14 Feb10 - Un-Shockers

Volume XVIII, No. 15 - 14 Feb10 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Un-Shockers

The biggest obstacle left in Wichita State's path came and went as the Shockers swept road games at Indiana State (65-@58) and Northern Iowa (82-@73). For WichSt, there's no reason not to believe they can't run the table from here on out and enter the NCAA tournament ... yes, say it: "undefeated". For Indiana State, even though they're now three games out of first place, they're also three games ahead of third place; so as long as they too win out and make the MISSOURI VALLEY tournament final, they should be good for an at-large NCAA bid. (Remember, there is no more BRACKETBUSTERS event for the Mid-Major teams to get a high-profile out-of-conference game this late in the season.)

    
Memphis closed with a 10-0 run to beat Gonzaga, @60-54. The 'Zags seemingly had things in control until the Tigers got physical (and borderline dirty, frankly) and turned the tide of the game.

Cincinnati toughed out yet another big win, beating Connecticut, @63-58 (behind 26p12r6a from xSean Kilpatrick); but the Bearcats' gap lead in the AMERICAN was reduced to one game when SMU handed them their worst loss of the season, 55-@76. Veteran NBA/college coach Larry Brown has made the third-place Mustangs a real factor, especially at home.

    
Creighton fell out of first place in the BIG EAST after tripping, 65-@70, at St. John's (while first-place Villanova cruised, @81-58 vs Xavier).

    
Despite dropping road losses, Michigan and Michigan State remained tied (with a gap margin) atop the BIG 10 standings. Iowa pounded the Wolverines, @85-67 (behind 26p;6/10 3s from gRoy Devyn Marble), while Wisconsin edged the (still undermanned) Spartans, @60-58 (on gTraevon Jackson's game-winner). Ohio State got back on track with a solid road win, 76-@69, at Iowa (as pAaron Craft had 17p6a6s). Minnesota held off Indiana, @66-60, in what could be a knockout game for an NCAA bid.

    
Stanford surprised arch-rival California with an 80-@69 road win (behind 22p11r6a from xDwight Powell). VCU tripped at St. Joseph's, 62-@69.

    
The long awaited debut of Florida's freshman 6-10 cChris Walker didn't amount to much, but the Gators kept things rolling with a @68-58 win vs Missouri. With so little time to get acclimated, defensive depth in the paint is about all they can expect from him for now. Meanwhile, the Tigers dropped an 88-@91 decision at Misssissippi (as pMarshall Henderson starred: 29p5a;8/15 3s).

    
San Diego State escaped at Boise State, 67-@65 (on gXavier Thames' game-winning three-pointer).

    
Harvard could have gone on cruise control with a home sweep of second-place Brown and Yale. They got the first leg, @52-45 over the Bears, but fell @67-74 at home to the Bulldogs (as xJustin Sears had 21p11r), to fall into a first-place tie with the Eli at 5-1. (With no conference tournament in the IVY LEAGUE, and no out-of-conference noise to recommend them for an at-large bid, the Crimson's only path to the NCAA tournament now is to win the return game on the road next month.)

xMelvin Ejim set a BIG 12 record with 48p18r on 20-for-24 shooting in Iowa State's @84-69 romp over TCU. Unhyped freshman 6-2 gMarcus Foster(34p) single-handedly dumped Texas, @74-57. West Virginia turned in another spoiler win, @91-86(OT), vs Oklahoma. Iowa State survived in triple-overtime, 98-@97(3OT) at Oklahoma State (as tDeAndre Kane's 29p9a9r cancelled out Le'Bryan Nash's 26p10r5a).

    
The frustration of Oklahoma State's underachieving conference campaign came to a head for pMarcus Smart in the Cowboys' 61-@65 loss at Texas Tech: when he tumbled into the crowd after a breakaway play, a fan yelled something at him and he responded by shoving the fan (and ended up being suspended for the OklaSt's next three games).

North Dakota State handled IPFW, @69-58, to take over the lead in the SUMMIT. In the new OHIO VALLEY grudge match, Belmont edged Murray State, @99-96; (but expect those two East and West gap-leaders to settle the score with an NCAA bid on the line in the conference tournament final, just like last year's instant classic). UC-Santa Barbara stopped Hawaii, 75-@64 on the road (but still has plenty to do in the BIG WEST race). Canisius dropped two home games, @73-84 vs Manhattan, and @91-101 vs Iona, leaving Iona with a gap lead in the METRO ATLANTIC. Weber State beat Northern Colorado, @79-65, to open a 3-game gap in the BIG SKY.

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Syracuse's perfect season gets a stiff challenge at Pittsburgh (Wednesday). Florida could salt away the SEC title with a road win at Kentucky (Saturday). It's Villanova whose on a roll the second time around when it visits Creighton (Sunday) with payback on its mind in Round Two of the BIG EAST Game of the Year. Suddenly slumping Michigan has it tough against resurgent opponents (Tuesday at Ohio State, Sunday vs Wisconsin). VCU can get back in the national conversation with a big week (Wednesday vs George Washington, Saturday at St. Louis).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

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

Tuesday:

Florida-@Tennessee, Michigan-@OhioSt, @Texas-OklahomaSt,

Wednesday:

Syracuse-@Pittsburgh, Duke-@NCarolina(NC), @VCU-GeoWashington(VA/DC), @BoiseSt-NewMexico, @Toledo-OhioU(OH), @Radford-UNCAsheville,

Thursday:

@Wisconsin-Minnesota, @UCLA-Colorado, @SamHoustonSt-NorthwesternSt, @NoColorado-Montana, @SoUtah-WeberSt(UT),

Friday:

Arizona-@ArizonaSt(AZ), @Brown-Princeton,

Saturday:

Florida-@Kentucky, @StLouis-VCU, @UCLA-Utah, Memphis-@Connecticut(@HartfordCT), @OklahomaSt-Oklahoma(OK), @NCarolina-Pittsburgh, @GeoWashington-Massachusetts, @NewMexico-Nevada, @Missouri-Tennessee, @LaSalle-StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA), @StMarys-BYU, @EaMichigan-Toledo, @IPFW-Denver, @SamHoustonSt-StephenFAustin(TX), @Wagner-Bryant, @CConnecticutSt-SacredHeart(CT)(CT_6), @NorfolkSt-Hampton(VA),

Sunday:

Villanova-@Creighton, @Michigan-Wisconsin, @Wagner-Bryant,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@FloridaSt-NCarolina, @Towson-Delaware, @SavannahSt-NCCentral, @TexasSo-JacksonSt,

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Top 25 - 14 Feb10 - [] Column

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

Honorable Mention:

St. John's (15-9), West Virginia (14-10), Stanford (15-7), St. Joseph's (16-7), Yale (11-9), North Dakota State (14-6), Belmont (18-8), Iona (15-8), Weber State (11-7).