Big South Birmingham Southern Panthers 19-8, 12-4
RPI 140 (taken from Ken Pomeroy's superb college hoops website)
Yes, the Horizon and Ohio Valley also begin tournamant play tonight, but I'll be following the Big South and 2nd place finisher Birmingham Southern, not just because they happen to be the FFMD's alma mater, but because this team's rise to the top of the Big South is simply amazing. Birmingham Southern only became a Division 1 team last year (and in Year 1 won 20 ballgames, which is impressive, but were of course not eligible for the tourney in their first year in D1). In Year 2 they're already primed to topple perennial Big South champ Winthrop and storm into the NCAAs. The Big South (like the Horizon and Ohio Valley and a few others) plays the early round conference games on campus, creating a truly frenzied environment and rewarding the upper-echelon teams in the conference for season long excellence. A fantastic approach to rev up the madness if you ask me. Look for Winthrop and Birmingham Southern to meet in the Big South Final Sunday...and look for the Panthers (um, can I get an explanation on that nickname?) to avenge two earlier loses to Winthrop and continue their surprising D1 start by making the Dance, behind the solid play of 6'9" big man Thomas Viglianco...
America EastAlbany Great Danes
18-10, 13-3
RPI 135
Speaking of schools making the jump to D1, Albany (formerly SUNY Albany and home to the worst college campus you'll ever see) just earned it's first-ever #1 seed in the America East Tournament, formerly OWNED by those lovable hippies of Vermont. No more Coppenrath, no more Catamounts dominance. The Great Danes (the merchandise sells surprisingly well, trust me) are 0-4 in the tournament since their jump to Division 1 four years ago, but they were the top team in the conference (they led the league in scoring at 68 ppg), and earned a first round bye. The will face the winner of Stony Brook/UMBC in a quarterfinal game Friday. What amazes me about this team is that after being a D3 powerhouse for many years under legendary coach Doc Sauers, Albany played the '99-'00 and '00-'01 seasons as an independent before jumping to the America East in '01-'02 and asbolutely sucked along the way. Local rival Siena (more on them in a moment), not to be confused with Duke or Kentucky, would pound them into submission yearly. Now Albany is a legit program with a very real chance of making the NCAA tournament in just their fourth year in D1 (though they did lose to Siena again this year). It's confusing to even type that. Kudos to Coach Will Brown and the Wilson brothers (no relation), Jamar and Brent. Check these two guys out, and just have a chuckle (have a chuckle too at the parents of Levi Levine for ruining his childhood). It's too bad former 5-7 JuCo transfer Earv "I'll be right back" Opong from Brooklyn is gone...he would've really liked this run...
MAAC
Siena Saints
15-12, 10-8
RPI 118
Absolutely, no doubt, my favorite local team to root for. Ever since their 1989 upset of 3 seed Stanford, Siena gets a little pub nationally come tournament time (that was the first time in school history they had made the Dance). You might remember that Stanford team for having amphibious star Todd Lichti...but you also might remember that Siena team as the measles team and the team with no nickname (some idiots thought the nickname Indians was offensive...I'll tell you what, there are a ton of fine Native Americans hanging out at the Latham Circle Mall daily, and they had no beef). Siena of course lost their 2nd round game to Minnesota and the masked madman Wille Burton, but that's neither here nor there. The problem this year for Siena is that Iona and Manhattan are the cream of the crop in the MAAC, and it will take a little luck and some inspired play to pull off this tournament upset. What the Saints do have going for them...The MAAC tournament will once again be played in the cozy confines of Knickerbocker (I refuse to call it Pepsi) Arena, where, believe it or not, Siena can pack in a rambunctious crowd for these games. The fun starts in Sm-Albany Friday night...
The Madness is about to begin...and if there's one thing we do know, 16 days from now just about anything can happen:
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14 comments:
Earv Opong played at Siena? I love that guy. I remember hearing his name during that TNT "On Hallowed Ground" special about Rucker and I've obviously seen his work as the uncooperative PG of the opposition for the AND1 Summer Tour.
By the way, do you remember Mike Frensley? He played at St. Peter's a really long time ago when they made the tourney. Starting white PG, leading scorer (I think), ponytail, listened to rock music. Pretty much every NCAA Tourney announcers wet dream. I don't mention him for any reasons other than boredon and your post reminded me of him. Probably the first small conference tourney championship game I can remember watching featured him and St. Peter's against Manhattan (I think), which eventually led to my torrid love affair with the mid-90's Ohio Valley Conference (which was ridiculously strong at that time). Anyway, yeah I'm ready to leave work.
He played at Albany actually, not Siena...I certainly do remember Mike Frensley, and tomorrow we can chat about other MAAC Tourney Legends (Luis Flores comes to mind)
here's a 'did you know': birmingham southern's thomas viglianco is a transfer from...wait for it...
william and mary
Thanks for bringing that up TJ. That was fun.
the curse of tj is in full bloom
The Curse of GTB is truly an unstoppable force. I apologize to all 53 Birmingham Southern fans out there.
actually, now that i think about it, it's more likely that viglianco brought the curse of w&m hoops south with him.
The Curse of GTB, like Sam the Butcher bringing Alice the meat, like Fred Flintstone driving around with bald feet...
Despite your Beastie Boys reference, I still hate you and Luis Flores. Nice job ruining Birmingham Southern's season though.
Yes, I know that Cincy lost to the Hall. See you in May.
I'm really just taking you behind the woodshed this morning, eh? Louis Orr wouldn't let me down, not after all the praise I heaped on Siena yesterday.
Two other MAAC greats from my high school years:
Keith Bullock of Manhattan
Randy Woods of La Salle
Every time I read that Viglianco dude's name, all I can think of is playing "Z" with Spector, and him saying, "Figliiaaano!".
Clicks.
I really wish Dennis DeYoung from Styx could stay on topic...
"I’m sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea
I’ve got to be free, free to face the life that’s ahead of me
On board, I’m the captain, so climb aboard
We’ll search for tomorrow on every shore
And I’ll try, oh lord, I’ll try to carry on..."
Someone knock on Dickie V's hotel room door and make sure he's still alive...
Yesterday's loss to St. Pete's really was a disappointment. Remember the magic of 2002 when, not only did Siena make an improbable run in the MAACs, but we also had a sweet play-in game. The new student center was packed with students and local fans alike...but it wasn't as sweet as hitting up the Pepsi in 1999 to watch the Saints with all of Albany as they played in the dance...Thanks Dr. Harrison, whereever you are, for getting us out of class with 15 minutes until tip-off. That was one of the classiest moves ever made by a professor at Siena.
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