09 Feb23 - Pitt Bull

Volume XIII, No. 16 - 09 Feb 23 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Pitt Bull

In a brutal matchup, Pittsburgh won at Connecticut, 76-@68. pLevance Fields(10p5a5r) scored 8 straight points (including two three-pointers) in the late stages to secure a huge road win. The much anticipated battle in the paint turned out to be a mismatch as The Pitt Bull (cDeJuan Blair) manhandled UConn's cHasheem Thabeet (heretofore the most fearsome presence in college basketball this season). cBlair had 22p23r, got cThabeet(5p4r2b) in early foul trouble, and nearly tore his arm off fighting for a rebound. The win evened up the top of the Big East standings as UConn, Pitt, Marquette and Louisville all now have two losses and remain safely locked into the coveted double-bye slots in the conference tournament (as fifth place Villanova stands two games back with four losses already).
     Oklahoma's cBlake Griffin suffered a mild concussion at the hands of Texas' cDexter Pittman early in the first half of their Big 12 clash; cGriffin(2p2r) only played 11 minutes as doctors wouldn't allow him to return to the game. Meanwhile, UTx's gA.J. Abrams 23p led the way as the Longhorns claimed a much needed @73-68 win. (This one win won't secure an at-large bid, though -- they're still only tied for fourth place three games out of third in the conference standings.)
     Purdue's fRobbie Hummel has been sidelined off-and-on the past few weeks with back problems. When he's not on the floor, the Boilermakers aren't a Top 25 team; even with him healthy, it's their all out hustle on top of his talent that pushes them over the hump. With him on the floor, Purdue was able to handily defeat Michigan State @72-54. With the win, PU pulled to within one game of MSU's lead in the Big 10 standings (with Illinois one more game back in third).
     Duke and Wake Forest decided to have a track meet as both teams tried to match O for O. The Blue Devils shot 54% from the floor while the Demon Deacons shot 61%. Duke won the gambit, @101-91, as gGerald Henderson had 35p and gJon Scheyer had 30p; Wake's gJeff Teague managed 28p1a and fJames Johnson had 26p11r. (In the competition for the Greensboro Pod, Wake is now 2-1, North Carolina is 1-1 and Duke is 1-2. Only Duke at North Carolina remains among those three before the end of the regular season. It may rest on the outcome of the ACC tournament before the pecking order is determined.)
     North Carolina was in cruise control at Maryland, leading 52-@36 in the second half. Sure MD's xGreivis Vasquez had scored the Terrapins' first 16 points and was in the zone, but what's to worry about? Well, plenty. xVasquez continued his hot streak on the way to a staggering 35p11r10a triple-double while bringing the Terps back and ultimately to victory in a stunning @88-85(OT) upset of the Tar Heels. UNC only had 5 assists for the entire game, and cTyler Hansbrough was held to 11p11r; pTy Lawson(24p2a) couldn't come up with the late heroics this time as UM shut him down at the end. (The result by itself won't knock UNC out of a #1 seed, but it's worrisome for their hopes of even returning to the Final Four, let alone winning it all. For Maryland, the win pulls them to 6-6 in the ACC standings, but that's only good for tie for seventh place; they have much more work to do -- and a tough schedule ahead -- before they can feel safe about securing an at-large bid.) Meanwhile, well under the radar, bToney Douglas and Florida State have quietly risen to a tie for second place at 8-4; the Seminoles haven't beaten any of the NC triumvirate elite, but they do own a road win at Clemson (and they beat the teams they're supposed to beat).

UCLA had the opportunity to retake control in the Pac-10. They completed the biggest task, beating Washington @85-76 to pay back an earlier road loss; but they took their eyes off the prize and stumbled at home against 14-13 Washington State, losing @81-82 (as WSU's tTaylor Rochestie had 33p). Arizona State survived @70-68 over Arizona. So the Pac-10 race remains a muddy mess, with Washington, Arizona State, California and UCLA all within a game of each other at the top.

Xavier tripped up at 10-16 Charlotte 60-@65, falling into tie with three losses with Dayton and surging Temple. Illinois lost an ugly game at home to Penn State @33-38 as no Illini player reached double-figures; but a 70-@68 escape at Ohio State allows them to hang onto third place in the Big 10. pStephen Curry skipped the game against The Citadel to rest his ankle and the Wildcats suffered for it, losing @46-64 at home (but they remain well in control of the Southern Conference race). Butler lost its second straight Horizon League game, 60-@63, and now has only a one-game lead over streaking Wisconsin-Green Bay in second.
     Radford essentially wrapped up the Big South race with a 97-@90 win at VMI thanks to a whopping 60-26 rebounding advantage -- lots of missed three-pointers were up for grab as VMI shot 16-for-54 from outside the arc. (Meanwhile, the Highlanders were a much more efficient 17-for-31 on three-pointers themselves.

pStephen Curry wasn't 100% for Davidson's BRACKETBUSTERS showdown with Butler -- he shot only 6-for-23 (including 2-for-13 on three-pointers), BU's freshman tGordon Hayward had 27p8r as the Bulldogs won 75-@63 in a big road win. They might now be the only mid-major which could withstand losing in its conference tournament and still garner an at-large bid (not counting Gonzaga). With pCurry subpar and its being quite evident how much worse the team is without him, they may not get in at-large even with his star power as a calling card.
     St. Mary's had a huge BB win (even without pPatrick Mills) beating Utah State @75-64; the Gaels still have a formidable frontcourt duo in fDiamon Simpson(18p7r) and cOmar Samhan(17p12r), and on this night they got 22p from gMickey McConnell. pMills is still on track to return for the WCC tournament; if he's 100%, they're a Sweet 16-calibre team.
     No one else in the BRACKETBUSTERS event has a chance at an at-large NCAA bid, but several teams showed themselves capable of a first-round splash win should they get into the tournament. Niagara handled visiting Illinois State, @70-56, behind 15 steals. Nevada pulled out a @71-70 win over visiting VCU on cLuke Babbitt(15p8r)'s game-winning free throw (despite 28p5a from VCU's do-it-all pEric Maynor). Vermont handled visiting Buffalo @78-70 behind 24p7a6r from pMike Trimboli (despite 21p5a from pRodney Pierce). Creighton, which has put together a second-half run that sees it now tied atop the MVC standings, defeated visiting George Mason @76-63 behind 22p from gBooker Woodfox (despite 23p6t from GMU's bCam Long). Siena handled slumping Northern Iowa @81-75. North Dakota State went on the road and won at Wisconsin-Milwaukee 77-@69 thanks to 22p8r from fMike Nelson. Northeastern handled host Wright State 69-@57 thanks to 22p from gEugene Spates and 20p1a from gChaisson Allen. Hot-shooting Wisconsin-Green Bay lit up host Long Beach State with 56% shooting including 13-for-22 on three-pointers, thanks mostly to tRyan Tillema(30p;7/10 3s) (despite 23p9r from fLarry Anderson).
     Overall, the MVC (7-3), the Colonial (8-4) and the Metro Atlantic[MAAC] (6-4, 3-0 from its top three teams) were the strongest performing conferences while the Mid-American[MAC] (4-8) and OVC (3-7) were the worst. The top two teams from the Horizon (5-5) managed to win on the road; the top two America East (2-2) teams won at home; the WAC (5-4) was a wash overall; but the Big West (4-5) was 0-5 at the very top.

Kansas' Replacements may turn out to be Killers after all. They're already tied for first place, and two road wins at Oklahoma (Monday) and Missouri (Sunday) would produce a shocking result in the Big 12. Marquette still has work to do if it wants to stay in double-bye (Day Three) status: a home game vs Connecticut on Wednesday and a road game on Sunday at Louisville. It's not likely to happen, but if anyone can stop Memphis' Conference USA win streak, it should be UAB at home on Thursday. Illinois' last chance to stay in the Big 10 race comes when Michigan State arrives in town on Saturday. Washington hosts Arizona State on Thursday with first place in the Pac-10 on the line. You can't expect another magical performance from xGreivis Vasquez, but Maryland will need one when Duke comes visiting on Wednesday. Illinois State may yet have the last laugh in the Missouri Valley -- they're one game out of first place with one week left to go with a home game against Northern Iowa on Tuesday and a road game at Creighton on Saturday. How those three teams sort out between NCAA, NIT and CBI remains to be determined.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Oklahoma-Kansas, Louisville-@Georgetown,

Tuesday:

Pittsburgh-@Providence, @LSU-Florida, FloridaSt-@BostonCol, @OhioSt-PennSt, @SanDiegoSt-BYU, @IllinoisSt-NoIowa, @Liberty-VMI(VA), @{UTValley}-ChicagoSt,

Wednesday:

Connecticut-@Marquette, Duke-@Maryland, @Missouri-KansasSt, @Clemson-VirginiaTech, @SCarolina-Kentucky, @RhodeIsland-Dayton, @Utah-UNLV, @Tulsa-Houston, @Drexel-Northeastern,

Thursday:

Memphis-@UAB, WVirginia-@Cincinnati, Purdue-@Michigan, @Illinois-Minnesota, @Washington-ArizonaSt, @California-USC(CA), @Buffalo-Akron,

Friday:

@Niagara-Siena(NY),

Saturday:

@Connecticut-NotreDame, Duke-@VirginiaTech, MichiganSt-@Illinois, @Villanova-Georgetown, @Purdue-OhioSt(BG), Clemson-@FloridaSt, @Washington-Arizona, UCLA-@California(CA), LSU-@Kentucky, @Butler-ClevelandSt(BG), @BYU-Utah(UT), @Nevada-UtahSt, @Creighton-IllinoisSt, @Dayton-Temple, @KansasSt-Nebraska, @TexasA&MCC-StephenFAustin, @Radford-Liberty(VA), @CalStNorthridge-LongBeachSt(CA), @TNMartin-MoreheadSt, @Belmont-Jacksonville, @OralRoberts-NDState, @RobertMorris-MtStMarys, @{SDakota}-{Seattle},

Sunday:

Marquette-@Louisville, @Missouri-Kansas, @Syracuse-Cincinnati, @Florida-Tennessee, @Wisconsin-Michigan, @Akron-BowlingGreen(OH).

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Top 25 - 09 Feb 23 - [] Column

1. Pittsburgh (24-20
2. Connecticut (24-2)
3. North Carolina (23-3)
4. Memphis (24-3)
5. Oklahoma (25-2)
6. Duke (21-5)
7. Michigan State (21-5)
8. Wake Forest (18-5)
9. Villanova (21-5)
10. Marquette (21-4)
11. Louisville (21-5)
12. West Virginia (19-8)
13. Purdue (21-6)
14. Missouri (22-4)
15. Clemson (20-4)
16. Kansas (21-5)
17. Xavier (22-5)
18. Illinois (22-6)
19. Washington (20-7)
20. Arizona State (21-5)
21. UCLA (20-7)
22. Gonzaga (20-5)
23. LSU (23-4)
24. Butler (21-4)
25. Florida State (21-6)

Honorable Mention:

Maryland (16-9), Texas (18-8), Charlotte (10-16), Penn State (18-8), Washington State (14-13), The Citadel (18-10), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (15-12), St. Mary's (19-5), Niagara (22-7), Nevada (16-10), Vermont (21-7), Creighton (23-6), Siena (22-6), N.D. State (18-6), Northeastern (17-10), WI-Green Bay (18-8).