18 Jan 1 - (C-)Play Reset
Volume XXII, No. 9 - 18 Jan 1 - [] Top 25 Ballot
(C-)Play Reset
In the last important preseason matchups, it was USC after all who came away with the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC crown in Honolulu HI edging giant-killer New Mexico State (77-72 as bBennie Boatright[33p7r] countered 28p from Zach Lofton).
Young Kentucky dumped arch-/state-rival Louisville (@90-61 as the Cardinals only shot 3-for-25 on threes).
In the specialty "home-away-from-home" LAS VEGAS-NEW YEAR'S SHOWCASE at ORLEANS ARENA, "host" Grand Canyon thumped Morgan State (@100-74 despite 31p5to from Tiwian Kendley).
- - - - - -
As always happens, once conference play gets under way, the pecking order from the preseason is reset almost immediately. The last three unbeaten teams (Arizona State, Villanova and TCU) all lost once the regular season got going ... and teams that were disappointments in the preseason (especially Arizona and Purdue) re-established themselves right away inside their leagues.
The BIG 12 Wars gave us the two biggest road wins in conference play on the week. GC-led Oklahoma continued to impress, handing host TCU its first loss (on the road, no less) in a squeak (90-@89 as GC pTrae Young[39p14a7to] starred once again despite 22p9r6a from xKenrich Williams). West Virginia's all-game press worked its magic, winning on the road at Oklahoma State (85-@79 forcing 21 turnovers despite 17p4a5r from bTavarius Shine). Also, host Texas Tech dumped Baylor (@77-53 controlling the boards 39-21 and limiting the Bears to 3 total assists).
In the BIG EAST, Butler seems to have the number of Villanova head-to-head: the Bulldogs handed the Wildcats their first loss just as they did last year (@101-93 thanks to 60 percent shooting [including 15/22 on threes] despite 31p5a from pJalen Brunson). Also, Seton Hall beat Creighton (@90-84 led by xAngel Delgado[18p14r5a]).
Duke stayed in contact inside the ACC thanks to a home win over tough Florida State (@100-93 controlling the boards 53-35 led by cMarvin Bagley III[32p21r] despite 15-for-32 shooting from three by the Seminoles and 28p6r from bPhil Cofer) ... the Blue Devils are beyond talented but their tendency to wait to save the day on the offensive end rather than buckle down on the defensive end could very well catch up to them in the single-elimination postseason. Syracuse knocked Virginia Tech off the pace with a @68-56 win. Virginia avoided the upset against giant-killer Boston College (@59-58 as Ty Jerome[31p] dueled 29p1a from gJerome Robinson).
Alabama reset its fortunes inside SEC play dumping haughty Texas A&M (@79-57). Arkansas escaped in overtime in its knockout game with Tennessee (@95-93[OT] as Daryl Macon[33p], bJaylen Barford[28p4a5r] and fDaniel Gafford[15p8r5b] outgunned 21p5a6r from pJordan Bone).
Arizona looked more like its preseason-hyped self, handing arch-/state-rival Arizona State its first loss of the season (@84-78 as cDeAndre Ayton[23p19r] countered 31p5r from bTra Holder). Surprising Utah knocked off disappointing Oregon on the road (66-@56). Washington earned a split on its L.A. road swing, winning on the road at up-and-down USC (88-@81 on 67 percent shooting despite 26p10r from cChimezie Metu) but tanking at UCLA (53-@74 on 25-for-30 free-throw shooting by the Bruins while the Huskies shot a pitiful 28 percent overall [including 2-for-27 on threes]).
Boise State claimed the first big road win in the MOUNTAIN WEST Wars, winning at young UNLV (83-@74 controlling the boards 48-29 as xChandler Hutchinson[32p12r7to] countered 25p7r from fShakur Juiston) ... xHutchinson is having a spectacular season but Boise needs more than a One-Man Show for the long haul. Tough Wyoming knocked off San Diego State (@82-69 as cHayden Dalton[36p15r5a] starred).
The WEST COAST figures to be more than just a two-team race with both BYU and San Diego poised to be more than just spoilers. That said, St. Mary's escaped on the road in overtime at BYU (74-@64[OT] as cJock Landale[31p13r] dueled 29p10r from cYoeli Childs) to avoid one of the dangerous "trap" games on the regular season schedule.
Upstart South Alabama threw a wrench into the SUN BELT race with two home wins over two of the quad-favorites: dumping Georgia State (@86-64 as Rodrick Sikes[31p] dueled 27p from D'Marcus Simonds) and tripping Georgia Southern (@69-67 as Sikes[27p] led the way again). Georgia State compounded its woes, tripping at mediocre Troy (66-@68 despite 17p6a6r from pSimonds).
In 1BC-land, the SOCON Wars got started as UNC-Greensboro edged Wofford (@71-67 behind Francis Alonso[26p]). Middle Tennessee made the C-USA Wars even more complicated with a (squeak) road win at UAB (63-@60 led by fNick King[30p8r]); meanwhile, Western Kentucky edged Louisiana Tech @69-68 behind cDwight Coleby[16p15r]). SKY/Northern Colorado edged Idaho (@81-77 behind Andre Spight[28p]). COLON/College of Charleston wiped away the preseason, beating twice-crowned Towson (@73-62 despite 20p3a7r from bEddie Keith) to re-establish itself as TopDog/Cougar. SLAND/Stephen F. Austin opened conference play with a disappointing road loss at mediocre Southeast Louisiana (62-@73 as 5-9 xMarlain Veal[27p6a10r5to] starred).
In the muddy MAAC, Fairfield tripped at Manhattan (58-@61). HORIZ/Northern Kentucky confirmed Illinois(Chicago)'s non-factor status with a pounding @86-51 win. NEC/Mount St. Mary's ordinary preseason may be worse than it seemed as the Mountaineers tanked at contender Wagner (57-@76) and fell at pretender Long Island (57-@71) to lose touch with the leaders right away.
- - - - - -
Oklahoma has a rough week on the road (Wednesday at arch-/state-rival Oklahoma State, Saturday at mighty West Virginia [in what ranks here as #1 versus #2]). Wichita State gets its first taste of AMERICAN toughness when it hosts Houston (Thursday). Kansas hosts Texas Tech (Tuesday) and visits wounded TCU (Saturday). Virginia and North Carolina both visit wounded opponents first on Wednesday (UVA at arch-/state-rival Virginia Tech, UNC at Florida State) before UVA hosts UNC (Saturday); meanwhile, Florida State gets to visit arch-/state-rival Miami(Florida) (Sunday). Baylor hosts TCU (Tuesday). Tennessee needs to win at home against Kentucky (Saturday) to stay in contact in the SEC. Texas A&M hosts Florida (Friday).
Cincinnati hosts SMU (at Newport, KY) (Sunday). Clemson hosts Louisville in an ACC knockout game (Saturday).
It doesn't get any easier for giant-killer Butler: (Tuesday at Xavier, Saturday vs Seton Hall).
COLON/Towson gets a quick chance at revenge when it hosts College of Charleston (Sunday) or else the regular season race could be over before it gets started.
-- Ron
P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!
Top 25 - 18 Jan 1 - [] Column
(C-)Play Reset
In the last important preseason matchups, it was USC after all who came away with the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC crown in Honolulu HI edging giant-killer New Mexico State (77-72 as bBennie Boatright[33p7r] countered 28p from Zach Lofton).
Young Kentucky dumped arch-/state-rival Louisville (@90-61 as the Cardinals only shot 3-for-25 on threes).
In the specialty "home-away-from-home" LAS VEGAS-NEW YEAR'S SHOWCASE at ORLEANS ARENA, "host" Grand Canyon thumped Morgan State (@100-74 despite 31p5to from Tiwian Kendley).
- - - - - -
As always happens, once conference play gets under way, the pecking order from the preseason is reset almost immediately. The last three unbeaten teams (Arizona State, Villanova and TCU) all lost once the regular season got going ... and teams that were disappointments in the preseason (especially Arizona and Purdue) re-established themselves right away inside their leagues.
The BIG 12 Wars gave us the two biggest road wins in conference play on the week. GC-led Oklahoma continued to impress, handing host TCU its first loss (on the road, no less) in a squeak (90-@89 as GC pTrae Young[39p14a7to] starred once again despite 22p9r6a from xKenrich Williams). West Virginia's all-game press worked its magic, winning on the road at Oklahoma State (85-@79 forcing 21 turnovers despite 17p4a5r from bTavarius Shine). Also, host Texas Tech dumped Baylor (@77-53 controlling the boards 39-21 and limiting the Bears to 3 total assists).
In the BIG EAST, Butler seems to have the number of Villanova head-to-head: the Bulldogs handed the Wildcats their first loss just as they did last year (@101-93 thanks to 60 percent shooting [including 15/22 on threes] despite 31p5a from pJalen Brunson). Also, Seton Hall beat Creighton (@90-84 led by xAngel Delgado[18p14r5a]).
Duke stayed in contact inside the ACC thanks to a home win over tough Florida State (@100-93 controlling the boards 53-35 led by cMarvin Bagley III[32p21r] despite 15-for-32 shooting from three by the Seminoles and 28p6r from bPhil Cofer) ... the Blue Devils are beyond talented but their tendency to wait to save the day on the offensive end rather than buckle down on the defensive end could very well catch up to them in the single-elimination postseason. Syracuse knocked Virginia Tech off the pace with a @68-56 win. Virginia avoided the upset against giant-killer Boston College (@59-58 as Ty Jerome[31p] dueled 29p1a from gJerome Robinson).
Alabama reset its fortunes inside SEC play dumping haughty Texas A&M (@79-57). Arkansas escaped in overtime in its knockout game with Tennessee (@95-93[OT] as Daryl Macon[33p], bJaylen Barford[28p4a5r] and fDaniel Gafford[15p8r5b] outgunned 21p5a6r from pJordan Bone).
Arizona looked more like its preseason-hyped self, handing arch-/state-rival Arizona State its first loss of the season (@84-78 as cDeAndre Ayton[23p19r] countered 31p5r from bTra Holder). Surprising Utah knocked off disappointing Oregon on the road (66-@56). Washington earned a split on its L.A. road swing, winning on the road at up-and-down USC (88-@81 on 67 percent shooting despite 26p10r from cChimezie Metu) but tanking at UCLA (53-@74 on 25-for-30 free-throw shooting by the Bruins while the Huskies shot a pitiful 28 percent overall [including 2-for-27 on threes]).
Boise State claimed the first big road win in the MOUNTAIN WEST Wars, winning at young UNLV (83-@74 controlling the boards 48-29 as xChandler Hutchinson[32p12r7to] countered 25p7r from fShakur Juiston) ... xHutchinson is having a spectacular season but Boise needs more than a One-Man Show for the long haul. Tough Wyoming knocked off San Diego State (@82-69 as cHayden Dalton[36p15r5a] starred).
The WEST COAST figures to be more than just a two-team race with both BYU and San Diego poised to be more than just spoilers. That said, St. Mary's escaped on the road in overtime at BYU (74-@64[OT] as cJock Landale[31p13r] dueled 29p10r from cYoeli Childs) to avoid one of the dangerous "trap" games on the regular season schedule.
Upstart South Alabama threw a wrench into the SUN BELT race with two home wins over two of the quad-favorites: dumping Georgia State (@86-64 as Rodrick Sikes[31p] dueled 27p from D'Marcus Simonds) and tripping Georgia Southern (@69-67 as Sikes[27p] led the way again). Georgia State compounded its woes, tripping at mediocre Troy (66-@68 despite 17p6a6r from pSimonds).
In 1BC-land, the SOCON Wars got started as UNC-Greensboro edged Wofford (@71-67 behind Francis Alonso[26p]). Middle Tennessee made the C-USA Wars even more complicated with a (squeak) road win at UAB (63-@60 led by fNick King[30p8r]); meanwhile, Western Kentucky edged Louisiana Tech @69-68 behind cDwight Coleby[16p15r]). SKY/Northern Colorado edged Idaho (@81-77 behind Andre Spight[28p]). COLON/College of Charleston wiped away the preseason, beating twice-crowned Towson (@73-62 despite 20p3a7r from bEddie Keith) to re-establish itself as Top
In the muddy MAAC, Fairfield tripped at Manhattan (58-@61). HORIZ/Northern Kentucky confirmed Illinois(Chicago)'s non-factor status with a pounding @86-51 win. NEC/Mount St. Mary's ordinary preseason may be worse than it seemed as the Mountaineers tanked at contender Wagner (57-@76) and fell at pretender Long Island (57-@71) to lose touch with the leaders right away.
- - - - - -
Oklahoma has a rough week on the road (Wednesday at arch-/state-rival Oklahoma State, Saturday at mighty West Virginia [in what ranks here as #1 versus #2]). Wichita State gets its first taste of AMERICAN toughness when it hosts Houston (Thursday). Kansas hosts Texas Tech (Tuesday) and visits wounded TCU (Saturday). Virginia and North Carolina both visit wounded opponents first on Wednesday (UVA at arch-/state-rival Virginia Tech, UNC at Florida State) before UVA hosts UNC (Saturday); meanwhile, Florida State gets to visit arch-/state-rival Miami(Florida) (Sunday). Baylor hosts TCU (Tuesday). Tennessee needs to win at home against Kentucky (Saturday) to stay in contact in the SEC. Texas A&M hosts Florida (Friday).
Cincinnati hosts SMU (at Newport, KY) (Sunday). Clemson hosts Louisville in an ACC knockout game (Saturday).
It doesn't get any easier for giant-killer Butler: (Tuesday at Xavier, Saturday vs Seton Hall).
COLON/Towson gets a quick chance at revenge when it hosts College of Charleston (Sunday) or else the regular season race could be over before it gets started.
-- Ron
P.S. Happy New Year, everyone!
- Key games this week:
- Monday (NEW YEAR'S)
- @ClevelandSt-YoungstownSt(OH)(NEO), @PrairieViewA&M-
AlcornSt,
- Tuesday:
- TexasTech-@Kansas, @Xavier-Butler, @Baylor-TCU, @TexasA&M-Florida, @
CMichigan-OhioU,
- Wednesday:
- @Oklahoma-OklahomaSt(OK), Virginia-@VirginiaTech(VA), NCarolina-@FloridaSt, @NDState-
SDState, @MorganSt-EaShore(MD),
- Thursday:
- @WichitaSt-Houston, @
MissouriSt-NoIowa,
- Friday:
- @ArmyWP-
Bucknell, @Oakland-NoKentucky,
- Saturday:
- @WVirginia-Oklahoma, SetonHall-@Butler, @Virginia-NCarolina, Kansas-@TCU, @StMarys-SanDiego(CA), Kentucky-@Tennessee, @Clemson-Louisville, @BallSt-Buffalo, @SDakota-NDState, @
Vermont-MDBaltimoreCo, @Idaho-PortlandSt, @WeberSt-SoUtah(UT), @Penn-Princeton, @EaShore-Hampton,
- Sunday:
- @MiamiFL-FloridaSt(FL), @Cincinnati-SMU(@NewportKY), @NoIowa-
LoyolaIL, @Towson-ColofCharleston, @Iona-Fairfield,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week (CFP CHAMPIONSHIP):
@AlcornSt-GramblingSt.
- Monday week (CFP CHAMPIONSHIP):
Top 25 - 18 Jan 1 - [] Column
- West Virginia (12-1)
- Oklahoma (11-1)
- Michigan State (14-1)
- Texas Tech (12-1)
- Arizona (11-3)
- Arkansas (11-2)
- Seton Hall (13-2)
- Purdue (13-2)
- Virginia (12-1)
- Xavier (15-1)
- Miami(Florida) (12-1)
- Notre Dame (10-3)
- Wichita State (11-2)
- North Carolina (12-2)
- Kansas (11-2)
- Duke (13-1)
- Boise State (11-2)
- St. Mary's (13-2)
- Kentucky (11-2)
- Florida State (11-2)
- Arizona State (12-1)
- Baylor (9-3)
- Tennessee (9-3)
- Villanova (13-1) 5-PEATBIG5u
- Texas A&M (10-2)
- Honorable Mention:
- Butler (12-3), Alabama (9-4), USC (10-5) [v3:DIAMOND].
College of Charleston(8-3).
posted by Ron @ Tuesday, January 30, 2018
