14 Feb 3 - Yes. No. Maybe. (MIDCONFERENCE/Major)

Volume XVIII, No. 14 - 14 Feb 3 : MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Top 25 Ballot

Yes. No. Maybe.

It's unusual that we had lasted into February still with three undefeated teams out there. Now we're down to two. California scrapped its way to a @60-58 win, knocking Arizona from the ranks of the unbeaten, thanks to pJustin Cobbs' game-winning jumper. The loss isn't troubling to the Wildcats -- they have a gap lead in the PACIFIC-12; but the season-ending foot injury to fBrandon Ashley definitely is. What was the nation's best starting five is now down to four -- that means foul trouble will now be a bigger issue as well as a lesser ability to control the paint.

    
Meanwhile, Syracuse hung on in overtime at home to beat Duke, @91-89(OT) behind 28p5r from fC.J. Fair, in a game that actually lived up to its advanced hype (pitting the two winningest coaches of all time: Duke's Mike Krzyzewski vs Syracuse's Jim Boeheim). The Blue Devils are a team well suited to play against the Orange's 2-3 zone with the height of their multiple three-point shooters (and they were 15-for-36 on the day). But even though SU has survived at home now against both Pittsburgh and now Duke, it still has a tough way to go yet with road games at Duke, Pitt and Virginia.

    
Wichita State got down by 15 points early on against Evansville, but rallied with plenty of time to spare to win, @81-67, keeping its own unbeaten run going. Already with a gap margin in the MISSOURI VALLEY, and having beaten second-place Indiana State by 20 at home, they appear to have the better shot at running the table. (Wednesday's trip to IndySt is the biggest remaining obstacle.)

gYogi Ferrell(27p) spearheaded another upset as Indiana beat Michigan, @63-52, knocking the Wolverines back into a first-place tie with Michigan State at the midway point in the BIG 10. MSU kept pace in-conference with a 71-@69(OT) win at third-place Iowa (but out-of-conference, the Spartans dropped a 60-64 result to mediocre Georgetown at Madison Square Garden in New York City).

    
Young Texas moved up to second place in the BIG 12, handling Kansas, @81-69 -- more surprising was that the Longhorns manhandled the Jayhawks in the paint; no one else has been able to do that all season. KU remained on top at the break, beating Iowa State for the second time, @92-81 behind 29p7r from bAndrew Wiggins. Oklahoma was third, thanks to a 76-@70 road win at Oklahoma State (but fell 75-@81 at ISU).

    
Despite dropping a 67-@71 decision at Oregon State, UCLA was tied for second place in the PAC-12 with California, both two games back of Arizona.

    
gMalcolm Brogdon's game-winning three-pointer for Virginia sank host Pittsburgh, 48-@45, and placed the Cavaliers just one game back of unbeaten Syracuse in the ACC. Duke broke open a tight game with outside shooting to dump Pitt as well, 80-@65, pulling the Blue Devils into a tie with the Panthers for third place.

    
Florida continues to roll unbeaten in the SEC. Kentucky fell two games back after losing 82-@87 at LSU (where the best big man on the floor was the Tigers' fJohnny O'Bryant III[29p9r]). Quietly, Mississippi was tied with UK for second place.

    
Cincinnati proved it's no fluke with another big road win, 69-@66 at Louisville (behind 28p5r;11/11ft from bSean Kilpatrick) to stay unbeaten with a two-game gap lead in the AMERICAN. Surprising SMU (@87-72 winner over Memphis behind 21p15r from cMarkus Kennedy) joined the Tigers and Connecticut all tied for third place, another game back.

    
Creighton and Villanova were tied atop the BIG EAST, both two games ahead of Providence and Xavier.

    
San Diego State remained unbeaten in the MOUNTAIN WEST, but only a game ahead of consistent New Mexico. UNLV has overcome its preseason woes to come in third place at the break.

St. Louis was unbeaten in the ATLANTIC-10, a game ahead of VCU. Dayton's @75-65 win over George Washington pushed the Colonials back into a tie for third place with St. Joseph's. Massachusetts dropped into a group in fifth place after tripping at St. Joseph's (68-@73) and falling at St. Bonaventure (65-@78).

    
In the vast wasteland that is CONFERENCE USA, Southern Mississippi was tied with UTEP for first place while Louisiana Tech (79-@89 loser to the Miners) led a group in third place, all hoping the 16-team league won't turn out to be just a giant 1BC mess.

Harvard held off Princeton, @82-76 (behind 24p7a9r from tWesley Saunders, despite 26p6a6r from tT.J. Bray), effectively eliminating the 0-3 Tigers and practically handing the IVY title to the 4-0 Crimson before the season has barely gotten going.

    
In the MAC, Ohio University escaped @95-90(OT) vs Toledo, joining the Rockets and Akron all tied atop the MID-AMERICAN standings, just one game ahead of three more conferencemates. IPFW led North Dakota State halfway through the SUMMIT race. Second-place New Mexico State's @72-49 rout of first-place Utah Valley has the WAC poised for an interesting second half. Stephen F. Austin is already on cruise control in the SOUTHLAND: unbeaten with a two-game gap. UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Irvine and Long Beach State lead a muddle BIG WEST race, all one game ahead of Hawaii. Georgia State has cruised through its inaugural season in the SUN BELT so far: unbeaten with a two-game gap. Weber State led Northern Colorado by a game in the BIG SKY. Delaware has dominated the COLONIAL: unbeaten with a two-game gap. Robert Morris held on, @79-76, over Bryant to lead the NORTHEAST. North Carolina Central was a game ahead of the trio of Norfolk State, Hampton and Hampton in the MEAC. Coastal Carolina clung to a slim lead over five teams in the BIG SOUTH. Chattanooga was unbeaten, a game ahead of Davidson midway through SOUTHERN play. Southern led Alabama State halfway through the SWAC.

Villanova completed the 4-0 sweep of this year's BIG 5 with an 90-@74 win at Temple.

    
In second-half play, 1A and 1B beat back 2A and 2B in the METRO ATLANTIC as Canisius outpaced Quinnipiac (86-@74) and Iona handled Manhattan (@85-73).

- -

Maybe the last obstacle to Wichita State's undefeated regular season comes this week (Wednesday at Indiana State,Saturday at Northern Iowa). Iowa tries to stay in contact in the BIG 10 (Tuesday vs Ohio State, Saturday vs Michigan). Mississippi tries to stay relevant in the SEC (Tuesday vs Kentucky, Saturday vs Missouri). Memphis hosts Gonzaga (Saturday) in one of the few February high-profile out-of-conference clashes. Harvard can officially go on cruise control with a sweep of second-place Brown (Friday) and Yale (Saturday). The OHIO VALLEY Game of the Year comes Thursday when Belmont hosts Murray State. Canisius can take control of the METRO ATLANTIC with a big week (Friday vs Manhattan, Sunday vs Iona). Host Weber State looks to open a gap in the BIG SKY on second-place Northern Colorado (Saturday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

IowaSt-@OklahomaSt, @MorganSt-Hampton, @AlabamaSt-TexasSo,

Tuesday:

@Florida-Missouri, @Kentucky-Mississippi, @Iowa-OhioSt,

Wednesday:

SanDiegoSt-@BoiseSt, WichitaSt-@IndianaSt, @California-Stanford(CA), @Massachusetts-LaSalle,

Thursday:

@Cincinnati-Connecticut, @LouisianaTech-Tulsa, @SDState-IPFW, @Belmont-MurraySt, @Hawaii-UCSantaBarbara,

Friday:

@Harvard-Brown, @Canisius-Manhattan(NY),

Saturday:

WichitaSt-@NoIowa, Michigan-@Iowa, Texas-@KansasSt, Gonzaga-@Memphis, VCU-@StJosephs, @Harvard-Yale, @Mississippi-Missouri, @Minnesota-Indiana, @Xavier-Providence, @NDState-IPFW, @EaKentucky-MoreheadSt(KY), @WeberSt-NoColorado, @MorganSt-NorfolkSt, @VMI-CharlestonSo,

Sunday:

MichiganSt-@Wisconsin, @SoMississippi-Charlotte, @Canisius-Iona(NY),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@KansasSt-Kansas(KS), @CoppinSt-MorganSt(BaltimoreMD).

---

Top 25 - 14 Feb 3 : MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Column

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

Honorable Mention:

Indiana (14-8), Georgetown (12-9), LSU (14-6), Northwestern (12-11), Ohio State (17-5), Oregon State (13-8), Dayton (14-8).