18 Feb 5 -- Cougars Hang In
Volume XXII, No. 14 - 18 Feb 5 - [] Top 25 Ballot
Cougars Hang In
The BIG 12 race tightened up when Kansas tripped at home against Oklahoma State (@79-84 as gKendall Smith[24p5a5r] led the way). Meanwhile, Texas Tech went 2-0 to tie for the lead, winning on the road at TCU (83-@71) and edging Texas in overtime (@73-71[OT] as gKeenan Evans[38p3a;10/20ft,GWFG] starred). Neither West Virginia, who tanked at Iowa State (77-@93 as pDonovan Jackson[25p7a] starred despite 18p9a7r from pJevon Carter), nor Oklahoma, who tripped at TX (74-@79 as the Sooners shot 3-for-22 on threes), could join those two on top. Kansas State went 0-2, handled at home against KANS (@56-70 led by pDevonte' Graham(16p11a) and trounced at WVA (51-@89 as the Mountaineers sank 23-for-24 free throws).
Washington hung in the PAC-12 race, surviving its biggest week of the regular season with two (squeak) home wins, edging Arizona State (@68-64 led by cNoah Dickerson[21p16r] and tJaylen Nowell[15p3a9r6to]) and then first-place Arizona (@78-75 as fNoah Dickerson[25p7r] starred and gDominic Green hit the game-winning three). USC couldn't step up to tie for first place, tripping on the road at crosstown arch-rival UCLA (79-@82 as pAaron Holiday[23p9a6r] led the Bruins).
The SEC race expanded as 2-0 Auburn opened a two-game gap with only Tennessee able to keep pace. Florida fell twice, first at mediocre Georgia (60-@72), then the Gators were dumped at home against Alabama (@50-68 as tCollin Sexton[17p6a8r] led the way). Kentucky fell at rising Missouri (60-@69), which earlier won on the road at BAMA (69-@60). Arkansas fell out of contention with an 0-2 week, handled at Texas A&M (60-@80 as the Aggies controlled the boards 45-30 despite 19p4a5r from bJaylen Barford) and then fell at LSU (86-@94 as 5-11 pTremont Waters[27p11a] starred).
Unbeaten Cincinnati has all but wrapped up the AMERICAN race with a three-game gap after handling Houston (@80-70 led by pJacob Evans[18p5a7r]) while Wichita State's Carpetbagger dreams effectively ended when it tripped in overtime at lowly Temple (79-@81[OT]). SMU couldn't keep contact after falling at mediocre Tulsa.
Unbeaten Virginia put away the ACC race with a three-game gap of its own after handling second-place Louisville (@74-64); LVIL fell again, tripping at home to Florida State (@76-80 as six Seminoles posted double-figures). Away from Chapel Hill, Clemson was able to edge North Carolina at home (@82-78 sinking 15-for-30 three-pointers led by tMarcquise Reed[20p5a8r] despite 32p from gCameron Johnson and 27p4a from gJoel Berry II). FLAST tripped at Wake Forest. Miami(Florida) won on the road at Virginia Tech (84-@75 as cAnthony Lawrence[25p13r] starred) but has lost bBruce Brown for six weeks with a foot injury.
In the BIG EAST, Villanova took care of business with a couple of (home) routs over Creighton (@98-78 sinking 19-for-39 three-pointers led by pDonte DiVincenzo[17p5a6r]) and Seton Hall (@92-76 as xOmari Spellman[26p11r] starred despite 20p7r4a from bDesi Rodriguez). Xavier remained just one game back with a couple of squeak wins at St. John's and at home past Georgetown. SETON kept Providence well back, dumping the Friars (@73-57 despite 25p2a10r from xAlpha Diallo).
- - - - - -
In a rare out-of-conference matchup this late in the season, Duke travelled to MADISON SQUARE GARDEN to play St. John's in the HG CLASSIC. (DUKE-SJOHN is no real rivalry beyond a trip to NYC being a recruiting tool for the Blue Devil program.) Shockingly, the Red Storm pulled off the upset (@81-77 as bShamorie Ponds[33p7r] starred).
- - - - - -
In the MISSOURI VALLEY, Bradley pulled within a game of first-place Loyola(Illinois) with a (squeak) home win (@69-67).
Both divisions of the MID-AMERICAN got tighter as Kent State knocked off unbeaten Buffalo in the East (@82-79 led by pAdonis De La Rosa[20p5a6r]) while Ball State won on the road in the West at Toledo (75-@63 as tTayler Persons[16p8a8r] countered 16p6a10r from tTre'Shaun Fletcher).
Middle Tennessee opened a gap in CONFERENCE USA with a road win in its showdown at Old Dominion (66-@59) while Western Kentucky fell at mediocre Texas-San Antonio.
Unbeaten Vermont locked up AMERICA EAST with a three-game gap after road-dumping second-place Maryland-Baltimore County (81-@53 as tDrew Urquhart[18p8r4a] and tPayton Henson[16p8r4a] countered 27p1a from Jarius Lyles).
In the SUMMIT, South Dakota State still led South Dakota after both took care of third-place North Dakota State: SDAKST thumped NDST (@82-63 as xMike Daum[31p13r] starred) while SDAK edged NDST on the road (76-@72 despite 26p4a5r7to from bPaul Miller).
College of Charleston edged Northeastern on the road (69-@64) in a first-place showdown in the COLONIAL.
Nothing much has yet been settled in the BIG WEST Wars, but UC-Santa Barbara edged Hawaii in overtime (@84-82[OT] as Max Heidegger[25p1a] dueled 25p10r from cMike Thomas) to stay in the mix at the top.
In the SOUTHLAND Wars, Nicholls took sole possession of first place after road-dumping host New Orleans in their showdown (81-@64 as pRoddy Peters[27p6a] starred) while Stephen F. Austin tanked at mediocre Lamar and Southeast Louisiana fell at home to lowly Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
In the METRO ATLANTIC, Iona couldn't keep pace with co-leaders Canisius and Rider after tripping in overtime at Fairfield (100-@103[OT] as bTyler Nelson[32p6r] outdueled 26p7r from bE.J. Crawford).
Yale fell twice in IVY play: edged in overtime at Princeton (73-@76[OT] as xAmir Bell[16p11r] countered 18p3a8r from tAlex Copeland and 17p11r from xTrey Phills) and then falling at Penn (50-@59).
Unbeaten Florida Gulf Coast locked up the ATLANTIC-SUN with a three-game gap after its road-rout of second-place Jacksonville (80-@55 as bZach Johnson[25p6r] starred).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened a gap in the SWAC after edging second-place Jackson State (@60-58).
Bethune-Cookman fell off the pace of MEAC co-leaders Savannah State and North Carolina A&T after it lost at Hampton (69-@80 as xJermaine Marrow[26p5a9r;15/16ft] starred).
- - - - - -
It's Year Two of the NCAA Selection Committee revealing its "Pre-Sixteen" this weekend. Virginia(Charlotte)[SOUTH/Atlanta] and Villanova(Pittsburgh)[EAST/Boston] are no-brainer top seeds. Whoever sorts out this week among Purdue/Michigan State/Ohio State(Detroit) should get the [MIDWEST/Omaha] top seed. The fourth 1-seed in the [WEST/LosAngeles] could still be Kansas(Wichita) although St.Mary's/Gonzaga(Boise) and Cincinnati(Nashville) both have good arguments. It'll be interesting to see how much love the likes of Texas Tech(Dallas), Arizona(San Diego), Auburn/Tennessee(Nashville), Xavier(Nashville), Nevada(Boise) and Rhode Island(Pittsburgh) garner (not to mention "Old Reliable" Duke[Charlotte]).
Virginia visits Florida State (Wednesday) and hosts rival Virginia Tech (Saturday). Villanova looks to pay back its only loss when it hosts Butler (Saturday). Purdue can open up the BIG 10 race with a big week: hosting Ohio State (Wednesday) and visiting Michigan State (Saturday). St. Mary's can lock up the WCC race when it hosts Gonzaga (Saturday). Arizona's biggest week is on tap as both L.A. schools come calling: UCLA (Thursday) and USC (Saturday). Xavier will be hard-pressed to stay in the BIG EAST race with two tough road games: at Butler (Tuesday) and at Creighton (Saturday). Tennessee has it rough: visiting Kentucky (Tuesday) and Alabama (Saturday). Oklahoma hosts West Virginia (Monday).
TCU has it tough: visiting Kansas (Tuesday) and hosting Texas (Saturday). North Carolina has another rough week ahead: hosting arch-rival Duke (Thursday) and visiting rival North Carolina State (Saturday). Louisiana can put the SUN BELT title out of reach when it visits Georgia State (Thursday). Arizona State has the same L.A. double: USC (Thursday) and UCLA (Saturday). Houston hosts SMU (Thursday). Texas hosts Kansas State (Wednesday). Loyola(Illinois) hosts Drake (Wednesday). Texas A&M visits Auburn (Wednesday) and hosts Kentucky (Saturday). Virginia Tech hosts North Carolina State (Wednesday). Kansas State hosts Texas Tech (Saturday). SMU has a tough double: visiting Houston (Thursday)
and hosting Cincinnati (Sunday). Alabama hosts Tennessee (Saturday).
College of Charleston hosts William & Mary with sole possession of first place in the COLONIAL on the line.
Harvard can grab a share of the IVY lead when it hosts Penn (Saturday). UNC-Asheville can knock visiting Radford out of the BIG SOUTH race with a win (Saturday).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 18 Feb 5 - [] Column
Cougars Hang In
The BIG 12 race tightened up when Kansas tripped at home against Oklahoma State (@79-84 as gKendall Smith[24p5a5r] led the way). Meanwhile, Texas Tech went 2-0 to tie for the lead, winning on the road at TCU (83-@71) and edging Texas in overtime (@73-71[OT] as gKeenan Evans[38p3a;10/20ft,GWFG] starred). Neither West Virginia, who tanked at Iowa State (77-@93 as pDonovan Jackson[25p7a] starred despite 18p9a7r from pJevon Carter), nor Oklahoma, who tripped at TX (74-@79 as the Sooners shot 3-for-22 on threes), could join those two on top. Kansas State went 0-2, handled at home against KANS (@56-70 led by pDevonte' Graham(16p11a) and trounced at WVA (51-@89 as the Mountaineers sank 23-for-24 free throws).
Washington hung in the PAC-12 race, surviving its biggest week of the regular season with two (squeak) home wins, edging Arizona State (@68-64 led by cNoah Dickerson[21p16r] and tJaylen Nowell[15p3a9r6to]) and then first-place Arizona (@78-75 as fNoah Dickerson[25p7r] starred and gDominic Green hit the game-winning three). USC couldn't step up to tie for first place, tripping on the road at crosstown arch-rival UCLA (79-@82 as pAaron Holiday[23p9a6r] led the Bruins).
The SEC race expanded as 2-0 Auburn opened a two-game gap with only Tennessee able to keep pace. Florida fell twice, first at mediocre Georgia (60-@72), then the Gators were dumped at home against Alabama (@50-68 as tCollin Sexton[17p6a8r] led the way). Kentucky fell at rising Missouri (60-@69), which earlier won on the road at BAMA (69-@60). Arkansas fell out of contention with an 0-2 week, handled at Texas A&M (60-@80 as the Aggies controlled the boards 45-30 despite 19p4a5r from bJaylen Barford) and then fell at LSU (86-@94 as 5-11 pTremont Waters[27p11a] starred).
Unbeaten Cincinnati has all but wrapped up the AMERICAN race with a three-game gap after handling Houston (@80-70 led by pJacob Evans[18p5a7r]) while Wichita State's Carpetbagger dreams effectively ended when it tripped in overtime at lowly Temple (79-@81[OT]). SMU couldn't keep contact after falling at mediocre Tulsa.
Unbeaten Virginia put away the ACC race with a three-game gap of its own after handling second-place Louisville (@74-64); LVIL fell again, tripping at home to Florida State (@76-80 as six Seminoles posted double-figures). Away from Chapel Hill, Clemson was able to edge North Carolina at home (@82-78 sinking 15-for-30 three-pointers led by tMarcquise Reed[20p5a8r] despite 32p from gCameron Johnson and 27p4a from gJoel Berry II). FLAST tripped at Wake Forest. Miami(Florida) won on the road at Virginia Tech (84-@75 as cAnthony Lawrence[25p13r] starred) but has lost bBruce Brown for six weeks with a foot injury.
In the BIG EAST, Villanova took care of business with a couple of (home) routs over Creighton (@98-78 sinking 19-for-39 three-pointers led by pDonte DiVincenzo[17p5a6r]) and Seton Hall (@92-76 as xOmari Spellman[26p11r] starred despite 20p7r4a from bDesi Rodriguez). Xavier remained just one game back with a couple of squeak wins at St. John's and at home past Georgetown. SETON kept Providence well back, dumping the Friars (@73-57 despite 25p2a10r from xAlpha Diallo).
- - - - - -
In a rare out-of-conference matchup this late in the season, Duke travelled to MADISON SQUARE GARDEN to play St. John's in the HG CLASSIC. (DUKE-SJOHN is no real rivalry beyond a trip to NYC being a recruiting tool for the Blue Devil program.) Shockingly, the Red Storm pulled off the upset (@81-77 as bShamorie Ponds[33p7r] starred).
- - - - - -
In the MISSOURI VALLEY, Bradley pulled within a game of first-place Loyola(Illinois) with a (squeak) home win (@69-67).
Both divisions of the MID-AMERICAN got tighter as Kent State knocked off unbeaten Buffalo in the East (@82-79 led by pAdonis De La Rosa[20p5a6r]) while Ball State won on the road in the West at Toledo (75-@63 as tTayler Persons[16p8a8r] countered 16p6a10r from tTre'Shaun Fletcher).
Middle Tennessee opened a gap in CONFERENCE USA with a road win in its showdown at Old Dominion (66-@59) while Western Kentucky fell at mediocre Texas-San Antonio.
Unbeaten Vermont locked up AMERICA EAST with a three-game gap after road-dumping second-place Maryland-Baltimore County (81-@53 as tDrew Urquhart[18p8r4a] and tPayton Henson[16p8r4a] countered 27p1a from Jarius Lyles).
In the SUMMIT, South Dakota State still led South Dakota after both took care of third-place North Dakota State: SDAKST thumped NDST (@82-63 as xMike Daum[31p13r] starred) while SDAK edged NDST on the road (76-@72 despite 26p4a5r7to from bPaul Miller).
College of Charleston edged Northeastern on the road (69-@64) in a first-place showdown in the COLONIAL.
Nothing much has yet been settled in the BIG WEST Wars, but UC-Santa Barbara edged Hawaii in overtime (@84-82[OT] as Max Heidegger[25p1a] dueled 25p10r from cMike Thomas) to stay in the mix at the top.
In the SOUTHLAND Wars, Nicholls took sole possession of first place after road-dumping host New Orleans in their showdown (81-@64 as pRoddy Peters[27p6a] starred) while Stephen F. Austin tanked at mediocre Lamar and Southeast Louisiana fell at home to lowly Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
In the METRO ATLANTIC, Iona couldn't keep pace with co-leaders Canisius and Rider after tripping in overtime at Fairfield (100-@103[OT] as bTyler Nelson[32p6r] outdueled 26p7r from bE.J. Crawford).
Yale fell twice in IVY play: edged in overtime at Princeton (73-@76[OT] as xAmir Bell[16p11r] countered 18p3a8r from tAlex Copeland and 17p11r from xTrey Phills) and then falling at Penn (50-@59).
At the midconference break in the IVY LEAGUE: Penn came through undefeated; Harvard was second. (Princeton and Yale both couldn't hang.)In the BIG SOUTH, Winthrop dumped Radford in their first-place showdown (@75-57 as bXavier Cooks[22p6r5b7to] countered 18p8r2a5b from bEd Polite Jr.) while 2-0 UNC-Asheville kept pace.
Unbeaten Florida Gulf Coast locked up the ATLANTIC-SUN with a three-game gap after its road-rout of second-place Jacksonville (80-@55 as bZach Johnson[25p6r] starred).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff opened a gap in the SWAC after edging second-place Jackson State (@60-58).
Bethune-Cookman fell off the pace of MEAC co-leaders Savannah State and North Carolina A&T after it lost at Hampton (69-@80 as xJermaine Marrow[26p5a9r;15/16ft] starred).
- - - - - -
It's Year Two of the NCAA Selection Committee revealing its "Pre-Sixteen" this weekend. Virginia(Charlotte)[SOUTH/Atlanta] and Villanova(Pittsburgh)[EAST/Boston] are no-brainer top seeds. Whoever sorts out this week among Purdue/Michigan State/Ohio State(Detroit) should get the [MIDWEST/Omaha] top seed. The fourth 1-seed in the [WEST/LosAngeles] could still be Kansas(Wichita) although St.Mary's/Gonzaga(Boise) and Cincinnati(Nashville) both have good arguments. It'll be interesting to see how much love the likes of Texas Tech(Dallas), Arizona(San Diego), Auburn/Tennessee(Nashville), Xavier(Nashville), Nevada(Boise) and Rhode Island(Pittsburgh) garner (not to mention "Old Reliable" Duke[Charlotte]).
Virginia visits Florida State (Wednesday) and hosts rival Virginia Tech (Saturday). Villanova looks to pay back its only loss when it hosts Butler (Saturday). Purdue can open up the BIG 10 race with a big week: hosting Ohio State (Wednesday) and visiting Michigan State (Saturday). St. Mary's can lock up the WCC race when it hosts Gonzaga (Saturday). Arizona's biggest week is on tap as both L.A. schools come calling: UCLA (Thursday) and USC (Saturday). Xavier will be hard-pressed to stay in the BIG EAST race with two tough road games: at Butler (Tuesday) and at Creighton (Saturday). Tennessee has it rough: visiting Kentucky (Tuesday) and Alabama (Saturday). Oklahoma hosts West Virginia (Monday).
TCU has it tough: visiting Kansas (Tuesday) and hosting Texas (Saturday). North Carolina has another rough week ahead: hosting arch-rival Duke (Thursday) and visiting rival North Carolina State (Saturday). Louisiana can put the SUN BELT title out of reach when it visits Georgia State (Thursday). Arizona State has the same L.A. double: USC (Thursday) and UCLA (Saturday). Houston hosts SMU (Thursday). Texas hosts Kansas State (Wednesday). Loyola(Illinois) hosts Drake (Wednesday). Texas A&M visits Auburn (Wednesday) and hosts Kentucky (Saturday). Virginia Tech hosts North Carolina State (Wednesday). Kansas State hosts Texas Tech (Saturday). SMU has a tough double: visiting Houston (Thursday)
and hosting Cincinnati (Sunday). Alabama hosts Tennessee (Saturday).
College of Charleston hosts William & Mary with sole possession of first place in the COLONIAL on the line.
Harvard can grab a share of the IVY lead when it hosts Penn (Saturday). UNC-Asheville can knock visiting Radford out of the BIG SOUTH race with a win (Saturday).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- @Oklahoma-WVirginia,
- Tuesday:
- @Kansas-TCU, Xavier-@Butler(BG), Tennessee-@Kentucky, @NewMexico-BoiseSt,
- Wednesday:
- Virginia-@FloridaSt, @Purdue-OhioSt(BG), @Auburn-TexasA&M, NCState-@VirginiaTech, @Texas-KansasSt, @LoyolaIL-Drake,
CAPITAL CITY/BLACK & BLUE CLASSIC Home,Away on-campus
-(@Richmond-VCU[RichmondVA]),
- Thursday:
- @Arizona-UCLA, Duke-@NCarolina(NC), @ArizonaSt-USC, @Houston-SMU, @
Col of Charleston-William&Mary, @UCDavis-UCSantaBarbara(CA), @StFrancisNY-RobertMorris,
(7.15P):Louisiana-@GeorgiaSt,
- Friday:
- None.
- Saturday:
- @Virginia-VirginiaTech(VA), @Villanova-Butler, Purdue-@MichiganSt, @StMarys-Gonzaga, TexasTech-@KansasSt, @Arizona-USC, Xavier-@Creighton, Tennessee-@Alabama, @NCState-NCarolina(NC), @NewMexicoSt-
GrandCanyon,
Louisiana-@GeorgiaSo, @TCU-Texas(TX), @ArizonaSt-UCLA, @TexasA&M-Kentucky, @Drake-NoIowa(IA)(BIG4), @ArmyWP-Navy(MIL), @Harvard-Penn, @UNCAsheville-Radford, @CConnecticutSt-SacredHeart(CT)(CT6),
- Sunday:
- Cincinnati-@SMU,
NCAA PRESIXTEEN BRACKET SELECTION,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @WVirginia-TCU, @UNCGreensboro-ETennesseeSt, @
Bucknell-Colgate, @SavannahSt-NC A&T.
Top 25 - 18 Feb 5 - [] Column
- Virginia (22-1)
- Villanova (22-1) 5-PEATBIG5u
- Cincinnati (21-2)
- Purdue (23-2)
- St. Mary's (23-2)
- Auburn (21-2)
- Texas Tech (19-4) (@SEC)
- Kansas (18-5) (vSEC)
- Rhode Island (19-3)
- Arizona (19-5)
- Ohio State (20-5)
- Michigan State (22-3)
- Xavier (21-3)
- Gonzaga (21-4)
- Nevada (20-4)
- Tennessee (17-5) (@BIG12)
- Oklahoma (16-6)
- Wichita State (17-5)
- Duke (19-4)
- Washington (17-6)
- North Carolina State (16-7)
- Clemson (19-4)
- New Mexico State (17-3)
- Louisiana (18-3)
- Vermont (18-5)
- Honorable Mention:
Oklahoma State(14-9), Alabama (15-8) (vBIG12),Georgia(13-9), Missouri (14-8), Temple (13-10), Texas (14-7) (vSEC), St. John's (11-13), Florida State (17-6),
Middle Tennessee (17-5),College of Charleston(16-6),Florida Gulf Coast(15-8),Arkansas-Pine Bluff(9-15).
posted by Ron @ Friday, August 17, 2018
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