The Road to 358

On Tuesday December 21st, 2021, I saw my 90th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the UConn Huskies take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. UConn is the 8th team that I have seen out of the Big East. The Huskies come in off a 57-53 loss at home to Providence on Saturday. UConn played this game without Center Adama Sanogo. Sanago missed his fourth straight game with an abdominal injury. RJ Cole has lead the Huskies in scoring this year, averaging 16 PPG. Marquette comes in off an 80-71 loss at Xavier also on Saturday.  The Golden Eagles played Xavier tough the whole game but ultimately did not have enough scoring to overcome Xavier.  Justin Lewis continues to be the leading scorer for Marquette, averaging 15.3 PPG.  Marquette would be without Darryl Morsell for this contest who was out due to health and safety protocols.   The first half of this contest was very exciting. Neither team would separate from the other at all during the half. Ma...

On Monday December 13th, 2021, I saw my 89th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the Rhode Island Rams take on the Milwaukee Panthers. Rhode Island is the 5th team that I have seen out of the A-10. The Rams are 7-3 on the year. They come into the matchup with Milwaukee following a 72-62 win over Sacred Heart on December 7th. Rhode Island has a very balanced scoring attack, seven players average at least eight points. The leading scorer this year for Rhode Island has been Makhel Mitchell who is averaging 11.3 PPG. Makhel and his twin brother Makhi are both starters for Rhode Island. They spend a limited amount of their Freshman year at Maryland but have since made a home at Rhode Island. On the other hand, Milwaukee is now 2-7 on the season. They are coming off a 65-54 loss at Colorado. Milwaukee led late in this game but failed to score over the last five minutes, dropping the contest. Patrick Baldwin Jr, has been the leading scorer for the Panthers, averaging...

On Saturday December 11th, 2021, I saw my 88th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the UCLA Bruins take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. UCLA is the 1st team that I have seen out of the Pac-12. UCLA is 7-1 on the season with the lone loss coming to Gonzaga. They are currently ranked #4 in the polls. To my knowledge, UCLA is the highest ranked team I have ever seen. The Bruins last played December 1st when they beat the Colorado Buffaloes 73-61. They were scheduled to play Washington on December 5th. However, Washington had to forfeit the game due to COVID-19 issues. Johnny Juzang has been the heart and soul for the 4th ranked Bruins this season, averaging 17.1 PPG. Marquette comes in off a thrilling 64-63 road win against Kansas State. The game came down to the final seconds and was decided after Oso Ighodaro bloeked a layup attempt by Ismael Massoud at the buzzer. Justin Lewis continues to be the leading scorer for Marquette, averaging 15.4 PPG.  This game...

On Saturday December 4th, 2021, I saw my 87th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the Robert Morris Colonials take on the Milwaukee Panthers. Robert Morris is the 8th different team that I have seen out of the Horizon League. The Colonials come off a 70-58 loss on Thursday to the Green Bay Phoenix. Coming into the matchup with Milwaukee, the Colonials are 0-6 on the season. Kahliel Spear has been the leading scorer for Robert Morris,averaging 14.2 PPG. Milwaukee has also struggled this season and find themselves 1-6. Future NBA Lottery pick, Patrick Baldwin Jr has missed the last couple of contests with an ankle injury. He is said to be day to day at this point. Milwaukee comes off a heartbreaking 70-68 loss to Youngstown State. A game in which they lead by 11 in the 2nd half but could not hold the lead. DeAndre Gholston had been the most productive Panther this season, averaging 16.3 PPG. As fate would have it, Gholston would sit out this contest with an ankl...

On Tuesday November 30th, 2021, I saw my 86th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the Jackson State Tigers take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. This was my second straight game seeing a SWAC team. Jackson State is the fifth SWAC team I have seen. Coming into the matchup with Marquette, the Tigers have a 1-5 record They are coming off a win 75-70 against Louisiana. Marquette is 6-1 in the season. A few weeks back, the expectations seemed quite low for a Marquette team that was to be in a rebuilding year. However, early season wins over Illinois, Ole Miss and West Virginia have given the Golden Eagles faithful something to look forward to. The lone loss for the Golden Eagles was in the finals of the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic against St. Bonaventure. Surprisingly, the Golden Eagles and the Tigers have already played Illinois. Marquette beat Illinois 67-66 in a thrilling game that came down to the final minute. While Jackson State lost to Illinois...