Ramblings from the Ultimate Sports Sentimentalist

I published the column below a couple of weeks ago, but due to several shifts in some of the conference standings, I think it might be best to update it by adding and subtracting a few teams.  Only teams in first or second place in their conference will be included in this column.

We are just a few days away from the start of the mid-major conference tourneys, so it’s time to see which Cinderella stories could emerge.  The mid-major conference tournaments are the source much of the early holiday season drama, as only the tourney champion will be able to put on their dancing shoes.  While almost all mid-major NCAA teams have the chance to play Cinderella come Christmas Day (aka the first round of the NCAA tourney), it is particularly special when these teams have an inspiring sentimental storyline.  Often times this involves a squad making its first trip to the Big Dance (see North Dakota State last year).  Other times there is a likable coach who warms the hearts of the nation (see Pete Carril in 1994).   Inevitably, when the second week of March comes around, these stories will come to fruition.  In the meantime, it’s worth looking at the standings and checking out which mid-major conference leaders/contenders could inspire us during ESPN’s annual championship week.  These are listed in alphabetical order by conference and then by conference record.

Stony Brook (America East)-They’ve opened up a 2 game lead  at the top of the conference standings now. Even though the Black Bears would have to be considered a better Big Dance storyline from this conference, the Seawolves are also a Big Dance virgin with a great shot at getting in.

Maine Black Bears (America East)- Even though they’ve been sliding a bit of late, the Black Bears are still tied for second in the American East standings with a fighting chance to get their first tourney bid.   Besides this being a potentially incredible story, I have another reason for putting the Black Bears at #1 on this list.I track all the visitation stats for this blog with Google Analytics, and in its six-month history I have had over 2,000 visitors from 10 countries (including Iraq, India, and Australia) and every U.S. state, except for  Maine .  I do realize many ad-filtering programs prevent Google Analytics from tracking all visitation data, but you would have thought that by now at least one of the documented visits would come from there.  Hopefully, with this profile on Maine Black Bear, someone from Maine will stumble their way on here.

Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)- The Dolphins (great college nickname) haven’t danced since 1986 but are currently leading the A-Sun.  Many of you probably don’t realize that Jacksonville was the surprising national runner-up to UCLA in 1970.  It would be great to see a team with such an impressive Cinderella pedigree rejoin the dance.

Lipscomb (Atlantic Sun)- The Church of Christ school has never danced, but they are only one game back of Jacksonville.

Northern Colorado (Big Sky)- The Bears have never danced, but they find themselves in second place in the Big Sky.   

Coastal Carolina (Big South)- The Chanticleers, which is maybe the most absurd/commonly misspelled nickname in all of sports, are dominating the Big South right now, even though they haven’t danced since 1993.  It would certainly be fun to see the chaos in Myrtle Beach if Coastal went on to take the conference crown.

Quinnipiac (Northeast)- They’ve knocked on the Big Dance door a few times recently, but have never made it through.   The Bobcats have another good chance this year, as they are only one game behind Robert Morris at the top of the conference standings.

Murray State (Ohio Valley)- The Racers used to be an annual Big Dance Cinderella threat, but it’s actually been 4 years since this squad has made it in.  Nevertheless, they are currently sporting an impressive 16-1 conference record and a 26-4 overall mark, as they could be dangerous 13 or 14 seed in March.

Wofford (Southern)- If you’re not from South Carolina, you probably don’t know a lot about this small school in Spartanburg.  The team has enjoyed some 1-AA football success but has never danced, and consistently finds itself in the shadow of next door neighbor Furman, both academically and athletically.  However, a dance bid changes everything, and Wofford is currently alone at the top of the SoCon.

College of Charleston (Southern)-Bobby Cremins back in the big dance for the first time since 1996?  What else needs to be said.  They’ve fallen out of first place in the conference with a loss at Wofford last night, but they’ll get them on a neutral site in the conference tourney. 

Jackson State (SWAC)- There is nothing sentimental about Jackson State itself, as they’ve been a dominant force in the SWAC for a while now.  The real storyline here comes from the fact that the Tigers started the season 0-10, and now find themselves leading the conference by 2 games!  Is Jackson State the most resilient team in the country, or is the SWAC just that bad of a conference?

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC)- If you’re impressed with Jackson State’s ability to turn things around after an 0-10 start, then I got one better for you.  The Golden Lions, who have never danced before, started the season 0-11!  They’re now 2nd in the SWAC tied with Prairie View.  I would call this another amazing turnaround, but Pine Bluff probably had one of the most brutal non-conference schedules in the country as they had to play 9 BCS /NCAA tourney teams.   Not to mention their first 14 games of the season were true road games, so they didn’t play at home this season until January 16th!  I think whoever does the scheduling around there needs to get canned immediately.