Teams of the Week: The Baffling Bearcats

Wes Miller's UNC Greensboro career began with five seasons of under .500 basketball. The times weren't identical to now, nor were the job expectations.

The 2016-17 season provided the beginning of a fruitful five-year run at UNCG with two NCAA tournament appearances and 21+ wins in each of those seasons.

Mr. Miller (unrelated, to my knowledge, to yours truly) embarked on his Cincinnati journey ahead of the 2021-22 season in the face of no such leniency. The transition from the American Conference to the Big 12 has been a bear. The Bearcats had not won more than seven conference games in their first two seasons as a power conference team. This season was trending in a challenging direction as well, with Cincinnati at 3-7 in league play and increased rumors about Miller's future with the program.

Miller promised to continue working at it and that his kids were fighting. The win over Iowa State back on January 17th should give a glimpse into the possibilities if this team can make shots. Bearcats are a steady defensive force, ranking in or near the Top 10 the entire season. Jizzle James was reinstated to the team just before the Holidays to ideally give this squad a jolt offensively.

Wins over UCF, a blowout at Kansas State, and a tight win over Utah had this team sitting at 6-7 with six days of rest prior to the KU trip.

Which brings us to this past Saturday. A national TV opportunity inside Allen Fieldhouse.

At 7-2, 250 pounds, Moustapha Thiam took his matchup with KU big man Flory Bidunga personally. Thiam delivered in a monster way with 28 points, eight rebounds, and no turnovers. Bidunga had four turnovers on the day despite being otherwise productive at 18 points. Advantage Thiam.

Thiam and Baba Miller were the spotlight stars in Saturday's unforgettable stunner against Kansas. Cincinnati got 40-plus points from its two top frontcourt options. Miller provided scintillating, high-degree-of-difficulty baskets and stayed disciplined defensively.

The Bearcats not only played a high-level game, but also performed superbly against an elite team for the second time this year. Leaving the nation baffled as to how this team managed to start 3-7, and has been swept by West Virginia.

Shooting at the Fog was a huge plus. Bearcats went 12-31 from deep and at one point held an 11-2 edge from downtown to create double-digit separation and stun the home folks in Lawrence. I made sure to call it out when the run was ongoing:

This upset got the nation's attention, especially with the nature of a 16-point win on the road. Wes Miller's team has won four in a row and is headed to Lubbock for another massive opportunity next. Does the turnaround story continue? Will Cincinnati play well enough to keep Wes Miller in the Queen City long-term? One thing is for sure: they are fighting hard.

EASTERN WASHINGTON

Season turnarounds can be incredibly beautiful. So let's celebrate another one, shall we?

The EWU Eagles started this season 5-17, 3-6 in Big Sky play. As painful as that record was at the end of January, the game-by-game situations hurt even worse.

You may remember the first couple of weeks of the season when EWU was in position to stun both UCLA and LMU, only to let both opportunities slip away. There were OT games at Colorado and North Texas that would have been program boosters, but both fell short. Losses to California Baptist and Denver were also nailbiters.

At the time, several in Big Sky circles joked that this is the best 1-11 (the Eagles' non-conference record vs. D1) team in non-conference history. They may have been right!

That discovery didn't immediately solve the late-game struggles, unfortunately. Five of the first six conference losses during the 3-6 start came by four points or less.

A trip to Montana, usually one of the toughest if not THE toughest in the Big Sky, seemed to have healed the tight, late-game wounds. That weekend provided a rare road sweep in close games, and the Eagles were featured here!

Well, I am happy to share that Eastern Washington has not lost since. They took this recent West Coast road swing to Sacramento State and league-leading Portland State and handled it the way a league champion would. A striking development for a team buried in the standings all season long.

A 57-point first-half outburst completely shook the Hornets Nest on Thursday night.  Sac State entered that night 5-1 in Big Sky home games and was drawing some big crowds. These Eagles were not concerned and played connected and confidently in a 102-94 shootout, which truly was never in doubt during the 2nd Half.

The clash with Big Sky leading Portland State would offer the contrary. The defensive-minded Vikings made life hard on the Eagles to establish an offensive rhythm.

EWU stuck to its principles and played a disciplined ballgame to go toe-to-toe with the conference leaders. The Eagles came up with a number of stops down the stretch to get out of a gridlocked score and ultimately create a little separation.

In the end, it was a truly impressive 67-55 grinder. One of the more impressive things is when a team can win on the road and do it with two completely different formulas. That is precisely what we saw from Eastern Washington last week in two very different types of wins.

Isaiah Moses, our old UC Riverside friend, is blossoming. Monson was savvy to bring him to Cheney out of the portal after facing him in the Big West. In the 9-6 start now to Big Sky action, Moses has produced 14 efficient games out of 15. He averaged 24 points in the two wins last week, including six treys at Sac State.

The winning has opened unforeseen doors with three gamedays left in the Big Sky.

"It keeps us right in the mix for that two seed." - Assistant Coach Ryan Lundgren

Wow, can you believe that? After being 3-6!

Lundgren added, "Credit to Portland State, they're a really good defensive team," Lundgren said. "We were out of rhythm offensively all night…we told the guys, you're going to be frustrated tonight. You just got to fight through it and find a way, and they sure did."

DUKE

The entire basketball planet had to have been watching. It is a darn-near once in a lifetime moment to have the top two teams in the country step out of conference-play this late in February and play a blockbuster like this one.

It all went down in Washington, D.C. College Gameday and all. With the hype all week long and all day Saturday leading in, it was finally time tip the ball off between Michigan and Duke.

The Wolverines have been just flat dominant in a quite a few performances. It felt to me as if the expectations fell onto the shoulders of Michigan to prove they are America's best team.

This provided one of the few and exceptionally rare opportunities for the Blue Devils to play the underdog role.

This raucous, possible Final Four preview in the nation's capital set the stage for a grinder of a heavyweight fight. Duke was plenty comfortable with matching up to Michigan's typically overwhelming frontcourt. By the end of the game, Duke's 41-28 rebounding edge may have been the most telling statistic.

The Blue Devils effectively guarded Michigan outside shooters as well, gaining a 6-25 (24%) defensive effort on Wolverine treys. Great defense led to more comfortable offense. The accumulation of stops mattered heavily in the second half as Michigan never once led in the second stanza.

By the end, it was booked as a 68-63 Duke win. The Blue Devils conquering the once-thought unbeatable Wolverines and taking over the top overall spot in the country. Cam Boozer showcased why he was the best player in D.C. that night.

WESTERN KENTUCKY

WKU provided us with the craziest rollercoaster of a week that you may see all season long. Their first full Northeast and Mid-Atlantic swing as a program hit the schedule as the Hilltoppers would first take on Delaware in a road game.

The Blue Hens have been fighting for weeks to get out of CUSA's cellar in an effort to qualify for the CUSA Tournament. CUSA only takes to top 10 of 12 members to the event in Huntsville, AL.

The Bob Carpenter Center was treating the home Hens wonderfully early. Delaware's hunger to win this one seemed to be stronger than WKU's, leading the Tops by 12 at Halftime.

WKU clawed their way back into striking distance before finally tying up the game at 71 late. Then the final minute got chaotic!

The Blue Hens responded with a triple to regain the lead, 74-71, with 47 seconds left. Delaware extended the margin to four with 13 seconds on the clock, but LJ Hackman converted an and-one drive to make it 77-76. After Delaware hit two free throws, Ryan Myers drew a foul on a 3-pointer with one second left and sank all three shots to dramatically send the game into overtime tied at 79-79.

In OT, WKU once again stormed back in the final minute to stun Delaware. The de ja vu deployed when the Hens again went 2-for-2 at the stripe to reclaim a one-point edge. Then, with just 0.3 seconds left, Myers was fouled on a shot attempt and sank both free throws to complete WKU's 16-point comeback for an 88-87 improbable OT road victory.

All of that happened and we haven't even made it to the reason why WKU is a Team of the Week!

The escape from Delaware led to a free-flowing performance for the ages at 1st Place Liberty on Saturday. The Hilltoppers would go on to play its finest game of the season in a stunning 94-73 road win at the Flames.

Teagan Moore continued to shine and Grant Newell was super productive. Both players would finish with 21 points. The Tops made 10 treys and held Liberty to just six makes from deep, and obvious key to slowing Liberty down.

For the first time in Conference USA, we have seen a team beat the Flames. WKU had been really struggling at times, yet are now 9-7 following its East Coast trip from heaven.

FLORIDA STATE

New HC Luke Loucks has been really working with his first-year roster on great spacing concepts to generate offense and most recently a better defensive resistance alignment. The hard work is paying off.

Following last Tuesday's win over Boston College, the Seminoles were climbing close to .500 at 6-7 in the ACC. A respectable record given the vast improvement of the league and the low FSU expectations in year one of the Loucks era.

The Noles have an established star in Jacksonville transfer Robert McCray V, who is of course no stranger to Sunshine State success. McCray V had a remarkable career at JU as one of the ASUN's top playmakers. To see him having success at the ACC level is really no surprise, knowing he can score from all three levels of the floor.

McCray V led FSU north for a road trip to face the tournament-bound Clemson Tigers. McCray V had quite a day, matching his season-high with 29 points, including Florida State’s final 10 of the ballgame, and the streaking Seminoles defeated Clemson 70-65 on Saturday.

There were five more late lead changes in this battle. The last when McCray V hit a three-pointer for a 66-65 lead. The Tigers did not score thereafter, missing their last six shots, five of them from three-point range. McCray V closed it out with a layup and a couple of free throws.

Florida State entered this week at 7-7 in the league with wins at Clemson, at Virginia Tech, and at Miami. Just an amazing job by a team that quite frankly had to play some Moneyball to build this roster. Optimism in Tallahassee is sky high.

STRONGLY CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS

ARIZONA - The Wildcats have not had any time to relax lately. Faced with its first two losses of the season, Arizona was also dealt the unfortunate news of a muscle strain to star Freshman Koa Peat, who is set to miss at least a week. The schedule is relentless. First, it was BYU visiting Tucson. A much more deliberately played game for Tommy Lloyd standards at just 66 total possessions. It was the right formula as BYU never held a single lead. The Cougars were also adjusting to life without Richie Saunders, fresh off the news of his Torn ACL. Regardless, Arizona ensured it would not be toppled by BYU this season, sweeping the Cougars with sheer defensive dominance. Then, it was off to Houston for the showdown with the other Cougars of the league. The established Big 12 Champs. Anthony Dell’Orso took advantage of extra playing time and shots that were afforded by the losses of Peat and Dwayne Aristode (illness), scoring 22 points in 34 huge bench minutes. Dell'Orso even he walked out of the Wildcats’ locker room Saturday with a protective boot over his left foot, per Tucson news outlets. It was all worth it. Ivan Kharchenkov and point guard Jaden Bradley scored 16 points or more against Houston, while Kharchenkov slid into the 4-spot really comfortably. Houston HC Kelvin Sampson said that the Wildcats had their best lineup with him there. Clearly it worked extra effectively with Sampson calling it out. The win cements Arizona as the leader in the Big 12 race, a foothold on the 1-seed in the West, and raises the floor of what the expectations should be about this squad even if they are without Peat.

WYOMING - The Cowboys season began with inspiring non-conference results due to knocking off a lot of quality mid-majors and get to an impressive 9-2 start. The grind of Mountain West play has taken its toll since then. Injuries to Gavin Gores, Matija Belic, and Jared Harris didn't help matters and those fellas remain out. Combine that with a frontloaded top-heavy schedule and Wyoming was 4-10 in league play entering last week. A home win over Fresno State provided the desperately needed bounce back result for the Pokes. A trip to Grand Canyon came over the weekend. These Cowboys were after GCU from the opening tip. Despite the Lopes pulling even by halftime, the Cowboys got right back to playing in front early in the second half. By the final minute, Wyoming led GCU by 10 and could taste a surprising MW road win. The defense forced 15 Lopes turnovers in the 70-65 win. The always juiced-up HC Sundance Wicks gave a quick pump up here:

TENNESSEE - The week started for these Volunteers with a statement win over the Sooners of Oklahoma, a team that came in feeling great. They had won at Vanderbilt the week before and smoked Georgia by 16 last weekend. Volunteers were not going to allow the OU streak to continue. The Sooners never led in the game, and Tennessee steamrolled to a 89-66 triumph. Nate Ament was clearly the best player on the floor, dropping 29 points and stuffing the stat sheet. This set the stage for the showdown in Nashville for facing in-state rival Vanderbilt. The Vols-Commodores battle was played with tremendous effort on both ends. JP Estrella missed all of last week, further complicating rotation load management for HC Rick Barnes. Ultimately, it was Nate Ament again, making an extraordinary shot that Vanderbilt never recovered from. The Commodores would end on a pair of empty possessions. Tennessee's terrific week is not only a great sign, it also moved the needle to allow the Vols to be a projected 4-seed now at Bracketeer.

Nate Ament silences Memorial Gym:

HIGH POINT - It was dubbed the game of the decade to some in the Big South. What we are truly experiencing in 2026 is two terrific teams in High Point and Winthrop during the same season while the rest of the league experiences inconsistent growing pains. Since the fist meeting on January 14th, both the Panthers and the Eagles have been perfect for five weeks of action. Amazing stuff. So this game, for all intents and purposes, was for all of the regular season marbles.

HPU had a dreamy start to the game. Attacking the basket worked early and often. In turn, it free'd up outside shooters. The offense was clicking for most of the day. Winthrop's Logan Duncomb was the big mystery. Could HPU stop him? Technically, no. Duncomb still had 23 points and 14 boards. He was part of a late surge to get the Eagles all the way back to a 73-all tie. Eventually, the home Panthers would prevail with some big shots. This game had such a big-time atmosphere. You'd love to see a round three in the Big South Title. Here is the HPU version of the day that was:

ROBERT MORRIS - This was just a one-game week for the surging Coloniels, but what a big one it was. A trip to the Nutter Center to face 1st Place Wright State. RMU entered this game with some much needed rest and a four-game win streak. The focus was clear from the opening tip. RMU got out in front 39-29 by halftime and the host Raiders never led. The same continued into the second half. At one point, the Colonials held a 16-point lead in the final minute. Darius Livingston is yet another promising Freshman in this great land of College Hoops. Livingston had 24 points on primarily six made triples. A terrific display by the young man. RMU is suddenly within two games of Wright State at 11-7 in the conference.

HONORABLE MENTION: REMAINING CONFERENCE AWARDS

THE AMERICAN: UAB - Blazers are refusing to do anything normal from a home and away standpoint. You may have noticed by now, this has become the 10th wonder of the world. UAB is a perfect 8-0 in conference road games while also maintaining a 1-6 home record in the AAC! Just utter silliness here. Of course, nothing is more impressive than winning road game and the Blazers kept that momentum riding high with wins at Tulane and at Memphis this past week. Battling the injury bug, the Blazers played just seven players and got 28 points from Chance Westry at Tulane. A key performance. Similar formula for HC Andy Kennedy and the squad out in Memphis – primarily seven players getting it done, 78-67. Westry once again was the go to guy, scoring 23 points.

BIG WEST: CAL POLY - Many great stories across the Big West lately, but Cal Poly continues to take the cake. The Mustangs have nearly iced the eighth and final spot at the Big West Tournament by doing it the hard way. Last week, it was a win at Hawai'i, 86-75. It is arguably one of the toughest road wins in the country. These Mustangs just continue to refuse to slow down. "Mania" is the mayhem they produce on the court and it has led to three straight wins and an 8-8 conference record. Hamad Mousa has played like an all-conference player this season. Mousa went for 24 points and nine rebounds to help lead to an impressive win in Honolulu.

MAAC: FAIRFIELD - The Stags had the opportunity to play its local neighbors last week for bragging rights. On Friday, the Stags took down Sacred Heart, 76-68. Brandon Benjamin continues to ball out, adding another double-double, 18 and 10. The win got Fairfield above .500 in MAAC-play. Then, a road visit to Quinnipiac was in store for Sunday. It was tight throughout, but Fairfield's 20-23 shooting from the foul line helped pull the road upset. Eric Mejia had six assists and 16 points. Braden Sparks led the squad in scoring with 21. Fairfield is gaining steam with a mostly young unit contributing, now 10-8 in the MAAC.

SWAC: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE - In MVSU's case, we must break one of the Teams of the Week commandments to allow room for the Delta Devils. The Delta Devils did not have a perfect week, they fell to Prairie View A&M last Thursday. However, MVSU did miraculously BEAT Texas Southern to earn its first D1 win of the season. I don't think anyone would argue this decision! It was a crazy ending with TSU just needing a clean in-bounds pass to secure victory, until MVSU stole the ball and laid it in to send shockwaves across the arena and the SWAC. Here it is:

MISSOURI VALLEY: SOUTHERN ILLINOIS - SIU has had a season full of seemingly tight losses. The overall record is frustrating for this group, as they understand they are a few slim margins away from being near the top of the Valley. Perhaps a trip to the great State of Iowa last week provided the relief that the Salukis sought. A 66-61 win at Drake last Wednesday contained a second-half comeback. SIU trailed by 13 in the first half, but locked down the Bulldogs early and often in the second half. Damien Mayo's five treys led to 22 points on just 10 shot attempts to lead the Salukis to victory. In the win at Northern Iowa, it was a massive defensive effort to stun one of the Valley's hottest teams and hold them to 57. Here is how it ended in Cedar Falls to get SIU to 8-10 in league play.

NEC: NEW HAVEN - The Chargers! Brand new to D1 and making some noise in the NEC. It all started the prior week with the stunner of the season, beating LIU. The momentum carried into the past week in wins over Stonehill and on the road at FDU. Jabri Fitzpatrick was unstoppable last week, going for 29 and 32 points, respectively. HC Ted Hotaling is clearly riding him and getting results. New Haven is suddenly 8-7 in its first NEC season.

ATLANTIC-10: DAYTON - The Flyers had the "Get Right" week they so desperately needed. Dayton traveled to Fairfax to face struggling George Mason and came away with a 82-67 victory. Someone needed to get rolling in that one, and Dayton took advantage. Flyers came home and finished the season sweep of Duquesne, 78-66. Will this be another classic late season push from the Flyers? We will find out soon as they host Saint Louis on Tuesday. Amael L'Etang had a quality week with a double-double against the Dukes and 21 points at GMU.

SOCON: CHATTANOOGA - The Mocs have been through utter hell this season. Let's just be straight about that. Injuries have annihilated Dan Earl's roster construction. Like all great coaches, Coach Earl is not making excuses. Despite an unfamiliar 4-10 conference record, the Mocs went to Macon and beat Mercer, 94-90. Mercer's preferred pace and space yielded offensive freedom to the Mocs and they finally put together 40 minutes of execution. Jordan Frison had 25 points and no turnovers in a quality performance. The Mocs also went to avenge a loss to The Citadel over the weekend. It was a successful 93-72 mission with oft-injured Collin Mulholland contributing 13 & 11 off the bench. A wonderful site for the Mocs hopes of a dark horse run at the SoCon Tournament. Mocs are 6-10 and finish with UNCG and VMI. A realistic chance is mapped out to get to 8-10 and enter that event on quite a high.

OVC: SEMO - A hard-fought road win at UT Martin in OT was the start of a special week for the Redhawks. To most, a game that only totals 109 points after OT is gross, but not to SEMO or me. Each possession was treated like gold on SEMO's end down the stretch, and the collective defense disrupted any potential Skyhawk flow. A rare sight in the OVC. UT Martin was held to just 18 made FGs in 45 minutes, an incredible achievement defensively. After the big win, SEMO rolled west to Little Rock for another road win, 70-65. Shared success was once again a theme with five Redhawks finishing in double-figures.

ASUN: FLORIDA GULF COAST - Nobody has been able to figure out Central Arkansas for over a month until FGCU fought tooth and nail with the Bears on Saturday. Still, it took a mini miracle for the Eagles to get this thing into OT and ultimately snap the improbable 11-game win streak by UCA. Freshman Jordan Ellerbe once again took a high volume of shots to lead the Eagles with 23 points. Isaiah Malone was ultra-efficient, with a pair of blocks, a trio of assists, seven boards, no turnovers, and 10 points in his 35 minutes of action. Earlier in the week, FGCU snipped Jacksonville in an 86-84 nail-biter. A crucial week for FGCU, which got back to .500 (8-8) in the ASUN.

MEAC: COPPIN STATE - We are going to ride this Eagles train as long as we can! The winning streak is now up to four after wins against South Carolina State in Orangeburg and over UMES. Out of 365 D1 schools, Coppin State still ranks 364th in KenPom, yet continues to win tight MEAC games. This team is ineligible for postseason play and is simply enjoying playing together for these final few weeks. How pure. Shout out to Cameren Sparrow for his defensive effort last week, collecting four steals and a pair of blocks. Get this, Coppin State went 1-12 with Sparrow out and is now 4-2 in their last six games with him fully back.

WAC: UTAH VALLEY - Off the court, the mess is playing out in court to determine if UVU will be eligible for the WAC Tournament – either via a TRO or if they need to send the $1M check to the WAC league office before arrival to Las Vegas. On the court, UVU just had a statement week. Beating Cal Baptist for the second time in three chances, 65-46. Wolverines swept all three games vs. UT Arlington, beating the Mavs on the road last week. That puts UVU 10-4 in WAC play and the clear top team in the league. The Wolverines' defense allowed 54 and 46 points, respectively, against CBU and UTA. Scary. UVU is dialed in.

BIG EAST: BUTLER - Bulldogs desperately needed to start winning. After all the week was preceded by a spiraling six-game losing streak. Butler got off to a promising start with a high-octane win over Georgetown, earning Thad Matta his 500th career win. Bulldogs followed that up with a mostly dominant performance against Xavier. Injuries to Azavier Robinson, Evan Haywood, and others throughout Big East play have hindered this squad from evolving. This was a great week to build on with.

CAA: HOFSTRA - The streaky Pride is back on the upswing. Hofstra took care of Hampton and won at Northeastern last week to get to 10-6 in league play. That is now six out of seven wins following a five-game losing skid. Team defense was responsible for stop after stop after stop against Hampton, holding the Pirates to just 16 FGs for the entire game in a 79-43 rout. Cruz Davis had 20 in that one, then had 22 against Northeastern en route to a stellar week. Davis had one total turnover in the 73 minutes he played last week, really efficient, I'd say. The top four teams receive byes to the CAA Quarterfinals, and Hofstra is currently in the 3-seed slot at 10-6. Hold serve with Stony Brook and Drexel this week, and Hofstra will clinch the all-important bye.

SUMMIT: NORTH DAKOTA STATE - These Bison are drama killers. NDSU has been so consistent with winning that the race has been called. Your 2025-26 Summit League regular-season champs: The North Dakota State Bison. At 13-1 in conference, NDSU has stymied nearly every team at least once. The Summit League's top defense boasts defensive rebounding, not fouling, the highest rate of steals, and the second-highest rate of forced turnovers. It has proven to be very difficult to get comfortable and set up your offense against NDSU. The Bison went to South Dakota State last week and beat the Jackrabbits, 74-66. The defense produced seven steals and limited the home side to just 14 free throw attempts. The Bison wrapped up the week with an absolute clinic in Kansas City, holding the Roos to 59 points in a 95-59 shellacking.

BIG TEN: MINNESOTA - The Golden Gophers are still just 13-14 on the year, but a week in which they beat Oregon on the road by 17 and blew past Rutgers by 19 was impressive given the circumstances. Niko Medved continues to build this thing, and it's the first time in a while where people can feel really positive about Minnesota basketball. The next three games are daunting: Michigan, UCLA, and Indiana. But don't be surprised if the Gophers continue to play spoiler. They've been excellent at not fouling opponents and have an over 70% asst to FG rate, tops in the Big Ten.

AMERICA EAST: UMBC - While NJIT and Vermont seem to attract a lot of the America East's attention, these Retrievers just keep winning. They have now clinched at least a Quarterfinal home game and are aiming for the whole enchilada. A Thursday night 75-62 handling of Vermont reminded the masses who is in charge of the America East. The Retrievers have won six in a row following the 66-62 win over Albany. Season-long hero, DJ Armstrong, Jr, went over 1,000 points mark in the win. At 11-2 in the league, UMBC has three games left until the finish line to lock up the top-seed in the AE Tournament.

IVY LEAGUE: HARVARD - I am convinced Harvard is here to stay. The Yale battles have produced a level of Crimson execution that was previously unforeseeable. In the Ivy League's single-game weekend last week, Harvard dazzled in a road romp at Cornell, 73-54. Defensively, they shut down the league's most potent attack - Big Red went just 3-22 from deep. Offensively, Tey Barbour went for 30 points, and Harvard exploited mismatches. This is a bought-in group. Hinton, Pigge, and Batties have all led in other games. Harvard's offense only turned the ball over six times at a 10% TO rate. Their second performance at 10% TO Rate or less. Impressive.

PATRIOT LEAGUE: AMERICAN U. - While Navy locked up home court advantage throughout the Patriot Tournament last week, American was simply hoping to get one postseason game at home. That goal is now achievable thanks to a 2-0 week. The road win at Bucknell was a 75-57 statement win, then the Eagles won by 14 on the road at Lafayette. The Eagles have been in every game this season and are the only team to beat Navy. If you have a surprise winner in your Patriot pick, this would be a logical alternative. Madden Collins, who we've discussed here before, will win Freshman of the Year and has been amazingly consistent for such a young player in this league. He had zero turnovers in 53 minutes logged last week. Outstanding.

SOUTHLAND: NEW ORLEANS - The Southland's most intriguing program is not going away. The Privateers hit the road for a pair of road games last week at Lamar and UIW. A domination of the Cardinals in San Antonio helped UNO shake off a frustrating one-point defeat at HCU the previous Saturday. New Orleans used an early second-half burst to blitz past Lamar in the most recent Saturday game. MJ Thomas had 19 points and a pair of blocks to help preserve the 77-71 road win. This team is now officially clinched for the eight-team Southland Tournament and will be a dangerous dark horse. Right now, UNO leads the conference in defending the paint, 2nd in contesting shots, and is the top offensive rebounding team.

WCC: SAINT MARY'S - The Gaels have a monster week coming up, but first, they had to go up to the Evergreen State for a pair of tricky games last week. The first test proved to be the toughest and most dire. A game at the Seattle Redhawks, played inside Climate Pledge Arena. Paulius Murauskas fouled out with over six minutes to go, and with SMC trailing Seattle. Tense moments were felt. It was Mikey Lewis's time down the stretch:

A convincing win at Washington State to wrap up the week sent Saint Mary's to 14-2 in the WCC with two blockbusters in Moraga on tap this week – hosting Santa Clara and Gonzaga with a ton at stake for the WCC and NCAA Tournament.

MAC: KENT STATE - It can become second nature to gloss over MAC results when a team like Miami-Ohio is in the headlines (for good reason) daily. That is why you come to this article every week! We never gloss over anything and are excited to share that Kent State has stayed consistent and remains a serious contender for the MAC Tournament trophy in Cleveland. Last week, the Golden Flashes went on the road to Ball State and Bowling Green, earning two wins. Amazingly, Kent State has 14 straight wins over Bowling Green now. Morgan Safford had 27 points in a big performance over the Falcons.

SUN BELT: JAMES MADISON - This conference delivers a new story each week. JMU has our attention now with five straight wins to get even at 8-8 in conference play. Around Harrisonburg, they are beginning to call it "Spradlin Month." HC Preston Spradlin is now 12-4 in February as the JMU coach and 6-1 in road games during this month. Last week, the win at Georgia State featured a season-high 27 points from Cliff Davis. Earlier in the week, JMU won at Coastal in a 67-65 grinder. Davis, who has been cooking, had 22 points in that important win. JMU escaped Conway thanks to a missed free throw by CCU's Joshua Beadle with under a second to play. Keep your eye on JMU for the Sun Belt Tournament. Last two contests: host GA Southern and Coastal. A strong finish would have the Dukes at 10-8 with an improved seed and on a 7-game win streak entering Pensacola.