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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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  3.  <title>Mid-Major Madness -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>"So what are they going to call it? NonPower5Madness.com?"</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50397/midmajor-fav.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2025-04-10T13:50:08-07:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.midmajormadness.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2025-04-10T13:50:08-07:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2025-04-10T13:50:08-07:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Mid-major men’s coaching carousel: Who’s out, who’s in?</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="Mid-major coaching carousel " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XLjT7TDSDNBwr1Ulj9GZJYTMxpU=/84x0:1121x691/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73993057/IMG_4044.0.png" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;The mid-major coaching carousel has started.  | Hannah Butler&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;Coaching change season is well underway. Here is a rundown of who is heading where among the mid-major head coaching gigs. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="sDRPJs"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Last updated Wednesday, April 9.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="5gNo3J"&gt;All our dear mid-major teams have come and gone from the NCAA Tournament, and with their departure also comes the coaching carousel. &lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="Kfwq7a"&gt;We’ve already seen big names like Richard Pitino (New Mexico to Xavier), Nico Medved (Colorado State to Minnesota), Will Wade (McNeese State to NC State) and Ben McCollum (Drake to Iowa) have made the high-major jump; moves that make you a bit confused like UNLV canning Kevin Kruger in favor of Josh Pastner and Iona unceremoniously sacking Tobin Anderson; and the classic “old guy retires and hands it off to his son” bit like we see at Bellarmine (Scott Davenport to his son Doug Davenport).  &lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;h2 id="qEpvqA"&gt;See below for the mid-major coaching carousel list:&lt;/h2&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="iftrFC"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Colorado State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="T1mHk2"&gt;OUT: Nico Medved (Minnesota)&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="xnVAWg"&gt;IN: Ali Farokmanesh (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="dILT0R"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;New Mexico&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="w9I4o3"&gt;OUT: Richard Pitino (Xavier)&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="ArpTp2"&gt;IN: Eric Olen (UC San Diego)&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p id="3e9l4b"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Drake&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="a4r19C"&gt;OUT: Ben McCollum (Iowa)&lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;p id="qkZsWS"&gt;IN: Eric Henderson (South Dakota State)&lt;/p&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="wFBTTc"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Penn&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;p id="rB7wGE"&gt;OUT: Steve Donahue (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  35. &lt;p id="LqniHc"&gt;IN: Fran McCaffrey (Iowa)&lt;/p&gt;
  36. &lt;p id="nkQ7F0"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;VCU&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="Xz6xMc"&gt;OUT: Ryan Odom (Virginia)&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="iNoAOW"&gt;IN: Phil Martelli Jr. (Bryant)&lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="ng5lPr"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bryant&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  40. &lt;p id="I5IPrx"&gt;OUT: Phil Martelli Jr. (VCU)&lt;/p&gt;
  41. &lt;p id="MdycAa"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  42. &lt;p id="6yForY"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;North Texas&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  43. &lt;p id="7DexMB"&gt;OUT: Ross Hodge (West Virginia)&lt;/p&gt;
  44. &lt;p id="fa22NA"&gt;IN: Daniyal Robinson (Cleveland State)&lt;/p&gt;
  45. &lt;p id="Yee6k9"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;McNeese State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  46. &lt;p id="12pQhy"&gt;OUT: &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/19/24389708/will-wade-mcneese-nc-state"&gt;Will Wade&lt;/a&gt; (NC State)&lt;/p&gt;
  47. &lt;p id="ZCynQ7"&gt;IN: Bill Armstrong (Baylor assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  48. &lt;p id="xy63up"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UNLV&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  49. &lt;p id="zfJpZs"&gt;OUT: Kevin Kruger (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  50. &lt;p id="HMqIMO"&gt;IN: Josh Pastner (ESPN)&lt;/p&gt;
  51. &lt;p id="uH2rND"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;South Florida&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;p id="re3pSv"&gt;OUT: Ben Fletcher (interim, not retained) (Rest well, Amir Abdur-Rahim)&lt;/p&gt;
  53. &lt;p id="8u7cja"&gt;IN: Bryan Hodgson (Arkansas State)&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;p id="5TDzbU"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Columbia &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="mpY6DI"&gt;OUT: Jim Engles (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;p id="BNX69S"&gt;IN: Kevin Hovde (Florida assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  57. &lt;p id="B4MPQ4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Denver&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  58. &lt;p id="WAWZEZ"&gt;OUT: Jeff Wulbrun (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  59. &lt;p id="HEgpgL"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  60. &lt;p id="UcQhnV"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fordham&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  61. &lt;p id="8yoL9A"&gt;OUT: Keith Urgo (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  62. &lt;p id="qX5oVe"&gt;IN: Mike Magpayo (UC Riverside)&lt;/p&gt;
  63. &lt;p id="2fjJSN"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Iona&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;p id="iAyhcB"&gt;OUT: Tobin Anderson (fired, widely unpopular)&lt;/p&gt;
  65. &lt;p id="yGAITZ"&gt;IN: Dan Geriot (NBA)&lt;/p&gt;
  66. &lt;p id="0A8Ini"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Cleveland State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  67. &lt;p id="qPJGd9"&gt;OUT: Daniyal Robinson&lt;/p&gt;
  68. &lt;p id="XjYV9y"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  69. &lt;p id="zCBcLS"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Radford&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  70. &lt;p id="5olJsx"&gt;OUT: Darris Nichols (La Salle)&lt;/p&gt;
  71. &lt;p id="Cz7ogg"&gt;IN: Zach Chu (SMU assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  72. &lt;p id="CXo4ue"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Alcorn State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  73. &lt;p id="ZJQCFq"&gt;OUT: Landon Bussie (Chicago State)&lt;/p&gt;
  74. &lt;p id="yXAccb"&gt;IN: Jake Morton (Florida State assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  75. &lt;p id="E4gM1O"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Arkansas State &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  76. &lt;p id="suOFS3"&gt;OUT: Bryan Hodgson (South Florida)&lt;/p&gt;
  77. &lt;p id="HQfcLb"&gt;IN: Ryan Pannone (Alabama assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;p id="88O5Ar"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bellarmine &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="lAsyZl"&gt;OUT: Scott Davenport (retire)&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p id="rLBisX"&gt;IN: Doug Davenport (son, assistant for nine seasons)&lt;/p&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="1UaZ3l"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Campbell&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="bVwGPT"&gt;OUT: Kevin McGeehan (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="bkQV25"&gt;IN: John Andrzejek (Florida assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;p id="XhDC8i"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chicago State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  85. &lt;p id="iOWi07"&gt;OUT: Scott Spinelli (fired, one year)&lt;/p&gt;
  86. &lt;p id="VHi4NX"&gt;IN: Landon Bussie (Alcorn State)&lt;/p&gt;
  87. &lt;p id="cH6dEz"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;La Salle&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  88. &lt;p id="X18yOo"&gt;OUT: Fran Dunphy (retire)&lt;/p&gt;
  89. &lt;p id="BtCIhT"&gt;IN: Darris Nichols (Radford)&lt;/p&gt;
  90. &lt;p id="cg0ebM"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Longwood&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  91. &lt;p id="BNJfcI"&gt;OUT: Griff Aldrich (Virginia assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  92. &lt;p id="gM2NHT"&gt;IN: Ronnie Thomas (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  93. &lt;p id="tsYtgk"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Louisiana&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/p&gt;
  94. &lt;p id="g0gKc2"&gt;OUT: Bob Marlin (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  95. &lt;p id="r1rQAV"&gt;IN: Quannas White (Houston assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  96. &lt;p id="tH08ui"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UL-Monroe&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  97. &lt;p id="p4PrXD"&gt;OUT: Keith Richard (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  98. &lt;p id="bZD79n"&gt;IN: Phil Cunningham (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  99. &lt;p id="hGoD3S"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Murray State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;p id="jALrZY"&gt;OUT: Steve Prohm (resigned)&lt;/p&gt;
  101. &lt;p id="tjMp7f"&gt;IN: &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/21/24390256/creighton-assistant-ryan-miller-to-take-over-murray-state-program"&gt;Ryan Miller&lt;/a&gt; (Creighton assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  102. &lt;p id="NcV7KZ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Navy&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  103. &lt;p id="zrPQYi"&gt;OUT: Ed DeChellis (retire)&lt;/p&gt;
  104. &lt;p id="T65GT5"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  105. &lt;p id="Uzsa5e"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Oral Roberts&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  106. &lt;p id="EEsvMY"&gt;OUT: Russell Springmann (fired)&lt;/p&gt;
  107. &lt;p id="YBn1ZH"&gt;IN: Kory Barnett (West Virginia assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  108. &lt;p id="MBFk3h"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sacramento State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  109. &lt;p id="UeucKc"&gt;OUT: Michael Czepil (interim, not retained)&lt;/p&gt;
  110. &lt;p id="YSq6iO"&gt;IN: Mike Bibby (left field, last coached preps in Arizona)&lt;/p&gt;
  111. &lt;p id="JVxH72"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Stephen F. Austin&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  112. &lt;p id="pGyUhu"&gt;OUT: Kyler Keller (fired midseason)&lt;/p&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="910Wcw"&gt;IN: Matt Braeuer (Texas Tech assistant)&lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="EHS3iH"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;South Dakota State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="v1uqaw"&gt;OUT: Eric Henderson (Drake)&lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="WkJIQ9"&gt;IN: Bryan Petersen (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;p id="OErIJf"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saint Francis (PA)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  118. &lt;p id="7VSf3X"&gt;OUT: Rob Krimmel (retire)&lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;p id="9J8iDP"&gt;IN: Luke McConnell (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  120. &lt;p id="tTbTZ5"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UC San Diego &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  121. &lt;p id="usUPrW"&gt;OUT: Eric Olen (New Mexico)&lt;/p&gt;
  122. &lt;p id="B4da1K"&gt;IN: Clint Allard (in-house)&lt;/p&gt;
  123. &lt;p id="XzMgib"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Samford &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  124. &lt;p id="Tt8QXV"&gt;OUT: Bucky McMillan (Texas A&amp;amp;M&lt;/p&gt;
  125. &lt;p id="8BHJAa"&gt;IN: Lenni Acuff (Lipscomb) &lt;/p&gt;
  126. &lt;p id="edtW89"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lipscomb&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  127. &lt;p id="H1krEb"&gt;OUT: Lenni Acuff (Samford)&lt;/p&gt;
  128. &lt;p id="mdoViz"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  129. &lt;p id="890fdJ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;High Point&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;p id="dktXHm"&gt;OUT: Alan Huss (Creighton assistant, head-coach-in-waiting) &lt;/p&gt;
  131. &lt;p id="1Uo9qE"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  132. &lt;p id="RkRStN"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Grambling State&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="McZeSI"&gt;OUT: Donte Jackson (resign)&lt;/p&gt;
  134. &lt;p id="AoWEXV"&gt;IN: Patrick Crarey II (Florida A&amp;amp;M)&lt;/p&gt;
  135. &lt;p id="jMhOGS"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Florida A&amp;amp;M&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  136. &lt;p id="11AEr8"&gt;OUT: Patrick Crarey (Grambling State)&lt;/p&gt;
  137. &lt;p id="MUqB6M"&gt;IN: TBD&lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;h2 id="sAzSRk"&gt;Does he still has a job?&lt;/h2&gt;
  139. &lt;p id="0wPeH5"&gt;Green Bay: Douglas Gottlieb is still employed. &lt;/p&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="w7OIu3"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  141.  
  142. </content>
  143.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/30/24396622/mid-major-coaching-carousel"/>
  144.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/30/24396622/mid-major-coaching-carousel</id>
  145.    <author>
  146.      <name>Lance Hartzler</name>
  147.    </author>
  148.  </entry>
  149.  <entry>
  150.    <published>2025-04-09T10:23:00-07:00</published>
  151.    <updated>2025-04-09T10:23:00-07:00</updated>
  152.    <title>Mike Magpayo returns to the city where his Division-I coaching career started</title>
  153.    <content type="html">  
  154.  
  155.    &lt;figure&gt;
  156.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7E9xLL37OZPrhVqQEFBz1BMg4VI=/0x312:4032x3000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74014036/IMG_6998.0.jpg" /&gt;
  157.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Magpayo was officially unveiled as Fordham next men’s basketball head coach on Wednesday, April 2 after leading UC Riverside to a 21-13 record and an NIT birth this season.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  158.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  159.  
  160.  &lt;p&gt;The next head coach of Fordham men’s basketball is ready to rebuild in “the greatest city in the world”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="TgoFof"&gt;In 2009, Mike Magpayo was living in Southern California and working as CEO of a multi-million dollar real estate firm that he helped start after graduating from UC Santa Barbara.&lt;/p&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="i3mdfn"&gt;He became a prominent JV high school basketball coach within the region during his spare time but as the real estate market plunged between 2007-08, Magpayo knew his company needed to adapt. &lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;p id="bnPrZB"&gt;So, in 2010, he decided to pursue a master’s degree on the other side of the country. Set to start at NYU, Magpayo searched for opportunities to stay close to basketball and wrote letters to every Division-I head coach in the New York City area in hopes of volunteering.&lt;/p&gt;
  163. &lt;p id="yqK0uz"&gt;With dozens of handwritten notes sent thousands of miles, he received only a single response.&lt;/p&gt;
  164. &lt;p id="fWfaWA"&gt;“It was Kyle Smith at Columbia,” Magpayo said. “Which was actually a big mistake. He thought I was going to be a graduate student at Columbia, and when I walked in [and explained] I was going to NYU, he’s like ‘no, you can’t help us.’ But he let me volunteer around camps and whatnot for the next two months.”&lt;/p&gt;
  165. &lt;p id="7bt86Q"&gt;Nonetheless, Magpayo and Smith instantly connected as he worked summer camps for the now Stanford head coach. That relationship blossomed into Smith offering him a position as Columbia’s director of basketball operations heading into the 2010-11 season which Magpayo accepted after dropping out of NYU.&lt;/p&gt;
  166. &lt;p id="aPmJpZ"&gt;He spent the next three years at Columbia before a stint with Campbell and eventually returned back to his native California, joining Smith as he took over at San Francisco in 2017. Magpayo later moved to UC Riverside under David Patrick from 2018-20 and succeeded him as head coach for the next five years, leading the Highlanders to an 89-63 record. &lt;/p&gt;
  167. &lt;p id="EAlQax"&gt;Now, Magpayo is back in the city where it all started as Fordham University officially unveiled him as the next head coach of its men’s basketball program last week.&lt;/p&gt;
  168. &lt;p id="aZoZ96"&gt;“I love New York City,” Magpayo said. “It’s the greatest city in the world, my favorite city in the world. It’s why I aggressively pursued this opportunity. I was sick to my stomach every day through the process, hoping for the chance to lead this program. I am honored to lead this basketball program.”&lt;/p&gt;
  169. &lt;p id="77Vj33"&gt;It’s no secret that Magpayo’s been a part of some pretty serious rebuilds in his still young coaching career. &lt;/p&gt;
  170. &lt;div id="dWteH8"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5EWAf7HBmL9Ch6zu8KB3qw?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  171. &lt;p id="vGFHmE"&gt;Prior to his arrival at Columbia in 2010, the Lions hadn’t won more than 16 games since the 1970’s. By the time he’d left, they tied for the third most wins in a single season in Columbia basketball history, going 21-13 during the 2013-14 campaign.&lt;/p&gt;
  172. &lt;p id="MrbU9E"&gt;Magpayo’s first season at Campbell saw just 10 wins and a second-to-last finish in the Big South. He helped the Camels improve to 19 wins ahead of his departure in 2017.&lt;/p&gt;
  173. &lt;p id="MOSV1B"&gt;As the director of basketball operations at San Francisco during the 2017-18 season, Magpayo was on staff when the Dons managed 22 wins, which was the program’s most since 1982.&lt;/p&gt;
  174. &lt;p id="phCer5"&gt;Even when thrust into the head coaching role at UC Riverside after a major pandemic, Magpayo flourished and in just three years led its best Division-I season in history.&lt;/p&gt;
  175. &lt;p id="zvZ8pk"&gt;It’s a resume that grasped the attention of Fordham president Tania Tetlow, who, alongside new athletic director Charles Guthrie, eyed someone to bring consistency in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.&lt;/p&gt;
  176. &lt;p id="dMNDX3"&gt;“What truly stands out is what Mike [Magpayo] has already accomplished,” Tetlow said. “When he took over at UC Riverside, the program was struggling and had just two winning seasons in two decades. Under his leadership, that changed dramatically. In five seasons, he delivered four winning records, two-20 win seasons and the school’s first-ever berth in the NIT. That kind of transformation doesn’t happen by accident. It takes vision, grit and the ability to inspire those around you.”&lt;/p&gt;
  177. &lt;p id="ReT59W"&gt;Undertaking a Fordham program that has never won an Atlantic 10 regular-season title or an A10 tournament and hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 1992 will be an even bigger challenge.&lt;/p&gt;
  178. &lt;p id="hvo88O"&gt;The first Division-I men’s basketball coach of full Asian heritage, Magpayo has never backed down from a challenge even with the odds stacked against him.&lt;/p&gt;
  179. &lt;p id="565PI2"&gt;He’s an analyst and a statistician at his core and sees Fordham as an under-valued asset in the center of a basketball-rich city that lends itself well to a specific type of player and attitude.&lt;/p&gt;
  180. &lt;p id="8jRu4K"&gt;Despite being from Southern California, Magpayo understands what it takes to succeed in the Big Apple. It’s an opportunity that he plans to leverage as a central piece in re-establishing this program. &lt;/p&gt;
  181. &lt;p id="DmgDdp"&gt;“I think you have to sell New York City, and Fordham has a coach that loves New York City,” Magpayo said. “You have to get guys who have that charisma and energy because you have to be okay living in the city and in the Bronx.&lt;/p&gt;
  182. &lt;p id="Z4v2FC"&gt;“This is a 121-year-old basketball program. That’s pretty incredible. We have a great challenge in front of us. I still remember when I rented a van and [my wife and I] were driving away from the city, moving to North Carolina and tearing up knowing that we’d made it. New York is where I got my start in coaching. They say if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. I’m living proof of that, and I am proud to lead this program.”&lt;/p&gt;
  183.  
  184. </content>
  185.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/9/24404155/mike-magpayo-returns-to-city-where-his-division-i-coaching-career-started"/>
  186.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/9/24404155/mike-magpayo-returns-to-city-where-his-division-i-coaching-career-started</id>
  187.    <author>
  188.      <name>Riley Frain</name>
  189.    </author>
  190.  </entry>
  191.  <entry>
  192.    <published>2025-04-09T08:12:00-07:00</published>
  193.    <updated>2025-04-09T08:12:00-07:00</updated>
  194.    <title>George Washington accomplished something many mid-major programs would love to do: retain its core players for next season</title>
  195.    <content type="html">  
  196.  
  197.    &lt;figure&gt;
  198.      &lt;img alt="George Washington v George Mason" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RlJ94uS3lt3e6yhD_qFAO_2Nfuc=/0x0:5721x3814/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74013819/2206324209.0.jpg" /&gt;
  199.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Christian Jones and Trey Autry celebrating for George Washington during the Atlantic 10 Tournament | Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  200.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  201.  
  202.  &lt;p&gt;Four starters from this season’s team have announced they will return next season&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="W4g3KO"&gt;With player movement at an all-time high due to the ability to transfer an unlimited number of times, player retention has never been harder at the mid-major level. You’ll hear lots of coaches talk about the benefit of “getting old and staying old” when building out a team, but there’s extra benefit to being able to have a young core grow together. And that’s exactly what George Washington will be able to do next season.&lt;/p&gt;
  203. &lt;p id="rIaTSU"&gt;This season, GW went 21-13 overall and 9-9 in the Atlantic 10, which was good for seventh place. The Revolutionaries were picked to finish 13th in the A10’s preseason poll, so making it to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament exceeded expectations. They did that without Garrett Johnson, a player with all-league potential who is, arguably, their best floor-spacer. &lt;/p&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="CRlpiF"&gt;GW lost a lot of close games, something you could attribute to youth and a lack of overall experience. Heavy minutes were going to three sophomores, a freshman starting point guard, and a junior who hadn’t played much to that point in his college career. Fortunately for head coach Chris Caputo, he is retaining the core of his team, and they expect to have a fully healthy Garrett Johnson back as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;div id="yd76CW"&gt;
  206. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  207. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Next year starts now. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RaiseHigh?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#RaiseHigh&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/WL2OU67oxh"&gt;pic.twitter.com/WL2OU67oxh&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— GW Men's Basketball (@GW_MBB) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/GW_MBB/status/1907581948643414129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 2, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  208. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  209. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  210.  
  211. &lt;/div&gt;
  212. &lt;p id="0xV7S7"&gt;Prior to competing in The Crown postseason event, Caputo spoke with Mid-Major Madness’ Matt Modderno about GW’s season and building for the future on the &lt;a href="https://bleav.com/shows/bleav-in-dmv-hoops/"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bleav in DMV Hoops podcast&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, which profiles coaches and players from the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area (DMV). &lt;/p&gt;
  213. &lt;div id="ham9XL"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c-v67yb3wjQ?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  214. &lt;p id="yBR7Jd"&gt;Below is their conversation.&lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;p id="f2gSuK"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Matt Modderno:&lt;/strong&gt; I thought you guys were genuinely really close to taking an even bigger jump, but still progress from last year. So how are you feeling about things overall?&lt;/p&gt;
  216. &lt;p id="m4hzQm"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chris Caputo:&lt;/strong&gt; We’ve had a good year. You know, we lost Garrett Johnson, who I think is one of the best players in the Atlantic 10 probably coming into the season. I was concerned when you lose a great player to injury. But to go 21-12, win a game in the conference tournament, get into the postseason for the first time, all those things for the first time in nine years, we’re proud of that. This has been a build year. &lt;/p&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="KeTqL2"&gt;I thought we were well on our way last year before the injuries, we were 14-3, with wins at VCU and beat [George] Mason by 15 points at home, and felt like we were ascending with a young group. Then the injury bug hit us, and then I thought it hit us again this summer. I was concerned, but our group really came together.&lt;/p&gt;
  218. &lt;p id="G2zMlk"&gt;We competed. To have a good enough strong non-conference, and then strong conference play, we were so competitive in almost every game. I think four of our nine losses, or five, might have been in the last possession. So great progress here, great commitment from GW to help us move this thing forward. And playing in The Crown, on national television, one of those big brands out there I think is a good step for us.&lt;/p&gt;
  219. &lt;p id="lKn5qL"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; You’re a pretty young team overall here too. And the teams you’re competing against in the A10, the teams that were at the top of the league standings were a lot older. They were just veteran-led teams.&lt;/p&gt;
  220. &lt;p id="QzHh7h"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; I think like for us with the type of school we are institutionally and academically, it’s going to be hard for us to just do one-year guys all the time. We’re going to have to have some level of continuity. But again, I think I’m proud of what our roster looks like and what it’s going to look like going forward. &lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;p id="5RbJCR"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; When you have success and you can show progress and we’re going in the right direction here, does that make recruiting and the portal and things like that easier to get more guys to buy in that you’re headed where they want to go?&lt;/p&gt;
  222. &lt;p id="vkLLkY"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; I don’t think anything gets easier in recruiting. I kind of joke about that, it always seems like it’s a game of whack-a-mole to some degree. But I would say, what it does for our program, because GW just has not had the type of success it had for 25 years, from the early 90s to 2016’s NIT championship became an afterthought, not as relevant to be honest. &lt;/p&gt;
  223. &lt;p id="NGnoDO"&gt;And now I think when we get on the phone with people in the portal or our own players have a belief, I have guys on my roster believe. We have enough to win our league next year if we do the right work in the portal. I think with who we have returning, I think that could be real. So, with that, I would say, even going to the Crown again, it gives you some visibility that you probably just didn’t have for a number of years. &lt;/p&gt;
  224. &lt;p id="zOG7CO"&gt;So I think we’re in a good place there. I feel pretty confident that we’ll be able to attract and retain really good players here. And I think retention is obviously such an important part of that. &lt;/p&gt;
  225. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  226.        &lt;img alt="LaSalle v George Washington" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FMQ9RYUG1VqYMJjKE_WoVfm7zzU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941298/2204597605.jpg"&gt;
  227.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  228.      &lt;figcaption&gt;GW center Rafael Castro dunking against La Salle during a regular season game&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  229.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="j2Q2Pc"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; Two seasons ago, you had more of an offensive minded team. This year, it seemed to be a little more defensive-minded. Was there something you learned between last year and this year that changed how you built out the roster? And is there anything you learned this season that’ll change how you build out next year’s roster?&lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;p id="PYuVoj"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; I think the youth and the amount of guys we had to get last year. I would say I inherited more of an offensive group. And then the second year, you’re trying to do a good job of building out a better, more athletic, more positional-sized, defensive group. But we were so young, and that’s the function of the portal. That’s a function of NIL and all that. But now, you were able to put a team that went from, I think, in the raw points for possession, 250th in the country to top-30 in the country, at one point. So again, I feel like that’ll be the identity of our program going forward. &lt;/p&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="XWkf4G"&gt;And yet we’re also going to, I hope we can be good offensively. I hope we can do the things that we’ve done. I was really proud that we were third in the league in defense. We were third in the league in assists by field goals made. And I think that’s really important. We want to defend. We want to share the ball. Everyone talks about that. But I think we put it to work in action this year. &lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;p id="TcsW8A"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; There was a different level of toughness it seemed this season. So, is that something you guys talk about is just like, ‘hey, we’re going to draw a line here for what we’re willing to tolerate from some of these other teams?’&lt;/p&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="sK4a1Y"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; Sometimes in the heat of the moment those things occur, and we want to operate with class most importantly, but we’re not going to back down. We’re not going to play second fiddle. I hope that it’s been clear in at least all three of my years really, that we had those injuries in the spring semester last year, made it really difficult for us. But if you look at my first year, 10-8 in the league, you look at this year 9-9 in the league, it’s not where we want to be. I think it’s hopefully it’s been clear that, hey, look, we’re you’re going to have to beat us. We’re not going to just [to say], this is just not a win on the schedule like it may have been for five or six, seven years prior. &lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="m4VPhp"&gt;And I say that, that’s no indictment of the coaches that were here prior. It really is the institutional commitment. Now we’re beginning to get from our president, Ellen Granberg, from our CFO, Bruno Fernandes, from our athletic director, Michael Lipitz, from our board, an alignment about how important the basketball plays at the university and, and what it’s done in the past, what it’s meant to win the NIT, to go to a sweet 16, to be a top-10 team in the country, to fill the Smith Center and the impact that has on the institution and in the community. &lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="FOYL2Y"&gt;And so for all those reasons, I think we’re headed in the right direction. We’re already the best academic school in the Atlantic 10, but I think we’re striving to be a perennial top-50 basketball program.&lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;div id="NcJqiG"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5EWAf7HBmL9Ch6zu8KB3qw?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="M1HWsO"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; Why do you think we haven’t been able to crack through and get more local coverage on the DMV teams?&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="kirKzO"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; I mentioned Jeff Bezos and kind of jokingly, although I’ve given him enough of my money in my life that I feel like I maybe could be somewhat critical of Mr. Bezos. My understanding is “The Washington Post” is a national paper. They don’t believe that they’re going to get enough clicks writing about college basketball in this area anymore. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’m sure they have some data that says at some point in time that was the case. But I think the basketball culture is such a big part of our community here. We have great high school basketball. We have great college basketball. Teams that are in the postseason: NCAA Tournament teams, NIT, The Crown. We have an NBA team, we have a G League team. &lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;p id="UFV2jT"&gt;I think collectively people in this area love basketball. And, when I was here the last time, we had beat writers write about our games. We had, some columnists writing about it, and so, for me, I would just say, I know the world of media has changed. Thank God for the work that you’re doing, and your group. I will say, we’ve had TV out today, from two different stations, come out today. Dave Preston came out today for radio. &lt;/p&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="TsIet2"&gt;So I think that that’s been great, but I think we can do more. We’ve got to give them good reasons. We’ve got to make sure we’re reminding everybody that we’re here, and we’re doing great work, and we’re on national television often. I think that’s only going to elevate. I think Georgetown’s going to get better and better. So, I feel like the time is right to capitalize on this and to make sure that we’re putting out great content, even if it’s us ourselves. &lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p id="I2VUdn"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;MM:&lt;/strong&gt; How does it feel to be working through the portal right now as games were still being played on your schedule? &lt;/p&gt;
  243. &lt;p id="gmDB8a"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;CC:&lt;/strong&gt; We’re all doing it. I like that we get to be around our guys in practice, and I like that we’re going on this trip and get an opportunity to represent the university. I’m never going to complain about that. Certainly we’ve spent a lot of time in the portal as well. But we got enough manpower, and there’s enough time in the day to do both. Although it can be exhausting.&lt;/p&gt;
  244.  
  245. </content>
  246.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/9/24401938/george-washington-chris-caputo-rafael-castro-christian-jones-trey-autry-garrett-johnson-trey-moss"/>
  247.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/9/24401938/george-washington-chris-caputo-rafael-castro-christian-jones-trey-autry-garrett-johnson-trey-moss</id>
  248.    <author>
  249.      <name>Matt Modderno</name>
  250.    </author>
  251.  </entry>
  252.  <entry>
  253.    <published>2025-04-08T12:45:34-07:00</published>
  254.    <updated>2025-04-08T12:45:34-07:00</updated>
  255.    <title>One sentence for every NCAA Tournament game</title>
  256.    <content type="html">  
  257.  
  258.    &lt;figure&gt;
  259.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Championship-Houston vs Florida" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9WdVCu_0fdZv1jvRts3DMuZGVyU=/0x100:2827x1985/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74011951/usa_today_25873340.0.jpg" /&gt;
  260.        &lt;figcaption&gt;The national championship game between Florida and Houston was tightly contested. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  261.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  262.  
  263.  &lt;p&gt;The postscript to the &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/18/24388911/ncaa-tournament"&gt;pre-tourney piece&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="1aCJg8"&gt;The confetti has cleared from the court. &lt;a href="https://x.com/CBSSports/status/1909451825637376242"&gt;One Shining Moment&lt;/a&gt; has been played, and the season is officially over. Here’s one sentence to encapsulate each of the 67 games from this year’s tournament.&lt;/p&gt;
  264. &lt;h2 id="2rEI1f"&gt;First Four&lt;/h2&gt;
  265. &lt;p id="TXVi2b"&gt;The &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/18/24389087/first-four-alabama-state-game-winner"&gt;Hail Mary never works, until it did&lt;/a&gt; for Alabama State’s Amarr Knox to defeat Saint Francis in the First Four.&lt;/p&gt;
  266. &lt;div id="XtclxQ"&gt;
  267. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  268. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;MARCH MADNESS HAS ARRIVED!! THE HEAVE DOWNCOURT FINDS AMARR KNOX (&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/amarr_knox?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@amarr_knox&lt;/a&gt;) FOR THE GAME WINNING SHOT WITH 0.8 LEFT!!! #16 ALABAMA STATE WINS 70-68 IN THE FIRST GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT&lt;br&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/5KAFmqFJvZ"&gt;pic.twitter.com/5KAFmqFJvZ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCAA Buzzer Beaters &amp;amp; Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NCAABuzzerBters/status/1902160140620722404?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 19, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  269. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  270. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  271.  
  272. &lt;/div&gt;
  273. &lt;p id="20U0R9"&gt;All the talk of North Carolina not deserving to be in the Tournament based on resume made people forget that the Tar Heels had the ability to dominate a game like they did to San Diego State.&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;p id="wYLNiD"&gt;My heart breaks for Matt Rogers, American’s five-year superstar who tore his ACL in the first half of his final college game, a &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/19/24389911/first-four-mount-st-marys-american-ncaa-tournament-dallas-hobbs-donny-lind-dola-adebayo"&gt;loss to Mount St. Mary’s&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;p id="wROMeX"&gt;Sean Miller’s final win as the Xavier head coach was a come-from-behind effort against his future school, Texas.&lt;/p&gt;
  276. &lt;h2 id="s63NhC"&gt;First Round&lt;/h2&gt;
  277. &lt;p id="auacpx"&gt;Jamiya Neal and Steven Ashworth put a late first-half blitz on Louisville that the Cardinals couldn’t recover from.&lt;/p&gt;
  278. &lt;p id="e23fMK"&gt;While High Point gave itself chances, Purdue’s superstars, Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, were just too much. &lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;p id="XzIm6P"&gt;Despite a few pushes from Montana to keep the game competitive, Wisconsin pulled away as any three-seed should.&lt;/p&gt;
  280. &lt;p id="Fo34fe"&gt;I’d hate to be a 16-seed that has to go up against Houston in the first round, just no breathing room whatsoever.&lt;/p&gt;
  281. &lt;p id="GenH2p"&gt;It wasn’t the prettiest Auburn performance of the season, but Miles Kelly’s seven threes keyed a comfortable if not unconvincing &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/20/24390517/alabama-state-falls-short-against-sec-giant-auburn-in-first-round-march-madness-cinderella"&gt;win over Alabama State&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  282. &lt;p id="5RKAzx"&gt;McNeese might’ve been the most connected, energized, and together team in the entire first round during its upset of Clemson.&lt;/p&gt;
  283. &lt;p id="5bW6Im"&gt;Kevin Young continued his strong first season at the helm of BYU with an impressive coaching performance to handily defeat VCU.&lt;/p&gt;
  284. &lt;p id="w5kaZy"&gt;Gonzaga’s Bulldogs brought the bark and the bite, and while Georgia’s brought neither.&lt;/p&gt;
  285. &lt;p id="LLK4QK"&gt;Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler did what they each do best in Tennessee’s &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/20/24390668/wofford-loses-hard-fought-contest-to-sec-tennessee-march-madness"&gt;win over Wofford&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  286. &lt;p id="CbUACl"&gt;A zone defense nearly catapulted Kansas back over Arkansas, but KJ Adams’ injury flipped the momentum back to the Razorbacks in Providence.&lt;/p&gt;
  287. &lt;p id="eNlQfX"&gt;Texas A&amp;amp;M pushed Yale around, making the Bulldogs uncomfortable and dominating the paint for the win.&lt;/p&gt;
  288. &lt;p id="hMUUCL"&gt;“You will play the game Ben McCollum wants you to play,” is a common refrain amongst coaches who’ve coached with and against the man who led Drake past Missouri in his style of game.&lt;/p&gt;
  289. &lt;p id="O5t204"&gt;Utah State went out unceremoniously with a blowout loss to UCLA.&lt;/p&gt;
  290. &lt;p id="dxwD7o"&gt;Another slow St. John’s start gave Omaha hope only to be crushed with a massive second half.&lt;/p&gt;
  291. &lt;p id="yyUcqX"&gt;A furious charge presented UC San Diego with a chance at the end, but &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/20/24390741/uc-san-diego"&gt;Michigan survived&lt;/a&gt; a first-round scare.&lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;div id="8ZagkR"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5EWAf7HBmL9Ch6zu8KB3qw?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  293. &lt;p id="JZjmPV"&gt;Kerwin Walton’s eight threes were enough for Texas Tech to overcome a few big runs by UNC Wilmington.&lt;/p&gt;
  294. &lt;p id="FRyaJi"&gt;Among the most shocking things in the entire Tournament was Josh Hubbard not taking the final shot for Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs fell to Baylor.&lt;/p&gt;
  295. &lt;p id="WA8law"&gt;Robert Morris grabbed a late lead as Amarion Dickerson played out of his mind, but Alabama swung momentum right back with a late 11-1 run.&lt;/p&gt;
  296. &lt;p id="rDDMFv"&gt;Every category of the stat sheet was stuffed by Joshua Jefferson in an Iowa State rout of Lipscomb.&lt;/p&gt;
  297. &lt;p id="A78ZWa"&gt;Niko Medved’s Rams flipped the game with a 20-7 run in the second half to take down Memphis.&lt;/p&gt;
  298. &lt;p id="5kX80O"&gt;There were no lingering effects of injury for Cooper Flagg in Duke’s blowout win over Mount St. Mary’s.&lt;/p&gt;
  299. &lt;p id="ofWU5R"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/21/24391422/new-mexico-saint-marys-ncaa-tournament"&gt;Saint Mary’s strung together stops and scores&lt;/a&gt; in the second half to come from 12 points down and defeat Vanderbilt.&lt;/p&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="i1OVfO"&gt;North Carolina gave itself a chance with a 16-3 late run, but at the end of the day the deficit it dug was too deep against Mississippi. &lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="75fNee"&gt;The ultimate no-nonsense performance from Maryland was an obliteration of Grand Canyon in the first round.&lt;/p&gt;
  302. &lt;p id="kc6BMn"&gt;Florida took care of business with a blowout win over Norfolk State.&lt;/p&gt;
  303. &lt;p id="o1YaTJ"&gt;Three different killshot runs vaulted Kentucky to a comfortable win over Troy.&lt;/p&gt;
  304. &lt;p id="LqW1ia"&gt;It took until the final minutes for &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/21/24391422/new-mexico-saint-marys-ncaa-tournament"&gt;New Mexico to pull away&lt;/a&gt; from Marquette despite seemingly being the better team throughout the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  305. &lt;p id="s4s1Jk"&gt;Akron had no chance inside against Arizona’s physicality, size, and athleticism in a game that was never close.&lt;/p&gt;
  306. &lt;p id="tjHmYz"&gt;UConn almost gave the game away a few times, but the two-time reigning champs made just enough plays down the stretch to take down Oklahoma.&lt;/p&gt;
  307. &lt;p id="c1Bs63"&gt;Kasparas Jakučionis came one rebound shy of a triple-double in his first March Madness game, leading Illinois over Xavier.&lt;/p&gt;
  308. &lt;p id="kkHMVz"&gt;Five Spartans scored in double figures as Michigan State dispatched Bryant.&lt;/p&gt;
  309. &lt;p id="MIvbeN"&gt;The athleticism gap between Oregon and Liberty was on display from the start as the Ducks dictated where the ball and players went throughout the night.&lt;/p&gt;
  310. &lt;h2 id="lNv52s"&gt;Second Round&lt;/h2&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="0LZAKK"&gt;A game that felt eerily similar to McNeese’s first-round loss last year, its aggressive defense left Purdue wide open to convert chances beyond and inside the arc.&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;p id="AYenNS"&gt;St. John’s storybook season came to an end as Arkansas matched the physicality and held RJ Luis to 3-of-17 from the field.&lt;/p&gt;
  313. &lt;p id="yYPhY6"&gt;Roddy Gayle flipped a switch with big shots in the second half leading Michigan past Texas A&amp;amp;M.&lt;/p&gt;
  314. &lt;p id="MTWofw"&gt;As impressive as Drake’s season was, nobody on the floor could guard JT Toppin and Darrion Williams for Texas Tech.&lt;/p&gt;
  315. &lt;p id="1mVW74"&gt;As he did all year, Tahaad Pettiford helped unlock a tight knot for Auburn with 23 points in a win over Creighton.&lt;/p&gt;
  316. &lt;p id="BpazX8"&gt;If Wisconsin had made just one more play, the monstrous effort of &lt;a href="https://x.com/BadgerMBB/status/1903920005361827945"&gt;John Tonje&lt;/a&gt; to bring the Badgers back against BYU would be an all-time March Madness moment. &lt;/p&gt;
  317. &lt;p id="Leif1o"&gt;A game that should’ve been played a round or two later, Houston had enough to survive a late push against an under-seeded Gonzaga team.&lt;/p&gt;
  318. &lt;p id="jcdnb1"&gt;UCLA couldn’t find any sort of rhythm until it was too late, as Tennessee rode its backcourt back to the Sweet 16.&lt;/p&gt;
  319. &lt;p id="jTI0xS"&gt;UConn’s championship pedigree showed with an inspired performance, but a Dan Hurley masterclass wasn’t enough to overcome Florida’s clutch shot-making. &lt;/p&gt;
  320. &lt;p id="JUD0gj"&gt;Duke missed just 16 shots and only turned the ball over six times in one of the most impressive offensive displays in recent NCAA Tournament memory. &lt;/p&gt;
  321. &lt;p id="APfh86"&gt;For everything Koby Brea does beyond the arc, it was his seven two-point field goals that keyed Kentucky’s win over Illinois.&lt;/p&gt;
  322. &lt;p id="ogPczj"&gt;In a clash of styles, Alabama’s talent eventually won out against &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/23/24392559/no-mid-majors-remain-at-conclusion-of-ncaa-tournaments-first-weekend"&gt;Saint Mary’s for a 14-point win&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  323. &lt;p id="fMWpDv"&gt;Derik Queen wrote his name in March Madness history with a buzzer-beater, demanding the ball in the huddle and delivering to &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/23/24392559/no-mid-majors-remain-at-conclusion-of-ncaa-tournaments-first-weekend"&gt;defeat Colorado State&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  324. &lt;div id="7MqHmk"&gt;
  325. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  326. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;DERIK QUEEN FTW  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;OH MY GOODNESS  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#MarchMadness&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/06QRH6eK3R"&gt;pic.twitter.com/06QRH6eK3R&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1903979563350126664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 24, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  327. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  328. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  329.  
  330. &lt;/div&gt;
  331. &lt;p id="13PkCt"&gt;It would’ve been hard for anybody to defeat Mississippi when it shot 11-for-19 from three and played as well offensively as it did against a short-handed Iowa State team.&lt;/p&gt;
  332. &lt;p id="BHlVrb"&gt;A classic Izzo game, Michigan State trailed by two at halftime after being down by 10, but continued the run in the second half to &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/23/24392559/no-mid-majors-remain-at-conclusion-of-ncaa-tournaments-first-weekend"&gt;defeat New Mexico&lt;/a&gt; by eight.&lt;/p&gt;
  333. &lt;p id="boxD3h"&gt;Pac 12 After Dark lived on in Seattle, as Caleb Love willed Arizona back from a massive early hole to take down Oregon.&lt;/p&gt;
  334. &lt;h2 id="V6NMoX"&gt;Sweet 16&lt;/h2&gt;
  335. &lt;p id="gQpGiH"&gt;The greatest shooting performance in NCAA Tournament history — 25-of-51 from outside — helped &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/27/24395724/former-mid-major-stars-lift-alabama-duke-to-elite-eight-showdown"&gt;Alabama cruise past BYU&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  336. &lt;div id="YTmteP"&gt;
  337. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  338. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;EVERY ALABAMA THREE FROM THEIR RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE  &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;25 THREES. UNREAL.  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#MarchMadness&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/HSAX4kHE3b"&gt;pic.twitter.com/HSAX4kHE3b&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1905436552072667278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 28, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  339. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  340. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  341.  
  342. &lt;/div&gt;
  343. &lt;p id="uDpUuC"&gt;A competitive first half turned into a complete Florida masterclass in the second, with the Gators bullying a checked-out Maryland team.&lt;/p&gt;
  344. &lt;p id="m8xaLF"&gt;Cooper Flagg’s masterclass performance of 30 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks took Newark by storm as &lt;a href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/27/24395724/former-mid-major-stars-lift-alabama-duke-to-elite-eight-showdown"&gt;Duke held on to beat Arizona&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  345. &lt;p id="EpLkQw"&gt;Arkansas botched the final possession of overtime, not calling timeout and letting DJ Wagner hoist up a contested mid-range shot to cap off a choke job at the hands of Texas Tech.&lt;/p&gt;
  346. &lt;p id="c3aEtj"&gt;Coen Carr delivered in his first career start, with 15 points and a &lt;a href="https://x.com/BenScottStevens/status/1906029390439297367"&gt;hammer dunk&lt;/a&gt; that flipped the momentum to a Michigan State win.&lt;/p&gt;
  347. &lt;p id="q3qgz7"&gt;Kentucky’s lack of resistance around the rim made it so Tennessee didn’t really even need to swing the poor outside shooting luck that it had experienced in the first two matchups.&lt;/p&gt;
  348. &lt;p id="EyBuzH"&gt;When Danny Wolf went to the bench briefly in the second half, Auburn turned a nine-point deficit into a double-digit win.&lt;/p&gt;
  349. &lt;p id="sQfo0x"&gt;Braden Smith’s masterful second half will be forgotten thanks to a buzzer-beating BLOB layup from in-bounder Milos Uzan, putting Houston above Purdue in Indianapolis.&lt;/p&gt;
  350. &lt;div id="VNqxil"&gt;
  351. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  352. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;HOUSTON FOR THE WIN! &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#MarchMadness&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/6vQC9KBN52"&gt;pic.twitter.com/6vQC9KBN52&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1905843745091699089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 29, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  353. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  354. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  355.  
  356. &lt;/div&gt;
  357. &lt;h2 id="6E3JgG"&gt;Elite Eight&lt;/h2&gt;
  358. &lt;p id="APf457"&gt;Florida had Walter Clayton Jr., and Texas Tech did not.&lt;/p&gt;
  359. &lt;p id="vPgZvY"&gt;Duke had answers for everything Alabama offered at either end of the floor, and the 20-point margin might be underselling how well the Blue Devils played throughout. &lt;/p&gt;
  360. &lt;p id="O8IpYG"&gt;In true Houston fashion, the Cougars led from start to finish and held Tennessee to just 0.85 points per possession in a statement win.&lt;/p&gt;
  361. &lt;p id="bjLuhl"&gt;The lasting image of Johni Broome coming back into the game after injuring his elbow and &lt;a href="https://x.com/EliHershkovich/status/1906481779336204768"&gt;draining a three&lt;/a&gt; to the cheers of a raucous Atlanta crowd will live on the Auburn lore forever.&lt;/p&gt;
  362. &lt;div id="pDFIXO"&gt;
  363. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  364. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Johni Broome’s Willis Reed moment:&lt;a href="https://t.co/B99hcntf4f"&gt;pic.twitter.com/B99hcntf4f&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Max Cohan (@MaxCohan) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MaxCohan/status/1906481676252840071?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 30, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  365. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  366. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  367.  
  368. &lt;/div&gt;
  369. &lt;h2 id="yXX7g9"&gt;Final Four&lt;/h2&gt;
  370. &lt;p id="o3aX99"&gt;Florida had Walter Clayton Jr., and Auburn did not.&lt;/p&gt;
  371. &lt;div id="C8e3hi"&gt;
  372. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  373. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Walter Clayton Jr. drops 34 against Auburn to send Florida to the title game   &lt;a href="https://t.co/pCDgrQHLec"&gt;pic.twitter.com/pCDgrQHLec&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/brhoops/status/1908685217264484440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 6, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  374. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  375. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  376.  
  377. &lt;/div&gt;
  378. &lt;p id="GtvOgM"&gt;A true clash of titans that came down to the final possession as Houston stormed from 14 down in the second half to stun Duke and make it to the national championship game for the first time in 41 years.&lt;/p&gt;
  379. &lt;div id="ig2e1p"&gt;
  380. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  381. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Duke had a 92.7% chance to win with 1:26 left in the game, according to ESPN.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Houston went on an 11-1 run in the final 1:14 to fuel a comeback for the ages and send the Cougars to the National Championship   &lt;a href="https://t.co/L59KVq4F7c"&gt;pic.twitter.com/L59KVq4F7c&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1908733463043465260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 6, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  382. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  383. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  384.  
  385. &lt;/div&gt;
  386. &lt;h2 id="8Ygb03"&gt;National Championship Game&lt;/h2&gt;
  387. &lt;p id="Kw7oEq"&gt;Much of the game went exactly according to Houston’s game script, but it left the door just open enough for Florida to claw back, showing the heart of a champion once more in a miraculous Monday night win.&lt;/p&gt;
  388. &lt;p id="8FWav8"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  389.  
  390. </content>
  391.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24404005/one-sentence-for-every-2025-ncaa-tournament-game"/>
  392.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24404005/one-sentence-for-every-2025-ncaa-tournament-game</id>
  393.    <author>
  394.      <name>Sam Federman</name>
  395.    </author>
  396.  </entry>
  397.  <entry>
  398.    <published>2025-04-08T08:38:56-07:00</published>
  399.    <updated>2025-04-08T08:38:56-07:00</updated>
  400.    <title>The verdict: Are mid-majors truly bad for the Final Four?</title>
  401.    <content type="html">  
  402.  
  403.    &lt;figure&gt;
  404.      &lt;img alt="Florida Atlantic v San Diego State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GsHFl75HbS6TNjC9izt1rPIGO4U=/0x0:4443x2962/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74011124/1478881512.0.jpg" /&gt;
  405.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Miles Byrd&amp;nbsp;and the San Diego State Aztecs celebrate securing their first-ever berth in the national championship game. | Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  406.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  407.  
  408.  &lt;p&gt;Following a year with record viewership behind an “all chalk” Final Four, we reflect on what this means for the future of postseason college basketball&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="HBWux3"&gt;In the words of Ian Eagle, basketball fans were granted “all chalk on the River Walk” for the Final Four this season.&lt;/p&gt;
  409. &lt;p id="Owenjx"&gt;While initial reactions for us at Mid-Major Madness were negative to say the least, especially after the final mid-major, Colorado State, decided to go out on the most tense of notes, it started to become easier to accept what became one of the most memorable Final Fours in recent history. It was not without mid-major representation, though.&lt;/p&gt;
  410. &lt;p id="xyCsmq"&gt;We saw the likes of transfers in Johni Broome, Walter Clayton Jr., Sion James, Will Richard and Alijah Martin, who have spent time at mid-majors developing before taking their talents to these high-caliber teams. We got to witness players for a team that just recently (two years ago) moved from a mid-major conference in Houston.&lt;/p&gt;
  411. &lt;p id="EH3VBG"&gt;So, what is the verdict? &lt;/p&gt;
  412. &lt;p id="iuwTfY"&gt;When you look at a Final Four such as the one we got this year and compare it it to 2023, a Final Four where we saw &lt;em&gt;two &lt;/em&gt;mid-majors reached the final weekend, it’s hard to deny that the excitement for a nine-seed like FAU and a five-seed like San Diego State was higher than it was for any of the teams coming into this year. We already knew the fact that the term &lt;em&gt;underdog&lt;/em&gt; going into San Antonio was to be used incredibly loosely due to the skill and talent of the teams there — all No. 1 seeds for the second time ever. Anyone could win with the caliber on display. Comparatively, 2023 had a clear favorite going into it with UConn looking unstoppable, and the Huskies proved that with two dominant wins. &lt;/p&gt;
  413. &lt;div id="ZNSclu"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5EWAf7HBmL9Ch6zu8KB3qw?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  414. &lt;p id="hfbtD8"&gt;Does that mean mid-majors don’t have a place in the Final Four?&lt;/p&gt;
  415. &lt;p id="WsVp6x"&gt;I wouldn’t say that.&lt;/p&gt;
  416. &lt;p id="t1iE43"&gt;Mid-majors give fans someone to root for. It’s easy in years like these to lose interest if your team isn’t playing, because it loses that &lt;em&gt;heart &lt;/em&gt;that much of March Madness is known for while picking up the level of play. That &lt;em&gt;heart &lt;/em&gt;that makes fans pick that 15 over a 2-seed upset, even though on paper, Michigan State looked &lt;em&gt;way &lt;/em&gt;better than Middle Tennessee in 2016. They give fans hope that impossible things are possible.&lt;/p&gt;
  417. &lt;div id="7Hz4RW"&gt;
  418. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  419. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;UPSET COMPLETE: No. 15 Middle Tennessee knocks off No. 2 Michigan State 90-81! &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#MarchMadness&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/bjgrGQs3lR"&gt;pic.twitter.com/bjgrGQs3lR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/710932751151730689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 18, 2016&lt;/a&gt;
  420. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  421. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  422.  
  423. &lt;/div&gt;
  424. &lt;p id="7hKgVU"&gt;&lt;em&gt;No one&lt;/em&gt; believed that a 16-seed would ever beat a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament until UMBC came along and knocked off the highest-ranked team in the tournament, Virginia, in 2018. It was that lack of mass belief that fueled the belief in players, which, in turn, endeared that team to the rest of the nation. The Terriers showed the world that anyone can do &lt;em&gt;anything &lt;/em&gt;they set their mind to and worked hard enough for.&lt;/p&gt;
  425. &lt;div id="OboZhz"&gt;
  426. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  427. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;On this day in 2018, history was made as 16-seed &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UMBC_MBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@UMBC_MBB&lt;/a&gt; did the UNTHINKABLE by defeating 1-seed Virginia  &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#MarchMadness&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/0CMAmlGODI"&gt;pic.twitter.com/0CMAmlGODI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1901249590424383653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 16, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  428. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  429. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  430.  
  431. &lt;/div&gt;
  432. &lt;p id="wP1DLi"&gt;Now, as we reflect on this entire concept of having mid-majors in the later parts of the Tournament, it can be easy to say that since &lt;em&gt;this year&lt;/em&gt; was fun without them, it’s time to never again hope for them to ruin fans’ hopes of an “interesting” Final Four. &lt;/p&gt;
  433. &lt;p id="rncXBQ"&gt;Would March Madness ever be the same if fans didn’t believe that any team had a chance?&lt;/p&gt;
  434. &lt;p id="piAFMB"&gt;It’s tough to say, but we here at Mid-Major Madness hope that if you keep tuning into our content, you won’t want them going anywhere for a long time.&lt;/p&gt;
  435.  
  436. </content>
  437.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24403614/the-verdict-are-mid-majors-truly-bad-for-final-four"/>
  438.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24403614/the-verdict-are-mid-majors-truly-bad-for-final-four</id>
  439.    <author>
  440.      <name>Isaac Bourne</name>
  441.    </author>
  442.  </entry>
  443.  <entry>
  444.    <published>2025-04-08T07:52:00-07:00</published>
  445.    <updated>2025-04-08T07:52:00-07:00</updated>
  446.    <title>The mid-major teams in mid-Atlantic are anything but ‘mid’ on court</title>
  447.    <content type="html">  
  448.  
  449.    &lt;figure&gt;
  450.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Four-Mount Saint Mary at American U." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6CGr1i5uhy0F85EXUlf3cFnbIcs=/0x0:6475x4317/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74010961/usa_today_25713671.0.jpg" /&gt;
  451.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Mount St. Mary’s and American were matched up in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  452.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  453.  
  454.  &lt;p&gt;Basketball is back in the DMV, as several area teams are on an upward trajectory &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="l9rd9E"&gt;The mid-major programs in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area (DMV) served notice to the rest of the college basketball landscape that they’re not to be slept on. Several programs overachieved in their respective leagues relative to the expectations placed on them prior to the season and made noise in their respective postseason tournaments. &lt;/p&gt;
  455. &lt;p id="uWF9jM"&gt;After the season, several of the area coaches reflected on the state of their programs and how they can continue to build on the year that their team had. &lt;/p&gt;
  456. &lt;h2 id="ZMpfZg"&gt;American &lt;/h2&gt;
  457. &lt;p id="ckoyFk"&gt;Record: 22-13 (13-5 in Patriot League)&lt;/p&gt;
  458. &lt;p id="el57RR"&gt;Preseason projected Patriot League finish: second&lt;/p&gt;
  459. &lt;p id="1yTk0v"&gt;Actual Patriot League finish: tied for first&lt;/p&gt;
  460. &lt;p id="jPtgFO"&gt;Conference tournament result: champion&lt;/p&gt;
  461. &lt;p id="fPNa9i"&gt;Postseason result: reached First Four of the NCAA Tournament &lt;/p&gt;
  462. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  463.        &lt;img alt="NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament - First Four" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iGXgyCS37D1I8GlPkposZ798z2k=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941220/2205321642.jpg"&gt;
  464.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Grace Bradley/NCAA Photos via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  465.      &lt;figcaption&gt;American sophomore wings Greg Jones and Matt Mayock both contesting a shot in the NCAA Tournament&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  466.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  467. &lt;p id="GBMrCj"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Duane Simpkins reflecting on American’s season:&lt;/strong&gt; Really proud of the season we had, a lot of firsts for this year. Obviously, first Patriot League championship in 11 years, as well as the first NCAA Tournament appearance [in 11 years]. Set the record for 3-point percentage, broke the record that we set last year for the most threes in a season. Most points in a season in school history, highest total attendance in school history.&lt;/p&gt;
  468. &lt;p id="tmjGoc"&gt;And then obviously a number of individual accomplishments. For Matt Rogers, First Team [All-Patriot League] again, Eli Stephens Third Team [All-Patriot League], Greg Jones being on the All-Defensive Team. And most conference wins [for American] in Patriot League history. A lot of firsts.&lt;/p&gt;
  469. &lt;p id="qlSVRL"&gt;We laid the foundation a year ago with where we wanted to take the program, and I really felt like we’ve built on it this year and establishing the culture and getting guys to buy in. Now that we have that, we have now a core group of guys who will be coming back in Geoff Sprouse, Greg Jones, Matt Mayock, that can help keep the young guys that are now coming into the program what the expectation is, the standard that’s now been set. And these guys can speak from experience and that’s going to pay huge dividends for our program moving forward. &lt;/p&gt;
  470. &lt;h2 id="ryFfeR"&gt;George Mason &lt;/h2&gt;
  471. &lt;p id="0dlDAj"&gt;Record: 27-9 (15-3 in Atlantic 10)&lt;/p&gt;
  472. &lt;p id="iefcbK"&gt;Preseason projected A10 finish: sixth&lt;/p&gt;
  473. &lt;p id="gXAhVG"&gt;Actual A10 finish: tied for first&lt;/p&gt;
  474. &lt;p id="tqh26V"&gt;Conference tournament: runner-up &lt;/p&gt;
  475. &lt;p id="EDWg9V"&gt;Postseason result: NIT Second Round&lt;/p&gt;
  476. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  477.        &lt;img alt="George Mason v VCU" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XSYAZfaUFz8AtfrIq1hIJy3n3OI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941228/2205814166.jpg"&gt;
  478.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  479.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Brayden O’Connor driving in the A10 Championship&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  480.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  481. &lt;p id="XmPh4S"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Tony Skinn after losing in the A10 Tournament Championship game: &lt;/strong&gt;26-win season, 15-3 in conference, get to the final game, you’ve won 26 of your last 29 games, you know it’s tough, especially for my seniors that this is their last opportunity. &lt;/p&gt;
  482. &lt;p id="cXUg6G"&gt;You always have to be flawless in this league to make it to the NCAA Tournament. I can’t remember the last time a team won 26 games, essentially won 17 conference games, and is not in the conversation. It’s unfortunate. These guys have competed all season long. I’m proud of them, and it came down to that last shot. &lt;/p&gt;
  483. &lt;p id="SO9r0r"&gt;I wanted to separate their story from ours [2006 team]. All the time I get asked about the Final Four, It was a great thing we did, but it’s 19 years later, and I’ve got to be able to lead these guys but also separate that history because these guys did something special as well. Those are the memories I want them to be able to live with, want their families to be able to live with.&lt;/p&gt;
  484. &lt;p id="fPqqi6"&gt;These guys deserve it. They stay committed to it, and I think they should be playing in the NCAA Tournament so they can write their own story because I think they can beat anybody in any place.&lt;/p&gt;
  485. &lt;p id="KnYttP"&gt;It’s going to be a challenge every single year because of the ebbs and flows of the portal. However, I think it’s safe to say that George Mason is in a good spot.&lt;/p&gt;
  486. &lt;h2 id="rEqggW"&gt;George Washington&lt;/h2&gt;
  487. &lt;p id="iPABYm"&gt;Record: 21-13 (9-9 in A10)&lt;/p&gt;
  488. &lt;p id="EEF3cR"&gt;Preseason projected A10 finish: 13th&lt;/p&gt;
  489. &lt;p id="m0TcHu"&gt;Actual A10 finish: seventh&lt;/p&gt;
  490. &lt;p id="jstJLb"&gt;Conference tournament: quarterfinals&lt;/p&gt;
  491. &lt;p id="VbYDmk"&gt;Postseason result: The Crown First Round&lt;/p&gt;
  492. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  493.        &lt;img alt="George Washington v George Mason" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rJ8dffX2x0PWta5DAM_tQ4nxjxE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941237/2206324209.jpg"&gt;
  494.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  495.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Christian Jones and Trey Autry celebrating after a play in the A10 Tournament&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  496.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  497. &lt;p id="w9znuA"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Chris Caputo:&lt;/strong&gt; We’ve had a good year. We lost Garrett Johnson, who I think is one of the best players in the Atlantic 10 probably coming into the season, and I was concerned when you lose a great player to injury. But to go 21-12, win a game in the conference tournament, get into the postseason for the first time, all those things for the first time in nine years, we’re proud of that. This has been a build year. &lt;/p&gt;
  498. &lt;p id="SYe8aY"&gt;I thought we were well on our way last year before the injuries, we were 14-3, with wins at VCU and beat [George] Mason by 15 points at home and felt like we were ascending with a young group. Then the injury bug hit us, and then I thought it hit us again this summer. I was concerned, but our group really came together. We competed. To have a good enough strong non-conference, and then a strong conference play, we were so competitive in almost every game. I think four of our nine losses, or five, might have been in the last possession. So great progress here, great commitment from GW to help us move this thing forward. And playing in The Crown, on national television, one of those big brands out there I think is a good step for us.&lt;/p&gt;
  499. &lt;h2 id="z8IzMO"&gt;Mount St. Mary’s&lt;/h2&gt;
  500. &lt;p id="ILbiJe"&gt;Record: 23-13 (12-8 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)&lt;/p&gt;
  501. &lt;p id="SlEhV4"&gt;Preseason projected MAAC finish: 11th&lt;/p&gt;
  502. &lt;p id="B5YjIn"&gt;Actual MAAC finish: fourth&lt;/p&gt;
  503. &lt;p id="81oIfY"&gt;Conference tournament: champion&lt;/p&gt;
  504. &lt;p id="Y8rNe2"&gt;Postseason result: won First Four NCAA Tournament game, lost in First Round&lt;/p&gt;
  505. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  506.        &lt;img alt="Mount St. Mary’s v American University" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/toZ_fCNTcgff_wsSaPl-8htFG08=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25941240/2205948176.jpg"&gt;
  507.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  508.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Arlandus Keyes shooting a free throw during the NCAA Tournament&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  509.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  510. &lt;p id="S0urOw"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Donny Lind:&lt;/strong&gt; This has been an unbelievable first year. To see the growth from a group of talented individuals to a connected team that was willing to sacrifice their individual agendas for the team goal was the most rewarding part of the journey. We have elevated the standard of Mount Basketball in the MAAC and now have the tall task of continuing to raise that standard. It will take a continued effort to retain and recruit high character, talented student-athletes, and that’s the next task we have at hand.&lt;/p&gt;
  511. &lt;p id="RJhcJc"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  512.  
  513. </content>
  514.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24392991/mid-major-teams-mid-atlantic-arent-mid-american-george-mason-george-washington-mount-st-marys"/>
  515.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/8/24392991/mid-major-teams-mid-atlantic-arent-mid-american-george-mason-george-washington-mount-st-marys</id>
  516.    <author>
  517.      <name>Matt Modderno</name>
  518.    </author>
  519.  </entry>
  520.  <entry>
  521.    <published>2025-04-07T23:29:53-07:00</published>
  522.    <updated>2025-04-07T23:29:53-07:00</updated>
  523.    <title>Houston falls short of first title in program history after loss to Florida</title>
  524.    <content type="html">  
  525.  
  526.    &lt;figure&gt;
  527.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: Final Four National Championship-Houston vs Florida" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lStc4Ma1MqHEY4KAFXrKsgskw6o=/22x0:5038x3344/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74010352/usa_today_25874336.0.jpg" /&gt;
  528.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Terrance Arceneaux&amp;nbsp;and Houston led for 39 minutes of Monday night’s championship game. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  529.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  530.  
  531.  &lt;p&gt;Former AAC member Houston loses following wild sequence to end the game in San Antonio&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="jqSUBG"&gt;After leading for all but 17 seconds of the first 39 minutes of the contest, Houston trailed Florida by one with 46.5 seconds left and had the ball.&lt;/p&gt;
  532. &lt;p id="S5Ld7S"&gt;Emanuel Sharp drove the lane and lost the ball out of bounds on the baseline amid pressure from the Gators. Florida nearly turned it over on a long pass but retained possession, which led to Denzel Aberdeen sinking one of two free throws to double the lead to two with 19 ticks left on the clock.&lt;/p&gt;
  533. &lt;p id="R1SIXv"&gt;So Houston had one final shot to either tie it and force overtime or hit a three and win its first national championship, but it did not get up a shot. Sharp elevated for a 3-pointer with five seconds left, but amid a contest from Walter Clayton Jr., he hesitated, leaving the ball in mid-air beyond the arc. To avoid a travel, he left the ball untouched, and a diving Alex Condon corralled it to seal the Gators’ win.&lt;/p&gt;
  534. &lt;div id="BsO5Vc"&gt;
  535. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  536. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The WILD final possession, and the moment Florida won the national championship     &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;(via &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MarchMadnessMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@MarchMadnessMBB&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;a href="https://t.co/HoD60gLAhc"&gt;pic.twitter.com/HoD60gLAhc&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1909446498783215770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 8, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  537. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  538. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  539.  
  540. &lt;/div&gt;
  541. &lt;p id="ZWRvxc"&gt;“[He] probably should have shot faked that,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Both of those guys, [Will] Richard and [Alijah] Martin, both really good defensively. Clayton made a great play on that [close out].”&lt;/p&gt;
  542. &lt;p id="eBGmZS"&gt;Final score: Florida 65, Houston 63.&lt;/p&gt;
  543. &lt;p id="LgA5aD"&gt;“It hurts because I can’t do it next year,” J’Wan Roberts said. “From Coach Sampson down to [his] grandkids, everybody played a part in me being here for six years. I wanted it so bad for him...so, so, so bad, and it hurts that I can’t do it next year. This will be my last time wearing my jersey, and I feel terrible. I told the younger guys, the returners, to remember this feeling, so when you’re in this moment again, in this situation again, you’ll be on top.”&lt;/p&gt;
  544. &lt;p id="muF1Nx"&gt;The Cougars held Florida to their second-lowest point total in a game — their lowest in a win — all season. The Gators made just &lt;em&gt;six &lt;/em&gt;threes in the game, and Clayton Jr. scored &lt;em&gt;zero &lt;/em&gt;first-half points. The former Iona guard finished with 11 on his way to Most Outstanding Player honors but didn’t hit a field goal until there was less than eight minutes left.&lt;/p&gt;
  545. &lt;div id="9QdW4c"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 152px; position: relative;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/show/5EWAf7HBmL9Ch6zu8KB3qw?utm_source=oembed" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" allow="clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  546. &lt;p id="SkcoZI"&gt;“I told our guys after the game to be disappointed you lost but do not be disappointed in your effort,” Sampson said. “Defending Florida is difficult. They’ve got a really, really good team. Coach Golden runs great schemes over there. We guarded them. We held that team to 65 points. We thought if we held Duke to under 70, we’d have a good chance to win, [so] I felt like if we held Florida under 70, we’d have a good chance to win.”&lt;/p&gt;
  547. &lt;p id="aFcQTE"&gt;The Cougars fall to 0-3 all-time in national championship games, with this one slipping just beyond their grasp. They led by as many as 12 early in the second half.&lt;/p&gt;
  548. &lt;p id="CC7A6b"&gt;LJ Cryer led the team with 19 points.&lt;/p&gt;
  549.  
  550. </content>
  551.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/7/24403593/houston-falls-short-of-first-title-after-loss-to-florida"/>
  552.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/7/24403593/houston-falls-short-of-first-title-after-loss-to-florida</id>
  553.    <author>
  554.      <name>Isaac Bourne</name>
  555.    </author>
  556.  </entry>
  557.  <entry>
  558.    <published>2025-04-07T15:21:22-07:00</published>
  559.    <updated>2025-04-07T15:21:22-07:00</updated>
  560.    <title>Kelvin Sampson: Integrity engineers excellence</title>
  561.    <content type="html">  
  562.  
  563.    &lt;figure&gt;
  564.      &lt;img alt="NCAA Basketball: Final Four-Team Press Conference" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r4znAmJj4cifRqcNQ-8K506Ho2M=/0x0:3969x2646/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/74009936/usa_today_25864629.0.jpg" /&gt;
  565.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  566.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  567.  
  568.  &lt;p&gt;Just 1 win away from the program’s first national championship, Kelvin Sampson looks to find a good cap for his career.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="zVqJmg"&gt;Houston Cougars’ head coach Kelvin Sampson has never been a fan of the quick turnarounds in the March Madness pods.&lt;/p&gt;
  569. &lt;p id="FxJ4lP"&gt;“You’ve got a one-day turnaround,” he said following the Cougars’ win over Purdue in the Sweet 16. “You’ve &lt;em&gt;had &lt;/em&gt;seven days to prepare, [and] you almost over prepare for it in between the first weekend and the second weekend and then you get to your second game and you got 24 hours. Just go play.”&lt;/p&gt;
  570. &lt;p id="UsWg4K"&gt;This discipline that is common among the great coaches in the nation started with Sampson in a similarly-common place: the recruiting trail. The Cougars have consistently brought in new classes of players that play within the labor-intensive system that Sampson has hung his hat on.&lt;/p&gt;
  571. &lt;p id="pbup1N"&gt;“When you’re only bringing in one kid and he’s very specific to a certain position, it’s easier to do all your vetting,” Sampson said prior to the win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight. “One of the reasons why our kids don’t transfer is how high-character they are. We don’t have any issues on our team. We have no problems.”&lt;/p&gt;
  572. &lt;p id="RyXhvb"&gt;The type of recruiting that goes to display the care and intentionality shown on the recruiting trail by Sampson was apparent in the pride he showed when speaking of his players following their gutsy win over a Duke team that led by 14 with over eight minutes to go in the national semifinal Saturday night. &lt;/p&gt;
  573. &lt;p id="YUJay2"&gt;No player exhibits the pride that Sampson has felt more than super-senior forward J’Wan Roberts.&lt;/p&gt;
  574. &lt;p id="hFiRMw"&gt;“In that moment tonight, when everybody was watching, he prepared himself when nobody was watching,” he said. “So, God bless him. Proud of him. I told him last night at midnight I loved him.”&lt;/p&gt;
  575. &lt;p id="njG5Nq"&gt;Roberts would continue to echo that sentiment about the program.&lt;/p&gt;
  576. &lt;p id="KHXW0H"&gt;“For these six years that I’ve known coach Sampson, I can honestly say he’s like a second father to me, on and off the court,” he said. “He makes sure I’m good, randomly calls me, randomly texts me, tells me he loves me. When you come across people like that, you have to keep them with you for a long time. I feel like in the next five, ten years, Coach Sampson is going to be a person I can call. Hopefully in the future when I have my kids, we can all sit down and have a great conversation about what we’ve been through.”&lt;/p&gt;
  577. &lt;p id="bEjRYN"&gt;You see the support former Cougars give to the team, from former players like Detroit Pistons guard Marcus Sasser and Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead, who saw his 2024 Tournament run cut short due to injury. The players that come through the Houston program love to play for their coach, and stay part of the program for life.&lt;/p&gt;
  578. &lt;div id="MUO89d"&gt;
  579. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  580. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;“COACH SAMP YOU THE GOAT”&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Former Houston guard Marcus Sasser was fired up watching the end of the game last night &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/UjwGhXazu2"&gt;pic.twitter.com/UjwGhXazu2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1908927153485312086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;April 6, 2025&lt;/a&gt;
  581. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  582. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  583.  
  584. &lt;/div&gt;
  585. &lt;p id="0IAlN5"&gt;Now just 40 minutes away from a national title, Sampson looks to produce a championship squad in the latter years of his long, illustrious collegiate coaching career.&lt;/p&gt;
  586. &lt;p id="kPO5wu"&gt;Sampson has the chance to fully bring Houston back to its glory days of yesteryear of the 1980s — seeing it then Cougars through their run as a mid major in the American Athletic Conference and Conference USA before that. &lt;/p&gt;
  587. &lt;p id="40I2Ul"&gt;Sampson has the Cougars on the cusp of something great; something that would validate the powerhouse built under the long-time college basketball fixture. &lt;/p&gt;
  588.  
  589. </content>
  590.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/7/24402507/kelvin-sampson-final-four-houston"/>
  591.    <id>https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/4/7/24402507/kelvin-sampson-final-four-houston</id>
  592.    <author>
  593.      <name>Isaac Bourne</name>
  594.    </author>
  595.  </entry>
  596. </feed>
  597.  

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