13 Dec16 - 'Catses and 'Hawk'ses

Volume XVIII, No. 7 - 13 Dec16 - [] Top 25 Ballot

'Catses And 'Hawk'ses

Although the BIG 12 has already clinched the inaugural head-to-head CHALLENGE (6 wins with 1 still to go), Florida posted a marquee win for the SEC with a @67-61 win over Kansas (as pScottie Wilbekin recovered from injury to lead the way [18p6a], despite xAndrew Wiggins' one-man-show [26p11r]). That's three losses already for KU's Jayhawks (also Villanova by 4, at Colorado by 3), albeit against a tough schedule; they did bounce back later in the week with an @80-63 rout of soft New Mexico at the KANSAS CITY SHOOTOUT (as the Lobos' 7-0 cAlex Kirk was no factor [5p5r]).

    
Helped greatly by the emotion of the home crowd, North Carolina outhustled Kentucky, @82-77, in the Wildcats' first (and only) true road game of the preseason. There's no lessening of opinion of UK's individual talent, but the young roster hasn't bought in yet as a team on the defensive end (getting back on the break, forcing turnovers, helping on switches) -- just the individual glory of blocked shots. (But the SEC is off to a weak start overall, so there will be plenty of soft opponents in conference play to practice on.)

    
Iowa State's and Iowa's CY-HAWK SERIES showdown was as good as advertized. The visiting UofI Hawkeyes controlled the game most of the way, but couldn't close it out on the free throw line or make the big three at the end, giving it away 82-@85 to the host ISU Cyclones. Hawk' cAaron White(25p17r;11/16fg) is a budding All-American; Cy' pfGeorges Niang(24p5a) was big in the clutch yet again as both teams came away looking strong.

    
The home crowd also greatly helped Michigan's effort, leading most of the way against Arizona, but UofA's Wildcats kept pounding the ball inside and pulled out a tough-fought 72-@70 win in Ann Arbor. These 'Cats are playing the best team defense around (especially moving their feet in the half-court without reaching with their hands under the new refereeing guidelines).

    
Villanova claimed a share of this year's BIG 5 with @73-52 rout of reeling La Salle. At 3-0 already, only a February road trip at 2-0 Temple stands in the way of an outright title for VU's Wildcats.

Notre Dame dropped a home game to North Dakota State, @69-73, as part of the GOTHAM CLASSIC (as NDakSt's fMarshall Bjorklund[26p5r4a] had things his own way inside). But the Irish regrouped to keep Indiana at bay, @79-@72, in the feature matchup of the CROSSROAD CLASSIC in Indianapolis. (As strong as the BIG 10 is shaping up, the Hoosiers may have it pretty rough in conference play.)

    
Boise State's tough week didn't go so well. The finesse Broncos were outrebounded 27-43 in their 55-@70 loss to Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Then, 8-0 St. Mary's came to town and handled host BSU, 82-@74. After a promising start seemingly built for the new fouling guidelines, BYU hasn't been able to make its mark -- the Cougars were blown out by state-rival 9-1 Utah, 64-@81. Likewise, VCU is going in the wrong direction, falling 68-@77 on the road at 5-5 Northern Iowa.

Oregon has yet to play a truly first-rate opponent, but a @71-64 win over Illinois in Portland will have to do for now. Xavier and Cincinnati have played the CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT at a neutral site the past two years (after 2011's ugly brawl incited by Twitter posts) -- the usually close city-rivalry game was a rout for the Musketeers this time out, @64-@47.

    
Although Harvard is still the overwhelming favorite, 8-1 Princeton is doing its part to make the IVY LEAGUE the highest rated 1BC so far with two upset road wins 78-@73 at arch-/state-rival Rutgers/AMERICAN and 81-@79(OT) at Penn State/BIG 10). It was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the graduation of all-time great fIan Hummer, but it may be shaping up as a Year After year, instead.

- - - - - -

Ohio State and Notre Dame have their showdown in the GOTHAM CLASSIC (Saturday in NYC). Memphis and Florida headline the JIMMY V CLASIC (Tuesday in New York City). Former BIG 12 foes Oklahoma State and Colorado meet in the headline game of the LAS VEGAS-SHOWCASE (Saturday at MGM; and the New Mexico-Marquette undercard isn't bad, either). Duke's yearly home-away-from-home (recruiting magnet) game in NYC comes Thursday (the CQAP CLASSIC vs UCLA). Florida State could earn its way back into the rankings with a big week (Tuesday vs Charlotte; Saturday vs Massachusetts in the ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC). Even struggling BYU is an upgrade in opponent for Oregon Saturday). Not even a home win against California (Sunday) may be enough to get Creighton back in the rankings. St. Louis hosts Indiana State (Wednesday) in a game that might have at-large implications come March.

-- Ron

P.S. Don't forget: the deadline for this year's Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's free College Football Bowl Season Pool) is THIS SATURDAY, 21-DECEMBER (2Pet) -- (Everything is online-only this time; don't wait for an email invite.)

Key games this week:

Monday-Saturday:

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

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

   Sat: OhioSt-NotreDame[@NewYorkNY/MSG/]),

Monday-Monday week:

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

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

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

Tuesday:

@FloridaSt-Charlotte, @NewMexico-NewMexicoSt(NM),

JIMMY V CLASSIC DblHdr @ NewYorkNY/MSG/

-(Memphis-Florida, Pittsburgh-Cincinnati),

Wednesday:

@Connecticut-Stanford(@HartfordCT), @Baylor-NorthwesternSt, @StLouis-IndianaSt, @StJosephs-Drexel(PhiladelphiaPA), @NewHampshire-Dartmouth(NH),

Thursday:

@Dayton-Iona,

CQAP CLASSIC 1Off @ NewYorkNY/MSG/

-(@Duke-UCLA),

Thursday-Saturday:

GF/BTI CLASSIC RndRob(3) @ LoganUT/UtahSt/

-(@UtahSt, Troy, UCSantaBarbara, WeIllinois),

Friday:

@Syracuse-HighPt,

Friday-Saturday:

LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC RndRob(2) @ LasVegasNV/S_POINT/

-(Pacific, Portland, Bradley, Princeton),

BVI INVITATIONAL Semis @ TortolaBVI

-(SoMississippi-CoppinSt, ARLittleRock-JacksonvilleSt),

Saturday:

@Oregon-BYU, @Kentucky-Belmont, @Harvard-Vermont, @Houston-@Rice(HoustonTX), @Maryland-BostonU, @NDState-Towson,

(new)BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE Day6/6 on-campus -- BIG 12 leads 6-3

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

-(@TexasA&M-Oklahoma[LONE_STAR_SHOWCASE@HoustonTX]),

LAS VEGAS-SHOWCASE DblHdr @ LasVegasNV/MGM/

-(OklahomaSt-Colorado, NewMexico-Marquette),

ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC DblHdr @ SunriseFL

-(@Florida-FresnoSt, Massachusetts-@FloridaSt),

BRAGGIN' RIGHTS 1Off @ StLouisMO

-(@Missouri-@Illinois),

WICHITA WILDCAT CLASSIC 1Off @ WichitaKS

-(@KansasSt-Gonzaga),

BROOKLYN-HOLIDAY INVITATIONAL TrplHdr @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/

-(Michigan-Stanford, @LongIsland-Temple, @Manhattan-Buffalo[NY]),

GOVERNOR'S CLASSIC DblHdr @ RichmondVA

-(@VCU-@VirginiaTech[VA], @JamesMadison-@Hampton[VA]),

[2Pet]:(PIGSKIN POOL PARTY ENTRY DEADLINE)

Saturday-Sunday:

NEW ORLEANS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC RndRob(2) @ NewOrleansLA/W/

-(@Tulane, Northeastern, Milwaukee, AlabamaSt),

Sunday:

@UCLA-WeberSt, @Creighton-California, @Indiana-KennesawSt, @MiamiFl-LaSalle,

Sunday-Monday, Wednesday:

DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC Qtrs @ HonoluluHI/Hawaii/

-(IowaSt-GeoMason, OregonSt-Akron, StMarys-SCarolina, @Hawaii-BoiseSt),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@Virginia-NorfolkSt(VA).

---

Top 25 - 13 Dec16 - [] Column

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

Honorable Mention:

St. Mary's (8-0), North Dakota State (5-4), Utah (7-1), Northern Iowa (5-5).