizona
11p ESPNU Pacific at Cal State Fullerton

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Four conference tournaments will either open or resume play on Thursday with the Missouri Valley and Northeast conferences tipping off while the Atlantic Sun and Big South resume play. The A-Sun had the surprise of the day on Wednesday with Kennesaw State knocking off top seed Lipscomb, but two-seed Jacksonville took care of business in the nightcap. The other two quarters take place Thursday with host Mercer taking on Belmont in the second game of the day. Prolific scorer James Florence can be a handful as can E.J. Kusnyer from behind the arc for the Bears but the Bruins have the three-seed for a reason. Belmont is led by Ian Clark but it was Mick Hedgepeth who led the team with fifteen points in their win over Mercer on February 25th. But it should be noted that Florence missed that game due to injury; his presence could spark a win in front of the home crowd.

The top eight teams in the Northeast conference face off with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal games, including top seed Quinnipiac hosting a dangerous Monmouth squad they took care of with ease just last week. But with forwards Travis Taylor and Ed Waite, Dave Calloway's team is capable of giving the Bobcats a fight. However stopping a team led by NEC Player of the Year Justin Rutty and fellow First Team All-NEC member James Feldeine is far easier said that done. Robert Morris hosts Central Connecticut State while the league's hottest team, Mount St. Mary's, hosts Saint Francis (PA) and LIU hosts Fairleigh Dickinson. And in the Missouri Valley two first round games will be played to kick off Arch Madness with Missouri State taking on Evansville and Southern Illinois battling Drake. The winners will move on to face the MVC's top two seeds (Northern Iowa and Wichita State) on Friday.

As for the Big South they move on to the semifinal round with all four higher seeds winning in the quarterfinals to set up a pair of enticing matchups. Coastal Carolina takes on UNC Asheville in the second half of the doubleheader, a team they swept in the regular season with a one-point win at Asheville and a blowout at home. The first meeting is the one that has the better chance of deviating from seeding as Radford beat Winthrop in their first meeting by just two points less than a week ago. Art Parakhouski and company will have their hands full with the Eagles, especially if this turns into a game played at Winthrop's tempo.

Atlantic Sun (quarterfinals)
Big South (semifinals; ESPNU)
Missouri Valley (first round)
Northeast (quarterfinals)

ONE PREDICTION

Richmond over Dayton: The Flyers really need a good win at this point in the season and a win at Richmond would kill two birds with one stone for a group that's struggled in true road games. But behind the guard tandem of Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalves the Spiders won't allow that to happen. Richmond wins by six.

Poll: Will the MVC Get More than One Bid?

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:24:54 -0500

A Night in The A-10: Majerus, Cheerleaders, Beer, and the MVC

Bill Kintner — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:57:45 -0500

ST. LOUIS – Tonight’s adventure takes place on the western frontier of the Atlantic 10 Conference on the campus of Saint Louis University in the brand-spanking new Chaifetz Arena.

Before coming back to campus they played in a hockey arena called the Keil Center, then re-named the Savvis Center and later the Scottrade Center. It was too big, not on campus and the fans had to pay NHL prices for food and parking. A crowd of 7000 looked small in that 20,000 plus seat professional arena. Now the Billiken fans are kicking back in a comfortable 10,600 seat arena, with good food, beer and plenty of parking nearby.

It is a mild winter evening outside, but in the Chaifetz Arena which opened last year, the band is loud, the student section is rowdy and the cheerleaders are pretty.. and no male chearleaders either! They have a big squad, I counted 20   cheerleaders, all with a wholesome look, like I would expect from a good Catholic school, plus they had big smiles and no tattoos.

On the flip side St. Louis coach Rick Majerus is still over-weight and dressed like an aging bouncer at a union hall, wearing a black mock turtle neck and grey slacks that are big enough to provide shelter for a family of Haitians. But the fans don’t care how much their beloved coach weighs or what he wears, as long as he the Billikens win and this year they are winning with an 11-6 record coming into tonight’s game.

I did notice as the Billikens exited the court at halftime and after the game, the fans in the courtside seats near corner near where they exit, put their pop corn under their seat and secure their hot dogs and beer with both hands as coach Majerus walked by.

All is right the college basketball world here in the Midwest. The Billikens seem to be on the right track, the fans are loving their new arena and the Atlantic 10 is having a banner year. The A-10 has an unbelievable six teams ranked in the top 31 of the RPI and 17 wins against BCS opponents. Temple is ranked 17th in the AP Poll.

In tonight’s game St. Louis rolled the Rams 75-48. Fordham (2-15, 0-5) was never in the game.   Fordham dumped coach Derek Whittenburg on December 3rd and he was replaced by 29 year old assistant coach Jared Grasso. It will be at least a year or two before Fordham becomes competitive in the A-10.

After the game the funs starts because that is when you get to hear coach Majerus talk about the game, basketball and life. After about 15 minutes of taking questions the sports information director Chuck Yahng said, “one more question.”   Majerus answered it and talked for another 10 minutes. He is not quite as funny as Miami coach Charlie Coles, but is every bit as interesting and incredibly blunt.

He said he would give his players a day off to catch up on their school work because the four and five day trips to Virginia, Philly and the East Coast really make it hard for his players to keep up with their academics.

That comment brought him around to two of his favorite subjects which are: St. Louis joining the Missouri Valley Conference and food.

“Who are our natural rivals in the A-10? I can’t really think of any,” said Majerus. When some writers named Dayton and Xavier as possible rivals, he said that Dayton brings fans to St. Louis mostly because it is relatively close and an interesting city to visit.

He said trips to Bradley, Evansville and Indiana State would cost a lot less than going to Philadelphia, New York and DC. The cost for food, buses and rental cars are really high compared to going to cities in the Missouri Valley Conference.

“You can take your whole team to Peoria and feed then BBQ for almost nothing compared to big the A-10 cities,” explained Mejerus. “If you care about academics and money then the Missouri Valley makes sense. Everything is about money, do you want to go to New York, Philly, Charlotte and Rhode Island or go to Bradley, Southern Illinois and Indiana State?”

He also managed to get the subject of racism in too, claiming that the TSA and NCAA single out his Black players to be searched and take drug tests. Majerus speaks his mind and it is refreshing.

I don’t know if Saint Louis is going to end up in the Missouri Valley or stay in the Atlantic 10 Conference but with the beautiful Chaifetz Arena they are positioned to provide their fans with a lot of fun winter nights in the years to come.

MVC Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:13:47 -0500

The MVC race is always up for grabs, and perhaps another surprise team like UNI lurks. Perhaps no league has as much parity as the Valley, where even the bottom teams are improved.

Conference Rank: 8th

10 year average: 9th

MVC Conference Page

All-MVC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Osiris Eldridge	Illinois St	Jr
G	Josh Young	Drake	Jr
G	P'Allen Stinnett	Creighton	So
G	Adam Koch	Northern Iowa	Sr
F	Dinma Odiakosa	Illinois St	Sr

Player of the Year - Osiris Eldridge Freshman of the Year - Ben Simons (Drake)
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
High-Major All-Americans Osiris Eldridge (1st Team) Adam Koch (3rd) P'Allen Stinnett (3rd) Josh Young (3rd) Kevin Dillard Dinma Odiakosa		Points: Josh Young 15.4 Rebounds: Dinma Odiakosa 7.5 Assists: Clevin Hannah 4.3

MVC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

41	Creighton	MVC	1	NCAA
59	Northern Iowa	MVC	2	NIT
72	Bradley	MVC	3	NIT
76	Illinois State	MVC	4	NIT
94	Wichita State	MVC	5	CBI/CIT
117	Southern Illinois	MVC	6	CBI/CIT
137	Indiana State	MVC	7
154	Drake	MVC	8
203	Evansville	MVC	9
228	Missouri State	MVC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MVC?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Best Non-BCS Conference in 2009-10?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:05:41 -0500

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:56:24 -0400

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Northern Iowa men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to the preseason poll announced today during the league's annual Basketball Media Day.

Northern Iowa, which returns all five starters after sharing the regular-season title with Creighton last year, earned 38 of 39 first-place votes in the survey of league coaches, beat writers, sports information directors and play-by-play men.

Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 11 times out of 25 since 1985-86. Two teams have been picked for second place but gone on to take the regular-season crown, Southern Illinois in both 2002-03 and 2006-07.

The preseason poll doesn¹t always match the year-end standings. Last year's Northern Iowa was picked sixth and ended up in a tie for first. The year before that, Drake was picked ninth, only to finish 28-5 and win the league title.

2009-10 MVC Preseason Poll
Rk.    School (1st place votes)    Total
1.    Northern Iowa (38)    389
2.    Creighton (1)    336
3.    Illinois State    299
4.    Southern Illinois    272
5.    Wichita State    216
6.    Bradley    208
7.    Indiana State    173
8.    Drake    105
9.    Missouri State    92
10.    Evansville    55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors and media.

Preseason All-MVC Team
Osiris Eldridge*, Sr., G, Illinois State
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Jr., G, Northern Iowa
Tony Freeman, Sr., G, Southern Illinois
Adam Koch, Sr., F, Northern Iowa
P¹Allen Stinnett, Jr., G, Creighton
Josh Young, Sr., G, Drake
*Preseason Player of the Year

Honorable Mention:
Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois
Clevin Hannah, Wichita State
Jake Kelly, Indiana State
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley
Harry Marshall, Indiana State
Toure¹ Murry, Wichita State

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:10:19 -0400

ST. LOUIS - UNI, which returns all five starters and nine of 10 players from last year’s regular-season co-champ and State Farm MVC Tournament winner, has been picked to earn the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball title in 2009-10.

The Panthers are hoping the pollsters are correct, although recent history could suggest otherwise, as only once in the past four years has the pre-season poll correctly picked the regular-season champ (last year Creighton was picked to win and shared the regular-season title with UNI, which was picked to finish sixth.)

The Panthers - also picked to win by The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy’s College Basketball Preview, and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview - join a small group of defending Missouri Valley men’s basketball champs to return all five starters.

It marks the second time in league history the Panthers have been pegged as the preseason favorites. UNI was also picked to win the league in 2005-06. UNI finished fifth in the conference race in 2005-06, but earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

MVC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) Total
1. UNI (38)......................389
2. Creighton (1).................336
3. Illinois State................299
4. Southern Illinois.............272
5. Wichita State.................216
6. Bradley.......................208
7. Indiana State.................173
8. Drake.........................105
9. Missouri State.................92
10. Evansville....................55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors, media, and coaches.

2009-10 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team
Name, School, Pos., Ht., Wt., Year, Hometown, High School
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI, G, 6-2, 200, Jr., Oakdale (Minn.) Tartan High
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, G, 6-3, 215, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Phillips Academy
Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois, G, 6-1, 195, Sr., Maywood (Ill.) St. Joseph’s/Iowa
Adam Koch, UNI, F, 6-8, 255, Sr., Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High
P’Allen Stinnett, Creighton, G, 6-3, 180, Jr., Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster Academy [N.H.]
Josh Young, Drake, G, 6-1, 174, Sr., Lawton (Okla.) Lawton Christian High

Honorable Mention: Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois; Clevin Hannah, Wichita State; Jake Kelly, Indiana State; Sam Maniscalco, Bradley; Harry Marshall, Indiana State; Toure’ Murry, Wichita State

Preseason Player of the Year - Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State

Poll: Who Will Win the MVC?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:33:53 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews