Tom McNally

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@ryanhammer09 A10 puts 6 on each team. Dont ask me why but that’s what they’ve done in the past.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@TaliaGoodmanWBB What happens first: UVA in top ten or Richmond back in NCAAs?

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@PrestonWillett @ACCbballDegens @thesabre Any interest in talking to the two knuckleheads (one of them is me) who do the Spiders bball podcast with a meaningful women’s team focus. Spiderssoundoff is the name of the pod.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@mid_madness Definitely need to ignore the wishes of teams begging the Big East for an invite.

[Kevin Urquhart @urquharthoops]

A major cause of the reduction of upsets is being completely overlooked — the adoption of the same analytics and focus on efficiency by almost all teams.

Only 5-6 years ago, many of us still believed that defense wins championships and hadn’t yet realized that a three-pointer is so much more efficient than a midrange jumper. This led to top teams being inherently more vulnerable.

If, as an underdog, you caught a top seed that was slower paced, defensive-minded, and short on shooting, you could beat them with a hot shooting night or a defensive scheme that baited them into taking inefficient shots.

Now, the big dogs have optimized their style of play. The big dogs and the underdogs are playing the exact same brand of basketball, but the big dogs have much better players.

Take these two Illinois teams as an example:

2020-2021 #1-seed Illinois (#8 ORtg KP)
- #320 three-point rate (30.0%)
- #54 OREB % (30.3)
- Lost in second round to Loyola Chicago, making 4 threes and securing 5 OREBs

2025-2026 #3-seed Illinois (#2 ORtg KP)
- #13 three-point rate (50.6%)
- #3 OREB % (38.9)
- Beat Penn in first round making 15 threes and securing 20 OREBs

Coached by the same guy, their entire philosophy has shifted in five years and had made them much more immune to upsets. Other high majors have size and athletes to combat this and potentially turn the reliance on threes into a weakness. But mid-majors don’t.

The talent gap has always been there, but now, rather than finding clever ways to compete, mid-majors are forced to try to beat the powerhouses at their own game.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@atlantic10 @bespokenspirits And what is available in Richmond for the women’s tournament?

[Mitchell Northam @primetimeMitch]

Move over Audi Crooks.

Make room for Maggie Doogan.

The @SpiderWBBall forward scored 48 points in a triple-OT win over Davidson.

Quick story here for @usatodaysports:

https://t.co/3YksrPVOkR

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@3BidLeaguePod Two games vs Loyola-Chicago is unfortunate and one loss would end the dream.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@MatSheltonEide Curious what source and data you are using. Thanks!

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@JoshYohe_PGH For me, media reporting about media is the only time people care about this stuff. We don’t hate media, just properly think it is way secondary to the real story.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@MasonFanatic I think these rankings are just looking at results to date. It ignores the Bartovik modeling for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, St Louis does have to play Loyola twice…

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@3BidLeaguePod You forget Loyola-Chicago is in the A10??

[Daniel Popper @danielrpopper]

Justin Herbert was hit four times on that opening drive, including on a TD pass to Oronde Gadsden. He went 6-for-7 for 66 yards.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@JunksRadio @1067theFan @team980 @910TheFan @Audacy @MonSportsNet Last caller said “don’t rush it” but didn’t Peters rush it this past summer trading draft picks for older talent?

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@A10Stats The Tavern for Richmond Spiders. Home Team Grill for VCU is a poor man’s Applebee’s.

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@JoshDubowAP No one is saying Geno is better than Drew Brees?

[Tom McNally @tmacdaddy]

@temptherat I can think of another @spiderssoundoff

[MLB @MLB]

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.

The beloved Cubs second baseman was a five-tool model of consistency in the 1980s and early ’90s, making 10 consecutive All-Star teams and winning 9 straight Gold Glove awards.

On June 23, 1984, a national TV audience watched Sandberg hit a pair of game-tying home runs in the 9th and 10th innings off Cardinals closer and future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter. Part of a magical Cubs Postseason run, the game is forever remembered in Chicago as “The Sandberg Game.” He went on to win the 1984 NL MVP Award.

Over 16 seasons, Sandberg slugged 282 home runs, 277 of which were as a second baseman, then a Major League record. He hit 25+ homers five times and stole 30+ bases five times.

Sandberg made his Major League debut with the Phillies in 1981 and later managed them for parts of three seasons.

On June 23, 2024, the 40th anniversary of his iconic moment, the Cubs unveiled a statue of Sandberg outside Wrigley Field.

Sandberg bravely battled cancer the last two years. He was 65.

[Greg Zumach @IvyFutures]

Cade Horton started this game and pitched into the seventh inning
PCA scored the tying run
Matt Shaw got the game winning hit

The Cubs’ future is here