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Mid-Major Takeaways: Week Five

Mid-Major

The world of mid-major college basketball was relatively quiet considering some of the big upsets that have occurred thus far. Still, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some noteworthy items from this past week. A few schools pulled off significant wins, while a well-known mid-major had some fun.

Mid-Major Week Five Takeaways

A Good Swashbuckling

The most significant upset of the week may have taken place in Columbia, Missouri, as Charleston Southern took down Missouri 68-60 last Tuesday. Even though Missouri isn’t the most formidable basketball opponent out there, it still came as a shock due to how poor Charleston Southern was coming into the game. The Buccaneers were sub-300 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

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However, Charleston Southern hung around, never facing a deficit bigger than nine points. Duncan LeXander led the Bucs in scoring with 17 points, including a late three-point basket to give them the lead for good, one of five made threes for LeXander. Three other Buccaneers scored in double-figures, and they turned 16 Missouri turnovers into 19 points. Using the classic mid-major formula, Charleston Southern hit 8-11 from behind the arc and made 11-13 free throws in the second half. It was the school’s third win over an SEC school in program history.

Chicago Success Story

While all the focus has been on DePaul’s fantastic start, there was another school in Chicago making a splash this past week. The Chicago State Cougars defeated the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars for their first Division I road win in almost three years. Chicago State has routinely fought for the title of the worst team at the DI level, so it’s always great to see them get a win like this.

The 89-81 defeat of SIUE on the road was the first since January of 2017. Xavier Johnson led the Cougars with an impressive stat line of 23 points, five assists, four rebounds and a perfect 13-13 from the free-throw line. As a team, Chicago State went 25-27 from the charity stripe compared to SIUE going just 15-28. They were also efficient from the field, making 28-48 field goals. Comparatively, SIUE went 27-64 in field goals, wasting opportunities.

UMB-Sea

The UMBC Retrievers Twitter account blew up after the basketball team became the first 16 seed to defeat a one seed in the men’s tournament. Ever since then, the folks in the social media department have taken advantage of that to become one of the most fun follows on the website. Their latest shenanigan took us all back to our childhood. The department created a 32 episode bracket of the best Spongebob episodes of all time. It was up to their followers to decide the winners each week. “Band Geeks” defeated “The Camping Episode” in the final vote, with “Pizza Delivery” and “Fry Cook Games” rounding out the final four.

The winning episode was revealed during the final media timeout of the first half of the Retrievers’ loss to St. Francis PA on Saturday. The episode was played in full at halftime. While the tournament had little to do with basketball, it does show the impact of their upset almost two years later. The social media accounts for UMBC athletics continue to remain relevant, interacting with folks across the country.

Nor’easter

Binghamton’s overtime win over Boston University on Saturday may have been just another game to most. However, two of the best scoring performances of the week came from this game.

Sam Sessoms poured in 40 points for Binghamton in the Bearcats’ win. That point total was a career-high and a new Division I school record. His 15 made field goals were also a school record. Sessoms, a member of the America East All-Rookie team last season, hit on 6-14 three-point attempts and scored nine of Binghamton’s 14 overtime points.

Meanwhile, Max Mahoney did his best to try and win the game for Boston University. Mahoney had 38 points for the Terriers, which was a new career-high for him. He also led all players with 13 rebounds. The senior forward did all of his damage from inside the arc, shooting 15-23 from the field. He also added eight points from the charity stripe.

Mid-Major Top Performers

Outside of the two high-scorers from above, there were two other notable performances this week. Benjamin Stanley of Hampton scored 40 points in the Pirates’ loss to Howard on Thursday. This set a new career-high for Stanley, and his 15 made field goals were the most by a Pirate as a Division I program. It’s the third 40-plus point performance by a Hampton player in their Division I existence. Stanley did most of his work inside and added 11 rebounds to his stat line.

On the West Coast, Eli Scott of Loyola Marymount recorded the first triple-double in school history on Saturday. Scott scored 21 points, gathered 12 rebounds and dished out 13 assists in the Lions’ win over Grambling. The fact that this was the first triple-double in school history comes as a bit of a surprise given the type of talent Loyola Marymount had in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hank Gathers and Terrell Lowery were the only other players who had come close, both playing on those aforementioned Lions’ teams thirty years ago. Scott has now cemented himself into Loyola Marymount’s history forever.

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Matthew Waldman

Matthew Waldman

A Wofford graduate who loves a good upset by a mid major. Go Short Haired Dawgs!

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