14 Feb17 - Orange Clutch

Volume XVIII, No. 16 - 14 Feb17 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Orange Clutch

Syracuse kept its own dreams alive of an undefeated season with not one, but two last-second game-winning baskets. Pittsburgh thought it had the Orange beat until freshman pTyler Ennis' running game-winning three-pointer saved the day, 58-@56. Then, N.C. State hung in at the Carrier Dome for an endplay until fC.J. Fair's breakaway layup turned out to be another game-winner, @56-55. (Still a long way to go on their schedule, though.)

Florida effectively clinched the SEC title with a 70-@60 road win at Kentucky; the Gators hung in on the boards (28-31) and limited freshman cJulius Randle to 13p13r -- UF remains unbeaten with a three-game gap.

    
If it weren't for Creighton, Villanova would be dominating the BIG EAST; instead the Bluejays routed the Wildcats for the second time, @101-80 (on 64% shooting and thanks to 37p9r;13/17fg from runaway Player of the Year tDoug McDermott) -- those two teams remain tied atop the conference standings, three games up on the rest of the league.

    
St. Louis virtually put away the ATLANTIC 10 title, hanging on for a @64-62 win over VCU (behind 21p10r from cDwayne Evans as the Rams shot 2-for-16 beyond the arc) -- the Bilikens continue unbeaten with a three-game gap.

bJermaine Marshall(29p5r) led the way as Arizona State outlasted arch-/state-rival Arizona, @69-66(2OT) (despite being outrebounded 35-54 by the Wildcats as the referees declined to call any technical fouls against pJahii Carson for hanging on the rim or against the crowd for rushing the court before time had run out).

    
Despite its gaudy won/loss record (and statement road win at Kansas), San Diego State hadn't cleared any gap in the MOUNTAIN WEST. Spoiler Wyoming knocked the Aztecs back into a first-place tie with a surprise @68-62 win; but New Mexico returned the gift as Boise State edged the Lobos, @71-70 (as the two teams had only 9 turnovers combined).

    
Kansas lost its gap in the BIG 12 when Kansas State outlasted its arch-/state-rival, @85-82(2OT) (as the Jayhawks shot a woeful 3-for-17 on three-pointers). BIG 10 co-leaders Michigan State and Michigan lost their gap as well -- the Spartans were stunned at home, falling @51-60 vs Nebraska; the Wolverines held Ohio State in check (i.e., 3-for-20 on threes), 70-@60, but fell at home as surging Wisconsin won 75-@62 (as cFrank Kaminsky's 25p11r cancelled bCaris LeVert's 25p6r).

Lousy shooting (4-for-23 on threes) sank Iowa State at overachieving West Virginia, 77-@102. Kansas State couldn't keep its roll going, dropping a double-overtime decision at underachieving Baylor, 73-@87(2OT). Connecticut tried to get back in the AMERICAN race with a @86-81(OT) win over Memphis, thanks to 34p5r from bShabazz Napier. SMU couldn't stand the heat of the national spotlight, falling at lowly Temple, 64-@71.

BYU stopped the bleeding with a 60-@57 road win at St. Mary's. Southern Mississippi fell out of first place in CONFERENCE USA with a couple of rout losses, 60-@84 at UAB and 64-@81 at new tri-leader Middle Tennessee. Toledo came back to the pack in the MID-AMERICAN as Eastern Michigan pounded the Rockets, @65-44.

    
Harvard barely kept its hopes alive for an outright IVY title, escaping 88-@84(2OT) at Columbia; meanwhile, Yale nearly gave back its advantage but made its own escape, @66-65(OT) vs Princeton, to stay tied for first place at the midway point. Stephen F. Austin ended the drama of the SOUTHLAND race with a 67-@60 road win over second-place Sam Houston State, leaving Lumberjacks unbeaten with a three-game gap.

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Syracuse's biggest obstacle of the season comes Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium against host Duke. Sole possession of first place in the BIG 10 is on the line when Michigan hosts arch-/state-rival Michigan State (Sunday). Second-place Texas has a tough appetizer (Tuesday at Iowa State) before its return game at first-place Kansas (Saturday). Big week in the PAC-12 as first-place Arizona (Wednesday at Utah, Saturday at Colorado) and second-place UCLA (Wednesday at California, Saturday at Stanford) both hit the road. First-place Cincinnati can open a gap in the AMERICAN on second-place Louisville (Saturday). Second-place New Mexico has to visit UNLV (Wednesday) before hosting its MOUNTAIN WEST showdown with first-place San Diego State (Saturday).

    
1/Boston University hosts 2/American (Wednesday) with the PATRIOT lead on the line. 2/Florida Guld Coast hosts 1/Mercer (Friday) for the ATLANTIC SUN top spot.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

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

Tuesday:

Villanova-@Providence, Texas-@IowaSt, Iowa-@Indiana, Kentucky-@Mississippi, @Richmond-GeoWashington, @Drake-NoIowa(IA)(BIG_4),

Wednesday:

Arizona-@Utah, UCLA-@California(CA), ArizonaSt-@Colorado, @UNLV-NewMexico, @OhioU-WeMichigan, @Buffalo-Akron, @BostonU-American, @MorganSt-CoppinSt(BaltimoreMD),

Thursday:

Duke-@NCarolina(NC), @BYU-Gonzaga, @Hawaii-UCIrvine, @Canisius-Quinnipiac,

Friday:

@Massachusetts-VCU, @FLGulfCoast-Mercer,

Saturday:

Syracuse-@Duke, Florida-@Mississippi, Arizona-@Colorado, SanDiegoSt-@NewMexico, @Kansas-Texas, @Cincinnati-Louisville(BG), Wisconsin-@Iowa, @StLouis-GeoWashington, UCLA-@Stanford(CA), KansasSt-@Oklahoma, @Kentucky-LSU, @OhioSt-Minnesota, @Princeton-Harvard, @SoMississippi-UTEP, @BoiseSt-UNLV, @Akron-OhioU(OH), @NDState-SDState, @MurraySt-MoreheadSt(KY), @StephenFAustin-NorthwesternSt, @UNCAsheville-CoCarolina, @VMI-Radford(VA),

Sunday:

@Michigan-MichiganSt(MI), @Connecticut-SMU, ArizonaSt-@Utah, @Pittsburgh-FloridaSt, @WeMichigan-EaMichigan,

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Monday week:

@Maryland-Syracuse, @Kansas-Oklahoma.

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Top 25 - 14 Feb17 - [] Column

1. Syracuse (25-0)
   
2. Florida (23-2)
   
3. Wichita State (26-0)
   
4. Arizona (23-2)
   
5. San Diego State (20-2)
   
6. Kansas (19-6)
   
7. Creighton (21-4)
   
8. Cincinnati (22-3)
   
9. Duke (20-5)
   
10. Villanova (22-3)
    
11. Wisconsin (21-5)
    
12. Michigan (17-7)
    
13. Michigan State (21-5)
    
14. Virginia (21-5)
    
15. St. Louis (22-2)
    
16. UCLA (20-5)
    
17. Texas (20-5)
    
18. Kansas State (17-8)
    
19. Iowa State (19-5)
    
20. Iowa (17-6)
    
21. Kentucky (18-6)
    
22. Ohio State (20-6)
    
23. Louisville (21-4)
    
24. Connecticut (20-5)
    
25. Arizona State (19-6)
    

Honorable Mention:

Wyoming (16-9), Nebraska (14-10), West Virginia (15-11), Baylor (16-9), Temple (7-17), Stephen F. Austin (20-2).