19 Feb18 - Clawbacks [GROUPSEED]

Volume XXIII, No. 16 - 19 Feb18: GROUPSEED - [] Top 25 Ballot Clawbacks In several conferences, lead teams had chances to put the regular season title out of reach only to have contenders score Clawback wins to keep those races in play.      In the SEC, Tennessee handled pretender South Carolina (@85-73). Meanwhile, in a knockout game between second-place teams, LSU rallied to edge Kentucky on the road (73-@71 on Kavell Bigby-Williams' game-winning/buzzer-beater putback). Then, UK routed Tenn (@86-69) in a huge Clawback win. Elsewhere, Mississippi edged Auburn on the road (60-@55).      In the BIG 10, both co-leaders dropped a game: Michigan fell at forgotten Penn State (69-@75 as cLamar Stevens[26p12r] starred) while Maryland shut down Purdue (@70-56 only allowing one double-figure scorer); Mich did bounce back to beat Md (@65-52). Meanwhile, Michigan State won twice to make it a three-way tie for the lead: the MS-Spartans won on the road at Wisconsin (67-@59) and dumped Ohio State (@62-44); OhioSt earlier fell at home to lowly Illinois (@56-63). Elsewhere, forgotten Nebraska edged Minnesota (@62-61 on gJames Palmer Jr.'s game-winning free throws).      In the BIG 12, Iowa State won on the road at Kansas State (78-@64) to claw back the KS-Wildcats to a mere one-game lead; Kansas kept in contact with an overtime road win at TCU (82-@77[OT] on xDevon Dotson[25p5a10r]'s star turn); Texas Tech knocked Baylor off the pace with rout win (@86-61). Elsewhere, forgotten Oklahoma won on the road at tumbling TCU (71-@62 as xKristian Doolittle[21p10r5a] starred).      In the BIG EAST, St. John's rallied to knock off Villanova (@71-65), clawing back the V-Wildcats into a first-place tie with Marquette.      In the ACC, first-place Duke escaped on the road at Louisville to win (71-@69 as cZion Williamson[27p12r] starred, coming back from down 23 points) and then thumped North Carolina State (@94-78 as fWilliamson[32p6r] and xR.J. Barrett[23p10a11r] both starred). Virginia clawed back North Carolina into a tie for second place with a road win (69-@61 led by pTy Jerome[15p11a], shutting down xLuke Maye[4p11r]). Elsewhee, NCSt dumped Syracuse (@73-58). Surprising Liberty tied up the ATLANTIC SUN race with a Clawback win on the road at soaring Lipscomb (74-@66).      Bucking the trend, unbeaten Wofford dumped second-place UNC-Greensboro (@80-50). That, combined with a loss at forgotten Furman (57-@67 as cMatt Rafferty[26p10r] dominated) effectively knocked UNCG out of the SOCON race.      Buffalo righted things in the MID-AMERICAN with a road win over West-leader Toledo (88-@82 as xNick Perkins[26p10r] dueled 24p10r from xJaelen Sanford) to complete the sweep (but the B-Bulls still share the East/overall lead with surprising Bowling Green).      In the PACIFIC-12, Arizona State stayed relevant with a road split: first, tripping at Colorado (73-@77 as cTyler Bey[22p17r] dominated) and then winning at Utah (98-@87). (But Washington still had a gap.)      In the IVY LEAGUE, Harvard stayed in contact with two road wins: first, winning at Princeton (78-@69 on bBryce Aiken[33p5r]'s star turn); then, escaping in overtime at disappointing Penn (75-@68[OT]). Meanwhile, first-place Yale won on the road at Cornell (98-@92 despite 35p6r from bMatt Morgan).      In the MISSOURI VALLEY, two losses clawed back Loyola(Illinois): first, the Ramblers fell at forgotten Bradley (54-@61); then, they tripped at home against Missouri State (@61-65 as the MS-Bears shot 63 percent), allowing Drake to tie for first place.      In the OHIO VALLEY Wars, Murray State edged Austin Peay on the road (73-@71 as pJa Morant[32p7a6r] dueled 25p8r from fTerry Taylor) to keep its share of first place (along with Belmont).      In the WEST COAST, unbeaten Gonzaga continued to cruise, handling Loyola Marymount on the road (73-@60).      In the WAC, New Mexico State kept its gap lead, beating Utah Valley (@84-77). COLON/Hofstra edged forgotten College of Charleston on the road (99-@95 in an all-star shootout) to keep its gap. HORIZ/Wright State clawed back Northern Kentucky with a (squeak) home win (@81-77) to tie for first place. C-USA/North Texas fell out of contention with two (road) losses, falling at Florida Atlantic (47-@57) and also at Florida International (59-@69). BIGW/UC-Irvine maintained its gap with a home win over UC-Santa Barbaa (@83-70). PAT/Bucknell beat Lehigh (@87-75) as pK Mackenzie[27p5a] starred) to complete the sweep and open a gap lead, but fell victim to a Clawback, tripping at Holy Cross (71-@72 on Matt Faw's game-winning three). SUMMIT/Omaha edged South Dakota State in a Clawback win of its own (@85-84 on tMitch Hahn's game-winner) to tie for first place. SLAND/Sam Houston State lost for the first time, tripping at Lamar (72-@75) but still had a gap. BIGS/Radford tripped at Charleston Southern (52-@53). MAAC/Quinnipiac edged tumbling Rider in overtime (@98-88[OT] on tCameron Young[25p5a8r]'s star turn). NEC/Robert Morris fell at lowly Mount St. Mary's (62-@76), then resurgent St. Francis(Pennsylvania) edged the RM-Colonials (@72-69) to lead outright. SKY/Montana held onto first place, edging Weber State on the road (83-@80 as cSayeed Pridgett[29p16r] dueled 30p2a from gJerrick Harding). MEAC/Norfolk State won on the road at Florida A&M (66-@54 as gNic Thomas[26p3a] starred). SWAC/Prairie View A&M held onto its gap with a road win at Jackson State (79-@66). - - - - - - In hopes of parlaying its stellar showing of FOUR-STRAIGHT 32-SPLASH WINS in the NCAA tournament into multiple bids, CONFERENCE USA held the final four games on its regular season schedule in reserve until the first head-to-head round-robin was completed. Then, the 14 teams were locked into three seeded groups: [1-5], [6-10] and [11-14]. You play the final four games round-robin within your seed group (and you're guaranteed to be seeded within the range of your group for the conference tournament [even if you finish 0-4]). (Remember, for the C-USA tourney, only the top 12 teams qualify with the top four receiving first-round byes; so there's plenty to play for [especially, in the top and bottom groups].)      Group 1 was slated as 1-Old Dominion, 2-(forgotten)Western Kentucky, 3-Southern Mississippi, 4-Texas-San Antonio and 5-UAB. (Preseason co-favorites [forgotten]North Texas and [forgotten]Marshall headed Group 2 slated 6 and 7.) Unfortunately, C-USA isn't having the strongest year -- it barely rates at the bottom of The Red Swirl with its top team, ODU, rating below Splashworthy status -- so multiple bids aren't in the cards and the tight race means ODU is nowhere near Anti-Spoiler status, either. So Year One of this new strategy is moot. It'll be a "win or bust" tourney for this 1BC-league, which hasn't seen multiple bids since 2012 or multiple teams win NCAA games since 2005. - - - - - - Duke hosts arch-rival North Carolina (Wednesday) with first place in the ACC on the line. Michigan hosts arch-rival Michigan State (Sunday) in the BIG 10 Game of the Year (Part-I). UNC finishes a tough week hosting Florida State (Saturday). LSU hosts Tennessee (Saturday) in a first-place showdown in the SEC. Texas Tech hosts Kansas (Saturday) in a knockout game in the BIG 12 race. Iowa hosts Maryland (Tuesday) - - only a skirmish in the BIG 10 Wars.      Virginia has a tough week on the road, visiting undermanned Virginia Tech (Monday) and Louisville (Saturday).      Yale can break open the IVY race with a home win over forgotten Harvard (Saturday).      COLON/[1]Old Dominion hosts forgotten [2]Western Kentucky in the Re-Group Game of the Year (Saturday). -- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

Virginia-@Virginia Tech(VA), @NCA&T-NorfolkSt,

Tuesday:

@IowaSt-Baylor, Maryland-@Iowa, @Davidson-Dayton,

Wednesday:

@Duke-N Carolina(NC), @Syracuse-Louisville, @Lehigh-ArmyWP,

Thursday:

Michigan-@Minnesota, @Cincinnati-UCF, @UCSantaBarbara-Hawaii, @SDState-PurdueFW, @Radford-Winthrop, @MDBaltimoreCo-Vermont, @StFrancisPA-StFrancisNY,

Friday:

@Buffalo-KentSt,

Saturday:

Duke-@Syracuse, @Gonzaga-BYU, @Kentucky-Auburn, Virginia-@Louisville, Tennessee-@LSU, @NCarolina-FloridaSt, IowaSt-@TCU, @Maryland-OhioSt, Kansas-@TexasTech, @Nevada-FresnoSt, @StJohns-SetonHall, @Yale-Harvard, @TexasSt-Louisiana, @[1]OldDominion-[2]WeKentucky, @StFrancisPA-LongIsland, @RobertMorris-StFrancisNY, @CConnecticutSt-SacredHeart(CT)(CT6),

Sunday:

MichiganSt-@Michigan(MI), @UNCGreensboro-ETennesseeSt, @IllinoisSt-Drake,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@Kansas-KansasSt(KS), @Montana-NoColorado.

---

Top 25 - 19 Feb18: GROUPSEED - [] Column

1. Duke (23-2)
2. Gonzaga (24-2)
3. Kentucky (21-4)
4. Virginia (22-2)
5. Michigan State (21-5)
6. Michigan (23-3)
7. Purdue (18-7)
8. Tennessee (22-2)
9. North Carolina (20-5)
10. Louisiana State (21-4)
11. Iowa State (19-6)
12. Maryland (19-7)
13. Kansas State (19-6)
14. Houston (25-1)
15. Kansas (20-6)
16. Marquette (21-4)
17. Nevada (23-1)
18. Villanova (20-6)
19. Texas Tech (21-5)
20. Cincinnati (21-4)
21. Washington (20-5)
22. Iowa (20-5)
23. Florida State (20-5)
24. Buffalo (21-3)
25. Wofford (20-4)

Honorable Mention:

Penn State (9-16), St. John's (19-7), - - - - - - Wright State (14-11), [1]Old Dominion (21-6), - - - - - - Liberty (18-5), St. Francis(Pennsylvania) (12-11).

19 Feb11 - Boy Wonder (PRESIXTEEN)

Volume XXIII, No. 15 - 19 Feb 11: PRESIXTEEN - [] Top 25 Ballot Boy Wonder In their biggest road game of the ACC season, Duke completed the sweep of Virginia (81-@71). For a change, it was "Robin, The Boy Wonder" (i.e., bR.J. Barrett[26p7r]) who led the way, hitting five three-pointers in the first half, instead of "Batman" (fZion Williamson). North Carolina kept pace, outrunning North Carolina State (@113-96 thanks to 26 assists as xLuke Maye[31p12r] starred). Louisville only managed a split: first, winning at depleted Virginia Tech (72-@64); but then, falling in overtime at rising Florida State (75-@80[OT]). FlaSt earlier thumped host Syracuse (82-@60 behind 25 assists) while VaTech fell again at forgotten Clemson (51-@59 only managing 28 percent shooting).      Michigan State fell back in the BIG 10 race, tripping at lowly Illinois (74-@79); but the MS-Spartans bounced back to dump slumping Minnesota (@79-55 behind 27 assists). Michigan pushed on, beating Wisconsin (@61-52), as did Purdue, which thumped tumbling Nebraska (@81-62). Maryland also dumped host Neb (60-@45 as the N-Huskies only managed 21 percent shooting). Wisc split on the week, thanks to edging Minn on the road (56-@51).      Kansas State beat arch-rival Kansas (@74-67) and beat Baylor (@84-72) to open a two-game gap in the BIG 12 race. Iowa State could only manage a split on the week: first, edging tumbling Oklahoma on the road (75-@74); but then, falling at home to TCU (@83-92). Texas Tech also beat Ok on the road (66-@54). Bayl also fell at forgotten Texas (72-@84).      Marquette tripped at home against St. John's (@69-70 on bShamorie Ponds[28p7r;GWFG]' star turn), but (barely) stayed in the BIG EAST race with a squeak home win over Villanova (@66-65 as bMarkus Howard[38p6r] starred). StJohn fell at home at Providence (@56-70 as the Friars dominated the boards 43-23).      Houston took sole possession of first place in the AMERICAN after a big week: first, the H-Cougars won on the road at UCF (77-@68 as pCorey Davis Jr.[26p5a] starred); then, they won the showdown with Cincinnati (@65-58). Temple tanked on the road at Tulsa (58-@76).      In the PAC-12, Arizona State tanked at home against lowly WashSt (@70-91 on xRobert Franks[34p13r]' star turn); but bounced back to knock off first-place Washington (@75-63). In the SEC, Tennessee went 2-0 to stay unbeaten. Kentucky stayed close, edging Mississippi State on the road (71-@67). Likewise, LSU edged MissSt in overtime on the road as well (92-@88[OT] in GC fNaz Reid[29p9r]'s best game) and also edging Auburn (@83-78 despite 25p8a6r from pJared Harper).      Loyola(Illinois) dumped Drake (@86-64 on tMarques Townes[32p5a8r]' star turn) to open up a two-game gap in the MISSOURI VALLEY.      In the ATLANTIC 10, Davidson tripped at Massachusetts (51-@54) to fall back into a tie at the top with VCU.      In the MID-AMERICAN, West-leader Toledo beat Bowling Green on the road (78-@71), dropping BowlG back into a tie for the lead in the East (and overall) with mighty Buffalo.      Yale swept Princeton (@74-60) and disappointing Penn (@78-65) to lead the IVY LEAGUE as tMiye Oni averaged 28p9r in two games. Penn did manage to win at Brown (92-@82 despite 25p5r from bObi Okolie).      No one in the WCC can even give 3-gap/unbeaten Gonzaga a game: the G-Bulldogs throttled St. Mary's (@94-46 as the SM-Gaels only managed one assist). SUNB/Georgia State lost twice on the road: first, falling at Louisiana-Monroe (76-@82 on tDaishon Smith[36p7a8r]'s star turn); then, tripping at Louisiana (72-@76); meanwhile, Texas State and Texas-Arlington both took over first place. CUSA/North Texas split on the week: first, dumping tumbling Marshall (@78-51 dominating the boards 55-30); but then, tripping at home to forgotten Western Kentucky (@59-62); Marsh further tripped at lowly Rice (69-@74); meanwhile, Old Dominion and Texas-San Antonio both shared the lead. BIGW/UC-Irvine beat Hawaii (@67-56) to open a two-game gap.      PAT/Lehigh tanked at home against Colgate (@62-84 as cRapolas Ivanauskas[33p10r] dominated), leaving Bucknell alone in first place. SLAND/3-gap/unbeaten Sam Houston State edged forgotten Abilene Christian in double-overtime/on the road (90-@85[2OT]). NEC/Robert Morris lost at home to Central Connecticut State (@68-77), falling back into a tie for first place with resurrected St. Francis(Pennsylvania). MAAC/Rider jammed three losses in one week: falling at Manhattan (66-@73); then, tripping at home against Canisius (@80-81 on gJonathan Sanks' game-winning three) and also against Siena (@57-59); leaving a FOUR-WAY LOGJAM at the top among Monmouth/Canisius/Siena/Quinnipiac ... Ugh. MEAC/Norfolk State fell at Bethune-Cookman (76-@84 as cCletrell Pope[20p15r] countered 23p9a12 from xSteve Whitley) but still held onto first place. SWAC/Prairie View A&M split on the week: first, edging Alabama State (@69-67); then, tripping at Texas Southern (90-@95 as six players posted double-figures); but the PV-Panthers still held a two-game gap lead. - - - - - - The IVY LEAGUE is the last conference to reach its halfway point (give or take a game). Yale came through in first place; Harvard and Cornell both tied for second; Princeton hung in for fourth; (disappointing Penn couldn't hang; Brown was a flop.) - - - - - - It's Year Three for the NCAA Seeding Committee's "Pre-Sixteen bracket (as if the season ended today [Saturday])". The new NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) has replaced the old RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). The new NET is supposed to be more inclusive of the "quality" of wins more than just won/loss percentage. Here's their official take:

EAST [Washington]	SOUTH [Louisville]	MIDWEST [Kansas City]	WEST [Anaheim]
1-Duke	2-Tennessee	3-Virginia	4-Gonzaga
6-Michigan	7-North Carolina	5-Kentucky	8-Michigan State
12-Marquette	9-Purdue	11-Houston	10-Kansas
13-Iowa State	14-Nevada	16-Wisconsin	15-Louisville

... with Villanova, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech and LSU just on the outside looking in. All things considered (Rankings, Ratings, Quality Wins), my "Pre-Sixteen" bracket would be:

EAST [Washington]	SOUTH [Louisville]	MIDWEST [Kansas City]	WEST [Anaheim]
1-Duke	2-Virginia	3-Michigan	4-Michigan State
7-Tennessee	6-Kentucky	5-North Carolina	8-Gonzaga
9-Purdue	10-Houston	12-Kansas	11-Virginia Tech
13-Iowa State	14-Texas Tech	16-Marquette	15-Nevada

... with the likes of Buffalo, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland, Louisville, Kansas State, LSU, Villanova and Cincinnati all just out of the running.      There's not much difference between the two brackets, frankly. The top #2-seed (5/Kentucky) can't be in the same bracket as the top #1-seed (1/Duke); so UK didn't get to go to DC, but I don't get why it couldn't go to Louisville. I also managed to send Kansas to KC, but they didn't for some reason. The biggest difference is they gave top importance to Tenn>Gonz>Duke head-to-head whereas I gave more importance to more total quality wins for Mich/MichSt,UVa/UNC/UK over Tenn/Gonz. (They have a further criteria that the total seeding in each region can't differ by more than five [which mine doesn't, so I'd have to fix that by "fudging" the seeds in order to keep teams closer to their preferred regions].) Frankly, where you get sent is way more important than seeding; so UK,Kans have the most beef.      (P.S. I couldn't care less about who CBS thinks should be the remaining 52 teams to fill out a full 68-team bracket at this point.) - - - - - - Kentucky can take control of the SEC race with a big after hosting LSU (Tuesday) and Tennessee (Saturday). North Carolina hosts Virginia (Monday). Gap Kansas State hosts Iowa State (Saturday). Maryland has a big week, hosting Purdue (Tuesday) and visiting Michigan (Saturday). Wisconsin hosts Michigan State (Tuesday). Unbeaten Wofford can put away the SOCON race with a home win over UNC-Greensboro (Saturday). >     Toledo hopes to make a game of it in the second MAC showdown when Buffalo comes to town (Friday).      In the OVC Wars, Austin Peay hosts Murray State (Thursday). Cornell hosts IVY-leader Yale (Saturday). Dayton hosts VCU (Saturday).      HORIZ/Wright State hosts Northern Kentucky (Friday) with first place on the line.      SUMMIT/Omaha hosts South Dakota State (Thursday) with first place on the line. PAT/Bucknell hosts Lehigh with first place on the line (Monday). ASUN/Unbeaten Lipscomb can put away the regular season race with a home win over Liberty (Wednesday). In the mad-scramble MAAC, Rider visits Quinnipiac (Tuesday) and hosts Monmouth (Friday). NEC/St. Francis(Pennsylvania) has a big week, visiting Fairleigh Dickinson (Thursday) and hosting Robert Morris (Saturday). -- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

@NCarolina-Virginia, Kansas-@TCU, @Baylor-Oklahoma, @Bucknell-Lehigh(PA), @FloridaA&M-NorfolkSt,

Tuesday:

Duke-@Louisville, Purdue-@Maryland, @Kentucky-LSU, MichiganSt-@Wisconsin, @Quinnipiac-Rider,

Wednesday:

@Lipscomb-Liberty, @Auburn-Mississippi, @NCState-Syracuse, CAPITAL CITY/BLACK & BLUE CLASSIC HomeAway on-campus -(@VCU-Richmond[RichmondVA];    Sat 2 Mar: @Richmond-VCU[RichmondVA]),

Thursday:

@Furman-UNCGreensboro, @NewMexicoSt-UTValley, @ColofCharleston-Hofstra, @AustinPeay-MurraySt, @Omaha-SDState, @FairleighDickinson-StFrancisPA, @WeberSt-Montana,

Friday:

@Toledo-Buffalo, @Princeton-Harvard, @WrightSt-NoKentucky(BG), @Rider-Monmouth(NJ),

Saturday:

@Duke-NCState(NC), Tennessee-@Kentucky, @Michigan-Maryland, @KansasSt-IowaSt, @TexasTech-Baylor, @Wofford-UNCGreensboro, @TCU-Oklahoma, @Dayton-VCU, @Utah-ArizonaSt, @Penn-Harvard, @Cornell-Yale, @ColofCharleston-Northeastern, @UCIrvine-UCSantaBarbara(CA), @Omaha-PurdueFW, @StFrancisPA-Robert Morris(PA), @JacksonSt-PrairieViewA&M, @GramblingSt-TexasSo, STAR GAME HomeAway on-campus -(@ArmyWP-Navy[MIL];    @Navy-ArmyWP[MIL]), FINALIZATION OF C-USA END-OF-SEASON SCHEDULE,

Sunday:

@MichiganSt-OhioSt, Villanova-@StJohns, @LoyolaIL-MissouriSt,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@VirginiaTech-Virginia(VA), @NCA&T-NorfolkSt.

---

Top 25 - 19 Feb11: PRESIXTEEN - [] Column

1. Duke (21-2)
2. Tennessee (21-1)
3. Gonzaga (22-2)
4. Michigan (22-2)
5. Purdue (17-6)
6. Kentucky (20-3)
7. North Carolina (19-4)
8. Virginia (20-2)
9. Michigan State (19-5)
10. Kansas State (18-5)
11. Houston (23-1)
12. Marquette (20-4)
13. Villanova (19-5)
14. Kansas (18-6)
15. Iowa State (18-6)
16. Nevada (22-1)
17. Texas Tech (19-5)
18. Louisiana State (19-4)
19. Maryland (18-6)
20. Cincinnati (20-4)
21. Washington (19-5)
22. Iowa (19-5)
23. Wisconsin (17-7)
24. Florida State (18-5)
25. Wofford (18-4)

Honorable Mention:

Illinois (9-15), TCU (17-6), St. John's (17-7), Louisville (17-7)/Clemson (15-8), Arizona State (16-7), Loyola(Illinois) (15-9), New Mexico State (19-4), - - - - - - UC-Irvine (19-5), Sam Houston State (13-8).

19 Feb 4 - Upper Crust (MIDCONFERENCE/Major)

Volume XXIII, No. 14 - 19 Feb 4: MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Top 25 Ballot

Upper Crust

Not many surprises this past week among the elite squads (but here and there some true upsets did sneak in).
     In the BIG 10, forgotten Indiana edged Michigan State in overtime (79-@75[OT] despite 26p7a8r from tCassius Winston). Iowa came up big, dumping Michigan (@74-59) after Mich had already dumped Ohio State (@65-49). Wisconsin logged two big wins: first, handling Nebraska on the road (62-@51); then, taking out Maryland (@69-61 as xEthan Happ[18p11r6a] starred); Neb fell again at Illinois (64-@71). Purdue beat Minnesota (@73-63).
     In BIG 12, Kansas thumped Texas Tech (@79-63 as cDedric Lawson[25p10r] starred); but then fell at Texas (63-@73). Oklahoma dropped two: first, tanking at home against Baylor (@47-77 only shooting 27 percent); then, falling at forgotten West Virginia (71-@79 as the WV-Mountaineers controlled the boards 46-30). Likewise, TCU lost twice: first, tanking at TxTech (65-@84); then, tanking at forgotten Baylor (64-@90 as the B-Bears sank 15-for-28 on three-pointers on gMakai Mason[40p4a]'s star turn). Iowa State edged Tx (@65-60).
     In the SEC, forgotten Arkansas edged LSU on the road (90-@89). Forgotten Alabama edged Mississippi State (@83-79); but then MissSt bounced back to beat arch-rival Mississippi on the road (81-@75 as tQuinndary Weatherspoon[27p8r] starred); Ole Miss earlier tripped in overtime at forgotten Florida (86-@90[OT] despite 26p5a12r from xTerence Davis).
     In the MID-AMERICAN, Buffalo tripped in a showdown for first place at surprising Bowling Green (88-@92 as gDylan Frye[25p] dueled 28p7r from fDontay Caruthers).
     In the ACC, North Carolina paid back Louisville with a solid road win (79-@69 controlling the boards 47-32). North Carolina State lost twice: first, tripping in overtime at home against Virginia (@65-66[OT] on bKyle Guy's game-winning three); then, falling in a complete "no-post" performance at home against Virginia Tech (@24-47 managing no double-figure scorers on 17 percent shooting).
     In the COLONIAL, Hofstra stumbled at Northeastern (61-@75 led by bDonnell Gresham[18p2a5r]), snapping the Pride's 16-game win streak.

In the OVC Wars, Jacksonville State dumped Murray State (@88-68 as cJason Burnell[20p15r] dueled 22p11a6r from pJa Morant).
     In the MVC, Illinois State had a big week, taking out Drake on the road (69-@55) and then beating Loyola(Illinois) (@65-57).
     In the AMERICAN, Houston beat Temple (@73-66 despite 26p4a from gQuinton Rose).
     In the BIG EAST, Seton Hall tripped at Butler (68-@70).
     In the ATLANTIC 10, St. Louis fell off the pace with an 0-2 week; first, tripping at home against Richmond (@81-84); then, falling at Rhode Island (54-@65).
     In the PAC-12, Oregon tanked at Colorado (51-@73 as cTyler Bey[27p10r] starred). Meanwhile, Arizona State escaped in overtime against arch-rival Arizona (@95-88[OT] on pRemy Martin[31p8a]'s star turn).
     In CONFERENCE USA, Old Dominion handled North Texas (@72-61 despite 19p7a5r from pRyan Woolridge). Meanwhile, Marshall tripped in overtime at home against Texas-San Antonio (@106-116[OT] in an all-star shootout).
     In the IVY LEAGUE, Penn continued to struggle, falling at Cornell (71-@80).

Inside The Red Swirl, SUN B/Texas State fell at home against Texas-Arlington (@77-84 as fBrian Warren[30p5r] starred). HORIZ/Northern Kentucky dropped two on the road: first, falling at IUPUI (77-@83 as bCamron Justice[26p4a6r] starred); then, tripping at Illinois-Chicago (67-@69 on Jamie Ahale's game-winning three). BIG W/UC-Irvine edged UC-Santa Barbara in overtime on the road (66-@62[OT]).
     In Flopland, A-SUN/Lipscomb took control, road-routing Liberty (79-@59). BIG S/Radford tripped at home against Campbell (@67-68 on bChris Clemons[39p6r;GW3]' star turn). NEC/Robert Morris lost twice: first, tripping at home against forgotten St. Francis(Pennsylvania) (@73-76); then, tripping in overtime at Fairleigh Dickinson (94-@97[2OT] as bDarnell Edge[28p7r] dueled 34p from gJon Williams). MAAC/Rider tripped at Monmouth (71-@75). AMER E/Stony Brook fell at Maryland-Baltimore County (49-@57). MEAC/North Carolina Central fell at Bethune-Cookman (64-@74). SWAC/Prairie View A&M thumped Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the road (79-@63 led by xGary Blackston[29p11r]).

In the final inter-conference matchup, Duke dumped St. John's (@91-61 as fZion Williamson[29p6r5s] starred).

- - - - - -

It's now the halfway point (or close enough) for all of the rest of the conferences (except for one more week still to go for the IVY LEAGUE). The Upper Crust of every league is solidifying nearly everywhere. More than half of all conferences have a gap between the leaders and the rest of the pack.
     In the ACC, Virginia, Duke and North Carolina all came through tied for first place; Virginia Tech, Louisville and Syracuse all tied for fourth. Two games back, Florida State hung in, for seventh; (North Carolina State and Clemson couldn't hang; Pittsburgh and Boston College et. al all were a flop.)
     In the SEC, Tennessee came through unbeaten; Kentucky and Louisiana State both tied for second. Two games back, South Carolina was fourth; Auburn, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas all hung in, tied for fifth; (Mississippi State and Florida couldn't hang. (Vanderbilt was winless.)
     In the BIG 12, Kansas State came through in first place; Iowa State, Kansas and Baylor all tied for second; Texas Tech hung in, for fifth; (TCU and Texas both couldn't hang; Oklahoma was a flop.)
     In the BIG EAST, Villanova came through unbeaten; Marquette was second with a three-game gap. (St. John's, Seton Hall, Creighton et al. all couldn't hang.)
     In the MID-AMERICAN, Bowling Green came through in first place (in the East and overall); Buffalo was second; Toledo led the West (and tied Kent State for third overall); Central Michigan, Akron and Northern Illinois all hung in, tied for fifth. (Western Michigan was winless.)

In the WEST COAST, Gonzaga came through unbeaten with a three-game gap. St. Mary's and BYU both tied for second; San Diego and USF both hung in, tied for fourth; (Loyola Marymount couldn't hang. Portland was winless.)
     In the AMERICAN, Houston and Cincinnati both came through tied for first. Two games back, UCF and Temple both tied for third; South Florida and Memphis both hung in, tied for fifth. (Tulane was winless.)
     In the PACIFIC-12, Washington came through unbeaten with a three-game gap. Arizona State and Oregon State both tied for second; Arizona, UCLA and Utah all hung in, tied for fourth; (Oregon couldn't hang. California was winless.)
     In the WAC, New Mexico State and Grand Canyon both came thourgh tied for first; Cal State-Bakersfield was third; Utah Valley was fourth; Texas-Rio Grande Valley was fifth. (Seattle was a flop; Chicago State was winless.)
     In the ATLANTIC-10, Davidson came through in first place; VCU, Dayton and George Mason all tied for second; Duquesne was fifth; St. Louis, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and La Salle all hung in, tied for sixth. (St. Joseph's, Richmond, Fordham, Massachusetts et al. all were a flop.)

In the MOUNTAIN WEST, Nevada came through in first place; Utah State and Fresno State both tied for second. Two games back, San Diego State, UNLV and Boise State all hung in, tied for fourth. (San Jose State was winless.)
     In the BIG WEST, UC-Irvine came through in first place; UC-Santa Barbara was second; Hawaii and Cal State-Fullerton both tied for third; Cal State-Northridge and UC-Davis both hung in at .500, tied for fifth.

In the SOUTHLAND, Sam Houston State came through unbeaten with a two-game gap. Abilene Christian was second; New Orleans was third; Stephen F. Austin, Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana all hung in, tied for fourth; (Lamar couldn't hang; Nicholls was a flop.)
     In the BIG SOUTH, Radford came through in first place; Winthrop and Campbell both tied for second; Presbyterian, High Point and newcomer Hampton all tied for fourth; Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern both hung in at .500, tied for seventh; (Longwood couldn't hang.)
     In the AMERICA EAST, Vermont came through in first place; Stony Brook and Maryland-Baltimore County both were tied for second. Two games back, Massachusetts-Lowell and Hartford both hung in at .500, tied for fourth.
     In the METRO ATLANTIC, Rider came through in first place; Canisius was second; Quinnipiac, Siena, Iona and Monmouth all hung in, tied for third; (Niagara couldn't hang; Marist was a flop.)
     In the BIG SKY, Montana and Northern Colorado both came through tied for first place; Weber State was second; Eastern Washington was third; Montana State and Northern Arizona both hung in at .500, tied for fifth.
     In the MEAC, Norfolk State came through unbeaten with a two-game gap. North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M both were tied for second; North Carolina Central was fourth; Howard, Bethune-Cookman, Savannah State and Coppin State all hung in at .500, tied for fifth. (Delaware State was winless.)
     In the SWAC, Prairie View A&M came through unbeaten with a three-game gap. Texas Southern, Jackson State and Alabama State all tied for second; Grambling State hung in for fifth; (Arkansas-Pine Bluff couldn't hang; everyone else [including Mississippi Valley State] was a flop).

- - - - - -

Virginia looks for payback when it hosts Duke (Saturday). Michigan hosts Wisconsin (Saturday). Marquette needs to win at home against Villanova in the BIG EAST Game of the Year-Part I (Satuday) just to stay in the race. Kansas State hosts Kansas (Monday) in one of the more high-profile editions of the SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN and then follows that up with a road trip to Baylor (Saturday). It's the Game of the Year-Part I in the AMERICAN when Houston hosts Cincinnati (Sunday).
     Virginia Tech hosts Louisville (Monday). Grand Canyon looks for payback at home against New Mexico State in the WAC Game of the Year-Part II with first place on the line (Saturday). MAC-leader Bowling Green needs a home win over Toledo (Saturday) to prove it's no fluke.
     HORIZ/Northern Kentucky hopes to stop the bleeding with a home win over Oakland (Saturday).
     Rider hosts Canisius (Friday) with first place on the line in the MAAC.

-- Ron

Key games this week:

Monday:

IowaSt-@Oklahoma, @VirginiaTech-Louisville, @Lehigh-Colgate, @Prairie View A&M-AlabamaSt,

Tuesday:

@NCarolina-NCState(NC), @Marquette-StJohns, @KansasSt-Kansas(KS), @Auburn-Florida, @LoyolaIL-Drake, @LaSalle-StJosephs(PhiladelphiaPA)(BIG5), @FresnoSt-UtahSt,

Wednesday:

LSU-@MississippiSt, Wisconsin-@Minnesota, @Nebraska-Maryland, @Texas-Baylor(TX), @Louisiana-GeorgiaSo,

Thursday:

Houston-@UCF, Wofford-@ETennesseeSt, @CalStBakersfield-NewMexicoSt, @NTexas-Marshall, @SoUtah-WeberSt(UT),

Friday:

@Yale-Princeton, @Louisiana-GeorgiaSt, @Rider-Canisius,

Saturday:

Duke-@Virginia, @Tennessee-Florida, @Gonzaga-StMarys, @MichiganSt-Minnesota, @Purdue-Nebraska, Kentucky-@MississippiSt, @Michigan-Wisconsin, @IowaSt-TCU, @Marquette-Villanova, KansasSt-@Baylor, TexasTech-@Oklahoma, Washington-@ArizonaSt, @LSU-Auburn, Louisville-@FloridaSt, @GrandCanyon-NewMexicoSt, @BowlingGreen-Toledo(OH), @Drake-NoIowa(IA)(BIG4), @Akron-KentSt(OH)(NEO), @NoKentucky-Oakland, UCIrvine-Hawaii, @Abilene Christian-SamHoustonSt(TX), @StFrancisNY-FairleighDickinson, @TexasSo-PrairieViewA&M(HoustonTX),
(NCAA PRE-SIXTEEN BRACKET SELECTION)

Sunday:

@Houston-Cincinnati,

- - - - - -

Monday week:

@NCarolina-Virginia, @TCU-Kansas, @Baylor-Oklahoma, @Bucknell-Lehigh(PA), @FloridaA&M-Norfolk St.

---

Top 25 - 19 Feb 4: MIDCONFERENCE/Major - [] Column

1. Duke (19-2)
   
2. Tennessee (19-1)
   
3. Gonzaga (20-2)
   
4. Virginia (20-1)
   
5. Michigan State (18-4)
   
6. Purdue (16-6)
   
7. Kentucky (18-3)
   
8. Michigan (20-2)
   
9. North Carolina (17-4)
   
10. Iowa State (17-5)
    
11. Marquette (19-3)
    
12. Kansas State (16-5)
    
13. Kansas (17-5)
    
14. Virginia Tech (18-3)
    
15. Houston (21-1)
    
16. Villanova (18-4)
    
17. Cincinnati (19-3)
    
18. Texas Tech (17-5)
    
19. Nevada (20-1)
    
20. Washington (18-4)
    
21. Louisiana State (17-4)
    
22. Wisconsin (16-6)
    
23. Iowa (17-5)
    
24. Louisville (16-6)
    
25. Wofford (16-4)
    

Honorable Mention:

Indiana (13-9), Texas (12-10), Arkansas (13-9), Bowling Green (13-6), Northeastern (13-9),

New Mexico State (17-4)/Grand Canyon (14-7),
Davidson (15-5),
- - - - - -
UC-Irvine (17-5),
- - - - - -
Sam Houston State (11-8),
Radford (13-7),
Vermont (16-5),
Rider (12-9),
Montana (13-6)/Northern Colorado (14-7),
Norfolk State (10-10),
Prairie View A&M (9-11).