Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Wednesday, December 07, 2016

16 Nov28 - Jupiter's Bands

Volume XXI, No. 4 - 16 Nov28 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Jupiter's Bands

Thanksgiving week is the height of preseason tournament play. Teams have had a few warm-up games to form some chemistry with this year's rosters and this past week's results count as much as any until conference play starts in January.
     The biggest neutral-site win in a tournament belonged to unheralded Butler, who edged Arizona (69-65) in the final of the LAS VEGAS-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL at ORLEANS ARENA. The MAUI INVITATIONAL at Lahaina, HI, was supposed to be the strongest field of all, but Oregon, Wisconsin and Connecticut all lost before hitting The Island: Oregon lost right away to Georgetown (61-65 as xRodney Pryor[26p10r] starred); Connecticut lost to Oklahoma State (90-98 as pJawun Evans[35p6a5s] dueled pJalen Adams[34p6a6r]) and eventually again to Oregon (69-79 as another star turn from pJalen Adams[27p5a] wasn't enough); North Carolina and Wisconsin cruised to the final where the Tar Heels continued to roll (71-56). By the time things got under way, it was the A/ORLANDO-B INVITATIONAL that had the more impressive draw: Seton Hall tripped against Florida right away (76-81 as 28p1a from gKhadeen Carrington wasn't enough) and then again to surprising Stanford (52-66); it's Gonzaga who squeaked past both Florida (77-72) and then Iowa State (73-71 despite 29p12r from xDeonte Burton) to claim the crown. South Carolina threw its name in the hat with a surprise win over Syracuse (64-@50) in the feature match of the BROOKLYN-THANKSGIVING INVITATIONAL at the BARCLAYS CENTER. At the CANCUN CHALLENGE, Auburn surprised Texas Tech (67-65) before Purdue won the final in a rout (96-71). Baylor proved its early home rout of Oregon was no fluke as it came through the solid BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS-B draw at Paradise Island, BAHAMAS, beating VCU (71-63), routing still reeling Michigan State (73-58 behind fJohnathan Motley[26p6r]) and edging Louisville (66-63).
     In the INDIANA[HOOSIER] CLASSIC 4-round robin, "host" Indiana actually played visitor at "Little Brother" Fort Wayne and paid the price, losing (68-@71) as it was the Unwelcome Guest Matadors who claimed the biggest win of the preseason tournament schedule.

Young Texas was a big disappointment in the LEGENDS CLASSIC, dropping two at BARCLAYS (including a 58-77 blowout loss to Northwestern); instead, it was Notre Dame who slipped past Colorado and then edged Nwn (70-66 as pMatt Farrell[15p6a] scored the final 5 points of the game to secure the win). The final of the LAS VEGAS-MAIN EVENT at the MGM GRAND ARENA was a rematch from last year's NIT semifinal as, once again, BYU and Valparaiso went down to the wire and, once again, Valpo emerged victorious (92-89 this time as cAlec Peters[26p12r] fought off the flu to lead the way).
     It's an age-old question: "How much is home-court advantage worth?" (I use a 5-point home bonus in determining "moral" victories.) Nevada had routed MAAC/Iona (@91-76) at home as a warm-up in the GREAT ALASKA SHOOTOUT. One week later, the Gaels turned the tables on the (two-word) Wolf Pack in the actual final on a neutral court (75-73).
     With an already vulnerable Dayton team trippping right away against Nebraska (78-80), it was smooth sailing for UCLA (essentially playing at home, anyway) in the WOODEN LEGACY/ANAHEIM CLASSIC past the likes of Portland, Neb and Texas A&M (74-67). Similary, Kansas was "home away from home" in Kansas City at the CBE CLASSIC, routing UAB @83-63 and handling Georgia (@65-54 despite 30p9r from fYante Maten).
     Outside of tournament play, BYU fell at home to in-state Utah Valley in a track meet (@110-114 as Isaac Neilson[26p] dueled 37p by Nick Emery). UAB's woes continued, dropping a 63-@76 "road" loss to St. Mary's, who was playing a warm-up game for the WCC TOURNAMENT come March at ORLEANS in Las Vegas. Disappointing Illinois State fell at TCU (71-@80). Disappointing Harvard dropped two more to state-rivals: at home to Holy Cross and tripping at Massachusetts -- (so much for a double-bid IVY LEAGUE this season).

Temple and Florida State both went 3-1 to share the NIT SEASON TIP-OFF crown at BARCLAYS: Temp edged both FlaSt (89-86 led by freshman gQuinton Rose[26p4a]) and West Virginia in the final (81-77); (AMERE/New Hampshire had surprised the Owls in the round-robin phase with a 57-@52 road win). Rebuilt Maryland beat Richmond (88-82 led by Melo Trimble[29p]) and edged Kansas State (69-68 despite 26p from D.J. Johnson) to win the BROOKLYN-THANKSGIVING-B CLASSIC, also at BARCLAYS. Unheralded Creighton finished the job at the PARADISE JAM at St. Thomas, USVI, taking out Mississippi (86-77 behind transfer [ex-Kansas State] bMarcus Foster[25p6r]).Virginia continued to display the most suffocating defense of any team around, stifling Iowa (74-41) and handling Providence (63-52) to win the EMERALD COAST CLASSIC at Destin, FL. Surprising TCU claimed the GS-A INVITATIONAL crown after edging host UNLV (63-@59) and handling Washington (93-80 despite 27p from freshman gMarkelle Fultz).
     C-USA/Middle Tennessee was "home away from home" in Nashville, taking the CHALLENGE IN MUSIC CITY 3-round robin (including a [squeak] win over COLON/UNC-Wilmington [@68-63 behind tGiddy Potts{22p8a7r} and beating Evansville [66-55 as xJacorey Williams{25p10r4a} starred]). Houston came through the also-ran GULF COAST SHOWCASE draw in Estero, FL, (routing George Mason and South Dakota before edging Vermont in the final [72-71]). SUNB/Little Rock and St. Bonaventure both went 2-1 to share the new LONE STAR-B SHOWCASE 3-round robin at Cedar Park, TX (both past favorite Pepperdine). WAC/New Mexico State won the 4-round robin SAN DIEGO CLASSIC (including edging host San Diego [56-@51]). MAC/Akron won the new SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL 2x4 (beating Air Force [84-75] and edging "co-host" Mercer [65-@63] in the final). SOCON/East Tennessee State won the new SANFORD-B CHALLENGE 3-round robin at the PENTAGON in Sioux Falls, ID (routing Milwaukee and beating "host" South Dakota State [71-@59]).
     In Unwelcome Guest (road win) news, MAC/Ohio University won the 4-round robin GS-B SHOOTOUT (including a 67-@61 win at Georgia Tech). HORIZ/Green Bay and WAC/Missouri-Kansas City each went 2-1 at the new BILL FRACK TOURNAMENT 3-round robin (both past host MAC/Bowling Green). Four teams went 3-1 in the HARDWOOD SHOWCASE 4-round robin (while host James Madison went 0-4, by the way): SUNB/Louisiana, C-USA/Rice, SKY/Montana State and SWAC/Texas Southern. NEC/Robert Morris claimed the BROOKLYN-THANKSGIVING-B CLASSIC 4-team Consolation crown (including edging host Towson [67-@66]). COLON/Elon won the [NI]HUSKIE SHOWCASE 3-round robin (including edging host Northern Illinois [85-@80]).

The BIG 12 is off to another brilliant start (32-9 in high-profile interconference play) and appears to be the top conference for the third-straight year. The Mega-ACC (42-15) is a distant second but also solidly ahead of a logjam for third place. It's a month earlier than usual, but Jupiter's Bands are already showing their form. Much like the cloud patterns of the outer atmosphere of the Gas Giant planet, the conferences have separated into layers (stable boundaries between each region but with plenty of churning within them). The usual suspects have shown B-Major form: (the ACC [with 4.5 crowns], BIG EAST [4], BIG 10 [3] and BIG 12 [3] all showed depth while both the SEC [1] and PAC-12 [1] lagged behind). A notch lower, the Mid-Majors are no surprise: (AMERICAN [2], WEST COAST [1], MOUNTAIN WEST [.5] and ATLANTIC-10 [.5]). Lower still, the Splashworthy 1BCs appear to be (SUN BELT [2.1], WAC [1.5], METRO ATLANTIC [1] and SOUTHLAND [.5]). Traditionally, the layer in the most turmoil -- (call it "The Great Red Spot", if you will) -- is the "regular" 1BCs, and there's no exception here: (HORIZON [2], OHIO VALLEY [1.8], SUMMIT [1.5], CONFERENCE USA [1.2], MID-AMERICAN [1], SOUTHERN [1], NORTHEAST [1], COLONIAL [1], and [none] for the PATRIOT, the slumping MISSOURI VALLEY (11-20), BIG SOUTH, AMERICA EAST and ATLANTIC-SUN). Going nowhere already are the "flop" 1BCs (BIG SKY [.25] and SWAC [.25], and [none] for the BIG WEST, the tumbling IVY LEAGUE (1-9) and the SWAC).

- - - - - -

Despite its higher rating, it looks like the ACC will have to wait yet another year to get back on the winning side against the BIG 10 (46-21) in their annual CHALLENGE (Monday through Wednesday) -- (it's been SEVEN YEARS since the ACC has won head-to-head). Look for a 7-7 split (as only North Carolina [over host Indiana] and Purdue [over host Louisville] figure to be road favorites).
     It could be as bad as 7-3 for the MOUNTAIN WEST (22-13) head-to-head against the MISSOURI VALLEY in their head-to-head CHALLENGE (Saturday, Monday 19 Dec) (as Nevada [over host Bradley], San Diego State [over host Loyola{Illinois}] and Fresno State [over host Drake] look to be road favorites for the MWC while only Wichita State [over host Colorado State] is for the MVC).
     Look for a 1-1 split in the mini-CHALLENGE between the PAC-12 and WEST COAST at the new HALL OF FAME-LOS ANGELES-B double-header at the STAPLES CENTER (Saturday) as Gonzaga should handle Arizona while "host" USC gets to make its mark with a win over BYU.
     Elsewhere, young talent will dominate the floor when Kentucky hosts UCLA (Saturday). Stanford has a rough week ahead with a road trip to Kansas (Saturday) after hosting haughty St. Mary's (Wednesday), (but its the SMC Gaels who have the most on the line as their [so far, successful] campaign to build a resume worthy of an At-Large bid this March could come crashing down with a road loss to the Cardinal). Iowa State hosting Cincinnati (Thursday) features a matchup between two of the elite guards in all of college basketball (pMonte Morris and pTroy Caupain). Rhode Island will have its hands full with visiting Valparaiso (Tuesday) who's looking to crack the national rankings with a win. The in-state rival game between "Big Brother" Auburn visiting "Little Brother" UAB (Saturday) has rarely had
this much juice.
     VCU looks to keep visiting Princeton in its place (Tuesday). Both host Texas and visitor Texas-Arlington need a win (Tuesday) to salvage disappointing preseasons up to now.

-- Ron

P.S. Look for the Official Invitation for the 10TH ANNUAL Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's College Football Bowl Season Pool) shortly.
Key games this week:
Monday:
@Brown-Bryant(RI),
(new)ATLANTIS-A SHOWCASE 1Off @ ParadiseIslandBAHAMAS
-(@Kentucky-ArizonaSt),
[M]GOLDEN GOPHER SHOWCASE RndRob4/4 on-campus
-(@Arkansas-MtStMarys),
NIT SEASON TIP-OFF CoolDown RndRob4/4 on-campus
-(@WVirginia-Manhattan),
MAYOR'S CUP 1Off @ TulsaOK
-(@OralRoberts-Tulsa[TulsaOK]),
Monday-Wednesday:
ACC[10-5;2]/BIG 10[5-10;2] CHALLENGE on-campus
[Boston College does not play;.]
-(Mon: @FloridaSt-Minnesota, @Northwestern-WakeForest;
   Tue: @Duke-MichiganSt, @Wisconsin-Syracuse, @NotreDame-Iowa, @Maryland-Pittsburgh, @PennSt-GeorgiaTech, @Illinois-NCState;
   Wed: NCarolina-@Indiana, Purdue-@Louisville(BG), @Virginia-OhioSt, @Michigan-VirginiaTech, @MiamiFL-Rutgers, @Clemson-Nebraska),
Monday-Tuesday, Friday-Sunday, Wednesday week,Saturday week:
(new)HOLY CITY CLASSIC WarmUp/CoolDown1 on-campus; RndRob3 @ CharlestonSC/TheCitadel/
-(Colgate, @TheCitadel, Campbell, SCUpstate),
Tuesday:
@Villanova-@Penn(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5)(/PALESTRA/), @Kansas-LongBeachSt, RhodeIsland-@Valparaiso, @VCU-Princeton, @Texas-TXArlington(TX), @CArkansas-LittleRock(AR),
BILL FRACK TOURNAMENT CoolDown1/1 on-campus
-(@BowlingGreen-{NotreDameCol}),
Tuesday, Tuesday week:
BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD HomeAway on-campus
-(Tue: @Belmont-Lipscomb[NashvilleTN];
   Tue week: @Lipscomb-Belmont[NashvilleTN]),
Wednesday:
@Baylor-SamHoustonSt(TX), @Arizona-TexasSo, StMarys-@Stanford(CA), @StJosephs-Temple(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5),
SALT LAKE CITY SHOWCASE 1Off @ SaltLakeCityUT
-(@BYU-@UtahSt[UT]),
MABC CLASSIC CoolDown1/1 on-campus
-(@CalStBakersfield-{PacificUnion}),
Wednesday, Saturday:
CHALLENGE IN MUSIC CITY CoolDown1/1 on-campus
-(Wed: @Evansville-{Wabash};
   Sat: @UNCWilmington-{Pfeiffer}),
Wednesday-Monday week:
(new)[C]BEARS CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(@California, ColoradoSt, SELouisiana, LouisianaTech, AlcornSt, EaShore; {BlueMtn}, {CPenn}, {FtLewis}),
Thursday:
@IowaSt-Cincinnati,
(new)SANFORD-B SHOWCASE CoolDown1/1 on-campus
-(@ETennesseeSt-{LeesMcRae}),
Friday:
THE CITY GAME 1Off @ PittsburghPA
-(@Pittsburgh-@Duquesne[PittsburghPA]),
Saturday:
@Kentucky-UCLA, @Kansas-Stanford, @Creighton-Akron, RhodeIsland-@Providence(RI), Auburn-@UAB(AL), @Dayton-Winthrop, @Temple-Penn(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @StBonaventure-Buffalo(NY)(BIG4), @Siena-Fairfield, @Howard-American(WashingtonDC),
THE HOLY WAR 1Off on-campus
-(@Villanova-StJosephs[PhiladelphiaPA][BIG5]),
(new)HALL OF FAME-LA-B PAC-12[0-0]/WCC[0-0] CHALLENGE DblHdr @ LosAngelesCA/STAPLES/
-(Gonzaga-Arizona, @USC-BYU),
(new)HALL OF FAME-MIAMI-DEC-C INVITATIONAL DblHdr @ MiamiFL
-(VCU-Illinois, @MiamiFL-Wofford),
SANFORD-A CHALLENGE 1Off @ SiouxFallsSD/PENTAGON/
-(Minnesota-Vanderbilt),
Saturday, Mon 19 Dec:
MWC[3-1;1]/MVC[1-3;1] CHALLENGE on-campus
[San Jose State does not play.]
-(Sat: @Bradley-Nevada, @LoyolaIL-SanDiegoSt, @IllinoisSt-NewMexico, @ColoradoSt-WichitaSt, @Drake-FresnoSt, @Evansville-BoiseSt, @UtahSt-IndianaSt, @Wyoming-NoIowa, @AirForce-MissouriSt;
   Sat 19 Dec: [7Ppt]:@UNLV-SoIllinois),
Sunday:
BB&T CLASSIC DblHdr @ WashingtonDC
-(@Georgetown-Elon, @GeoWashington-FloridaSt),
- - - - - -
Monday week:
(new)TP/NEW YORK-DEC CLASSIC 1Off @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(@Syracuse-Connecticut).



Top 25 - 16 Nov28 - [] Column
  1. North Carolina (6-0) [v3:MAUI]
  2. Villanova (6-0) (@BIG10) [3:CHARLESTON{SC}]
  3. Kentucky (6-0) (@@CHAMPS) [rr4vBLUEGRASS]
  4. Kansas (5-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2vCBE]
  5. Gonzaga (6-0) [3:A/ORLANDO-B]
  6. Baylor (6-0) [v3:ATLANTIS-B]
  7. South Carolina (6-0) [rr3v@BRKI-THANX-A]
  8. Duke (6-1) [2v2:HOF-A]
  9. Butler (6-0) (vBIG10) [2v2:LVI-THANX]
  10. Creighton (6-0) (vBIG10) [3:PARADISE]
  11. Indiana (3-1) (:A.FORCES)
  12. Arizona (5-1) (:A.FORCES)
  13. St. Mary's (5-0) (vLV-WCC)
  14. Wisconsin (5-2)
  15. Xavier (6-0) [3:P.RICOrTP/ORLANDO-A]
  16. UCLA (7-0) [v3vWL/ANAHEIM]
  17. Purdue (5-1) [2v2:CANCUN]
  18. Notre Dame (6-0) [2v2:LEGENDS]
  19. Virginia (6-0) [2v2:EMERALD]
  20. Florida (6-1)
  21. Iowa State (5-1)
  22. Rhode Island (4-1) (vRI)
  23. Auburn (4-1)
  24. Michigan (5-1) (:BIGE) [2v2:2K]
  25. Syracuse (4-1)
Honorable Mention:
Ft. Wayne (2-2) [rr3vI.HOOSIER], Georgetown (3-4), Stanford (6-1),

Valparaiso (5-1) [2v2:LV-MAIN],
Iona (3-2) [@3:GREAT.AK],
Temple (3-2)/Florida State (5-1) [2v2:NIT.T-O],
Maryland (6-0) (@BIGE) [2v2:BRKC-THANX-B],
Ohio University (5-0) [rr3v@GS-B],
Fresno State (3-2)/Lamar (3-1) [rr3v@OE.BEAVER],
TCU (5-0) [2v@:GS-A],
Middle Tennessee (5-1) [rr3vMUSIC.CTY],
Houston (5-0) [v3:GULF.CST],
Little Rock (2-2)/St. Bonaventure (3-2) [rr3:nLONE.STR-B],
New Mexico State (4-2) [rr4@nS.DIEGO],
Akron (5-1) [2v:@nSAVANH],
East Tennessee State (5-1) [rr3:SANFORD-B],
Green Bay (2-3)/Missouri-Kansas City (3-2) [3@FRACK],
Louisiana (3-2)/Rice (4-1)/Montana State (3-2)/Texas Southern (4-2) [rr3v@HARDWD],
Robert Morris (2-5) [2@BRKC-THANX-Bcons],
Elon (4-1) [3@NI/HUSKIE].