Bracket Busters
@bracketbusters
Mid/Low-Major College Basketball Media Company on Substack | Home of the weekly Heat Check Report | Ran by @elliott-crow.bsky.social | Subscribe on our website: www.bracketbustershoops.com
Baraka Okojie is back at George Mason, and he's coming off one of the most underrated seasons in the SoCon. The 6'3 guard averaged 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, and 1.4 steals last year at Mercer while drawing fouls at a 69.8 free throw rate. His 29.6% possession usage was 69th in the country.
The Duquesne Dukes showed growth in year two with Dru Joyce at the helm as they finished 18-15 overall and 9-9 in the Atlantic-10. Heading into year three, Coach Joyce has already made a slash with three important additions from the transfer portal.
Anthony Martinez has told us that he is entering the transfer portal. The 6'2 guard played his freshman season at Monmouth after stellar campaigns in France. While playing for Orleans in the U21 circuit, he averaged 20.8 points, 3.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 51% from inside.
While the transfer portal has exploded with an enormous volume of entries, some mid-major teams are finding success at retaining key talent. The Austin Peay Governors are returning two of their key players in Zyree Collins & Rashaud Marshall. (1/6)
Ring Malith was phenomenal to follow at SIUE. Paired with Ray'Sean Taylor, he helped lead the Cougars to their best season in program history and first NCAA Tournament appearance. There will be a long list of suitors.
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are heading to the NIT Finals! They took down the New Mexico Lobos 74-69 at Hinkle Fieldhouse behind David Green's 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Tulsa held New Mexico to 7-33 shooting from deep as they pick up their 30th win!
Izaiah Day (Taylor ~ NAIA) has told us that he's heard from the following schools: - Morehead State - The Citadel - Gardner Webb - East Carolina - App State - Lincoln Memorial (D2) - Catawba (D2) He averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 48.4% overall and 42.3% from beyond the arc.
We're putting together a fun, recap piece that will be coming out next Monday, but we want to hear from you! Aside from Miami's perfect regular season, what were the top Mid-Major college basketball stories to come out this season? Drop them below!👇
The Illinois State Redbirds are headed to the NIT Semifinals after taking down the Dayton Flyers on the road 61-55! Johnny Kinziger led the team with 16 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists as Chase Walker followed up with 13 points and 10 rebounds. The MVC is still alive!
TULSA! The Golden Hurricane are headed to the NIT Quarterfinals after rolling past UNLV 77-66! Romad Dean racked up 11 points & 11 rebounds as Ade Popoola & Miles Barnstable finished with 16 points each. They'll take on the winner of Oklahoma State and Wichita State!
Let's give a huge shoutout to Seattle U. The Redhawks finished 21-14 on the season and just took Auburn to the final stretch in the second round of the NIT. They outscored the Tigers 54-49 in the second half. Excited to see what Chris Victor can do next year in the WCC!
The Illinois State Redbirds are headed to the NIT Quarterfinals as they took down Wake Forest 78-75 on the road! Ty Pence led the team off the bench with 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals on 8-11 shooting. Johnny Kinziger hit the game winning three with 1.7 seconds left!
We are getting an absolutely masterful game at 1:18 on Friday afternoon
Winning by 25 points as a 9-seed over an 8-seed gives the exact vibes of a team that could pull off the upset against the 1-seed in the next round. Do we have a 2023 FAU on our hands?
The 11 Seed VCU Rams complete the 19 point comeback to upset 6 Seed North Carolina 82-78 in overtime! Terrence Hill Jr. was playing on another level, finishing with 34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, while shooting 7-10 from deep. THE RAMS ARE GOING TO THE ROUND of 32!
THE HIGH POINT PANTHERS HAVE TAKEN DOWN THE WISCONSIN BADGERS 83-82 IN A 12-5 UPSET IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT! Rob Martin led the team with 23 points and 10 assists as Terry Anderson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds with 3 steals. Cinderella is very much alive!
THE MIAMI REDHAWKS HAVE WON IN DAYTON, TAKING DOWN SMU 89-79 IN A THREE POINT SHOWNDOWN! Eian Elmer was absolutely electric from deep, dropping 23 points with 3 rebounds on 6-9 shooting from three-point. The RedHawks have a date with Tennessee on Friday in the Round of 64!
Seattle U has advanced to the second round of the NIT while taking down St. Thomas 67-52! Brayden Maldonado led the team with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals as the Tommies had 21 turnovers. The Redhawks will take on Auburn in the second round!
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane complete the comeback to advance to the second round of the NIT, taking down Stephen F. Austin 89-84 in overtime! Jaylen Lawal came up huge off the bench with 24 points on 7-12 shooting. Tulsa will take on the winner of UNLV and UC Irvine next!
The Shockers advance! Wichita State has taken down Wyoming 74-70 in the first round of the NIT! TJ Williams was unstoppable off the bench with 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Shockers will take on the winner of Oklahoma State and Davidson in the second round!
UNCW Wilmington advances in the NIT, knocking off the Yale Bulldogs on their home court 68-67! Christian May led the team with 16 points and 8 rebounds as four Seahawks finished with 10+ points. The Seahawks will take on the winner of Dayton and Bradley next!
The Howard Bison have won their first NCAA Tournament in program history, taking down the UMBC Retrievers 86-83! Ose Okojie dropped 23 points as Bryce Harris finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Bison will face off against Michigan in the Round of 64!
Working through some Region breakdown posts going out over the next two days and this is how we're looking at Hofstra right now
The official NIT Bracket has been announced: Auburn, Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, and California are the traditional power conferences. Missouri Valley gets three bids: Murray State, Bradley, Illinois State Great to see Seattle U in there. Overall, pretty stacked!
The Penn Quakers are headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 as Ivy League Tournament Champions! TJ Power put on a show with 44 points & 14 rebounds, with a game-tying three to send it to OT. Fran McCaffrey has now brought his 5th team to the NCAA Tournament.