15 Feb16 - Major Gaps
Volume XIX, No. 15 - 15 Feb16 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Major Gaps
Coming down the back stretch, four of the six B-Major conferences have gap leaders. Kentucky escaped LSU's attempt at a game-winning three-pointer to win 71-@69 (as 21p11r from cJarell Martin wasn't quite enough) to remain undefeated (overall) with a three-game gap in the SEC race. Wisconsin is also three-games up on the BIG 10 field after routing Illinois @68-49 (while committing ONLY 4 TURNOVERS as cFrank Kaminsky led the way with 23p11r). Despite Duke's high-profile wins (3-1 against the conference elite), it's Virginia (also 3-1) that has a two-game gap on the rest of the ACC (although they've lost bJustin Anderson for a month due to a broken finger) . Thanks to a big week (74-@68 at Providence and 68-@65 at second-place Butler as tDarrun Hilliard[31p8r;8/13 3s] did it all including hitting the game-winning three-pointer), Villanova opened a gap in the BIG EAST. PAC-12 co-leaders Arizona and Utah (thanks to a @75-59 rout of Stanford) jointly have three-game gap on everyone else. Only Kansas, atop the toughest conference of them all, has just a one-game lead in the BIG 12.
At this point, the race for a No.1-seed in the NCAA is likely down to those seven leaders (plus Duke) along with Gonzaga (which, once again, is in an Anti-Spoiler position [as BYU's @82-60 rout of St. Mary's knocks the second-place Gaels out of at-large bid contention]). Utah still has a home game with Arizona remaining while Louisville (despite dropping a home loss, @65-74, to mediocre N.C. State) still has a home game with Virginia to come. If they win those games and add another elite win on the way to taking their conference tournament crown, they would have an argument for a No.1-seed as well.
After spoiling Iowa State's title dreams (@94-83 behind 22p11r5a from cTaShawn Thomas), Oklahoma tripped at Kansas State, 56-@59. Baylor had a rough week, falling at home to Oklahoma State (@65-74) and then being handled on the road at Kansas (64-@74). IowaSt bounced back with a @79-59 rout of West Virginia; while OkSt tanked on the road at TCU, 55-@70.
North Carolina lost at non-elite Pittsburgh, 76-@89. It truly was Valentine's Day as Michigan State's gDenzel hit the game-winning three-pointer to sink Ohio State, @59-56. Iowa had a rough week, tripping twice: against Minnesota (@59-64) and in overtime at lowly Northwestern (61-@66[OT]). VCU fell in double-overtime vs La Salle (@69-74[2OT] as xJordan Price had 34p18r5a), but handled George Washington on the road, 79-@66. Arkansas staked its claim as the second-best team in the SEC, edging host Mississippi, 71-@70.
San Diego State swept Wyoming (@67-41) and Colorado State (@72-63) thanks to some spectacular perimeter defense (holding both teams to a combined 5-for-45 on threes) to take sole possession of the MOUNTAIN WEST race. In the BIG EAST, St. John's won at Xavier (78-@70) while reeling Seton Hall dropped two -- thumped at home (@67-86) vs Georgetown and beaten on the road at Providence (62-@69). Cincinnati had a rough week: dumped at Temple (59-@75) and then tripping at home against mediocre Tulane (@49-50). Connecticut played the AMERICAN co-leaders with (wildly) mixed results, dumping pretender Tulsa (@70-45) but tanking at contender SMU (55-@73).
Former darling Old Dominion fell out of contention in CONFERENCE USA with a bad week, tripping at Texas-San Antonio (67-@72) and tanking at UTEP (47-@62). Likewise, UAB went bust: edged at North Texas (64-@67) and in double-overtime at Rice (73-@82[2OT] as cSeth Gearhart had 32p10r). Rhode Island blew a chance to lead the ATLANTIC 10 outright: edged at lowly St. Joseph's (64-@65). George Washington couldn't hang in the conference race at all, tanking at lowly Duquesne (62-@78).
Elsewhere, Maryland edged Indiana, @68-66. Georgia won at Texas A&M (62-@53) but gave back the juice, tripping at home vs Auburn (@68-69). UCLA played its spoiler role well, sweeping Oregon State (@75-59) and Oregon (@72-63).
Miami(Florida), already on its last legs, tripped at lowly Wake Forest (70-@72). Florida officially eliminated itself from NCAA consideration with a tough week: edged at home vs Mississippi (@61-62 on gStefan Moody's game-winning three) and on the road at Texas A&M (62-@63).
The IVY LEAGUE finally reached the halfway point with Harvard and Yale tied for the lead, two-games up on the rest. (Remember, there's no conference tournament and head-to-head results don't matter in determining the regular season title, so any loss could cost either team the automatic NCAA bid ... and the Crimson still gets to host the Bulldogs.)
Valparaiso took sole possession of first place in the HORIZON with a @63-59 win over Green Bay (thanks to a 45-30 edge on the boards) and a 65-@66 Cleveland State loss at Detroit. South Dakota State won the rematch vs North Dakota State (@68-58) to tie up the SUMMIT standings, both two games ahead of everyone else. Visiting Chattanooga handled host Wofford (56-@46) but still trails the Terriers by one in the standings. Charleston Southern beat Coastal Carolina (@83-72) and and High Point edged Winthrop (@73-72 behind 34p from fJohn Brown) as those two co-lead seven teams all within two games of first place in the BIG SOUTH. Eastern Washington edged Sacramento State (@64-61) to take sole possession of the BIG SKY lead.
- -
With Major Gaps all around, there are precious few real showdowns left in the regular season.
Part I of Duke and North Carolina's annual HypeFest comes Wednesday in Durham. Hopefully, decorum will reign in this year's CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT (Xavier at Cincinnati, Wednesday). It's Temple's turn this week to visit the AMERICAN co-leaders (Thursday at SMU, Sunday at Tulsa). It's pumpkin time from pretender Massachusetts with a tough week ahead (Wednesday at Rhode Island, Saturday at VCU). CONFERENCE USA co-leader William & Mary has a tricky week of its own (Wednesday at Northeastern, Sunday at Hofstra).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 15 Feb16 - [] Column
Major Gaps
Within days, we've lost another legendary college basketball coach: Jerry Tarkanian died this week. His legacy is more complicated than Dean Smith's was. He had success first at Long Beach State, then most notably at UNLV, and finally more modestly at Fresno State; but all three schools were put on probation and banned for postseason play at the end of his tenure there. (How much is the head coach responsible for what hangers-on do "behind his back"? Then again, even the universally revered John Wooden had booster issues of his own that rarely get talked about.) On the court, the teams he produced with the players he had speak for themselves. UNLV 1991 -- the semifinal-losing team, not the 1990 championship team -- was probably The Greatest Team Ever (That Didn't Win The National Title): seemingly undeniably on its way to an undefeated/repeat national championship (which would have been the first team to do both since the days of Wooden's UCLA); it was famously upset in the semifinals by previous year's Runner-Up Duke, as the Blue Devils went on to post back-to-back titles themselves.
Coming down the back stretch, four of the six B-Major conferences have gap leaders. Kentucky escaped LSU's attempt at a game-winning three-pointer to win 71-@69 (as 21p11r from cJarell Martin wasn't quite enough) to remain undefeated (overall) with a three-game gap in the SEC race. Wisconsin is also three-games up on the BIG 10 field after routing Illinois @68-49 (while committing ONLY 4 TURNOVERS as cFrank Kaminsky led the way with 23p11r). Despite Duke's high-profile wins (3-1 against the conference elite), it's Virginia (also 3-1) that has a two-game gap on the rest of the ACC (although they've lost bJustin Anderson for a month due to a broken finger) . Thanks to a big week (74-@68 at Providence and 68-@65 at second-place Butler as tDarrun Hilliard[31p8r;8/13 3s] did it all including hitting the game-winning three-pointer), Villanova opened a gap in the BIG EAST. PAC-12 co-leaders Arizona and Utah (thanks to a @75-59 rout of Stanford) jointly have three-game gap on everyone else. Only Kansas, atop the toughest conference of them all, has just a one-game lead in the BIG 12.
At this point, the race for a No.1-seed in the NCAA is likely down to those seven leaders (plus Duke) along with Gonzaga (which, once again, is in an Anti-Spoiler position [as BYU's @82-60 rout of St. Mary's knocks the second-place Gaels out of at-large bid contention]). Utah still has a home game with Arizona remaining while Louisville (despite dropping a home loss, @65-74, to mediocre N.C. State) still has a home game with Virginia to come. If they win those games and add another elite win on the way to taking their conference tournament crown, they would have an argument for a No.1-seed as well.
After spoiling Iowa State's title dreams (@94-83 behind 22p11r5a from cTaShawn Thomas), Oklahoma tripped at Kansas State, 56-@59. Baylor had a rough week, falling at home to Oklahoma State (@65-74) and then being handled on the road at Kansas (64-@74). IowaSt bounced back with a @79-59 rout of West Virginia; while OkSt tanked on the road at TCU, 55-@70.
North Carolina lost at non-elite Pittsburgh, 76-@89. It truly was Valentine's Day as Michigan State's gDenzel hit the game-winning three-pointer to sink Ohio State, @59-56. Iowa had a rough week, tripping twice: against Minnesota (@59-64) and in overtime at lowly Northwestern (61-@66[OT]). VCU fell in double-overtime vs La Salle (@69-74[2OT] as xJordan Price had 34p18r5a), but handled George Washington on the road, 79-@66. Arkansas staked its claim as the second-best team in the SEC, edging host Mississippi, 71-@70.
San Diego State swept Wyoming (@67-41) and Colorado State (@72-63) thanks to some spectacular perimeter defense (holding both teams to a combined 5-for-45 on threes) to take sole possession of the MOUNTAIN WEST race. In the BIG EAST, St. John's won at Xavier (78-@70) while reeling Seton Hall dropped two -- thumped at home (@67-86) vs Georgetown and beaten on the road at Providence (62-@69). Cincinnati had a rough week: dumped at Temple (59-@75) and then tripping at home against mediocre Tulane (@49-50). Connecticut played the AMERICAN co-leaders with (wildly) mixed results, dumping pretender Tulsa (@70-45) but tanking at contender SMU (55-@73).
Former darling Old Dominion fell out of contention in CONFERENCE USA with a bad week, tripping at Texas-San Antonio (67-@72) and tanking at UTEP (47-@62). Likewise, UAB went bust: edged at North Texas (64-@67) and in double-overtime at Rice (73-@82[2OT] as cSeth Gearhart had 32p10r). Rhode Island blew a chance to lead the ATLANTIC 10 outright: edged at lowly St. Joseph's (64-@65). George Washington couldn't hang in the conference race at all, tanking at lowly Duquesne (62-@78).
Elsewhere, Maryland edged Indiana, @68-66. Georgia won at Texas A&M (62-@53) but gave back the juice, tripping at home vs Auburn (@68-69). UCLA played its spoiler role well, sweeping Oregon State (@75-59) and Oregon (@72-63).
Miami(Florida), already on its last legs, tripped at lowly Wake Forest (70-@72). Florida officially eliminated itself from NCAA consideration with a tough week: edged at home vs Mississippi (@61-62 on gStefan Moody's game-winning three) and on the road at Texas A&M (62-@63).
The IVY LEAGUE finally reached the halfway point with Harvard and Yale tied for the lead, two-games up on the rest. (Remember, there's no conference tournament and head-to-head results don't matter in determining the regular season title, so any loss could cost either team the automatic NCAA bid ... and the Crimson still gets to host the Bulldogs.)
Valparaiso took sole possession of first place in the HORIZON with a @63-59 win over Green Bay (thanks to a 45-30 edge on the boards) and a 65-@66 Cleveland State loss at Detroit. South Dakota State won the rematch vs North Dakota State (@68-58) to tie up the SUMMIT standings, both two games ahead of everyone else. Visiting Chattanooga handled host Wofford (56-@46) but still trails the Terriers by one in the standings. Charleston Southern beat Coastal Carolina (@83-72) and and High Point edged Winthrop (@73-72 behind 34p from fJohn Brown) as those two co-lead seven teams all within two games of first place in the BIG SOUTH. Eastern Washington edged Sacramento State (@64-61) to take sole possession of the BIG SKY lead.
- -
With Major Gaps all around, there are precious few real showdowns left in the regular season.
Part I of Duke and North Carolina's annual HypeFest comes Wednesday in Durham. Hopefully, decorum will reign in this year's CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT (Xavier at Cincinnati, Wednesday). It's Temple's turn this week to visit the AMERICAN co-leaders (Thursday at SMU, Sunday at Tulsa). It's pumpkin time from pretender Massachusetts with a tough week ahead (Wednesday at Rhode Island, Saturday at VCU). CONFERENCE USA co-leader William & Mary has a tricky week of its own (Wednesday at Northeastern, Sunday at Hofstra).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- Kansas-@WVirginia, @Radford-
CoCarolina,
- Tuesday:
- @Oklahoma-Texas, @Georgetown-StJohns, @TexasA&M-LSU,
- Wednesday:
- @Duke-NCarolina(NC), IowaSt-@OklahomaSt, Louisville-@Syracuse, @GeoWashington-Davidson, @RhodeIsland-Massachusetts, @Akron-
Toledo(OH), @Northeastern-William&Mary,
CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT
-(@Cincinnati-Xavier[CincinnatiOH]),
- Thursday:
- @SMU-Temple, @Indiana-Purdue(IN), @LongBeachSt-
UCDavis(CA), @UAB-WeKentucky, @Chattanooga-Mercer,
- Friday:
- @
GreenBay-ClevelandSt,
- Saturday:
- @Arizona-
UCLA, Gonzaga-@StMarys, IowaSt-@Texas, @Louisville-MiamiFL, Butler-@Xavier(BG), @VCU-Massachusetts, @OklahomaSt-WVirginia, @StJohns-SetonHall, @OldDominion-LouisianaTech, @Harvard-Princeton, @FLGulfCoast-SCUpstate, @Bryant-RobertMorris, @CConnecticutSt-SacredHeart(CT)(CT6), @{GrandCanyon}-NewMexicoSt, @NoArizona-EaWashington,
- Sunday:
- Utah-@Oregon, MichiganSt-@Illinois, @Tulsa-Temple, @Hofstra-
William&Mary, @Iona-Monmouth,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @StJohns-Xavier, @Southern-
AlabamaSt.
Top 25 - 15 Feb16 - [] Column
- Kentucky (24-0)
- Duke (22-3)
- Virginia (23-1)
- Wisconsin (22-2)
- Villanova (23-2) [BIG 5u]
- Kansas (21-4)
- Arizona (22-3)
- Gonzaga (25-1)
- Utah (19-4)
- Notre Dame (22-4)
- Oklahoma (17-8)
- Iowa State (18-6) [.5BIG 4]
- North Carolina (18-7)
- Louisville (20-5)
- Northern Iowa (24-2) [.5BIG 4]
- Wichita State (22-3)
- Michigan State (17-7)
- Ohio State (18-7)
- Butler (18-7)
- Maryland (21-5)
- SMU (20-5)
- San Diego State (19-6)
- VCU (19-6)
- Arkansas (20-5)
- Texas (17-8)
- Honorable Mention:
N.C. State (15-11), Kansas State (13-13), Oklahoma State (16-8), Pittsburgh (17-10), Minnesota (16-10), Northwestern (11-14), TCU (15-10), La Salle (14-11),
Valparaiso (21-4), South Dakota State (15-8), Eastern Washington (15-6).
posted by Ron @ Monday, February 23, 2015
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