10 Jan18 - If You Don't Know By Now ...

Volume XIV, No. 11 - 10 Jan 18 - [] Top 25 Ballot

If You Don't Know By Now ...

... which teams "have it" and which ones don't ... (Nah. Not really.)

After being one of the last teams remaining undefeated, Purdue has now lost three straight games. No reason to panic, though as they're still playing quite well overall. bRobbie Hummel hit 8 three-pointers in the first half against Ohio State (on the way to a career-high 35p10r performance), but it still wasn't enough as the Buckeyes' tEvan Turner set his own career high with a 32p9r6to of his own as OSU won 70-@66. Later, surprising Northwestern continued to make noise with a @72-64 win over the Boilermakers. Ohio State also beat depleted Wisconsin @60-51 (as UW is now without cJon Leuer due to a wrist injury).
    Texas suddently struggled once it officially became #1. The Longhorns could only beat Iowa State 90-@83 and had to come from behind at home to beat Texas A&M @72-67(OT) behind 26p12r from xDamion James (who, at 6'7", has now become the all-time rebounding leader for the entire Big 12, not just Texas). Syracuse made a late run and then barely held on to win 72-@71 at West Virginia. Cincinnati dominated Notre Dame on the boards 48-28 and held cLuke Harangody to 14p11r and escaped with a @60-58 win. Oklahoma had a good week: first beating Oklahoma State @62-57(2OT) and then knocking off Missouri @66-61 (as gWillie Warren had 36p12a in two games).

The team that's all guards is having a better go of it than the team that's all forwards. Villanova isn't dominating its opponents -- they trailed Louisville by 17 points in the first half -- but they came back to win 92-@84 behind 36p0a from gScottie Reynolds. Against Georgetown, the Wildcats stayed even on the boards at 36-36 and gReynolds' 27p were enough to counter 29p16r from Georgetown's cGreg Monroe in 'Nova's @82-77 win.
    On the other hand, things are heading South in a big way for North Carolina. First, Clemson routed the Tar Heels @83-64 as UNC had 25 turnovers and Ed Davis managed only 4p4r. Then, Georgia Tech led them by 20 in Chapel Hill before holding on for a 73-@71 win as the Jackets' pIman Shumpert had 30p6a.
    It's a lot easier to fake it with hustle and gang rebounding on defense when you're weak in the frontcourt like Villanova. When your weakness is in the backcourt, you've got two problems -- getting outplayed on the perimeter and not being able to feed the post so your big men never get the chance to exploit their advantage.
    Connecticut's problem isn't talent so much as leadership. bJerome Dyson and pKemba Walker should be just fine as a backcourt duo, but they rarely both have good games. tStanley Robinson has been more interested in showcasing his three-point range rather than banging in the lane. Pitt handled UConn 67-@57 while Michigan held them off @68-63.

We're halfway through the Big 5 schedule and the Game of the Year remains Temple's win over Villanova. The Owls are 2-0 after routing Penn 60-@45. With only a "home" game with St. Joseph's at The Palestra and a true road game at La Salle left, they have a good shot at ending the Wildcats' 5-year reign.
    Gonzaga won at St. Mary's 89-@82 in impressive fashion, shooting 60% from the floor, outrebounding the Gaels 45-25, and getting 31p13r from freshman cElias Harris (and despite 31p12r from cOmar Samhan). Already with a road win at Portland, the Bulldogs are well on their way to their 10th straight year of at least a share of the regular season WCC title.
    Memphis' 80-@66 win over Rice was its 52nd straight win against Conference USA opponents, breaking the all-time conference win streak previously owned by Kentucky (SEC 1950-54). (Of course, as far as the NCAA is concerned, the entire 2007-08 season has been vacated, so don't look for Memphis' name to be written down in the NCAA record book.)

It's a topsy-turvy world when the only team left undefeated in ACC is 11-4 Virginia. Xavier had a big week, beating Charlottte @86-74 and Dayton @78-74 to break out 4-0 atop the crowded Atlantic 10 standings.
    Siena beat second-place Fairfield 81-@73 to open a two-game gap in the Metro Atlantic. Likewise, Vermont's @78-58 win over Boston University gave it a two-game lead in the America East. 31p from gRodney Pierce gave Buffalo a @78-65 win over Akron and 3-0 start in the Mid-American.
    Washington routed Stanford (@94-61) and California (@84-69) as fQuincy Pondexter had 52p15r in two games. (But it's Arizona State with a half-game lead at 4-2 this week in the Pac-10 standings.)

Texas gets to play Kansas at home in their only meeting (Mon 8 Feb), so Monday's road game at Kansas State may wind up being one of its toughest obstacles to a bid to go undefeated. KSU's backcourt of gJacob Pullen and gDenis Clemente might be the best duo in the country (especially with the least amount of help up front). Then, UTx has an out-of-conference road trip to Connecticut on Saturday. (Meanwhile, Kentucky handled Florida 89-@77. The Wildcats still have some tough road trips, though -- at Vanderbilt, at Mississippi State and home-and-away against Tennessee.)
    Temple and Xavier clash for first place in the Atlantic 10 on Wednesday. West Virginia goes out of conference on Saturday as well, hosting Ohio State.

How often has it happened that Marshall comes into its annual State Title showdown with West Virginia sporting the better record? Guess which team is 15-2 / 4-0 -- (Hint: it ain't the Mountaineers!)

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

Texas-@KansasSt, Syracuse-@NotreDame, @SCState-MorganSt, @JacksonSt-TexasSo,

Tuesday:

Purdue-@Illinois, Clemson-@GeorgiaTech, @OhioSt-Northwestern, NoIowa-@WichitaSt, @TexasA&M-Oklahoma,

Wednesday:

@Kansas-Baylor, @Pittsburgh-Georgetown, @WVirginia-@Marshall(WV)(@CharlestonWV), @Wisconsin-Michigan, @Temple-Xavier, @NCarolina-WakeForest(NC), @Connecticut-StJohns, @Mississippi-SCarolina, @OralRoberts-Tulsa(TulsaOK), @Richmond-Charlotte, @ColoradoSt-UNLV, @IllinoisSt-Creighton, @VCU-William&Mary(VA), @SavannahSt-{NCCentral},

Thursday:

@Gonzaga-Pepperdine, @SetonHall-Louisville, @NTexas-SAlabama, @Troy-WeKentucky, @Belmont-Campbell, @Vermont-StonyBrook, @UTValley-{SDakota},

Friday:

@ColofCharleston-Wofford(SC),

Saturday:

Texas-@Connecticut, Duke-@Clemson, @Syracuse-Marquette, Villanova-@StJohns, MichiganSt-@Minnesota, @Purdue-Michigan, @WVirginia-OhioSt, @KansasSt-OklahomaSt, BYU-@SanDiegoSt, @Xavier-RhodeIsland, @Northwestern-Illinois(IL), @TexasTech-Oklahoma, @WakeForest-Virginia, @Florida-SCarolina, @NewMexico-ColoradoSt, @USC-Washington, @California-OregonSt, @Memphis-Houston, @Marshall-UAB, @William&Mary-OldDominion(VA), @Northeastern-VCU, @AppalachianSt-WeCarolina(NC), @Denver-SAlabama, @TXArlington-SamHoustonSt(TX), @Lipscomb-Campbell, @Navy-Army(MIL), @{NDakota}-{SDakota}, @SavannahSt-Longwood, @PrairieViewA&M-ARPineBluff,

Sunday:

Pittsburgh-@SetonHall, GeorgiaTech-@FloridaSt, @Louisville-Cincinnati(BG), @Creighton-MissouriSt,

Monday week:

@Kansas-Missouri, @Syracuse-Georgetown, @WeCarolina-ColofCharleston, @TexasSo-ARPineBluff.

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Top 25 - 10 Jan 18 - [] Column

1. Texas (17-0)
2. Kentucky (18-0)
3. Duke (15-2)
4. Kansas (16-1)
5. Syracuse (17-1)
6. Villanova (16-1)
7. Michigan State (14-3)
8. Pittsburgh (15-2)
9. Purdue (13-3)
10. Tennessee (14-2)
11. Georgetown (13-3)
12. West Virginia (13-3)
13. Kansas State (14-2)
14. Clemson (14-3)
15. Ohio State (12-5)
16. Georgia Tech (12-4)
17. Brigham Young (17-1)
18. Gonzaga (13-3)
19. Wisconsin (14-4)
20. Temple (15-3)
21. Xavier (12-5)
22. Northern Iowa (15-1)
23. Butler (14-4)
24. Siena (14-4)
25. Northwestern (13-4)

Honorable Mention:

Memphis (12-4), Virginia (11-4), Oklahoma (11-6), Buffalo (10-4), Vermont (11-5).