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Showing posts from November, 2021

Team #85 - Alcorn State

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On Sunday November 28th, 2021, I saw my 85th different Division One College Basketball team. This time it was the Alcorn State Braves taking on the Milwaukee Panthers. Alcorn State is the fourth member of the SWAC that I have seen. They came into this matchup with an 0-5 record. Despite being 0-5, the Braves have been competitive in most games this year. Three of their five losses are by four or less points. The other two losses are to Gonzaga and Washington State. Milwaukee has also had their fair share of early season struggles. After beating North Dakota to start the season, they have lost four in a row. Since I last saw Milwaukee. They have dropped contests to Florida, Bowling Green and Yale. While there is no shame in losing to Florida. These matchup's with Bowling Green and Yale were very winnable games. Milwaukee dropped both contests as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Needless to say, the Panthers are more than eager to get out of the State of Florida. The other big storyli...

Teams #83 and #84 - Western Illinois and DePaul

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On Saturday November 20th, 2022, I took a road trip down to Chicago to see the Western Illinois Leathernecks take on the DePaul Blue Demons. The matchup was a battle of two 3-0 teams. Both teams have had a couple of impressive wins to start the season. Western Illinois opened the season by going to Lincoln, Nebraska winning. DePaul was coming off a big win Thursday against Rutgers. Western Illinois has four starters averaging in double figures and was a very senior heavy team. DePaul is much in a rebuilding phase but their early season success has certainly given their fans some hope. They are lead by senior Javon Freeman-Liberty who came into the game averaging 20+.  The first half had a very good pace. Back and forth with the biggest lead of the half being three points for either side. I was very impressed with the ball movement of Western Illinois. They always seemed to find the open man and normally got a very good look. Big man, Luka Barisic, was a major problem for DePaul in ...

Team #82 - Eastern Kentucky

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On Saturday November 13, 2021 I was able to see my 82nd Division I team. This time I saw the Eastern Kentucky Colonels take on the Milwaukee Panthers. This was one of the most intriguing matchups of the young college basketball season. Eastern Kentucky was lead by NC State transfer Braxton Beverly. Beverly ranks 4th all time in 3 pointers made all time at NC State and decided to transfer back home for his extra year of eligibility. It also helps that Eastern Kentucky is coached by former NC State assistant, A.W. Hamilton. Milwaukee will also be a very interesting mid major this year. They are lead by Top 10 recruit Patrick Baldwin Jr, son of their coach Patrick Baldwin. Milwaukee has had a lot of roster turnover in the last year and much like Marquette they really haven't played together until the first game of the season.  This was Eastern Kentucky's third game of the season. The previous two games being against non-Division I opponent, I really did not know what to expect. Bo...

Team #81 - New Hampshire

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On Friday November 12th, 2020 I was able to see my 81st ever Division I College Basketball team. This time it was the New Hampshire Wildcats. New Hampshire was taking on the Marquette Golden Eagles. I did a little more research this time on the Wildcats before they tipped with the Golden Eagles. I saw they a very experienced team and expected to finish in the Top 3 of the America East Conference. New Hampshire was lead by Senior forwards Jayden Martinez and Nick Guadarrama. Both are expected be top players in the America East this year. New Hampshire really gave Marquette a runs for it's money. The game was very back and forth during the 1st Half.  With about five minutes left in the 1st half, it was looking like New Hampshire would take a lead into halftime. But a 15-5 Marquette run fueled by Justin Lewis and Darryl Morsell to end the half gave Marquette a 34-29 advantage at Halftime.  For the first five or so minutes of the 2nd Half, the action was very similar to the first....

Team #80 - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

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On Tuesday October 9, 2021 I was able to see my 80th Division I College Basketball team. SIUE took on the Marquette Golden Eagles to open the 2021-22 College Basketball Season. I knew absolutely nothing about SIUE going into this game other than they play in the Ohio Valley. I was expecting a blowout after SIUE was defeated by Division II opponent Quincy College in an exhibition game in the previous days. This game also marked the start of a new era for Marquette, as this was the first game under new Coach Shaka Smart. Based on the little information I had about the game, I expected Marquette to blow the doors off of SIUE but that was not the case. SIUE had solid guard play, they just did not make any three pointers. When you shot 2 of 14 from three point range, you can't expect to win many games.  You could tell Marquette was still feeling things out. I guess I should have seen this coming with a new coach and four transfers in your starting lineup. It should be no surprise to any...

The First 79

During the 2019-2020 College Basketball Season, I started thinking. What would be a cool bucket list goal involving College Basketball? I came to the conclusion that it would be very unique to see all 358 College Division One Basketball teams. At this point, I have seen 79 teams. I will include a list down below (not in any order). Future blog posts will be dedicated to the new teams that I see.  1. Michigan 2. Ohio 3. Western Michigan 4. Buffalo 5. Eastern Michigan 6. Central Michigan 7. Bowling Green 8. Youngstown State 9. Toledo 10. Northern Illinois 11. Akron 12. Kent State 13. Miami Ohio 14. Ball State 15. Michigan State 16. Northwestern 17. Iowa 18. Oklahoma 19. Penn State 20. Albany 21. Dayton 22. West Virginia 23. Bradley   24. Davidson 25. SMU 26. Minnesota 27. Houston Baptist   28. Illinois 29. Marquette   30. Duke 31. Notre Dame 32. Pittsburgh 33. Kansas State 34. Purdue 35. Cal St Fullerton 36. Arkansas   37. Butler 38. Ohio State 39. Nebraska 40. Wi...