13 Dec 9 - In Name Only

Volume XVIII, No. 6 - 13 Dec 9 - [] Top 25 Ballot

In Name Only

It's taken the entire first month of the season before the lustre has worn off all four of the CHAMPIONS CLASSIC participants. In the biggest results from the Conference CHALLENGES, up-and-down North Carolina outhustled host Michigan State, 79-@65 (as fKennedy Meeks[15p7r] was a key figure yet again); meanwhile, trailing @41-@50 with 13 minutes to go, Baylor closed 26-12 to stun Kentucky, @67-@62 at COWBOYS STADIUM. (By the way, the @Bayl-@UK men's game was delayed an hour waiting for the women's game opener to finish -- #5 wUK beat #9 wBayl @133-@130[4OT] in the highest-scoring women's game of all-time.) Colorado snapped a 19-game losing streak to Kansas, hanging on to win at the buzzer, @75-72 (on gAskia Booker's galloping three-point heave). Only Duke was able to win on the week, @79-69 over Michigan (holding gNik Stauskas to 4p4r;0/2fg). MichSt's effort level against UNC is likely not a major long-term problem; UK isn't likely to face many teams who match up as well with it across the base line as Bayl does; but Kans' outside shooting woes and Duke's interior defense woes feel much more permanent.

Swap out Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia Tech; swap in Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame and the ACC was able to tie the BIG 10 6-6 in their head-to-head CHALLENGE. 'Cuse routed Indiana (@69-52) and Georgia Tech held off Illinois (@67-64) while Minnesota took out Florida State (@71-61), Iowa outlasted Notre Dame (@98-93), Wisconsin handled host Virginia (48-@38 in a dreadful shooting performance from both teams), Ohio State routed Maryland (@76-60) and Nebraska dumped Miami(Florida) (@60-49).

    
With two games to go in their inaugural CHALLENGE, the BIG 12 leads the SEC 6-2 as Kansas State held off Mississippi (@61-58).

    
Meanwhile, in the LUMBERJACK CLASSIC, it was 4-0 for the host SOUTHLAND teams (Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State) over the visitor COLONIAL teams (Towson, James Madison).

Connecticut continued its buzzer-beating ways, edging Florida @65-64 on gShabazz Napier's putback jumper -- it's the fourth last-possession win for the Huskies (along with Maryland by 1, Boston College by 2, Indiana by 1). Unfortunately for the Gators, just when pScottie Wilbekin returned from suspension, he injured his ankle and is out again. Missouri broke the tie from the LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL by beating co-champ UCLA at home, @80-71.

    
Both Dayton (losing 75-@81 at 5-4 Illinois State) and Charlotte (losing @78-87(OT) vs 3-5 Davidson) have turned back into pumpkins before the preseason is over. Massachusetts kept on with its winning ways, though, outpacing BYU @105-96 at the HALL OF FAME SHOWCASE in Springfield (as pChaz Williams had 32p15a;5/7 3s) -- perhaps no other team (and player) has benefitted more from the new emphasis on calling fouls to free up guard penetration.

In "State Title" showdowns, Wisconsin handled Marquette (@70-64); Colorado won at Colorado State (67-@62); New Mexico dumped host New Mexico State (79-@70) in the first of two meetings; both San Diego State (65-@64 at San Diego) and Providence (50-@49) pulled out squeak road wins against arch-rival hosts -- nice! Iowa State (in OT vs Northern Iowa) and Iowa (big over host Drake) won their warmup games at the HV BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Des Moines (but their head-to-head showdown comes Friday at IowaSt). George Washington edged Maryland, @77-@75, in the feature game of the BB&T CLASSIC double-header in D.C.

2-4 UNLV took Arizona to an endplay, losing 58-@63, but still can't get over the hump as a contending team. Meanwhile, among the few 1BC teams who have demonstrated any possibility of being splashworthy: Green Bay edged Virginia, @75-72, while UC-Santa Barbara surprised California, @72-65.

Michigan gets a chance to make a big noise when Arizona comes to town (Saturday). Iowa State and Iowa settle state surpremacy (Friday) in one of the highest-profile editions of the CY-HAWK SERIES. Which North Carolina will show up when Kentucky comes to town (Saturday)? Kansas has a big week ahead: (Tuesday at Florida as part of the BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE; Saturday vs New Mexico in Kansas City at the K.C. SHOOTOUT). Boise State finally gets a quality opponent, and it's a big one: Kentucky in Rupp Arena (Tuesday). Indiana and Notre Dame are the featured matchup at the CROSSROADS CLASSIC in Indianapolis (Saturday). La Salle has its work cut out for it (even in the BIG 5) when it visits Villanova (Sunday).

    
Ohio State and Notre Dame are still a week away (Saturday week at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN) from their featured showdown as part of the GOTHAM CLASSIC. UNLV and Florida Gulf Coast can't even meet, even though both are part of the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC.

-- Ron

P.S. Don't forget: the deadline for this year's Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's free College Football Bowl Season Pool) is SATURDAY, 21-DECEMBER (2Pet) -- (There are no email invites this year; everything is online-only this time.).

Key games this week:

Monday-Saturday week:

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

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

Tuesday:

@Kentucky-BoiseSt, @Tulsa-OralRoberts(TulsaOK), @CConnecticutSt-Hartford(CT)(CT6),

Tuesday, Saturday week:

(new)BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE on-campus -- BIG 12 leads 6-2

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

-(Tue: @Florida-Kansas;

   Sat week: @TexasA&M-Oklahoma[LONE_STAR_SHOWCASE_@HoustonTX]).

Wednesday:

@Arizona-NewMexicoSt, @Wisconsin-Milwaukee(WI), @LouisianaTech-NorthwesternSt(LA), @GeoWashington-BostonU, @Canisius-@Buffalo(BuffaloNY), @UTValley-WeberSt(UT),

Thursday:

@CoppinSt-MDBaltimoreCo(BaltimoreMD), @NJIT-LongIsland,

Friday:

@Colorado-Elon,

CY-HAWK SERIES 1Off on-campus

-(@IowaSt-Iowa[IA][BIG_4]),

Saturday:

Arizona-@Michigan, @NCarolina-Kentucky, @Oregon-Illinois(@PortlandOR), @Utah-BYU(UT), @WVirginia-@Marshall(WV)(@CharlestonWV), @Stanford-UCDavis(CA), @UtahSt-UTValley(UT),

ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC 1Off @ OklahomaCityOK

-(@OklahomaSt-LouisianaTech),

KANSAS CITY SHOOTOUT 1Off @ KansasCityMO

-(@Kansas-NewMexico),

BILLY MINARDI CLASSIC 1Off on-campus

-(@Louisville-WeKentucky[KY]),

BATTLE IN SEATTLE 1Off @ SeattleWA

-(@Gonzaga-SAlabama),

CROSSROADS CLASSIC DblHdr @ IndianapolisIN

-(@Indiana-@NotreDame[IN], @Purdue-@Butler[IN]),

CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT 1Off on-campus

-(@Xavier-Cincinnati[CincinnatiOH]),

Sunday:

Syracuse-@StJohns(NY)(/MSG/), @Villanova-LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5), @SacredHeart-Hartford(CT)(CT6), @BostonU-NorfolkSt,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

(None),

Monday week-Mon 23 Dec:

LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob(2) on-campus, Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/

-(A: @UNLV, SantaClara, SacredHeart, Radford;

   B: SFlorida, MississippiSt, FLGulfCoast, FloridaA&M).

---

Top 25 - 13 Dec 9 - [] Column

[P.S. Don't forget: the PIGSKIN deadline is SAT 21-DEC (2Pet)! -- (online-only, no email invites)]

1. Syracuse (9-0) [3:MAUI] (vBIG10)
   
2. Arizona (9-0) [2v2:NIT.T-O]
   
3. Wisconsin (10-0) [2v2:CANCUN] (@ACC)
   
4. Baylor (6-1) (@@SEC)
   
5. Connecticut (9-0) [2v2:2KS]
   
6. Wichita State (8-0) [2v2vCBE]
   
7. Iowa State (7-0) (vSEC) (@@IOWA4)
   
8. Ohio State (8-0) (vACC)
   
9. Villanova (9-0) [3:ATLANTIS]
   
10. Memphis (6-1) [3:OS/ORLANDO]
    
11. Oklahoma State (8-1) (vSEC)
    
12. North Carolina (6-2) [2v2:HOF.T-O] (@BIG10
    
13. Colorado (9-1) [rr4vGS-B ME]
    
14. Kansas (6-2) (@@CHAMPS)
    
15. Michigan State (7-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2:CVC
    
16. San Diego State (6-1) [3:WL/ANAHEIM]
    
17. Duke (7-2) (vBIG10)
    
18. Louisville (8-1)
    
19. Kentucky (6-2) [rr4vKEIGHTLY]
    
20. Missouri (9-0) [.5vv2:LVI-THANX] (vBIG12
    
21. Massachusetts (8-0) [3:CHARLESTON]
    
22. Iowa (7-1) (vACC) (@@IOWA4)
    
23. Pittsburgh (9-0) [2v2:LEGENDS] (vBIG10)
    
24. Oregon (8-0)
    
25. Harvard (8-1) [3:GREAT.AK]
    

Honorable Mention:

Illinois State (5-4), Davidson (4-5), Minnesota (7-2) (vACC).