Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Friday, January 13, 2017

16 Dec26 - The (Blue)Grass Is Redder On The Other Side (PRECONFERENCE)

Volume XXI, No. 8 - 16 Dec26: PRECONFERENCE - [] Top 25 Ballot

The (Blue)Grass Is Redder On The Other Side

Duke-North Carolina gets all the hype as the best rivalry in College Basketball -- eight miles apart, home-and-home games in the regular season every year and often a third rubber match in the vaunted ACC tournament. But, hard to believe, Duke and North Carolina have never met in the NCAA tournament -- it wasn't possible before 1975 (when multiple teams from the same conference were first allowed); the one time they appeared headed for a classic matchup in the title game (1991), Duke made the final (on the all-time upset of undefeated in UNLV in the semi), but UNC fell to Kansas (when Dean Smith was ejected as Roy Williams upset his mentor). Kentucky and Louisville had the (White)/State school-(Black)/City school foundation that prevented them from even playing for years -- they didn't play at all between 1959 and 1983 (ostensibly due to Louisville's integrated roster); but once the NCAA tournament forced the matchup in 1983, they have basically played once-a-year ever since (plus 6 times in the tourney, most notably in the 2012 Final Four, won by UK). Last year's endplay in Lexington went to the Wildcats; so how appropriate that this year's endplay in Louisville went to the Cardinals (@73-70). UofL's no-name front line has height and agility and the guards were able to get back to prevent UK's transition game from getting easy points. The Cardinals will need more consistent offense up front in the long run for ultimate success this season, but they had the right makeup this time to pull off this year's win.
     South Carolina's fine preseason made them the favorite (even on the road) in this year's State Title showdown at Clemson; but the Tigers prevailed (@62-60 as cJaron Blossomgame[15p10r2a] had more help around him than tP.J. Dozier[26p5a8r] did).

Syracuse didn't show up, getting throttled at home (@60-93) by 6-7 St. John's. Valparaiso tripped at home in double-overtime against Santa Clara. Stanford's promising preseason ground to a halt with a tank loss at SMU (49-@72). Texas pounded UAB (@96-60), but neither team had a strong preseason overall. Auburn edged Connecticut in overtime on the road (70-@67[OT] behind 5-11 pJared Harper[22p5a5r]). Monmouth outran Princeton (@96-90 as pJustin Robinson[27p7a] and xJe'lon Hornbreak[25p10r] dueled Steven Cook[30p] and tDevin Cannady[26p8r]), continuing the Tigers' disappointing preseason.
     Harvard edged Houston on the road (57-@56). UNC-Wilmington beat state-rival East Carolina (@81-71). Middle Tennessee fell at home to Georgia State (@56-64). In their State Title showdown, visiting Georgia road-routed host Georgia Tech, (60-@43).

In the final tournament and specialty events: USC completed its preseason undefeated (barely) with an overtime win over Wyoming (94-92[OT]) to win the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC. The DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC was supposed to be a showdown between Illinois State and San Diego State; but San Francisco knocked off IllSt (66-58) in the semis before SDgoSt won the final (62-48) to salvage its mediocre preseason. Akron was an Unwelcome Guest winner of the DON HASKINS/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL (past the likes of host UTEP) -- it's the second tourney crown of the preseason for the Zips (who earlier won the new 2x4 SAVANNAH INVITATIONAL). Nevada went 2-0 to win the LAS VEGAS-HOLIDAY CLASSIC round-robin at SOUTH POINT (ahead of the likes of Iona). Massachusetts completed its 4-0 sweep of home games to claim the round-robin GOTHAM CLASSIC. In the HALL OF FAME-CONNECTICUT-D BIRTHDAY double-header at the MOHEGAN SUN, Auburn edged Oklahoma (74-70) while "host" Fairfield beat Boston College (@89-83).

"Oops! He did it again!?" Inexplicably Duke's gGrayson Allen tripped an opponent -- (this is THE THIRD TIME, now) -- against Elon. Forget all the spin about how much pressure there is when you're "the designated Duke (anti-White) villain" (as former star J.J. Redick tried to explain away last year). This is nothing more (and nothing less) than a privileged player whose instinct is to play dirty when he thinks he can get away with it. (See former Wake Forest/now NBA Clippers star Chris Paul.) Weirder was the temper tantrum gAllen threw on the bench immediately afterward -- ("disappointed in himself", I guess). This is something specific to this guy. Even Coach K had to suspend him "indefinitely" afterwards (but not before letting him return in the game, for some reason). (Of course, it's convenient that this will give K more playing time to work with now that all of his GC freshmen are healthy and need minutes. As great as his achievements are, K does display less than full integrity more than you'd like to see. Let's see how long the suspension lasts.)

At the end of the preseason, undefeated UCLA came through with the most impressive individual result -- the (squeak) road win at Kentucky. Villanova has hardly dropped off from last year's national championship form. Perhaps Baylor and Gonzaga have been the biggest surprises of the season with such outstanding results after such big roster changes from last year. Creighton and USC weren't the most likely teams to still be unbeaten
at this point.
     The BIG 12 rated the best (by a considerable margin) in pure won-loss results (50-17 in top matchups [including 3 elite wins], 3 tournament crowns, 7-of-10 teams with elite [at least 4-to-1] won-loss records); but the ACC (72-33 [5 elite wins], 4.5 crowns, 11-of-15 elite teams), BIG 10 (73-37 [3 elite], 3 crowns, 7-of-14 elites), BIG EAST (54-26 [6 elite], 5 crowns, 5-of-10 elite) and SEC (63-36 [3 elite], 1 crown, 4-of-14 elites) all were excellent as well. All things considered, it's the ACC that qualifies as the strongest league overall this year. The PAC-12 (48-25 [2], 2, 4-of-12) and WEST COAST (36-21 [1], 1, 2-of-10) both also passed the test as B-Major conferences.
     The Mid-Majors were stronger this preseason, claiming 5 tournament crowns (after being shut out completely last year) -- the AMERICAN (37-25 [3 elite], 2 crowns, 1-of-11 elites), MOUNTAIN WEST (38-29 [0], 3, 1-of-11) and ATLANTIC 10 (47-34 [1], .5, 0) all look capable of earning multiple bids this year.
     More encouraging are the number of Splashworthy 1BC leagues (or, rather, 1BC leagues headed by Splashworthy/Anti-Spoiler-bound teams) -- the SUN BELT (31-24 [1 elite], 2.1 crowns)/Texas-Arlington, CONFERENCE USA (,1.2 crowns)/Middle Tennessee, METRO ATLANTIC (27-27, 1)/Monmouth(elite), WAC(,1.5)/New Mexico State(elite), COLONIAL(,1)/UNC-Wilmington(elite) and MISSOURI VALLEY ([1 elite], 0)/Wichita State are all led by teams who could win a round in the NCAA tournament.
     Teams in the 1BC Swirl Spot haven't been as strong depth-wise, but feature lead teams/players worth a look -- HORIZON(,2 crowns)/Valparaiso(cAlec Peters), MID-AMERICAN(,3)/Akron(2), OHIO VALLEY(,1.8)/Belmont(cEvan Bradds), SUMMIT([1 elite], 0.5)/Fort Wayne and the SOUTHERN(,1)/Chattanooga.
     Going nowhere/led by no one, the Flop 1BCs have been:
AMERICA EAST(,0)/New Hampshire, SOUTHLAND(,0.5)/Sam Houston State, NORTHEAST(,1)/Wagner, PATRIOT(,0)/Lehigh(cTim Kempton), ATLANTIC SUN(,0.3)/Florida Gulf Coast, BIG SOUTH(,0.3)/Winthrop, IVY(,0)/Harvard, BIG SKY(,0.2)/Portland State, BIG WEST(,0)/Hawaii[ineligible], SWAC(,0.2)/Texas Southern and MEAC(,0)/North Carolina Central.
     The 17.6 crowns won by 1BC teams is nearly identical to last year's total (17.7). It was the MM teams who stepped up and took some hardware away from mighty BM boys.

The race for Player Of The Year has been quiet. tJosh Hart(Villanova) has been the best of an underwhelming bunch ahead of the likes of pFrank Mason III(Kansas) and cCaleb Swanigan(Purdue) while cAlec Peters(Valparaiso), cEvan Bradds(Belmont) and cTim Kempton(Lehigh) have made impressions against mostly 1BC competition.
     With Duke's superfrosh sidelined for most of the preseason, with Michigan State's overall preseason such a bust; Freshman Of The Year has mostly been about gMalik Monk(Kentucky) and tLonzo Ball(UCLA).

- - - - - -

Here's a detailed look at the conferences after the preseason:
    B-MAJOR
  1. ATLANTIC COAST - North Carolina (elite win) [3:MAUI], Louisville (elite), Clemson (elite), Duke (good wins) [2v2:HOF-A], Florida State (good) .5[2v2:NIT.T-O], Notre Dame (good) [2v2:LEGENDS], Virginia Tech (good), Pittsburgh (good), Virginia, Miami(Florida) and North Carolina State all were excellent; Wake Forest starred; Georgia Tech (good) was a winner; Boston College (elite) and Syracuse (good) both skirted .500.
  2. BIG 10 - Purdue (elite win) [2v2:CANCUN], Indiana (elite), Maryland (good win) [2v2:BRK-T-B], Wisconsin (good), Northwestern (good), Minnesota (good) and Rutgers all were excellent; Michigan (good) [2v2:2K], Illinois (good) and Ohio State all starred; Michigan State (good) and Iowa (good) both were winners; Nebraska (good)
    skirted .500.
  3. BIG EAST - Villanov (elite win) [BIG 5] [3:CHARLESTON] and Creighton (elite) [3:PARADISE] both were undefeated; Butler (elite) [2v2:LVI-THANX],
    Seton Hall (elite) [rr2@PEARL.H] and Xavier (made noise) all were excellent; Providence (good win), Georgetown (noise) and Marquette all starred. St. John's (noise) skirted .500.
  4. BIG 12 - Baylor (elite win) [v3:ATLANTIS-B] was undefeated; Kansas (elite) [2v2vCBE], West Virginia (elite), Oklahoma State (good win), TCU (good) [2v@GS-A], Texas Tech and Kansas State all were excelllent; Iowa State starred. Texas and Oklahoma both skirted .500.
  5. SOUTHEASTERN - Kentucky (elite win), Auburn (elite),
    South Carolina (good wins) [rr3v@BRKI-T-A] and Arkansas (good) all were excellent; Florida (elite), Texas A&M (good), LSU (good), Mississippi, Mississippi State and Georgia all starred. Vanderbilt (good) skirted .500.
  6. PACIFIC-12 - UCLA (elite win) [3vWL/ANAHEIM] and USC (good win) [2v2:LV-XMAS] both were undefeated; Oregon (good) and Arizona both starred; Stanford (elite), Colorado (good), California and Utah all were winners; Arizona State (good) skirted .500. (Oregon State was a flop.)
  7. WEST COAST - Gonzaga (elite win) [3:A/ORLANDO-B] was undefeated; St. Mary's (good win) was excellent; San Francisco (good) and BYU both starred. Santa Clara (good) skirted .500. (Pepperdine was a flop.)
    MID-MAJOR
  8. AMERICAN - Cincinnati (good win) was excellent; Temple (elite wins) .5[2v2:NIT.T-O], Houston (good) [3:GULF.CST], SMU (good), Memphis and UCF all starred; East Carolina was a winner; Tulsa (good) and Connecticut (made noise) both skirted .500.
  9. MOUNTAIN WEST - Nevada [rr2:LV-HOLI] was excellent; San Diego State [3:DIAMOND}, Fresno State .5[rr3@OE/BEAVER] and Wyoming all starred; Colorado State .5[rr4@C/BEARS], Boise State and San Jose State all were winners; New Mexico skirted .500.
  10. ATLANTIC 10 - Rhode Island (elite wins), Dayton (made noise), Massachusetts (noise), St. Bonaventure .5[rr3@LONE.STR-B], VCU and George Mason all starred; George Washington (noise) was a winner; La Salle (noise), Davidson and St. Joseph's all skirted .500.
    1BC
    (SPLASH) - - - - -
  11. SUN BELT - Texas-Arlington (elite win),
    Arkansas State (good win) [2@MAUIcons], Louisiana .25[rr3@HARDWD] and Little Rock .5[LONE.STR-B] all starred; Georgia State (good win) was a winner; Georgia Southern (noise) skirted .500.
  12. CONFERENCE USA - Middle Tennessee (good win) [rr3:MUSIC.CTY] and Rice [.25rr3@HARDWD] both starred; Old Dominion and Louisiana Tech both were winners; Marshall, Charlotte, UAB, North Texas, Western Kentucky and Florida Atlantic all skirted .500. (UTEP was a flop.)
  13. METRO ATLANTIC - Monmouth was excellent; Iona (good win) and Rider both starred; Canisius was a winner; Fairfield, Manhattan and St. Peter's all skirted .500. (Siena was a flop.)
  14. WESTERN ATHLETIC - New Mexico State [rr4@S.DIEGO] was excellent. {Grand Canyon} (good win) and Cal State-Bakersfield both were winners; Utah Valley (good), Missouri-Kansas City .5[rr3@FRACK] and Seattle all skirted .500.
  15. COLONIAL - UNC-Wilmington was excellent; College of Charleston starred; Hofstra and Towson both were winners; Northeastern (made noise), Elon [rr3@HI/HUSKIE] and William & Mary all skirted .500. (James Madison was a flop.)
  16. MISSOURI VALLEY - Loyola(Illinois) (good win), Illinois State (good), Wichita State, Evansville and Missouri State all starred. Indiana State (elite win), Northern Iowa and Souther Illinois all skirted .500.
    (SWIRL)- - - - - -
  17. HORIZON - Valparaiso (good wins) [2v2:LV-MAIN], Northern Kentucky .5[3@TS-SPORTS-B], Oakland and Wright State all starred; Youngstown State (good win), Green Bay .5[rr3@FRACK] and Illinois-Chicago all skirted .500.
  18. MID-AMERICAN - Akron [2v:@SAVANNAH] [2@HASKINS/SUN], Ohio University (made noise) [rr4@GS-B], Central Michigan and Ball State all starred; Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois, Toledo, Miami(Ohio), Buffalo and Bowling Green all skirted .500.
  19. OHIO VALLEY - Tennessee State (good win) [rr3@CABLE] and Tennessee-Martin both starred; Eastern Illinois was a winner; Belmont, Jascksonville State and Eastern Kentucky all skirted .500; Murray State (good) was a loser; (SIU-Edwardsville (made noise) [.3rr3@RAINBOW], Austin Peay [.5rr3@T/SPORTS-B] and Southeast Missouri all were flops).
  20. SUMMIT - Fort Wayne (elite win) [rr2vI.HOOSIER] starred; North Dakota State [.3rr3@HP/PANTHER], Denver and South Dakota all were winners; Omaha and South Dakota State both skirted .500; IUPUI was a loser.
  21. SOUTHERN - East Tennessee State [rr3:SANFORD-B], Chattanooga, UNC-Greensboro and Samford all starred. Furman, The Citadel and Mercer all skirted .500.
    (FLOP) - - - - - -
  22. AMERICA EAST - New Hampshire (made noise) and Maryland-Baltimore County both starred; Vermont was a winner; SUNY-B and Albany both skirted .500; Stony Brook (noise) and Hartford both were losers; ({Massachusetts-Lowell} was a flop).
  23. SOUTHLAND - Sam Houston State starred; Texas A&M-CC was a winner; {Abilene Christian} (made noise), Lamar, Nicholls, Southeast Louisiana, Northwestern State, {Incarnate Word}, New Orleans, Stephen F. Austin and Houston Baptist all skirted .500. (Central Arkansas was a flop).
  24. NORTHEAST - Long Island and Wagner (made noise) both skirted .500; Sacred Heart was a loser; (Robert Morris [2@BRK-T-Bcons], Bryant and Fairleigh Dickinson all were flops).
  25. PATRIOT - Bucknell was a winner; Lehigh, Loyola(Maryland), Army, Holy Cross (made noise), Boston University (noise) and Navy all skirted .500.
  26. ATLANTIC SUN - Florida Gulf Coast (good win) [2vATLANTIS-Bcons] and Jacksonville both were winners; South Carolina Upstate [.3rr3@HOLY.CTY], New Jersey Tech and Stetson all skirted .500; Lipscomb was a loser; (Kennesaw State and North Florida both were flops).
  27. BIG SOUTH - Winthrop starred; UNC-Asheville was a winner;
    Campbell [.3rr3@HOLY.CTY], High Point, Gardner-Webb and Radford all skirted .500; Liberty was a loser.
  28. IVY - Brown was a winner; Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Penn all skirted .500. (Cornell was a flop.)
  29. BIG SKY - Portland State and Eastern Washington both were winners; North Dakota, Idaho and Weber State all skirted .500; Montana and Montana State [.25HARDWD] both were losers; (Idaho State was a flop).
  30. BIG WEST - UC-Davis, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Cal State-Fullerton and Hawaii all skirted .500; UC-Irvine was a loser; (Long Beach State and UC-Santa Barbara both were flops).
  31. SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC - Only Grambling State skirted .500. (Southern, Texas Southern [.25HARDWD], Alcorn State, Jackson State and Alabama State all were flops. Alabama A&M and Mississippi Valley State both were
    winless.)
  32. MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC - Only North Carolina Central skirted .500. (South Carolina State, Howard, Bethune-Cookman and Coppin State all were flops).
- - - - - -

There are still a handful of interesting out-of-conference meetings this week. Indiana hosts Louisville in their own Bluegrass showdown (Saturday). North Carolina hosts Monmouth (Wednesday). Conference play gets under way with some important matchups right out of the blocks. Oregon can turn around a disappointing preseason with one big week at home: (Wednesday vs UCLA, Friday vs USC). Creighton has more than its unbeaten record on the line with two huge home games (Wednesday vs Seton Hall, Saturday vs Villanova). West Virginia visits Oklahoma State (Friday). Seton Hall's second big game of the week comes Sunday when it hosts Marquette. Virginia has it tough, visiting Louisville (Wednesday) and hosting Florida State (Saturday). Duke visits Virginia Tech (Saturday).
     Arkansas hosts Florida (Thursday). Iowa State hosts Texas Tech (Friday).
     Providence needs two big road wins to get into the national conversation (Wednesday at Xavier, Sunday at Butler). -- Ron P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!
Key games this week:
Monday:
(None).
Tuesday:
@Memphis-SMU,
Wednesday:
UCLA-@Oregon, @Louisville-Virginia, @NCarolina-Monmouth, @Creighton-SetonHall, Cincinnati-@Temple, @Xavier-Providence, @Penn-Drexel(PhiladelphiaPA)(/PALESTRA/), @NoIowa-MissouriSt,
Thursday:
@Arkansas-Florida, @SamHoustonSt-HoustonBaptist(TX), @PortlandSt-NDakota,
Friday:
Kansas-@TCU, WVirginia-@OklahomaSt, USC-@Oregon, @IowaSt-TexasTech, @NewMexicoSt-UTEP, @BostonU-HolyCross(MA),
Saturday:
Villanova-@Creighton, @Indiana-Louisville(BG)(@IndianapolisIN), Duke-@VirginiaTech, @Virginia-FloridaSt, @Towson-UNCWilmington, @FresnoSt-Nevada, @Monmouth-Rider(NJ), @OldDominion-Rice, @MurraySt-TennesseeSt, @Dartmouth-NewHampshire(NH), @Montana-WeberSt,
Sunday (NEW YEAR'S)
@Butler-Providence, @SetonHall-Marquette, @MidTennessee-UAB,
- - - - - -
Monday week:
@UNCGreensboro-Chattanooga, @BostonU-Lehigh,



Top 25 - 16 Dec26: PRECONFERENCE - [] Column
  1. UCLA (13-0) [v3vWL/ANAHEIM] (@@C/SPORTS-A)
  2. Villanova (12-0) (@BIG10) [3:CHARLESTON{SC}] (:NVR.FRGT) [BIG5]
  3. Baylor (11-0) [v3:ATLANTIS-B]
  4. Gonzaga (12-0) [3:A/ORLANDO-B] (:PAC12)
  5. Butler (11-1) (vBIG10) [2v2:LVI-THANX] (@@XROADS)
  6. Indiana (9-2) (:A.FORCES) (vACC)
  7. Kansas (11-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2vCBE]
  8. West Virginia (11-1)
  9. Louisville (11-1) (vBIG10)
  10. Kentucky (10-2) (@@CHAMPS) [rr4vBLUEGRASS] (:ATLANTIS-A) (@@BRK-WIN-B) (@@C/SPORTS-A) (vKY)
  11. North Carolina (10-2) [v3:MAUI]
  12. Purdue (11-2) [2v2:CANCUN] (:JIMMY.V) (@@XROADS)
  13. Creighton (12-0) (vBIG10) [3:PARADISE] (@NE)
  14. Duke (12-1) [2v2:HOF-A] (vBIG10) (:JIMMY.V) (@@LV-SHOW)
  15. Seton Hall (10-2) (@BIG10) [2@PEARL.H] (vUA/NYC-WIN) (vNJ)
  16. South Carolina (9-2) [rr3v@BRKI-THANX-A]
  17. Wisconsin (11-2) (vACC)
  18. Arizona (11-2) (:A.FORCES) (@LON.STR-A)
  19. Virginia (10-1) [2v2:EMERALD]
  20. Virginia Tech (10-1) (@BIG10)
  21. Florida State (12-1) .5[2v2:NIT.T-O] (vBIG10) (@BB&T) (vFL) (vORANGE)
  22. St. Mary's (10-1) (vLV-WCC)
  23. USC (13-0) (vWCC) [2v2:LVC-XMAS]
  24. Oklahoma State (9-2)
  25. Cincinnati (10-2)
Honorable Mention:
Clemson (9-2) (vSC).

Ft. Wayne (7-3) [rr2vI.HOOSIER],
Notre Dame (10-2) [2v2:LEGENDS],
Valparaiso (8-3) [2v2:LV-MAIN],
Iona (8-4) [@3:GREAT.AK],
Michigan (10-3) [2v2:2K],
San Diego State (7-4) [3@DIAMOND],
Temple (9-4) .5[2v2:NIT.T-O],
Maryland (11-1) [2v2:BRKC-T-B],
Ohio University (8-3) [rr4@GS-B],
Xavier (10-2) [3:P.RICOrTP/ORLANDO-A],
California (9-3)/Colorado State (8-5) [rr4vC/BEARS],
Fresno State (8-4)/Lamar (7-5) [rr3v@OE.BEAVER],
TCU (10-1) [2v@:GS-A],
Middle Tennessee (9-3) [rr3vMUSIC.CTY],
Houston (9-3) [v3:GULF.CST],
Little Rock (7-4)/St. Bonaventure (8-4) [rr3:nLONE.STR-B],
New Mexico State (11-2) [rr4@nS.DIEGO],
Akron (9-3) [2v:@nSAVANH] [2@HASKINS/SUN],
Nevada (11-2) [rr2:LV-HOLI],
East Tennessee State (9-3) [rr3:SANFORD-B],
Green Bay (6-6)/Missouri-Kansas City (7-7) [3@FRACK],
Louisiana (10-3)/Rice (10-3)/Montana State (3-8)/Texas Southern (4-9) [rr3v@HARDWOOD],
Robert Morris (4-9) [2@BRK-T-Bcons],
Elon (7-5) [3@NI/HUSKIE],
Austin Peay (4-9)/Northern Kentucky (9-4) [3@nT/SPORTS-B],
North Dakota State (8-5)/High Point (6-6) [3@HP/PANTHER],
Arkansas State (9-4) [2@MAUIcons],
Tennessee State (7-3) [3@CABLE],
Texas State (7-5)/Hawaii (5-7)/SIU-Edwardsville (4-9) [3@RAINBOW],
South Carolina Upstate (8-7)/Campbell (7-5)/The Citadel (7-6) [rr3@HOLY.CTY].