16 Dec19 - Criss-Crossroads
Volume XXI, No. 7 - 16 Dec19 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Criss-Crossroads
Specialty double-headers were the rule for the week. Rarely has the CROSSROADS CLASSIC in Indianapolis featured four ranked teams as it did this year. (Together with the splashworthy-ness of Valparaiso, the state of Indiana is having a banner season all around.) Butler upset "Big Brother" Indiana (@83-@78 as Kelan Martin[28p5to] dueled James Blackmon[26p]). Meanwhile, Purdue and Notre Dame went back and forth in a thrilling game as the Boilermakers eventually prevailed over the Irish (@86-@81 as cCaleb Swanigan[26p10r] bested 22p10a5r from pMatt Farrell).
At the C/SPORTS-A CLASSIC (this year at the new T-MOBILE ARENA in Las Vegas), Kentucky found itself in yet another all-out track meet, outlasting North Carolina (@103-@100 as GC gMalik Monk[47p;8/12 3s] outdueled 34p5r from bJustin Jackson) -- great win, but you do wish that the Wildcats would abandon "All-Star mode" and demonstrate some team defense; it's hard to believe they can win it all staying in
that individual frame of mind. UCLA wasn't much troubled in the undercard, beating Ohio State (@86-@73).
At the new UA/NEW YORK-WINTER REUNION at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, Seton Hall edged undermanned South Carolina (@67-64 as suspended bSindarius Thornwell didn't play). Auburn made it 0-2 for the SEC, tripping 71-72 against Boston College.
At the CHICAGO-DECEMBER LEGENDS double-header at the UNITED CENTER in Chicago, it was the BIG 10 going 2-0 with two upsets as Illinois edged BYU (@75-73 despite 25p from Eric Mika) and Northwestern edged Dayton (@67-64).
At the new LONE STAR-A SHOOTOUT in Houston, the host teams went 0-2 as Arkansas edged Texas (77-@74) and Arizona edged Texas A&M (67-@63).
At the recently established [NEW YORK] BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Buffalo, it was St. Bonaventure over Niagara (@79-@69) and Canisius beating arch-/city-rival Buffalo (@94-@87[OT]).
At the ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC in Sunrise, FL, the host schools had an easy time against lesser opponents as Florida routed Charlotte and Florida State pounded Manhattan.
At the traditional [IOWA] BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Des Moines, the MVC went 0-2 as Iowa routed Northern Iowa (@69-@46) while Iowa State outran host Drake (@97-@80).
In traditional grudge games, Georgetown won on the road at Syracuse (78-@71). Xavier edged Wake Forest (@69-65) in the annual SKIP PROSSER CLASSIC. Chattanooga couldn't pull off the road upset at "Big Brother" Vanderbilt, falling 74-@76. It was South Dakota who swept the home-and-home series with Montana State with an 80-@68 road win.
Villanova wrapped up its FOURTH-STRAIGHT BIG 5 TITLE -- (ALL UNDEFEATED) with a @78-57 rout of 3-0 Temple (behind 26p from Josh Hart).
Elsewhere, Oklahoma State claimed one more win for the mighty BIG 12 with a road-rout of Wichita State (93-@76). Middle Tennessee won at state-rival Belmont (79-@66 as xJacorey Williams[18p11r5a] dueled 21p16r from cEvan Bradds) but couldn't come through with the big one on the road at VCU, falling 77-@80 (despite 25p7r from bGiddy Potts). Valparaiso routed giant-killer Indiana State (@89-71 behind cAlec Peters[29p15r]). Michigan State's woes continued as it fell at home to lowly Northeastern. Princeton couldn't manage a home win, either, falling to St. Joseph's. Jackson State managed to lose at home to non-Division I {Blue Mountain}, @49-57 - yikes.
- - - - - -
Louisville's agile front court (not to mention its home court) might be enough of an advantage to topple arch-/state-rival mighty Kentucky (Wednesday). Seton Hall won't have it easy even at home against arch-/state-rival Rutgers in their annual GARDEN STATE CLASSIC (Friday). South Carolina should enjoy being the (road) favorite against arch-/state-rival Clemson (Wednesday).
Florida won't have an easy time with underappreciated Little Rock (Wednesday). USC should have no trouble rolling through the nondescript LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC field (Monday through Friday). Nevada won't have a completely easy time winning the LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC against Iona and Towson (Wednesday-Thursday). Monmouth looks to keep
its splashworthy resume intact with a home win over state-rival Princeton (Tuesday). Illinois State, not San Diego State, looks to be the favorite in the decent draw of the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC (Thursday through Sunday). Texas and UAB both look to avoid irrelevance with a "name" win (Wednesday). Harvard won't have an easy time on the road against underrated Houston (Friday).
Home-standing A-10/Massachusetts looks to close out the 4-round robin GOTHAM CLASSIC past the likes of WCC/Pacific (Tuesday, Thursday). UNLV looks to salvage a 5-5 tie for the MOUNTAIN WEST against the MISSOURI VALLEY with a home win over Southern Illinois (Monday) in the final game of their head-to-head CHALLENGE.
-- Ron
P.S. Happy Holidays, everybody! Hope you're having a Merry Christmas.
Top 25 - 16 Dec19 - [] Column
Criss-Crossroads
Specialty double-headers were the rule for the week. Rarely has the CROSSROADS CLASSIC in Indianapolis featured four ranked teams as it did this year. (Together with the splashworthy-ness of Valparaiso, the state of Indiana is having a banner season all around.) Butler upset "Big Brother" Indiana (@83-@78 as Kelan Martin[28p5to] dueled James Blackmon[26p]). Meanwhile, Purdue and Notre Dame went back and forth in a thrilling game as the Boilermakers eventually prevailed over the Irish (@86-@81 as cCaleb Swanigan[26p10r] bested 22p10a5r from pMatt Farrell).
At the C/SPORTS-A CLASSIC (this year at the new T-MOBILE ARENA in Las Vegas), Kentucky found itself in yet another all-out track meet, outlasting North Carolina (@103-@100 as GC gMalik Monk[47p;8/12 3s] outdueled 34p5r from bJustin Jackson) -- great win, but you do wish that the Wildcats would abandon "All-Star mode" and demonstrate some team defense; it's hard to believe they can win it all staying in
that individual frame of mind. UCLA wasn't much troubled in the undercard, beating Ohio State (@86-@73).
At the new UA/NEW YORK-WINTER REUNION at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, Seton Hall edged undermanned South Carolina (@67-64 as suspended bSindarius Thornwell didn't play). Auburn made it 0-2 for the SEC, tripping 71-72 against Boston College.
At the CHICAGO-DECEMBER LEGENDS double-header at the UNITED CENTER in Chicago, it was the BIG 10 going 2-0 with two upsets as Illinois edged BYU (@75-73 despite 25p from Eric Mika) and Northwestern edged Dayton (@67-64).
At the new LONE STAR-A SHOOTOUT in Houston, the host teams went 0-2 as Arkansas edged Texas (77-@74) and Arizona edged Texas A&M (67-@63).
At the recently established [NEW YORK] BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Buffalo, it was St. Bonaventure over Niagara (@79-@69) and Canisius beating arch-/city-rival Buffalo (@94-@87[OT]).
At the ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC in Sunrise, FL, the host schools had an easy time against lesser opponents as Florida routed Charlotte and Florida State pounded Manhattan.
At the traditional [IOWA] BIG FOUR CLASSIC in Des Moines, the MVC went 0-2 as Iowa routed Northern Iowa (@69-@46) while Iowa State outran host Drake (@97-@80).
In traditional grudge games, Georgetown won on the road at Syracuse (78-@71). Xavier edged Wake Forest (@69-65) in the annual SKIP PROSSER CLASSIC. Chattanooga couldn't pull off the road upset at "Big Brother" Vanderbilt, falling 74-@76. It was South Dakota who swept the home-and-home series with Montana State with an 80-@68 road win.
Villanova wrapped up its FOURTH-STRAIGHT BIG 5 TITLE -- (ALL UNDEFEATED) with a @78-57 rout of 3-0 Temple (behind 26p from Josh Hart).
Elsewhere, Oklahoma State claimed one more win for the mighty BIG 12 with a road-rout of Wichita State (93-@76). Middle Tennessee won at state-rival Belmont (79-@66 as xJacorey Williams[18p11r5a] dueled 21p16r from cEvan Bradds) but couldn't come through with the big one on the road at VCU, falling 77-@80 (despite 25p7r from bGiddy Potts). Valparaiso routed giant-killer Indiana State (@89-71 behind cAlec Peters[29p15r]). Michigan State's woes continued as it fell at home to lowly Northeastern. Princeton couldn't manage a home win, either, falling to St. Joseph's. Jackson State managed to lose at home to non-Division I {Blue Mountain}, @49-57 - yikes.
- - - - - -
Louisville's agile front court (not to mention its home court) might be enough of an advantage to topple arch-/state-rival mighty Kentucky (Wednesday). Seton Hall won't have it easy even at home against arch-/state-rival Rutgers in their annual GARDEN STATE CLASSIC (Friday). South Carolina should enjoy being the (road) favorite against arch-/state-rival Clemson (Wednesday).
Florida won't have an easy time with underappreciated Little Rock (Wednesday). USC should have no trouble rolling through the nondescript LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC field (Monday through Friday). Nevada won't have a completely easy time winning the LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC against Iona and Towson (Wednesday-Thursday). Monmouth looks to keep
its splashworthy resume intact with a home win over state-rival Princeton (Tuesday). Illinois State, not San Diego State, looks to be the favorite in the decent draw of the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC (Thursday through Sunday). Texas and UAB both look to avoid irrelevance with a "name" win (Wednesday). Harvard won't have an easy time on the road against underrated Houston (Friday).
Home-standing A-10/Massachusetts looks to close out the 4-round robin GOTHAM CLASSIC past the likes of WCC/Pacific (Tuesday, Thursday). UNLV looks to salvage a 5-5 tie for the MOUNTAIN WEST against the MISSOURI VALLEY with a home win over Southern Illinois (Monday) in the final game of their head-to-head CHALLENGE.
-- Ron
P.S. Happy Holidays, everybody! Hope you're having a Merry Christmas.
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- Monday:
- 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),
JACKSON SHOWCASE 1Off @ JacksonMS
-(@MississippiSt-@SoMississippi[MS]),
- Monday-Friday:
- LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/ORLEANS/
-(A: USC, MissouriSt; Troy, Cornell;
B: DePaul, Wyoming; ChicagoSt, SEMissouri)
- Tuesday:
- @Monmouth-Princeton(NJ), @BYU-
IdahoSt,
(7P):@GeorgiaTech-Georgia(GA), @Maryland-Charlotte(@BaltimoreMD), @PortlandSt-@Portland(PortlandOR), @UNCWilmington-ECarolina(NC),
- Tuesday, Thursday:
- GOTHAM CLASSIC RndRob4 on-campus
-(Pacific, @Massachusetts, Rider,KennesawSt, NCA&T;
- Wednesday:
- @Baylor-TexasSo(TX), Kentucky-@Louisville(KY), @Duke-@Elon(NC)(@GreensboroNC), SCarolina-@Clemson(SC), @Florida-LittleRock, @Texas-UAB, @Alabama-ArkansasSt(@HuntsvilleAL), @RobertMorris-Buffalo(@PittsburghPA/PPG/), @UtahSt-WeberSt(UT), @LongIsland-@Niagara(NewYorkNY)(@BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/),
(new)HALL OF FAME-CT-D BIRTHDAY DblHdr @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN/
-(Auburn-Oklahoma, BostonCol-@Fairfield),
BRAGGIN' RIGHTS 1Off @ St.LouisMO
-(@Illinois-@Missouri),
- Wednesday-Thursday:
- LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC RndRob2 @ LasVegasNV/S_POINT/
-(Nevada, Iona, Towson, UCSantaBarbara),
DON HASKINS/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL 2Bracket @ ElPasoTX/UTEP/
-(@UTEP-EaShore,Akron-UCIrvine),
- Thursday:
- @StMarys-
SCState, @Arkansas-SamHoustonSt(@NorthLittleRockAR), @Washington-@Seattle(SeattleWA), @StBonaventure-Canisius(NY)(BIG4),
- Thursday-Friday, Sunday:
- DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC 8Bracket @ HonoluluHI/Hawaii/
-(Qtrs: @Hawaii-IllinoisSt, Utah-SanFrancisco, SanDiegoSt-SoMississippi, Tulsa-StephenFAustin),
- Friday:
- @Houston-Harvard,
GARDEN STATE CLASSIC 1Off on-campus
-(@SetonHall-Rutgers[NJ]).
- Saturday:
- Sunday (CHRISTMAS):
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
Top 25 - 16 Dec19 - [] Column
- UCLA (12-0) [v3vWL/ANAHEIM] (@@C/SPORTS-A)
- Villanova (11-0) (@BIG10) [3:CHARLESTON{SC}] (:NVR.FRGT) [BIG5]
- Baylor (10-0) [v3:ATLANTIS-B]
- Gonzaga (11-0) [3:A/ORLANDO-B] (:PAC12)
- Butler (10-1) (vBIG10) [2v2:LVI-THANX] (@@XROADS)
- Indiana (7-2) (:A.FORCES) (vACC)
- Kansas (10-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2vCBE]
- West Virginia (9-1)
- Kentucky (10-1) (@@CHAMPS) [rr4vBLUEGRASS] (:ATLANTIS-A) (@@BRK-WIN-B) (@@C/SPORTS-A)
- North Carolina (9-2) [v3:MAUI]
- Louisville (10-1) (vBIG10)
- Purdue (9-2) [2v2:CANCUN] (:JIMMY.V) (@@XROADS)
- Creighton (11-0) (vBIG10) [3:PARADISE] (@NE)
- Duke (10-1) [2v2:HOF-A] (vBIG10) (:JIMMY.V) (@@LV-SHOW)
- Seton Hall (9-2) (@BIG10) [2@PEARL.H] (vUA/NYC-WIN)
- South Carolina (9-1) [rr3v@BRKI-THANX-A]
- Wisconsin (10-2) (vACC)
- Arizona (10-2) (:A.FORCES) (@LON.STR-A)
- Virginia (9-1) [2v2:EMERALD]
- Virginia Tech (9-1) (@BIG10)
- Florida State (11-1) .5[NIT.T-O] (vBIG10) (@BB&T) (vFL) (vORANGE)
- St. Mary's (8-1) (vLV-WCC)
- USC (10-0) (vWCC)
- Oklahoma State (8-2)
- Cincinnati (9-2)
- Honorable Mention:
Boston College (6-5).
posted by Ron @ Friday, January 13, 2017
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