16 Jan25 - Jonas, Brother (MIDCONFERENCE/Minor)
Volume XX, No. 12 - 16 Jan25: MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Top 25 Ballot
Jonas, Brother
Thanks to Winter Storm Jonas, the entire slate of games on Saturday was wiped out on the East Coast (from Virginia and Maryland through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and even in Tennessee). Most games were only postponed for a day, but some were put off longer due to scheduling conflicts.
A little air came out of the sails of the vaunted BIG 12 as most all of the top teams split on the week. Iowa State got back in the conversation, edging Oklahoma on the road (82-@77 despite 17-for-32 three-point shooting and star turns from both bBuddy Hield[27p6r] and bIsaiah Cousins[26p7r] for the Sooners). OU rebounded with an 82-@72 road win of its own at Baylor with more great shooting (62 percent overall, including 16-for-28 on threes). (Can this team really make it all the way to the Final Four and beyond on jump shots? Maybe the 30-second clock will bring us this new style of champion [perhaps modeled after the NBA's Golden State Warriors?]) West Virginia fell at home to Texas (@49-56), but bounced back to edge Texas Tech on the road (80-@76 despite 32-for-34 free throw-shooting by the Red Raiders). Most surprisingly, Kansas was pounded at mediocre Oklahoma State (67-@86 as freshman pJawun Evans[22p8a6r6to] starred).
Seton Hall gave Villanova a scare before falling (@71-72), but Providence stepped up and finished the job with a Jonas-postponed road win in overtime (82-@76[OT] as cBen Bentil[31p13r] starred). Xavier fell at home to Georgetown (@72-81), but bounced back to hand Seton Hall its second loss of the week (@84-76 behind cJames Farr[24p15r]). The top three in the BIG EAST are so strong that the rest of the league seems weak; but Butler is not a bad team overall despite its 2-5 conference record (including 0-2 for the week: 68-@71 at Providence, 64-@72 at Creighton).
The last unbeaten team, SMU, suffered its first loss of the season (80-@89 at Temple, after a day's postponement due to Jonas), but still leads in the AMERICAN. Meanwhile, upstart Houston (which had started 3-0) lost its fourth straight, falling at SMU earlier [70-@77] and then at home to lowly South Florida (@62-71 as gJahmal McMurray[30p3a] starred).
Virginia stopped Clemson's string of upsets in ACC play with a @69-62 win and then beat Syracuse (in another Jonas-postponement, @73-65). Earlier in the week, 'Cuse had handed struggling Duke its third-straight loss (64-@62). Pittsburgh couldn't keep pace in the league race, tanking at home against N.C. State (@61-78 as pCat Barber[31p8a] stole the show).
In the PAC-12 Wars, Oregon swept the Los Angeles double at home, beating USC (@89-81 as fElgin Cook[26p5r4a] led the way) and UCLA (@86-72 behind bDillon Brooks[25p7r]). Despite losing bTyrone Wallace for 4 weeks (with a broken hand), California swept the Arizona double at home, edging both Arizona State (@75-70 behind freshman tIvan Rabb[20p8r6a]) and Arizona (@74-73). It was an 0-2 week for both USC (70-@85 blowout losers at Oregon State as xGary Payton II[22p8a15r] channeled his father's greatness) as well as for Arizona State (which tripped 73-@75 at Stanford on Roscoe Allen's game-winner).
South Carolina couldn't keep pace in the SEC, falling at mediocre Tennessee (69-@78 as Kevin Punter had 36p.) Meanwhile, Kentucky thumped Vanderbilt (@76-57) and Texas A&M went to 7-0 with a @71-57 win over talented LSU.
Michigan State tripped at home against Nebraska, but started to get its groove back beating Maryland (@74-65 as gBryn Forbes[25p1a] was the difference with xDenzel Valentine[19p8a14] and bMelo Trimble[24p4a7r] cancelling each other out). Iowa went to 7-0 in the BIG 10 (along with Indiana) thanks to an @83-71 win over Purdue.
Evansville failed to keep pace in the MISSOURI VALLEY, tanking at Indiana State. No-name St. Mary's put the WEST COAST title into play with a @70-67 squeak win over Gonzaga (as Kyle Wiltjer[6p2r] was shut down); meanwhile, Pepperdine stayed in the hunt with a @71-65 win over BYU. In the ATLANTIC 10, George Washington edged Rhode Island (@62-58 thanks to 25-for-30 free throw-shooting).
Little Rock tripped at Arkansas State, but the SUN BELT title appears to be the Trojans' for the taking. Second-place Texas-Arlington lost its star player, fKevin Hervey, for the season with a knee injury and lost its first-place showdown with LRock at home (@62-68 as tJosh Hagins[20p7a9r] led the way). Wright State tied up the HORIZON with a @73-62 win over Valparaiso.
New Mexico State kept pace in the WAC with a 68-@67(2OT) road win at Cal State-Bakersfield. In the AMERICA EAST first-half showdown, Stony Brook beat Albany (@69-63).
At the midconference break, both Iowa and Indiana were undefeated in the BIG 10 both with a two-game gap on the rest of the field. In the WEST COAST, St. Mary's led Gonzaga by a game (with Pepperdine and BYU both two games back in third). Undefeated Wichita State led the MISSOURI VALLEY ahead of second-place Southern Illinois and third-place Evansville.
In the SUMMIT, Omaha was in first (ahead of South Dakota State, IPFW and IUPUI all tied for second). Not much was settled in the COLONIAL where James Madison, UNC-Wilmington and Hofstra all were tied for first. Undefeated Belmont led the OHIO VALLEY. Wright State and Valparaiso were tied atop the HORIZON both with a gap on everyone else. In the METRO ATLANTIC, Monmouth and St. Peter's were tied for first. In the PATRIOT, Bucknell and Navy were tied at the top (a game ahead of Colgate). In the BIG SOUTH, UNC-Asheville came through in first place. In the NORTHEAST, it was Mount St. Mary's alone in first ahead of a crowded field.
- - - - - -
Since the demise of the 11-year run of ESPN's BRACKETBUSTERS event, there have been practically no interconference matchups past the end of the preseason in December. This year, the third installment of the BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE moves to a single-day event at the end of January. While BRACKETBUSTERS did well to showcase quality Mid-Major teams and maybe earn an at-large bid or two, we'll see if this move can do the same for the B-Major bubble teams from these two leagues. (So keep an eye on the likes of Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Kansas State, all of whom could parlay a win Saturday together with a strong second half into an NCAA invite come March. With the cinched waist of this year's Mid-Majors, it'll be at the expense of the likes of Dayton/St. Joseph's/VCU/George Washington/Rhode Island, Wichita State/Evansville/Southern Illinois, San Diego State/Boise State, and BYU, most of whom don't have a late-season out-of-conference palate-cleanser to reset their place [and their conferences' place] in the pecking order. I always wanted to see a second-half event where B-Major bubble teams played Mid-Major contenders -- that would really give a more direct comparison of the relative strengths of teams and leagues. Someday, right?)
In-conference: Oklahoma hosts Texas Tech (Tuesday). Providence hosts Xavier (Tuesday). Louisville hosts Virginia (Saturday). Kansas visits Iowa State (Monday). Miami(Florida) hosts Duke (Monday). Oregon visits Arizona (Thursday) and Arizona State (Sunday). Iowa visits Maryland (Thursday).
Creighton hosts Seton Hall (Saturday). Utah hosts California (Wednesday). George Washington hosts Richmond (Thursday). Evansville visits Southern Illinois (Thursday) and hosts Wichita State (Sunday). Connecticut hosts Cincinnati (Thursday). St. Joseph's visits Rhode Island (Saturday). Notre Dame visits Syracuse (Thursday). Pittsburgh visits Clemson (Wednesday). Butler visits Marquette (Saturday). UNLV hosts Boise State (Wednesday) and San Diego State (Saturday).
Monmouth hosts St. Peter's in the first MAAC showdown (Saturday).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 16 Jan25: MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Column
Jonas, Brother
Thanks to Winter Storm Jonas, the entire slate of games on Saturday was wiped out on the East Coast (from Virginia and Maryland through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and even in Tennessee). Most games were only postponed for a day, but some were put off longer due to scheduling conflicts.
A little air came out of the sails of the vaunted BIG 12 as most all of the top teams split on the week. Iowa State got back in the conversation, edging Oklahoma on the road (82-@77 despite 17-for-32 three-point shooting and star turns from both bBuddy Hield[27p6r] and bIsaiah Cousins[26p7r] for the Sooners). OU rebounded with an 82-@72 road win of its own at Baylor with more great shooting (62 percent overall, including 16-for-28 on threes). (Can this team really make it all the way to the Final Four and beyond on jump shots? Maybe the 30-second clock will bring us this new style of champion [perhaps modeled after the NBA's Golden State Warriors?]) West Virginia fell at home to Texas (@49-56), but bounced back to edge Texas Tech on the road (80-@76 despite 32-for-34 free throw-shooting by the Red Raiders). Most surprisingly, Kansas was pounded at mediocre Oklahoma State (67-@86 as freshman pJawun Evans[22p8a6r6to] starred).
Seton Hall gave Villanova a scare before falling (@71-72), but Providence stepped up and finished the job with a Jonas-postponed road win in overtime (82-@76[OT] as cBen Bentil[31p13r] starred). Xavier fell at home to Georgetown (@72-81), but bounced back to hand Seton Hall its second loss of the week (@84-76 behind cJames Farr[24p15r]). The top three in the BIG EAST are so strong that the rest of the league seems weak; but Butler is not a bad team overall despite its 2-5 conference record (including 0-2 for the week: 68-@71 at Providence, 64-@72 at Creighton).
The last unbeaten team, SMU, suffered its first loss of the season (80-@89 at Temple, after a day's postponement due to Jonas), but still leads in the AMERICAN. Meanwhile, upstart Houston (which had started 3-0) lost its fourth straight, falling at SMU earlier [70-@77] and then at home to lowly South Florida (@62-71 as gJahmal McMurray[30p3a] starred).
Virginia stopped Clemson's string of upsets in ACC play with a @69-62 win and then beat Syracuse (in another Jonas-postponement, @73-65). Earlier in the week, 'Cuse had handed struggling Duke its third-straight loss (64-@62). Pittsburgh couldn't keep pace in the league race, tanking at home against N.C. State (@61-78 as pCat Barber[31p8a] stole the show).
In the PAC-12 Wars, Oregon swept the Los Angeles double at home, beating USC (@89-81 as fElgin Cook[26p5r4a] led the way) and UCLA (@86-72 behind bDillon Brooks[25p7r]). Despite losing bTyrone Wallace for 4 weeks (with a broken hand), California swept the Arizona double at home, edging both Arizona State (@75-70 behind freshman tIvan Rabb[20p8r6a]) and Arizona (@74-73). It was an 0-2 week for both USC (70-@85 blowout losers at Oregon State as xGary Payton II[22p8a15r] channeled his father's greatness) as well as for Arizona State (which tripped 73-@75 at Stanford on Roscoe Allen's game-winner).
South Carolina couldn't keep pace in the SEC, falling at mediocre Tennessee (69-@78 as Kevin Punter had 36p.) Meanwhile, Kentucky thumped Vanderbilt (@76-57) and Texas A&M went to 7-0 with a @71-57 win over talented LSU.
Michigan State tripped at home against Nebraska, but started to get its groove back beating Maryland (@74-65 as gBryn Forbes[25p1a] was the difference with xDenzel Valentine[19p8a14] and bMelo Trimble[24p4a7r] cancelling each other out). Iowa went to 7-0 in the BIG 10 (along with Indiana) thanks to an @83-71 win over Purdue.
Evansville failed to keep pace in the MISSOURI VALLEY, tanking at Indiana State. No-name St. Mary's put the WEST COAST title into play with a @70-67 squeak win over Gonzaga (as Kyle Wiltjer[6p2r] was shut down); meanwhile, Pepperdine stayed in the hunt with a @71-65 win over BYU. In the ATLANTIC 10, George Washington edged Rhode Island (@62-58 thanks to 25-for-30 free throw-shooting).
Little Rock tripped at Arkansas State, but the SUN BELT title appears to be the Trojans' for the taking. Second-place Texas-Arlington lost its star player, fKevin Hervey, for the season with a knee injury and lost its first-place showdown with LRock at home (@62-68 as tJosh Hagins[20p7a9r] led the way). Wright State tied up the HORIZON with a @73-62 win over Valparaiso.
New Mexico State kept pace in the WAC with a 68-@67(2OT) road win at Cal State-Bakersfield. In the AMERICA EAST first-half showdown, Stony Brook beat Albany (@69-63).
At the midconference break, both Iowa and Indiana were undefeated in the BIG 10 both with a two-game gap on the rest of the field. In the WEST COAST, St. Mary's led Gonzaga by a game (with Pepperdine and BYU both two games back in third). Undefeated Wichita State led the MISSOURI VALLEY ahead of second-place Southern Illinois and third-place Evansville.
In the SUMMIT, Omaha was in first (ahead of South Dakota State, IPFW and IUPUI all tied for second). Not much was settled in the COLONIAL where James Madison, UNC-Wilmington and Hofstra all were tied for first. Undefeated Belmont led the OHIO VALLEY. Wright State and Valparaiso were tied atop the HORIZON both with a gap on everyone else. In the METRO ATLANTIC, Monmouth and St. Peter's were tied for first. In the PATRIOT, Bucknell and Navy were tied at the top (a game ahead of Colgate). In the BIG SOUTH, UNC-Asheville came through in first place. In the NORTHEAST, it was Mount St. Mary's alone in first ahead of a crowded field.
- - - - - -
Since the demise of the 11-year run of ESPN's BRACKETBUSTERS event, there have been practically no interconference matchups past the end of the preseason in December. This year, the third installment of the BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE moves to a single-day event at the end of January. While BRACKETBUSTERS did well to showcase quality Mid-Major teams and maybe earn an at-large bid or two, we'll see if this move can do the same for the B-Major bubble teams from these two leagues. (So keep an eye on the likes of Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Kansas State, all of whom could parlay a win Saturday together with a strong second half into an NCAA invite come March. With the cinched waist of this year's Mid-Majors, it'll be at the expense of the likes of Dayton/St. Joseph's/VCU/George Washington/Rhode Island, Wichita State/Evansville/Southern Illinois, San Diego State/Boise State, and BYU, most of whom don't have a late-season out-of-conference palate-cleanser to reset their place [and their conferences' place] in the pecking order. I always wanted to see a second-half event where B-Major bubble teams played Mid-Major contenders -- that would really give a more direct comparison of the relative strengths of teams and leagues. Someday, right?)
In-conference: Oklahoma hosts Texas Tech (Tuesday). Providence hosts Xavier (Tuesday). Louisville hosts Virginia (Saturday). Kansas visits Iowa State (Monday). Miami(Florida) hosts Duke (Monday). Oregon visits Arizona (Thursday) and Arizona State (Sunday). Iowa visits Maryland (Thursday).
Creighton hosts Seton Hall (Saturday). Utah hosts California (Wednesday). George Washington hosts Richmond (Thursday). Evansville visits Southern Illinois (Thursday) and hosts Wichita State (Sunday). Connecticut hosts Cincinnati (Thursday). St. Joseph's visits Rhode Island (Saturday). Notre Dame visits Syracuse (Thursday). Pittsburgh visits Clemson (Wednesday). Butler visits Marquette (Saturday). UNLV hosts Boise State (Wednesday) and San Diego State (Saturday).
Monmouth hosts St. Peter's in the first MAAC showdown (Saturday).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- Kansas-@IowaSt, @MiamiFL-Duke, @Richmond-
Davidson, @Milwaukee-Oakland, @StPeters-Manhattan, @StephenFAustin-Lamar(TX), @Southern-AlabamaA&M,
- Tuesday:
- @Oklahoma-TexasTech, @Providence-Xavier, @
Akron-NoIllinois,
- Wednesday:
- @Clemson-Pittsburgh, @Utah-California, @UNLV-BoiseSt, @Houston-
Tulsa, @NewHampshire-Vermont, @NJIT-Lipscomb, @CoCarolina-UNCAsheville,
- Thursday:
- Iowa-@Maryland, Oregon-@Arizona, @Connecticut-Cincinnati, @GeoWashington-Richmond, @SoIllinois-Evansville, @Syracuse-NotreDame, @UCLA-Washington, @
SDState-Omaha, @Mercer-VMI, @JamesMadison-UNCWilmington, @ColofCharleston-Northeastern, @TennesseeTech-TennesseeSt(TN), @LAMonroe-TXArlington, @{GrandCanyon}-CalStBakersfield, @MtStMarys-RobertMorris,
- Friday:
- @Oakland-WrightSt, @
Iona-Manhattan(NY),
- Saturday:
- @SMU-Memphis, @Louisville-Virginia, SanDiegoSt-@UNLV, @Marquette-Butler, @Creighton-SetonHall, @RhodeIsland-StJosephs, @USC-Washington, @Monmouth-StPeters(NJ), @BYU-Pepperdine, @TexasA&MCC-
StephenFAustin(TX), @Samford-Chattanooga, @BallSt-Akron(BG), @UNCWilmington-ColofCharleston, @Yale-Princeton, @TennesseeTech-Belmont(TN), @Louisiana-TXArlington, @Bucknell-ArmyWP, @WeberSt-SoUtah(UT), @Vermont-StonyBrook, @Winthrop-Radford, @AlabamaSt-TexasSo, @MtStMarys-Wagner, @Hampton-NorfolkSt(VA),
BIG 12[2-0]/SEC[0-2] CHALLENGE Day1/1 on-campus
[Alabama, MississippiSt, Missouri and SCarolina do not play.]
-(Oklahoma-@LSU, @TexasA&M-IowaSt, WVirginia-@Florida, @Kansas-Kentucky, @Baylor-Georgia, @Arkansas-TexasTech, @Texas-Vanderbilt, @KansasSt-Mississippi, @Auburn-OklahomaSt, @TCU-Tennessee),
(new)BIG 10 SUPER SATURDAY 1Off @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(Michigan-PennSt),
- Sunday:
- Oregon-@ArizonaSt, WichitaSt-@Evansville, @William&Mary-
JamesMadison(VA), @LouisianaTech-UTEP,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @Louisville-NCarolina, @Houston-SMU(TX), @Siena-Monmouth, @Samford-Mercer, @StPeters-
Iona, @Fairfield-Quinnipiac(CT)(CT6), @ArmyWP-Navy(MIL), @Lipscomb-NJIT, @AlabamaA&M-TexasSo, @MorganSt-CoppinSt(BaltimoreMD),
Top 25 - 16 Jan25: MIDCONFERENCE/Minor - [] Column
- North Carolina (18-2)
- Iowa (16-3)
- Oklahoma (15-2)
- Texas A&M (17-2)
- Providence (17-3)
- Villanova (17-3)
- West Virginia (15-3)
- SMU (18-1)
- Xavier (16-2)
- Kansas (15-3)
- Baylor (14-4)
- Louisville (15-3)
- Indiana (17-3)
- Virginia (15-4)
- Iowa State (15-4)
- Kentucky (15-4)
- Miami(Florida) (15-3)
- Oregon (15-4)
- South Carolina (16-2)
- Arizona (16-4)
- Michigan State (17-4)
- Maryland (17-3)
- St. Mary's (16-2)
- San Diego State (12-6)
- Wichita State (13-5)
- Honorable Mention:
- Texas (12-7), Oklahoma State (10-9), Georgetown (12-8), Temple (11-7), Oregon State (12-6), Tennessee (10-9), California (13-6), Syracuse (13-8).
posted by Ron @ Monday, February 22, 2016
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