Throughout the season I’ll be checking back in on the NJIT Highlanders as they attempt to finish .500 or better this season. After tonight’s 54-52 upset victory over Army Jim Engles’ squad is now 3-3 on the season. They’ve certainly got a chance of staying even for the season.
Category: Great West
Great West Predictions
You won’t find Great West predictions almost anywhere, not even in this awesome recap of media days by Ballin’ is a Habit, but you will here! The six-team league released its preseason coaches poll on Monday. And N.J.I.T. was picked third. How can this be?
Ken Pomeroy’s predictions
Ken Pomeroy posted his preseason predictions today on his website. The conclusions are a little surprising in some leagues, especially the NEC. Let’s take a quick look at seven conferences.
Five nights – November
This week, as part of my preseason coverage, I’m going to take a look at some key games coming up in 2011-12. It just so happens that there are five months in the college basketball calendar, so this works out perfectly. While there are plenty awesome games in November at Madison Square Garden – the Champions Classic Nov. 15 and the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer on Nov. 17, here are some local mid-major games worth checking out.
Who isn’t a BracketBuster?
Sixteen conferences and 142 teams are participating in BracketBusters this season. While most people are making jokes about how everyone gets to play, it’s interesting to see which conferences aren’t present this season. For instance, the Atlantic 10, Great West, Northeast Conference and the Ivy League present four examples of why a conference would sit out an event that offers 26 schools a decent bit of national exposure (and the rest a home-and-home series).
Can NJIT top .500?
Over the past three seasons Jim Engles has taken NJIT from 1-30 to 10-21 to 15-15. Now with a schedule that includes 18 games against teams from the Great West, independents and outside of Division I it seems like this season is the time for the Highlanders to take the next step and finish with a winning record.
Great West a conference in transition
Where is the Great West going to go? That must be what the administrators of the conference that spans six different states across the entire country must be wondering at the moment. It’s a conference without a base, and thus without an identity and a will to stay together and survive.
Best players coming to a gym near you
Recruiting is picking up steam at the moment and Justin D. Young over at the National Hoops Report recently posted a list of the top incoming players for each conference.
It’s an entertaining undertaking that probably took quite a bit of research for a few conferences where you won’t find McDonald’s All-Americans or even Top 100 recruits via any service. None of the NYC schools were represented, but here are some talented freshman that will be playing for the visiting teams next season.
2011-12 season must be considered a success for Great West
This season the Great West Conference wasn’t the worst conference in college basketball according to Ken Pomeroy, no, that distinction fell to the SWAC. But this isn’t an opportunity to rag on small Division I conferences that don’t have many financial resources, rather, it’s an opportunity to look at the successes that the conference had this season as it tries to establish itself in college basketball circles.
The GWC was created for scheduling convenience, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Having seven members that you can schedule 12 home-and-home contests, even if it means flying from Newark, NJ to Orem, Utah, is a valuable commodity in college basketball circles. Unfortunately, as the Dakota schools move onwards, the conference is going to suffer. South Dakota will be joining the Summit League after the 2010-11 athletic schedule wraps up. The loss of the Coyotes means the loss of the program that won the original conference tournament and earned a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Unfortunately the second team to win, North Dakota, will also be leaving in 2012 for the Big Sky Conference. The Fighting Sioux won the Great West Conference Tournament this season with a 77-76 double-overtime victory over South Dakota and went on to lose to Air Force in the first round of the CIT. The loss of these two teams in going to deal a big blow to the conference’s hopes of establishing a legitimate timeline for becoming an NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier and for developing respect around the nation.
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