14 Feb24 - ACClimated

Volume XVIII, No. 17 - 14 Feb24 - [] Top 25 Ballot

ACClimated

I suppose you aren't really a full member of the ACC until you've been screwed over by a homer callin Cameron Indoor Stadium. Well, Jim Boeheim got the full treatment on Saturday. What appeared to be a game-tying basket with :10 left and a go-ahead free throw to come, somehow became a charge against visiting Syracuse. Boeheim lost it and was tossed from the game and Duke came away with a @66-60 win. Blue Devil fans will claim the Orange benefitted from a favorable late-game call in its win at the Carrier Dome, but this is hardly the first incident in Durham. It may take a coach of Boeheim's stature to give the issue any traction -- only Roy Williams could carry the same weight -- but wait until he deals with the perennial North Carolina location of the ACC tournament as well as (yet again) a cushy Pod placement in Raleigh (and free pass to the Sweet 16) for the North Carolina schools -- (coach Roy won't ever complain about those two unfair perks).

    
Syracuse had already blown its undefeated season with a choke home loss to Boston College, @59-62(OT) (as the Eagles shot 11-for-22 on three-pointers). The bad week left slow-and-steady Virginia alone in first place with two weeks to go. (It also leaves Wichita State as the lone unbeaten team in the land and still on track to be the first team since St. Joseph's '04 to finish the regular season undefeated, the first since UNLV '91 to enter the NCAA tournament without a loss, and the first since Indiana '76 to run the table start-to-finish. Inside the league, streaking North Carolina capped off its eighth-straight win with a @74-66 stunner vs arch-/state-rival Duke.)

Preseason favorite New Mexico languished in the shadow of San Diego State most of the season inside the MOUNTAIN WEST thanks to the Aztec's impressive out-of-conference road win at Kansas; but the Lobos hung tough in league play and forged a tie atop the standings, surviving @91-90(OT) vs UNLV (when the Rebels' would-be game-winner was disallowed) follwed by a @58-44 home win vs SDgoSt (behind 26p9r from fCameron Bairstow as physical SDSU was only 0-for-3 on free throws).

    
Louisville had gotten its act together pounding the sorry bottom half of the AMERICAN; the improved form paid off when the Cardinals edged Cincinnati, 58-@57, on pRuss Smith's game-winning jumper (and thanks to 21p10r from cMontrezl Harrell), bringing UofL into a tie with UC atop the standings. (Underneath, SMU got its first quality road win, 64-@55, at Connecticut.)

    
Michigan took the BIG 10 lead outright, completing the sweep of Michigan State, @79-70 (thanks to 25p5a from pNik Stauskas). (Meanwhile, the best form in the league belongs to third-place Wisconsin, which kept rolling, 79-@74, at Iowa.)

    
With a big week, Texas might have wound up in first place in the BIG 12; instead, the Longhorns were handled at Iowa State, 76-@85 (as the Cyclones' tMelvin Ejim had 25p8r) and then were pounded in Kansas' payback game, 54-@85. Oklahoma moved up into a three-way tie for second place with an @86-73 win vs Kansas State. pMarcus Smart[16p10a] returned from his three-game suspension to help Oklahoma State end its seven-game losing streak with an @84-62 win vs Texas Tech.)

    
Arizona had it tough (67-@63[OT] at Utah) and easy (88-@61 at Colorado) in two road games while Arizona State dropped the same two (52-@61 at Colorado, outrebounded 27-48; and 63-@86 at Utah). (Away from the spotlight, Stanford shot 62% from the floor behind 26p5to;7/10 3s from gChasson Randle in an @83-74 win vs UCLA to pull into a tie for third place. California couldn't follow suit, however, dropping a @66-86 decision to the Bruins as pJordan Adams posted 28p5a6r5s;12/19fg.)

    
The ATLANTIC 10 race broke wide open as unbeaten St. Louis kept George Washington down, @66-59, while Massachusetts knocked off VCU, @80-75.

No one can take control in the wasteland that is CONFERENCE USA. Southern Mississippi handled UTEP, @77-68, leaving Middle Tennesse in first place (ahead of a four-way tie for second place).

    
In the MAC Wars, Western Michigan swept Ohio University (73-@63) and Eastern Michigan (@75-67) to tie Toledo atop the West (and overall) while Akron dropped two (90-@96 at East-leader Buffalo; and @50-66 vs Ohio U).

    
Yale fell out of first place in the IVY standings with a tank road loss, 46-@62 at Columbia (but Harvard's Anti-Spoiler showdown in New Haven is still another week away).

    
Utah Valley was dumped, 56-@74 at Missouri-Kansas City (allowing New Mexico State to move back into a tie atop the WAC). UC-Irvine tripped, 75-@81 at Cal-State Northridge (allowing UC-Santa Barbara to tie things up in the BIG WEST). Boston University beat American @71-62 to lead the PATRIOT outright. The lowly BIG SOUTH can't sort itself out as five teams are within one game of first place. Florida Gulf Coast tied things up in the ATLANTIC SUN with a @75-61 win vs Mercer.

With no BRACKETBUSTERS event, the splashworthy Mid-Majors and 1BCs won't get the late-season showcase of the past few years -- it's debatable whether any of those wins earned any at-large bids but those losses certainly blew bids for some -- it may may also mean they'll be more able to sneak up on name-brand teams who look past them in the NCAA tournament. It's an exceptionally strong year for gap title champs; if we can avoid many Jack Dawson substitutes, the early rounds should be great.

    
Stephen F. Austin is in full cruise control, 14-0 with a three-game gap in the SOUTHLAND. Georgia State, up three games in the SUN BELT features four 1000-point scorers in its starting lineup, all of whom can shoot the 3, drive the lane and drain free throws -- (if they get an early lead on a higher-seeded team in the NCAAs, they'll be tough to catch). Robert Morris (up three) clinched the NORTHEAST. North Dakota State(SUMMIT), Green Bay(its first HORIZON), Iona(MAAC) and Davidson(SOUTHERN) all clinched shares of their regular season titles (with two games to spare).

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The ACC title is still up for grabs -- Syracuse visits Virginia in The Big One (Saturday). Louisville (at Memphis, Saturday) and Cincinnati (at Connecticut, Saturday) are taking the AMERICAN race down to the wire. The C-USA race may well wind up with a shared title: (Louisiana Tech hosts Middle Tennessee, Thursday; UTEP hosts Tulsa, Thursday).

    
1BC showdowns abound: WAC(Utah Valley vs New Mexico State, Thursday); BIG WEST (UC-Irvine vs UC-Santa Barbara, Thursday); and BIG SOUTH (High Point vs VMI, Wednesday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Kansas-Oklahoma, Syracuse-@Maryland, @AlabamaSt-Southern,

Tuesday:

@Wisconsin-Indiana, @Minnesota-Iowa, @NJIT-NCCentral,

Wednesday:

@Arizona-California, Stanford-@ArizonaSt, @HighPt-VMI,

Thursday:

@Indiana-Iowa, @LouisianaTech-MidTennessee, @UTEP-Tulsa, @SDState-Denver, @UTValley-NewMexicoSt, @UCIrvine-UCSantaBarbara(CA), @Vermont-StonyBrook,

Friday:

@Manhattan-Iona(NY),

Saturday:

@Florida-LSU, Kansas-@OklahomaSt, Syracuse-@Virginia, @Michigan-Minnesota, Louisville-@Memphis, Cincinnati-@Connecticut, Creighton-@Xavier, StLouis-@VCU, IowaSt-@KansasSt, @Oklahoma-Texas, @Utah-Colorado, @StMarys-Gonzaga, @ArizonaSt-California, @Wyoming-BoiseSt, @Toledo-WeMichigan, @NDState-Denver, @SDState-SDakota(SD), @HolyCross-BostonU(MA), @Wagner-RobertMorris, @SacredHeart-CConnecticutSt(CT)(CT_6), @Hampton-NorfolkSt(VA), @Elon-Davidson(NC), @TexasSo-AlabamaSt,

Sunday:

@Arizona-Stanford, OhioSt-@Indiana(BG), @Manhattan-Canisius(NY),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@OklahomaSt-KansasStm

Monday week-Wed 12 Mar:

PATRIOT TOURNAMENT on-campus

-(BostonU, American, HolyCross).

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Top 25 - 14 Feb24 - [] Column

1. Florida (25-2)
   
2. Wichita State (28-0) MVCu+4
   
3. Arizona (25-2)
   
4. Kansas (21-6)
   
5. Duke (22-6)
   
6. Syracuse (25-2)
   
7. Wisconsin (22-5)
   
8. Michigan (18-7)
   
9. Virginia (23-5)
   
10. Louisville (23-4)
    
11. Cincinnati (23-4)
    
12. Michigan State (22-6)
    
13. New Mexico (20-5)
    
14. San Diego State (21-3)
    
15. Creighton (23-4)
    
16. Villanova (24-3) BIG 5u
    
17. St. Louis (24-2)
    
18. Iowa State (21-5)
    
19. Ohio State (22-6)
    
20. Kentucky (20-6)
    
21. UCLA (21-6)
    
22. SMU (22-6)
    
23. North Carolina (19-7)
    
24. Stanford (18-8)
    
25. Oklahoma (20-7)
    

Honorable Mention:

Boston College (7-20), Utah (15-9), Colorado (20-8),

Gonzaga (22-6) WCC+2, North Dakota State (16-6) SUMMIT+2, Green Bay (19-5) HORIZ+2, Iona (19-8) MAAC+2, Robert Morris (18-11) NEC+3, Davidson (16-11) SOCON+2,

Boston University (19-9), Florida Gulf Coast (16-10).