Month: November 2025

Detroit Mercy (83) vs. University of Toledo (90) 11/15/2025

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Game #147 of 364 40% complete

Game #147 of 364 40% complete

My third and final game of my Michigan trip took me across the state line to Toledo, Ohio, about an hour from Detroit. The rocket in the photo above represents the team’s nickname, and seeing an actual rocket on campus was another first for Operation 351. Once again, I was blessed with free parking right across the street from the arena.

During a pre game ceremony, one of the seniors graduating from the Whitewash Blue Crew was unmasked to the delight of the crowd. From the university website, this is a description of the crew:

Blue Crew is a secret society of spirited individuals who represent the pride inside of every Rocket. This crazy 10-member organization consisting of UToledo students is fully dedicated to instituting, reviving, and maintaining The University of Toledo’s Traditions.

Each member is hidden under an assumed identity and name. The members are only revealed at the end of the season of their graduating year or after they have faithfully served in the position for four full semesters.

Blue Crew travels to all home and away football games as well as both men’s and women’s basketball games dressed in blue and yellow Afro wigs, gold masks, painters overalls (decorated individually by each member), and Converse All-Stars shoes.

I present to you the Whitewash Blue Crew.

Freshman point guard Leon Blyden Jr. led the Rockets with 20 points. Blyden, the Michigan Mr. Basketball runner-up, averaged 21.3 points per game as a high school senior — making it all the more surprising that he slipped past the in-state programs.

Also impressive for the Rockets was Austin Parks, who went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 at the line to finish with 17 points. The Ohio State transfer has clearly found a comfortable home in Toledo’s system.

Toledo has now beaten Detroit Mercy eight years in a row. With Detroit Mercy competing in the Horizon League and Toledo in the Mid-American Conference, it raises a good question: what’s the difference between a league and a conference when it comes to grouping teams? In short, there really isn’t one—both terms refer to collections of schools organized for athletics. Some organizations prefer the word league, others conference, but functionally they serve the same purpose.

If you’re ever in the Detroit area, you must visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. Whatever you think belongs in a museum is probably there—planes, trains, automobiles, and exhibits that touch nearly every chapter of American history. Henry Ford established the museum in 1928, and in the lobby you’ll find a stone bearing Ford’s signature and a shovel pressed into the concrete by Thomas Edison.

I could go on for pages about this incredible place, but two cars in particular captivated me. The first was the limousine President Reagan was riding in when he was shot; you can still see a small dent in the door. The second was the actual vehicle in which President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I’ll admit, I stood there for a long moment, staring into the back seat and imagining the history that unfolded there.

Goodbye, Michigan! You weren’t nearly as cold as I imagined. The heavy winter coat, hat, and gloves turned out to be completely unnecessary.

Indiana University at Indianapolis (90) vs. Eastern Michigan (83) 11/14/2025

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Game #146 of 364 40% complete

When a single athlete from a modest university ascends to NBA greatness, the school’s arena transforms into a monument to that one extraordinary legacy. At Eastern Michigan, the “Iceman” is cast in bronze outside the arena, forever enshrined as the defining figure of Eagles basketball.

I was lucky enough to snag a courtside seat—something that would never happen at a Power Five school, where high-dollar donors lock down every spot within arm’s reach of the floor. But at a smaller school like Eastern Michigan, courtside seats occasionally make their way to the general public. For just $53, it was incredible to sit that close to the action.

My only complaint? The referee kept planting himself right in front of me—exactly where he’s supposed to be, of course—but still frustrating. You can’t exactly yell “Down in front!” at an official, so it got a little annoying at times.

The band wasn’t connected to either school, but they definitely knew how to make an entrance. They sounded good, but with that many horns, they were loud. Every time they kicked off a song, I swear I nearly fell out of my chair.

Here are the students pretending to read newspapers while the other team is introduced, acting as if they’re completely uninterested. When the intros are over, the papers get crumpled and tossed like nothing happened.

Eastern Michigan made headlines this year when three former players — Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson, and Jalen Terry — refused to cooperate in an NCAA probe into potential sports-betting violations. Integrity monitoring services flagged suspicious first-half betting on three of their games last season. The NCAA even had their phones imaged, but the players declined interviews and reportedly ordered the data destroyed. While they have no college eligibility left — so they can’t lose games in the NCAA — their lack of cooperation is a Level I violation, the most serious kind. This kind of situation seems almost inevitable: as sports betting grows, the risk to the integrity of games only increases.

Eastern Michigan’s Addison Peterson carried the scoring load, but the offense around him faded late. The Eagles hit just one field goal in the last 6:39, and IU Indy stormed ahead by pouring in 16 of the final 25 points.

U Indy’s freshman standout, Maquire Mitchell, impressed me the most. He led the Jaguars with 19 points and played with confidence in every area of the game. As his coach said afterward, “He didn’t look like a freshman out there.”

Carlos Hart’s basketball journey is anything but ordinary. His path to Eastern Michigan included stops at Miami (Fla.), North Miami, Benedict College, South Georgia State, New Orleans, and Valdosta State. He’s not alone, either—ten players on the Eastern roster came from other programs before landing in Ypsilanti.

Here’s Coach Ben Howlett, fresh off the win, speaking with the local news station

After the game, I stopped by Ford’s Garage, a restaurant that’s basically a time machine to the 1920s. Old cars hang from the ceiling, the door handles are vintage-inspired, and classic cars in front of the building complete the old-school garage feel. It’s the perfect spot for car lovers and foodies alike.

On to Toledo tommorrow!

San Jose State (60) vs. Michigan State (79) 11/13/2025

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Game #145 of 364 40% complete

Welcome back to my 11th season traversing the U.S.A. in search of college basketball games. This is my first trip to Michigan to kick off a three-game series. Flying in the middle of a government shutdown had me worried that I might never see the shores of the Great Lakes. Actually, I was surprised to learn that Detroit does not overlook a Great Lake, but a smaller one called Lake St. Clair. However, it was very cool to look out over the lake and see the Canadian flag flying.

I arrived in the morning in Detroit with time to kill before the night game in East Lansing. I love to walk along scenic areas, so the River Walk on the east shore of Detroit was a must. I was expecting very cold weather, but the temperature was a comfortable 50 degrees.

The trip east to East Lansing took about an hour. Anytime I visit a big campus, finding free parking is always a challenge. I try to do research ahead of time, but most of the time the information is out of date. I’ve learned to simply ask a parking attendant at a paid lot, ‘Where can a guy without a pass park?’ Sometimes there isn’t free parking, but this time I was directed to the free Kellogg parking garage. Did I ever tell you how much I hate parking in a garage for a game? It took me an hour to get out of the garage after the game.

I saw the Michigan State Spartans earlier this year in an exhibition game against UConn. They are very athletic but lack consistent scorers. I was especially impressed with forward Coen Carr, who flew through the air multiple times to throw down some impressive dunks. Coach Izzo may not win the Big Ten title this year, but he will, as always, be a tough out in March

San Jose State gave MSU a surprising battle and actually outscored the Spartans in the second half, 37–33. SJSU was led in scoring by Colby Garland’s 22 points. He was the best player on the floor that night. Although the game was never in doubt, I’m sure Coach Izzo was not happy with the second-half letdown. I love his quote in the postgame presser: ‘We got fat and sassy at halftime.’

Jeremy Fears, the MSU point guard, is on an assist roll and could challenge Purdue’s Braden Smith for the Big Ten lead this season. Fears has 28 assists in three games this year. He is the brother of Jeremiah, who now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans.

This was an arena similar to Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke, where the students occupy much of the courtside-level seating. This setup must be a dilemma for athletic directors: Do you let the high-level donors sit near the court as a reward for their substantial contributions, or do you risk losing their goodwill by giving those seats to students, who provide far more spirit and noise but far less revenue?

Followers of my blog know that I like to point out first occurrences. This was the first game in my travels where both teams had the same nickname—Spartans. I tried to avoid using “Spartans” in the paragraphs above to prevent confusion. Perhaps someday I’ll see the UConn Huskies play the Washington Huskies.