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Don Meyer is retiring after the season. Never heard of him? You’re probably not alone. The first time I heard about Meyer, men’s college basketball’s all-time wins leader, was in 2008 when he suffered a nearly fatal car accident. He’s never coached at the Division I level but he did lead Lipscomb — back when it was an NAIA school — to a national championship and a dozen 30-win seasons. My point here is not to pretend as if I’m an expert on Don Meyer’s career. I know almost nothing about the guy. However, he’s a perfect example of just how many diamonds-in-the-rough exist in the coaching business. So often, we focus only on the stardom of Tom Izzo, Bill Self, John Calipari, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. It’s so easy to forget about the sustained success of a mid-major coach like Dana Altman at Creighton or Bob McKillop at Davidson. There are so many coaches at every level, beginning with the high school ranks, that don’t have the ambition of Calipari but can still flat-out coach. WEEKLY PREVIEW GAMES TO KEEP AN EYE ON Tennessee at Florida Could the Gators really miss the NCAA Tournament three seasons in a row after winning back-to-back championships? Tuesday might give us some insight into that answer.
Prediction: Tennessee 82, Florida 72 Illinois at Michigan Having lost two straight after a five-game winning streak, Illinois needs this one at Crisler Arena.
Prediction: Illinois 67, Michigan 55 Vermont at Stony Brook Stony Brook has come out of nowhere to challenge perennial AEC contender Vermont. Wednesday’s game decides first place.
Prediction: Stony Brook 65, Vermont 56 Dayton at Temple Dayton’s fellow A-10 members are improving their at-large chances—and a win at Temple would put the Flyers right in that conversation.
Prediction: Temple 77, Dayton 66 Texas A&M at Baylor These two teams once played a five-overtime game in Waco a few years ago. That won’t happen again, but Wednesday’s game is still worth watching.
Prediction: Baylor 82, Texas A&M 72 Xavier at Saint Louis The upstart Billikens are building for the future, having now won six straight games in the strong A-10.
Prediction: Saint Louis 66, Xavier 62 Oklahoma State at Texas Texas already won in Stillwater and needs to protect its home court to avoid further disaster this year.
Prediction: Texas 76, Oklahoma State 65 Last week’s prediction record: 6-2 |
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