15 Dec14 - Special Grudges
Volume XX, No. 6 - 15 Dec14 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Special Grudges
At the long-running specialy event the JIMMY V CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, Virginia turned in its best performance of the season, routing highly regarded West Virginia (70-54 behind 21p12r from cAnthony Gill) on 63 percent shooting. Meanwhile, gMelo Trimble(25p3a) led Maryland past "host" Connecticut (76-@66 as the Terrapins dominated the boards 39-20).
In the inauguaral PEARL HARBOR INVITATIONAL, Oklahoma dumped Villanova (78-55, led by pIsaiah Cousins(19p10a6r) while shutting down the Wildcats from the perimeter (4-for-32 on three-pointers). In the undercard, Oregon had no trouble with host Navy, winning 63-@47.
In the annual grudge match the CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT, host Xavier beat arch-/city-rival Cincinnati (@65-55) in a defensive struggle. In the latest edition of the CY-HAWK SERIES, host Iowa State's balanced attack (led by cJameel McKay[20p12r;10/12fg] and pMonte Morris[20p9a]) was just enough to edge arch-/state-rival Iowa (@83-82, despite tJarrod Uthoff[32p9r;12/20fg,5/8 3s]'s star turn).
Wisconsin returned to being irrelevant with two (squeak) home losses to state-rivals Milwaukee (@66-67, despite 32p from Nigel Hayes) and surging Marquette (@55-57). Louisiana's disastrous preseason continued as the Ragin' Cajuns fell 79-@91 at state-rival Louisiana Tech (thanks to 30p8a11r from xAlex Hamilton). Belmont completed the sweep of arch-/city-rival Lipscomb in this year's BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD, winning 93-@84 behind 27p8r from fEvan Bradds.
In glorified home games, Kansas won the KANSAS CITY SHOOTOUT (@82-67) over Oregon State and Georgetown beat UNC-Wilmington (@87-82 as pD'Vauntes Smith-Rivera[27p5a] starred) in what's left of the BB&T CLASSIC.
Wichita State may have saved its season just in the nick of time with two quality home wins. First, the Wheatshockers gave the struggling MISSOURI VALLEY only its second win in its CHALLENGE with the MOUNTAIN WEST, beating giant-killer UNLV (@56-50) in a defensive struggle where both teams combined to shoot 7-for-35 on three-pointers -- (the MWC leads 5-2 so far). Then, WSU dumped highly regarded Utah (@67-50) while only committing 3 turnovers and holding fJakob Poeltl to 11p9r. If the 'Shockers can dominate the MVC regular season (especially head-to-head against Evansville and Northern Iowa), they may look back on this week to have given them a shot an at-large bid come March if they need it.
Not officially part of the CHALLENGE, but instead a warm-up game for the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC in two weeks, MWC/New Mexico dumped MVC/Northern Iowa (@76-57) behind 25p7r from bElijah Brown.
Elite teams stumbling isn't too much of a worry, so don't overreact to North Carolina's tripping at Texas (82-@84 as Javan Felix had 25p for UTx). Give Boise State some credit for heading in the right direction in its @74-72 win over Oregon, but don't downgrade the Ducks too much for it.
Gonzaga's poor week revealed that having two star frontcourt players is no substitue for lack of quality in the backcourt. The Bulldogs barely beat 1BC Montana at home (@61-58) and then fell at home to regrouped UCLA (@66-71).
Dayton was up and down, edging highly rated Vanderbilt (72-@67) but then tripping at home (@59-61) against hot-shooting Chattanooga (10-for-15 on three-pointers). Kentucky doesn't appear to have untouchable talent after all, but it still turned in a solid win over Arizona State (@72-58). Notre Dame dumped Loyola(Illinois), @81-61, as the Ramblers got no point from the free-throw line [0-for-3].
Teams with high expectations continued to stumbles as Evansville fell at Arkansas; Rhode Island tripped at Nebraska; Syracuse fell at St. John's; BYU fell at Colorado and LSU tripped at Houston.
- -
Look for the MWC to clinch its CHALLENGE versus the MVC as MWC/Boise State should roll at home and MVC/Evansville has its hands full on the road.
Iowa State can wrap up this year's State Title with a win over slumping Northern Iowa at the BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Des Moines (Saturday). Purdue has more to prove than Butler when they clash at the CROSSROADS CLASSIC in Indianapolis (Saturday). Villanova still has much to prove this season and a road win at righted Virginia (Saturday) would do the trick. Utah will have its hands full against a hostile "home" crowd supporting Duke at the AI/NEW YORK-CHRISTAMS CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (Saturday). Giant-killer UCLA goes for another big win against North Carolina at the SPORTS CLASSIC at the BARCLAYS CENTER (Saturday). Texas A&M hosts state-rival Baylor in an unofficial SEC/BIG 12 matchup (Saturday) -- (the real thing doesn't come until the end of January). UNLV has a tough week ahead, hosting Arizona State (Wednesday) and visiting Arizona (Saturday) -- a couple of wins could mean an at-large bid come March. Davidson can claim its best win of the season against Pittsburgh (Saturday) in the feature matchup of the GOTHAM CLASSIC.
-- Ron
P.S. Don't forget: the deadline for this year's Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's free College Football Bowl Season Pool) is
THIS SATURDAY, 19-DECEMBER (12Net).
Top 25 - 15 Dec14 - [] Column
Special Grudges
At the long-running specialy event the JIMMY V CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, Virginia turned in its best performance of the season, routing highly regarded West Virginia (70-54 behind 21p12r from cAnthony Gill) on 63 percent shooting. Meanwhile, gMelo Trimble(25p3a) led Maryland past "host" Connecticut (76-@66 as the Terrapins dominated the boards 39-20).
In the inauguaral PEARL HARBOR INVITATIONAL, Oklahoma dumped Villanova (78-55, led by pIsaiah Cousins(19p10a6r) while shutting down the Wildcats from the perimeter (4-for-32 on three-pointers). In the undercard, Oregon had no trouble with host Navy, winning 63-@47.
In the annual grudge match the CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT, host Xavier beat arch-/city-rival Cincinnati (@65-55) in a defensive struggle. In the latest edition of the CY-HAWK SERIES, host Iowa State's balanced attack (led by cJameel McKay[20p12r;10/12fg] and pMonte Morris[20p9a]) was just enough to edge arch-/state-rival Iowa (@83-82, despite tJarrod Uthoff[32p9r;12/20fg,5/8 3s]'s star turn).
Wisconsin returned to being irrelevant with two (squeak) home losses to state-rivals Milwaukee (@66-67, despite 32p from Nigel Hayes) and surging Marquette (@55-57). Louisiana's disastrous preseason continued as the Ragin' Cajuns fell 79-@91 at state-rival Louisiana Tech (thanks to 30p8a11r from xAlex Hamilton). Belmont completed the sweep of arch-/city-rival Lipscomb in this year's BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD, winning 93-@84 behind 27p8r from fEvan Bradds.
In glorified home games, Kansas won the KANSAS CITY SHOOTOUT (@82-67) over Oregon State and Georgetown beat UNC-Wilmington (@87-82 as pD'Vauntes Smith-Rivera[27p5a] starred) in what's left of the BB&T CLASSIC.
Wichita State may have saved its season just in the nick of time with two quality home wins. First, the Wheatshockers gave the struggling MISSOURI VALLEY only its second win in its CHALLENGE with the MOUNTAIN WEST, beating giant-killer UNLV (@56-50) in a defensive struggle where both teams combined to shoot 7-for-35 on three-pointers -- (the MWC leads 5-2 so far). Then, WSU dumped highly regarded Utah (@67-50) while only committing 3 turnovers and holding fJakob Poeltl to 11p9r. If the 'Shockers can dominate the MVC regular season (especially head-to-head against Evansville and Northern Iowa), they may look back on this week to have given them a shot an at-large bid come March if they need it.
Not officially part of the CHALLENGE, but instead a warm-up game for the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC in two weeks, MWC/New Mexico dumped MVC/Northern Iowa (@76-57) behind 25p7r from bElijah Brown.
Elite teams stumbling isn't too much of a worry, so don't overreact to North Carolina's tripping at Texas (82-@84 as Javan Felix had 25p for UTx). Give Boise State some credit for heading in the right direction in its @74-72 win over Oregon, but don't downgrade the Ducks too much for it.
Gonzaga's poor week revealed that having two star frontcourt players is no substitue for lack of quality in the backcourt. The Bulldogs barely beat 1BC Montana at home (@61-58) and then fell at home to regrouped UCLA (@66-71).
Dayton was up and down, edging highly rated Vanderbilt (72-@67) but then tripping at home (@59-61) against hot-shooting Chattanooga (10-for-15 on three-pointers). Kentucky doesn't appear to have untouchable talent after all, but it still turned in a solid win over Arizona State (@72-58). Notre Dame dumped Loyola(Illinois), @81-61, as the Ramblers got no point from the free-throw line [0-for-3].
Teams with high expectations continued to stumbles as Evansville fell at Arkansas; Rhode Island tripped at Nebraska; Syracuse fell at St. John's; BYU fell at Colorado and LSU tripped at Houston.
- -
Look for the MWC to clinch its CHALLENGE versus the MVC as MWC/Boise State should roll at home and MVC/Evansville has its hands full on the road.
Iowa State can wrap up this year's State Title with a win over slumping Northern Iowa at the BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Des Moines (Saturday). Purdue has more to prove than Butler when they clash at the CROSSROADS CLASSIC in Indianapolis (Saturday). Villanova still has much to prove this season and a road win at righted Virginia (Saturday) would do the trick. Utah will have its hands full against a hostile "home" crowd supporting Duke at the AI/NEW YORK-CHRISTAMS CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (Saturday). Giant-killer UCLA goes for another big win against North Carolina at the SPORTS CLASSIC at the BARCLAYS CENTER (Saturday). Texas A&M hosts state-rival Baylor in an unofficial SEC/BIG 12 matchup (Saturday) -- (the real thing doesn't come until the end of January). UNLV has a tough week ahead, hosting Arizona State (Wednesday) and visiting Arizona (Saturday) -- a couple of wins could mean an at-large bid come March. Davidson can claim its best win of the season against Pittsburgh (Saturday) in the feature matchup of the GOTHAM CLASSIC.
-- Ron
P.S. Don't forget: the deadline for this year's Pigskin Pool Party (Ron's free College Football Bowl Season Pool) is
THIS SATURDAY, 19-DECEMBER (12Net).
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- @Hartford-SacredHeart(CT)(CT6),
- Monday-Tuesday week:
- GS-B CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/UNLV/
-(A: Wyoming, Marshall, Omaha, Southern;
B: Houston, {GrandCanyon}, EaIllinois, NCCentral),
- Monday-Wednesday week:
- GOTHAM CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus; Feature @ NewYorkNY /MSG/
-(Sat Feature: Davidson-Pittsburgh;
WeCarolina, MoreheadSt, EaWashington),
- Tuesday:
- @UCLA-Louisiana, @Oregon-
UCIrvine,
- Wednesday:
- @Arizona-NoArizona(AZ), @UNLV-ArizonaSt, @NewMexico-
NewMexicoSt(NM), @Iona-TexasSo,
- Wednesday, Sunday:
- MWC[2-1;1]/MVC[1-2;1] CHALLENGE on-campus -- MWC leads 5-2
[San Jose State does not play.]
-(Wed: @IndianaSt-Wyoming;
Sun: @BoiseSt-Bradley, @FresnoSt-Evansville),
- Wednesday-Wednesday week:
- LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/
-(A: SMU, KentSt, LAMonroe, Canisius;
B: Colorado, PennSt, NichollsSt, Hampton),
- Thursday:
- @MidTennessee-
Belmont(TN),
CAPITAL CLASSIC 1Off @ CharlestonWV
-(@WVirginia-@Marshall[WV]),
- Friday:
- SCarolina-@Clemson(@GreenvilleSC), @BYU-CMichigan, @WakeForest-
CoCarolina,
- Friday-Saturday:
- (new)FAR WEST CLASSIC RndRob2 @ PortlandOR/Portland/
-(Tulsa, @OregonSt, @Portland, CalStFullerton, WeberSt),
- Saturday:
- @Oklahoma-Creighton, @Arizona-UNLV, @Virginia-Villanova, @Kansas-
Montana, @Maryland-Princeton(@BaltimoreMD), Baylor-@TexasA&M(TX), @Louisville-WeKentucky, @RhodeIsland-Iona, @BYU-CMichigan, @UTEP-NewMexicoSt,Georgia-GeorgiaTech(GA),
WINTER SHOWDOWN 1Off @ BostonMA
-(MichiganSt-@Northeastern),
IOWA-BIG FOUR CLASSIC DblHdr @ DesMoinesIA/Drake/
-(@IowaSt-@NoIowa[IA][BIG4], @Iowa-@Drake[IA][BIG4]),
SPORTS CLASSIC DblHdr @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/
-(@Kentucky-OhioSt[BG], NCarolina-UCLA),
CROSSROADS CLASSIC DblHdr @ IndianapolisIN
-(@Butler-@Purdue[IN], @Indiana-@NotreDame[IN]),
AI/NYC-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 1Off @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(@Duke-Utah),
BATTLE IN SEATTLE 1Off @ SeattleWA
-(@Gonzaga-Tennessee),
ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC DblHdr @ SunriseFL
-(OklahomaSt-@Florida, @FloridaSt-@FLAtlantic[FL]),
WILDCAT CLASSIC 1Off @ WichitaKS
-(@KansasSt-ColoradoSt),
(PIGSKIN POOL PARTY ENTRY DEADLINE [12Net])
- Sunday:
- @AirForce-TheCitadel(MIL),
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @Gonzaga-Pepperdine,
- Monday week-Tuesday week:
- DON HASKINS/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL 1st/Semis @ ElPasoTX/UTEP/
-(@UTEP-NorfolkSt,UCIrvine-@SamHoustonSt),
- Monday week-Wednesday week:
- GF/GS-C SHOWCASE RndRob3 @ LoganUT/UtahSt/
-(@UtahSt, NDState, TXRGValley, IdahoSt),
LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC RndRob2 @ LasVegasNV/S POINT/
-(UCSanta Barbara, Akron,Iona).
Top 25 - 15 Dec14 - [] Column
- Michigan State (11-0) [v3:WL/ANAHEIM] (@@CHAMPS)
- Oklahoma (6-0) (:PEARL)
- Iowa State (9-0) [2v2:EMERALD] (vCY-HAWK)
- Kentucky (9-1) [4rrvHOF-A] (@@CHAMPS)
- Miami(Florida) (8-1) [3:P.RICO] (@BIG10)
- Butler (8-1)
- Providence (10-1)
- Arizona (9-1)
- Xavier (9-0) [3:A/ORLANDO] (vXTOWN)
- Cincinnati (8-2) [2v2:BRK-T-A]
- George Washington (9-1)
- Virginia (8-1) [3:CHARLESTON] (@BIG10) (:JIMMY.V)
- Duke (8-1) [2v2:2K] (vBIG10)
- Kansas (7-1) [3:MAUI]
- North Carolina (7-2) [2v:@CBE] (vBIG10)
- Maryland (9-1) [2v2:CANCUN] (vBIGE) (@JIMMY.V)
- Baylor (7-1)
- Little Rock (6-0)
- SMU (7-0) (@DFW)
- South Carolina (8-0) [3:PARADISE]
- Louisville (6-1) [rr3v:BRK-T-B]
- Purdue (10-0) [2v2:HOF-B] (@ACC)
- UCLA (7-3)
- Iowa (7-3) (@BIGE) (vACC)
- Marquette (8-2) [2v2:LEGENDS]
- Honorable Mention:
- Texas (6-3), Boise State (5-4), Belmont (6-4) (v@BOB).
posted by Ron @ Wednesday, January 13, 2016
