Season 32 PIT Field Announced

Here is the complete field for the Season 32 Pre-Conference Invitational Tournament...

Team Current Record RPI/SOS
#10 Oklahoma 7-1/15-3 14/118 Big 12 South Leader
Arkansas LR 7-1/14-4 22/35 Sunbelt South Leader
Coastal Carolina 5-3/11-7 39/19 Big South East 2nd place
Xavier 7-0/11-6 88/108 A10 West Leader
#13 Marshall 7-0/16-1 8/73 C-USA East Leader
#21 Villanova 6-2/12-6 41/42 Big East East Division Leader
Tennessee Tech 7-0/14-3 12/63 Ohio Valley North Leader
Season 31 PIT winner-------------------------------To be determined---------

As you can see, this is another very strong field with very successful teams and coaches.

Season 32 Schedule Announced

Please note that if any coach switches schools after the current season, I need to be notified ASAP so that the schedule shows your new school. If you switch schools after Season 31, your old school will still participate in the Season 32 field, but you will be offered an invitation to participate in a later season.
Please also note that you will need to leave a spot open on your schedule whenever it says "Season 31 winner" as we won't know this until a later date. The team that wins next season's classic will do the inviting for these games. Otherwise the home team will invite the visiting team on the schedule...Please make sure that you refer to this schedule and get it right or we will have a huge mess!
Without further ado, here is the schedule...

Game 4
Season 31 Winner (TBD) at Coastal Carolina (mgccpro)
Tennessee Tech (kevbo65) at #10 Oklahoma (tracyr)
#21 Villanova (rgun) at Arkansas, Little Rock (ice3pter)
Xavier (delynn10 ) at #13 Marshall (pdanao)
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Game 5
Coastal Carolina at Marshall
Tennessee Tech at Villanova
Arkansas Little Rock at Oklahoma
Xavier at Season 31 Winner
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Game 6
Season 31 Winner at Tennessee Tech
Oklahoma at Coastal Carolina
Villanova at Xavier
Marshall at Arkansas Little Rock
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Game 7
Coastal Carolina at Villanova
Tennessee Tech at Marshall
Arkansas Little Rock at Season 31 Winner
Xavier at Oklahoma
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Game 8
Season 31 Winner at Villanova
Oklahoma at Marshall
Xavier at Coastal Carolina
Arkansas Little Rock at Tennessee Tech
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Game 9
Marshall at Season 31 Winner
Villanova at Oklahoma
Coastal Carolina at Arkansas Little Rock
Tennessee Tech at Xavier
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Game 10
Oklahoma at Season 31 Winner
Marshall at Villanova
Arkansas Little Rock at Xavier
Coastal Carolina at Tennessee Tech

PIT Season 30 Final Standings

1st place--Tennessee Tech 6-1
2nd place--Miami, FL 6-1
3rd place--Arkansas Little Rock 4-3
4th place--Northwestern State 4-3
5th place--South Carolina State 3-4
6th place--Western Illinois 3-4
7th place--Siena 2-5
8th place--Davidson 0-7

Thanks again to all that participated in this years classic and the tourney records and all tourney teams will be posted in the next few days. I will also provide updates on RPI/SOS #'s for each team as the season goes on. If you are interested in being in the Season 32 field, please submit a message to me on the message board or site mail me...

Thanks!
kevbo65

Final Day Schedule of Games...

Davidson (0-6) at SC State (2-4)
Siena (2-4) at UALR (3-3)
W Illinois (3-3) at NW State (3-3)

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME****
Tennessee Tech (5-1) at #2 Miami, FL (6-0)

Special Press Conference Held Today

A press conference was initially scheduled for yesterday to discuss the state of the RPI/SOS numbers that had just come out, but was later postponed as kevbo65 was still fuming by the initial results. Just after the home pep rally today, a press conference was held to discuss the issue. As a side note, during the pep rally a chant broke out "Nuts and bolts, nuts and bolts, we got screwed."

At the press conference, kevbo65 questioned the system in place currently as a result of the teams that are currently playing in the inaugural PIT classic. "We have currently a tournament in place that is featuring 8 teams that were in the national tournament last year and I feel that these teams are not getting the proper respect at this point in the season. We are told to go out and schedule tough competition and this tournament has clearly done that for all 8 of these teams, however the numbers just don't add up. How can there be such a huge disparity in the numbers thus far when each team is playing such a similar schedule? While we are not happy with what we see, we will allow the season to play out before we launch any further investigation to review how these numbers are arrived at."

Kevbo65 again thanked the teams that are participating in this years event and felt that some great basketball has taken place during this tournament. He also is very confident that each squad in this field will do "great things in their respective conferences and together will drive the numbers up for each other as the season plays out."

Below is the data that kevbo65 provided to base his comments on...
#2 Miami, FL (5-0) RPI 62, SOS 208
Tennessee Tech (4-1) RPI 125, SOS 233
Western Illinois (3-2) RPI 182, SOS 268
Northwestern State (3-2) RPI 117, SOS 182
Arkansas Little Rock (2-3) RPI 38, SOS 25
South Carolina State (2-3) RPI 78, SOS 84
Siena (1-4) RPI 188, SOS 73
Davidson (0-5) RPI 315, SOS 238

Round 5 Goes to the Road Warriors

The road team came away victorious in 3 of the 4 matchups in last evening's PIT. The one game claimed by the home squad was a double overtime thriller as South Carolina State prevailed over Arkansas Little Rock 106-102. Arkansas Little Rock (5-3) was staked to an early 44-35 halftime lead before South Carolina State (5-3) erased that deficit and forced the extra session with the scored tied at 82-82. One extra session proved not enough as these two teams took it to another OT with the score tied at 92-92. Finally, with 1:16 left in the 2nd OT, Floyd Gettys hit a key 3 pointer to put the game in South Carolina State's favor at 103-102 and a few freethrows later, the game was theirs.

Gettys led five players in double figures for the winning team with a game high 26 points while Darrell Lane led a balanced UALR scoring attack (as all 5 starters scored double figures) with 18 points.
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Siena (2-6) earned their 1st victory in the PIT last evening with a victory at Davidson (0-8) 69-40. Siena raced to a halftime lead of 29-15 and never looked back as they kept Davidson winless in the tourney.

Paul Williams led Siena in scoring with 19 points while Richard Bailey tallied 10 points in the loss.
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#2 Miami, FL (6-2) visited Northwestern State (5-3) and left town with the 61-41 victory. The game was a close margin at halftime (30-22 Miami,FL) however Miami, FL proved to be too much in the 2nd half as they wore down the NW State club.

David Morris was the leading scorer for Miami, Fl with 15 points while Marshall Hart scored 19 points in the defeat.
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In the final matchup last evening, Tennessee Tech (5-3) invaded the Western Illinois (5-3) gym and scored a 81-69 victory. Western Illinois led at the break 32-29 and led by as many as 10 points in the 2nd half before Andrew Fujita hit 2 free throws with 9:42 remaining to provide Tennessee Tech with a lead at 48-47. It was a lead they would never relinquish from that point.

Antonio Cruz led Tech with 17 points while Daniel Heck led Western with 15 points.
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Standings

Miami, FL 5-0
Tennessee Tech 4-1
Western Illinois 3-2
Northwestern State 3-2
Arkansas Little Rock 2-3
South Carolina State 2-3
Siena 1-4
Davidson 0-5

Day 6 Schedule of Games

SC State (2-3) at Siena (1-4)
UALR (2-3) at Davidson (0-5)
NW State (3-2) at Tenn Tech (4-1)
Miami FL (5-0) at W Illinois (3-2)

Round 4 Goes to the Home Dogs

Home teams took 3 of 4 games in last evenings installment of the PIT.

Siena (1-6) travelled to #4 Miami, FL (5-2) and were soundly defeated by the final score of 98-61. Miami, FL scored early and often as they raced to a 61-26 halftime lead.

Four bench players scored in double figures for Miami, FL led by Frank Jarrett's 16 points.

Robert Wright scored 13 points for Siena in the defeat.
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Davidson (0-7) remained winless after a defeat at Western Illinois (5-2) 51-27. Defense was on display as the halftime score was 20-15 in the favor of Western Illinois.

Daniel Heck led the winners with 11 points while Kenneth Hylton tallied 7 points in the loss.
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South Carolina State (4-3) went to Northwestern State (5-2) and left on the short end of a final score of 75-56. NW State led 36-29 at halftime and never looked back as they earned their 3rd victory in the PIT.

Robert Ransdell and Terrence Geisler paced Northwestern State with 14 points each while Floyd Gettys poured in 13 points in the losing effort for South Carolina State.
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Finally, in the evening's most entertaining matchup, Arkansas Little Rock (5-2) escaped Tennessee Tech (4-3) with a hard fought 83-74 victory in overtime. Tennessee led 40-33 at the half but UALR persistance to not go away paid off as they knotted the score up at 70-70 at the end of regulation. The score remained close in the overtime session and Clarence Farris hit 2 key freethrows with 2:24 remaining to give UALR the 75-74 lead and they never looked back after that point.

Farris led 4 players in double figures with 17 points in the victory while Young Mang scored 19 points off the bench in the losing effort.
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Standings

Miami, FL 4-0
Western Illinois 3-1
Northwestern State 3-1
Tennessee Tech 3-1
Arkansas Little Rock 2-2
South Carolina State 1-3
Siena 0-4
Davidson 0-4

Game 5 Schedule of Games

Arkansas Little Rock (2-2) at SC State (1-3)
Siena (0-4) at Davidson (0-4)
Miami FL (4-0) at NW State (3-1)
Tenn Tech (3-1) at W Illinois (3-1)

Round 3 Goes to the Road Warriors...

Day 3 of the PIT featured another 3 victories by the road team. In the only matchup in which the home team prevailed, Arkansas Little Rock (4-2) defeated Northwestern State (4-2) 91-76. UALR led by a margin of 41-33 at the half and never looked back in the 2nd half.

Andrew Young led the winners with 18 points while Jie Young took game honors with 19 points in a losing effort.
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Ricky Stewart led Western Illinois (4-2) with 21 points as they prevailed at Siena (1-5) 69-60. The game was tied at 30 at halftime and Siena then fell behind by as much at 18 points in the 2nd half before John Cameron's 3 pointer at the 2:04 mark narrowed Western's lead to 61-56. This was as close as Siena could get however as Western Illinois hit key free throws down the stretch to hold onto the victory.

Robert Wright led Siena with 12 points.
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#4 Miami, FL (4-2) travelled to Davidson (0-6) last evening and left town with a 66-49 victory. This score didn't really reflect the close nature of this game as the score was even at 29 at halftime. The score remained close throughout the 2nd half until Christopher Mazer's driving layup at the 8:22 mark extended the lead to 48-41 and Miami, FL never looked back after that point.

Charles Alexander led Miami, FL with 12 points while Hubert Freeland tallied 9 points in a losing effort.
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Tennessee Tech visited the South Carolina State gym last night and escaped with a 63-58 victory. Tennessee Tech (4-2) held a very small halftime margin of 34-32 over the very gamed South Carolina State (4-2) team. Steven Sandstrom hit a key 3 pointer with 6:23 left in regulation to break a 47-47 tie and held on late to preserve the victory.

Antonio Cruz led the victorious Tech team with 14 points while Robert Willis and Richard Lum held State close by scoring 12 points each.
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Standings
Miami, FL 3-0/4-2
Tennessee Tech 3-0/4-2
Western Illinois 2-1/4-2
Northwestern State 2-1/4-2
Arkansas Little Rock 1-2/4-2
South Carolina State 1-2/4-2
Siena 0-3/1-5
Davidson 0-3/0-6

Game 4 Schedule

Davidson (0-3) at W Illinois (2-1)
SC State (1-2) at NW State (2-1)
UALR (1-2) at Tenn Tech (3-0)
Siena (0-3) at Miami FL (3-0)

Day 2 Ruled as a Split Decision...

The 2nd day of the inaugural PIT proved to be a day in which the home team and visiting team won 2 games each...

In games featuring road victories...

Western Illinois (3-2) left Arkansas Little Rock (3-2) with a hard fought 97-89 victory. Each team left the defense at home as demonstated by both the final talley and the 52-39 margin that Western Illinois enjoyed at the break. The game seemed to be won at the 3pt line as Western Illinois went 12-24 from that distance to just 3-20 for Arkansas Litttle Rock.

Daniel Heck led the Western Illinois attack with 21 points as 5 players finished in double figures.

Roy Agee scored 18 points in a losing effort.
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Northwestern State (4-1) went to Siena (1-4) last evening and prevailed 75-71. This was undoubtably the best game of the evening as witnessed by the 37-35 halftime score and by the 69-67 score in the final minute of the game. Northwestern State had a huge 3 pointer by Kung with 55 seconds left to widen the lead to 72-67 but Siena never really gave up. The final 2 free throws were also tallied by Kung as he was fouled while the horn sounded to end the game.

Northwestern State was led by Terrence Geisler with 21 points while Paul Williams led Siena scorers with 23 points.
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Meanwhile, the home victors were as follows...

South Carolina State (4-1) went to #6 Miami, FL (3-2) and lost 69-48. Miami, FL scored early and often as they raced to a 43-17 halftime margin.

Robert Willis led South Carolina State in scoring with 9 points while David Morris paced Miami, FL with 17 points.
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Finally, the host school, Tennessee Tech (3-2) defeated Davidson (0-5) 61-50. The score stayed close as Tennessee Tech led 28-23 at half but Davidson could never find a way to overcome the deficit.

Davidson's Hubert Freeland and Kenneth Hylton led them in scoring with 12 points each while Andrew Fujita led the winning effort with 20 points.
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Standings

Miami FL 2-0
Northwestern State 2-0
Tennessee Tech 2-0
Western Illinois 1-1
South Carolina State 1-1
Arkansas LR 0-2
Siena 0-2
Davidson 0-2

Day 3 Schedule of Games

W Illinois (1-1) at Siena (0-2)
NW State (2-0) at UALR (0-2)
Tenn Tech (2-0) at SC State (1-1)
Miami FL (2-0) at Davidson (0-2)

First Round Goes to the Road Warriors...

In last nights 1st night of the inaugural PIT, the road team took 3 of the 4 matchups...

In the only matchup that the home team prevailed, South Carolina State maintained a perfect 4-0 start to the season with a victory over Western Illinois (2-2) 82-68.

SC State was paced by 5 players in double figures and was led by Robert Willis with 15 points. They jumped out to a 46-36 lead at halftime.

Fred Alling and Daniel Heck led Western Illinois with 14 points each.
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In other action, Northwestern State (3-1) went to Davidson's den and defeated them 79-58.

Marshall Hart led 3 players in double figures for NW State with 25 points, including 11-19 from the field. They lead at the half 47-30.

Davidson (0-4) was led by Steven Sayre with 14 points.
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At Arkansas Litttle Rock, Miami,FL (2-2) invaded and took UALR (3-1) hopes for a perfect season away with 86-69 victory. The game was much closer at half (35-30) and throughout the 2nd half as Miami, FL pulled away late.

David Morris led 4 Miami,FL players in double figures with 20 points while Darrell Lane paced 4 Davidson players in double figures with 18 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.
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Finally, the host school of the tournament, Tennessee Tech (2-2), took to the road and faced Siena (1-3). Again, the road team prevailed with a 66-34 victory after jumping out to a 40-15 halftime lead.

Tennessee Tech was led by Young Mang's 16 points off the bench while Siena was led by Paul Williams with 8 points.
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Standings:
Miami (FL) 1-0
South Carolina State 1-0
Northwestern State 1-0
Tennessee Tech 1-0
Arkansas Little Rock 0-1
Western Illinois 0-1
Davidson 0-1
Siena 0-1

Day 2 Schedule of Games

W Illinois (0-1) at Arkansas Little Rock (0-1)
NW State (1-0) at Siena (0-1)
Davidson (0-1) at Tenn Tech (1-0)
SC State (1-0) at Miami FL (1-0)

The Games are about to Begin...

The 1st installment of the PIT will start tonight...

Here is the daily schedule...

Western Illinois (woltzy) at South Carolina State (thejackal)
Northwestern State(washatkc) at Davidson (mcbain10)
Tennessee Tech (kevbo65) at Siena (austlb56)
Miami FL(goodtymes31) at University of Arkansas Little Rock (ice3pter)

An update standings board will be posted daily so that you may keep up with all of the lastest action...

It all starts counting tonight!
Best of Luck to all Participants!!
Kevin