16 Jan 4 - East Lansing And Down

Volume XX, No. 9 - 16 Jan 4 - [] Top 25 Ballot

East Lansing And Down

Sure enough, with xDenzel Valentine on the sidelines, Michigan State went from great to just good. Iowa handed the Spartans their first loss (@83-70 behind 25p from gMike Gesell); the Hawkeyes followed that up with a road win at Purdue (70-@63 as bJarrod Uthoff(25p5r) led the way) to take the early lead in the BIG 10.
     Butler got off to a terrible start in the BIG EAST, falling at home to Providence (@73-81 as xRodney Bullock[25p10r] gave the Friars a third star for opponents to worry about) and then tanking on the road at Xavier (69-@88). After routing Penn to go 3-0 in the Big Five, Villanova got its two biggest wins of the season when the Wildcats handed Xavier its first loss in a runaway victory (@95-64 as pRyan Arcidiacono[27p8a;7/14 3s] had one of the best games of his career) and then earned a road win at Creighton (85-@71 as Josh Hart[25p5r] continued his excellent campaign). Meanwhile, Marquette was blown out at home by 11-2 Seton Hall (@63-83) and tumbled again on the road at Georgetown (70-@80).
     Oklahoma stayed unbeaten, edging Iowa State (@87-83 despite 29p8r from tGeorges Niang). Kansas throttled Baylor (@102-74 as bWayne Selden[24p4a5r;5/6 3s] led the way). Surprising Texas Tech dismissed Richmond (@85-70 behind a 40-17 rebounding margin) out of conference and then made 27-for-30 free throws while beating rival Texas (@82-74) in BIG 12 conference play.
     Utah stumbled out the blocks in the PAC-12, tripping in overtime at Stanford (68-@70[OT]) and falling at California (58-@71). (The Cal Bears had earlier put slumping A-10/Davidson out of its preseason misery [@86-60]). Oregon couldn't handle its grudge road game at 10-2 Oregon State, falling 57-@70. 10-4 Washington swept two nail-biter home games with UCLA (@96-93[2OT]) and USC (@87-85). Arizona did take care of its grudge road game, beating Arizona State (94-@82 as pGabe York led the way with 22p6a5r). UCLA double-dipped its Evergreen State weekend, falling at 9-5 Washington (78-@85).
     Cincinnati dropped a disappointing home loss to a mediocre Temple team. Tulsa took a beating to start play in the AMERICAN, losing at home to still unbeaten SMU (@69-81) and then taking it on the chin at Cincinnati (57-@76).
     By and large, the ACC powers avoided each other in the first week of conference play. Syracuse's first two games without coach Jim Boeheim (who must serve a 9-game suspension for the first half of the regular season) were a bust; but road losses at Pittsburgh (61-@72) and at Miami(Florida) (51-@64) might have happened, anyway. (Same as it ever was -- North Carolina ran its streak to 58-0 all-time over Clemson in Chapel Hill with an @80-69 win.)
     LSU dropped a disappointing home loss to 9-3 Wake Forest (@71-77), but finally got a quality win in SEC play with a road win at Vanderbilt (90-@82 as GC cBen Simmons[36p14r] was unstoppable. The jury is still out on whether cSimmons' immense talent can lead the Commodores to a special season or whether he'll be more like Kevin Durant [Texas '07], who garnered every individual accolade but whose team was a 32-Splash disapppointment.)

In the WCC, surprising St. Mary's handled BYU (@85-74) with a balanced attack.
     13-2 Southern Illinois proved its gaudy preseason record was no fluke, dismissing Loyola(Illinois) (72-@62) and edging Northern Iowa (@75-73) as gAnthony Beane averaged 29p in two games.
     In the A-10, Richmond fell at home to 11-2 St. Joseph's (@73-77).
     In the MWC, UNLV tripped at home against 10-4 Fresno State (@66-69). Meanwhile, San Diego State got a big road win at 9-4 Utah State (70-@67) to start things off.

Two of the best candidates for splashworthy 1BCs disappointed. HORIZON/Valparaiso tripped out of conference at underrated OVC/Belmont (81-@85 as cEvan Bradds[26p10r] continued his season-long fine play). Meanwhile, MAAC/Monmouth dropped a 84-@91 out-of-conference decision at PATRIOT/Army-West Point.
     (For the first time in 15 years, crosstown dwellers Old Dominion and Norfolk State met -- ODU won @68-57.)
     Elsewhere, COLONIAL: 9-3 College of Charleston got a big road win at James Madison (65-@62 as fJarrell Brantley had 29p). C-USA: UAB got a leg up on Middle Tennessee (@78-67). PATRIOT: 4-8 Bucknell's disastrous preseason didn't matter as the Bison pounded 9-5 Navy (@88-58) and won on the road at 10-4 Army-West Point (84-@76) as gChris Hass averaged 31p in two games. MEAC: Likewise, preseason success meant nothing as 2-11 Texas Southern routed Southern (@88-66).

- - - - - -

Unbeaten Oklahoma visits Kansas (Monday). Upstart Texas Tech has it rough when it visits Iowa State (Wednesday) and hosts Kansas (Saturday). Iowa State hosts Baylor (Saturday). Host Butler needs a win badly already to stay in the BIG EAST race, but beating Villanova (Sunday) is a tough way to do it. Unbeaten South Carolina gets a real test when Vanderbilt comes to town (Saturday). Unbeaten SMU only has the regular season to play for, so there's plenty of incentive against visiting Cincinnati (Thursday).
     Tough to believe, but it's a must-win week for regrouping Wichita State when it hosts Evansville (Wednesday) and visits upstart Southern Illinois (Saturday). California's quest for validation continues at Oregon (Wednesday). Rhode Island hosts Richmond (Tuesday). Providence hosts Marquette (Tuesday). North Carolina should have no problem keeping host Syracuse in its funk (Saturday). UCLA has its own must-win week: hosting Arizona (Thursday) and Arizona State (Saturday). Kentucky visits LSU (Tuesday).
     Chattanooga looks to take the lead in the SOUTHERN with a home win over Mercer (Tuesday). Valparaiso can take early control of the HORIZON with a road win at Oakland (Friday). New Mexico State won't feel so much like a Jack Dawson representative for the WAC come March if it can manage a road win at {Grand Canyon} (Saturday).

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

Oklahoma-@Kansas, @RobertMorris-Wagner,

Tuesday:

@Providence-Marquette, Kentucky-@LSU, @RhodeIsland-Richmond, @UtahSt-BoiseSt, @Chattanooga-Mercer,

Wednesday:

@Villanova-SetonHall, @IowaSt-TexasTech, Duke-@WakeForest(NC), California-@Oregon, @WichitaSt-Evansville, @BostonU-Navy,

Thursday:

Arizona-@UCLA, Louisville-@NCState, @SMU-Cincinnati, @LittleRock-Louisiana, @USC-ArizonaSt, @ColofCharleston-Hofstra, @LouisianaTech-OldDominion, @MidTennessee-UTEP,

Friday:

@Oakland-Valparaiso,

Saturday:

Arizona-@USC, Kansas-@TexasTech, @IowaSt-Baylor, NCarolina-@Syracuse, @SCarolina-Vanderbilt, @Pepperdine-StMarys(CA), @NotreDame-Pittsburgh, @Connecticut-Memphis, @LittleRock-LAMonroe, @SetonHall-Creighton, @SoIllinois-WichitaSt, @UCLA-ArizonaSt, @BoiseSt-FresnoSt, @UAB-UTEP, @NoIowa-Drake(IA)(BIG4), @Mississippi-Georgia, @OralRoberts-NDState, @UCIrvine-UCRiverside(CA), @William&Mary-Northeastern, @Penn-Princeton, @{GrandCanyon}-NewMexicoSt, @MOKansasCity-CalStBakersfield, @Montana-SacramentoSt, @Vermont-Albany, @NFlorida-Jacksonville(JacksonvilleFL), @SacredHeart-Wagner,

Sunday:

Villanova-@Butler, @WakeForest-NCState(NC),

- - - - - -

Monday week (CFP CHAMPIONSHIP):

@Lamar-TexasA&MCC(TX).

---

Top 25 - 16 Jan 4 - [] Column

1. Providence (14-1)
   
2. Oklahoma (11-0)
   
3. Miami(Florida) (12-1)
   
4. Virginia (12-1)
   
5. Villanova (12-2)
   
6. Arizona (13-1)
   
7. Xavier (12-1)
   
8. Kansas (11-1)
   
9. Iowa State (11-2)
   
10. North Carolina (13-2)
    
11. Duke (12-2)
    
12. Kentucky (11-2)
    
13. Iowa (11-3)
    
14. Texas A&M (11-2)
    
15. Maryland (13-1)
    
16. Butler (11-3)
    
17. Purdue (12-2)
    
18. California (11-3)
    
19. Michigan State (14-1)
    
20. Utah (10-4)
    
21. Gonzaga (11-3)
    
22. Louisville (11-2)
    
23. West Virginia (11-1)
    
24. South Carolina (12-0)
    
25. SMU (13-0)
    

Honorable Mention:

Stanford (7-5), Oregon State (10-2), Temple (6-6).

15 Dec28: Cinched At The Waist (PRECONFERENCE)

Volume XX, No. 8 - 15 Dec28: PRECONFERENCE - [] Top 25 Ballot

Cinched At The Waist

Iowa State edged host Cincinnati (81-@79) as xGeorges Niang led five players in double-figures with 24p10r. With freshman gIsaiah Briscoe scratched during warmups after turning his ankle, Kentucky still found a way to edge arch-rival Louisville (@75-73) as pTyler Ulis led the way with 21p8a. The clock finally struck midnight on two teams' Cinderella rides in the national rankings -- George Washington tanked at 6-6 DePaul, losing 61-@82; meanwhile, 9-1 Texas Tech handed Little Rock its first loss (@65-53).
     Purdue beat Vanderbilt (@68-55 as cA.J. Hammons[21p10r7b] starred) and Virginia edged young California in overtime (@63-62[OT]). Elsewhere, Kansas kept San Diego State out of the national conversation with a 70-@57 road win.

At the last big preseason tournament (the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC in Honolulu), the expected challengers to unbeaten Oklahoma fell away in the first-round/quarterfinals. 8-1 host Hawaii routed giant-killer Northern Iowa (@68-52); even more disappointingly, BYU was edged by 4-6 Harvard; and upstart New Mexico was edged by Auburn. Although the host Rainbows did give the Sooners a fight in the semfinals (falling @81-84 despite 32p6a from pRoderick Bobbitt), OU coasted to the crown, beating Harvard in the final as gBuddy Hield averaged 28p3r over three games. (Northern Iowa dropped two games on the trip while New Mexico lost three times.) gHield is having a high-quality season and, with the unfortunate sidelining of Michigan State's xDenzel Valentine (out three weeks after having [minor] knee surgery), he's a prime candidate for Player Of The Year.
     Larry Brown returned to the sidelines for SMU after serving his 9-game suspension to start the season (because of NCAA violations). The undefeated Mustangs won twice at the ORLEANS ARENA to win the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC (including edging Colorado 70-66 in the final). There's no postseason for SMU, so this crown and the pursuit of the AMERICAN regular season title is all it has.
     The winner of the GS-B CLASSIC in Las Vegas (at UNLV) also won't be able to participate in this year's NCAA tournament. But it's because surprising {Grand Canyon} is way ahead of schedule (still two years away from becoming fully classified as Division-I). The {Antelopes} beat a good Houston team (78-69) in the semifinals and then edged Marshall (84-81[2OT]) in the final.
     UC-Irvine was technically an Unwelcome Guest winner of the DON HASKINS/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL (although it was second-place Norfolk State who actually beat host UTEP). Akron went 2-0 to win the LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC at SOUTH POINT (ahead of the likes of Iona).
     In specialty one-off events, undefeated Xavier beat host Wake Forest (78-@70) at the SKIP PROSSER CLASSIC (honoring the late coach who had success at both schools). Unbeaten South Carolina beat St. John's (75-61) at the HALL OF FAME-C SHOOTOUT at the MOHEGAN SUN in Uncasville, CT.
     Towson routed Maryland-Baltimore County to complete the 4-0 sweep of Baltimore-area schools (TU, MDBC, Loyola[Maryland], Coppin State and Morgan State). (Oh, how I wish they would formalize a City Series "league" among themselves the same way that Philadelphia's Big Five have done -- Villanova is alone on top at 2-0 while La Salle trails alone at 0-2 halfway through that schedule, by the way.)

At the end of the preseason, undefeated Michigan State came through as the best team, pushing the pace with a focused intensity that has maximized the new 30-second clock rules. Miami(Florida) and Providence also had excellent preseasons with big wins over high-quality teams; but maybe as many of 16 teams were strong enough to be in the hunt for a No. 1 seed if their performance in conference play can match their preseasons.
     The BIG 12 gets the nod as the strongest conference -- (ten teams went 50-16 in top matchups [including 6 elite wins], won 4 tournament crowns, and the two least of its members were still 7-4 on the season); the PAC-12 was close behind (twelve teams: 55-29 [6 elites], only 1 crown, one team was 7-4); the Mega-ACC was diluted by its size (fifteen teams: 75-37 [10 elites], 7 crowns, but two teams skirted .500); the BIG EAST was right there as well (ten teams: 49-22 [4 elites], 4 crowns, but three near .500 teams); the BIG 10 wasn't far behind (fourteen teams: 62-34 [8 elites], 3 crowns, two near .500 teams). All five of those leagues classify as B-Majors plus the SEC (14: 53-35 [3], 1) and the AMERICAN (11: 35-24 [0], 2.3) both of which have elite teams but are worse at the bottom than the others. The Big Boys took home a whopping 22.3 tournament crowns in total.
     The new faster pace rules may well have cinched the waist of the figure of college basketball as a whole. The four leagues shaping up as Mid-Majors somehow won no tournament crowns between them. The A-10 was 43-28 and seems assured of multiple NCAA bids, but the MWC, WCC and MVC were only 90-89 combined. The MWC and MVC will be hard-pressed to earn two bids; how legitimate unproven St. Mary's' 8-1 record is will determine whether the WCC is really MM this year or yet another Anti-Spoiler/1BC for Gonzaga as usual.
     While the remaining 21 1BC leagues were able to claim an excellent 17.7 tournament crowns, few individual teams seemed truly splashworthy -- the best candidates are 10-1 Little Rock, 10-2 Valparaiso, 9-2 Texas-Arlington, 9-2 Hawaii and 8-2 Monmouth. (11-2 {Grand Canyon} belongs on that list, but it's not eligible for the NCAA tournament.) Splashworthy leagues include the SUMMIT (2 crowns), BIG WEST (2), SOUTHERN (3), MAC (2) and COLONIAL (0). The regular 1BCs are the OVC (1), IVY (0), MAAC (0), HORIZON (2), C-USA (2.3) and SUN BELT (.3). The low 1BCs are the WAC (1), PATRIOT (1), SKY (1), AMERICA EAST (0), A-SUN (0), BIG SOUTH (0), SOUTHLAND (0), NEC (0), SWAC (0) and MEAC (0).

The race for Player Of The Year was a runaway victory for xDenzel Valentine(Michigan State), but its unclear whether he'll be able to sustain his preseason excellence when he returns in three weeks from (minor) knee surgery. bBuddy Hield(Oklahoma) has been great all season. GC cBen Simmons(LSU) has posted huge numbers; but with his team "only" 7-4, he can't quite be considered for POTY ahead of the other two.
     No one else comes close to cSimmons as the best freshman, however. Only Kentucky's bJamal Murray and gIsaiah Briscoe, Purdue's fCaleb Swanigan and California's fJayle Brown and fIvan Rabb have managed to be lead performers for their teams in the biggest games so far. (In particular, cSkal Labissiere[Kentucky], fCheick Diallo[Kansas], gJalen Brunson[Villanova], fBrandon Ingram[Duke] and cDiamond Stone[Maryland] have all failed to be the instant game-changers they were expected to be.)

- - - - - -

Here's a detailed look at the conferences after the preseason:

B-MAJOR
1. BIG 12 - Iowa State [2v2:EMERALD] (elite wins) as well as Kansas [3:MAUI], Oklahoma [3:DIAMOND], Baylor and Texas Tech all (elite) plus West Virginia [2v2:LVI-T] and also Kansas State all were excellent; Texas (elite) starred; Oklahoma State was a winner.
   
2. PACIFIC-12 - Utah (elite wins) and Arizona (elite) as well as Oregon [rr4vGS-A] and USC both (good wins) plus Oregon State and Colorado (good) all were excellent; UCLA (elites) and Arizona State (elite) as well as Washington (good) plus Washington State (noisy) and also California all starred; (Stanford was a winner).
   
3. ATLANTIC COAST - Virginia [3:CHARLESTON] and Miami(Florida) [3:P.RICO] both (elite wins) as well as North Carolina [2v2:CBE] and Duke [2v2:2K] both (elite) plus Louisville [3v:BRK-T-B] and Pittsburgh [3v:GOTHAM] both (made noise) and also Florida State all were excellent; Syracuse [3:ATLANTIS] (elite wins) as well as Wake Forest and Notre Dame both (elite) plus North Carolina State and Virginia Tech both (noise) and also Georgia Tech all starred. Clemson (noise) skirted .500.
   
4. BIG EAST - Xavier [3:A/ORLANDO] (elite win) was undefeated; Butler and Providence both (elite)
   as well as Marquette [2v2:LEGENDS] (good wins) and Seton Hall (good win) plus Villanova [2v2:NIT.T-O] (made noise) all were excellent; Creighton [2v2:LV-MAIN] (noise) starred; DePaul (elite) as well as Georgetown and St. John's both (good win) all skirted .500.
   
5. BIG 10 - Michigan State [3:WL/ANAHEIM] (elite wins) was undefeated; Purdue [2v2:HOF-B] (elite wins) and Maryland [2v2:CANCUN] (elite) as well as Northwestern all were excellent; Indiana (elite) as well as Iowa (good wins) and Michigan (good win) plus Penn State (made noise) all starred; Ohio State (elite) as well as Wisconsin (whose legendary coach retired in-season), Nebraska and Illinois all were winners.
   
6. SOUTHEASTERN - South Carolina [3:PARADISE] (good win) was undefeated; Kentucky [rr4vHOF-A] (elite wins) and Texas A&M (elite) as well as Mississippi (made noise) all were excellent; Alabama (goods) and Florida (good) as well as Georgia (noise) all starred; LSU (noise) and Vanderbilt both were winners; Auburn and Arkansas both (good) as well as Misssippis State (noise) plus Tennessee and Missouri all skirted .500.
   
7. AMERICAN - SMU [2v2:LVC-X] was undefeated; Houston (good win) was excellent; Cincinnati [2v2:BRK-T-A] and Tulsa both (good win) as well as Memphis [.3rr4:HOF-D] and Connecticut all starred; East Carolina was a winner; Tulane (noise) skirted .500. (South Florida [noise] was a flop.)
   
   MID-MAJOR
   
8. ATLANTIC 10 - Dayton (elite wins) and George Washington (elite) both as well as Duquesne and St. Joseph's both (made noise) plus Davidson and Fordham all were excellent; Richmond (good wins) and St. Bonaventure both starred. Rhode Island, VCU, Massachusetts and St. Louis all (noise) skirted .500.
   
9. WEST COAST - St. Mary's (good win) was excellent; Gonzaga (elite win) as well as BYU (good) both starred; Pepperdine (made noises) as well as Loyola Marymount both were winners.
   
10. MOUNTAIN WEST - UNLV (elite wins) and Boise State (elite) as well as Air Force (noisy), Utah State and Nevada both (noise) plus Fresno State all starred. San Diego State, New Mexico and Colorado State all (good win) as well as San Jose State (noise) plus Wyoming all skirted .500.
    
11. MISSOURI VALLEY - Evansville (good win) as well as Southern Illinois both were excellent. Northern Iowa (elite wins) was a winner; Wichita State (elite) as well as Loyola(Illinois), Indiana State and Illinois State all skirted .500.
    
    1BC
    
12. MID-AMERICAN - Akron [2:LV-HOLI] (made noise) as well as Northern Illinois both were excellent; Toledo (noise) as well as Ohio University and Bowling Green [rr3@EAGLE] all starred; Ball State (good win) as well as Kent State and Eastern Michigan all were winners; Miami(Ohio) and Western Michigan both (good win) as well as Central Michigan (noisy) and Buffalo all skirted .500.
    
13. BIG WEST - Hawaii (good win) was excellent; UC-Irvine [2@HASKINS/SUN] starred; UC-Riverside was a winner; Long Beach State (good win), Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo [2@MAUIcons] and UC-Davis all skirted .500. (UC-Santa Barbara [noise] was a flop.)
    
14. HORIZON - Valparaiso [2@BEAVER] (good win) was excellent; Milwaukee [3@CABLE] (made noise); Oakland (noise) was a winner; Detroit (good win) skirted .500; Youngstown State (noise) was a loser; (Cleveland State [noisy] was a flop.)
    
15. SUN BELT - Little Rock (good wins) as well as Texas-Arlington [.3rr4@HOF-D] (made noise) both were excellent; Georgia State (noise) as well as Texas State both starred. South Alabama and Louisiana both skirted .500; Louisiana-Monroe (good) as well as Arkansas State both were losers; (Appalachian State was a flop).
    
16. METRO ATLANTIC - Monmouth (good wins) was excellent; Siena (noisy) starred; Fairfield (noise) as well as Manhattan skirted .500. (Iona (noise) as well as Rider both were flops.)
    - - - - - -
    
17. SUMMIT - North Dakota State (made noise), South Dakota State and IPFW all starred; Western Illinois and Denver both (noise) were winners; Oral Roberts [3@MABC-A] (good wins) and Omaha (good) as well as South Dakota [2@HORNET] all skirted .500.
    
18. COLONIAL - Northeastern (elite win) as well as James Madison, College of Charleston and William & Mary all (good win) plus Elon, UNC-Wilmington and Towson all starred; Hofstra was a winner; Delaware skirted .500. (Drexel was a flop.)
    
19. SOUTHERN - Chattanooga (good win) was excellent; Mercer [3:MUSIC] and Samford [3@MEAN.GR] both starred. East Tennessee State (good) and The Citadel [rr3@PALMETTO] as well as VMI all skirted .500. (Western Carolina and Wofford both were flops.)
    
20. WESTERN ATHLETIC - {Grand Canyon} [2v2:GS-B] (good win) was excellent; Cal State-Bakersfield starred. Missouri-Kansas City (good) as well as New Mexico State (noisy) plus Seattle all skirted .500; Utah Valley (noise) was a loser.
    
21. CONFERENCE USA - Louisiana Tech [.3rr4@HOF-D] (good win) was excellent; UAB starred; Middle Tennessee [3:GREAT.AK] (made noise) was a winner; Old Dominion (good win) as well as Western Kentucky and Rice both (noise) plus UTEP [2v2:CORPUS.X] and Florida International all skirted .500.
    
22. IVY - Princeton (made noise) starred; Columbia (noisy) was a winner; Harvard (good win) as well as Penn (noise) plus Yale, Dartmouth and Cornell all skirted .500. (Brown was a flop.)
    
23. OHIO VALLEY - Tennessee State starred; Tennessee Tech (made noise) was a winner; Belmont [2@LEGENDScons] and Tennessee-Martin both (good win) as well as Murray State (noise) plus Austin Peay all skirted .500. (Eastern Illinois was a flop.)
    
24. PATRIOT - Navy [3@SPARTAN] and Army both starred. Boston University (made noise) and Holy Cross both skirted .500; Colgate was a loser; (Bucknell [noise], Lehigh and Loyola[Maryland] all were flops.)
    
25. AMERICA EAST - Albany starred; Stony Brook was a winner; New Hampshire and Vermont both skirted .500.
    
26. BIG SKY - Idaho was a winner; Weber State [3:GULF.CST], Sacramento State and Montana all (good win) as well as Eastern Washington, North Dakota and Montana State all skirted .500. (Northern Arizona was a flop.)
    
27. ATLANTIC SUN - North Florida starred. New Jersey Tech and Florida Gulf Coast both skirted .500. Lipscomb and South Carolina Upstate (and Kennesaw State) all were flops.
    - - - - - -
    
28. BIG SOUTH - Winthrop and Campbell both starred; UNC-Asheville and Radford both (good win) as well as Coastal Carolina, High Point and Presbyterian all skirted .500; Gardner-Webb was a loser; (Charleston Southern was a flop.)
    
29. SOUTHLAND - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi starred; Stephen F. Austin (made noise) and Lamar both were winners; {Incarnate Word} and Sam Houston State both skirted .500. (Northwestern State was a flop.)
    
30. NORTHEAST - Long Island, Wagner and St. Francis(Pennsylvania) all skirted .500; Fairleigh Dickinson was a loser; (Mount St. Mary's (made noise) as well as Robert Morris, St. Francis(New York) and Sacred Heart all were flops.)
    
31. MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC - Howard (made noise) as well as Hampton and Savannah State all skirted .500. Norfolk State (noise) as well as North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T and Maryland-Eastern Shore all were flops. (Delaware State was winless.)
    
32. SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC - Southern was a winner; Alabama A&M skirted .500; Alabama State was a loser; Jackson State and Texas Southern both were flops. (Prairie View A&M and Mississippi Valley State both were winless.)
    

- - - - - -

Only a couple of interesting out-of-conference matchups remain (not counting the one-day BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE extravaganza at the end of January and a few one-off "palate-cleansers" scattered here and there later on). Conncecticut visits giant-killer Texas (Tuesday). Surprising Texas Tech hosts Richmond (Tuesday). Young California hosts disappointing Davidson (Monday).      Conference play starts for most everyone else. Iowa gets double-duty right away (Tuesday vs unbeaten-but-undermanned Michigan State, Saturday at Purdue). Surprising Syracuse has a rough week (Wednesday at Pittsburgh, Saturday at Miami[Florida]). Unbeaten Oklahoma hosts Iowa State (Saturday). Double-duty abounds in the BIG EAST Wars for Butler (Thursday vs Providence, Saturday at Xavier), unbeaten Xavier (Thursday at Villanova, Saturday vs Butler) and Villanova (Thursday vs Xavier, Saturday at Creighton). Utah visits young California (Sunday). Arizona visits state-rival upstart Arizona State (Sunday). Kansas hosts Baylor (Saturday). Disappointing Tulsa is up against it (Tuesday vs unbeaten SMU, Saturday at Cincinnati). Surprising St. Mary's hosts BYU (Thursday). Vanderbilt hosts LSU (Saturday).

-- Ron

P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!

Key games this week:

Monday:

@Villanova-Penn(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @Belmont-Valparaiso, @California-Davidson, @WichitaSt-NewMexicoSt,

Tuesday:

MichiganSt-@Iowa, @MiamiFL-Princeton, @Kansas-UCIrvine, @Baylor-TexasSo(TX), SMU-@Tulsa, @Texas-Connecticut, @TexasTech-Richmond, @LSU-WakeForest, @UAB-StephenFAustin,

Wednesday:

@Pittsburgh-Syracuse, @SAlabama-LittleRock, @Brown-RhodeIsland(RI), @UNLV-FresnoSt, @StBonaventure-Niagara(NY)(BIG4), @IPFW-OralRoberts, @CConnecticutSt-Yale(CT)(CT6), @Bucknell-Navy,

Thursday:

Providence-@Butler, Xavier-@Villanova, @StMarys-BYU, @JamesMadison-ColofCharleston, @GardnerWebb-CoCarolina,
(new)SWAC/MEAC CHALLENGE 1Off @ BirminghamAL
-(@TexasSo-Hampton),

Friday (NEW YEAR'S):

Saturday:

@MiamiFL-Syracuse, @Oklahoma-IowaSt, @Virginia-NotreDame, Butler-@Xavier(BG), @Purdue-Iowa, @Kansas-Baylor, @Cincinnati-Tulsa, @Creighton-Villanova, @TexasTech-Texas(TX), @Vanderbilt-LSU, @UtahSt-SanDiegoSt, @SoIllinois-NoIowa, @Hawaii-Howard, @Mercer-Samford, @William&Mary-ColofCharleston, @Hartford-Yale(CT)(CT6), @ArmyWP-Bucknell, @RobertMorris-SacredHeart, @TexasSo-Southern,

Sunday:

Utah-@California, Arizona-@ArizonaSt(AZ), @Louisville-WakeForest, @UAB-MidTennessee, @SDState-WeIllinois,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@Kansas-Oklahoma, @RobertMorris-Wagner,

---

Top 25 - 15 Dec28: PRECONFERENCE - [] Column

1. Michigan State (13-0) [v3:WL/ANAHEIM] (@@CHAMPS) (@WINTER)
   
2. Miami(Florida) (10-1) [3:P.RICO] (@BIG10)
   
3. Providence (12-1)
   
4. Oklahoma (10-0) [3:DIAMOND] (:PEARL)
   
5. Virginia (10-1) [3:CHARLESTON] (@BIG10) (:JIMMY.V)
   
6. Butler (10-1) (@@XROADS)
   
7. Iowa State (10-1) [2v2:EMERALD] (vCY-HAWK)
   
8. North Carolina (10-2) [2v:@CBE] (vBIG10)
   
9. Utah (10-2) (@AI/NYC-X)
   
10. Duke (9-2) [2v2:2K] (vBIG10)
    
11. Arizona (12-1)
    
12. Xavier (11-0) [3:A/ORLANDO] (vXTOWN) (@PROSSER)
    
13. Purdue (11-1) [2v2:HOF-B] (@ACC)
    
14. Kentucky (10-2) [4rrvHOF-A] (@@CHAMPS)
    
15. Texas A&M (9-2)
    
16. Maryland (11-1) [2v2:CANCUN] (vBIGE) (@JIMMY.V)
    
17. Kansas (9-1) [3:MAUI]
    
18. Gonzaga (9-3) (vSEATTLE)
    
19. Oregon (10-2) [rr4vGS-A] (@PEARL)
    
20. Baylor (8-2)
    
21. Cincinnati (10-3) [2v2:BRK-T-A]
    
22. Louisville (10-2) [rr3v:BRK-T-B] [rr2vMINARDI]
    
23. West Virginia (9-1) [2v2:LVI-T] (@@CAPITAL)
    
24. South Carolina (11-0) [3:PARADISE] (@SC) (:HOF-C)
    
25. SMU (11-0) [2v2:LVC-X] (@DFW)
    

Honorable Mention:

DePaul (6-6), Texas Tech (9-1).

Syracuse (10-3) [3:ATLANTIS],
Marquette (10-2) [2v2:LEGENDS],
Weber State (5-5) [3:GULF.CST],
Middle Tennessee (6-4) [3:GREAT.AK],
Oral Roberts (8-6) [3@MABC-A],
Pittsburgh (9-1) [2v:GOTHAM] (@@CITY),
UC-Irvine (8-4) [2@HASKINS/SUN],
Mercer (9-3) [rr3:MUSIC],
Villanova (9-2) [2v2:NIT.T-O] (vBIG10),
Creighton (8-4) [2v2:LV-MAIN] (vNE),
Valparaiso (8-2) [2@BEAVER],
UTEP (6-5) [2v2:CORPUS.X],
Texas-Arlington (8-2)/Memphis (8-3)/Louisiana Tech (8-2) [rr4@:HOF-D],
{Grand Canyon} (10-2) [2v2:GS-B],
Navy (8-4) [3@SPARTAN],
Belmont (6-6) [2@LEGENDScons] (v@BOB),
Milwaukee (9-4) [3@CABLE],
Akron (8-2) [2:LV-HOLI],
South Dakota (7-6) [2@HORNET],
Bowling Green (8-4) [rr3@EAGLE],
Samford (8-4) [3@MEAN.GR],
The Citadel (7-5) [3@PALMETTO],
Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo (6-6) [2@MAUIcons].