13 Dec 2 - Super 'Nova

Volume XVIII, No. 5 - 13 Dec 2 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Super 'Nova

Not surprisingly, the 15-team "Mega"-ACC leads all conferences so far with 5 major tournament crowns. Despite .500 results overall in the biggest events, the 16-team "Mega"-CONFERENCE USA has 4 crowns along with the 14-team SEC. The BIG 10, AMERICAN, PAC-12 and (surprise) the MVC all have 3 each so far.

    
Villanova stunned Kansas in the BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS semifinals, 63-59, as the Jayhawks struggled to find a smooth offensive flow. Then, 'Nova beat Iowa, 88-83(OT), in the final (while KU escaped 67-63 past UTEP for third place).

    
How much does home-court advantage count? Memphis was pounded by 21 at Oklahoma State two weeks back; but on a neutral floor (and with payback as an added incentive), the Tigers prevailed 73-68 in the final of OS/ORLANDO. It's a landmark win for the Josh Pastner era at Memphis.

    
Arizona's inside strength (7-0 cKaleb Tarczewski and freshman fAaron Gordon) exploited Duke's weakness in the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF final, 72-66. The Wildcats have great balance, though, with double point guards on the outside (pT.J. McConnell and pNick Johnson) while the Blue Devils' fRodney Hood(21p8r) and tJabari Parker(19p5to) didn't get enough help this game (and all year so far, frankly, from bRasheed Sulaimon).

    
Florida and Florida State scrapped to the very end as the host Gators won @67-66 on fDorian Finney-Smith's game-winning free throw.

    
In the tournament with the deepest field (MAUI), it was Syracuse who won it all, taking out California (92-81) in the semis and beating Baylor (74-67) in the final. But the most impressive team in Lahaina was Dayton, which knocked off Gonzaga quarters: 84-79), lost at the buzzer to Baylor (semis: 66-67) on a great defensive stop and shot-block, and blew out California (third place: 82-64) -- the Flyers are solid, athletic and intense at every position. Individually, Gonzaga's gKevin Pangos was the best player (27p vs Dayton, 34p;7/8 3s vs Arkansas).

    
San Diego State got up 19 on Creighton (thanks to superior athleticism) and held on to win 86-80 in the semis and then beat Marquette, 67-59, in the final to win the WOODEN LEGACY[ANAHEIM]. In the quarters, Creighton had walloped Arizona State, 88-60, as reserve bDevin Brooks(23p) appeared to give the Bluejays a second potent offensive weapon; but he was AWOL in the loss to SDgoSt and George Washington's gang defense against Doug McDermott(7p;2/12fg) proved the rest of the team isn't good enough to win without him, in GW's 60-53 third-place win. In an on-campus warm-up, Arizona State had edged Marquette at home, @79-77, but lost to Miami(Florida), 57-60, to finish sixth in the main draw.

Wisconsin took the CANCUN CHALLENGE, including a 63-57 win over St. Louis in the semis. Wichita State won the CBE CLASSIC, @75-62 over BYU in the final in front of a supportive Kansas City crowd. Because of pre-set final pairings, UCLA and Missouri both went 4-0 at the LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL -- call them No. 1A(Bruins) and No. 1B(Tigers) -- (UCLA was already scheduled to visit Mizzou this Saturday separate from the tournament). Maryland won PARADISE JAM, taking out Providence 56-52 in the final. Mississippi won the BROOKLYN-THANKSGIVING CLASSIC at the BARCLAYS CENTER, 79-76 over Penn State in the final. Pittsburgh won the LEGENDS CLASSIC in an 88-67 blowout past Stanford in the final. Virginia won the new CORPUS CHRISTI CHALLENGE, 83-63 over Missouri State in the final. Harvard came through to win the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT, 71-50 over TCU in the final -- (except for a January road game at Connecticut, the Crimson may not lose again until March). Louisiana Tech won the new GULF COAST SHOWCASE in Estero, FL over St. Bonaventure in the final, 76-72.

In Unwelcome Guest news, Norfolk State "won" the NIT TIP-OFF Consolation A group (at Rutgers) while Canisius "won" the NIT TIP-OFF Consolation C group (at Elon). Drake won the Round-Robin(3) BULLDOG CHALLENGE (at Fresno State). 3 teams tied at 2-1 in the 4-team GOLDEN GATE CHALLENGE: 1A/Illinois State, 1B/@San Francisco and 1C/Vermont (all only ahead of Division-II {Sonoma State}, mind you). North Dakota State won the CABLE CAR CLASSIC (at Santa Clara).

    
With 7 teams in Round-Robin(4) ROUNDBALL SHOWCASE event, they (not surprisingly) wound up with tri-champs: 1A/Western Kentucky, 1B/East Tennessee State and 1C/Stephen F. Austin, all 3-1 (and all at the expense of favorite Marshall[2-2]). Kentucky won its own Round-Robin(4) KEIGHTLY CLASSIC. Colorado State won won its own Round-Robin(4) RAM CHALLENGE.

We only have 3 big December tournaments to go (DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC [Iowa State, Boise State], GOTHAM CLASSIC [Ohio State, Notre Dame] and the already downgraded LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC [@UNLV, Florida Gulf Coast]).

This week is headlined by the conference challenges. Sadly, the MWC/MVC CHALLENGE has been discontinued. Meanwhile, the SEC has dropped the BIG EAST and swapped in the BIG 12 as its new head-to-head partner. The ACC/BIG 10 CHALLENGE remains intact.

    
Even though the BIG 12 is performing at a decidedly higher level than the SEC overall so far, the 10 SEC schools who are participating in this year's challenge (i.e., minus Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee) have a good shot at least splitting 5-5 -- (Kentucky[over Baylor] and Mississippi[over Kansas State] could steal road wins, but so could Kansas[over Florida] and Oklahoma[over Texas A&M]). The same goes for the BIG 10: way above the ACC overall, but the 12 ACC schools participating (i.e., minus Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) might earn a 6-6 split -- (Florida State[over Minnesota] and Boston College[over Purdue] could steal road wins, but so could Wisconsin[over Virginia] and Northwestern[over N.C. State])

    
The 2-day/4-team LUMBERJACK CLASSIC can pass for a mini-COLONIAL/SOUTHLAND CHALLENGE with host Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State taking on Towson and James Madison. (Towson figures to go 2-0 while Sam Houston State might go 0-2.) There was supposed to be an 8-team, D-I/D-II event called the HBCU TIP-OFF (i.e., "Historically Black Colleges and Universities") in Atlanta (PHILIPS ARENA) the first weekend of the season, but it was downgraded to a smaller handful of games at Morehouse College at the last minute. Norfolk State and Texas Southern regrouped and played each other head-to-head as a substitute -- (TxSo won at home). (The will seems to be there, but it would be great to see a full MEAC/SWAC CHALLENGE just like these B-Major leagues are doing. Seems like a natural.)

The individual games are mostly city- and state-rivalry matchups, but there are a few more intriguing pairings. Florida has pScottie Wilbekin back (and will need him) when the Gators visit match-tough Connecticut (Monday). Wisconsin hosts Marquette (Saturday); Arizona hosts improving UNLV (Saturday). Ohio State and Notre Dame aren't scheduled to meet in the feature match in the GOTHAM CLASSIC until Sat 21 Dec in New York. Colorado faces its toughest test so far when Kansas comes to town (Saturday). UCLA and Missouri determine the true LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING champion in Columbia (Saturday). Massachusetts puts its CHARLESTON reputation on the line when it meets BYU in Springfield (Saturday). Oregon gets an upgrade in opponents when it visits Mississippi (Sunday).

-- Ron

P.S. Look for the Official Invitation (online only, no email invites) for the 7th Annual Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's College Football Bowl Season Pool) shortly.

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Connecticut-Florida,

Monday-Sat 21 Dec:

(new)BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE on-campus -- SEC leads 1-0

[ / Arkansas, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee do not play.]

-(Mon: @IowaSt-Auburn, @Texas-Vanderbilt;

Thu: @Missouri-WVirginia, @KansasSt-Mississippi, @MississippiSt-TCU;

Fri: @Kentucky-@Baylor(@ArlingtonTX/COWBOYS/), @OklahomaSt-SCarolina;

Tue week: @Florida-Kansas;

Sat 21 Dec: @TexasA&M-Oklahoma(LONE_STAR_SHOWCASE_@HoustonTX)).

Tuesday:

Colorado-@ColoradoSt(CO), @UCLA-UCSantaBarbara(CA),

Tuesday-Wednesday:

ACC[10-3;1]/BIG 10[3-10;1] CHALLENGE on-campus

[Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest do not play.]

-(Tue: @Syracuse-Indiana, @Duke-Michigan, FloridaSt-@Minnesota, @Pittsburgh-PennSt(PA), @Iowa-NotreDame,

       (7.15P):@GeorgiaTech-Illinois;

  Wed: @MichiganSt-NCarolina, Wisconsin-@Virginia, @OhioSt-Maryland, @MiamiFL-Nebraska, @Purdue-BostonCol, @NCState-Northwestern),

Wednesday:

@Villanova-Penn(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5), @NewMexicoSt-NewMexico(NM), @Temple-StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5), @American-Howard(WashingtonDC),

CURE UCD CLASSIC RndRob4/4 on-campus

-(@TexasSt-{Cedarville}),

Thursday:

@RhodeIsland-Providence(RI),

Friday:

@UCSantaBarbara-California(CA), @Quinnipiac-Fairfield(CT)(CT6),

Friday-Saturday:

COLONIAL/SOUTHLAND LUMBERJACK CLASSIC RndRob(2) @ NacogdochesTX/StephenFAustin/

-(@StephenFAustin, @SamHoustonSt v Towson, JamesMadison),

Saturday:

@Wisconsin-Marquette(WI), @Arizona-UNLV, @Memphis-NorthwesternSt, Kansas-@Colorado, UCLA-@Missouri, @Gonzaga-NewMexicoSt, @GreenBay-Virginia, @BostonU-Harvard(BostonMA), @NewMexico-Cincinnati, @PortlandSt-Portland(PortlandOR), @LoyolaIL-ILChicago(ChicagoIL),

THE HOLY WAR on-campus

-(Villanova-@StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5)),

HV BIG FOUR CLASSIC DblHdr @ Des MoinesIA/Drake/)

-(@IowaSt-@NoIowa(IA)(BIG_4), @Drake-@Iowa(IA)(BIG_4)),

HALL OF FAME SHOWCASE 1Off @ SpringfieldMA

-(@Massachusetts-BYU),

NYC-HOLIDAY FESTIVAL DblHdr @ NewYorkNY/MSG/

-(LaSalle-@StonyBrook, @StJohns-@Fordham(NewYorkNY)),

Saturday-Sat 21 Dec:

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

-(OhioSt, NotreDame, Delaware, Bryant, NDState),

Sunday:

@Mississippi-Oregon, @Creighton-Nebraska(NE), @NewHampshire-Dartmouth(NH),

BB&T CLASSIC DblHdr @ WashingtonDC

-(@Maryland-@GeoWashington(MD/DC), Oklahoma-@GeoMason),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

(None).

---

Top 25 - 13 Dec 2 - [] Column

1. Michigan State (7-0) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2:CVC]
   
2. Kentucky (6-1) [rr4vKEIGHTLY]
   
3. Villanova (7-0) [3:ATLANTIS]
   
4. Connecticut (7-0) [2v2:2KS]
   
5. Wisconsin (8-0) [2v2:CANCUN]
   
6. Wichita State (7-0) [2v2vCBE]
   
7. Arizona (7-0) [2v2:NIT.T-O]
   
8. Syracuse (7-0) [3:MAUI]
   
9. Iowa State (5-0)
   
10. Ohio State (6-0)
    
11. Memphis (5-1) [3:OS/ORLANDO]
    
12. Oklahoma State (7-1)
    
13. Kansas (6-1) (@@CHAMPS)
    
14. San Diego State (4-1) [3:WL/ANAHEIM]
    
15. Dayton (6-1)
    
16. Louisville (6-1)
    
17. Duke (6-2)
    
18. Charlotte (6-1) [3:P.RICO]
    
19. Michigan (4-2)
    
20. Florida (6-1) [rr4vGS-A.CH]
    
21. Florida State (5-2)
    
22. Massachusetts (6-0) [3:CHARLESTON]
    
23. Colorado (7-1) [rr4vGS-B ME]
    
24. Pittsburgh (7-0) [2v2:LEGENDS]
    
25. UCLA (7-0) [.5vv2:LVI-THANX]
    

Honorable Mention:

UAB (5-2), George Washington (6-1), Miami(Florida) (5-3),

Harvard (6-1) [3:GREAT.AK],

Maryland (4-2) [3:PARADISE],

Mississippi (6-0) [2v2:BROOK-THANX],

Missouri (7-0) [.5vv2:LVI-THANX],

Virginia (7-1) [2v2:CORPUS.X],

Norfolk State (2-3) [2@NIT.T-OconsA],

Louisiana Tech (5-1) [3:GULF.COAST],

Drake (6-1) [rr3@BULLDOG],

Illinois State (3-4)/San Francisco (5-4)/Vermont (2-6) [rr3@GOLD.GATE],

North Dakota State (3-3) [2@CABLE],

Western Kentucky (4-2)/East Tennessee State (3-5)/Stephen F. Austin (6-2) [rr4vROUNDBALL],

Canisius (3-3) [2@NIT.T-OconsC],

Colorado State (6-2) [rr4vRAM].