32 years of losing came to a staunch halt when Nolan Smith came to town. The resurgence was capped off Saturday night with a 93-67 win over Morehead State in the Ohio Valley title game. “When I got into coaching, I always told myself, it’s always gonna be about players,” Smith said. “To be a […]
about 2 months ago
· 3 reads
WASHINGTON, DC – I know what you might be thinking: Saturday isn’t actually day one of the CAA Tournament. That’d be Friday, when the 13/12 play-in game kicks off our five days of chaos in the Capital. But there’s only one game on Friday. Saturday is when we really get underway. If you don’t believe […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Justin Menard has balls. Stones. Huevos. Cojones. Whatever noun you want to use, he has them. When Marist needs a shot, he’s going to be the one to take it. The shot may make you question everything you know about basketball, but goddamit it’ll go in. In a tied game with […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
Night three of the OVC Tournament did not disappoint. Of all six tournament games now, five of them have had final margins within 10 points. As we head into the title game tonight, let’s recap the madness from Friday’s late-night extravaganza in Evansville. Tennessee State leads UT Martin from buzzer-to-buzzer After last night, it is […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
Does Bethune-Cookman finally go dancing? Bethune-Cookman went to overtime at Auburn on the season’s opening night and became the early favorite in the SWAC. The Wildcats have held steady and been the league’s best team all season. Can Reggie Theus’ group finish the job and go dancing? Here’s a little bit about each team ahead […]
about 2 months ago
· 3 reads
Both No. 9 The Citadel and No. 7 UNC Greensboro moved into Friday’s quarterfinal action with a pair of victories to open the 2026 Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville. In the first matchup, there were 21 lead changes before No. 9 The Citadel advanced to the second day of the […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
Can Alabama A&M cap its dominant season with an invite to the Big Dance? Alabama A&M is one of the hottest teams in the country, entering the tournament on a 17-game win streak. It will be looking to fend off the other 11 teams and secure its NCAA Tournament berth after a dominant season in […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
The America East Women’s Tournament is down to the final four (a chalk final four). Let’s take a look at the teams left ahead of the semifinals on Monday. UMBC and Binghamton survived off last-second shots, and Vermont and Maine took care of business in the quarterfinals. America East Women’s Results So Far Quarterfinals – […]
about 2 months ago
· 2 reads
In today’s era of NIL, the transfer portal, and low-majors struggling to compete, transitioning to the Division I level is a challenge even for the biggest and brightest programs. Even if an athletic department can find a way to navigate the financing, scheduling, scholarships, staffing, and all that comes with rising to DI, there’s no […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s? That’s typically the question we ask entering this tournament. But Santa Clara has established itself as a viable competitor. And, hey, maybe Oregon State will turn it on and give Wayne Tinkle his much-deserved swan song. Let’s take a quick, 30,000-foot look at all 12 West Coast Conference squads. Gonzaga (1) […]
about 2 months ago
· 3 reads
One dud can ruin a season. After a 26-5 (16-4) regular season, the Belmont Bruins looked like a sure-fire NCAA Tournament team. At a minimum, a loss in the Arch Madness Championship game would keep them in the at-large conversation — their +0.21 WAB metric ranked in the top-50 nationally. Even as the nation’s top offense […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
Get your peelers ready. Starch Madness is nearly upon us. One of the best branded conference tournaments starts on March 7 in Boise, Idaho, as the Big Sky tips off Starch Madness at Idaho Central Arena. The women’s side of the Big Sky, unlike the men’s side, has had a few different teams come out […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
This season marked the last of this iteration of the Mountain West. In came Grand Canyon before the mass exodus for the new Pac-12. The Lopes finished sixth, but the story of this season was San Diego State. The Aztecs, who won the tournament championship last season, claimed the regular-season crown this year. All eyes […]
about 2 months ago
· 6 reads
The Big Sky regular season certainly didn’t disappoint. Filled with former NBA stars, feel-good bounce-back stories, and great basketball. Now all 10 teams pack their bags and head to familiar territory, Idaho Central Arena. For some teams, there’s a possible four grueling days of basketball ahead of them. While others may lift a title in […]
about 2 months ago
· 2 reads
Boy, the America East sucked this year, didn’t it? In KenPom’s ratings, we ranked second-to-last among all 31 Division-I conferences. In my power ratings, seven of the nine teams ranked below 315th nationally, and three ranked below 350th. But we lost a lot of talent this year. Bryant and Lowell lost entire rosters’ worth. Maine […]
about 2 months ago
· 7 reads
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Mekhi Conner may not be Sacred Heart’s top scorer, best player, or even most impactful player, but no player is more of a bellwether of the Pioneers’ success from game to game than the sophomore point guard. During SHU’s five-game winning streak in January, he averaged double-digit assists. Since then, he […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
It’s worth asking: would the Romans have chosen the Ides of March to kill Julius Caesar if they knew about Selection Sunday? Probably not, especially if the CAA was a potential two-bid league. Picture that: the senators gathered around a television, hoping against hope that the loser of the conference championship game squeaked into the […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Mid-Major fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. The Miami RedHawks. 30-0. One win away from an undefeated regular season. The only undefeated team […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
The Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to get underway Thursday. After a three-way tie for first-place atop the standings, it’s Chattanooga (18-9, 10-4 SoCon) that won the tiebreaker and will be the No. 1 overall seed heading into the tournament, despite being upset on the final day of league play, falling 68-55 on the road […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
Gonzaga has been the class of the WCC, but this is the Zags’ last season in the league. So the question that looms over this trip to Vegas is whether the Bulldogs will ride off into the Pac-12 sunset with the title or will someone, like streaking LMU, rise to the challenge? 1. LMU (15-3, […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
If you’re not Australian, a speedskating fan, or a Wikipedia rabbit hole partaker, you might not know what “doing a Bradbury” refers to. I am neither of the former two, but I am the latter, so I’ll tell a little secondhand story. (Seriously, my Wikipedia rabbit holing is debilitating to my productivity. Someone help my […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
March is finally here! And as conference tournaments get underway, we need your help to decide our men’s player of week for Feb. 23 – March 1 by voting in the poll below. Here are our top five men’s candidates and a recap of their outstanding performances from across week 16 of the college basketball […]
about 2 months ago
· 5 reads
The regular season for many conferences has come to an end, and all eyes turn to conference tournaments. However, there were several outstanding performances over the final week of February. The five nominees for Women’s Player of the Week are the following: Kiyah Lewis (Central Connecticut), Brooklyn Meyer (South Dakota State), Mia Nicastro (Western Illinois), […]
about 2 months ago
· 4 reads
Before the Coastal Athletic Association madness starts at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., one final round of regular season games needed to be completed on Tuesday night to set the matchups for the upcoming CAA tournament. With everyone but the second-seeded Charleston Cougars (21-10, 14-4 CAA) in action that meant a final attempt for others […]
about 2 months ago
· 2 reads
The 2026 Southern Conference Tournament commences this week in Asheville, and it’s been awhile since we’ve seen a league dominated by a mix of youth and veteran leadership that has been prevalent at most programs. The youth could impact this tournament more than any in recent memory, with eight of the 10 league programs having […]
about 2 months ago
· 2 reads