14 Jan27 - Nik's Time (MIDCONFERENCE/Minor)

Volume XVIII, No. 13 - 14 Jan27 : MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Top 25 Ballot

Nik's Time

In a showdown of undefeated/Top-10 teams, Michigan took advantage of a depleted Michigan State roster and came away with an 80-@75 win to take sole possession of first place in the BIG 10. The Wolverines got some big three-pointers early and late from tNik Stauskas(19p;5/6 3s) while the Spartans were playing without both cAdreian Payne(foot) and bBranden Dawson(hand). Earlier in the week, UM handled Iowa, @75-67, behind 26p5a5r from pStauskas -- last year's catch-and-shoot "side dish" as a freshman has become this year's "entree", scoring off the dribble as well as distributing in their 'tweener-led offense.

    
In Round One of the BIG EAST Game Of The Year, Creighton destroyed Villanova, 96-@68, shooting 21-for-35 on three-pointers (including 9-for-14 from gEthan Wragge[27p] and 5-for-8 from bDoug McDermott[23p5r]).

    
Two up and two down: both Arizona/Arizona State swept Colorado/Utah while UCLA swept California/Stanford (as Bruin xKyle Anderson averaged 15p10r8a in two games). Texas swept Kansas State (@67-64 on xJonathan Holmes' game-winning three-pointer) and Baylor, both of whom dropped two games on the week. Illinois (55-@62 at Ohio State, 46-@56 at Indiana), BYU (110-@114[OT] at Portland despite 48p from gTyler Haws, 69-@84 at Gonzaga) and Dayton (@66-80 vs VCU, at Rhode Island) all lost twice on the week, falling out of contention even before the midway point of conference play.

    
Stopping their slides: Iowa State won for the first time in four games, beating Kansas State, @81-75. Wisconsin lost its third straight, 68-@81 at Minnesota, before finally winning again at Purdue. Ohio State lost its fourth straight at Nebraska, before beating Illinois.

Massachusetts tripped at Richmond, 55-@58. Harvard tanked, 53-@68 at 7-12 Florida Atlantic. Missouri fell at LSU. Duke routed Florida State, @78-56, thanks to a 47-24 rebounding margin. New Mexico beat Boise State, @84-75, to keep in contact in the MOUNTAIN WEST.

    
Belmont won the rematch with Eastern Kentucky, @84-81, to stay in front in the OHIO VALLEY. American routed Boston University, @86-56 in a showdown for first place in the PATRIOT. Georgia State kept rolling in the SUN BELT, winning 77-@70 at Louisiana (behind 33p7r from bR.J. Hunter). Delaware handled Towson, @83-76 (despite 29p16r from cJerrelle Benimon), to stay unbeaten in the COLONIAL. In the AMERICA EAST first showdown, Stony Brook held on for a @67-64 win over Vermont. Mercer won the ATLANTIC SUN showdown, @68-55, over Florida Gulf Coast. Chattanooga pushed its SOUTHERN record to 7-0 with an easy @84-63 win over Elon (behind 27p11r from cZ. Mason).

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Some leagues have already reached the halfway point. With one game to go in the MISSOURI VALLEY, Wichita State came through undefeated (in-conference and overall) while Indiana State hung in one game back. In the WEST COAST, Gonzaga came through in first place with St. Mary's a game behind in second. In the HORIZON, Green Bay was undefeated with a three-game gap. In the OHIO VALLEY, Belmont (East) and Murray State (West) were tied for first place overall, with Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky still within contact. In the PATRIOT, American was undefeated, a game ahead of Boston University. In the METRO ATLANTIC, Canisius and Iona were tied for first, with Manhattan and Quinnipiac tied, one game back in third. In AMERICA EAST, Stony Brook was undefeated, with Vermont a game back. In the ATLANTIC SUN, Mercer led Florida Gulf Coast by a game.

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Arizona's undefeated run gets a road test (Wednesday at Stanford, Saturday at California). No reason to think Kansas can't keep it going (Wednesday vs Iowa State, Saturday at Texas). Cincinnati's gaudy record faces a reality check at Louisville (Thursday). Kentucky has a couple of challenging road games (Tuesday at LSU, Saturday at Missouri). Improving Duke has its toughest week of the season with road trips at Pittsburgh (Monday) and undefeated Syracuse (Saturday). Oklahoma hosts state-rival Oklahoma State (Monday) and visits Iowa State (Saturday).

    
0-1 Princeton's IVY season is on the line right away at Harvard (Friday). Davidson hosts Chattanooga (Thursday) with SOUTHERN first place on the line.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

OklahomaSt-@Oklahoma(OK), @Pittsburgh-Duke, @SavannahSt-NorfolkSt, @MorganSt-NCCentral,

Tuesday:

MichiganSt-@Iowa, Kentucky-@LSU, Virginia-@NotreDame, @Arkansas-Missouri,

Wednesday:

Arizona-@Stanford, @Kansas-IowaSt, @StLouis-Richmond, @GeoWashington-LaSalle, @California-ArizonaSt, @Tennessee-Missouri, @MoreheadSt-Belmont, @Hartford-Vermont,

Thursday:

Cincinnati-@Louisville(BG), UCLA-@Oregon, @UTEP-LouisianaTech, @Denver-SDState, @Quinnipiac-Canisius, @RobertMorris-Bryant, @Davidson-Chattanooga, @Elon-WeCarolina(NC),

Friday:

@Harvard-Princeton, @Iona-Manhattan(NY),

Saturday:

Arizona-@California, @Syracuse-Duke, Kansas-@Texas, Kentucky-@Missouri, Villanova-@Temple(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG_5), @IowaSt-Oklahoma, @Wisconsin-OhioSt, Iowa-@Illinois, @OklahomaSt-Baylor, Gonzaga-@SanFrancisco, GeoWashington-@Dayton, @Colorado-Utah, @LSU-Arkansas, @Stanford-ArizonaSt, @UNLV-BoiseSt, @BYU-StMarys, @Denver-NDState, @SDakota-SDState(SD), @GreenBay-WrightSt, @NewMexicoSt-UTValley, @Towson-Drexel, @StonyBrook-Hartford,

BLACK & BLUE GAME - I @ RichmondVA

-(@VCU-Richmond[RichmondVA]),

Sunday:

Michigan-@Indiana, @Pittsburgh-Virginia,

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Monday week:

@Syracuse-NotreDame, @OklahomaSt-IowaSt, @MorganSt-Hampton, @AlabamaSt-TexasSo.

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Top 25 - 14 Jan27 : MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Column

1. Arizona (20-0)
   
2. Syracuse (19-0)
   
3. San Diego State (16-1)
   
4. Florida (17-2)
   
5. Kansas (15-4)
   
6. Michigan (14-4)
   
7. Wichita State (20-0)
   
8. Cincinnati (18-2)
   
9. Creighton (17-3)
   
10. Michigan State (18-2)
    
11. Kentucky (14-4)
    
12. Villanova (17-2)
    
13. Iowa State (15-3)
    
14. Wisconsin (17-3)
    
15. Iowa (14-4)
    
16. Oklahoma State (16-3)
    
17. Pittsburgh (18-2)
    
18. Duke (16-4)
    
19. Texas (16-4)
    
20. St. Louis (17-2)
    
21. Gonzaga (17-3)
    
22. Louisville (17-3)
    
23. UCLA (16-4)
    
24. Virginia (15-5)
    
25. George Washington (16-3)
    

Honorable Mention:

Minnesota (13-6), USC (10-10), Richmond (14-6), Nebraska (10-9), Green Bay (14-3), American (12-7), Stony Brook (12-7), Mercer (13-5), Belmont (15-7)/Murray State (12-8), Canisius (14-7)/Iona (11-8).