16 Jan18 - Plainly The Best
Volume XX, No. 11 - 16 Jan18 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Plainly The Best
West Virginia very nearly pulled off the ultimate double (sweeping No.1 and No.2 in the same week). First, the Mountaineers handled No.1 Kansas (@74-63 by forcing 22 turnovers, converting 33-for-47 free throws led by super-sub gJaysean Paige[26p5s;14/17ft]; 21p7r from veteran fPerry Ellis wasn't enough). More impressive may have been the effort they turned in on the road, falling at No.2 Oklahoma (68-@70 as it was the Sooners who shot 27-for-32 on free throws led by Buddy Hield[17p1a], offsetting 18p3a from gPaige). Not only has the BIG 12 shown itself to be the best overall conference top-to-bottom; but a very good argument could be made that West Virginia-Oklahoma-Kansas are the best three teams overall in the nation. They've split 1-1 with each other in the first half with only WVU's home win not being an endplay result.
Only Villanova (which was routed by Oklahoma at PEARL HARBOR, and also lost at Virginia) and Xavier (which was pounded on the road at Villanova) have played at an elite level while also not putting a foot wrong with a non-elite loss). Yes, SMU is still undefeated; but its best win is only a squeak home win over 13-6 Cincinnati. North Carolina is 5-0 early on in ACC play; but there's the matter of those two squeak road losses in the preseason at now-collapsed Northern Iowa as well as at improving Texas. Louisville's squeak road loss at rising 12-6 Clemson doesn't look quite as bad now as it did a week ago. Streaking Iowa is 5-0 atop the BIG 10 (but lost twice at A/ORLANDO to Dayton and Notre Dame). Arizona's elite preseason hit the harsh reality of the PAC-12 Wars (where surprising USC is the early leader at 4-1). Texas A&M is the early leader in the SEC at 5-0 (but preseason losses to Syracuse and at Arizona State disqualify the Aggies as being truly "elite"). Highly rated St. Mary's is done in by a squeak road loss at Pepperdine inside the poorly rated WEST COAST.
xDenzel Valentine was back on court for Michigan State, but not quite back to his Player Of The Year level from the preseason. Instead, Iowa completed the sweep of the Spartans with a road-rout (76-@59 holding MSU to 4-for-23 on three-pointers as pValentine only managed 14p5a). MichSt then tripped at Wisconsin (@76-77 as gBronson Koenig[27p4a] counteracted pValentine[23p5a7r]).
In a showdown of the past three ACC regular season champs, Virginia ['14,'15] beat Miami(Florida) ['13], @66-58; but another road loss at Florida State (62-@69) dropped the Cavaliers to 2-3 already in league play while the Hurricanes fell to 2-2 after falling at rising Clemson (65-@76). In fact, it's the 5-1 Tigers who are the early contenders in the league race after surprising Duke (@68-63). Meanwhile, the 2-2 Blue Devils were stunned at home by 3-2 Notre Dame (95-@91 as cBonzie Colson[31p11r] starred despite big games from DU freshmen tLuke Kennard[30p8r] and gBrandon Ingram[25p]). 3-1 Louisville rebounded from its own loss at Clemson last week by shutting down 3-1 Pittsburgh (@59-41 as both teams struggled from to shoot, combining for 2-for-22 on three-pointers).
Talented Seton Hall surprised Providence with a road win (81-@72), but not before the Friars knocked back Creighton with a road win of their own (50-@48 in a defensive struggle). Both Villanova (@83-68 on 25-for-30 free throw-shooting) and Xavier (74-@66) on the road kept young Marquette in the doldrums with an 0-2 week.
BYU put the WEST COAST regular season title in play (for a change), edging perennial favorite Gonzaga on the road (69-@68 despite 35p10r from xKyle Wiltjer as frontcourt-mate fDomantas Sabonis[5p6r] was no factor). But the Cougars couldn't keep it a three-way race (along with 6-1 St. Mary's) after tripping at 9-11 Portland (81-@84).
Upstart Houston couldn't deal with the reality of quality AMERICAN opponents, falling at Cincinnati (59-@70) and at home to Connecticut (@57-69). But now lone unbeaten SMU (17-0[6-0]) already has things all to itself after Cincy tripped in double-overtime at Temple (65-@67[2OT]) with UConn already having fallen at Tulsa (51-@60).
South Carolina suffered its first loss of the season, crashing hard at Alabama (50-@73 as fRiley Norris[27p7r] starred). Young Kentucky continued to struggle, stumbling at 8-8 Auburn (70-@75). (It's 5-0 Texas A&M and 4-1 LSU
in the driver's seat early on in the SEC race.)
Elsewhere, Iowa State tripped in overtime in another track meet at Texas (91-@94[OT] as pIsaiah Taylor[28p6a] starred). Maryland tripped at Michigan (67-@70 despite a breakout game from freshman cDiamond Stone[22p11r]).
Texas Tech fell out of contention in the BIG 12 with a bad week, falling at Kansas State (70-@83) and tripping at home against Baylor (@60-63 on gLester Medford's game-winning three-pointer).
In the PAC-12 Wars, rising USC went to 4-1 with a road win at city rival UCLA (89-@75 despite 27p12r from cTony Parker). Oregon dumped Utah on the road (77-@59 as fJakob Poeltl[7p7r] was no factor) but then tripped at Colorado. California fell at arch-rival Stanford (71-@77 as the Cardinal sank 30-for-38 free throws). Arizona State tripped at home against Washington (@85-89 on pAndrew Andrews[30p12a]'s star turn). Arizona freshman bAllonzo Trier broke his hand and will be out for a month.
Dayton knocked off ATLANTIC 10 leader George Washington (@77-70 behind bDyshawn Pierre[26p5r]). Rhode Island tripped at St. Bonaventure. Part I of the BLACK AND BLUE/CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC went to visiting VCU over Richmond in overtime (94-@89[OT] as gJeQuan Lewis[29p] counteracted 26p6a 5-11 pShawDre Jones[26p6a]).
In the MOUNTAIN WEST Game Of The Year (Part I), San Diego State edged host Boise State (56-@53 as neither team could hit from three-point range: 4-for-31 combined). Struggling UNLV went to the extreme and fired coach Dave Rice in-season; interim coach Todd Simon will take over for the rest of the year.
Northern Iowa's collapse is complete, falling at Indiana State and at home to Loyola(Illinois), @41-51.
SUMMIT/South Dakota State outran IFPW, but was handled at North Dakota State (57-@68). MID-AMERICAN/Akron fell twice, at Central Michigan (81-@92) and at Toledo (64-@78 as tNathan Boothe[25p9r] starred). COLONIAL/James Madison edged in overtime at Hofstra (86-@82[OT] despite 25p20r from cRokas Gustys). OHIO VALLEY/Belmont beat Murray State. CONFERENCE USA/Louisiana Tech lost twice, falling at Florida International and tripped at Florida Atlantic while Middle Tennessee edged at Old Dominion. HORIZON/Valparaiso handled Milwaukee to take full control of the race in the first half. SUN BELT/Texas-Arlington tripped in overtime at South Alabama. METRO ATLANTIC/Monmouth outpaced at Iona (110-@102 despite 45p from gA.J. English).
PATRIOT/Bucknell won at Lehigh (despite 29p6r4a from fTim Kempton), but fell at home against Colgate. WESTERN ATHLETIC/New Mexico State edged Missouri-Kansas City. BIG SKY/Weber State won at Sacramento State. AMERICA EAST/Albany edged in overtime against New Hampshire (@80-75[OT]), but tripped at Maine. ATLANTIC SUN/North Florida handled Lipscomb. BIG SOUTH/Coastal Carolina edged at High Point. NORTHEAST/Wagner tripped at home against Long Island.
- - - - - -
In the BIG EAST Wars, Providence has a big week ahead (Tuesday vs Butler, Saturday at Villanova) while Seton Hall has it even worse (Wednesday vs Villanova, Saturday at Xavier) and Creighton doubles-up as well (Tuesday at Providence, Saturday vs Butler). Iowa hosts Purdue (Sunday). Unbeaten SMU hosts Houston (Tuesday). Texas A&M hosts LSU (Tuesday) with first place in the SEC on the line. Baylor hosts Oklahoma (Saturday). Virginia has a big week (Tuesday vs streaking Clemson, Saturday vs Syracuse). Iowa State hosts Oklahoma (Monday). Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt (Saturday). Duke host Syracuse (Monday).
It's a first-place showdown in the WCC when St. Mary's hosts Gonzaga (Thursday). Michigan State looks to regroup against visiting Maryland (Saturday). In the PAC-12 Wars, Oregon hosts the L.A. double (Thursday vs USC, Saturday vs UCLA) while California hosts the AZ duo (Thursday vs Arizona State, Saturday vs Arizona). It's a first-place showdown in the SUN BELT when Texas-Arlington hosts Little Rock (Saturday). George Washington tries to stay in the A-10 race when it hosts Rhode Island (Friday). Texas Tech hosts West Virginia (Saturday).
-- Ron
P.S. Congratulations to this year's PIGSKIN POOL PARTY co-champions:
yours truly as well as the picks based on the COMPUTER RATINGS by Jeff Sagarin from USA Today!
Top 25 - 16 Jan18 - [] Column
Plainly The Best
West Virginia very nearly pulled off the ultimate double (sweeping No.1 and No.2 in the same week). First, the Mountaineers handled No.1 Kansas (@74-63 by forcing 22 turnovers, converting 33-for-47 free throws led by super-sub gJaysean Paige[26p5s;14/17ft]; 21p7r from veteran fPerry Ellis wasn't enough). More impressive may have been the effort they turned in on the road, falling at No.2 Oklahoma (68-@70 as it was the Sooners who shot 27-for-32 on free throws led by Buddy Hield[17p1a], offsetting 18p3a from gPaige). Not only has the BIG 12 shown itself to be the best overall conference top-to-bottom; but a very good argument could be made that West Virginia-Oklahoma-Kansas are the best three teams overall in the nation. They've split 1-1 with each other in the first half with only WVU's home win not being an endplay result.
Only Villanova (which was routed by Oklahoma at PEARL HARBOR, and also lost at Virginia) and Xavier (which was pounded on the road at Villanova) have played at an elite level while also not putting a foot wrong with a non-elite loss). Yes, SMU is still undefeated; but its best win is only a squeak home win over 13-6 Cincinnati. North Carolina is 5-0 early on in ACC play; but there's the matter of those two squeak road losses in the preseason at now-collapsed Northern Iowa as well as at improving Texas. Louisville's squeak road loss at rising 12-6 Clemson doesn't look quite as bad now as it did a week ago. Streaking Iowa is 5-0 atop the BIG 10 (but lost twice at A/ORLANDO to Dayton and Notre Dame). Arizona's elite preseason hit the harsh reality of the PAC-12 Wars (where surprising USC is the early leader at 4-1). Texas A&M is the early leader in the SEC at 5-0 (but preseason losses to Syracuse and at Arizona State disqualify the Aggies as being truly "elite"). Highly rated St. Mary's is done in by a squeak road loss at Pepperdine inside the poorly rated WEST COAST.
xDenzel Valentine was back on court for Michigan State, but not quite back to his Player Of The Year level from the preseason. Instead, Iowa completed the sweep of the Spartans with a road-rout (76-@59 holding MSU to 4-for-23 on three-pointers as pValentine only managed 14p5a). MichSt then tripped at Wisconsin (@76-77 as gBronson Koenig[27p4a] counteracted pValentine[23p5a7r]).
In a showdown of the past three ACC regular season champs, Virginia ['14,'15] beat Miami(Florida) ['13], @66-58; but another road loss at Florida State (62-@69) dropped the Cavaliers to 2-3 already in league play while the Hurricanes fell to 2-2 after falling at rising Clemson (65-@76). In fact, it's the 5-1 Tigers who are the early contenders in the league race after surprising Duke (@68-63). Meanwhile, the 2-2 Blue Devils were stunned at home by 3-2 Notre Dame (95-@91 as cBonzie Colson[31p11r] starred despite big games from DU freshmen tLuke Kennard[30p8r] and gBrandon Ingram[25p]). 3-1 Louisville rebounded from its own loss at Clemson last week by shutting down 3-1 Pittsburgh (@59-41 as both teams struggled from to shoot, combining for 2-for-22 on three-pointers).
Talented Seton Hall surprised Providence with a road win (81-@72), but not before the Friars knocked back Creighton with a road win of their own (50-@48 in a defensive struggle). Both Villanova (@83-68 on 25-for-30 free throw-shooting) and Xavier (74-@66) on the road kept young Marquette in the doldrums with an 0-2 week.
BYU put the WEST COAST regular season title in play (for a change), edging perennial favorite Gonzaga on the road (69-@68 despite 35p10r from xKyle Wiltjer as frontcourt-mate fDomantas Sabonis[5p6r] was no factor). But the Cougars couldn't keep it a three-way race (along with 6-1 St. Mary's) after tripping at 9-11 Portland (81-@84).
Upstart Houston couldn't deal with the reality of quality AMERICAN opponents, falling at Cincinnati (59-@70) and at home to Connecticut (@57-69). But now lone unbeaten SMU (17-0[6-0]) already has things all to itself after Cincy tripped in double-overtime at Temple (65-@67[2OT]) with UConn already having fallen at Tulsa (51-@60).
South Carolina suffered its first loss of the season, crashing hard at Alabama (50-@73 as fRiley Norris[27p7r] starred). Young Kentucky continued to struggle, stumbling at 8-8 Auburn (70-@75). (It's 5-0 Texas A&M and 4-1 LSU
in the driver's seat early on in the SEC race.)
Elsewhere, Iowa State tripped in overtime in another track meet at Texas (91-@94[OT] as pIsaiah Taylor[28p6a] starred). Maryland tripped at Michigan (67-@70 despite a breakout game from freshman cDiamond Stone[22p11r]).
Texas Tech fell out of contention in the BIG 12 with a bad week, falling at Kansas State (70-@83) and tripping at home against Baylor (@60-63 on gLester Medford's game-winning three-pointer).
In the PAC-12 Wars, rising USC went to 4-1 with a road win at city rival UCLA (89-@75 despite 27p12r from cTony Parker). Oregon dumped Utah on the road (77-@59 as fJakob Poeltl[7p7r] was no factor) but then tripped at Colorado. California fell at arch-rival Stanford (71-@77 as the Cardinal sank 30-for-38 free throws). Arizona State tripped at home against Washington (@85-89 on pAndrew Andrews[30p12a]'s star turn). Arizona freshman bAllonzo Trier broke his hand and will be out for a month.
Dayton knocked off ATLANTIC 10 leader George Washington (@77-70 behind bDyshawn Pierre[26p5r]). Rhode Island tripped at St. Bonaventure. Part I of the BLACK AND BLUE/CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC went to visiting VCU over Richmond in overtime (94-@89[OT] as gJeQuan Lewis[29p] counteracted 26p6a 5-11 pShawDre Jones[26p6a]).
In the MOUNTAIN WEST Game Of The Year (Part I), San Diego State edged host Boise State (56-@53 as neither team could hit from three-point range: 4-for-31 combined). Struggling UNLV went to the extreme and fired coach Dave Rice in-season; interim coach Todd Simon will take over for the rest of the year.
Northern Iowa's collapse is complete, falling at Indiana State and at home to Loyola(Illinois), @41-51.
SUMMIT/South Dakota State outran IFPW, but was handled at North Dakota State (57-@68). MID-AMERICAN/Akron fell twice, at Central Michigan (81-@92) and at Toledo (64-@78 as tNathan Boothe[25p9r] starred). COLONIAL/James Madison edged in overtime at Hofstra (86-@82[OT] despite 25p20r from cRokas Gustys). OHIO VALLEY/Belmont beat Murray State. CONFERENCE USA/Louisiana Tech lost twice, falling at Florida International and tripped at Florida Atlantic while Middle Tennessee edged at Old Dominion. HORIZON/Valparaiso handled Milwaukee to take full control of the race in the first half. SUN BELT/Texas-Arlington tripped in overtime at South Alabama. METRO ATLANTIC/Monmouth outpaced at Iona (110-@102 despite 45p from gA.J. English).
PATRIOT/Bucknell won at Lehigh (despite 29p6r4a from fTim Kempton), but fell at home against Colgate. WESTERN ATHLETIC/New Mexico State edged Missouri-Kansas City. BIG SKY/Weber State won at Sacramento State. AMERICA EAST/Albany edged in overtime against New Hampshire (@80-75[OT]), but tripped at Maine. ATLANTIC SUN/North Florida handled Lipscomb. BIG SOUTH/Coastal Carolina edged at High Point. NORTHEAST/Wagner tripped at home against Long Island.
- - - - - -
In the BIG EAST Wars, Providence has a big week ahead (Tuesday vs Butler, Saturday at Villanova) while Seton Hall has it even worse (Wednesday vs Villanova, Saturday at Xavier) and Creighton doubles-up as well (Tuesday at Providence, Saturday vs Butler). Iowa hosts Purdue (Sunday). Unbeaten SMU hosts Houston (Tuesday). Texas A&M hosts LSU (Tuesday) with first place in the SEC on the line. Baylor hosts Oklahoma (Saturday). Virginia has a big week (Tuesday vs streaking Clemson, Saturday vs Syracuse). Iowa State hosts Oklahoma (Monday). Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt (Saturday). Duke host Syracuse (Monday).
It's a first-place showdown in the WCC when St. Mary's hosts Gonzaga (Thursday). Michigan State looks to regroup against visiting Maryland (Saturday). In the PAC-12 Wars, Oregon hosts the L.A. double (Thursday vs USC, Saturday vs UCLA) while California hosts the AZ duo (Thursday vs Arizona State, Saturday vs Arizona). It's a first-place showdown in the SUN BELT when Texas-Arlington hosts Little Rock (Saturday). George Washington tries to stay in the A-10 race when it hosts Rhode Island (Friday). Texas Tech hosts West Virginia (Saturday).
-- Ron
P.S. Congratulations to this year's PIGSKIN POOL PARTY co-champions:
yours truly as well as the picks based on the COMPUTER RATINGS by Jeff Sagarin from USA Today!
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- Oklahoma-@IowaSt, @Duke-Syracuse,
- Tuesday:
- @SMU-Houston(TX), @TexasA&M-LSU, Clemson-@Virginia, @Providence-Butler, @SanDiegoSt-FresnoSt(CA), @UtahSt-UNLV,
- Wednesday:
- Villanova-@SetonHall, WichitaSt-@
NoIowa,
PHILADELPHIA-BIG FIVE CLASSIC DblHdr @ PhiladelhpiaPA/PALESTRA/
-(@Penn-@StJosephs[PhiladelphiaPA][BIG5], @LaSalle-@Temple[PhiladelphiaPA][BIG5]),
- Thursday:
- USC-@Oregon, @StMarys-Gonzaga, @Cincinnati-Memphis, @Manhattan-Monmouth, @California-ArizonaSt, @OralRoberts-
SDState, @IPFW-NDState, @VMI-Samford, @Northeastern-Hofstra, @TNMartin-Belmont(TN), @Louisiana-SAlabama, @SacredHeart-MtStMarys,
- Friday:
- @GeoWashington-RhodeIsland, @Niagara-Canisius(NY)(BIG4), @StonyBrook-
Albany(NY),
- Saturday:
- Oklahoma-@Baylor, WVirginia-@TexasTech, @Villanova-Providence, @Xavier-SetonHall, Maryland-@MichiganSt, Arizona-@California, @Virginia-Syracuse, @Kentucky-Vanderbilt, @SanDiegoSt-UtahSt, @Creighton-Butler, @TXArlington-LittleRock, @Oregon-UCLA, @LaSalle-StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA), @Pepperdine-BYU, @Richmond-
Davidson, @WeIllinois-NDState, @VMI-Chattanooga, @Hofstra-William&Mary, @LAMonroe-SAlabama, @BostonU-Bucknell, @MOKansasCity-{GrandCanyon}, @CalStBakersfield-NewMexicoSt, @NJIT-NFlorida, @Southern-AlabamaSt,
(new)STAR GAME 1Off @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(@ArmyWP-Navy[MIL]),
- Sunday:
- @Iowa-Purdue, @ClevelandSt-YoungstownSt(OH)(NEO), @
Wagner-SacredHeart,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @IowaSt-Kansas, @MiamiFL-Duke, @Milwaukee-Oakland, @
StephenFAustin-Lamar(TX), @Southern-AlabamaA&M.
Top 25 - 16 Jan18 - [] Column
- Oklahoma (14-1)
- West Virginia (14-2)
- Villanova (16-2)
- North Carolina (16-2)
- Kansas (14-2)
- Xavier (15-1)
- Iowa (14-3)
- SMU (17-0)
- Texas A&M (15-2)
- Baylor (13-3)
- Clemson (12-6)
- USC (15-3)
- Louisville (13-3)
- South Carolina (15-1)
- Indiana (15-3)
- Maryland(16-2)
- Providence (15-3)
- Arizona (15-3)
- Virginia (13-4)
- Iowa State (13-4)
- Kentucky (13-4)
- Miami(Florida) (13-3)
- Duke (14-4)
- San Diego State (10-6)
- Wichita State (11-5)
- Honorable Mention:
- Seton Hall (13-4), Notre Dame (11-5), Alabama (11-6), Wisconsin (11-9), Auburn (8-8), Texas (11-6), Florida State (12-5), Michigan (13-5), Connecticut (11-5), Cincinnati (13-6).
posted by Ron @ Monday, February 15, 2016
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