KC’s Mid

The highlight of the day was in Game 7, a 4-3 Kansas City victory which gave them their first World Series title. The Royals trailed 3-2 to the Mets before rallying with three runs in the ninth.

The “murray state basketball schedule 2021-22” is a school that has been around for almost 100 years. The team has won 3 national championships, and they are currently ranked in the top 25 of college basketball.

3 March 2022

ESPN’s Kevin Connors

Close
- Anchor for ESPN’s studio
- ESPN’s top 10 mid-major college basketball writers
- Ithaca men’s basketball player for four years

March roared in like a lion, signaling the end of the voyage for some and the start of something much grander for others. Mid-major college basketball’s regular season in 2021-22 has been both intriguing and competitive, with drama, intrigue, and fans — not to mention unique milestones and events. (As a side aside, this is likely to have been the case at the so-called “power conferences.”)

What self-respecting mid-major fan can ever forget where they were when UC Riverside’s prayer was answered on a 79-footer from J.P. Moorman II versus Arizona State? Or which of their 217-inch 8K micro-LED TVs were they viewing when Dayton beat Kansas and Saint Mary’s beat Gonzaga? Or which handcrafted, tufted leather-upholstered, mahogany-accented, classy wing-backed recliner they were sitting in when Coastal Carolina’s Cliff Ellis won his 800th career game or Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis entered the top 30 all-time scorers?

Fortunately for you, KC’s Column of Complete Excellence is here to highlight some of the season’s most notable individual and team triumphs. The list is long, and the feats are outstanding. Enjoy.

3 last week

Ole KC withdrew to his barrel-vaulted, hand-laid Italian tile-ceilinged wine cellar as the clock struck zero, toasting coach Randy Bennett’s players with a bottle of 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon. Saturday’s historic victory against AP No. 1 Gonzaga, the largest win in the history of University Credit Union Pavilion, sealed Saint Mary’s first unbeaten season at home. It also served as a fitting conclusion to the first day in AP Poll history in which all six of the top teams lost. (Just for the record, Kansas City’s top four mid-major teams went 4-0 on Saturday.)

The Gaels earned a 2-seed and a double-bye into the semifinals of the West Coast Conference tournament next week in Las Vegas thanks to their historic triumph. SMC has the lineup, the resume (five Quadrant 1 victories, top 20 in both KenPom and NET), and the prestigious claim to America’s top place. Gaels fans, savor the full-bodied scent.

The WCC semifinals are up next (Monday, 11:30 p.m. ET, ESPN 2)

1 week ago:

Nobody expected things to come down to the closing seconds in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Saturday, but coach Matt McMahon’s team found a way to beat Southeast Missouri 70-68, as they had done 18 times in 18 attempts in conference play. The win clinched the Racers’ sixth consecutive flawless Ohio Valley Conference regular season, the first since Cameron Payne led them to the title in 2014-15. Allow us to explain the “down” to No. 2 in KC’s Top 10 in case the people of Murray, Kentucky, seek solace in the arms of another mid-major suitor: It’s just a sincere congratulation to Saint Mary’s on their Secretariat-like victory. The Committee would catch a ride to Dunker every day and again on Selection Sunday, so don’t worry.

The OVC semifinals are up next (Friday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN U)

2 last week

The Mean Green, who rounded up the Super Pit section of their program in style this week, have benefited from Club KC’s dedicated VIP hostesses and unique leopard print ottomans. Coach Grant McCasland’s team tied Southern Miss 85-61 on Thursday night with Abou Ousmane scoring 21 points. Then, with a 56-49 win against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, North Texas secured the C-USA West Division. North Texas has set the norm on defense this season, keeping 12 opponents to less than 55 points per game while allowing a Division I low of 55.3 points per game. The nice people in Denton are on a 14-game winning streak and are 15-1 in conference play, putting them in position to make a legitimate run in the NCAA tournament For the time being, they’re living it up behind the velvet ropes of the most lavish club in mid-major hoops.

Then it’s on to UTSA (Thursday)

4 in the previous week

Coach Leon Rice’s team has more than earned another week of mineral-rich medicinal mud masks and seaweed eucalyptus salt treatments inside Le Spa de Midmajoria. On Tuesday, the Broncos wrapped off a spectacular season by defeating Nevada 73-67, clinching the program’s first outright regular-season Mountain West Conference title since 1987-88. The Broncos’ trademark wins include a 3-0 sweep of San Diego State, and if road triumphs at Fresno State and Utah State stay Quadrant 1 wins and Boise State performs well in Las Vegas we might be looking at the higher rent district of the NCAA tournament’s 6- to 8-seed area.

After that, it’s on to Colorado State (Saturday)

6 in the previous week

Fort Collins, Colorado, is the seat of Larimer County and is located on the banks of the Cache la Poudre River in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains, with the gorgeous mid-major terrain seen from the fifth-highest vantage point in college basketball.

Coach Niko Medved’s team built on the momentum of last Wednesday’s huge win over Wyoming by defeating Utah State 66-55 in Logan on Saturday, led by senior guard Kendle Moore’s game-high 23 points. CSU has more wins in Quadrant 1 than UCLA and more wins in Quadrant 2 than Duke and Villanova. Make the Rams’ name “respeckable.”

Up next: Boise State (Saturday)

Unranked last week

Select the winner of each game in the 2022 men’s NCAA tournament to complete your bracket. Challenge yourself to a Tournament

We haven’t seen such combat testing since Thornton Melon was subjected to a brutal 27-section oral exam in the Rodney Dangerfield classic “Back to School.” Coach Brian Dutcher’s squad won its 11th Quadrant 1 game of the season on Monday, capturing its own version of the Triple Lindy with a 73-66 away victory against Wyoming. With a neutral-site victory against Saint Mary’s in December, as well as league wins over Colorado State (at home) and Fresno State (on the road), the Aztecs are now on the cusp of a playoff berth. It might be prudent to avoid a flip in the Mountain West event.

Next up is a matchup with Fresno State (Thursday)

5 in the previous week

It’s difficult to put it any other way: Coach Drew Valentine’s team had a perplexing last three weeks of the regular season. The Ramblers finished 4-3 with victories against Northern Iowa and Evansville, but losses to Bradley and Drake at home. Due to head-to-head tiebreakers favoring Missouri State and Drake, Loyola’s overtime loss in Cedar Falls, Iowa, lost the Ramblers the Missouri Valley regular-season championship and demoted them to the fourth seed in the MVC tournament. Despite this, the neutral-site victory against San Francisco as well as road victories over Missouri State and Vanderbilt, and a two-point defeat to Michigan State in the Bahamas, took place. Sister Jean recognizes that there is still work to be done in Arch Madness, but this squad is still capable of making a splash in March Madness.

Next up: MVC quarterfinals against. Bradley (Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

Week before last: 8

Coach Todd Golden’s group closed the books on a sparkling regular season on Saturday with a win at San Diego the Dons’ seventh road victory this season (7-2), most in the WCC! Earlier in the week, San Francisco dropped its finale inside the Sobrato Center to Gonzaga, 89-73, the final game for fifth-year senior Jamaree Bouyea in front of his home fans. One of the greats to ever wear the green and gold, Bouyea & Co. head to Las Vegas as the 4-seed in the WCC tournament, on a collision course with the Zags for a possible semifinal showdown. From this committee to the NCAA tournament committee: three Quadrant 1 wins (vs. Davidson, at BYU, at Santa Clara) and a 5-2 record in Quadrant 2 games (including a neutral-site win against UAB) warrant an at-large bid. Don’t overthink this.

Next up: WCC quarterfinals vs. TBD (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN 2)

Unranked last week

Want a squad with one of the cleanest resumes in college basketball, at any level? Meet our old pals from Charlotte, North Carolina’s suburbs. The Wildcats completed another flawless week with a 73-62 victory against George Mason on Wednesday, earning at least a share of the A-10 regular-season crown for Davidson. The Committee looked like Pedro Cerrano after an uncommon curveball in the shape of a mid-February loss against Rhode Island Let’s get genuine, for the love of Bob McKillop. This club has lost two games since Nov. 18, with its lone home loss coming by two points against a stout VCU squad. We’re welcome the Cats back with a contrite “I’m sorry” and a “it won’t happen again” after that record, with at least a share of the league championship and that handsome coach prowling the sidelines.

Then it’s on to Dayton (Saturday)

1 week ago:0

With their 86-75 victory against Kansas City on Saturday, the Jackrabbits became the first Summit League club to go undefeated in regular season play. With 18 wins in a row, Coach Eric Henderson’s team enters the playoffs tied with Murray State for the longest win run in Division I.

The Jacks now shift their focus to the Summit League tournament and the chase of a fourth title in seven years, knowing that three straight weeks inside KC’s Poll of Perfection — and the absolute transcendence that comes with it — won’t fit inside a trophy case.

Next up: the Summit quarterfinals against Omaha (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

Wyoming, UAB, Dayton, and BYU are among the other schools that have received votes.

Wyoming (No. 7) and Belmont (No. 8) have been eliminated (No. 9)

ESPN Stats & Information researcher Jared Berson contributed to this article.

Follow KC on Instagram: @kevinconnorsespn & Twitter: @kevconnorsespn

The “murray state baseball ” is a new college baseball team that will be playing in the Mid. The team is coached by former MLB player, and Kansas City Royals manager, Ned Yost.