16 Feb 1: Twelve (um, Ten) Deep (MIDCONFERNCE/Major)
Volume XX, No. 13 - 16 Feb 1: MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Top 25 Ballot
Twelve (um, Ten) Deep
Thanks to a couple of road wins at the top and the bottom, the BIG 12 won its single-day CHALLENGE with the SEC by 7-3. All ten BIG 12 teams participated, but four of the fourteen SEC teams sat out. One the one hand, one of the SEC's best teams, South Carolina, didn't participate; on the other hand, neither did its three worst teams: Alabama, Mississippi State and Missouri.
In the biggest surprise, Florida stunned West Virginia (@88-71); WVU was without fJonathan Holton, but that alone doesn't account for the (road) rout loss -- if you can deal with the all-out press from the Mountaineers, how much there is really there? Texas A&M's physical athleticism powered it to a @72-62 win over Iowa State. In the overhyped matchup of the two winningest programs, Kansas rallied at home to edge Kentucky in overtime (@90-84[OT] as gWayne Selden[33p0a]'s career high outpaced another great effort from pTyler Ulis[26p8a]). In what was supposed to be a matchup of two of the top three candidates for Player Of The Year, OK edged @LSU (77-@75 on pIsaiah Cousins' game-winner); but while bBuddy Hield[32p7r] had yet another star turn, SuperFrosh cBen Simmons(14p9r5a5to) was only ordinary. tKevin Durant (Texas '07) was POTY as a freshman but only got his team to the Round of 32; cSimmons, who won't be POTY (but will probably still be the #1 NBA pick), may not even get this LSU team into the NCAAs at this point. Arkansas beat slumping Texas Tech (@75-68[OT]); Texas handled Vanderbilt (@72-58 despite 26p9r from 7-0 fDamian Jones); and Baylor handled lowly Georgia (@83-73).
In conference play, Maryland had its best win (BIG 10 or otherwise), beating Iowa (@74-68, by shutting down Peter Jok[14p1a] and especially cJarrod Uthoff[9p10r;2/13fg]). Indiana tripped at Wisconsin in overtime (79-@82[OT] as bYogi Ferrell[30p7r] and gNigel Hayes[31p2a] both starred).
In SEC play, Texas A&M tripped at Arkansas (71-@74). At the midconference break, Texas A&M came through in first place, a game ahead of South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU; Florida was fifth; Georgia, Vanderbilt and Arkansas all hung in, tied for sixth.
In the BIG EAST, Xavier surprised Providence on the road (75-@68 despite big games from bBen Bentil[25p6r] and tKris Dunn[16p7a8r7s]). Marquette beat Butler (@75-69 as SuperFrosh cHenry Ellenson[32p10r6b] had his best game, overshadowing 27p5r from bKelan Martin). Creighton had a tough week: tripping at Georgetown (73-@74) and then falling at home to Seton Hall (@65-75 being outrebounded 27-44). At the break, it was Villanova in first place, a game ahead of Xavier, with Providence and Georgetown both tied for third; Seton Hall and Creighton both hung in, tied for fifth. (Marquette couldn't hang; Butler was a flop.)
In the ACC, Virginia went on the road and shut down Louisville (63-@47). Miami(Florida) had an up-and-down week: beating Duke (@80-69) but then tanking on the road at mediocre N.C. State (69-@85 as gCat Barber[30p4a] starred). Clemson handled Pittsburgh (@73-60 despite 25p7r from fMichael Young), but then fell at Florida State. Syracuse dumped undermanned Notre Dame (@81-66 as injured gDemetrius Jackson[hand] sat out). At the midconference break, North Carolina was undefeated with a two-game gap; Louisville was second; Virginia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami(Florida) all were tied for third; Duke hung in, tied for eighth. (Syracuse and Florida State both couldn't hang.)
In the BIG 12, Iowa State put the regular season title chase back in play with an @85-72 win over Kansas. Oklahoma dumped slumping Texas Tech (@91-67 behind bBuddy Hield[30p6r]). Halfway through, Oklahoma, Baylor and West Virginia all were tied for first place; a game back, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas all were tied for fourth. (Texas Tech was a flop.)
In the PAC-12, Oregon went on the road and beat Arizona (83-@75 despite 61% shooting from the Wildcats) and then road-routed slumping Arizona State (91-@74 behind 26p10r7b from cChris Boucher). California dropped both games on the Mountain road trip: at Utah (63-@74) and at rising Colorado (62-@70). Washington split in Los Angeles: edging at UCLA (86-@84 as six players in double-figures trumped 28p6a from pBryce Alford) but losing in a track meet at USC (88-@98 as the Trojans sank 32-for-37 free throws led by fNikola Jovanovic[28p5r]). At the break, it was Oregon alone in first place, a game ahead of USC, Utah, Colorado and Washington all tied for second; Arizona hung in for sixth. (California, UCLA and Stanford all couldn't hang.)
In the ATLANTIC 10, Richmond surprised George Washington on the road in double-overtime (98-@90[2OT] on 60% shooting, led by 5-11 bShawnDre Jones[29p5r]), but two other losses (at home to Davidson, @70-78 as Peyton Aldridge had 34p; and in a blowout on the road at St. Bonaventure, 68-@84 as pMarcus Posley[26p6a] starred) made it bad week overall. Streaking St. Joseph's stopped Rhode Island on the road in a defensive struggle (64-@55). At the break, VCU came through undefeated, a game ahead of both Dayton and St. Joseph's; two games back, George Washington and St. Bonaventure were tied for fourth; Duquesne, Davidson and Rhode Island all hung in, tied for sixth; Richmond couldn't hang).
In the AMERICAN, Cincinnati edged Connecticut on the road in yet another grinder (58-@57). Houston thumped Tulsa (@81-66 on 21-for-25 free throw-shooting). Temple tripped at lowly East Carolina. Halfway through, SMU led the way with a two-game gap over Cincinnati, Tulsa, Temple and Connecticut, all tied for second; Houston, Memphis and UCF all hung in, tied for sixth.
In the MOUNTAIN WEST, UNLV handled Boise State (@87-77 thanks to gPatrick McCaw[25p5s]) but then tanked at home against San Diego State (@52-67). At the break, San Diego State came through undefeated with a two-game gap over New Mexico; Boise State and Fresno State both were tied for third; Nevada and Colorado State both hung in, tied for fifth; (UNLV couldn't hang).
In the MISSOURI VALLEY, Southern Illinois fell out of contention with two losses: edged in overtime at home against Evansville (@78-85[OT] as bAnthony Beane[30p6r7to] wasn't enough to match both Mislav Brzoja[25p5s] and pD.J. Balentine[25p5a5r5to]) and then on the road at Northern Iowa (57-@68). But it was still unbeaten Wichita State who opened a three-game gap in the second half of conference play with a road win at Evansville (78-@65 behind 32p3a;15/15ft from gFred Van Vleet) -- the Wheatshockers have successfully turned the MVC into at least an Anti-Spoiler/1BC league for themselves; Evansville can't afford to lose to any other in-conference opponent other than WichSt in the conference tournament final in order to stay alive for an at-large bid and make it a multi-bid Mid-Major.
BIG WEST/Despite falling at home against Long Beach State, Hawaii tied UC-Irvine for first place at the break, both with a two-game gap on everyone else. SOUTHERN/After winning on the road at Samford (63-@56), Chattanooga was in first place with a two-game gap. MID-AMERICAN/After sweeping Northern Illinois (@76-66) at home and Ball State (73-@64) on the road, Akron was tied with Kent State for first place (in the East and overall), a game ahead of three others (including Northern Illinois). CONFERENCE USA/Despite falling at Western Kentucky, UAB came through in first place, a game ahead of Middle Tennessee and Marshall; two games ahead of Louisiana Tech. SUN BELT/Depleted Texas-Arlington fell twice: at Louisiana-Monroe (88-@99 despite 5-11 xErick Neal[27p12a10r]'s star turn) and thumped at underachieving Louisiana (75-@90); at the break, Little Rock was cruising in first place with a two-game gap. WAC/After splitting on the week (beating Cal State-Bakersfield, tripping at home against Seattle), {Grand Canyon} was tied with New Mexico State for first place, both a game ahead of CSB.
Elsewhere at the break, BIG SKY/Montana and Weber State both were tied for first place with a two-game gap. AMERICA EAST/Stony Brook was undefeated with a two-game gap over Albany. ATLANTIC SUN/North Florida was undefeated with a two-game gap. SOUTHLAND/Stephen F. Austin and Houston Baptist both were undefeated, a game ahead
of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SWAC/Texas Southern came through undefeated with a two-game gap. MEAC/Hampton came through in first place, a game ahead of South Carolina State, Norfolk State and Howard, all tied for second.
Still early in the first half of conference play, IVY/Yale edged Princeton (@79-75). Elsewhere, in second half play, SUMMIT/South Dakota State outpaced Omaha (@87-76); METRO ATLANTIC/Monmouth dumped St. Peter's (@73-57) in the first of two showdowns; PATRIOT/Navy fell out of contention with two losses (at home against American, on the road at Holy Cross).
- - - - - -
Villanova hosts Creighton (Wednesday) and visits Providence (Saturday). Oregon has a big week at home (Thursday vs Colorado, Sunday vs Utah). Maryland hosts Purdue (Saturday). Baylor has two tough road games (Tuesday at Iowa State, Saturday at West Virginia). North Carolina is on the road twice (Monday at Louisville, Saturday at Notre Dame). Miami(Florida) hosts Notre Dame (Wednesday).
Virginia visits Pittsburgh (Saturday). Michigan has two big ones at home (Tuesday vs Indiana, Saturday vs Michigan State). Kentucky looks to keep it rolling against upstart Florida (Saturday). VCU hosts fading George Washington (Saturday). St. Mary's visits BYU (Thursday). Texas A&M visits Vanderbilt (Thursday) and hosts South Carolina (Saturday). Arizona needs to right the ship at Washington (Saturday).
It's the SOUTHLAND unbeaten showdown when Houston Baptist hosts Stephen F. Austin (Saturday)
-- Ron
Top 25 - 16 Feb 1: MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Column
Twelve (um, Ten) Deep
Thanks to a couple of road wins at the top and the bottom, the BIG 12 won its single-day CHALLENGE with the SEC by 7-3. All ten BIG 12 teams participated, but four of the fourteen SEC teams sat out. One the one hand, one of the SEC's best teams, South Carolina, didn't participate; on the other hand, neither did its three worst teams: Alabama, Mississippi State and Missouri.
In the biggest surprise, Florida stunned West Virginia (@88-71); WVU was without fJonathan Holton, but that alone doesn't account for the (road) rout loss -- if you can deal with the all-out press from the Mountaineers, how much there is really there? Texas A&M's physical athleticism powered it to a @72-62 win over Iowa State. In the overhyped matchup of the two winningest programs, Kansas rallied at home to edge Kentucky in overtime (@90-84[OT] as gWayne Selden[33p0a]'s career high outpaced another great effort from pTyler Ulis[26p8a]). In what was supposed to be a matchup of two of the top three candidates for Player Of The Year, OK edged @LSU (77-@75 on pIsaiah Cousins' game-winner); but while bBuddy Hield[32p7r] had yet another star turn, SuperFrosh cBen Simmons(14p9r5a5to) was only ordinary. tKevin Durant (Texas '07) was POTY as a freshman but only got his team to the Round of 32; cSimmons, who won't be POTY (but will probably still be the #1 NBA pick), may not even get this LSU team into the NCAAs at this point. Arkansas beat slumping Texas Tech (@75-68[OT]); Texas handled Vanderbilt (@72-58 despite 26p9r from 7-0 fDamian Jones); and Baylor handled lowly Georgia (@83-73).
In conference play, Maryland had its best win (BIG 10 or otherwise), beating Iowa (@74-68, by shutting down Peter Jok[14p1a] and especially cJarrod Uthoff[9p10r;2/13fg]). Indiana tripped at Wisconsin in overtime (79-@82[OT] as bYogi Ferrell[30p7r] and gNigel Hayes[31p2a] both starred).
In SEC play, Texas A&M tripped at Arkansas (71-@74). At the midconference break, Texas A&M came through in first place, a game ahead of South Carolina, Kentucky and LSU; Florida was fifth; Georgia, Vanderbilt and Arkansas all hung in, tied for sixth.
In the BIG EAST, Xavier surprised Providence on the road (75-@68 despite big games from bBen Bentil[25p6r] and tKris Dunn[16p7a8r7s]). Marquette beat Butler (@75-69 as SuperFrosh cHenry Ellenson[32p10r6b] had his best game, overshadowing 27p5r from bKelan Martin). Creighton had a tough week: tripping at Georgetown (73-@74) and then falling at home to Seton Hall (@65-75 being outrebounded 27-44). At the break, it was Villanova in first place, a game ahead of Xavier, with Providence and Georgetown both tied for third; Seton Hall and Creighton both hung in, tied for fifth. (Marquette couldn't hang; Butler was a flop.)
In the ACC, Virginia went on the road and shut down Louisville (63-@47). Miami(Florida) had an up-and-down week: beating Duke (@80-69) but then tanking on the road at mediocre N.C. State (69-@85 as gCat Barber[30p4a] starred). Clemson handled Pittsburgh (@73-60 despite 25p7r from fMichael Young), but then fell at Florida State. Syracuse dumped undermanned Notre Dame (@81-66 as injured gDemetrius Jackson[hand] sat out). At the midconference break, North Carolina was undefeated with a two-game gap; Louisville was second; Virginia, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Clemson and Miami(Florida) all were tied for third; Duke hung in, tied for eighth. (Syracuse and Florida State both couldn't hang.)
In the BIG 12, Iowa State put the regular season title chase back in play with an @85-72 win over Kansas. Oklahoma dumped slumping Texas Tech (@91-67 behind bBuddy Hield[30p6r]). Halfway through, Oklahoma, Baylor and West Virginia all were tied for first place; a game back, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas all were tied for fourth. (Texas Tech was a flop.)
In the PAC-12, Oregon went on the road and beat Arizona (83-@75 despite 61% shooting from the Wildcats) and then road-routed slumping Arizona State (91-@74 behind 26p10r7b from cChris Boucher). California dropped both games on the Mountain road trip: at Utah (63-@74) and at rising Colorado (62-@70). Washington split in Los Angeles: edging at UCLA (86-@84 as six players in double-figures trumped 28p6a from pBryce Alford) but losing in a track meet at USC (88-@98 as the Trojans sank 32-for-37 free throws led by fNikola Jovanovic[28p5r]). At the break, it was Oregon alone in first place, a game ahead of USC, Utah, Colorado and Washington all tied for second; Arizona hung in for sixth. (California, UCLA and Stanford all couldn't hang.)
In the ATLANTIC 10, Richmond surprised George Washington on the road in double-overtime (98-@90[2OT] on 60% shooting, led by 5-11 bShawnDre Jones[29p5r]), but two other losses (at home to Davidson, @70-78 as Peyton Aldridge had 34p; and in a blowout on the road at St. Bonaventure, 68-@84 as pMarcus Posley[26p6a] starred) made it bad week overall. Streaking St. Joseph's stopped Rhode Island on the road in a defensive struggle (64-@55). At the break, VCU came through undefeated, a game ahead of both Dayton and St. Joseph's; two games back, George Washington and St. Bonaventure were tied for fourth; Duquesne, Davidson and Rhode Island all hung in, tied for sixth; Richmond couldn't hang).
In the AMERICAN, Cincinnati edged Connecticut on the road in yet another grinder (58-@57). Houston thumped Tulsa (@81-66 on 21-for-25 free throw-shooting). Temple tripped at lowly East Carolina. Halfway through, SMU led the way with a two-game gap over Cincinnati, Tulsa, Temple and Connecticut, all tied for second; Houston, Memphis and UCF all hung in, tied for sixth.
In the MOUNTAIN WEST, UNLV handled Boise State (@87-77 thanks to gPatrick McCaw[25p5s]) but then tanked at home against San Diego State (@52-67). At the break, San Diego State came through undefeated with a two-game gap over New Mexico; Boise State and Fresno State both were tied for third; Nevada and Colorado State both hung in, tied for fifth; (UNLV couldn't hang).
In the MISSOURI VALLEY, Southern Illinois fell out of contention with two losses: edged in overtime at home against Evansville (@78-85[OT] as bAnthony Beane[30p6r7to] wasn't enough to match both Mislav Brzoja[25p5s] and pD.J. Balentine[25p5a5r5to]) and then on the road at Northern Iowa (57-@68). But it was still unbeaten Wichita State who opened a three-game gap in the second half of conference play with a road win at Evansville (78-@65 behind 32p3a;15/15ft from gFred Van Vleet) -- the Wheatshockers have successfully turned the MVC into at least an Anti-Spoiler/1BC league for themselves; Evansville can't afford to lose to any other in-conference opponent other than WichSt in the conference tournament final in order to stay alive for an at-large bid and make it a multi-bid Mid-Major.
BIG WEST/Despite falling at home against Long Beach State, Hawaii tied UC-Irvine for first place at the break, both with a two-game gap on everyone else. SOUTHERN/After winning on the road at Samford (63-@56), Chattanooga was in first place with a two-game gap. MID-AMERICAN/After sweeping Northern Illinois (@76-66) at home and Ball State (73-@64) on the road, Akron was tied with Kent State for first place (in the East and overall), a game ahead of three others (including Northern Illinois). CONFERENCE USA/Despite falling at Western Kentucky, UAB came through in first place, a game ahead of Middle Tennessee and Marshall; two games ahead of Louisiana Tech. SUN BELT/Depleted Texas-Arlington fell twice: at Louisiana-Monroe (88-@99 despite 5-11 xErick Neal[27p12a10r]'s star turn) and thumped at underachieving Louisiana (75-@90); at the break, Little Rock was cruising in first place with a two-game gap. WAC/After splitting on the week (beating Cal State-Bakersfield, tripping at home against Seattle), {Grand Canyon} was tied with New Mexico State for first place, both a game ahead of CSB.
Elsewhere at the break, BIG SKY/Montana and Weber State both were tied for first place with a two-game gap. AMERICA EAST/Stony Brook was undefeated with a two-game gap over Albany. ATLANTIC SUN/North Florida was undefeated with a two-game gap. SOUTHLAND/Stephen F. Austin and Houston Baptist both were undefeated, a game ahead
of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SWAC/Texas Southern came through undefeated with a two-game gap. MEAC/Hampton came through in first place, a game ahead of South Carolina State, Norfolk State and Howard, all tied for second.
Still early in the first half of conference play, IVY/Yale edged Princeton (@79-75). Elsewhere, in second half play, SUMMIT/South Dakota State outpaced Omaha (@87-76); METRO ATLANTIC/Monmouth dumped St. Peter's (@73-57) in the first of two showdowns; PATRIOT/Navy fell out of contention with two losses (at home against American, on the road at Holy Cross).
- - - - - -
Villanova hosts Creighton (Wednesday) and visits Providence (Saturday). Oregon has a big week at home (Thursday vs Colorado, Sunday vs Utah). Maryland hosts Purdue (Saturday). Baylor has two tough road games (Tuesday at Iowa State, Saturday at West Virginia). North Carolina is on the road twice (Monday at Louisville, Saturday at Notre Dame). Miami(Florida) hosts Notre Dame (Wednesday).
Virginia visits Pittsburgh (Saturday). Michigan has two big ones at home (Tuesday vs Indiana, Saturday vs Michigan State). Kentucky looks to keep it rolling against upstart Florida (Saturday). VCU hosts fading George Washington (Saturday). St. Mary's visits BYU (Thursday). Texas A&M visits Vanderbilt (Thursday) and hosts South Carolina (Saturday). Arizona needs to right the ship at Washington (Saturday).
It's the SOUTHLAND unbeaten showdown when Houston Baptist hosts Stephen F. Austin (Saturday)
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- NCarolina-@Louisville, @Baylor-Texas(TX), @Siena-Monmouth, @StPeters-
Iona, @Fairfield-Quinnipiac(CT)(CT6), @Jacksonville-FLGulfCoast(FL), @MorganSt-CoppinSt(BaltimoreMD),
- Tuesday:
- @IowaSt-WVirginia, Indiana-@Michigan,
- Wednesday:
- @Villanova-Creighton, @MiamiFL-NotreDame, @WichitaSt-
SoIllinois, @GeoWashington-Davidson, @HighPt-GardnerWebb(NC),
- Thursday:
- TexasA&M-@Vanderbilt, @Oregon-Colorado, StMarys-@BYU, @Northeastern-William&Mary, @
Hofstra-UNCWilmington, @WrightSt-Milwaukee, @NewMexicoSt-{GrandCanyon},
- Friday:
- @
Yale-Columbia, @Princeton-Harvard, @Siena-StPeters,
- Saturday:
- NCarolina-@NotreDame, Villanova-@Providence, @TexasA&M-SCarolina, Virginia-@Pittsburgh, Baylor-@WVirginia, @Maryland-Purdue, MichiganSt-@Michigan(MI), @Kentucky-Florida, @SanDiegoSt-NewMexico, @Washington-Arizona, @Pepperdine-Gonzaga, @SetonHall-
Georgetown, @VCU-GeoWashington(VA/DC), @NDState-IPFW, @Northeastern-UNCWilmington, @Drake-NoIowa(IA)(BIG4), @Navy-Colgate, @Albany-Vermont, @FLGulfCoast-NFlorida(FL), @HoustonBaptist-StephenFAustin(TX), @JacksonSt-AlcornSt(MS), @Wagner-MtStMarys, @Howard-NorfolkSt(DC/VA),
- Sunday (SUPER BOWL L):
- @Oregon-Utah, @
JamesMadison-Hofstra,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @Oklahoma-Texas, @Duke-Louisville, @Clemson-NotreDame(@GreenvilleSC), @Mercer-
Chattanooga, @TexasA&MCC-HoustonBaptist(TX), @JacksonSt-Southern, @Howard-Hampton(DC/VA),
Top 25 - 16 Feb 1: MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Column
- North Carolina (19-2)
- Oklahoma (17-2) (@SEC)
- Villanova (18-3)
- Xavier (18-2)
- Iowa (17-4)
- Texas A&M (18-3) (vBIG12)
- SMU (19-1)
- Providence (18-4)
- Virginia (17-4)
- Oregon (17-4)
- Baylor (16-4) (vSEC)
- Iowa State (16-5)
- Kansas (16-4) (vSEC)
- Maryland (19-3)
- Michigan State (19-4)
- West Virginia (16-4)
- Kentucky (16-5)
- Louisville (16-4)
- South Carolina (18-2)
- Indiana (18-4)
- Miami(Florida) (16-4)
- Dayton (18-3)
- St. Mary's (17-2)
- San Diego State (14-6)
- Wichita State (15-5)
- Honorable Mention:
- Arkansas (11-10) (vBIG12), Florida (14-7) (vBIG12), Wisconsin (13-9), North Carolina State (12-10).
posted by Ron @ Tuesday, March 01, 2016
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