18 Feb12 -- Failure To (Ex-)Communicate (PRESIXTEEN)
Volume XXII, No. 15 - 18 Feb12: PRESIXTEEN - [] Top 25 Ballot
Failure To (Ex-)Communicate
With the chance to put B-Major conference races out of reach, a couple of league-leaders failed open a gap.
In the BIG 10, Purdue could have broke open the regular season with a couple of big wins; instead, the Boilermakers came away with a couple of squeak losses and were a game back in a three-way race to the finish. First, Ohio State edged PURD on the road (64-@63 on cKeita Bates-Diop's game-winner despite 28p6r from bCarsen Edwards). Then, Michigan State survived at home against PURD (@68-65 despite 25p5r from fIsaac Haas). OHIOST led both MICHST/PURD by a game. Elsewhere, Michigan fell at mediocre Northwestern (52-@61).
Having already won WEST COAST Game Of The Year-Part I on the road earlier, St. Mary's could have put away the regular season race with a home win against Gonzaga. Instead, it was the GU/Bulldogs who returned the favor with a road win of their own over the host Gaels (78-@65 shutting down cJock Landale[4p10r4a])to restore their hopes of keeping their title streak alive. Now, it's a matter of holding serve against the also-rans inside the league in order to grab a share of the regular season title.
In the BIG 12, all seemed well when Kansas beat TCU (@71-64) but then its title streak became in jeopardy after a disappointing tank loss at lowly Baylor (64-@80). 2-0 Texas Tech took sole possession of first place after road-dumping Kansas State (66-@47 holding the Wildcats to 29 percent shooting). Meanwhile, West Virginia tripped at home against lowly Oklahoma State (@85-88 despite 33p from Jevon Carter). Elsewhere, Oklahoma was a double-loser: tripping at home against WVA (@73-75 despite 32p1a from Trae Young) and then falling at last-place Iowa State (80-@88 as pLindell Wigginton[26p5a5r] dueled 22p11a5r6to from pYoung). Texas went 0-2 as well: tripping at home against KANSST (@64-67) and tanking on the road at TCU (71-@87 as fVladimir Brodziansky[25p6r] starred).
In the BIG EAST, Villanova took its eye off The Prize and tripped at home against Giant-Killer St. John's (@75-79 as pShamorie Ponds[26p5a5r] dueled 28p3a from gJalen Brunson); the VU/Wildcats righted the ship with a home win over Butler (@86-75 as gDonte DiVincenzo[30p] dueled 30p from gKelan Martin while Jalen Brunson[27p1a] countered 25p from gKamar Baldwin). 2-0 Xavier tied up the regular season race with a couple of squeak road wins: edging in overtime at Butler (98-@93[OT] as bTrevon Bluiett[26p3a5r] dueled 34p7r from bKelan Martin) and at Creighton (72-@71 despite 29p8r from tMarcus Foster). Meanwhile, Seton Hall tripped at home to lowly Marquette (@85-88 as bMarkus Howard[32p7r;10/10ft] starred).
In fact, the league-leaders in nearly every B-Major conference lost last week; but not all of them cost first place in the process.
Virginia still had a gap lead in the ACC despite a 1-1 week: first, the Cavaliers edged Florida State on the road (59-@55); but then, tripped in overtime at home against arch-rival Virginia Tech (@60-61[OT]). North Carolina bounced back with two big wins: edging arch-rival Duke (@82-78 committing only two turnovers as xCameron Johnson[18p13r] countered 15p16r from cMarvin Bagley III) and paying back rival N.C. State on the road (96-@89 as cLuke Maye[33p17r;15/22 3s] starred). VATECH was 2-0 itself (while NCST was 0-2) with the Hokies handling the Wolfpack (@85-75 as gJustin Robinson[32p4a5to] starred despite 15p10a5r from pMarkell Johnson). Elsewhere, Miami(Florida) tripped at lowly Boston College (70-@72 as xKy Bowman[24p6a12r] starred with help from Jerome Robinson[29p0a]). Florida State tanked at home against undermanned Notre Dame (69-@84 as pMatt Farrell[28p5a] starred). Louisville tripped at home as well against mediocre Syracuse (@73-78 as gTyus Battle[25p2a] and tOshae Brissett[16p2a8r] led the way). Meanwhile, second-place Clemson had a quiet week at 1-0.
Auburn still had a gap lead in the SEC even after tripping at home against Texas A&M (@80-81 despite 28p1a from Mustapha Heron). Alabama kept Tennessee from moving up with a home rout win (@78-50 as bCollin Sexton[16p4a5r] led the way holding the Volunteers to 28 percent shooting); but the Crimson Tide couldn't avoid tripping itself at mediocre Mississippi State (63-@67 despite 18p3a5r from bSexton). Young Kentucky went 0-2 after tripping at home against TENN (@59-61 despite 15p6a6r from pShai Gilgeous-Alexander) and falling at TXAM (74-@85 led by xD.J. Hogg[17p16r]).
Arizona still had a gap lead in the PAC-12 (over four teams tied for second) despite splitting on the week against the visitors from L.A., including falling at home to UCLA (@74-82). Arizona State was able to go 2-0 against L.A., edging USC (@80-78 on gTra Holder's game-winner) and beating UCLA (@88-79 as bHolder[22p4a6r] again led the way). 0-2 Washington fell back after tanking at Oregon (40-@65) and tripping in overtime at mediocre Oregon State (94-@97[OT] as xTres Tinkle[2p11r8a] dueled 28p12r from cNoah Dickerson). USC's 0-2 week concluded with a loss at AZ (67-@81 as the AZ/Wildcats controlled the boards 40-23).
In the MOUNTAIN WEST, Nevada stayed a game ahead of Boise State as both teams went 1-1 on the week. NEV fell at home to state-rival UNLV (@78-86 as bJovan Mooring[31p7r] starred) but routed mediocre San Diego State (@83-58 as cJordan Caroline[26p11r] starred). Meanwhile, BOISE edged New Mexico on the road (73-@71 as xChandler Hutchison hit the game-winner) but fell at mediocre Utah State (65-@71 despite 28p6r from fHutchison).
In the SUN BELT, Louisiana still held a gap lead on Georgia State even after falling to the Panthers (92-@102 as tD'Marcus Simonds[22p8a9r] led six players in double-figures).
In the AMERICAN, Cincinnati went 2-0 including road-dumping slumping SMU (76-@51 despite 19p5r3a from bJimmy Whitt) to stay unbeaten with a three-gap lead. Houston had already put down SMU itself (@67-58 as xArmoni Brooks[23p10r] led the way).
In the ATLANTIC 10, Rhode Island went 2-0 including handling Davidson (@72-59) to stay unbeaten with a FOUR-GAP LEAD on the rest of the league.
OVC/Belmont fell back into a tie for first with Murray State after losing at Tennessee State (56-@64).
WAC/New Mexico State edged Grand Canyon (@74-70 dominating the boards 57-37 as cJemerrio Jones[27p20r] starred despite 23p10r from xOscar Frayer).
MAC/East-leader Buffalo tripped in overtime at Northern Illinois (88-@90[OT] as bEugene German[28p7r] starred with help from bJustin Thomas[17p4a5r5to]) to fall back into an overall tie with MAC/West-leader Toledo. PAT/Bucknell still had a gap lead even after tripping in overtime at Lehigh (89-@92[OT] despite 36p13r from xZach Thomas). BIGW/UC-Santa Barbara had a slim lead (with four other teams still well in contention) after its road win at UC-Davis (90-@81 as xLeland King[19p15r] despite 28p8a7r from pT.J. Shorts).
MAAC/Iona fell two games back of co-leaders Rider/Canisius after tanking at home against lowly Monmouth (@50-72). HORIZ/Wright State fell back of leader Northern Kentucky when it tripped at home against mediocre Milwaukee (@73-74 as pBrock Stull[16p5a7r] led the way despite 20p19r from cLouden Love).
IVY/Harvard grabbed a share of first place beating Penn (@76-67 as fChris Lewis[25p5r] starred). BIGS/UNC-Asheville edged Radford (@66-64) to lead all on its own while RADFD fell three games back after also tripping at home to also-ran High Point (@60-61 on Andre Fox' game-winning free throw). NEC/Wagner still held a gap lead after even after falling at also-ran Fairleigh Dickinson (69-@76).
SWAC/Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell back into a tie for first place (along with Grambling State) after going 0-2 on the week: falling at home to Alabama State (@59-65 as cFuasto Pichardo[17p15r] led the way) and then on the road at Southern (62-@70 despite 23p4a5r from bMartavis McKnight). MEAC/North Carolina A&T fell out of first place (as Savannah State took the lead) after NCAT tripped at S.C. State (85-@90 as the SCS/Bulldogs shot 68 percent from the floor despite 26p10r from xDavaris McGowen).
- - - - - -
The NCAA Seeding Committee released its second-annual "PRE-SIXTEEN" bracket including seeding as well as Regional placement "as if the season ended today [Sunday]". Here's their official take:
All things considered (Rankings, Ratings, Quality Wins), my "PRE-SIXTEEN" bracket would be:
... with the likes of Wichita State, Arizona, TCU, West Virginia, Tennessee and Nevada all just out of the running. Clearly, the NCAA gave more weight to "Strength of Schedule" and favored contending teams from better conferences over league-leaders in lesser ones (whereas I count regular season races as important). No matter, really. This is just a speculative bracket to drum up excitement and keep pace with sports networks' touting their own
"bracketology" predictions.
- - - - - -
First place is on the line in the BIG EAST when Xavier hosts Villanova (Saturday).
Boise State can tie up the MOUNTAIN WEST race with a win over league-leader Nevada (Wednesday).
UNC-Greensboro must beat unbeaten East Tennessee State (Monday) to stay in the SOCON race. Bucknell can put away the PATRIOT race with a win over Colgate (Monday). UC-Santa Barbara is up against it in the BIG WEST Wars when it visits Long Beach State (Thursday) and hosts UC-Davis (Saturday). The SOUTHLAND Wars continue as Southeast Louisiana hosts New Orleans (Wednesday).
First place in the MAAC goes to the winner when Rider hosts Canisius (Sunday). Wright State looks to complete the sweep of first-place Northern Kentucky to tie up the HORIZON race. Savannah State can open a gap in the MEAC race with a win over North Carolina A&T (Monday).
-- Ron
Top 25 - 18 Feb12: PRESIXTEEN - [] Column
Failure To (Ex-)Communicate
With the chance to put B-Major conference races out of reach, a couple of league-leaders failed open a gap.
In the BIG 10, Purdue could have broke open the regular season with a couple of big wins; instead, the Boilermakers came away with a couple of squeak losses and were a game back in a three-way race to the finish. First, Ohio State edged PURD on the road (64-@63 on cKeita Bates-Diop's game-winner despite 28p6r from bCarsen Edwards). Then, Michigan State survived at home against PURD (@68-65 despite 25p5r from fIsaac Haas). OHIOST led both MICHST/PURD by a game. Elsewhere, Michigan fell at mediocre Northwestern (52-@61).
Having already won WEST COAST Game Of The Year-Part I on the road earlier, St. Mary's could have put away the regular season race with a home win against Gonzaga. Instead, it was the GU/Bulldogs who returned the favor with a road win of their own over the host Gaels (78-@65 shutting down cJock Landale[4p10r4a])to restore their hopes of keeping their title streak alive. Now, it's a matter of holding serve against the also-rans inside the league in order to grab a share of the regular season title.
In the BIG 12, all seemed well when Kansas beat TCU (@71-64) but then its title streak became in jeopardy after a disappointing tank loss at lowly Baylor (64-@80). 2-0 Texas Tech took sole possession of first place after road-dumping Kansas State (66-@47 holding the Wildcats to 29 percent shooting). Meanwhile, West Virginia tripped at home against lowly Oklahoma State (@85-88 despite 33p from Jevon Carter). Elsewhere, Oklahoma was a double-loser: tripping at home against WVA (@73-75 despite 32p1a from Trae Young) and then falling at last-place Iowa State (80-@88 as pLindell Wigginton[26p5a5r] dueled 22p11a5r6to from pYoung). Texas went 0-2 as well: tripping at home against KANSST (@64-67) and tanking on the road at TCU (71-@87 as fVladimir Brodziansky[25p6r] starred).
In the BIG EAST, Villanova took its eye off The Prize and tripped at home against Giant-Killer St. John's (@75-79 as pShamorie Ponds[26p5a5r] dueled 28p3a from gJalen Brunson); the VU/Wildcats righted the ship with a home win over Butler (@86-75 as gDonte DiVincenzo[30p] dueled 30p from gKelan Martin while Jalen Brunson[27p1a] countered 25p from gKamar Baldwin). 2-0 Xavier tied up the regular season race with a couple of squeak road wins: edging in overtime at Butler (98-@93[OT] as bTrevon Bluiett[26p3a5r] dueled 34p7r from bKelan Martin) and at Creighton (72-@71 despite 29p8r from tMarcus Foster). Meanwhile, Seton Hall tripped at home to lowly Marquette (@85-88 as bMarkus Howard[32p7r;10/10ft] starred).
In fact, the league-leaders in nearly every B-Major conference lost last week; but not all of them cost first place in the process.
Virginia still had a gap lead in the ACC despite a 1-1 week: first, the Cavaliers edged Florida State on the road (59-@55); but then, tripped in overtime at home against arch-rival Virginia Tech (@60-61[OT]). North Carolina bounced back with two big wins: edging arch-rival Duke (@82-78 committing only two turnovers as xCameron Johnson[18p13r] countered 15p16r from cMarvin Bagley III) and paying back rival N.C. State on the road (96-@89 as cLuke Maye[33p17r;15/22 3s] starred). VATECH was 2-0 itself (while NCST was 0-2) with the Hokies handling the Wolfpack (@85-75 as gJustin Robinson[32p4a5to] starred despite 15p10a5r from pMarkell Johnson). Elsewhere, Miami(Florida) tripped at lowly Boston College (70-@72 as xKy Bowman[24p6a12r] starred with help from Jerome Robinson[29p0a]). Florida State tanked at home against undermanned Notre Dame (69-@84 as pMatt Farrell[28p5a] starred). Louisville tripped at home as well against mediocre Syracuse (@73-78 as gTyus Battle[25p2a] and tOshae Brissett[16p2a8r] led the way). Meanwhile, second-place Clemson had a quiet week at 1-0.
Auburn still had a gap lead in the SEC even after tripping at home against Texas A&M (@80-81 despite 28p1a from Mustapha Heron). Alabama kept Tennessee from moving up with a home rout win (@78-50 as bCollin Sexton[16p4a5r] led the way holding the Volunteers to 28 percent shooting); but the Crimson Tide couldn't avoid tripping itself at mediocre Mississippi State (63-@67 despite 18p3a5r from bSexton). Young Kentucky went 0-2 after tripping at home against TENN (@59-61 despite 15p6a6r from pShai Gilgeous-Alexander) and falling at TXAM (74-@85 led by xD.J. Hogg[17p16r]).
Arizona still had a gap lead in the PAC-12 (over four teams tied for second) despite splitting on the week against the visitors from L.A., including falling at home to UCLA (@74-82). Arizona State was able to go 2-0 against L.A., edging USC (@80-78 on gTra Holder's game-winner) and beating UCLA (@88-79 as bHolder[22p4a6r] again led the way). 0-2 Washington fell back after tanking at Oregon (40-@65) and tripping in overtime at mediocre Oregon State (94-@97[OT] as xTres Tinkle[2p11r8a] dueled 28p12r from cNoah Dickerson). USC's 0-2 week concluded with a loss at AZ (67-@81 as the AZ/Wildcats controlled the boards 40-23).
In the MOUNTAIN WEST, Nevada stayed a game ahead of Boise State as both teams went 1-1 on the week. NEV fell at home to state-rival UNLV (@78-86 as bJovan Mooring[31p7r] starred) but routed mediocre San Diego State (@83-58 as cJordan Caroline[26p11r] starred). Meanwhile, BOISE edged New Mexico on the road (73-@71 as xChandler Hutchison hit the game-winner) but fell at mediocre Utah State (65-@71 despite 28p6r from fHutchison).
In the SUN BELT, Louisiana still held a gap lead on Georgia State even after falling to the Panthers (92-@102 as tD'Marcus Simonds[22p8a9r] led six players in double-figures).
In the AMERICAN, Cincinnati went 2-0 including road-dumping slumping SMU (76-@51 despite 19p5r3a from bJimmy Whitt) to stay unbeaten with a three-gap lead. Houston had already put down SMU itself (@67-58 as xArmoni Brooks[23p10r] led the way).
In the ATLANTIC 10, Rhode Island went 2-0 including handling Davidson (@72-59) to stay unbeaten with a FOUR-GAP LEAD on the rest of the league.
OVC/Belmont fell back into a tie for first with Murray State after losing at Tennessee State (56-@64).
WAC/New Mexico State edged Grand Canyon (@74-70 dominating the boards 57-37 as cJemerrio Jones[27p20r] starred despite 23p10r from xOscar Frayer).
MAC/East-leader Buffalo tripped in overtime at Northern Illinois (88-@90[OT] as bEugene German[28p7r] starred with help from bJustin Thomas[17p4a5r5to]) to fall back into an overall tie with MAC/West-leader Toledo. PAT/Bucknell still had a gap lead even after tripping in overtime at Lehigh (89-@92[OT] despite 36p13r from xZach Thomas). BIGW/UC-Santa Barbara had a slim lead (with four other teams still well in contention) after its road win at UC-Davis (90-@81 as xLeland King[19p15r] despite 28p8a7r from pT.J. Shorts).
MAAC/Iona fell two games back of co-leaders Rider/Canisius after tanking at home against lowly Monmouth (@50-72). HORIZ/Wright State fell back of leader Northern Kentucky when it tripped at home against mediocre Milwaukee (@73-74 as pBrock Stull[16p5a7r] led the way despite 20p19r from cLouden Love).
IVY/Harvard grabbed a share of first place beating Penn (@76-67 as fChris Lewis[25p5r] starred). BIGS/UNC-Asheville edged Radford (@66-64) to lead all on its own while RADFD fell three games back after also tripping at home to also-ran High Point (@60-61 on Andre Fox' game-winning free throw). NEC/Wagner still held a gap lead after even after falling at also-ran Fairleigh Dickinson (69-@76).
SWAC/Arkansas-Pine Bluff fell back into a tie for first place (along with Grambling State) after going 0-2 on the week: falling at home to Alabama State (@59-65 as cFuasto Pichardo[17p15r] led the way) and then on the road at Southern (62-@70 despite 23p4a5r from bMartavis McKnight). MEAC/North Carolina A&T fell out of first place (as Savannah State took the lead) after NCAT tripped at S.C. State (85-@90 as the SCS/Bulldogs shot 68 percent from the floor despite 26p10r from xDavaris McGowen).
- - - - - -
The NCAA Seeding Committee released its second-annual "PRE-SIXTEEN" bracket including seeding as well as Regional placement "as if the season ended today [Sunday]". Here's their official take:
| SOUTH [Atlanta] | EAST [Boston] | MIDWEST [Omaha] | WEST [Los Angeles] |
| 1-Virginia | 2-Villanova | 3-Xavier | 4-Purdue |
| 8-Cincinnati | 7-Duke | 5-Auburn | 6-Kansas |
| 11-Michigan State | 10-Texas Tech | 9-Clemson | 12-North Carolina |
| 13-Tennessee | 14-Ohio State | 16-Oklahoma | 15-Arizona |
| SOUTH [Atlanta] | EAST [Boston] | MIDWEST [Omaha] | WEST [Los Angeles] |
| 1-Virginia | 2-Villanova | 3-Cincinnati | 4-Texas Tech |
| 8-Xavier | 7-Rhode Island | 6-Michigan State | 5-Gonzaga |
| 11-Purdue | 12-North Carolina | 10-Kansas | 9-Ohio State |
| 13-Auburn | 14-St. Mary's | 16-Clemson | 16-Duke |
"bracketology" predictions.
- - - - - -
First place is on the line in the BIG EAST when Xavier hosts Villanova (Saturday).
Boise State can tie up the MOUNTAIN WEST race with a win over league-leader Nevada (Wednesday).
UNC-Greensboro must beat unbeaten East Tennessee State (Monday) to stay in the SOCON race. Bucknell can put away the PATRIOT race with a win over Colgate (Monday). UC-Santa Barbara is up against it in the BIG WEST Wars when it visits Long Beach State (Thursday) and hosts UC-Davis (Saturday). The SOUTHLAND Wars continue as Southeast Louisiana hosts New Orleans (Wednesday).
First place in the MAAC goes to the winner when Rider hosts Canisius (Sunday). Wright State looks to complete the sweep of first-place Northern Kentucky to tie up the HORIZON race. Savannah State can open a gap in the MEAC race with a win over North Carolina A&T (Monday).
-- Ron
- Key games this week:
- Monday:
- @WVirginia-TCU, @UNCGreensboro-ETennesseeSt, @
Bucknell-Colgate, @SavannahSt-NC A&T,
- Tuesday:
- Virginia-@MiamiFL, @TexasTech-Oklahoma, @Missouri-TexasA&M,
- Wednesday:
- @Xavier-SetonHall, @Auburn-Kentucky, Nevada-@BoiseSt, Clemson-@FloridaSt, VirginiaTech-@Duke, @SELouisiana-NewOrleans(LA),
- Thursday:
- Cincinnati-@Houston, Arizona-@ArizonaSt(AZ), NewMexicoSt-@UTValley, @MurraySt-JacksonvilleSt, @LongBeachSt-
UCSantaBarbara(CA),
- Friday:
- @
WrightSt-NoKentucky(BG),
- Saturday:
- Villanova-@Xavier, @Kansas-WVirginia, NCarolina-@Louisville, @Oklahoma-Texas, @Arkansas-TexasA&M, @Kentucky-Alabama, @TheCitadel-VMI(MIL), @KentSt-Akron(OH)(NEO), @Northeastern-William&Mary, @
UCSantaBarbara-UCDavis(CA), @Fairfield-Quinnipiac(CT)(CT6),
- Sunday:
- @Cincinnati-WichitaSt, OhioSt-@Michigan, @Clemson-Duke, @
Rider-Canisius,
- - - - - - -
- Monday week:
- Monday week:
- @Kansas-Oklahoma, @
ARPineBluff-TexasSo.
Top 25 - 18 Feb12: PRESIXTEEN - [] Column
- Virginia (23-2)
- Villanova (23-2) 5-PEATBIG5u
- Cincinnati (23-2)
- Texas Tech (21-4) (@SEC)
- Gonzaga (23-4)
- Ohio State (22-5)
- Michigan State (24-3)
- Rhode Island (20-3)
- Xavier (23-3)
- Auburn (22-3)
- Arizona (20-6)
- Kansas (19-6) (vSEC)
- Purdue (23-4)
- Wichita State (19-5)
- Nevada (21-5)
- St. Mary's (24-3)
- North Carolina (19-7)
- Clemson (20-4)
- Virginia Tech (18-7)
- Tennessee (18-6) (@BIG12)
- West Virginia (18-7)
- Duke (20-5)
- New Mexico State (19-3)
- Vermont (20-5)
- Loyola(Illinois) (20-5)
- Honorable Mention:
- St. John's (13-13) (vNYC-A HG), Texas A&M (16-8),
Baylor(15-10), UCLA (17-8),UNLV(18-7), Alabama (16-9) (vBIG12),Iowa State(13-11),Oregon(17-8)/Oregon State (13-11),Georgia State(17-7),
Murray State (18-5),
Nicholls(12-9),
Northern Kentucky(17-7),
Harvard(11-11),
UNC-Asheville(16-9),
Grambling State(12-12).
posted by Ron @ Monday, August 27, 2018
