Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

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].

posted by Ron @ Wednesday, December 28, 2011