I think I'm going to bump everyone up to an 11 for starters and see how that goes. I've found that sometimes the coach rating has no affect on how the games sim out, as I've had teams with a head coach rating of 15 have terrible seasons. But we'll see.

I'm ok with leaving it as is, but will take the bump. :)

Yeah, that bump sounds fine to me.

And do coaches actually get fired in this dynasty? Because B.B. is having a terrible season right now.

If they do, I expect I'll be first on the chopping block. I haven't had a good season yet...

Yes, coaches do get fired, but it's up to the AI. It seems to be pretty generous though and seems to take a while. We've had some coaches that have had some pretty bad seasons consistently but none of our coaches have a warm seat. I would think it would be at least a couple seasons before any of our coaches have to worry about a hot seat.

I see. Thanks for the info!

March 4-10, 2019

3 feature games this week, and we start in the ACC.

3/9/19- #17 Duke (Dean Hoo) @ Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- This one was an instant classic, as Clemson used better shooting from the three point line as well as overall, and they stun the Blue Devils in the final game of the regular season.

Final Score: Clemson- 70, #17 Duke- 66

Now we move to the Pac 12.

3/9/19- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- The majority of the stats went in the losing teams favor today, but what made the difference was free throws, as Stanford made 23-33 and Washington State made 16-24. The Cardinal didn't coast by any means, but got the home victory.

Final Score: Stanford- 80, Washington State- 73

3/9/19- #5 UCLA (Patrick Hutt) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- This one was an instant classic, as the lead changed 11 times in this one and we also had 6 ties. Although Colorado shot better and took better care of the ball, UCLA really relied on the three pointer, making 10 of them. Their last one was the biggest as it was made with just a few seconds left, giving the Bruins a tough road win.

Final Score: #5 UCLA- 71, Colorado- 68

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-23, 5-11 America East.

3/7/19- America East Quarterfinals vs. (2) Albany (L 83-65).

No big surprise in this one, as the Hawks finish off their season with a loss and will look ahead to next season.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-25, 2-16 11th (last) American.

3/6/19 vs. Temple (L 63-56).

1 game this week for the Pirates, another loss. They finish dead last in the conference and will get the 11th seed in the American Tournament where they will open up against 6th seed Temple, who just beat them this week.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 12-19, 7-11 T-7th American.

3/6/19 at UConn (L 81-69).
3/9/19 at UCF (L 81-77, OT).

2 tough losses for the Golden Hurricane this week, but they win the 7th place tiebreaker and get the 7th seed in the American Tournament, where they get a revenge match against UCF.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 16-14, 11-7 T-5th Atlantic 10.

3/6/19 at St. Joseph's (W 86-83, OT).
3/9/19 at St. Bonaventure (L 85-79).

2 tough games this week for the Wildcats who split their games. They lost the 5th place tiebreaker and will be the 6th seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, starting out against the winner of a First Round matchup between 14th seed George Mason and 11th seed Fordham.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-22, 5-13 14th ACC.

3/9/19 vs. #17 Duke- feature game, highlighted above.

A huge upset for the Tigers going into the ACC Tournament, where they'll be the 14th seed and open up against 11th seed Florida State.

#17 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 24-7, 14-4 T-1st ACC.

3/6/19 vs. #6 Notre Dame (W 84-78).
3/9/19 at Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.

The Blue Devils missed a golden chance to win the ACC outright, but that loss to Clemson forces them to split with 2 other teams. With the 3 team tie for 1st, the Blue Devils fall in the middle and will be the 2nd seed in the ACC Tournament, getting a double bye to the Quarterfinals where they will face either 10th seed Wake Forest, 15th seed Boston College, or 7th seed Louisville.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 19-11, 10-8 T-4th Big 12.

3/4/19 vs. Texas (W 81-67).
3/9/19 vs. Kansas State (L 84-82).

A split for the Jayhawks, who go into the Big 12 Tournament with a sour taste in their mouth, losing to their in-state rivals. They lost the tiebreaker with West Virginia, but the only meaning of splitting the tie was deciding who gets to wear the white jerseys, as the Jayhawks get the 5th seed and will wear their road jerseys against 4th seed West Virginia in the Quarterfinals.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-20, 3-15 10th (last) Big 12.

3/9/19 at #1 Iowa State (L 81-64).

A nice effort for the Horned Frogs in their only game of the week, but they are back to finishing in the cellar in the Big 12. They'll be the 10th seed in the Big 12 Tournament and open up in the First Round against 7th seed Texas Tech, a team they have beaten once on the season.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-17, 7-11 T-8th Big Ten.

3/6/19 at #10 Ohio State (L 80-55).
3/9/19 vs. #12 Iowa (L 79-70).

2 losses for the Wolverines, not unexpected. There was a 4 way tie for 8th, and the Wolverines will take the 10th seed into the Big Ten Tournament, where they'll take on 7th seed Illinois in the Second Round.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 14-15, 7-11 T-8th Big Ten.

3/6/19 at #7 Maryland (W 90-78).
3/9/19 at #10 Ohio State (W 50-39).

Well hello Sparty! It took almost the whole season, but the Spartans finally decided it was time to play basketball. They take a lot of momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, where they will be the 9th seed and take on 8th seed Indiana in the Second Round.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-22, 6-12 12th Big Ten.

3/6/19 at Minnesota (L 77-53).
3/9/19 at Rutgers (L 56-49).

The slump continues for the Wildcats, who will take a 6 game losing streak into the Big Ten Tournament. They'll be the 12th seed and match up against 13th seed Penn State in the First Round.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-15, 7-9 T-6th Big West.

3/9/19 vs. UC Davis (W 78-69).

The Warriors finish the regular season with a much needed win, and take the 6th seed in the Big West Tournament. They'll open up the Quarterfinals with 3rd seed UC Irvine.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 10-19, 6-12 T-11th Conference USA.

3/7/19 vs. Southern Miss (W 80-70).
3/9/19 vs. UTEP (L 78-50).

The 49ers split their final 2 regular season games and win the 11th place tiebreaker. They'll be the 11th seed in the C-USA Tournament and open up in the First Round against 14th seed Florida Atlantic.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-15, 7-11 T-9th Conference USA.

3/7/19 vs. Marshall (L 65-47).
3/9/19 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 68-60).

Despite losing both games this week, the Owls still with the 9th place tiebreaker. They'll get the 9th seed in the C-USA Tournament and open up against 8th seed Marshall.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 19-12, 11-9 MAAC.

3/9/19- MAAC Quarterfinals vs. (5) Iona (L 84-65).

Well the MAAC Tournament didn't go like the Hawks hoped. They are denied their 20th win of the season and have to hope 19 wins is good enough for an NIT bid, or any postseason bid for that matter.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-18, 5-11 T-10th MEAC.

3/4/19 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 68-62).

The Spartans finish off the regular season on a positive note, but lose the tiebreaker for 10th place. This means they'll be the 11th seed in the MEAC Tournament and take on a much improved 6th seed Savannah State in the First Round.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-15, 9-9 T-6th Pac 12.

3/7/19 at Arizona State (W 52-40).
3/9/19 vs. #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

The Buffaloes split this week, but almost pulled off a big win over UCLA. They lose the 6th place tiebreaker and will be the 7th seed and take on FOFC foe and 10th seed Washington State in the First Round of the Pac 12 Tournament.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-12, 9-9 T-6th Pac 12.

3/7/19 at USC (L 72-62).
3/9/19 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cardinal break a 3 game losing streak with the win over Washington State and also wins the 6th place tiebreaker. They'll be the 6th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament and open up against 11th seed Arizona State.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 26-4, 14-4 2nd Pac 12.

3/7/19 vs. Oregon (W 108-98).
3/9/19 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

2 wins for the Bruins this week, but it wasn't enough. The loss to Arizona last week cost them a share of the Pac 12 Title. They'll be the 2nd seed in the Pac 12 Tournament and open up in the Quarterfinals against, go figure, the winner between 7th seed Colorado and 10th seed Washington State. This means we are guaranteed at least 2 feature games next week from the Pac 12 Tournament.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 13-16, 6-12 T-10th Pac 12.

3/7/19 at Washington (L 78-60).
3/9/19 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more losses for the Cougars, who finish the regular season losing 8 of their last 10. They do win the 10th place tiebreaker and will get the 10th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament. As mentioned, they'll take on 7th seed Colorado in the First Round.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 21-10, 11-7 T-3rd SEC.

3/6/19 vs. LSU (L 82-73).
3/9/19 vs. Missouri (W 88-76).

The Crimson Tide split to end the regular season. Their best season so far in Coach Rogers' tenure, but they lose the 3rd place tiebreaker. They'll be the 4th seed in the SEC Tournament, and get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they await either 12th seed Tennessee, 13th seed Ole Miss, or 5th seed LSU.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 14-16, 7-11 T-10th SEC.

3/6/19 vs. #13 Texas A&M (W 47-31).
3/9/19 at LSU (L 86-50).

Certainly a disappointing finish to the regular season, with the split. After holding A&M to just 31 points and 20.3% shooting, they allow LSU to shoot 47.5%. The SEC was wacky this season, as the tie for 10th was actually a 5 team tie, meaning in essence, Florida is in a 5 team tie for last place in the SEC. Wow! They came out on the good end of it though, getting the 11th seed after all the tiebreakers were figured out. They'll open up the SEC First Round against 14th seed Auburn.

#15 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 23-7, 14-4 T-1st SEC.

3/6/19 at South Carolina (W 88-79).
3/9/19 at VCU (W 70-61).

2 more wins for the Wildcats who are on a 6 game winning streak. They get another share of the SEC title, and Coach Hutt is the only FOFC coach to lead his team to either a share of or an outright conference title in all 4 seasons of this dynasty. Congrats to him. As for the SEC Tournament, the Wildcats lost the tiebreaker for 1st, so they'll be the 2nd seed in the tourney. They get a double bye to the Quarterfinals where they will play the winner of a Second Round game between 7th seed Arkansas and 10th seed Georgia.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-17, 7-13 10th Sun Belt.

3/7/19 vs. Louisiana Monroe (L 62-51).
3/9/19 at Arkansas Little Rock (W 75-66).

The Trojans split to finish the regular season, and put an end to their season. The Sun Belt only takes the top 8 teams, and once again Troy fails to qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament, so their season is over.

As we enter the final week before the postseason tournaments start, let's take a look at the national top 25:



UCLA holds at #5, hard to gain ground when the teams in front of you keep winning. Kentucky moves up 3 spots after 2 wins this week, while Duke stays at 17, even after an upset loss to Clemson. Alabama receives 1, I say 1 lousy vote. Coach Rogers?? Was that you?

Now for the mid-major top 25:



None of our teams in it. No big shock.

Time for the final bubble watch as we get into the meat of the conference tournaments. Starting with the overall bubble watch, which has 1 of our teams in it.


Stanford is still in the last 4 in, even with losing 3 of their last 4. It's still the strength of schedule and the RPI keeping them around, but if they were to lose their first game in the Pac 12 Tournament, that might be enough to see them on the outside looking in.

Now for the rest of our teams:

Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Alabama

March 11-17, 2019

2 feature games this week and they are both in the Pac 12.

3/13/19- Pac 12 First Round- (10) Washington State (DeShawn St. John) vs. (7) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Neither team took care of the ball in this one as there were 36 combined turnovers. The difference was the first half in which Washington State could score only 19 points. Colorado took a 12 point lead into halftime and coasted into the Quarterfinals.

Final Score: (7) Colorado- 63, (10) Washington State- 54

3/14/19- Pac 12 Quarterfinals- (7) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) vs. (2) #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Despite having 18 turnovers, the Bruins rolled to an easy victory. The reason why? 57.4% shooting from the field, and 48% shooting from three point land. Oh yea, a 42-25 rebounding edge didn't hurt either. All UCLA in this one as they move into the Semis.

Final Score: (2) #5 UCLA- 85, (7) Colorado- 65

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-23, 5-11 America East.

The Hawks lost in their conference tournament last week and their season is over.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-26, 2-16 American.

3/14/19- American First Round vs. (6) Temple (L 74-67).

A good effort for the Pirates, but it was not to be, as they end their season, the worst in Coach Al Hutt's career.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 12-20, 7-11 American.

3/14/19- American First Round vs. (10) UCF (L 77-69).

The rematch games were not kind to our FOFC coaches in this conference, as the Golden Hurricane lost theirs too and will end their season, also the worst in Coach Brown's short tenure.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 17-15, 11-7 Atlantic 10.

3/14/19- Atlantic 10 Second Round vs. (11) Fordham (W 81-65).
3/15/19- Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals vs. (3) Rhode Island (L 65-56).

The Wildcats split 2 games in their conference tournament. 17-15 is going to be a tough sell for postseason play, and if they get left out, they can look back at those 2 regular season losses to Mississippi State, as well as a loss to North Carolina A&T.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-23, 5-13 ACC.

3/12/19- ACC First Round vs. (11) Florida State (L 94-63).

The Tigers just didn't compete in their First Round game. They had some momentum going into it, but it didn't show. They'll end their season with a major decline from Coach Johnson's first season.

#17 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 24-8, 14-4 ACC.

3/14/19- ACC Quarterfinals vs. (7) Louisville (L 76-61).

Yuck! The Blue Devils will take a 2 game losing streak into the NCAA Tournament. They are still a lock, even after this loss, and the streak of not reaching the postseason stops at 1. Nice turnaround for Coach Hoo.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 20-12, 10-8 Big 12.

3/14/19- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (4) West Virginia (W 102-63).
3/15/19- Big 12 Semifinals vs. (1) #2 Iowa State (L 82-71).

Well the Jayhawks certainly took care of business in their Quarterfinal game, and played Iowa State well, but not well enough. While it wasn't as good as last season, their record should be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament, especially since their RPI is 15.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 10-21, 3-15 Big 12.

3/13/19- Big 12 First Round vs. (7) Texas Tech (W 65-54).
3/14/19- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (2) #19 Baylor (L 65-51).

The Horned Frogs have had Texas Tech's number much more than any other team in the Big 12 since Coach Mighty came on, it's just every other team they struggle with. Not a bad effort against Baylor. It's 3 seasons in a row with 10+ wins for TCU, but they are a long ways away from being a postseason tournament team.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-18, 7-11 Big Ten.

3/14/19- Big Ten Second Round vs. (7) Illinois (L 84-81, OT).

Good effort by the Wolverines, but they end the season on a 4 game losing streak. The RPI would be good enough to get them a postseason bid, but the record.. not so much. Their season is over.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 15-16, 7-11 Big Ten.

3/14/19- Big Ten Second Round vs. (8) Indiana (W 67-57).
3/15/19- Big Ten Quarterfinals vs. (1) #4 Wisconsin (L 87-71).

The Spartans started to play better ball at the end of the season, and hopefully they can focus on that next season, instead of the disaster it was. By far the worst season in Al Mighty's history, and they'll have to regroup next season.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-23, 6-12 Big Ten.

3/13/19- Big Ten First Round vs. (13) Penn State (L 72-57).

Last year was a dream season for the Wildcats. This season.. a complete disaster. No postseason for them this season, which is Coach Vee's 2nd at the helm.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-16, 7-9 Big West.

3/14/19- Big West Quarterfinals vs. (3) UC Irvine (L 79-65).

Thankfully, this season is over for Coach Gunn, who must now deal with the thousands, maybe even millions of hits on firecoachgunn.com. Going from 25 wins 3 seasons ago to 13 wins this season, I'll be surprised if his seat isn't warm going into next season.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-20, 6-12 Conference USA.

3/12/19- Conference USA First Round vs. (14) Florida Atlantic (W 69-48).
3/13/19- Conference USA Second Round vs. (6) Western Kentucky (L 63-61, OT).

A great effort by the 49ers in their Quarterfinal game, but they needed a lot more than that. They'll end their season with an 11-20 record, but it was an improvement over last season.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-16, 7-11 Conference USA.

3/13/19- Conference USA Second Round vs. (8) Marshall (L 72-62).

A far cry from last season for the Owls, who won a career best 21 games last season. This season, they'll be sitting at home during the postseason.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 19-12, 11-9 MAAC.

The Hawks lost in their conference tournament last week, but have had a strong season. They should be going to some postseason tournament, it's just a matter of which one. The 92 RPI leads me to believe it won't be the NIT, but probably the CBI.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-19, 5-11 MEAC.

3/11/19- MEAC First Round vs. (6) Savannah State (L 77-69).

The Spartans are glad this season is over, easily the worst in Coach Carrano's young career (see the trend here? This is why I want to bump up coach ratings a bit). Some pretty good talent coming back next season which could help a lot.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-16, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/13/19- Pac 12 First Round vs. (10) Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/14/19- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (2) #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

The Buffaloes keep the .500 trend they've had all season, winning one and losing one this week. That's just not going to be good enough for the postseason, as they'll be on the outside looking in again.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-13, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/13/19- Pac 12 First Round vs. (11) Arizona State (L 55-50).

Ugh! This win probably would have sealed an NCAA Tournament bid for the Cardinal, but with the loss, it's anybody's guess. An RPI of 54 should be good enough, but we've seen teams with better RPIs get left out. Either way, they should at the very least be making another trip to the NIT.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 29-4, 14-4 Pac 12.

3/14/19- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (7) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
3/15/19- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (3) California (W 85-68).
3/16/19- Pac 12 Championship vs. (1) #6 Arizona (W 85-75).

An incredible run for Coach Shepard and the Bruins. This makes their 4th straight Pac 12 Tournament title. They may not be able to always get it done in the regular season, but they get it done in the conference tournament, and had to go through Arizona to do it yet again. They should be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 13-17, 6-12 Pac 12.

3/13/19- Pac 12 First Round vs. (7) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

So frustrating for the Cougars, who seem to be just right there. They seem to be just that key player or 2 away from making a push towards the top of the Pac 12. As it stands, their season will end early yet again.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 21-11, 11-7 SEC.

3/15/19- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (5) LSU (L 89-71).

Well, the regular season didn't end nearly the way the Crimson Tide hoped, but they still had a heck of a season, even improving from last season. Last year they made the NIT, this season, they are going dancing. At least.. I'd be shocked if they aren't.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 15-17, 7-11 SEC.

3/13/19- SEC First Round vs. (14) Auburn (W 81-70).
3/14/19- SEC Second Round vs. (6) Missouri (L 76-74).

I would like to say that the Gators had a nice effort against Missouri in the Second Round, but considering Missouri had a losing record too, it's a game Florida should have won. Their nightmare season is over, as they finish way below Gator standards and look to figure it out for next season.

#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 23-8, 14-4 SEC.

3/15/19- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (7) Arkansas (L 88-76).

Another SEC upset, as the Wildcats go down. This might hurt their seeding a seed or 2, but they are still headed to the NCAA Tournament and should be a 3 seed.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-17, 7-13 Sun Belt.

The Trojans didn't qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament and their season is over. It was a bit better season than last season, but they've had better.

I have decided not to reveal the polls going into Selection Sunday, because really, they are the same as the polls I revealed last week. The new polls don't happen until after Selection Sunday, so this will wrap up this post

2019 Selection Sunday

Alabama gets the 4th seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against 13th seed Air Force.

Kansas gets the 6th seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against the winner of a First Four game between UTEP and St. Mary's.

UCLA gets majorly snubbed, as they get the 2nd, yes I said it, the 2nd seed in the NCAA South Region. They'll open up against 15th seed Mercer.

Kentucky gets the 3rd seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 14th seed Robert Morris.

Duke gets the 5th seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against 12th seed Drexel.

Monmouth gets a pleasant surprise, getting the 6th seed in the NIT Midwest Region, and they'll open up by travelling to 3rd seed Niagara. (Remember, I've bumped the NIT back up to 40 teams, so the format has changed. The 1 and 2 seeds in each region get byes into the region quarterfinals. Hope that makes sense).

Stanford gets the 3rd seed in the NIT South Region and will open up by hosting 6th seed Old Dominion. A couple years ago they won the NIT, can they do it again?

And that, my friends, is it. 7, count em, 7 of our 24 FOFC teams made a postseason tournament. Monmouth and Duke are newcomers to the postseason (keep in mind Dean Hoo has only been at Duke for 2 seasons now) but still a hugely disappointing effort. Again, another reason I'm bumping some coach prestiges up to 11.

There's a lot of coaches I haven't heard from that I need to hear from. I have 2 coaches that have already agreed to have their prestige bumped up to 11. I am not going to do it to every coach unless I hear from them, so please let me know if you want the prestige bump before the next season starts. I won't do it in the middle of the season. All coaches are eligible for the prestige bump, even coaches like Tim Shepard at UCLA or Patrick Hutt at Kentucky.

I mostly intended for the bump to be only for those coaches that have never made the postseason, but I figured to be fair, I'd open it up to all. So if you want your coach to become an 11 prestige, please let me know ASAP. Thanks.

csfms, how many points does that add to our couches?

I like prestige. :)

Quite a bit actually. It's 20 extra points per level and most of our coaches started at level 7, so a bump to level 11 would get you 80 extra points (although we do have a couple coaches that got to level 8 with their performance, so in that case they would only get 60 extra points.

I'm fine either way myself.

More points you say? Love it

Ess Vee needs all the help he can get. Appreciate the prestige points.

2019 Postseason

No feature games amongst our 7 postseason teams, so this should be a pretty quick post, as I'm only featuring the 7 teams that are still playing.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 25-9, 14-4 ACC.

3/22/19- NCAA East Region First Round vs. (12) Drexel (W 75-55).
3/24/19- NCAA East Region Second Round vs. (4) Northern Iowa (L 72-57).

Not the ending the Blue Devils were looking for, but it is definitely something they can build on for next season.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 22-13, 10-8 Big 12.

3/21/19- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (11) UTEP (W 91-85).
3/23/19- NCAA West Region Second Round vs. (3) Arizona (W 77-70, OT).
3/29/19- NCAA West Region Semifinal vs. (10) Butler (L 77-66).

Apparently those first 2 games took it out of the Jayhawks, as they get upset by Butler. Still, despite the subpar season in the Big 12, they are still able to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 19-13, 11-9 MAAC.

3/21/19- NIT Midwest Region Second Round at (3) Niagara (L 86-40).

Ouch! Not a good way to end the season at all, the Hawks totally forgot to show up. All in all, a successful season because they actually made the NIT, but room to improve.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-14, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/20/19- NIT South Region Second Round vs. (6) Old Dominion (W 73-54).
3/22/19- NIT South Region Semifinal at (2) Utah State (W 69-64, OT).
3/27/19- NIT South Region Final at (4) Illinois (L 61-57).

Another NIT run for the Cardinal, but this time it is cut short before the NIT Final Four. The NIT runs are nice, but Coach Sanchez is ready to dance again.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 30-5, 14-4 Pac 12.

3/21/19- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (15) Mercer (W 92-61).
3/23/19- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (10) North Carolina (L 62-60).

Another early exit for the Bruins, who blew a 7 point halftime lead to North Carolina. Let's be honest though, when's the last time Carolina was seeded that low? They deserved better and so did the Bruins.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 21-12, 11-7 SEC.

3/21/19- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (13) Air Force (L 59-51).

This was one of the bigger upsets of the First Round, unfortunately it just had to happen to the Crimson Tide. Kudos to them for getting to the big dance, but it could have been a lot better season without a kinda sorta late season collapse.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 24-9, 14-4 SEC.

3/22/19- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (14) Robert Morris (W 68-59).
3/24/19- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (6) Illinois State (L 84-75).

The Wildcats will not be happy about losing in the Second Round to a mid-major team. They fell short of their goals this season and Coach Hutt will be sure to let them know about it.

So that takes care of the 2019 postseason, quite an uneventful one for our FOFC coaches and teams.

I am going to send out the spreadsheets this time, as soon as I get everything all figured out. We're 4 seasons in, and I'm going to trust that there will be no human errors. As soon as I enter the numbers from this season (which includes awards when I get there), I'll get a link to the spreadsheets, adjust the coaches ratings that wanted the prestige bump to 11, and get the 2019-2020 season going, hopefully by next week.

Well, that's a shame. Early exits for both coaches.

Looking forward to next season and seeing what the bump in ratings will do to help the coaches.

More is better for the Mighty clan.

I'd like both my coaches to get a bump

2019 Postseason Recap

Oops, I went too far last time and missed getting the postseason recap. Unfortunately, I can't tell you who was in the Final Four or who won any of the tournaments. My bad!

2018-2019 National Awards

Davidson put 1 player on the NCAA All-Freshman Team.

Kansas put 1 player on the All-NCAA First Team.

UCLA had the National Player of the Year as well as putting 2 players on the All-NCAA First Team.

2018-2019 Conference Awards

Hartford put 2 players on the America East All-Freshman Team.

ECU put 2 players on the American All-Freshman Team.

Tulsa had the American Freshman of the Year, along with putting 2 players on the American All-Freshman Team and 1 player on the American 2nd Team.

Davidson put 1 player on the Atlantic 10 1st Team and 1 player on the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team.

Clemson put 1 player on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

Duke put 1 player on the ACC 2nd Team and 1 player on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

Kansas had the Big 12 Player of the Year and put that same player on the Big 12 1st Team.

TCU put 1 player on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Michigan.

Michigan State put 1 player on the Big Ten 1st Team.

No awards for Northwestern.

Hawaii put 1 player on the Big West 1st Team and 1 player on the Big West 2nd Team.

Charlotte put 1 player on the Conference USA 2nd Team.

No awards for Rice.

No awards for Monmouth.

No awards for Norfolk State.

Colorado put 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Stanford.

UCLA cleaned up on the awards. They had the Pac 12 Player of the Year, put 3 players on the Pac 12 1st Team, 2 players on the Pac 12 2nd Team, and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

Washington State had the Pac 12 Freshman of the Year and had 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

Alabama put 1 player on the SEC 2nd Team.

No awards for Florida.

No awards for Kentucky.

No awards for Troy.

2018-2019 Recruiting Class Rankings

Hartford had the 325th best class in the nation, good for last in the America East. They are cementing their place in the cellar for years to come.

ECU had the 101st best class in the nation, good for 7th in the American.

Tulsa had the 117th best class in the nation, good for 8th in the American.

Davidson had the 47th best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the Atlantic 10.

Duke had the 140th best class in the nation, good for only 12th in the ACC. Yikes!

Clemson had the 337th best class in the nation, last in the ACC by a wide margin.

Kansas dropped the ball big time, not signing a recruit at all. They had the 349th best class in the nation, obviously last in the Big 12.

TCU had the 107th best class in the nation, good for 6th in the Big 12.

Michigan had the 55th best class in the nation, good for 7th in the Big Ten.

Michigan State despite the bad season, had the 10th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in the Big Ten.

Northwestern had the 79th best class in the nation, good for 10th in the Big Ten.

Hawaii had the 167th best class in the nation, good for 6th best in the Big West.

Charlotte had the 184th best class in the nation, good for 10th in Conference USA.

Rice had the 207th best class in the nation, good for 11th in Conference USA.

Monmouth had the 293rd best class in the nation, good for 8th in the MAAC.

Norfolk State had the 311th best class in the nation, good for 10th in the MEAC.

Colorado had the 44th best class in the nation, good for 4th in the Pac 12.

Stanford had the 36th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in the Pac 12.

UCLA had the 33rd best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the Pac 12.

Washington State had the 150th best class in the nation, good for 10th in the Pac 12.

Alabama had the 80th best class in the nation, good for only 11th in the SEC.

Florida had the 42nd best class in the nation, good for 6th in the SEC.

Kentucky had the 52nd best class in the nation, good for 8th in the SEC.

Troy had the 195th best class in the nation, good for 5th in the Sun Belt.

A little bit of conference movement this season, nothing that affects our teams though.

Stephen F. Austin goes from the Southland to the Summit, and Western Illinois goes from the Summit to the Southland.

Now on to coaching movement. Remember, I'm doing it differently now, I'm going through all the job offers at once without saving, and letting those that got job offers pick through all of them at once.

5 of our coaches got job offers, so we'll run through them.

Patrick Hutt got the most offers, 6 to be exact. Those schools asking for Patrick's services include Iowa State, Kansas State, St. John's, Utah, Washington, and the most prestigious one, North Carolina. Zinto, let me know what you would like to do.

Tim Shepard got 5 offers, from Iowa State, Kansas State, Utah, Washington, and North Carolina. Also, Benito Sanchez got offers from Utah and Washington. Both lateral moves among the conference and I doubt if he accepts, but what do you think rjolley?

Roy Rogers has had a couple good seasons in a row and gotten an offer to coach at Kansas State. He's got a good thing going at Alabama right now. Also Randolph Childress got an offer from Rhode Island. What do you think about your 2 coaches ntndeacon?

If any of you guys want information about any of the schools that you got an offer from, let me know. I will not progress until I hear from you 3 guys. In the meantime, I will work on getting the spreadsheets completed and attached, and I will work on getting every coach that wants it a bump in prestige to 11. Hopefully I'll hear back from everybody soon and can get the 2019-2020 season going early next week.

Tim and Benito will continue to build their current programs.

Roy, will stay at Bama. What's Rhode island like?

If I haven't mentioned it already, I want my two coaches to get the bump in prestige.

Hey csfms, everything ok? Haven't heard from you in a bit.

Thanks for checking, I'm ok. We've just had some internet problems at home and I haven't been able to do anything with any of my dynasty reports. Now I am in the final week of a 2 week national baseball tournament, so getting any reports in will be hard.

However, this dynasty will definitely resume next week, I can promise you that. Thanks.

Glad to hear things are going well. Good luck in the tourney.

I am ready to resume this dynasty, but first we have a little housecleaning to take care of. 5 of our coaches got job offers.

rjolley has decided to keep his coaches where they are at, so he's good to go.

I have yet to hear back from Zinto on what Patrick Hutt will do, so Zinto, let me know soon.

ntndeacon has decided to keep Roy Rogers at Alabama, and inquired about a possible move to Rhode Island for Randolph Childress., so I will compare Rhode Island and Davidson.

Davidson has 6 players returning that have either blue or green potential, and 1 of those players has green as a current color. As mentioned, Davidson had the 47th best recruiting class, 2nd in the A-10, with a 4 star recruit coming.

Rhode Island had the 142nd best class in the nation, with two 3 star and two 2 star recruits coming. Their current roster also sees 6 returning players with either blue or green potential, but none of them have a current rating higher than yellow (if you need a recap on what the color ratings mean, let me know). However, 4 of the 6 players with blue or green potential were underclassmen this season.

So with that information, what would Randolph Childress like to do?


Also, unless someone really wants to see them right now, I'm going to save the charts until after next season, as I'm still working on them and want to get season 5 going just as soon as the coach decisions are made. Thanks.

Patrick will stay at Kentucky. And Al and Patrick would like the coach prestige upgrade!

The Chill will stay a Wildcat!

Excellent! I've heard from all coaches that were due to move, and all are staying put. I'm also giving the level increase to 11 for all 24 FOFC coaches. 2 of the 24 coaches were at level 8 already, and the others were at level 7.

To make it easier, I'm going to just split the points for each coach among the categories to the best of my ability, rather than waiting on everybody to respond. I've calculated the changes, tomorrow I will apply them, and we'll be ready to begin the 2019-2020 season!

2019-2020 Hot Seat Ratings and Coach Goals

David Ginsberg (Hartford) -- Cool seat, goal is to again finish .500 in the America East.

Al Hutt (ECU) -- Warm seat, goal is to finish at least .500 in the American. The board is getting impatient.

Will Brown (Tulsa) -- Average seat, goal is to play in any postseason tournament.

Randolph Childress (Davidson) -- Cool seat, goal is to compete for the Atlantic 10 championship.

Charles Johnson (Clemson) -- Average seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament

Dean Hoo (Duke) -- Average seat, goal is to reach the Final Four.

Dave Johnson (Kansas) -- Average seat, goal is to reach the Final Four.

Bee Mighty (TCU) -- Average seat, goal is to avoid last place in the Big 12.

Cillian Tribble (Michigan) -- Warm seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament. The board is getting impatient.

Al Mighty (Michigan State) -- Average seat, goal is to reach the Final Four.

Ess Vee (Northwestern) -- Average seat, goal is to play in any postseason tournament.

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) -- Coach Gunn is back on an average seat, and the goal is to win the Big West Championship.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte) -- Average seat, goal is to finish .500 or better overall.

Charlie Shocker (Rice) -- Average seat, goal is to finish .500 or better overall.

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth) -- Cool seat, goal is to finish .500 or better in the MAAC.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State) -- Average seat, goal is to compete for the MEAC championship.

Rob Nielsen (Colorado) -- Average seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Benito Sanchez (Stanford) -- Average seat, goal is to compete for the Pac 12 championship.

Tim Shepard (UCLA) -- Cool seat, goal is to reach the Final Four.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State) -- Average seat, goal is to avoid last place in the Pac 12.

Roy Rogers (Alabama) -- Cool seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida) -- Average seat, goal is to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky) -- Cool seat, goal is to reach the Final Four.

Brett Hawkins (Troy) -- Average seat, goal is to finish .500 or better in the Sun Belt.

Team Ratings to Start 2019 Season

I'm going to try something different and let everybody know what their team rating is, and then when next season starts, I'll compare.

Hartford- 21
ECU- 43
Tulsa- 66
Davidson- 68
Clemson- 64
Duke- 88
Kansas- 95
TCU- 53
Michigan- 71
Michigan State- 88
Northwestern- 61
Hawaii- 53
Charlotte- 43
Rice- 38
Monmouth- 37
Norfolk State- 28
Colorado- 73
Stanford- 86
UCLA- 93
Washington State- 53
Alabama- 78
Florida- 84
Kentucky- 99
Troy- 25

2019 Season Tournaments

Kansas will be the 2nd seed in the 2019 Battle for Atlantis and will open up against 7th seed Kent State.

Florida will be the 3rd seed in the 2019 Battle for Atlantis and will open up against 6th seed Green Bay.

Kentucky will be the top seed in the 2019 Cancun Challenge and will open up against 8th seed Albany.

Hawaii will be the top seed in the 4 team 2019 Chattanooga Regional and will open up against the host team and 4th seed Chattanooga.

Duke will be the 3rd seed in the 16 team 2019 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and will open up against 14th seed Rider.

UCLA will be the 2nd seed in the 2019 Diamond Head Classic and will open up against 7th seed UC Irvine.

Davidson will be the 6th seed in the 2019 Diamond Head Classic and will open up against 3rd seed VCU.

Northwestern will be the 5th seed in the 2019 Great Alaska Shootout and will open up against 4th seed Akron.

Washington State will be the 5th seed in the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase and will open up against 4th seed Texas Tech.

Alabama will be the 5th seed in the 16 team 2019 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 12th seed Mercer.

TCU will be the 13th seed in the 16 team 2019 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 4th seed BYU.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the 2019 Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will open up against 8th seed San Francisco.

Stanford will be the top seed in the 16 team 2019 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 16th seed New Hampshire.

Michigan will be the 3rd seed in the 2019 Las Vegas Invitational and will open up against 6th seed Auburn.

Charlotte will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2019 Los Angeles Classic and will open up against 3rd seed Winthrop.

Tulsa will be the 4th seed in the 2019 Main Event and will open up against 5th seed UTEP.

Colorado will be the 3rd seed in the 2019 Maui Invitational and will open up against 6th seed Stephen F. Austin.

ECU will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2019 Michigan Tournament and will open up against 3rd seed Charleston Southern.

Clemson will be the top seed in the 2019 NIT Season Tip-Off and will open up against 8th seed Niagara.

Rice will be the 3rd seed in the 2019 Orlando Classic.

Monmouth will be the 6th seed in the 2019 Orlando Classic. Rice and Monmouth will open up against each other in the tournament.

Norfolk State will be the top seed in the 4 team 2019 Toledo Regional and will open up against 4th seed Eastern Illinois.

Troy will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2019 Utah Tournament and will open up against 2nd seed Incarnate Word.

No season tournament in 2019 for Hartford. They are the only FOFC school not to get invited to a season tournament this season.

I'm curious... does the game tell you where these preseason tournaments are? For example, Wazzu is in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Exactly where is that on the Gulf Coast?

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it on the Internet. Google is my friend. The Showcase is in Estero, FL, which is in the Fort Myers area.

These preseason polls absolutely infuriate me. No UCLA, they don't even receive 1 preseason vote with their history of success? bs!

Sorry, just saw this. There are so many tournaments that I'm not familiar with, but I'm glad you got an answer to your question.

Nov. 15-17, 2019

Opening weekend of this season is a little better, as there are 10 games. No feature games though. As always, I'll only report on the teams that played for this first weekend.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 2-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/15/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic First Round vs. (14) Rider (W 82-69).
11/17/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Quarterfinals vs. (11) Oakland (W 75-64).

Good start for the Blue Devils, who got a bit of a break by not having to play the 6th seed in the Quarterfinals.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 1-0, 0-0 Big 12.

11/15/19- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (4) BYU (W 82-76).

A shocker here, as the Horned Frogs get their season off to a nice start with an upset win in their preseason tournament.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 1-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/17/19 at VMI (W 60-50).

Not the most impressive debut for the Wildcats, but a win is a win at this point.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/15/19- Los Angeles Classic First Round vs. (3) Winthrop (L 79-75).
11/16/19- Los Angeles Classic Consolation Game vs. (4) Appalachian State (L 73-62).

Well, the ratings changes haven't done the 49ers any good. Hopefully this was just a blip in the radar, but as always, they have a tough non-conference schedule ahead of them. A bit ironic though, as Charlotte has won a 4 team tournament and taken 2nd in 2 of them since this dynasty started, and that was with a coach rating of 7. Now it's 11. Funny how the game works.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 0-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/17/19 at #16 Miami (L 77-65).

Good effort for the Buffaloes, but they aren't quite there yet.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/17/19 vs. Houston (W 79-67).

The Bruins pick up where they left off last season with a good opening win.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/15/19- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (12) Mercer (W 90-65).

The Crimson Tide have no trouble in their first game, setting up a feature game with TCU next.

#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 1-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/17/19 at Stetson (W 71-48).

An easy road win to open the season for the Gators.

Here's a look at the new top 25 poll going into next week:



Still lots of teams receiving votes, but as far as the actual teams in the top 25, Florida moves up a spot while Kentucky stays put.

And a look at the mid-major poll going into next week:



Davidson drops 4 spots in the mid-major poll without even playing a game, and not a lot of change after that. This poll will decrease significantly once some of these teams lose.

Just a heads up guys, this dynasty is on a temporary hiatus. I'm getting my hard drive upgraded and not sure how long it will take. The guy is backed up, so it's going to be at least a week, maybe 2. But, never fear, when I get back going on this, I'm hoping (I say hoping because best laid plans never happen as intended) to get at least 3 game weeks done in a real time week, and try to have next season done within 2 months. I'm not saying it'll happen, but I'm going to try.

Fortunately, the files have been backed up so I'll be able to reinstall them, it'll just be a matter of waiting for my computer. Stay tuned, and thanks all for your patience.

Nov. 18-24, 2019

1 feature game to talk about this week, so let's get to it.

11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals - (13) TCU (Bee Mighty)
vs. (5) Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- This one certainly didn't go as expected. The Horned Frogs held Alabama to just 16 first half points and held them to 32.7% shooting for the game as TCU advances to the HOF Classic Semifinals with an easy victory.

Final Score: (13) TCU- 71, (5) Alabama- 45

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-2, 0-0 America East.

11/18/19 vs. Harvard (L 77-68).
11/20/19 at North Carolina Central (L 68-53).

The Hawks are still finding their groove this season, as they've started with a couple tough low major conference opponents, and played pretty well but not well enough.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-1, 0-0 American.

11/22/19- Michigan Tournament First Round vs. (3) Charleston Southern (L 75-67).
11/24/19- Michigan Tournament Consolation Game vs. (4) Utah Valley (W 83-75).

Another 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Pirates, who were nothing but consistent. Both their margins this week were 8, with 1 win and 1 loss.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 2-0, 0-0 American.

11/21/19 vs. Wagner (W 87-85).
11/23/19 at Arkansas Little Rock (W 71-39).

A good start for the Golden Hurricane. While the competition wasn't brutally tough, they did struggle against Wagner. Getting victories is key though.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Ten.

11/23/19 at #16 Miami (W 62-54).

Big opening season win for the Wildcats, and they need all they can get as they have a really tough non-conference schedule, as always.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/21/19 at Central Michigan (W 91-74).

Just the 1 game for the Tigers this week, but it was a good win to start. They also have a pretty tough non-conference schedule.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 4-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/22/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Semifinals vs. (2) #1 Ohio State (W 73-50).
11/23/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Championship vs. (1) #3 Baylor (W 68-66).

A huge congrats to Coach Hoo and the Blue Devils, who have been in 3 16 team tournaments in Coach Hoo's 3 years, and have improved their finish every year. They beat some really, really tough teams to win this seasons tournament, so congrats to them.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 0-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/23/19 at Illinois State (L 85-83, OT).

Tough way to start the season for the Jayhawks, who actually trailed by 12 at halftime but fought back to force OT. Illinois State is a pretty good team though.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-0, 0-0 Big 12.

11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (5) Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Big win for the Horned Frogs who look much improved so far. They can ride this momentum because they won't have to face the top seed in the Semifinals, so a trip to the Championship is very much a possibility.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 0-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

The Wolverines are still waiting to play their first game, but they'll get started next week in their season tournament.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 0-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/19/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (8) San Francisco (L 50-43).
11/23/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (4) Tennessee (L 74-69).
11/24/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (6) Murray State (L 86-72).

Wow, oh wow! How far has Sparty fallen? To be fair, 2 of the 3 wins were tight, and they did play 3 teams that are usually pretty good. I'm giving them a pass, as I don't think they are this bad, especially since they have 4 players, including 2 starters, on the DL right now.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/19/19 vs. Georgia Tech (W 75-58).
11/23/19 vs. Cleveland State (W 83-58).

Very impressive week for the Wildcats, who beat up on 2 teams that have pretty storied histories this week. They start their season tournament next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-0, 0-0 Big West.

11/20/19 vs. Kent State (W 87-79).

Good start for the Warriors, as they open their season with a tough victory.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/18/19 at #5 North Carolina (L 74-58).

The 49ers aren't that far off from being a decent team. They actually led UNC early on in the game, but couldn't hold it. Problem is, their non-conference, as per usual, is stacked.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 1-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/19/19 vs. McNeese State (W 72-60).

The Owls open the season with a win before going to their season tournament next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 0-2, 0-0 MAAC.

11/18/19 at Columbia (L 69-58).
11/20/19 at Temple (L 88-61).

Not a good start for the Hawks, but to their credit, they lost to a couple teams that look like postseason teams this season.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 0-2, 0-0 MEAC.

11/19/19 vs. Mt. St. Mary's (L 66-56).
11/22/19 vs. South Florida (L 61-60).

The Spartans need to learn to finish. They lost leads in the second half in both of their games. If they can finish, they'll be alright.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 0-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/19/19 at Gonzaga (L 58-49).
11/22/19 vs. Winthrop (L 70-64).

The Buffaloes are being put through the grind early, with 3 tough games to open the season. They lost all 3, but have gained valuable experience.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/19/19 vs. Navy (L 65-51).
11/22/19 at Tennessee State (W 56-55).

The Cardinal need to figure it out fast. Losing at home to Navy won't cut it as it is, but needing a buzzer beater to beat Tennessee State? Coach Sanchez needs to hit them hard in practice this week.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/22/19 at Long Beach State (L 74-66).

It's not often the Bruins drop one in non-conference play to a non-power conference team, but they did here. Look out for Long Beach though, they look legit.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/18/19 vs. Weber State (L 47-46).
11/22/19 vs. Wofford (W 52-51).

Well, 1 thing is sure for the Cougars: they love tight games. Not sure if it's a case of bad offense, great defense, or a little of both.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (13) TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

A shocker here for the Crimson Tide, but maybe TCU is just that much improved? We'll soon find out.

#22 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 1-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/23/19 vs. James Madison (L 72-65).

Another Power 5 team going down at the hands of a mid-major. Inexcusable. The Gators start their season tournament next week.

#17 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 1-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/23/19- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (8) Albany (W 82-64).

An expected start for the Wildcats, who run through an opponent not even in their league.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/23/19 vs. Alabama State (W 71-55).

The Trojans will take a season opening win heading into their conference tournament. Their schedule is favorable for a 15+ win season, but will the players do their part? We'll see.

Let's take a look at the national top 25 going into next week:



I know it's early, but I love seeing so many of our FOFC teams getting votes. As for teams actually in the top 25, can't really believe Kentucky moved up 8 spots after their win, but I'm definitely ok with Duke being in the top 25. They deserve it.

Now for the mid-major top 25 to end the week of Nov. 18-24:



Again, it's early, but I just love seeing so many of our FOFC teams getting votes. How about Tulsa actually getting a FPV? Crazy.

FPV? We'll take it!

Well that's a nice start to the season for the Blue Devils!

Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2019

There are 2 feature games this week, both in season tournaments, and both on the same date. Let's take a look.

11/28/19- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal- (3) Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) vs. (2) Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- A tight one throughout, as neither team shot very well, but the Jayhawks used a big rebounding edge to overcome that and squeak out a victory to advance to the Battle for Atlantis Championship.

Final Score: (2) Kansas- 65, (3) Florida- 62

11/28/19- Orlando Classic First Round- (6) Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) vs. (3) Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- The Owls used 57.1% shooting to take a big first half lead, as Monmouth shot 31 three pointers, really living there. It wasn't near enough though as Rice advances.

Final Score: (3) Rice- 77, (6) Monmouth- 67

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-2, 0-0 America East.

No games this week for Coach Ginsberg and the Hawks.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-1, 0-0 American.

No games this week for Coach Hutt and the Pirates.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-2, 0-0 American.

11/25/19- Main Event First Round vs. (4) UTEP (L 78-65).
11/26/19- Main Event Consolation Round vs. (8) Duquesne (L 64-57).
11/27/19- Main Event 7th Place Game vs. (2) Illinois State (W 73-47).

Interesting week for the Golden Hurricane who get beat by the #8 seed but absolutely blast the #2 seed in their season tournament. This is easily their worst tournament finish in the Coach Brown era.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/30/19 vs. Ole Miss (L 67-66).

Great effort for the Wildcats who held a 5 point halftime lead. They'll be kicking themselves for letting this one slip away.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 2-2, 0-0 ACC.

11/27/19- NIT Season Tip-Off First Round vs. (8) Niagara (L 76-73).
11/28/19- NIT Season Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (5) Cal St. Fullerton (L 113-107, OT).
11/29/19- NIT Season Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (3) Valparaiso (W 78-57).

Almost the exact scenario for the Tigers in their season tournament. Lose 2 games they should have won, including a game against the #8 seed, then defeat the #3 seed in easy fashion. This marks their second 7th place finish in an 8 team tournament.

#18 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 6-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/29/19 vs. Butler (W 65-57).
12/1/19 vs. Gardner Webb (W 70-54).

The Blue Devils continue to roll, although it didn't come as easy this week. Probably still feeling a bit of jet lag from their tough week last week.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 3-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/27/19- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (7) Kent State (W 62-55).
11/28/19- Battle for Atlantis Semifinals vs. (3) Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
11/29/19- Battle for Atlantis Championship vs. (5) Washington (W 73-45).

Congrats to Coach Johnson and the Jayhawks. They are the second FOFC team to win a season tournament this season. They got a break from not having to face the top seed, but you still gotta beat who is in front of you.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 3-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/25/19- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals vs. (8) New Mexico (L 90-76).
12/1/19 at Bethune Cookman (W 91-58).

No shame for the much improved Horned Frogs, as they lost to the eventual Hall of Fame Classic winner in New Mexico. A nice bounce back game though against Bethune Cookman.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 1-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/25/19- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (6) Auburn (W 63-37).
11/28/19- Las Vegas Invitational Semifinals vs. (2) #25 Texas (L 60-52).
11/29/19- Las Vegas Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (1) #16 Louisville (L 65-50).
12/1/19 at Providence (L 75-51).

Brutal week for the Wolverines, who had to play 3 NCAA tournament quality opponents that are either ranked or soon to be ranked. The week started off good but it was all downhill from there, as Coach Tribble notches his 4th, count em, 4th 4th place finish in 8 team tournaments. At least he's consistent.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 1-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/1/19 vs. High Point (W 81-59).

The Wolverines get back on the winning side of things, and it was a much needed win after going 0-fer in their season tournament.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/27/19- Great Alaska Shootout First Round vs. (4) Akron (W 75-65).
11/29/19- Great Alaska Shootout Semifinals vs. (1) Gonzaga (L 79-64).
11/30/19- Great Alaska Shootout 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Pittsburgh (L 72-62).

Good start for the Wildcats this week, but they ran into a couple very good teams. Still Coach Vee's best finish in an 8 team tournament so far.

Hawaii (B.B Gunn) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big West.

11/27/19- Chattanooga Regional First Round vs. (4) Chattanooga (W 56-54).
11/28/19- Chattanooga Regional Championship vs. (2) Drake (L 86-78).

The Warriors struggled a little bit in Chattanooga, barely getting by the host team before falling to a much improved Drake team. Next up, a string of 4 games that should be easy wins before the non-conference schedule gets much tougher.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/25/19 vs. Virginia Tech (L 82-61).

Give credit to the 49ers, they schedule tough. At some point though, you gotta think more about getting your team wins and confidence. It doesn't get easier, although there are a few winnable games in the non-conference schedule. Not many though.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 2-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/28/19- Orlando Classic First Round vs. (6) Monmouth- feature game, highlighted above.
11/29/19- Orlando Classic Semifinal vs. (7) Tennessee Martin (L 70-42).
12/1/19- Orlando Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (8) USC Upstate (L 77-68).

Yuck! The Owls had it all set up for a nice run in the tournament after beating Monmouth in the First Round, but layed an egg against the 7th and 8th seeds. Coach Shocker is definitely not a happy camper at the moment.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 2-3, 0-0 MAAC.

11/28/19- Orlando Classic First Round vs. (3) Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
11/29/19- Orlando Classic Consolation Round vs. (2) James Madison (W 69-52).
12/1/19- Orlando Classic 5th Place Game vs. (4) Arkansas Little Rock (W 62-51).

Great recovery for the Hawks after losing their first game, as they knock off a couple solid opponents to claim 5th place. This could be a good momentum builder.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 1-3, 0-0 MEAC.

11/25/19- Toledo Regional First Round vs. (4) Eastern Illinois (L 57-45).
11/26/19- Toledo Regional 3rd Place Game vs. (3) UNC Greensboro (W 68-57).

3rd place seems to be the number for the Spartans in 4 team tournaments. They've played in 3, and taken 3rd place in all 3.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 1-5, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/25/19- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (6) Stephen F. Austin (W 77-59).
11/26/19- Maui Invitational Semifinal vs. (2) Harvard (L 77-74).
11/27/19- Maui Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (8) Santa Clara (L 73-63).

The Buffaloes kept up a trend this week of FOFC teams winning their first game of an 8 team tournament and dropping the next 2. To their credit, the 2 they dropped are to a couple mid-major teams with storied histories.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/25/19 at North Dakota State (W 61-50).

The Cardinal are getting it together after an embarrassing loss to Navy. The competition gets steeper, but the next few games are still very winnable.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Coach Shepard and the Bruins.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 2-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/25/19- Gulf Coast Showcase First Round vs. (4) Texas Tech (L 80-49).
11/26/19- Gulf Coast Showcase Consolation Round vs. (8) East Tennessee State (W 60-52).
11/27/19- Gulf Coast Showcase 5th Place Game vs. (2) St. Bonaventure (L 73-50).

Well the good news is that the Cougars had their best finish in an 8 team tournament so far. The bad news is, when your first 2 finishes are 7th and 8th place, there's really nowhere to go but up. And the other bad news is they got absolutely hammered in their 2 losses.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-1, 0-0 SEC.

No games this week for Coach Rogers and the Crimson Tide.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 3-2, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/19- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (6) Green Bay (W 86-75).
11/28/19- Battle for Atlantis Semifinals vs. (2) Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.
11/29/19- Battle for Atlantis 3rd place game vs. (8) Yale (W 77-72).

After winning their first three 8 team tournaments, the Gators have to settle for 3rd place in this one following a tough loss to Kansas. They'll be a little disappointed that Yale played them so tough though.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 3-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/26/19- Cancun Challenge Semifinals vs. (5) Middle Tennessee (W 79-66).
11/27/19- Cancun Challenge Championship vs. (3) Buffalo (W 97-67).

Congrats to the Wildcats for winning their second 8 team tournament, and being the 3rd team this season to win a tournament. Let's be honest though, there was no reason why they shouldn't have won this tournament. There was only 1 other Power 5 conference team in this tournament, that being Minnesota, and they lost in the semifinals. The other 6 teams were mid-major and low-major teams. Still, take nothing away from Kentucky, you still have to beat who is put in front of you, and they did, convincingly.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-0, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/27/19- Utah Tournament First Round vs. (2) Incarnate Word (W 76-56).
11/30/19- Utah Tournament Championship vs. (4) Alabama State (W 86-84).

A huge congrats to Coach Hawkins and the Trojans, who are playing much, much better basketball this season. Granted, the competition in their tournament wouldn't be considered big league competition, but for a team who's best season was .500 in the Coach Hawkins era, this is a huge start.

Now a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:



Nice jumps in the polls for Kentucky and Duke, and take a look at who is getting national votes! Good for Troy. That just shows it pays to win a season tournament.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into next week:



Still a few teams receiving votes in the mid-major poll, but Troy keeps up the uphill climb.