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I will give credit where it is due. HCPM and the Shockers upset SMU at home today to get their first conference win of the season. Turning point or aberration? We shall see.

It was a very impressive win! ORU led basically the whole game and often by double digits. Yes, SDSU made their runs but it never really felt like the Eagles would lose. A week ago I would have expected SDSU to be the one who led the whole game. Of course being at home really makes a huge difference. Great turnout of around 7,000 last night for a 10-11 team. Not many schools with a losing record can draw that kind of crowd at the mid major level. Thanks to everyone who showed up to support the Eagles!

A little bit about a lot following HCRS's best win so far in his rookie campaign: Loved the uptick in substitutions. Loved the aggressive rebounding. Loved involving the post men in the offense. Loved seeing Ashton Smith get in the game. He looked rusty. Wonder why? Loved the jump rope troop at halftime. SDSU features a number of skills that are apparently coached year-in and year-out that are very hard to deal with: they quickly (and successfully) jab you in the gut and ribs when you have the ball, they use multiple spin-&-duck-&-up-&-under moves in the post without walking, and they dig their shoulders into your body to get space on the drive. They will always be a tough out with this coaching staff. That being said, this particular edition of the Jacks is not as good as usual in a couple of categories: they make sloppy turnovers, and they foul more than usual. One area that has never been a strength in Brookings reared its ugly head again tonight: they are not a good defensive team, particularly on the perimeter. They're all gonna have nightmares tonight of a 900-foot DJ Weaver raining threes down on their heads. I didn't recognize Luke Appel tonight. Gone is the StayPuft Marshmallow Man that wreaked havoc on the Golden Eagle interior two years ago, replaced by a sleek-looking forward/wing who has apparently lost all of the post skills that his previous girth provided. Go figure: less is not more in his case. Zeke Mayo should be a household name. At least, in mid-major households. Can't put my finger on why he's not a semi-superstar; he has all the tools. We all saw a glimpse tonight of just how good DJ Weaver could have been his entire career if not for... (mentally fill in the blank ________________________________________________________). I'll admit it: Josh Jones is slowly but surely getting better. Still quite a project, though. I thought the refs tonight were terrible: inconsistent, often overwhelmed, and generally bad both ways. But when I looked them up on KenPom, they are arguably the highest-ranked refs we've ever seen in the Mabee Center for a "Summit Saturday Night", which typically features the bottom of the officiating barrel. Each of tonight's zebras is listed in the top 150 of KenPom's referee ranking (typical Summit Saturday refs are in the 200-300 range). The problem may have been that these three never work together, and never work the Summit: they were from the Horizon, MAC and Sunbelt, respectively. It appears the Summit League went out of their way to round up some supposedly "better" refs for such a big match-up, but failed to get their money's worth in the process. HCRS was understandably apoplectic when ORU got that steal late and McBride, rather than pulling up with the ball on the breakaway and running valuable clock before getting intentionally fouled, instead chose to drive to the basket on not one but TWO Jacks defenders, missing the shot and then fouling the rebounder. I'm envisioning an upcoming order of silicone bracelets for the guards with WHAT WOULD MAX DO? embossed on them. I can give them a great price if they're interested. Have you ever heard a PA announcer refer to an OPPOSING PLAYER by his first name while shooting a free throw? As in, "...and Zeke will be shooting two." Asking for a friend...

I am reminded of the Nike campaign from two decades ago featuring a heralded NBA rookie named Lebron James: WE ARE ALL WITNESSES The revised tagline for these strange times might go something like this: THEY ARE ALL PROSPECTS

Maybe coach Henderson hopes Herron will enter the transfer portal and this was his first pre-recruiting move.

Got to see the game while trying Shaqs néw chicken place (Big Chicken). The food is ok and menu is overpriced. Left disappointed. Oh well. Lady Eagles lack size & athleticism but still play enough to keep up with the best. Im sure coach K will get the girls ready to finish strong this season.

Even a blind squirrel finds an occasional nut.....

Almost 5,000 on Thurs evening and over 6900 last night....impressive crowds for a sub .500 team this season....Mabee Center should be rockin' for Denver next Saturday....

Woosie one of the smoothest players I have ever seen....incredible talent at 6'5" who could run the floor...a great passer and rebounder....best all around player in ORU history....

This song came to mind:

The game is SUNDAY afternoon. It's going to be a really tough game at their place.

Well....this is very nice but we will know a LOT more about this team after Saturday afternoon at South Dakota State and the game is on national TV thanks to CBS Sports Network....looking forward to watching these ORU ladies show what they can do and at 14-5 so far they are clearly a force to be dealt with in the Summit League....

Maybe I’m just too young to have deep rooted loyalty ideas, but if you offer to more than double my income, unless God tells me “NOOOOO” I’m taking it 100/100 times. He was a class act while here, and I wish I had gone to ORU ten years later to enjoy the success he led the team to. I hope he does well at Wichita State, and I’ll only cheer against him if he plays ORU.

Just like the rest of us old-timers.

I know tone doesn't translate here. I was, of course, being facetious. But yes, Tommy Tuberville was recently asked about Saban's departure, and he said Saban was extremely frustrated with NIL, transfer portal, and the collegiate sports landscape as a whole.

Not so sure he was terrified of anyone, but the timing of his departure iss puzzling. Sudden, no hints, no successor in the wings. It smacks of someone who was ticked-off about something. The rumors around Tuscaloosa are that he was frustrated with the school's NIL efforts to date; didn't feel like they were competitive nationally.