18 Dec24 - The Carousel (Part II)

Volume XXIII, No. 8 - 18 Dec24 - [] Top 25 Ballot

The Carousel (Part II)

And The Carousel turns once more. Arizona State tanked at Vanderbilt (65-@81), but regrouped at home to squeak past top-ranked Kansas (@80-76 despite 30p14r from cDedric Lawson). Young Kentucky put a marker on the table with its first elite win of the season, outpacing North Carolina (@80-@72) in the CB/SPORTS CLASSIC at the UNITED CENTER in Chicago. Arkansas tripped at home against lowly Georgia Tech (@65-69). Duke claimed another elite win, handing Texas Tech its first loss (@69-58 despite 25p4a6r6to from bJarrett Culver) in the AI CLASSIC at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. Buffalo was up and down: first, beating Syracuse on the road in the Carrier Dome (71-@59 as tC.J. Massinburg[25p5a8r] starred); but then, the Bulls couldn't keep pace as Marquette thumped them (@103-85 sinking 18-for-29 three-pointers on bMarkus Howard[45p4a5r]'s star turn). Finally, LSU sent giant-killer Furman back to normal, dumping the Paladins (@75-57 led by pTremont Waters[20p7a5r]).

Elsewhere, North Carolina State earned its best win of the season, beating Auburn (@78-71 forcing 25 Tiger turnovers). Seton Hall came through on the road, escaping at Maryland (78-@74). Florida State thumped St. Louis (@81-59) in the ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC. Struggling Alabama beat struggling Penn State (@73-64).
     Meanwhile, Oregon fell on the road at Baylor (47-@57). Creighton fell at surging Oklahoma (70-@83). Texas fell at home to Providence (@65-71). Tumbling UCLA lost twice: first, tanking at Cincinnati (64-@93 as the Bearcats' bJarron Cumberland[25p5r] starred); then, falling to Ohio State (@66-@80 thanks to 26 assists by the Bruins) in the CB/SPORTS CLASSIC at the UNITED CENTER in Chicago. Xavier tanked at Missouri (56-@71). Disappointing Loyola(Illinois) tripped at mediocre St. Joseph's (42-@45). Disappointing Marshall tanked at Texas A&M (68-@92 as the Aggies dominated the boards 54-30).

Struggling Georgia Southern edged struggling Bradley in overtime (@79-74[OT] in a mess with 55 turnovers combined). UNC-Greensboro beat struggling Radford (@65-58); but it was Radford who handled GaSo (@80-68 behind pCarlik Jones[15p7a6r]). Belmont handled disappointing Western Kentucky (@80-74). Disappointing St. Francis(Pennsylvania) fell at Lehigh (76-@88). Disappointing Hartford fell at struggling Wagner (68-@77 as the Seahawks sank 32-for-36 free throws). Montana tanked at Arizona (42-@61 only shooting 27 percent). St. Louis beat lowly North Carolina Central (@74-65 only allowing 28 percent shooting). Wisconsin dumped lowly Grambling (@84-53 controlling the boards 41-26).

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In tournaments, previously winless La Salle went 2-0 (beating Towson @57-51 in the final) to claim the new BOARDWALK BATTLE in Atlantic City. In the LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS CLASSIC at ORLEANS ARENA, Rider went 1-3: falling at Washington State (80-@94 on xRobert Franks[25p5a12r]'s star turn), tanking at Drake (58-@76), and then tripping against Cal State-Northridge (80-81). It was Drake who survived in double-overtime in the final against San Diego (110-103[2OT] as 5-10 gNick Norton[31p7a6r] dueled 30p from gOlin Carter III). East Tennessee State was the Unwelcome Guest winner (past host UTEP) of the DON HASKIN/SUN BOWL INVITATIONAL in El Paso: routing Wyoming (76-53) and Norfolk State (89-61). Austin Peay won the new ST. PETERSBURG SHOOTOUT, beating Campbell (88-75 despite 30p7r from 5-9 bChris Clemons) and Liberty (75-66 as Terry Taylor[32p] starred).
     Western Illinois' @81-52 win over Chicago State was little consolation as the WAC won 6-3 in its head-to-head CHALLENGE with the SUMMIT. Meanwhile, Montana beat North Dakota State (@60-53) while South Dakota State won on the road at Eastern Washington (74-@64 on xMike Daum[27p11r]'s star turn); then, Montana pulled off the road win over host SDakSt (85-@74 despite 33p15r from xMike Daum) to earn a 4-4 split for the SKY with the SUMMIT.
     In grudge matches, Georgia beat host Georgia Tech (70-@59) while Clemson beat hosts South Carolina (78-@68) in State Title clashes. "Big Brother" Florida routed "Little Brother" Florida Gulf Coast (@77-@56) as part of the ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC double-header.
     In other specialty events, Kansas State handled Vanderbilt (@69-58) in their WILDCAT CLASSIC at Kansas City. Villanova dumped Connecticut (81-58) in a BIG EAST Warm-Up match at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN. Mississippi State edged Wright State (@67-63) in Jackson.

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Not much left on the preseason schedule.
     Look for TCU to claim the final tournament crown (over Indiana State) in the DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC final (Tuesday).
     Kentucky now looks like an elite squad, just in time for its annual showdown with arch-/state-rival Louisville (Saturday).
     Clemson won't have it easy when Lipscomb comes to town (Sunday).

In early conference play, unbeaten (and untested) St. John's gets a baptism of fire when it visits Seton Hall right away (Saturday).
     Wright State has its toughest week of the first half right away, hosting Illinois-Chicago (Friday) and IUPUI (Sunday).

-- Ron

P.S. Happy Holidays, everybody!

Key games this week:

Monday:

(None).

Tuesday (CHRISTMAS):

HAWAII-B DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC Finals 8Bracket @ HonoluluHI/Hawaii/
-(TCU-IndianaSt;
  3rd: UNLV-Bucknell;
  5th: @Hawaii-RhodeIsland;
  7th: Colorado-Charlotte),

Wednesday:

(None).

Thursday:

(None).

Friday:

@WrightSt-ILChicago,

Saturday:

Kentucky-@Louisville(KY), Wisconsin-@WeKentucky, @ArizonaSt-Princeton, StJohns-@SetonHall, Buffalo-@Canisius(BuffaloNY)(BIG4), @Maryland-Radford, @Toledo-Penn, @Purdue-Belmont, @BoiseSt-Oregon, @SFlorida-FairleighDickinson, @Pittsburgh-Colgate, @UCLA-Liberty, @WashingtonSt-SantaClara(@SpokaneWA),

Sunday:

@Clemson-Lipscomb, @VCU-Rider, @WVirginia-Lehigh, @StephenFAustin-Alabama, @WrightSt-IUPUI(BG),
BATTLE OF THE GRANITE STATE 1Off on-campus
-(@Dartmouth-NewHampshire[NH]),

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@Virginia-Marshall, @BostonCol-Hartford.

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Top 25 - 18 Dec24 - [] Column

1. Michigan (12-0) (@BIG.E) [2v2:HOF-CT TO] (vACC)
   
2. Tennessee (9-1) (:COLANGELO)
   
3. Gonzaga (11-2) [v3:MAUI] (@JESUIT)
   
4. Duke (11-1) (@@CHAMPS) (vBIG10) (vAI)
   
5. Virginia (11-0) [v3:ATLANTIS] (@BIG10)
   
6. Nevada (11-0) [2v2:LV-HOLDAY] (@MVC) (:HOF-LA) (@COLANGELO)
   
7. Kansas (10-1) (@@CHAMPS) [2v2:NIT.T-O]
   
8. Marquette (10-2) (vWI)
   
9. Kentucky (9-2) [4rrvOHIO.VAL] (@@CB/SPORTS)
   
10. Ohio State (11-1) [4rrvOS/BUCKEYE] (@@CB/SPORTS)
    
11. North Carolina (8-3)
    
12. Wisconsin (10-2) (@BIG.E) (vACC)
    
13. Indiana (11-2) (vBIG.E) (vCOUNTDN) (@@XROADS)
    
14. Louisville (9-3) (vBIG10)
    
15. Michigan State (10-2) [2v2:LVI-THANX]
    
16. Seton Hall (9-3) [3:WOODEN] (@@C/HOOPS) (vGARDEN)
    
17. Arizona State (9-2) [2v2:LV-MAIN]
    
18. Houston (12-0)
    
19. Florida State (11-1) (vFL) (vBIG10) (:NVR.FGT) (vORANGE)
    
20. St. John's (12-0) (@BIG10) [2v2vLEGENDS] (:HOF-MIAMI) (vNYC-HOLDAY)
    
21. Virginia Tech (10-1) [3:CHARLESTON] (:HOF-BOARDWK)
    
22. Mississippi State (11-1) (:NVR.FGT)
    
23. Buffalo (10-1) [2v2:HOF-BELFAST]
    
24. Texas Tech (10-1) [2v2:CBE] (:HOF-MIAMI)
    
25. North Carolina State (11-2) .5[4rrvNCS/WOLFPACK] (:HOF-MIAMI) (@HOF-BOARD)
    

Honorable Mention:

Georgia Tech (6-5) [4rrvDEEP.S], Vanderbilt (7-3) .3[4rrvV/COMMODORE], Louisiana State (9-3) (:LV-NEON).

La Salle (2-10) [2vn/BOARDWK],
Drake (9-2) (vMWC) (:USB/SUMMIT) [2v2:LVC-XMAS],

East Tennessee State (10-4) [2@HASKINS/SUN],
Austin Peay (8-4) [2:n/ST.PETE].