16 Dec12 - Wild' Hart Runs Free

Volume XXI, No. 6 - 16 Dec12 - [] Top 25 Ballot

Wild' Hart Runs Free

Things are slowing down as we get deeper into the holiday season -- Thanksgivingtime is busy with College Hoops; Christmastime not so much. This past week was mostly specialty double-headers and grudge matchups.
     At the new NEVER FORGET TRIBUTE CLASSIC in Newark, NJ, Villanova's xJosh Hart turned in the top individual performance of the season with a 37p2a11r effort in basically a One-Man Show to beat Notre Dame (74-66); in the undercard, Pittsburgh beat state-rival Penn State (81-73 led by Michael Young[29p]). At the JIMMY V CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, Duke handled Florida (84-74 behind Luke Kennard[29p] and cAmile Jefferson[24p15r] with GC fJayson Tatum[22p8r] making a solid contribution); Purdue routed woeful Arizona State (97-54). Seton Hall went 2-0 (including edging California 60-57) to win the 2-round robin PEARL HARBOR INVITATIONAL (past host Hawaii); meanwhile, Princeton fell to the Bears (51-62). The LAS VEGAS-SHOWDOWN moved from the MGM GRAND to the new T-MOBILE ARENA, but that didn't help "host" UNLV as Duke pounded the Rebels (94-@45 behind Grayson Allen[34p]). Kentucky had no trouble routing Hofstra (@96-@73) at the BROOKLYN-WINTER FESTIVAL at BARCLAYS CENTER while Long Island edged St. John's (@74-@73) in the undercard.
     Tough week for Florida as the Gators tripped (78-@83) at arch-/state-rival Florida State (now an impressive 10-1 itself). Iowa handled Iowa State (@78-64) in their annual CY-HAWK series. Wisconsin claimed this year's State Title showdown with a road win at Marquette (93-@84 as six players posted double-figures). The latest edition of Syracuse-Connecticut wasn't much to look at as the Huskies edged the Orange (52-@50) at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN in a dreadful game. In the Metroplex showdown, SMU handed TCU its first loss (@74-59). Middle Tennessee was impressive, routing "Big Brother" Vanderbilt (@71-48). Creighton road-routed Nebraska in their State Title game (77-@62 behind pMaurice Watson Jr.[25p8a]). Gonzaga had no trouble with in-state Washington (@98-71 despite 25p from freshman Markelle Fultz).
     Little Rock completed the sweep of arch-/state-rival Central Arkansas (@70-59). Belmont swept this year's BATTLE OF THE BOULEVARD series with its second squeak win (78-@76[OT]) past host Lipscomb.

Elsewhere, Butler tripped at 5-4 Indiana State, but handled Cincinnati (@75-65). Texas-Arlington finally showed the form many expected with a road win at St. Mary's (66-@51).
     Colorado edged Xavier (@68-66 despite 27p from Trevon Bluiett). UCLA outran Michigan (@102-84 on 67 percent shooting as both teams combined to go 29-for-50 on three-pointers). Houston edged Rhode Island (@82-77 as pRob Gray Jr.[30p5a7r] dueled 31p5r from bE.C. Matthews). Georgia Tech surprised host VCU in overtime (76-73@[OT] despite 26p9r from fJustin Tillman). No giant-killing for Valparaiso as Kentucky rolled past the Crusaders (@87-63). San Diego State continued its funk with a 72-@76 road loss at {Grand Canyon} and, worse, a home loss to struggling Arizona State. Illinois State tripped at 4-3 Tulsa. Memphis showed promise with a home win over UAB. Neither team looked good as Michigan edged Texas (@53-50). Ft. Wayne couldn't bring the magic on the road as Notre Dame won in a rout (@87-72 as xBonzie Colson[17p14r5a] did a little of everything to offset 25p5r from bMo Evans). Ohio State hung in the conversation with a @64-60 win over Connecticut.

At the Villanova-La Salle BIG 5 game at The PALESTRA, they revived the tradition of showering the court with (blue and yellow) crepe-paper streamers after the "home team" (La Salle)'s first basket. Some years back, the NCAA put a stop to it (because of the time-wasting cleanup) by assessing an automatic technical foul against the home team; but 'Nova intentionally flubbed the free throw by mutual consent. (The first time I saw this in person was at Princeton's road game at Penn freshman year and I had no idea what was about to happen. It was such a glorious surprise to be suddenly bathed in a sea of [blue and red] color.)

- - - - - -

Rarely have all four teams been ranked as they are for this year's CROSSROADS CLASSIC with Indiana facing Butler and Purdue meeting Notre Dame (Saturday). Expect UCLA to have no trouble with Ohio State at the C/SPORTS CLASSIC at the new T-MOBILE ARENA in Las Vegas; but the "undercard" of North Carolina versus Kentucky could be glorious. Both host Villanova and guest Temple are 3-0 in the BIG 5 so far with this year's title on the line (Tuesday). South Carolina has a tough test "on the road" against Seton Hall in the new UA/NEW YORK-WINTER REUNION
at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN (Monday).
     Middle Tennessee has a chance to make itself a splashworthy At-Large candidate with a couple of big road wins at Belmont (Wednesday) and at VCU (Saturday). Chattanooga can add to its on resume with a road win at vulnerable Vanderbilt (Saturday).

-- 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, 17-DECEMBER (12Net).

Key games this week:

Monday:

(new)UA/NEW YORK-WINTER REUNION DblHdr @ NewYork NY/MSG/
-(SCarolina-@SetonHall, Auburn-BostonCol),

Tuesday:

@Villanova-Temple(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @Cincinnati-TexasSo, @Yale-CConnecticutSt(CT)(CT6),

Tuesday-Thursday week:

GOTHAM CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(Pacific, @Massachusetts, Rider, KennesawSt, NCA&T),

Wednesday:

@Wisconsin-GreenBay(WI), @Arizona-{GrandCanyon}(AZ),
@Clemson-SCState(SC), @Belmont-MidTennessee(TN),

Thursday:

Friday, Sunday:

(new)DAM CITY CLASSIC RndRob2 @ PortlandOR /Portland/
-(@OregonSt, PortlandSt, SDState, LongBeachSt),

Saturday:

@Baylor-JacksonSt(@FtHoodTX), @WichitaSt-OklahomaSt, @Cincinnati-FairleighDickinson, @Oregon-UNLV(@PortlandOR), @VCU-MidTennessee, @Vanderbilt-Chattanooga(TN), @WeberSt-UTValley(UT), @MDBaltimoreCo-Towson(BaltimoreMD),
CROSSROADS CLASSIC @ IndianapolisIN
-(@Indiana-@Butler[IN], @Purdue-@NotreDame[IN]),
C/SPORTS-A CLASSIC DblHdr @ LasVegasNV/T-MOBILE/
-(@UCLA-@OhioSt, @NCarolina-@Kentucky),
JAYHAWK SHOOTOUT 1Off @ KansasCityMO
-(@Kansas-Davidson),
BILLY MINARDI CLASSIC 1Off @ LouisvilleKY
-(@Louisville-EaKentucky[KY]),
(new)LONE STAR-A SHOOTOUT DblHdr @ HoustonTX/TOYOTA/
-(Arizona-@TexasA&M, @Texas-Arkansas),
ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC DblHdr @ SunriseFL
-(@FloridaSt-Manhattan, @Florida-Charlotte),
HV/IOWA-BIG FOUR CLASSIC DblHdr @ DesMoinesIA/Drake/
-(@Drake-@IowaSt[IA][BIG4], @Iowa-@NoIowa[IA][BIG4]),
SKIP PROSSER CLASSIC 1Off on-campus
-(@Xavier-WakeForest),
(new)CHICAGO-DEC LEGENDS DblHdr @ ChicagoIL/UNITED/
-(@Northwestern-Dayton, BYU-@Illinois),
(new)DENVER SHOWCASE @ DenverCO
-(@ColoradoSt-KansasSt, @Denver-NoColorado[CO]),
NEW YORK-BIG FOUR CLASSIC DblHdr @ BuffaloNY
-(@StBonaventure-@Niagara[NY][BIG4], @Buffalo-@Canisius[BuffaloNY][BIG4]),
(new)GLEN FALLS SHOWCASE 1Off @ GlenFallsNY
-(@Siena-Bucknell),
SHREVEPORT-BOSSIER CLASSIC 1Off @ ShreveportLA
-(@LouisianaTech-@GramblingSt[LA]),

(PIGSKIN POOL PARTY ENTRY DEADLINE [12Net])

Saturday-Friday week:

LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/
-(A: USC, MissouriSt; Troy, Cornell;
   B: DePaul, Wyoming; ChicagoSt, SEMissouri)

Sunday:

Gonzaga-@Tennessee(@NashvilleTN), @TCU-TexasSo(TX), @Alabama-Clemson(@BirminghamAL),
@BoiseSt-IdahoSt(ID), @MontanaSt-SDakota,
NEW YORK-HOLIDAY FESTIVAL DblHdr @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(@StJohns-PennSt, @Fordham-Rutgers),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

JACKSON SHOWCASE 1Off @ JacksonMS
-(@MississippiSt-@SoMississippi[MS]),
MWC[3-1;1]/MVC[1-3;1] CHALLENGE Day2/2 on-campus -- MVC leads 5-4
[San Jose State does not play.]
-([7Ppt]: @UNLV-SoIllinois.

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Top 25 - 16 Dec12 - [] Column

1. Indiana (7-1) (:A.FORCES) (vACC)
   
2. UCLA (10-0) [v3vWL/ANAHEIM]
   
3. Villanova (10-0) (@BIG10) [3:CHARLESTON{SC}] (:NVR.FRGT)
   
4. Baylor (8-0) [v3:ATLANTIS-B]
   
5. Gonzaga (10-0) [3:A/ORLANDO-B] (:PAC12)
   
6. Kansas (9-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2vCBE]
   
7. West Virginia (8-1)
   
8. North Carolina (9-1) [v3:MAUI]
   
9. Duke (10-1) [2v2:HOF-A] (vBIG10) (:JIMMY.V) (@@LV-SHOW)
   
10. South Carolina (8-0) [rr3v@BRKI-THANX-A]
    
11. Creighton (10-0) (vBIG10) [3:PARADISE] (@NE)
    
12. Louisville (9-1) (vBIG10)
    
13. Butler (9-1) (vBIG10) [2v2:LVI-THANX]
    
14. Wisconsin (9-2) (vACC)
    
15. Kentucky (9-1) (@@CHAMPS) [rr4vBLUEGRASS] (:ATLANTIS-A) (@@BRK-WIN-B)
    
16. Arizona (8-2) (:A.FORCES)
    
17. Purdue (8-2) [2v2:CANCUN] (:JIMMY.V)
    
18. St. Mary's (7-1) (vLV-WCC)
    
19. Notre Dame (9-1) [2v2:LEGENDS] (vBIG10)
    
20. Virginia Tech (8-1) (@BIG10)
    
21. Auburn (6-1)
    
22. Florida State (10-1) .5[NIT.T-O] (vBIG10) (@BB&T) (vFL)
    
23. Virginia (8-1) [2v2:EMERALD]
    
24. USC (9-0) (vWCC)
    
25. Wichita State (8-2) (@MWC)
    

Honorable Mention:

Indiana State (4-5), Texas-Arlington (6-3).

Seton Hall (7-2) (@BIG10) [2@PEARL.H],
Little Rock (6-2) [@vC.AR],
Belmont (4-3) [v@BOB].