Mid-Majorology

1/11/12

OPEN???
HL’s Groom (Butler) vs HL’s Best Man (Cleveland State)
• The last four times that Butler has faced Cleveland State (including this year), the Vikings have been in first place in the Horizon League. BUTLER 3-0!!!
• Butler, Cleveland State and Milwaukee all tied for the Horizon League regular season title last season, and the Bulldogs defeated the other two squads in the Horizon League Tournament. (See current standings…)

ONE ON ONE: (PICK ONE)
• Cleveland State 7-1 on road this season vs Butler 158-22 at Hinkle Fieldhouse since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
• OR: CSU THREE BALL (48-100 last 5 games) vs BUTLER TWO BALL (23-30 for 77% from 2pt range vs Wright State)

CLEVELAND STATE SUPPORT GRAPHICS:

CSU Good News: NCAA RANKS
• 12th in the nation in turnover margin (4.5),
• 15th in steals (9.2),
• 16th in three-point defense (.280),
• 20th in scoring defense (58.0),
• 25th in won-lost percentage (.824)
• 50th in free throw percentage (.730).
• D’Aundray Brown: 13th in the country in steals (2.5).

More CSU Good News:
• CSU LAST 5 GAMES: 48-of-100 (.480) 3pt%
• CSU 7-1 in true road games!!!
• LAST 14 GAMES: 136-of-174 FT (.782)

Vikings Late Game Success!
• 7-0 in games decided by five points or less
• Trey Harmon hits a three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in a 67-64 win over St. Bonaventure (Nov. 18).
• Jeremy Montgomery steals the inbounds pass and hits two free throws with 3.4 seconds to play in a 63-62 victory over Boston University (Nov. 25).
• D’Aundray Brown tips in a missed shot with 0.3 seconds left in a 45-43 win at Wright State (Dec. 1).
• Jeremy Montgomery hits a three-pointer with 21.2 secs left to give the Vikings a 69-66 win over Akron.

D’Aundrey Brown Locks ‘em Up!!!
• Carlton Guyton (Kent State) 12.0PPG held to 8 pts
• Mike Moore (Hofstra) 20.5PPG held to 5 pts
• Jamal Wilson (Rhode Island) 19.8PPG held to 8 pts
• Chase Simon (Detroit) 17.6PPG held to 6 pts
• Rian Pearson (Toledo) 16.4PPG held to 9 pts

Mark’s Three Greatest Cleveland State Vikings of All-Time:
• Norris Cole, 2007-11, Miami Heat
• Franklin Edwards, Men’s Basketball, 1977-1981: Edwards was selected in the first round (22nd overall) by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1981 NBA Draft.
• Ken Mouse McFadden, Men’s Basketball, 1985-1989: the all time leading scorer in CSU history with 2,256 points. The versatile point guard also leads all former Vikings in assists, trips to the free-throw line, as well as free-throws made. In his career the “Mouse” had 245 steals, second all-time in Cleveland State history.

BUTLER SUPPORT GRAPHICS:
Stevens vs Kryzyewski (first 4 seasons)
• Krzyzewski: 1975-79 Army: 64–42 (1 NIT)
• Stevens: 2007–11 Butler: 117-25 (4 NCAA Bids, Two Championship Games)

MARK’s – Best Bulldogs
Player
Chad Tucker 1983-88 2,321pts 1st
A.J. Graves 2004-08 1,807pts 4th
Shelvin Mack 2008-11 Back to Back NCAA Champ Gms (11th)
Darin Archbold 1988-92 1,744 6th
Matt Howard 2007-11 1,939 3rd
Gordon Hayward 2008-10 Led to 1st NCAA Champ Gm

Butler Success:
o Butler has the most NCAA Tournament wins (10) of any team in the nation over the past two years…
o Last five seasons, Total wins rankings:
o Kansas (165),
o North Carolina (150)
o Duke (147)
o Butler (146)

Butler: Last 5 seasons
• 29.2 wins
• two 30-win campaigns,
• .820 winning %.

Returning Dogs:
• The Bulldogs’ only returning starters are junior center Andrew Smith (8.5 PPG) and junior guard Chase Stigall (3.9 PPG).

Butler: The Top Dog?
Butler vs Gonzaga In Men’s Basketball Championship – Since 1995
Butler Gonzaga
Appearances 10 14
Wins 16>> 16
Sweet 16s 4 5
Elite 8s 2 1
Final Fours 2 0
>>10 in last 2 years

* With Final Four trips in each of the past 2 seasons, the Bulldogs were the 1st non-Power 6 Conference team to advance to consecutive Final Fours since UNLV in 1990 and 1991.

Alma Mater: Butler
• Ohio State men’s basketball coach Thad Matta,
• Baylor men’s basketball coach Scott Drew
• Bobby Plump, the hero of the 1954 Milan High School state championship team of which the story for the 1986 movie Hoosiers was based.

What Now?
• Matt Howard
o playing professional basketball in Greece, third all-time leading scorer and rebounder,
• Shelvin Mack
o drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, 11th place on Butler’s all-time scoring
o Also gone from last year’s squad are Shawn Vanzant and Zach Hahn.
• The departures accounted for 64% of Butler’s scoring and 48% of rebounding a year ago.

CAA, HL, MVC, WCC: (Source- EnthusiAdams, Inc.)
Combined 12-3 vs Power 6 in the NCAA Tournament and NIT on neutral site courts in 2011:
• CAA- 6-1
o George Mason (1-1) Beat Nova, lost to Ohio State
o VCU: (5-0) Beat USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, Kansas
• Horizon League- 3-1
o Butler (3-1) Beat Pitt, Wisconsin, Florida and lost to UCONN
• MVC- 2-1
o Wichita State (2-0) Beat Washington State and Alabama (Note- at MSG in NIT)
o Indiana State (0-1) lost to Syracuse
• WCC- 1-0
o Gonzaga (1-0) Beat St. John’s
Note: The remaining 21 non-power 6 conferences were a collective 3-19 (13.6% winning %) versus power 6 opponents at neutral sites in the NCAA tournament. The only three wins came from the OVC representative and #13 seed Morehead State over #4 seed Louisville and the A-10 had #7 seed Temple beat #10 seed Penn State and #12 seed Richmond defeated #5 seed Vandy.
Note: All non-power 6 conference members combined were 15-22 (40.5% winning %) vs the power 6 on neutral NCAA and NIT tournament sites.

MID-MAJOROLOGY SUPPORT GRAPHICS:
Mark’s Mid-Majorology Suggested Horizon League BracketBusters Match-ups:
• Indiana State @ Butler
• College of Charleston @ Cleveland State
• Milwaukee @ VCU

1/9/12
Mark’s Mid-Majorology non-power 6 All-Americans so far:
• Doug McDermott, Creighton
• Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
• Damian Lillard, Weber State
• Scott Machado, Iona
• Mike Moser, UNLV

Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (9:00PM EST, 1/8/12)
1. Murray State 16-0
2. UNLV 16-2
3. Gonzaga 13-2
4. Creighton 13-2
5. Southern Miss 15-2
6. Harvard 13-2
7. San Diego State 13-2
8. St Mary’s 14-2
9. Dayton 12-4
10. St Louis 13-3
11. New Mexico 14-2
12. Temple 10-4
13. Iona 13-3
14. Wichita State 12-3
15. Long Beach State 10-6
16. Cleveland State 14-3
17. Davidson 10-4
18. Ohio 12-3
19. George Mason 12-4
20. Memphis 10-5
21. VCU 11-4
22. Charleston 11-4
23. Middle Tennessee 15-2
24. Colorado State 10-4
25. LaSalle 12-4

1/3/12

Can you guess how many times the non-power 6 have defeated power 6 teams since the season began?

First, here are the non-power 6 conferences who have done the most damage: as of 1/3/12
A-10: 22 wins over power 6 teams
MWC: 15 wins over power 6 teams
MVC: 11 wins over power 6 teams
CUSA: 11 wins over power 6 teams
WCC: 8 wins over power 6 teams

Here are the power 6 conferences and their total losses to the non-power 6: as of 1/3/12
PAC 12: 37 losses to non-power 6 opponents
Big East: 22 losses to non-power 6 opponents
ACC: 22 losses to non-power 6 opponents
SEC: 20 losses to non-power 6 opponents
Big Ten: 12 losses to non-power 6 opponents
Big 12: 8 losses to non-power 6 opponents

So how many times have the non-power 6 teams defeated the power 6 teams since the season began?
ANSWER: 121

1/3/12

OVC Notes of Interest From Recent Broadcast:

Since start of 1984-1985 season:
• OVC tourney champ game appearances: APSU 11, Murray State 15
• OVC tourney champ game wins : APSU 4, Murray State 12
• Faced each other in OVC championship game: 6 times
Also since start of 1984-85 season:
Reg season champions: APSU 4, Murray State 15

OVC Coach of the Year: this is great…
Murray State: 9 times, 5 diff coaches; S. Newton, S. Edgar, M. Gottfried, T. Anderson, M. Cronin, B Kennedy
APSU: 5 times, ALL Dave Loos; 90-91, 96-97, 02-03, 03-04, 06-07
Please note: Dave Loos is also still the Athletic Director…only combo coach/AD in country.

Morehead State:
• OVC Tournament Champions 2009, 2011

Mark’s All-Time OVC Team:
-Kenneth Faried: Morehead State, Nation’s leading rebounder, led Morehead to OVC Championship and upset of Louisville.
-Jim McDaniels: WKU 68-71 set WKU school records with 2,238 career points and 1,118 career rebounds.
-James ‘Fly’ Williams: APSU 72-74 28.5 point per game average for Govs. Scored 51 points twice in his freshman year. In his sophomore season, Williams averaged 27.5 points per game, earning a third-place scoring record in the NCAA, had his jersey retired last season and ESPNU did the game. They had some great pictures and video of the event. Might be good also
-Popeye Jones: Murray State 88-92 three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection and was named OVC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991. Jones was honored as the OVC’s Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992.
-Henry Domercant: EIU 99-03, Finished in the top five in the nation in scoring final three years, joining select group of 11 players including Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Bill Bradley and Pete Maravich.
-Trent Hassell, APSU 98-01: OVC “Player of the Year” honors and his third straight first-team All-OVC selection after averaging 21.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game–and he was the last Governor to record a triple-double (27 points, 13 rebounds 12 assists vs. UT Martin). For a second straight year, Hassell was the only player in the nation to be ranked in his respective conference’s top five in scoring, rebounding and assists in 2000 and 2001. His 21.7 points per game ranked 13th nationally. He then was drafted as the first pick of the NBA’s second round by the Chicago Bulls.
-By Popular Demand: Lester Hudson, UT-Martin- Named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year as a junior and senior. Also earned First Team All-Conference honors in both of his seasons at Tennessee-Martin, as well as twice being named Honorable Mention All-American by The Associated Press. Set an OVC single-season scoring record with 880 points in 2008-09. Finished with 1,727 points in two seasons, only two points shy of the four-year school record. Played first two seasons at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis, Tenn. Sat out the 2006-07 season at Tennessee-Martin while establishing academic eligibility.

Honorable mention: Charles ‘Bubba’ Wells, APSU 93-97 #5 All-time OVC scorer, 3X All-OVC and POY in 97. Holds the dubious distinction of being the player with the quickest disqualification due to personal fouls in an NBA regular season game following coach’s orders to foul Dennis Rodman.

OVC NCAA tourney upsets…Old School

1987 Austin Peay 68 Illinois 67
Note: The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67 victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a visit to Clarksville two months later.

1988 Murray State 78 NC State 75
Note: Murray State added to the OVC’s string of upsets in 1988 when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State, 78-75. The Racers’ M&M Boys – Jeff Martin and Don Mann – combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that would’ve given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off the rim with three seconds left. In

1990 Michigan State 75 Murray State 71 (Obviously a near miss)
Note: as a No. 16 seed, Popeye Jones and Murray State took No. 1 seed Michigan State into overtime before falling 75-71; that game still marks the closest a No. 16 seed has come to knocking off a No. 1 in men’s tournament action.

Recent OVC NCAA Tourney SUCCESS!!!
Note: 3-3 last three seasons

2009 Morehead State 58 Alabama State 43
Note: Lost to Louisville in next round.

2010 #13 Murray State 66 #4 Vanderbilt 65
Note: Danero Thomas knocked down a fade away 15 footer at the buzzer beater to upset Vandy. Lost to Butler 54-52 in next round.

2011 #13 Morehead State 62 #4 Louisville 61
Note: Demonte Harper hit a three pointer w/4.2 secs to go gave Morehead State a huge upset over Louisville. Terrence Hill had 23pts and Kenneth Faried hauled in 17 rebs. Donnie Tyndall, “I dreamed about this last night” and he gave the ball to Harper for the big shot. Lost to Richmond in next round 65-48.

1/2/12

Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (11:00PM EST, 1/1/12)
1. Murray State 14-0
2. UNLV 15-2
3. Gonzaga 10-2
4. Harvard 12-1
5. Creighton 11-2
6. St Louis 12-2
7. Southern Miss 13-2
8. Ohio 12-1
9. San Diego State 12-2
10. Temple 9-3
11. St Mary’s 13-2
12. New Mexico 12-2
13. Iona 10-3
14. Indiana State 10-3
15. Wichita State 10-3
16. VCU 10-3
17. Cleveland State 12-3
18. Charleston 10-3
19. St Joe’s 10-4
20. Long Beach State 5-6
21. Davidson 8-4
22. Dayton 10-4
23. Memphis 8-5
24. Middle Tennessee 13-2
25. Colorado State 9-4

12/27/11

Mid-Majorology Top 25:
All Non-Power 6 Eligible (9:00PM EST, 12/25/11)
Note: Xavier will not be ranked until all suspensions are served.
1. Murray State 13-0
2. UNLV 11-2
3. Creighton 10-1
4. Gonzaga 9-2
5. Harvard 10-1
6. St Louis 10-1
7. Iona 10-2
8. Indiana State 8-2
9. San Diego State 11-2
10. Charleston 10-1
11. Wichita State 8-2
12. Southern Miss 9-2
13. Northern Iowa 9-2
14. Cleveland State 10-2
15. Ohio 10-1
16. New Mexico 9-2
17. St Mary’s 9-2
18. VCU 9-3
19. Marshall 8-2
20. Denver 10-2
21. St Joe’s 9-3
22. Long Beach State 5-6
23. Davidson 6-4
24. Colorado State 7-4
25. Memphis 6-5

12/27/11

This is for all you Missouri Valley fans…

Wins By Conference over the power 6: (as of 12/26/11, non-conference season over in the Valley)
A-10: 20
MWC: 15
MVC: 11
CUSA: 11

The Valley’s Wins over the Power 6:
1. Nov 15 2011 Iowa State 65 Drake 74 VALLEY > BIG 12
2. Nov 17 2011 Wichita State 67 Colorado 58 VALLEY > PAC12
3. Nov 20 2011 Creighton 82 Iowa 59 VALLEY > BIG TEN
4. Nov 22 2011 Illinois State 76 Rutgers 70 VALLEY > BIGEAST
5. Nov 24 2011 Indiana State 60 Texas Tech 49 VALLEY > BIG 12
6. Nov 26 2011 Northern Iowa 79 Providence 62 MVC > BIG EAST
7. Nov 30 2011 Northern Iowa 69 Iowa State 62 MVC > Big 12
8. Dec 4 2011 Creighton 76 Nebraska 66 MVC > BIG TEN
9. Dec 6 2011 UNI 80 Iowa 60 MVC > BIG TEN
10. Dec 17 2011 Indiana State 61 Vandy 55 MVC > SEC
11. Dec 23 2011 Creighton 87 Northwestern 78 MVC > BIG TEN
Note:
1. The Big 12 has only lost 8 times to non-power 6 teams, three of those losses were to The Valley.
2. A total of 6 Valley teams had wins vs the power 6. (Drake, Wichita State, Creighton, Illinois State, Northern Iowa, Indiana State)
Other Notable Wins: (See below Wichita State over UNLV, UNI over Colorado State and Creighton over San Diego State)

MVC versus MWC:
*Note: The Valley was 3-1 versus the Top 4 RPI rated MWC teams including:
• UNLV (#9), Wichita State 89, UNLV 70
• Colorado State (#46), UNI 83, Colorado State 77
• San Diego State (#56), Creighton 85, San Diego St. 83
RPI Rankings as of 12/26/11

MVC vs Power 6: OVERALL- 11-14 record vs the power 6 (as of 12/26/11)

The Valley’s Best vs Power 6: (UNI, Creighton, Wichita State and Indiana State)
• Combined 9-2 vs Power 6 opponents
• These four were a combined 4-1 vs the Big Ten

The Valley’s Best vs the Best of the Rest: (UNI, Creighton, Wichita State and Indiana State)
• These four were a combined 10-4 vs the A-10, CUSA, MWC, WCC and HL
• 5-0 vs CUSA
• 2-0 vs the HL.
• 3-1 vs MWC
• 0-1 vs WCC
• 0-2 vs A-10

12/21/11

Mark’s January/February/March Broadcast Schedule: (All times EST)
1/7/12: UCONN @ Rutgers 8:00PM Big East Network (Check local listings)
1/13/12: Cleveland State @ Butler 7:00PM ESPNU
1/14/12: Tennessee Tech @ Murray State 6:00PM ESPNU
1/18/12: Indiana State @ Illinois State 8:00 FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
1/21/12: OVC Wildcard game TBD 9:00PM ESPNU
1/25/12: Evansville @ Wichita State 8:00PM FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
1/28/12: CS Fullerton @ Long Beach 11:00PM ESPNU
2/1/12: Drake @ Indiana State 8:00PM FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
2/2/12: Portland @ Santa Clara 9:00PM ESPNU
2/4/12: Big West Wildcard TBD 9:00PM ESPNU
2/15/12: Drake @ Bradley 8:00PM FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
2/18/12: BYU @ Santa Clara 7:00PM FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
2/21/12: Evansville @ Creighton 8:00PM FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)
2/23/12: St Mary’s @ Portland 10:00PM ESPNU
2/25/12: Cal Poly @ Santa Barbara 11:00PM ESPNU
3/1-3/12: The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, 5 games TBD, FoxSports and Affiliates (Check local listings)

12/19/11

Congratulations to South Dakota State as the Jackrabbits got win #100 for the non-power 6 over a power 6 opponent on Dec 18, 2011.

South Dakota State 93 Washngton 72 Summit > PAC 12 (Nate Wolters scored 34 points as South Dakota State broke Washington’s 32-game nonconference home winning streak with a 92-73 victory Sunday.)

Most wins by conference vs power 6:
A-10: 20
MWC: 15
MVC: 10
WCC: 8
CUSA: 6
BIG SOUTH: 5

Losses by power 6 conference vs non-power 6:
PAC 12: 33
Big East: 20
SEC: 16
ACC: 15
Big Ten: 11
Big 12: 5

12/18/11

Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (9:00PM EST, 12/17/11)

Note: Xavier at 8-1 will not be ranked until all suspensions are served.
1. Murray State 12-0
2. UNLV 11-2
3. Creighton 8-1
4. Gonzaga 7-2
5. Harvard 9-1
6. St Louis 10-1
7. Iona 9-2
8. Indiana State 8-2
9. Northern Iowa 9-1
10. San Diego State 9-2
11. Cleveland State 10-1
12. Charleston 9-1
13. St Mary’s 8-1
14. Wichita State 8-2
15. Southern Miss 8-2
16. Coastal Carolina 9-1
17. Kent State 7-1
18. Memphis 5-4
19. Tulane 11-1
20. Ohio 9-1
21. New Mexico 8-2
22. VCU 7-3
23. Marshall 7-2
24. Dayton 8-3
25. St Joe’s 8-3

Others: Denver 8-2, BYU 8-3, Middle Tennessee State 10-2, Milwaukee 9-3, Wyoming 11-1, UCF 8-2, Georgia State 8-3, Dayton 8-3, George Mason 7-3, Loyola (MD) 8-1, Norfolk State 7-4, Lamar 9-3, Nevada 8-3, Lamar 8-3, Lehigh 9-3, Robert Morris 8-3, Long Beach State 4-5

12/11/11

Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (6:00PM EST, 12/11/11)

1. Xavier 8-0
2. Murray State 10-0
3. Creighton 7-1
4. St Louis 9-1
5. Harvard 9-1
6. Cleveland State 10-1
7. UNLV 9-2
8. Northern Iowa 9-1
9. Kent State 7-1
10. Gonzaga 5-2
11. Iona 7-2
12. Memphis 5-3
13. San Diego State 9-2
14. St Mary’s 5-1
15. Marshall 6-2
16. Wichita State 7-2
17. St Joe’s 7-3
18. Indiana State 7-2
19. Temple 6-2
20. Ohio 7-1
21. Long Beach State 4-5
22. Southern Miss 6-2
23. Denver 6-2
24. Dayton 7-3
25. Belmont 6-2

12/11/11
UC and Xavier Fight Facts:

Before we pass judgement on the on court brawl between UC and Xavier we need to understand the rules and the ramifications and the history of fighting during a game. So here is some important information to acknowledge and consider:

Statement by NCAA President Mark Emmert on Xavier/Cincinnati
The incident at the end of the Xavier/Cincinnati basketball game today is deplorable and such behavior has no place in college sports. The respective conferences and both schools are in the process of determining what disciplinary actions should be taken against those involved. However, such behavior impacts the game as a whole far beyond those involved. Sportsmanship is a key tenet at the NCAA and a principle that all involved in intercollegiate athletics are expected to honor. Those involved with that incident today failed to honor themselves, their schools, and college basketball. It cannot be tolerated.

Mark Emmert
NCAA President

Very first page of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rule Book:
Sportsmanship is a core value of the NCAA. The NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct has identified respect and integrity as two critical elements of sportsmanship and launched an awareness and action campaign at the NCAA Convention in January 2009.

Athletics administrators may download materials and view best practices at the website below: www.NCAA.org, then click on “Student-Athlete Programs,” then “Sportsmanship” and select the “Resources/Best Practices” tab.

Page 4 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rule Book before we read one rule:
Sportsmanship
The primary goal of the rules is to maximize the safety and enjoyment of the student-athlete. Sportsmanship is a key part of that goal. Sportsmanship should be a core value in behavior of players and bench personnel, in crowd control by game management and in the officials’ proper enforcement of the rules governing related actions. This same statement is used agian on Page 17 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Rule Book

Section 26. Fighting: From Official Rule Book
Art. 1. A fight is a flagrant 2 foul.
Art. 2. A fight is a confrontation involving one or more players, coaches or other team personnel wherein (but not limited to) a fist, hand, arm, foot, knee or leg is used to combatively strike the other individual.
Art. 3. When during a confrontation, an individual attempts to strike another individual with any of the actions defined in Art. 2, whether there is contact is irrelevant. The perpetrator shall be deemed to have been involved in a fight.
Art. 4. When during a confrontation, an individual uses unsportsmanlike acts or comments which, in the opinion of the official, provoke the other individual to retaliate by fighting, it shall be ruled that both individuals have been involved in the fight.
Art. 5. When a physical confrontation has occurred, the officials shall determine the individuals who were involved in the fight or left the bench area to participate.
Art. 6. A combative confrontation may occur when the ball is live, in which case, it is a flagrant 2 personal foul; or when the ball is dead, and a flagrant 2 technical foul shall be assessed.
Art. 7. When during the course of play (live ball), an individual strikes an opponent with the hand, elbow, arm, foot, knee or leg in a non-confrontational manner but the act is excessive or severe, it shall be ruled as a flagrant 2 personal foul and not a fighting action. When a defined body part is used to strike an opponent but the contact is not severe or excessive, a judgment shall be made by the official as to whether the contact is a flagrant 1 personal foul.
Art. 8. Anytime an individual uses a closed fist in an unsportsmanlike manner, it shall be deemed that the individual has initiated a fighting act and shall be penalized accordingly.
Art. 9. When any flagrant 2 foul is ruled to be a fight, the fighting penalty shall be invoked.

Famous Suspensions:
1977: Kermit Washington was fined $10,000, and suspended for 60 days, missing 26 games for punching Rudy Tomjanovich in 1977; then the longest suspension for an on-court incident in NBA history.
1972: Corky Taylor of Minnesota offered to help Luke Witte of Ohio State up after a hard foul and instead kneed him in the groin. Then Ron Behagen stomped on Witte’s head as he laid on the floor in pain. The Big Ten Conference suspended Taylor and Behagen for the rest of the season.

UC Suspensions include: One game Ge’Lawn Guyn, six games Yancy Gates, Cheikh Mbodj and Octavius Ellis
Xavier suspensions include: Dez Wells four games, Mark Lyons two games and Tu Holloway for one game. Walk-on Landen Amos also received a four-game suspension.

12/8/11
These Conferences are not mid-majors but I like to follow them and report on them:
Here are the best non-power 6 conferences based on their RPI rankings average over the last five years:
1. Mountain West- 6.8 (Note: BYU has left and is now in the WCC)
2. A-10- 8.2
3. Missouri Valley- 8.8
4. CUSA- 10.0
5. Horizon League- 12.0

12/8/11
Below is how it has all washed out with the non-power 6 vs the power 6 so far. I have listed below the total number of non-power 6 wins per conference with 5 or more wins as follows: Thru 12/7/11

Total Wins By Conference:
A-10: 16
MWC: 12
MVC: 9
WCC: 6
BIG SOUTH: 5
CUSA: 5

Here is a list of power 6 conferences and how many total games they have lost to the non-power 6 so far:

Power 6 losses to non-power 6 by conference:
PAC 12: 25
Big East: 17
ACC: 15
SEC: 12
Big Ten: 8
Big 12: 5

12/4/11
Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (9:00PM EST, 12/4/11)
1. Xavier 6-0
2. Creighton 7-0
3. Harvard 8-0
4. St Louis 7-1
5. Gonzaga 5-1
6. Memphis 4-2
7. Iona 6-1
8. UNLV 8-1
9. Murray State 9-0
10. Cleveland State 8-1
11. Kent State 5-1
12. St Mary’s 5-1
13. San Diego State 8-2
14. Belmont 5-2
15. Coastal Carolina 7-1
16. Middle Tennessee State 8-1
17. Tulane 9-0
18. Wichita State 5-2
19. Long Beach State 4-3
20. Marshall 5-1
21. Indiana State 6-2
22. Davidson 7-1
23. Northern Iowa 7-1
24. BYU 6-2
25. Milwaukee 7-1
Next: Ohio 6-1, Charleston 7-1, Oakland 6-2, Weber State 5-1, Campbell 7-1, Richmond 6-2, Denver 6-1

12/1/11
Below is the ranking on the non-power 6 conferences by total wins so far over Power 6 teams:
1. A-10: 13
2. MWC: 10
3. MVC: 7
4. BIG SOUTH: 5
Tie: WCC: 5
6. CUSA: 4
7. CAA: 3
Tie: BWC: 3
Most losses by the power 6 vs the non-power 6 by conference:
PAC 12: 20
Big East: 14
ACC: 12
SEC: 11
Big 12: 4
Big Ten: 4

Watch Mark with his partner Dave Weekley describe the Marshall road victory over Cincinnati: (Note: you might need to copy and paste this address to your address bar across the top of the page. Access also may depend on your cable/internet provider)

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/id/294609/size/condensed/

11/27/11
Good News and Bad News for the Non-Power 6
By Mark Adams

The non-power 6 teams have made some serious noise in these early season tournaments. From Maui to the Bahamas we have charted all early season tournaments evaluating how these neutral court battles have turned out.

The non-power 6 teams were a combined 30-30 (.500) versus power 6 opponents in those early season tournament games at neutral sites. (see chart below)

As of last night the non-power 6 have won 59 times over the power 6 since all games began on November 7, 2011.

The power 6 proponents will suggest that those wins primarily came against bottom feeder teams from the power 6 conferences. Well, what about North Carolina, UCONN and Florida State who all lost to UNLV, Central Florida and Harvard respectively?

However, we are fair and balanced at Mid-Majorology and we do acknowledge that during last season’s NCAA and NIT tournaments the non-power 6 was a collective 15-22 (.405) on neutral courts against the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 and SEC. That is still probably more wins than you might have thought.

The A-10 won two games and the OVC one in the NCAA Tournament for three of those wins but consider this. The CAA, Horizon League, Missouri Valley and West Coast Conference were a combined 12-3 (.800) in the NCAA and NIT tournaments versus the power 6 on neutral floors. We could make the argument that those six conferences mentioned above basically dominated the power 6 elite on neutral NCAA and NIT courts.

That is all good news for the non-power 6. Now for the bad news…

Would we all agree that these numbers are significant and should be compiled and evaluated by the tournament selection committee? The key words there are, ‘should be’ but we all know that these numbers are not typically dug up and therefore not known.

We all know that things like strength of schedule and quality wins are all taken into account but here is the rub. The power 6 schools all skew their attractiveness to the selection committee in a most positive way with smart yet noticeably unbalanced scheduling.

We reviewed 25 power 6 schedules randomly selecting four teams from each conference except the Big East where we evaluated five school’s schedules from that larger conference. Here is what we found.

The average power 6 non-conference schedule collectively from this evaluation looks like this:
• 9.4 Home games/non-conference season (71% home games of all non-conference contests)
• 1.7 Away games/non-conference season (13% away games of all non-conference contests)
• 2.2 Neutral games/non-conference season (16% neutral games of all non-conference contests)

So the highest profile teams only go on the road 13% of the time and more often than not that is to play another power 6 opponent. One could argue that this is less risky for them based on current definitions of good losses and bad losses as discussed by the committee at the end of the season. The power 6 plays at home or on a neutral court 87% of the time during the non-conference portion of their schedules based on this 25 team sample.

So here we are again as the large majority of neutral site games are now over and so the home court advantage games for the power 6 is now upon us. This is exactly the time of the season when the power 6 secures multiple bids to the NCAA tournament through advantageous scheduling.

So, what are the solutions?
1. More neutral site tournaments throughout the month of December until conference play begins.
2. Mandate that power 6 schools have to average at least two true road games each season at non-power 6 sites.
3. Make the early season tournament numbers as listed above become common knowledge information for each selection committee member to review, evaluate and use as needed to make the best selections for post-season play.

Non-Power 6 vs Power 6 on Neutral sites Thru 11/27/11 (Source conference SID’s and conference websites)
1. Patriot 1-0
2. A-10 8-4
3. MWC 5-1
4. MAAC 2-1
5. Ivy 2-2
6. MVC 5-6
7. C-USA 3-4
8. Big South 1-2
9. Big West 1-2
10. WCC 1-2
11. CAA 1-4
12. MEAC 0-1
13. OVC 0-1
Total: 30-30

Mid-Majorology Top 25: All Non-Power 6 Eligible (6:00PM EST, 11/27/11)
(Note: For those fans who say that several of these teams are not ‘mid-majors’ you are right. This poll is my opinion of the best teams above and beyond the power 6. I’m a huge fan of these programs and this poll is iust for fun. So, my advise to all who decide to drop by on occasion just enjoy the recognition as much as I enjoy watching these teams win big games!)
1. UNLV 6-0
2. Xavier 4-0
3. Gonzaga 4-0
4. St Louis 5-0
5. Creighton 5-0
6. Memphis 2-2
7. San Diego State 7-1
8. Harvard 5-0
9. Marshall 5-0
10. Iona 3-1
11. Murray State 4-0
12. Weber State 2-0
13. Belmont 2-2
14. Coastal Carolina 2-1
15. Cleveland State 6-1
16. Wichita State 3-2
17. Kent State 2-1
18. Long Beach State 3-2
19. Indiana State 5-1
20. Northern Iowa 5-1
21. Davidson 4-1
22. Missouri State 4-0
23. Dayton 5-1
24. North Dakota State 5-0
25. Middle Tennessee 5-1

11/26/11
Mids Rock the Power 6 World!

Let’s start with Mid-Majorology 101.

We see the term ‘mid-major’ as a badge of honor. You are either part of the football-driven power 6 or you are a non-power 6 program. It’s that simple! So all of you non-power 6 fans check your egos at the door and come on in. We are all budget challenged together and win driven together against the big boys of college hoops.

The average power 6 program spends $5.5M per season on men’s college basketball alone. Duke leads the $$$$$ arms race spending in the $18M range per season. The average non-power 6 program spends $2M per season (Source- US Department of Secondary Education).

Yet, last season VCU and Butler made the Final Four. Think about it!

In the face of these staggering budgetary odds the Colonial Athletic Association, Horizon League, Missouri Valley Conference and the West Coast Conference went 12-3, winning 80% of their post-season games on neutral sites versus power 6 teams in the NCAA and NIT tournaments. While the rest of the non-power 6 conferences went 3-19, we like to focus on success and those four conferences carried the Mid-Major banner for all of us.

We’ll add more later as the season progresses. Please feel free to follow Mark on twitter: @enthusiadams throughout the season!