12 Jan30 - Guard-Happy (MIDCONFERENCE)

Volume XVI, No. 13 - 12 Jan30 : MIDCONFERENCE - [] Top 25 Ballot

Guard-Happy

Florida handled Mississippi State, @69-57, to stay in contact with Kentucky in the SEC. The Gators lead the nation, making 11 three-pointers per game and were spot-on their average (11-for-24); but they were outrebounded 25-30 and only shot 4-for-7 on free throws. Vanderbilt, by contrast, shot 24-for-30 from the line in its @84-77 handling of upstart Middle Tennessee.
     Wisconsin kept Indiana on its downward slide, winning @57-50, as the deliberate Badgers only committed 4 turnovers while the Hoosiers only managed 4 assists.
     Syracuse escaped with a @63-61 win over West Virginia, thanks to game-winning free throws from gBrandon Triche(18p) (and a missed goal-tending call in their favor). Ohio State routed Michigan, @64-49; and Baylor held off Texas, @76-71, thanks to 27-for-34 on free throws (and despite 32p5a from pJ'Covan Brown).

Point-forward pfRoyce White(18p9r5a) controlled things well enough for Iowa State to hand Kansas a @72-64 defeat -- it may not come together completely this year, but the Cyclones could be something quite special with him as the focus. 25p12r from cRicardo Ratliffe wasn't enough as Missouri stumbled on the road at Oklahoma State, 72-@79, thanks to 27p from freshman tLeBryan Nash. Kansas State was tripped up at home by Oklahoma, @60-63, thanks to 30p from gSteven Pledger. Wichita State fell out of first place in the MVC, losing 86-@93(3OT) at Drake. San Diego State fell back into a tie for first place in the MWC after getting blown out at Colorado State, 60-@77.

Massachusetts claimed a share of the A-10 lead with a @72-59 win over St. Louis. Likewise, Southern Mississippi co-leads C-USA after handling Central Florida, @78-65.
     And pause to give a hand to Towson, which ended its D-I record 41-game losing streak with a @66-61 win over UNC-Wilmington.

More conferences made it the midpoint of the regular season. Ohio State and Michigan State led the BIG 10 (with two head-to-head clashes yet to come); Michigan and Wisconsin were tied for third; Purdue was fifth. Syracuse led the BIG EAST with Marquette alone in second; Notre Dame, Georgetown and South Florida were all tied for third; West Virginia, Louisville and Cincinnati tied for sixth place. California and Washington shared the PAC-12 lead; Oregon and upstart Colorado tied for third; UCLA, Stanford and Arizona hung in, all tied for fifth.
     In the SUN BELT, Middle Tennessee made it through undefeated with a two-game gap. In the WCC, St. Mary's was unbeaten ahead of Gonzaga. Davidson had been undefeated with a THREE-GAME GAP in the SOUTHERN, (but gave one back with a 74-@77 loss at Samford).
     Bucknell's @67-61 win over American made it undefeated with a two-game gap in the PATRIOT. Likewise, unbeaten Nevada had a two-game gap lead in the WAC. In the ATLANTIC SUN, Belmont and Mercer shared first place. Norfolk State led the MEAC, undefeated with a gap.

Ohio State has a tough trip on the road at Wisconsin (Saturday). Kansas visits Missouri (Saturday) with first place in the BIG 12 on the line. Florida State gets another chance to prove it's really the best ACC team when Virginia comes to visit (Saturday). Florida hosts Vanderbilt (Saturday) in a battle to hang on to second place in the SEC. Memphis hosting Xavier (Saturday) looked a lot better on paper when the season started than it does now that the game is upon us. Southern Mississippi looks for payback against visiting Memphis (Wednesday) in a showdown for first place in C-USA. Only the winner remains in first place in the METRO ATLANTIC when Manhattan hosts Iona (Saturday). Texas-Arlington hosts Texas-San Antonio (Wednesday) in the first of two meetings with first place in the SOUTHLAND at stake.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

Missouri-@Texas, @WVirginia-Pittsburgh, @NorfolkSt-CoppinSt,
(BRACKETBUSTERS PAIRING SELECTION) [142 teams/71 games],

Tuesday:

MichiganSt-@Illinois, Vanderbilt-@Arkansas, @IowaSt-KansasSt,

Wednesday:

@UNLV-ColoradoSt, Indiana-@Michigan, @Georgetown-Connecticut, @StLouis-StBonaventure, @SoMississippi-Memphis, @Northeastern-Drexel, @TXArlington-TXSanAntonio(TX), @BostonU-Vermont,

Thursday:

@MurraySt-SEMissouri, @California-Arizona, Gonzaga-@BYU, @NTexas-MidTennessee, @Washington-UCLA, @SDState-OralRoberts, @Campbell-CharlestonSo,

Friday:

BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD II -(@Lipscomb-Belmont(TN)),

Saturday:

OhioSt-@Wisconsin, Kansas-@Missouri, @FloridaSt-Virginia, UNLV-@Wyoming, @Florida-Vanderbilt, Marquette-@NotreDame, Indiana-@Purdue(IN), @Georgetown-SFlorida, @StLouis-Dayton, @Denver-MidTennessee, @Memphis-Xavier, @Alabama-Mississippi, @Connecticut-SetonHall, @GeoMason-OldDominion(VA), @Tulsa-Marshall, @LaSalle-@StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(/PALESTRA/)(BIG_5), @Colorado-Oregon, @Stanford-Arizona, @Akron-EaMichigan, @Manhattan-Iona(NY), @NDState-OralRoberts, @VCU-Northeastern, @CoCarolina-CharlestonSo, @LongIsland-CConnecticutSt, @Wagner-RobertMorris, @MontanaSt-Montana(MT), @Mercer-SCUpstate, @MorganSt-CoppinSt(BaltimoreMD), @Albany-StonyBrook(NY),

Sunday:

@MichiganSt-Michigan(MI),

Monday week:

@Louisville-Connecticut, @TexasA&M-Texas(TX), @Davidson-Wofford,

---

Top 25 - 12 Jan30 : MIDCONFERENCE - [] Column

1. Kentucky (21-1)
2. Ohio State (19-3)
3. Syracuse (22-1)
4. Michigan State (16-4)
5. Kansas (16-4)
6. Missouri (19-2)
7. Florida State (14-6)
8. Duke (17-3)
9. Baylor (18-2)
10. UNLV (18-3)
11. North Carolina (18-3)
12. Florida (17-4)
13. Creighton (19-2)
14. Murray State (17-0)
15. St. Mary's (19-2)
16. Vanderbilt (16-5)
17. Marquette (18-4)
18. Wisconsin (17-5)
19. Indiana (17-5)
20. San Diego State (16-3)
21. California (17-5)
22. Georgetown (15-4)
23. Harvard (16-2)
24. Virginia (16-3)
25. Gonzaga (17-3)

Honorable Mention:

Iowa State (15-6), Oklahoma State (10-11), Drake (13-9), Oklahoma (13-7), Colorado State (14-6), Middle Tennessee (19-3), Davidson (13-5), Bucknell (16-6), Nevada (16-3), Belmont (14-7), Norfolk State (16-5).

12 Jan23 - Burned

Volume XVI, No. 12 - 12 Jan23 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Burned

Notre Dame used its ball-control "Burn" offense to slow down Syracuse and hand the Orange its first loss, @67-58; 'Cuse played the game without cFab Melo (ineligible for the moment) and had trouble in a halfcourt game without its usual fill of transition points-off-turnovers.
     Baylor's come-uppance was even worse. Kansas throttled the Bears, @92-74, behind 27p14r from cThomas Robinson and 28p6a5to from pTyshawn Taylor. It didn't get any better when Missouri came to town -- BU had to scramble back to make it close, @88-89, as Quincy Miller(29p) and pPierre Jackson(20p15a6to) almost cancelled fRicardo Ratliffe(27p8r) and pPhil Pressey(18p7a5r6s). BU is tall but thin and its finesse big men had trouble stopping power players inside and quality guards outside.
     So who had Murray State pegged as The Last Team Standing for 2011-12? The Racers had to scrap back on the road to win 66-@60 at Morehead State. They're very much for real, having beaten A-10 leader Dayton as well as C-USA's Memphis and Southern Mississippi. Like Harvard, the worry for them is that they'll go soft inside their weak league schedule; but unlike Harvard, they'll have the reality check of a BRACKETBUSTERS home game in February against a nationally ranked opponent (either Creighton or St. Mary's).

Florida State proved it was no One-Hit Wonder with a stunning 76-@73 win at Duke on bMichael Snaer's game-winning three. Don't forget this squad has three starters back from last year's Sweet 16 run -- it's the home loss to Princeton that's the anomaly, not these big time wins over the ACC elite. Give 'em full credit this week for one of the top wins of the season (but be on the lookout for any signs of turning back into a pumpkin against the also-rans). tRodney McGruder had 33p8r for Kansas State in its @84-80 win over Texas.
     Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt, 78-@77(OT), on bDee Bost(24p5r4a)'s game-winner, but that was after the Bulldogs lost on the road at Ole Miss, 68-@75. Alabama dropped a pair: @59-69 vs Vandy, and 71-@77 at Kentucky.
     New Mexico couldn't handle either San Diego State at home (@70-75) or UNLV on the road (63-@80). Surprisingly, it was 3-4 Washington State (not 5-2 Washington) who swept Stanford (@81-69) and California (@77-75); but Cal beat Washington, 69-@66, in what was supposed to be the PAC-12 first-half showdown. Dayton crushed Xavier, @87-72, to take the lead in the A-10. The top teams in Conference USA can't seem to sort things out -- all they've done so far is trade squeak home wins: Central Florida beat Memphis, @68-67, on tKeith Clanton(23p8r)'s game-winner and Southern Mississippi beat Marshall, @67-63.
     Davidson trounced College of Charleston, @87-69, behind 29p14r from cJake Cohen. Bucknell won at Lehigh, 68-@61, to take control of the PATRIOT race. Long Island won at Wagner, 73-@66, to take over the lead in the NEC.

The SEC pulled off two midseason interconference wins: 9-10 Tennessee upset Connecticut, @60-57, and young Arkansas held off Michigan's comeback, @66-64.

It's already midway through conference play for a some of the MM and 1BC leagues. Creighton and Wichita State have opened a THREE-GAME GAP on the rest of the MVC. Valparaiso and Cleveland State lead Butler, Youngstown State and Milwaukee in the HORIZON. Iona leads the METRO ATLANTIC. Murray State is unbeaten inside-and-outside the OVC with a two-game gap.
     Oral Roberts is undefeated in the SUMMIT with South Dakota State hanging on for second. George Mason leads the COLONIAL, but Drexel, VCU and Old Dominion are right behind tied for second (and Georgia State is still in contact in fifth). Despite losing at home, @88-93, vs Charleston Southern, UNC-Asheville leads the BIG SOUTH ahead of Campbell and Coastal Carolina. Long Beach State is undefeated in the BIG WEST with a gap. So too is Weber State undefeated in the BIG SKY.
     Boston University and Stony Brook lead Vermont in the low-down AMERICA EAST.

Two teams heading in opposite directions clash Thursday when rising Wisconsin hosts falling Indiana. Harvard's toughest game for the rest of the season is Friday (at Yale). Middle Tennessee's gaudy record (18-2) will be put to the test when it visits Vanderbilt (Saturday). Iowa State's terrific point-forward pfRoyce White has it all on his shoulders (Saturday) when Kansas comes to town. Under-the-radar N.C. State can join the conversation with a couple of wins: at North Carolina (Thursday) and vs Virginia (Saturday). It's more fun on the C-USA merry-go-round on Saturday: Memphis hosts Marshall; Central Florida hosts Southern Mississippi.
     Ball State can seize control of the MID-AMERICAN if it can conquer its toughest week: vs Akron (Tuesday) and at Ohio University (Saturday). Bucknell can open a gap in the PATRIOT with a home win over American (Wednesday). It's the WAC Game of the Year on Thursday when Nevada travels to New Mexico State. Stony Brook hosts Boston University (Friday) in a fight for first place in AMERICA EAST. Mississippi Valley State's toughest SWAC game is Monday at Texas Southern.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Kansas-TexasA&M, Syracuse-@Cincinnati, @ETennesseeSt-Belmont(TN), @TexasSo-MSValleySt,

Tuesday:

SanDiegoSt-@Wyoming, @Marquette-SFlorida, @Purdue-Michigan, @Texas-IowaSt, @BallSt-Akron(BG),

Wednesday:

@MississippiSt-LSU, @Xavier-StLouis, @NewMexico-ColoradoSt, @Drexel-GeorgiaSt, @Bucknell-American, @NorthwesternSt-Lamar,

Thursday:

@NCarolina-NCState(NC), Indiana-@Wisconsin, @UCRiverside-LongBeachSt(CA), @Milwaukee-Butler, @NewMexicoSt-Nevada, @RobertMorris-LongIsland,

Friday:

@Yale-Harvard, @Fairfield-Iona, @StonyBrook-BostonU,

Saturday:

Kentucky-@LSU, Kansas-@IowaSt, @Syracuse-WVirginia, @Duke-StJohns, @Baylor-Texas(TX), SanDiegoSt-@ColoradoSt, StMarys-@BYU, MississippiSt-@Florida, @Vanderbilt-MidTennessee(TN), @Pittsburgh-Georgetown, @NCState-Virginia, @Alabama-Arkansas, @OhioU-BallSt(BG), @Memphis-Marshall, @LongBeachSt-CalStFullerton(CA), @Northwestern-Purdue, @CFlorida-SoMississippi, @YoungstownSt-ClevelandSt(OH), @Arizona-Washington, @ARLittleRock-Denver, @GeorgiaSt-VCU, @UNCAsheville-Campbell(NC), @UTValley-NJIT,

Sunday:

@OhioSt-Michigan, @California-Stanford(CA), @Oregon-OregonSt(OR),

Monday week:

Missouri-@Texas, @WVirginia-Pittsburgh, @NorfolkSt-CoppinSt,
(BRACKETBUSTERS PAIRING SELECTION) [142 teams/71 games].

---

Top 25 - 12 Jan23 - [] Column

1. Kentucky (19-1)
2. Ohio State (17-3)
3. Kansas (15-3)
4. Missouri (18-1)
5. Michigan State (15-4)
6. Syracuse (20-1)
7. Florida State (13-6)
8. Duke (15-3)
9. Baylor (16-2)
10. North Carolina (16-3)
11. Indiana (16-4)
12. Creighton (17-2)
13. Wichita State (16-3)
14. Kansas State (14-4)
15. San Diego State (15-2)
16. UNLV (16-3)
17. Murray State (16-0)
18. St. Mary's (17-2)
19. Mississippi State (16-4)
20. Vanderbilt (14-5)
21. Florida (15-4)
22. Marquette (16-4)
23. California (16-5)
24. Wisconsin (16-5)
25. West Virginia (15-5)

Honorable Mention:

Notre Dame (12-8), Michigan (14-5), Virginia Tech (12-7), Cincinnati (15-5), Dayton (14-5), Washington State (11-8), Davidson (12-4), Bucknell (14-6), UNC-Asheville (10-7), Long Island (14-6).

12 Jan16 - Gael Force

Volume XVI, No. 11 - 11 Jan16 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Gael Force

St. Mary's made the most of its home showdown with Gonzaga, thumping the Bulldogs @83-62 behind 26p6a from pMatthew Dellavedova as cRob Jones turned passer (2p11r8a) and freshman cBrad Waldow supplied the inside punch (17p10r). The 6-0 Gaels have already handled new conferencemate BYU (@98-82) as well. Depending on how things play out, they'll either get a BRACKETBUSTERS road game at Creighton or at a still undefeated Murray State. (Gonzaga doesn't have much room for error now if it wants to claim a share of a twelfth straight regular season title -- the 'Zags still have BYU twice plus the return game with SMC.)
     It's only the first game of conference play, but San Diego State won a big one, @69-67, over visiting UNLV as xJamaal Franklin (24p10r) scored the game-winner (foiling tAnthony Marshall's[26p8r] one-man show).
     Mississippi State righted the ship in SEC play with a @56-52 home win over Alabama, thanks to 25p13r from cArnett Moultrie.
     Akron edged Ohio University, @68-63, to open 3-0 in the Mid-American. Iona fell at home, @72-75, to Manhattan but beat Loyola(Maryland), @75-63, to take the early lead in the Metro Atlantic. 6-0 Davidson already has a two-game gap over second-place College of Charleston in the Southern Conference. 6-0 Weber State handled Montana, @80-64, to take control of the Big Sky race. Texas-Arlington won 91-@82 at Lamar to start 4-0 in the Southland.

North Carolina managed to out-flop itself, topping its previous disastrous road loss against UNLV with an even more pitiful performance at Florida State, getting blown out, 57-@90, as gDelvidas Dulkys had 32p on 8-for-10 three-point shooting (while the Tar Heel team shot 4-for-21). UNC's toughness isn't just in question -- it's non-existent (and no amount of blowouts over scrub teams will fix the problem).
     Less humiliating, but also surprising were Michigan State's 74-@81 loss at Northwestern, Indiana's @74-77 loss at home to Minnesota, and Ohio State's 74-@79 loss at Illinois as the Illini shot 60% from the floor and tBrandon Paul had 43p8r7to on another 8-for-10 on three-pointers performance. Slumping Georgetown fell @64-68 at home to Cincinnati; Louisville was pounded 59-@90 at Providence; Michigan was routed 59-@75 at Iowa; Dayton lost 73-@81 at St. Bonaventure as cAndrew Nicholson had 30p13r; and Seton Hall slipped up 55-@56 at South Florida.

Ohio State paid back its earlier road upset by hammering Indiana, @80-63, behind hot shooting from gLenzelle Smith Jr. (28p7r;10/12fg). Baylor stayed unbeaten with a tough 75-@73 road win at Kansas State (despite 30p6r from bRodney McGruder). Duke held off Virginia at home, @61-58. Connecticut regrouped at home to handle West Virginia, @64-57 as tJeremy Lamb had 25p8r (and, more importantly, cAndre Drummond added 20p11r inside).

Syracuse has a better shot at staying undefeated longer than Baylor. The Bears visit Kansas (Monday) and host Missouri (Saturday) [and thanks to the new balanced scheduled in the BIG 12 this year, they'll have to face both of them back-to-back again next month]. The Orange face Pittsburgh at home (Monday) and Notre Dame on the road (Saturday) [and the top BIG EAST teams are all spinning their wheels at the moment]. It'll be a disappointment if Murray State doesn't make it all the way through its OVC schedule until its home BRACKETBUSTERS game in February game (where either Wichita State, St. Mary's or Long Beach State will come calling).
     Vanderbilt finds out if its resurgence is for real at Alabama (Thursday) and vs Mississippi State (Saturday). New Mexico gets both San Diego State (at home, Wednesday) and UNLV (away, Saturday). Washington can take control of the PAC-12 race if it can sweep California (Thursday) and Stanford (Saturday). Kent State has a tough road double: at Ohio University (Wednesday) and at Akron (Saturday). The Battle of West Virginia, WVU vs Marshall at Charleston (Wednesday), has more juice than usual this year.
     In 1BC showdowns, SOUTHERN: Davidson hosts College of Charleston (Thursday); PATRIOT: Lehigh hosts Bucknell (Wednesday); BIG SOUTH: UNC-Asheville hosts Coastal Carolina (Tuesday); NORTHEAST: Wagner hosts Long Island (Saturday); and SWAC: Texas Southern hosts Mississippi Valley State (Saturday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

Baylor-@Kansas, @Syracuse-Pittsburgh, @Missouri-TexasA&M, @Marquette-Louisville, @MSValleySt-Southern,

Tuesday:

MichiganSt-@Michigan(MI), @Purdue-Iowa, @UNCAsheville-CoCarolina,

Wednesday:

Creighton-@MissouriSt, @KansasSt-Texas, SanDiegoSt-@NewMexico, @Connecticut-Cincinnati, @Wisconsin-Northwestern, @WVirginia-@Marshall(WV)(@CharlestonWV), @OhioU-KentSt(OH), @CFlorida-Memphis, @Temple-LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA), @Lehigh-Bucknell(PA), @TXSanAntonio-NorthwesternSt,

Thursday:

Vanderbilt-@Alabama, California-@Washington, @Gonzaga-SanFrancisco, @CalPolySLO-LongBeachSt(CA), @Davidson-ColofCharleston, @SacredHeart-Quinnipiac(Connecticut_6),

Friday:

Saturday:

@Kentucky-Alabama, @Baylor-Missouri, Syracuse-@NotreDame, @Duke-FloridaSt, Kansas-@Texas, @MichiganSt-Purdue, @Creighton-IndianaSt, @UNLV-NewMexico, @Vanderbilt-MississippiSt, @Florida-LSU, @Cincinnati-WVirginia, @SAlabama-MidTennessee, @Pittsburgh-Louisville, @Arkansas-Michigan, @Washington-Stanford, @SoMississippi-Marshall, @UCSantaBarbara-LongBeachSt(CA), @Dayton-Xavier(OH), @Akron-KentSt(OH), @Penn-@StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(/PALESTRA/)(BIG_5), @VCU-OldDominion(VA), @Bucknell-HolyCross, @Wagner-LongIsland(NY), @SacredHeart-CConnecticutSt(Connecticut_6), @TXArlington-StephenFAustin(TX), @UTValley-{NDaktota}, @TexasSo-MSValleySt,

Sunday:

@Illinois-Wisconsin, @ClevelandSt-Milwaukee, @NoIowa-Drake(IA_BIG_4),

Monday week:

Syracuse-@Cincinnati, @Kansas-TexasA&M, @ETennesseeSt-Belmont(TN).

---

Top 25 - 12 Jan16 - [] Column

1. Kentucky (17-1)
2. Baylor (16-0)
3. Syracuse (19-0)
4. Ohio State (16-3)
5. Duke (14-2)
6. Kansas (13-3)
7. Michigan State (14-3)
8. Indiana (15-3)
9. Missouri (16-1)
10. North Carolina (15-3)
11. Creighton (15-2)
12. Wichita State (14-3)
13. Kansas State (12-4)
14. San Diego State (13-2)
15. UNLV (14-3)
16. Vanderbilt (13-4)
17. Murray State (15-0)
18. Virginia (13-2)
19. St. Mary's (15-2)
20. Mississippi State (15-3)
21. Connecticut (14-3)
22. Illinois (14-3)
23. Florida (14-4)
24. California (15-4)
25. Marquette (14-4)

Honorable Mention:

Florida State (11-6), Northwestern (12-5), Minnesota (14-5), Cincinnati (14-4).

12 Jan 9 - Marq'ed Down

Volume XVI, No. 10 - 12 Jan 9 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Marq'ed Down

The second week of conference play was particularly rough on a few teams. None more than Marquette, which dropped two road games: 70-@73 at Georgetown (as the Hoyas came back from down 17, on 63 percent shooting, 26p5r from bJason Clark, and yet another game-winning three from gHollis Thompson[16p]) and then 66-@73 at still unbeaten Syracuse.
     The wheels have come off the Badger Bus -- Wisconsin also lost twice: @60-63(OT) at home to surging Michigan State (despite 28p1a5r from bJordan Taylor) and a 41-@59 blowout loss at Michigan. bTaylor was the only player in double-figures in either game for UW.
     Connecticut double-dipped as well: 63-@75 at surprising Seton Hall (as the Pirates' pJordan Theodore had 19p11a) and 60-@67 at Rutgers. pShabazz Napier and gJeremy Lamb have been fine, but the Huskies haven't been getting much production in the front court.

Duke fell on the road at Temple, 73-@78 (as the Owls' gKhalif Wyatt had 22p5s) and needed 14-for-14 free-throw shooting from tRyan Kelly(21p5r) to escape with a 81-@74 win in Atlanta against lowly Georgia Tech. The Blue Devils' backcourt is supposed to be their strength, but they are far from dominant on the perimeter.
     Missouri finally tasted defeat for the first time, and did so in a big way. Kansas State (fresh off its own 49-@67 loss at Kansas) turned the tide on the Tigers with a @75-59 home win. Louisville stumbled at home, @65-67(2OT) against feisty Notre Dame.
     Mississippi State dropped its conference opener, 88-@98, at Arkansas. Florida turned in an even more puzzling performance, losing 56-@67 at reconstructed Tennessee. Purdue couldn't keep a good thing going, falling 45-@65 at Penn State. Harvard lost 54-@60 at lowly Fordham. (The Crimson won't see the rankings again this year, but don't forget about their first-round splash potential come tourney time.)
     Towson set a new Division I record for consecutive losses (35 and counting) when it fell 38-@75 at Old Dominion.

On the up side, West Virginia's tough preseason schedule finally paid dividends with a @74-62 win over Georgetown (as gTruck Bryant[25p1a] and cKevin Jones[22p16r] both played well in the same game for once). 12-3 Iowa State got off to a 2-0 start in the BIG 12 with a @77-71 win over Texas and a 74-@50 drubbing of slumping Texas A&M (behind tRoyce White's triple-double: 10p18r10a).
     Northern Iowa sewed up this year's IOWA BIG 4 title with a 83-@68 win at Drake. Oral Roberts is already 6-0 in the SUMMIT with wins over Oakland (89-@80) and second-place South Dakota State (@97-75).

California, Stanford, Oregon State and Oregon all split 1-1 with each other, including Stanford's wild 103-@101(4OT) win at Oregon State. Surprising Colorado leads the PAC-12 at 3-0 thanks to a @87-69 routh of Washington. (The Buffaloes run the gauntlet on the road in northern California this week, though.)
     The closest thing to a Player of the Year performer so far this year has been xDoug McDermott of Creighton -- he put up 44p8r on 18-for-23 shooting in a 92-@85 win at Bradley. (But no one team has taken early control of the tough MVC race.)
     George Mason won 63-@54 at Old Dominion and @61-58 vs Georgia State in what qualifies as The Game of the Year in the declining COLONIAL.

Baylor's unbeaten record will be in jeopardy with two huge road games: at Kansas State (Tuesday) [and at Kansas (Monday week)]. Count on Extreme Payback when Ohio State gets to host Indiana on Sunday. Duke could be ripe for the picking if Virginia can hold its nerve in Cameron (Thursday).
     It's The Game of the Year upcoming on Thursday for St. Mary's when it hosts Gonzaga. If the Gaels can't win at home, it'll be an uphill climb needing to win at Gonzaga, or likely at Creighton in BRACKETBUSTERS, or in the WCC tourney in order to make it to the NCAAs -- but cRob Jones is outperforming cRobert Sacre and gMatthew Dellavedova is having a better season than any of the young 'Zag guards. (GU has more on its resume and can survive a loss.)
     Alabama gets to rub it in the face of visiting LSU (Wednesday) -- expect a celebration of the football national championship during the game.

-- Ron

[P.S. In this year's Pigskin Pool Party, Ronald Days tied with the expert picks by ESPN College Bowl Mania's (Robert Smith) to take this year's title. The second straight year an "expert pick" got at least a share of the win -- it's never happened in the Hoops Contest.]

Key games this week:

Monday:

WVirginia-@Connecticut, @Georgetown-Cincinnati,

Tuesday:

@NCarolina-MiamiFL, OhioSt-@Illinois, Baylor-@KansasSt, @Creighton-NoIowa, @WichitaSt-IllinoisSt, @VirginiaTech-FloridaSt, @Penn-@LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA)(/PALESTRA/)(BIG_5),

Wednesday:

Missouri-@IowaSt, @Michigan-Northwestern, @Alabama-LSU, @StLouis-Temple, @Marquette-StJohns, @OhioU-Buffalo, @Memphis-SoMississippi, @Lehigh-American,

Thursday:

@Duke-Virginia, Gonzaga-@StMarys, @Purdue-Wisconsin, @California-Colorado, @Arizona-OregonSt, @Drexel-GeoMason, @Campbell-UNCAsheville(NC),

Friday:

Creighton-@IllinoisSt, @Butler-ClevelandSt(BG), @NoIowa-MissouriSt,

Saturday:

NCarolina-@FloridaSt, MichiganSt-@Northwestern, @Kansas-IowaSt, UNLV-@SanDiegoSt, @Missouri-Texas, @Dayton-LaSalle, Alabama-@MississippiSt, @Charlotte-StLouis, @Marquette-Pittsburgh, @NotreDame-Connecticut, @Wyoming-NewMexico, @Akron-OhioU(OH), @Stanford-Colorado, @Marshall-CFlorida, @Arizona-Oregon, @KentSt-BowlingGreen(OH), @Arkansas-LSU, @Columbia-Princeton, @Nevada-Hawaii, @Wagner-CConnecticutSt, @WeberSt-Montana, @Lamar-TXArlington(TX), @StephenFAustin-TXSanAntonio(TX), @MorganSt-NorfolkSt, @Albany-Maine,

Sunday:

Indiana-@OhioSt(BG), WichitaSt-@IndianaSt,

Monday week:

@Kansas-Baylor, @Syracuse-Pittsburgh, @Marquette-Louisville.

---

Top 25 - 12 Jan 9 - [] Column

1. Kentucky (15-1)
2. North Carolina (14-2)
3. Michigan State (13-2)
4. Indiana (15-1)
5. Kansas (11-3)
6. Ohio State (15-2)
7. Syracuse (17-0)
8. Duke (12-2)
9. Baylor (14-0)
10. UNLV (14-2)
11. Kansas State (12-2)
12. West Virginia (12-4)
13. Georgetown (12-2)
14. Missouri (14-1)
15. Louisville (13-3)
16. Murray State (13-0)
17. Virginia (14-1)
18. Vanderbilt (11-4)
19. Gonzaga (13-2)
20. Creighton (12-2)
21. Wichita State (11-3)
22. Michigan (12-3)
23. Dayton (12-4)
24. Alabama (12-3)
25. Seton Hall (13-2)

Honorable Mention:

Arkansas (12-3), Iowa State (12-3), Northern Iowa (12-4), Oral Roberts (13-4).

11 Jan 2 - (Second) Season's Greetings

Volume XVI, No. 9 - 11 Jan 2 - [] Top 25 Ballot

(Second) Season's Greetings

Conference play got under way for most everyone last week. Some teams were able to greet the new season with a change in play from disappointing form; others continued the same level (for the good and for the bad).
     Michigan State's only two losses are to North Carolina and Duke at the very start of the season, so it's been hard to judge what the Spartans have going for them. tDraymond Green has had some individual brilliance, but lately the emergence of pKeith Appling has started to define their personality. pAppling had 25p7a6r as they handed Indiana its first loss, @80-65. The Hoosiers bounced back with another stunner, though: a @74-70 win over a full-strength Ohio State. (Ordinarily, a week with a blowout loss at MSU and a home win over OSU might be a net plus and cause for moving IU up in the rankings -- instead, they'll fall from No.1 [but stay inside the elite group at the top].)
     Georgetown heads the group of no-name overachievers -- added to their two wins over Memphis and road buzzer-beater at Alabama, the Hoyas snatched an early road win in conference at Louisville, 71-@68. Wisconsin found a way to lose at home to Iowa, @65-72, no-thanks to awful 3-for-28 shooting on three-pointers. Purdue handled Iowa, 79-@76, and beat Illinois, @75-60.
     A strong preseason for the Missouri Valley overall led to a scramble start inside the league. Missouri State, which has had mixed results while retooling with four new starters, broke out of the gate 2-0, keyed by a 77-@65 win at Creighton behind 31p7r from star fKyle Weems and 26p5a from pAnthony Downing. The Bluejays responded with a road win of their own at Wichita State, 68-@61. Indiana State was blown out at Drake, 64-@79. Meanwhile, Northern Iowa (which had settled it SOUTH PADRE tie with Iowa State) dropped its first two league games (but gets the chance to sweep this year's IOWA BIG 4 on Saturday at Drake).
     The PAC-12 seemed to have established a pecking order in the first season: California, Stanford and Oregon State were good; Arizona hung in there; Washingtona and Oregon floundered. So, of course, the start of conference play meant that UW trounced both Oregon schools right away: @95-80 over Oregon State behind 26p9r from freshman tTony Wroten Jr., and @76-60 over Oregon on 24p from C.J. Wilcox.

In leftover preseason matchups, Kentucky handled Louisville, @69-62, behind 24p19r from freshman xMichael Kidd-Gilchrist -- and the Wildcats still aren't anywhere close to being an efficient offensive team. Before things got started, Vanderbilt's road blowout of Marquette, 74-@57, wouldn't have looked out of place; but the way those teams performed the first two months makes it a surprising result now. Maybe the Commodores have finally put things together now that they're at full strength; the Golden Eagles' lack of a true post player didn't hurt them earlier, but they may no longer be able to hide that vulnerability. Baylor escaped @54-52 over Mississippi State at THE SHOWCASE in Dallas in a hideous game from both teams. Once again, gPierre Jackson saved the day at crunch time, making the game-winner on a drive to the basket. Gonzaga kept Xavier in the doghouse, winning 72-@65 on the road, thanks to 20p10r from cSam Dower. Solid New Mexico held off St. Louis, @64-60.
     In the inexplicable category: Florida couldn't put away Rutgers on the road, losing 83-@85(2OT) as pElijah Carter(31p7a) outshone gKenny Boynton(26p). 7-7 Princeton managed to win at Florida State, 75-@73(3OT), behind 25p15r6to from cIan Hummer and 25p0a from gDoug Davis.
     The last round of showcase tournament produced three non-BCS Unwelcome Guest winners: Wagner[NEC] beat Air Force and then host Santa Clara, 64-@62 to take the CABLE CAR crown; Colorado State[MWC] beat host UTEP, 56-@53, en route to winning the SUN BOWL; and San Jose State[WAC] beat host Seattle in the ELGIN BAYLOR final.

Wisconsin tries to get back on track at home against streaking Michigan State (Tuesday). Marquette needs to regroup in a hurry: it visits Georgetown (Wednesday) and Syracuse (Saturday). Kansas State has a big week ahead: visiting Kansas (Wednesday) and hosting Missouri (Saturday). Michigan visits Indiana (Thursday) and hosts Wisconsin (Sunday). Dayton hosts St. Louis (Wednesday) and visits Temple (Saturday). Indiana State gets its turn to make a mark at Northern Iowa (Wednesday) and vs Missouri State (Saturday).
     A big shakeup is in store one way or another in the PAC-12 as California and Stanford each visit Oregon State and Oregon (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Baylor-TexasA&M(TX), Virginia-@LSU, @OhioU-RobertMorris, @Campbell-CoCarolina,

Tuesday:

MichiganSt-@Wisconsin, Louisville-@StJohns, Connecticut-@SetonHall, @UTValley-Wyoming, @Oakland-OralRoberts,

Wednesday:

Duke-@Temple(/WELLS_FARGO/), @Kansas-KansasSt(KS), @Georgetown-Marquette, @Dayton-StLouis, @Northwestern-Illinois, @CFlorida-Tulane, @OldDominion-GeoMason(VA), @NoIowa-IndianaSt, @VCU-GeorgiaSt,

Thursday:

@Indiana-Michigan, @OregonSt-California, @Oregon-Stanford, @LongBeachSt-CalPolySLO(CA), @CharlestonSo-Campbell,
JOHN WOODEN CLASSIC @ Anaheim CA /HONDA/
-(@UCLA-Arizona),

Friday:

BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD - I
-(@Belmont-Lipscomb(NashvilleTN)),

Saturday:

(12N):Duke-@GeorgiaTech(/PHILIPS/),
@Syracuse-Marquette, Georgetown-@WVirginia, Missouri-@KansasSt, @Louisville-NotreDame(BG), @Virginia-MiamiFL, @Texas-OklahomaSt, @OregonSt-Stanford, @Temple-Dayton, @Buffalo-KentSt, @GeoMason-GeorgiaSt, @IndianaSt-MissouriSt, @Drake-NoIowa(IA_BIG_4), @SAlabama-Denver, @SDState-OralRoberts, @CoCarolina-CharlestonSo(SC), @UtahSt-Nevada, @AlabamaSt-MSValleySt,

Sunday:

Wisconsin-@Michigan, Purdue-@Minnesota, @Oregon-California,

Monday week:

@Georgetown-Cincinnati, @Connecticut-WVirginia, @AlabamaA&M-MSValleySt.

---

Top 25 - 12 Jan 2 - [] Column

1. Kentucky (13-1)
2. North Carolina (13-2)
3. Duke (11-1)
4. Michigan State (12-2)
5. Indiana (13-1)
6. Kansas (9-3)
7. Ohio State (13-2)
8. Syracuse (13-0)
9. Georgetown (11-1)
10. Baylor (12-0)
11. Missouri (13-0)
12. Marquette (12-2)
13. Wisconsin (11-3)
14. UNLV (13-2)
15. Louisville (12-2)
16. Connecticut (12-1)
17. Mississippi State (13-2)
18. Florida (11-3)
19. Kansas State (11-1)
20. Harvard (11-1)
21. Murray State (11-0)
22. Virginia (12-1)
23. Vanderbilt (9-4)
24. Gonzaga (11-2)
25. Purdue (12-3)

Honorable Mention:

Iowa (9-6), Rutgers (8-6), Missouri State (8-5), New Mexico (11-2), Washington (7-5), Princeton (7-7),
Wagner (10-3) [2@CABLE],
Colorado State (9-4) [2@SUN BOWL],
San Jose State (6-8) [2@E.BAYLOR].

11 Dec26 - "Items May Have Shifted During The Flight" (PRECONFERENCE)

Volume XVI, No. 8 - 11 Dec26 : PRECONFERENCE - [] Top 25 Ballot

"Items May Have Shifted During The Flight"

Baylor [LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAST] and Kansas State [DIAMOND HEAD] claimed the last two major preseason tournaments for the BIG 12, bringing the conference total to 3 1/2 (good for fourth behind the BIG 10[6], SEC[4 1/3] and BIG EAST[4], and ahead of the A-10[3]). The Bears are deeper and much more dangerous than last year's edition (when everyone stood around waiting for [bLaceDarius Dunn] to make something happen). In their thrilling 83-81(OT) win over West Virginia in the final, gBrady Heslip's outside shooting brought them back from an early deficit; then, fQuincy Acy's inside power staked them to a lead; finally, 5-10 gPierre Jackson's late heroics got them into overtime -- (and they needed all of that to counter xKevin Jones' 28p17r performance for the Mountaineers).
     Meanwhile, the no-name Wildcats took advantage of Xavier's woes. The undermanned Musketeers went 1-2 in Honolulu, losing 58-68 to Long Beach State and 82-@84(OT) to host Hawaii. K-State blew out the 49ers in the final, 77-60 behind 28p from bRodney McGruder.

LSU put it together after trailing 0-13 at the start to stun Marquette @67-59. Davidson pulled off a shocker, knocking off Kansas 80-@74 in Kansas City (despite 21p18r from cThomas Robinson). North Carolina had no trouble with young Texas, winning @82-63 behind 26p from tHarrison Barnes.
     Missouri won BRAGGIN' RIGHTS over Illinois, @78-@74, in St. Louis. Creighton handled Northwestern, @87-79, behind 27p from xDoug McDermott (despite 34p from bDrew Crawford). UNLV spanked California, @85-68. Florida routed Florida State, @82-64. Georgetown handled Memphis for the second time, @70-59.

The headline from the preseason as a whole has to be Kentucky's classic @73-72 win over North Carolina -- as good a game as you could want. Technically, Indiana's own @73-72 win over Kentucky tops that (on paper). UNLV's @90-80 win over UNC in the final of LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING, Ohio State's @85-63 blowout of Duke (BIG 10/ACC CHALLENGE), and Marquette's 61-@54 road win and UNC's @60-57 home win over Wisconsin round out the elite results. (Kansas' @78-67 win over Ohio State gets an asterisk since cJared Sullinger didn't play.)
     The biggest disappoints so far are the complete flop of UCLA (and the failure of the PAC-12, in general, to make any kind of mark), the struggling preseason of veteran Vanderbilt and the inability of veteran Belmont to break through from 1BC-Land (only to be outshown by the likes of Harvard). Butler and VCU figured to have a letdown after last year's whirlwind NCAA tournament runs (but both have started to play better of late). The ugly brawl between Xavier and Cincinnati (CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT) was the low point of the season.
     The ATLANTIC-10's tournament performances by St. Louis (76/ANAHEIM) and Dayton (OS/ORLANDO) head the list of surprises, along with Murray State (GREAT ALASKA). Marquette (PARADISE), Mississippi State (2KS/COACHES VS CANCER), Georgetown, Kansas State and Virginia have all been better than expected. Oregon State, Ohio University, Iona (and even Georgia State) are all having unforeseen success.
     Shocking splashes came from Davidson (80-@74 over Kansas), Central Florida (over Connecticut in ATLANTIS), LSU (@67-59 over Marquette) and Wagner (59-@54 over Pittsburgh).
     We haven't seen any particular individual emerge as the frontrunner for Player of the Year. The elite teams are sharing the load more than usual so far. No one GC player has been far and above all the rest, either.
     There may have been some shifting among the main contenders from the start of the season; but, mostly, we're still where we were at the beginning: North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State still remain the teams to beat on the road to the Final Four.

Here's how the conferences look after the preseason:

1. BIG 10 - Won 8-4 in its CHALLENGE with the ACC. Indiana [rr4vHOOSIER] was undefeated with the biggest win. Ohio State [rr4vGS-A] was impressive (as long as cJared Sullinger was in the lineup); Wisconsin [2v2:CHICAGO], Michigan State [rr4@SPARTAN] and Illinois [2v2:CANCUN-T] all made noise; Northwestern [3:CHARLESTON], Michigan and Minnesota all had excellent records. Purdue made noise; Nebraska was also a winner.
2. BIG EAST - Won 8-4 in its CHALLENGE with the SEC. Syracuse [2v2vNIT-TO] and Louisville [rr4vGS-B] were undefeated. Marquette [3:PARADISE], Georgetown, Connecticut had big wins; Seton Hall made noise; Pittsburgh [rr4@PHILLY] and Providence all had excellent records. West Virginia, Cincinnati and DePaul were winners. Notre Dame lost its star. Villanova and young St. John's struggled.
3. BIG 12 - Baylor [2v2:LVC-X] and Missouri [2v2vCBE] were undefeated with impressive wins; Kansas State [3:DIAMOND] made a splash and Oklahoma was excellent as well. Kansas (fThomas Robinson) had big wins, Texas (bJ'Covan Brown) made noise; Iowa State [1/2 2v2:S.PADRE] and Texas A&M were also winners. Oklahoma State struggled against a tough schedule.
4. MOUNTAIN WEST - Tied 4-4 in its CHALLENGE with the MVC. UNLV [2v2vLVI-T] had a huge win; San Diego State made noise; New Mexico and Wyoming were excellent as well. TCU and Boise State made splashes; Air Force and Colorado State were also winners.
5. MISSOURI VALLEY - Tied 4-4 in its CHALLENGE with the MWC. Creighton (xDoug McDermott) [rr4vGS-E/DH], Northern Iowa [1/2 2v2:S.PADRE], Wichita State and Indiana State all made splashes with excellent records. Illinois State, Missouri State and Drake were winners (but made no noise).
6. SEC - Lost 4-8 in its CHALLENGE with the BIG EAST. Kentucky [rr4:HALL.FAME] won its summit with UNC; Mississippi State (pDee Bost) [2v2:2KS/CVC] made a splash; Florida had good wins and an excellent record overall. LSU, Alabama [3:P.RICO] and Vanderbilt [2v2:LEGENDS] all had big wins; Arkansas [1/3 rr4SOUTHWEST], Mississippi and Auburn were winners as well.
7. ACC - Lost 4-8 in its CHALLENGE with the BIG 10. Duke [3:MAUI] had good wins and one huge loss; North Carolina (cJohn Henson) had big wins and losses; Virginia was excellent overall as well. Florida State made a splash; Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest, N.C. State and Miami(Florida) were all winners (without making noise).
8. CONFERENCE USA - Marshall [rr4@GS-D] made a splash; Southern Mississippi and Tulane were excellent as well. Central Florida and Rice were noisy winners. Memphis (fWill Barton) was up-and-down against a tough schedule; Houston [1/3 rr4@SOUTHWEST] struggled overall.
9. ATLANTIC 10 - St. Louis [3:76/ANAHEIM] was excellent. Xavier (pTu Holloway) made lots of noise (but an ugly brawl knocked them off course). Dayton [3:OS/ORLANDO], Temple and St. Joseph's all made noise; Massachusetts, Charlotte and La Salle were all winners as well.
10. PAC-12 - Oregon State made the only splash; Stanford was quietly excellent. California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington State and Colorado were all winners (but nobody made noise). Colorado was solid; UCLA was a disappointment (but avoided being a total flop). Washington struggled.
11. IVY - Harvard [3:ATLANTIS] had some big wins; Yale was excellent as well. Columbia [rr3@CENTENNIAL] was also a winner.
12. SUN BELT - Middle Tennessee made noise and Denver was excellent as well. South Alabama was solid.
13. MID-AMERICAN - Ohio U was excellent; Kent State and Buffalo were winners; and Akron was solid -- and they all made big splashes on the road. Toledo [rr4@UTPA] and Ball State were solid as well. (Northern Illinois was winless.)
14. WEST COAST - Gonzaga made some noise against a tough schedule; St. Mary's was quietly excellent. BYU, San Francisco and Santa Clara were winners.
15. HORIZON - Cleveland State [rr3@LEGENDSconsA] was excellent. Milwaukee was a winner. Valparaiso was solid. Butler was up-and-down against a tough schedule.
16. METRO ATLANTIC - Iona was excellent. Loyola(Maryland) was a winner. Fairfield struggled against a tough schedule.
17. SOUTHERN - College of Charleston was excellent. Wofford and Furman were solid. Davidson made a big splash, but struggled overall.
18. OHIO VALLEY - Murray State [3:GREAT.AK] was undefeated with splashes to boot. Austin Peay was a bust.
19. SUMMIT - South Dakota State [rr3@CBEconsB] made a splash; Oral Roberts, North Dakota State and IPFW were also winners. Oakland [1/3 rr4@SOUTHWEST] struggled against a tough schedule.
20. COLONIAL - George Mason [rr2vNIT-TOconsA], VCU and surprising Georgia State were all winners, but nobody made any noise. (Towson was winless.)
21. PATRIOT - Lehigh [rr3@2KS/CVCconsB] was a winner. Bucknell and American were solid.
22. BIG SOUTH - Coastal Carolina and Campbell were winners. UNC-Asheville couldn't break through.
23. WAC - Nevada and Utah State (and even Idaho) made noise; New Mexico State was also a winner.
24. NORTHEAST - Wagner made a splash and Robert Morris was also a winner. Long Island couldn't break through.
25. BIG WEST - Cal State-Fullerton and Cal Poly-SLO were winners. Long Beach State made a splash.
26. ATLANTIC SUN - Mercer was a winner. Belmont [rr2@MAUIcons] couldn't break through against a tough schedule.
27. BIG SKY - Weber State was a winner. Montana was solid.
28. SOUTHLAND - Lamar was a winner. Texas-San Antonio struggled.
29. MEAC - Norfolk State was solid. Hampton was a bust.
30. GREAT WEST - Utah Valley skirted .500. (Chicago State was winless.)
31. AMERICA EAST - Albany and Maine were winners. Stony Brook struggled. (SUNY-B and Hartford were winless.)
32. INDEPENDENTS - Cal State-Bakersfield managed .500. Longwood struggled.
33. SWAC - No team was even close to .500. Prairie View A&M was the least bad of (by far) the worst league. Mississippi Valley State was a bust. (Grambling State was winless.)

Indiana's stay at No.1 will likely come to an end this week. You can't expect the Hoosiers to win both at Michigan State (Wednesday) and at home against Ohio State (Saturday) as well (and they might not win either one). Louisville also has a rough week: at home vs Georgetown (Wednesday) and at Kentucky (Saturday). Wednesday's SHOWCASE in Dallas (Baylor vs Mississippi State) should be a great matchup of athletes in the paint (but MSU's pDee Bost may be the best player on the floor). Don't expect Vanderbilt to cure what ails it at Marquette (Thursday); same for Gonzaga at Xavier (Saturday) -- both home teams are coming off losses with lots to prove. Wichita State hosts Creighton (Saturday) in a big early showdown in the MVC.
     South Dakota State can get the early jump on the SUMMIT race with home wins over IPFW (Wednesday) and Oakland (Friday).

-- Ron

P.S. Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Key games this week:

Tuesday:

@Illinois-Minnesota, @NotreDame-Pittsburgh,

Wednesday:

Indiana-@MichiganSt, @OhioSt-Northwestern, @Syracuse-SetonHall, Georgetown-@Louisville, @Creighton-MissouriSt, @SDState-IPFW,
THE SHOWCASE @ Dallas TX
-(@Baylor-MississippiSt),

Thursday:

@Marquette-Vanderbilt, @Washington-OregonSt, @Belmont-Marshall, @Memphis-RobertMorris,

Thursday-Friday:

UCF HOLIDAY CLASSIC 1st/Semis @ Orlando FL
-(@CFlorida-Stetson(FL), RhodeIsland-JamesMadison),
CABLE CAR CLASSIC 1st/Semis @ Santa Clara CA
-(AirForce-Wagner, @SantaClara-EaMichigan),
DP CLASSIC 1st/Semis @ Chattanooga TN
-(@Chattanooga-Longwood, Hampton-UTValley),

Friday:

@ColofCharleston-GeoMason, @SDState-Oakland,

Saturday:

@Indiana-OhioSt(BG), @Kentucky-Louisville(KY), @Florida-Yale, @Connecticut-StJohns, @WichitaSt-Creighton, @NewMexico-StLouis, @California-UCLA(CA), @Purdue-Illinois, @Texas-Rice(TX), @Xavier-Gonzaga, @Washington-Oregon, @Butler-Milwaukee,

Sunday (NEW YEAR'S):

@Marquette-Villanova, @Pittsburgh-Cincinnati, @Michigan-Minnesota,

Monday week:

@Baylor-TexasA&M(TX), Virginia-@LSU, @OhioU-RobertMorris, @CoCarolina-Campbell,

---

Top 25 - 11 Dec26: PRECONFERENCE - [] Column

1. Indiana (12-0) [rr4vHOOSIER]
2. Kentucky (11-2) [RR4HALLoFAME]
3. North Carolina (11-2)
4. Ohio State (12-1) [RR4G.S-A]
5. Duke (9-1) [3:MAUI]
6. Syracuse (13-0) [2v2vNIT TIP-OFF]
7. Kansas (8-3)
8. Marquette (11-1) [3:PARADISE JAM]
9. Missouri (12-0) [2v2vCBE]
10. Wisconsin (11-2) [2v2:CHICAGO]
11. Baylor (11-0) [2v2:LAS VEGAS C-XMAS]
12. Michigan State (10-2) [rr4SPARTAN]
13. Florida (10-2)
14. Georgetown (9-1)
15. Louisville (12-0) [RR4G.S-B]
16. Connecticut (10-1)
17. Mississippi State (12-1) [2v2:2KS/COACHESvCANCER]
18. Wichita State (8-2)
19. UNLV (11-2) [2v2:LAS VEGAS-THANX]
20. Kansas State (10-1) [3:DIAMOND HEAD]
21. Alabama (9-3) [3:PUERTO RICO]
22. Harvard (9-1) [3:ATLANTIS]
23. Murray (10-0) [3:GREAT ALASKA]
24. Virginia (10-1)
25. Creighton (9-1) [rr4GS-E/DALE HOWARD]

Honorable Mention:

St. Louis (10-1) [3:76/ANAHEIM],
Vanderbilt (8-4) [2v2:LEGENDS],
Belmont (7-5) [2@MAUIcons],
Dayton (9-4) [3:OS/ORLANDO],
Northwestern (10-2) [3:CHARLESTON],
Houston (6-5)/Oakland (6-6)/Arkansas (8-3) [rr4SOUTHWEST],
Northern Iowa (10-2)/Iowa State (9-3) [2v2:SOUTH PADRE],
Marshall (8-2) [RR4G.S-D],
Illinois (10-2) [2v2:CANCUN-THANX],
Columbia (7-4) [rr3@CENTENNIAL],
Cleveland State (10-2) [rr3@LEGENDSconsA],
Pittsburgh (11-2) [rr4@PHILLY],
George Washington (4-7) [rr3@CBEconsA],
Lehigh (8-4) [rr3@2KS/CVCconsB],
South Dakota State (7-4) [rr3@CBEconsB],
Toledo (7-5) [rr4@UTPA].

11 Dec19 - Not So Wonderful

Volume XVI, No. 7 - 11 Dec19 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Not So Wonderful

Life's not so wonderful without your star players. Ohio State and Xavier learned that the easy way and the hard way.
     cJared Sullinger was back in the lineup for the Buckeyes at South Carolina (after missing two games with back spasms) only to have his heel stepped on by a Gamecock player. He left the game (and the facility -- he did return, but was ineffective). He's listed as "day-to-day" after nothing serious showed up on X-ray (but it's yet another worry about a possible chronic injury-filled season for him. His teammates struggled against SCar for a while, but perked up when they got news he was OK and won 74-@66 [behind a career-high 30p from bDeShaun Thomas]).
     pTu Holloway, pMark Lyons and bDezmine Wells all sat suspended for Xavier at home against 8-4 Oral Roberts and watched their teammates be humiliated, 64-@42. bWells will miss the entire trip; pLyons will miss the first game; but pHolloway will play all three games at this week's DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC in Honolulu where the Musketeers are the favorites (ahead of Long Beach State and rising Kansas State). It would take some instant maturity it's not apparent that they have in order for them to take the right lesson from this debacle. Here's hoping they do more than use it to rally behind an "Us vs Them" mentality.

UNLV proved it wasn't just a one-hit/hometown wonder by beating Illinois in Chicago, 64-@48, holding the Illini to 25 percent shooting. 7-1 Kansas State added to slumping Alabama's troubles with a @71-58 win in Kansas City.
     So far, there's enough ball to go around (in the backcourt, at least) for Florida -- the Gators routed Texas A&M in the ORANGE BOWL CLASSSIC behind the triumvirate of gKenny Boynton(22p1a), pErving Walker(16p6a) and freshman gBradley Beal(16p). (If UofF can consistently involve its frontcourt players, we're talking Final Four.) Texas handled Temple, @77-65 -- gJ'Covan Brown (23p6to;10/21fg) is doing his best to have a bKemba Walker-type season to lead his young teammates to a higher level of play. (It's been mixed results so far, though; and the Longhorns have a huge test on the road at North Carolina [Wednesday].) Louisville placed seven players in double-figures in its @95-87 HALL OF FAME SHOWCASE win over Memphis (despite 28p16r from cWill Barton) -- both teams combined for 83 free throws.
     Gonzaga finally beat somebody of note -- a @71-60 win over Arizona behind 25p8r from fElias Harris -- (only five turnovers is great, but the Bulldogs won't get far on 3-for-20 three-point shooting.) The woes continued for the PAC-10 as Oregon lost at home to solid Virginia, @54-67, while Washington managed to get blown out at home, @73-92, at the hands of 7-4 South Dakota State. (Ugh! At least, Oregon State, Stanford and California have come through the preseason with impressive records.)
     Indiana State finally made a splash this season with a road win over underachieving Vanderbilt, 61-@55. (The Commodores have fFestus Ezeli back, but he hasn't made the instand difference they were expecting. They already have three home losses this season.) 5-6 Butler took the first step towards salvaging a bust preseason with a @67-@65 win over Purdue in the CROSSROADS double-header in Indianapolis. (The Bulldogs have it even tougher this week with road games at Gonzaga [Tuesday] and Stanford [Thursday].) Middle Tennessee paid back its earlier double-OT home loss with a @65-62 home win over stumbling Belmont.

Baylor can only damage its reputation if it fails to dominate the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC (West Virginia, St. Mary's, Missouri State) [Monday, Thursday-Friday]; likewise for Xavier at the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC (Long Beach State, Kansas State) [Thursday-Friday, Sunday]. Illinois probably isn't ready to deal with Missouri in Thursday's BRAGGIN' RIGHTS game. Georgetown hosting Memphis (Thursday), Creighton hosting Northwestern (Thursday) and UNLV hosting California (Friday) are the kind of games that will have you on the outside looking in come bubble time for the loser.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody!

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Kansas-Davidson(@KansasCityMO), @Florida-MSValleySt, @Marshall-Belmont, @Vanderbilt-Longwood,

Monday, Thursday-Friday:

LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC RndRob on-campus; Semis @ Las Vegas NV /ORLEANS/
-(A: Baylor, StMarys, BethuneCookman, TexasA&MCC, {PaulQuinn};
  B: WVirginia, MissouriSt, TennesseeTech, KennesawSt),

Tuesday:

@Syracuse-Bucknell, @Louisville-ColofCharleston, @NoIowa-OhioU, @Gonzaga-Butler, @Arizona-Oakland,

Tuesday-Thursday:

AIA CLASSIC RndRob @ Logan UT
-(KentSt, StPeters, TXArlington, @UtahSt),
GS-C SHOWCASE RndRob @ Eugene OR
-(@Oregon, NCCentral, StephenFAustin, PrairieViewA&M),

Wednesday:

@NCarolina-Texas, @AustinPeay-Belmont(TN), @Alabama-Oklahoma St(@BirminghamAL),

Thursday:

@Connecticut-Fairfield(CT), @MichiganSt-Lehigh, @Florida-FloridaSt(FL), @Georgetown-Memphis, @Harvard-FLAtlantic, @Stanford-Butler, @Creighton-Northwestern, @WeberSt-Utah(UT), @CoCarolina-ColofCharleston(SC), @Montana-UTValley,
BRAGGIN' RIGHTS @ St. Louis MO
-(@Missouri-@Illinois),
LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC 1Off @ Las Vegas NV /SOUTH POINT/
-((2P):SanDiego-SAlabama),

Thursday-Friday, Sunday:

DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC Qtrs @ Honolulu HI
-(Xavier-LongBeachSt, @Hawaii-Auburn, KansasSt-SoIllinois, Clemson-UTEP),

Friday:

@Wisconsin-MSValleySt, @UNLV-California,

Tuesday week:

@NotreDame-Pittsburgh.

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Top 25 - 11 Dec19 - [] Column

1. Indiana (10-0)
2. Kentucky (9-1)
3. Marquette (10-0)
4. North Carolina (9-2)
5. Duke (8-1)
6. Kansas (7-2)
7. Ohio State (10-1)
8. Wisconsin (10-2)
9. Syracuse (11-0)
10. Connecticut (9-1)
11. Baylor (9-0)
12. Missouri (11-0)
13. Michigan State (8-2)
14. Mississippi State (11-1)
15. Florida (8-2)
16. Georgetown (8-1)
17. Murray State (9-0)
18. Harvard (8-1)
19. Louisville (10-0)
20. Wichita State (8-2)
21. UNLV (9-2)
22. Virginia (9-1)
23. Xavier (8-1)
24. Oregon State (8-2)
25. Texas (9-2)

Honorable Mention:

Kansas State (7-1), Butler (5-6), Indiana State (7-2), South Dakota State (7-4).