The Young and the Hopeless: Winless Teams in NCAAW

We are now two months deep into basketball season, and the non-conference chapter has all but closed. Sitting pretty at the moment are 3 undefeated teams: Louisville, NC State, and Ohio.

But we're not here to talk about them. Scroll down the list for a while and you will come to the other side of Division 1.

In the Division 1 basement are four winless teams: Coppin State (0-13), Tennessee State (0-14), Chicago State (0-14), and Seattle (0-15).

The dishonorable mentions are teams with wins ONLY over non-D1 opponents: Southern (3-9), Alabama State (1-11), Eastern Kentucky (2-11), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-5), Delaware State (2-10), McNeese (2-11), and Charleston Southern (3-9).

We will get an opportunity to look at all these teams in the Division 1 Basement.

Coppin State (0-13)

HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: 2013-14
Last D1 Win: January 29, 2018 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore
Current D1 Losing Streak: 22 Games

Coppin State is an HBCU that is part of the University System of Maryland, which includes UMBC and Maryland, College Park. Nine of the Eagles' first 10 games were on the road, including Maryland, West Virginia, Mississippi State, and Minnesota.

Winnable Games Remaining:

January 7 @ Delaware State (2-10)
January 26 vs. Florida A&M (2-11)
February 2 vs. Morgan State (2-13)
February 25 vs. Delaware State (2-10)

Tennessee State (0-14)

HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: 2014-15
Last D1 Win: February 17, 2018 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Current D1 Losing Streak: 16 Games

Tennessee State has played moderately respectable considering their record, including scoring 73 points on the road against DePaul. Unfortunately, the Ohio Valley Conference looks to be halfway decent top to bottom, so wins will still be a struggle.

Winnable Games Remaining:
January 10 vs. Eastern Kentucky (2-11)
February 9 @ Eastern Kentucky

Chicago State (0-14)

HBCU: No
Last Winning Season: 2010-11
Last D1 Win: February 8 @ Utah Valley
Current D1 Losing Streak: 20 Games

Chicago State may not have the longest active losing streak, but they are about as low as Division 1 can possibly get. The Cougars have won just 1 game in their last 80 tries stretching back to the end of the 2015-16 season, which includes a 59-game losing streak from 2016 to 2018.

Winnable Games Remaining:

January 24 @ Seattle (0-15)
February 7 vs Cal Baptist (6-8)
February 23 vs Seattle

Seattle (0-15)

HBCU: No
Last Winning Season: 2017-18
Last D1 Win: March 10 vs. CSU Bakersfield
Current D1 Losing Streak: 16 Games

Seattle has fallen hard since their NCAA Tournament appearance last season, which was quite an upset in its own right. The Redhawks were forced to replace four of their top 6 players from last season, including their best two. A challenging slate including Arizona and Washington hasn't helped, either.

Winnable Games Remaining:
January 24 vs. Chicago State (0-14)
January 26 vs. UMKC (7-7)
February 23 @ Chicago State
February 28 vs. Cal Baptist (6-8)


Winless Honorable Mention

Southern (3-9)
HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: 2017-18
Last D1 Win: March 9, 2018 vs. Prairie View A&M
Current D1 Losing Streak: 10 Games
Quick Note: Also lost to NAIA Dillard

Alabama State (1-11)
HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: 2015-16
Last D1 Win: February 17, 2018 vs. Southern
Current D1 Losing Streak: 17 Games

Eastern Kentucky (2-11)
HBCU: No
Last Winning Season: 2015-16
Last D1 Win: February 10, 2018 vs. Morehead State
Current D1 Losing Streak: 15 Games

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-5)
HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: Unknown, ESPN only goes back to 2002, UAPB website to 2011.
Last D1 Win: March 3, 2018 vs. Mississippi Valley State
Current D1 Losing Streak: 5 Games
Note: Also lost to NAIA Philander Smith

Delaware State (2-10)
HBCU: Yes
Last Winning Season: 2007-08
Last D1 Win: March 1, 2018 vs. Morgan State
Current D1 Losing Streak: 11 Games

McNeese (2-11)
HBCU: No
Last Winning Season: 2015-16
Last D1 Win: February 28, 2018 vs. Texas A&M-CC
Current D1 Losing Streak: 12 Games
Note: Also lost to NAIA LSU-Alexandria

Charleston Southern (3-9)
HBCU: No
Last Winning Season: 2016-17
Last D1 Win: March 8, 2018 vs. Longwood
Current D1 Losing Streak: 10 Games

Villanova Wins Slugfest over Creighton, 54-52

If this was a boxing match, it would be a split decision. The low-scoring battle meant points were at a premium for Villanova (10-3, 2-1 Big East) and Creighton (7-7, 1-2).

 Creighton opened up the game outscoring the Wildcats 18-11 on the back of Audrey Faber’s 12 points. Creighton was also the aggressor off the dribble, getting to the paint 12 times with 9 shots in the paint, compared to Villanova’s 8 and 4, respectively. That ability to attack the rim worked in tandem with the Bluejays’ outside shooting, as Creighton connected on 4 of 8 three-point attempts in the first period, hitting 3 of 5 when the shots came within their system. Villanova played flat for the entire first period, hitting just 1 of 8 from long range.

In the second round (quarter), Villanova and Creighton switched roles, with Villanova hitting their threes (3 of 5 in the 2^nd quarter) and doing a better job of getting to the paint (12 paint touches to CU’s 9, 9 shots in the paint to CU’s 4). With that effort, the Wildcats took a 30-29 lead into the break.

The 3^rd round saw Creighton come out of the locker room all out of sorts, with multiple bad passes early as the team failed to click. The Jays resettled and battled to a 13-12 lead in the quarter, tying the game up at 42 apiece heading into the decisive final round. Creighton left their hands down when Villanova guard Raven James had the ball, encouraging her to shoot from long range. James was able to connect once in the 2^nd, and once in the 3^rd to help keep Villanova in it.

The 4^th quarter was another back-and-forth round, with multiple errors from both teams coming in the last few minutes as Creighton tried to claw back, and Villanova tried to hold on. The ability for Villanova to score down low keyed the victory in the decisive 4^th. Creighton was held the just 3 baskets on 10 shots, while Villanova hit 5 shots and was able to kill clock with three offensive rebounds. A last second shot never transpired for Creighton as the buzzer sounded while they were still bringing the ball up the floor.

In the first half, Creighton was able to find the shots they were looking for, shooting 9 total three pointers that came in-system. In the second half, the shots they were looking for were much harder to come by, as they attempted just 4 three-pointers that came in system in the second half.

Creighton was led by Audrey Faber (20 points, 4 assists) and Temi Carda (10 points, 10 rebounds). Carda recorded her 2^nd career double-double, and first of the 2018-19 season.

Villanova saw three players reach double figures, and benefitted from solid bench play, as two starters finished the game with zero points. The Wildcats were led by Mary Gedaka (14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) and Adrianna Hahn (11 points, 6 rebounds).

Creighton returns to action on Sunday when they host Georgetown. Villanova will continue their road swing with a trip to Providence on Sunday.

Omaha Downs North Dakota State, 90-77

North Dakota State was hot in the 2nd half during a late run, but it was far too little, far too late as the Omaha Mavericks (8-8, 2-1 Summit) coasted to a 90-77 win over the Bison (6-10, 1-2).

“That was a good old-fashioned butt-whooping” said NDSU Head Coach David Richman after the game, as Omaha reached out to a 26 point lead at one point in the second half. “We have some youth going through their first road experience, and we played like that.” NDSU junior forward Deng Geu came off the bench and had a big offensive impact, scoring 14 points in 16 minutes and collecting three offensive rebounds. “[Deng] was good from a scoring standpoint, but too many turnovers. When you turn the ball over against a team like Omaha, that really compounds itself since they’re so electric on the open floor.”

“I’m very proud of our guys from their bounce back [from a close loss to Oral Roberts]…I really thought our guys refocused tonight,” said Omaha Head Coach Derrin Hansen. The Mavericks struggled against Oral Roberts on the glass, recording just 5 first-half rebounds in their last game.

One-Two Punch

Omaha’s Mitch Hahn exploded out of the gate, netting 10 points in the first four minutes of action, to the delight of a sizeable section of Fremont High School students in the crowd supporting one of their former stars. The senior finished the day with 20 points.

Silenced over the first 18 minutes action, sophomore Matt Pile scored all 19 of his points in his final 17 minutes on the floor, owning the offensive glass (7 total offensive rebounds) on the way to his 5th double-double of the season. Hahn and Pile are tied atop the list of active Mavs players with 6 career double-doubles each.

Ball Control

Omaha’s 7 turnovers matches their season-low, and marks 7 of their past 8 games with fewer than 10 turnovers.

Coaching Stats

Here are the stats that I kept track of that don’t show up in a box score.

* Settled 3s: Three Point attempts not in-system. Settled Looks
* Rhythm 3s: Three Point Attempts in-system, either from a pass or a good pull-up.

In the 2nd half, Omaha extended their lead by getting to the paint, finishing at the rim, and drawing fouls. Omaha shot 14 free throws in the 2nd half, compared to NDSU's 4. The Mavs drew 11 fouls in the 2nd half, and finished with 30 points in the paint. This made the difference when North Dakota State really started to heat up from long range, giving Omaha a big cushion to survive easily.