15 Mar 2 - "Live Long And Prosper."
Volume XIX, No. 17 - 15 Mar 2 - [] Top 25 Ballot
"Live Long And Prosper."
Utah hosted Arizona with a chance to tie up the PAC-12 standings, but it was Wildcats who emerged from the defensive scrap with a 63-@57 road win to clinch their second-straight regular season title (with a two-game gap).
Wichita State and Northern Iowa held serve throughout the MISSOURI VALLEY season after NoIowa's rout home win. WichSt won the rematch at home, @74-60, to claim its second-straight regular season title (and THIRD IN FOUR YEARS).
Villanova dumped Providence (@89-61) and rallied on the road to handle Xavier (78-@66) to clinch their second-straight BIG EAST title (with a three-game gap).
Virginia fairly cruised home to its second-straight ACC title (with a two-game gap of its own). The Cavaliers are the only other team besides Kentucky that's been IN THE TOP 5 ALL SEASON LONG without a hiccup.
Kansas State was an equal opportunity spoiler in the BIG 12, knocking off Kansas (@70-63) and then Iowa State (@70-69). Baylor had two impressive wins as well, winning at Iowa State (79-@70) and handling undermanned West Virginia (@78-66). With one week to go, only Oklahoma -- one game back -- remains in contact with leader Kansas. Meanwhile, Texas (64-@71 at West Virginia, 64-@69 at Kansas as fPerry Ellis[28p13r;10/12ft] starred) and Oklahoma State (62-@63 Texas Tech) continue to plummet (but the overall strength of the conference will likely ensure NCAA bids for both).
Connecticut gave its at-large hopes a big boost with an @81-73 win over SMU (thanks to 28p from gRodney Purvis), knocking the Mustangs out of first place in the AMERICAN (leaving lowly regarded Tulsa all alone on top).
Boise State threw a monkey wrench into San Diego State's plans with a 56-@46 road win to tie for the top spot in the MOUNTAIN WEST standings.
VCU's bad week (63-@67[2OT] at Richmond in BLACK & BLUE-II as 25p10r from xTreveon Graham wasn't enough, @55-59 vs Dayton) threw the ATLANTIC 10 race into chaos as Davidson (60-@59 at Rhode Island despite 17p6165b from cHassan Martin, @77-66 vs reeling George Washington), Dayton and Rhode Island all were locked in a three-way tie for first place entering the final week.
1BC-land had no less drama. UC-Davis clinched the WAC (with a gap). The COLONIAL limped home as UNC-Wilmington routed James Madison (@74-54), William & Mary faltered at home, and both Northeastern and UNCW fell (to spoiler Elon) yielding a FOUR-WAY TIE for the conference title. Louisiana Tech's @77-60 rout of UTEP secured its second-straight share of the CONFERENCE USA title. Both South Dakota State and North Dakota State stumbled as the past two SUMMIT titlists shared the honor this year. Wofford edged Mercer on the road (76-@72) to clinch the SOUTHERN title. Florida Gulf Coast went from alone in first place to alone in second after North Florida took the ATLANTIC SUN title with a 76-@62 road win and FLGC lost again to boot. In a triple-overtime classic, Charleston Southern edged High Point (@97-93[3OT] behind 39p from 5-8 gSaah Nimley despite 27p6r from fJohn Brown) as those two BIG SOUTH powers shared the title for the second time in three years.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi edged Sam Houston State (@61-59), leaving Stephen F. Austin alone atop the SOUTHLAND. Harvard blinked (49-@57 at Cornell) to fall back into a tie with Yale atop the IVY standings. Montana edged
host Eastern Washington (77-@76), leaving Sacramento State alone in first place in the BIG SKY. Alabama State could only manage a split on its tough week, edging Southern (56-@54 on 5-9 gJamel Waters' game-winner) but falling at home (@49-58) to Texas Southern as TxSo took over the SWAC lead.
In non-race-related results, Maryland knocked off Wisconsin (@59-53 behind 26p7r4a from bDez Wells). BYU stopped Gonzaga's 41-game home win streak with a 73-@70 road win (behind 20p3a8r from tKyle Collinsworth). Syracuse's zone stymied host Notre Dame (65-@60 as the Irish shot 3-for-22 on three-pointers). Desperate N.C. State shocked arch-rival North Carolina, 58-@46 (but gave back the juice with a lousy 63-@79 loss at lowly Boston College). bPhil Greene IV had 26p7r;6/7 3s to lead resurgent St. John's past Georgetown, @81-70.
Rising Oregon took over third place in the PAC-12 with a 73-@70 road win at Stanford. xTim Quarterman had 18p10a10r in LSU's @73-63 win over Mississippi.
- -
Kansas (Tuesday vs West Virginia) and Oklahoma (Monday at Iowa State) have tricky warmups before meeting Saturday in Lawrence with the BIG 12 title on the line. In the ATLANTIC 10 race: Davidson has a tough one (Thursday vs VCU Thursday) while Dayton and Rhode Island play each other (Tuesday in Ohio). Neither San Diego State nor Boise State can blink as the MOUNTAIN WEST race cruises to a finish. Tulsa will have to come up big to prove it's worthy of the AMERICAN title (Wednesday vs Cincinnati, Sunday at SMU).
In the mad scramble of the MID-AMERICAN: Central Michigan hosts Toledo (Tuesday) while Bowling Green has it rough (Tuesday vs Kent State, Friday at Buffalo). Stephen F. Austin hosts Sam Houston State (Saturday) in the SOUTHLAND showdown. Georgia State closes against the other two SUN BELT leaders (Thursday at Louisiana-Monroe, Saturday vs new arch-rival Georgia Southern). IVY co-leaders Harvard and Yale meet at Cambridge (Friday) in their showdown for the NCAA automatic bid. BIG SKY-leader Sacramento State closes on the road (especially Saturday at Northern Arizona). SWAC-leader Texas Southern closes with three games (including Saturday vs Southern).
Gonzaga isn't quite an Anti-Spoiler in the WEST COAST tournament this year; if BYU can make the final (Tuesday week) and play the 'Zags close, the Cougars' regular-season road win should get them into the NCAAs. The expected rubber match between Wichita State and Northern Iowa in the MISSOURI VALLEY final (Sunday) is pretty wide open.
No surprise -- the COLONIAL tourney is wide open among all four quad-champs Northeastern, William & Mary, James Madison and UNC-Wilmington (and don't sleep on [5]Hofstra, either). Valparaiso will need every bit of its home-court advantage to win the HORIZON crown with Green Bay, Oakland and Cleveland State right at its heels (through Tuesday week). Vermont should roll to the AMERICAN EAST crown at home. Bucknell still has to prove it can beat Colgate head-to-head in the PATRIOT final (Wednesday week). South Dakota State and North Dakota State should meet for their rubber match in the SUMMIT final (Tuesday week) unless Oral Roberts surprises them both. Wofford will have its hands full with both Chattanooga and Mercer in the SOUTHERN tourney (through Monday week). Murray State should cruise through the OHIO VALLEY tourney much like it did the regular season (through Saturday). Iona should get back to the NCAAs even at the neutral-site METRO ATLANTIC tourney (through Monday week). Look for host North Florida to triple-up Florida Gulf Coast in the ATLANTIC SUN final (Sunday). Home court should hold St. Francis in good stead in the NORTHEAST tourney (through Tuesday week). No fewer than six teams (Charleston Southern, High Point, Coastal Carolina, Radford, Winthrop, UNC-Asheville) have a legitimate shot at the BIG SOUTH crown (through Sunday in Myrtle Beach).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 15 Mar 2 - [] Column
"Live Long And Prosper."
... and RIP. The moment that Leonard Nimoy delivered the line, "Fascinating.", he turned the character of Mr. Spock from TV's STAR TREK into an icon that would outlast him (and us). My favorite Spock line ever, though, was: "I didn't want to, Jim."Arkansas was the strongest opponent Kentucky could face inside the SEC, but although the Razorbacks are good, their style of play (the up-tempo scramble) isn't the way to challenge these Wildcats, who are deep and individually talented. Result: @ UK 84 Ark 67. Ho-hum. Clinched the SEC title BY FOUR GAMES. That was the last serious threat to UK's attempt to go undefeated before the postseason. It may sound crazy, but there's probably only one possible roadblock remaining between them and a 39-0 finish. Because of the NCAA Seeding Committee's "Geographical Preference" Rule for the top 8 seeds, Kentucky and Wisconsin figure to be the #1- and #2-seeds in the MIDWEST REGIONAL in Cleveland, OH. Only the Badgers have enough talent, the right style (defense-oriented, deliberate tempo) and the veteran poise to pull off the upset in the Regional Final (March 28). The two teams fit nicely into the roles of "UNLV" and "Duke" in that famous upset in the 1991 National Semifinal. (Virginia is deliberate, but not big enough; Villanova is tough enough, but not deep enough. The Badgers may be our only hope to prevent the inevitable.)
Utah hosted Arizona with a chance to tie up the PAC-12 standings, but it was Wildcats who emerged from the defensive scrap with a 63-@57 road win to clinch their second-straight regular season title (with a two-game gap).
Wichita State and Northern Iowa held serve throughout the MISSOURI VALLEY season after NoIowa's rout home win. WichSt won the rematch at home, @74-60, to claim its second-straight regular season title (and THIRD IN FOUR YEARS).
Villanova dumped Providence (@89-61) and rallied on the road to handle Xavier (78-@66) to clinch their second-straight BIG EAST title (with a three-game gap).
Virginia fairly cruised home to its second-straight ACC title (with a two-game gap of its own). The Cavaliers are the only other team besides Kentucky that's been IN THE TOP 5 ALL SEASON LONG without a hiccup.
Kansas State was an equal opportunity spoiler in the BIG 12, knocking off Kansas (@70-63) and then Iowa State (@70-69). Baylor had two impressive wins as well, winning at Iowa State (79-@70) and handling undermanned West Virginia (@78-66). With one week to go, only Oklahoma -- one game back -- remains in contact with leader Kansas. Meanwhile, Texas (64-@71 at West Virginia, 64-@69 at Kansas as fPerry Ellis[28p13r;10/12ft] starred) and Oklahoma State (62-@63 Texas Tech) continue to plummet (but the overall strength of the conference will likely ensure NCAA bids for both).
Connecticut gave its at-large hopes a big boost with an @81-73 win over SMU (thanks to 28p from gRodney Purvis), knocking the Mustangs out of first place in the AMERICAN (leaving lowly regarded Tulsa all alone on top).
Boise State threw a monkey wrench into San Diego State's plans with a 56-@46 road win to tie for the top spot in the MOUNTAIN WEST standings.
VCU's bad week (63-@67[2OT] at Richmond in BLACK & BLUE-II as 25p10r from xTreveon Graham wasn't enough, @55-59 vs Dayton) threw the ATLANTIC 10 race into chaos as Davidson (60-@59 at Rhode Island despite 17p6165b from cHassan Martin, @77-66 vs reeling George Washington), Dayton and Rhode Island all were locked in a three-way tie for first place entering the final week.
1BC-land had no less drama. UC-Davis clinched the WAC (with a gap). The COLONIAL limped home as UNC-Wilmington routed James Madison (@74-54), William & Mary faltered at home, and both Northeastern and UNCW fell (to spoiler Elon) yielding a FOUR-WAY TIE for the conference title. Louisiana Tech's @77-60 rout of UTEP secured its second-straight share of the CONFERENCE USA title. Both South Dakota State and North Dakota State stumbled as the past two SUMMIT titlists shared the honor this year. Wofford edged Mercer on the road (76-@72) to clinch the SOUTHERN title. Florida Gulf Coast went from alone in first place to alone in second after North Florida took the ATLANTIC SUN title with a 76-@62 road win and FLGC lost again to boot. In a triple-overtime classic, Charleston Southern edged High Point (@97-93[3OT] behind 39p from 5-8 gSaah Nimley despite 27p6r from fJohn Brown) as those two BIG SOUTH powers shared the title for the second time in three years.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi edged Sam Houston State (@61-59), leaving Stephen F. Austin alone atop the SOUTHLAND. Harvard blinked (49-@57 at Cornell) to fall back into a tie with Yale atop the IVY standings. Montana edged
host Eastern Washington (77-@76), leaving Sacramento State alone in first place in the BIG SKY. Alabama State could only manage a split on its tough week, edging Southern (56-@54 on 5-9 gJamel Waters' game-winner) but falling at home (@49-58) to Texas Southern as TxSo took over the SWAC lead.
In non-race-related results, Maryland knocked off Wisconsin (@59-53 behind 26p7r4a from bDez Wells). BYU stopped Gonzaga's 41-game home win streak with a 73-@70 road win (behind 20p3a8r from tKyle Collinsworth). Syracuse's zone stymied host Notre Dame (65-@60 as the Irish shot 3-for-22 on three-pointers). Desperate N.C. State shocked arch-rival North Carolina, 58-@46 (but gave back the juice with a lousy 63-@79 loss at lowly Boston College). bPhil Greene IV had 26p7r;6/7 3s to lead resurgent St. John's past Georgetown, @81-70.
Rising Oregon took over third place in the PAC-12 with a 73-@70 road win at Stanford. xTim Quarterman had 18p10a10r in LSU's @73-63 win over Mississippi.
- -
Kansas (Tuesday vs West Virginia) and Oklahoma (Monday at Iowa State) have tricky warmups before meeting Saturday in Lawrence with the BIG 12 title on the line. In the ATLANTIC 10 race: Davidson has a tough one (Thursday vs VCU Thursday) while Dayton and Rhode Island play each other (Tuesday in Ohio). Neither San Diego State nor Boise State can blink as the MOUNTAIN WEST race cruises to a finish. Tulsa will have to come up big to prove it's worthy of the AMERICAN title (Wednesday vs Cincinnati, Sunday at SMU).
In the mad scramble of the MID-AMERICAN: Central Michigan hosts Toledo (Tuesday) while Bowling Green has it rough (Tuesday vs Kent State, Friday at Buffalo). Stephen F. Austin hosts Sam Houston State (Saturday) in the SOUTHLAND showdown. Georgia State closes against the other two SUN BELT leaders (Thursday at Louisiana-Monroe, Saturday vs new arch-rival Georgia Southern). IVY co-leaders Harvard and Yale meet at Cambridge (Friday) in their showdown for the NCAA automatic bid. BIG SKY-leader Sacramento State closes on the road (especially Saturday at Northern Arizona). SWAC-leader Texas Southern closes with three games (including Saturday vs Southern).
Gonzaga isn't quite an Anti-Spoiler in the WEST COAST tournament this year; if BYU can make the final (Tuesday week) and play the 'Zags close, the Cougars' regular-season road win should get them into the NCAAs. The expected rubber match between Wichita State and Northern Iowa in the MISSOURI VALLEY final (Sunday) is pretty wide open.
No surprise -- the COLONIAL tourney is wide open among all four quad-champs Northeastern, William & Mary, James Madison and UNC-Wilmington (and don't sleep on [5]Hofstra, either). Valparaiso will need every bit of its home-court advantage to win the HORIZON crown with Green Bay, Oakland and Cleveland State right at its heels (through Tuesday week). Vermont should roll to the AMERICAN EAST crown at home. Bucknell still has to prove it can beat Colgate head-to-head in the PATRIOT final (Wednesday week). South Dakota State and North Dakota State should meet for their rubber match in the SUMMIT final (Tuesday week) unless Oral Roberts surprises them both. Wofford will have its hands full with both Chattanooga and Mercer in the SOUTHERN tourney (through Monday week). Murray State should cruise through the OHIO VALLEY tourney much like it did the regular season (through Saturday). Iona should get back to the NCAAs even at the neutral-site METRO ATLANTIC tourney (through Monday week). Look for host North Florida to triple-up Florida Gulf Coast in the ATLANTIC SUN final (Sunday). Home court should hold St. Francis in good stead in the NORTHEAST tourney (through Tuesday week). No fewer than six teams (Charleston Southern, High Point, Coastal Carolina, Radford, Winthrop, UNC-Asheville) have a legitimate shot at the BIG SOUTH crown (through Sunday in Myrtle Beach).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- Virginia-@Syracuse, Oklahoma-@IowaSt, Baylor-@Texas(TX),
- Tuesday:
- Kentucky-@Georgia, @Kansas-WVirginia, @Butler-Georgetown, @Dayton-RhodeIsland, @Indiana-Iowa, @StJosephs-LaSalle(PhiladelphiaPA), @
BowlingGreen-KentSt(OH), @CMichigan-Toledo,
- Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday:
- ATLANTIC SUN TOURNAMENT on-campus
-([1]NFlorida, [2]FLGulfCoast, [3]SCUpstate),
- Tuesday, Friday-Saturday, Tuesday week:
- HORIZON TOURNAMENT on-campus, @#1[Valparaiso]/ValparaisoIN, on-campus
-(@[1]Valparaiso, [2]GreenBay, [3a]Oakland, [3b]ClevelandSt),
- Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday week:
- PATRIOT TOURNAMENT on-campus
-([1]Bucknell, [2]Colgate),
- Wednesday:
- @Louisville-NotreDame(BG), @Tulsa-Cincinnati, @MichiganSt-Purdue, @Pittsburgh-MiamiFL, @Wyoming-UtahSt,
@Massachusetts-Richmond,
- Wednesday-Saturday:
- OHIO VALLEY TOURNAMENT @NashvilleTN(Belmont/TennesseeSt)
-([1/W1]MurraySt),
- Wednesday, Friday-Sunday:
- BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENT @MyrtleBeach SC
-([1a]@CharlestonSo, [1b]HighPt, [3a]@CoCarolina, [3b]Radford, [3c]@Winthrop, [6a]UNC-Asheville),
- Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday week:
- NORTHEAST TOURNAMENT on-campus
-([1]StFrancisNY, [2a]RobertMorris, [2b]Bryant, [4]MtStMarys),
- Wednesday, Sunday, Saturday week:
- AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT on-campus
-([1]Albany, [2a]Vermont, [2b]StonyBrook, [4]NewHampshire),
- Thursday:
- @Davidson-VCU, @
LAMonroe-GeorgiaSt,
- Thursday-Sunday:
- MISSOURI VALLEY TOURNAMENT @StLouisMO
-(Thu 1st/16s: [7]Drake-[10]Bradley, [8]@MissouriSt-[9]SoIllinois;
Fri 2nd/Qtrs: [1]WichitaSt-[8]/[9], [2]NoIowa-[7]/[10], [3a]IndianaSt-[6]LoyolaIL, [3b]IllinoisSt-[5]Evansville),
- Thursday, Saturday-Monday week:
- METRO ATLANTIC TOURNAMENT @AlbanyNY/Siena/
-([1]@Iona, [2]Rider, [3a]@Manhattan, [3b]Monmouth, [5]@Canisius),
- Friday-Monday week:
- SOUTHERN TOURNAMENT @AshevilleNC
-([1]Wofford, [2]Chattanooga, [3]Mercer),
- Friday:
- @Buffalo-
BowlingGreen, @Harvard-Yale,
- Friday-Saturday, Monday week-Tuesday week:
- WEST COAST TOURNAMENT @LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/
-(Fri 1st/16s: [6b]SantaClara-[9b]LoyolaMarymount(CA), [6c]SanFrancisco-[9a]Pacific(CA);
Sat 2nd/Qtrs: [1]Gonzaga-[6c]/[9a], [2a]BYU-[6b]/[9b], [2b]StMarys-[6a]Portland, [4]Pepperdine-[5]SanDiego(CA)),
- Friday-Monday week:
- COLONIAL TOURNMANET @BaltimoreMD/Towson
-([1a]William&Mary, [1b]UNCWilmington, [1c]Northeastern, [1d]JamesMadison, [5]Hofstra),
- Saturday:
- Duke-@NCarolina(NC), Virginia-@Louisville, @Villanova-StJohns, @Arizona-Stanford, Kansas-@Oklahoma, @WVirginia-OklahomaSt, Butler-@Providence, @Arkansas-LSU, @Indiana-MichiganSt, @OldDominion-WeKentucky, @Temple-Connecticut, @Purdue-Illinois, @NCState-Syracuse, @GeoWashington-Massachusetts, @
StephenFAustin-SamHoustonSt(TX), @GeorgiaSt-GeorgiaSo(GA), @NoArizona-SacramentoSt, @TexasSo-Southern,
- Saturday-Tuesday week:
- SUMMIT TOURNAMENT @SiouxFallSD
-([1a]@SDState, [1b]NDState, [3]OralRoberts),
- Sunday:
- Wisconsin-@OhioSt, Tulsa-@SMU, @Cincinnati-
Memphis,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- (None),
- Monday week, Wednesday week-Saturday week:
- MAC TOURNAMENT on-campus, @ClevelandOH
-(CMichigan,BowlingGreen,Toledo, Buffalo, KentSt, Akron, WeMichigan),
- Monday week-Saturday week:
- MEAC TOURNAMENT @NorfolkVA/NorfolkSt/
-(NCCentral, @NorfolkSt, MDEaShore, Howard).
Top 25 - 15 Mar 2 - [] Column
- Kentucky (28-0) SECu+4
- Duke (26-3)
- Virginia (27-1) ACC+2
- Villanova (27-2) BIG 5u BIG.E+3
- Wisconsin (26-3) BIG10+2
- Arizona (26-3) PAC12+2
- Gonzaga (28-2) WCC+4
- Kansas (23-6)
- Oklahoma (20-8)
- Baylor (21-7)
- Maryland (24-5)
- Wichita State (26-3) MVC
- Iowa State (20-8) [.5BIG 4]
- West Virginia (22-7)
- Louisville (23-6)
- Utah (21-6)
- Notre Dame (24-5)
- North Carolina (20-9)
- Northern Iowa (27-3) [.5BIG 4]
- Ohio State (20-8)
- Butler (21-8)
- Arkansas (23-6)
- Dayton (22-6)
- Boise State (19-7)
- Tulsa (19-7)
- Honorable Mention:
- BYU (21-8), Kansas State (15-15), Syracuse (18-11), North Carolina State (17-12), Minnesota (17-12), Connecticut (17-11), Richmond (17-12), St. John's (19-9).
UC-Davis(20-5) BIG.W+2,
Northeastern(20-11)/William & Mary(16-11)/James Madison(19-12)/UNC-Wilmington(16-12) COLON+2,
Louisiana Tech (22-7) C-USA,
South Dakota State(17-9)/North Dakota State(17-9) SUMMIT+2,
Wofford(23-6) SOCON,
North Florida(18-11) A-SUN,
High Point(19-8)/Charleston Southern(16-10) SOCON,
Davidson (19-6),Texas Southern(16-12).
posted by Ron @ Friday, March 06, 2015
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