12 Dec17 - Grunt Work

Volume XVII, No. 7 - 12 Dec17 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Grunt Work

In the CROSSROADS CLASSIC, Butler wouldn't let Indiana pull away and had a lead late before the Hoosiers' freshman gYogi Ferrell tied it up. But in overtime, it was the isolation play for walk-on gAlex Barlow that gave the Bulldogs the game-winner in a thrilling @88-@86(OT) win in the Game of the Year so far. At least the refs did call falls against Butler -- Indiana shot 27-for-38 on free throws, and three Bulldogs fouled out. This is the form that was expected on paper from the start for BU. The offense flows better now that gRotnei Clarke(19p) doesn't run the point 100% of the time. For IU, nothing terrible in the loss -- they still have plenty of weapons all over the court.

    
Arizona rallied late to rescue a home win over Florida, @65-64, on (Xavier transfer) gMark Lyons' layup with :07 second left. Florida led most of the game and even outrebounded the taller Wildcats, but the Gators still are a touch too guard-oriented.

Wichita State fell at Tennessee, 60-@69 (behind 25p5a from pTrae Golden; despite 25p9r from Carl Hall). Charlotte was totally shut down at Miami(Florida), 46-@77 -- the second big-time home win for coach Jim Larranaga's squad this year (Michigan State).

Gonzaga handled Kansas State, @68-52, in the BATTLE IN SEATTLE, getting 20p inside from Kelly Olynyk (while preseason All-America bRodney McGruder was awful [4p5r5to] -- does coach Bruce Weber actually make good players worse?) Memphis led Louisville by 16 in the first half, but the Cardinals turned things around and ran away with an 87-@78 road win; guard penetration led to lots of free throws (38-for-46) and Chase Buchanan(22p) scored well inside, but UofL waa still outrebounded 28-31. bDoug McDermott delivered another star turn (34p9r) in Creighton's 74-@64 win at California (as bAllen Crabbe's dismal shooting [6-for-26; 0-for-8 on threes] did in the Bears).

VCU routed Alabama, @73-54. The Rams have survived a tough preseason schedule pretty well; but it remains to be seen whether the switch to the Atlantic 10 will make it easier or harder for them to get an NCAA bid in March. (Meanwhile, the COLONIAL has had a disastrous start so that league play there would have dragged down their overall strength of schedule.)

Murray State held off rival Western Kentucky, @75-70. Ohio University continues to slump, falling @49-50 at home to 4-4 Winthrop. Virginia Tech lost, @73-78, at home to Georgia Southern in the round-robin phase of the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC (but the preset semifinal with Bradley is still secure).

South Dakota State edged Montana, 68-@67(OT), but it wasn't much of a shootout between the two star players, SDSt's tNate Wolters(15p5a9r) and UM's Will Cherry(2p; who hasn't made much of a mark all season).

The last three major preseason events are on tap this week. Arizona, San Diego State and Miami(Florida) will battle it out in the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC in Honolulu (Saturday thru Tuesday week). Syracuse and Temple play the feature game (Saturday) in New York /MSG/ in the GOTHAM CLASSIC. Virginia Tech should still see its way pasts Bradley, Colorado State and Portland in the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC in Las Vegas(ORLEANS) (through Sunday). UNLV should close things out in style over Northern Iowa (Wednesday) for the MOUNTAIN WEST (already up 5-3) in the final CHALENGE game with the MISSOURI VALLEY.

    
Ohio State hosts Kansas (Saturday). Illinois and Missouri meet in their annual split-crowd BRAGGIN' RIGHTS game in St. Louis (Saturday). Cincinnati plays Xavier in the annual CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT -- (let's hope for a more calm affair this year after last year's debacle).

    
Teams with their reputations on the rebound have some tricky "trap games" on tap: VCU hosting Western Kentucky (Tuesday), N.C. State hosting Stanford (Tuesday), Murray State visiting Dayton (Saturday). The WILDCAT CLASSIC (Saturday) vs Florida is Kansas State's last chance to be relevant this preseason. Both Charlotte and Florida State need a big win when the 49ers host the Seminoles (Saturday).

    
The MGM GRAND in Las Vegas hosts a couple of double-headers (Saturday, Sunday) as a dress rehearsal event for the PAC-12 tournament in March.

Happy Holidays, everybody! It'll be a Merry Christmas, for sure, if we make past THE END OF THE WORLD (Friday)!!!

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday-Wednesday; Saturday-Sunday;

LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC on-campus, @ LasVegasNV /ORLEANS/

-(A: VirginiaTech, Bradley, GeorgiaSo, MSValleySt;

  B: ColoradoSt, Portland, NFlorida, CalStBakersfield).

Monday-Sunday week:

GOTHAM CLASSIC RndRob(4) on-campus, @ NewYorkNY /MSG/

-(Syracuse, Temple, Canisius, Detroit, AlcornSt;

  Sat @ MYC/MSG: @Syracuse-Temple),

Tuesday:

@Arizona-OralRoberts, @Wyoming-Denver, @VCU-WeKentucky, @NCState-Stanford, @KansasSt-TexasSo, @UCLA-LongBeachSt(CA),

Wednesday:

NewMexico-@NewMexicoSt(NM), @NotreDame-KennesawSt, @Towson-CoppinSt(BaltimoreMD),

CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT 1Off on-campus

-(@Cincinnati-@Xavier(CincinnatiOH)),

MWC/MVC CHALLENGE on-campus -- (MWC leads 5-3)

[/ Bradley doesn't play.]

-(@UNLV-NoIowa),

Thursday-Saturday:

GF/WV-B CHALLENGE RndRob(3) @ LoganUT /Utah St/

-(SoIllinois, @UtahSt, UCDavis, NichollsSt),

Friday:

@WashingtonSt-Buffalo(@SeattleWA),

Friday-Saturday:

CABLE CAR CLASSIC Semis @ SantaClaraCA /Santa Clara/

-(@SantaClara-AlcornSt, SMU-Wagner),

Saturday:

@Louisville-WeKentucky(KY), @OhioSt-Kansas, @NewMexico-SD State, @Charlotte-FloridaSt, @Princeton-Bucknell, @Wisconsin-Milwaukee(WI), @Dayton-MurraySt(BG), @Alabama-Mercer, @Drexel-Davidson,

WILDCAT CLASSIC 1Off @ KansasCityMO

-(Florida-@KansasSt),

BRAGGIN' RIGHTS 1Off @ StLouisMO

-(@Illinois-@Missouri),

BROOKLYN-HOLIDAY INVITATIONAL DblHdr @ BrooklynNY /BARCLAYS/

-(@Manhattan-SCarolina, @Hofstra-Tulane),

GOVERNOR'S CLASSIC 1Off on-campus

-(@Richmond-GeoMason(VA)),

Saturday-Sunday:

LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC DblHdr(2) @ LasVegasNV /MGM/

-(Sat: SanDiego-OregonSt, JamesMadison-SanJoseSt;

  Sun: BoiseSt-NewOrleans, SanDiego-JamesMadison),

DON HASKINS/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL Semis @ ElPasoTX /UTEP/

-(Nebraska-CMichigan, @UTEP-ARPineBluff),

Saturday-Sunday, Tuesday week:

DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC Qtrs @ HonoluluHI /Hawaii/

-(Arizona-ETennesseeSt, @Hawaii-MiamiFL, SanDiegoSt-SanFrancisco(CA), Mississippi-IndianaSt),

---

Top 25 - 12 Dec17 - [] Column

1. Duke (9-0) (@@CHAMPS) [3:ATLANTIS] (vBIG10)
   
2. Michigan (10-0) [2v2:NIT.T-O] (vACC)
   
3. Arizona (8-0)
   
4. Syracuse (9-0) (@SEC)
   
5. Louisville (9-1)
   
6. Ohio State (7-1) [2v2:HALL.FAME]
   
7. Florida (7-1) (vBIG E)
   
8. Illinois (11-0) [3:MAUI] (vACC)
   
9. Butler (7-2) (@@CROSSROADS)
   
10. Indiana (9-1) [2v2:LEGENDS] (vACC)
    
11. Creighton (10-1) [2v2:LVI-THANX]
    
12. Cincinnati (10-0) [2v2:GS-A] (vSEC)
    
13. New Mexico (11-0) [3:PARADISE] (@MVC)
    
14. Missouri (8-1)
    
15. Minnesota (11-1) (@ACC)
    
16. Kansas (8-1) [2v2vCBE]
    
17. Wyoming (8-0) (@MVC)
    
18. Oklahoma State (8-1) [3:P.RICO]
    
19. Notre Dame (9-1) (vSEC) (@@CROSSROADS)
    
20. San Diego State (7-1) (@MVC)
    
21. Gonzaga (9-1) [3:OS/ORLANDO]
    
22. UNLV (7-1)
    
23. Pittsburgh (10-1)
    
24. Michigan State (8-2) (@@CHAMPS)
    
25. Georgetown (9-1) (vSEC)
    

Honorable Mention:

Tennessee (5-3), Miami(Florida) (5-2) (vBIG 10), VCU (7-3).