15 Jan26 - Coach W

Volume XIX, No. 12 - 15 Jan26: MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Top 25 Ballot

Coach W

Duke rallied to beat St. John's (77-@68) at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN in New York, earning the 1000TH CAREER WIN FOR COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI (#1 ALL-TIME). (Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will get his shot at 1000 sometime next year.) While certainly on the short list of "Greatest Coach Ever", Coach K wouldn't be my pick. Like Adolph Rupp, John Wooden and Dean Smith, Krzyzewski's win total benefitted greatly from his being the "It" coach for many years who had his pick of the litter of the absolute best players for his teams. (Kentucky's John Calipari has that designation currently.) For me, it's Bob Knight (who achieved [nearly] as much with much less individual talent at his disposal) who ranks as the greatest. Krzyzewski was able to add compassion on top of his mentor Knight's intense discipline. His great contribution has been the notion of Universal Replacements (versatile 'tweeners [tGrant Hill '91-94, tMike Dunleavy '01-02, tKyle Singler '08-11] and high-post centers [cDanny Ferry '86-89, cChristian Laettner '89-92, cShane Battier '98-01] who caused matchup problems all over the court for their opponents). He was able to resist the temptation of the NBA by coaching pro players via USA Basketball -- and the NBA's loss has been the NCAA's gain.

Just when it seemed that this year's Kansas team was less talented and more vulnerable, the Jayhawks stepped it up and took control of the BIG 12 race with a couple of big wins vs Oklahoma (@85-78; 19p9r from tKelly Oubre Jr.) and, especially, at preseason favorite Texas (75-@62; 15p9r from fCliff Alexander) as their touted freshmen are finally delivering consistently.
     Surprising Georgetown routed mighty Villanova (@78-58), creating a three-way tie atop the BIG EAST (along with Providence). Arizona continued to roll on the road, beating Stanford (89-@82) and pounding reeling California (73-@50) as freshman fStanley Johnson averaged 19p8r in two games. Even without pTraevon Jackson, Wisconsin showed no let up, routing Iowa (@82-50; committing only 1 TURNOVER) and surviving in overtime (69-@64[OT]) at Michigan. Ohio State escaped at Northwestern (69-@67) and then got its best win of the season, handling Indiana (@82-70) as freshman pD'Angelo Russell put his name in the conversation for Freshman (and even Player) of the Year, averaging 28p5a7r in two games.
     Indiana sank 15-for-22 on three-pointers in blowing out Maryland (@89-70). Iowa State beat feisty Kansas State (@77-71), but then tripped at lowly Texas Tech (73-@78), giving up its edge in the BIG 12 race. Iowa compounded a bad week, tripping at mediocre Purdue (63-@67). New-look Baylor handled Oklahoma (@69-58) to establish itself as a real contender. Colorado State hung in the MOUNTAINT WEST race, beating San Diego State (@79-73; only committing 5 turnovers). Davidson routed Dayton (@77-60) as the 5-2 Wildcats have successfully made the jump up from the 1BC SOUTHERN to the Mid-Major ATLANTIC 10.

TCU dropped two -- pounded at home (@48-66) vs Texas and then edged in overtime at West Virginia (85-@86[OT]) to lose contact with the Big Boys in the BIG 12 race. Utah routed Washington (@77-56) to stay tied for the lead in the PAC-12.
     In conference showdowns, Gonzaga dominated St. Mary's (@68-47) to reach the WEST COAST break undefeated. In the HORIZON, Green Bay escaped vs Valparaiso, @51-50. William & Mary thumped Northeastern (@78-62) to forge a three-way tie atop the COLONIAL standings at the break. Stephen F. Austin took control of the SOUTHLAND with a road win at Sam Houston State, 79-@68. Albany dumped host Stony Brook (64-@47) to take sole possession of first place in AMERICA EAST. Murray State thumped host Eastern Illinois (77-@62; behind 33p4a from gCameron Payne) to open a two-game gap on the rest of the OHIO VALLEY. Robert Morris edged host St. Francis(New York), 69-@67, to forge a three-way tie atop the NORTHEAST standings (along with Bryant).

Elsewhere at the midconference break, undefeated Wichita State leads Northern Iowa by a game in the MISSOURI VALLEY (but those two play twice in the second half). Coastal Carolina, High Point and Charleston Southern are all tied atop the crowded BIG SOUTH race (where seven teams are within one game of the lead). Iona leads both Rider and Monmouth at the break in the METRO ATLANTIC. In the MEAC, it's undefeated North Carolina Central just ahead of both Norfolk State and Delaware State (while lowly Florida A&M remains winless [both inside the league
and overall]).

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No rest for the weary as Duke has its toughest week of the entire season on tap with two elite road games (Wednesday at Notre Dame, Saturday at Virginia). More ACC elite matchups as Louisville goes for payback vs North Carolina (Saturday). Who's the second-best team in the BIG 10? Ohio State hosting Maryland (Thursday) may help clarify things. VCU hosts George Washington (Tuesday) in an ATLANTIC 10 showdown. Texas' chances to hang in the BIG 12 race hinge on its tough week (Monday at Iowa State, Saturday at Baylor). Saturday brings Northern Iowa's chance to secure the MISSOURI VALLEY's status as a two-bid Mid-Major (instead of a 1BC/Anti-Spoiler) when Wichita State comes to Cedar Falls. Stanford visits Washington (Wednesday). In the BIG EAST Wars, Xavier has two big road games (Tuesday at Georgetown; Saturday at Seton Hall) while St. John's hosts Providence (Saturday). Cincinnati and Connecticut scrap it out (Thursday, in Ohio). Gonzaga's yearly out-of-conference pick-me-up vs Memphis (Saturday) won't do much for its resume this time around.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@NCarolina-Syracuse, @IowaSt-Texas, @NCCentral-DelawareSt, @AlabamaSt-Southern,

Tuesday:

WVirginia-@KansasSt, @VCU-GeoWashington(VA/DC), @Georgetown-Xavier, Baylor-@OklahomaSt, @Arkansas-Tennessee, @SanDiegoSt-FresnoSt, @LaSalle-StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @Nevada-UNLV(NV), @Tulane-Tulsa,

Wednesday:

Duke-@NotreDame, Kansas-@TCU, Stanford-@Washington, @William&Mary-Hofstra, @Vermont-Albany, @StonyBrook-Hartford, @CoCarolina-Winthrop(SC),

Thursday:

Maryland-@OhioSt, @Cincinnati-Connecticut, @LouisianaTech-WeKentucky, @UTEP-UAB, @TXArlington-GeorgiaSt, @FLGulfCoast-Lipscomb, @MurraySt-EaKentucky(KY), @StFrancisNY-MtStMarys,

Friday:

@Arizona-OregonSt,

Saturday:

@Virginia-Duke, Wisconsin-@Iowa, @Kansas-KansasSt(KS), @Louisville-NCarolina, WichitaSt-@NoIowa, @IowaSt-TCU, Texas-@Baylor(TX), @ColoradoSt-FresnoSt, @OklahomaSt-Oklahoma(OK), @Florida-Arkansas, @RhodeIsland-GeoWashington, @StJohns-Providence, @SetonHall-Xavier, @Temple-Tulane, @EaMichigan-WeMichigan(MI), @LongBeachSt-Hawaii, @UCIrvine-UCSantaBarbara(CA), @JamesMadison-William&Mary(VA), @ClevelandSt-GreenBay, @UTEP-MidTennessee, @Hartford-Vermont, @StephenFAustin-TexasA&MCC(TX), @Wofford-Mercer, @NFlorida-SCUpstate, @RobertMorris-Bryant, @GardnerWebb-CoCarolina, @Radford-Winthrop, @NorfolkSt-Hampton(VA), @TexasSo-AlabamaSt,
BLACK & BLUE CLASSIC - PART I
-(@VCU-Richmond[RichmondVA]),

Sunday:

(None),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@NCarolina-Virginia, @Kansas-IowaSt, @CoppinSt-MorganSt(BaltimoreMD), @NJIT-Hampton.

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Top 25 - 15 Jan26: MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Column

1. Kentucky (18-0)
   
2. Virginia (19-0)
   
3. Arizona (18-2)
   
4. Gonzaga (19-1)
   
5. Duke (17-2)
   
6. Wisconsin (17-2)
   
7. Kansas (16-3)
   
8. Villanova (18-2) [BIG 5u]
   
9. Louisville (16-3)
   
10. Utah (15-3)
    
11. Notre Dame (19-2)
    
12. North Carolina (16-4)
    
13. West Virginia (15-3)
    
14. Wichita State (17-2)
    
15. VCU (16-3)
    
16. Indiana (14-5)
    
17. Maryland (18-3)
    
18. Iowa State (14-4)
    
19. Stanford (14-5)
    
20. Texas (14-5)
    
21. Georgetown (13-5)
    
22. Ohio State (15-5)
    
23. Baylor (14-4)
    
24. Northern Iowa (18-2)
    
25. Butler (15-6)
    

Honorable Mention:

Texas Tech (11-9), Purdue (12-8), Colorado State (17-2), Davidson (12-4),
Stephen F. Austin (13-3), Murray State (15-4).