16 Feb15 - Champions Surge
Volume XX, No. 15 - 16 Feb15 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Champions Surge
The four CHAMPIONS CLASSIC teams all had big wins on the week, with a couple of them moving into first place and only one losing ground in its league standings overall.
In the biggest week of the second half of the season, Kansas rose to the occasion and made its bid to keep its streak of BIG 12 regular season titles intact. The Jayhawks beat West Virginia (@75-65) and then edged Oklahoma on the road (76-@72 behind 27p;6/9 3s from gDevonte Graham). KU and WVU are now tied for first place (but WVU still has to host OK in two weeks). Texas Tech got itself into the conversation with a big week of its own, edging Iowa State (@85-82[OT]) and routing Baylor on the road (84-@66). Texas took a double-tumble on the road, tripping at Oklahoma (60-@63 as bBuddy Hield[27p5r] hit the game-winning three-pointer) and falling at Iowa State (75-@85).
Kentucky routed Georgia (holding the Bulldogs to 22 percent shooting) and road-routed South Carolina (89-@62 as pTyler Ulis[27p12a] trumped xMichael Carrera[25p10r]) after John Calipari was ejected only two minutes into the game over the referees' allowing too-physical defending by the Gamecocks. The win allowed the Wildcats to tie LSU for first place in the SEC. LSU split on the week, falling at SCar (83-@94) but edging slumping Texas A&M (@76-71). Earlier in the week, TxAM had lost another squeaker at Alabama.
In the ACC, Duke had two big wins, knocking Louisville out of first place (@72-65 marred by an incident where Blue Devil gGrayson Allen deliberately tripped a Cardinal player) and then edging Virginia (@63-62 as bBrandon Ingram[25p7r] starred and gAllen hit the game-winner from his knees). Notre Dame won at Clemson (89-@83 while committing only 4 turnovers despite 30p6r from fJaron Blossomgame) and edged slumping Louisville (@71-66 led by pDemetrius Jackson[27p5a;6/12 3s]). Pittsburgh tripped at Miami(Florida) (63-@65 on pAngel Rodriguez[17p8a]'s game-winner) and tanked at first-place (non-CHAMPIONS) North Carolina (64-@85 as the Tar Heels racked up 26 assists).
In the BIG 10, Michigan State tripped at Purdue (81-@82[OT] on bRapheal Davis[24p7r]'s game-winner) and then routed Indiana (@88-69 on 27 assists) as tDenzel Valentine averaged 29p12a6r in two games. Indiana had earlier beaten first-place Iowa (@85-78). Wisconsin has regrouped behind its interim coach and put itself in the conversation with a 70-@57 win at Maryland. Michigan hung around as well with a @61-56 win over Purdue.
California swept two games, routing Oregon (@83-63) and handling Oregon State (@83-71). USC dropped two, losing at Arizona State and also at Arizona (78-@86). Both Utah (@90-82 on 67 percent shooting and 26 assists) and Colorado (@81-80 while dominating the boards 51-30) knocked Washington back out of contention. Az ended the week tied with Ore for first place.
Creighton shut down Xavier (@70-56 behind pMo Watson[32p5a7r]'s star turn while holding the Musketeers to 1-for-21 shooting on three-pointers). Xav bounced back with a 74-@57 road-rout at Butler. Providence tripped in double-overtime at Marquette (91-@96[2OT] as 42p12r from cBen Bentil wasn't enough while freshman cHenry Ellenson[26p16r] starred). Butler's week wasn't all bad: the Bulldogs won on the road at Seton Hall (81-@75 despite 26p10a5to from pIsaiah Whitehead). Georgetown tripped at Providence (72-@75). Villanova cruised through an uneventful week, still in first place in the BIG EAST with a gap.
Tulsa edged first-place SMU on the road (82-@77 led by pShaquille Harrison[21p8a5r]). Meanwhile, Temple edged Connecticut (@63-58) to tie for the lead in the AMERICAN. Also, Connecticut edged Tulsa (@75-73). VCU fell at Massachusetts. George Washington fell twice: thumped at home by St. Joseph's (66-@84 as the Hawks only committed 5 turnovers) and then beaten on the road at St. Bonaventure (57-@64). Dayton remained in first place in the ATLANTIC 10.
Pepperdine won on the road at St. Mary's (69-@63), dropping the Gaels back into second place (behind Gonzaga) in the WEST COAST race.
Northern Iowa edged first-place Wichita State on the road (53-@50) while Illinois State took over second place in the MISSOURI VALLEY with a 70-@60 road win over slumping Evansville.
San Diego State tripped at Fresno State (57-@58); but still has a three-game gap in the MOUNTAIN WEST as Boise State continued to slide, tripping in double-overtime at Colorado State.
Out of conference, SMU beat Gonzaga (@69-60 as 5-9 pNic Moore[25p11a] dominated the game despite 20p16r from cDomantas Sabonis). With no postseason coming for the ineligible Mustangs, this win will serve as their measuring stick -- let's see how far the Bulldogs can go in the NCAAs (and add a round for what SMU might have done.)
In anticipation of coming NCAA sanctions, Louisville has imposed a postseason ban on itself for this season as part of the on-going investigation to whether recruits were thrown a party that included prostitutes. (I've got no problem with schools getting ahead of the situation to avoid worse penalties by fighting or delaying an NCAA investigation; but there's a real issue of fairness to current players [especially, in this case, GT players bDamion Lee and gTrey Lewis, who are in their final season and came to the Cardinals in hopes of making the postseason]. Normally, when the NCAA announces sanctions in the off-season that go into effect the following fall, it gives all players the option of deciding for themselves whether they want to knowingly stay when there is no postseason possible or whether they want to make a different decision in their own best interests. Here, Lville has taken away the postseason from players who had nothing to do with the violations and have given them no opportunity to avoid the consequences.)
At the midpoint of the IVY LEAGUE race, Princeton's overtime road win at Columbia (88-@83[OT]) kept the Tigers within a game of first-place Yale.
Little Rock tripped at Louisiana-Monroe, but maintained its gap-lead in the SUN BELT.
Omaha edged South Dakota State (@96-92 behind tTra-deon Hollins[28p8a9r]'s star turn), creating a tie atop the SUMMIT standings between SDakSt and IPFW. In the first BIG WEST showdown, Hawaii crushed UC-Irvine (@74-52) to take sole possession of first place. Despite tripping at Northern Illinois (79-@80), Akron was able to open a gap-lead in the overall MID-AMERICAN race. UNC-Wilmington handled James Madison (@78-68) to open a gap in the COLONIAL race. Belmont tripped at Morehead State, creating a three-way tie in the OHIO VALLEY (along with Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State). Louisiana Tech beat UAB (@85-76 behind Erik McCree[33p]), but the Blazers still lead CONFERENCE USA. Despite tripping at home against Wrigth State (@59-61), Valparaiso still had a gap-lead in the HORIZON.
Bucknell tanked against Lehigh and fell at Colgate (81-@91) to shrink its lead in the PATRIOT down to just one game. North Florida fell at Kennesaw State (91-@1010 as tKendrick Ray[25p5a8r] starred) and fell at Lipscomb (87-@94 despite 27p6a from pDallas Moore), creating a three-way tie in the ATLANTIC SUN (along with Jacksonville and New Jersey Tech). UNC-Asheville tripped at home against Radford (@59-60) to fall back into a first-place tie with Winthrop in the BIG SOUTH. Undefeated/3-gap Stephen F. Austin continued to roll through the SOUTHLAND, handling Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (@70-58). No one can take control of the NORTHEAST as Wagner fell at Long Island, leaving a four-way tie at the top (along with Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis[Pennsylvania] and Mount St. Mary's). Texas Southern thumped Jacksonville State (@76-60) to open a gap in the SWAC. Hampton edged Howard on the road (68-@65) to reduce the logjam atop the MEAC to just a two-way tie (along with Norfolk State).
Unbeaten/3-gap Stony Brook edged New Hampshire (@59-58
despite 26p9r from fTanner Leissner) to clinch the AMERICA EAST title (and home court throughout the conference tournament).
- -
Out of conference, Wichita State hosts New Mexico State (Monday) in a rescheduled matchup.
Villanova hosts Butler (Saturday). Oregon hosts Oregon State (Saturday). North Carolina has a big week, hosting arch-rival Duke (Wednesday) and Miami(Florida) (Saturday). West Virginia hosts Oklahoma (Saturday). Xavier hosts Providence (Wednesday). Maryland hosts Michigan (Sunday). Baylor hosts Iowa State (Tuesday). Louisville has a big week, hosting Syracuse (Wednesday) and Duke (Saturday). Indiana hosts rival Purdue (Saturday).
Cincinnati hosts Connecticut (Saturday). Texas A&M tries to get back into the SEC race when it hosts Kentucky (Saturday). Connecticut hosts SMU (Thursday). Gonzaga looks to lock up the WEST COAST when it hosts St. Mary's (Saturday). St. Joseph's hosts Dayton (Wednesday). Tulsa hosts Cincinnati (Thursday). USC has a big week, hosting the Mountain schools: Colorado (Wednesday) and Utah (Sunday). Syracuse hosts Pittsburgh (Saturday). Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma (Wednesday). Wisconsin hosts Michigan State (Thursday). Texas has it tough, hosting West Virginia (Tuesday) and Baylor (Saturday). Temple hopes to claim a share of this year's BIG 5 title when unbeaten Villanova visits (Wednesday).
UC-Irvine gets to host Hawaii in the second BIG WEST showdown (Saturday). Princeton hosts Yale (Friday) with the chance to tie things up in the IVY LEAGUE. Belmont hosts Tennessee Tech (Saturday). Middle Tennessee hosts UAB (Sunday)
with a chance to tie up CONFERENCE USA.
New Mexico State's big week continues when it hosts Cal State-Bakersfield (Thursday). Winthrop has a big week, hosting Coastal Carolina (Thursday) and UNC-Asheville (Saturday). It's the second SOUTHLAND showdown (Thursday) when IPFW hosts South Dakota State. Fairleigh Dickinson hosts Wagner (Thrusday).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 16 Feb15 - [] Column
Champions Surge
The four CHAMPIONS CLASSIC teams all had big wins on the week, with a couple of them moving into first place and only one losing ground in its league standings overall.
In the biggest week of the second half of the season, Kansas rose to the occasion and made its bid to keep its streak of BIG 12 regular season titles intact. The Jayhawks beat West Virginia (@75-65) and then edged Oklahoma on the road (76-@72 behind 27p;6/9 3s from gDevonte Graham). KU and WVU are now tied for first place (but WVU still has to host OK in two weeks). Texas Tech got itself into the conversation with a big week of its own, edging Iowa State (@85-82[OT]) and routing Baylor on the road (84-@66). Texas took a double-tumble on the road, tripping at Oklahoma (60-@63 as bBuddy Hield[27p5r] hit the game-winning three-pointer) and falling at Iowa State (75-@85).
Kentucky routed Georgia (holding the Bulldogs to 22 percent shooting) and road-routed South Carolina (89-@62 as pTyler Ulis[27p12a] trumped xMichael Carrera[25p10r]) after John Calipari was ejected only two minutes into the game over the referees' allowing too-physical defending by the Gamecocks. The win allowed the Wildcats to tie LSU for first place in the SEC. LSU split on the week, falling at SCar (83-@94) but edging slumping Texas A&M (@76-71). Earlier in the week, TxAM had lost another squeaker at Alabama.
In the ACC, Duke had two big wins, knocking Louisville out of first place (@72-65 marred by an incident where Blue Devil gGrayson Allen deliberately tripped a Cardinal player) and then edging Virginia (@63-62 as bBrandon Ingram[25p7r] starred and gAllen hit the game-winner from his knees). Notre Dame won at Clemson (89-@83 while committing only 4 turnovers despite 30p6r from fJaron Blossomgame) and edged slumping Louisville (@71-66 led by pDemetrius Jackson[27p5a;6/12 3s]). Pittsburgh tripped at Miami(Florida) (63-@65 on pAngel Rodriguez[17p8a]'s game-winner) and tanked at first-place (non-CHAMPIONS) North Carolina (64-@85 as the Tar Heels racked up 26 assists).
In the BIG 10, Michigan State tripped at Purdue (81-@82[OT] on bRapheal Davis[24p7r]'s game-winner) and then routed Indiana (@88-69 on 27 assists) as tDenzel Valentine averaged 29p12a6r in two games. Indiana had earlier beaten first-place Iowa (@85-78). Wisconsin has regrouped behind its interim coach and put itself in the conversation with a 70-@57 win at Maryland. Michigan hung around as well with a @61-56 win over Purdue.
California swept two games, routing Oregon (@83-63) and handling Oregon State (@83-71). USC dropped two, losing at Arizona State and also at Arizona (78-@86). Both Utah (@90-82 on 67 percent shooting and 26 assists) and Colorado (@81-80 while dominating the boards 51-30) knocked Washington back out of contention. Az ended the week tied with Ore for first place.
Creighton shut down Xavier (@70-56 behind pMo Watson[32p5a7r]'s star turn while holding the Musketeers to 1-for-21 shooting on three-pointers). Xav bounced back with a 74-@57 road-rout at Butler. Providence tripped in double-overtime at Marquette (91-@96[2OT] as 42p12r from cBen Bentil wasn't enough while freshman cHenry Ellenson[26p16r] starred). Butler's week wasn't all bad: the Bulldogs won on the road at Seton Hall (81-@75 despite 26p10a5to from pIsaiah Whitehead). Georgetown tripped at Providence (72-@75). Villanova cruised through an uneventful week, still in first place in the BIG EAST with a gap.
Tulsa edged first-place SMU on the road (82-@77 led by pShaquille Harrison[21p8a5r]). Meanwhile, Temple edged Connecticut (@63-58) to tie for the lead in the AMERICAN. Also, Connecticut edged Tulsa (@75-73). VCU fell at Massachusetts. George Washington fell twice: thumped at home by St. Joseph's (66-@84 as the Hawks only committed 5 turnovers) and then beaten on the road at St. Bonaventure (57-@64). Dayton remained in first place in the ATLANTIC 10.
Pepperdine won on the road at St. Mary's (69-@63), dropping the Gaels back into second place (behind Gonzaga) in the WEST COAST race.
Northern Iowa edged first-place Wichita State on the road (53-@50) while Illinois State took over second place in the MISSOURI VALLEY with a 70-@60 road win over slumping Evansville.
San Diego State tripped at Fresno State (57-@58); but still has a three-game gap in the MOUNTAIN WEST as Boise State continued to slide, tripping in double-overtime at Colorado State.
Out of conference, SMU beat Gonzaga (@69-60 as 5-9 pNic Moore[25p11a] dominated the game despite 20p16r from cDomantas Sabonis). With no postseason coming for the ineligible Mustangs, this win will serve as their measuring stick -- let's see how far the Bulldogs can go in the NCAAs (and add a round for what SMU might have done.)
In anticipation of coming NCAA sanctions, Louisville has imposed a postseason ban on itself for this season as part of the on-going investigation to whether recruits were thrown a party that included prostitutes. (I've got no problem with schools getting ahead of the situation to avoid worse penalties by fighting or delaying an NCAA investigation; but there's a real issue of fairness to current players [especially, in this case, GT players bDamion Lee and gTrey Lewis, who are in their final season and came to the Cardinals in hopes of making the postseason]. Normally, when the NCAA announces sanctions in the off-season that go into effect the following fall, it gives all players the option of deciding for themselves whether they want to knowingly stay when there is no postseason possible or whether they want to make a different decision in their own best interests. Here, Lville has taken away the postseason from players who had nothing to do with the violations and have given them no opportunity to avoid the consequences.)
At the midpoint of the IVY LEAGUE race, Princeton's overtime road win at Columbia (88-@83[OT]) kept the Tigers within a game of first-place Yale.
Little Rock tripped at Louisiana-Monroe, but maintained its gap-lead in the SUN BELT.
Omaha edged South Dakota State (@96-92 behind tTra-deon Hollins[28p8a9r]'s star turn), creating a tie atop the SUMMIT standings between SDakSt and IPFW. In the first BIG WEST showdown, Hawaii crushed UC-Irvine (@74-52) to take sole possession of first place. Despite tripping at Northern Illinois (79-@80), Akron was able to open a gap-lead in the overall MID-AMERICAN race. UNC-Wilmington handled James Madison (@78-68) to open a gap in the COLONIAL race. Belmont tripped at Morehead State, creating a three-way tie in the OHIO VALLEY (along with Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State). Louisiana Tech beat UAB (@85-76 behind Erik McCree[33p]), but the Blazers still lead CONFERENCE USA. Despite tripping at home against Wrigth State (@59-61), Valparaiso still had a gap-lead in the HORIZON.
Bucknell tanked against Lehigh and fell at Colgate (81-@91) to shrink its lead in the PATRIOT down to just one game. North Florida fell at Kennesaw State (91-@1010 as tKendrick Ray[25p5a8r] starred) and fell at Lipscomb (87-@94 despite 27p6a from pDallas Moore), creating a three-way tie in the ATLANTIC SUN (along with Jacksonville and New Jersey Tech). UNC-Asheville tripped at home against Radford (@59-60) to fall back into a first-place tie with Winthrop in the BIG SOUTH. Undefeated/3-gap Stephen F. Austin continued to roll through the SOUTHLAND, handling Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (@70-58). No one can take control of the NORTHEAST as Wagner fell at Long Island, leaving a four-way tie at the top (along with Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis[Pennsylvania] and Mount St. Mary's). Texas Southern thumped Jacksonville State (@76-60) to open a gap in the SWAC. Hampton edged Howard on the road (68-@65) to reduce the logjam atop the MEAC to just a two-way tie (along with Norfolk State).
Unbeaten/3-gap Stony Brook edged New Hampshire (@59-58
despite 26p9r from fTanner Leissner) to clinch the AMERICA EAST title (and home court throughout the conference tournament).
- -
Out of conference, Wichita State hosts New Mexico State (Monday) in a rescheduled matchup.
Villanova hosts Butler (Saturday). Oregon hosts Oregon State (Saturday). North Carolina has a big week, hosting arch-rival Duke (Wednesday) and Miami(Florida) (Saturday). West Virginia hosts Oklahoma (Saturday). Xavier hosts Providence (Wednesday). Maryland hosts Michigan (Sunday). Baylor hosts Iowa State (Tuesday). Louisville has a big week, hosting Syracuse (Wednesday) and Duke (Saturday). Indiana hosts rival Purdue (Saturday).
Cincinnati hosts Connecticut (Saturday). Texas A&M tries to get back into the SEC race when it hosts Kentucky (Saturday). Connecticut hosts SMU (Thursday). Gonzaga looks to lock up the WEST COAST when it hosts St. Mary's (Saturday). St. Joseph's hosts Dayton (Wednesday). Tulsa hosts Cincinnati (Thursday). USC has a big week, hosting the Mountain schools: Colorado (Wednesday) and Utah (Sunday). Syracuse hosts Pittsburgh (Saturday). Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma (Wednesday). Wisconsin hosts Michigan State (Thursday). Texas has it tough, hosting West Virginia (Tuesday) and Baylor (Saturday). Temple hopes to claim a share of this year's BIG 5 title when unbeaten Villanova visits (Wednesday).
UC-Irvine gets to host Hawaii in the second BIG WEST showdown (Saturday). Princeton hosts Yale (Friday) with the chance to tie things up in the IVY LEAGUE. Belmont hosts Tennessee Tech (Saturday). Middle Tennessee hosts UAB (Sunday)
with a chance to tie up CONFERENCE USA.
New Mexico State's big week continues when it hosts Cal State-Bakersfield (Thursday). Winthrop has a big week, hosting Coastal Carolina (Thursday) and UNC-Asheville (Saturday). It's the second SOUTHLAND showdown (Thursday) when IPFW hosts South Dakota State. Fairleigh Dickinson hosts Wagner (Thrusday).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- @WichitaSt-
NewMexicoSt, @Monmouth-Manhattan, @WrightSt-Oakland,
- Tuesday:
- WVirginia-@Texas, @Baylor-IowaSt, @Butler-
Creighton, @Akron-Buffalo,
- Wednesday:
- Villanova-@Temple(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), Oklahoma-@TexasTech, @NCarolina-Duke(NC), @Xavier-Providence, @Louisville-Syracuse, Dayton-@StJosephs, @USC-Colorado, @IUPUI-Omaha, @NewMexico-
BoiseSt, @StPeters-Manhattan, @Albany-StonyBrook(NY),
- Thursday:
- MichiganSt-@Wisconsin, SMU-@Connecticut, @Tulsa-Cincinnati, @
IPFW-SDState, @William&Mary-UNCWilmington, @TXArlington-Louisiana, @NewMexicoSt-CalStBakersfield, @SoUtah-WeberSt(UT), @Winthrop-CoCarolina(SC), @FairleighDickinson-Wagner,
- Friday:
- @Valparaiso-Oakland, @Monmouth-
Iona, @Princeton-Yale, @KentSt-Akron(OH)(NEO),
BLACK & BLUE/CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC - II
-(@VCU-Richmond[RichmondVA]),
- Saturday:
- @Villanova-Butler, Oklahoma-@WVirginia, @Oregon-OregonSt(OR), @NCarolina-MiamiFL, Kentucky-@TexasA&M, Duke-@Louisville, Baylor-@Texas(TX), @Indiana-Purdue(IN), @Cincinnati-Connecticut, @Gonzaga-StMarys, @Syracuse-Pittsburgh, @
SCarolina-Florida, @Evansville-SoIllinois, @IPFW-Omaha, @UCIrvine-Hawaii, @ColofCharleston-UNCWilmington, @Belmont-TennesseeTech(TN), @Winthrop-UNCAsheville,
- Sunday:
- @Maryland-Michigan, Utah-@USC, @StPeters-Monmouth(NJ), @MidTennessee-UAB,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @MiamiFL-Virginia, @WVirginia-IowaSt, @Siena-
Iona(NY), @Howard-SCState.
Top 25 - 16 Feb15 - [] Column
- Villanova (22-3)
- Kansas (20-4)
- Iowa (20-5)
- Oklahoma (19-4)
- Oregon (20-5)
- North Carolina (21-4)
- West Virginia (19-5)
- Xavier(21-3)
- Virginia (20-5)
- Kentucky (19-6)
- Michigan State (21-5)
- Maryland (21-4)
- SMU (21-3)
- Iowa State (18-7)
- Duke (19-6)
- Baylor (17-7)
- Miami(Florida) (20-4)
- Providence (19-7)
- Louisville (18-6)
- Dayton (21-3)
- Arizona (21-5)
- Utah (18-7)
- Indiana (20-6)
- San Diego State (17-7)
- Wichita State (17-7)
- Honorable Mention:
- Creighton (17-9), Notre Dame (17-7), California (16-8), Purdue (19-6), Wisconsin (16-9), Tulsa (16-9), Alabama (15-9), LSU (16-9), Marquette (16-10), Texas Tech (15-9), Fresno State (14-9), Northern Iowa (15-11).
Stony Brook(18-4) AMEREu+3.
posted by Ron @ Thursday, April 07, 2016
