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Looks like OSU just let go Boynton. 7 years was enough and they got the $$ together for the buyout. Be interesting to see who they can get.

This is one game we wish we could have driven up from Dallas to watch, but we are thankful for ESPN3's and as always, Geoff's coverage of our games. Mark, thank you for your four years at ORU. You provided so many memories both in and outside the Mabee Center. We always knew that with you and your brother Jeff playing, we would be competitive, and our record showed it. You were a workman-warrior who battled every game and didn't give up. I remember taking pride in the fact that you outplayed every big-name center you faced, Michael Cage of San Diego State, Joe Kleine of Arkansas and Keith Lee of Memphis, for example, all NBA players who though surrounded by a better cast, could not out-work or out-perform you. One of my favorite memories was your father's first game as head coach of ORU. It was a difficult challenge with the loss of beloved Coach Ken Hayes coupled with the University of Kansas coming to town. You led us to victory and brought a measure of revenge for our team's overtime loss to KU in the Elite Eight in 1974. Your father lost his voice that night and I learned that this would be a routine thing with him. He left his heart on the floor, and so did you. Thank you for choosing ORU, for four years of excellence here, and for all those entertaining nights at the Mabee Center, helping make our years at ORU to be filled with life-long memories.

LINK (excerpt) An ESPN spokesperson issued this statement late Monday night about the decision to pull out of the event: "BracketBusters has been a unique event for 11 years, producing memorable games and moments while generating national exposure for the participating schools and conferences," the statement read. "Given the evolving college landscape, we felt the event in its present form has run its course. We'll continue to work with our conference partners to develop new, creative events to further grow the sport. Our goal is to maintain the BracketBusters brand in some fashion in the future." In April, the Wichita Eagle quoted Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin saying the end was near for the event after it was revealed the Colonial Athletic Association would no longer participate. The CAA, which lost member VCU in the spring, also had a deal with the NBC Sports Network and not with ESPN. That meant George Mason, a mainstay in the event, was no longer participating.

very nice feature on Kevi by ESPN...LINK (excerpt) By the time Kevi Luper's college career comes to a close, the Oral Roberts senior's hands will be responsible for scoring more points than almost any woman who ever set foot on a college basketball court. So it's one of those curious quirks of history that it was what her legs could do that put her on a path to becoming the most prolific mid-major scorer since Jackie Stiles.

Both womens and mens team win. Kevi breaks the ORU all-time scoring record. Georgia joins some prestigious company. ORU women clinch #2 spot in tournament ORU men come up big on ESPN. Happy day!!

Nor does it mean he'll technically coach there for five more months, let alone five more years. In sports, contracts tend to be written on tissue paper. Still the gesture is a significant one and a good preemptive strike by a school that knows it has a good thing. Here are a few other schools that would be wise to get the contract lawyers busy: Oral Roberts: The school wisely gave Scott Sutton a seven-year deal after his name surfaced for the open Wichita State job. There's only two years left on that contract and the Golden Eagles are 20-5 and 12-1 in the Summit League. LINK

DoMo is certianly getting national respect this season.

here is yet another mid-major poll(ESPN) The Mid-Major Power 15 (Conference USA, the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West are not represented in these weekly rankings) 1. Creighton: The Bluejays are on a six-game winning streak. 2. Murray State: Undefeated and zero threats before March. 3. Saint Mary's: WCC's best has wins over Gonzaga and BYU. 4. Wichita State: Winners of five straight since New Year's Eve loss to Creighton. 5. Gonzaga: The Bulldogs won't matter in March if they can't win outside of Spokane. 6. Long Beach State: Tough nonconference slate helped 49ers prep for Big West (5-0). 7. Harvard: Might win the Ivy League without suffering one loss in league play. 8. BYU: Noah Hartsock (17.3 ppg) will be a much bigger name in March. 9. Oral Roberts: Dec. 18 win over Xavier kicked off nine-game winning streak. 10. Middle Tennessee State: Blue Raiders off to a 6-0 start in Sun Belt. 11. Iona: Recovered from Manhattan loss with win over Loyola (Md.) on Sunday. 12. Akron: Four-game winning streak includes wins at Marshall and against Ohio. 13. Wagner: Danny Hurley's squad has seven straight since Dec. 23 road win over Pitt. 14. Davidson: Possesses the nation's 16th-best scoring offense (79.6 ppg). 15. Weber State: Damian Lillard is averaging 25.5 ppg for undefeated Big Sky leader. LINK

ESPN favors Oakland's defense and ball control over ORU's run-and-gun... LINK 8. Oakland South Dakota State proved it's possible for Summit League teams to wedge their way into the national conversation. Oral Roberts is the obvious choice to follow suit this season, but Oakland's defense and ball control could win the day. Led by junior forward Bethany Watterworth (17.9 points per game), the top five scorers return from an Oakland team that won 20 games, led the Summit in field goal defense and finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio last season. Center Brittany Carnago gives the Grizzlies a 6-4 shot-blocking presence few mid-major teams have. Key player: Watterworth. Mid-major teams can't afford a lot of one-dimensional players, and Watterworth is the kind of all-around star that shines in leagues like the Summit. She averaged nearly a block and steal per game last season, led her team in assists and 3-pointers and finished second in rebounding. Key games: They won't be long road trips, but bus rides to play Michigan State on Nov. 27 and Purdue on Dec. 20 will give the Grizzlies a chance to compete with the best in the region. 9. Oral Roberts If nothing else, Oral Roberts is going to be fun to watch. But with five starters and the Summit League's top reserve returning from a team that won a pair of WNIT games, there should be plenty else besides entertainment. The Golden Eagles run, averaging 84.4 points and forcing 23 turnovers per game last season. National scoring and steals leader Kevi Luper (23.7 points per game, 3.7 steals per game) is the embodiment of the team's philosophy. Key player: Jaci Bigham. Luper is clearly the star of the show, but her backcourt partner since both arrived as freshmen is the X factor. Bigham shot 42.5 percent on 233 3-point attempts as a freshman. That dipped to 31.5 percent on 143 attempts last season, as Pyle became a bigger part of the offense. Bigham also played through an ACL tear at the end of the season, proving her toughness but delaying the start of her rehabilitation. Key games: It's a schedule built for a veteran team. The first weekend includes a trip to Wisconsin and road trips to Houston, Arkansas and Kansas follow, along with home games against Missouri State and Louisiana Tech.

ESPN's Jay Bilas could have played ball at 81st and Lewis (excerpt) In the fall of 1981, when Bilas was a senior at Rolling Hills High School in California, he visited the city because he was an Oral Roberts University basketball recruit. Details? “Mark Acres went to Oral Roberts,” Bilas said. “His mother was a very faith-based person, a religious person, and she really hammered my mom that I should go, that God wanted me to go to Oral Roberts to play with Mark and Jeff (Acres).” Bilas’ parents were swayed. They told him he needed to visit ORU, so he did. “Ken Hayes recruited me,” Bilas said. “I loved him. Great guy. His plan was -- and he told me this -- he was going to get me, Wayman Tisdale, Mark Price and Steve Hale and we were going to win the national championship. So when I landed at Tulsa, he picked me up at the airport and he drove me to Jenks High School to meet Steve Hale. Joe Holladay (now a North Carolina assistant) was the coach there.” FULL ARTICLE

nice thorough preview of ORU by ESPN...lots of good quotes from Coach Sutton about each player and his expectations for the season. COACH AND PROGRAM From 2006-08, Oral Roberts earned a place in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles haven't been back since. With five starters returning, Scott Sutton thinks it's time for his team to end its NCAA drought. The monster in the East, Oakland, isn't likely to go 17-1 in conference play for the third consecutive year. Oh yeah, the Golden Grizzlies will be good again, but they lost superstar center Keith Benson. "He was so good," Sutton said. "You just don't get those kinds of players in our league very often. You talk about taking chances on kids and developing them. [Oakland coach] Greg [Kampe] did a great job. Plus, the kid grew three or four inches once he got to Oakland. "They've had really good players. I think their guard play will be outstanding. It's just that they lose a pro. But they'll always be good as long as Greg's there." FULL ARTICLE