As regular readers know, I’ve got three primary college basketball rooting interests: my alma maters, USC and Notre Dame, and the team I’ve randomly followed since just before they became a household name, Gonzaga. There’s also team number four, the UConn Huskies, who I grew up rooting for, but who I now only casually follow, at best.
But there are also a bunch of other teams on the periphery of my fandom, mostly low-major schools that, come Championship Fortnight each year, I keep at least a loose eye on, hoping they’ll make it to the Big Dance. Here’s a look at the fortunes of these teams so far.
Denver: The Pioneers are a new addition to the Brendan Loy Bandwagon Peripheral Rooting Interests List, now that I’m a Denverite desperate for some mid-major college-sports action in this pro-sports town. DU has never been to the NCAA Tournament, but heading into this season, they had high hopes for a possible Sun Belt championship. Back in November, Kristy and I attended DU’s season opener — against mid-major darling Northern Iowa — and watched them nearly pull the upset. Unfortunately, the Pioneers’ perennial difficulties winning away from Magness Arena have persisted; they were 15-1 at home this season (that Northern Iowa loss being the only blemish), but 2-11 on the road. However, the Pioneers are doing well so far on the neutral court in Little Rock, Arkansas where the Sun Belt Tournament is being held. #6 DU beat #11-seeded, Isiah Thomas-coached Florida International, 71-64 on Saturday, then upset #3 Middle Tennessee State, 73-58 yesterday. Next up is #2 seed North Texas; that game is underway right now, with UNT leading DU by 1 point, 14-13, midway through the first half. If the Pioneers can with this one, they’ll play for a first-ever NCAA bid — against either #1 Troy or #4 Western Kentucky — at 5:00 PM tomorrow on ESPN2. Go DU!!!
Northern Colorado: This is another new addition to the list. I blogged quite a bit about Northern Colorado last month, as they had a chance to bring some March Madness to Colorado: if they’d beaten Weber State on February 13, they’d have earned the #1 seed in the Big Sky Tournament, and consequently the semifinals and finals would’ve been up in Greeley tomorrow and Wednesday. Alas, NoCo couldn’t pull it off, so the tournament is being held over on Weber’s home floor in Ogden, Utah. But the Bears still have a shot at an NCAA bid. They just have to beat #4 Montana tomorrow, then most likely Weber State (with whom they split the regular-season series) on Wednesday in the title game.
Buffalo: The University of at Buffalo is a natural “fit” for me, fan-wise, as it’s a hard-luck underdog with little sports cachet. It also happens to be Becky’s hometown university, which several of her (and thus my) good friends attended. The Bulls have never made the NCAA Tournament, though they came damn close in 2005 (losing a MAC title-game heartbreaker to Ohio, then barely missing the at-large cut), and were a game away again last year, losing 65-53 in the MAC final. This year, they earned the #5 seed in the MAC, and routed lowly Toledo in their opening-round game, 72-54. Up next: a quarterfinal clash with #4 seed Miami (Ohio), with whom the Bulls had a home-away split in the regular season, on Thursday at 7:00 PM Mountain Time. If they win that one, a potential semifinal tilt with #1 seed Kent State awaits on Friday. The MAC championship game is Saturday at 4pm MDT.
Central Connecticut State: CCSU is my hometown school, located less than 3 miles from the house where I grew up, and it was attended by a substantial percentage of my high-school graduating class. So it’s only natural that the Blue Devils have a special place in my heart. In 2000, when they reached the Big Dance for the first time, I went to the campus auditorium where students were watching the game live, and cheered #15-seed Central to a near-upset of #2 Iowa State — sort of a precursor to the Cyclones’ stunning defeat at the hands of Hampton a year later. The Devils returned to the Dance in 2002 (as a #14) and 2007 (as a #16) but were roundly defeated both times. Alas, this year, they’re out of the running. Central was the #7 seed in the Northeast Conference this year, and they lost to #2 Robert Morris in the first round of the conference tourney. Next year!
Other Connecticut schools: In addition to UConn and CCSU, there are five other Division I schools in the Nutmeg State: Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart (from Central’s conference, the NEC), Fairfield (MAAC), Hartford (America East) and Yale (Ivy). Fairfield, seeded #2 in its league, came damn close to an NCAA berth — its first since the Stags nearly crashed Dean Smith’s record-tying party as a #16 seed in 1997 — but lost to Siena in overtime tonight in the MAAC final. Hartford, a #5 seed, was eliminated far sooner in the process, crushed 87-46 by #4 Boston U. in the quarterfinals. Sacred Heart didn’t even qualify for the NEC tourney, and Yale finished fourth in the Ivy League, which doesn’t have a tourney. That leaves Quinnipiac as Connecticut’s last non-UConn hope. The Bobcats are the #1 seed in the NEC, and they host Robert Morris in the championship game Wednesday at 5pm MDT. The winner will very possibly go to the play-in game. GO BOBCATS!
Brendan, if you decide to join a/the Northern Iowa bandwagon and need a shirt, I think that can easily be arranged. (Unless that triumph over Denver still sticks in your craw. 😉