06 Dec18 - Straw Poll

Volume XI, No. 7 - 06 Dec 18 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Straw Poll

The lone matchup between ranked teams last week did provide quite a show, mostly from tAlando Tucker(32p10r;10/17fg), who set the tone right off the bat as he led host Wisconsin to an @89-75 win over Pittsburgh. Tucker scores off the dribble as well as any forward in the country and, although his shooting range has improved, he's still more of a Three-The-Hard-Way player than a 'tweener (i.e., when he converts his free throws). On-again/off-again gKammron Taylor was OK (14p4r), but cBrian Butch (27p11r3a) provided the kind of real second option that could make the Badgers a true contender. This win puts UW back in the Top 10 realm they were expected to be before the season began. (Plus, the team that beat them, Missouri State, has continued to turn in rout performances as if it really is a legit Top 25 squad.) Pitt's cAaron Gray(17p8r) was a little under the weather, but the Panthers still looked good, especially on the perimeter with gRonald Ramon(16p).

While Kansas' fJulian Wright (21p10r vs Florida) and Gonzaga's fJosh Heytvelt (19p8r vs North Carolina) have also turned in Player-of-the-Year single game performances that rival this one, it's Tucker who is having the more consistently outstanding year so far. Another early candidate is Tennessee's gChris Lofton, who had 32 points of his own in the Volunteers' @93-79 win over visiting Western Kentucky. UTn isn't as strong a team overall, but Lofton's shooting and versatility scoring on jumpers and driving the lane have been impressive.

A less obvious candidate is Butler's gA.J. Graves. The Bulldogs completed their neutral-site sweep of their major state rivals (first Notre Dame, then Indiana) with another squeaker, @68-@65 over Purdue in the JOHN WOODEN TRADITION as Graves led the way with 25 points. We wouldn't be mentioning that school's name this year if not for him. After one more home game this week against in-state Evansville (one of the few MVC teams that hasn't made any kind of a mark this season), the Bulldogs get to coast through the Horizon League schedule until a BRACKETBUSTERS home game in late February.

LSU's fGlen Davis has been solid (but his team is much more plodding this season so far with subpar guardplay). UNC's fTyler Hansbrough didn't show up in two games against quality big men (fJosh Heytvelt of Gonzaga, cRandolph Morris of Kentucky), but otherwise has been strong. Alabama's pRonald Steele has been in and out of the lineup with injuries so far this year. cKevin Durant has been spectacular, but only now has his Texas team begun to perform at a level that warrants his nomination. cGreg Oden has scored on easy dunks, blocked shots in the lane and grabbed double-figure rebounds so far, but that's mostly a result of his 7' frame and not any special performance by him so far. (We might get to see one on Saturday, though, when Ohio State travels to Florida, as last year's would-have-been-#1-draft-pick, cJoakim Noah, meets this year's sure-to-be-#1-draft-pick, Oden, head-to-head.)

Georgia's surprising @96-83 win over Gonzaga in Atlanta is a landmark for the school. It officially marks the end of the "Post-Jim Harrick Era" dating back to the NCAA sanctions that came at the end of the 2003 season. Call it the official beginning of the "Dennis Felton Era" at UGA. The 'Dawgs have a real team with a real win to go along with the blowouts over scrubs earlier this season. Some bargain basement frontcourt players to do the dirty work of rebounding and earning fouls allowed the solid perimeter trio of gLevi Stukes(25p), tSundiata Gaines (21p5a8r6s) and bMike Mercer(19p7r4a) to shine against the GU Bulldogs, who seemed not to have any answer defensively inside or outside. The 'Zags now have three losses to teams that otherwise might not be on the map this season (Washington State, Georgia and, to a lesser extent, Butler). Their win over North Carolina in the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF was probably ahead of schedule for what was supposed to be rebuilding year. A Second-10 ranking is probably more realistic for this squad.

The MVC's overachieving start to the season is beginning to recede. Southern Illinois stayed with host Indiana for most of the game, but the Hoosiers' late burst in front of the home crowd spurred them on to a @57-47 victory. SIU lacks height but gets away with playing very physical defense, but on offense they rarely have more than two players in double-figures among gJamal Tatum, fRandal Falker and bruiser fMatt Shaw. Creighton's gNate Funk hasn't been able to return to his previous form so far and the Bluejays may not be able to be the Top 25 contenders that was expected of them. Bradley still doesn't have a signature win to go along with its solid play (and two tricky home games are up this week: Loyola(Illinois) on Tuesday and Southern Mississippi on Saturday). Wichita State and Missouri State have done all you could ask with their schedules, but they both have more tough games this week coming up: WSU in the LAS VEGAS [CHRISTMAS] CLASSIC (USC, Kansas State, New Mexico), MSU at rival St. Louis on Monday.

Oklahoma State's undefeated record faces some heavy obstacles with a tough road game against Tennessee in Nashville on Monday and an even tougher home game against Pittsburgh on Thursday in the ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC. When's the last time that the Georgia-Georgia Tech basketball game featured a ranked team when the Illinois-Missouri BRAGGIN' RIGHTS game didn't? Virginia should be the class of a weak field in the SAN JUAN SHOOTOUT (Vanderbilt, Utah) from Tuesday through Thursday. Creighton, Charlotte and Houston are all in search of their lost mojo in the RAINBOW CLASSIC Wednesday through Saturday (but it's Nebraska that has it). Can Gonzaga beat both North Carolina and Duke in the same season? They'll get to try for the double against the Blue Devils on Thursday in the AEROPOSTALE CLASSIC in New York. Arizona's fastbreak O meets Memphis' full-court pressure D on Wednesday in the FIESTA BOWL CLASSIC.

Texas Tech's intensity level shocked Arkansas in Little Rock as the Red Raiders won 71-@56 to give coach Bob Knight career win #878, one shy of the all-time record. He can tie Dean Smith on Saturday against Bucknell.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:
OklahomaSt@Tennessee(@NashvilleTN), @MissouriSt-StLouis, Davidson@Chattanooga,

Tuesday:
@UCLA-SamHoustonSt, @MichiganSt-Belmont, @Bradley-LoyolaIL, HolyCross@Providence, @OralRoberts-Montana,
BRAGGIN' RIGHTS @ St. Louis MO
- (@Illinois-@Missouri),

Tuesday-Thursday:
SAN JUAN SHOOTOUT @ Guaynabo PR
- (Virginia-AppalachianSt, Vanderbilt@{PRMayaguez}, Utah-CFlorida, Northwestern-TennesseeTech),

Tuesday, Friday-Saturday:
LAS VEGAS [CHRISTMAS] CLASSIC Tue on-campus, Fri-Sat @ Las Vegas NV
- (@WichitaSt, @USC, @KansasSt, @NewMexico, KennesawSt, CharlestonSo, MDEaShore, {Longwood}),

Wednesday:
Alabama@NCState, @Texas-Arkansas, LSU@Washington, @Xavier-Bucknell,
FIESTA BOWL CLASSIC @ Tucson AZ
- (@Arizona-Memphis),

Wednesday-Saturday:
RAINBOW CLASSIC @ Honolulu HI
- (Nebraska-Wyoming, Creighton-Valparaiso, Charlotte-Houston, @Hawaii-SanFrancisco),

Thursday:
WashingtonSt-SanDiegoSt(@SeattleWA), @OhioU-Davidson, GeoMason@HolyCross, @MississippiSt-NewOrleans(@JacksonMS), Samford@MurraySt,
ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC DblHdr @ Oklahoma City OK
- (Pittsburgh@OklahomaSt, @Oklahoma-@Tulsa),
AEROPOSTALE CLASSIC DblHdr @ New York, NY
- (Gonzaga@Duke, VirginiaTech@SetonHall),

Friday:
NCarolina@StLouis, Georgia@GeorgiaTech, @Syracuse-Hofstra, Nevada@Akron, @Indiana-@IUPUI(@IndianapolisIN), @Arkansas-OralRoberts, @WeKentucky-SAlabama,

Saturday:
@UCLA-Michigan, OhioSt@Florida, @Pittsburgh-Dayton, @Kansas-BostonCol, Texas@Tennessee, @Bradley-SoMississippi, @TexasTech-Bucknell.

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Top 25 - 06 Dec 18 - [] Column

1. UCLA (8-0)
2. North Carolina (8-1)
3. Ohio State (9-1)
4. Wisconsin (11-1)
5. Pittsburgh (10-1)
6. Florida (9-2)
7. Arizona (8-1)
8. Butler (10-1)
9. Wichita State (7-0)
10. Oklahoma State (11-0)
11. Missouri State (8-1)
12. Florida State (8-2)
13. Kansas (8-2)
14. Gonzaga (9-3)
15. Notre Dame (7-1)
16. Duke (9-1)
17. Alabama (9-1)
18. Connecticut (9-0)
19. Maryland (10-2)
20. Michigan State (10-2)
21. Texas (7-2)
22. LSU (6-2)
23. Georgia (6-1)
24. Syracuse (9-2)
25. Oregon (10-0)

Honorable Mention:
- - Texas Tech (8-3), Indiana (6-3), Tennessee (8-2), Fresno State (8-1).