13 Jan21 - Unclutch

Volume XVII, No. 12 - 13 Jan21 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Unclutch

Some huge miscues decided big games. A lazy pass from gRuss Smith 25p1a) led to a pMichael Carter-Williams steal and basket in Syracuse's 70-@68 win in the first BIG EAST Game of the Year. A travel violation by (Indiana hero) 5-11 pAlex Barlow seemed to cost Butler the game, until an overthrown pass from Gonzaga's 5-11 pDavid Stockton led to a fRoosevelt Jones steal and basket and a @64-63 BU win in a high-profile battle between two "America's Team" programs. tDoug McDermott(25p6r) didn't get the ball on the last two possessions when fEthan Wragge missed a couple of 3s late for Creighton as Wichita State won @67-64 in the first MISSOURI VALLEY Game of the Year.

Wisconsin's defense held Indiana in check (other than cCody Zeller's best game, 23p10r) with a stunning 64-@59 win; (unfortunately, the Badgers gave back their advantage later in the week, falling at Iowa, 66-@70). bDeShaun Thomas' one-man effort (28p7r) wasn't enough as Ohio State dropped a 56-@59 decision at Michigan State. Meanwhile, Michigan dominated host Minnesota (up 19 on the road before the Golden Gophers made it close), winning 83-@75. No team is playing better than Florida, though, who crushed undermanned Missouri, @83-52. Oregon won going away on the road at UCLA, 76-@67 -- (the Ducks are alone in first place in the PAC-12 and they're already done with Arizona and UCLA while those two still have to play each other twice.)

Predictably, N.C. State's intensity level dropped against lesser opponents, falling 50-@51 at Maryland and failing to put away Clemson, @66-62. San Diego State dropped two decisions in the MOUNTAIN WEST WARS, losing at home to UNLV (@75-82) and getting shutdown at Wyoming (45-@58). It's never easy in the BIG EAST, as Connecticut dropped two (@58-73 vs Louisville, 61-@69 at Pittsburgh); and Notre Dame lost focus, falling 63-@67 at St. John's.

On the rise: solid Colorado State held off UNLV, @66-61. North Carolina played a solid game, especially defensively, shutting down Maryland, @62-52. gSean Kilpatrick's 36p0a effort led Cincinnati past Marquette, @71-69(OT). New Mexico is 3-0 in the MOUNTAIN WEST after escaping 79-@74(OT) at Boise State. Kansas continues to roll, drubbing Baylor, @61-44.

Newcomer Belmont passed its first two tests in the OHIO VALLEY, beating Eastern Kentucky (@83-76) and Tennessee State (@78-66) to lead the league at 6-0 (but it won't be fully legitimate until it faces Murray State, on the road). Valparaiso swept into first place in the HORIZON with a couple of big wins (89-@88 at Detroit [behind 31p from fKevin Van Wijk], and @69-63 vs Wright State). Vermont's @81-73 win vs Stony Brook turns AMERICA EAST into a three-team race (along with Albany). Davidson hasn't been able to make any noise nationally, but the Wildcats maintained control of the SOUTHERN race with a @77-68 win over College of Charleston. Newly eligible Bryant had a big win, @82-59 over Wagner, to go 6-0 in the NORTHEAST. Northeastern brought some order to the chaos in the COLONIAL with a 74-@70 win at Delaware to claim sole possession of first place.

    
It's already MidConference (or close enough) in some 1BC leagues. In the SUMMIT, Western Illinois' split on the week (@53-59 vs South Dakota State, @50-42 vs North Dakota State) earned it a first-place tie with NDakSt at 7-1 (but SDakSt is just a game back at 6-2 and hosts the top two in the second half). In the SUN BELT, Middle Tennessee is running away with things already with a 2-game gap lead (with a game to go before the break). In the METRO ATLANTIC (with a game to go), Niagara is a game ahead of Rider and Iona with Loyola(Maryland) another half-game back.

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Not sure anyone inside the BIG 12 can worry Kansas, but its toughest league game might be at Kansas State (Tuesday). Miami(Florida) is well under the radar at 4-0 atop the ACC, but the national spotlight will be on the Hurricanes when Duke comes to town (Wednesday); a big momentum game for each team comes Thursday when N.C. State hosts North Carolina. Only second place is on the line when Arizona hosts UCLA (Thursday) -- the first-place showdown is Oregon vs Washington (Saturday). More MOUNTAIN WEST WARS: New Mexico has two big games (vs Colorado State, Wednesday; at San Diego State, Saturday); UNLV hosts Wyoming (Thursday). VCU's BLACK-AND-BLUE game with Richmond is now a twice-a-year/home-and-home series inside the ATLANTIC 10 -- Round 1 (at Richmond) comes Thursday.

    
South Dakota State has done well to stay within reach of the SUMMIT lead, but there's no margin for error when North Dakota State comes to town (Saturday). Lehigh has managed to keep pace with Bucknell so far in the PATRIOT even without bC.J. McCollum; if the Mountain Hawks could steal a road win somehow in the first showdown (Wednesday), they might be able to extend their season long enough for him to return. Montana and Weber State have been streaking (both 8-0, four games ahead of anyone else) towards their first BIG SKY showdown (Saturday, in Missoula).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Syracuse-Cincinnati, @NotreDame-Georgetown, @Baylor-OklahomaSt,

Tuesday:

Kansas-@KansasSt(KS), @Wisconsin-MichiganSt, @Alabama-Kentucky, @Memphis-Tulane,

Wednesday:

Duke-@MiamiFL, Butler-@LaSalle, @NewMexico-ColoradoSt, @Bucknell-Lehigh(PA), @Valparaiso-GreenBay, @Charlotte-Xavier, @Temple-Penn(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5),

Thursday:

@Arizona-UCLA, @Gonzaga-BYU, @UNLV-Wyoming, @StMarys-SanDiego(CA), @Colorado-Stanford, @WeCarolina-Davidson(NC), @EaKentucky-TennesseeSt, @SacredHeart-Bryant, @Quinnipiac-CConnecticutSt(CT)(CT_6),

BLACK & BLUE GAME - I on-campus

-(VCU-@Richmond(RichmondVA),

Friday:

Saturday:

@Kansas-Oklahoma, @Duke-Maryland, Louisville-@Georgetown, @Butler-Temple, KansasSt-@IowaSt, @Oregon-Washington, Minnesota-@Wisconsin, NewMexico-@SanDiegoSt, @NCState-NCarolina(NC), @EaKentucky-Belmont, @SDState-NDState, @UtahSt-LouisianaTech, @Albany-Vermont, @NorthwesternSt-StephenFAustin, @CoCarolina-Campbell, @Montana-WeberSt, @AlcornSt-Southern,

Sunday:

Michigan-@Illinois, @Indiana-MichiganSt, @MiamiFL-FloridaSt(FL), @Canisius-Niagara(NY), @LoyolaMD-Iona, @Northeastern-GeoMason,

Monday week:

@Louisville-Pittsburgh,


(BRACKETBUSTERS PAIRING SELECTION) [122 teams/61 games].

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Top 25 - 13 Jan21 - [] Column

1. Michigan (16-1)
   
2. Syracuse (17-1)
   
3. Kansas (16-1)
   
4. Duke (16-1)
   
5. Arizona (16-1)
   
6. Florida (14-2)
   
7. Louisville (16-2)
   
8. Butler (16-2)
   
9. Indiana (16-2)
   
10. Ohio State (12-4)
    
11. Kansas State (14-2)
    
12. Oregon (16-2)
    
13. Minnesota (15-3)
    
14. New Mexico (16-2)
    
15. Wichita State (17-2)
    
16. Creighton (17-2)
    
17. Gonzaga (16-2)
    
18. Wisconsin (11-6)
    
19. Michigan State (15-3)
    
20. VCU (16-3)
    
21. North Carolina State (15-3)
    
22. Mississippi (15-2)
    
23. Cincinnati (16-3)
    
24. Pittsburgh (15-4)
    
25. Colorado State (13-3)
    

Honorable Mention:

Maryland (14-4), UNLV (14-4), Wyoming (13-2), St. John's (11-7), Belmont (13-4), Valparaiso (14-5), Middle Tennessee (16-4).