(1976-77) Founded as Eastern Collegiate Basketball League (ECBL);
(1977-78) renamed Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8);
(1982-83) renamed Atlantic 10.
The league had a strong preseason overall. Charlotte, Dayton, Richmond
(with a tourney win) and Temple all made noise and Rhode Island and George Washington
also had elite recordds; Xavier and Massachusetts skirted .500; only St. Joseph's and Fordham had losing records.
Midway through conference play, nothing much was settled. Temple, Xavier and Charlotte were all tied for first place;
Rhode Island and Richmond were one game back tied for fourth; Dayton and St. Louis were
tied for sixth place just about .500; La Salle couldn't hang.
The entire league had a strong preseason.
Duke (with a tourney win), North Carolina,
Florida State (with a tourney win)
and Miami(Florida) (with a tourney win) all made noise and Virginia Tech, North Carolina State (with a tourney win),
Georgia Tech and Clemson also had elite records; Wake Forest and Maryland had a winning record; Boston College
and Virginia skirted .500.
Duke and surprising Maryland were tied for first place at the break;
Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia were
one game back tied for third; Clemson, Georgia Tech and Florida State
were all tied for sixth at .500; Boston College was just below .500;
North Carolina, Miami(Florida) and North Carolina State were all a flop
in the first half.
* Kennesaw State and North Florida are now fully eligible
for postseason play this year.
({Florida Gulf Coast} and {SC Upstate} are still reclassifying to Division I status and won't be fully eligible until 2011-12.)
Campbell, Jacksonville and East Tennessee State were locked in a three-tie for the lead at the midpoint;
Belmont and Lipscomb were one game back, tied for fourth; Mercer was in sixth at .500; North Florida (and Kennesaw State)
were under .500.
Jacksonville's home loss to East Tennessee State resulted in a four-way tie for first place at 14-6
(along with Lipscomb,
Belmont and Campbell; with ETSU only one game back at 13-7).
The conference tournament couldn't possibly be more wide open.
3 / 3 A-SUN TOURNAMENT 1st/Qtrs @ Macon, GA (Mercer)
(The top 8 teams qualify for the conference tournament.)
[9]{SC Upstate} and [10a]{Florida Gulf Coast} are not eligible for the postseason until 2011-12.
[10b]Stetson did not qualify for the tournament.
* Drexel is not officially a part of the BIG 5. However, it is sometimes included in specialty events
(such as a "Big 5 Classic Tripleheader") as a sixth participant.
Villanova came through as an elite team with a tourney win; Temple made noise even besides the big win over 'Nova; La Salle
had a winning record; St. Joseph's had a losing record; Penn was 0-for-the-preseason.
1 /13: v@ Temple 60 @ Penn 45 (Philadelphia,PA) /Palestra/
The league had an impressive preseason as a whole.
Purdue was undefeated (with a tourney win); Northwestern
(with a tourney win), Michigan State, Illinois, Ohio State and Wisconsin all made noise
with elite records; Minnesota also made noise with a winning record; Penn State,
Michigan and Indiana skirted .500; Iowa couldn't hang.
Michigan State came through to the break undefeated with a three-game gap lead.
Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State (all surviving with injuries to key players) as well as Illinois were
all tied for second place at 6-3 with a two-game gap of their own. Minnesota and Michigan were tied for sixth
(below .500); Indiana, Northwestern and Iowa were a bust.
Penn State was winless.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE Men's Basketball Website
BIG 12 Conference Standings
(1907-08) Founded as Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association;
(1928-29) nicknamed "Big 6" (MVIAA split into MVIAA "Big 6" and MVC);
(1947-48) nicknamed "Big 7";
(1958-59) nicknamed "Big 8";
(1964-65) officially renamed Big 8;
(1996-97) "Founded" as Big 12. -- [Officially, the Big 12 does not consider itself an expansion
of the Big 8.]
Five returning starters make Kansas the favorite
for a sixth-straight regular season title; fortified Texas,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
and Kansas State will all contend; Iowa State (featuring cCraig Brackins)
can only spoil.
Key games:
BIG 12/PAC-10 HARDWOOD SERIES on-campus; BIG 12 trails 0-1;1
11/29: Nebraska 51 @ USC 48
12/ 3: @ Texas 69 USC 50
12/ 3: @ Texas Tech 99 Washington 92 (OT)
12/ 3: Baylor 64 @ Arizona St 61
12/ 4: @ Oregon St 74 Colorado 69
12/ 5: @ California 82 Iowa St 63
12/ 5: @ Kansas St 86 Washington St 69
12/ 5: @ Missouri 106 Oregon 69
12/ 6: Kansas 73 @ UCLA 61
12/ 6: @ Oklahoma 79 Arizona 62
12/16: Oklahoma St 71 @ Stanford 70
12/22: @ Washington 73 Texas A&M 64 -- BIG 12 wins 9-3; tied 1-1;1 all-time
Kansas and Kansas State have the easier "North" schedule (and KSU's three big games in the first half are all at home);
Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have the tougher "South" schedule (and UTx's three big games in the first half
are all on the road).
The league was spectacular in the preseason.
Both Kansas and Texas were unbeaten (with a tourney win to boot)
and Texas Tech also had no losses; Oklahoma State (tourney win), Kansas State,
Texas A&M and Baylor all had elite records;
Oklahoma wasn't the elite squad it was expected to be but was still
a winner (along with Nebraska, Iowa State and Missouri); even Colorado skirted .500 on the plus side.
At the break, Kansas was undefeated with a three-game gap lead.
Texas, Missouri, Kansas State and Texas A&M were tied for second place just above .500;
Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma were all tied for sixth place at 4-4;
Texas Tech was ninth just below .500; Iowa State was a bust.
Things are down from last year's heady heights (three #1-seeds) but the league is still deep;
Villanova is the favorite; fortified Connecticut
and Notre Dame along with veteran West Virginia
and Louisville will all be right there to contend as well; revamped Seton Hall,
Georgetown and Cincinnati
will only be good enough to spoil.
Key games:
BIG EAST/SEC CHALLENGE regional DblHdrs; BIG EAST leads 1-0;1
12/ 9: Kentucky 64 @ Connecticut 61 (@ New York, NY /MSG/)
12/ 9: @ St John's 66 Georgia 56 (@ New York, NY /MSG/)
12/10: Syracuse 85 @ Florida 73 (@ Tampa, FL)
12/10: @ Mississippi St 76 DePaul 45 (@ Tampa, FL) -- tied 2-2; BIG EAST leads 1-0;2 all-time
Villanova and Louisville have three of five big games at home; Notre Dame and West Virginia have three of five big games
on the road; Connecticut has six big games overall.
The league came through the preseason arguably the best in the nation. Syracuse (with a tourney win) and West Virginia (with a tourney win)
were undefeated; Villanova (with a tourney win), Georgetown,
St. John's (with a tourney win)
and Cincinnati all made noise and Seton Hall, South Florida,
Notre Dame and Pittsburgh also had an elite record; Connecticut, Rutgers, Marquette
and Providence all had winning records; DePaul and Louisville (with a tourney win) skirted .500.
At midconference, Villanova was undefeated at 9-0; Syracuse was one game back in second place; West Virginia was third;
Georgetown and Pitt were tied for fourth; Cincinnati and Louisville
were tied for sixth just above .500; Notre Dame, surprising South Florida, Marquette
and Providence were all tied for seventh just below .500; Seton Hall, Connecticut (without its coach)
and St. John's were a bust.
* Shaka Smart (former Florida assistant) is the new head coach at VCU (after Anthony Grant left for Alabama).
Five returning starters at Old Dominion will battle with veteran squads
at Northeastern and Hofstra for the top spot,
with the remnants of VCU only able to spoil.
(Georgia State doesn't figure to be in the mix
even to spoil.)
Northeastern gets more big games at home in the first half.
Key games (18g schedule / 11 + 7):
12/ 5: @ Drexel 49 Northeastern 47
12/ 5: @ William & Mary 75 VCU 74 (VA)
VCU, William & Mary and Old Dominion made noise; Hofstra had a winning record; (Georgia State skirted .500;)
Northeastern struggled against a tough schedule.
At the break, Old Dominion, Northeastern and George Mason were tied for the lead at 8-1 with a two-game gap lead
on the rest of the league.
William & Mary and Drexel were tied for fourth; VCU was in fifth,
just above .500.
(Georgia State and) Hofstra had losing records.
1 /27: Drexel 61 @ Northeastern 48
1 /30: @ Northeastern 74 Old Dominion 64
1 /31: @ William & Mary 54 Drexel 51
2 / 3: @ Old Dominion 61 William & Mary 42 (VA)
2 / 6: @ VCU 70 Old Dominion 58 (VA)
2 / 6: @ Drexel 73 Geo Mason 60
2 / 9: @ Geo Mason 82 VCU 77 (OT) (VA)
2 /13: @ Old Dominion 76 Geo Mason 60 (VA)
2 /13: @ William & Mary 53 Northeastern 52
2 /16: William & Mary 63 @ Geo Mason 60 (VA)
2 /16: @ VCU 73 Drexel 54
2 /23: Hofstra 73 @ Northeastern 62
2 /27: @ Old Dominion 73 VCU 70 (VA)
2 /27: Northeastern 50 @ Geo Mason 48
3 / 5 COLONIAL TOURNAMENT 1st/16s @ Richmond, VA (VCU)
* Former assistant Josh Pastner is new head coach at Memphis (after John Calipari left
for Kentucky).
Elvis has left the building, so the league is in danger of dropping
from Anti-Spoiler status
down to regular 1BC unless Tulsa
and what's left at Memphis can make some noise in the preseason;
Houston will likely only spoil.
Houston only has one big road game; Tulsa has two of three big games on the road; Memphis has four big games overall.
The league had a strong preseason overall.
UTEP, UAB and Tulsa all made noise and Marshall, Memphis and Southern Mississippi also had
elite records; Central Florida had a winning record; everyone else (including Houston) skirted .500.
At the break, UTEP and Tulsa were tied for first place; Memphis
and UAB were one game back, tied for third with a two-game gap lead.
Houston, Marshall and Southern Mississippi were all tied for fifth at 4-4; Central Florida was
just below .500.
* All schools were previously independent (for basketball) last season.
New Jersey Institute of Technology and Utah Valley are fully eligible for the postseason this year.
({North Dakota} and {South Dakota} won't be until 2012-13;
{Houston Baptist} not until 2014-15.)
Ryan Marks replaces Tom Schubert as coach of Texas Pan American.
{South Dakota} will battle with Utah Valley and {North Dakota}
for the title; Chicago State (featuring fCarl Montgomery) will only spoil.
Utah Valley gets two big games at home first; {North Dakota} is on the road first for two big games.
{South Dakota}, Utah Valley and Chicago State all skirted .500; New Jersey Tech had a losing record; everyone else
(including {North Dakota}) was a bust.
Key games (12g schedule / 6 x 2):
1 / 9: @ UT Valley 48 Chicago St 43
1 /14: {N Dakota} 67 @ UT Valley 62
1 /16: @ {S Dakota} 74 {N Dakota} 64
1 /21: @ UT Valley 86 {S Dakota} 68
1 /23: {S Dakota} 82 @ {N Dakota} 64
1 /28: @ Chicago St 43 UT Valley 41
1 /28: {S Dakota} 92 @ {Houston Baptist} 70
2 / 6: @ UT Valley 72 {Houston Baptist} 66
At the midconference break, {South Dakota} was first; {Houston Baptist} was second; New Jersey Tech, {North Dakota}
and Utah Valley were all tied for third at 3-3; Texas Pan American had a losing record; Chicago State was a bust.
2 /18: @ {S Dakota} 59 UT Valley 55
2 /25: @ {Houston Baptist} 61 UT Valley 48
3 / 6: @ {S Dakota} 97 {Houston Baptist} 84
3 /10 GREAT WEST TOURNAMENT 1st/Qtrs @ Orem, UT (UT Valley)
(The top seed gets a first-round bye.)
[2]{Houston Baptist} 80 [5c]Chicago St 77
[5b]NJIT 70 [3a]{N Dakota} 57
[5a]TX Pan American 56 @ [3b]UT Valley 53
3 /12 GREAT WEST TOURNAMENT Semis @ Orem, UT (UT Valley)
(The Great West champion does not receive an automatic NCAA bid.
The conference tournament winner will receive an automatic bid to the CIT postseason tournament.)
Butler and Wisconsin-Green Bay both made noise; Wisconisn-Milwaukee and Loyola(Illinois) had winning records; Wright State
was on the plus side of .500.
Key games (18g schedule / 9 x 2):
12/31: @ Butler 72 WI-Green Bay 49
1 / 8: Butler 77 @ Wright St 65 (BG)
1 /14: @ WI-Green Bay 68 Wright St 66
Butler once again came through the first half of conference play undefeated. Three games back, Wisconsin-Green Bay was alone in second place; Detroit, Wright State,
Valparaiso, Cleveland State (from above) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (from below) all skirted .500.
* {Bryant} will play a full Northeast conference schedule. {Winston-Salem State} will play a full MEAC conference schedule.
({Cal State-Bakersfield} and {Winston-Salem State} won't be fully eligible for the postseason until 2010-11;
{North Carolina Central} not until 2011-12; {Bryant}, {New Haven}, {Seattle} and {SIU-Edwardsville} not until 2012-13.)
Former star player LeVelle Moton is the new head coach at North Carolina Central.
Cameron Dollar (former player at UCLA and Douglass High School) is the new coach at Seattle
(after Joe Callero left for Cal Poly-SLO).
Longwood is the class of the group; {SIU-Edwardsville},
{Seattle} and {Cal State-Bakersfield} have enough talent
to avoid being complete flops, but that's about it.
Hardly any of these independents even play each other this season. {New Haven} and {SIU-Edwardsville} don't play
anyone.
Longwood finished 3-2 against Independents, {Seattle} was 1-0; {North Carolina Central} and Savannah State were 2-2;
{Cal State-Bakersfield} finished 0-2.
Two-time defending champ Cornell (with five returning starters)
is the overwhelming favorite to pull off the three-peat; five returning starters
at Princeton will do well to spoil a run at an undefeated conference season.
Cornell should be on a serious roll before they have to face Princeton inside two weeks in February.
Cornell and Princeton both had one loss at the midpoint of conference play; Harvard was a game back.
Penn's big upset could have major consequences at season's end.
(The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament. The regular season champion receives the automatic NCAA bid.
In the case of a tie for the regular season title [regardless of head-to-head records],
the teams tying for first place will have a playoff to determine the champion.)
Siena rolled through the first half undefeated with a two-game gap lead.
Fairfield was alone in second; Iona and St. Peter's were tied for third; Canisius was just above .500
in fourth; Niagara was below .500; Rider was a bust.
1 /28: Siena 66 St Peter's 58
2 / 5: @ Siena 88 Iona 68 (NY)
2 / 8: @ Siena 69 Fairfield 67
2 /12: @ Niagara 87 Siena 74 (NY)
3 / 5 MAAC TOURNAMENT 1st/16s at Albany, NY (Siena)
[7]@Canisius 72 [10]@Marist 54 (NY)
[9]@Manhattan 94 [8]Loyola-MD 79
3 / 6 MAAC TOURNAMENT 2nd/Qtrs @ Albany, NY (Siena)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE Men's Basketball Website
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE Standings
(1907-08) Founded as Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association;
(1928-29) renamed Missouri Valley Conference (MVIAA split into MVIAA "Big 6" and MVC).
Defending co-regular season and tournament champ Northern Iowa
(with all five starters back) will battle
last year's co-champ Creighton for the top spot;
Illinois State will push them both but only spoil.
This year marks the inaugural MVC/MWC CHALLENGE.
Key games:
MVC/MWC CHALLENGE on-campus
(Evansville doesn't play.)
11/13: @ BYU 70 Bradley 60
11/20: @ Indiana St 65 Colorado St 60
11/21: @ UNLV 78 So Illinois 69
12/ 5: @ Missouri St 58 Air Force 48
12/12: @ Wichita St 80 TCU 68
12/19: @ New Mexico 66 Creighton 61
12/19: Illinois St 73 @ Utah 62
12/22: San Diego St 76 @ Drake 73 (OT)
12/23: @ No Iowa 72 Wyoming 54 -- MVC wins 5-4
Illinois State is at home for all of its big games in the first half; Northern Iowa has all the big games on the road first.
Missouri State, Wichita State
and Northern Iowa all made noise and Illinois State also had an elite record; Bradley also made noise with a winning record;
Creighton struggled to make .500 against a tough schedule.
Despite losing its conference challenge to the MVC; the league had a strong preseason overall. New Mexico, BYU (with a tourney win) and UNLV made noise
and San Diego State also had an elite record; Colorado State and Air Force had winning records; everyone else skirted .500.
BYU was in first place at the break; New Mexico and UNLV were tied for second place; San Diego State was fourth,
just above .500; Colorado State was fifth at 4-4; Utah was sixth, just below .500.
(1916-17) Founded as Pacific Coast Conference (PCC);
(1959-60) reformed as Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU);
(1968-69) renamed Pacific-8;
(1978-79) renamed Pacific-10.
* It's four coaches in four years for the seniors at Arizona -- Sean Miller (ex-Xavier) is now the head man in Tucson
(replacing interim coach Russ Pennell).
(Former Arizona coach) Kevin O'Neill is now
in charge of USC -- which is ineligible for the postseason --
(after Tim Floyd resigned).
Ken Bone (ex-Portland State) takes over at Washington State (after Tony Bennett left for Virginia).
In another down year for the depleted league, California has the best combination
of talent and experience, but they'll be challenged by young squads at Washington,
Arizona and UCLA and veteran/fortified Oregon State.
(Stanford figures to be no factor.)
Key games:
PAC-10/BIG 12 HARDWOOD SERIES on-campus; PAC-10 leads 1-0,1
(USC and Washington play twice.)
11/29: Nebraska 51 @ USC 48
12/ 3: @ Texas 69 USC 50
12/ 3: @ Texas Tech 99 Washington 92 (OT)
12/ 3: Baylor 64 @ Arizona St 61
12/ 4: @ Oregon St 74 Colorado 69
12/ 5: @ California 82 Iowa St 63
12/ 5: @ Kansas St 86 Washington St 69
12/ 5: @ Missouri 106 Oregon 69
12/ 6: Kansas 73 @ UCLA 61
12/ 6: @ Oklahoma 79 Arizona 62
12/16: Oklahoma St 71 @ Stanford 70
12/22: @ Washington 73 Texas A&M 64 -- PAC-10 loses 3-9; tied 1-1;1 all-time
A balanced schedule doesn't favor any particular team.
Washington State had an elite record (and a tourney win); Washington made noise; Arizona State and California had
a winning record; USC (with a tourney win), Arizona (and Stanford) skirted .500; UCLA was a disaster.
Regular season (18g schedule / 9 x 2):
12/31: @ UCLA 72 Arizona St 70
1 / 2: Arizona 77 @ UCLA 63
1 / 6: UCLA 76 @ California 75 (OT) (CA)
1 /14: California 93 @ Washington St 88
1 /16: @ Washington 84 California 69
1 /23: @ California 65 Oregon St 61
1 /23: Arizona 77 @ Arizona St 58 (AZ)
1 /28: California 78 @ Arizona St 70
1 /30: @ Washington 92 Washington St 64 (WA)
1 /31: @ Arizona 76 California 72
At the break, Arizona and California were tied for first place at 6-3; Arizona State and UCLA were tied for third place
just above .500; Washington, Washington State, Oregon, USC and Stanford
were all tied for fifth place just under .500 ; only Oregon State was a complete bust.
2 / 6: California 72 @ UCLA 58 (CA)
2 /18: @ Oregon St 80 California 64
2 /21: Arizona St 73 @ Arizona 69 (AZ)
2 /25: @ California 95 Arizona 71
2 /27: @ California 62 Arizona St 46
3 / 4: @ Arizona 78 UCLA 73
3 / 6: @ Arizona St 56 UCLA 46
3 /10 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT 1st/16s @ Los Angeles, CA
[5a]USC is ineligible for the postseason.
[8b]Oregon 82 [10]Washington St 80 (OT)
3 /11 PAC-10 TOURNAMENT 2nd/Qtrs @ Los Angeles, CA
* Anthony Grant (ex-VCU) is the new head coach at Alabama (after Mark Gottfried was fired).
Mark Fox (ex-Nevada) takes over
at Georgia (after Dennis Felton was fired).
John Calipari (ex-Memphis) is now in charge
at Kentucky (replacing fired Billy Gillispie).
Loaded Kentucky is the overwhelming favorite in the East (and overall);
five returning starters at Tennessee and Vanderbilt will contend
for second place; veteran South Carolina (featuring pDevan Downey) can only spoil. In the West,
a healthy Mississippi,
veteran Mississippi State and five returning starters at Arkansas will battle
for the title; LSU (featuring fTasmin Mitchell) will only spoil.
(Georgia is not expected to be a factor
even to spoil.)
Key games:
SEC/BIG EAST CHALLENGE regional DblHdrs; SEC trails 0-1;1
12/ 9: Kentucky 64 @ Connecticut 61 (@ New York, NY /MSG/)
12/ 9: @ St John's 66 Georgia 56 (@ New York, NY /MSG/)
12/10: Syracuse 85 @ Florida 73 (@ Tampa, FL)
12/10: @ Mississippi St 76 DePaul 45 (@ Tampa, FL) -- tied 2-2; SEC trails 0-1;2 all-time
SUN BELT CLASSIC DblHdr @ Nashville, TN
12/11: @ Tennessee 75 @ Mid Tennessee 54 (TN)
12/11: We Kentucky 76 @ Vanderbilt 69 -- tied 1-1
Mississippi State gets both Kentucky and Tennessee at home; Mississippi has to travel on the road to both.
Kentucky came through undefeated (with a tourney win); Florida (with a tourney win)
and Mississippi made noise and Tennessee and Mississippi State also had elite records; South Carolina, LSU, Vanderbilt
and Alabama all had winning records; Auburn, (Georgia) and Arkansas skirted .500.
Kentucky came through in first place at the break; Vanderbilt and Tennessee were tied for second place; Florida
and Arkansas (first place in the West) were tied for fourth; Mississippi State, Mississippi and South Carolina were all tied
for sixth place at 4-4; Alabama was just below .500; (Georgia was a bust).
Two-time defending conference regular season and tournament champ
Western Kentucky is the team to beat in the East (and overall)
ahead of Troy; in the West, five returning staters
at both North Texas and Denver will battle for the top spot.
At the break, Arkansas State leads the West (and overall);
Denver (West), Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic were all tied for second one game back; North Texas, Troy (East)
and Louisiana-Lafayette were above .500; Western Kentucky and South Alabama were below .500.
A muddy mess all season ended in a three-way tie for first place at 13-5
(among North Texas in the West,
and Middle Tennessee
and Troy in the East) -- Ugh.
* Former assistant David Carter is the new head coach at Nevada
(after Mark Fox left for Georgia).
Nevada has the best player (cLuke Babbitt) and will battle
with veteran squads at New Mexico State (with five returning starters), Idaho
and what's left
at defending TiTo champ Utah State;
Boise State is good enough to spoil.
Nevada has more big games at home in the first half -- better than not.
Louisiana Tech, Utah State and New Mexico State were in a three-way tie for the lead at the break; Nevada and San Jose State
were one game back, tied for fourth; Fresno State was in sixth place at .500. Idaho and Boise State were a bust.
Thanks to USF's big upset, Gonzaga fell back into a first-place tie with St. Mary's;
Portland was one game back in third place.
San Francisco was two more games back, tied with Pepperdine for fourth.