FBCB Interactive Coaches Dynasty- part 2

[collegesportsfanms]

ok guys, as soon as I get back in town next week, I'm going to start this dynasty, as I know some of you are eagerly anticipating it.

I'm still stuck on the mod question though, if I download a mod will it screw up my Interactive Player Dynasty? I'm basically narrowing my options to manually arranging the conferences myself, or since I have limited conference movement on, just sticking with the alignment that game with the game that still has Colorado in the Big 12, etc etc. Or, I can go a step further and turn full conference movement on, which means conferences would have new teams every season. This would really add some randomness to the dynasty. Do any of you guys have a preference? I won't be starting this til next Monday, so plenty of time to think about it.

Personally, to start out with, I'm leaning toward full conference movement to see how it effects some of our teams, the only problem with that is it kind of takes away the effect of you guys moving to a higher profile job. Thoughts?

[collegesportsfanms]

Great to see some familiar coaches back, and a few new faces.

I am currently looking for the most up to date mod with conference realignment. Once I find one I'll get it downloaded and get this project restarted, hopefully sometime this week. If I can't find a mod for whatever reason, or can't get it installed right, I guess I'll just have to go from scratch with the default alignment in the game, as it would probably take way too long to update things myself.

I'll keep you all updated on the progress. Thanks for signing up.

Also, I'm waiting to hear any and all opinions on if they'd like to see limited conference movement, like we had before, or full conference movement, which basically is a promotion/relegation type setup, with teams getting promoted or demoted after every season, or no conference movement at all. I'm putting it to a vote, so I'd appreciate responses. Thanks.

[ntndeacon]

I like the limited movement. promotion relegation is cool!

[collegesportsfanms]

I like the limited movement. promotion relegation is cool!

Just saw your post on here, would you prefer the limited movement or the full movement, which would be more along the lines of promotion/relegation? That would see lots of conference movement after every season, whereas limited movement would see maybe 1 or 2 conference changes a season, if that.

[ntndeacon]

The limited moving like last time.

[Breeze]

second

[collegesportsfanms]

second

By second do you mean limited? Or full? Sorry, just want to make sure

[Breeze]

limited like ntdeacon mentioned...sorry...should have been clearer

[collegesportsfanms]

I have the latest mod, but I haven't downloaded and tested it yet. Once I do so and make sure it is a good to go, I'll get all the coaches into the game and get this going, hopefully on Wednesday or Thursday. I'm excited, and I hope the new mod works for me. Thanks britrock88, much appreciated!

Also, the voting is pretty unanimous for limited conference movement, so that's what shall be

[collegesportsfanms]

ok folks, I've downloaded the latest mod, and I've ran a full season and offseason test on it. Everything appears to be A-OK, so I will be starting this new edition of the coaches dynasty tonight!!

[Zinto]

ok folks, I've downloaded the latest mod, and I've ran a full season and offseason test on it. Everything appears to be A-OK, so I will be starting this new edition of the coaches dynasty tonight!!

Hooray! :banana:

[collegesportsfanms]

It's time to get this underway, and let's look at the 19 coaches that will be starting this dynasty.

Timmy Tribble (Grover)- Charlotte
Cillian Tribble (Grover)- Michigan
Rob Nielsen (Coffee Warlord)- Colorado
Tim Sheppard (rjolley)- UCLA
Benito Sanchez (rjolley)- Stanford
David Ginsberg (David Corperial)- Hartford
Charlie Shocker (muns)- Rice
Al Mighty (thealmighty)- Michigan State
Bee Mighty (thealmighty)- TCU
Brett Hawkins (breeze)- Troy
Randolph Childress (ntndeacon)- Davidson
Roy Rogers (ntndeacon)- Alabama
Thomas Carrano (thmscrrn3)- Monmouth
Payten Carrano (thmscrrn3)- Norfolk State
B.B. Gunn (bbgunn)- Hawaii
DeShawn St. John (bbgunn)- Washington State
Noah Oppenheimer (TheRivals40)- Florida
Patrick Hutt (Zinto)- Kentucky
Al Hutt (Zinto)- ECU

[collegesportsfanms]

We've got 12 conferences represented with our 19 human coaches. Not bad. Let's take a look at the conferences (remember this is a 2015-2016 mod, so some of the teams will be in conferences they weren't in last time. For instance, I've got Colorado in the Pac 12).

America East- Hartford
American- ECU
Atlantic 10- Davidson
Big 12- TCU
Big Ten- Michigan, Michigan State
Big West- Hawaii
Conference USA- Charlotte, Rice
MAAC- Monmouth
MEAC- Norfolk State
Pac 12- Colorado, Stanford, UCLA, Washington State
SEC- Alabama, Florida, Kentucky
Sun Belt- Troy

[collegesportsfanms]

2015-2016 Coach Goals

Again, as all hotseat ratings are average, we'll just be looking at the season goals.

David Ginsberg (Hartford)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the America East.

Al Hutt (ECU)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the American.

Randolph Childress (Davidson)- Play in a postseason tournament.

Bee Mighty (TCU)- Avoid last place in the Big 12.

Cillian Tribble (Michigan)- Play in the NCAA Tournament.

Al Mighty (Michigan State)- Reach the Final Four.

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Big West.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte)- Finish with at least a .500 record in Conference USA.

Charlie Shocker (Rice)- Improve the team's prestige (Now there's a goal I haven't seen before.)

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth)- Avoid last place in the MAAC.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the MEAC.

Rob Nielsen (Colorado)- Play in the NCAA Tournament.

Benito Sanchez (Stanford)- Play in the NCAA Tournament.

Tim Shepard (UCLA)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State)- Avoid last place in the Pac 12.

Roy Rogers (Alabama)- Play in the NCAA Tournament.

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky)- Reach the Final Four.

Brett Hawkins (Troy)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Sun Belt.

[collegesportsfanms]

2015 Season Tournaments

Kentucky is the top seed in the 2015 Brooklyn Classic and will open up with (8) Air Force.

Davidson is the 3rd seed in the 2015 Brooklyn Classic and will open up against (6) NC Central.

Michigan is the 2nd seed in the 2015 Cancun Classic and will open up against (7) Detroit.

Colorado is the 4th seed in the 2015 Charleston Classic and will open up against (5) Rhode Island.

Hawaii is the 7th seed in the 2015 Emerald Coast Classic and will open up against (2) Cincinnati.

Charlotte is the top seed in the 4 team 2015 Fargo Regional and will open up against (4) Sacramento State.

Michigan State is the top seed in the 2015 Great Alaska Shootout and will open up against (8) UC Davis.

TCU is the 6th seed in the 2015 Great Alaska Shootout and will open up against (3) Creighton.

Florida is the 3rd seed in the 16 team 2015 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against (14) Bowling Green.

Stanford is the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2015 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against (15) Mt. St. Mary's.

UCLA is the 2nd seed in the 2015 Las Vegas Invitational and will open up against (7) William & Mary.

Hartford is the 4th seed in the 4 team 2015 New Jersey Regional and will open up against (1) Auburn.

Alabama is the top seed in the 16 team 2015 New York Classic and will open up against (16) Eastern Illinois.

Washington State is the 5th seed in the 16 team 2015 New York Classic and will open up against (12) Lehigh.

ECU is the 14th seed in the 16 team 2015 New York Classic and will open up against (3) Florida State.

Norfolk State is the 4th seed in the 2015 Orlando Classic and will open up against (5) Chattanooga.

Monmouth is the 4th seed in the 2015 Puerto Rico Tip-Off and will open up against (5) NJIT.

Rice is the top seed in the 4 team 2015 Utah Classic and will open up against (4) Loyola MD.

Troy was not invited to a tournament this season. One thing to note about this mod, there are about 3 times as many tournaments than the file I used last time. Let's all congratulate and thank britrock88 on the tremendous job he did with this mod. To be honest, half the tournaments he included, I've never even heard of!

[collegesportsfanms]

As we begin the 2015-2016 season, let's take a look at the preseason polls:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Syracuse (34) 0-0 1726 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Villanova (7) 0-0 1674 NR Big East Conference
3. Iowa (13) 0-0 1604 NR Big Ten Conference
4. Arizona (5) 0-0 1602 NR Pacific-12 Conference
5. Louisville (12) 0-0 1531 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 0-0 1450 NR Big 12 Conference
7. Kentucky 0-0 1408 NR Southeastern Conference
8. Michigan State 0-0 1289 NR Big Ten Conference
9. UCLA 0-0 1170 NR Pacific-12 Conference
10. Gonzaga (1) 0-0 1122 NR West Coast Conference
11. VCU 0-0 1096 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
12. San Diego State 0-0 970 NR Mountain West Conference
13. Notre Dame 0-0 945 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Duke 0-0 899 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Ohio State 0-0 835 NR Big Ten Conference
16. Baylor 0-0 743 NR Big 12 Conference
17. Texas 0-0 614 NR Big 12 Conference
18. Virginia 0-0 599 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Oklahoma 0-0 468 NR Big 12 Conference
20. Wisconsin 0-0 444 NR Big Ten Conference
21. North Carolina 0-0 330 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Cincinnati 0-0 324 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Georgetown 0-0 257 NR Big East Conference
24. Iowa State 0-0 150 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Wichita State 0-0 49 NR Missouri Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Florida 0-0 45 Southeastern Conference
Harvard 0-0 18 Ivy League
Oklahoma State 0-0 9 Big 12 Conference
Vanderbilt 0-0 8 Southeastern Conference
Connecticut 0-0 7 American Athletic Conference
Washington 0-0 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Marquette 0-0 3 Big East Conference
Xavier 0-0 3 Big East Conference
Colorado 0-0 1 Pacific-12 Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 1 Atlantic 10 Conference
Miami 0-0 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
UNLV 0-0 1 Mountain West Conference

Definitely, these polls don't even come close to mirroring the real life season. Kentucky at 7? Wichita State at 25? Duke at 14? Iowa at 3? Yikes! We'll see what happens.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (54) 0-0 1782 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU (16) 0-0 1731 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. San Diego State (2) 0-0 1671 3 Mountain West Conference
4. Cincinnati 0-0 1579 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Wichita State 0-0 1484 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Harvard 0-0 1412 6 Ivy League
7. Connecticut 0-0 1308 7 American Athletic Conference
8. Massachusetts 0-0 1192 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. BYU 0-0 1172 9 West Coast Conference
10. Cleveland State 0-0 1167 10 Horizon League
11. Green Bay 0-0 1086 11 Horizon League
12. South Dakota State 0-0 1008 12 Summit League
13. La Salle 0-0 989 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. George Washington 0-0 855 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 820 15 Southland Conference
16. Temple 0-0 667 16 American Athletic Conference
17. SMU 0-0 599 17 American Athletic Conference
18. St. Bonaventure 0-0 503 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Akron 0-0 462 19 Mid-American Conference
20. Richmond 0-0 462 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Northern Iowa 0-0 265 21 Missouri Valley Conference
22. New Mexico 0-0 255 22 Mountain West Conference
23. Georgia State 0-0 206 23 Sun Belt Conference
24. UNLV 0-0 154 24 Mountain West Conference
25. Memphis 0-0 126 25 American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Iona 0-0 57 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 55 Conference USA
Yale 0-0 52 Ivy League
Illinois State 0-0 47 Missouri Valley Conference
Rhode Island 0-0 36 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Mary's 0-0 29 West Coast Conference
Tulsa 0-0 24 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 0-0 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
Dayton 0-0 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
Buffalo 0-0 13 Mid-American Conference
UTEP 0-0 13 Conference USA
Nevada 0-0 11 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 10 Big Sky Conference
Murray State 0-0 10 Ohio Valley Conference
Seattle 0-0 9 Western Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
Boise State 0-0 5 Mountain West Conference
Milwaukee 0-0 5 Horizon League
Vermont 0-0 5 America East Conference
Middle Tennessee 0-0 4 Conference USA
Belmont 0-0 3 Ohio Valley Conference
Kent State 0-0 3 Mid-American Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 3 Conference USA
Oral Roberts 0-0 3 Summit League
Princeton 0-0 3 Ivy League
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 2 Atlantic Sun Conference
Valparaiso 0-0 2 Horizon League
Evansville 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Manhattan 0-0 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Portland 0-0 1 West Coast Conference
UAB 0-0 1 Conference USA

I'm not sure how many mid-major human coaches we have, I'm guessing only 7 or 8 are at schools that would be included in the mid-major poll. But we only have 1 of our teams representing and receiving votes in that poll. Crazy.

[muns]

Nice way to kick things off!

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 13-15, 2015

This first post will be incredibly short, and I'm only going to cover the teams that actually played a game. In reality, the season really did start last Friday the 13th, so it's a 3 day post. So.. if you don't see your team.. never fear, it just means they didn't play a game in this short 3 day week.

ECU (Al Hutt)

11/13/15- New York Classic First Round vs. (3) Florida State (W 66-63).
11/15/15- New York Classic Quarterfinals vs. (11) Rutgers (L 75-60).

TCU (Bee Mighty)

11/15/15 at Nebraska (L 74-58).

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

11/15/15 at Northwestern State (W 70-57).

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

11/15/15 at Bethune Cookman (W 70-46).

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

11/13/15- New York Classic First Round vs. (12) Lehigh (L 76-52).

Yuck! An embarrassing loss to start the care of Coach St. John.

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

11/13/15- New York Classic First Round vs. (16) Eastern Illinois (W 84-66).
11/15/15- New York Classic Quarterfinals vs. (9) Loyola Chicago (L 81-78, OT).

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

11/13/15- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (14) Bowling Green (W 59-50).

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

11/15/15 vs. Georgia Tech (L 84-62).

There probably won't be a lot of shift in the polls as a lot of teams didn't play, but let's take a look:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Villanova (47) 1-0 1752 2 Big East Conference
2. Arizona (5) 1-0 1688 4 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Syracuse 0-0 1606 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Iowa (12) 0-0 1576 3 Big Ten Conference
5. Louisville (7) 0-0 1475 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Gonzaga (1) 2-0 1422 10 West Coast Conference
7. Kansas 0-0 1401 6 Big 12 Conference
8. Kentucky 0-0 1335 7 Southeastern Conference
9. Michigan State 0-0 1211 8 Big Ten Conference
10. Ohio State 2-0 1171 15 Big Ten Conference
11. UCLA 0-0 1078 9 Pacific-12 Conference
12. VCU 0-0 1035 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. San Diego State 0-0 921 12 Mountain West Conference
14. Notre Dame 0-0 869 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Baylor 1-0 844 16 Big 12 Conference
16. Texas 0-0 672 17 Big 12 Conference
17. Virginia 0-0 650 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Oklahoma 0-0 531 19 Big 12 Conference
19. Wisconsin 0-0 509 20 Big Ten Conference
20. North Carolina 0-0 388 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Cincinnati 0-0 384 22 American Athletic Conference
22. Georgetown 0-0 312 23 Big East Conference
23. Iowa State 0-0 202 24 Big 12 Conference
24. Oklahoma State 2-0 131 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Florida 1-0 104 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Vanderbilt 1-0 33 Southeastern Conference
Wichita State 0-0 23 Missouri Valley Conference
Connecticut 1-0 20 American Athletic Conference
Harvard 0-0 18 Ivy League
Marquette 1-0 11 Big East Conference
George Washington 2-0 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
Miami 0-0 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Washington 0-0 5 Pacific-12 Conference
Duke 1-1 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
Xavier 0-0 3 Big East Conference
Colorado 0-0 1 Pacific-12 Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 1 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 1-0 1 Mountain West Conference

So Kentucky and Michigan State each move down a spot, while UCLA moves down 2 spots. None of those teams have played. With their early season win, Florida moves into the Media Top 25, and Colorado still got 1 point, or 1 vote, however you wanna look at it.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (64) 2-0 1792 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU (8) 0-0 1722 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. San Diego State 0-0 1670 3 Mountain West Conference
4. Cincinnati 0-0 1577 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Wichita State 0-0 1476 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Harvard 0-0 1407 6 Ivy League
7. Connecticut 1-0 1350 7 American Athletic Conference
8. Green Bay 1-0 1220 11 Horizon League
9. George Washington 2-0 1209 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Massachusetts 0-0 1117 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. BYU 0-0 1094 9 West Coast Conference
12. Cleveland State 0-0 1070 10 Horizon League
13. La Salle 0-0 955 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 882 15 Southland Conference
15. Temple 0-0 746 16 American Athletic Conference
16. SMU 0-0 689 17 American Athletic Conference
17. Richmond 0-0 603 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Saint Mary's 2-0 429 NR West Coast Conference
19. UNLV 1-0 413 24 Mountain West Conference
20. New Mexico 0-0 404 22 Mountain West Conference
21. Memphis 0-0 313 25 American Athletic Conference
22. Illinois State 1-0 200 NR Missouri Valley Conference
23. Yale 0-0 172 NR Ivy League
24. Louisiana Tech 0-0 114 NR Conference USA
25. Rhode Island 0-0 101 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
South Dakota State 0-1 84 Summit League
Tulsa 1-0 63 American Athletic Conference
Loyola Chicago 2-0 54 Missouri Valley Conference
Murray State 1-0 47 Ohio Valley Conference
UTSA 2-0 45 Conference USA
Belmont 1-0 39 Ohio Valley Conference
Lehigh 2-0 34 Patriot League
UTEP 1-0 31 Conference USA
UC Irvine 2-0 29 Big West Conference
Davidson 0-0 26 Atlantic 10 Conference
Buffalo 0-0 23 Mid-American Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 1-0 21 Sun Belt Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kent State 1-0 12 Mid-American Conference
Northeastern 1-0 12 Colonial Athletic Association
Dayton 0-0 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 11 Big Sky Conference
Nevada 0-0 11 Mountain West Conference
Seattle 0-0 10 Western Athletic Conference
Middle Tennessee 0-0 9 Conference USA
North Dakota State 1-0 9 Summit League
Milwaukee 0-0 7 Horizon League
Vermont 0-0 7 America East Conference
Coastal Carolina 1-0 6 Big South Conference
Colorado State 0-0 6 Mountain West Conference
Albany 0-0 5 America East Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 5 Conference USA
Portland 0-0 5 West Coast Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
UCF 0-0 4 American Athletic Conference
Manhattan 0-0 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
San Diego 1-0 3 West Coast Conference
South Florida 0-0 3 American Athletic Conference
Ball State 1-0 2 Mid-American Conference
Duquesne 1-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico State 0-0 2 Western Athletic Conference
North Florida 0-0 2 Atlantic Sun Conference
Portland State 0-0 2 Big Sky Conference
Tulane 0-0 2 American Athletic Conference
Elon 1-0 1 Colonial Athletic Association
IPFW 1-0 1 Summit League
Louisiana Monroe 0-0 1 Sun Belt Conference
Missouri State 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Quinnipiac 0-0 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Utah State 0-0 1 Mountain West Conference

A little miffed that only 1 of our mid-major teams are getting votes, but so be it.

[collegesportsfanms]

If you guys would like to see the short sentence recaps after every coach like I was doing for a while in the old one, let me know. Otherwise I'll limit them. I'm also thinking about doing some kind of awards like I'm doing with the Interactive Player Dynasty, but I'm not sure on that yet. I'd like to have some differences between the 2 dynasties, however if enough people want awards, I may figure some out.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 16-22, 2015

We have our first feature game, and it's a non-conference battle between 2 of our mid-major teams.

11/17/15- Troy (Brett Hawkins) @ Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- This one wasn't too close, as Troy could manage just 28.9% shooting for the game as Davidson led by 17 at halftime and rolled to an easy victory.

Final Score: Davidson- 54, Troy- 41

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

11/20/15- New Jersey Regional First Round vs. (1) Auburn (L 65-54).
11/22/15- New Jersey Regional 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Miami OH (L 69-64).

ECU (Al Hutt)

No games this week for Al and the Pirates.

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

11/17/15 vs. Troy- feature game, highlighted above.

TCU (Bee Mighty)

11/21/15 at Tulsa (L 79-57).

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

11/21/15- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (7) Detroit (W 87-69).

#9 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

11/16/15 vs. Canisius (W 90-48).
11/18/15 at BYU (W 75-64).

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

11/22/15- Emerald Coast Classic First Round vs. (2) #21 Cincinnati (L 70-65).

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

11/20/15- Fargo Regional First Round vs. (4) Sacramento State (W 76-70).
11/21/15- Fargo Regional Championship vs. (2) Winthrop (L 61-50).

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

11/18/15 vs. Long Beach State (W 82-75).

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

11/19/15- Puerto Rico Tip-Off First Round vs. (5) NJIT (L 60-41).
11/20/15- Puerto Rico Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (1) College of Charleston (L 63-40).
11/22/15- Puerto Rico Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (3) Louisiana-Monroe (W 68-65).

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

11/16/15 vs. Tennessee Tech (L 54-51).
11/19/15 at Wake Forest (L 70-64).

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

11/19/15- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (5) Rhode Island (W 73-71).
11/20/15- Charleston Classic Semifinals vs. (8) High Point (W 81-52).
11/22/15- Charleston Classic Championship vs. (2) #14 Notre Dame (L 86-80).

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

11/19/15 at Cal Poly (L 84-75).

#11 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

11/18/15 at Cal State Northridge (W 77-44).

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

No games this week for DeShawn and the Cougars.

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

No games this week for Roy and the Crimson Tide.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

11/16/15- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (11) UTEP (W 74-62).

#8 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

11/17/15 vs. Cleveland State (W 70-62).
11/19/15 at Alabama State (W 73-54).

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

11/17/15 at Davidson- feature game, highlighted above.

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Syracuse (53) 3-0 1774 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Villanova 2-0 1634 1 Big East Conference
3. Louisville (11) 3-0 1626 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Arizona (2) 2-0 1577 2 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Iowa (5) 2-0 1520 4 Big Ten Conference
6. Gonzaga (1) 4-0 1473 6 West Coast Conference
7. Kentucky 2-0 1386 8 Southeastern Conference
8. Michigan State 2-0 1327 9 Big Ten Conference
9. Kansas 1-0 1216 7 Big 12 Conference
10. San Diego State 3-0 1153 13 Mountain West Conference
11. Notre Dame 3-0 1104 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. UCLA 1-0 985 11 Pacific-12 Conference
13. VCU 1-0 978 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Baylor 1-0 852 15 Big 12 Conference
15. Texas 1-0 740 16 Big 12 Conference
16. Virginia 1-0 724 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Cincinnati 2-0 635 21 American Athletic Conference
18. North Carolina 2-0 587 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Wisconsin 1-0 528 19 Big Ten Conference
20. Iowa State 2-0 436 23 Big 12 Conference
21. Florida 2-0 328 25 Southeastern Conference
22. Marquette 3-0 259 NR Big East Conference
23. Xavier 1-0 137 NR Big East Conference
24. Ohio State 2-1 108 10 Big Ten Conference
25. Connecticut 2-0 97 NR American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Miami 2-0 65 Atlantic Coast Conference
Harvard 1-0 64 Ivy League
Duke 1-1 32 Atlantic Coast Conference
Nebraska 1-0 24 Big Ten Conference
Washington 2-0 15 Pacific-12 Conference
La Salle 1-0 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stephen F. Austin 1-0 4 Southland Conference
Providence 2-0 3 Big East Conference
Richmond 2-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
Clemson 1-0 1 Atlantic Coast Conference

Kentucky and Michigan State each move up a spot in the media top 25, while UCLA, even though they won, moves down yet another spot. Florida moves up 4 spots, and Colorado loses their point, which I think is a shame because they gave a top 15 Notre Dame team all they could handle in the Charleston Classic title game.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 4-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. San Diego State 3-0 1717 3 Mountain West Conference
3. VCU 1-0 1664 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Cincinnati 2-0 1585 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Connecticut 2-0 1472 7 American Athletic Conference
6. Harvard 1-0 1462 6 Ivy League
7. La Salle 1-0 1340 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 1-0 1280 14 Southland Conference
9. SMU 2-0 1150 16 American Athletic Conference
10. Temple 1-0 1105 15 American Athletic Conference
11. Saint Mary's 4-0 1089 18 West Coast Conference
12. Richmond 2-0 1022 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. New Mexico 1-0 792 20 Mountain West Conference
14. Illinois State 2-0 534 22 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Tulsa 2-0 416 NR American Athletic Conference
16. George Washington 3-1 384 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Massachusetts 2-1 380 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Buffalo 2-0 303 NR Mid-American Conference
19. Murray State 3-0 289 NR Ohio Valley Conference
20. Tennessee Martin 3-0 278 NR Ohio Valley Conference
21. BYU 1-1 241 11 West Coast Conference
22. Cleveland State 1-1 235 12 Horizon League
23. Green Bay 1-1 213 8 Horizon League
24. Old Dominion 2-0 192 NR Conference USA
25. San Diego 2-0 180 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Colorado State 2-0 138 Mountain West Conference
South Dakota State 0-1 137 Summit League
UTSA 3-0 137 Conference USA
American 3-0 124 Patriot League
UNC Wilmington 2-0 111 Colonial Athletic Association
Davidson 1-0 107 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Louis 2-0 107 Atlantic 10 Conference
Winthrop 2-0 94 Big South Conference
Northern Illinois 2-0 92 Mid-American Conference
North Florida 2-0 90 Atlantic Sun Conference
Manhattan 2-0 87 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 2-0 84 Summit League
Hofstra 2-0 83 Colonial Athletic Association
Florida Gulf Coast 2-0 73 Atlantic Sun Conference
Missouri State 2-0 68 Missouri Valley Conference
Stony Brook 2-0 68 America East Conference
Duquesne 2-0 64 Atlantic 10 Conference
South Dakota 2-0 64 Summit League
UCF 2-0 51 American Athletic Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 1-0 41 Sun Belt Conference
UT Arlington 1-0 40 Sun Belt Conference
Vermont 1-0 39 America East Conference
Robert Morris 2-0 36 Northeast Conference
UAB 1-0 36 Conference USA
Denver 2-0 32 Summit League
Lafayette 2-0 27 Patriot League
Rice 1-0 27 Conference USA
Bucknell 2-0 25 Patriot League
Akron 1-1 22 Mid-American Conference
Oakland 1-0 22 Horizon League
Air Force 2-0 20 Mountain West Conference
New Mexico State 1-0 20 Western Athletic Conference
Nevada 1-0 19 Mountain West Conference
South Alabama 2-0 19 Sun Belt Conference
Seattle 2-0 18 Western Athletic Conference
Eastern Washington 1-0 15 Big Sky Conference
UC Riverside 2-0 11 Big West Conference
FIU 0-0 7 Conference USA
Fordham 2-0 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Central Michigan 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Montana 1-0 6 Big Sky Conference
UMKC 0-0 2 Western Athletic Conference
Arkansas State 1-0 1 Sun Belt Conference

So Davidson receives a lot more points in the mid-major poll this week, and we welcome Rice and their 26 points into the mix. Not that anybody cares but me, but my beloved Wichita State has fallen out of both polls completely. :(

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 23-29, 2015

1 feature game this week, and it came from the Great Alaska Shootout.

11/28/15- Great Alaska Shootout Championship- (6) TCU (Bee Mighty) vs. (1) #8 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- An interesting match-up to say the least, as we have the Mighty siblings going at it. Unfortunately, this one was over.. well. as soon as it started. The Spartans led 40-14 at halftime while shooting 56.9% from the field, and TCU could only manage 26% from the field.

Final Score: (1) #8 Michigan State- 82, (6) TCU- 45

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

11/29/15 at Iona (L 74-44).

ECU (Al Hutt)

Again, no games this week for Al and the Pirates.

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

11/24/15- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (6) North Carolina Central (W 68-50).
11/27/15- Brooklyn Classic Semifinals vs. (2) Oregon (L 65-47).
11/28/15- Brooklyn Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (5) Belmont (L 100-83).

TCU (Bee Mighty)

11/25/15- Great Alaska Shootout First Round vs. (3) Creighton (W 81-63).
11/27/15- Great Alaska Shootout Semifinals vs. (2) BYU (W 75-62).
11/28/15- Great Alaska Shootout Championship vs. (1) #8 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

11/24/15- Cancun Challenge Semifinals vs. (3) Tennessee (L 81-77).
11/25/15- Cancun Challenge 3rd Place Game vs. (5) New Mexico State (L 85-75).

#8 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

11/25/15- Great Alaska Shootout First Round vs. (8) UC Davis (W 74-64).
11/27/15- Great Alaska Shootout Semifinals vs. (4) New Mexico (W 91-72).
11/28/15- Great Alaska Shootout Championship vs. (6) TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

11/27/15- Emerald Coast Classic Consolation Round vs. (6) Kent State (W 80-71).
11/28/15- Emerald Coast Classic 5th Place Game vs. (4) California (L 65-57).

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

11/28/15 at #20 Iowa State (L 94-82).

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

11/23/15 vs. McNeese State (W 80-78, OT).

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

No games this week for Thomas and the Hawks.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

11/26/15- Orlando Classic First Round vs. (5) Chattanooga (L 47-39).
11/27/15- Orlando Classic Consolation Round vs. (1) James Madison (W 61-47).
11/29/15- Orlando Classic 5th Place Game vs. (7) Idaho (L 58-39).

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

No games this week for Rob and the Buffaloes.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

No games this week for Benito and the Cardinal.

#12 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

11/23/15- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (7) William & Mary (W 68-53).
11/26/15- Las Vegas Invitational Semifinals vs. (6) Manhattan (W 105-60).
11/27/15- Las Vegas Invitational Championship vs. (1) #13 VCU (W 89-73).
11/29/15- at Fresno State (W 77-73).

Great week for the Bruins, and I had to comment on it, as they were really put through the grind. They become our second human coached team to win a season tournament this season, and then had to play a 4th game for the week after that, on the road no less. Great job Coach Shepard!

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

Another week with no games for DeShawn and the Cougars. A very long layoff, but then again, they weren't expecting to get upset by Lehigh.

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

11/29/15 vs. #15 Texas (W 79-64).

Nice win for the Crimson Tide here in their only game of the week.

#21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

11/23/15- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal vs. (2) #2 Villanova (L 54-47).

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

11/24/15- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (8) Air Force (W 62-33).
11/27/15- Brooklyn Classic Semifinals vs. (5) Belmont (W 76-74).
11/28/15- Brooklyn Classic Championship vs. (2) Oregon (W 62-60).

The Wildcats become the 3rd human coached team to win a season tournament this season, but it didn't come easy, as they only won by 2 points in both the semis and championship. Nonetheless, congrats to Patrick and his Wildcats.

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

11/26/15 vs. Alabama State (L 50-33).

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kentucky (33) 5-0 1722 7 Southeastern Conference
2. Villanova (21) 4-0 1705 2 Big East Conference
3. Iowa (15) 4-0 1660 5 Big Ten Conference
4. Louisville 4-0 1550 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Michigan State (1) 5-0 1529 8 Big Ten Conference
6. Syracuse 3-0 1474 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. UCLA (1) 5-0 1391 12 Pacific-12 Conference
8. Kansas 3-0 1336 9 Big 12 Conference
9. Gonzaga (1) 6-0 1174 6 West Coast Conference
10. Notre Dame 3-0 1140 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. North Carolina 6-0 1102 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Baylor 3-0 1022 14 Big 12 Conference
13. Virginia 3-0 968 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Iowa State 4-0 857 20 Big 12 Conference
15. VCU 4-1 755 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Arizona 2-1 719 4 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Ohio State 4-1 669 24 Big Ten Conference
18. San Diego State 4-1 546 10 Mountain West Conference
19. Duke 3-1 499 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Wisconsin 3-1 375 19 Big Ten Conference
21. Texas 3-1 371 15 Big 12 Conference
22. Richmond 4-0 235 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Cincinnati 3-1 218 17 American Athletic Conference
24. Oklahoma 3-1 97 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Marquette 4-1 55 22 Big East Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Tulsa 4-0 51 American Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 5-0 32 America East Conference
Vanderbilt 4-1 26 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 5-0 25 Ohio Valley Conference
Florida 2-1 20 Southeastern Conference
Fordham 5-0 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
Old Dominion 4-0 13 Conference USA
Vermont 3-0 11 America East Conference
American 4-0 7 Patriot League
La Salle 4-1 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Lafayette 4-0 4 Patriot League
Washington 4-1 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Winthrop 4-0 4 Big South Conference
LSU 4-1 2 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 3-1 2 Big 12 Conference
UNC Wilmington 3-0 2 Colonial Athletic Association
Tennessee Martin 3-0 1 Ohio Valley Conference

So Kentucky, Michigan State, and UCLA all have nice jumps in the top 25, all the way to the top for Kentucky. All 3 of those teams receive at least 1 FPV. How crazy is it to see the #5, #7, and #9 teams all receiving a FPV? Florida, with their loss to Villanova, does drop out of the media top 25, but they are still receiving votes.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 6-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 4-1 1725 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. San Diego State 4-1 1646 2 Mountain West Conference
4. Cincinnati 3-1 1540 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Richmond 4-0 1512 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Tulsa 4-0 1225 15 American Athletic Conference
7. La Salle 4-1 1160 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Stony Brook 5-0 1145 NR America East Conference
9. Old Dominion 4-0 1079 24 Conference USA
10. Stephen F. Austin 4-1 1068 8 Southland Conference
11. Fordham 5-0 983 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Murray State 5-0 966 19 Ohio Valley Conference
13. American 4-0 807 NR Patriot League
14. UNC Wilmington 3-0 766 NR Colonial Athletic Association
15. Vermont 3-0 716 NR America East Conference
16. Green Bay 1-1 707 23 Horizon League
17. Winthrop 4-0 635 NR Big South Conference
18. Lafayette 4-0 632 NR Patriot League
19. South Dakota State 1-1 573 NR Summit League
20. Tennessee Martin 3-0 548 20 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Hofstra 2-0 355 NR Colonial Athletic Association
22. Denver 2-0 347 NR Summit League
23. Rice 2-0 340 NR Conference USA
24. North Florida 2-0 316 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
25. UMKC 2-0 221 NR Western Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
New Mexico 3-1 200 Mountain West Conference
UC Riverside 2-0 120 Big West Conference
Iona 5-1 70 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-1 54 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 2-1 49 Missouri Valley Conference
Saint Mary's 4-1 38 West Coast Conference
UNLV 1-1 12 Mountain West Conference
Illinois State 4-1 11 Missouri Valley Conference
Connecticut 3-2 8 American Athletic Conference
Boise State 3-1 6 Mountain West Conference
Cleveland State 3-2 6 Horizon League
UAB 4-1 5 Conference USA
Harvard 1-2 4 Ivy League
Buffalo 3-1 3 Mid-American Conference
Louisiana Tech 2-1 2 Conference USA

And we're back to 1 team getting votes in the mid-major polls. Rice is in the mid-major top 25, while Davidson loses all their votes. Like last time, it seems like it's going to be a struggle to get our human coached teams into either poll.

[Zinto]

Nice start to the season for Kentucky and a nice upset win against Florida State for ECU!

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2015

1 feature game this week, a non-conference game of course. Let's take a look:

12/4/15- ECU (Al Hutt) @ #7 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- This game went about like I figured it would, total domination for the Bruins. They led by 23 at halftime, only committed 5 turnovers, and put up 28 more shots than ECU! It's hard to lose games with those kind of stats.

Final Score: #7 UCLA- 104, ECU- 70

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

12/1/15 at Rider (L 71-66).
12/3/15 vs. UTEP (L 69-44).

The Hawks are still looking for their first win of the season, and almost got it at Rider but couldn't quite get over the hump.

ECU (Al Hutt)

12/4/15 at #7 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
12/6/15 at NC Central (W 67-58).

The Pirates will take a split this week, but you know they'd loved to have been more competitive against UCLA.

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

12/3/15 vs. Butler (W 74-65).

Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, but it was a win over a struggling Butler team, that I expect to be a lot better as the season goes on.

TCU (Bee Mighty)

12/4/15 vs. Prairie View A&M (W 56-45).
12/6/15 vs. #3 Iowa (L 73-42).

Sad to say, but the Horned Frogs are proving they aren't ready to compete with the top level teams. Both of their blowout losses have come against top 5 Big 10 teams so far.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

12/2/15 vs. Evansville (W 74-65).
12/5/15 at Providence (L 86-71).

A split for the Wolverines this week, and nothing to be ashamed of by losing to Providence, since it was on the road and Providence has only lost once so far.

#5 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

11/30/15 at Xavier (W 84-83).
12/3/15 at Youngstown State (W 79-35).
12/6/15 vs. Butler (W 72-57).

Sparty has shown no mercy on opponents so far this season as they continue to stay undefeated.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

11/30/15 vs. Rhode Island (L 72-65).
12/4/15 vs. Auburn (L 80-70).

The Warriors are actually playing well, but just can't quite get that marquee win. Turnovers were their undoing this week.. 19 against Rhode Island, 14 against Auburn.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

12/3/15 at #15 VCU (L 80-24).

Ay yi yi! The only game of the week for the 49ers is a game they'd like to forget, and quick. It was 49-10 at halftime, and Charlotte shot just 19.1% from the field! Wow.

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

12/3/15 at Memphis (L 78-61).

The lone game of the week for the Owls, a game in which they only trailed by 5 at halftime. They just ran out of steam in the 2nd half to suffer their first loss of the early season.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

11/30/15 at Seton Hall (L 61-33).
12/4/15 at Stony Brook (L 69-44).
12/6/15 vs. Rider (L 67-58).

Weird that the Hawks started conference play in early December, not sure how that works when most teams don't start it until the end of December/start of January. In any case, they weren't really competitive in any of their 3 games this week. Don't let that Rider score fool you, they were down by 14 at halftime.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

No games this week for Payten and the Spartans.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

12/3/15 vs. Western Kentucky (W 74-55).

Just 1 game this week for the Buffaloes, but it was a good one, as they beat up on Western Kentucky.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

11/30/15 at UNLV (L 69-55).
12/4/15 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 81-41).

The Cardinal split this week, losing to a very good UNLV team that may not hurt them that bad in the long run.

#7 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

12/4/15 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

The Bruins had the lone game this week in which they dominated ECU.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

12/4/15 vs. Eastern Kentucky (L 75-57).

The lone game of the week for the Cougars was a loss, but I'm not sure how bad of a loss it was. Eastern Kentucky has already beaten Ole Miss and played Notre Dame down to the wire.

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

12/1/15 at #12 Baylor (L 57-46).

Just 1 game this week for the Crimson Tide, who loaded up the non-conference schedule. Trying for their 2nd win over a ranked Big 12 team, but they fell short.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

12/1/15 at Jackson State (W 68-40).
12/3/15 vs. #13 Virginia (W 62-53).

Impressive week for the Gators, who got a big top 15 win over Virginia, a win that should put them in the top 25.

#1 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

12/2/15 at #6 Syracuse (W 78-66).
12/4/15 at West Virginia (L 63-58).
12/6/15 vs. Eastern Michigan (W 64-51).

So the Wildcats suffer their first loss of the season. This is not the dominant Kentucky team I was expecting, I think they'll take a few lumps this season.

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

12/2/15 at North Texas (L 52-50).
12/4/15 vs. USC (W 52-36).

Interesting week for the Trojans, who got their first win of the season against another Trojan team in USC. Coach Hawkins will probably tell you he would have expected the results to be reversed this week, but he'll take a win anyways.

Here's a look at the polls:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Villanova (58) 7-0 1780 2 Big East Conference
2. Michigan State (10) 8-0 1714 5 Big Ten Conference
3. Iowa 6-0 1644 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Louisville (4) 7-0 1609 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Kansas 6-0 1524 8 Big 12 Conference
6. UCLA 6-0 1437 7 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Gonzaga 8-0 1360 9 West Coast Conference
8. North Carolina 8-0 1300 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Baylor 4-0 1184 12 Big 12 Conference
10. Kentucky 7-1 1134 1 Southeastern Conference
11. Iowa State 7-0 1126 14 Big 12 Conference
12. Syracuse 4-1 1007 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. VCU 6-1 923 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Ohio State 6-1 835 17 Big Ten Conference
15. Arizona 3-1 818 16 Pacific-12 Conference
16. Duke 5-1 724 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Notre Dame 4-1 663 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Texas 5-1 551 21 Big 12 Conference
19. Virginia 4-1 488 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Wisconsin 4-1 389 20 Big Ten Conference
21. Oklahoma 5-1 264 24 Big 12 Conference
22. Florida 4-1 223 NR Southeastern Conference
23. Marquette 5-1 144 25 Big East Conference
24. Cincinnati 5-1 110 23 American Athletic Conference
25. Murray State 7-0 73 NR Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Vanderbilt 5-1 70 Southeastern Conference
Tulsa 5-0 69 American Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 7-0 58 America East Conference
Miami 5-1 35 Atlantic Coast Conference
Old Dominion 6-0 35 Conference USA
San Diego State 6-2 29 Mountain West Conference
Vermont 4-0 19 America East Conference
Fordham 5-0 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
La Salle 5-1 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
Lafayette 5-0 8 Patriot League
North Florida 5-0 8 Atlantic Sun Conference
Nebraska 5-1 6 Big Ten Conference
Washington 5-1 6 Pacific-12 Conference
Northwestern 4-0 4 Big Ten Conference
Tennessee Martin 5-0 3 Ohio Valley Conference
Providence 5-1 2 Big East Conference
Winthrop 5-0 2 Big South Conference

Nice jump for Michigan State, who got a few more FPV this week. UCLA is back on the rise, and Florida, as expected, is in the top 25. Kentucky got a little disrespected this week, IMO. After all, they only lost by 5, at a solid West Virginia team, but dropped 9 spots anyways. Harsh!

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 8-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 6-1 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 5-1 1574 4 American Athletic Conference
4. Tulsa 5-0 1357 6 American Athletic Conference
5. La Salle 5-1 1348 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Stony Brook 7-0 1311 8 America East Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 5-1 1292 10 Southland Conference
8. Old Dominion 6-0 1280 9 Conference USA
9. Murray State 7-0 1226 12 Ohio Valley Conference
10. San Diego State 6-2 1156 3 Mountain West Conference
11. South Dakota State 3-1 1021 19 Summit League
12. North Florida 5-0 955 24 Atlantic Sun Conference
13. Fordham 5-0 919 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Lafayette 5-0 875 18 Patriot League
15. Vermont 4-0 845 15 America East Conference
16. Tennessee Martin 5-0 806 20 Ohio Valley Conference
17. Winthrop 5-0 677 17 Big South Conference
18. St. Bonaventure 3-1 670 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. New Mexico 3-1 508 NR Mountain West Conference
20. Richmond 4-1 415 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Illinois State 6-1 399 NR Missouri Valley Conference
22. UNLV 3-1 396 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Connecticut 4-2 242 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Iona 7-1 159 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
25. Valparaiso 6-1 124 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Harvard 3-2 80 Ivy League
Eastern Kentucky 5-1 71 Ohio Valley Conference
Colorado State 5-1 42 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 5-1 42 Sun Belt Conference
Loyola Chicago 5-1 35 Missouri Valley Conference
Toledo 4-1 22 Mid-American Conference
Eastern Washington 4-1 8 Big Sky Conference
Hofstra 3-1 7 Colonial Athletic Association
Florida Atlantic 3-1 4 Conference USA
North Texas 4-1 2 Conference USA
Samford 4-1 2 Southern Conference
Utah State 4-1 2 Mountain West Conference

Not much to talk about in this one. All our human coached mid-major teams were left out of the mid-major poll.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 7-13, 2015

No feature games this week, so let's get started with the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-8, 0-0 America East.

12/7/15 vs. Fordham (L 66-61).
12/10/15 at Boston University (L 69-56).
12/12/15 at High Point (L 77-47).

So the Hawks continue to look for their first win of the season. Almost got it against Fordham, but a 16 point halftime deficit could not be overcome.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-4, 0-0 American.

12/9/15 vs. Western Carolina (L 58-50).
12/13/15 at #14 Ohio State (L 67-65).

This is a tough Pirate team to figure out. They lose to Western Carolina at home, but give ranked Ohio State all they can handle at their place. Definitely not the same team that upset Florida State.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 4-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/8/15 at Xavier (L 69-50).
12/13/15 vs. UAB (W 80-61).

The Wildcats split this week, and were never really in the game at Xavier. .500 ball every week won't cut it.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 3-6, 0-0 Big 12.

12/10/15 at Green Bay (L 79-54).
12/13/15 at South Dakota State (L 68-58).

2 embarrassing losses this week for the Horned Frogs. The only saving grace, I guess, is that they were both on the road. But still, beating Creighton and BYU in a tournament, and losing to these 2 teams this week? Consistency fellas, consistency.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-3, 0-0 Big 10.

12/7/15 at Central Connecticu (W 98-60).
12/10/15 at Xavier (W 82-78).

Good week for the Wolverines, who go over .500 with 2 solid road victories.

#2 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-1, 0-0 Big 10.

12/9/15 vs. Boise State (L 84-82).

Heartbreak in Lansing as the undefeated season is over. This is an ESPN instant classic, even if the teams did combine for 33 turnovers.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-5, 0-0 Big West.

12/8/15 at Akron (W 78-71).
12/11/15 vs. Evansville (W 80-72).
12/13/15 vs. Mercer (L 67-52).

Almost a perfect week for the Warriors, but tired legs and tired bodies cost them against Mercer.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/7/15 vs. Presbyterian (W 57-40).
12/9/15 vs. Southeastern Louisiana (W 56-45).
12/13/15 vs. Furman (W 68-36).

Not exactly the strongest competition here, and all games at home, but 3 feel good wins for the 49ers before they go on a brutal 4 game road stretch to end the year 2015: N.C. State, North Carolina, Duke, and Illinois await.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/6/15 at Sam Houston State (W 57-53).
12/11/15 vs. Texas Southern (W 62-58).

A couple nice 4 point wins for the Owls before they get ready for their season tournament starting next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-5, 2-1 MAAC.

12/11/15 vs. Iona (W 70-62).
12/13/15 vs. Manhattan (W 71-67).

The Hawks get a couple good home wins in conference play, but I'm still befuddled why they started MAAC play so early. Oh well, whatever.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 1-6, 0-0 MEAC.

12/7/15 at St. Joseph's (L 67-56).
12/10/15 vs. Duquesne (L 62-28).

Nothing is going right for the Spartans, who have 4 players out and just can't find a rhythm right now.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/7/15 at #7 Gonzaga (L 71-63).
12/12/15 vs. Providence (W 55-54).

The Buffaloes had a solid week, going to Spokane and giving Gonzaga all they wanted, then scraping out a win over Providence.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 4-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/9/15 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 81-61).
12/11/15 vs. Northern Arizona (W 80-39).

A pair of easy home wins for the Cardinal, as they too, begin their season tournament next week.

#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Tim and the Bruins.

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

12/7/15 vs. Montana State (W 57-51).
12/6/15 at USC Upstate (L 52-47).

Not the best of weeks for the Cougars, who struggled with a winless Montana State team at home, then lost to USC Upstate.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 2-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/12/15 at #20 Wisconsin (L 83-82, OT).

So close, yet so far for the Crimson Tide, who played another ranked team tough, but fell just short. They've got to be due for a marquee road non-conference win at some point.

#22 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 6-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/8/15 at South Alabama (W 96-65).
12/11/15 vs. James Madison (W 88-40).

The good news.. 2 more wins for the Gators. The bad news, they came at the hands of teams that currently have a 334 and 351 RPI, respectively. These wins won't do much for them come March.

#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 7-1, 0-0.

No games this week for Patrick and the Wildcats.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-6, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/9/15 at Valparaiso (L 58-28).
12/12/15 at Clemson (L 68-61).

You might be surprised to find that Valparaiso, of the 2 opponents this week, actually has the much better record, but still, scoring 7 points in a half and 28 for a game is just brutal. At least they found the net at Clemson, but what makes that game frustrating is they led by 9 at halftime. Again, so close, yet so far.

Here's a look at the polls for the week:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Villanova (70) 9-0 1797 1 Big East Conference
2. Iowa (1) 7-0 1688 3 Big Ten Conference
3. Kansas 7-0 1659 5 Big 12 Conference
4. Louisville 7-0 1591 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Gonzaga (1) 10-0 1526 7 West Coast Conference
6. UCLA 6-0 1436 6 Pacific-12 Conference
7. North Carolina 9-0 1366 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Iowa State 9-0 1272 11 Big 12 Conference
9. Baylor 5-0 1218 9 Big 12 Conference
10. Kentucky 7-1 1154 10 Southeastern Conference
11. Michigan State 8-1 1108 2 Big Ten Conference
12. Ohio State 8-1 981 14 Big Ten Conference
13. Arizona 5-1 928 15 Pacific-12 Conference
14. VCU 7-1 880 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Syracuse 6-1 791 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Notre Dame 5-1 708 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Duke 6-1 672 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Virginia 6-1 562 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Wisconsin 6-1 504 20 Big Ten Conference
20. Oklahoma 6-1 416 21 Big 12 Conference
21. Florida 6-1 331 22 Southeastern Conference
22. Cincinnati 7-1 203 24 American Athletic Conference
23. Marquette 7-1 192 23 Big East Conference
24. Vanderbilt 6-1 97 NR Southeastern Conference
25. Tulsa 7-0 86 NR American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 9-0 78 Ohio Valley Conference
Miami 7-1 59 Atlantic Coast Conference
Nebraska 7-1 33 Big Ten Conference
San Diego State 6-2 27 Mountain West Conference
Vermont 6-0 21 America East Conference
Washington 6-1 7 Pacific-12 Conference
Winthrop 7-0 4 Big South Conference
North Florida 6-0 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
UNLV 6-1 2 Mountain West Conference

UCLA and Kentucky stay put as neither one played this week. Florida moves up a spot, and the media is at it again. One stinkin loss and Michigan State drops 9 spots. Ridiculous!

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 10-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 7-1 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 7-1 1621 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Tulsa 7-0 1492 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Murray State 9-0 1423 9 Ohio Valley Conference
6. San Diego State 6-2 1329 10 Mountain West Conference
7. South Dakota State 4-1 1261 11 Summit League
8. Vermont 6-0 1231 15 America East Conference
9. North Florida 6-0 1162 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
10. Winthrop 7-0 1061 17 Big South Conference
11. St. Bonaventure 4-1 1020 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. New Mexico 5-1 1003 19 Mountain West Conference
13. UNLV 6-1 944 22 Mountain West Conference
14. Richmond 6-1 908 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Connecticut 7-2 878 23 American Athletic Conference
16. Illinois State 8-1 803 21 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Harvard 5-2 570 NR Ivy League
18. Valparaiso 8-1 549 25 Horizon League
19. Stephen F. Austin 7-2 454 7 Southland Conference
20. Colorado State 7-1 428 NR Mountain West Conference
21. Stony Brook 8-1 410 6 America East Conference
22. La Salle 6-2 307 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Eastern Kentucky 6-1 296 NR Ohio Valley Conference
24. Old Dominion 6-1 270 8 Conference USA
25. Tennessee Martin 6-1 101 16 Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Utah State 6-1 99 Mountain West Conference
Lafayette 6-1 82 Patriot League
Rice 4-1 64 Conference USA
Fordham 7-1 53 Atlantic 10 Conference
Incarnate Word 4-1 30 Southland Conference
UMKC 4-1 11 Western Athletic Conference
UC Riverside 5-1 7 Big West Conference
Boise State 7-2 5 Mountain West Conference

We have some representation in the mid-major polls again, as Rice is receiving votes, and has no excuse not to receive more votes next week as none of the 3 opponents in their season tournament look too tough. I hope I didn't just jinx it. Apologies in advance if I did Coach Shocker!

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 14-20, 2015

3 feature games this week, all of them involving ECU.

12/15/15- ECU (Al Hutt) @ #21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The Pirates could manage just 16 first half points, shooting just 31% for the game, and also turned it over 23 times. The result: a 36 point loss.

Final Score: #21 Florida- 73, ECU- 37

12/17/15- Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) @ ECU (Al Hutt) -- A close game at halftime, but Norfolk State went stone cold in the 2nd half, shooting just 39.5% for the game. ECU pulled away late.

Final Score: ECU- 62, Norfolk State- 50

12/19/15- ECU (Al Hutt) @ #10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- The 2 Hutts going at it in this one, and Kentucky races to a 22 point halftime lead, forcing 23 turnovers in the game and winning with ease. Most frustrating part of the game for ECU: They shot 41.9% to Kentucky's 36.9%.

Final Score: #10 Kentucky- 72, ECU- 55

Now that those are out of the way, it's time for the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 1-9, 0-0 America East.

12/14/15 at UMass (L 80-29).
12/19/15 at Holy Cross (W 74-50).

Stop the presses, the Hawks have their first win of the season! And they did it in convincing fashion too, winning by 24. That takes away some of the sting of the 51 point loss at UMass.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-6, 0-0 American.

12/15/15 at #21 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
12/17/15 vs. Norfolk State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/19/15 at #10 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

Give the Pirates credit for wanting to play other human coached teams (ok, so FBCB set it up that way), but a 1-2 result against those teams is not what they hoped for.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/15/15 at #18 Virginia (L 78-57).
12/18/15 vs. UNC Wilmington (W 77-58).
12/20/15 at Wichita State (L 78-64).

Tough week for the Wildcats, who are playing a pretty strong non-conference schedule, and it won't get any easier next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-6, 0-0 Big 12.

12/18/15 vs. New Orleans (W 79-41).

A dominating performance for the Horned Frogs in their only game of the week, but you can bet they wished they'd have had that type of scoring output in South Dakota.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 5-4, 0-0 Big 10.

12/14/15 vs. Hofstra (L 83-75).
12/16/15 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 97-81).

That Hofstra loss will sting for a while, as the Wolverines actually led late before falling apart. At least they ended the week with a nice road performance.

#11 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-1, 0-0 Big 10.

12/18/15 vs. Central Michigan (W 61-48).

The Spartans shake off the loss to Boise State with a subpar effort in their only game of the week.

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

12/17/15 at N.C. State (L 57-54, OT).

The first of 4 brutal games on the schedule, and the 49ers will be kicking themselves for a while after this one. They led by 13 at halftime. Ugh!

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/17/15- Utah Classic First round vs. (4) Loyola MD (L 76-68).
12/19/15- Utah Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Southern (L 63-59).

Call it overconfidence if you want. The Owls went to Utah with a great chance to win the tournament, but instead come out and lay a big fat egg. Bummer.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-7, 2-3 MAAC.

12/18/15 vs. Canisius (L 74-65).
12/20/15 at St. Peter's (L 83-77, OT).

The week wasn't kind for the Hawks, who had 2 winnable games and lost them both.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-8, 0-0 MEAC.

12/17/15 at ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/20/15 vs. College of Charleston (W 63-51).

The Spartans get a much needed win to break a 5 game losing streak, but it came at the hands of a team with an RPI of 346. Ah well, when you're struggling, a win is a win I guess.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/17/15 at Wichita State (L 76-57).
12/20/15 vs. Denver (W 58-39).

Boy, the Shockers were not kind to our human coached teams this week, beating 2 of them. A nice win though over an in-state opponent as the Buffaloes rout Denver.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 6-2, 0-0 Pac 10.

12/16/15- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (15) Mt. St. Mary's (W 83-48).
12/18/15- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Stony Brook (W 62-52).

The Cardinal win 2 this week in Las Vegas, and will have at least one more game there next week as they'll play in the Semifinals, but the competition will get tougher. Richmond awaits in the semis and either Iowa State or Tulsa in the championship if they get there.

#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/16/15 vs. Miami OH (W 87-54).
12/18/15 vs. Columbia (W 106-83).

Easy week for the Bruins, who stay undefeated, beating up on a couple inferior opponents.

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

12/15/15 at Tennessee Martin (W 65-62).

In their lone game of the week, the Cougars gutted out a road win that was close all the way.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 3-4, 0-0 SEC.

12/15/15 vs. South Florida (W 68-59).
12/19/15 at #22 Cincinnati (L 71-62).

The Crimson Tide just can't get that signature win over a ranked team. They've got a couple more chances next week.

#21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/15/15 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/18/15 vs. Jacksonville (W 75-47).

The Gators have a good week against not the toughest competition, but still, 5 of their last 6 games winning by 25 or more points is impressive.

#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/17/15 at Presbyterian (W 73-37).
12/19/15 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

Another easy week for the Wildcats, who looked much better this week than they have in the past couple.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-6, 1-0 Sun Belt.

12/16/15 vs. Lamar (W 55-49).
12/19/15 at Arkansas State (W 52-46).

A couple grind it out, 6 point wins for the Trojans, as they get Sun Belt play started off on the right foot.

Here's a look at the polls, not that I expect much change:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kansas (60) 9-0 1788 3 Big 12 Conference
2. Iowa 8-0 1687 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Louisville (10) 8-0 1660 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Gonzaga (2) 12-0 1603 5 West Coast Conference
5. UCLA 8-0 1527 6 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Villanova 9-1 1403 1 Big East Conference
7. North Carolina 10-0 1357 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Syracuse 8-1 1271 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Kentucky 9-1 1232 10 Southeastern Conference
10. Michigan State 9-1 1162 11 Big Ten Conference
11. Iowa State 11-0 1016 8 Big 12 Conference
12. Arizona 6-1 971 13 Pacific-12 Conference
13. VCU 8-1 959 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Ohio State 8-1 922 12 Big Ten Conference
15. Duke 8-1 814 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Notre Dame 6-1 738 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Baylor 7-1 576 9 Big 12 Conference
18. Florida 8-1 531 21 Southeastern Conference
19. Wisconsin 8-1 522 19 Big Ten Conference
20. Oklahoma 7-1 462 20 Big 12 Conference
21. Virginia 8-1 395 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Vanderbilt 9-1 247 24 Southeastern Conference
23. Cincinnati 9-1 207 22 American Athletic Conference
24. Marquette 9-1 145 23 Big East Conference
25. Miami 9-1 72 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Tulsa 9-0 70 American Athletic Conference
Murray State 10-0 20 Ohio Valley Conference
Vermont 8-0 18 America East Conference
North Florida 9-0 7 Atlantic Sun Conference
Texas 7-2 7 Big 12 Conference
Washington 8-1 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Winthrop 9-0 3 Big South Conference
Illinois 8-1 2 Big Ten Conference
UNLV 7-1 2 Mountain West Conference

UCLA, Kentucky, and Michigan State all move up a spot, while Florida moves up 3 spots.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 12-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 8-1 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 9-1 1639 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Tulsa 9-0 1516 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Murray State 10-0 1392 5 Ohio Valley Conference
6. South Dakota State 5-1 1291 7 Summit League
7. Vermont 8-0 1276 8 America East Conference
8. North Florida 9-0 1221 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
9. UNLV 7-1 1174 13 Mountain West Conference
10. Connecticut 9-2 1161 15 American Athletic Conference
11. Richmond 8-1 1104 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Winthrop 9-0 1104 10 Big South Conference
13. New Mexico 7-1 1080 12 Mountain West Conference
14. Illinois State 10-1 907 16 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 8-2 735 19 Southland Conference
16. Valparaiso 9-1 726 18 Horizon League
17. Eastern Kentucky 9-1 616 23 Ohio Valley Conference
18. Colorado State 8-1 615 20 Mountain West Conference
19. San Diego State 6-3 490 6 Mountain West Conference
20. Old Dominion 7-1 476 24 Conference USA
21. Northern Iowa 7-2 397 NR Missouri Valley Conference
22. Fordham 8-1 269 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UC Riverside 7-1 254 NR Big West Conference
24. St. Bonaventure 4-2 156 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 9-2 105 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
George Washington 7-3 51 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Louis 8-2 28 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 9-2 27 America East Conference
Harvard 7-3 22 Ivy League
Toledo 7-2 7 Mid-American Conference
Middle Tennessee 6-2 6 Conference USA
New Mexico State 7-2 6 Western Athletic Conference
La Salle 7-3 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
Princeton 7-2 4 Ivy League
Eastern Washington 7-2 3 Big Sky Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 8-2 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Massachusetts 6-3 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
UTEP 5-2 2 Conference USA
Quinnipiac 8-2 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

To nobodies surprise, Rice loses all their votes in the mid-major poll.

[collegesportsfanms]

For next season and beyond, I am trying to come up with a way to separate the non-conference and conference games, as I'm sure some of you would like to know when your conference games are being played. The only thing I can figure out is some kind of color code that we'd all have to remember. I'm open to suggestions if anybody has any.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 21-27, 2015

2 feature games this week, both non-conference battles involving Hawaii.

12/21/15- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- This one was close at halftime, as Hawaii only led by 5, but they took control in the second half with lights out defense, allowing just 32.2% shooting for the game. The result was a runaway victory for the Warriors.

Final Score: Hawaii- 73, Rice- 49

12/26/15- Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) @ TCU (Bee Mighty) -- Hawaii led by 2 at halftime and pulled away a little bit in the second half. TCU just couldn't hang on to the ball, committing 18 turnovers. The Warriors went nuts from three point land, going 16-28 there, and that definitely helped them to win this one.

Final Score: Hawaii- 77, TCU- 68

Now on to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 2-11, 1-0 America East.

12/23/15 at Princeton (L 64-48).
12/25/15 vs. #13 VCU (L 82-65).
12/27/15 at UMBC (W 61-53).

Hasn't been an easy road for the Hawks so far, but maybe winning their conference opener will spark them.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-8, 0-1 American.

12/21/15 at N.C. State (L 79-49).
12/23/15 at South Florida (L 58-54).

2 more losses this week for the Pirates, including losing their conference opener.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 6-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/25/15 at #7 North Carolina (W 80-59).

Merry Christmas to Randolph and the Hawks who got a nice Christmas present with a big win over top 10 UNC. Hopefully this will get them going in the right direction.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-7, 0-0 Big 12.

12/26/15 vs. Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.

The Horned Frogs battled against Hawaii, but couldn't overcome turnovers and three point shooting.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-4, 0-0 Big 10.

12/22/15 vs. Eastern Michigan (W 87-55).

Easy win for the Wolverines in their only game of the week.

#10 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 10-1, 0-0 Big 10.

12/24/15 at Northern Iowa (W 67-55).

The Spartans also only had 1 game this week, but it was a much tougher one, as they got by a pesky Northern Iowa squad.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 7-5, 0-0 Big West.

12/21/15 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
12/26/15 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

Nice week for the Warriors, who beat up on a couple other FOFC coached teams. I'm sure Coach Gunn won't be making any friends around the FOFC community after this week!

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-6, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/22/15 at #7 North Carolina (L 91-56).
12/25/15 at #15 Duke (L 93-31).

Credit the 49ers for scheduling tough, as they've played a lot of top 25 games on the road, but haven't been competitive in any of them. You gotta think this will pay dividends when C-USA play starts.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/21/15 at Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
12/23/15 at SMU (L 73-46).

Remember when the Owls were receiving votes in the mid-major poll? Seems like a long time ago, but they've now lost all 4 games since then.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-7, 4-3 MAAC.

12/25/15 at Siena (W 66-40).
12/27/15 at Niagara (W 50-43).

Good week for the Hawks, who go on the road and snag a couple conference victories.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-9, 0-0 MEAC.

12/24/15 at Old Dominion (L 61-59).
12/26/15 vs. SIU Edwardsville (W 53-41).

Perhaps winning 2 of their last 3 games will spark the Spartans going into MEAC play, which is wide open. You wanna know how bad the MEAC is this season? No team has a winning record, the best record in the conference is 5-8, and the conference is still somehow ranked 24th out of 32. Crazy!

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/24/15 vs. Texas Southern (W 77-57).

Just a lone non-conference game this week for the Buffaloes, but they take care of business before 2 tough non-conference road games next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/15- Las Vegas Classic Semifinals vs. (3) Richmond (W 84-69).
12/22/15- Las Vegas Classic Championship vs. (1) Tulsa (W 81-57).
12/27/15 vs. Montana (W 85-75).

Congrats to Coach Sanchez and the Cardinal, who become the 4th and final team to win a season tournament this season. They followed that up by going back home and struggling a bit against Montana, but still got the W.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/15 at UC Irvine (W 86-48).
12/27/15 vs. Maryland (W 83-47).

I'm not quite convinced this mod is totally accurate, as I can't see UCLA beating Maryland that bad in real life, but hey, who knows. This is fun to work with anyways. Oh, the Bruins had 2 more dominating performances this week.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/15 at NJIT (W 77-75, OT).
12/25/15 vs. Idaho (W 66-55).

The Cougars struggled against 2 non-conference opponents who have a combined record of 6-17. What will this mean for conference play? Well, they've got a chance to redeem themselves, with 2 more non-conference games next week.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 3-6, 0-0 SEC.

12/23/15 at #15 Duke (L 78-70).
12/26/15 at #21 Virginia (L 92-43).

The Crimson tide fall short in their question to get a marquee road non-conference win. One more chance next week.

#18 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/25/15 vs. N.C. State (W 63-39).

Just 1 game for the Gators this week, but they take care of business at home.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/22/15 vs. Central Michigan (W 74-58).
12/27/15 at Indiana (L 73-64).

Stop the presses, the Wildcats are beatable! At least in FBCB they are. They were taken out by a solid Indiana team.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-7, 2-1 Sun Belt.

12/24/15 at Georgia Southern (L 71-70, OT).
12/26/15 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (W 50-39).

A split for the Trojans this week, but they'll tell you they are very unhappy they weren't able to hang on at GA Southern, as they led late but let it slip away.

Let's take a look at the polls:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa (36) 10-0 1757 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga (33) 14-0 1749 4 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 10-0 1651 5 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Villanova (3) 10-1 1603 6 Big East Conference
5. Syracuse 10-1 1516 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 10-1 1443 1 Big 12 Conference
7. Michigan State 10-1 1355 10 Big Ten Conference
8. Ohio State 9-1 1267 14 Big Ten Conference
9. VCU 9-1 1224 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Baylor 10-1 1106 17 Big 12 Conference
11. Duke 10-1 982 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. North Carolina 11-1 982 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Arizona 8-2 922 12 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Oklahoma 9-1 849 20 Big 12 Conference
15. Virginia 10-1 770 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Kentucky 10-2 769 9 Southeastern Conference
17. Florida 9-1 710 18 Southeastern Conference
18. Cincinnati 11-1 526 23 American Athletic Conference
19. Louisville 9-2 489 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Iowa State 11-1 475 11 Big 12 Conference
21. Vanderbilt 10-1 401 22 Southeastern Conference
22. Miami 11-1 264 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Notre Dame 8-2 249 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Marquette 11-1 162 24 Big East Conference
25. Texas 9-2 80 NR Big 12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Illinois 9-1 38 Big Ten Conference
Winthrop 11-0 23 Big South Conference
Washington 9-1 19 Pacific-12 Conference
UNLV 9-1 10 Mountain West Conference
Wisconsin 8-2 8 Big Ten Conference
South Carolina 10-1 1 Southeastern Conference

Florida, Michigan St., and UCLA all move up after perfect weeks. Kentucky, as expected, moves down 7 spots. Where in the world is Stanford? They stand at 9-2, just won a season tournament, and you're telling me they aren't even worthy of a vote? Ridiculous. Coach Sanchez should be furious!

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 14-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 9-1 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 11-1 1655 3 American Athletic Conference
4. UNLV 9-1 1558 9 Mountain West Conference
5. Winthrop 11-0 1436 12 Big South Conference
6. Illinois State 12-1 1365 14 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 10-2 1364 15 Southland Conference
8. Valparaiso 11-1 1195 16 Horizon League
9. Eastern Kentucky 11-1 1137 17 Ohio Valley Conference
10. South Dakota State 7-2 1029 6 Summit League
11. Colorado State 9-1 982 18 Mountain West Conference
12. Connecticut 10-3 952 10 American Athletic Conference
13. Vermont 9-1 925 7 America East Conference
14. North Florida 10-1 879 8 Atlantic Sun Conference
15. Richmond 9-2 792 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Old Dominion 8-1 724 20 Conference USA
17. Tulsa 10-2 641 4 American Athletic Conference
18. Fordham 10-1 582 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. George Washington 8-3 486 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Louisiana Tech 10-2 352 25 Conference USA
21. San Diego State 8-4 326 19 Mountain West Conference
22. Harvard 8-3 322 NR Ivy League
23. New Mexico State 9-2 194 NR Western Athletic Conference
24. Stony Brook 10-2 172 NR America East Conference
25. Massachusetts 8-3 165 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 11-2 126 Ohio Valley Conference
La Salle 8-3 121 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Louis 9-2 85 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico 8-2 75 Mountain West Conference
Toledo 8-2 53 Mid-American Conference
Princeton 9-2 42 Ivy League
Florida Gulf Coast 10-2 34 Atlantic Sun Conference
Bucknell 11-2 23 Patriot League
Middle Tennessee 7-2 23 Conference USA
UTEP 7-2 21 Conference USA
Northern Iowa 8-3 20 Missouri Valley Conference
Eastern Washington 10-2 16 Big Sky Conference

No surprise here, we're still shut out of the mid-major top 25.

[bbgunn]

If Hawaii continues to win like that, we won't be shut out of the mid-major top 25 any more! :)

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 28, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016

2 feature games to tell you about, both non-conference games.

12/28/15- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Wolverines offered no defense for UCLA's hot shooting, as the Bruins shot 59% for the game. That, combined with 21 Michigan turnovers, led to an easy victory for UCLA.

Final Score: #3 UCLA- 108, Michigan- 73.

1/2/16- Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- Despite being outrebounded 43-35, Hawaii shot just a little better, and hit just a few more shots. They also forced 18 Cougar turnovers to get a big road victory.

Final Score: Hawaii- 82, Washington State- 72

And now onto the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-12, 2-1 America East.

1/1/16 at Vermont (L 59-51).
1/3/16 vs. Maine (W 79-68).

The Hawks will take the split, and they really did play a very good Vermont team tough, on the road.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-9, 1-2 American.

12/30/15 at UCF (W 66-61, OT).
1/2/16 vs. UConn (L 80-68).

A split for the Pirates, winning on the road and losing at home. Usually it's the other way around.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 6-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/30/15 at #13 Arizona (L 80-42).

Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, but they don't mind, as they were thumped big time after the big win at UNC last week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-9, 0-2 Big 12.

12/28/15 at Texas Tech (L 80-68).
1/2/16 at #25 Texas (L 64-47).

Nothing doing for the Horned Frogs on the road this week as they've now lost 6 of their last 7.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-5, 0-0 Big 10.

12/30/15 at #3 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/1/16 vs. George Mason (W 74-58).

Nice bounce back win for the Wolverines after being hammered by the Bruins.

#7 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-1, 0-0 Big 10.

12/29/15 at North Dakota (W 84-74).

1 game for the Spartans this week, and they struggled a bit with a 2 win North Dakota team. Perhaps looking past them into conference play.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-5, 0-0 Big West.

12/29/15 at Arizona State (W 79-77).
1/2/16 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

2 big wins for the Warriors this week, including the win over Arizona State who currently has an RPI of 21.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/29/15 at Illinois (L 79-39).

Just 1 game for the 49ers this week, another road game against a top opponent, and another blowout loss.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 6-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/31/15 vs. Brown (W 67-60).
1/2/16 at Delaware State (W 78-55).

2 feel good wins for the Owls before conference play starts, but they mustn't feel too good, as those 2 wins came against teams with a combined 6-21 record.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-9, 4-4 MAAC.

1/1/16 at Princeton (L 75-55).
1/3/16 vs. Marist (L 51-47).

After a week with 2 wins, the Hawks follow it up with a week with 2 losses, although one was on the road against a very good Princeton team.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-10, 0-1 MEAC.

12/28/15 vs. Morgan State (L 64-49).

Just 1 game this week for the Spartans, and it wasn't too pleasant, as they lost their conference opener.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/28/15 at #8 Ohio State (L 75-72).
12/30/15 at Oklahoma State (W 74-66).

A split for the Buffaloes, and a case of what could have been, as they had Ohio State on the ropes several times.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 11-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/31/15 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 63-44).
1/2/16 at UC Irvine (W 65-59).

The winning streak is now 10 for the Cardinal, who are on an amazing roll headed into conference play.

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/30/15 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/1/16 vs. Montana (W 77-69).

A bit of a letdown against Montana after blowing out Michigan, but the Bruins will take an undefeated record into conference play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/30/15 vs. Southern Utah (W 67-35).
1/2/16 vs. Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cougars, who saw their 4 game losing streak end against Hawaii.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-7, 0-0 SEC.

12/30/15 at Washington (L 75-61).
1/1/16 vs. Sam Houston State (W 68-54).

The Crimson Tide were nothing if not consistent this week, winning a game by 14 and losing a game by 14.

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/30/15 at Bethune Cookman (W 80-50).
1/2/16 vs. Wisconsin (L 63-44).

Not the way you want to compete against a really good Wisconsin team, as the Gators laid an egg there.

#16 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.

No games this week for the Wildcats.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-8, 3-1 Sun Belt.

12/29/15 vs. Mississippi State (L 72-63).
12/31/15 vs. Georgia Southern (W 68-60).

2 tough games for the Trojans this week, who battled Mississippi State tough before losing, but got a most important conference win.

Here's a look at the polls:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (70) 16-0 1798 2 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa (2) 12-0 1713 1 Big Ten Conference
3. UCLA 12-0 1649 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Villanova 12-1 1585 4 Big East Conference
5. Syracuse 12-1 1511 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 12-1 1463 6 Big 12 Conference
7. Michigan State 11-1 1339 7 Big Ten Conference
8. North Carolina 13-1 1236 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. VCU 11-1 1222 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Arizona 10-2 1160 13 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Cincinnati 13-1 1083 18 American Athletic Conference
12. Baylor 12-1 1009 10 Big 12 Conference
13. Oklahoma 11-1 932 14 Big 12 Conference
14. Ohio State 11-1 859 8 Big Ten Conference
15. Duke 11-1 836 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Kentucky 10-2 750 16 Southeastern Conference
17. Notre Dame 10-2 608 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Miami 12-1 542 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Wisconsin 10-2 400 NR Big Ten Conference
20. Washington 11-1 380 NR Pacific-12 Conference
21. Texas 11-2 352 25 Big 12 Conference
22. Illinois 11-1 340 NR Big Ten Conference
23. Florida 10-2 269 17 Southeastern Conference
24. Iowa State 12-2 92 20 Big 12 Conference
25. UNLV 11-1 83 NR Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Marquette 12-2 61 Big East Conference
Illinois State 14-1 58 Missouri Valley Conference
Louisville 10-3 28 Atlantic Coast Conference
Vanderbilt 10-2 27 Southeastern Conference
South Carolina 11-1 7 Southeastern Conference
Vermont 12-1 7 America East Conference
North Florida 12-1 1 Atlantic Sun Conference

So UCLA, Michigan State, and Kentucky all stay where they were. Hard to move up when the teams ahead of you aren't losing, and in Kentucky's case, they didn't play this week. Florida moves down 6 spots after their loss to Wisconsin.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 16-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. VCU 11-1 1716 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 13-1 1668 3 American Athletic Conference
4. UNLV 11-1 1570 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Illinois State 14-1 1462 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 12-2 1439 7 Southland Conference
7. Connecticut 12-3 1228 12 American Athletic Conference
8. Valparaiso 13-1 1219 8 Horizon League
9. South Dakota State 9-2 1160 10 Summit League
10. Vermont 12-1 1114 13 America East Conference
11. George Washington 10-3 1059 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. North Florida 12-1 982 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
13. Tulsa 12-2 899 17 American Athletic Conference
14. Harvard 10-3 856 22 Ivy League
15. San Diego State 10-4 770 21 Mountain West Conference
16. New Mexico 10-2 678 NR Mountain West Conference
17. Richmond 10-2 557 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Massachusetts 9-3 481 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Stony Brook 12-2 448 24 America East Conference
20. Northern Iowa 10-3 380 NR Missouri Valley Conference
21. Louisiana Tech 10-2 362 20 Conference USA
22. La Salle 9-3 330 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Murray State 12-2 315 NR Ohio Valley Conference
24. Princeton 11-2 308 NR Ivy League
25. Saint Louis 10-2 161 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UTEP 9-2 96 Conference USA
Winthrop 12-2 91 Big South Conference
Old Dominion 9-2 86 Conference USA
BYU 11-4 78 West Coast Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 12-2 55 Atlantic Sun Conference
Eastern Washington 10-2 14 Big Sky Conference
St. Bonaventure 7-3 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Fordham 10-2 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 11-3 2 Ohio Valley Conference

Still no representation in the mid-major poll.

[bbgunn]

Great week for the Rainbow Warriors.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 4-10, 2016

2 feature games to tell you about this week, and we'll start in the SEC.

1/6/16- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- An instant classic for sure, as there were 35 combined turnovers, and both teams shot over 45%. 40 minutes wasn't enough to decide this one, but the Crimson Tide got it done in the extra frame.

Final Score: Alabama- 99, #23 Florida- 96 (OT)

And now to the Pac 12.

1/7/16- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- A low scoring affair in this one, but it wasn't all about defense, as both teams shot over 40%. Turnovers were a bit of an issue, but both teams really worked the clock. In the end though, the Buffaloes were way too much.

Final Score: Colorado- 57, Washington State- 41

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-13, 3-2 America East.

1/6/16 vs. Stony Brook (L 73-49).
1/10/16 at UMass Lowell (W 62-46).

A split for the Hawks this week, as they stay above .500 in America East play.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-10, 2-3 American.

1/6/16 vs. Tulsa (W 54-45).
1/9/16 vs. Houston (L 60-32).

A split for the Pirates, but they certainly couldn't find the scoring. Even in their win they only scored 45, but only 32 points in the loss? Wow.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 7-7, 1-1 Atlantic 10.

1/6/16 vs. St. Louis (W 75-68).
1/9/16 at Richmond (L 78-64).

Your conventional split for the Wildcats, who win at home, lose on the road.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-10, 0-3 Big 12.

1/7/16 at Brown (W 59-45).
1/9/16 vs. #24 Iowa State (L 70-44).

Well, at least the Horned Frogs won their non-conference game this week, but the Big 12 is loaded!

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-6, 1-1 Big 10.

1/6/16 at Penn State (W 77-58).
1/9/16 vs. Minnesota (L 90-72).

The Wolverines continue the trend of splits this week for FOFC human coached teams.

#7 Michigan State (AL Mighty) -- 12-2, 1-1 Big 10.

1/6/16 vs. #22 Illinois (W 95-83).
1/9/16 at #14 Ohio State (L 95-62).

Yikes! Not a good split at all for the Spartans, who were completely dominated at Ohio State. Those are the games they need to be competing in, games against top 25 opponents.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-5, 2-0 Big West.

1/7/16 at UC Santa Barbara (W 92-73).
1/9/16 at UC Davis (W 86-77).

The Warriors become the first team this week not to split, and they did so in a good way, winning both games. That's 7 in a row.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-7, 2-0 Conference USA.

1/7/16 at Marshall (W 73-67).
1/9/16 vs. Florida Atlantic (W 69-62).

Good way to open conference play for the 49ers, as they get 2 close wins.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/7/16 at UAB (L 69-61).
1/9/16 vs. FIU (W 71-56).

The Owls will be kicking themselves, as they led a double digit lead slip away at UAB. This will eat at Coach Shocker for a while.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-10, 4-5 MAAC.

1/8/16 vs. Niagara (L 63-51).

Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, a loss which puts them below .500 in the MAAC.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-11, 0-2 MEAC.

1/4/16 vs. North Carolina A&T (L 69-65, OT).
1/7/16 at UNC Wilmington (W 54-43).

So close, yet so far for the Spartans, who gave up a 9 point halftime lead and lost the conference game in OT. They did go out of conference for a nice road win though.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 10-4, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/7/16 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/9/16 at #20 Washington (W 86-77).

Great week for the Buffaloes as they sweep through the Washington trip with relative ease.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 13-2, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/7/16 at Oregon State (W 69-68).
1/9/16 at Arizona State (W 83-77).

2 very close wins for the Cardinal this week, as they continue to roll.

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 13-1, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/7/16 at Arizona State (W 118-75).
1/9/16 vs. #10 Arizona (L 90-82).

The big rivalry between UCLA and Arizona goes the way of the Wildcats this time, as the Bruins lose their first game of the season.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-6, 0-2 Pac 12.

1/7/16 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/9/16 at Oregon State (L 70-54).

Not a good week for the Cougars, who just flat out didn't look good at all in a pair of 16 point losses.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 6-7, 2-0 SEC.

1/6/16 at #23 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
1/9/16 at LSU (W 87-86).

It wasn't easy for the Crimson Tide, but they start SEC play on a great note, winning 2 games by a combined 4 points. Hey, a win is a win right?

#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-4, 0-2 SEC.

1/6/16 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
1/9/16 at Texas A&M (L 85-73).

The Gators flip the script, losing both their games this week, not the way they wanted to start SEC play at all.

#16 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 12-2, 2-0 SEC.

1/6/16 vs. Tennessee (W 85-75).
1/9/16 at Vanderbilt (W 78-61).

The Wildcats get a couple wins to open SEC play, but neither one came easy, although it looks like all those top recruits are paying off (Oh wait, this is FBCB, not reality? My bad! lol).

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-9, 4-2 Sun Belt.

1/7/16 at UL Lafayette (W 49-46).
1/9/16 at Georgia State (L 59-44).

The Trojans split this week, both games being low scoring defensive battles.

Let's take a look at the weekly polls:

Media Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa (60) 14-0 1786 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Syracuse (7) 14-1 1689 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga (5) 17-1 1667 1 West Coast Conference
4. Kansas 14-1 1626 6 Big 12 Conference
5. UCLA 13-1 1486 3 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Cincinnati 15-1 1390 11 American Athletic Conference
7. Arizona 12-2 1354 10 Pacific-12 Conference
8. Ohio State 13-1 1292 14 Big Ten Conference
9. VCU 13-1 1230 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Duke 13-1 1213 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Villanova 13-2 1064 4 Big East Conference
12. Iowa State 13-2 960 24 Big 12 Conference
13. Oklahoma 13-1 925 13 Big 12 Conference
14. Kentucky 12-2 878 16 Southeastern Conference
15. Michigan State 12-2 871 7 Big Ten Conference
16. Baylor 13-2 685 12 Big 12 Conference
17. North Carolina 13-2 669 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Notre Dame 12-2 591 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Wisconsin 12-2 509 19 Big Ten Conference
20. Stanford 13-2 371 NR Pacific-12 Conference
21. Miami 13-2 348 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Washington 12-2 225 20 Pacific-12 Conference
23. Nebraska 12-2 220 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Connecticut 13-3 114 NR American Athletic Conference
25. Valparaiso 15-1 103 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 13-2 57 Southland Conference
Illinois 12-2 33 Big Ten Conference
North Florida 14-1 21 Atlantic Sun Conference
UNLV 12-2 9 Mountain West Conference
Vanderbilt 11-3 8 Southeastern Conference
Louisville 11-4 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
New Mexico 12-2 1 Mountain West Conference
Texas 11-4 1 Big 12 Conference
Virginia 11-4 1 Atlantic Coast Conference

UCLA drops a couple spots after losing their first game, while Michigan State takes a big drop. Kentucky moves up a couple spots, while Stanford joins the media top 25! Florida, on the other hand, is completely out, not even receiving votes this week. Another team that has to be borderline from getting votes is Colorado, but not yet.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 17-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 15-1 1717 3 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 13-1 1667 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Stephen F. Austin 13-2 1553 6 Southland Conference
5. Connecticut 13-3 1482 7 American Athletic Conference
6. UNLV 12-2 1355 4 Mountain West Conference
7. Harvard 11-3 1327 14 Ivy League
8. Valparaiso 15-1 1293 8 Horizon League
9. New Mexico 12-2 1210 16 Mountain West Conference
10. Massachusetts 11-3 1126 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. North Florida 14-1 1114 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
12. Louisiana Tech 12-2 1059 21 Conference USA
13. Stony Brook 14-2 821 19 America East Conference
14. George Washington 11-4 799 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Murray State 14-2 743 23 Ohio Valley Conference
16. Illinois State 14-3 629 5 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Tulsa 13-3 581 13 American Athletic Conference
18. Richmond 11-3 562 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. San Diego State 11-5 562 15 Mountain West Conference
20. Princeton 11-2 450 24 Ivy League
21. Winthrop 14-2 356 NR Big South Conference
22. Georgia State 10-3 329 NR Sun Belt Conference
23. Northern Iowa 11-4 237 20 Missouri Valley Conference
24. South Dakota State 10-3 171 9 Summit League
25. Eastern Kentucky 13-3 88 NR Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Colorado State 11-3 61 Mountain West Conference
Weber State 10-2 57 Big Sky Conference
North Dakota State 13-3 48 Summit League
Quinnipiac 13-3 47 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Vermont 12-3 44 America East Conference
BYU 12-5 35 West Coast Conference
Old Dominion 10-3 18 Conference USA
Toledo 11-3 17 Mid-American Conference
UTEP 10-3 12 Conference USA
Florida Gulf Coast 13-3 7 Atlantic Sun Conference
Iona 14-4 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 8-4 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 10-5 3 Horizon League
Robert Morris 13-3 3 Northeast Conference
Denver 11-3 2 Summit League
Rhode Island 10-4 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

Can't believe Hawaii still isn't getting any votes in the mid-major polls. Unreal!

[muns]

Charlie will take wins where he can get them!

[bbgunn]

No respect for Hawaii, I see.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 11-17, 2016

2 feature games this week, and we'll start in the Big 10.

1/13/16- #15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble)-- A 46.3% to 34.3% shooting edge was the difference in this one, as the Wolverines used home court advantage to get a big, big win.

Final Score: Michigan- 79, #15 Michigan State- 69

And now to the Pac 12:

1/16/16- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The final score of this game was not at all indicative of how this game was. The Cougars only trailed by 2 points at halftime, but UCLA turned it on in the second half, stepping up the defense and getting a 44-30 edge on the boards. The result was a 26 point victory.

Final Score: #5 UCLA- 86, Washington State- 60

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-13, 4-2 America East.

1/15/16 at Binghamton (W 68-57).

Good win for the Hawks in their only game of the week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-12, 2-4 American.

1/11/16 at Butler (L 67-66).
1/16/16 at Memphis (L 94-59).

The Pirates blew a tough one at Butler, then completely blew at Memphis, where they were completely ran out of the building.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-8, 2-2 Atlantic 10.

1/13/16 at St. Joseph's (W 91-79).
1/16/16 at St. Bonaventure (L 87-77).

A road split for the Wildcats, but the schedule gets much tougher the rest of January.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-12, 0-5 Big 12.

1/11/16 vs. #16 Baylor (L 80-61).
1/16/16 vs. #13 Oklahoma (L 79-58).

The week went as expect for the Horned Frogs. The good news was they hosted 2 top 20 opponents. The bad news is they were hammered by both.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 9-7, 2-2 Big 10.

1/13/16 vs. #15 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/16/16 at #23 Nebraska (L 86-60).

Getting hammered by Nebraska definitely took some of the glory away from the upset win over their in-state rivals, but the Wolverines are happy with a split this week.

#15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 13-3, 2-2 big 10.

1/13/16 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/16/16 vs. Maryland (W 67-66).

Not a good week at all for the Spartans. First the upset loss at Michigan, then, they had to rely on a buzzer beater to beat a 5 win Maryland team. Coach Mighty needs to get these guys back on track!

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-6, 3-1 Big West.

1/12/16 vs. Cal Poly (W 82-73).
1/16/16 vs. Long Beach State (L 82-74).

The Long Beach loss snapped an 8 game winning streak, and sadly, probably eliminated any votes the Warriors would have gotten. We'll see.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-9, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/14/16 at Middle Tennessee (L 63-53).
1/16/16 vs. UAB (L 70-61).

2 losses this week for the 49ers, but those 2 losses came to a couple of the top teams in the conference, so no need to worry yet.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-8, 1-3 Conference USA.

1/14/16 at Old Dominion (L 71-65).
1/16/16 vs. UTSA (L 74-67).

2 tough losses for the Owls, who had a chance to win both. They need to get those wins against teams with around the same record as them though.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 6-12, 4-6 MAAC.

1/11/16 at Bryant (L 64-52).
1/13/16 vs. Lehigh (W 64-61).
1/17/16 at Quinnipiac (L 76-55).

So the Hawks go out of conference to split, then get blasted by a good Quinnipiac team. Considering the combined record of those 2 teams is 30-8, coach Carrano will probably be happy with the split.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 6-11, 2-2 MEAC.

1/11/16 vs. Florida A&M (W 60-51).
1/16/16 at Hampton (W 41-35).

2 nice wins for Miss Carrano and her Spartans this week, but geez, scoring 41 points won't beat most teams.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 11-5, 3-1 Pac 12.

1/14/16 vs. Utah (W 75-65).
1/16/16 vs. USC (L 62-57).

A tough loss to USC is the first loss of the early conference season for the Buffaloes. Next week, a trip through Arizona.

#20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 15-2, 4-0 Pac 12.

1/14/16 at USC (W 88-57).
1/16/16 vs. #22 Washington (W 115-93).

Wow, the Cardinal showed no mercy this week. Apparently Coach Sanchez ripped them after a couple too close for comfort wins last week.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 15-1, 3-1 Pac 12.

1/14/16 vs. California (W 96-66).
1/16/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

The Bruins are back to their winning ways after that tough loss to Arizona.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-8, 0-4 Pac 12.

1/14/16 vs. Oregon (L 83-62).
1/16/16 at #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Remember when the Cougars were 6-3 going into the new year? Well they've lost 5 straight and it doesn't get any easier.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-8, 3-1 SEC.

1/13/16 vs. Missouri (L 73-56).
1/16/16 vs. Texas A&M (W 96-72).

The Crimson Tide split this week, suffering their first SEC loss, but rebounding nicely.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-5, 1-3 SEC.

1/13/16 at Tennessee (L 71-68).
1/16/16 vs. LSU (W 76-64).

The Gators finally get on the winning side in the SEC, breaking a 4 game losing streak in the win over LSU.

#14 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 14-2, 4-0 SEC.

1/13/16 vs. Auburn (W 80-49).
1/16/16 vs. Ole Miss (W 77-70).

A little too close for comfort against Ole Miss, but the Wildcats are back on track.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-9, 6-2 Sun Belt.

1/14/16 vs. South Alabama (W 68-57).
1/16/16 vs. Appalachian State (W 62-50).

The Trojans are off to a great start in conference play, and have really played pretty solid ball all season, or at least since the 30 pound pounding at Valpo in which they scored 28 points. Yuck!

Let's take a look at the media top 25 this week:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Syracuse (51) 16-1 1762 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa (16) 16-0 1741 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Kansas 16-1 1653 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Gonzaga (5) 19-1 1612 4 West Coast Conference
5. UCLA 15-1 1506 5 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Cincinnati 16-1 1404 6 American Athletic Conference
7. Villanova 15-2 1360 7 Big East Conference
8. VCU 15-1 1333 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Kentucky 14-2 1212 9 Southeastern Conference
10. Arizona 13-3 1129 10 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Baylor 15-2 1099 11 Big 12 Conference
12. Ohio State 14-2 1007 12 Big Ten Conference
13. Iowa State 14-3 894 13 Big 12 Conference
14. Wisconsin 14-2 894 14 Big Ten Conference
15. Duke 14-2 804 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Oklahoma 14-2 695 16 Big 12 Conference
17. Michigan State 13-3 672 17 Big Ten Conference
18. North Carolina 14-3 555 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Stanford 15-2 493 19 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Miami 15-2 404 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Connecticut 15-3 312 21 American Athletic Conference
22. Notre Dame 13-3 272 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Nebraska 14-2 254 23 Big Ten Conference
24. Valparaiso 17-1 109 24 Horizon League
25. Louisville 13-4 103 25 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 15-2 79 Southland Conference
North Florida 16-1 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
Virginia 12-4 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
UNLV 13-2 9 Mountain West Conference
Harvard 13-3 4 Ivy League
Washington 13-3 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Stony Brook 16-2 2 America East Conference
Louisiana Tech 14-2 1 Conference USA

First thing I've noticed is that something screwed up, as for some reason, the previous week rankings are exactly the same as the current week rankings, and we know that is wrong. UCLA stayed the same, Michigan State only dropped 2 spots with their loss, Stanford up a spot, and Kentucky up 5 spots.

Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 19-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 16-1 1716 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 15-1 1668 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Connecticut 15-3 1565 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 15-2 1497 5 Southland Conference
6. Harvard 13-3 1398 6 Ivy League
7. Valparaiso 17-1 1318 7 Horizon League
8. UNLV 13-2 1286 8 Mountain West Conference
9. Louisiana Tech 14-2 1185 9 Conference USA
10. San Diego State 13-5 1131 10 Mountain West Conference
11. North Florida 16-1 1069 11 Atlantic Sun Conference
12. Illinois State 16-3 825 12 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Richmond 13-3 822 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Stony Brook 16-2 819 14 America East Conference
15. South Dakota State 12-3 816 15 Summit League
16. Massachusetts 12-4 796 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Northern Iowa 13-4 733 17 Missouri Valley Conference
18. Georgia State 12-3 529 18 Sun Belt Conference
19. George Washington 12-5 505 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Winthrop 16-2 473 20 Big South Conference
21. Eastern Kentucky 15-3 388 21 Ohio Valley Conference
22. Murray State 15-3 170 22 Ohio Valley Conference
23. Quinnipiac 15-3 158 23 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
24. Toledo 13-3 137 24 Mid-American Conference
25. Vermont 14-3 111 25 America East Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Wichita State 10-7 87 Missouri Valley Conference
New Mexico 12-4 82 Mountain West Conference
Tulsa 14-4 82 American Athletic Conference
UTEP 12-3 62 Conference USA
Weber State 12-2 59 Big Sky Conference
Old Dominion 12-3 52 Conference USA
Princeton 12-3 27 Ivy League
BYU 13-6 13 West Coast Conference
Robert Morris 15-3 11 Northeast Conference
Denver 13-3 9 Summit League
North Dakota State 14-4 1 Summit League

Still no representation in this poll. Had Hawaii won both games this week, I think they'd have been in there.

[Zinto]

ECU has been a mess. Hopefully with a little time Al can turn it around.

[bbgunn]

My boys in the islands are going to be doing extra sprints after that Long Beach loss.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 18-24, 2016

1 feature game to talk to you about, and it's in the Pac 12:

1/23/16- #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ #19 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This top 25 matchup proved to be a major disappointment, as the teams combined for 42 turnovers, and 23 of those came from UCLA. Stanford shot 58.6% and rolled to a 21 point halftime lead, never looking back.

Final Score: #19 Stanford- 101, #5 UCLA- 71

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-14, 5-3 America East.

1/18/16 vs. Marist (W 46-40).
1/20/16 vs. Albany (W 72-69, OT).
1/24/16 vs. Vermont (L 86-67).

3 games this week for the Hawks, who won 2 of them, including splitting in conference. The win over Albany was huge, and there's really no shame in losing to Vermont who has been a force in the conference for years.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-14, 2-6 American.

1/20/16 vs. Memphis (L 82-60).
1/23/16 vs. Temple (L 83-60).

Losses by an almost identical score, and the Pirates continue to struggle in a very tough American Conference.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-10, 2-4 Atlantic 10.

1/20/16 at George Washington (L 83-52).
1/23/16 vs. UMass (L 76-64).

The Wildcats really weren't competitive this week. That UMass score looks closer than it really was because of a furious comeback attempt late.. much too late.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-14, 0-7 Big 12.

1/18/16 at Oklahoma State (L 62-47).
1/23/16 at #3 Kansas (L 69-39).

The Horned Frogs have now lost 5 in a row and are still searching for their first conference win.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-7, 4-2 Big 10.

1/20/16 at Minnesota (W 73-72).
1/23/16 vs. Maryland (W 80-79).

A pair of victories this week for the Wolverines, and they did it by the slimmest of margins, literally. 1 point win in each game.

#17 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 15-3, 4-2 Big 10.

1/20/16 vs. #14 Wisconsin (W 71-63).
1/23/16 vs. Rutgers (W 65-56).

2 tough wins for the Spartans this week, and it's 3 in a row after a brief 2 game losing streak.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 14-6, 5-1 Big West.

1/21/16 at UC Irvine (W 67-48).
1/23/16 at UC Riverside (W 61-46).

Pretty easy week for the Warriors, who get back on track after their first conference loss last week.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-11, 2-4 Conference USA.

1/21/16 at Old Dominion (L 71-44).
1/23/16 at Louisiana Tech (L 61-58).

The 49ers showed a lot of fight at LA Tech, but are now on a 4 game losing streak. To be fair, the combined record of those 4 opponents is 53-17.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-10, 1-5 Conference USA.

1/21/16 at UTSA (L 73-72).
1/23/16 vs. Western Kentucky (L 67-55).

2 more losses for the Owls, but at least they are staying competitive. Coach Shocker can't be happy that his team actually led at halftime against Western Kentucky though.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 6-14, 4-7 MAAC.

1/19/16 at LIU Brooklyn (L 71-60).
1/24/16 vs. Quinnipiac (L 58-53).

The Hawks were much more competitive against Quinnipiac in the 2nd meeting, but still a loss, and they've lost 7 of their last 8.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 8-11, 3-2 MEAC.

1/18/16 at South Carolina State (W 60-51).
1/20/16 vs. Illinois State (W 67-65).

It's now 5 wins in a row for the Spartans, including a huge non-conference win against a 17-4 Illinois State team. With a couple 2 wins teams on the schedule next week, coach Carrano has to be feeling pretty good about her team.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 12-6, 4-2 Pac 12.

1/21/16 at Arizona State (W 70-48).
1/23/16 at #10 Arizona (L 96-84).

A split through Arizona for the Buffaloes, who would have liked to upset Arizona, but played them tough anyways.

#19 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-2, 6-0 Pac 12.

1/21/16vs. Oregon (W 71-55).
1/23/16 vs. #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more wins for the Cardinal, including a nice blowout over UCLA. They are rolling!

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-2, 4-2 Pac 12.

1/21/16 at Washington (W 104-72).
1/23/16 at #19 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

A split this week for the Bruins, who just didn't show up at Stanford. They should bounce back nicely though.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-10, 0-6 Pac 12.

1/21/16 at Utah (L 78-62).
1/23/16 vs. USC (L 53-48).

The good news is that the Cougars played their most competitive game in a while against USC. The bad news is they still lost and are still winless in conference.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-9, 4-2 SEC.

1/20/16 vs. LSU (W 78-65).
1/23/16 at Georgia (L 82-58).

Not a good performance against Georgia, but the Crimson Tide will take the split as they are still posting a winning conference record.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 13-5, 3-3 SEC.

1/20/16 vs. Texas A&M (W 84-61).
1/23/16 vs. Arkansas (W 84-53).

Nice week for the Gators, as they dismantle a couple conference opponents and look to be getting back on track after a 4 game losing streak.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 16-2, 6-0 SEC.

1/20/16 at South Carolina (W 74-65).
1/23/16 vs. Missouri (W 71-61).

The Wildcats get a couple more wins, but it hasn't come as easy as they would have hoped. They are winning though, and that's all that matters.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-11, 6-4 Sun Belt.

1/21/16 at UL Monroe (L 61-56).
1/23/16 vs. Georgia State (L 54-52).

A couple aggravating losses this week for the Trojans, as they really needed that Georgia State win. The loss to a 5 win UL Monroe team hurts more though.

Let's take a look at the polls:

Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (32) 21-1 1759 4 West Coast Conference
2. Syracuse (33) 18-1 1751 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Iowa (7) 18-0 1674 2 Big Ten Conference
4. Kansas 17-2 1581 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Cincinnati 18-1 1495 6 American Athletic Conference
6. Kentucky 16-2 1384 9 Southeastern Conference
7. Arizona 15-3 1347 10 Pacific-12 Conference
8. UCLA 16-2 1297 5 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Baylor 17-2 1289 11 Big 12 Conference
10. Iowa State 16-3 1160 13 Big 12 Conference
11. VCU 16-2 1060 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Villanova 16-3 1031 7 Big East Conference
13. Duke 16-2 925 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Michigan State 15-3 879 17 Big Ten Conference
15. Ohio State 15-3 743 12 Big Ten Conference
16. Stanford 17-2 648 19 Pacific-12 Conference
17. North Carolina 16-3 624 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Notre Dame 15-3 595 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Louisville 15-4 528 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Oklahoma 15-3 504 16 Big 12 Conference
21. Nebraska 16-2 386 23 Big Ten Conference
22. Virginia 14-4 163 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 17-2 160 NR Southland Conference
24. Wisconsin 14-4 151 14 Big Ten Conference
25. Texas 14-5 98 NR Big 12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Miami 15-3 58 Atlantic Coast Conference
Connecticut 16-4 39 American Athletic Conference
Harvard 15-3 25 Ivy League
North Florida 18-1 16 Atlantic Sun Conference
Louisiana Tech 16-2 12 Conference USA
San Diego State 15-5 9 Mountain West Conference
Stony Brook 18-2 4 America East Conference
Washington 14-4 3 Pacific-12 Conference
South Dakota State 15-3 2 Summit League

It is tight at the top, and it's not often that the team that gets the most FPV is ranked #2, but that's what we have this week. Kentucky, Michigan State, and Stanford all move up 3 spots, while UCLA moves down after their loss.


Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 21-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 18-1 1728 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 16-2 1656 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Harvard 15-3 1531 6 Ivy League
5. Stephen F. Austin 17-2 1468 5 Southland Conference
6. San Diego State 15-5 1444 10 Mountain West Conference
7. Connecticut 16-4 1425 4 American Athletic Conference
8. Louisiana Tech 16-2 1243 9 Conference USA
9. South Dakota State 15-3 1192 15 Summit League
10. Massachusetts 14-4 1058 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. North Florida 18-1 1054 11 Atlantic Sun Conference
12. George Washington 14-5 1011 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Richmond 15-3 864 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Stony Brook 18-2 828 14 America East Conference
15. Georgia State 14-3 758 18 Sun Belt Conference
16. Valparaiso 17-3 625 7 Horizon League
17. UNLV 13-4 573 8 Mountain West Conference
18. Wichita State 12-7 497 NR Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois State 17-4 461 12 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Northern Iowa 14-5 445 17 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Murray State 17-3 441 22 Ohio Valley Conference
22. Winthrop 17-2 345 20 Big South Conference
23. Tulsa 15-4 277 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Vermont 16-3 152 25 America East Conference
25. Cleveland State 14-7 125 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Denver 15-3 93 Summit League
St. Bonaventure 11-5 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 16-4 65 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 15-5 41 Mountain West Conference
Robert Morris 17-3 41 Northeast Conference
Akron 12-6 27 Mid-American Conference
Toledo 14-4 14 Mid-American Conference
North Dakota State 16-4 7 Summit League
Quinnipiac 16-4 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Iona 17-5 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 13-4 5 Conference USA
La Salle 12-6 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico 13-5 2 Mountain West Conference
UTEP 13-4 2 Conference USA
BYU 14-7 1 West Coast Conference


It is beyond aggravating that Hawaii can't even score 1 darn point in these polls yet. Oh well, just keep winning coach Gunn!

[rjolley]

Not the result I expected in the first showdown between Tim and Benito, but congrats to the Cardinal. Also, they should've moved up more than 3 spots after beating the #5 team in the land handily, but glad to see them continue to climb.

[bbgunn]

At least Hawaii got back on track. Win more and (in theory) the recognition will come.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 25-31, 2016

1 feature game to tell you about, and it comes from the Pac 12.

1/30/16- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ #16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A tight one throughout, but the difference was turnovers, as Colorado had 16 of them. Stanford was able to knock down 3 more shots and 4 more treys which led to them pulling away a bit late.

Final Score: #16 Stanford- 67, Colorado- 58

And now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-16, 5-5 T-5th America East.

1/27/16 at New Hampshire (L 66-58).
1/31/16 at Stony Brook (L 68-30).

2 more losses for the Hawks who are now at .500 in the conference.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-15, 2-7 T-9th American.

1/30/16 at #5 Cincinnati (L 69-28).

Just 1 game this week for the Pirates, but they'd soon just forget it. They scored just 9 first half points and trailed 35-9 at halftime. Zoikes!

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 9-11, 3-5 T-8th Atlantic 10.

1/27/16 at UMass (L 72-49).
1/30/16 vs. Duquesne (W 75-67).

The win against Duquesne ended a 4 game losing streak for the Wildcats who still need to find a way to pick it up.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-16, 0-9 10th (last) Big 12.

1/25/16 vs. West Virginia (L 86-56).
1/30/16 vs. Kansas State (L 78-64).

Halfway through conference play and it's a big goose egg in the conference win column for the Horned Frogs. It's not out of the realm of possibility they'll go 0 for 18 in conference play.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-9, 4-4 T-8th Big 10.

1/27/16 at Indiana (L 86-81).
1/30/16 vs. #21 Nebraska (L 75-65).

A couple tough losses for the Wolverines this week. At least they played the teams close.

#14 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 16-4, 5-3 T-3rd Big 10.

1/27/16 at #3 Iowa (L 91-66).
1/30/16 at Minnesota (W 88-67).

Yuck! That top 15 matchup at Iowa didn't go the Spartans' way, but at least they recovered to rout Minnesota.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 15-6, 6-1 1st Big West.

1/26/16 vs. Cal State Fullerton (W 67-50).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, but it was a convincing win. Will it be enough to get them some votes in either poll? We'll see.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-12, 3-5 T-10th Conference USA.

1/28/16 vs. Western Kentucky (L 54-51).
1/30/16 vs. UTSA (W 77-72).

Tough split for the 49ers, who really needed to win both this week. A bit of a letdown after playing LA Tech tough last week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-11, 2-6 12th Conference USA.

1/28/16 vs. Marshall (W 66-48).
1/30/16 at FIU (L 70-58).

A split for the Owls, who broke a 4 game losing streak with the win against Marshall.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 6-16, 4-9 8th MAAC.

1/29/16 at Canisius (L 74-47).
1/31/16 at Rider (L 77-62).

The losing streak is 5 for the Hawks, and neither game was close this week.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 9-12, 4-3 5th MEAC.

1/25/16 at North Carolina A&T (W 75-54).
1/30/16 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 85-77).

An embarrassing home loss to Bethune Cookman ends a 6 game losing streak for the Spartans, one that Coach Carrano will not be happy about.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-7, 5-3 4th Pac 12.

1/28/16 vs. Oregon State (W 80-46).
1/30/16 at #16 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Buffaloes, but they really wanted that marquee conference win. They'll have plenty more chances.

#16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-3, 7-1 T-1st Pac 12.

1/28/16 at California (L 82-69).
1/30/16 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cardinal suffer their first conference loss in a big upset, but get momentum back against a tough Colorado team.

#8 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 18-2, 6-2 3rd Pac 12.

1/28/16 vs. USC (W 93-56).
1/30/16 at Utah (W 91-70).

Good week for the Bruins who win a couple easy games.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-12, 0-8 12th (last) Pac 12.

1/28/16 at #7 Arizona (L 81-53).
1/30/16 vs. Arizona State (L 72-63).

2 more losses for the Cougars, who have now lost 9 in a row. They are potentially another team that could go 0fer in conference play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-11, 4-4 T-6th SEC.

1/27/16 vs. Georgia (L 73-52).
1/30/16 vs. South Carolina (L 75-68).

2 more losses for the Crimson Tide, who are now even in conference play.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 15-5, 5-3 T-2nd SEC.

1/27/16 at Vanderbilt (W 73-61).
1/30/16 at LSU (W 75-51).

2 more wins for the Gators, who have now won 5 in a row after that 4 game losing streak.

#6 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-3, 7-1 1st SEC.

1/27/16 at Tennessee (W 72-62).
1/30/16 at Ole Miss (L 75-70).

So the Wildcats suffer their first loss in conference play, and we'll see how this team responds.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-12, 7-5 4th Sun Belt.

1/28/16 at South Alabama (W 54-49, OT).
1/30/16 vs. Arkansas State (L 63-57).

A split for the Trojans this week, with both games close throughout.

Let's take a look at the Media/Coaches Top 25 this week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Syracuse (36) 20-1 1753 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (26) 23-1 1752 1 West Coast Conference
3. Iowa (10) 20-0 1679 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Arizona 17-3 1554 7 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Kansas 18-3 1519 4 Big 12 Conference
6. UCLA 18-2 1398 8 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Baylor 19-2 1331 9 Big 12 Conference
8. Cincinnati 20-1 1289 5 American Athletic Conference
9. Villanova 18-3 1274 12 Big East Conference
10. Kentucky 17-3 1192 6 Southeastern Conference
11. Iowa State 17-4 1056 10 Big 12 Conference
12. VCU 18-2 1003 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Duke 18-2 974 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Louisville 17-4 832 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Michigan State 16-4 806 14 Big Ten Conference
16. Ohio State 16-4 721 15 Big Ten Conference
17. Oklahoma 16-4 589 20 Big 12 Conference
18. Texas 16-5 494 25 Big 12 Conference
19. Nebraska 18-2 469 21 Big Ten Conference
20. Stanford 18-3 416 16 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Miami 17-3 314 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Notre Dame 16-4 285 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. North Carolina 17-4 232 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. San Diego State 16-5 159 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Connecticut 17-4 156 NR American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 19-2 75 Southland Conference
Wisconsin 15-5 54 Big Ten Conference
Xavier 16-5 11 Big East Conference
Louisiana Tech 18-2 9 Conference USA
Stony Brook 20-2 3 America East Conference
Massachusetts 16-4 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

UCLA moves up 2 spots after their sweep this week, while Kentucky, Michigan State, and Stanford all move down after splitting. No Florida to speak of, I can't believe they aren't getting votes at least.

Now for the Mid-Major Top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 23-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 20-1 1724 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 18-2 1660 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 16-5 1557 6 Mountain West Conference
5. Connecticut 17-4 1521 7 American Athletic Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 19-2 1410 5 Southland Conference
7. Harvard 16-4 1315 4 Ivy League
8. Wichita State 14-7 1314 18 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Massachusetts 16-4 1233 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Louisiana Tech 18-2 1123 8 Conference USA
11. Northern Iowa 16-5 1001 20 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Cleveland State 15-7 835 25 Horizon League
13. Georgia State 16-3 824 15 Sun Belt Conference
14. George Washington 14-7 773 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Richmond 16-4 677 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Illinois State 19-4 642 19 Missouri Valley Conference
17. South Dakota State 16-4 624 9 Summit League
18. St. Bonaventure 13-5 478 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Stony Brook 20-2 404 14 America East Conference
20. Akron 14-6 394 NR Mid-American Conference
21. Tulsa 17-4 354 23 American Athletic Conference
22. Valparaiso 19-3 347 16 Horizon League
23. BYU 16-7 244 NR West Coast Conference
24. Murray State 19-3 225 21 Ohio Valley Conference
25. La Salle 14-6 197 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UNLV 14-5 172 Mountain West Conference
North Florida 19-2 156 Atlantic Sun Conference
Boise State 15-5 70 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 18-4 69 Ohio Valley Conference
Iona 19-5 59 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Vermont 18-3 55 America East Conference
North Dakota State 18-4 53 Summit League
Green Bay 13-8 35 Horizon League
New Mexico State 16-5 24 Western Athletic Conference
Robert Morris 19-3 13 Northeast Conference
New Mexico 15-5 12 Mountain West Conference
Quinnipiac 18-4 4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Middle Tennessee 14-5 1 Conference USA
Toledo 15-5 1 Mid-American Conference

Still no votes for Hawaii. Crazy!

The first edition of the Bubble Watch is out. Kinda nice that the 1st Monday in February actually fell on Feb. 1st. 2 of our FOFC coached teams is in the Overall Bubble Watch, so let's take a look:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota 12-6 .615 (26) 4-5 1-1 4-0 3-0 22 In
Northern Iowa 16-5 .606 (32) 1-2 3-1 9-1 3-1 67 In
UNLV 14-5 .591 (45) 2-2 3-1 3-1 6-1 72 In
Cleveland State 15-7 .618 (25) 2-4 2-2 6-1 5-0 42 In
Indiana 13-7 .605 (33) 3-5 4-1 4-1 2-0 33 In
Oregon 13-7 .609 (29) 3-5 4-0 4-2 2-0 43 In
Georgia 13-7 .600 (38) 3-3 4-3 4-1 2-0 53 In
Colorado 13-7 .656 (10) 1-5 6-1 5-1 1-0 6 In
Texas A&M 14-6 .579 (60) 1-3 2-3 6-0 5-0 109 Out
Hofstra 15-6 .591 (46) 1-2 1-2 5-2 8-0 114 Out
Middle Tennessee 14-5 .579 (61) 0-3 1-0 7-2 6-0 141 Out
Denver 15-4 .574 (69) 1-1 0-3 4-0 10-0 158 Out
Providence 14-7 .573 (70) 1-5 3-1 7-1 3-0 76 Out
Louisville 17-4 .573 (71) 2-2 2-2 9-0 4-0 188 Out
Florida 15-5 .573 (72) 2-4 4-1 3-0 6-0 126 Out

The difference between Colorado and Florida is strength of schedule, as can be clearly seen. The message is clear.. schedule tougher coach Oppenheimer!

As for the other 17 teams, here's a look:

Lock: Michigan State, Stanford, UCLA, Kentucky.
In: Hawaii.

The other 11 teams are projected out. Crazy that Hawaii is projected to make the Big Dance, yet can't receive a frikkin vote in either poll. Oh well, I think if Coach Gunn had to choose, he'd rather have a trip to the NCAA Tournament than getting votes in the polls!

[bbgunn]

Yep, will choose the NCAAs every time.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 1-7, 2016

1 feature game this week to tell you about it, and it took place in the Pac 12.

2/6/16- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Not much of a game here, as Colorado led by 25 at halftime. Washington State could get just 16 first half points in shooting 37.5% from the field overall, and were never in this one.

Final Score: Colorado- 77, Washington State- 48

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-16, 7-5 4th America East.

2/3/16 vs. UMBC (W 80-55).
2/7/16 vs. Binghamton (W 74-60).

A couple double digit wins for the Hawks this week against 2 of the worst teams in the conference, but wins are wins at this point.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-17, 2-9 10th American.

2/3/16 at Tulsa (L 86-48).
2/6/16 vs. #8 Cincinnati (L 77-52).

The Pirates now have an 8 game losing streak and haven't been competitive since early January.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 10-12, 4-6 T-8th Atlantic 10.

2/3/16 at George Mason (W 67-64).
2/6/16 vs. Richmond (L 73-54).

A split for the Wildcats, beating the team they were expected to beat and losing to the team they expected to lose to.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-17, 0-10 10th (last) Big 12.

2/6/16 at #11 Iowa State (L 86-54).

Nothing doing for the Horned Frogs this week, taking their lumps in the tough Big 12.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-10, 5-5 T-7th Big 10.

2/3/16 vs. Penn State (W 87-74).
2/6/16 vs. #16 Ohio State (L 81-78).

The Wolverines fell just short against a really good Ohio State team, a win that would have been huge.

#15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 18-4, 7-3 T-3rd Big 10.

2/3/16 at Rutgers (W 85-60).
2/6/16 at Illinois (W 83-60).

2 solid road wins for the Spartans this week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-6, 8-1 1st Big West.

2/4/16 at Cal State Northridge (W 82-49).
2/6/16 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 89-79).

The Warriors keep rolling, winners of 13 of their last 14.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 8-13, 4-6 T-8th Conference USA.

2/4/16 at FIU (W 64-59, OT).
2/6/16 vs. Marshall (L 65-49).

An OT road win followed by a home blowout for the 49ers this week. An ok split I guess.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-12, 3-7 T-11th Conference USA.

2/4/16 at Florida Atlantic (L 67-66).
2/6/16 vs. Old Dominion (W 72-63).

Only 1 point separated the Owls from winning both their games this week. They'll take the effort though as bot their games this week were against pretty tough competition.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 8-16, 6-9 T-7th MAAC.

2/5/16 vs. Fairfield (W 50-47).
2/7/16 at Fairfield (W 54-24).

What a weird week for the Hawks, who play Fairfield twice in 3 days, and actually romp them on the road but have to survive at home. At least the losing streak is over.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-13, 5-4 T-5th MEAC.

2/1/16 vs. Delaware State (W 64-55).
2/6/16 at Howard (L 60-50).

A split for the Spartans, as they lose on the road, but this conference is still wide open.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-7, 7-3 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/4/16 at Oregon (W 81-70).
2/6/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Buffaloes, who need to get wins now because they are about to hit a brutal 4 game stretch soon.

#20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-3, 9-1 1st Pac 12.

2/4/16 vs. #4 Arizona (W 74-65).
2/6/16 vs. Arizona State (W 82-74).

The Cardinal hosted the Arizona teams this week and took care of business, getting another marquee win.

#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 19-3, 7-3 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/4/16 at California (W 94-84).
2/6/16 vs. Utah (L 81-79).

A buzzer beater cost the Bruins this week, as they drop a tough one to a pretty good Utah team.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-14, 0-10 12th (last) Pac 12.

2/4/16 at Arizona State (L 83-60).
2/6/16 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cougars just can't seem to get going in conference play, as they continue the 0fer streak.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-11, 6-4 4th SEC.

2/3/16 at Ole Miss (W 81-67).
2/6/16 at Texas A&M (W 76-69).

Great week for the Crimson Tide, who get wins against 2 double digit win teams on the season.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 17-5, 7-3 3rd SEC.

2/3/16 vs. Georgia (W 71-69).
2/6/16 at Arkansas (W 89-50).

The Gators take care of business again this week and now have a 7 game win streak.

#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 19-3, 9-1 1st SEC.

2/3/16 vs. Vanderbilt (W 73-58).
2/6/16 at Auburn (W 80-75).

It wasn't easy, but the Wildcats do get the sweep this week. They've been battle tested in several games though.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-14, 7-7 5th Sun Belt.

2/4/16 vs. Texas State (L 68-60).
2/6/16 vs. UT Arlington (L 73-59).

2 more losses this week for the Trojans, who have lost 5 of their last 6.

Let's take a look at the top 25 poll for the week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 25-1 1799 2 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa (1) 21-1 1721 3 Big Ten Conference
3. Syracuse 21-2 1648 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Cincinnati 22-1 1575 8 American Athletic Conference
5. Baylor 21-2 1463 7 Big 12 Conference
6. Villanova 20-3 1452 9 Big East Conference
7. Kentucky 19-3 1387 10 Southeastern Conference
8. Arizona 18-4 1271 4 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Kansas 19-4 1235 5 Big 12 Conference
10. UCLA 19-3 1142 6 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Duke 20-2 1140 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Michigan State 18-4 982 15 Big Ten Conference
13. VCU 19-3 929 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Iowa State 18-4 811 11 Big 12 Conference
15. Louisville 18-5 780 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Ohio State 18-4 740 16 Big Ten Conference
17. Stanford 20-3 628 20 Pacific-12 Conference
18. Nebraska 20-2 596 19 Big Ten Conference
19. Miami 19-3 558 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Connecticut 19-4 408 25 American Athletic Conference
21. Oklahoma 17-5 370 17 Big 12 Conference
22. Stephen F. Austin 20-2 244 NR Southland Conference
23. Wisconsin 16-6 137 NR Big Ten Conference
24. San Diego State 17-6 122 24 Mountain West Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 20-2 98 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Notre Dame 17-5 59 Atlantic Coast Conference
Texas 16-7 34 Big 12 Conference
Florida 17-5 30 Southeastern Conference
Harvard 18-4 26 Ivy League
Stony Brook 22-2 12 America East Conference
North Carolina 17-6 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Florida 21-2 1 Atlantic Sun Conference

Michigan State, Stanford, and Kentucky all move up after good weeks, while UCLA drops 4 spots thanks to a 2 point loss? Geez. Florida is getting closer to being ranked again.

And the mid-major poll:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 25-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 22-1 1728 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 19-3 1656 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Connecticut 19-4 1551 5 American Athletic Conference
5. San Diego State 17-6 1514 4 Mountain West Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 20-2 1409 6 Southland Conference
7. Harvard 18-4 1378 7 Ivy League
8. Louisiana Tech 20-2 1210 10 Conference USA
9. Massachusetts 17-5 1148 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Wichita State 15-8 1125 8 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Northern Iowa 18-5 1096 11 Missouri Valley Conference
12. George Washington 16-7 971 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Akron 16-6 774 20 Mid-American Conference
14. St. Bonaventure 15-5 741 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Cleveland State 17-7 659 12 Horizon League
16. Tulsa 19-4 657 21 American Athletic Conference
17. Stony Brook 22-2 532 19 America East Conference
18. Georgia State 17-4 483 13 Sun Belt Conference
19. Richmond 17-5 465 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Illinois State 20-5 447 16 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Valparaiso 20-3 365 22 Horizon League
22. Boise State 17-5 355 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Murray State 21-3 311 24 Ohio Valley Conference
24. South Dakota State 17-5 306 17 Summit League
25. North Florida 21-2 209 NR Atlantic Sun Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
New Mexico State 18-5 140 Western Athletic Conference
Eastern Kentucky 20-4 85 Ohio Valley Conference
Iona 20-5 72 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Green Bay 15-8 66 Horizon League
UNLV 15-6 47 Mountain West Conference
La Salle 15-7 35 Atlantic 10 Conference
Robert Morris 21-3 31 Northeast Conference
Vermont 19-4 18 America East Conference
North Dakota State 19-5 8 Summit League
BYU 16-9 4 West Coast Conference
UTEP 16-5 3 Conference USA
Middle Tennessee 16-5 1 Conference USA


What a joke, still no Hawaii!!

None of our teams are on the overall bubble watch, so let's take a look at all 19 teams by conference:

Locks: Michigan State, Stanford, UCLA, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky.
In: Hawaii.

The other 12 teams are all projected out.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 8-14, 2016

1 feature game to tell you about, and it is in the SEC.

2/13/15- Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ #7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- Despite the Gators committing 23 turnovers, they were able to hang around in this game thanks to some hot three point shooting. Unfortunately for them, the free throw line did them in. Kentucky made 15 free throws, Florida just 2.

Final Score: #7 Kentucky- 74, Florida- 69

And now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-18, 7-7 5th American.

2/10/16 at Maine (L 68-58).
2/14/16 at Albany (L 86-71).

Not a good week for the Hawks who lost 2 road games by double digits.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-17, 3-9 T-8th American.

2/10/16 vs. South Florida (W 53-40).

Just 1 game this week for the Pirates, but they broke an 8 game losing streak this week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-13, 5-7 8th Atlantic 10.

2/10/16 vs. LaSalle (L 65-54).
2/13/16 vs. Fordham (W 55-38).

A home split for the Wildcats this week, and they are still looking for that key conference victory.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-19, 0-12 10th (last) Big 12.

2/8/16 at #21 Oklahoma (L 85-46).
2/13/16 at #5 Baylor (L 81-59).

Another week in which the Horned Frogs were anything but competitive.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-11, 6-6 T-8th Big 10.

2/10/16 at Purdue (L 84-58).
2/13/16 at Northwestern (W 77-60).

The Wolverines split on the road, with both games being blowouts.

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-5, 8-4 4th Big 10.

2/10/16 vs. #18 Nebraska (W 70-56).
2/13/16 vs. #16 Ohio State (L 94-80).

A home split for the Spartans, but they were consistent with both results being by 14 points.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 18-7, 9-2 1st Big West.

2/11/16 vs. UC Davis (W 72-60).
2/13/16 at Cal Poly (L 93-88).

Ugh! The Warriors can't afford any losses if they want to crack the polls, although that's not their main concern.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 10-13, 6-6 T-6th Conference USA.

2/11/16 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 61-53).
2/13/16 at Southern Miss (W 72-56).

2 solid wins for the 49ers this week, including a big win over a good Mid. Tenn. team.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-14, 3-9 T-12th Conference USA.

2/11/16 vs. #25 Louisiana Tech (L 86-69).
2/13/16 at Middle Tennessee (L 86-64).

Yuck! The Owls were anything but competitive this week, but to be fair, the 2 teams they played this week have a combined 9 losses so far.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-17, 7-10 7th MAAC.

2/12/16 at Iona (L 65-47).
2/14/16 vs. St. Peter's (W 71-61).

A split for the Hawks, who continue to struggle on the road.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-14, 6-5 T-5th MEAC.

2/8/16 at North Carolina Central (L 76-70).
2/13/16 at Florida A&M (W 58-50).

A road split for the Spartans, who actually led at halftime at NC Central, who is currently undefeated in conference play. What a big win that would have been if they could have hung on.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 17-7, 9-3 3rd Pac 12.

2/11/16 at USC (W 67-58).
2/13/16 vs. Arizona State (W 70-67).

2 more wins for the Buffaloes, but that tough stretch of games begins next week.

#17 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-3, 11-1 1st Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Oregon State (W 75-60).
2/13/16 at Oregon (W 64-59).

Interesting week for the Cardinal this week, who faced both Oregon teams, but one was at home and one on the road. That's unusual, but they still won both.

#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 20-4, 8-4 4th Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Arizona State (W 94-68).
2/13/16 vs. Washington (L 92-87).

A home split for the Bruins, no shame in losing to Washington, they are an 18 win team.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-15, 1-11 T-11th Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Washington (L 70-60).
2/13/16 vs. Utah (W 66-58).

The losing streak is over for the Cougars, as they get their first conference win after 12 straight losses.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-11, 8-4 T-3rd SEC.

2/10/16 at Missouri (W 73-51).
2/13/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 71-47).

Easy week for the Crimson Tide, a week they really needed.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 18-6, 8-4 T-3rd SEC.

2/10/16 at South Carolina (W 74-49).
2/13/16 at #7 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

A good week for the Gators. Absolutely no shame in losing to Kentucky, but they hung around for a long time in that one.

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-3, 11-1 1st SEC.

2/10/16 at Mississippi State (W 96-51).
2/13/16 vs. Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

A sweep this week for the Wildcats, who were completely dominant at Miss. State.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-14, 8-7 5th Sun Belt.

2/11/16 vs. Louisiana Lafayette (W 72-64, OT).

Just 1 game this week for the Trojans, who wanted to extend their week a little bit by going to overtime. They came out with the win though, and that's what is important.

Here is a look at the national Top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 27-1 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa (1) 23-1 1729 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 24-1 1614 4 American Athletic Conference
4. Villanova 22-3 1573 6 Big East Conference
5. Syracuse 22-3 1491 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Arizona 20-4 1411 8 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Kansas 21-4 1343 9 Big 12 Conference
8. Baylor 22-3 1324 5 Big 12 Conference
9. Kentucky 21-3 1309 7 Southeastern Conference
10. Iowa State 20-4 1140 14 Big 12 Conference
11. Ohio State 20-4 1012 16 Big Ten Conference
12. UCLA 20-4 996 10 Pacific-12 Conference
13. Duke 22-2 953 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Michigan State 19-5 871 12 Big Ten Conference
15. Louisville 20-5 848 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Stanford 22-3 702 17 Pacific-12 Conference
17. VCU 20-4 672 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Connecticut 21-4 570 20 American Athletic Conference
19. Miami 20-4 461 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Stephen F. Austin 22-2 358 22 Southland Conference
21. San Diego State 19-6 328 24 Mountain West Conference
22. Nebraska 20-4 294 18 Big Ten Conference
23. Oklahoma 18-6 257 21 Big 12 Conference
24. Wisconsin 17-7 152 23 Big Ten Conference
25. Harvard 20-4 61 NR Ivy League

Others Receiving Votes:
Louisiana Tech 21-3 45 Conference USA
Stony Brook 23-2 23 America East Conference
Massachusetts 19-5 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Murray State 23-3 11 Ohio Valley Conference
Notre Dame 18-6 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
Xavier 18-7 11 Big East Conference
Virginia 17-7 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Florida 23-2 6 Atlantic Sun Conference
Florida 18-6 3 Southeastern Conference
Washington 18-6 2 Pacific-12 Conference

Despite losing twice this week, Kentucky drops 2 spots in the polls. UCLA rises 2 spots, Stanford 1 spot, and with their split, Michigan State loses 2 spots. Florida loses some votes after their loss to Kentucky, which I think is a shame.

And the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 27-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 24-1 1728 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 20-4 1654 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Connecticut 21-4 1549 4 American Athletic Conference
5. San Diego State 19-6 1535 5 Mountain West Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 22-2 1386 6 Southland Conference
7. Harvard 20-4 1302 7 Ivy League
8. Wichita State 17-8 1258 10 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Massachusetts 19-5 1256 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. George Washington 18-7 1057 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Northern Iowa 20-5 1051 11 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Louisiana Tech 21-3 1015 8 Conference USA
13. Cleveland State 19-7 906 15 Horizon League
14. Akron 18-6 865 13 Mid-American Conference
15. Illinois State 22-5 649 20 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Boise State 19-5 573 22 Mountain West Conference
17. South Dakota State 19-5 569 24 Summit League
18. Georgia State 19-4 553 18 Sun Belt Conference
19. Murray State 23-3 503 23 Ohio Valley Conference
20. St. Bonaventure 16-6 481 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Stony Brook 23-2 389 17 America East Conference
22. North Florida 23-2 239 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
23. Richmond 18-6 224 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Tulsa 20-5 209 16 American Athletic Conference
25. Valparaiso 21-4 134 21 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Kentucky 22-4 116 Ohio Valley Conference
Green Bay 17-8 109 Horizon League
New Mexico State 20-5 85 Western Athletic Conference
Iona 22-5 58 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
BYU 18-9 56 West Coast Conference
UNLV 17-6 39 Mountain West Conference
Robert Morris 23-3 30 Northeast Conference
Vermont 21-4 15 America East Conference
La Salle 17-7 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
Belmont 20-6 1 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 20-6 1 Summit League

No surprise here, still nothing for our mid-major teams. That Hawaii loss probably killed any chance of having a team in the mid-major poll this season.

Again, none of our teams are in the overall bubble watch, so let's get to the regular bubble watch by conference.

I'm going to make some changes here, instead of typing it all out every time, I'm only going to note any changes there might be, such as if a team goes from in to lock, or in to out, or something of the sorts. If you don't see your team listed, then that means there was no change in their position in the bubble watch.

This week, there was no change for any team. Things remained exactly the same as last week.

[bbgunn]

Good to see Wazzu finally make the win column in-conference.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 15-21, 2016

1 feature game to tell you about, and it is in the Pac-12.

2/18/16- #16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ #12 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A complete tale of 2 halves in this one, as Stanford led 53-38 going into halftime, but UCLA outscored them 48-19 in the 2nd half to pull away! Wow!

Final Score: #12 UCLA- 86, #16 Stanford- 72

Now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-20, 7-9 6th America East.

2/19/16 vs. UMass Lowell (L 50-49).
2/21/16 vs. New Hampshire (L 82-76).

The Hawks end their regular season on a 4 game losing streak, and they'll get a break next week as they await the rest of the conference to finish up.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-18, 4-10 T-7th American.

2/17/16 at Houston (W 67-50).
2/20/16 at #18 UConn (L 89-62).

A road split for the Pirates, who actually had a 2 game winning streak going into the game at UConn, but they were slaughtered in that one.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-15, 5-9 T-8th Atlantic 10.

2/17/16 vs. St. Bonaventure (L 82-73).
2/20/16 vs. St. Joseph's (L 81-70).

2 more losses for the Wildcats who haven't made a smooth transition to the A-10.

)TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-21, 0-14 10th (last) Big 12.

2/15/16 vs. #7 Kansas (L 70-56).
2/20/16 vs. Oklahoma State (L 74-65).

These were the 2 closest games that the Horned Frogs have played in a long, long time, hopefully that could be the start of a turnaround. They've got 4 more games to avoid the conference 0-fer.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 14-12, 7-7 T-7th Big 10.

2/17/16 vs. #24 Wisconsin (L 75-64).
2/20/16 vs. Rutgers (W 65-49).

A split this week for the Wolverines, who played Wisconsin tough early on, but couldn't survive the defensive pressure.

#14 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 20-6, 9-5 T-4th Big 10.

2/17/16 at Purdue (L 87-79).
2/20/16 at Indiana (W 61-56).

A road split for the Spartans, fortunately the schedule gets a little easier the rest of the way, although they do have a revenge game against Michigan next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 20-7, 11-2 1st Big West.

2/16/16 at Long Beach State (W 69-68).
2/20/16 vs. UC Irvine (W 50-46).

It wasn't easy, but the Warriors survive probably their 2 toughest tests of the conference season, and should, I say should coast the rest of the way.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-14, 7-7 T-6th Conference USA.

2/18/16 at UAB (L 66-51).
2/20/16 vs. Louisiana Tech (W 67-65).

A split for the 49ers who got a big win against LA Tech, one of only 4 schools to beat LA Tech this season.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-15, 4-10 T-12th Conference USA.

2/18/16 at Western Kentucky (W 43-34).
2/20/16 at UTEP (L 78-70).

If you wanted a cure for sleep, watching the Rice/Western Kentucky game would have done it for you. It's not the teams didn't attempt shots, as they both attempted 45 or more, they just couldn't make them. Rice was 33.3%, WKU 23.4%. Ugly game, but Coach Shocker comes out on the right side.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-19, 7-12 T-7th MAAC.

2/19/16 at Manhattan (L 49-48).
2/21/16 at Marist (L 73-72).

Ugh! So close, yet so far. 2 one point losses in a row is enough to drive a coach insane.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 13-14, 8-5 5th MEAC.

2/15/16 vs. Hampton (W 66-53).
2/20/16 at Coppin State (W 48-38).

Good week for the Spartans who could see postseason play with a strong finish.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 19-7, 11-3 T-1st Pac 12.

2/18/16 at Utah (W 66-61).
2/20/16 vs. #6 Arizona (W 67-59).

Big week for the Buffaloes who got by the first stretch of their brutal 4 game schedule. Next week: games against Stanford and UCLA.

#16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-5, 11-3 T-1st Pac 12.

2/18/16 at #12 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/20/16 at Washington (L 76-62).

Not a good week for the Cardinal at all, who are now fighting for 1st place in the conference. Dual 14 point losses won't make Coach Sanchez happy.

#12 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 22-4, 10-4 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/18/16 vs. #16 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/20/16 at Oregon State (W 78-39).

Good week for the Bruins who are back in title contention. They forced 22 Oregon State turnovers and held them to 28% shooting.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-16, 2-12 11th Pac 12.

2/18/16 vs. Oregon State (W 67-60).
2/20/16 vs. California (L 89-53).

The Cougars win the battle of cellar dwellars against Oregon State who had a horrible week, but got a slap in the face when Cal came in.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-12, 9-5 T-3rd SEC.

2/17/16 vs. Arkansas (W 62-42).
2/20/16 at Vanderbilt (L 93-83).

A split for the Crimson Tide who see their 5 game winning streak end at Vandy.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 20-16, 10-4 2nd SEC.

2/17/16 vs. Tennessee (W 77-49).
2/20/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 83-54).

The Gators are back with 2 blowout wins this week.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 23-3, 13-1 1st SEC.

2/17/16 at LSU (W 75-66).
2/20/16 at Missouri (W 89-67).

2 road wins for the Wildcats who seem to be cruising towards an SEC title.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-16, 8-9 6th Sun Belt.

2/18/16 at Texas State (L 62-58).
2/20/16 vs. Louisiana Monroe (L 51-41).

2 fairly close ones for the Trojans, but 2 losses will kill any momentum they had.

Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 29-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa 24-2 1717 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 26-1 1601 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Villanova 24-3 1592 4 Big East Conference
5. Syracuse 24-3 1512 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 23-4 1449 7 Big 12 Conference
7. Kentucky 23-3 1400 9 Southeastern Conference
8. Ohio State 22-4 1270 11 Big Ten Conference
9. UCLA 22-4 1204 12 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Baylor 22-4 1159 8 Big 12 Conference
11. Iowa State 21-5 1066 10 Big 12 Conference
12. Louisville 22-5 1036 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Arizona 20-6 920 6 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Duke 23-3 901 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Michigan State 20-6 801 14 Big Ten Conference
16. VCU 21-5 708 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Oklahoma 20-6 565 23 Big 12 Conference
18. Stephen F. Austin 24-2 551 20 Southland Conference
19. Connecticut 22-5 532 18 American Athletic Conference
20. Stanford 22-5 418 16 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Miami 21-5 321 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Harvard 22-4 314 25 Ivy League
23. Wisconsin 19-7 276 24 Big Ten Conference
24. Massachusetts 21-5 135 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Nebraska 21-5 96 22 Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 25-3 22 Ohio Valley Conference
North Florida 25-2 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
Stony Brook 25-3 8 America East Conference
Northern Iowa 22-5 6 Missouri Valley Conference
San Diego State 19-7 5 Mountain West Conference
Washington 19-7 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Boise State 21-5 2 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Tech 22-4 1 Conference USA

Kentucky and UCLA each move up after 2-0 weeks, while Michigan State and Stanford drop after splitting. Inexplicably, Florida loses all their votes and drops completely out. Not quite understanding that.

And the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 29-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 26-1 1728 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 21-5 1655 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Connecticut 22-5 1538 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Harvard 22-4 1454 7 Ivy League
6. Stephen F. Austin 24-2 1390 6 Southland Conference
7. San Diego State 19-7 1358 5 Mountain West Conference
8. Wichita State 19-8 1296 8 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Massachusetts 21-5 1263 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. George Washington 20-7 1099 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Northern Iowa 22-5 1074 11 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Cleveland State 21-7 1019 13 Horizon League
13. Akron 20-6 895 14 Mid-American Conference
14. Louisiana Tech 22-4 771 12 Conference USA
15. Boise State 21-5 667 16 Mountain West Conference
16. South Dakota State 21-5 665 17 Summit League
17. Georgia State 21-4 649 18 Sun Belt Conference
18. Murray State 25-3 576 19 Ohio Valley Conference
19. Illinois State 23-5 533 15 Missouri Valley Conference
20. New Mexico State 22-5 344 NR Western Athletic Conference
21. Stony Brook 25-3 276 21 America East Conference
22. UNLV 19-6 262 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Tulsa 22-5 218 24 American Athletic Conference
24. Green Bay 19-8 210 NR Horizon League
25. Eastern Kentucky 24-4 188 NR Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
North Florida 25-2 169 Atlantic Sun Conference
Richmond 20-6 133 Atlantic 10 Conference
St. Bonaventure 17-7 109 Atlantic 10 Conference
Vermont 23-4 35 America East Conference
Iona 23-6 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Valparaiso 21-6 5 Horizon League
Robert Morris 24-4 3 Northeast Conference
Belmont 22-6 2 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 22-6 2 Summit League
BYU 18-10 1 West Coast Conference

And as has been the theme all season, no respect for the mid-majors. Including Hawaii. Ugh!

None of our FOFC teams are on the overall bubble watch, and no change with any of our FOFC teams at all. Not that I expect many, but who knows.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 22-28, 2016

5 feature games to tell you about this week, we'll start in the Big 10.

2/24/16- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The Wolverines pulled another shocker against their in-state rivlas, holding Michigan State to 35.5% shooting in the upset victory as they sweep the season series.

Final Score: Michigan- 82, #15 Michigan State- 69

Now to the SEC:

2/24/16- Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The difference in this one was turnovers, as Alabama committed just 9 while Florida committed 19. Alabama also held a huge advantage at the line.

Final Score: Alabama- 85, Florida- 80

Moving to Conference USA:

2/25/16- Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) @ Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- Charlotte blew an a8 point halftime lead despite outrebounding the Owls by 13. Rice hit a buzzer beat to stun the 49ers.

Final Score: Rice- 71, Charlotte- 69

We finish with 2 feature games in the Pac 12:

2/25/16- #20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Although they turned the ball over more, Colorado held Stanford to just 30.5% shooting as they took control of the Pac 12 race with a big win.

Final Score: Colorado- 62, #20 Stanford- 52

2/27/16- #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- The Bruins rolled to a 21 point halftime lead, proving they weren't ready to hand the title over to the Buffaloes.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 85, Colorado- 62

And now back to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-20, 7-9 T-5th America East.

No games this week for the Hawks, who will be the 6th seed in the America East Tourney next week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-20, 4-12 T-9th American.

2/24/16 at Temple (L 83-51).
2/27/16 vs. SMU (L 68-45).

2 games this week for the Pirates, who got hammered in both. They finish up conference play next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-17, 5-11 T-11th Atlantic 10.

2/24/16 vs. Rhode Island (L 68-43).
2/27/16 at St. Louis (L 62-40).

The Wildcats continue to struggle, having lost 4 in a row. They finish up conference play next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-23, 0-16 10th (last) Big 12.

2/22/16 at Kansas State (L 78-66).
2/27/16 at West Virginia (L 70-68).

The Horned Frogs are getting closer to that first Big 12 win, but not quite. They've got 2 more chances next week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-12, 9-7 T-7th Big 10.

2/24/16 at #15 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 at Maryland (W 70-50).

Great week for the Spartans who beat their in-state conference rivals. They have 2 tough games next week to finish up conference play.

#15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 21-7, 10-6 T-5th Big 10.

2/24/16 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. Penn State (W 93-71).

A split for the Spartans, who won't be happy about 2 losses to Michigan, but they should have an easy time in 2 games next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 21-8, 12-3 1st Big West.

2/25/16 vs. UC Riverside (W 68-51).
2/27/16 at Cal State Fullerton (L 103-98, OT).

A split for the Warriors, who don't seem to want to see their name in the mid-major top 25. 1 more game next week to end conference play.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-16, 7-9 T-7th Conference USA.

2/25/16 at Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. UTEP (L 68-46).

Not the kind of week the 49ers wanted, losing 2 games. They've got 2 more and can still finish with an even record in conference play.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-16, 5-11 T-11th Conference USA.

2/25/16 vs. Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. UAB (L 81-76).

Not a bad effort for the Owls this week, even though they split they played well in both games. 2 more conference games next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-19, 8-12 MAAC.

2/26/16 vs. Siena (W 70-57).

Nice job finishing up conference play with a win. Next week: hosting a non-conference game against Pepperdine, then the MAAC Tournament where they will be the 7th seed.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-14, 10-5 3rd MEAC.

2/22/16 at Savannah State (W 79-55).
2/27/16 at Morgan State (W 58-44).

2 wins this week for the Spartans, and they've got a big one coming up next week to end conference play.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 20-8, 12-4 T-1st Pac 12.

2/25/16 vs. #20 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Still a nice week for the Buffaloes, even if they got hammered by UCLA. They've got 2 more games next week to finish conference play.

#20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 23-6, 12-4 T-1st Pac 12.

2/25/16 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. USC (W 76-67).

Nice recovery for the Cardinal as they get back into the conference race with a win. The last week of the Pac 12 is going to be intense!

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 23-5, 11-5 2nd Pac 12.

2/25/16 at #13 Arizona (L 84-75).
2/27/16 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Bruins, who need to win both games next week and get a lot of help to win the Pac 12 title.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-18, 2-14 T-11th Pac 12.

2/25/16 at USC (L 68-44).
2/27/16 at Oregon (L 74-71, OT).

The Cougars are back into a tie for last place after Oregon State won a game this week, but Wazzou almost stole one at Oregon.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-12, 11-5 T-2nd SEC.

2/24/16 vs. Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. Auburn (W 61-59).

2 tough games for the Crimson Tide this week, but they are making a strong case for postseason play, with a couple games left in conference play next week.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 20-8, 10-6 5th SEC.

2/24/16 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 at Missouri (L 65-61).

2 tough road losses for the Gators next week, who really need a couple wins next week to finish strong.

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 24-4, 14-2 1st SEC.

2/24/16 at Georgia (L 68-57).
2/27/16 vs. Arkansas (W 73-50).

Make a note, the Wildcats go down again! They are beatable, as Georgia really took it to them. All they really need to do is win 1 game next week to clinch the SEC title though.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-18, 8-11 7th Sun Belt.

2/25/16 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 61-40).
2/27/16 at Appalachian State (L 62-45).

The losing streak continues for the Trojans, who have 1 chance next week to break it as they end conference play.

Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 30-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa 26-2 1728 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 27-1 1651 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Kansas 24-5 1529 6 Big 12 Conference
5. Baylor 24-4 1498 10 Big 12 Conference
6. Villanova 25-4 1454 4 Big East Conference
7. Ohio State 24-4 1337 8 Big Ten Conference
8. Iowa State 23-5 1264 11 Big 12 Conference
9. Kentucky 24-4 1208 7 Southeastern Conference
10. Louisville 24-5 1170 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Syracuse 24-5 1081 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Arizona 22-6 1068 13 Pacific-12 Conference
13. Duke 24-3 948 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. UCLA 23-5 912 9 Pacific-12 Conference
15. VCU 23-5 768 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Michigan State 21-7 713 15 Big Ten Conference
17. Oklahoma 21-7 594 17 Big 12 Conference
18. Wisconsin 21-7 530 23 Big Ten Conference
19. Harvard 24-4 477 22 Ivy League
20. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 475 18 Southland Conference
21. Stanford 23-6 345 20 Pacific-12 Conference
22. Connecticut 23-6 271 19 American Athletic Conference
23. Miami 22-6 220 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. San Diego State 21-7 158 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Murray State 27-3 72 NR Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Nebraska 22-6 32 Big Ten Conference
Virginia 20-8 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
Northern Iowa 23-5 21 Missouri Valley Conference
North Florida 27-2 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
Stony Brook 26-3 14 America East Conference
Boise State 23-5 13 Mountain West Conference
Akron 22-6 6 Mid-American Conference
Tulsa 24-5 3 American Athletic Conference
Colorado 20-8 1 Pacific-12 Conference

All 4 of our ranked teams move down this week after splitting, a little surprised UCLA dropped 5 spots as their loss was to a top 15 Arizona team. Colorado gets a vote and is welcome back into the mix. They could have gotten more votes if not being hammered by UCLA.

And the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 30-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 27-1 1728 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 23-5 1656 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Harvard 24-4 1532 5 Ivy League
5. San Diego State 21-7 1497 7 Mountain West Conference
6. Connecticut 23-6 1388 4 American Athletic Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 1381 6 Southland Conference
8. Cleveland State 23-7 1243 12 Horizon League
9. Northern Iowa 23-5 1159 11 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Wichita State 20-9 1092 8 Missouri Valley Conference
11. George Washington 21-8 1049 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Akron 22-6 1038 13 Mid-American Conference
13. Boise State 23-5 909 15 Mountain West Conference
14. Murray State 27-3 753 18 Ohio Valley Conference
15. Illinois State 25-5 736 19 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Georgia State 22-4 719 17 Sun Belt Conference
17. South Dakota State 22-5 713 16 Summit League
18. Tulsa 24-5 488 23 American Athletic Conference
19. Eastern Kentucky 26-4 433 25 Ohio Valley Conference
20. Green Bay 21-8 432 24 Horizon League
21. Massachusetts 22-6 423 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. New Mexico State 23-5 313 20 Western Athletic Conference
23. North Florida 27-2 304 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
24. Stony Brook 26-3 229 21 America East Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 23-5 95 14 Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
St. Bonaventure 18-8 85 Atlantic 10 Conference
Richmond 21-7 72 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 20-7 43 Mountain West Conference
Middle Tennessee 21-6 20 Conference USA
Robert Morris 26-4 20 Northeast Conference
La Salle 19-9 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
Toledo 22-6 18 Mid-American Conference
Iona 23-6 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
BYU 20-10 4 West Coast Conference
Vermont 24-5 3 America East Conference

No big surprise, again none of our teams are in.

No changes at all in any of the bubble watches, it's exactly the same.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 29-March 6, 2016

3 feature games to tell you about, we'll start in the SEC.

3/2/16- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- A rough start to the game doomed the Crimson Tide, who shot just 37.3% from the field.

Final Score: #9 Kentucky- 70, Alabama- 56

Now we move to the Pac 12:

3/3/16- #14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- No problem for the Bruins in this one, as they forced 25 Washington State turnovers and weren't tested.

Final Score: #14 UCLA- 88, Washington State- 64

3/5/16- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ #21 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This one wasn't easy, as Wazzou led at halftime, but Stanford turned it on in the second half, getting a bunch of second chance points.

Final Score: #21 Stanford- 88, Washington State- 79

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-21, 7-9 America East.

3/3/16- America East Quarterfinals vs. (3) Albany (L 70-40).

The Hawks end their season with nary a whimper, as they didn't even come close to testing Albany in the tourney.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-21, 5-13 T-7th American.

3/2/16 vs. UCF (L 49-40).
3/5/16 at Tulane (W 62-54).

The Pirates get a split this week, and they'll be the 8th seed in the American Tournament. Ironically, they turn right around and face a Tulane team they just beat.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-19, 5-13 T-11th Atlantic 10.

3/2/16 at #15 VCU (L 86-63).
3/5/16 at Dayton (L 93-59).

A couple blowout losses for the Wildcats this week, and they'll be the 12th seed in the A-10 Tourney, where all 14 teams get to try and extend their season.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-24, 1-17 10th (last) Big 12.

2/29/16 vs. Texas Tech (W 75-62).
3/5/16 vs. Texas (L 54-52).

The Horned Frogs have been playing much better basketball in the last 3 weeks, and the persistence paid off as they got their first conference win, and almost picked up a second this week. They'll still be the 10th seed in the Big 12 Tourney, but they have a little confidence now.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-14, 9-9 T-8th Big 10.

3/2/16 at Illinois (L 80-79).
3/5/16 vs. #2 Iowa (L 78-56).

A heartbreaking loss for the Wolverines at Illinois, and they never really tested Iowa. They'll be the 9th seed in the Big 10 Tourney.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 23-7, 12-6 T-4th Big 10.

3/2/16 at Maryland (W 95-83).
3/5/16 vs. Northwestern (W 65-47).

2 solid wins for the Spartans this week, who will be the 4th seed in the Big 10 Tourney.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 22-8, 13-3 1st Big West.

3/5/16 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 56-44).

Congrats to the Warriors and Coach Gunn, who win the Big West title outright and will be the top seed in the Big West Tourney.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-16, 9-9 T-6th Conference USA.

3/3/16 vs. North Texas (W 57-49).
3/5/16 at Florida Atlantic (W 74-64).

Nice way to end conference play for the 49ers who get a couple big wins to finish .500 in C-USA play, and they'll be the 7th seed in the C-USA Tourney.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-18, 5-13 T-13th Conference USA.

3/3/16 vs. Southern Miss (L 76-68).
3/5/16 at North Texas (L 71-68).

2 more losses this week for the Owls, who will be the 13th seed in the C-USA Tourney.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-21, 8-12 MAAC.

2/29/16 vs. Pepperdine (L 69-45).
3/3/16- MAAC First Round vs. (10) Siena (L 55-42).

2 losses to end the season for the Hawks, but they'll consider it a successful season, at least in conference play as they were predicted to finish last.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-15, 10-6 T-3rd MEAC.

2/29/16 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (L 67-63).

Good effort by the Spartans this week against the 2nd place team in the conference. They'll be the 3rd seed in the MEAC Tourney.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 21-9, 13-5 T-2nd Pac 12.

3/3/16 at California (W 78-75).
3/5/16 vs. Washington (L 78-66).

The Buffaloes missed a chance to share the regular season title with that loss to Washington, who is actually a very good team. They'll be the 3rd seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

#21 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 24-7, 13-5 T-2nd Pac 12.

3/3/16 at Utah (L 86-59).
3/5/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

Not sure what happened to the Cardinal at Utah, but that game also cost them a share of the regular season title. Instead, they'll be the 2nd seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 24-6, 12-6 4th Pac 12.

3/3/16 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 vs. Oregon (L 72-64).

The Bruins also missed a chance for a possible higher seed by losing to Oregon. Instead, they'll be the 4th seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-20, 2-16 T-11th Pac 12.

3/3/16 vs. #14 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 at #21 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cougars have just been marred by injuries this season, as they've got 4 players out right now, including their best player. They'll limp into the Pac 12 Tourney as the 12th seed.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-14, 11-7 T-3rd SEC.

3/2/16 at #9 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 at Tennessee (L 70-58).

With even 1 win, the Crimson Tide could have taken 2nd in the conference. But they lost 2 games and will be the 3rd seed in the SEC Tourney.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 21-9, 11-7 T-3rd SEC.

3/2/16 vs. Ole Miss (W 82-79).
3/5/16 vs. Auburn (L 79-60).

The Gators split this week, but limp into the SEC Tourney as the 4th seed after losing 3 of their last 4.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-5, 15-3 1st SEC.

3/2/16 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 vs. Texas A&M (L 61-52).

Despite losing their last game of the regular season, the Wildcats and Coach Hutt clinched the SEC regular season title and will be the top seed in the SEC Tourney.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-19, 8-12 T-6th Sun Belt.

3/3/16 at UT Arlington (L 73-45).

The Trojans get hammered in their final conference game of the season and will go into the Sun Belt Tourney as the 6th seed.

Let's take a look at the National Top 25 following this week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (70) 31-1 1798 1 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa (2) 28-2 1730 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 29-1 1647 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Villanova 27-4 1528 6 Big East Conference
5. Baylor 26-4 1493 5 Big 12 Conference
6. Duke 26-3 1410 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Kansas 25-5 1407 4 Big 12 Conference
8. Ohio State 26-4 1336 7 Big Ten Conference
9. Louisville 25-5 1230 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Syracuse 25-5 1108 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Arizona 24-6 1107 12 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Kentucky 25-5 1013 9 Southeastern Conference
13. Iowa State 24-6 975 8 Big 12 Conference
14. UCLA 24-6 848 14 Pacific-12 Conference
15. VCU 25-5 774 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Michigan State 23-7 718 16 Big Ten Conference
17. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 623 20 Southland Conference
18. Wisconsin 23-7 578 18 Big Ten Conference
19. Oklahoma 23-7 537 17 Big 12 Conference
20. Harvard 26-4 428 19 Ivy League
21. San Diego State 23-7 295 24 Mountain West Conference
22. Northern Iowa 27-5 221 NR Missouri Valley Conference
23. Stanford 24-7 214 21 Pacific-12 Conference
24. Miami 23-7 191 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Vanderbilt 23-7 76 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Boise State 24-5 35 Mountain West Conference
Akron 23-6 24 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 27-3 14 America East Conference
Georgia State 24-4 12 Sun Belt Conference
North Florida 29-3 8 Atlantic Sun Conference
George Washington 23-8 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Murray State 27-4 6 Ohio Valley Conference
Virginia 21-9 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
South Dakota State 24-5 3 Summit League
Washington 22-8 2 Pacific-12 Conference

Kentucky drops 3 spots after the loss this week, while UCLA stays even. Michigan State also stays eve, and that horrible loss to Utah dropped Stanford 2 spots.

Now for the mid-major top 25, although I don't even know why I'm bothering.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 31-1 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati (1) 29-1 1729 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 25-5 1656 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 1528 7 Southland Conference
5. San Diego State 23-7 1503 5 Mountain West Conference
6. Harvard 26-4 1466 4 Ivy League
7. Northern Iowa 27-5 1395 9 Missouri Valley Conference
8. George Washington 23-8 1217 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Akron 23-6 1121 12 Mid-American Conference
10. Cleveland State 23-7 1064 8 Horizon League
11. Boise State 24-5 1033 13 Mountain West Conference
12. South Dakota State 24-5 929 17 Summit League
13. Georgia State 24-4 925 16 Sun Belt Conference
14. Wichita State 21-10 906 10 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Connecticut 23-8 838 6 American Athletic Conference
16. Murray State 27-4 590 14 Ohio Valley Conference
17. New Mexico State 25-5 554 22 Western Athletic Conference
18. Tulsa 25-6 472 18 American Athletic Conference
19. Illinois State 26-6 408 15 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Eastern Kentucky 27-5 370 19 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Green Bay 21-8 342 20 Horizon League
22. Massachusetts 23-7 324 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Stony Brook 27-3 273 24 America East Conference
24. Louisiana Tech 24-6 262 25 Conference USA
25. North Florida 29-3 227 23 Atlantic Sun Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
St. Bonaventure 20-8 227 Atlantic 10 Conference
Richmond 22-8 57 Atlantic 10 Conference
Iona 26-6 56 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Robert Morris 28-4 37 Northeast Conference
Belmont 26-7 28 Ohio Valley Conference
UNLV 21-8 26 Mountain West Conference
Hofstra 24-7 10 Colonial Athletic Association
Middle Tennessee 22-7 9 Conference USA
Toledo 23-7 7 Mid-American Conference
BYU 21-10 6 West Coast Conference
North Dakota State 24-7 4 Summit League
Vermont 25-5 2 America East Conference

As expected, nothing. Ridiculous that Hawaii isn't getting votes.

No change in the bubble watch, no change of any kind, so that ends the week.

[collegesportsfanms]

March 7-13, 2016

Amazingly, there were no feature games this week, so you can figure there were some upsets in the conference tournaments. Let's get to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-21, 7-9 America East.

No games for the Hawks this week, as their conference tourney was last week. Their season is over.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 9-22, 5-13 American.

3/10/16- American First Round vs. (9) Tulane (W 78-68).
3/11/16- American Quarterfinals vs. (1) #3 Cincinnati (L 78-36)

The Pirates ran into a buzzsaw in Cincinnati, who is all but a lock for a #1 seed. Meanwhile, The Pirates will end their season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 12-20, 5-13 Atlantic 10.

3/9/16- Atlantic 10 First Round vs. (13) George Mason (W 67-62).
3/10/16- Atlantic 10 Second Round vs. (5) Richmond (L 77-76).

Heartbreaker for the Wildcats against Richmond, as they battled the whole game but will see their season end.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-25, 1-17 Big 12.

3/9/16- Big 12 First Round vs. (7) Oklahoma State (L 79-71).

Another good effort for the Horned Frogs, who really played much better down the stretch, but their season is over.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-15, 9-9 Big 10.

3/10/16- Big 10 Second Round vs. (8) Indiana (L 72-64).

The Wolverines couldn't hang on against Indiana, and most likely their season is over, although they could sneak into a lower tournament.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 24-8, 12-6 Big 10.

3/11/16- Big 10 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Nebraska (W 86-70).
3/12/16- Big 10 Semifinals vs. (1) # 2 Iowa (L 68-59).

The Spartans fall short against an Iowa team that has a great chance to win a national title. Meanwhile, the Spartans are safely in the NCAA Tournament.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 24-9, 13-3 Big West.

3/10/16- Big West Quarterfinals vs. (8) Cal State Northridge (W 87-43).
3/11/16- Big West Semifinals vs. (4) Long Beach State (W 86-59).
3/12/16- Big West Championship vs. (3) UC Santa Barbara (L 79-64).

Crazy to think the Warriors could lose in the championship game the way they dismantled their first 2 opponents. With their record, if they aren't in the NCAA Tournament it's a shame. But considering they can't even get 1 mid-major vote, who knows?

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-17, 9-9 Conference USA.

3/9/16- Conference USA Second Round vs. (10) Southern Miss (L 66-64).

The 49ers fell just short in a quest to extend their season, and they will be sitting at home the rest of March.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-19, 5-13 Conference USA.

3/8/16- Conference USA First Round vs. (12) UTSA (L 70-63, OT).

A good effort by the Owls, but not enough as their season comes to an end.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-21, 8-12 MAAC.

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

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 18-15, 10-6 MEAC.

3/9/16- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (6) Delaware State (W 66-61).
3/11/16- MEAC Semifinals vs. (7) South Carolina State (W 59-53).
3/12/16- MEAC Championship vs. (8) Coppin State (W 66-56).

Congrats to Coach Carrano and the Spartans for their MEAC Tournament win, but let's be honest. They were very lucky to not have to play either of the top 2 seeds, although they did play both teams that beat those top 2 seeds, so I guess in a way, that's just as meaningful. They'll be dancing, more than likely into the First Four, but they could sneak a #15 seed.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 21-10, 13-5 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 78-52).

What in the world happened to the Buffaloes? It was like they just didn't want to be there. Damaging loss, while they should still be safely into the NCAA's, a loss like that will give them a seed drop or 2 surely.

#23 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 25-8, 13-5 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (7) California (W 54-51).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 59-49).

So the Cardinal becomes the 2nd FOFC team that Oregon takes out in the Pac 12 Tournament. Apparently they are either on a hot streak or better than their seed shows. Stanford will be dancing, easily.

#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-6, 12-6 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Washington (W 82-79).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (8) Arizona State (W 82-61).
3/12/16- Pac 12 Championship vs. (6) Oregon (W 68-60).

Congrats to the Bruins and Coach Shepard for doing what 2 of their FOFC Pac 12 counterparts couldn't do.. knock Oregon out of the Pac 12 Tourney, and winning the tourney. With this win, surely a #2 or #3 seed in the NCAA's is reasonable.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-21, 2-16 Pac 12.

3/9/16- Pac 12 First Round vs. (5) Washington (L 82-47).

Not even a game here, as it looked like the Cougars packed it in before the game even started. Their season is over.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-15, 11-7 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (11) LSU (L 69-53).

Killer loss for the Crimson Tide, who needed a couple wins in this tournament to feel safe about any kind of postseason tournament berth. I have to think their season is over, but we'll wait and see.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 22-10, 11-7 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (5) Ole Miss (W 66-52).
3/12/16- SEC Semifinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 56-53).

Tough loss for the Gators, who at least won their Quarterfinal game. They will most likely be safely in the NCAA Tournament, but double digit loss teams generally get double digit seeds.

#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-6, 15-3 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 93-88).

When is the last time the Wildcats lost 2 games in a row in reality? It's probably been a while. Sadly, they had a 7 point lead at halftime against Georgia. No matter, they'll still be a top 4 seed in the NCAA's.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-20, 8-12 Sun Belt.

3/10/16- Sun Belt First Round vs. (7) Arkansas Little Rock (L 63-61, OT).

This loss hurts considering the Trojans held UALR to just 15 first half points. Troy will see their season come to an end with this loss.

The final National top 25 poll before the postseason is here:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa (48) 30-3 1774 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga (18) 31-2 1736 1 West Coast Conference
3. Duke (6) 29-3 1644 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Baylor 29-4 1571 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Cincinnati 31-2 1554 3 American Athletic Conference
6. Ohio State 27-5 1403 8 Big Ten Conference
7. Louisville 27-6 1377 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Villanova 28-5 1295 4 Big East Conference
9. Kansas 25-6 1245 7 Big 12 Conference
10. Arizona 24-7 1119 11 Pacific-12 Conference
11. UCLA 27-6 1078 14 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Syracuse 25-6 953 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Wisconsin 26-7 923 18 Big Ten Conference
14. Iowa State 24-7 884 13 Big 12 Conference
15. Kentucky 25-6 818 12 Southeastern Conference
16. VCU 26-6 716 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Michigan State 24-8 645 16 Big Ten Conference
18. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 621 17 Southland Conference
19. San Diego State 26-7 498 21 Mountain West Conference
20. Harvard 26-4 433 20 Ivy League
21. Oklahoma 23-8 345 19 Big 12 Conference
22. Northern Iowa 27-5 222 22 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Miami 24-8 174 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Stanford 25-8 130 23 Pacific-12 Conference
25. Georgia State 26-4 86 NR Sun Belt Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Tulsa 28-6 59 American Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 29-3 30 America East Conference
George Washington 26-8 29 Atlantic 10 Conference
Vanderbilt 24-8 10 Southeastern Conference
North Florida 29-3 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
Boise State 26-6 6 Mountain West Conference
Murray State 27-4 5 Ohio Valley Conference
Akron 23-7 4 Mid-American Conference
Washington 23-9 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Robert Morris 29-4 1 Northeast Conference

UCLA moves up 3 spots after winning the Pac 12 Tourney, while Kentucky moves down 3 spots after losing in the SEC Quarterfinals. Michigan State drops 1 spot after their gallant effort loss to Iowa, and Stanford also drops a spot.

And the final mid-major top 25 poll:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (61) 31-2 1789 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati (11) 31-2 1739 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 26-6 1652 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 26-7 1559 5 Mountain West Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1523 4 Southland Conference
6. Harvard 26-4 1440 6 Ivy League
7. Northern Iowa 27-5 1343 7 Missouri Valley Conference
8. George Washington 26-8 1311 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Georgia State 26-4 1088 13 Sun Belt Conference
10. Connecticut 24-9 1070 15 American Athletic Conference
11. Boise State 26-6 1063 11 Mountain West Conference
12. Akron 23-7 935 9 Mid-American Conference
13. Tulsa 28-6 921 18 American Athletic Conference
14. Wichita State 21-10 801 14 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Cleveland State 23-8 749 10 Horizon League
16. Green Bay 23-8 637 21 Horizon League
17. Stony Brook 29-3 590 23 America East Conference
18. Murray State 27-4 551 16 Ohio Valley Conference
19. South Dakota State 24-6 515 12 Summit League
20. Illinois State 26-6 391 19 Missouri Valley Conference
21. St. Bonaventure 22-9 366 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Eastern Kentucky 27-5 321 20 Ohio Valley Conference
23. Iona 27-6 253 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
24. North Florida 29-3 190 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
25. New Mexico State 27-6 163 17 Western Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
BYU 23-10 112 West Coast Conference
Louisiana Tech 24-7 80 Conference USA
Massachusetts 24-8 75 Atlantic 10 Conference
Robert Morris 29-4 60 Northeast Conference
Richmond 23-9 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Toledo 25-7 27 Mid-American Conference
Belmont 26-7 19 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 26-7 17 Summit League
UNLV 21-9 12 Mountain West Conference
Vermont 26-6 4 America East Conference
Middle Tennessee 23-8 3 Conference USA

Again, our teams were left out.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016 Selection Sunday

Norfolk State will be in the NCAA West Region in a First Four game where they will take on Wofford, with the winner playing (1) Baylor.

Remember what I said about double digit loss teams rarely getting a single digit seed. Scratch that. Colorado gets the 5th seed in the NCAA West Region, and they'll open up against (12) Green Bay.

Stanford gets the 3rd seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against (14) BYU.

Kentucky gets the 4th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against (13) Belmont.

Michigan State gets the 5th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against (12) North Dakota State. We have a potential Kentucky-Michigan State match-up in the Round of 32.

UCLA gets the 2nd seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against (15) Lehigh.

Florida gets the 11th seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against (6) Syracuse.

So Colorado and Florida have almost identical records, with Florida actually having 1 more win, but getting a seed 6 spots lower? Why you ask? It's all about RPI. Colorado's is 11, Florida's is 54. Moving on!

Snub city for Hawaii, and I had a feeling it might happen. The Warriors get left out of the NCAA's, instead picking up the top seed in the NIT West Region. They'll start out by hosting (8) Texas Southern.

I was debating on moving the NIT back up to 40 teams to give more of our teams a chance, but I think I'll leave it at 32. After all, we've got the teams and conferences and in-season tournaments mirroring reality, so we'll have the NIT mirror reality too.

And that my friends, is it. A pitiful performance by our FOFC teams as only 8 of 19 FOFC coached teams are in the postseason, and 7 of those 8 are in the NCAA's. I'm hoping for much better in the future.

[collegesportsfanms]

NCAA First Four

West Region

Wofford beat Norfolk State 60-59.

NCAA First Round

West Region

(12) Green Bay shocked (5) Colorado 63-54. Not the way Coach Nielsen wanted his season to end.

(3) Stanford got by (14) BYU 59-57.

South Region

(4) Kentucky all over (13) Belmont 78-61.

(5) Michigan State hammers (12) North Dakota State 86-64. This means that one of our FOFC coached teams is for sure headed to the Sweet Sixteen.

East Region

(2) UCLA gets by (15) Lehigh 76-64.

(11) Florida upsets (6) Syracuse 65-62.

NIT First Round

West Region

(1) Hawaii hammers (8) Texas Southern 76-49.

[collegesportsfanms]

NCAA Second Round

West Region

(3) Stanford over (6) Stephen F. Austin 79-64.

South Region

(4) Kentucky gets by (5) Michigan State 70-62.

East Region

(2) UCLA survives against (10) UConn 67-65.

(3) George Washington was too much for (11) Florida, beating them 77-62.

NIT Second Round

West Region

(4) North Carolina ends the run for (1) Hawaii, beating them 78-58.

[collegesportsfanms]

NCAA Sweet Sixteen

West Region

(2) Iowa hammered (3) Stanford 89-55.

South Region

(4) Kentucky beat (9) San Diego State 78-71.

East Region

(2) UCLA got by (3) George Washington 75-64.


NCAA Elite Eight

South Region

(7) Vanderbilt pulls a mild upset over (4) Kentucky 68-63.

East Region

(1) Kansas just gets by (2) UCLA 84-81 in overtime.

And that does it for our FOFC coaches, as we send 2 teams to the NCAA Elite Eight but that's about it. Season recap coming up later.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016 Postseason Recap

The NCAA Final Four saw (7S) Vanderbilt stun (2W) Iowa 71-57 in one semifinal, then (3MW) Iowa State beat (1E) Kansas 76-68 in the other semifinal. The national championship was over at halftime, as Iowa State dominated Vanderbilt 87-44.

The NIT Final Four saw (3S) Wichita State beat (7W) Richmond 79-77 in the first semifinal, then (4E) New Mexico State beat (2MW) Indiana 81-61 in the other semifinal. The NIT Championship was a classic, as Wichita State beat New Mexico State 72-70.

The CBI Championship Series went all 3 games, as (2) SMU beat (1) LaSalle 2 games to 1. SMU won the first game, 73-58, the LaSalle evened up the series by winning the second game 66-60 in overtime. SMU handled LaSalle in the rubber match, 63-49.

The CIT Championship saw (1) Albany beat (3) Lafayette 68-57.

[collegesportsfanms]

2015-2016 National Awards

I am going to change it up this dynasty and just tell the number of awards each team got as opposed to naming the players. Since this is more about the coaches than anything else, I think the number of awards is fine. If you guys truly want to know player names of awards, that's fine, but I'll only give names if it is one of our coaches getting an award. With that in mind,

UCLA put 1 player on the All-NCAA 3rd Team.

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

2015-2016 Conference Awards

No awards for Hartford.

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

Davidson put 2 players on the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team.

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

Michigan had the Big 10 Freshman of the Year and put that same player on the Big 10 All Freshman Team.

Michigan State put 1 player on the Big 10 1st Team.

Hawaii coach B.B. Gunn was named Big West Coach of the Year. They also had the Big West Player of the Year and put 2 on the Big West First Team.

Charlotte put 1 player on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Rice.

No awards for Monmouth.

Norfolk State put 2 players on the MEAC 2nd Team.

Colorado coach Rob Nielsen was named Pac 12 Coach of the Year.

Stanford put 1 player on the Pac 12 1st Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

UCLA had the Pac 12 Player of the Year and 1 player on the Pac 12 1st Team. They also put 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team.

Washington State put 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Alabama.

Florida put 1 player on the SEC 2nd Team and 1 player on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Kentucky coach Patrick Hutt was the SEC Coach of the Year. Kentucky also had the SEC Freshman of the Year and put that player on the SEC All-Freshman Team. They also put a player on the SEC 2nd Team.

Troy put 1 player on the Sun Belt All-Freshman Team.

[collegesportsfanms]

2015-2016 Recruiting Class Rankings

Hartford had the 234th best class in the nation, good for 3rd best in the America East.

ECU had the 159th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the American.

Davidson had the 44th best class in the nation, tops in the Atlantic 10.

TCU had the 161st best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the Big 12.

Michigan had the 19th best class in the nation, good for 5th best in the Big 10.

Michigan State had the 3rd best class in the nation, tops in the Big 10.

Hawaii had the 110th best class in the nation, good for 5th best in the Big West.

Charlotte had the 239th best class in the nation, good for 10th best in Conference USA.

Rice had the 111th best class in the nation, good for 4th best in Conference USA.

Monmouth had the 272nd best class in the nation, last in the MAAC.

Norfolk State had the 260th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the MEAC.

Colorado had the 62nd best class in the nation, good for 8th best in the Pac 12.

Stanford had the 77th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the Pac 12.

UCLA had the 16th best class in the nation, good for 4th best in the Pac 12.

Washington State had the 287th best class in the nation, last in the Pac 12.

Alabama had the 21st best class in the nation, good for 3rd best in the SEC.

Florida had the 13th best class in the nation, good for 2nd best in the SEC.

Kentucky had the 4th best class in the nation, tops in the SEC.

Troy had the 198th best class in the nation, good for 7th best in the Sun Belt.

[collegesportsfanms]

2 teams changed conferences this season, in a move that will affect Troy in the Sun Belt. Georgia State is leaving the Sun Belt to go to the Horizon, and Northern Kentucky is leaving the Horizon to join the Sun Belt.

The best coaches seem to get job offers every offseason, and it's no different this season for Patrick Hutt of Kentucky. He got offers from Creighton, Duke, Kansas, N.C. State, Oregon State, Syracuse, and Washington. Zinto, let me know what you want to do.

Rob Nielsen also got offers from Creighton, Oregon State, and Washington. Coffee Warlord, what are you thinking here?

Noah Oppenheimer received 1 offer, from N.C. State. TheRivals40, what would you like to do?

Benito Sanchez was offered the jobs at Duke, Kansas, Oregon State, and Washington. What do you think rjolley?

Tim Shepard was offered at Oregon State and Washington. rjolley, you get to decide for both your coaches.

That's it for offers, and I'm waiting to hear back from several coaches.

Also, as you know, I started doing spreadsheets with many different stats on them, I was doing it around the last couple season of my last Coaches Dynasty, and I am doing them again this time. The question is, how often would you like to see these spreadsheets? Every year? Every other year? I'm open to whatever you guys want.

[Zinto]

Patrick will stay at Kentucky

[rjolley]

Congrats to all of the FOFC coaches that made the post season.

As for the coaches, they'll stay where they are in the Pac 12 and continue to duke it out.

[bbgunn]

Ugh, disappointing end for the Rainbow Warriors, but you gotta close it out in the Big West Tourney.

[collegesportsfanms]

Still waiting to hear from Coffee Warlord and TheRivals40 to let me know what they want to do with their coach. I'd like to get the next season started as soon as tonight or tomorrow if possible. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you want your coaches to stay, and if we have to, I can make a switch in the middle of the season. Thanks.

[collegesportsfanms]

As I am ready to get the next season started, I am going to go ahead and keep Rob Nielsen at Colorado and Noah Oppenheimer at Florida. As TheRivals40 hasn't been on in over a month, the decision needs to be made to just keep him at Florida. Also, I can't imagine Coffee Warlord would want to move his coach to another Pac 12 school, and the Creighton job isn't so inviting, so I'm going to move forward.

I will be getting a recap of last seasons goals and a look at this seasons goals and season tournaments done tonight.

I hope everyone is still following, I know I have a lot of projects going right now and sometimes it's hard to keep track, but I'm doing my best to put equal time into all of them. Thanks for following and commenting guys.

[collegesportsfanms]

Some offseason stuff to take care of yet, first a look at last seasons coach goals and how each coach/team fared:

David Ginsberg (Hartford)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the America East -- David failed this goal, finishing 2 games under .500 in conference play.

Al Hutt (ECU)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the American -- Al failed this goal miserably, as ECU was 8 games under .500 in conference.

Randolph Childress (Davidson)- Play in a postseason tournament. -- Randolph failed this goal, and it wasn't even close.

Bee Mighty (TCU)- Avoid last place in the Big 12 -- Failed, as TCU won a measly 1 game in conference.

Cillian Tribble (Michigan)- Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Failed, no postseason last season.

Al Mighty (Michigan State)- Reach the Final Four -- Failed, the Spartans lost in the Round of 32.

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Big West -- Passed, the Warriors were 10 games over .500 in conference.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte)- Finish with at least a .500 record in Conference USA. -- Passed, but barely. .500 was the conference record for Charlotte last season.

Charlie Shocker (Rice)- Improve the team's prestige (Now there's a goal I haven't seen before.) -- ok, now this goal, I'm not sure if it was passed or failed, as I'm not sure what Rice's initial prestige was. Sorry Charlie! Haha

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth)- Avoid last place in the MAAC. -- Goal passed.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the MEAC. -- Passed, as Norfolk State was 4 games over .500 in conference play.

Rob Nielsen (Colorado)- Play in the NCAA Tournament. -- Passed, even though they lost in the First Round.

Benito Sanchez (Stanford)- Play in the NCAA Tournament. -- Passed, and made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Tim Shepard (UCLA)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen. -- Passed, and took it 1 stop further, advancing to the Elite Eight.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State)- Avoid last place in the Pac 12 -- Failed, as they actually tied for last place.

Roy Rogers (Alabama)- Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Failed, as they had no postseason.

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen -- Failed, but not by much, as they fell 1 round short, losing in the Round of 32.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky)- Reach the Final Four -- Ditto Florida. 1 round short.

Brett Hawkins (Troy)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Sun Belt -- Failed, finished 4 games below .500.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016-2017 Hot Seat Ratings and Coach Goals

David Ginsberg (Hartford) -- His rating is still average and the goal is to finish .500 in the America East.

Al Hutt (ECU) -- Average rating, goal is to finish .500 in the American Conference.

Randolph Childress (Davidson) -- Average rating, goal is to play in any postseason tournament.

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

Cillian Tribble (Michigan) -- Average rating, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) -- His rating is cool, and Hawaii's goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte) -- His seat is also cool, and Charlotte is expected to finish .500 or better overall.

Charlie Shocker (Rice) -- Average seat, goal is to improve Rice's prestige which is currently 31.

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth) -- Average seat, goal is to avoid last place in the MAAC.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State) -- Cool seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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

Benito Sanchez (Stanford) -- Also a cool seat, goal is to compete for the Pac 12 Championship.

Tim Shepard (UCLA) -- Cool seat as well, goal is to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

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

Roy Rogers (Alabama) -- Average 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 in the Sun Belt.

One note, there are only 9 goals, so they will get quite repetitive after a while. But that's ok, 9 goals is enough.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016 Season Tournaments

Colorado will be the 3rd seed in the 2016 Brooklyn Classic and will open up with 6th seed Vermont.

TCU will be the 7th seed in the 2016 Cancun Challenge and will open up with 2nd seed Northern Iowa.

Florida will be the top seed in the 2016 Charleston Classic and will open with 8th seed Loyola Chicago.

Hawaii will be the 6th seed in the 2016 Charleston Classic and will open with 3rd seed N.C. State.

UCLA will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2016 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. They'll open up with 15th seed Delaware.

Kentucky will be the top seed in the 2016 Diamond Head Classic and will open up with 8th seed Kent State.

Michigan State will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2016 Hall of Fame Classic and will open with 15th seed Lafayette.

Davidson will be the 9th seed in the 16 team 2016 Hall of Fame Classic and will open with 8th seed Green Bay.

Washington State will be the 8th seed in the 2016 Las Vegas Invitational and will open with top seed Iowa.

Stanford will be the top seed in the 2016 Legends Classic and will open with 8th seed UAB.

Michigan will be the 4th seed in the 2016 Legends Classic and will open with 5th seed Tennessee.

Monmouth will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2016 Los Angeles Classic and will open with 2nd seed Dunk City, otherwise known as Florida Gulf Coast.

Alabama will be the 2nd seed in the 2016 Maui Invitational and will open with 7th seed Western Michigan.

ECU will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2016 Military Classic and will open with 3rd seed UNC Wilmington.

Charlotte will be the top seed in the 4 team 2016 New Orleans Classic and will open with 4th seed Ball State.

Norfolk State will be the 2nd seed in the 2016 Paradise Jam and will open up with 7th seed UT Martin.

Rice will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2016 South Carolina Showcase and will open with 3rd seed Seattle.

Hartford will be the 4th seed in the 4 team 2016 Toledo Regional and will open with top seed Wagner.

Troy will be the top seed in the 2016 Wooden Legacy and will open with 8th seed IUPUI.

All 19 of our FOFC coached teams scored a tournament, and they really should every year with so many of them.

[collegesportsfanms]

Let's take a quick look at the 2016-2017 Preseason Polls:

Preseason Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (70) 0-0 1797 17 Big Ten Conference
2. UCLA (1) 0-0 1701 11 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Virginia (1) 0-0 1642 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Kentucky 0-0 1556 15 Southeastern Conference
5. Kansas 0-0 1503 9 Big 12 Conference
6. Cincinnati 0-0 1476 5 American Athletic Conference
7. Wisconsin 0-0 1304 13 Big Ten Conference
8. Baylor 0-0 1210 4 Big 12 Conference
9. Georgetown 0-0 1150 NR Big East Conference
10. San Diego State 0-0 1060 19 Mountain West Conference
11. Oklahoma 0-0 1008 21 Big 12 Conference
12. Duke 0-0 994 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Wichita State 0-0 891 NR Missouri Valley Conference
14. North Carolina 0-0 865 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Iowa State 0-0 864 14 Big 12 Conference
16. Iowa 0-0 679 1 Big Ten Conference
17. Miami 0-0 656 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Oregon 0-0 597 NR Pacific-12 Conference
19. Arizona 0-0 411 10 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Marquette 0-0 410 NR Big East Conference
21. Syracuse 0-0 399 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Seton Hall 0-0 391 NR Big East Conference
23. Oklahoma State 0-0 173 NR Big 12 Conference
24. La Salle 0-0 142 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Florida 0-0 126 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
VCU 0-0 108 Atlantic 10 Conference
Ohio State 0-0 67 Big Ten Conference
Washington 0-0 61 Pacific-12 Conference
Louisville 0-0 52 Atlantic Coast Conference
Texas 0-0 49 Big 12 Conference
Villanova 0-0 35 Big East Conference
Georgia State 0-0 10 Horizon League
Indiana 0-0 8 Big Ten Conference
Michigan 0-0 3 Big Ten Conference
Harvard 0-0 1 Ivy League
Kansas State 0-0 1 Big 12 Conference

Little interesting not to see Colorado or Stanford getting votes, and Wichita State and Kansas State both getting votes. Hmm.

Preseason Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 0-0 1799 2 American Athletic Conference
2. San Diego State (1) 0-0 1715 4 Mountain West Conference
3. Wichita State 0-0 1658 14 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 0-0 1564 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
5. VCU 0-0 1517 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Georgia State 0-0 1390 9 Horizon League
7. Cleveland State 0-0 1289 15 Horizon League
8. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 1171 5 Southland Conference
9. Harvard 0-0 1167 6 Ivy League
10. BYU 0-0 1080 NR West Coast Conference
11. New Mexico State 0-0 985 25 Western Athletic Conference
12. Gonzaga 0-0 958 1 West Coast Conference
13. SMU 0-0 956 NR American Athletic Conference
14. Illinois State 0-0 838 20 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Davidson 0-0 807 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Akron 0-0 726 12 Mid-American Conference
17. Richmond 0-0 722 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Valparaiso 0-0 523 NR Horizon League
19. Dayton 0-0 460 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
20. George Washington 0-0 457 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Massachusetts 0-0 352 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Boise State 0-0 263 11 Mountain West Conference
23. Memphis 0-0 138 NR American Athletic Conference
24. UTEP 0-0 129 NR Conference USA
25. UNLV 0-0 58 NR Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Buffalo 0-0 52 Mid-American Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 50 Conference USA
Connecticut 0-0 41 American Athletic Conference
Middle Tennessee 0-0 32 Conference USA
St. Bonaventure 0-0 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 0-0 30 Missouri Valley Conference
Murray State 0-0 23 Ohio Valley Conference
Saint Mary's 0-0 22 West Coast Conference
Iona 0-0 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 21 Conference USA
Nevada 0-0 19 Mountain West Conference
Temple 0-0 19 American Athletic Conference
Tulsa 0-0 16 American Athletic Conference
UAB 0-0 16 Conference USA
George Mason 0-0 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Arizona 0-0 14 Big Sky Conference
Stony Brook 0-0 14 America East Conference
Belmont 0-0 13 Ohio Valley Conference
Manhattan 0-0 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
William & Mary 0-0 13 Colonial Athletic Association
Grand Canyon 0-0 12 Western Athletic Conference
Loyola Chicago 0-0 12 Missouri Valley Conference
Columbia 0-0 10 Ivy League
Southern Illinois 0-0 10 Missouri Valley Conference
Bradley 0-0 8 Missouri Valley Conference
Canisius 0-0 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Green Bay 0-0 8 Horizon League
Western Michigan 0-0 8 Mid-American Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 7 Mid-American Conference
Hofstra 0-0 7 Colonial Athletic Association
Central Michigan 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 6 Ohio Valley Conference
New Mexico 0-0 6 Mountain West Conference
Northern Illinois 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Toledo 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Albany 0-0 5 America East Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 5 Horizon League
Oakland 0-0 5 Horizon League
Wofford 0-0 5 Southern Conference
Charlotte 0-0 4 Conference USA
Detroit 0-0 4 Horizon League
Evansville 0-0 4 Missouri Valley Conference
Fordham 0-0 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
James Madison 0-0 4 Colonial Athletic Association
Eastern Illinois 0-0 3 Ohio Valley Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 3 Sun Belt Conference
Mercer 0-0 3 Southern Conference
North Dakota State 0-0 3 Summit League
Rhode Island 0-0 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego 0-0 3 West Coast Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 3 Northeast Conference
East Carolina 0-0 2 American Athletic Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 2 Atlantic Sun Conference
Kent State 0-0 2 Mid-American Conference
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 2 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Irvine 0-0 2 Big West Conference
VMI 0-0 2 Southern Conference
Colorado State 0-0 1 Mountain West Conference
Drake 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Indiana State 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
North Carolina Central 0-0 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
North Dakota 0-0 1 Big Sky Conference
San Francisco 0-0 1 West Coast Conference
South Florida 0-0 1 American Athletic Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 1 Big West Conference
Western Illinois 0-0 1 Summit League

I have come to the conclusion that the preseason polls are a joke in this game. No Hawaii to be found? Really? Interesting.

[collegesportsfanms]

My plans is to get the first week of the 2016-2017 season done tomorrow, and I'm hoping to do a week of gameplay every single day, but we'll see.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 11-13, 2016

Another short post to begin the season, as it seems with this dynasty, all seasons will start on a Friday. Makes sense to me. As always, this first post will only cover the teams that played a game, since there were only 9 games.

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

11/11/16- Military Classic First Round vs. (3) UNC Wilmington (L 65-51).
11/12/16- Military Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (4) Tennessee Tech (W 52-50).

A 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Pirates doesn't seem like much, but it's a start.

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

11/11/16- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (8) Green Bay (W 78-73).

Good opening win for the Wildcats, but Duke awaits next week.

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

11/11/16- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (15) Lafayette (W 82-46).

No problem for the Spartans in their first game.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-1, 0-0 MAAC.

11/11/16- Los Angeles Classic First Round vs. (2) Florida Gulf Coast (W 58-53).
11/12/16- Los Angeles Classic Championship vs. (1) Portland (L 59-47).

The Hawks fought, but were never really in the LA Classic Championship. They'll take 2nd place though.

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/11/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic First Round vs. (15) Delaware (W 87-47).
11/13/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Quarterfinals vs. (10) New Mexico State (W 99-76).

Easy week for the Bruins, who rolled through inferior competition.

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

11/13/16 vs. FIU (W 66-42).

No problem for the Wildcats as they breeze in their lone game of the week.

Even with a lack of games, let's take a look at the national top 25 for the week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (66) 1-0 1793 1 Big Ten Conference
2. UCLA (5) 2-0 1728 2 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Kentucky (1) 1-0 1630 4 Southeastern Conference
4. Virginia 0-0 1548 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Kansas 0-0 1469 5 Big 12 Conference
6. Cincinnati 0-0 1426 6 American Athletic Conference
7. Wisconsin 2-0 1380 7 Big Ten Conference
8. Baylor 2-0 1270 8 Big 12 Conference
9. San Diego State 2-0 1197 10 Mountain West Conference
10. Georgetown 1-0 1109 9 Big East Conference
11. Duke 1-0 1045 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Oklahoma 1-0 1029 11 Big 12 Conference
13. Wichita State 0-0 822 13 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Iowa State 0-0 809 15 Big 12 Conference
15. North Carolina 0-0 793 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Oregon 1-0 767 18 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Iowa 0-0 587 16 Big Ten Conference
18. Miami 0-0 574 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Marquette 1-0 530 20 Big East Conference
20. Arizona 0-0 371 19 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Syracuse 0-0 353 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Seton Hall 0-0 352 22 Big East Conference
23. Ohio State 1-0 169 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Oklahoma State 0-0 125 23 Big 12 Conference
25. Florida 0-0 113 25 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
La Salle 0-0 106 Atlantic 10 Conference
VCU 0-0 94 Atlantic 10 Conference
Villanova 1-0 60 Big East Conference
Louisville 0-0 45 Atlantic Coast Conference
Washington 0-0 39 Pacific-12 Conference
Texas 0-0 32 Big 12 Conference
Kansas State 2-0 13 Big 12 Conference
Georgia State 0-0 8 Horizon League
Indiana 0-0 5 Big Ten Conference
Michigan 0-0 4 Big Ten Conference
Illinois State 1-0 3 Missouri Valley Conference
Davidson 1-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference

So we've got 3 FOFC teams in the top 3 spots, all receiving FPV. Florida has yet to play, while Michigan and Davidson receive a few votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (67) 0-0 1795 1 American Athletic Conference
2. San Diego State (5) 2-0 1730 2 Mountain West Conference
3. Wichita State 0-0 1652 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 0-0 1558 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. VCU 0-0 1521 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Georgia State 0-0 1409 6 Horizon League
7. SMU 1-0 1255 13 American Athletic Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 1249 8 Southland Conference
9. BYU 0-0 1168 10 West Coast Conference
10. Illinois State 1-0 1092 14 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Gonzaga 0-0 1061 12 West Coast Conference
12. Davidson 1-0 1049 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Akron 1-0 937 16 Mid-American Conference
14. Richmond 0-0 879 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Valparaiso 0-0 703 18 Horizon League
16. Dayton 0-0 637 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Boise State 1-0 566 22 Mountain West Conference
18. Massachusetts 0-0 535 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Memphis 0-0 251 23 American Athletic Conference
20. UNC Wilmington 2-0 207 NR Colonial Athletic Association
21. Portland 2-0 143 NR West Coast Conference
22. Cleveland State 1-1 132 7 Horizon League
23. High Point 2-0 121 NR Big South Conference
24. New Mexico State 1-1 93 11 Western Athletic Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 1-0 89 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Saint Mary's 1-0 86 West Coast Conference
UNLV 0-0 85 Mountain West Conference
Connecticut 0-0 81 American Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 0-0 75 Missouri Valley Conference
Southern 2-0 71 Southwestern Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
Evansville 1-0 64 Missouri Valley Conference
Harvard 0-1 60 Ivy League
Murray State 1-0 58 Ohio Valley Conference
Bradley 1-0 54 Missouri Valley Conference
Temple 0-0 50 American Athletic Conference
San Francisco 1-0 49 West Coast Conference
Bucknell 1-0 41 Patriot League
Cornell 1-0 38 Ivy League
Tulsa 0-0 38 American Athletic Conference
Nevada 1-0 37 Mountain West Conference
Rhode Island 0-0 30 Atlantic 10 Conference
Wofford 1-0 29 Southern Conference
Ball State 1-0 26 Mid-American Conference
Toledo 0-0 22 Mid-American Conference
North Carolina Central 1-0 21 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Columbia 0-0 20 Ivy League
Middle Tennessee 0-0 19 Conference USA
Old Dominion 0-0 19 Conference USA
Saint Joseph's 0-0 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
Hofstra 0-0 17 Colonial Athletic Association
SIU Edwardsville 1-0 17 Ohio Valley Conference
Loyola Chicago 0-0 15 Missouri Valley Conference
Northern Arizona 0-0 15 Big Sky Conference
George Mason 0-0 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego 0-0 14 West Coast Conference
Grand Canyon 0-0 13 Western Athletic Conference
Siena 1-0 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Southern Illinois 0-0 13 Missouri Valley Conference
Western Michigan 0-0 13 Mid-American Conference
Yale 0-0 13 Ivy League
William & Mary 0-0 12 Colonial Athletic Association
Albany 0-0 11 America East Conference
Fordham 0-0 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico 0-0 11 Mountain West Conference
Northern Illinois 0-0 11 Mid-American Conference
UC Irvine 0-0 11 Big West Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 10 Mid-American Conference
Fresno State 0-0 10 Mountain West Conference
Kent State 0-0 10 Mid-American Conference
UAB 0-0 10 Conference USA
Belmont 0-0 9 Ohio Valley Conference
Central Michigan 0-0 9 Mid-American Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 9 Horizon League
Oakland 0-0 8 Horizon League
James Madison 0-0 7 Colonial Athletic Association
North Dakota State 0-0 7 Summit League
Western Illinois 0-0 7 Summit League
North Dakota 0-0 6 Big Sky Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 6 Northeast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 6 Big West Conference
UCF 0-0 6 American Athletic Conference
Colgate 0-0 5 Patriot League
Colorado State 0-0 5 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 5 Sun Belt Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 1-0 4 Western Athletic Conference
Chicago State 0-0 4 Western Athletic Conference
Radford 0-0 4 Big South Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
Niagara 0-0 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northeastern 0-0 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Tulane 0-0 3 American Athletic Conference
Army 0-0 2 Patriot League
Charlotte 0-0 2 Conference USA
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 2 Ohio Valley Conference
Liberty 0-0 2 Big South Conference
Northwestern State 0-0 2 Southland Conference
Vermont 0-0 2 America East Conference
Bethune Cookman 1-0 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bowling Green 0-0 1 Mid-American Conference
Charleston Southern 1-0 1 Big South Conference
Longwood 0-0 1 Big South Conference
Pacific 0-0 1 West Coast Conference
South Dakota State 0-0 1 Summit League

Davidson moves up 3 spots after winning their lone game this week. Norfolk State and Charlotte are still being considered.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 14-20, 2016

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-1, 0-0 America East.

11/15/16 vs. Quinnipiac (L 73-64).

Not a good way to start the season for the Hawks in their lone game of the week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-3, 0-0 American.

11/15/16 vs. Albany (L 83-57).
11/19/16 vs. Mercer (L 78-66).

Not a good week for the Pirates who got boatraced in 2 home games.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/14/16- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (1) #11 Duke (W 80-79, OT).

What a huge, huge win for the Wildcats this week! Another big test awaiting next week.

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

11/19/16- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (2) Northern Iowa (W 55-51).

The Horned Frogs will certainly take the upset victory in this one, but it'll only get tougher from here.

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

11/17/16- Legends Classic First Round vs. (5) Tennessee (L 76-66).

Not the way the Wolverines wanted to start the season after a disappointing finish last season.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 2-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/14/16- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Illinois State (W 68-49).

No problem for the Spartans in this one, but they'll get tested in the semifinals for sure.

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

11/17/16- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (3) N.C. State (L 76-61).
11/18/16- Charleston Classic Consolation Round vs. (7) DePaul (W 76-65).
11/19/16- Charleston Classic 5th Place Game vs. (5) Penn State (L 61-52).

The Warriors were certainly hoping for better after their strong season last season, but hey, last season they finished 6th in an 8 team tournament, so at least they've improved there.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/17/16 at #24 Oklahoma State (L 79-44).

The 49ers got a harsh reality check in this one, going on the road and getting hammered.

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

11/19/16 at Georgia State (L 78-72).

The Owls battled in this one, but couldn't quite come away with the win.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-3, 0-0 MAAC.

11/14/16 at Columbia (L 66-48).
11/17/16 vs. Morgan State (L 65-57).

The struggles continue for the Hawks, losers of their last 3.

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

11/17/16- Paradise Jam First Round vs. (7) UT Martin (L 49-42).
11/20/16- Paradise Jam Consolation Round vs. (6) Northern Arizona (W 61-57).

The Spartans salvage a win in their first 2 games and will play for 5th in their tournament.

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

11/16/16 at UConn (L 72-71).

A heartbreaker for the Buffaloes, who led at halftime but couldn't overcome turnovers.

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

11/17/16- Legends Classic First Round vs. (8) UAB (W 87-77).

It was much tougher than expected, but the Cardinal move on in their tournament.

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/18/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Semifinals vs. (3) #8 Baylor (L 67-53).

Not the end to this tournament the Bruins wanted, as they came out flat and never competed against eventually tournament champ Baylor.

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

11/16/16 at Tennessee State (W 63-54).

A good tune-up win for their tournament, but the Cougars will take any wins they can get.

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

Coach Rogers and the Crimson Tide have yet to play a game.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 3-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/17/16- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (8) Loyola Chicago (W 72-46).
11/18/16- Charleston Classic Semifinals vs. (4) California (W 95-62).
11/20/16- Charleston Classic Championship vs. (3) N.C. State (W 106-84).

Congrats to Coach Oppenheimer and the Gators, who become the first FOFC coached team to win a season tournament this season, and they did so in very easy fashion.

#3 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 2-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/16/16 at #21 Syracuse (L 72-54).
11/18/16 vs. Elon (W 90-56).

A split this week for the Wildcats, who couldn't handle the pressure of going on the road against a top 25 team.

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

11/19/16 vs. Florida State (L 68-38).

Not a good season debut for the Trojans, who were hammered at home.

Here is a look at the national top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (67) 2-0 1795 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia (5) 3-0 1720 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Cincinnati 3-0 1649 6 American Athletic Conference
4. Kansas 2-0 1551 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Baylor 4-0 1542 8 Big 12 Conference
6. Georgetown 2-0 1386 10 Big East Conference
7. Iowa State 2-0 1293 14 Big 12 Conference
8. Wichita State 2-0 1248 13 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Syracuse 3-0 1104 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Marquette 3-0 1103 19 Big East Conference
11. Oregon 2-0 1067 16 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Miami 2-0 1024 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. North Carolina 1-0 1024 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Florida 3-0 767 25 Southeastern Conference
15. Iowa 0-0 691 17 Big Ten Conference
16. La Salle 2-0 682 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Seton Hall 1-0 652 22 Big East Conference
18. Ohio State 2-0 577 23 Big Ten Conference
19. Louisville 3-0 555 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. UCLA 2-1 528 2 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Oklahoma State 1-0 410 24 Big 12 Conference
22. VCU 1-0 296 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Washington 1-0 273 NR Pacific-12 Conference
24. Villanova 1-0 119 NR Big East Conference
25. Kentucky 2-1 118 3 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Georgia State 1-0 48 Horizon League
Wisconsin 3-1 44 Big Ten Conference
Stephen F. Austin 3-0 42 Southland Conference
Maryland 4-0 25 Big Ten Conference
Nebraska 2-0 15 Big Ten Conference
Gonzaga 2-0 12 West Coast Conference
Pittsburgh 2-0 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
Davidson 2-0 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Richmond 1-0 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
Akron 2-0 5 Mid-American Conference
Illinois 1-0 2 Big Ten Conference
Utah 2-0 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Alabama 0-0 1 Southeastern Conference
West Virginia 2-0 1 Big 12 Conference

Michigan State was the only one of our top 3 teams to hold serve, but man, how about UCLA and Kentucky? UCLA fell 18 spots and Kentucky fell 22 spots. This would never happen in reality, would it? Alabama gets a vote, basically because they haven't played a game. And I'm disappointed, I figured Davidson upsetting Duke would garner them a few more votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 3-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Wichita State 2-0 1724 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. La Salle 2-0 1644 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. VCU 1-0 1588 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Georgia State 1-0 1431 6 Horizon League
6. Stephen F. Austin 3-0 1419 8 Southland Conference
7. Gonzaga 2-0 1322 11 West Coast Conference
8. Davidson 2-0 1269 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Akron 2-0 1174 13 Mid-American Conference
10. San Diego State 2-1 1163 2 Mountain West Conference
11. Richmond 1-0 1107 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Dayton 1-0 912 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Portland 4-0 462 21 West Coast Conference
14. Saint Joseph's 3-0 458 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Memphis 1-0 429 19 American Athletic Conference
16. Louisiana Tech 2-0 400 25 Conference USA
17. Connecticut 2-0 395 NR American Athletic Conference
18. UNC Wilmington 3-0 342 20 Colonial Athletic Association
19. BYU 2-1 301 9 West Coast Conference
20. Cleveland State 1-1 282 22 Horizon League
21. Rhode Island 2-0 248 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Murray State 3-0 246 NR Ohio Valley Conference
23. New Mexico 2-0 237 NR Mountain West Conference
24. New Mexico State 1-1 186 24 Western Athletic Conference
25. Eastern Kentucky 2-0 166 NR Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Central Michigan 2-0 147 Mid-American Conference
James Madison 2-0 144 Colonial Athletic Association
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3-0 143 Southland Conference
SMU 1-1 139 American Athletic Conference
Columbia 2-0 133 Ivy League
San Francisco 2-0 121 West Coast Conference
St. Bonaventure 1-0 113 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 2-0 108 Colonial Athletic Association
Albany 2-0 106 America East Conference
Southern Miss 2-0 102 Conference USA
Cornell 2-0 100 Ivy League
Illinois State 1-1 100 Missouri Valley Conference
SIU Edwardsville 2-0 84 Ohio Valley Conference
Sam Houston State 2-0 80 Southland Conference
Tennessee Martin 2-0 79 Ohio Valley Conference
North Texas 2-0 77 Conference USA
UC Santa Barbara 1-0 76 Big West Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 62 Western Athletic Conference
Charleston Southern 2-0 60 Big South Conference
American 2-0 55 Patriot League
Quinnipiac 2-0 51 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
South Dakota State 1-0 48 Summit League
Fordham 2-0 47 Atlantic 10 Conference
Weber State 2-0 47 Big Sky Conference
Milwaukee 1-0 45 Horizon League
Utah State 1-0 43 Mountain West Conference
Winthrop 2-0 43 Big South Conference
Towson 2-0 40 Colonial Athletic Association
Middle Tennessee 1-0 36 Conference USA
UC Riverside 0-0 33 Big West Conference
Houston 1-0 32 American Athletic Conference
Western Michigan 0-0 32 Mid-American Conference
Grand Canyon 1-0 31 Western Athletic Conference
Arkansas Little Rock 2-0 27 Sun Belt Conference
San Jose State 0-0 26 Mountain West Conference
Texas State 1-0 21 Sun Belt Conference
NJIT 2-0 18 Atlantic Sun Conference
Liberty 1-0 13 Big South Conference
Texas-Rio Grande Valley 1-0 11 Western Athletic Conference
Valparaiso 1-1 11 Horizon League
Jacksonville State 2-0 9 Ohio Valley Conference
USC Upstate 2-0 2 Atlantic Sun Conference

Davidson does move up 4 spots in the mid-major poll after beating Duke, and are now the only FOFC coached mid-major team receiving votes.

[bbgunn]

Wow, not a good start for the Warriors.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 21-27, 2016

No feature games this week, so to the weekly recap we go:

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

11/21/16- Toledo Regional First Round vs. (1) Wagner (W 64-61).
11/22/16- Toledo Regional Championship vs. (3) Loyola (MD) (W 84-58).
11/27/16 at Princeton (L 59-51).

A big congrats to Hartford and Coach Ginsberg for winning their season tournament, even if it was only a 4 team tournament. Hopefully they can shake off the loss at Princeton and start winning again.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-3, 0-0 American.

No games this week for ECU and Coach Hutt.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/21/16- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal vs. (4) #11 Oregon (L 79-64).
11/27/16 vs. St. John's (L 78-65).

2 losses for the Wildcats this week, but let's look at them for what they are: 2 losses against great competition.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 1-2, 0-0 Big 12.

11/22/16- Cancun Challenge Semifinal vs. (3) Memphis (L 74-70).
11/23/16- Cancun Challenge 3rd Place Game vs. (1) #13 North Carolina (L 84-55).

Tough week for the Horned Frogs who let one slip away against Memphis. Apparently TCU finished 2nd in an 8 team tourney last season, I'll have to go back and look. They've got some very winnable games coming up though.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/21/16- Legends Classic Consolation vs. (8) UAB (W 92-55).
11/22/16- Legends Classic 5th Place Game vs. (7) Toledo (W 82-49).

Nice bounce back for the Wolverines with a couple blowout wins, even if they were against the bottom 2 seeds in the tourney.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 4-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/21/16- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal vs. (3) #6 Georgetown (W 53-45).
11/22/16- Hall of Fame Classic Championship vs. (4) #11 Oregon (W 86-64).

Congrats to the Spartans and Coach Mighty, who become the first team and FOFC coach to win a 16 team tournament.

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

No games this week for the Warriors and Coach Gunn.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/25/16- New Orleans Classic First Round vs. (4) Ball State (W 57-46).
11/27/16- New Orleans Classic Championship vs. (3) Youngstown State (W 53-43).

Congrats to the 49ers and Coach Tribble. By my count they are the 4th FOFC team to win a season tournament so far. Not bad.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 1-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/24/16- South Carolina Showcase First Round vs. (3) Seattle (L 86-78).
11/26/16- South Carolina Showcase 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Illinois Chicago (W 74-64).

An improvement over last year for the Owls, who finished 4th in a 4 team tournament. Getting their first win over a tough team is nice.

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

11/26/16 vs. Cornell (W 46-38).

A low scoring battle for the Hawks in their only game of the week, but they survived it.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-1, 0-0 MEAC.

11/21/16- Paradise Jam 5th Place Game vs. (1) Gardner Webb (W 59-40).

The Spartans will be happy with a 5th place finish considering the way they started. Now they have a chance to build on that.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/22/16- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (6) Vermont (W 74-46).
11/25/16- Brooklyn Classic Semifinal vs. (2) #12 Miami (W 80-77).
11/26/16- Brooklyn Classic Championship vs. (1) #4 Kansas (L 73-62).

Only fitting that it would be a former Big 12 foe that stood in the way of a tournament title for the Buffaloes. They may be 2-2 but it's a very, very good 2-2.

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

11/21/16- Legends Classic Semifinal vs. (5) Tennessee (W 70-62).
11/22/16- Legends Classic Championship vs. (2) Xavier (L 70-61).
11/27/16 at UNLV (L 75-67).

Tough way to end the week for the Cardinal with 2 straight losses, but they can certainly recover.

#20 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 4-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/23/16 at UC Davis (W 79-47).
11/27/16 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 90-63).

A couple easy wins for the Bruins against inferior west coast competition.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/21/16- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (1) #15 Iowa (L 87-68).
11/24/16- Las Vegas Invitational Consolation Round vs. (5) #17 Seton Hall (L 75-60).
11/25/16- Las Vegas Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (7) Rider (L 83-68).

Ugh! On the flip side of things, the Cougars and coach St. John become the first FOFC coached team to finish 8th in an 8 team tournament, and they weren't competitive in any of the 3 games.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 0-3, 0-0 SEC.

11/21/16- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (7) Western Michigan (L 66-55).
11/22/16- Maui Invitational Consolation Round vs. (6) Utah State (L 78-77).
11/23/16- Maui Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (4) Illinois (L 74-61).

And that makes the 2nd team to finish 8th in an 8 team tournament, but at least the Crimson Tide were competitive. They actually led at halftime in 2 of the 3 games.

#14 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/16 at Furman (W 83-50).

Easy pickings in the lone game of the week for the Gators, but it'll get tougher next week.

#25 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 SEC.

11/22/16 at #21 Oklahoma State (L 78-71).

Could be a bit of a rough season for the Wildcats, at least by their standards. Never did they expect to have 2 losses before December.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 0-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/24/16- Wooden Legacy First Round vs. (8) IUPUI (L 65-63).
11/25/16- Wooden Legacy Consolation Round vs. (4) St. Francis PA (L 58-55).
11/27/16- Wooden Legacy 7th Place Game vs. (6) Cal State Bakersfield (L 67-59).

What an agonizing week and tournament for Coach Hawkins and the Trojans. They came in the #1 seed and lost 3 games by a total of 13 points. And it's not like it was the toughest of competition either, at least it shouldn't have been.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (72) 4-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kansas 5-0 1728 4 Big 12 Conference
3. Cincinnati 5-0 1656 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Baylor 5-0 1582 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Wichita State 6-0 1510 8 Missouri Valley Conference
6. La Salle 6-0 1413 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Florida 4-0 1319 14 Southeastern Conference
8. UCLA 4-1 1292 20 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Oklahoma State 2-0 1223 21 Big 12 Conference
10. VCU 2-0 1083 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Villanova 3-0 1032 24 Big East Conference
12. Marquette 4-0 1018 10 Big East Conference
13. Iowa State 5-1 945 7 Big 12 Conference
14. Wisconsin 4-1 868 NR Big Ten Conference
15. Georgetown 3-1 629 6 Big East Conference
16. Virginia 3-1 588 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Oregon 4-1 504 11 Pacific-12 Conference
18. Maryland 5-0 479 NR Big Ten Conference
19. Syracuse 4-1 427 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Florida State 7-0 398 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Miami 4-1 379 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Xavier 4-0 274 NR Big East Conference
23. Iowa 2-1 245 15 Big Ten Conference
24. Seton Hall 3-1 219 17 Big East Conference
25. North Carolina 2-1 201 13 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Purdue 5-0 130 Big Ten Conference
Duke 2-1 103 Atlantic Coast Conference
Ohio State 4-1 75 Big Ten Conference
Portland 6-0 66 West Coast Conference
Arizona State 4-0 44 Pacific-12 Conference
Georgia Tech 4-0 41 Atlantic Coast Conference
UNC Wilmington 5-0 33 Colonial Athletic Association
Saint Joseph's 4-0 26 Atlantic 10 Conference
Washington 3-1 20 Pacific-12 Conference
Southern Miss 4-0 12 Conference USA
Milwaukee 3-0 9 Horizon League
Arkansas Little Rock 3-0 6 Sun Belt Conference
Texas Tech 2-0 6 Big 12 Conference
Grand Canyon 2-0 5 Western Athletic Conference
Kansas State 4-1 3 Big 12 Conference
Liberty 2-0 3 Big South Conference
UC Riverside 3-0 3 Big West Conference
North Texas 3-0 2 Conference USA
San Jose State 1-0 1 Mountain West Conference

Michigan State stays at #1, and they will until they are defeated most likely. Florida and UCLA both have major jumps after winning all their games this week. No surprise to see Kentucky out, and all the other FOFC teams that were receiving votes? Not anymore.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 5-0 1799 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Wichita State 6-0 1725 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. La Salle (1) 6-0 1660 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. VCU 2-0 1584 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Portland 6-0 1318 13 West Coast Conference
6. UNC Wilmington 5-0 1169 18 Colonial Athletic Association
7. Cleveland State 3-1 1136 20 Horizon League
8. Stephen F. Austin 4-1 1128 6 Southland Conference
9. Southern Miss 4-0 1070 NR Conference USA
10. Saint Joseph's 4-0 1004 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. New Mexico State 4-1 911 24 Western Athletic Conference
12. Gonzaga 4-1 863 7 West Coast Conference
13. Arkansas Little Rock 3-0 851 NR Sun Belt Conference
14. Milwaukee 3-0 801 NR Horizon League
15. BYU 2-1 659 19 West Coast Conference
16. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3-0 602 NR Southland Conference
17. North Texas 3-0 575 NR Conference USA
18. NJIT 3-0 532 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
19. SMU 2-1 518 NR American Athletic Conference
20. UC Riverside 3-0 473 NR Big West Conference
21. Richmond 2-1 462 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. San Diego State 2-2 429 10 Mountain West Conference
23. Liberty 2-0 394 NR Big South Conference
24. Dayton 3-1 345 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Illinois State 1-1 266 NR Missouri Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Grand Canyon 2-0 236 Western Athletic Conference
Stetson 0-0 223 Atlantic Sun Conference
San Jose State 1-0 214 Mountain West Conference
George Washington 2-1 138 Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts 4-1 82 Atlantic 10 Conference
Akron 5-1 57 Mid-American Conference
Memphis 3-1 54 American Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 3-1 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Murray State 5-1 22 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 1-1 19 Mountain West Conference
Quinnipiac 5-1 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
William & Mary 4-1 13 Colonial Athletic Association
Albany 4-1 12 America East Conference
Columbia 3-1 6 Ivy League
South Florida 4-1 5 American Athletic Conference
Fordham 3-1 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

Man, I figured Davidson would lose some votes, but I didn't think they'd lose ALL their votes. Tough polls.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2016

No feature games this week, so let's get to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-2, 0-0 America East.

11/29/16 at Hofstra (W 72-69).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks who grinded out a road win.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-4, 0-0 American.

12/3/16 at #10 VCU (L 78-36).

The lone game this week for the Pirates was a game to forget. They should have just stayed home. Maybe they did.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/3/16 vs. Indiana (L 76-61).

Another lone game this week, this time for the Wildcats who continue to schedule tough but can't handle it.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 3-2, 0-0 Big 12.

11/29/16 vs. UL Lafayette (W 78-59).
12/2/16 at UT Arlington (W 79-69).

The Horned Frogs stay in the state of Texas this week with their road game being against a Texas team. 2 solid wins and they are back above .500.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/28/16 vs. San Diego State (L 84-66).
12/1/16 vs. Lafayette (W 87-59).
12/4/16 vs. Northern Iowa (W 88-85).

The Wolverines were put through the grind this week, but got to stay at home doing it. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 6-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/29/16 vs. Detroit (W 72-47).
12/3/16 vs. Bradley (W 80-41).

2 easy wins for the Spartans this week, and so far all but 1 of their wins has been by double digits.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-2, 0-0 Big West.

11/29/16 vs. Penn State (W 68-65).
12/2/16 at Wake Forest (W 67-59).

Good week for the Warriors who won 2 tough games against P5 competition. Those wins include a win over that same Penn State team they just played and lost to in the Charleston Classic.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Timmy and the 49ers.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 2-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/1/16 vs. Maine (W 73-46).
12/3/16 at Memphis (L 72-59).

The Owls hung with Memphis for a while but couldn't find a way to get past them, so they split this week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-5, 1-0 MAAC.

11/30/16 at Princeton (L 55-42).
12/2/16 at Rutgers (L 67-49).
12/4/16 at Siena (W 57-56).

A huge grind for the Hawks this week as they have 3 road games, including starting conference play in early December??? I don't quite get that, but ok. At least they started conference play with a victory.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-3, 0-0 MEAC.

11/28/16 at Albany (L 86-55).
12/2/16 vs. American (L 69-66).

The Spartans forgot to show up at Albany, and almost got one against American, but alas, they are under .500 again.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/28/16 vs. Minnesota (L 75-64).
11/30/16 vs. Northern Iowa (L 70-56).

Things are going south in a hurry for the Buffaloes, and it doesn't get any easier next week as they travel to a top 5 opponent.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/29/16 at St. Mary's (W 71-62).
12/2/16 at Missouri (L 68-59).

A split for the Cardinal this week, both games on the road.

#8 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 5-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/2/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 74-40).

A little bit of irony here, as the team coach Shepard coaches in this dynasty just beat the team that Shepard plays for in the Interactive Player Dynasty. I knew I'd find a way to tie the 2 together sooner or later. Heh!

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

11/28/16 vs. Idaho (W 68-61).

Well it wasn't easy but the Cougars finally got back on the winning side of things. With their schedule, they should get a few more feel good wins before Pac 12 play starts.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-4, 0-0 SEC.

11/28/16 vs. Seattle (W 80-72).
12/4/16 vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (L 77-68).

The Crimson Tide got their first win of the season then get embarrassed at home. Next up on the schedule, a string of 6 games against current top 25 teams. Ay yi yi!

#7 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 4-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/30/16 vs. #14 Wisconsin (L 65-56).

First loss of the season for the Gators, who also have a brutal stretch of games coming up.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 SEC.

No games this week for Patrick and the Wildcats.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/4/16 at Florida Gulf Coast (W 69-47).

A nice win against a strong FGCU team this week for the Trojans. With their non-conference schedule being very winnable, they need to take this win and run with it.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (72) 6-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kansas 6-0 1695 2 Big 12 Conference
3. Baylor 7-0 1655 4 Big 12 Conference
4. Wichita State 7-0 1618 5 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Cincinnati 7-0 1504 3 American Athletic Conference
6. La Salle 7-0 1444 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Oklahoma State 4-0 1284 9 Big 12 Conference
8. Marquette 5-0 1253 12 Big East Conference
9. UCLA 5-1 1237 8 Pacific-12 Conference
10. VCU 4-0 1176 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Iowa State 7-1 1127 13 Big 12 Conference
12. Georgetown 4-1 885 15 Big East Conference
13. Virginia 4-1 820 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Oregon 5-1 797 17 Pacific-12 Conference
15. Miami 6-1 678 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Maryland 6-0 667 18 Big Ten Conference
17. Iowa 4-1 652 23 Big Ten Conference
18. Xavier 6-0 569 22 Big East Conference
19. North Carolina 4-1 557 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Duke 4-1 465 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Florida State 7-0 407 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Ohio State 4-1 241 NR Big Ten Conference
23. Florida 4-1 199 7 Southeastern Conference
24. Portland 8-0 175 NR West Coast Conference
25. Washington 4-1 148 NR Pacific-12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Villanova 5-1 94 Big East Conference
Saint Joseph's 5-0 68 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kansas State 6-1 64 Big 12 Conference
Southern Miss 5-0 48 Conference USA
Milwaukee 5-0 21 Horizon League
Grand Canyon 4-0 10 Western Athletic Conference
Richmond 5-1 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
Wisconsin 5-2 7 Big Ten Conference
Gonzaga 6-1 6 West Coast Conference
North Texas 4-0 6 Conference USA
UC Riverside 3-0 4 Big West Conference
Cleveland State 5-1 3 Horizon League
Illinois State 4-1 3 Missouri Valley Conference
Pittsburgh 6-1 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
NJIT 4-0 1 Atlantic Sun Conference

Michigan State stays on top, no surprise there. This game really seems to have a crush on the Spartans, even in my Interactive Player Dynasty. UCLA drops a spot after a 34 point win (huh?) and Florida drops 16 spots after a 9 point loss. Geez, the polls in this game have me shaking my head sometimes.

Now for the mid-major top 25, which I can all but guarantee none of our teams will be in.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wichita State (69) 7-0 1797 2 Missouri Valley Conference
2. Cincinnati 7-0 1694 1 American Athletic Conference
3. La Salle (3) 7-0 1692 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. VCU 4-0 1585 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cleveland State 5-1 1377 7 Horizon League
6. Portland 8-0 1318 5 West Coast Conference
7. Gonzaga 6-1 1228 12 West Coast Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 5-1 1184 8 Southland Conference
9. Southern Miss 5-0 1057 9 Conference USA
10. New Mexico State 5-1 1038 11 Western Athletic Conference
11. Saint Joseph's 5-0 1028 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Richmond 5-1 985 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Milwaukee 5-0 883 14 Horizon League
14. San Diego State 4-2 797 22 Mountain West Conference
15. Dayton 5-1 792 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. SMU 3-1 737 19 American Athletic Conference
17. Grand Canyon 4-0 650 NR Western Athletic Conference
18. Illinois State 4-1 645 25 Missouri Valley Conference
19. North Texas 4-0 630 17 Conference USA
20. NJIT 4-0 589 18 Atlantic Sun Conference
21. Massachusetts 5-1 462 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. UC Riverside 3-0 452 20 Big West Conference
23. Boise State 3-1 159 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Murray State 7-1 149 NR Ohio Valley Conference
25. Quinnipiac 8-1 145 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Georgia State 4-2 80 Horizon League
Albany 6-1 60 America East Conference
South Florida 5-1 53 American Athletic Conference
Harvard 6-2 32 Ivy League
Colorado State 5-1 29 Mountain West Conference
Kent State 5-1 17 Mid-American Conference
UTEP 3-1 14 Conference USA
Louisiana Tech 4-1 12 Conference USA
Central Michigan 3-1 11 Mid-American Conference
Lipscomb 4-1 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
Fordham 3-1 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
Charleston Southern 4-1 3 Big South Conference
Houston 4-1 3 American Athletic Conference
Arkansas Little Rock 4-1 2 Sun Belt Conference
Cal Poly 2-1 1 Big West Conference
Montana 3-1 1 Big Sky Conference

Yep, I called it. I believe last year we had 8 teams make postseason and all but 1 were NCAA Tournament teams. If things keep going the way they are, we'll have just half that many playing in the postseason this season. It's pretty ugly so far.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 5-11, 2016

Looks like we have 3 feature games this week, all non-conference games, so let's get to it:

12/5/16- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- Hawaii came back from a halftime deficit by holding Rice to just 34.6% shooting to pull one out.

Final Score: Hawaii- 64, Rice- 55

12/7/16- ECU (Al Hutt) @ Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- This battle of the siblings went to Patrick, although ECU had it close through about the first 30 minutes before Kentucky pulled away.

Final Score: Kentucky- 87, ECU- 65

12/8/16- #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The Bruins had a 23 point halftime lead in this one, and Alabama tried to fight back, but the deficit was just too much.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 72, Alabama- 61

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-4, 0-0 America East.

12/5/16 at #25 Washington (L 72-70).
12/8/16 at UMass (L 61-46).
12/11/16 vs. Brown (W 47-45).

A gallant effort by the Hawks at a ranked Washington team, but at least they end the week with a victory.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-6, 0-0 American.

12/7/16 at Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
12/9/16 at #19 North Carolina (L 84-43).

Give the Pirates credit for going on the road against tough competition, but it's not translating into wins, and that's what they need.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/8/16 vs. Radford (L 78-69).

1 game for the Wildcats this week, and a brutal loss extends the losing streak to 4.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/6/16 vs. Lamar (W 83-43).
12/11/16 at SMU (L 88-53).

The short 3 game winning streak for the Horned Frogs ends in a big way, but at least they are still over .500.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/6/16 at Pittsburgh (L 78-62).
12/11/16 at #25 Washington (L 78-65).

2 double digit road losses against solid competition for the Wolverines, but they'll need to win a couple of those sooner or later.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/5/16 at Maine (W 71-47).

1 game for the Spartans this week, but they keep rolling. It gets a little tougher in the upcoming weeks though.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-3, 0-0 Big West.

12/5/16 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
12/7/16 at Indiana State (L 70-62).

A split this week for the Warriors who see their 3 game winning streak end, but are still over .500.

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

12/5/16 vs. North Carolina Central (L 76-67).
12/9/16 at San Diego State (L 62-51).
12/11/16 vs. Presbyterian (W 68-46).

The 49ers salvage the week with a double digit win, but they've got a tough 3 game road stretch coming up.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/5/16 at Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
12/9/16 at UT Arlington (W 53-45).
12/11/16 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 69-60).

2 out of 3 for the Owls this week and they are back to .500.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 4-6, 2-1 MAAC.

12/9/16 at Fairfield (L 51-47).
12/11/16 vs. Quinnipiac (W 60-56).

A split for the Hawks this week, ironically both results were 4 point games.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-4, 0-0 MEAC.

12/6/16 at George Mason (W 74-63).
12/9/16 vs. Drexel (L 96-65).

A split for the Spartans this week, winning on the road and losing at home.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 3-5, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/16 at #4 Wichita State (W 70-57).
12/9/16 vs. BYU (L 71-54).

The week started out great for the Buffaloes as they pulled an upset in Wichita, but BYU brought them back to earth.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/7/16 vs. Northern Illinois (W 80-64).
12/9/16 vs. Nebraska (W 66-57).

A couple big wins for the Cardinal to hopefully get them back on track.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/8/16 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 2-5, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/6/16 at UC Riverside (L 67-64).
12/8/16 vs. Seattle (L 62-56).

2 tough losses for the Cougars this week by a combined 9 points.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-5, 0-0 SEC.

12/8/16 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough loss for the Crimson Tide, and it won't get easier. 4 of their next 5 games are against top 10 teams.

#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 5-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/7/16 vs. California (W 64-63).

A nice win for the Gators, and by the slimmest of margins. They needed it because they also have a rough schedule coming up.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 3-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/7/16 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

1 game for the Wildcats this week, an easy victory in the Battle of the Hutts.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/6/16 at William & Mary (W 67-59).
12/10/16 at Tulane (W 65-63).

The Trojans appear to be figuring it out, as they've won 3 in a row now after losing their first 4.

Here's a look at the national Top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (72) 7-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kansas 8-0 1726 2 Big 12 Conference
3. Baylor 8-0 1652 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Cincinnati 9-0 1561 5 American Athletic Conference
5. La Salle 9-0 1540 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Marquette 7-0 1411 8 Big East Conference
7. UCLA 6-1 1336 9 Pacific-12 Conference
8. VCU 6-0 1322 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Wichita State 8-1 1189 4 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Georgetown 6-1 1145 12 Big East Conference
11. Miami 7-1 1083 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Oregon 6-1 981 14 Pacific-12 Conference
13. North Carolina 6-1 922 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Iowa 6-1 833 17 Big Ten Conference
15. Duke 5-1 679 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Washington 7-1 677 25 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Florida State 8-0 556 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Ohio State 6-1 544 22 Big Ten Conference
19. Kansas State 8-1 521 NR Big 12 Conference
20. Florida 5-1 392 23 Southeastern Conference
21. Oklahoma State 5-1 388 7 Big 12 Conference
22. Gonzaga 8-1 300 NR West Coast Conference
23. Villanova 6-1 284 NR Big East Conference
24. Iowa State 8-2 155 11 Big 12 Conference
25. Saint Joseph's 6-0 85 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Pittsburgh 8-1 80 Atlantic Coast Conference
Stephen F. Austin 8-1 76 Southland Conference
San Diego State 6-2 36 Mountain West Conference
North Carolina State 5-1 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
Richmond 6-1 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico State 7-1 16 Western Athletic Conference
Illinois State 6-1 15 Missouri Valley Conference
Maryland 7-1 14 Big Ten Conference
Utah 7-1 12 Pacific-12 Conference
North Texas 5-0 9 Conference USA
Arkansas 8-1 7 Southeastern Conference
SMU 6-1 7 American Athletic Conference
Vanderbilt 6-1 2 Southeastern Conference
Virginia 5-2 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Kentucky 3-2 1 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 9-1 1 Ohio Valley Conference

No surprise to see Michigan State on top still, while UCLA and Florida both rise after their wins. I guarantee Kentucky only got a vote based on past prestige, so we'll see if they can maintain it.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (45) 9-0 1772 2 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle (27) 9-0 1755 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 6-0 1632 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Wichita State 8-1 1609 1 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Gonzaga 8-1 1453 7 West Coast Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 8-1 1394 8 Southland Conference
7. San Diego State 6-2 1287 14 Mountain West Conference
8. New Mexico State 7-1 1247 10 Western Athletic Conference
9. SMU 6-1 1233 16 American Athletic Conference
10. Richmond 6-1 1138 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Saint Joseph's 6-0 1084 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Illinois State 6-1 1057 18 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Massachusetts 6-1 913 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. North Texas 5-0 849 19 Conference USA
15. Boise State 5-1 801 23 Mountain West Conference
16. Murray State 9-1 685 24 Ohio Valley Conference
17. Harvard 8-2 544 NR Ivy League
18. Portland 9-1 469 6 West Coast Conference
19. Albany 7-1 430 NR America East Conference
20. Cleveland State 6-2 403 5 Horizon League
21. Colorado State 6-1 327 NR Mountain West Conference
22. Green Bay 5-1 260 NR Horizon League
23. Southern Miss 6-1 205 9 Conference USA
24. Louisiana Tech 6-1 156 NR Conference USA
25. Milwaukee 6-1 150 13 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Akron 7-2 120 Mid-American Conference
UTEP 5-1 80 Conference USA
Valparaiso 6-2 76 Horizon League
Houston 6-1 65 American Athletic Conference
Winthrop 5-1 56 Big South Conference
NJIT 6-1 46 Atlantic Sun Conference
UC Riverside 4-1 43 Big West Conference
Dayton 6-2 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
Montana 4-1 21 Big Sky Conference
Memphis 7-2 19 American Athletic Conference

No big surprise, our mid-major teams are still out.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 12-18, 2016

No feature games this week, so to the weekly recap we go:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-5, 0-0 America East.

12/13/16 vs. Penn State (L 73-61).
12/17/16 vs. Holy Cross (W 57-48).

A split this week for the Hawks, with both games being at home.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-7, 0-0 American.

12/12/16 at Xavier (L 65-53).
12/17/16 at Western Carolina (W 77-63).

For 3 of their 4 halves this week, the Pirates looked like a good basketball team. They led at halftime at Xavier, then fell apart from there. But.. the losing streak is over at least!

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 3-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/14/16 at #13 North Carolina (L 60-56).
12/16/16 at Princeton (W 84-82, OT).
12/18/16 at Duke (L 83-67).

A grueling week for the Wildcats who battled hard at North Carolina, but fell short. They also had to go to OT to beat Princeton. Another brutal week awaits next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/16/16 at Loyola Marymount (W 69-46).
12/18/16 vs. Green Bay (W 96-87).

Nice week for the Horned Frogs, who have already won just as many games this season as they did all of last season.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/13/16 vs. Miami (OH) (W 83-54).
12/15/16 at #12 Oregon (W 60-54).

Good week for the Wolverines who had to come from behind to beat Oregon, but got 2 big wins this week, including an upset over a top 15 Oregon team.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/12/16 at #11 Miami (L 85-82).
12/16/16 at Radford (W 100-51).

The Spartans suffer their first loss of the season against a top 15 team, then take it out on a poor, defenseless, Radford team. We'll see how long it is before Coach Mighty is tested again.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-6, 0-0 Big West.

12/12/16 at San Francisco (L 54-29).
12/14/16 at Missouri (L 68-65).
12/18/16 vs. Akron (L 67-53).

Not a good week for the Warriors who post an 0 fer in 3 games. That 29 point game at San Fran can't make any coach happy. At least they competed at Mizzou, but still fell short.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/17/16 at Wisconsin (L 90-58).

A week to forget for the 49ers, who just got hammered at Wisconsin.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/15/16 vs. McNeese State (L 77-72).
12/18/16 at Texas Southern (W 71-46).

An embarrassing loss this week for the Owls, who can't be losing at home to teams like McNeese State.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-7, 3-2 MAAC.

12/16/16 at Iona (L 77-48).
12/18/16 vs. Iona (W 65-57).

3 straight weeks of splits for the Hawks, but this one was a little different in that they played the same team back to back. Weird scheduling.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-6, 0-0 MEAC.

12/12/16 at Radford (L 65-50).
12/14/16 vs. NJIT (W 83-66).
12/16/16 vs. Nicholls State (W 63-55).
12/18/16 at Old Dominion (L 84-63).

My goodness, the Spartans have to be exhausted after playing 4 games this week. Why any team would want to schedule that way is beyond me, but they came out of the week with a split at least.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/12/16 vs. UNC Wilmington (L 74-72, OT).
12/16/16 vs. Utah Valley (W 70-52).

So the Buffaloes split their home games this week, but that OT loss to Wilmington will sting. Wilmington may have a decent RPI right now, but Colorado was easily their best win. Hopefully Coach Nielsen can regroup his team.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Coach Sanchez or the Cardinal.

#7 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/12/16 vs. Northern Arizona (W 64-50).

Just the 1 game this week for the Bruins, who pretty much handled Northern Arizona with ease.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 4-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/12/16 vs. Albany (W 77-41).
12/15/16 at South Dakota State (L 93-60).
12/18/16 vs. Idaho State (W 66-35).

2 out of 3 ain't bad for the Cougars, but a 33 point loss to South Dakota State will sting for a while. No excuse for that.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-8, 0-0 SEC.

12/12/16 at Virginia (L 87-84, OT).
12/14/16 at #2 Kansas (L 84-71).
12/17/16 at Louisville (L 74-73).

Tough week for the Crimson Tide, who took 2 very good teams down to the wire. Problem is, taking them to the wire isn't good enough. They need to finish off some of these games, as they now have a 5 game losing streak.

#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 6-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/13/16 vs. #15 Duke (W 67-53).
12/15/16 vs. #14 Iowa (L 88-82).

The Gators are happy with a split against 2 teams that have lost just 3 times this season, but they can't be happy that they let the Iowa game slip away.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky) -- 5-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/13/16 at #12 Oregon (W 66-55).
12/16/16 vs. Evansville (W 76-74, OT).

Very surprised that the Wildcats went to OT with Evansville. Usually those are the type of teams that Kentucky rolls over, but this team is down a little bit. Still very good though.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-4, 1-0 Sun Belt.

12/17/16 at Appalachian State (W 60-49).

A good start to Sun Belt play for the Trojans, as they win their conference opener which was their only game of the week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kansas (36) 9-0 1763 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Baylor (36) 11-0 1760 3 Big 12 Conference
3. Michigan State 8-1 1619 1 Big Ten Conference
4. Cincinnati 11-0 1609 4 American Athletic Conference
5. Marquette 9-0 1472 6 Big East Conference
6. La Salle 10-0 1391 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. UCLA 7-1 1304 7 Pacific-12 Conference
8. Georgetown 9-1 1299 10 Big East Conference
9. VCU 8-0 1264 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Wichita State 10-1 1193 9 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Miami 9-1 1137 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Iowa 8-1 999 14 Big Ten Conference
13. North Carolina 8-1 948 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Ohio State 8-1 807 18 Big Ten Conference
15. Washington 9-1 764 16 Pacific-12 Conference
16. Oklahoma State 6-1 624 21 Big 12 Conference
17. Florida State 10-0 592 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Iowa State 9-2 521 24 Big 12 Conference
19. Villanova 7-1 498 23 Big East Conference
20. Virginia 7-2 338 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Stephen F. Austin 9-1 276 NR Southland Conference
22. SMU 8-1 260 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Kentucky 5-2 198 NR Southeastern Conference
24. San Diego State 8-2 197 NR Mountain West Conference
25. New Mexico State 9-1 152 NR Western Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Richmond 8-1 134 Atlantic 10 Conference
Illinois State 8-1 94 Missouri Valley Conference
Xavier 8-1 60 Big East Conference
Duke 7-2 45 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Texas 7-0 28 Conference USA
Massachusetts 8-1 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
Arkansas 9-1 16 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 10-1 7 Ohio Valley Conference
Vanderbilt 7-1 7 Southeastern Conference
Portland 10-1 3 West Coast Conference

So Michigan State drops 2 spots after their first loss of the season. What a battle we have at the top, just 3 points separate conference foes Kansas and Baylor. Both teams had 36 FPV, which means Kansas must have had an extra second place vote or something, I honestly don't know how the points system works when it comes to the rankings. Anyways, back to our teams.. UCLA stays put after an easy win this week, and Kentucky gets back in the top 25 with 2 wins, including the win over #12 Oregon. Florida, with their loss, loses all their votes. Unbelievable.

Now for the Mid-Major top 25, although I don't know why I continue to show it with none of our teams in it, and probably won't be anytime soon.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 11-0 1799 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Wichita State 10-1 1676 4 Missouri Valley Conference
3. La Salle (1) 10-0 1647 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. VCU 8-0 1646 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 9-1 1432 6 Southland Conference
6. San Diego State 8-2 1428 7 Mountain West Conference
7. New Mexico State 9-1 1351 8 Western Athletic Conference
8. SMU 8-1 1303 9 American Athletic Conference
9. Richmond 8-1 1231 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Illinois State 8-1 1193 12 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Massachusetts 8-1 1026 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. North Texas 7-0 916 14 Conference USA
13. Cleveland State 8-2 914 20 Horizon League
14. Murray State 10-1 851 16 Ohio Valley Conference
15. Gonzaga 9-2 806 5 West Coast Conference
16. Portland 10-1 639 18 West Coast Conference
17. Akron 8-2 610 NR Mid-American Conference
18. Colorado State 8-1 600 21 Mountain West Conference
19. Southern Miss 8-1 476 23 Conference USA
20. Saint Joseph's 7-1 387 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Dayton 8-2 367 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. UTEP 6-1 346 NR Conference USA
23. Louisiana Tech 7-1 290 24 Conference USA
24. Boise State 7-2 188 15 Mountain West Conference
25. UC Riverside 6-1 126 NR Big West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Memphis 9-2 112 American Athletic Conference
Middle Tennessee 8-2 14 Conference USA
San Francisco 9-2 14 West Coast Conference
Georgia State 6-3 6 Horizon League
Mercer 8-2 4 Southern Conference
Harvard 8-3 2 Ivy League

I wish I could say I'm shocked we have no FOFC teams represented here, but obviously I'm not. The majority of our FOFC teams are struggling and need to get better.

[bbgunn]

Ugh... can you say "hot seat" for B.B. Gunn?

[Coffee Warlord]

Heh, haven't caught up on this in awhile.

And yes, Nielsen stays at Colorado forever. I don't care how many offers he gets.

[collegesportsfanms]

Heh, haven't caught up on this in awhile.

And yes, Nielsen stays at Colorado forever. I don't care how many offers he gets.

No worries, all my projects are moving slower than anticipated. Real life gets in my way far more than I'd like.

So then as long as Rob is at Colorado, I won't run his offers by you. However if he gets fired (which will hopefully not happen), but if it does, Rob will have a decision to make. Retire or take another job.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 19-25, 2016

1 feature game this week, so let's get to it:

12/25/16- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- The Cougars led by 12 at halftime, but Hawaii wouldn't go away easily, fighting back thanks to 18 Wazzou turnovers. Unfortunately, a buzzer beater clanked the front of the rim, and the Cougars escaped.

Final Score: Washington State- 60, Hawaii- 59

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-9, 0-1 America East.

12/19/16 at Fordham (L 73-57).
12/21/16 at #6 LaSalle (L 60-37).
12/23/16 vs. Yale (L 70-48).
12/25/16 vs. Stony Brook (L 71-61).

Wow, credit the Hawks for loading up the week of Christmas, unfortunately, no presents for Coach Ginsberg, as his team was handled in all 4 games.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-8, 0-0 American.

12/22/16 at #20 Virginia (L 68-58).

Just 1 game for the Pirates this week, and they actually competed well, but couldn't get over the hump.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 3-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/24/16 at Vanderbilt (L 77-61).

Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, and it was the first of 3 against SEC teams. This one resulted in a loss, 2 more SEC opponents next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big 12.

12/20/16 at Nebraska (L 94-81).
12/23/16 at Texas A&M (L 90-59).

So this week was new Big 12 vs. old Big 12 for the Horned Frogs, as they took on 2 former Big 12 members, and lost to both by double digits.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/20/16 vs. Providence (W 86-67).

1 game this week for the Wolverines, and they took care of business.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-1. 0-0 Big Ten.

12/20/16 at Oregon (W 91-73).
12/22/16 vs. California (W 73-43).
12/24/16 vs. Central Michigan (W 98-43).

Easy week for the Spartans, who actually took on a couple decent opponents. You would never have guessed by the results though.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-7, 0-0 Big West.

12/22/16 vs. Northwestern State (W 63-48).
12/25/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

So the Warriors end the losing streak, and come a buzzer beater away from starting a winning streak. They've got 1 more big test next week before conference play.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-6, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/20/16 at Duke (L 54-53).
12/22/16 at #17 Florida State (L 58-42).

The 49ers almost pulled off the upset against the Dukies, but fell just short. They had a major letdown against FSU, but they played better this week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Coach Shocker or the Owls.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-9, 3-4 MAAC.

12/23/16 at Manhattan (L 78-52).
12/25/16 at Marist (L 60-50).

2 road tests for the Hawks this season, and they failed both, falling under .500 in conference play.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-7, 0-0 MEAC.

12/20/16 at Gardner Webb (L 68-61).

Just the 1 game for the Spartans, who had a halftime lead but couldn't hold it.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/19/16 at #18 Iowa State (L 58-57).
12/24/16 vs. Tulsa (W 69-66).

2 tough games for the Buffaloes this week, who narrowly missed defeating another top 25 team, but did end the week with a win. They'll get next week off before starting conference play.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/16 vs. Ole Miss (W 75-67).
12/23/16 vs. Northern Arizona (W 68-47).

The Cardinal showed no rust after a 12 day layoff, winning both games this week.

#7 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/16 vs. Missouri (W 70-28).
12/24/16 at George Washington (W 88-65).

The Mizzou game is very misleading. It was an 8 point game at halftime and the Bruins outscored them 45-11 in the second half. Holy cow!

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/25/16 at Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.

Just 1 game this week for the Cougars, and they escaped, barely.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-9, 0-0 SEC.

12/24/16 vs. #4 Cincinnati (L 84-78).

1 game this week for the Crimson Tide, who outrebounded Cincy. Better shooting and taking care of the basketball might have resulted in an upset, but it was not to be.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/20/16 vs. #1 Kansas (W 72-63).
12/23/16 vs. FIU (W 67-61).

Almost a huge letdown for the Gators after the big upset over KU, but they survived.

#23 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 8-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/19/16- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (8) Kent State (W 79-62).
12/20/16- Diamond Head Classic Semifinals vs. (4) #16 Oklahoma State (W 76-49).
12/22/16- Diamond Head Classic Championship vs. (2) #19 Villanova (L 74-62).
12/25/16 vs. Indiana (W 66-57).

3 out of 4 this week ain't bad for the Wildcats, but they missed a chance for a season tournament title, losing in the ship.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-5, 2-0 Sun Belt.

12/19/16 vs. Marshall (L 75-72).
12/24/16 vs. Texas State (W 77-55).

An encouraging start to conference play for the Trojans, as they've won both their first 2 conference games.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Baylor (37) 12-0 1765 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Michigan State (35) 11-1 1755 3 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 13-0 1657 4 American Athletic Conference
4. Marquette 12-0 1561 5 Big East Conference
5. UCLA 9-1 1517 7 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Kansas 10-1 1423 1 Big 12 Conference
7. La Salle 11-0 1315 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Georgetown 10-1 1310 8 Big East Conference
9. Miami 10-1 1267 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. North Carolina 11-1 1181 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Villanova 10-1 1037 19 Big East Conference
12. Wichita State 11-2 868 10 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Washington 9-1 809 15 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Florida State 12-0 778 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Iowa 9-2 767 12 Big Ten Conference
16. Virginia 10-2 735 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Iowa State 10-2 705 18 Big 12 Conference
18. New Mexico State 11-1 548 25 Western Athletic Conference
19. San Diego State 10-2 535 24 Mountain West Conference
20. Stephen F. Austin 11-1 456 21 Southland Conference
21. SMU 10-1 444 22 American Athletic Conference
22. Ohio State 9-2 202 14 Big Ten Conference
23. Richmond 9-1 202 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Duke 8-2 153 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Vanderbilt 9-1 109 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Florida 8-2 103 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 8-2 69 Big 12 Conference
Arkansas 10-1 32 Southeastern Conference
Syracuse 8-2 26 Atlantic Coast Conference
VCU 9-2 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kentucky 8-3 19 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 12-1 16 Ohio Valley Conference
Pittsburgh 10-2 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
UTEP 8-1 2 Conference USA
Wisconsin 9-3 2 Big Ten Conference
Illinois State 9-2 1 Missouri Valley Conference

So Michigan State and UCLA move up after good weeks, while Kentucky falls out of the top 25, even after a 3 out of 4 week. Florida is very, very close to being back in the top 25.

And now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 13-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 11-0 1727 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 11-2 1648 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 10-2 1576 6 Mountain West Conference
5. New Mexico State 11-1 1478 7 Western Athletic Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 11-1 1427 5 Southland Conference
7. SMU 10-1 1337 8 American Athletic Conference
8. VCU 9-2 1311 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Richmond 9-1 1294 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Murray State 12-1 1101 14 Ohio Valley Conference
11. Illinois State 9-2 993 10 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Akron 8-2 947 17 Mid-American Conference
13. UTEP 8-1 932 22 Conference USA
14. Southern Miss 9-1 862 19 Conference USA
15. Boise State 8-2 787 24 Mountain West Conference
16. Saint Joseph's 7-1 667 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Memphis 10-2 619 NR American Athletic Conference
18. Cleveland State 9-3 560 13 Horizon League
19. San Francisco 11-2 483 NR West Coast Conference
20. Georgia State 8-3 411 NR Horizon League
21. Gonzaga 10-3 410 15 West Coast Conference
22. Mercer 10-2 382 NR Southern Conference
23. Portland 11-2 279 16 West Coast Conference
24. Utah State 9-2 154 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Colorado State 8-2 78 18 Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
North Dakota State 10-2 40 Summit League
Dayton 8-3 27 Atlantic 10 Conference
Houston 7-2 20 American Athletic Conference
Fordham 7-2 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
Valparaiso 10-3 10 Horizon League
Massachusetts 9-3 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 9-3 7 Missouri Valley Conference
Rhode Island 8-3 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 10-3 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Montana 7-2 2 Big Sky Conference
Oral Roberts 7-2 1 Summit League

And once again, no representation from our mid-major teams. I'd say I'm shocked, but I'm not.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 26, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017

1 feature game this week, and it's a Rose Bowl quality game, if this was football.

12/30/16- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Not much to talk about in this one, as the Bruins took control early and never let up. They forced 18 turnovers and held Michigan to 38.9% shooting in an easy road victory.

Final Score: #5 UCLA- 81, Michigan- 54

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-9, 2-1 America East.

12/30/16 vs. Albany (W 75-66).
1/1/17 vs. UMBC (W 62-57).

Good week for the Hawks, who win both games this week. The Albany win was really nice as Albany has already won 10 games.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-10, 0-1 American.

12/28/16 vs. #3 Cincinnati (L 82-52).
12/31/16 vs. Longwood (L 40-38).

Ouch! Not a good week for the Pirates. Losing to Longwood is unacceptable. Coach Hutt better get it figured out quick.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/26/16 vs. South Carolina (W 73-59).
12/29/16 at Georgia (W 75-48).

Not sure what was said after the last game, but the Wildcats responded with 2 big wins over SEC opponents. Feel good wins heading into conference play.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-7, 0-2 Big 12.

12/26/16 at West Virginia (L 96-78).
12/31/16 at Kansas State (L 71-42).

The Horned Frogs are getting a reality check to start conference play, as they've been blitzed in their first 2 B12 games.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-5, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/30/16 vs. #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Not a good display for the Wolverines against a big time opponent. Now they head into an always tough Big Ten.

#2 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/26/16 at Ole Miss (W 78-54).

Easy game for the Spartans, who roll over a not so good SEC opponent before conference play starts.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-8, 0-0 Big West.

12/29/16 at Rhode Island (L 86-50).

The Warriors are struggling big time, losers of 6 of their last 7. If it's anything like last year, conference play is exactly where they need to be.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/26/16 at Georgia (L 66-58).
12/30/16 vs. Jacksonville (W 54-45).

The 49ers break a 4 game losing streak with the Jacksonville win and take some momentum heading into conference play.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-6, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/27/16 at Tennessee (L 76-58).

The Owls get credit for going on the road against tough competition during the holidays, but it was not to be as they really weren't competitive.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 7-9, 5-4 MAAC.

12/30/16 vs. St. Peter's (W 74-66).
1/1/17 vs. Niagara (W 64-54).

Nice week for the Hawks who get 2 big wins to go back over .500 in conference play.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-9, 0-1 MEAC.

12/26/16 vs. North Carolina Central (L 79-48).
12/29/16 vs. Seattle (L 78-72).

The losing streak is up to 4 for the Spartans, and what's more frustrating is both losses were at home.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Coach Nielsen and the Buffaloes.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/26/16 at Seattle (W 92-54).
12/28/16 at Idaho State (W 88-63).

A couple easy road victories for the Cardinal as they head into conference play.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 11-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/28/16 at Maryland (W 81-66).
12/30/16 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

The Bruins continue to roll, with 2 road wins against very solid teams. They've now won 9 in a row.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/31/16 vs. Long Beach State (L 63-52).

A letdown this week for the Cougars after a good win last week, not what they wanted heading into conference play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 2-10, 0-0 SEC.

12/26/16 vs. #1 Baylor (W 78-77, OT).
12/29/16 vs. VCU (L 86-80).

No matter what happens the rest of the season, the Crimson Tide can take some solace in knowing they upset a #1 ranked team at some point in the season. Granted, it was by 1 point, and it took overtime, but it's still a monumental win. What would have been great is if they could have compounded it by winning against VCU.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/28/16 at Stetson (W 79-59).
12/30/16 vs. Georgia Tech (W 73-54).

A couple easy ones for the Gators this week as they continue to build momentum heading into conference play.

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

12/30/16 at Western Kentucky (W 63-41).

Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, but it was an easy one.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-6, 3-1 Sun Belt.

12/29/16 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 69-52).
12/31/16 vs. Appalachian State (W 68-56).

A split this week for the Trojans, who lose their first conference game but rebound nicely in what looks to be a wide open Sun Belt.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (68) 12-1 1796 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Cincinnati (4) 15-0 1687 3 American Athletic Conference
3. Kansas 12-1 1686 6 Big 12 Conference
4. UCLA 11-1 1578 5 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Georgetown 12-1 1524 8 Big East Conference
6. Miami 12-1 1395 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. North Carolina 12-1 1300 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. La Salle 12-0 1295 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Marquette 12-1 1286 4 Big East Conference
10. Baylor 12-2 1199 1 Big 12 Conference
11. Wichita State 13-2 1082 12 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Virginia 11-2 999 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa 10-2 895 15 Big Ten Conference
14. Florida 10-2 825 NR Southeastern Conference
15. SMU 12-1 751 21 American Athletic Conference
16. Duke 10-2 700 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Stephen F. Austin 12-1 562 20 Southland Conference
18. Syracuse 10-2 562 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Richmond 11-1 383 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Florida State 13-1 334 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Villanova 11-2 298 11 Big East Conference
22. Vanderbilt 11-1 232 25 Southeastern Conference
23. San Diego State 11-3 212 19 Mountain West Conference
24. Wisconsin 10-3 163 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Washington 10-2 132 13 Pacific-12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
VCU 10-2 116 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kentucky 9-3 114 Southeastern Conference
Arkansas 11-1 98 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 14-1 88 Ohio Valley Conference
Iowa State 11-3 52 Big 12 Conference
Pittsburgh 11-2 31 Atlantic Coast Conference
New Mexico State 12-2 17 Western Athletic Conference
UTEP 9-1 6 Conference USA
Southern Miss 10-1 2 Conference USA

Michigan State moves back up to #1 after the Baylor upset loss, while UCLA moves up a spot after a couple huge wins this week. Florida gets a huge jump back into the top 25 after a good week, and Kentucky sits just on the outside.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 15-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 12-0 1698 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 13-2 1686 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. SMU 12-1 1513 7 American Athletic Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 12-1 1461 6 Southland Conference
6. VCU 10-2 1447 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Richmond 11-1 1380 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. San Diego State 11-3 1360 4 Mountain West Conference
9. New Mexico State 12-2 1196 5 Western Athletic Conference
10. Murray State 14-1 1172 10 Ohio Valley Conference
11. UTEP 9-1 1011 13 Conference USA
12. Cleveland State 11-3 992 18 Horizon League
13. Gonzaga 12-3 975 21 West Coast Conference
14. Southern Miss 10-1 923 14 Conference USA
15. Valparaiso 12-3 755 NR Horizon League
16. Colorado State 10-2 622 25 Mountain West Conference
17. Akron 9-3 613 12 Mid-American Conference
18. Northern Iowa 11-3 571 NR Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois State 10-3 427 11 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Boise State 9-3 426 15 Mountain West Conference
21. Dayton 9-3 289 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Memphis 11-3 254 17 American Athletic Conference
23. Fordham 9-2 168 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Georgia State 9-4 147 20 Horizon League
25. BYU 9-4 131 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Rhode Island 9-3 106 Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts 9-3 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 10-4 37 Ivy League
Mercer 10-3 37 Southern Conference
Oral Roberts 9-2 34 Summit League
Portland 12-3 23 West Coast Conference
UNC Wilmington 10-3 20 Colonial Athletic Association
North Texas 9-2 15 Conference USA
Montana 8-2 14 Big Sky Conference
Eastern Kentucky 11-3 6 Ohio Valley Conference
Quinnipiac 11-3 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 11-3 2 Summit League

Shocker of the year, no FOFC representation in this poll

[bbgunn]

It's overall a down year for the FOFCers, but at least those at the top are doing quite well!

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 2-8, 2017

1 feature game to tell you about this week, as we head to the Big Ten.

1/7/17- #1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- The Wolverines used the home court advantage tonight, as 29 fouls were called on Michigan State. Even then, Michigan was called for 18. The difference was the the Spartans shot just 37.1% from the field. Despite committing 17 turnovers, everything else went the Wolverines' way, and they pulled a huge upset.

Final Score: Michigan- 82, #1 Michigan State- 70

Now back to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-10, 2-2 America East.

1/4/17 at Vermont (L 82-60).

The Hawks have a long way to go to compete against what has easily been the class of the America East, as Vermont pounded them in the only game of the week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-12, 0-3 American.

1/4/17 vs. Temple (L 84-61).
1/7/17 at Memphis (L 78-68).

Nothing doing for the Pirates this week, as they continue to struggle and even stay competitive.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 7-7, 2-0 Atlantic 10.

1/4/17 at St. Louis (W 88-79).
1/7/17 vs. #19 Richmond (W 81-69).

A promising start to conference play for the Wildcats, as they beat a couple really good teams and they've now won 4 in a row.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-8, 1-3 Big 12.

1/2/17 vs. Texas Tech (W 74-46).
1/7/17 vs. Oklahoma (L 70-62).

Give the Horned Frogs credit for a spirited effort this week. First they hammered Texas Tech then they gave Oklahoma all they wanted.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 9-5, 2-0 Big Ten.

1/4/17 at Maryland (W 68-58).
1/7/17 vs. #1 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Big week for the Wolverines who upset #1 and in-state rival Michigan State. It's important to keep the momentum going next week.

#1 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 13-2, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/4/17 vs. Ohio State (W 87-79).
1/7/17 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Spartans this week, but that stings losing to your in-state rivals, especially as the #1 team in the nation.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 7-8, 2-0 Big West.

1/5/17 at Cal Poly (W 80-61).
1/7/17 at UC Riverside (W 65-50).

Conference play is where Hawaii really made their move last season, and I see no reason to think they won't do it again this season.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 5-8, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/5/17 at Louisiana Tech (L 71-63).
1/7/17 vs. UTSA (W 71-62).

A conventional split for the 49ers, who lose on the road and win at home.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 2-0 Conference USA.

1/5/17 vs. North Texas (W 76-67).
1/7/17 at Middle Tennessee (W 84-68).

Nice start to conference play for the Owls who are playing much better basketball so far this season. Even in losses they've been competitive for the most part.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 8-10, 6-5 MAAC.

1/6/17 vs. Manhattan (L 78-54).
1/8/17 vs. Fairfield (W 52-43).

A home split for the Hawks this week, as they just didn't play well against Manhattan.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 6-10, 1-2 MEAC.

1/2/17 at Morgan State (W 80-67).
1/7/17 at Maryland Eastern Shore (L 83-77).

A tough road split for the Spartans, who just got going much too late against UMES.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-7, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/5/17 vs. Arizona State (W 53-48).
1/7/17 vs. Utah (W 55-44).

Good start to conference play for the Buffaloes, as they win 2 tough home games, but next week gets tougher as they have a date with UCLA.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 11-3, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/5/17 vs. Oregon State (W 46-45).
1/7/17 at Oregon (W 73-66, OT).

To say that the Cardinal survived this week would be an understatement. They almost let a 16 point halftime lead slip away against Oregon State, and had to go to overtime against Oregon.

#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 13-1, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/5/17 at Oregon (W 81-62).
1/7/17 vs. Arizona (W 86-78).

So far we have a nice trend, as 3 of our 4 Pac 12 teams have started 2-0 in Pac 12 play. The Bruins got a big win against rival Arizona and really do look to be the class of the conference so far.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-8, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/5/17 vs. #25 Washington (L 71-61).
1/7/17 at Arizona State (W 55-50).

The Cougars battled against Washington but couldn't get over the hump, but they did get a nice road win to end the week.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-10, 2-0 SEC.

1/4/17 at #22 Vanderbilt (W 52-47).
1/7/17 vs. Georgia (W 74-71).

2 tough ones to start conference play for the Crimson Tide, but they are starting in a good way. Let's see if it continues.

#14 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-3, 1-1 SEC.

1/4/17 vs. Arkansas (L 75-62).
1/7/17 at Auburn (W 84-63).

A split for the Gators this week, but losing to Arkansas isn't terrible as they have only lost twice so far. Good recovery win at Auburn.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 11-3, 2-0 SEC.

1/4/17 at Georgia (W 66-52).
1/7/17 vs. South Carolina (W 87-52).

No problem for the Wildcats this week as they blow past a couple SEC opponents and should continue next week, as the 2 teams they play have a combined 5 wins.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-7, 3-2 Sun Belt.

1/2/17 vs. Grand Canyon (W 76-57).
1/7/17 at UT Arlington (L 59-48).

So the Trojans win a non-conference game, but can't take care of business in their road conference game this week. Still a wide open Sun Belt though.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (47) 17-0 1775 2 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (25) 13-1 1750 4 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 13-2 1633 1 Big Ten Conference
4. La Salle 14-0 1570 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Kansas 13-2 1547 3 Big 12 Conference
6. Virginia 13-2 1385 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Iowa 12-2 1346 13 Big Ten Conference
8. Georgetown 13-2 1236 5 Big East Conference
9. Marquette 13-2 1216 9 Big East Conference
10. Miami 13-2 1199 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. North Carolina 13-2 1129 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Duke 12-2 1020 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Baylor 13-3 834 10 Big 12 Conference
14. VCU 12-2 805 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 14-1 765 17 Southland Conference
16. Kentucky 11-3 699 NR Southeastern Conference
17. San Diego State 13-3 589 23 Mountain West Conference
18. Syracuse 11-3 572 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Florida State 14-1 530 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Florida 11-3 439 14 Southeastern Conference
21. Wichita State 13-3 400 11 Missouri Valley Conference
22. Murray State 16-1 313 NR Ohio Valley Conference
23. Villanova 12-3 184 21 Big East Conference
24. SMU 12-2 164 15 American Athletic Conference
25. UTEP 11-1 111 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Oklahoma 12-4 60 Big 12 Conference
New Mexico State 12-2 46 Western Athletic Conference
Arkansas 12-2 29 Southeastern Conference
Wisconsin 11-4 27 Big Ten Conference
Washington 11-3 16 Pacific-12 Conference
Pittsburgh 12-3 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
Xavier 12-3 1 Big East Conference

So Michigan State and Florida both drop in the polls after losses this week, while UCLA jumps up a couple spots and Kentucky is back in the top 25. A little surprised not to see Michigan at least getting some votes.

And now a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into next week. This is where we get to be disappointed at how our FOFC mid-majors are faring.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 17-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 14-0 1728 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 12-2 1614 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 13-3 1588 8 Mountain West Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 14-1 1490 5 Southland Conference
6. Wichita State 13-3 1489 3 Missouri Valley Conference
7. SMU 12-2 1307 4 American Athletic Conference
8. Murray State 16-1 1284 10 Ohio Valley Conference
9. New Mexico State 12-2 1233 9 Western Athletic Conference
10. UTEP 11-1 1207 11 Conference USA
11. Akron 11-3 969 17 Mid-American Conference
12. Gonzaga 14-3 939 13 West Coast Conference
13. Valparaiso 13-3 864 15 Horizon League
14. Northern Iowa 13-3 832 18 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Richmond 11-3 658 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. BYU 11-4 647 25 West Coast Conference
17. Colorado State 12-2 641 16 Mountain West Conference
18. Cleveland State 12-4 543 12 Horizon League
19. Illinois State 12-3 543 19 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Memphis 13-3 531 22 American Athletic Conference
21. Georgia State 11-4 459 24 Horizon League
22. Rhode Island 11-3 375 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Southern Miss 11-2 341 14 Conference USA
24. Portland 14-3 133 NR West Coast Conference
25. Oral Roberts 11-2 64 NR Summit League

Others Receiving Votes:
Mercer 12-3 42 Southern Conference
UNC Wilmington 12-3 37 Colonial Athletic Association
Dayton 10-4 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
Boise State 10-4 12 Mountain West Conference
North Dakota State 13-3 7 Summit League
Massachusetts 10-4 2 Atlantic 10 Conference

Anybody surprised that none of our FOFC mid-major teams are represented? I'm not. On to next week.

[bbgunn]

Anybody surprised that none of our FOFC mid-major teams are represented? I'm not. On to next week.
Don't worry... Hawaii will be up there soon enough once we crush the Big West competition.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 9-15, 2017

2 feature games this week, and both of them took place in the Pac 12.

1/12/17- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ #2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Buffaloes scored just 18 first half points and trailed by 17 at halftime. They committed 18 turnovers as UCLA rolled.

Final Score: #2 UCLA- 66, Colorado- 50

1/14/17- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- The other 2 FOFC Pac 12 coached teams squared off in this one, and the result was as expected. 19 turnovers did in the Cougars, who actually played even with Stanford in the second half, but that wasn't near enough to overcome a 15 point halftime deficit.

Final Score: Stanford- 83, Washington State- 68

And now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-10, 4-2 America East.

1/1/17 at Binghamton (W 64-56).
1/15/17 at UMass Lowell (W 60-59).

The Hawks won both games this week, but against 2 of the worst teams in the America East, so it's hard to get a read on them just yet.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-12, 2-3 American.

1/11/17 at South Florida (W 74-65).
1/14/17 vs. UCF (W 69-60).

Don't look now, but the Pirates are starting to show some life. After losing 11 of their last 12, ECU now has a 2 game winning streak!

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-8, 3-1 Atlantic 10.

1/11/17 vs. UMass (W 81-62).
1/14/17 at #14 VCU (L 83-65).

The 5 game winning streak ends for the Wildcats, as VCU hands them their first conference loss, even though it's early.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-10, 1-5 Big 12.

1/9/17 at Texas (L 81-63).
1/14/17 at Oklahoma State (L 97-61).

The Horned Frogs are getting a reality check in conference play after a decent start, as they got hammered on the road twice this week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 10-6, 3-1 Big Ten.

1/11/17 vs. Illinois (W 74-70).
1/14/17 at Indiana (L 88-76).

A split for the Wolverines, who lose their first conference game on the road and look to recover next week.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 15-2, 3-1 Big Ten.

1/11/17 at Rutgers (W 75-44).
1/14/17 vs. Minnesota (W 85-70).

The Spartans rolled this week with 2 easy victories as they are definitely back on track.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 8-8, 3-0 Big West.

1/12/17 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 67-43).

Just 1 game for the Warriors this week, but they keep rolling.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-8, 3-1 Conference USA.

1/12/17 at North Texas (W 44-37).
1/14/17 vs. #25 UTEP (W 78-70).

That game at North Texas was a snooze fest, but the 49ers get 2 big wins this week against teams that already have 10+ wins.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-8, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/12/17 at Southern Miss (L 72-51).
1/14/17 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 54-46).

The Owls come back to reality after losing 2 games this week. They weren't competitive at all at Southern Miss.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-10, 8-5 MAAC.

1/13/17 at Niagara (W 56-54).
1/15/17 vs. Canisius (W 56-52).

Good week for the Hawks who get 2 close wins. They were definitely consistent, scoring 56 each game.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-11, 2-3 MEAC.

1/9/17 at Delaware State (W 72-56).
1/14/17 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 70-60).

A split for the Spartans this week as they win on the road, and lose at home. That doesn't happen very often.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-9, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/12/17 at #2 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/17 at Oregon State (L 65-55).

Not a good week for the Buffaloes, especially after a positive start to conference play.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 13-3, 4-0 Pac 12.

1/12/17 at USC (W 70-62).
1/14/17 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cardinal keep rolling along as the winning streak is up to 10.

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 15-1, 4-0 Pac 12.

1/12/17 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/17 at Utah (W 74-64).

The Bruins also continue to roll, although they were on the ropes at Utah, as the Utes led at halftime.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-9, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/12/17 vs. California (W 65-49).
1/14/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cougars will take the split, especially after they played even with Stanford in the second half.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-12, 2-2 SEC.

1/11/17 at LSU (L 57-49).
1/14/17 vs. Tennessee (L 68-53).

The Crimson Tide drop 2 this week after winning 2 tough ones last week.

#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 12-4, 2-2 SEC.

1/11/17 at Tennessee (L 79-67).
1/14/17 vs. Texas A&M (W 91-67).

Splits each week are not going to get the Gators an SEC title. They really need to win both of their games next week as they'll be playing subpar opponents.

#16 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 12-4, 3-1 SEC.

1/11/17 vs. Ole Miss (L 71-66).
1/14/17 at Mississippi State (W 90-57).

The loss to Ole Miss isn't as bad as it looks on paper, as they have a pretty strong RPI. The Wildcats recovered by blast Miss. State though.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-7, 5-2 Sun Belt.

1/12/17 vs. Northern Kentucky (W 74-71).
1/14/17 at Arkansas State (W 56-45).

2 more wins this week for the Trojans who are suddenly looking like a potential favorite in a wide open Sun Belt.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (52) 18-0 1780 1 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (20) 15-1 1748 2 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 15-2 1655 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Iowa 14-2 1490 7 Big Ten Conference
5. Miami 15-2 1475 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 14-3 1354 5 Big 12 Conference
7. North Carolina 15-2 1354 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Baylor 15-3 1312 13 Big 12 Conference
9. La Salle 15-1 1271 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. VCU 14-2 1199 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Virginia 14-3 1156 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. San Diego State 15-3 986 17 Mountain West Conference
13. Stephen F. Austin 16-1 931 15 Southland Conference
14. Wichita State 15-3 905 21 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Georgetown 14-3 786 8 Big East Conference
16. Marquette 14-3 674 9 Big East Conference
17. Villanova 14-3 659 23 Big East Conference
18. Wisconsin 13-4 480 NR Big Ten Conference
19. New Mexico State 14-2 423 NR Western Athletic Conference
20. Duke 12-4 399 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Kentucky 12-4 397 16 Southeastern Conference
22. Florida State 15-2 246 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Oklahoma 13-5 177 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Syracuse 12-4 170 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Murray State 17-2 109 22 Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Iowa State 14-4 93 Big 12 Conference
Kansas State 14-4 44 Big 12 Conference
Florida 12-4 43 Southeastern Conference
Gonzaga 16-3 40 West Coast Conference
Akron 13-3 16 Mid-American Conference
Ohio State 13-4 7 Big Ten Conference
Memphis 15-3 6 American Athletic Conference
Stanford 13-3 6 Pacific-12 Conference
SMU 13-3 4 American Athletic Conference
Richmond 13-3 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Southern Miss 13-2 1 Conference USA
Valparaiso 15-3 1 Horizon League

UCLA and Michigan State stay put at 2 and 3, respectively, while Kentucky drops 5 spots after an upset loss, and Florida falls out of the top 25 after another split this week. They are still receiving votes though. Also in the mix again is Stanford who garnered a few votes.

Now, let's take a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 18-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. San Diego State 15-3 1654 4 Mountain West Conference
3. La Salle 15-1 1647 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. VCU 14-2 1644 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Wichita State 15-3 1526 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 16-1 1449 5 Southland Conference
7. New Mexico State 14-2 1361 9 Western Athletic Conference
8. Akron 13-3 1230 11 Mid-American Conference
9. Gonzaga 16-3 1115 12 West Coast Conference
10. BYU 13-4 1107 16 West Coast Conference
11. Valparaiso 15-3 1042 13 Horizon League
12. Murray State 17-2 1010 8 Ohio Valley Conference
13. SMU 13-3 976 7 American Athletic Conference
14. Cleveland State 14-4 909 18 Horizon League
15. Memphis 15-3 826 20 American Athletic Conference
16. Richmond 13-3 799 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Northern Iowa 14-4 582 14 Missouri Valley Conference
18. Southern Miss 13-2 548 23 Conference USA
19. Boise State 12-4 443 NR Mountain West Conference
20. Georgia State 12-5 396 21 Horizon League
21. Illinois State 13-4 361 19 Missouri Valley Conference
22. Harvard 12-5 274 NR Ivy League
23. Rhode Island 12-4 255 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
24. UTEP 11-3 233 10 Conference USA
25. North Dakota State 15-3 137 NR Summit League

Others Receiving Votes:
UNC Wilmington 13-4 25 Colonial Athletic Association
Portland 14-4 16 West Coast Conference
Mercer 13-4 12 Southern Conference
Vermont 14-4 10 America East Conference
Stony Brook 12-4 5 America East Conference
Colorado State 12-4 3 Mountain West Conference
Dayton 11-5 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 14-4 2 Ohio Valley Conference

Do I need to state the obvious? The FOFC mid-majors are shut out again.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 16-22, 2017

1 feature game to talk about this week, it took place in the SEC.

1/21/17- #21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- Not much to talk about in this one. Kentucky's pressure defense forced 25 Alabama turnovers and held them to just 39.2% shooting. That was too much to overcome for the Crimson Tide as the Wildcats get an easy road victory.

Final Score: #21 Kentucky- 91, Alabama- 72

And now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-12, 4-4 America East.

1/18/17 vs. Maine (L 61-53).
1/22/17 at Albany (L 69-44).

A major setback this week for the Hawks as they first lose at home to a 5 win team then get blasted on the road. All momentum from winning 2 games last week is gone.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-13, 3-4 American.

1/18/17 vs. Tulsa (L 75-55).
1/21/17 at UConn (W 64-59).

For the Pirates to beat UConn has to be considered an upset as they are always one of the better teams in college basketball. Big road win there.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-10, 3-3 Atlantic 10.

1/18/17 vs. #10 VCU (L 88-65).
1/21/17 at Rhode Island (L 74-66).

Bad week for the Wildcats who get blasted at home, but to be fair, they did play 2 of the top teams in the conference this week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-12, 1-6 Big 12.

1/19/17 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (L 74-71).
1/21/17 at Iowa State (L 107-63).

Yikes! the Horned Frogs might as well just stayed home as opposed to going to Iowa State. They had to still be reeling from the upset loss to A&M-CC.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-7, 4-2 Big Ten.

1/18/17 vs. Purdue (L 53-50).
1/21/17 at Nebraska (W 74-66).

The Wolverines have to win against the mid-range teams in the conference, especially at home. That Purdue loss will sting for a while.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 17-2, 5-1 Big Ten.

1/18/17 vs. Indiana (W 83-57).
1/21/17 vs. Northwestern (W 76-62).

Easy week for the Spartans who have been blowing through Big Ten competition since the loss to Michigan.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-9, 4-1 Big West.

1/19/17 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 68-43).
1/21/17 at UC Irvine (L 66-52).

Don't look now but the Warriors have some competition in the Big West this season. The return match between Hawaii and Irvine could decide the Big West title.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 8-9, 4-2 Conference USA.

1/19/17 at Old Dominion (L 71-70).
1/21/17 at Western Kentucky (W 63-50).

So close, yet so far for the 49ers, who couldn't knock down a buzzer beater at Old Dominion. This hurts because the C-USA is tough, and getting a marquee win over an early contender would have really helped.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-10, 2-4 Conference USA.

1/19/17 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 72-56).
1/21/17 vs. UTSA (L 60-51).

The Owls are going in the wrong direction as they've lost 4 games in a row after a 2-0 start in conference play.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-10, 9-5 MAAC.

1/18/17 vs. LIU Brooklyn (W 42-30).
1/22/17 at Quinnipiac (W 60-32).

The Hawks have won 5 straight and have a very good chance for a MAAC title if they stay on course.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-12, 2-4 MEAC.

1/16/17 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (L 56-35).

Just 1 game this week for the Spartans, but it's a game to forget as they scored just 35 points! Brutal.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-11, 2-4 Pac 12.

1/19/17 vs. Arizona (L 77-46).
1/21/17 vs. Washington (L 71-61).

The Buffaloes are hitting rock bottom right now, and they've got to get it going soon. Next week won't be easy as they host the #1 team in the nation.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-4, 5-1 Pac 12.

1/19/17 at Utah (L 78-76).
1/21/17 vs. California (W 69-61).

We'll find out a lot more about this Cardinal team next week as their next 3 games are against teams with a combined record of 44-10. Bring your A game Coach Sanchez!

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) --17-1, 6-0 Pac 12.

1/19/17 vs. Arizona State (W 67-48).
1/21/17 at Oregon State (W 76-75, OT).

It wasn't easy for the Bruins this week, as Oregon State gave them all they wanted and more, forcing it to overtime and seeing the game winner go in and out. Coach Shepard and the Bruins can count themselves lucky.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-10, 3-3 Pac 12.

1/19/17 vs. Oregon State (W 60-46).
1/21/17 vs. Arizona (L 85-60).

The Cougars already have more conference wins this season than they did all of last season, so that's something to build on, but this team still needs a lot of work.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-13, 3-3 SEC.

1/18/17 at Tennessee (W 64-59).
1/21/17 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

The Crimson Tide were hoping to be a bit more competitive against Kentucky, but at least they went on the road and beat a good Tennessee team.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 14-4, 4-2 SEC.

1/18/17 vs. Auburn (W 82-60).
1/21/17 vs. Ole Miss (W 102-94).

Just what the doctor order for the Gators, as they get a sweep this week, but how good can they really feel about beating teams who have 9 combined wins this season? Hey, a win is a win.

#21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 13-5, 4-2 SEC.

1/18/17 vs. Vanderbilt (L 68-62).
1/21/17 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

A split this week for the Wildcats, losing to a solid Vandy team. This certainly doesn't look like a Final Four team right now.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-8, 6-3 Sun Belt.

1/19/17 vs. Louisiana Monroe (L 50-49).
1/21/17 at Georgia Southern (W 71-64).

How bad do 1 point losses suck? Just ask our FOFC coaches, who dealt with a lot of them this week. Perhaps Troy would have beaten UL Monroe easy if not for 18 turnovers. Come on Coach Hawkins, ball handling!

Let's look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UCLA (38) 17-1 1764 2 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (34) 20-0 1762 1 American Athletic Conference
3. Michigan State 17-2 1658 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 17-3 1544 8 Big 12 Conference
5. North Carolina 17-2 1485 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 16-3 1446 6 Big 12 Conference
7. VCU 16-2 1374 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. La Salle 17-1 1334 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Iowa 15-3 1212 4 Big Ten Conference
10. Wichita State 17-3 1101 14 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Georgetown 16-3 1071 15 Big East Conference
12. Villanova 16-3 1011 17 Big East Conference
13. Virginia 15-4 902 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Marquette 16-3 860 16 Big East Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 17-1 801 13 Southland Conference
16. Miami 15-4 684 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. San Diego State 16-4 667 12 Mountain West Conference
18. Oklahoma 15-5 535 23 Big 12 Conference
19. Syracuse 14-4 455 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. New Mexico State 16-2 384 19 Western Athletic Conference
21. Florida 14-4 370 NR Southeastern Conference
22. Florida State 17-2 333 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Iowa State 15-4 217 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Wisconsin 14-5 138 18 Big Ten Conference
25. Murray State 19-2 115 25 Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Kentucky 13-5 91 Southeastern Conference
Gonzaga 18-3 22 West Coast Conference
Richmond 15-3 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
Washington 14-4 17 Pacific-12 Conference
Memphis 17-3 9 American Athletic Conference
Pittsburgh 15-4 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
BYU 15-4 5 West Coast Conference
Kansas State 15-5 2 Big 12 Conference
Ohio State 14-5 2 Big Ten Conference

Somehow, UCLA jumps to #1 over still unbeaten Cincinnati, but only 2 points separate them. Michigan State stays put, while Florida is back in the top 25 after a 2 win week. Kentucky falls just out after a loss this week, and I guess the pollsters don't think much of Stanford's 14-4 record as they don't even get a vote! Crazy.

Now for the mid-major top 25 so that we can all be disappointed.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 20-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. VCU 16-2 1657 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 17-3 1645 5 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 17-1 1635 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. San Diego State 16-4 1537 2 Mountain West Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 17-1 1442 6 Southland Conference
7. New Mexico State 16-2 1358 7 Western Athletic Conference
8. BYU 15-4 1239 10 West Coast Conference
9. Richmond 15-3 1128 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Gonzaga 18-3 1112 9 West Coast Conference
11. Murray State 19-2 1026 12 Ohio Valley Conference
12. Akron 14-4 973 8 Mid-American Conference
13. Valparaiso 16-4 907 11 Horizon League
14. Memphis 17-3 900 15 American Athletic Conference
15. Cleveland State 15-5 823 14 Horizon League
16. Georgia State 14-5 723 20 Horizon League
17. SMU 14-4 716 13 American Athletic Conference
18. Harvard 14-5 605 22 Ivy League
19. Boise State 14-4 596 19 Mountain West Conference
20. UTEP 13-3 346 24 Conference USA
21. Northern Iowa 15-5 298 17 Missouri Valley Conference
22. North Dakota State 17-3 280 25 Summit League
23. Southern Miss 14-3 242 18 Conference USA
24. Portland 16-4 138 NR West Coast Conference
25. Mercer 15-4 66 NR Southern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Vermont 16-4 63 America East Conference
Eastern Kentucky 16-4 42 Ohio Valley Conference
Rhode Island 13-5 38 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 14-4 22 America East Conference
Massachusetts 13-5 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 13-5 8 Horizon League
Montana 13-3 8 Big Sky Conference
Middle Tennessee 13-5 7 Conference USA
UC Irvine 14-5 4 Big West Conference
New Mexico 14-5 2 Mountain West Conference
Old Dominion 13-4 1 Conference USA

We probably won't have a team represented in this poll all season, but I actually think we've got some FOFC mid-majors that are improving.

[Zinto]

Kentucky has been disappointing but it is nice to see ECU get a few wins.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 23-29, 2017

2 feature games this week, both coming from the Pac 12.

1/26/17- #1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Give the Buffaloes credit, they fought extremely hard in this one, but the 36.1% shooting was too much to overcome as UCLA gets a hard fought road win.

Final Score: #1 UCLA- 77, Colorado- 70

1/28/17- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ #1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A hugely disappointing game for the Cardinal, who only trailed by 11 at halftime but were totally blown away in the second half. This match-up between the top Pac 12 teams was anything but a classic as Stanford shot just 32.1% and was outrebounded 40-29 as UCLA rolls.

Final Score: #1 UCLA- 77, Stanford- 43

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-13, 5-5 America East.

1/25/17 vs. New Hampshire (W 68-50).
1/29/17 vs. Vermont (L 62-45).

Another split this week for the Hawks as they aren't quite ready for the top of the conference yet.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-13, 4-4 American.

1/28/17 vs. Tulane (W 72-64).

Just 1 game for the Pirates this week, but it was another win, and guess what, ECU is on a winning streak.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 10-10, 5-3 Atlantic 10.

1/25/17 vs. St. Louis (W 68-52).
1/28/17 at Fordham (W 82-75).

Good week for the Wildcats as they head into next week with 2 very tough games ahead.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-14, 1-8 Big 12.

1/23/17 vs. #6 Kansas (L 78-60).
1/28/17 vs. #4 Baylor (L 63-49).

The week for the Horned Frogs went as expected. They were competitive for parts of each game, but couldn't get over the hump.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-9, 4-4 Big Ten.

1/25/17 at Ohio State (L 82-69).
1/28/17 vs. Indiana (L 84-66).

Not a good week for the Wolverines who get blasted by double digits in both their games.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-2, 7-1 Big Ten.

1/25/17 at Nebraska (W 75-62).
1/28/17 at Penn State (W 99-79).

The Spartans again continue to roll on the road this week but the games will get tougher soon.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-10, 5-2 Big West.

1/26/17 at Cal State Fullerton (W 60-47).
1/28/17 vs. Long Beach State (L 75-55).

Ruh-oh! 2 losses in conference play already for the Warriors. Definitely a tougher conference this season.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 9-10, 5-3 Conference USA.

1/26/17 vs. Marshall (W 99-92, OT).
1/28/17 vs. Southern Miss (L 60-44).

The fact that it took the 49ers overtime to beat a hapless Marshall team is cause for concern. So is the fact that their next 3 opponents have a 39-20 combined record.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-11, 3-5 Conference USA.

1/26/17 at Old Dominion (L 57-54).
1/28/17 at Florida Atlantic (W 75-66).

Despite the loss, this was a positive week for the Owls, who took a very good Old Dominion team to the wire, then ended their losing streak on the road.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-11, 9-5 MAAC.

1/27/17 vs. Boise State (L 80-28).

Yikes! The Hawks go out of conference in their only game of the week, getting hammered by a team that will almost certainly be in the NCAA Tournament. Not a good performance and not a good way to end a winning streak.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 8-13, 3-4 MEAC.

1/23/17 vs. UNC Wilmington (L 83-77).
1/28/17 vs. Morgan State (W 68-61).

Good effort against a tough non-conference opponent for the Spartans and they follow it up with a conference win for a good split.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-12, 3-5 Pac 12.

1/26/17 vs. #1 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/28/17 at USC (W 72-61).

So the Buffaloes take the #1 team in the nation to the wire and break a 5 game losing streak. All in all, I'd say they are turning the corner.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-6, 5-3 Pac 12.

1/26/17 at Washington (L 62-45).
1/28/17 at #1 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Maybe the pollsters were on to something when they felt to give the Cardinal a vote, as Stanford did nothing to prove they could hang with the top teams in the Pac 12.

#1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 19-1, 8-0 Pac 12.

1/26/17 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/28/17 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

Great week for the Bruins who continue to run through the Pac 12, but they've got a couple more tests next week.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-11, 4-4 Pac 12.

1/26/17 vs. USC (W 65-54).
1/28/17 at Oregon (L 75-63).

Another split for the Cougars this week, which is great for the season goal, but it won't get them to a postseason tournament. Next week is a great week to win a couple.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 6-14, 4-4 SEC.

1/25/17 vs. South Carolina (L 76-67).
1/28/17 at Georgia (W 65-58).

A split for the Crimson Tide who really need to go on a nice winning streak.

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 16-4, 6-2 SEC.

1/25/17 at LSU (W 68-55).
1/28/17 at Texas A&M (W 90-83).

Good week for the Gators who get 2 solid wins on the road.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 15-5, 6-2 SEC.

1/25/17 at Missouri (W 79-76).
1/28/17 vs. Mississippi State (W 83-58).

The Wildcats sweep this week, but it wasn't easy as Missouri gave them all they wanted.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-10, 6-5 Sun Belt.

1/26/17 vs. Georgia Southern (L 71-59).
1/28/17 at Louisiana Lafayette (L 77-69).

Not a good week for the Trojans who take a step back by losing 2 games. They've lost 3 of their last 4 after a 5-2 start to conference play.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UCLA (67) 19-1 1791 1 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (4) 21-0 1705 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Michigan State (1) 19-2 1688 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Kansas 18-3 1581 6 Big 12 Conference
5. Baylor 19-3 1504 4 Big 12 Conference
6. La Salle 19-1 1406 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. North Carolina 18-3 1383 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Virginia 17-4 1249 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Iowa 17-3 1240 9 Big Ten Conference
10. Georgetown 18-3 1125 11 Big East Conference
11. Wichita State 19-3 1059 10 Missouri Valley Conference
12. VCU 17-3 1005 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Miami 16-4 988 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Oklahoma 16-5 832 18 Big 12 Conference
15. San Diego State 17-4 747 17 Mountain West Conference
16. Villanova 17-4 689 12 Big East Conference
17. Florida 16-4 657 21 Southeastern Conference
18. Marquette 17-4 626 14 Big East Conference
19. Kentucky 15-5 531 NR Southeastern Conference
20. Arizona 15-5 393 NR Pacific-12 Conference
21. Ohio State 16-5 298 NR Big Ten Conference
22. Wisconsin 15-6 245 24 Big Ten Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 18-2 205 15 Southland Conference
24. Gonzaga 20-3 165 NR West Coast Conference
25. Duke 14-6 107 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 21-2 69 Ohio Valley Conference
BYU 17-4 66 West Coast Conference
New Mexico State 17-3 10 Western Athletic Conference
Memphis 18-3 9 American Athletic Conference
Pittsburgh 16-5 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
Akron 16-4 5 Mid-American Conference
Florida State 17-4 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
Seton Hall 15-6 3 Big East Conference
Iowa State 15-6 2 Big 12 Conference
SMU 16-4 2 American Athletic Conference
Syracuse 14-6 2 Atlantic Coast Conference

UCLA and Michigan State stay at 1 and 3, respectively, but the Spartans did get 1 FPV. Florida moves up 4 spots after a good week, and Kentucky is back in the top 25 after a 2-0 week.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 21-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 19-1 1699 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 19-3 1656 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 17-4 1572 5 Mountain West Conference
5. VCU 17-3 1553 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. BYU 17-4 1420 8 West Coast Conference
7. Gonzaga 20-3 1323 10 West Coast Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 18-2 1288 6 Southland Conference
9. Akron 16-4 1107 12 Mid-American Conference
10. Valparaiso 18-4 1053 13 Horizon League
11. Harvard 16-5 1037 18 Ivy League
12. New Mexico State 17-3 1007 7 Western Athletic Conference
13. Memphis 18-3 938 14 American Athletic Conference
14. SMU 16-4 840 17 American Athletic Conference
15. Murray State 21-2 803 11 Ohio Valley Conference
16. Georgia State 15-6 799 16 Horizon League
17. Cleveland State 16-6 767 15 Horizon League
18. Richmond 15-5 610 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Boise State 15-5 536 19 Mountain West Conference
20. Northern Iowa 17-5 349 21 Missouri Valley Conference
21. North Dakota State 19-3 254 22 Summit League
22. Mercer 17-4 197 25 Southern Conference
23. UTEP 14-4 143 20 Conference USA
24. Southern Miss 16-3 126 23 Conference USA
25. Rhode Island 14-6 114 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Massachusetts 14-6 78 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico 16-5 61 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 18-4 59 Ohio Valley Conference
Vermont 18-4 48 America East Conference
Stony Brook 16-4 36 America East Conference
Portland 17-5 30 West Coast Conference
Illinois State 14-7 26 Missouri Valley Conference
Middle Tennessee 14-6 20 Conference USA
North Florida 17-4 17 Atlantic Sun Conference
UC Irvine 15-6 14 Big West Conference
South Dakota State 16-6 11 Summit League
Green Bay 14-6 7 Horizon League
Montana 15-3 2 Big Sky Conference

Surprise, surprise! No FOFC teams represented. Yuck!

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2017

No feature games this week, so we'll jump right into the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 11-14, 6-6 5th America East.

2/3/17 at Stony Brook (L 57-49).
2/5/17 vs. Binghamton (W 57-39).

Another split for the Hawks, but they put in a great effort against a 17 win Stony Brook team.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-15, 4-6 8th American.

2/1/17 vs. Houston (L 55-44).
2/4/17 at Temple (L 75-57).

Not a good week for the Pirates who lose 2 games pretty convincingly.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 12-10, 7-3 T-3rd Atlantic 10.

2/1/17 vs. Rhode Island (W 76-61).
2/4/17 at Richmond (W 80-74).

2 solid wins for the Wildcats this week as they get a revenge win over Rhode Island.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-14, 3-8 9th Big 12.

1/30/17 at #14 Oklahoma (W 84-71).
2/4/17 at Texas Tech (W 87-79).

Great week for the Horned Frogs who pull a huge upset and get 2 big road wins in the same week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-9, 6-4 T-6th Big Ten.

2/1/17 vs. Penn State (W 77-56).
2/4/17 at Rutgers (W 76-71).

It didn't come as easy as expected for the Wolverines this week, but they got 2 important wins to get back on the right track.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-4, 7-3 T-2nd Big Ten.

2/1/17 at Northwestern (L 75-73).
2/4/17 at #21 Ohio State (L 75-73).

2 losses for the Spartans this week, both on the road, and ironically by the same score. We'll see if this hurts them at all.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-11, 6-3 T-3rd Big West.

1/31/17 at UC Davis (L 66-53).
2/4/17 vs. Cal Poly (W 81-64).

Another split for the Warriors, who are definitely struggling a bit right now.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 10-11, 6-4 T-5th Conference USA.

2/2/17 at UAB (W 61-60, OT).
2/4/17 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 80-71).

A split for the 49ers this week, but the competition was good so they can be happy with a split.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-12, 4-6 T-8th Conference USA.

2/2/17 vs. UTEP (L 59-56).
2/4/17 at UTSA (W 72-46).

A split for the Owls this week, but a gallant effort at home against a UTEP team that has only lost 4 games this season.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-13, 9-7 T-4th MAAC.

2/3/17 vs. Rider (L 65-57).
2/5/17 at Rider (L 80-54).

1 of those rare weeks for the Hawks in which they played the same team twice, home and away. Both were losses, but the point differential was much less at home.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-13, 5-4 4th MEAC.

1/30/17 at Coppin State (W 56-55).
2/4/17 vs. Hampton (W 54-38).

A sweep for the Spartans this week, and they've now won 3 in a row.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 10-12, 5-5 6th Pac 12.

2/2/17 vs. USC (W 66-39).
2/4/17 at Utah (W 77-58).

A nice feel good week for the Buffaloes who won both games this week, by an average of 23 points.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 15-7, 6-4 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/2/17 vs. #20 Arizona (W 81-78).
2/4/17 at California (L 74-51).

Interesting split for the Cardinal, who upset Arizona but had a letdown against a much worse California team.

#1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 21-1, 10-0 1st Pac 12.

2/2/17 vs. Washington (W 88-84).
2/4/17 vs. Oregon (W 71-68).

In what might be the tightest week the Bruins have had, they survived to stay undefeated in conference play, but only by a combined 7 points.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-13, 4-6 T-7th Pac 12.

2/2/17 at Utah (L 66-52).
2/4/17 at Oregon State (L 57-52).

Another step back for the Cougars this week, who lost both games. Both were on the road though, but it would have been nice to get 1 of them.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-15, 5-5 T-6th SEC.

2/1/17 at Ole Miss (L 74-60).
2/4/17 vs. LSU (W 63-61).

The conventional split for the Crimson Tide as they lost on the road, won at home. Unfortunately the team they lost on the road to is just an 8 win team. Ugh!

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 18-4, 8-2 T-1st SEC.

2/1/17 vs. Vanderbilt (W 83-72).
2/4/17 at Ole Miss (W 64-63).

That same 8 win team that beat Alabama almost upset the Gators, if not for a buzzer beater. So Florida wins twice, but neither one was really convincing.

#19 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-5, 8-2 T-1st SEC.

2/1/17 vs. Arkansas (W 92-48).
2/4/17 at Texas A&M (W 83-57).

Holy moly, the Wildcats have woke up. 2 very impressive victories, and 1 of them against a 15 win team.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-12, 6-7 6th Sun Belt.

2/2/17 vs. Louisiana Lafayette (L 81-72).
2/4/17 vs. UT Arlington (L 63-59).

The Trojans are stumbling right now, losers of 4 in a row. It's time for Coach Hawkins to right the ship.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UCLA (68) 21-1 1796 1 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (4) 23-0 1732 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Kansas 20-3 1655 4 Big 12 Conference
4. Michigan State 19-4 1578 3 Big Ten Conference
5. Baylor 20-4 1488 5 Big 12 Conference
6. La Salle 20-2 1431 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Georgetown 20-3 1321 10 Big East Conference
8. VCU 19-3 1272 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. North Carolina 19-4 1254 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Wichita State 21-3 1128 11 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Iowa 18-4 1062 9 Big Ten Conference
12. Virginia 18-5 1019 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Florida 18-4 919 17 Southeastern Conference
14. Villanova 19-4 835 16 Big East Conference
15. Kentucky 17-5 811 19 Southeastern Conference
16. Oklahoma 17-6 698 14 Big 12 Conference
17. Miami 17-5 688 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Marquette 18-5 480 18 Big East Conference
19. San Diego State 18-5 479 15 Mountain West Conference
20. Wisconsin 17-6 420 22 Big Ten Conference
21. Gonzaga 22-3 317 24 West Coast Conference
22. Duke 16-6 314 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 20-2 298 23 Southland Conference
24. Ohio State 17-6 164 21 Big Ten Conference
25. BYU 19-4 116 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 22-2 78 Ohio Valley Conference
Syracuse 16-6 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
New Mexico State 19-3 17 Western Athletic Conference
Arizona 16-6 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Pittsburgh 17-6 3 Atlantic Coast Conference

UCLA stays #1, no surprise there. Michigan State only moves down 1 spot after a pair of 2 point losses this week. Both Florida and Kentucky move up 4 spots and seem to be the class of the SEC. Sadly, they only play each other once thanks to an unbalanced SEC schedule.

Now for the mid-major top 25, although I'm not sure why I bother:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 23-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 20-2 1702 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 21-3 1654 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. VCU 19-3 1570 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. San Diego State 18-5 1554 4 Mountain West Conference
6. BYU 19-4 1421 6 West Coast Conference
7. Gonzaga 22-3 1357 7 West Coast Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 20-2 1301 8 Southland Conference
9. Harvard 18-5 1191 11 Ivy League
10. New Mexico State 19-3 1127 12 Western Athletic Conference
11. Valparaiso 19-5 978 10 Horizon League
12. Murray State 22-2 956 15 Ohio Valley Conference
13. Boise State 17-5 889 19 Mountain West Conference
14. SMU 17-5 816 14 American Athletic Conference
15. Cleveland State 17-7 792 17 Horizon League
16. Memphis 18-4 723 13 American Athletic Conference
17. Akron 18-4 686 9 Mid-American Conference
18. Georgia State 16-7 670 16 Horizon League
19. Northern Iowa 19-5 508 20 Missouri Valley Conference
20. North Dakota State 21-3 390 21 Summit League
21. UTEP 16-4 323 23 Conference USA
22. Mercer 19-4 282 22 Southern Conference
23. Eastern Kentucky 20-4 180 NR Ohio Valley Conference
24. Illinois State 16-7 167 NR Missouri Valley Conference
25. New Mexico 17-5 140 NR Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Vermont 19-4 60 America East Conference
Portland 19-5 47 West Coast Conference
Green Bay 16-6 32 Horizon League
Richmond 15-7 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Florida 19-4 16 Atlantic Sun Conference
Massachusetts 15-7 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 17-5 9 America East Conference
UC Irvine 16-6 9 Big West Conference
Southern Miss 16-5 4 Conference USA
Louisiana Tech 16-6 2 Conference USA
Hofstra 17-8 1 Colonial Athletic Association

Surprise surprise! No FOFC representatives.

And it's that time of year again. February, which means the bubble watch. None of our FOFC teams are on the overall bubble watch, and like last year, I'm only going to list the teams that are projects as locks or in. Every other team will obviously be projected out, and I'm only going to update it every week if there are changes. So for this first edition, here's what we have.

Locks: Michigan State, UCLA, Florida, Kentucky
In: Stanford

The other 14 teams are projected out. Remember this is for the NCAA tournament only.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 6-12, 2017

1 feature game this week, and it's an in-state rematch in the Big Ten.

2/11/17- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #4 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- No such luck for the Wolverines this time, as that Spartan defense forced 34 turnovers, and despite the fact that Michigan State committed 24 fouls, they rolled to an easy victory.

Final Score: #4 Michigan State- 91, Michigan- 68

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 12-15, 7-7 5th America East.

2/8/17 at UMBC (L 61-56).
2/12/17 at Maine (W 73-43).

Ugh! You can not lose to 5 win teams like UMBC if you want to compete for a conference title. Damaging loss, but at least the Hawks recovered nicely.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-17, 4-8 8th American.

2/8/17 at Tulsa (L 82-60).
2/11/17 at UCF (L 61-48).

A pair of blowout road losses for the Pirates who have lost 4 in a row and have 2 more winnable games before the schedule gets very tough.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 13-11, 8-4 T-4th Atlantic 10.

2/8/17 vs. #6 LaSalle (L 71-67).
2/11/17 vs. St. Joseph's (W 84-74).

So close yet so far for the Wildcats, who would have loved the big win at LaSalle, but they are still on a roll, winners of 5 of their last 6.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-16, 3-10 9th Big 12.

2/6/17 vs. Oklahoma State (L 73-61).
2/11/17 vs. Texas (L 85-80).

Not a bad effort for the Horned Frogs this week, but it doesn't translate to a win unfortunately.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-11, 6-6 8th Big Ten.

2/8/17 at #20 Wisconsin (L 88-58).
2/11/17 at #4 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough week for the Wolverines who had to go on the road to play 2 of the top teams in the Big Ten.

#4 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 21-4, 9-3 T-1st Big Ten.

2/8/17 vs. #11 Iowa (W 79-73).
2/11/17 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Spartans who avenge their earlier loss to Michigan, and also get a win against a top 20 Iowa team.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-11, 8-3 T-2nd Big West.

2/7/17 vs. UC Riverside (W 73-69, OT).
2/11/17 at UC Santa Barbara (W 74-66).

Much needed couple of wins for the Warriors, even though they needed overtime in one of the games. Now they are back in the mix.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-12, 7-5 T-5th Conference USA.

2/9/17 vs. North Texas (W 66-50).
2/11/17 at Middle Tennessee (L 75-61).

A split for the 49ers who win at home, lose on the road. No big surprise.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-13, 5-7 T-8th Conference USA.

2/9/17 at Louisiana Tech (L 72-64).
2/11/17 at Western Kentucky (W 67-59).

A road split for the Owls, who went toe to toe with conference leader LA Tech for most of that game. They got a nice road win.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 13-14, 10-8 T-3rd MAAC.

2/10/17 vs. Marist (L 62-54).
2/12/17 vs. Siena (W 67-63).

A bittersweet week for the Hawks, who split but have lost any chances of getting a conference championship as they went 0-4 against the top 2 teams, who would own a tiebreaker. So Monmouth will play for 3rd.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-14, 6-5 T-5th MEAC.

2/6/17 vs. Delaware State (W 70-59).
2/11/17 at North Carolina Central (L 70-52).

The Spartans were rolling along on a 4 game winning streak until they ran into NC Central who is clearly the class of the conference.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 11-13, 6-6 6th Pac 12.

2/9/17 at Arizona State(W 50-47).
2/11/17 at Arizona (L 65-54).

A split for the Buffaloes this week who ran into a hot Arizona team, and the 4 game winning streak is over.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-7, 8-4 3rd Pac 12.

2/9/17 at Oregon State (W 65-63).
2/11/17 vs. Utah (W 55-46).

Good bounce back win for the Cardinal who get a couple much needed wins, and next week they get a chance for revenge against UCLA.

#1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 23-1, 12-0 1st Pac 12.

2/9/17 at USC (W 77-42).
2/11/17 at Arizona State (W 65-48).

Another easy week for the Bruins who really only have 2 tests in-between them and an undefeated conference season.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-15, 4-8 T-8th Pac 12.

2/9/17 at Washington (L 79-56).
2/11/17 vs. Oregon (L 71-56).

2 more losses for the Cougars this week, and it seems like a long time ago that they had a winning conference record. The losing streak is now 5.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-16, 6-6 T-7th SEC.

2/8/17 vs. Mississippi State (W 66-58).
2/11/17 at Arkansas (L 59-54).

A split for the Crimson Tide, but next week will be tough as they go on the road to play both Florida and Kentucky.

#13 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 18-6, 8-4 T-1st SEC.

2/8/17 at South Carolina (L 68-58).
2/11/17 at Mississippi State (L 81-78).

2 losses for the Gators this week, including an inexplicable loss to a 5 win Mississippi State team in which Florida led by 22 at halftime. Yikes!

#15 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-7, 8-4 T-1st SEC.

2/8/17 at Auburn (L 68-65).
2/11/17 at South Carolina (L 68-60).

We now have a 3 headed race in the SEC after the Wildcats also lost 2 games. Their upset loss was at a 6 win Auburn team. Crazy week.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-12, 7-7 T-5th Sun Belt.

2/7/17 vs. College of Charleston (W 65-47).
2/9/17 at Louisiana Monroe (W 54-51).

Good week for the Trojans who get a couple wins, including a nice non-conference win over a tough Charleston team.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UCLA (63) 23-1 1791 1 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (9) 24-0 1737 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Kansas 22-3 1655 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Michigan State 21-4 1559 4 Big Ten Conference
5. Baylor 22-4 1534 5 Big 12 Conference
6. La Salle 22-2 1391 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. North Carolina 21-4 1386 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Wichita State 23-3 1243 10 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Georgetown 21-4 1197 7 Big East Conference
10. VCU 20-4 1162 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Virginia 20-5 1144 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Miami 19-5 1008 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Villanova 20-5 873 14 Big East Conference
14. San Diego State 20-5 823 19 Mountain West Conference
15. Marquette 20-5 723 18 Big East Conference
16. Iowa 18-6 678 11 Big Ten Conference
17. Wisconsin 19-6 643 20 Big Ten Conference
18. Duke 17-6 511 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Stephen F. Austin 22-2 479 23 Southland Conference
20. BYU 21-4 442 25 West Coast Conference
21. Gonzaga 23-3 404 21 West Coast Conference
22. Kentucky 17-7 193 15 Southeastern Conference
23. Murray State 24-2 181 NR Ohio Valley Conference
24. Oklahoma 17-8 159 16 Big 12 Conference
25. Syracuse 18-6 124 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Arizona 18-6 119 Pacific-12 Conference
New Mexico State 21-3 118 Western Athletic Conference
Florida 18-6 110 Southeastern Conference
Akron 20-4 9 Mid-American Conference
Memphis 20-4 3 American Athletic Conference
Ohio State 17-8 1 Big Ten Conference

UCLA and Michigan State stay put, in fact the top 6 this week are the exact same as last week. Kentucky drops 7 spots but is still in the top 25, while Florida drops all the way out, a well deserved exit after blowing a 22 point lead to a 5 win team. No excuse. They are still receiving votes though.

Now for the mid-major top 25, which continues to be painful:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 24-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 22-2 1707 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 23-3 1653 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 20-5 1566 5 Mountain West Conference
5. VCU 20-4 1550 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. BYU 21-4 1441 6 West Coast Conference
7. Gonzaga 23-3 1341 7 West Coast Conference
8. Stephen F. Austin 22-2 1298 8 Southland Conference
9. New Mexico State 21-3 1173 10 Western Athletic Conference
10. Murray State 24-2 1094 12 Ohio Valley Conference
11. Boise State 19-5 1036 13 Mountain West Conference
12. Harvard 19-5 939 9 Ivy League
13. Memphis 20-4 915 16 American Athletic Conference
14. Cleveland State 18-7 872 15 Horizon League
15. Akron 20-4 863 17 Mid-American Conference
16. SMU 18-6 705 14 American Athletic Conference
17. Valparaiso 20-6 700 11 Horizon League
18. Georgia State 17-8 478 18 Horizon League
19. New Mexico 19-5 446 25 Mountain West Conference
20. Mercer 21-4 435 22 Southern Conference
21. Northern Iowa 20-6 308 19 Missouri Valley Conference
22. Illinois State 18-7 268 24 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Green Bay 18-6 221 NR Horizon League
24. North Dakota State 22-4 131 20 Summit League
25. Eastern Kentucky 21-5 111 23 Ohio Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UTEP 17-5 96 Conference USA
Vermont 21-5 69 America East Conference
Southern Miss 18-5 57 Conference USA
North Florida 21-4 43 Atlantic Sun Conference
UC Irvine 18-6 38 Big West Conference
Portland 19-6 18 West Coast Conference
North Carolina Central 20-5 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Massachusetts 16-8 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 18-6 3 America East Conference
Hofstra 18-9 1 Colonial Athletic Association
Morehead State 19-6 1 Ohio Valley Conference

We have 1 FOFC team on our overall bubble watch this week, let's take a look:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMU 18-6 .564 (62) 1-3 3-3 4-0 10-0 169 In
Oklahoma State 15-9 .598 (33) 4-7 5-2 1-0 5-0 32 In
Georgia State 17-8 .587 (44) 2-3 3-3 5-1 7-1 81 In
Vanderbilt 16-8 .563 (63) 2-2 1-3 9-3 4-0 87 In
Kentucky 17-7 .561 (68) 4-3 2-3 6-0 5-1 162 In
South Dakota State 18-8 .574 (54) 1-1 1-2 3-5 13-0 107 In
Miami 19-5 .560 (72) 5-4 1-1 6-0 7-0 206 In
Middle Tennessee 16-8 .564 (61) 1-1 2-3 3-2 10-2 114 In
Illinois 17-7 .554 (77) 6-5 2-1 2-1 7-0 151 Out
Missouri 14-8 .591 (41) 1-1 4-3 6-2 3-2 44 Out
Southern Miss 18-5 .553 (80) 0-0 1-2 6-3 11-0 232 Out
Northeastern 17-8 .556 (74) 2-3 3-1 6-3 6-1 156 Out
UTEP 17-5 .557 (73) 0-1 3-2 5-0 9-2 231 Out
Maryland 15-10 .581 (50) 3-8 2-2 5-0 5-0 22 Out
Texas 15-9 .555 (76) 3-7 3-0 3-2 6-0 105 Out


Kentucky is being hurt by a bad strength of schedule, which makes no sense to me because they played Syracuse, Oklahoma State twice, and Villanova and Indiana, as well as Oregon in non-conference. Pretty strong in my opinion, but I really think a couple wins next week will get them squarely off the bubble.

As far as other teams:

Michigan State, UCLA, and Florida stay locks, Stanford is still projected in, everybody else projected out.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 13-19, 2017

4 feature games this week, as we have 2 in the Pac 12 and 2 in the SEC.

2/15/17- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- Good effort from the Crimson Tide, but 34.5% shooting didn't help them although the three point line did keep them in it but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats just made way too many shots.

Final Score: #22 Kentucky- 85, Alabama- 75

2/16/17- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Easy going in this one for the Buffaloes, as the Cougars shot an absolutely dismal 25.5% from the field. Although Colorado had 15 turnovers, they rolled in this one.

Final Score: Colorado- 63, Washington State- 40

2/16/17- #1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- The Cardinal were up to the challenge.. for one half. They led 33-31 at halftime then were outscored 49-25 in the second half as the shots stopped falling. For the game, Stanford shot 32.7% and were outrebounded 47-37 as UCLA pulled away to stay unbeaten in Pac 12 play.

Final Score: #1 UCLA- 80, Stanford- 58

2/18/17- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- It's been this kind of season for the Crimson Tide, who led by 9 at halftime but fell apart in the second half. Shot defense was dismal as the Gators shot 49.2% from the field. If Alabama could have just kept them behind the three point line, they'd have been alright as Florida was just 7-25 from behind the arc. But The Gators got the ball inside time and time again, and that was enough.

Final Score: Florida- 75, Alabama- 69

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 12-16, 7-8 T-5th America East.

2/19/17 at New Hampshire (L 65-47).

1 game this week for the Hawks as they were blown out on the road. 1 game next week to finish off the regular season.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-18, 5-9 8th American.

2/15/17 at Tulane (L 71-53).
2/18/17 vs. South Florida (W 68-67).

A much needed win for the Pirates, as that South Florida win broke a 5 game losing streak. It came at the perfect time too, because ECU's last 4 regular season opponents are, oh, you know, just a combined 81-22. No big deal.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 13-13, 8-6 T-5th Atlantic 10.

2/15/17 at UMass (L 70-53).
2/18/17 at St. Bonaventure (L 85-70).

It looked like the Wildcats were figuring it out, but 2 road losses this week brought them back down to earth. Good news is, their last 4 regular season games are all winnable, but which team will show up?

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-17, 3-11 9th Big 12.

2/18/17 vs. Iowa State (L 89-80).

Another respectable game for the Horned Frogs. It didn't translate to a win, but signs of a potential good team are there.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 15-11, 8-6 7th Big Ten.

2/15/17 vs. Nebraska (W 80-57).
2/18/17 vs. Maryland (W 66-63).

The roller coaster continues for the Wolverines, who seem to have a streak going of winning a couple, losing a couple, then winning again. This week they were on the winning side. Next week, who knows?

#4 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 23-4, 11-3 1st Big Ten.

2/15/17 at Maryland (W 74-62).
2/18/17 at Illinois (W 67-56).

2 more wins for the Spartans, who have gotten it figured out after that brief 2 game losing streak to start the month.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 14-12, 9-3 3rd Big West.

2/14/17 at Oakland (L 63-54).
2/18/17 at Cal State Northridge (W 68-40).

A road split this week, and while both games were important, the non-conference loss isn't such a big deal, because the Warriors aren't going to the postseason unless the win the Big West regular season title anyways. Problem is, 3 of their next 4 games are against the other top teams in the conference.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 12-13, 8-6 T-5th Conference USA.

2/16/17 at UTEP (L 65-50).
2/18/17 vs. Western Kentucky (W 60-51).

A split for the 49ers, the conventional split as they lose on the road but win at home.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-15, 5-9 T-10th Conference USA.

2/16/17 vs. Southern Miss (L 80-52).
2/18/17 vs. FIU (L 68-45).

Ugh! The Owls might as well have not bothered to show up this week, as they were blasted in both games. Improving the team prestige may be tougher than Coach Shocker realizes.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-15, 11-9 T-4th MAAC.

2/17/17 at St. Peter's (W 50-47).
2/19/17 at Canisius (L 55-44).

A split for the Hawks, who finish off the regular season winning 2 of their last 3. They are done until the MAAC tournament, and depending on how the teams close to them finish, they could be anywhere from the 3rd to the 8th seed.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 13-14, T-3rd 8-5 MEAC.

2/13/17 at Bethune Cookman (W 64-57).
2/18/17 vs. Howard (W 57-50).

A couple more wins for the Spartans, who have now won 6 of 7, with the only loss being against NC Central who is undefeated in conference play. Norfolk has 3 games left, and all are winnable. We'll be honest here, winning the regular season MEAC title is out of the question, but if they show up to play in their last 3 regular season games, a #2 seed in the MEAC Tourney would be a real possibility.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-13, 8-6 T-5th Pac 12.

2/16/17 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 at Washington (W 69-53).

Good week for the Buffaloes who get a pair of much needed wins. They've still got some work to do though if they want to play in a postseason tournament.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-9, 8-6 T-5th Pac 12.

2/16/17 vs. #1 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 vs. Oregon (L 73-55).

Not a good week for the Cardinal, who really have not played great ball in the last few weeks. That win over Arizona to start the month of February may be the difference between the NCAA and the NIT.

#1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 25-1, 14-0 1st Pac 12.

2/16/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 vs. Utah (W 74-61).

2 more wins for the Bruins who remain perfect in Pac 12 play, but haven't clinched the Pac 12 title yet. They can do it next week with a pair of wins though.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-17, 4-10 10th Pac 12.

2/16/17 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 at Arizona (L 57-56).

The Cougars were just a few inches away from pulling off a monumental upset at Arizona, but it wasn't to be as a half court buzzer beater was just left of the rim (ok, so I made that up, I have no idea how far off the shot was, I just know it was a missed buzzer beater. I just like to add a little bit of drama to this every now and then). :)

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-18, 6-8 T-11th SEC.

2/15/17 at #22 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

It's been that kind of season for the Crimson Tide, they just can't get a big win either in conference or out of conference. OK so there was the win over Baylor in non-conference play, but way too many tough close losses.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 19-7. 9-5 T-2nd SEC.

2/15/17 vs. Tennessee (L 57-42).
2/18/17 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

The Gators missed a golden opportunity to be in a 1st place tie as they lost to the other 2nd place team, Tennessee. Fortunately, Tennessee lost their next game and the Gators won, so they remain tied for 2nd.

#22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 19-7, 10-4 1st SEC.

2/15/17 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/17 vs. Georgia (W 85-59).

I don't think the Wildcats liked being on the bubble going into the week, as they took care of business in a big way, but they've still got both 2nd place teams on the schedule before the season ends, so an SEC title is not a sure thing yet.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-14, 7-9 T-5th Sun Belt.

2/16/17 at Northern Kentucky (L 75-62).
2/18/17 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (L 70-50).

Not a good week for the Trojans who lost all momentum of those 2 wins last week. That loss at Northern Kentucky is just embarrassing as they have an RPI of 328. Northern Kentucky does that is.

Now let's look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (62) 26-0 1790 2 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (10) 25-1 1734 1 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 23-4 1660 4 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 23-5 1484 5 Big 12 Conference
5. La Salle 24-2 1484 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Kansas 22-5 1482 3 Big 12 Conference
7. Virginia 22-5 1349 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. VCU 22-4 1346 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Georgetown 22-5 1200 9 Big East Conference
10. North Carolina 22-4 1192 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Villanova 22-5 1035 13 Big East Conference
12. San Diego State 22-5 981 14 Mountain West Conference
13. Wichita State 24-4 897 8 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Iowa 20-6 860 16 Big Ten Conference
15. Miami 20-6 782 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Stephen F. Austin 24-2 662 19 Southland Conference
17. BYU 23-4 572 20 West Coast Conference
18. Wisconsin 20-7 528 17 Big Ten Conference
19. Syracuse 20-6 425 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Gonzaga 25-3 407 21 West Coast Conference
21. Kentucky 19-7 364 22 Southeastern Conference
22. Murray State 26-2 285 23 Ohio Valley Conference
23. New Mexico State 23-3 285 NR Western Athletic Conference
24. Duke 18-7 238 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Marquette 21-6 194 15 Big East Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Arizona 19-7 68 Pacific-12 Conference
Oklahoma 18-9 39 Big 12 Conference
Florida 19-7 26 Southeastern Conference
Ohio State 19-8 16 Big Ten Conference
Boise State 21-5 8 Mountain West Conference
Akron 21-5 7 Mid-American Conference

So UCLA drops a spot even after winning twice last week. Not sure what the mindset of the pollsters was, other than Cincinnati being undefeated for the season. Michigan State and Kentucky each move up a spot, and Florida is still getting some votes, but not many.

Now for the always painful mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 26-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 24-2 1717 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. San Diego State 22-5 1631 4 Mountain West Conference
4. VCU 22-4 1609 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Wichita State 24-4 1515 3 Missouri Valley Conference
6. BYU 23-4 1445 6 West Coast Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 24-2 1320 8 Southland Conference
8. Gonzaga 25-3 1298 7 West Coast Conference
9. New Mexico State 23-3 1171 9 Western Athletic Conference
10. Boise State 21-5 1096 11 Mountain West Conference
11. Akron 21-5 1056 15 Mid-American Conference
12. Murray State 26-2 1053 10 Ohio Valley Conference
13. Cleveland State 20-7 932 14 Horizon League
14. Valparaiso 22-6 875 17 Horizon League
15. Harvard 20-6 798 12 Ivy League
16. Memphis 21-5 770 13 American Athletic Conference
17. SMU 19-6 662 16 American Athletic Conference
18. Northern Iowa 22-6 551 21 Missouri Valley Conference
19. North Dakota State 24-4 394 24 Summit League
20. Vermont 23-5 283 NR America East Conference
21. Mercer 22-5 277 20 Southern Conference
22. Illinois State 19-8 272 22 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Green Bay 19-7 242 23 Horizon League
24. Georgia State 17-10 120 18 Horizon League
25. Portland 21-6 111 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Southern Miss 20-5 108 Conference USA
UC Irvine 20-6 100 Big West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 22-6 58 Ohio Valley Conference
North Carolina Central 22-5 42 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 21-6 25 America East Conference
New Mexico 19-7 23 Mountain West Conference
North Florida 22-5 20 Atlantic Sun Conference
UTEP 18-6 13 Conference USA
Massachusetts 17-9 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Louisiana Tech 19-7 4 Conference USA
Northeastern 19-8 2 Colonial Athletic Association

Par for the course, no FOFC mid-majors represented.

It's bubble watch time, and while Kentucky is off the bubble, 2 new FOFC teams have entered. Let's take a look.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seton Hall 17-9 .594 (35) 4-6 0-1 10-1 3-1 39 In
Florida State 18-8 .580 (44) 1-4 5-1 7-3 5-0 84 In
Stanford 17-9 .581 (42) 3-5 1-2 9-2 4-0 70 In
Miami 20-6 .560 (68) 4-5 1-1 8-0 7-0 202 In
Northeastern 19-8 .573 (52) 1-2 5-2 9-2 4-2 130 In
Georgia State 17-10 .581 (43) 2-3 3-4 5-2 7-1 72 In
Middle Tennessee 18-8 .578 (49) 1-2 3-2 5-1 9-3 87 In
Missouri 15-9 .579 (48) 2-1 4-5 5-2 4-1 54 In
SMU 19-6 .562 (66) 1-3 3-3 3-0 12-0 183 Out
New Mexico 19-7 .561 (67) 2-2 0-3 8-1 9-1 168 Out
Oakland 17-11 .563 (64) 2-5 3-3 3-2 9-1 69 Out
Florida 19-7 .553 (77) 3-2 4-2 7-2 5-1 160 Out
Butler 15-10 .611 (18) 5-7 0-1 7-2 3-0 10 Out
Southern Miss 20-5 .553 (78) 0-0 1-2 7-3 12-0 252 Out
UTEP 18-6 .554 (76) 0-3 4-1 4-0 10-2 211 Out


I wasn't kidding when I said Stanford's win over Arizona on Feb. 2nd may be the difference between the NCAA and the NIT. The Cardinal are just 4-7 against current teams in the top 100, but with their SOS being at 70 and their RPI at 42, the committee has them in, for right now. Fortunately for them, they don't have another team with a winning record on their schedule. Finishing off the regular season with 4 wins would give them 21 which would surely be enough.

As for Florida, while they are 7-4 over the top 100, their SOS is just 160 and their RPI is 77. Losing at Mississippi State is by far their worst loss of the season, but they do have some quality wins (home vs. Vanderbilt, home vs. Kansas, home vs. Duke). The problem is, beating up on teams like Furman, Stetson, Loyola Chicago, and squeaking out a win over FIU won't do a lot to help your RPI. Considering they still have to play at Arkansas, at Missouri, and home vs. Kentucky, I hate to say it but losing any 2 of those games will probably send them to the NIT.

Now for the rest of the bubble watch, Michigan State and UCLA are still locks, and I told you that Kentucky had moved off the bubble with the 2 wins last week? That's because for some inexplicable reason, they are projected OUT. Yes, you heard me, OUT. If you don't believe me, here is the screen shot:

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE BUBBLE WATCH

Kentucky 19-7 .557 (71) 4-3 4-3 4-0 7-1 187 Out

I'm at a complete loss on this one. I realize SOS is awful, but to have the conference leaders projected out?? Wow.

All other teams other than Michigan State, UCLA, and Stanford are projected out. Craziness.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 20-26, 2017

3 feature games to tell you about this week, 2 in the Pac 12 and 1 in Conference USA.

2/23/17- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This was a close game throughout, and although the teams combined for 34 turnovers, neither team could pull away. Eventually, it came down to who had the ball last, as a buzzer beater won it for the Buffaloes, who get a huge, huge win.

Final Score: Colorado- 74, Stanford- 73

2/25/17- #2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- This one went about as expected, as the Bruins dominated in most offense categories, including ball handling. UCLA had just 4 turnovers the entire game. It's hard to beat a team that only has 4 turnovers, and this game was no different. The Bruins stay undefeated in Pac 12 play.

Final Score: #1 UCLA- 77, Washington State- 57

2/25/17- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- The Owls got off to a hot start on the road and never looked back. Rice led 40-19 at halftime and cruised in the second half. They shot 55.6% for the game while Charlotte shot 36.2% as Rice gets the win in the only game played between the 2 teams this regular season.

Final Score: Rice- 72, Charlotte- 57

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-16, 8-8 T-5th America East.

2/24/17 vs. UMass Lowell (W 72-66, OT).

The Hawks needed overtime to win in their only game of the week. They lost the tiebreaker and will be the 6th seed in the America East Tournament.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-20, 5-11 8th American.

2/22/17 vs. Memphis (L 66-54).
2/25/17 vs. UConn (L 59-58).

The Pirates gave a gallant effort this week against very tough competition. Maybe it was the fact both games were at home, I'm not sure, but they were in position to win both. Unfortunately they lost both and have 2 more brutal challenges next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 14-14, 9-7 T-5th Atlantic 10.

2/22/17 at George Washington (L 84-63).
2/25/17 at Duquesne (W 78-74).

A split for the Wolverines who break a 3 game losing streak and finish off conference play next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-19, 3-13 9th Big 12.

2/20/17 at #4 Baylor (L 77-38).
2/25/17 at #6 Kansas (L 89-81).

Not sure what happened to the Horned Frogs at Baylor, they just flat out didn't show up. At least they played to win at Kansas. They are locked into the 9th seed for the Big 12 tournament, there is no way they can improve or lower their seed, so next weeks games from a seeding standpoint are meaningless, but you know Coach Mighty would like to get one, if not both.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 15-13, 8-8 T-7th Big Ten.

2/22/17 at Illinois (L 58-49).
2/25/17 vs. Northwestern (L 55-46).

The win 2, lose 2 streak continues for the Wolverines. This week it was 2 losses, both by 9 points. 2 more games next week to finish off conference play.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 25-4, 13-3 1st Big Ten.

2/22/17 vs. Rutgers (W 83-50).
2/25/17 vs. #18 Wisconsin (W 66-65).

The Spartans had to rely on a missed Wisconsin buzzer beater to survive, and all they need next week is to win 1 of their 2 games to clinch the Big Ten regular season title.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 16-12, 11-3 T-1st Big West.

2/23/17 vs. UC Irvine (W 56-54).
2/25/17 vs. Cal State Fullerton (W 67-47).

The Warriors have put themselves in position for a conference title by beating co-league leader UC Irvine this week. Next week they travel to 2nd place Long Beach State in what is basically a must win game, as they need to win twice next week and hope for UC Irvine to lose one of their games, as I think Irvine owns the tiebreaker.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 12-15, 8-8 T-7th Conference USA.

2/23/17 at FIU (L 64-63).
2/25/17 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.

A heartbreaking loss at FIU after a big halftime lead, followed by the letdown at Rice, and the 49ers have lost all momentum going into next week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-16, 6-10 10th Conference USA.

2/23/17 at North Texas (L 60-52).
2/25/17 at Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.

Big win for the Owls over Charlotte, as that breaks a 3 game losing streak. 2 games next week to finish off conference play.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-15, 11-9 T-4th MAAC.

No games this week for the Hawks, who got to sit back and watch all the other MAAC teams beat up on each other. When all was said and done, Monmouth earned the 5th seed in next weeks MAAC Tournament.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-14, 10-5 T-2nd MEAC.

2/20/17 at South Carolina State (W 71-63).
2/25/17 vs. North Carolina A&T (W 51-41).

2 important wins for the Spartans, who have 1 more game next week. A win, and they should lock up the #2 seed in the MEAC Tourney which is important because they would avoid NC Central until the championship.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-13, 10-6 4th Pac 12.

2/23/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/25/17 at California (W 71-45).

2 more wins for the Buffaloes who are getting it together down the stretch, winners of 8 of their last 9 now, but a couple tough games await next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-10, 9-7 T-5th Pac 12.

2/23/17 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/25/17 vs. USC (W 73-47).

The Cardinal recovered from the heartbreaking loss against Colorado by absolutely hammering USC. Next week brings a couple games that they should win fairly easily.

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-1, 16-0 1st Pac 12.

2/23/17 vs. Oregon State (W 77-41).
2/25/17 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more easy wins for the Bruins, who have clinched the Pac 12 regular season title with ease. Now on the line is an undefeated conference season, but they still have to go through Arizona, at Arizona, to do it.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-18, 5-11 T-9th Pac 12.

2/23/17 vs. Arizona State (W 67-65).
2/25/17 vs. #2 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A nice win for the Cougars against Arizona State which broke a 7 game losing streak, then of course they go and get hammered by UCLA. 2 more games next week to finish off conference play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-18, 8-8 T-7th SEC.

2/22/17 vs. Missouri (W 70-62).
2/25/17 vs. Vanderbilt (W 82-74).

The Crimson Tide have been playing much better ball as of late, and it finally translated to a pair of wins. They are part of a 5 way tie for 7th right now, so next weeks games could be the difference between a 7 seed or a 12 seed in the SEC Tourney.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 21-7, 11-5 2nd SEC.

2/22/17 at Arkansas (W 85-75).
2/25/17 at Missouri (W 66-53).

The Gators have recovered nicely after a 3 game losing streak, as they've won 3 in a row and have a big showdown next week with Kentucky that may very well decide the SEC regular season title.

#21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-7, 12-4 1st SEC.

2/22/17 at Ole Miss (W 87-63).
2/25/17 vs. Tennessee (W 85-65).

The Wildcats have to be fuming at being projected out of the NCAA tournament as of last weeks projections, and they took it out on a couple opponents this week. They have 2 games next week, and winning either of those games all but guarantees an SEC regular season title.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 14-14, 9-9 5th Sun Belt.

2/23/17 at Texas State (W 81-74).
2/25/17 at South Alabama (W 67-58).

2 much needed wins for the Trojans to get back to .500 in the Sun Belt. 2 more games next week which are big to carry some momentum into the Sun Belt Tournament.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. UCLA (62) 27-1 1789 2 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (10) 28-0 1737 1 American Athletic Conference
3. Michigan State 25-4 1658 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 25-5 1550 4 Big 12 Conference
5. La Salle 26-2 1518 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. VCU 24-4 1400 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Georgetown 24-5 1361 9 Big East Conference
8. Kansas 23-6 1339 6 Big 12 Conference
9. Virginia 23-6 1177 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Villanova 23-5 1121 11 Big East Conference
11. North Carolina 23-5 1052 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Miami 22-6 1046 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. San Diego State 23-5 946 12 Mountain West Conference
14. Wichita State 25-5 839 13 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 800 16 Southland Conference
16. Syracuse 22-6 758 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Duke 20-7 473 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Marquette 23-6 469 25 Big East Conference
19. Iowa 21-7 420 14 Big Ten Conference
20. BYU 24-5 369 17 West Coast Conference
21. Gonzaga 26-4 368 20 West Coast Conference
22. Kentucky 21-7 260 21 Southeastern Conference
23. New Mexico State 24-3 251 23 Western Athletic Conference
24. Ohio State 21-8 224 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Florida 21-7 187 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 27-3 168 Ohio Valley Conference
Akron 23-5 60 Mid-American Conference
Oklahoma 19-9 41 Big 12 Conference
Boise State 23-5 10 Mountain West Conference
Wisconsin 20-9 6 Big Ten Conference
Arizona 20-8 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Iowa State 19-9 1 Big 12 Conference

UCLA is back on top as they just keep swapping places with Cincinnati. Both are pretty much guaranteed #1 seeds in the NCAA Tourney. Michigan State stays put at 3rd. I have no idea what to think about the lack of respect for Kentucky. The Wildcats hammer 2 opponents this week yet fall 1 spot in the polls. This can't bode well for their NCAA projections. Florida is back in the top 25 going into next weeks huge showdown.

Now for the Mid-Major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 28-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 26-2 1722 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 24-4 1628 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 23-5 1611 3 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 25-5 1516 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. BYU 24-5 1433 6 West Coast Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 1346 7 Southland Conference
8. Gonzaga 26-4 1295 8 West Coast Conference
9. Akron 23-5 1185 11 Mid-American Conference
10. Boise State 23-5 1130 10 Mountain West Conference
11. New Mexico State 24-3 1071 9 Western Athletic Conference
12. Harvard 22-6 1012 15 Ivy League
13. Murray State 27-3 969 12 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Cleveland State 21-8 829 13 Horizon League
15. Northern Iowa 24-6 766 18 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Valparaiso 23-7 736 14 Horizon League
17. Memphis 22-6 687 16 American Athletic Conference
18. North Dakota State 25-4 504 19 Summit League
19. Mercer 24-5 474 21 Southern Conference
20. Portland 23-6 325 25 West Coast Conference
21. SMU 21-6 316 17 American Athletic Conference
22. Vermont 24-5 247 20 America East Conference
23. Illinois State 20-8 209 22 Missouri Valley Conference
24. Green Bay 20-7 158 23 Horizon League
25. Louisiana Tech 21-7 79 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Southern Miss 21-6 68 Conference USA
New Mexico 21-7 58 Mountain West Conference
North Florida 24-5 53 Atlantic Sun Conference
UC Irvine 21-7 46 Big West Conference
Massachusetts 19-9 43 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 22-6 26 America East Conference
Eastern Kentucky 23-7 24 Ohio Valley Conference
UTEP 20-6 17 Conference USA
George Washington 17-10 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Morehead State 22-7 4 Ohio Valley Conference
Georgia State 18-11 2 Horizon League

Again, none of our FOFC teams are represented. I'm not going to jinx it, but with a 2-0 week next week, I could see one of our teams getting at least a couple votes.

Now, for the Bubble Watch, where we have just 1 of our teams in the Overall Bubble Watch this week.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida State 20-8 .573 (50) 3-4 2-2 8-2 7-0 125 In
Kansas State 18-11 .579 (45) 5-9 2-2 3-0 8-0 32 In
SMU 21-6 .567 (55) 0-5 4-1 5-0 12-0 184 In
Massachusetts 19-9 .561 (63) 4-5 3-0 7-3 5-1 124 In
Stanford 18-10 .566 (57) 3-5 1-3 9-2 5-0 90 In
George Washington 17-10 .595 (30) 2-5 3-3 9-1 3-1 14 In
Georgia State 18-11 .569 (54) 2-3 5-5 3-2 8-1 81 In
Seton Hall 17-11 .597 (29) 4-8 0-1 10-1 3-1 23 In
Middle Tennessee 19-9 .588 (39) 1-2 4-3 5-2 9-2 57 Out
Oakland 19-11 .572 (51) 2-4 4-4 4-1 9-2 65 Out
Northeastern 20-9 .557 (70) 1-2 2-2 12-3 5-2 150 Out
Washington 19-9 .553 (78) 3-4 3-1 8-4 5-0 140 Out
Southern Miss 21-6 .554 (77) 0-1 2-3 6-2 13-0 249 Out
Butler 16-11 .604 (22) 5-9 0-0 8-2 3-0 10 Out
Maryland 17-12 .572 (52) 4-11 2-1 6-0 5-0 26 Out


The 1 point loss 2 Colorado didn't do much damage to Stanford's chances. They are in the Last Four In group, which would probably mean a date in the First Four, but they can probably move up with 2 wins next week.

As for the rest of the teams:

Michigan St. and UCLA are still locks.
Florida stayed has played their way off the bubble and is now considered a lock, but that could change.
Kentucky is now projected In, despite dropping a spot in the polls.

The other teams are projected out of course.

[Zinto]

ECU is still bad but at least it hasn't been as bad of a season. Hopefully Kentucky can pull out a big win next week.

[bbgunn]

Big win for Colorado there.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 27-March 5, 2017

2 feature games to tell you about this week, as we start with a big one in the SEC.

3/1/17- #22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ #25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- As expected, this one was a doozy. Neither team took care of the ball, neither team shot well, and both teams fouled, a lot. The difference was that Florida made 23 free throws while Kentucky only made 14. The Gators get a huge victory to deny Kentucky an SEC championship, at least for now.

Final Score: #25 Florida- 72, #22 Kentucky- 64

Now we head over to the Pac 12:

3/2/17- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- The Cardinal could not avoid a letdown in this one if they wanted to keep their NCAA hopes alive, and they didn't. The D stepped up to force 24 Washington State turnovers and Stanford couldn't miss as they roll to an easy road victory.

Final Score: Stanford- 92, Washington State- 71

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 14-16, 8-8 America East.

3/2/17- America East Quarterfinals vs. (3) Albany (W 67-52).

The Hawks keep their season alive and in what might be the weirdest scheduled conference tournament ever, have to wait until next week to play the semifinals. Crazy.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-22, 5-13 T-8th American.

3/1/17 at #2 Cincinnati (L 83-67).
3/4/17 at SMU (L 78-57).

2 road losses for the Pirates, nothing surprising, but would have liked a little better effort after last weeks effort. They'll be the 9th seed in the American Tournament after losing a tiebreaker to 8th seed Tulane, who they conveniently play in the First Round.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 16-14, 11-7 4th Atlantic 10.

3/1/17 vs. George Mason (W 84-65).
3/4/17 vs. Dayton (W 85-82, OT).

The Wildcats take some momentum into the Atlantic 10 tournament after 3 straight wins. They'll be the 4th seed and get one of those quirky double byes into the quarterfinals.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 10-20, 4-14 9th Big 12.

2/27/17 vs. Kansas State (L 66-56).
3/4/17 vs. West Virginia (W 72-65).

The Horned Frogs steal one against West Virginia to end the regular season and will be the 9th seed in the Big 12 Tournament where they'll, how convenient, take on that same West Virginia team they just beat.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-14, 9-9 T-7th Big Ten.

3/1/17 at #19 Iowa (L 111-81).
3/4/17 vs. Minnesota (W 76-66).

So the Wolverines try something different this week, instead of winning both or losing both, they decide to split. They lost the 7th place tiebreaker and will be the 8th seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 26-5, 14-4 1st Big Ten.

3/1/17 at Minnesota (L 69-58).
3/4/17 vs. Purdue (W 102-45).

The Spartans almost let the Big Ten title slip away, but they weren't about to let that happen as they dismantled Purdue. With that win, they win the Big Ten regular season title and will be the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-13, 12-4 T-1st Big West.

2/28/17 at Long Beach State (W 82-74).
3/4/17 UC Davis (L 70-68).

Tough break for the Warriors, who were just 3 points away for winning the Big West title outright. Instead, they have to settle for a share. What's even worse is they lose the tiebreaker and will be the 2nd seed in the Big West Tournament.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-16, 9-9 8th Conference USA.

3/2/17 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 61-52).
3/4/17 at UTSA (W 59-47).

The 49ers finish off the regular season with a win, which is always nice. They'll be the 8th seed in the Conference USA Tournament.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-17, 7-11 T-9th Conference USA.

3/2/17 vs. Marshall (W 77-61).
3/4/17 vs. UAB (L 71-53).

A split for the Owls to finish the regular season. They win the tiebreaker and get the 9th seed in the Conference USA Tournament, meaning our 2 FOFC teams in Conference USA will square off in the First Round.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-16, 11-9 MAAC.

3/4/17- MAAC Quarterfinals vs. (4) Iona (L 62-44).

The Hawks really weren't competitive in their quarterfinal game. They pretty much needed to win out to see a postseason tournament, their season is over.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 16-14, 11-5 T-2nd MEAC.

2/27/17 at Florida A&M (W 73-52).

So the Spartans finish the regular season with a big road win, and win the tiebreaker, so they'll be the 2nd seed in the MEAC Tournament. They get a bye into the quarterfinals but more importantly, they won't have to see NC Central until the championship if both teams make it that far.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-14, 11-7 T-4th Pac 12.

3/2/17 vs. Oregon (L 79-70).
3/4/17 vs. Oregon State (W 60-56).

The Buffaloes split this week and really don't have any momentum going into the Pac 12 Tournament. They win the tiebreaker though and get the 4th seed and a bye into the Quarterfinals.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-10, 11-7 T-4th Pac 12.

3/2/17 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/4/17 at Arizona State (W 73-62).

The Cardinal take care of business with a couple wins this week, but lose the tiebreaker to Colorado and they'll be the 5th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, having to play in the First Round.

#1 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 28-2, 17-1 1st Pac 12.

3/2/17 vs. California (W 69-61).
3/4/17 at Arizona (L 60-59).

Ugh! 1 point, 1 lousy point is all that separated the Bruins from perfection in the Pac 12. It's a bittersweet regular season title, but UCLA does get the top seed in the Pac 12 Tournament and they are already thinking about a rematch with Arizona.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-20, 5-13 T-9th Pac 12.

3/2/17 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
3/4/17 at California (L 81-52).

Not a good week for the Cougars who get smoked twice. They lose the tiebreaker and get the 10th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, which is a bit of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that they'll be playing Arizona State, a team they beat twice in the regular season. The bad news is everybody knows it's tough to beat a team 3 times in the same season!

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 11-19, 9-9 T-8th SEC.

3/1/17 vs. Auburn (L 72-66).
3/4/17 at Texas A&M (W 80-69).

The Crimson Tide get an unconventional split this week as they lose at home and win on the road. They also lose a tiebreaker so they'll be the 9th seed in the SEC Tournament.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 23-7, 13-5 T-1st SEC.

3/1/17 vs. #22 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
3/4/17 vs. Georgia (W 49-48).

Big week for the Gators, who survive 2 huge tests to get a share of the SEC title. That win over Kentucky gives them the tiebreaker and they'll be the top seed in the SEC Tournament.

#22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 22-8, 13-5 T-1st SEC.

3/1/17 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
3/4/17 vs. LSU (W 95-72).

A split for the Wildcats, but they miss a chance to win the SEC title outright, and they'll have to share it with Florida. What's worse is that game cost them the tiebreaker and they'll be the 2nd seed in the SEC Tournament.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 15-15, 10-10 T-5th Sun Belt.

3/2/17 vs. South Alabama (W 68-57).
3/4/17 vs. Arkansas State (L 68-56).

A split for the Trojans who see their 3 game winning streak come to an end. They win the tiebreaker and will be the 5th seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Let's take a look at the national top 25 going into next weeks conference tournaments:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (65) 30-0 1793 2 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (7) 28-2 1734 1 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 26-5 1656 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 26-5 1566 4 Big 12 Conference
5. La Salle 27-3 1476 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. VCU 26-4 1464 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Georgetown 25-5 1382 7 Big East Conference
8. North Carolina 25-5 1257 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Kansas 23-7 1249 8 Big 12 Conference
10. Villanova 24-6 1130 10 Big East Conference
11. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 1022 15 Southland Conference
12. Virginia 23-7 982 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Wichita State 28-5 835 14 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Miami 23-7 769 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. San Diego State 24-6 713 13 Mountain West Conference
16. Iowa 23-7 699 19 Big Ten Conference
17. BYU 26-5 566 20 West Coast Conference
18. Syracuse 23-7 541 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Gonzaga 27-4 513 21 West Coast Conference
20. Florida 23-7 495 25 Southeastern Conference
21. Ohio State 23-8 461 24 Big Ten Conference
22. New Mexico State 26-3 387 23 Western Athletic Conference
23. Arizona 22-8 257 NR Pacific-12 Conference
24. Akron 25-5 119 NR Mid-American Conference
25. Wisconsin 22-9 104 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Duke 21-8 90 Atlantic Coast Conference
Kentucky 22-8 63 Southeastern Conference
Marquette 24-7 48 Big East Conference
Murray State 27-4 13 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 24-5 9 Mountain West Conference
Oregon 22-9 6 Pacific-12 Conference
Harvard 24-6 1 Ivy League

UCLA falls to #2 after their loss this week, no surprise there. Michigan State stays at #3, Florida moves up 5 spots after the big win over Kentucky. Speaking of Kentucky, they drop out of the Top 25 but are still receiving their fair share of votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 30-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 27-3 1705 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 26-4 1675 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 24-6 1547 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 28-5 1534 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. BYU 26-5 1448 6 West Coast Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 1351 7 Southland Conference
8. Gonzaga 27-4 1305 8 West Coast Conference
9. Akron 25-5 1214 9 Mid-American Conference
10. Boise State 24-5 1130 10 Mountain West Conference
11. New Mexico State 26-3 1099 11 Western Athletic Conference
12. Harvard 24-6 1011 12 Ivy League
13. Murray State 27-4 860 13 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Cleveland State 23-8 826 14 Horizon League
15. Northern Iowa 26-7 791 15 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Valparaiso 23-7 713 16 Horizon League
17. North Dakota State 27-4 581 18 Summit League
18. Memphis 23-7 499 17 American Athletic Conference
19. Vermont 26-5 427 22 America East Conference
20. SMU 23-6 359 21 American Athletic Conference
21. Portland 24-6 352 20 West Coast Conference
22. Mercer 26-6 336 19 Southern Conference
23. Georgia State 21-11 182 NR Horizon League
24. New Mexico 23-7 175 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 23-7 149 25 Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Illinois State 21-9 130 Missouri Valley Conference
Eastern Kentucky 26-7 95 Ohio Valley Conference
Charleston Southern 26-7 27 Big South Conference
UC Irvine 22-8 19 Big West Conference
Richmond 20-10 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 23-6 17 America East Conference
Green Bay 20-8 14 Horizon League
American 23-7 9 Patriot League
North Florida 26-6 3 Atlantic Sun Conference

Surprised? I'm not.

Now for the Bubble Watch, the final Bubble Watch of the season and we'll start with the overall bubble watch where we have 1 FOFC team in:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Mexico 23-7 .560 (60) 3-2 1-2 8-3 11-0 212 In
Kansas State 19-12 .573 (49) 5-8 2-3 4-1 8-0 36 In
Stanford 20-10 .566 (52) 2-5 3-3 10-2 5-0 112 In
Georgia State 21-11 .579 (44) 2-3 7-5 4-2 8-1 69 In
George Washington 18-11 .598 (22) 2-6 3-3 8-1 5-1 10 In
Middle Tennessee 21-9 .582 (41) 1-1 3-4 8-2 9-2 87 In
Oakland 20-12 .558 (64) 3-6 3-3 4-1 10-2 94 In
Seton Hall 18-12 .585 (38) 4-9 1-1 10-1 3-1 27 In
Memphis 23-7 .558 (68) 1-2 7-0 9-2 6-3 179 Out
Drexel 20-11 .558 (65) 1-1 4-3 6-7 9-0 122 Out
Portland 24-6 .554 (73) 1-3 2-1 6-2 15-0 245 Out
SMU 23-6 .554 (74) 0-3 2-3 8-0 13-0 249 Out
Washington 20-10 .551 (79) 3-5 3-1 8-4 6-0 138 Out
Eastern Michigan 17-11 .556 (70) 3-1 4-5 4-2 6-3 72 Out
South Dakota State 22-9 .550 (80) 1-0 1-5 5-4 15-0 175 Out


Those poor Cardinal just can't get off the bubble, even with a couple easy wins this week. At least they are no longer in the First Four out. A win in their first game of the Pac 12 Tourney would certainly seal the deal. A loss, and who knows.

As for the other teams:

Michigan State, UCLA, and Florida are considered locks, and even with the loss, Kentucky is still projected in. That strength of schedule is awful though, for the Wildcats I mean. It's the 4th worst in the SEC, meaning only 3 teams played a weaker schedule than Kentucky. No wonder they've been projected out and on the bubble and all that. Oh yea, I'm rambling. So other than those 4 teams, and of course Stanford, that's it for possible NCAA Tourney teams.

[collegesportsfanms]

March 6-12, 2017

Just 3 feature games in all of the conference tournaments, and one of them we knew was happening. To Conference USA we go:

3/6/17- Conference USA Second Round- (9) Rice (Charlie Shocker) vs. (8) Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- The first half proved to be the downfall for the Owls, as they really struggled to hit shots. For the game, they shot just 30.6%. This game wouldn't have even been close except for the fact that Charlotte was just 17-37 from the free throw line. Despite the 45.9% free throw shooting, the 49ers move on.

Final Score: Charlotte- 70, Rice- 60

To the SEC for our other 2 feature games:

3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals- (9) Alabama (Roy Rogers) vs. (1) #20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The Crimson Tide didn't give themselves a chance in this one as they trailed by 23 at halftime. A gallant effort to try and come back, but the difference was far too much, far too early, as Florida moves on.

Final Score: #20 Florida- 88, Alabama- 80

3/12/17- SEC Championship- (2) Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) vs. (1) #20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The rematch that everybody wanted to see didn't start so hot, as Florida led by 15 at halftime. But in the second half, the Wildcats turned up the D and ended up forcing 21 turnovers for the game. This led to an amazing comeback despite the fact that Kentucky only shot 34.4% from the field, but they made enough extra free throws and three pointers to make up the difference and get revenge, claiming the SEC Championship in the process.

Final Score: Kentucky- 63, #20 Florida- 61

Now we go to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 14-17, 8-8 America East.

3/6/17- America East Semifinals vs. (2) Stony Brook (L 63-54).

Maybe the long layoff was too much, but either way, the Hawks will end their season with a 14-17 record.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-23, 5-13 American.

3/9/17- American First Round vs. (8) Tulane (L 71-61).

The Pirates fall in the first round of their tournament and will end their season with a 7-23 record.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 16-15, 11-7 Atlantic 10.

3/10/17- Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals vs. (5) St. Joseph's (L 79-74).

Not a good effort for our FOFC teams so far this week, as the Wildcats become the 3rd team to go one and done. With a 16-15 record, you'd think their season would be over, but that RPI of 47 may be enough to get them into the CBI or CIT.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-21, 4-14 Big 12.

3/8/17- Big 12 First Round vs. (8) West Virginia (W 70-64).
3/9/17- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (1) #4 Baylor (L 90-68).

At least the Horned Frogs got 1 win in the Big 12 tourney, that's an improvement. The season as a whole was an improvement, but still at 11-21, they are done.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-15, 9-9 Big Ten.

3/9/17- Big Ten Second Round vs. (9) Nebraska (L 73-57).

Not a good effort at all for the Wolverines who really struggled down the stretch. At 16-15 and with a 42 RPI, they are in the same position as Davidson in that they could sneak into the CBI or CIT. Most likely the CBI.

#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 27-6, 14-4 Big Ten.

3/10/17- Big Ten Quarterfinals vs. (9) Nebraska (W 77-73).
3/11/17- Big Ten Semifinals vs. (4) #25 Wisconsin (L 70-56).

The Spartans didn't play a very good game at all against Wisconsin, but still, they will be dancing for sure, although a #1 seed may not happen. I'd bet they get a 2 seed.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-14, 12-4 Big West.

3/9/17- Big West First Round vs. (7) UC Riverside (L 71-62).

Ugh! A damaging loss for the Warriors who may have played themselves out of a postseason tournament with this loss. Then again, they did share the Big West regular season title, and the top seed UC Irvine won the Big West tourney, so in my mind Hawaii should go to the NIT. We'll see how it plays out.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 15-17, 9-9 Conference USA.

3/8/17- Conference USA Second Round vs. (9) Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
3/9/17- Conference USA Quarterfinals vs. (1) Louisiana Tech (W 72-63).
3/10/17- Conference USA Semifinals vs. (5) UTEP (L 63-52).

A nice run for the 49ers, but they needed more. Upsetting the top seed is nice but they needed to win the tournament. At 15-17, their season is over.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-18, 7-11 Conference USA.

3/8/17- Conference USA Second Round vs. (8) Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.

One and done for the Owls, who improved very, very slightly, but at 12-18 their season is over.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-16, 11-9 MAAC.

The Hawks played their conference tournament last week, and while they improved, it wasn't enough. At 14-16, their season is over.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 19-14, 11-5 MEAC.

3/8/17- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (7) South Carolina State (W 60-58).
3/10/17- MEAC Semifinals vs. (11) Delaware State (W 69-61).
3/11/17- MEAC Championship vs. (1) North Carolina Central (W 68-65, OT).

My goodness, the Spartans have done it again! 2 years in a row they rise through and win the MEAC Tournament. And this year, they may actually avoid a First Four game. Maybe. But they'll still be a 16 seed I'm sure.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-15, 11-7 Pac 12.

3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (12) USC (L 76-66).

Well, any chance that the Buffaloes had to make a deep run went away quickly. A huge upset here, and Colorado becomes our 3rd FOFC team with a 16-15 record and an RPI in the 40's. The NIT, CBI, and CIT have some tough decisions to make regarding these teams. I can see them squeaking in at least one of those tournaments.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-11, 11-7 Pac 12.

3/8/17- Pac 12 First Round vs. (12) USC (L 68-64).

Damaging loss for the Cardinal, who needed to win to really feel safe about an NCAA berth. Now, they'll have to sweat it out on selection sunday, but I think they are still in the NCAA's.

#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 31-2, 17-1 Pac 12.

3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (9) Oregon State (W 60-40).
3/10/17- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (12) USC (W 79-66).
3/11/17- Pac 12 Championship vs. (2) #23 Arizona (W 84-58).

Well, it was clear the Bruins had their sights set on one thing, the Arizona rematch, and they didn't disappoint, blasting Arizona to win the Pac 12 Championship. They'll no doubt be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 11-21, 5-13 Pac 12.

3/8/17- Pac 12 First Round vs. (7) Arizona State (W 54-39).
3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (2) Arizona (L 85-82, OT).

Well, remember what I said about the Cougars having a tough time beating Arizona State 3 times? Well they had no problem with that, and took Arizona to overtime. Great effort to end the season, but unfortunately at 11-21 their season is over.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-20, 9-9 SEC.

3/9/17- SEC Second Round vs. (8) LSU (W 73-70).
3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (1) #20 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

At least the Crimson Tide got 1 win in the SEC Tourney, but they finish a very disappointing season with a 12-20 record.

#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 25-8, 13-5 SEC.

3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. #9 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
3/11/17- SEC Semifinals vs. (5) Vanderbilt (W 69-66).
3/12/17- SEC Championship vs. (2) Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough loss in the ship for the Gators, but they were a lock going into this tournament and making it to the championship certainly guarantees them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-8, 13-5 SEC.

3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (7) Tennessee (W 67-59).
3/11/17- SEC Semifinals vs. (3) Arkansas (W 84-55).
3/12/17- SEC Championship vs. (1) #20 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

So the Wildcats get revenge on Florida and get the win in the SEC Championship. They probably would have been going to the NCAA Tournament anyways, but now they have an auto bid.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 16-16, 10-10 Sun Belt.

3/9/17- Sun Belt First Round vs. (8) Northern Kentucky (W 70-60).
3/10/17- Sun Belt Second Round vs. (4) Arkansas Little Rock (L 60-51).

The Trojans were just average this entire season, lots of splits during the week. Just as their 16-16 record shows, average teams usually don't play in the postseason, and chances are they won't.

Let's take a look at the final polls before Selection Sunday, starting with the national top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (65) 33-0 1793 1 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (7) 31-2 1735 2 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 27-6 1656 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 29-5 1584 4 Big 12 Conference
5. VCU 26-5 1429 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Georgetown 26-6 1419 7 Big East Conference
7. La Salle 27-4 1383 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Villanova 27-6 1317 10 Big East Conference
9. North Carolina 27-6 1221 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1119 11 Southland Conference
11. Wisconsin 25-9 1084 25 Big Ten Conference
12. Kansas 23-8 891 9 Big 12 Conference
13. Kentucky 25-8 804 NR Southeastern Conference
14. Iowa 24-8 796 16 Big Ten Conference
15. Miami 25-8 763 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. New Mexico State 29-3 742 22 Western Athletic Conference
17. Wichita State 28-5 739 13 Missouri Valley Conference
18. San Diego State 25-7 547 15 Mountain West Conference
19. Virginia 23-8 526 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. BYU 27-6 425 17 West Coast Conference
21. Akron 27-5 395 24 Mid-American Conference
22. Arizona 24-9 298 23 Pacific-12 Conference
23. Ohio State 25-9 234 21 Big Ten Conference
24. Gonzaga 27-5 156 19 West Coast Conference
25. Florida 25-8 145 20 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Syracuse 23-8 101 Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke 22-9 40 Atlantic Coast Conference
Marquette 24-8 35 Big East Conference
Murray State 27-4 13 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 25-6 6 Mountain West Conference
Florida State 26-8 4 Atlantic Coast Conference

So UCLA and Michigan State stay at 2 and 3, respectively. Kentucky takes a big jump into the top 25 by winning the SEC Tournament. Florida drops 5 spots, kind of a tough loss considering they made it to the SEC Championship.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 33-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 27-4 1700 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 26-5 1665 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 25-7 1555 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 28-5 1540 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1427 7 Southland Conference
7. BYU 27-6 1388 6 West Coast Conference
8. Akron 27-5 1294 9 Mid-American Conference
9. New Mexico State 29-3 1187 11 Western Athletic Conference
10. Gonzaga 27-5 1174 8 West Coast Conference
11. Harvard 24-6 1030 12 Ivy League
12. Boise State 25-6 1028 10 Mountain West Conference
13. Cleveland State 25-8 970 14 Horizon League
14. Murray State 27-4 816 13 Ohio Valley Conference
15. Northern Iowa 26-7 761 15 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Valparaiso 24-8 669 16 Horizon League
17. Portland 26-6 651 21 West Coast Conference
18. SMU 25-7 464 20 American Athletic Conference
19. North Dakota State 28-5 441 17 Summit League
20. Mercer 27-6 436 22 Southern Conference
21. New Mexico 25-8 346 24 Mountain West Conference
22. Memphis 24-8 266 18 American Athletic Conference
23. George Washington 21-11 181 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Vermont 27-6 155 19 America East Conference
25. UTEP 24-8 131 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Kentucky 26-7 82 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Irvine 25-8 79 Big West Conference
Louisiana Tech 23-8 47 Conference USA
Stony Brook 25-6 44 America East Conference
Charleston Southern 26-7 20 Big South Conference
Georgia State 21-12 18 Horizon League
Richmond 22-11 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
Illinois State 21-9 8 Missouri Valley Conference
American 24-7 5 Patriot League
Green Bay 20-9 3 Horizon League
Hofstra 23-10 1 Colonial Athletic Association
North Florida 26-6 1 Atlantic Sun Conference

[collegesportsfanms]

2017 Selection Sunday

UCLA gets the #1 seed in the NCAA West Region and awaits the winner of a First Four game between Norfolk State and Alabama State.

I was really hoping it wouldn't happen, but once again Norfolk State gets stuck in the NCAA First Four. They'll play Alabama State and if they win that they'll take on UCLA.

Michigan State gets the top seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 16th seed UL Lafayette.

Florida gets the 8th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 9th seed Valparaiso.

Kentucky gets the 7th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 10th seed Indiana.

Really FBCB? Did you have to put Florida and Kentucky in the same region?

That First Round loss in the Pac 12 Tournament hurt Stanford more than we thought, as they get bumped all the way to a 2 seed in the NIT South Region. They'll open up by hosting 7th seed Northeastern.

Hawaii gets the 14th seed in the CIT, and they'll open up by travelling to 3rd seed Bucknell.

So all those 16-15 teams with RPIs in the 40's? All snubbed. Nothing for Davidson, or Michigan, or Colorado. Crazy ridiculous. 7 of our 19 FOFC teams are playing in a postseason tournament, and I think it should have been 10.

[rjolley]

Man, that's unfortunate for Stanford and Coach Sanchez. Thought they deserved a bid to the Big Dance. Good luck in the NIT.

Good luck to UCLA and Coach Shepard!

[collegesportsfanms]

2017 Postseason

I'm going to try something different and take care of the entire postseason with 1 report, kind of like I do in my Interactive Player Dynasty. This will just be easier.

We have 7 teams playing in the postseason, and no feature games, so this will be a quick report as I'm only covering those 7 teams.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 29-7, 14-4 Big Ten.

3/16/17- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (16) UL Lafayette (W 86-39).
3/18/17- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (9) Valparaiso (W 67-57).
3/24/17- NCAA South Regional Semifinal vs. (4) BYU (L 88-83).

Definitely didn't see the Spartans bowing out so early in this one. A complete shocker, but at least they made it to the Sweet Sixteen this season, something they didn't do last season.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-15, 12-4 Big West.

3/14/17- CIT First Round at (3) Bucknell (L 74-72).

Good effort for the Warriors, but they fell just short against a tough Bucknell squad. An overall disappointing season comes to an end.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 19-15, 11-5 MEAC.

3/14/17- NCAA First Four vs. Alabama State (L 89-62).

Apparently the Spartans used everything they had against NC Central, because they just did not show up in this one against Alabama State. They'll be happy with a 2nd straight NCAA appearance though.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 25-11, 11-7 Pac 12.

3/15/17- NIT South Region Quarterfinal vs. (7) Northeastern (W 81-52).
3/20/17- NIT South Region Semifinal vs. (3) Western Michigan (W 79-67).
3/23/17- NIT South Region Final at (8) Robert Morris (W 98-77).
3/28/17- NIT Final Four vs. (1MW) Memphis (W 72-62).
3/30/17- NIT Championship vs. (4W) Washington (W 70-67).

The Cardinal played with a chip on their shoulder throughout the NIT, and they were not to be denied! Although they would have rather been in the NCAAs, they can take some pride in knowing they are 1 of only 4 teams to end their season with a win. Congrats Coach Sanchez!

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 32-3, 17-1 Pac 12.

3/17/17- NCAA West Region First round vs. (16) Alabama State (W 129-72).
3/19/17- NCAA West Region Second Round vs. (8) Iowa State (L 75-55).

Tough game for the Bruins against Iowa State as they just couldn't get it going. Still a heck of a season, but they'll be disappointed that it ended a few games earlier than expected.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 25-9, 13-5 SEC.

3/16/17- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (9) Valparaiso (L 68-60).

Sure wasn't expecting the Gators to lose in the First round, I figured they'd at least get by Valpo. Still a pretty good season, but not as good as they wanted.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 26-9, 13-5 SEC.

3/16/17- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (10) Indiana (W 97-90).
3/18/17- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (2) North Carolina (L 83-79).

The Wildcats got a really tough draw here, having to go up against the Tarheels in the Second Round. By all accounts, a disappointing season. Kentucky expects to be in the Final Four every season, and to not even make it to the Sweet Sixteen is a disaster for such a storied program.

That takes care of the 2017 Postseason, I'll start working on the Postseason Recap probably tomorrow.

[bbgunn]

Terrible season for the Rainbow Warriors. Need to increase the amount of wind sprints we do in practice.

[rjolley]

I did not see UCLA not getting out of the first weekend, especially not like that.

Congrats to Coach Sanchez on bringing home an NIT championship!

[collegesportsfanms]

2017 Postseason Recap

The NCAA Final Four was a wild one this season, there were no #1 or #2 seeds in it. The first semifinal saw (4S) BYU beat (8W) Iowa State 61-53. The second semifinal saw (3MW) Wisconsin squeak by (5E) Miami 73-71. The national title game saw Wisconsin beat BYU 63-54.

We already know about the NIT, as Stanford defeated Pac 12 mate Washington in the championship and Memphis in the semifinals. Washington got by (4S) Vermont 88-87 in the other semifinal.

The CBI Championship Series saw (4) Notre Dame beat (2) USC Upstate 2 games to none. Notre Dame won the first game 96-87 and then won the second game 80-56.

The CIT Championship saw (12) VMI beat (2) High Point 80-67.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016-2017 National Awards

Michigan State had 1 player on the All-NCAA 1st Team.

Kentucky had 1 player on the NCAA All-Freshman Team.

UCLA had 1 player on the NCAA All-Freshman Team and 1 player on the All-NCAA 2nd Team.

2016-2017 Conference Awards

Hartford had 1 player on the America East 2nd Team.

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

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

No awards for TCU.

Michigan had 1 player on the Big Ten 2nd Team and 1 player on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Michigan State head coach Al Mighty was the Big Ten Coach of the Year. The Spartans also had the Big Ten Player of the Year, as well as having 3 players on the Big Ten 1st Team. What a year for the Spartans!

Hawaii had 1 player on the Big West 2nd Team.

No awards for Charlotte.

Rice had 1 player on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Monmouth.

Norfolk State had 1 player on the MEAC 1st Team and 1 player on the MEAC 2nd Team.

No awards for Colorado.

Stanford had 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

UCLA absolutely cleaned up on the awards. First, Tim Shepard was named Pac 12 Coach of the Year. The Bruins also had the Pac 12 Player of the Year and Pac 12 Freshman of the Year. Aside from that, they also had 2 players on the Pac 12 1st Team, 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team, and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Washington State.

Alabama had 1 player on the SEC 1st Team and 1 player on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Florida coach Noah Oppenheimer was named SEC Coach of the Year. The Gators also had 1 player on the SEC 1st Team.

Kentucky had the SEC Freshman of the Year as well as 3 players on the SEC 2nd Team and 1 player on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Troy had 1 player on the Sun Belt All-Freshman Team.

[collegesportsfanms]

2016-2017 Recruiting Class Rankings

Hartford had the 282nd best class in the nation, good for 7th in the America East.

ECU had the 243rd best class in the nation, good for 8th in the American.

Davidson had the 43rd best class in the nation, tops in the Atlantic 10.

TCU had the 197th best class in the nation, last in the Big 12.

Michigan had the 33rd best class in the nation, good for 7th in the Big Ten.

Michigan State had the 55th best class in the nation, good for 8th in the Big Ten.

Hawaii had the 81st best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the Big West.

Charlotte had the 64th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in Conference USA.

Rice had the 77th best class in the nation, good for 5th in Conference USA.

Monmouth had the 229th best class in the nation, good for 8th in the MAAC.

Norfolk State had the 117th best class in the nation, tops in the MEAC.

Colorado had the 37th best class in the nation, good for 5th in the Pac 12.

Stanford had the 30th best class in the nation, good for 4th in the Pac 12.

UCLA had the 16th best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the Pac 12.

Washington State had the 57th best class in the nation, good for 6th in the Pac 12.

Alabama had the 31st best class in the nation, good for 6th in the SEC.

Florida had the 185th best class in the nation, last in the SEC. Uh-oh!

Kentucky had the top class in the nation, and obviously tops in the SEC. Let the NCAA investigations begin! lol

Troy had the 332nd best class in the nation, good for 10th in the Sun Belt.

[collegesportsfanms]

Again, we had 2 teams change conferences this season, and this switch will majorly affect Davidson in the Atlantic 10. Are you ready for this, because it's a doozy. Mississippi State has been kicked out of the SEC. They are now a member of the Atlantic 10. Yes, I said it, Mississippi State is a member of the Atlantic 10. Taking their place in the SEC is VCU. So to recap, VCU goes from the A-10 to the SEC, and Miss. St. goes from the SEC to the A-10. Wow!

I'm going to do something different with job offers from now on. I'm going to basically combined the head coach period into one session. What I mean is, while there will be separate sessions for job offers, I am going to go through them all at once, making a note of who got offers from what schools, then I'm going to present them to you all at once, so that we don't have a situation where a coach turns down an offer in the first round only to get hit with more offers in the second round, causing another decision to be made. So I'll get em all out of the way at once, then I'll present them to you guys where you'll make just 1 decision. I will make sure not to save after the head coach movement period, then when I have all the decisions, I can just get back on, make the moves and we'll be ready to go.

So, which coaches get job offers this offseason? Let's take a look.

It was real, real easy this season, as there wasn't a lot of movement to begin with.

Patrick Hutt got offers from Indiana and Oklahoma State.

Al Mighty got the same offers, Indiana and Oklahoma State.

Noah Oppenheimer was offered by Indiana and that's it.

So 3 coaches have a decision to make and you'll have plenty of time as I won't be getting back to this for a few days thanks to going out of town for basketball tournaments. For now, this project is at a stand still.

[collegesportsfanms]

I posted this exact same message over at the FBCB Coaches Dynasty Sign-up thread, but I know some of you won't look at that if you already have a coach, so I'm posting it here too.

As we are in the offseason, I am bumping this thread to hopefully get a few more coaches in the mix. I would love to see some new users throw a coach in, or for those users that have 1 coach, if you want to throw a second in, feel free. I'd like to get this up to about 25 coaches, so that leaves 6 spots open.

To be fair, I have made a rule that all coaches start at the same age, so new coaches will start at the same age that all the previous coaches started at (can't remember what that was).

Coaches always have the option to retire early, but again, to be fair, I will be forcing retirement for coaches at a certain age, so that I can get a good judge from the spreadsheets of who the best coaches were. I know that team choice has a lot to do with that, but that's a long ways down the road. For now though, get me some new coaches!

[Zinto]

Patrick will be staying put

[thealmighty]

Al stays put.

[ntndeacon]

Wow! I guess trips to Starkville are in my near future!

[Coffee Warlord]

Next year's our sure. For sure. Totally.

[collegesportsfanms]

Still a couple coaching spots left open, as I have 1 new sign-up bringing the total to 20 coaches. I'd like to bring in 3 new coaches at once, so 2 spots open, and if I have more than 2 extra sign-ups, so be it. If interested, sign up in the thread. Thanks.

[TheRivals40]

Yeah I will turn down the offer.

[bbgunn]

Bad year for the Rainbow Warriors, but next season, it's NCAAs baby!

[collegesportsfanms]

We have 3 new coaches in the mix, as Will Brown is taking over the Tulsa job, Charles Johnson is taking over the Clemson job, and Dave Johnson is taking over the Kansas job. Let's take a look at the recruiting ratings for those 3 schools.

Tulsa had the 45th best class in the nation, tops in the American.

Clemson had the 41st best class in the nation, good for 8th in the ACC.

Kansas had the 2nd best class in the nation, tops in the Big 12.

[collegesportsfanms]

Let's take a look at each coaches goals for the previous season and see how they fared:

David Ginsberg (Hartford) - Finish .500 in America East -- David passed this goal as the Hawks were 8-8 in conference play.

Al Hutt (ECU) - Finish .500 in American -- Al failed this goal miserably as the Pirates were 8 games under .500 in conference play.

Randolph Childress (Davidson) - Play in a postseason tournament -- Randolph failed this goal as the Wildcats were left out of postseason play.

Bee Mighty (TCU) - Avoid last place in the Big 12 -- Goal accomplished, as the Horned Frogs finished 9th in the Big 12.

Cillian Tribble (Michigan) - Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Goal failed, as the Wolverines missed the postseason.

Al Mighty (Michigan State) - Reach the Final Four -- Goal failed, as the Spartans were bounced in the Sweet Sixteen.

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) - Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Goal failed, as the Warriors only managed to get an invite to the CIT.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte) - Finish with a .500 or better overall record -- Goal failed as the 49ers were 1 game under .500 overall.

Charlie Shocker (Rice) - Improve Rice's prestige -- Goal passed, as the Owls went from a prestige of 31 to 32.

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth) - Avoid last place in the MAAC -- Goal passed as the Hawks finished 5th in the MAAC.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State) - Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Goal passed as the Spartans played in the First Four.

Rob Nielsen (Colorado) - Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Goal failed as the Buffaloes were left out of postseason play.

Benito Sanchez (Stanford) - Compete for the Pac 12 Championship -- The Cardinal finished 5th in the Pac 12, so I'm going to consider this a passed goal.

Tim Shepard (UCLA) - Reach the Sweet Sixteen -- Goal failed as the Bruins lost in the Round of 32.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State) - Avoid last place in the Pac 12 -- Goal passed as the Cougars finished 10th in the Pac 12.

Roy Rogers (Alabama) - Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Goal failed as the Crimson Tide didn't make the postseason.

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida) - Reach the Sweet Sixteen -- Goal failed as the Gators lost in the First Round.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky) - Reach the Final Four -- Goal failed as the Wildcats lost in the Round of 32.

Brett Hawkins (Troy) - Finish with at least a .500 record in the Sun Belt -- Goal passed as the Trojans were exactly .500 in conference play.

[collegesportsfanms]

2017-2018 Hot Seat Ratings and Coach Goals

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

Al Hutt (ECU) -- Average seat, goal is to finish at least .500 in the American.

Will Brown (Tulsa) -- New coach, average seat, goal is to play in a postseason tournament.

Randolph Childress (Davidson) -- Average seat, goal is to play in a postseason tournament.

Charles Johnson (Clemson) -- New coach, average seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Dave Johnson (Kansas) -- New coach, 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) -- Average seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) -- Cool seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte) -- Cool seat, goal is to finish at least .500 in Conference USA.

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

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth) -- Average seat, goal is to finish at least .500 in the MAAC.

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

Rob Nielsen (Colorado) -- Cool 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 Sweet Sixteen.

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

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

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

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

Brett Hawkins (Troy) -- Cool seat, goal is to finish at least .500 in the Sun Belt.

[collegesportsfanms]

We have 2 new coaches to add to the upcoming season. Ess Vee at Northwestern, and Dean Hoo at Duke. Let's take a look at how their recruiting classes were this past season.

Duke had the 6th best recruiting class in the nation, 2nd in the ACC.

Northwestern had the 300th best recruiting class in the nation, last in the Big Ten. They were the only Big Ten school that didn't recruit at least a 3 star player.

As for expectations:

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

Ess Vee (Northwestern) -- Average seat, goal is to avoid last place in the Big Ten.

[collegesportsfanms]

2017 Season Tournaments

Michigan will be the 4th seed in the 2017 Battle for Atlantis and they'll open up against 5th seed Tennessee.

Florida will be the top seed in the 2017 Brooklyn Classic, and they'll open up against 8th seed Charlotte.

Kentucky will be the top seed in the 2017 Cancun Challenge and they'll open up against 8th seed Ohio.

TCU will be the 7th seed in the 2017 Charleston Classic and will open up against 2nd seed Boise State.

Kansas will be the top seed in the 2017 Corpus Christi Coastal Classic and will open up against 8th seed Robert Morris.

Northwestern will be the top seed in the 4 team 2017 Detroit Regional and will open up against 4th seed Seattle.

Davidson will be the 6th seed in the 2017 Diamond Head Classic and will open up against 3rd seed VCU. Interesting matchup there as VCU just left the Atlantic 10 conference, the same conference that Davidson is currently in.

Tulsa will be the 2nd seed in the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase and will open up against 7th seed Lafayette.

Hawaii will be the 4th seed in the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase and will open up against 5th seed Wofford.

Duke will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2017 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 15th seed Southern Illinois.

UCLA will be the 3rd seed in the 16 team 2017 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 14th seed Bucknell.

Stanford will be the 2nd seed in the 2017 Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will open up against 7th seed Bowling Green.

Alabama will be the 3rd seed in the 2017 Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will open up against 6th seed St. Joseph's.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the 16 team 2017 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 16th seed Alabama State.

ECU will be the 13th seed in the 16 team 2017 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 4th seed LSU.

Washington State will be the 8th seed in the 2017 Legends Classic and will open up against top seed Oklahoma.

Norfolk State will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2017 Los Angeles Classic and will open up against 2nd seed Nevada.

Colorado will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2017 New York Classic and will open up against 15th seed Drake.

Clemson will be the 3rd seed in the 16 team 2017 New York Classic and will open up against 14th seed Air Force.

Monmouth will be the 5th seed in the 2017 Puerto Rico Tip-Off and will open up against 4th seed FIU.

Rice will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2017 Rainbow Classic and will open up against 3rd seed Radford.

Troy will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2017 Toledo Regional and will open up against 2nd seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Hartford will be the 5th seed in the 2017 Wooden Legacy and will open up against 4th seed Southern.

[collegesportsfanms]

Let's take a look at the 2017-2018 Preseason Polls:

Preseason Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (67) 0-0 1794 23 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky (4) 0-0 1713 13 Southeastern Conference
3. Marquette 0-0 1617 NR Big East Conference
4. Virginia 0-0 1580 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Kansas 0-0 1516 12 Big 12 Conference
6. Baylor 0-0 1423 4 Big 12 Conference
7. Villanova (1) 0-0 1356 8 Big East Conference
8. Cincinnati 0-0 1323 1 American Athletic Conference
9. Georgetown 0-0 1173 6 Big East Conference
10. Oklahoma 0-0 1149 NR Big 12 Conference
11. UCLA 0-0 1012 2 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Syracuse 0-0 896 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Wichita State 0-0 891 17 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Seton Hall 0-0 776 NR Big East Conference
15. Oklahoma State 0-0 768 NR Big 12 Conference
16. Miami 0-0 716 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Wisconsin 0-0 601 11 Big Ten Conference
18. VCU 0-0 577 5 Southeastern Conference
19. Arizona 0-0 514 22 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Iowa State 0-0 402 NR Big 12 Conference
21. Gonzaga 0-0 393 24 West Coast Conference
22. Iowa 0-0 306 14 Big Ten Conference
23. Louisville 0-0 215 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
24. San Diego State 0-0 145 18 Mountain West Conference
25. St. John's 0-0 106 NR Big East Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cleveland State 0-0 99 Horizon League
North Carolina 0-0 55 Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida 0-0 54 Southeastern Conference
Butler 0-0 35 Big East Conference
Providence 0-0 28 Big East Conference
Richmond 0-0 26 Atlantic 10 Conference
Duke 0-0 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
Northern Iowa 0-0 20 Missouri Valley Conference
UNLV 0-0 19 Mountain West Conference
Texas 0-0 18 Big 12 Conference
North Carolina State 0-0 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
Maryland 0-0 14 Big Ten Conference
West Virginia 0-0 10 Big 12 Conference
BYU 0-0 9 West Coast Conference
Nebraska 0-0 8 Big Ten Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Creighton 0-0 1 Big East Conference

The biggest shock to me is that Michigan State received no votes in the preseason top 25. Do the pollsters know something we don't know? Hmm.

Preseason Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 0-0 1799 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Wichita State 0-0 1718 5 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Gonzaga (1) 0-0 1648 10 West Coast Conference
4. San Diego State 0-0 1549 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Cleveland State 0-0 1500 13 Horizon League
6. Northern Iowa 0-0 1410 15 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Richmond 0-0 1337 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
8. BYU 0-0 1210 7 West Coast Conference
9. UNLV 0-0 1082 NR Mountain West Conference
10. Georgia State 0-0 1035 NR Horizon League
11. Massachusetts 0-0 985 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
12. New Mexico State 0-0 791 9 Western Athletic Conference
13. Stephen F. Austin 0-0 765 6 Southland Conference
14. La Salle 0-0 644 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Bowling Green 0-0 608 NR Mid-American Conference
16. Valparaiso 0-0 455 16 Horizon League
17. Illinois State 0-0 433 NR Missouri Valley Conference
18. Boise State 0-0 333 12 Mountain West Conference
19. Tulsa 0-0 330 NR American Athletic Conference
20. Memphis 0-0 207 22 American Athletic Conference
21. Connecticut 0-0 171 NR American Athletic Conference
22. SMU 0-0 152 18 American Athletic Conference
23. Buffalo 0-0 140 NR Mid-American Conference
24. George Washington 0-0 139 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Akron 0-0 122 8 Mid-American Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
New Mexico 0-0 115 Mountain West Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 115 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Mary's 0-0 108 West Coast Conference
Davidson 0-0 106 Atlantic 10 Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 103 Conference USA
Harvard 0-0 99 Ivy League
Colorado State 0-0 89 Mountain West Conference
Dayton 0-0 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
Middle Tennessee 0-0 86 Conference USA
Temple 0-0 74 American Athletic Conference
Wyoming 0-0 73 Mountain West Conference
Portland 0-0 72 West Coast Conference
Murray State 0-0 66 Ohio Valley Conference
Iona 0-0 64 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Green Bay 0-0 63 Horizon League
UAB 0-0 63 Conference USA
Old Dominion 0-0 60 Conference USA
Toledo 0-0 57 Mid-American Conference
Hofstra 0-0 51 Colonial Athletic Association
Rhode Island 0-0 47 Atlantic 10 Conference
Belmont 0-0 46 Ohio Valley Conference
San Francisco 0-0 46 West Coast Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 45 Atlantic 10 Conference
Utah State 0-0 42 Mountain West Conference
Evansville 0-0 37 Missouri Valley Conference
Columbia 0-0 36 Ivy League
UC Irvine 0-0 36 Big West Conference
William & Mary 0-0 35 Colonial Athletic Association
Mississippi State 0-0 34 Atlantic 10 Conference
Manhattan 0-0 33 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 0-0 33 America East Conference
Northeastern 0-0 30 Colonial Athletic Association
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 28 Ohio Valley Conference
UTEP 0-0 28 Conference USA
Fordham 0-0 27 Atlantic 10 Conference
George Mason 0-0 26 Atlantic 10 Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 26 Sun Belt Conference
San Diego 0-0 26 West Coast Conference
Canisius 0-0 25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Indiana State 0-0 24 Missouri Valley Conference
Princeton 0-0 24 Ivy League
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 21 Atlantic Sun Conference
South Florida 0-0 21 American Athletic Conference
Mercer 0-0 20 Southern Conference
Nevada 0-0 20 Mountain West Conference
Albany 0-0 17 America East Conference
UCF 0-0 17 American Athletic Conference
Yale 0-0 16 Ivy League
Loyola Chicago 0-0 15 Missouri Valley Conference
Boston University 0-0 14 Patriot League
Cornell 0-0 14 Ivy League
North Florida 0-0 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
Oral Roberts 0-0 14 Summit League
Southern Illinois 0-0 14 Missouri Valley Conference
Montana 0-0 13 Big Sky Conference
Fresno State 0-0 12 Mountain West Conference
Holy Cross 0-0 12 Patriot League
Northern Illinois 0-0 12 Mid-American Conference
Tulane 0-0 12 American Athletic Conference
Bradley 0-0 11 Missouri Valley Conference
FIU 0-0 11 Conference USA
Montana State 0-0 11 Big Sky Conference
Western Michigan 0-0 11 Mid-American Conference
North Dakota State 0-0 10 Summit League
Portland State 0-0 10 Big Sky Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 10 Northeast Conference
UMass Lowell 0-0 10 America East Conference
Florida Atlantic 0-0 9 Conference USA
Illinois Chicago 0-0 9 Horizon League
Niagara 0-0 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Duquesne 0-0 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Dakota 0-0 8 Big Sky Conference
Weber State 0-0 8 Big Sky Conference
Colgate 0-0 7 Patriot League
East Carolina 0-0 7 American Athletic Conference
James Madison 0-0 7 Colonial Athletic Association
Eastern Illinois 0-0 6 Ohio Valley Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Houston 0-0 6 American Athletic Conference
Kent State 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Pepperdine 0-0 6 West Coast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 6 Big West Conference
Utah Valley 0-0 6 Western Athletic Conference
VMI 0-0 6 Southern Conference
Hawaii 0-0 5 Big West Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 5 Big Sky Conference
Wofford 0-0 5 Southern Conference
Army 0-0 4 Patriot League
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 4 Ohio Valley Conference
Charlotte 0-0 3 Conference USA
Drexel 0-0 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Jacksonville 0-0 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Long Beach State 0-0 3 Big West Conference
Radford 0-0 3 Big South Conference
Santa Clara 0-0 3 West Coast Conference
UT Arlington 0-0 3 Sun Belt Conference
Western Illinois 0-0 3 Summit League
Bethune Cookman 0-0 2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Bucknell 0-0 2 Patriot League
North Carolina Central 0-0 2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Northwestern State 0-0 2 Southland Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
Siena 0-0 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Central Michigan 0-0 1 Mid-American Conference
Hampton 0-0 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Lehigh 0-0 1 Patriot League
Louisiana Monroe 0-0 1 Sun Belt Conference
Sam Houston State 0-0 1 Southland Conference
Vermont 0-0 1 America East Conference
Wagner 0-0 1 Northeast Conference

New FOFC member Tulsa gives us some representation in the preseason mid-major top 25. Good to see Hawaii getting a few early votes this season. I'm sure those votes for ECU and Charlotte will be gone soon. No offense coaches! Gonna be a fun season as always.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 10-12, 2017

As always this will be a short post, with opening week being nothing more than a glorified opening weekend. Again, I'll only cover the teams that played a game on opening weekend as there were only 13 games, but 1 was a feature game.

11/12/17- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ Tulsa (Will Brown) -- Both teams shot lights out in this one, the difference was fouls. Michigan committed 23, Tulsa 9. Free throws: Tulsa 22-27, Michigan 4-4. Need I say more. Home team bias!

Final Score: Tulsa- 89, Michigan- 80

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-1, 0-0 America East.

11/12/17 at Providence (L 61-49).

A decent effort for the Hawks and a tough way to start, but it gets easier.

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

11/12/17 vs. UNC Greensboro (W 73-57).

Although it wasn't top notch competition, the Pirates will be thrilled to start the season with a win.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-0, 0-0 American.

11/12/17 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

Good start for the career of Coach Brown and the Golden Hurricane.

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

11/10/17- New York Classic First Round vs. (14) Air Force (L 54-51).

Yuck! Not a good debut at all for Charles and the Tigers. Major upset here.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 1-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/10/17- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (15) Southern Illinois (W 63-55).

Good start to the career of Coach Hoo, although the Blue Devils struggled at times, they did pull it out.

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

11/12/17 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Not a good way to start for the Wolverines, but Tulsa is a tough team and it was on the road.

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

11/12/17 vs. Cleveland State (W 77-50).

Easy win for the Spartans who have to feel a little shunned at not receiving any preseason votes.

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

11/11/17- Rainbow Classic First Round vs. (3) Radford (W 87-75).

Good start for the Owls, who will play for a season tournament championship next week.

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

11/10/17- Los Angeles Classic First Round vs. (2) Nevada (L 72-46).
11/11/17- Los Angeles Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (4) Siena (W 62-60).

A split in the season tournament for the Spartans, about as expected. Siena could end up being a good team before the season is over, and this could end up being a good win.

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

11/10/17- New York Classic First Round vs. (15) Duquesne (W 67-42).
11/12/17- New York Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Duquesne (L 71-63).

A split for the Buffaloes, who expected a deeper run in this tournament, but Duquesne is a good team.

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

11/10/17- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (14) Bucknell (W 75-43).

Easy victory for the Bruins right off the bat, and we're still on pace for a Duke/UCLA semifinal.

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

11/12/17 vs. Florida Gulf Coast (L 53-50).

Tough loss for the Trojans, but they've got some winnable games coming up.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 2-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 0-0 1700 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Virginia 1-0 1618 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Marquette 0-0 1574 3 Big East Conference
5. Kansas 0-0 1485 5 Big 12 Conference
6. Baylor 1-0 1466 6 Big 12 Conference
7. Villanova 0-0 1301 7 Big East Conference
8. Georgetown 2-0 1295 9 Big East Conference
9. Cincinnati 0-0 1281 8 American Athletic Conference
10. Oklahoma 0-0 1109 10 Big 12 Conference
11. UCLA 1-0 1003 11 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Seton Hall 2-0 1000 14 Big East Conference
13. Oklahoma State 1-0 856 15 Big 12 Conference
14. Iowa State 2-0 777 20 Big 12 Conference
15. Miami 1-0 776 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Syracuse 0-0 745 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Wichita State 0-0 690 13 Missouri Valley Conference
18. VCU 0-0 506 18 Southeastern Conference
19. Wisconsin 0-0 484 17 Big Ten Conference
20. Arizona 0-0 436 19 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Gonzaga 0-0 342 21 West Coast Conference
22. Iowa 0-0 287 22 Big Ten Conference
23. San Diego State 1-0 206 24 Mountain West Conference
24. Louisville 0-0 151 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Northern Iowa 2-0 113 NR Missouri Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
St. John's 0-0 94 Big East Conference
Duke 1-0 50 Atlantic Coast Conference
Richmond 1-0 38 Atlantic 10 Conference
Providence 1-0 37 Big East Conference
North Carolina 0-0 34 Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida 0-0 32 Southeastern Conference
Butler 0-0 26 Big East Conference
Texas 0-0 16 Big 12 Conference
UNLV 0-0 15 Mountain West Conference
Maryland 0-0 13 Big Ten Conference
BYU 1-0 11 West Coast Conference
North Carolina State 0-0 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
West Virginia 0-0 8 Big 12 Conference
Nevada 2-0 7 Mountain West Conference
Michigan State 1-0 3 Big Ten Conference
Creighton 0-0 2 Big East Conference
Illinois 1-0 2 Big Ten Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference

No change for Kentucky or Kansas who didn't play, and UCLA stays put as well even with their win. Good to see Michigan State get a couple votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 0-0 1798 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Wichita State 0-0 1713 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Gonzaga (1) 0-0 1647 3 West Coast Conference
4. San Diego State 1-0 1563 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Northern Iowa 2-0 1514 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Richmond 1-0 1427 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. BYU 1-0 1308 8 West Coast Conference
8. UNLV 0-0 1148 9 Mountain West Conference
9. Georgia State 0-0 1101 10 Horizon League
10. Massachusetts 0-0 1043 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. New Mexico State 0-0 867 12 Western Athletic Conference
12. La Salle 0-0 713 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Bowling Green 0-0 668 15 Mid-American Conference
14. Tulsa 1-0 513 19 American Athletic Conference
15. Illinois State 0-0 493 17 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Nevada 2-0 376 NR Mountain West Conference
17. Boise State 0-0 336 18 Mountain West Conference
18. Cleveland State 0-1 282 5 Horizon League
19. Oakland 2-0 272 NR Horizon League
20. Duquesne 2-0 259 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Air Force 2-0 251 NR Mountain West Conference
22. Connecticut 1-0 233 21 American Athletic Conference
23. UC Riverside 2-0 204 NR Big West Conference
24. Louisiana Tech 1-0 162 NR Conference USA
25. SMU 0-0 156 22 American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
High Point 2-0 152 Big South Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 132 Atlantic 10 Conference
Memphis 0-0 131 American Athletic Conference
Temple 1-0 131 American Athletic Conference
Akron 0-0 129 Mid-American Conference
Middle Tennessee 1-0 106 Conference USA
Dayton 0-0 103 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 0-0 101 Ivy League
San Diego 1-0 95 West Coast Conference
New Mexico 0-0 84 Mountain West Conference
North Texas 1-0 84 Conference USA
San Francisco 1-0 80 West Coast Conference
Davidson 0-0 79 Atlantic 10 Conference
Fresno State 1-0 78 Mountain West Conference
Green Bay 0-0 73 Horizon League
Saint Mary's 0-0 71 West Coast Conference
Hofstra 0-0 69 Colonial Athletic Association
Florida Gulf Coast 1-0 68 Atlantic Sun Conference
East Carolina 1-0 62 American Athletic Conference
Rice 1-0 60 Conference USA
Drexel 1-0 58 Colonial Athletic Association
Tulane 1-0 56 American Athletic Conference
Rhode Island 0-0 54 Atlantic 10 Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 52 Conference USA
UAB 0-0 50 Conference USA
Manhattan 0-0 49 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Columbia 0-0 47 Ivy League
Stony Brook 0-0 46 America East Conference
Colorado State 0-0 44 Mountain West Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 43 Atlantic 10 Conference
Robert Morris 1-0 41 Northeast Conference
Belmont 0-0 40 Ohio Valley Conference
Evansville 0-0 40 Missouri Valley Conference
UTEP 0-0 39 Conference USA
Rider 1-0 38 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Canisius 0-0 36 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Fordham 0-0 36 Atlantic 10 Conference
Princeton 0-0 32 Ivy League
UNC Wilmington 1-0 32 Colonial Athletic Association
Cornell 0-0 27 Ivy League
Indiana State 0-0 26 Missouri Valley Conference
Wyoming 0-0 26 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 23 Ohio Valley Conference
Montana 1-0 23 Big Sky Conference
William & Mary 0-0 23 Colonial Athletic Association
Loyola Chicago 0-0 22 Missouri Valley Conference
South Florida 0-0 22 American Athletic Conference
Utah State 0-0 22 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 21 Sun Belt Conference
Niagara 0-0 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Boston University 0-0 20 Patriot League
UCF 0-0 20 American Athletic Conference
UTSA 1-0 20 Conference USA
Colgate 0-0 18 Patriot League
UMass Lowell 0-0 17 America East Conference
Mississippi State 0-0 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
FIU 0-0 15 Conference USA
George Mason 0-0 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
Mercer 0-0 15 Southern Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 14 Mid-American Conference
North Dakota State 0-0 14 Summit League
Florida Atlantic 0-0 13 Conference USA
Illinois Chicago 0-0 13 Horizon League
LIU Brooklyn 0-0 13 Northeast Conference
Portland State 1-0 13 Big Sky Conference
North Dakota 0-0 11 Big Sky Conference
Chicago State 1-0 10 Western Athletic Conference
Eastern Illinois 0-0 9 Ohio Valley Conference
James Madison 0-0 9 Colonial Athletic Association
Bethune Cookman 1-0 8 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
VMI 0-0 8 Southern Conference
Central Michigan 0-0 7 Mid-American Conference
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 7 Ohio Valley Conference
Furman 1-0 6 Southern Conference
Weber State 0-0 6 Big Sky Conference
Western Illinois 0-0 6 Summit League
USC Upstate 1-0 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
UT Arlington 0-0 5 Sun Belt Conference
Hampton 0-0 4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Hawaii 0-0 4 Big West Conference
Northwestern State 0-0 4 Southland Conference
Sam Houston State 0-0 4 Southland Conference
Santa Clara 0-0 4 West Coast Conference
Jacksonville 0-0 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Ohio 0-0 3 Mid-American Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 3 Big Sky Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 3 Big West Conference
Vermont 0-0 3 America East Conference
Wofford 0-0 3 Southern Conference
Florida A&M 1-0 2 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
New Hampshire 1-0 2 America East Conference
North Carolina Central 0-0 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Tulsa moves up 5 spots with their nice win over Michigan, and ECU and Rice both see a nice increase in votes. Hawaii also gets a couple votes.

[vex]

I'm glad to see that the refs enjoyed their gift baskets full of cash when they were at TU.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 13-19, 2017

No feature games this week, so to the weekly recap we go!

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 1-1, 0-0 America East.

11/18/17 at Delaware (W 81-74).

The Hawks get a good road win as they head into their season tournament next week.

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

11/17/17 at Illinois (L 74-37).

It's clear that the Pirates still have some work to do, as they get blasted. Fortunately they have 10 days off before their next game, so plenty of practice time.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-1, 0-0 American.

11/17/17 at Creighton (L 78-58).

A letdown for the Golden Hurricane after the win over Michigan. They head into their season tournament next week.

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

11/13/17 at Xavier (L 79-71).

Tough one for the Wildcats who played well but couldn't come out with a road win.

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

No games this week for Coach Johnson and the Tigers.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 1-1, 0-0 ACC.

11/13/17- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Richmond (L 73-69).

Certainly an unexpected loss for the Blue Devils, but they've got almost 2 weeks to regroup as they don't play again for 13 days.

#5 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 2-0, 0-0 Big 12.

11/15/17 at Vanderbilt (W 83-57).
11/19/17- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic First Round vs. (8) Robert Morris (W 58-39).

Good start to the career of coach Johnson, as the Jayhawks beat up on a couple opponents this week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/16/17- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (2) Boise State (L 75-64).
11/17/17- Charleston Classic Consolation Round vs. (3) Washington (W 65-50).
11/19/17- Charleston Classic 5th Place Game vs. (5) Penn State (W 67-57).

Nice recovery from the Horned Frogs to win 2 after losing their first. Surprisingly, this is their worst finish in an 8 team tourney since this dynasty started. I'd have to go back and look, but my guess is there wasn't a lot of top teams in their first 2 tourneys.

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

11/14/17 at Western Illinois (W 91-54).

It's always nice for the Wolverines to get that first win of the season, even if it was against subpar competition. They'll head into their season tournament next week.

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

11/16/17 at West Virginia (L 73-70).

The Spartans should take no shame in losing to a very good West Virginia team, on the road. Next week they've got 2 games, 1 should be a test and the other should be a piece of cake.

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

11/13/17 vs. Illinois Chicago (W 89-60).
11/18/17 at Lipscomb (W 61-56).

Good for the Wildcats for starting 2 and 0, and they really have a chance to build on that as they start their season tournament next week, and unless they meet one in the tournament, aren't scheduled to face a P5 team until Big Ten play starts.

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

11/13/17 at New Mexico State (L 56-53).
11/18/17 at UMKC (W 61-51).

A split to open the season for the Warriors, and they start their season tourney next week.

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

Coach Tribble and the 49ers are still waiting to play their first game. They'll get underway next week with their season tournament.

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

11/13/17- Rainbow Classic Championship vs. (4) New Hampshire (W 79-77).

Congrats to Coach Shocker and the Owls for being the first time to win a season tournament this season. Although the competition wasn't great, any tournament win is a big thing and it easily surpasses their other finishes, which were 3rd place and 4th place.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-2, 0-0 MAAC.

11/16/17- Puerto Rico Tip-Off First Round vs. (4) FIU (W 64-61).
11/17/17- Puerto Rico Tip-Off Semifinal vs. (8) Cal State Fullerton (L 82-63).
11/19/17- Puerto Rico Tip-Off 3rd Place Game vs. (7) South Alabama (L 71-63).

The season started off good for the Hawks, as they won their opening game, but went south quickly with 2 straight losses. 4th place is nice, but they had it set up to have so much more.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-1, 0-0 MEAC.

11/13/17 vs. Navy (W 74-72, OT).

Another 2 point win for the Spartans, and it took overtime to do it. But hey, it's a far cry from getting beat by 26 points, right?

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

No games this week for Coach Nielsen and the Buffaloes.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/14/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (7) Bowling Green (W 53-47).
11/18/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Semifinal vs. (6) St. Joseph's (W 79-70).
11/19/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Championship vs. (5) Evansville (W 71-67).

Congrats to Coach Sanchez and the Cardinal on another tournament championship, but they know they got a huge break by not having to face top seed Louisville. Oh well, you still have to beat who is put in front of you, and they did that.

#11 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/13/17- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs (6) Georgia (W 84-62).

The Bruins easily dispatch of another opponent and move on to the semifinals next week.

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

11/16/17- Legends Classic First Round vs. (1) #10 Oklahoma (L 89-57).

This one went about how I thought it would go, as the Cougars got absolutely hammered. They'll try to regroup next week in the consolation round.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-2, 0-0 SEC.

11/14/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (6) St. Joseph's (L 65-55).
11/18/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (7) Bowling Green (L 67-58).
11/19/17- Hall of Fame Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (8) UT Arlington (W 75-66).

Not a good tournament for the Crimson Tide, who had to come from behind and rally just to finish 7th. It's still better than their last 8 team tournament, in which they finished last.

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

11/15/17 vs. #20 Arizona (W 68-67).

The Gators survive a 7 point halftime deficit to come back and stun Arizona, and this one came down to the final shot. Next week they start their season tournament.

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

11/18/17- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (8) Ohio (W 78-61).

The Wildcats start the season with a win, and move on to the semifinals next week.

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

11/18/17 at Indiana State (W 73-63).

Nice recovery for the Trojans after the opening season loss. They never trailed in this one and will move on to their season tournament next week.

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


# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 4-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 1-0 1696 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Kansas 2-0 1623 5 Big 12 Conference
4. Virginia 2-0 1606 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Marquette 1-0 1511 4 Big East Conference
6. Baylor 2-0 1468 6 Big 12 Conference
7. Cincinnati 0-0 1331 9 American Athletic Conference
8. Oklahoma 1-0 1241 10 Big 12 Conference
9. UCLA 2-0 1230 11 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Oklahoma State 2-0 1116 13 Big 12 Conference
11. Miami 2-0 1079 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Syracuse 1-0 997 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa 2-0 928 22 Big Ten Conference
14. VCU 1-0 848 18 Southeastern Conference
15. Wisconsin 1-0 798 19 Big Ten Conference
16. Gonzaga 1-0 702 21 West Coast Conference
17. Butler 3-0 669 NR Big East Conference
18. Providence 2-0 480 NR Big East Conference
19. Richmond 2-0 421 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Florida 1-0 331 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Villanova 2-1 304 7 Big East Conference
22. Texas 1-0 294 NR Big 12 Conference
23. Georgetown 2-1 197 8 Big East Conference
24. Creighton 2-0 178 NR Big East Conference
25. North Carolina State 1-0 134 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
West Virginia 2-0 126 Big 12 Conference
Notre Dame 2-0 82 Atlantic Coast Conference
Illinois 2-0 42 Big Ten Conference
Georgia State 1-0 27 Horizon League
New Mexico State 2-0 23 Western Athletic Conference
Massachusetts 1-0 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stanford 3-0 12 Pacific-12 Conference
La Salle 2-0 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
Nevada 2-0 9 Mountain West Conference
Illinois State 2-0 8 Missouri Valley Conference
Columbia 2-0 7 Ivy League
Seton Hall 3-1 7 Big East Conference
Arizona State 2-0 6 Pacific-12 Conference
Connecticut 2-0 6 American Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 1-0 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 3-0 5 American Athletic Conference
Colorado State 2-0 4 Mountain West Conference
Kansas State 0-0 4 Big 12 Conference
Denver 3-0 3 Summit League
Duquesne 4-0 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Memphis 2-0 3 American Athletic Conference
Purdue 2-0 3 Big Ten Conference
UAB 3-0 3 Conference USA
Fresno State 2-0 2 Mountain West Conference
Pittsburgh 1-0 1 Atlantic Coast Conference

So Kentucky stays put at #2 while Kansas and UCLA each move up 2 spots. Florida is now in the top 25, taking Arizona's spot at 20 after beating them. The 3-0 start for Stanford has them getting votes, while Michigan State, with their loss this week, loses all their votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (71) 0-0 1799 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Gonzaga (1) 1-0 1715 3 West Coast Conference
3. Richmond 2-0 1650 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Georgia State 1-0 1416 9 Horizon League
5. New Mexico State 2-0 1360 11 Western Athletic Conference
6. Massachusetts 1-0 1339 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. La Salle 2-0 1115 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Wichita State 1-1 952 2 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Illinois State 2-0 945 15 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Duquesne 4-0 853 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. UAB 3-0 643 NR Conference USA
12. Temple 3-0 618 NR American Athletic Conference
13. Oakland 3-0 613 19 Horizon League
14. Connecticut 2-0 601 22 American Athletic Conference
15. Northern Iowa 3-1 592 5 Missouri Valley Conference
16. San Diego State 1-1 531 4 Mountain West Conference
17. Cleveland State 1-1 464 18 Horizon League
18. Memphis 2-0 428 NR American Athletic Conference
19. Fresno State 2-0 406 NR Mountain West Conference
20. Tulane 3-0 351 NR American Athletic Conference
21. Denver 3-0 301 NR Summit League
22. Northern Arizona 3-0 287 NR Big Sky Conference
23. UTEP 2-0 259 NR Conference USA
24. Columbia 2-0 243 NR Ivy League
25. Nevada 2-0 242 16 Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Colorado State 2-0 227 Mountain West Conference
George Mason 2-0 218 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Dakota State 2-0 204 Summit League
Eastern Kentucky 2-0 179 Ohio Valley Conference
Rice 2-0 177 Conference USA
St. Bonaventure 1-0 155 Atlantic 10 Conference
Middle Tennessee 1-0 154 Conference USA
Rider 3-0 139 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Nebraska Omaha 2-0 132 Summit League
UC Riverside 2-0 129 Big West Conference
North Texas 2-0 127 Conference USA
Detroit 1-0 119 Horizon League
Cal Poly 2-0 99 Big West Conference
East Tennessee State 2-0 97 Southern Conference
Lehigh 2-0 96 Patriot League
Towson 2-0 96 Colonial Athletic Association
Winthrop 2-0 88 Big South Conference
North Dakota 2-0 85 Big Sky Conference
Sacramento State 2-0 84 Big Sky Conference
Saint Peter's 2-0 79 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Utah State 1-0 78 Mountain West Conference
Northwestern State 2-0 75 Southland Conference
Chattanooga 2-0 73 Southern Conference
Montana 2-0 72 Big Sky Conference
Quinnipiac 1-0 71 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
USC Upstate 2-0 68 Atlantic Sun Conference
Portland State 2-0 67 Big Sky Conference
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 1-0 62 Southland Conference
Florida A&M 2-0 53 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 50 Mid-American Conference
James Madison 1-0 41 Colonial Athletic Association
Prairie View A&M 1-0 40 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Howard 1-0 39 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
UNC Wilmington 1-0 38 Colonial Athletic Association
Mercer 0-0 31 Southern Conference
Northern Kentucky 1-0 24 Sun Belt Conference
Charlotte 0-0 22 Conference USA
Fairleigh Dickinson 1-0 17 Northeast Conference
Florida Atlantic 0-0 17 Conference USA
Bethune Cookman 1-0 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Lamar 0-0 16 Southland Conference
UMBC 1-0 15 America East Conference
BYU 1-1 7 West Coast Conference
UNLV 0-1 1 Mountain West Conference

Not a good week for our FOFC mid-majors as Tulsa, ECU, Davidson, and Hawaii all lose their votes. Rice continues to gain votes with their 2-0 start and season tournament win, and despite having yet to play a game, Charlotte got votes this week. Crazy.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 20-26, 2017

2 feature games this week, and one took place in a season tournament.

11/21/17- Brooklyn Classic First Round- (8) Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) vs. (1) #20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The 49ers kept it close throughout, and both teams fouled, a lot. The difference is most of Charlotte's fouls were while Florida was shooting, as they shot 16 free throws compared to just 34 from Florida. Can't blame the loss on that though, as Charlotte only had 3 more fouls in the game, they just came at bad times.

Final Score: #20 Florida- 81, Charlotte- 73

11/22/17- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The Spartans went on a run late thanks to some hot shooting, and they survived and actually ended up winning by double digits.

Final Score: Michigan State- 76, Colorado- 62

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-1, 0-0 America East.

11/23/17- Wooden Legacy First Round vs. (4) Southern (W 59-47).
11/24/17- Wooden Legacy Semifinal vs. (8) Navy (W 62-53).
11/26/17- Wooden Legacy Championship vs. (7) Hampton (W 66-50).

It's been all or nothing for the Hawks. In the 3 seasons since this dynasty started, they've won 2 tournaments and finished last in the other. Although they didn't have to see either of the top 2 seeds, they still took care of business against who they did play. Congrats to Coach Ginsberg on another season tournament title.

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

No games this week for Coach Hutt or the Pirates.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-1, 0-0 American.

11/20/17- Gulf Coast Showcase First Round vs. (7) Lafayette (W 94-76).
11/21/17- Gulf Coast Showcase Semifinal vs. (3) Georgia Tech (W 77-62).
11/22/17- Gulf Coast Showcase Championship vs. (1) Kansas State (W 54-53).

How about that for the Golden Hurricane? They take care of business against some good competition and become yet another FOFC team to win a conference tournament. I believe that's 3 now for this season.

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

11/23/17 at South Florida (W 74-56).

The Wildcats get back on the winning side of things with an easy road victory.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-2, 0-0 ACC.

11/22/17 vs. High Point (W 85-68).
11/26/17 at Iowa State (L 67-63).

A split this week for the Tigers, who couldn't hold on to a lead late at Iowa State. They'll be kicking themselves for that.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 2-1, 0-0 ACC.

11/26/17 vs. Drexel (W 90-74).

An easy win for the Blue Devils who are back on track after an upset loss in their season tournament.

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

11/24/17- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic Semifinal vs. (4) LaSalle (L 73-70).
11/25/17- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (2) #17 Butler (W 77-65).

Tough loss for the Jayhawks as they never really could get over the hump against a very good LaSalle team, but they recovered to take 3rd.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big 12.

No games this week for Coach Mighty and the Horned Frogs.

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

11/22/17- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (5) Tennessee (W 94-69).
11/23/17- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal vs. (1) Arizona (L 72-59).
11/24/17- Battle for Atlantis 3rd Place Game vs. (3) #7 Cincinnati (L 70-56).
11/26/17 at San Diego State (W 66-65).

Heavy week for the Wolverines, who split their 4 games. They ended the week well and started the week well. The 2 games in the middle, not so good.

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

11/22/17 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
11/25/17 at Coppin State (W 84-42).

Good week for the Spartans who beat a tough Colorado team then double up Coppin State.

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

11/20/17- Detroit Regional First Round vs. (4) Seattle (W 63-54).
11/22/17- Detroit Regional Championship vs. (3) USC Upstate (W 86-61).

Another season tournament won by an FOFC club. The Wildcats will feel fortunate not to draw #2 seed Pepperdine in the championship, but as I've said all along, you have to beat who gets put in front of you, and they've done that so far.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-4, 0-0 Big West.

11/20/17- Gulf Coast Showcase First Round vs. (5) Wofford (L 84-71).
11/21/17- Gulf Coast Showcase Consolation Round vs. (8) UNC Wilmington (L 61-43).
11/22/17- Gulf Coast Showcase 7th Place Game vs. (7) Lafayette (L 69-62).

What is going on with the Warriors? They lost 3 games against very beatable competition this week, and 2 of the games were double digit losses. They better pick it up now or it'll be a looooong season.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 1-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/21/17- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (1) #20 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
11/24/17- Brooklyn Classic Consolation Round vs. (4) Arizona State (L 68-44).
11/25/17- Brooklyn Classic 7th Place Game vs. (7) Vermont (W 70-61).

Good for the 49ers for not getting swept this week. Those 2 losses were against good competition though, so we'll see how they respond from here.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 3-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/23/17 at Lamar (W 78-72).
11/25/17 vs. Grand Canyon (L 74-56).

Still trying to figure out how the Owls lost to Grand Canyon who don't seem to be a very good team. Nevertheless, that was Rice's first loss of the season, and the schedule gets much tougher in December.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-2, 0-0 MAAC.

No games this week for Coach Carrano and the Hawks.

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

11/23/17 at Radford (W 62-47).

Good win for the Spartans in the midst of a 4 game road trip. They've got a few tough, but winnable ones coming up.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 1-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/20/17 vs. #15 Wisconsin (L 55-52).
11/22/17 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Facing a couple good Big Ten teams didn't work out for the Buffaloes, although if they could have hit a few more shots, they would have beaten Wisconsin. Now they've got a couple teams from Texas coming in over the next few days.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Coach Sanchez and the Cardinal.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/20/17- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals vs. (7) #19 Richmond (L 78-75).

Tough loss there for the Bruins, as they lose their first of the season and get knocked out of their season tournament.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/20/17- Legends Classic Consolation Round vs. (5) UNLV (L 91-85).
11/21/17- Legends Classic 7th Place Game vs. (7) South Carolina (W 74-62).

The Cougars avoid the season tournament sweep as they get by South Carolina in the 7th place game. They've got a feel good non-conference schedule, as they don't play another power conference team until Pac 12 play starts.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-2, 0-0 SEC.

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

#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/21/17- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (8) Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
11/24/17- Brooklyn Classic Semifinal vs. (5) Temple (W 87-75).
11/25/17- Brooklyn Classic Championship vs. (2) #11 Miami (W 70-61).

Another season tournament championship for the Gators and our FOFC teams. I lost count, but I think that makes 6 FOFC teams that have won a season tournament so far this season? Congrats to Coach Oppenheimer.

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

11/21/17- Cancun Challenge Semifinal vs. (6) Georgia State (W 82-75).
11/22/17- Cancun Challenge Championship vs. (2) #22 Texas (W 63-62).

A couple close ones this week for the Wildcats, but they survive them both and become yet another FOFC team to win a season title. Congrats to Coach Hutt.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/20/17- Toledo Regional First Round vs. (2) Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W 54-49).
11/21/17- Toledo Regional Championship vs. (1) Loyola MD (L 63-49).

The Trojans couldn't get over the hump in their season tournament championship, but still a nice win this week over Texas A&M-CC.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 6-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 3-0 1720 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Baylor 4-0 1623 6 Big 12 Conference
4. Virginia 3-0 1620 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Syracuse 3-0 1482 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Gonzaga 4-0 1415 16 West Coast Conference
7. Wisconsin 3-0 1381 15 Big Ten Conference
8. VCU 2-0 1275 14 Southeastern Conference
9. Kansas 3-1 1172 3 Big 12 Conference
10. Florida 4-0 1095 20 Southeastern Conference
11. Marquette 2-1 1026 5 Big East Conference
12. Cincinnati 3-1 938 7 American Athletic Conference
13. Illinois 5-0 908 NR Big Ten Conference
14. Villanova 2-1 782 21 Big East Conference
15. Wichita State 4-1 593 NR Missouri Valley Conference
16. Miami 4-1 564 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Oklahoma 2-1 531 8 Big 12 Conference
18. La Salle 4-0 506 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Arizona 4-1 488 NR Pacific-12 Conference
20. Seton Hall 3-1 421 NR Big East Conference
21. Iowa State 4-1 282 NR Big 12 Conference
22. UCLA 2-1 270 9 Pacific-12 Conference
23. Florida State 3-0 214 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Stanford 3-0 178 NR Pacific-12 Conference
25. Northwestern 4-0 176 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Northern Iowa 5-1 167 Missouri Valley Conference
Duquesne 5-0 164 Atlantic 10 Conference
Oakland 4-0 102 Horizon League
Fresno State 4-0 87 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 4-0 76 Ohio Valley Conference
UAB 3-0 55 Conference USA
George Mason 3-0 54 Atlantic 10 Conference
Detroit 4-0 47 Horizon League
Iowa 3-1 45 Big Ten Conference
Cal Poly 4-0 36 Big West Conference
Towson 3-0 23 Colonial Athletic Association
Northwestern State 3-0 19 Southland Conference
Richmond 3-1 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Arizona 3-0 12 Big Sky Conference
Prairie View A&M 3-0 11 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Saint Peter's 2-0 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Sacramento State 2-0 8 Big Sky Conference
Nebraska Omaha 2-0 7 Summit League
Louisville 2-1 2 Atlantic Coast Conference

We welcome Stanford and Northwestern to the National Top 25, and Florida jumps 10 spots by winning 3 games this week. UCLA and Kansas both have major drops, while Kentucky stays put at #2.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 4-0 1799 2 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 3-1 1710 1 American Athletic Conference
3. Wichita State 4-1 1608 8 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle (1) 4-0 1564 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Northern Iowa 5-1 1397 15 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Duquesne 5-0 1336 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Fresno State 4-0 1295 19 Mountain West Conference
8. Cal Poly 4-0 1195 NR Big West Conference
9. Oakland 4-0 1135 13 Horizon League
10. Detroit 4-0 1028 NR Horizon League
11. Eastern Kentucky 4-0 1028 NR Ohio Valley Conference
12. Richmond 3-1 1005 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. UAB 3-0 988 11 Conference USA
14. George Mason 3-0 977 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Towson 3-0 800 NR Colonial Athletic Association
16. Northern Arizona 3-0 768 22 Big Sky Conference
17. Northwestern State 3-0 648 NR Southland Conference
18. Prairie View A&M 3-0 591 NR Southwestern Athletic Conference
19. Sacramento State 2-0 543 NR Big Sky Conference
20. Saint Peter's 2-0 508 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
21. Nebraska Omaha 2-0 446 NR Summit League
22. UNLV 2-1 350 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Tulsa 4-1 145 NR American Athletic Conference
24. New Mexico State 2-1 122 5 Western Athletic Conference
25. Temple 5-1 84 12 American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Illinois State 3-1 46 Missouri Valley Conference
BYU 3-1 42 West Coast Conference
Middle Tennessee 3-1 42 Conference USA
North Florida 6-1 37 Atlantic Sun Conference
Stony Brook 4-1 33 America East Conference
Hofstra 3-1 28 Colonial Athletic Association
Memphis 4-1 27 American Athletic Conference
Connecticut 2-1 18 American Athletic Conference
Valparaiso 3-1 18 Horizon League
Colorado State 4-1 14 Mountain West Conference
Tulane 5-1 9 American Athletic Conference
Columbia 3-1 5 Ivy League
Nevada 2-1 3 Mountain West Conference
Evansville 2-1 2 Missouri Valley Conference
LIU Brooklyn 3-1 2 Northeast Conference
Quinnipiac 3-1 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
NJIT 4-1 1 Atlantic Sun Conference
UTEP 3-1 1 Conference USA

Tulsa is back in the mid-major top 25 after a solid week, but no other FOFC teams.

[bbgunn]

firecoachgunn.com

[collegesportsfanms]

firecoachgunn.com

The website is up and running. The fans expect nothing less than to win the Big West title. Coach Gunn's seat may be cool with the AD, but it's hot with the fans!

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2017

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

11/29/17- TCU (Bee Mighty) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- Hard to win when you have a 31.5% shooting night, and that's what the deal was with TCU in this one. They shot poorly, and while Alabama didn't shoot great, they shot well enough to win pretty handily.

Final Score: Alabama- 63, TCU- 47

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-1, 0-0 America East.

No games this week for Coach Ginsberg and the Hawks.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 American.

11/27/17 at #8 VCU (W 62-57).
12/1/17 at N.C. State (L 88-55).

The Pirates started off the week on a good note with a big upset of VCU, but maybe got a little overconfident as N.C. State brought them back to Earth.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 5-3, 0-0 American.

11/28/17 vs. Central Arkansas (L 78-76).
11/30/17 vs. Arkansas (L 69-64).
12/3/17 at Elon (W 76-50).

2 heartbreakers on the road for the Golden Hurricane this week, but at least they got one on the road to salvage the week somewhat.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 3-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/29/17 vs. N.C. State (W 76-68).
12/1/17 vs. Presbyterian (L 69-65).
12/3/17 at Iowa (W 88-70).

Weird week for the Wildcats, as they get 2 wins over P5 teams in N.C. State and Iowa, yet somehow inexplicably lose to Presbyterian? That kind of inconsistency is not what they need.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 3-2, 0-0 ACC.

11/28/17 vs. South Florida (W 58-47).
11/30/17 vs. Texas (W 85-66).

Good week for the Tigers as they get a couple pretty easy wins at home.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 3-1, 0-0 ACC.

11/29/17 vs. Coastal Carolina (W 63-29).

Suffocating defense by the Blue Devils in their only game of the week, as they held Coastal Carolina to 26.1% shooting.

#9 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 5-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/28/17 vs. Gardner Webb (W 75-60).
12/2/17 at Minnesota (W 92-63).

Couple solid double-digit wins for the Jayhawks, one at home and one on the road, but they haven't gotten to the toughest part of their non-conference schedule yet. That comes in a couple weeks.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-3, 0-0 Big 12.

11/29/17 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
12/1/17 at Purdue (L 65-53).

Back to reality for the Horned Frogs, who lose 2 road games this week after winning 2 games in their season tournament. The schedule gets easier for the next few games though.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/29/17 at Ole Miss (W 84-73).

1 game this week for the Wolverines, but they took care of business on the road.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 5-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/27/17 vs. Canisius (W 99-71).
11/29/17 at Southern Utah (W 81-49).

The Spartans beat up on a couple overmatched opponents this week, just a couple tune up tests as the real non-conference schedule begins in a couple weeks.

#25 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 5-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/29/17 at Youngstown State (W 75-63).

The Wildcats win their only game of the week, and if they lose at all in December it will be a total upset. Their 6 December opponents have a combined record of 7-25.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-5, 0-0 Big West.

11/27/17 at Northeastern (L 70-54).

The firecoachgunn.com website is running in full force now, as the Warriors lose another one this week, on the road. That's 4 in a row, not good.

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

11/27/17 at Xavier (L 63-53).
12/1/17 vs. Liberty (W 67-45).
12/3/17 vs. Radford (W 67-63).

The 49ers even up their record this week as they win 2 of 3. They'd like to forget the game at Xavier though. Even though they only lost by 10, it should have and could have been a lot more.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/2/17 vs. Milwaukee (W 88-71).

Nice recovery for the Owls after their first loss of the season, as they handle a pretty good Milwaukee team in their only game of the week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-3, 1-0 MAAC.

11/27/17 at Stony Brook (L 73-54).
12/1/17 at Lehigh (W 69-61).
12/3/17 at Canisius (W 57-47).

I for the life of me will never understand why the MAAC starts conference play in early December in this game. Do they do this in real life too? I don't get it. In any case, the Hawks have a good week, winning 2 of 3 on the road and getting off to a good start in MAAC play.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-2, 0-0 MEAC.

11/30/17 at Virginia Tech (L 66-39).

Not a good display for the Spartans in their only game of the week, as they were handled easily.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/30/17 vs. Texas A&M (W 71-53).

Good win for the Buffaloes against a former Big 12 opponent, and they've got what should be an easy one next week before they go on the road for 3 tough ones.

#24 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/27/17 at San Jose State (W 67-42).
12/1/17 at UNLV (W 59-48).

The Cardinal stay undefeated with a couple double digit victories on the road, and next week will be a busy week as they have 3 games.

#22 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 4-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/29/17 at Kansas State (W 63-58).
12/2/17 vs. LSU (W 84-63).

Good week for the Bruins as they get by Kansas State on the road then demolish a very good LSU team. That loss to Richmond definitely upset them.

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

11/29/17 at Wyoming (W 73-69).

The Cougars even up their record by winning their only game of the week, a tough road victory. Like Northwestern, they have a pretty soft and easy December schedule, so it's a chance to get a few feel good wins before Pac 12 play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 3-2, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/17 vs. Samford (W 76-42).
11/29/17 vs. TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Crimson Tide who win both their games at home.

#10 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 5-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/17 vs. Georgetown (W 86-56).

Just 1 game this week for the Gators, but they took care of a Georgetown team that will probably be dancing come March. Not only did they beat them, but they demolished them.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 5-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/17 at Butler (W 85-66).
11/30/17 vs. Canisius (W 98-74).

A couple easy wins this week for the Wildcats who are rolling along early on.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/1/17 at Mississippi State (W 71-70).

I have to consider this one an upset for the Trojans. Granted, Mississippi State hasn't won a game yet, but still, Troy hasn't done much to prove they can compete with the P5 teams. Although it was a 1 point win, it was on the road and could give Troy a lot of confidence going forward.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 7-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 5-0 1721 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Virginia 5-0 1634 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Baylor 6-0 1608 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Syracuse 5-0 1484 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Gonzaga 6-0 1437 6 West Coast Conference
7. Wisconsin 4-0 1346 7 Big Ten Conference
8. Kansas 5-1 1257 9 Big 12 Conference
9. Florida 5-0 1215 10 Southeastern Conference
10. Marquette 4-1 1140 11 Big East Conference
11. Villanova 5-1 1083 14 Big East Conference
12. Cincinnati 4-1 929 12 American Athletic Conference
13. Wichita State 6-1 825 15 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Oklahoma 4-1 774 17 Big 12 Conference
15. Illinois 6-0 760 13 Big Ten Conference
16. Arizona 6-1 734 19 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Miami 5-1 630 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. UCLA 4-1 611 22 Pacific-12 Conference
19. La Salle 5-0 543 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Stanford 5-0 390 24 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Florida State 4-0 330 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. VCU 3-1 274 8 Southeastern Conference
23. Northwestern 5-0 217 25 Big Ten Conference
24. Richmond 5-1 193 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Oakland 5-0 110 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Louisville 3-1 82 Atlantic Coast Conference
Towson 5-0 67 Colonial Athletic Association
Notre Dame 6-1 63 Atlantic Coast Conference
Cal Poly 4-0 47 Big West Conference
Iowa State 5-1 42 Big 12 Conference
Northern Arizona 5-0 42 Big Sky Conference
Duke 3-1 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
Temple 6-1 2 American Athletic Conference
Michigan State 5-1 1 Big Ten Conference
Nebraska 2-1 1 Big Ten Conference

Great week for FOFC teams, as Kentucky stayed at #2, but no FPV. Kansas and Florida each move up a spot, UCLA and Stanford each move up 4 spots, and Northwestern moves up 2 spots. Not to mention, both Michigan State and Duke are receiving votes again. Keep it up boys!

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 6-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 4-1 1711 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Wichita State 6-1 1656 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 5-0 1577 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Richmond 5-1 1434 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Oakland 5-0 1423 9 Horizon League
7. Northern Arizona 5-0 1338 16 Big Sky Conference
8. Towson 5-0 1320 15 Colonial Athletic Association
9. Cal Poly 4-0 1316 8 Big West Conference
10. Illinois State 5-1 975 NR Missouri Valley Conference
11. Temple 6-1 899 25 American Athletic Conference
12. Memphis 7-1 813 NR American Athletic Conference
13. Colorado State 6-1 764 NR Mountain West Conference
14. Duquesne 6-1 667 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Middle Tennessee 4-1 602 NR Conference USA
16. Northern Iowa 6-2 549 5 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Saint Mary's 5-1 545 NR West Coast Conference
18. Louisiana Tech 4-1 499 NR Conference USA
19. Fresno State 4-1 426 7 Mountain West Conference
20. San Diego 4-1 339 NR West Coast Conference
21. Eastern Kentucky 5-1 274 11 Ohio Valley Conference
22. San Diego State 2-2 249 NR Mountain West Conference
23. UC Irvine 4-1 177 NR Big West Conference
24. UTEP 4-1 172 NR Conference USA
25. USC Upstate 5-1 170 NR Atlantic Sun Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Detroit 4-1 169 Horizon League
Rider 5-1 159 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Air Force 4-1 156 Mountain West Conference
Nebraska Omaha 4-1 130 Summit League
Rice 4-1 121 Conference USA
Tulane 5-1 110 American Athletic Conference
Oral Roberts 4-1 98 Summit League
George Washington 2-1 84 Atlantic 10 Conference
Bucknell 2-1 68 Patriot League
George Mason 3-1 68 Atlantic 10 Conference
Winthrop 4-1 68 Big South Conference
Hartford 4-1 67 America East Conference
Tennessee Martin 5-1 58 Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Colorado 4-1 52 Big Sky Conference
Prairie View A&M 4-1 48 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southern Miss 4-1 43 Conference USA
Sacramento State 2-1 38 Big Sky Conference
South Alabama 4-1 34 Sun Belt Conference
Western Carolina 4-1 25 Southern Conference
Western Kentucky 3-1 23 Conference USA
Weber State 2-1 22 Big Sky Conference
Florida Atlantic 3-1 21 Conference USA
UNLV 3-2 19 Mountain West Conference
Texas Southern 2-1 18 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Savannah State 3-1 6 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Very tough pollsters in FBCB. Tulsa loses 2 games this week by a combined 7 points, and not only drops out of the mid-major top 25, but loses all their votes. That seems a little ridiculous to me. On the bright side, Rice and Hartford are off to good starts and both are receiving votes, and quite a few votes each. Let's hope they can keep it up.

[collegesportsfanms]

Sorry for the lack of updates over the past week, I've been dealing with the flu, just now start to get to the point where I feel like doing anything. But I'm here, so let's get another week in.

Dec. 4-10, 2017

1 feature game this week to tell you about, so let's get to it:

12/8/17- Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) @ ECU (Al Hutt) -- Offensive ineptitude in this one for Norfolk State, as they committed 17 turnovers and shot just 36.4%. While ECU didn't shoot great, they did manage to shoot over 40% and the difference could have been a lot more if ECU would have made free throws. As it stands, the Pirates win.

Final Score: ECU- 60, Norfolk State- 46

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-3, 0-0 America East.

12/6/17 at Iona (L 63-49).
12/9/17 at Boston College (L 73-65).

Tough week for the Hawks who played some good competition on the road. It doesn't end anytime soon, as 5 of their next 6 games are away from Hartford.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-3, 0-0 American.

12/5/17 at #5 Syracuse (L 87-70).
12/8/17 vs. Norfolk State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Pirates this week, as they actually hung with Syracuse for a while before getting blasted. They break the losing streak against Norfolk State though.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-3, 0-0 American.

12/5/17 at Oregon State (W 87-61).

Just 1 game this week for the Golden Hurricane, but it was a good one as they win easily. Still 4 on the road before they return home though.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/6/17 vs. Ohio (W 70-48).
12/10/17 at #3 Virginia (W 86-79).

The up and down early season continues for the Wildcats, as they go on the road and upset a top 5 team in Virginia. Who would have thought? It's a shame that loss to Presbyterian last week could haunt them all season, but what a huge win over Virginia.

Clemson (Dave Johnson) -- 4-3, 0-0 ACC.

12/7/17 at #7 Wisconsin (L 64-55).
12/9/17 vs. South Carolina (W 79-52).

The Tigers get a huge win over in-state rival South Carolina, and play Wisconsin tough but can't get the win, so they split this week.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 5-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/4/17 vs. Creighton (W 86-80).
12/6/17 vs. Binghamton (W 74-43).

The Blue Devils win 2 this week, blowing out Binghamton. They did struggle with Creighton a little bit, but still got the win. Next week they have a big showdown with a top 5 team.

#8 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 6-1, 0-0 Big 12.

12/10/17 vs. Hofstra (W 94-64).

1 game this week for the Jayhawks, but it was an easy one as they dismantle Hofstra before getting into the tougher part of their non-conference schedule the rest of the month.

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

12/8/17 vs. Houston Baptist (W 64-53).

Nice win for the Horned Frogs to break a 2 game losing streak as this was their only game of the week, and they can build on this with 3 winnable games in a row before the schedule gets tougher.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 5-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/5/17 vs. Marshall (W 66-65).

Just 1 game this week for the Wolverines, and they had to come from behind and survive a last second shot to get the win, but hey a win is a win at this point.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 6-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/9/17 vs. BYU (W 102-69).

1 game this week for the Spartans, and they shot lights out in scoring over 100 points. They start their season tournament next week.

#23 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/4/17 vs. Chicago State (W 89-63).
12/7/17 vs. Western Illinois (W 57-32).
12/10/17 vs. IUPUI (W 59-53).

Heavy week for the Wildcats as they play 3, blowing out 2 very bad opponents then struggling a bit with another subpar opponent. The problem with this schedule is that it will not get them ready for the Big Ten schedule, so we could see completely different results there.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 2-7, 0-0 Big West.

12/6/17 vs. Stony Brook (L 67-57).
12/8/17 vs. Eastern Michigan (W 76-47).
12/10/17 vs. UMass (L 68-66).

Another rough week for the Warriors, who did break a 5 game losing streak, and almost beat a good UMass team. Maybe that's what they need to start going in the right direction.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/5/17 at #3 Virginia (L 80-45).

1 game this week for the 49ers, and they got absolutely blasted on the road against a very good Virginia team, ironically the same Virginia team that Davidson upset this week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/6/17 at Texas A&M (L 82-69).

1 game this week for the Owls, who have lost 2 of 3 after starting 3-0. 2 more road games highlight the schedule next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 4-4, 2-1 MAAC.

12/8/17 at Fairfield (W 55-50).
12/10/17 at Iona (L 73-52).

A split this week for the Hawks, who see their 3 game winning streak come to an end and lose their first conference game. Hopefully they can regroup next week.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-4, 0-0 MEAC.

12/5/17 at William & Mary (L 70-60).
12/8/17 at ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

Bad week for the Spartans who drop 2 road games, but the road stretch is over and now they return home for 4 games.

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

12/8/17 vs. Texas State (W 69-53).

1 game this week for the Buffaloes, and they take care of business and have won 2 in a row, but their next 3 games are all on the road and the combined record of the 3 opponents is 22-2. Yikes!

#20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 7-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/17 vs. Milwaukee (W 58-40).
12/7/17 at St. Mary's (W 44-36).
12/9/17 at UC Santa Barbara (L 65-46).

A bit of a shocker for the Cardinal, who win 2 of 3 this week but suffer their first loss of the season. Not a terrible loss, as UCSB is a solid team, but still unexpected.

#18 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/17 at UNLV (W 78-47).
12/7/17 vs. Holy Cross (W 77-47).

2 easy wins for the Bruins this week, and by almost the identical score. Now that's consistency.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 4-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/4/17 at Seattle (W 68-56).
12/9/17 vs. Utah Valley (W 66-56).

The Cougars also win 2 games this week and have won 4 in a row. Like UCLA, their 2 wins this week were almost by the same exact score, but not quite.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 3-4, 0-0 SEC.

12/5/17 at Xavier (L 67-64).
12/9/17 vs. South Florida (L 60-58).

Tough week for the Crimson Tide who lose 2 games by a combined 5 points. Just couldn't quite finish in either game.

#9 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 6-0, 0-0 SEC.

12/7/17 vs. Gardner Webb (W 89-82).

Tough one for the Gators this week in their only game of the week, but they got a hard fought victory.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 7-0, 0-0 SEC.

12/4/17 vs. Coastal Carolina (W 91-79).
12/9/17 vs. Cleveland State (W 89-75).

2 more easy wins for the Wildcats, but they've got a road test against a top 15 team next week.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/5/17 at Western Kentucky (L 61-48).
12/8/17 at Lipscomb (L 64-48).

2 bad losses for the Trojans, especially the loss at Lipscomb. Although Lipscomb seems to be much improved, so maybe it's not quite as bad of a loss.

Here is the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 8-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 7-0 1721 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Baylor 8-0 1661 4 Big 12 Conference
4. Syracuse 7-0 1564 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Gonzaga 8-0 1487 6 West Coast Conference
6. Wisconsin 6-0 1398 7 Big Ten Conference
7. Marquette 7-1 1359 10 Big East Conference
8. Virginia 6-1 1263 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Kansas 6-1 1193 8 Big 12 Conference
10. Florida 6-0 1190 9 Southeastern Conference
11. Illinois 8-0 1042 15 Big Ten Conference
12. Villanova 5-1 1041 11 Big East Conference
13. UCLA 6-1 939 18 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Miami 7-1 875 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. La Salle 7-0 810 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Iowa State 7-1 583 NR Big 12 Conference
17. Northwestern 8-0 546 23 Big Ten Conference
18. VCU 4-1 527 22 Southeastern Conference
19. Richmond 6-1 501 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Notre Dame 8-1 427 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Oakland 7-0 307 25 Horizon League
22. Cincinnati 6-2 305 12 American Athletic Conference
23. Nebraska 5-1 178 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Wichita State 8-2 174 13 Missouri Valley Conference
25. Duke 5-1 167 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Oklahoma 5-2 114 Big 12 Conference
Michigan State 6-1 68 Big Ten Conference
Arizona 7-2 54 Pacific-12 Conference
Temple 8-1 23 American Athletic Conference
Xavier 7-1 19 Big East Conference
Middle Tennessee 7-1 16 Conference USA
Memphis 8-1 15 American Athletic Conference
Stanford 7-1 9 Pacific-12 Conference
Colorado State 8-1 6 Mountain West Conference
Illinois State 6-1 5 Missouri Valley Conference
Duquesne 7-1 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
George Washington 5-1 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Utah 6-1 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Oregon 5-1 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Louisiana Tech 5-1 1 Conference USA

So Kentucky stays put at #2, while Kansas and Florida each move down a spot, even after undefeated weeks. UCLA jumps 5 spots and Northwestern jumps 6 spots. Also, Duke is now in the national top 25. Michigan State is getting very close. 2 more wins next week might seal it. Stanford suffers their only loss of the season so far this week and loses their ranking, but still receives a fair number of votes.

Now we take a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 8-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. La Salle 7-0 1696 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Cincinnati 6-2 1579 2 American Athletic Conference
4. Richmond 6-1 1567 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Oakland 7-0 1511 6 Horizon League
6. Wichita State 8-2 1470 3 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Illinois State 6-1 1247 10 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Colorado State 8-1 1208 13 Mountain West Conference
9. Temple 8-1 1156 11 American Athletic Conference
10. Middle Tennessee 7-1 1096 15 Conference USA
11. Northern Iowa 8-2 1087 16 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Memphis 8-1 1027 12 American Athletic Conference
13. Duquesne 7-1 909 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. San Diego 6-1 852 20 West Coast Conference
15. George Washington 5-1 796 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Louisiana Tech 5-1 730 18 Conference USA
17. Northern Arizona 7-1 633 7 Big Sky Conference
18. Air Force 5-1 585 NR Mountain West Conference
19. UC Irvine 5-1 545 23 Big West Conference
20. Southern Miss 6-1 437 NR Conference USA
21. Cal Poly 4-1 334 9 Big West Conference
22. Sacramento State 4-1 275 NR Big Sky Conference
23. Tulane 5-1 258 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Oral Roberts 5-1 253 NR Summit League
25. Massachusetts 6-2 174 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Western Kentucky 4-1 127 Conference USA
San Diego State 3-2 25 Mountain West Conference
Davidson 5-2 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Mary's 7-2 8 West Coast Conference
American 6-2 2 Patriot League
Detroit 5-2 1 Horizon League

Rice and Hartford lose their votes after losses this week, but Davidson is receiving some votes. Hopefully their trend will continue up.

[bbgunn]

Hmmm... do we have something special going on at Washington State? We shall see...

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 11-17, 2017

2 feature games this week, and they both involve Alabama.

12/14/17- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #9 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- The Crimson Tide led this one by 6 at halftime, but totally fell about in the second half, scoring just 23 points. They had 24 turnovers for the game, and although they outrebounded Kansas 46-35, the Jayhawks got a lot more scoring opportunities and that was the difference.

Final Score: #9 Kansas- 73, Alabama- 64

12/16/17- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The Crimson Tide made darn sure they weren't losing their lead in this one, as they put up 55 second half points and shot 46.7% from the field. Still too many turnovers, as 17 is too many. Rice couldn't stop fouling, committing 29 fouls and sending Bama to the line for 37 free throws. The result was an easy, easy victory for Alabama.

Final Score: Alabama- 92, Rice- 55

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-5, 0-0 America East.

12/11/17 at Northeastern (W 89-81).
12/13/17 at St. Joseph's (L 61-53).
12/15/17 vs. Temple (L 82-78, OT).
12/17/17 at Brown (W 80-59).

A heavy week for the Hawks, who split their 4 games. They can be proud of the fact that they took a very good Temple team to overtime, but almost only counts in horseshoes, or so I've been told.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-4, 0-0 American.

12/13/17- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (4) LSU (L 94-62).

Short week for the Pirates as they get blasted in the first round of their season tourney. The schedule doesn't get any easier as they get ready to start conference play.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-4, 0-0 American.

12/12/17 at Fairleigh Dickinson (L 61-58).

Oof! Even though it was on the road, those are not the kind of games the Golden Hurricane need to be losing if they want to be considered for the postseason. They start conference play next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/15/17 vs. North Carolina Central (L 72-68).

A huge letdown for the Wildcats in their only game of the week, especially after an upset win the week before. They play their season tournament next week.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-4, 0-0 ACC.

12/11/17 at # 1 Ohio State (L 73-45).

Blast city for the Tigers in their only game of the week. They weren't even close against Ohio State.

#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 7-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/12/17 vs. #3 Baylor (W 71-55).
12/16/17 vs. Colgate (W 83-58).

The string of good play continues for the Blue Devils, who have won 6 in a row. They've got a test with #1 next week.

#9 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/12/17 at San Diego State (W 67-58).
12/14/17 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Consistency for the Jayhawks as they win both their games this week by the same margin, 9 points. They've got 3 more what should be fairly tough non-conference games before they get into Big 12 play.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/12/17 at Army (W 84-63).
12/14/17 at Cal State Fullerton (W 69-58).
12/16/17 vs. McNeese State (W 82-53).

Call it an easy schedule if you want, but the Horned Frogs have won 4 in a row after starting 2-3. The schedule gets A LOT tougher now though.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/11/17 vs. Louisville (W 77-75).

Solid win for the Wolverines in their only game of the week. Next week they go on the road for 1 then return home for a couple.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/13/17- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (16) Alabama State (W 76-63).
12/15/17- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinals vs. (8) Stony Brook (W 86-69).

The Spartans win 2 more this week, moving into the semifinals of their season tournament. That game will be played next week.

#18 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/16/17 vs. Eastern Illinois (W 75-58).

Coach Vee and the Wildcats are still undefeated, but let's be honest, their schedule has pretty much been filled with cupcakes. They've got a couple more before they get into conference play, where we'll find out a lot more about them.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-7, 0-0 Big West.

12/17/17 at Kent State (W 71-68).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, and I really feel like they are turning the corner. They've won 2 of their last 3, and the loss was to a very good team, and even it was only by 2 points. Their next 3 games are very winnable, and 1 of those 3 is a feature game.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-6, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/11/17 at N.C. State (L 87-57).
12/15/17 vs. Savannah State (L 67-54).

Ugh! Pitiful loss for the 49ers this week. The N.C. State loss can be forgiven, but losing to Savannah State, generally one of the worst teams in college basketball? Unforgiveable, and the schedule doesn't get any easier.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/14/17 at Stephen F. Austin (L 80-71).
12/16/17 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Not a good week for the Owls, who at least were competitive at SFA, but not at Alabama. Next week they play teams with a combined 2-14 record, but one of those teams is an SEC team.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 4-6, 2-3 MAAC.

12/15/17 at Siena (L 73-66).
12/17/17 at Manhattan (L 64-53).

That 2-0 start in conference play seems like a long time ago for the Hawks, who at least kept both road games close this week. But as I said, close only counts in horseshoes.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-5, 0-0 MEAC.

12/12/17 vs. Mt. St. Mary's (L 75-59).
12/14/17 vs. Ohio (W 62-50).

A split for the Spartans this week, and hopefully they can build on that because the schedule is favorable, and as always, the MEAC looks pretty weak.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/12/17 at Northern Iowa (W 65-57).

1 game this week for the Buffaloes, but it was a good one, as they beat a very good team. They'll have their hands full next week though, as they play #1, and their next 2 opponents are a combined 17-1. Yikes!

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/14/17 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 60-47).

The Cardinal get another win, recovering nicely for their first loss. A feature game upcoming next week, as well as a battle with a winless team.

#13 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/11/17 vs. James Madison (W 74-38).
12/16/17 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 77-50).

A couple more blowouts for the Bruins who haven't been tested in a while. Don't look for that to stop anytime soon, as they have 3 more very winnable games coming up before conference play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/11/17 at Texas-Rio Grande Valley (W 68-58).
12/15/17 vs. Portland (L 69-66).
12/17/17 vs. Chicago State (W 99-56).

2 out of 3 for the Cougars this week, and the loss was tough. They can't be losing to teams like Portland if they want to be taken seriously. Yes, Portland has a winning record currently, but they also have an RPI of 268. More winnable games next week before conference play starts.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-5, 0-0 SEC.

12/14/17 at #9 Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.
12/16/17 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Crimson Tide this week, but they are definitely kicking themselves for letting that halftime lead at Kansas slip away. 3 more non-conference games, and none of them will be easy.

#10 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/12/17 vs. Elon (W 84-60).
12/15/17 vs. George Mason (W 71-58).
12/17/17 vs. North Carolina (L 71-63).

The Gators shouldn't feel bad about losing to North Carolina, a lot of teams do. That was their first loss, and next week they have a feature game and a game against a team currently undefeated.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 7-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/14/17 at #14 Miami (L 100-94).

A shootout in the Wildcats' only game of the week, unfortunately it was on the road and Miami was too strong. Kentucky loses their first game of the season and has 4 non-conference games left before conference play. 3 of the 4 could be a little troubling, but they should be ok in all of them.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-5, 1-1 Sun Belt.

12/14/17 vs. Texas State (W 80-67).
12/16/17 at Georgia Southern (L 73-62).

A split for the Trojans to open up conference play. A normal split as they win at home, lose on the road.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 9-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Syracuse 9-0 1711 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 10-0 1579 5 West Coast Conference
4. Baylor 9-1 1553 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Marquette 9-1 1472 6 Big East Conference
6. Kentucky 7-1 1453 2 Southeastern Conference
7. Kansas 8-1 1352 9 Big 12 Conference
8. Wisconsin 7-0 1306 7 Big Ten Conference
9. Virginia 7-1 1250 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Villanova 7-1 1131 12 Big East Conference
11. Miami 9-1 1070 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Illinois 10-0 1069 11 Big Ten Conference
13. UCLA 8-1 962 13 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Richmond 9-1 841 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. La Salle 8-0 789 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Duke 7-1 609 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Florida 8-1 599 10 Southeastern Conference
18. VCU 6-1 567 19 Southeastern Conference
19. Northwestern 9-0 530 18 Big Ten Conference
20. Cincinnati 7-2 415 22 American Athletic Conference
21. Oakland 9-0 357 21 Horizon League
22. Wichita State 9-2 282 23 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Michigan State 8-1 276 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Nebraska 6-1 223 24 Big Ten Conference
25. Illinois State 9-1 72 NR Missouri Valley Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Memphis 10-1 42 American Athletic Conference
Stanford 8-1 37 Pacific-12 Conference
Colorado State 10-1 22 Mountain West Conference
Duquesne 9-1 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
Louisiana Tech 7-1 12 Conference USA
Oregon 6-1 3 Pacific-12 Conference

So Kentucky moves down 4 spots after their loss to Miami, while Kansas jumps up 2 spots. UCLA stays the same, and Duke jumps up 9 spots? Wow! I guess the pollsters were really impressed with that win over Baylor. Florida drops 7 spots after their loss to UNC. Seems harsh to me. Northwestern, despite still being undefeated, drops a spot. And welcome back Michigan State, who is back in the top 25! Stanford is receiving lots of votes and is very close to being in the top 25 as well.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 10-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 7-2 1641 3 American Athletic Conference
3. La Salle 8-0 1640 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Richmond 9-1 1594 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Wichita State 9-2 1531 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Oakland 9-0 1482 5 Horizon League
7. Illinois State 9-1 1342 7 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Colorado State 10-1 1292 8 Mountain West Conference
9. Duquesne 9-1 1212 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Memphis 10-1 1203 12 American Athletic Conference
11. Louisiana Tech 7-1 1095 16 Conference USA
12. Massachusetts 7-2 985 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Temple 9-2 841 9 American Athletic Conference
14. Middle Tennessee 8-2 789 10 Conference USA
15. Northern Iowa 9-3 648 11 Missouri Valley Conference
16. UC Santa Barbara 8-2 616 NR Big West Conference
17. American 7-2 601 NR Patriot League
18. Boise State 5-2 578 NR Mountain West Conference
19. USC Upstate 8-2 464 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
20. San Diego 6-2 438 14 West Coast Conference
21. Rider 8-2 294 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
22. UC Irvine 6-2 290 19 Big West Conference
23. UAB 6-2 194 NR Conference USA
24. UTEP 7-2 128 NR Conference USA
25. Northern Arizona 7-2 108 17 Big Sky Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Air Force 6-2 101 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 6-2 93 Southland Conference
Southern Miss 7-2 72 Conference USA
Florida Atlantic 6-2 65 Conference USA
North Texas 7-2 53 Conference USA
Western Kentucky 5-2 45 Conference USA
Cal Poly 5-2 41 Big West Conference
Tulane 6-2 39 American Athletic Conference
Montana 6-2 30 Big Sky Conference
Old Dominion 6-2 27 Conference USA
Tennessee Martin 7-2 24 Ohio Valley Conference
UNLV 6-3 4 Mountain West Conference

The run of having an FOFC team receiving votes in the mid-major poll is over. Davidson sees their votes go bye bye after losing this week.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 18-24, 2017

3 feature games to talk about this week, so let's get to it:

12/19/17- Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) @ Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- Not a pretty game by any stretch, as the teams combined for 42 fouls and 30 turnovers. Free throw shooting turned out to be the difference, as Hawaii made 16 free throws and Norfolk made just 6.

Final Score: Hawaii- 64, Norfolk State- 59

12/20/17- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ #17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- Not much to talk about in this one. The Buffaloes shot just 20.8%, yes you read that right, 20.8% from the field, had 18 turnovers, and were down by 23 at halftime. Florida rolled, easily.

Final Score: #17 Florida- 87, Colorado- 46

12/22/17- Clemson (Charles Johnson) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A great game, as the lead changed several times. Both teams made a living from the three point line, as there were 54 three pointers attempted overall. Wow! The difference was that Clemson made 13 of them while Stanford only made 7. And that truly was the difference as everything else was just about even, but Clemson steals a road victory.

Final Score: Clemson- 78, Stanford- 74

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 8-5, 1-0 America East.

12/22/17 at Yale (W 64-58).
12/24/17 at New Hampshire (W 84-67).

Don't look now but the Hawks are on a 3 game winning streak, including winning their conference opener. And as weak as the America East looks to be this season, anything can happen.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-5, 0-1 American.

12/20/17 at SMU (L 75-56).

1 game this week for the Pirates, as they get blasted on the road in their conference opener.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 8-4, 1-0 American.

12/20/17 at Houston (W 88-84, OT).
12/22/17 at Texas Tech (W 98-90).

Good week for the Golden Hurricane, as they get a couple more road wins, including winning their conference opener.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/18/17- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (3) #18 VCU (L 83-65).
12/19/17- Diamond Head Classic Consolation Round vs. (7) UC Irvine (W 81-73).
12/21/17- Diamond Head Classic 5th Place Game vs. (8) Old Dominion (W 90-86).
12/24/17 at Toledo (W 83-71).

Heavy week for the Wildcats as they were on the road for 4 games, and they won 3 of them. They'd like to have competed a little more against VCU, but still a solid week as they finish 5th in their season tournament.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 6-4, 0-0 ACC.

12/18/17 vs. Oklahoma (W 83-69).
12/22/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Tigers who get a couple wins over very good teams. Next week they start conference play and kick it off with 2 ranked teams.

#16 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 8-2, 0-0 ACC.

12/21/17 vs. California (W 57-55).
12/24/17 at #1 Ohio State (L 87-69).

The Blue Devils split this week, and become our second FOFC team to get crushed by Ohio State on the road. The Buckeyes are good, very good. Duke starts conference play next week and jumps right into a rivalry game with UNC.

#7 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 9-2, 0-0 Big 12.

12/19/17 vs. Georgia (L 54-50).
12/21/17 at Iowa (W 93-88, OT).

A split this week for the Jayhawks, but no shame in losing to Georgia, as they are a good team.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big 12.

12/18/17 at Texas A&M (W 77-69).
12/22/17 vs. #24 Nebraska (L 76-68).

Believe it or not, the loss to Nebraska ended a 5 game winning streak for the Horned Frogs. It's been a long time since they've won 5 in a row, and now that they are about to start conference play, don't look for another 5 game winning streak anytime soon.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/18/17 at N.C. State (L 71-67).

The Wolverines fall short in their only game of the week, and they've got 2 feature games on the schedule next week to finish off non-conference play.

#23 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/18/17- Las Vegas Classic Semifinals vs. (4) LSU (L 79-69).

Well, I don't think the Spartans were expecting to lose to LSU in the semifinals of their season tourney, but that's what happened. Tough loss in their only game of the week.

#19 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 10-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/23/17 at Hampton (W 57-47).

1 more game this week for the Wildcats, who beat another subpar non-conference opponent. They've got 1 more such opponent before they begin conference play.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 6-7, 0-0 Big West.

12/19/17 at Norfolk State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/21/17 at Texas Southern (W 84-48).
12/24/17 vs. Cornell (W 81-60).

It's been a heck of a turnaround for the Warriors, who have won 5 of their last 6, with the only loss in that stretch being a 2 point loss. Word is Coach Gunn informed his players of the firecoachgunn.com website and they didn't care too much for it.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-8, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/20/17 at North Carolina (L 74-44).
12/22/17 at #1 Ohio State (L 71-52).

2 blowout losses for the 49ers this week, on the road against very good competition, takes the losing streak up to 5 games. They've got a feature game next week, then the start of conference play.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 6-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/21/17 vs. Mississippi State (W 79-71).
12/23/17 at McNeese State (W 77-61).

Good week for the Owls who win 2 games. In case anybody was wondering, Mississippi State was the winless power conference team I was talking about in my last post. Rice passed that test and they've got 1 more non-conference game before C-USA play starts.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-7, 3-4 MAAC.

12/22/17 at Marist (W 70-68).
12/24/17 vs. Marist (L 49-47).

A split this week for the Hawks, against the same opponent. I really hate when the schedule works that way, teams going back to back against the same opponent. It is what it is though.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-6, 0-0 MEAC.

12/19/17 vs. Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.

Just the 1 game this week for the Spartans in which they fell short. It's almost conference play time for Norfolk, and the MEAC is totally wide open this season.

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

12/18/17 at #1 Ohio State (L 61-52).
12/20/17 at #17 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
12/23/17 vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W 71-39).

Give the Buffaloes credit for being the FOFC team to play Ohio State the closest, but then following that up with a 41 point loss at Florida doesn't bode well. At least they finished the week with a win.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/22/17 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.

Just the 1 game this week for the Cardinal, who fell short in a feature game. They'll have another feature game next week before conference play starts.

#13 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/19/17 vs. Maryland (L 98-91, OT).
12/24/17 vs. George Washington (W 70-56).

A split this week for the Bruins, who blew a pretty sizable lead in that OT loss to Maryland. They'd love to have that one back.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/23/17 vs. Portland State (W 55-49).

1 game this week for the Cougars, who take care of business before they head into conference play, where we'll learn a lot more about them, specifically if they are real, or just taking advantage of lower level teams.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-7, 0-0 SEC.

12/21/17 at #20 Cincinnati (L 86-58).
12/24/17 at Indiana (L 57-49).

2 more losses for the Crimson Tide, who are definitely struggling again. They start conference play next week, but before that, another non-conference road game.

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 9-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/20/17 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
12/24/17 at #8 Wisconsin (L 74-54).

A split for the Gators this week, who hammered a fellow FOFC team but then got hammered by a solid Wisconsin team.

#6 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/19/17 vs. Boise State (W 85-45).
12/21/17 at Howard (W 71-56).

2 easy wins for the Wildcats this week, as they have a couple non-conference games next week before getting into SEC play.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-7, 1-3 Sun Belt.

12/21/17 vs. Arkansas State (L 82-66).
12/23/17 at Louisiana Lafayette (L 85-76).

2 losses this week for the Trojans, who really weren't close in either of them. They'll try to get off the slide next week as they have what should be at least 1 easy game.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 12-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 9-1 1657 6 Southeastern Conference
3. Gonzaga 12-0 1604 3 West Coast Conference
4. Baylor 11-1 1585 4 Big 12 Conference
5. Virginia 10-1 1555 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Marquette 11-1 1480 5 Big East Conference
7. Villanova 9-1 1368 10 Big East Conference
8. Miami 10-1 1248 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Illinois 12-0 1230 12 Big Ten Conference
10. Syracuse 9-1 1216 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Kansas 9-2 1057 7 Big 12 Conference
12. Wichita State 11-2 922 22 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Wisconsin 9-2 852 8 Big Ten Conference
14. Northwestern 10-0 833 19 Big Ten Conference
15. VCU 9-2 819 18 Southeastern Conference
16. UCLA 9-2 783 13 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Florida 9-2 579 17 Southeastern Conference
18. Illinois State 11-1 546 25 Missouri Valley Conference
19. La Salle 9-1 488 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Duke 8-2 457 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Memphis 12-1 420 NR American Athletic Conference
22. Duquesne 10-1 407 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Louisiana Tech 8-1 129 NR Conference USA
24. Notre Dame 9-2 93 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Cincinnati 8-3 91 20 American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
West Virginia 8-2 48 Big 12 Conference
Michigan State 8-2 39 Big Ten Conference
Nebraska 7-2 29 Big Ten Conference
Massachusetts 9-2 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
LSU 10-2 13 Southeastern Conference
Arizona 7-3 10 Pacific-12 Conference
Colorado State 11-2 8 Mountain West Conference
Georgia 8-2 8 Southeastern Conference
Indiana 9-2 3 Big Ten Conference
Stanford 8-2 1 Pacific-12 Conference

Kentucky and Northwestern have nice jumps in the top 25, while Kansas, UCLA, and Duke all fall 4 spots. Florida stays the same at 17. Michigan State, with their loss this week, falls out of the top 25 but is still receiving votes. Stanford is just barely hanging in the others receiving votes category, as they get 1 lone vote this week.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 12-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 11-2 1724 5 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 11-1 1610 7 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 9-1 1563 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Memphis 12-1 1460 10 American Athletic Conference
6. Duquesne 10-1 1435 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Cincinnati 8-3 1429 2 American Athletic Conference
8. Louisiana Tech 8-1 1289 11 Conference USA
9. Massachusetts 9-2 1232 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Colorado State 11-2 1115 8 Mountain West Conference
11. Northern Iowa 11-3 1104 15 Missouri Valley Conference
12. American 9-2 942 17 Patriot League
13. San Diego 8-2 916 20 West Coast Conference
14. Richmond 9-3 803 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Rider 10-2 765 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
16. UAB 8-2 736 23 Conference USA
17. Cal Poly 8-2 663 NR Big West Conference
18. Oakland 9-2 657 6 Horizon League
19. Sam Houston State 7-2 482 NR Southland Conference
20. Tennessee Martin 9-2 435 NR Ohio Valley Conference
21. UTEP 7-2 358 24 Conference USA
22. Middle Tennessee 9-3 183 14 Conference USA
23. Boise State 7-3 179 18 Mountain West Conference
24. Quinnipiac 10-3 176 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
25. Stephen F. Austin 8-3 123 NR Southland Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Temple 9-3 60 American Athletic Conference
UC Santa Barbara 9-3 34 Big West Conference
USC Upstate 10-3 34 Atlantic Sun Conference
Valparaiso 8-3 32 Horizon League
North Florida 9-3 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
South Dakota State 8-3 13 Summit League
Air Force 8-3 11 Mountain West Conference
Dayton 7-3 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
St. Bonaventure 7-3 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Arizona 8-3 2 Big Sky Conference

None of our FOFC teams got a vote, but I have a feeling we've got 3 or 4 teams that if they win all their games next week, could pick up some votes.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 25-31, 2017

4 feature games this week, 3 of which involved either Michigan or Michigan State, and the 4th being a conference game in the American Conference.

12/25/17- Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- A rare meeting between the Tribble siblings, but it was only a contest for 1 half. Michigan broke open a 4 point halftime deficit with suffocating defense in the second half. Charlotte had 13 turnovers and shot 39.6%, while the Wolverines shot 45%. This led to Cillian winning the sibling battle.

Final Score: Michigan- 70, Charlotte- 54

12/28/17- #2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- This was a much closer battle than expected, despite the fact that Michigan turned it over 20 times. The difference was at the foul line, as Kentucky made 22 free throws and Michigan made only 12. The Wildcats survived, but it was close.

Final Score: #2 Kentucky- 87, Michigan- 79

12/30/17- Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This would be a heck of a Rose Bowl match-up in football, but this is basketball. The Spartans showed their dominance by holding Stanford to just 36.5% shooting and forcing 17 Cardinal turnovers. Michigan State, on the other hand, shot 50.9%. All this led to a fairly easy victory.

Final Score: Michigan State- 72, Stanford- 58

12/30/17- ECU (Al Hutt) @ Tulsa (Will Brown) -- Despite shooting 51.9% for the game, the Pirates were still on the short end of this one. Tulsa attempted 20 more shots, thanks to forcing 22 turnovers. But the big difference was the three point line, in which the Golden Hurricane made 16 three pointers. That was huge and led to a victory that Tulsa might not have gotten otherwise.

Final Score: Tulsa- 94, ECU- 86

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 8-7, 1-2 America East.

12/27/17 vs. UMass Lowell (L 68-60).
12/31/17 at Albany (L 64-50).

Not a good week for the Hawks, who lost to a 3 win team in UMass Lowell. Ugh! They've got 3 very winnable games coming up though, and hopefully those games will get their confidence back up.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-7, 0-3 American.

12/27/17 vs. #25 Cincinnati (L 92-60).
12/30/17 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough week for the Pirates, who if not for some hot shooting by Tulsa, might have won that game.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 10-4, 3-0 American.

12/27/17 at Tulane (W 68-66).
12/30/17 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

The Golden Hurricane are rolling, and they can definitely thank hot shooting, especially the ECU game.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

No games this week for Coach Childress and the Wildcats, who get a much needed break after a 4 game week last week. They get conference play underway next week.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 6-5, 0-1 ACC.

12/27/17 vs. #5 Virginia (L 88-87).

Heartbreaker for the Tigers in their only game of the week. They fought tooth and nail with the #5 team in the nation, only to see a last second shot fall short. Great effort though.

#20 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 8-3, 0-1 ACC.

12/27/17 at North Carolina (L 70-62).

Just the 1 game this week for the Blue Devils, and they don't enjoy starting off with a rivalry game. They fell short, and get off to a bad start in the ACC.

#11 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 10-3, 1-0 Big 12.

12/26/17 at Arizona (L 83-73).
12/30/17 at Kansas State (W 77-39).

A split this week for the Jayhawks, who obliterate their in-state rival Kansas State. Should have had that Arizona game though. Too many chances not taken advantage of.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-5, 1-1 Big 12.

12/25/17 vs. #4 Baylor (L 77-60).
12/30/17 vs. Texas Tech (W 76-66).

Nice split for the Horned Frogs, who get a conference victory early. They seem to have Texas Tech's number lately.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-5, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/25/17 vs. Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
12/28/17 vs. #2 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Wolverines, who actually played a top 5 team well. They'll start conference play next week.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 10-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/26/17 at Ole Miss (W 68-57).
12/30/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Spartans, who beat a couple pretty good teams as they get ready for conference play next week.

#14 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 11-0, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/30/17 at Fordham (W 69-66).

The Wildcats continue to shine in non-conference play, despite a schedule that wasn't the toughest. Conference play awaits, and it'll get tougher in a hurry.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 7-7, 0-0 Big West.

12/29/17 vs. North Texas (W 95-71).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, and the firecoachgunn.com website has cooled down considerably with this 5 game win streak. Now, Coach Gunn needs to go out and dominate the Big West, and that starts next week.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-9, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/25/17 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

The 49ers lose the sibling rivalry and now have a 6 game losing streak and absolutely no momentum heading into conference play.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 6-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/25/17 vs. UT Arlington (L 83-74).

Perhaps the long layoff was more harmful for the Owls than we thought, as they lose their only game of the week to a very beatable team. They also start conference play next month with momentum not on their side.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-10, 3-5 MAAC.

12/26/17 vs. Murray State (L 89-52).
12/28/17 vs. Howard (L 58-50).
12/31/17 at Niagara (L 58-56).

Not a good week for the Hawks, who lose all 3 games this week. 2 of them were close, and 2 of them were non-conference games. A couple winnable conference games next week though.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-8, 0-1 MEAC.

12/25/17 vs. Hampton (L 61-58).
12/29/17 at Rider (L 77-71).

The Spartans lose 2 very tough ones this week, including their conference opener. They've now lost 7 of their last 8 and the season is going downhill fast. The MEAC is really still wide open though, and Norfolk's next opponent is a team that hasn't won a game yet this season.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/28/17 at Minnesota (L 66-52).

The Buffaloes continue their inconsistent play in their only game of the week, getting blasted at Minnesota. They now head into conference play, and to be honest, there doesn't seem to be an immediate front runner.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/25/17 vs. Mississippi State (W 68-56).
12/30/17 vs. Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cardinal this week, but how much satisfaction can they really take in beating a 2 win Miss. St team that was just demoted from the SEC in the offseason? Michigan State was their marquee non-conference game and they blew it. Hopefully they pick it up in conference play.

#16 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/26/17 at UC Irvine (W 70-42).

Easy win for the Bruins in their only game of the week before they start conference play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/25/17 at North Florida (W 61-59).
12/29/17 vs. Montana State (L 72-65).

The Cougars have got to feel a little embarrassed after that Montana State game, as that was Montana State's first win of the season. 2 inexplicable losses to much lower prestige teams have made the non-conference a bit of a downer. Still a good start at 8-4, but no momentum going into conference play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-7, 0-0 SEC.

12/29/17 at Louisville (W 56-55).

A much needed win for the Crimson Tide as they head into conference play next week. It wasn't official though until a last second Louisville shot bounced off the rim and stayed out.

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/29/17 at Iowa (W 100-88).

1 game this week for the Gators, and it was a shootout, but the Gators get the win and some momentum headed into conference play.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 11-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/25/17 vs. California (W 81-57).
12/28/17 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Wildcats as they win a couple before conference play starts.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-7, 3-3 Sun Belt.

12/28/17 at UL Monroe (W 64-56).
12/30/17 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (W 69-62).

2 solid wins for the Trojans, who get back to .500 in conference play. Next week, one of those great schedule quirks as they'll play a home and away back to back against the same frikkin team.

Here is a look at the national top 25 headed into not only next week, but also the year 2022:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 13-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Kentucky 11-1 1694 2 Southeastern Conference
3. Virginia 12-1 1617 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Gonzaga 14-0 1567 3 West Coast Conference
5. Marquette 13-1 1555 6 Big East Conference
6. Villanova 11-1 1430 7 Big East Conference
7. Baylor 13-1 1351 4 Big 12 Conference
8. Miami 12-1 1346 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Syracuse 11-1 1233 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Illinois 12-0 1070 9 Big Ten Conference
11. Wisconsin 11-2 1047 13 Big Ten Conference
12. Wichita State 13-2 1036 12 Missouri Valley Conference
13. VCU 10-2 947 15 Southeastern Conference
14. UCLA 10-2 808 16 Pacific-12 Conference
15. Northwestern 11-0 767 14 Big Ten Conference
16. Illinois State 13-1 625 18 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Florida 10-2 621 17 Southeastern Conference
18. Kansas 10-3 571 11 Big 12 Conference
19. La Salle 11-1 532 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Memphis 14-1 528 21 American Athletic Conference
21. Cincinnati 10-3 424 25 American Athletic Conference
22. Notre Dame 10-2 230 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Michigan State 10-2 219 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Louisiana Tech 10-1 198 23 Conference USA
25. Nebraska 8-2 94 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Duquesne 11-2 37 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Carolina 9-3 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
Georgetown 9-4 13 Big East Conference
Colorado State 12-2 12 Mountain West Conference
Purdue 10-2 4 Big Ten Conference
Rider 13-2 4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 13-3 3 Missouri Valley Conference
San Diego 10-2 3 West Coast Conference

Kentucky stays put at #2, while UCLA, with their win moves up 2 spots. Northwestern continues to get no respect as they move down a spot. Florida also stays put, and the Arizona loss causes Kansas to drop 7 spots. Back in the top 25 is Michigan State, as they take Duke's spot. Duke actually lost all their votes after their loss to UNC.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Gonzaga (72) 14-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 13-2 1727 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 13-1 1592 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Cincinnati 10-3 1568 7 American Athletic Conference
5. La Salle 11-1 1520 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Memphis 14-1 1500 5 American Athletic Conference
7. Louisiana Tech 10-1 1335 8 Conference USA
8. Northern Iowa 13-3 1264 11 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Colorado State 12-2 1195 10 Mountain West Conference
10. Duquesne 11-2 1156 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. San Diego 10-2 1061 13 West Coast Conference
12. Rider 13-2 962 15 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
13. Richmond 10-3 956 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. UAB 10-2 879 16 Conference USA
15. Oakland 11-2 850 18 Horizon League
16. UTEP 9-2 696 21 Conference USA
17. Sam Houston State 9-2 610 19 Southland Conference
18. Quinnipiac 12-3 558 24 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
19. Middle Tennessee 9-3 421 22 Conference USA
20. UNLV 9-4 340 NR Mountain West Conference
21. Dayton 9-3 320 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Massachusetts 9-3 320 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. American 10-3 247 12 Patriot League
24. USC Upstate 10-3 146 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
25. Stephen F. Austin 10-3 84 25 Southland Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cal Poly 9-3 77 Big West Conference
Cleveland State 10-5 59 Horizon League
North Dakota State 10-3 43 Summit League
UC Riverside 9-3 33 Big West Conference
San Diego State 7-4 31 Mountain West Conference
Western Michigan 8-3 21 Mid-American Conference
Oral Roberts 10-3 15 Summit League
Connecticut 8-4 10 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 8-4 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Tulsa 10-4 1 American Athletic Conference

Davidson, despite not playing a game this week, gets 3 votes, while Tulsa gets 1 vote. Well, at least there some representation in the mid-major polls from our FOFC teams. Better than nothing.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 1-7, 2022

4 feature games again this week, and each one of them comes from a different conference. Pretty impressive.

1/3/22- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #15 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- The first real test for Northwest would come on this day, and they couldn't handle the Michigan defense. The Wolverines forced 19 turnovers in route to handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Final Score: Michigan- 62, #15 Northwestern- 50

1/3/22- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- This one wasn't even close, as the Gators held Alabama to just 29.8% shooting and Alabama turned it over 18 times. They managed just 17 first half points and were never in this one.

Final Score: #17 Florida- 68, Alabama- 47

1/4/22- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- This one was close throughout, as Washington State had a guy score 34 points. Unfortunately, fouls were a major issues, as were free throws. Colorado was 26-41 at the line while the Cougars were just 6-10. Yikes! So much for home cookin! That proved to be too much to overcome.

Final Score: Colorado- 76, Washington State- 66

1/6/18- TCU (Bee Mighty) @ #18 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- Defense was the theme in this one again, at least for the Jayhawks. They held TCU to just 33.3% shooting and caused 17 turnovers. The Horned Frogs kept it close for a while, but in the end it was all Kansas.

Final Score: #18 Kansas- 64, TCU- 48

Now we go to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-7, 3-2 America East.

1/3/18 vs. Maine (W 64-54).
1/7/18 vs. Binghamton (W 70-54).

Great week for the Hawks who win 2 home games. Unfortunately for them, they've caught both teams in down years, but still, victories are victories.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-8, 1-3 American.

1/3/18 vs. Florida Gulf Coast (L 73-64).
1/6/18 vs. South Florida (W 78-67).

The Pirates get their first conference win of the season, breaking a 5 game losing streak.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 11-5, 4-1 American.

1/3/18 vs. SMU (W 79-77).
1/6/18 vs. #21 Cincinnati (L 86-60).

A split for the Golden Hurricane this week, as they ran into a buzzsaw named Cincinnati. Next week gets a little easier with a couple winnable games.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 10-4, 2-0 Atlantic 10.

1/3/18 at George Mason (W 64-61).
1/6/18 vs. Duquesne (W 82-61).

The Wildcats get off to a good start in conference play, winning a tough one at George Mason then handling Duquesne. It looks like Coach Childress is finally putting the pieces together.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 7-6, 1-2 ACC.

1/3/18 at #22 Notre Dame (W 66-63).
1/6/18 vs. N.C. State (L 74-62).

A split for the Tigers, who stun Notre Dame on the road, but can't follow it up against N.C. State. Still though, getting their first conference win over a ranked team is pretty darn nice.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-4, 1-2 ACC.

1/3/18 at #8 Miami (W 60-50).
1/6/18 vs. Pittsburgh (L 63-45).

A split for the Blue Devils, who beat the ranked team on the road but lose to a .500 Pitt team. Inconsistency my friends, inconsistency.

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

1/1/18 vs. Iowa State (W 87-84).
1/6/18 vs. TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

The Jayhawks just continue to do what they do every year in the Big 12: win! 2 good home victories and next week they'll take the tour down south through Oklahoma.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-7, 1-3 Big 12.

1/1/18 at Kansas State (L 58-44).
1/6/18 at #18 Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.

2 losses on the road for the Horned Frogs, as they may have Texas Tech's number, but they don't have any other Big 12 teams number.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-6, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/3/18 at #15 Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
1/6/18 vs. #1 Ohio State (L 91-67).

A split for the Wolverines, who hand Northwestern their first loss, but can't get by the buzzsaw of Ohio State, who might not lose a game all season.

#23 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-2, 2-0 Big Ten.

1/3/18 at Penn State (W 74-52).
1/6/18 vs. #25 Nebraska (W 85-60).

2 easy wins for the Spartans this week as they head into a rivalry game next week.

#15 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 12-1, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/3/18 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/6/18 at #11 Wisconsin (W 71-52).

A split for the Wildcats, who lose their first game of the season against Michigan, then pull a shocker as they dominate at Wisconsin. Still haven't gotten a totally good read on this team.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-7, 2-0 Big West.

1/4/18 vs. Long Beach State (W 65-53).
1/6/18 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 83-74).

The Warriors start Big West play with a couple wins and they've won 7 in a row.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-10, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/4/18 vs. Marshall (W 73-53).
1/6/18 at Old Dominion (L 75-33).

A split for the 49ers, but yikes! That game at Old Dominion was a game to forget. Total domination and not in a good way.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/4/18 at UTEP (W 83-77).
1/6/18 vs. UAB (L 82-72).

A split for the Owls, and they did it against very good competition, 2 of the better teams in Conference USA.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 7-10, 5-5 MAAC.

1/5/18 vs. Fairfield (W 64-53).
1/7/18 vs. Canisius (W 70-65).

A couple much needed wins for the Hawks who have been struggling as of late. They've got a couple tough games next week, so it was important to get these 2 wins this week.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-9, 1-2 MEAC.

1/1/18 vs. Delaware State (L 62-51).
1/6/18 at North Carolina A&T (W 70-58).

A split for the Spartans who break a 4 game losing streak and get their first conference win of the season. Hopefully that will be the momentum they need to go on a nice run.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-6, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/4/18 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/6/18 vs. USC (W 63-54).

A promising start to conference play for the Buffaloes as they get a couple wins. With the Pac 12 as wide open as it has ever been, don't be surprised to see Colorado go on a nice winning streak.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-4, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/4/18 vs. Oregon State (W 61-56).
1/6/18 vs. Arizona (L 64-48).

A split for the Cardinal this week, both games at home. They struggled a little bit though, barely beating Oregon State then getting hammered by Arizona.

#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-2, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/4/18 at California (W 85-77).
1/6/18 at Oregon State (W 74-65).

A road sweep for the Bruins this week, but next week they go home for 2 games that should be a little tougher anyways.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-6, 0-2 Pac 12.

1/4/18 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/6/18 vs. Utah (L 63-58).

The Cougars have now lost 3 in a row after losing their first 2 conference games of the season. They need to turn it around quick or their strong start will go unnoticed.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 6-8, 1-1 SEC.

1/3/18 at #17 Florida- feature game.
1/6/18 vs. Tennessee (W 71-51).

A split for the Crimson Tide as they lose to Florida but return home to hammer Tennessee. Next week they'll get their first taste of new conference member VCU.

#17 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-3, 1-1 SEC.

1/3/18 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
1/6/18 at Vanderbilt (L 85-82, OT).

The Gators split this week, but they will feel fortunate to have even gone to overtime at Vandy, as they were down by as many as 15. Unfortunately, they used all their energy coming back that they didn't have anything left for the extra 5 minutes.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 13-1, 2-0 SEC.

1/3/18 at Tennessee (W 92-83).
1/6/18 vs. LSU (W 96-56).

Never saw this one coming, as the Wildcats absolutely hammer LSU, who is a pretty good team. They've won 6 in a row now since that loss to Miami in mid-December.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-8, 4-4 Sun Belt.

1/4/18 vs. Northern Kentucky (W 77-75, OT).
1/6/18 at Northern Kentucky (L 75-73, OT).

1 of those crazy home and away back to back series, and nothing was proven as both teams won by 2 on their home court, in overtime no less.. The Trojans see their brief 3 game winning streak ended with that loss at Northern Kentucky.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 15-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 14-1 1714 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Kentucky 13-1 1629 2 Southeastern Conference
4. Gonzaga 16-0 1590 4 West Coast Conference
5. Villanova 13-1 1531 6 Big East Conference
6. Baylor 15-1 1451 7 Big 12 Conference
7. Marquette 14-2 1371 5 Big East Conference
8. Wichita State 15-2 1279 12 Missouri Valley Conference
9. VCU 12-2 1217 13 Southeastern Conference
10. UCLA 12-2 1132 14 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Kansas 12-3 1038 18 Big 12 Conference
12. Illinois 13-1 1007 10 Big Ten Conference
13. Wisconsin 12-3 867 11 Big Ten Conference
14. La Salle 13-1 838 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Miami 12-3 765 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Cincinnati 12-3 762 21 American Athletic Conference
17. Northwestern 12-1 620 15 Big Ten Conference
18. Michigan State 12-2 609 23 Big Ten Conference
19. Syracuse 11-3 579 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. North Carolina 11-3 406 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Illinois State 14-2 357 16 Missouri Valley Conference
22. Richmond 12-3 302 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Florida 11-3 218 17 Southeastern Conference
24. Arizona 10-4 155 NR Pacific-12 Conference
25. Oakland 13-2 58 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Louisiana Tech 11-2 54 Conference USA
Notre Dame 11-3 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
Georgetown 10-5 13 Big East Conference
Purdue 11-3 7 Big Ten Conference
Florida State 12-3 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
Quinnipiac 14-3 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Colorado State 13-3 1 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 11-2 1 Southland Conference

Despite winning both games this week, Kentucky moves down a spot. UCLA moves up 4 spots after 2 wins, while Kansas moves up 7 spots. Northwestern only loses 2 spots, as the pollsters really liked that dominating win over Wisconsin. Michigan State moves up 5 spots after winning both games this week. Florida gets punished the hardest, losing 6 spots after an overtime road loss. Geez.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 16-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 15-2 1727 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 12-3 1635 4 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 13-1 1605 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Illinois State 14-2 1491 3 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Richmond 12-3 1427 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Louisiana Tech 11-2 1335 7 Conference USA
8. Oakland 13-2 1274 15 Horizon League
9. Memphis 14-3 1112 6 American Athletic Conference
10. Quinnipiac 14-3 1105 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
11. Sam Houston State 11-2 965 17 Southland Conference
12. Colorado State 13-3 950 9 Mountain West Conference
13. Middle Tennessee 11-3 934 19 Conference USA
14. UNLV 10-4 872 20 Mountain West Conference
15. San Diego 11-3 788 11 West Coast Conference
16. Dayton 11-3 762 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. American 12-3 695 23 Patriot League
18. Northern Iowa 14-4 541 8 Missouri Valley Conference
19. USC Upstate 12-3 503 24 Atlantic Sun Conference
20. UAB 11-3 448 14 Conference USA
21. UTEP 10-3 439 16 Conference USA
22. Stephen F. Austin 12-3 294 25 Southland Conference
23. Connecticut 10-4 238 NR American Athletic Conference
24. UC Riverside 10-3 151 NR Big West Conference
25. Boise State 10-4 90 NR Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Davidson 10-4 89 Atlantic 10 Conference
Duquesne 11-4 33 Atlantic 10 Conference
Pepperdine 11-4 32 West Coast Conference
Cleveland State 11-6 25 Horizon League
South Dakota State 11-4 24 Summit League
Rhode Island 10-4 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 12-4 2 Horizon League
Old Dominion 10-4 2 Conference USA

While Tulsa loses all their mid-major votes after getting hammered by Cincy this week, Davidson keeps it rolling and gains a lot of votes. They missed cracking the mid-major top 25 by one lousy point. Tough break!

[vex]

All of our 1 votes :)

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 8-14, 2018

We have 3 feature games this week, so let's get to it:

1/10/18- #18 Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- Last year the Wolverines upset Sparty in one of the 2 match-ups, but they'll need a lot better effort if they are going to do so this season. Michigan offered no defense as the Spartans shot 56.5% from the field and shot 26 free throws as opposed to Michigan shooting just 5 free throws and shooting 39.1%. This one was ugly.

Final Score: #18 Michigan State- 100, Michigan- 63

1/13/18- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ #10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins never trailed in this one, as shooting again played a key role. UCLA shot 46.7% while Stanford shot just 38.8%. Although the Bruins had more turnovers, they countered that with good shooting, including making 14 three pointers as they win pretty easily.

Final Score: #10 UCLA- 72, Stanford- 55

1/13/18- #3 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ #23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- Last season, these 2 teams had to wait until the last week of the regular season to play each other. Florida might wish this was the case this season, as the Kentucky defense cause 21 Florida turnovers. The Wildcats led by 21 at halftime and never looked back.

Final Score: #3 Kentucky- 91, #23 Florida- 68

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 11-9, 3-3 America East.

1/9/18 at Holy Cross (W 85-84, OT).
1/11/18 vs. North Carolina Central (L 88-52).
1/14/18 vs. Stony Brook (L 69-52).

Busy week for the Hawks, who actually had 2 non-conference games this week. They went 1-2, and even the game they won went to overtime. Not really a good week for Hartford.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-10, 1-5 American.

1/10/18 vs. Temple (L 86-85, OT).
1/13/18 at UConn (L 69-39).

Gallant effort for the Pirates against a good Temple team, but they fell just short in overtime. A big letdown at UConn as they were never in it.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 13-5, 5-1 American.

1/10/18 at Evansville (W 82-77).
1/13/18 at UCF (W 72-59).

2 more wins for the Golden Hurricane this week, including going on the road against a former MVC opponent in Evansville. They've got a couple sub .500 opponents next week before the schedule gets significantly tougher.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10.

1/10/18 at St. Louis (W 75-50).
1/13/18 vs. #22 Richmond (L 80-48).

The Wildcats split this week, and their first conference loss came in a big way. They'll get a chance to redeem that loss right off the bat as they play Richmond again next week.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-7, 2-3 ACC.

1/10/18 at #20 North Carolina (W 81-79).
1/13/18 vs. Louisville (L 73-69, OT).

All in all, a good week for the Tigers. They get a huge win against an always good North Carolina team, and take another good team in Louisville to overtime. Those close losses against good teams could hurt come selection sunday though.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-5, 2-3 ACC.

1/10/18 vs. #2 Virginia (W 95-79).
1/13/18 at #2 Virginia (L 78-72).

More dumb scheduling by FBCB, as the Blue Devils play 2nd ranked Virginia twice in a row. They were able to split with them though, running out of gas in the last couple minutes in the second game.

#11 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 13-4, 4-1 Big 12.

1/8/18 at Oklahoma (L 79-61).
1/13/18 at Oklahoma State (W 97-83).

The Jayhawks split the Oklahoma road trip, taking their first conference lump at Oklahoma, but coming back nicely to beat the Cowpokes.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-8, 1-4 Big 12.

1/8/18 at Tennessee Tech (W 71-63).
1/13/18 vs. Iowa State (L 69-57).

The Horned Frogs win a non-conference game, then go back into conference play and gave Iowa State a game, but couldn't get over the hump.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-8, 1-3 Big Ten.

1/10/18 vs. #18 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/13/18 at Indiana (L 79-76, OT).

Not a good week for the Wolverines, as they get blasted by their in-state rivals, then blow a big halftime lead in an overtime loss to Indiana. It won't get any easier next week as they have a top 10 team coming into town.

#18 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 14-2, 4-0 Big Ten.

1/10/18 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/13/18 vs. Purdue (W 82-64).

Good week for the Spartans who win a couple easy games, including 1 against a good Purdue team. They'll see 2 teams next week with a combined record of 25-7, so it doesn't get any easier for Sparty.

#17 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-1, 3-1 Big Ten.

1/10/18 at #12 Illinois (W 62-51).
1/13/18 vs. Nebraska (W 68-58).

The Wildcats got a huge win at Illinois, proving they could actually be for real. They've got 6 very winnable games coming up, sandwiched in there is a game with Sparty.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-9, 2-2 Big West.

1/11/18 at UC Santa Barbara (L 76-63).
1/13/18 vs. Cal State Fullerton (L 85-62).

Bad news for the Warriors, as they pretty much get hammered in 2 games this week. Not only that, but the firecoachgunn.com website is back up and running.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 5-11, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/11/18 at UTEP (L 60-51).
1/13/18 at Western Kentucky (W 57-48).

The 49ers split on a road trip this week, and the margin was 9 in both games. Interesting. A tough 6 game stretch coming up, they'll need to play their best to get through it.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-7, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/11/18 vs. Southern Miss (L 86-83).
1/13/18 at Louisiana Tech (W 74-64).

I'm considering this a successful week for the Owls, as they played 2 very good teams, beat one of them, and came within seconds of beating the other. Hopefully they can keep up the strong play.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 8-11, 6-5 MAAC.

1/9/18 at Columbia (L 61-49).
1/14/18 at Quinnipiac (W 76-64).

A split for the Hawks this week, as they lose to the non-conference opponent but beat the conference opponent. A good trade off I guess.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 6-10, 2-3 MEAC.

1/8/18 at Morgan State (W 74-62).
1/13/18 at Howard (L 55-46).

A split for the Spartans, and with a wide open MEAC, they really need to go on a nice winning streak. There should be no reason why they can't.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-7, 3-1 Pac 12.

1/11/18 vs. Washington (L 61-54).
1/13/18 vs. California (W 51-41).

A split for the Buffaloes who blow a late lead against Washington. They've got a couple winnable games on the road next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 11-5, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/11/18 vs. Utah (W 79-60).
1/13/18 at #10 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cardinal, but they'll be very disappointed with that effort at UCLA. They'll need to do better if they want to get back in the NCAA Tournament.

#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 14-2, 4-0 Pac 12.

1/11/18 vs. Arizona State (W 70-68, OT).
1/13/18 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

It took overtime for the Bruins to get by Arizona State, but they did. Then they took care of business against Stanford.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-6, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/11/18 at Oregon State (W 81-58).
1/13/18 at Washington (W 63-59).

Don't look now but the Cougars have double digit wins for the 2nd straight season. They did it in impressive fashion, on the road no less. Next week a matchup with a top 10 team.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-9, 2-2 SEC.

1/10/18 at #9 VCU (L 78-63).
1/13/18 vs. Georgia (W 69-58).

A split for the Crimson Tide, who had to deal with new SEC member VCU. It was close for a while but VCU proved to be too much. However, a nice win against Georgia.

#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 12-4, 2-2 SEC.

1/10/18 at Arkansas (W 75-57).
1/13/18 vs. #3 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Gators, who will definitely want another crack at Kentucky. This season, they'll get one, late in the season.

#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 14-2, 3-1 SEC.

1/10/18 vs. Auburn (L 65-47).
1/13/18 at #23 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

The Wildcats split this week, but an embarrassing loss to a sub .500 Auburn team. No wonder they beat Florida so easily, they were embarrassed from a previous loss.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-10, 4-6 Sun Belt.

1/11/18 at South Alabama (L 74-58).
1/13/18 vs. UT Arlington (L 64-43).

2 more losses for the Trojans who have now lost 3 in a row after a 3 game winning streak. If the pattern continues, they are due for a 3 game win streak, but they have to face the ranked team in the conference next week.

Here is the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 17-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga 18-0 1700 4 West Coast Conference
3. Baylor 17-1 1622 6 Big 12 Conference
4. Virginia 15-2 1616 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Kentucky 14-2 1539 3 Southeastern Conference
6. Villanova 14-2 1427 5 Big East Conference
7. Wichita State 17-2 1323 8 Missouri Valley Conference
8. VCU 14-2 1318 9 Southeastern Conference
9. UCLA 14-2 1259 10 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Wisconsin 14-3 1104 13 Big Ten Conference
11. Syracuse 13-3 992 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. La Salle 15-1 954 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Michigan State 14-2 913 18 Big Ten Conference
14. Kansas 13-4 868 11 Big 12 Conference
15. Northwestern 14-1 805 17 Big Ten Conference
16. Marquette 14-4 773 7 Big East Conference
17. Cincinnati 14-3 694 16 American Athletic Conference
18. Richmond 14-3 668 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Florida 12-4 402 23 Southeastern Conference
20. Illinois State 15-3 374 21 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Florida State 14-3 372 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Illinois 13-3 299 12 Big Ten Conference
23. Colorado State 15-3 133 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Sam Houston State 13-2 111 NR Southland Conference
25. Arizona 11-5 81 24 Pacific-12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Dayton 13-3 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 12-4 35 Mountain West Conference
Middle Tennessee 13-3 33 Conference USA
Virginia Tech 12-3 29 Atlantic Coast Conference
Miami 12-5 26 Atlantic Coast Conference
Notre Dame 12-4 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
Georgetown 11-6 15 Big East Conference
UAB 13-3 14 Conference USA
Stephen F. Austin 14-3 7 Southland Conference
Connecticut 12-4 5 American Athletic Conference
Oakland 14-3 3 Horizon League

Kentucky drops 2 spots after that upset loss to Auburn. They probably would have dropped more if they hadn't blasted Florida. UCLA moves up a spot after their 2 win week, while Michigan State moves up 5 spots after their week. Kansas drops 3 spots with their split this week, and Northwestern moves up only 2 spots. A bit surprising, especially after that big win against Illinois. Still trying to figure out what the pollsters are doing with Florida, who moves up 4 spots despite the blowout loss to Kentucky. Weird.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 18-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 17-2 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 14-3 1620 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 15-1 1615 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Richmond 14-3 1511 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Illinois State 15-3 1394 5 Missouri Valley Conference
7. UNLV 12-4 1303 14 Mountain West Conference
8. Colorado State 15-3 1266 12 Mountain West Conference
9. Middle Tennessee 13-3 1227 13 Conference USA
10. Dayton 13-3 1150 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Sam Houston State 13-2 1061 11 Southland Conference
12. UAB 13-3 972 20 Conference USA
13. Oakland 14-3 896 8 Horizon League
14. Connecticut 12-4 871 23 American Athletic Conference
15. Cleveland State 13-6 869 NR Horizon League
16. Stephen F. Austin 14-3 740 22 Southland Conference
17. Memphis 14-4 667 9 American Athletic Conference
18. American 13-4 521 17 Patriot League
19. Green Bay 13-4 409 NR Horizon League
20. Portland 11-4 393 NR West Coast Conference
21. Old Dominion 12-4 265 NR Conference USA
22. Tulsa 13-5 247 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Louisiana Tech 11-4 232 7 Conference USA
24. Davidson 11-5 114 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Northern Arizona 12-4 88 NR Big Sky Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Temple 13-5 60 American Athletic Conference
UTEP 11-4 50 Conference USA
Duquesne 12-5 46 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego 11-5 43 West Coast Conference
Massachusetts 11-5 41 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 12-5 34 Ivy League
Oral Roberts 13-4 33 Summit League
Pepperdine 12-5 31 West Coast Conference
Quinnipiac 14-5 30 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Boise State 11-5 29 Mountain West Conference
Tennessee Martin 13-4 23 Ohio Valley Conference
South Dakota State 13-5 10 Summit League
UC Santa Barbara 13-5 5 Big West Conference
USC Upstate 12-5 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
Northern Iowa 14-6 1 Missouri Valley Conference

Tulsa and Davidson are back in the mid-major top 25, but getting there hasn't been the problem, staying there has. We'll see what this week brings for them.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 15-21, 2018

Only 2 feature games to tell you about this week, but let's get to it:

1/17/18- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- This one was closer than anticipated, as it was all deadlocked at 35 going into halftime. There honestly wasn't a lot of separation in this one, but the three point line proved to be the difference. Kentucky made 11 three pointers while Alabama made only 5.

Final Score: #5 Kentucky- 95, Alabama- 81

1/18/18- #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- There would be no upset in this one, as the Bruins led from start to finish. Washington State made just 15 shots all game, and were 0-15 from the three point line. Almost half their points came from the free throw line where they were 22-30. The Bruins also outrebounded them 43-24 as they rolled to victory.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 81, Washington State- 52

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-9, 5-3 America East.

1/19/18 at UMBC (W 72-43).
1/21/18 at UMass Lowell (W 61-50).

The Hawks took care of business this week and have 2 more games on the road next week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-11, 2-6 American.

1/17/18 at South Florida (W 76-73).
1/20/18 vs. Memphis (L 72-64).

A split for the Pirates, and give them credit for playing another good team tough, as they took Memphis to the wire.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-6, 6-2 American.

1/17/18 vs. UCF (W 82-67).
1/20/18 vs. South Florida (L 59-51).

A split for the Golden Hurricane who suffered a bad loss to South Florida. Next week they've got a couple tough ones.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 13-5, 5-1 Atlantic 10.

1/17/18 at #18 Richmond (W 68-63).
1/20/18 vs. George Washington (W 74-69).

What a week for the Wildcats, as they turn around and beat a Richmond team that just beat them by 32 points a week ago. They follow that up with another impressive win over a strong GW team. They'll get their first game with A-10 newcomer Mississippi State next week.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-9, 2-5 ACC.

1/17/18 at Louisville (L 73-66).
1/20/18 vs. #11 Syracuse (L 77-67).

2 tough losses for the Tigers, who were competitive in both games, but aren't quite ready for the grind of the ACC, at least it doesn't appear.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-6, 3-4 ACC.

1/17/18 vs. Boston College (W 73-68).
1/20/18 vs. Miami (L 63-46).

A split for the Blue Devils this week, who continue to struggle a bit. They've had splits in their last 3 weeks.

#14 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 15-4, 6-1 Big 12.

1/15/18 vs. West Virginia (W 90-76).
1/20/18 vs. Texas (W 92-68).

2 more easy wins for the Jayhawks, but next week a big test at a 1 loss Baylor team.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-10, 1-6 Big 12.

1/15/18 vs. Oklahoma (L 66-45).
1/20/18 vs. Oklahoma State (L 66-43).

Consistency for the Horned Frogs this week, as they lose both games by an almost exact score. The only difference was they scored 2 less points against Oklahoma State.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 9-9, 2-4 Big Ten.

1/17/18 vs. #10 Wisconsin (L 84-74).
1/20/18 at Rutgers (W 88-77).

A split for the Wolverines, who break a 4 game losing streak with the win at Rutgers.

#13 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 16-2, 6-0 Big Ten.

1/17/18 at Purdue (W 81-65).
1/20/18 vs. #22 Illinois (W 86-78).

Good week for the Spartans as they win a couple more tough games.

#15 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-3, 3-3 Big Ten.

1/17/18 at Nebraska (L 63-49).
1/20/18 at Maryland (L 87-79).

Uh-oh! A reality check for the Wildcats. Let's hope this isn't the start of a downward slide. They've got a couple chances to redeem themselves next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-10, 2-3 Big West.

1/16/18 at UC Irvine (L 58-54).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, but it was a loss. The season is starting to go south, as Hawaii is on a 3 game losing streak after winning 7 in a row.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-12, 3-3 Conference USA.

1/18/18 at Middle Tennessee (L 76-50).
1/20/18 vs. UAB (W 71-63).

A split for the 49ers, who get a nice win against UAB, but have to go on the road to face them next week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-8, 3-3 Conference USA.

1/18/18 at UAB (W 67-65).
1/20/18 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 82-74).

Also a split for the Owls, who won the game most people expected them to lose, and lost the game people expected them to win. Basketball is a funny game like that.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-12, 6-6 MAAC.

1/17/18 at Morgan State (W 80-78).
1/21/18 vs. Manhattan (L 64-56).

A split for the Hawks who win the non-conference game but lose the conference game.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-11, 2-4 MEAC.

1/15/18 vs. Florida A&M (L 80-73).
1/18/18 at Stetson (W 55-37).

A split for the Spartans, who break a short 2 game losing streak with a non-conference road win.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 10-7, 5-1 Pac 12.

1/18/18 at Oregon State (W 84-77, OT).
1/20/18 at Utah (W 78-77).

2 tough road wins for the Buffaloes, who are off to a good start in Pac 12 play, but the schedule gets tougher next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 13-5, 4-2 Pac 12.

1/18/18 at Oregon (W 67-59).
1/20/18 at California (W 62-57).

The Cardinal also get 2 good road wins this week. They'll have a feature game next week, but otherwise the schedule is favorable for a couple weeks.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-2, 6-0 Pac 12.

1/18/18 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at USC (W 84-60).

2 easy wins for the Bruins on the road, as they keep rolling.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-8, 2-4 Pac 12.

1/18/18 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 vs. Arizona State (L 61-30).

Not a good week for the Cougars who get absolutely hammered in 2 games. Their next 3 games are against teams with losing records, so they would love to get all those.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-10, 3-3 SEC.

1/17/18 at #5 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at LSU (W 67-64).

A split for the Crimson Tide, who actually played Kentucky pretty well, but couldn't stop the three point game. They rallied for a nice win at LSU.

#19 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 13-5, 3-3 SEC.

1/17/18 vs. LSU (W 93-68).
1/20/18 vs. Ole Miss (L 92-81).

A split for the Gators, who need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss is a game they shouldn't be losing.

#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 16-2, 5-1 SEC.

1/17/18 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at Arkansas (W 99-91).

The Wildcats are back in business, with a 3 game winning streak since that upset loss to Auburn.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-13, 4-7 Sun Belt.

1/16/18 vs. #24 Sam Houston State (L 68-42).
1/18/18 vs. St. John's (L 77-52).
1/20/18 at UT Arlington (L 79-43).

The Trojans get blasted in all 3 of their games this week and have now lost 6 in a row after a 3 game winning streak.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 19-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga 20-0 1652 2 West Coast Conference
3. Virginia 17-2 1648 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Baylor 19-1 1613 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Kentucky 16-2 1564 5 Southeastern Conference
6. Villanova 16-2 1429 6 Big East Conference
7. VCU 16-2 1353 8 Southeastern Conference
8. Wichita State 18-2 1280 7 Missouri Valley Conference
9. UCLA 16-2 1267 9 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Marquette 16-4 1035 16 Big East Conference
11. Kansas 15-4 1029 14 Big 12 Conference
12. Michigan State 16-2 987 13 Big Ten Conference
13. Syracuse 15-3 978 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. La Salle 17-1 907 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Wisconsin 15-4 855 10 Big Ten Conference
16. Cincinnati 16-3 763 17 American Athletic Conference
17. Richmond 15-4 598 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Illinois State 17-3 570 20 Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois 14-4 403 22 Big Ten Conference
20. Miami 14-5 392 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Dayton 15-3 348 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Northwestern 14-3 244 15 Big Ten Conference
23. Iowa State 14-5 207 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Florida State 15-4 198 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Florida 13-5 145 19 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 15-3 71 Southland Conference
Arizona 12-6 20 Pacific-12 Conference
Memphis 16-4 20 American Athletic Conference
Colorado State 16-4 17 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 14-3 3 Southland Conference
Georgetown 12-7 2 Big East Conference
Connecticut 13-5 1 American Athletic Conference
Creighton 14-5 1 Big East Conference

Kentucky and UCLA stay put at 5 and 9 respectively, while Kansas moves up 3 spots after a 2 win week, and Michigan State moves up 1 spot. Northwestern moves down 7 spots after losing twice this week, and Florida moves down 6 spots after their bad loss.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 20-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 18-2 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 16-3 1648 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 17-1 1592 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Illinois State 17-3 1473 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Richmond 15-4 1468 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Dayton 15-3 1346 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Colorado State 16-4 1223 8 Mountain West Conference
9. Memphis 16-4 1150 17 American Athletic Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 15-3 1115 16 Southland Conference
11. Middle Tennessee 14-4 1031 9 Conference USA
12. Cleveland State 14-7 959 15 Horizon League
13. Connecticut 13-5 894 14 American Athletic Conference
14. Davidson 13-5 870 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Sam Houston State 14-3 762 11 Southland Conference
16. Oakland 15-4 760 13 Horizon League
17. Old Dominion 14-4 692 21 Conference USA
18. Boise State 13-5 590 NR Mountain West Conference
19. Quinnipiac 16-5 508 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
20. UTEP 13-4 404 NR Conference USA
21. American 14-5 280 18 Patriot League
22. UNLV 12-6 251 7 Mountain West Conference
23. Portland 13-5 224 20 West Coast Conference
24. Northeastern 14-5 134 NR Colonial Athletic Association
25. Green Bay 14-5 106 19 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Louisiana Tech 12-5 69 Conference USA
Tulsa 14-6 61 American Athletic Conference
UAB 13-5 46 Conference USA
Pepperdine 13-6 36 West Coast Conference
Temple 14-6 28 American Athletic Conference
North Florida 14-5 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
Massachusetts 12-6 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 14-5 20 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 14-5 17 Summit League
San Diego 12-6 16 West Coast Conference
Duquesne 13-6 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 15-7 11 Missouri Valley Conference
Stony Brook 14-6 8 America East Conference
UC Irvine 12-6 6 Big West Conference
Harvard 13-6 5 Ivy League
Oral Roberts 14-5 4 Summit League
Western Michigan 12-5 3 Mid-American Conference
Rhode Island 12-6 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

Davidson jumps 10 spots after a 2-0 week, while Tulsa is still receiving votes, but does fall out of the mid-major top 25. At least we've got some FOFC representation!

[bbgunn]

The Cougs are not doing too badly. As for the Rainbow Warriors... Coach Gunn's seat has got to be scorching. UH is supposed to own the Big West.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 22-28, 2018

1 feature game this week, and we go to the Pac 12:

1/25/18- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- This game was a sight for sore eyes, as neither team shot better than 37% from the field. Stanford was also a dismal 9-17 from the free throw line and 3-16 from the three point line. They trailed by 6 at halftime. The difference was when you take more shots, you should make more shots, and that's what happened in this one. Stanford made more shots because they took more shots, and escaped with a road victory.

Final Score: Stanford- 54, Colorado- 52

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-11, 5-5 America East.

1/26/18 at Vermont (L 78-67).
1/28/18 at Maine (L 76-66).

Bad week for the Hawks, who lost 2 very winnable road games. Now they go back home for 3 games.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-12, 3-6 American.

1/23/18 at Harvard (L 80-70).
1/27/18 at UCF (W 67-64).

A road split for the Pirates, who actually played well at Harvard, but not well enough. Nice for them to get another conference win though.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-7, 6-3 American.

1/27/18 at Memphis (L 69-60).

Just 1 game for the Golden Hurricane this week, and it was a tough loss on the road to a very good Memphis team. Next week they've got a couple more tough games.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 15-5, 7-1 Atlantic 10.

1/24/18 vs. Mississippi State (W 73-68).
1/27/18 at Duquesne (W 81-79).

2 more wins for the Wildcats, by a combined total of 7 points this week. They have another tough road test next week at UMass.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-11, 2-7 ACC.

1/24/18 at #3 Virginia (L 78-56).
1/27/18 vs. Boston College (L 63-59).

The losing streak is 5 now for the Tigers, as things have definitely gone south.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-8, 3-6 ACC.

1/24/18 at Virginia Tech (L 76-57).
1/27/18 at N.C. State (L 80-72).

The Blue Devils are also struggling mightily, having lost 4 of their last 5. This is definitely not the same Duke we are used to seeing.

#11 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 17-4, 8-1 Big 12.

1/22/18 at Texas Tech (W 90-71).
1/27/18 at #4 Baylor (W 83-66).

The Jayhawks rolled this week, pounding both opponents on the road, and one of those opponents was a top 5 team. Well done.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-12, 1-8 Big 12.

1/22/18 at Texas (L 76-63).
1/27/18 at West Virginia (L 66-56).

2 more losses for the Horned Frogs, who have lost 5 in a row now. As expected, they got their reality check when conference play started.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-9, 4-4 Big Ten.

1/24/18 vs. Maryland (W 75-64).
1/27/18 at Penn State (W 90-76).

A couple of feel good wins for the Wolverines, and they needed them. Their opponents next week are a combined 39-2. Yikes!

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 18-2, 8-0 Big Ten.

1/24/18 vs. Indiana (W 95-73).
1/27/18 at Nebraska (W 76-59).

2 more easy wins for the Spartans who are rolling, as they have a week of feature games next week. 2 in fact as they'll take on both Northwestern and Michigan.

#22 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 16-3, 5-3 Big Ten.

1/24/18 vs. Rutgers (W 57-52).
1/27/18 vs. Iowa (W 60-51).

A couple of wins for the Wildcats this week, who needed some positives as they've struggled in conference a little bit. Next week is a big showdown with Michigan State.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-10, 4-3 Big West.

1/25/18 vs. UC Riverside (W 79-68).
1/27/18 at Cal Poly (W 67-62).

2 very important victories for the Warriors to get back over .500 both overall and in conference. Hopefully they can keep it going.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-14, 3-5 Conference USA.

1/25/18 at UAB (L 68-65).
1/27/18 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 61-40).

2 more losses for the 49ers, but a good effort again at UAB, as they almost upset them again.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-9, 4-4 Conference USA.

1/25/18 at FIU (L 71-67).
1/27/18 vs. Louisiana Tech (W 75-66).

Another split for the Owls, and that makes about 6 weeks in a row with a split. Next week could be a little different though as they are facing 2 of the top teams in the conference.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 11-12, 8-6 MAAC.

1/26/18 vs. Niagara (W 65-59).
1/28/18 vs. Rider (W 80-64).

The Hawks took care of business this week by winning a couple important games. Next week is big as they face the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the conference, so a chance to move up is on the line.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 9-11, 4-4 MEAC.

1/22/18 vs. North Carolina A&T (W 81-67).
1/27/18 vs. Howard (W 67-62).

2 home wins for the Spartans as they are hopefully getting back on track. They've won 3 in a row.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 11-8, 6-2 Pac 12.

1/25/18 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1/27/18 at Arizona State (W 65-54).

A split for the Buffaloes, who if they could have hit some more shots, would have won both games this week. But they are still doing well.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 15-5, 6-2 Pac 12.

1/25/18 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/27/18 vs. USC (W 77-58).

The Cardinal get a couple wins, including that come from behind win over Colorado and a hammering of USC. The schedule is favorable next week before a huge showdown the following week.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 18-2, 8-0 Pac 12.

1/25/18 vs. Oregon (W 74-66).
1/27/18 at Utah (W 79-48).

2 more wins for the Bruins who have now won 10 in a row. Much like last year, the conference title is going to go through them.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 12-8, 4-4 Pac 12.

1/25/18 vs. Oregon State (W 78-57).
1/27/18 at California (W 69-68, OT).

It took overtime, but the Cougars, with the win at California, have now set the team record for most wins in a season. Before this, Washington State hadn't won more than 11 games in a season. With as wide open as the Pac 12 is after UCLA, they could easily get to 17, 18 wins.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-11, 4-4 SEC.

1/24/18 vs. Vanderbilt (W 85-64).
1/27/18 vs. Ole Miss (L 87-67).

A split for the Crimson Tide this week, as neither game was very competitive.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 14-6, 4-4 SEC.

1/24/18 at Auburn (W 74-65).
1/27/18 at #7 VCU (L 85-61).

A road split for the Gators, as they get hammered by conference newcomer VCU, who surprisingly has came in and dominated the conference so far. Florida goes on the road for 2 games next week, including a feature game.

#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-3, 6-2 SEC.

1/24/18 vs. Texas A&M (L 71-58).
1/27/18 at Georgia (W 80-54).

A split for the Wildcats, who actually lose at home and win on the road.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-15, 4-9 Sun Belt.

1/25/18 vs. Georgia Southern (L 79-71).
1/27/18 vs. Appalachian State (L 53-44).

2 more losses for the Trojans, who at this point are just trying to stay out of the cellar in the Sun Belt. It looks like a wasted season for them.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 21-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 19-2 1725 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Villanova 18-2 1577 6 Big East Conference
4. Baylor 20-2 1561 4 Big 12 Conference
5. Kentucky 17-3 1507 5 Southeastern Conference
6. Gonzaga 22-0 1491 2 West Coast Conference
7. Kansas 17-4 1335 11 Big 12 Conference
8. Wichita State 20-2 1325 8 Missouri Valley Conference
9. UCLA 18-2 1263 9 Pacific-12 Conference
10. VCU 17-3 1136 7 Southeastern Conference
11. Marquette 17-4 1103 10 Big East Conference
12. Michigan State 18-2 987 12 Big Ten Conference
13. Wisconsin 16-5 934 15 Big Ten Conference
14. Cincinnati 17-4 832 16 American Athletic Conference
15. La Salle 18-2 765 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Syracuse 15-5 696 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Iowa State 16-5 681 23 Big 12 Conference
18. Richmond 17-4 572 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Illinois State 19-3 484 18 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Miami 15-6 438 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Illinois 15-5 267 19 Big Ten Conference
22. Oklahoma 14-7 228 NR Big 12 Conference
23. Florida 14-6 191 25 Southeastern Conference
24. Northwestern 16-3 187 22 Big Ten Conference
25. Cleveland State 15-7 92 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 17-3 84 Southland Conference
Davidson 15-5 52 Atlantic 10 Conference
Florida State 16-5 31 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina 14-6 31 Atlantic Coast Conference
Memphis 17-4 10 American Athletic Conference
Stanford 15-5 9 Pacific-12 Conference
Creighton 15-6 3 Big East Conference
Arizona 12-8 1 Pacific-12 Conference
Old Dominion 16-4 1 Conference USA
Quinnipiac 18-5 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Kentucky, UCLA, and Michigan State all keep their respective rankings, while Kansas moves up 4 spots after that big win against Baylor. Somehow, even after splitting last week, Florida moves up 2 spots. Crazy. And Northwestern, who won 2 games this week, moves down 2 spots? Hmm. Hello Davidson, who is getting a lot of national votes now. Stanford also gets a few votes after their 2 wins this week.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wichita State (41) 20-2 1769 2 Missouri Valley Conference
2. Gonzaga (31) 22-0 1759 1 West Coast Conference
3. Cincinnati 17-4 1655 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 18-2 1559 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Richmond 17-4 1469 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Cleveland State 15-7 1424 12 Horizon League
7. Illinois State 19-3 1410 5 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Davidson 15-5 1266 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Middle Tennessee 16-4 1146 11 Conference USA
10. Memphis 17-4 1131 9 American Athletic Conference
11. Stephen F. Austin 17-3 1009 10 Southland Conference
12. Colorado State 16-5 876 8 Mountain West Conference
13. Connecticut 14-6 868 13 American Athletic Conference
14. Old Dominion 16-4 787 17 Conference USA
15. Quinnipiac 18-5 721 19 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
16. Dayton 15-5 662 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Boise State 14-6 444 18 Mountain West Conference
18. Sam Houston State 16-3 424 15 Southland Conference
19. Massachusetts 14-6 392 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Northeastern 16-5 349 24 Colonial Athletic Association
21. UNLV 13-7 349 22 Mountain West Conference
22. SMU 14-7 222 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Temple 15-6 213 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Rhode Island 14-6 176 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Georgia State 14-8 167 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Belmont 15-7 122 Ohio Valley Conference
Oakland 16-5 116 Horizon League
UAB 15-5 92 Conference USA
Harvard 15-6 84 Ivy League
San Diego State 10-9 79 Mountain West Conference
Manhattan 17-7 76 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UTEP 14-5 74 Conference USA
South Dakota State 16-6 66 Summit League
Stony Brook 16-6 59 America East Conference
Northern Iowa 16-8 56 Missouri Valley Conference
BYU 13-10 55 West Coast Conference
North Florida 16-5 54 Atlantic Sun Conference
Utah State 15-6 48 Mountain West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 16-5 42 Ohio Valley Conference
Louisiana Tech 13-6 34 Conference USA
Tulsa 14-7 24 American Athletic Conference
American 15-6 23 Patriot League
Mercer 15-6 17 Southern Conference
Oral Roberts 15-5 8 Summit League
Duquesne 14-7 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 15-6 5 Horizon League
UC Irvine 13-7 5 Big West Conference
Pepperdine 13-7 4 West Coast Conference
USC Upstate 15-6 4 Atlantic Sun Conference

Davidson continues to soar, moving up 6 spots in the mid-major poll. With their split, Tulsa continues to lose votes, but they are still hanging around in the Others Receiving Votes category.

[muns]

Splits aren't gonna get Charlie and the Owls to any tourneys. He needs to pick it up

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2018

4 feature games for you this week, so we'll get started with those.

1/29/18- #7 Kansas (Dave Johnson) @ TCU (Bee Mighty) -- About what we expected in this one. TCU played it close for a few minutes, but it was all Jayhawks. Kansas shot 51.6% and held TCU to just 36.2% shooting as they roll to a road victory.

Final Score: #7 Kansas- 87, TCU- 60

1/31/18- #12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ #24 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- The first half was the difference in this one, as Northwestern could not get it going and trailed by 14 at halftime. They fought back valiantly in the second half, but it was too much Sparty in this one.

Final Score: #12 Michigan State- 56, #24 Northwestern- 50

2/3/18- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The Wolverines have done it again! Despite turning the ball over 16 times, Michigan was 43.9% from the field and made 5 more shots than Sparty. This was enough to give Michigan a road upset over their in-state rivals for the second straight season.

Final Score: Michigan- 68, #12 Michigan State- 63

2/3/18- #23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The Crimson Tide raced out to a 12 point halftime lead and played their best game of the season. Despite neither team shooting well and Florida making 6 more shots, Alabama got to the free throw line more often, and made more free throws to get a big, big win.

Final Score: Alabama- 61, #23 Florida- 60

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-12, 5-6 T-4th America East.

1/31/18 vs. New Hampshire (L 78-57).

Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, but it was yet another loss, and that makes 3 in a row.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-13, 4-7 8th American.

1/31/18 at Tulane (W 74-64).
2/3/18 vs. Houston (L 61-48).

A split for the Pirates, who are playing better basketball as of late.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 15-8, 7-4 T-4th American.

1/31/18 at SMU (W 74-58).
2/3/18 vs. Memphis (L 96-70).

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who get a nice road win at SMU, then get blasted by Memphis.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 17-5, 9-1 T-1st Atlantic 10.

1/31/18 at UMass (W 61-60).
2/3/18 vs. St. Louis (W 81-52).

Getting the win at UMass was big, as there are really only a couple tough games left for the Wildcats in the regular season.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 10-11, 4-7 11th ACC.

1/31/18 at Georgia Tech (W 78-65).
2/3/18 at Florida State (W 61-57).

Nice week for the Tigers who got a couple big road wins, including one over a hot Florida State team.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-10, 3-8 ACC.

1/31/18 vs. #16 Syracuse (L 94-63).
2/3/18 at Pittsburgh (L 53-40).

The slide continues for the Blue Devils, who are really struggling. That 31 point blowout loss to Syracuse has people wondering if Coach Hoo is the answer.

#7 Kansas (Dave Johnson) - 18-5, 9-2 2nd Big 12.

1/29/18 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
2/3/18 at #17 Iowa State (L 87-79).

A split for the Jayhawks on the road, a bit of a shocking loss to Iowa State, but next week they get a rematch with Oklahoma, who handed them their first conference loss.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-14, 1-10 10th (last) Big 12.

1/29/18 vs. #7 Kansas (L 87-60).
2/3/18 vs. Kansas State (L 65-62).

Well, the 3 points loss is the closest game the Horned Frogs have played in quite a while, and it sure won't get easier in the Big 12.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-10, 5-5 T-6th Big Ten.

1/31/18 at #1 Ohio State (L 89-60).
2/3/18 at #12 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

A big win for the Wolverines at Michigan State, for the second straight season they win a game against their in-state rivals. No shame in losing to Ohio State. After all, everyone else has this season.

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-3, 9-1 2nd Big Ten.

1/31/18 at #24 Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
2/3/18 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Spartans this week, and they won't take too kindly to losing to their in-state rivals, again.

#24 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 16-5, 5-5 T-6th Big Ten.

1/31/18 vs. #12 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/3/18 vs. Maryland (L 70-68).

Not the best of weeks for the Wildcats. They played tough in both their losses, but they don't need losses to prove they are turning the corner. They need to not fade now, it's been a heck of a season for them so far.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-10, 6-3 T-1st Big West.

1/30/18 vs. UC Davis (W 70-56).
2/3/18 at Long Beach State (W 71-63).

Good week for the Warriors, who are back on a 4 game winning streak. Fortunately, nobody is really walking away in the conference, so it's still up for grabs.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-16, 3-7 T-11th Conference USA.

2/1/18 at Louisiana Tech (L 63-53).
2/3/18 vs. Old Dominion (L 68-57).

2 more losses for the 49ers who continue to struggle after that upset win over UAB.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-11, 4-6 T-9th Conference USA.

2/1/18 vs. UTEP (L 79-58).
2/3/18 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 98-85).

Can't say I didn't see these 2 losses coming, as you're dealing with 2 of the best in the conference here. Winnable games coming up next week for the Owls.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 13-12, 10-6 T-3rd MAAC.

2/2/18 vs. Quinnipiac (W 60-58).
2/4/18 vs. Iona (W 71-70).

2 big wins for the Hawks, even though it was by a combined 3 points. Doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you win. This gives them a small lifeline for postseason play.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-12, 5-4 T-4th MEAC.

1/29/18 at Niagara (L 65-53).
2/3/18 at Hampton (W 52-47).

Let's face it, the Spartans only method of getting to the postseason is by winning the conference, so winning the conference game against Hampton this week means more than losing the non-conference game to Niagara.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 12-9, 7-3 T-2nd Pac 12.

2/1/18 at Washington (L 60-49).
2/3/18 vs. Arizona State (W 70-61).

A split for the Buffaloes, who can't be losing to single digit win teams at this point in the season, especially if they want to see the postseason again.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 16-6, 7-3 T-2nd Pac 12.

2/1/18 vs. Oregon (L 68-66).
2/3/18 at Oregon State (W 65-58).

The Cardinal also split this week, losing a tough one to Oregon. Given the fact they didn't get any respect last season, splits are not what they need.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 19-3, 9-1 1st Pac 12.

2/1/18 at Arizona (W 81-50).
2/3/18 vs. California (L 62-54).

Well, at least the Bruins didn't wait until the last week of the season to lose their first conference loss, unlike last season. But wow, losing to an 8 win team? That can hurt their seeding, especially if it happens again.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 13-9, 5-5 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/1/18 vs. California (W 68-52).
2/3/18 at Utah (L 77-67).

Another split for the Cougars, as they see their brief 3 game winning streak come to an end. How crazy is it that a 5-5 team is tied for 3rd in the conference? Just goes to show how much parity there is in the Pac 12 this season.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 11-11, 6-4 T-5th SEC.

1/31/18 at Missouri (W 70-40).
2/3/18 vs. #23 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Crimson Tide, who are trying to make a late push in the conference. Starting a nice winning streak would certainly help.

#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 15-7, 5-5 T-7th SEC.

1/31/18 at Ole Miss (W 78-68).
2/3/18 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough week for the Gators, losing to Alabama could hurt their bubble chances.

#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 19-3, 8-2 1st SEC.

1/31/18 at LSU (W 87-62).
2/3/18 at Auburn (W 94-71).

The Wildcats take care of business on the road and have what should be 3 easy wins in their next 3 games before they meet up with VCU.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-15, 5-9 9th Sun Belt.

2/1/18 at Texas State (W 68-50).

Just 1 game for the Trojans this week, as they get a nice win against an overmatched team.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 23-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 21-2 1720 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Baylor 22-2 1633 4 Big 12 Conference
4. Kentucky 19-3 1557 5 Southeastern Conference
5. Gonzaga 24-0 1538 6 West Coast Conference
6. Wichita State 22-2 1421 8 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Villanova 19-3 1409 3 Big East Conference
8. Kansas 18-5 1299 7 Big 12 Conference
9. UCLA 19-3 1204 9 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Marquette 18-5 1173 11 Big East Conference
11. Iowa State 18-5 1017 17 Big 12 Conference
12. VCU 17-5 918 10 Southeastern Conference
13. Cincinnati 19-4 913 14 American Athletic Conference
14. La Salle 20-2 878 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Syracuse 17-5 770 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Michigan State 19-3 763 12 Big Ten Conference
17. Richmond 19-4 737 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Illinois State 21-3 532 19 Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois 17-5 529 21 Big Ten Conference
20. Wisconsin 17-6 344 13 Big Ten Conference
21. Oklahoma 15-8 339 22 Big 12 Conference
22. Miami 16-7 226 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Cleveland State 17-7 207 25 Horizon League
24. Stephen F. Austin 19-3 177 NR Southland Conference
25. Memphis 19-4 123 NR American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Notre Dame 16-6 60 Atlantic Coast Conference
Davidson 17-5 59 Atlantic 10 Conference
Middle Tennessee 18-4 21 Conference USA
Old Dominion 18-4 12 Conference USA
Florida State 16-6 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina 15-7 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Northwestern 16-5 4 Big Ten Conference
Connecticut 16-6 3 American Athletic Conference
Stanford 16-6 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Florida 15-7 1 Southeastern Conference
Northeastern 18-5 1 Colonial Athletic Association

Kentucky moves up 1 spot after blasting 2 opponents this week while Kansas moves down 1 spot. UCLA stays the same, and Michigan State moves down 4 spots after their upset loss to Michigan. Davidson needs to win a few more games to crack the top 25, while Northwestern, Stanford, and Florida need to win all their games next week just to keep receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (40) 24-0 1768 2 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (32) 22-2 1760 1 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 19-4 1655 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 20-2 1532 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Richmond 19-4 1523 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Illinois State 21-3 1406 7 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Cleveland State 17-7 1405 6 Horizon League
8. Davidson 17-5 1275 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Memphis 19-4 1248 10 American Athletic Conference
10. Middle Tennessee 18-4 1133 9 Conference USA
11. Stephen F. Austin 19-3 1031 11 Southland Conference
12. Connecticut 16-6 983 13 American Athletic Conference
13. Old Dominion 18-4 862 14 Conference USA
14. Northeastern 18-5 748 20 Colonial Athletic Association
15. Rhode Island 16-6 734 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. UTEP 16-5 551 NR Conference USA
17. Belmont 17-7 431 NR Ohio Valley Conference
18. Harvard 17-6 402 NR Ivy League
19. Oakland 18-5 395 NR Horizon League
20. South Dakota State 18-6 341 NR Summit League
21. UNLV 14-8 302 21 Mountain West Conference
22. Dayton 16-6 244 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Colorado State 16-6 222 12 Mountain West Conference
24. San Diego State 12-9 211 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Manhattan 19-7 184 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Massachusetts 14-8 173 Atlantic 10 Conference
Boise State 15-7 159 Mountain West Conference
Quinnipiac 18-6 92 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 18-6 78 America East Conference
Sam Houston State 17-4 76 Southland Conference
Louisiana Tech 15-6 71 Conference USA
BYU 14-10 66 West Coast Conference
North Florida 18-5 66 Atlantic Sun Conference
Mercer 17-6 64 Southern Conference
American 17-6 63 Patriot League
SMU 15-8 50 American Athletic Conference
Temple 15-7 24 American Athletic Conference
High Point 18-7 23 Big South Conference
Tulsa 15-8 18 American Athletic Conference
Eastern Kentucky 17-6 7 Ohio Valley Conference
Drexel 16-6 6 Colonial Athletic Association
Buffalo 14-9 4 Mid-American Conference
North Carolina Central 16-7 4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 16-9 3 Missouri Valley Conference
Duquesne 15-8 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 16-7 2 Horizon League
UAB 15-7 2 Conference USA
Lehigh 18-7 1 Patriot League

Davidson stays put at #8 in the mid-majors, and Tulsa is still receiving a few votes.

It's that time of year again, Bubble Watch time. 2 of our FOFC teams are listed in the first Overall Bubble Watch.

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana 14-8 .577 (40) 5-6 1-1 1-0 7-1 63 In
SMU 15-8 .589 (34) 1-3 2-3 6-2 6-0 48 In
Duquesne 15-8 .563 (55) 2-3 1-3 5-1 7-1 84 In
Stanford 16-6 .555 (68) 2-4 2-0 11-2 1-0 161 In
UNLV 14-8 .598 (24) 1-2 0-3 7-3 6-0 21 In
Massachusetts 14-8 .565 (54) 1-5 3-1 2-1 8-1 66 In
Lafayette 15-9 .559 (61) 0-2 3-2 4-4 8-1 104 In
Memphis 19-4 .553 (72) 0-2 6-0 3-1 10-1 247 In
Quinnipiac 18-6 .553 (71) 1-0 3-2 6-3 8-1 222 Out
Xavier 13-8 .561 (59) 4-2 2-5 3-1 4-0 58 Out
Georgia 13-8 .610 (17) 2-6 2-2 6-0 3-0 10 Out
Northern Iowa 16-9 .551 (79) 2-4 5-0 4-4 5-1 91 Out
Northwestern 16-5 .524 (120) 3-3 0-0 4-2 9-0 281 Out
Tulsa 15-8 .548 (84) 3-2 5-2 3-2 4-2 145 Out
Temple 15-7 .544 (90) 2-2 2-2 1-3 10-0 148 Out


The SOS is really hurting Stanford, but 4-4 against the RPI top 100 is helping. If not for the terrible SOS, we probably wouldn't even be mentioning Stanford as a bubble team.

Northwestern on the other hand, has the worst RPI and SOS among all the bubble teams, yet they are still 3-3 against teams in the top 100, and even better, that's actually 3-3 against the top 50. But still, they will need at least 1 or 2 more marquee wins to be considered a tournament team.

Now for the rest of the teams:

Lock: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Kentucky, Florida

All the other teams are projected out. Keep in mind, this is for the NCAA Tournament only.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 5-11, 2018

6 feature games this week, 3 of them coming from the Pac 12.

2/8/18- #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- Neither team ripped the nets in this one, and it was all tied at halftime. The Bruins dominated the boards though, 42-29, and were able to get a big road victory, pulling away a bit in the 2nd half.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 54, Stanford- 46

2/8/18- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 3 point shooting was the difference in this one, as the Cougars made 9 and Colorado only made 2. A game that the Buffaloes led at halftime and could have really used, but they couldn't get a clutch basket late, and fall in what has to be consider a minor upset.

Final Score: Washington State- 65, Colorado- 63

2/10/18- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- This game was a shootout, as neither team played much defense. Rice shot 50.8% and Charlotte shot 48.2%. There were 65 total free throws shot with 53 made. It came down to the three point line, as Rice doubled up Charlotte from there and it was enough for a road win.

Final Score: Rice- 92, Charlotte- 83

2/10/18- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Give the Cougars credit, they matched UCLA shot for shot in the first half, being tied at 36 going into the locker room. But as was the case for our other feature games, it came down to the three point line. UCLA made 7, Washington State made 1. Despite going 25-29 from the line, there would be no upset today, as UCLA hangs on.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 83, Washington State- 74

2/10/18- Duke (Dean Hoo) @ Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- How far have the Blue Devils fallen? Well, they shot 35.6%, their lowest shooting percentage in a long time. That, combined with the fact that Clemson made 28 free throws to Duke's 14, and the slide continues for the once proud Blue Devils.

Final Score: Clemson- 70, Duke- 61

2/10/18- Northwestern (Ess Vee) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead early, leading by 12 at halftime. They shot 47.1% to just 35.9% for Michigan and get a much needed win.

Final Score: Northwestern- 82, Michigan- 69

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 15-12, 7-6 T-4th America East.

2/9/18 vs. Albany (W 68-44).
2/11/18 vs. UMBC (W 83-72).

2 solid wins for the Hawks, who now have a career high in wins at 15, and 2 of their last 3 regular season games are winnable.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-14, 5-7 7th American.

2/7/18 vs. Virginia Tech (L 78-68).
2/10/18 vs. UConn (W 93-75).

The Pirates split this week, but what a nice win against UConn, a team they wouldn't have even came close to beating 2 years ago.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 16-8, 8-4 T-4th American.

2/7/18 vs. Houston (W 69-51).

Good win for the Golden Hurricane in their only game of the week. Next week is a rematch with Cincinnati.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 18-6, 10-2 T-2nd Atlantic 10.

2/7/18 vs. St. Bonaventure (W 98-75).
2/10/18 at St. Joseph's (L 89-82).

A split for the Wildcats, and not a good loss at St. Joseph's. They've still got a chance for the A-10 title, but they also have some really tough games coming up.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 12-11, 6-7 10th ACC.

2/7/18 at Pittsburgh (W 65-63).
2/10/18 vs. Duke- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Tigers who bounce back over .500 with the 2 wins this week. They've won 3 in a row.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 12-11, 4-9 12th ACC.

2/7/18 vs. Georgia Tech (W 76-52).
2/10/18 at Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.

The week started good for the Blue Devils, as they pounded Georgia Tech, but Clemson was just too much for them. Of their last 6 regular season games, only 1 opponent has a sub .500 record. Oh boy!

#8 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 19-6, 10-3 3rd Big 12.

2/5/18 vs. Oklahoma State (W 90-60).
2/10/18 vs. #21 Oklahoma (L 65-57).

A split for the Jayhawks, who fall out of first place with the loss to Oklahoma. More tough games coming.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-15, 1-11 10th (last) Big 12.

2/10/18 at #11 Iowa State (L 53-38).

The Horned Frogs had a dismal shooting night and don't look anywhere close to getting another Big 12 victory this season. 8 losses in a row now.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-12, 5-5 T-9th Big Ten.

2/7/18 at Purdue (L 84-76).
2/10/18 vs. Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.

Not a good week for the Wolverines, who lost all the momentum of that Michigan State win. Fortunately, the rest of their schedule is favorable.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 20-4, 10-2 2nd Big Ten.

2/7/18 vs. #1 Ohio State (L 90-85, OT).
2/10/18 at Minnesota (W 66-35).

A gallant effort by the Wolverines against undefeated Ohio State. Taking them to overtime is the best anyone has done so far.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 17-6, 6-6 T-6th Big Ten.

2/7/18 at Penn State (L 60-57).
2/10/18 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

A road split for the Wildcats, and an embarrassing loss to Penn State. That shouldn't happen.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 14-11, 7-4 2nd Big West.

2/8/18 at Cal State Northridge (L 67-54).
2/10/18 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 65-56).

Tough split for the Warriors, who drop a road game to a bottom feeder in the Big West. Ugh!

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-18, 3-9 T-11th Conference USA.

2/8/18 vs. FIU (L 69-52)
2/10/18 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.

The slide continues for the 49ers, who have now lost 6 in a row.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-11, 6-6 T-8th Conference USA.

2/8/18 at UTSA (W 65-52).
2/10/18 at Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.

Great week for the Owls who get back over .500 overall and back to .500 in conference play. Next week is a date with Old Dominion, who hasn't lost in conference play yet.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-13, 11-7 T-4th MAAC.

2/9/18 at Rider (L 75-55).
2/11/18 at St. Peter's (W 51-34).

A split for the Hawks, and with 2 games left in conference play, they can't win the conference, but they can still finish 2nd. They have St. Peter's again next week, and another winnable game after that.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-14, 5-6 T-6th MEAC.

2/5/18 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 64-55).
2/10/18 at Delaware State (L 72-56).

2 losses for the Spartans this week as they've lost 3 of 4 and next week they face the top 2 teams in the conference.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 12-11, 7-5 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/8/18 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 vs. Oregon State (L 61-56).

Tough week for the Buffaloes, who were just 7 points away from being 2nd in the conference. Fortunately, they've got 3 winnable games coming up before a date with UCLA.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-7, 8-4 2nd Pac 12.

2/8/18 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 at USC (W 76-56).

A split for the Cardinal, who played UCLA tough but couldn't pull it out. Their schedule is very favorable the rest of the way.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 21-3, 11-1 1st Pac 12.

2/8/18 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

2 wins for the Bruins this week, as they recover from the major upset loss to California. They control their own destiny at this point, as they shouldn't lose again in the regular season.. then again they shouldn't have lost to Cal.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 14-10, 6-6 T-5th Pac 12.

2/8/18 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 at #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cougars, but it was really a good split. They beat a pretty solid Colorado team and hung with UCLA. They've still got some tough ones on the schedule, but 17 wins is doable.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-11, 8-4 T-2nd SEC.

2/7/18 vs. #12 VCU (W 56-53).
2/10/18 at South Carolina (W 69-60).

Big week for the Crimson Tide, who shocked VCU and then followed that up with a good win at South Carolina. If things go right, they could still win the SEC. Amazing.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 17-7, 7-5 T-3rd SEC.

2/7/18 vs. Texas A&M (W 84-71).
2/10/18 vs. Vanderbilt (W 69-52).

2 more wins for the Gators who have 4 winnable games before the rematch with Kentucky.

#4 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 20-4, 9-3 1st SEC.

2/7/18 at Ole Miss (W 84-70).
2/10/18 vs. Tennessee (L 82-76)

A split for the Wildcats, who lost another one unexpectedly. That SEC title isn't assured yet, as they still have meeting with VCU and Florida.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-15, 7-9 T-6th Sun Belt.

2/8/18 at Appalachian State (W 65-64).
2/10/18 vs. Louisiana Monroe (W 62-61).

Well, the Trojans won 2 games this week by the slimmest of margins, but they are on the right path. A 3 game winning streak with 4 regular season games to go.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 25-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 22-2 1708 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 26-0 1670 5 West Coast Conference
4. Baylor 23-3 1557 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Villanova 21-3 1473 7 Big East Conference
6. Kentucky 20-4 1469 4 Southeastern Conference
7. Wichita State 23-3 1356 6 Missouri Valley Conference
8. UCLA 21-3 1345 9 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Cincinnati 21-4 1215 13 American Athletic Conference
10. Kansas 19-6 1156 8 Big 12 Conference
11. La Salle 22-2 1011 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Michigan State 20-4 969 16 Big Ten Conference
13. Marquette 18-7 894 10 Big East Conference
14. Iowa State 19-5 847 11 Big 12 Conference
15. Illinois State 23-3 733 18 Missouri Valley Conference
16. VCU 18-6 728 12 Southeastern Conference
17. Syracuse 18-6 670 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Richmond 20-5 639 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Oklahoma 17-8 534 21 Big 12 Conference
20. Miami 18-7 384 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Cleveland State 19-7 286 23 Horizon League
22. Stephen F. Austin 21-3 270 24 Southland Conference
23. Illinois 18-6 267 19 Big Ten Conference
24. Memphis 21-4 217 25 American Athletic Conference
25. North Carolina 17-7 94 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Florida 17-7 39 Southeastern Conference
Old Dominion 20-4 36 Conference USA
Wisconsin 18-7 26 Big Ten Conference
Davidson 18-6 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 19-6 2 Ivy League
Notre Dame 17-7 2 Atlantic Coast Conference

Kentucky and Kansas both drop 2 spots after losing a game this week, while UCLA moves up 1 spot. Michigan State also lost a game this week, but moved up 4 spots. HUH?? The only thing I can think of is they were rewarded for having the least margin of defeat against Ohio State. Florida and Davidson are still receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 26-0 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (1) 23-3 1729 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 21-4 1656 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 22-2 1549 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cleveland State 19-7 1475 7 Horizon League
6. Illinois State 23-3 1457 6 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Richmond 20-5 1408 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Memphis 21-4 1302 9 American Athletic Conference
9. Davidson 18-6 1172 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 21-3 1135 11 Southland Conference
11. Middle Tennessee 19-5 1041 10 Conference USA
12. Old Dominion 20-4 950 13 Conference USA
13. Belmont 19-7 780 17 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Harvard 19-6 740 18 Ivy League
15. Boise State 17-7 697 NR Mountain West Conference
16. UNLV 16-8 666 21 Mountain West Conference
17. Manhattan 21-7 576 25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
18. American 19-6 440 NR Patriot League
19. Northeastern 19-6 418 14 Colonial Athletic Association
20. San Diego State 14-9 400 24 Mountain West Conference
21. Massachusetts 16-8 345 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Rhode Island 17-7 256 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UTEP 17-6 256 16 Conference USA
24. Louisiana Tech 17-6 206 NR Conference USA
25. Oakland 19-6 168 19 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
SMU 17-8 132 American Athletic Conference
Quinnipiac 20-7 109 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Connecticut 16-8 97 American Athletic Conference
Dayton 17-7 56 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 19-6 51 Ohio Valley Conference
BYU 15-11 50 West Coast Conference
South Dakota State 19-7 50 Summit League
Mercer 18-7 41 Southern Conference
North Florida 19-6 35 Atlantic Sun Conference
UAB 17-7 35 Conference USA
Buffalo 16-9 25 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 19-7 22 America East Conference
Drexel 18-6 21 Colonial Athletic Association
Colorado State 16-8 16 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 18-5 15 Southland Conference
UC Irvine 16-8 10 Big West Conference
Tulsa 16-8 9 American Athletic Conference
Georgia State 16-10 2 Horizon League
North Carolina Central 18-7 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 17-10 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Pepperdine 16-8 1 West Coast Conference

Davidson moves down a spot, while Tulsa is still receiving a few votes. Great to have some FOFC representation in the mid-major polls.

Here's a look at the overall bubble watch, which has none of our FOFC teams in it, but at least this way, some of our teams can take a look at who they have to compete with.



Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Virginia Tech 15-8 .560 (57) 1-5 4-1 7-2 3-0 116 In
SMU 17-8 .577 (42) 1-3 3-3 6-2 7-0 86 In
Massachusetts 16-8 .559 (61) 2-4 2-2 4-2 8-0 104 In
Arizona 15-9 .595 (24) 3-4 4-1 4-4 4-0 18 In
West Virginia 15-9 .597 (22) 3-6 3-1 6-2 3-0 16 In
UNLV 16-8 .601 (21) 0-2 1-4 9-2 6-0 22 In
Duquesne 16-9 .570 (49) 1-3 3-4 5-1 7-1 61 In
Memphis 21-4 .552 (70) 0-2 6-0 3-1 12-1 259 In
Vanderbilt 15-9 .557 (64) 2-5 3-1 5-2 5-1 82 Out
Lafayette 16-10 .559 (59) 1-3 1-2 5-4 9-1 103 Out
Georgia State 16-10 .559 (62) 0-6 0-1 6-3 10-0 80 Out
Pepperdine 16-8 .552 (71) 0-2 2-2 9-4 5-0 144 Out
Georgia 14-9 .589 (30) 2-6 3-0 6-3 3-0 23 Out
Xavier 14-9 .570 (50) 3-3 3-5 3-0 5-1 46 Out
Northern Iowa 17-10 .549 (77) 2-4 4-1 5-3 6-2 99 Out

I'm particularly interested in Memphis, who has a ridiculous SOS and if that were even in the 100's, we'd probably be looking at them as a lock. But then you look at the RPI at 70 and realize they are 6-2 against the RPI top 100. They will be an interesting team to follow.

As for our teams, it's easier for me to go ahead and list who is a lock or safely in every time as opposed to trying to remember week by week and only reporting when there is a change. So here we go, if you don't see your team listed, that means they are projected out.

Lock: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Stanford, Kentucky, Florida,

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 12-18, 2018

1 feature game this week, in the American Conference.

2/17/18- Tulsa (Will Brown) @ ECU (Al Hutt) -- Tulsa rolled to a 16 point halftime lead as ECU committed 23 turnovers in the game and the Golden Hurricane made 10 three pointers as they rolled to victory.

Final Score: Tulsa- 79, ECU- 65

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 16-13, 8-7 T-4th America East.

2/16/18 at Binghamton (W 74-61).
2/18/18 vs. Vermont (L 79-71).

The Hawks split this week, but their win total is already higher than it ever has been, so there is definite improvement. They have 1 more regular season game next week, and that will decide whether they will be the 4th or 5th seed in the America East tournament.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-16, 5-9 8th American.

2/14/18 at #24 Memphis (L 80-71).
2/17/18 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

The Pirates lose 2 this week and 3 of their last 4 regular season games are against the top teams in the conference. Not a good way to finish.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 17-9, 9-5 4th American.

2/14/18 at #9 Cincinnati (L 65-61).
2/17/18 at ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who played Cincinnati much tougher this time around. They've got a favorable last 4 games to end conference play, so getting to 20 wins during the regular season is still a possibility.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 19-7, 11-3 T-1st Atlantic 10.

2/14/18 at George Washington (L 67-59).
2/17/18 at Rhode Island (W 81-66).

A split for the Wildcats, who are currently in a 3 way tie for first with 4 games to go.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 13-12, 7-8 9th ACC.

2/14/18 vs. Virginia Tech (W 84-78).
2/17/18 at N.C. State (L 86-59).

The 5 game winning streak for the Tigers ended in a big way with a blowout loss at N.C. State. They've got 3 conference games left, and none of them will be easy.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 14-11, 5-9 12th ACC.

2/15/18 vs. #5 Villanova (W 80-76).
2/17/18 vs. Wake Forest (W 75-67).

Are the Blue Devils finally waking up? That upset of Villanova would indicate that they are. They've also got 4 tough games to end the regular season though, so we'll see if they are truly waking up or if this was just a lucky week.

#10 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 21-6, 12-3 3rd Big 12.

2/12/18 at Texas (W 74-68).
2/17/18 at West Virginia (W 76-48).

2 solid road wins for the Jayhawks this week, and they've got a huge game against Baylor next week that may go a long way in deciding the Big 12 championship.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-17, 1-13 10th (last) Big 12.

2/12/18 at Oklahoma State (L 85-57).
2/17/18 at #19 Oklahoma (L 78-39).

The trip through Oklahoma for the Horned Frogs wasn't a very good one at all. They got absolutely blasted by both the Sooners and Cowboys. They may not win another game all season.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-14, 5-9 12th Big Ten.

2/14/18 at Iowa (L 89-69).
2/17/18 vs. Minnesota (L 78-65).

The Wolverines lose 2 more this week and their losing streak is now 4. They've yet to find the confidence they had since they beat Michigan State.

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 22-4, 12-2 2nd Big Ten.

2/14/18 at #23 Illinois (W 87-42).
2/17/18 at Maryland (W 85-82).

2 more victories for the Spartans, who absolutely hammered 23rd ranked Illinois. They've got 4 regular season games left, and 3 of the 4 should be cake.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 18-7, 7-7 T-6th Big Ten.

2/14/18 at Minnesota (W 75-61).
2/17/18 vs. Indiana (L 65-39).

Another split for the Wildcats, but it is not going to be easy in their last 4 games. 3 of their last 4 opponents are currently ranked and have a combined record of 65-15. The 4th team is pretty good too, at 16-10.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 15-12, 8-5 2nd Big West.

2/13/18 at Cal State Fullerton (L 63-50).
2/17/18 vs. UC Irvine (W 78-74).

A split for the Warriors, who surprisingly still have a great chance to win the Big West. They are only a half game behind the leaders, and their next 3 games are all winnable, if they play Warrior basketball.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-19, 4-10 11th Conference USA.

2/15/18 vs. Western Kentucky (W 75-58).
2/17/18 vs. UTEP (L 97-61).

A split for the 49ers, who broke a 6 game losing streak with the win over Western Kentucky, then got hammered against UTEP.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-11, 8-6 6th Conference USA.

2/15/18 vs. North Texas (W 72-64).
2/17/18 vs. Old Dominion (W 80-71).

2 more wins for the Owls, who have now won 4 in a row. They've got a favorable schedule in their last 4 regular season games, so a top 3 finish in Conference USA is still very doable.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 17-15, 11-9 T-5th MAAC.

2/16/18 vs. St. Peter's (L 84-62).
2/18/18 vs. Siena (L 85-66).

The inconsistency continues for the Hawks, as they waste a great chance this week by losing 2 road games. They are done with conference play and have a road non-conference game next week. As it stands now, they could be anywhere between the 4th and 6th seed in the MAAC Tournament.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-15, 6-7 7th MEAC.

2/12/18 vs. Savannah State (W 91-86).
2/17/18 at North Carolina Central (L 73-59).

A split for the Spartans this week, who have 3 conference regular season games left. 2 of the opponents have a worse record than them, but that doesn't mean much at this point.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-12, 8-6 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/15/18 vs. Utah (L 65-57).
2/17/18 at Oregon (W 78-53).

A split for the Buffaloes this week, who break a 3 game winning streak with the win at Oregon. They've got 4 conference games left and could still finish 2nd in the conference if they can win all 4.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-8, 9-5 2nd Pac 12.

2/15/18 vs. Washington (W 69-63).
2/17/18 at Arizona (L 73-65).

A split for the Cardinal this week, as they win the home game and lose the road game. 4 games left and all of them are against middle of the pack teams.

#8 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 22-4, 12-2 1st Pac 12.

2/15/18 at Arizona State (L 68-66).
2/17/18 vs. USC (W 69-43).

A split for the Bruins, who would need a monumental collapse to lose the conference championship at this point. They are ahead by 3 games with 4 to go.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-11, 7-7 T-7th Pac 12.

2/15/18 vs. USC (W 80-68).
2/17/18 at Arizona State (L 65-54).

A split for the Cougars this week as they go on a road trip next week before returning home for their last 2 games.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-11, 10-4 T-1st SEC.

2/14/18 at Georgia (W 54-53).
2/17/18 vs. LSU (W 68-43).

2 more wins for the Crimson Tide who are rolling right now, winners of 6 in a row. With 4 games to go, they control their own destiny, as they are in a 3 way tie for first with Kentucky and VCU.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 18-8. 8-6 7th SEC.

2/14/18 at Missouri (W 78-53).
2/17/18 at Tennessee (L 70-60).

A split for the Gators, as the loss at Tennessee broke a 3 game winning streak. With only 2 games separating 1st and 7th place, they can still get back in the SEC title chase. Next week should be 2 wins to help them keep pace.

#6 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-5, 10-4 T-1st SEC.

2/14/18 at South Carolina (W 77-62).
2/17/18 vs. #16 VCU (L 85-70).

A split for the Wildcats, who had a chance to be in 1st place all by themselves, but couldn't get by VCU. They have a couple games next week that they should breeze by.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-17, 7-11 8th Sun Belt.

2/15/18 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 68-35).
2/17/18 vs. Louisiana Lafayette (L 71-66).

2 losses for the Trojans, who see a brief 3 game winning streak come to an end. Next week is a big week, as it could be the difference between 4th or 5th in the conference, or even last in the conference.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 26-1 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 24-2 1727 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 28-0 1656 3 West Coast Conference
4. Baylor 24-3 1579 4 Big 12 Conference
5. Villanova 22-4 1457 5 Big East Conference
6. Wichita State 25-3 1433 7 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Kansas 21-6 1379 10 Big 12 Conference
8. Kentucky 21-5 1320 6 Southeastern Conference
9. Cincinnati 22-4 1200 9 American Athletic Conference
10. UCLA 22-4 1197 8 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Iowa State 21-5 1060 14 Big 12 Conference
12. Michigan State 22-4 977 12 Big Ten Conference
13. VCU 20-6 918 16 Southeastern Conference
14. Marquette 20-7 907 13 Big East Conference
15. Miami 20-7 718 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Illinois State 24-4 696 15 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Wisconsin 20-7 598 NR Big Ten Conference
18. La Salle 22-4 528 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Oklahoma 18-9 504 19 Big 12 Conference
20. Richmond 21-6 435 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Stephen F. Austin 23-3 362 22 Southland Conference
22. Memphis 23-4 338 24 American Athletic Conference
23. Illinois 19-7 212 23 Big Ten Conference
24. Cleveland State 21-7 199 21 Horizon League
25. Syracuse 18-8 140 17 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Middle Tennessee 21-5 30 Conference USA
Notre Dame 19-7 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
Harvard 21-6 5 Ivy League
Davidson 19-7 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
Florida 18-8 4 Southeastern Conference
Boise State 19-7 1 Mountain West Conference

Kansas has a nice 3 spot jump after a good week, while UCLA and Kentucky each drop 2 spots after losses. Michigan State stays put at 12, and Davidson and Florida are still receiving votes, but barely.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 28-0 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (1) 25-3 1720 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 22-4 1665 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Illinois State 24-4 1516 6 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Cleveland State 21-7 1473 5 Horizon League
6. Richmond 21-6 1461 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Memphis 23-4 1361 8 American Athletic Conference
8. La Salle 22-4 1359 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Stephen F. Austin 23-3 1197 10 Southland Conference
10. Middle Tennessee 21-5 1136 11 Conference USA
11. Davidson 19-7 1029 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Harvard 21-6 895 14 Ivy League
13. Belmont 21-7 878 13 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Boise State 19-7 878 15 Mountain West Conference
15. SMU 19-8 624 NR American Athletic Conference
16. American 21-6 619 18 Patriot League
17. Louisiana Tech 19-6 599 24 Conference USA
18. UTEP 19-6 588 23 Conference USA
19. Northeastern 21-6 580 19 Colonial Athletic Association
20. Manhattan 22-7 415 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
21. Quinnipiac 22-7 252 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
22. Old Dominion 20-6 232 12 Conference USA
23. San Diego State 15-10 203 20 Mountain West Conference
24. South Dakota State 21-7 196 NR Summit League
25. BYU 17-11 194 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UNLV 17-9 112 Mountain West Conference
Oakland 20-7 83 Horizon League
Mercer 20-7 66 Southern Conference
Buffalo 18-9 60 Mid-American Conference
Eastern Kentucky 21-6 50 Ohio Valley Conference
UAB 19-7 48 Conference USA
Dayton 18-8 32 Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts 17-9 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Carolina Central 20-7 20 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 20-7 16 America East Conference
Rhode Island 17-9 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
Drexel 19-7 8 Colonial Athletic Association
Tulsa 17-9 3 American Athletic Conference
Connecticut 16-10 1 American Athletic Conference

Davidson loses 2 spots, while Tulsa is still receiving 3 votes. Wasn't the best of weeks for our mid-major representatives.

Now we head to the Overall Bubble Watch, where 1 of our teams is involved:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona State 16-10 .570 (49) 3-3 4-4 7-3 2-0 41 In
West Virginia 16-10 .592 (25) 3-7 3-1 6-2 4-0 13 In
Georgetown 16-10 .585 (29) 1-7 9-3 2-0 4-0 15 In
Arizona 16-10 .582 (32) 3-5 4-2 5-3 4-0 20 In
Pepperdine 17-9 .557 (58) 0-4 4-1 6-4 7-0 120 In
Purdue 16-10 .573 (45) 3-9 4-0 3-0 6-1 40 In
Connecticut 16-10 .584 (31) 2-6 3-1 5-2 6-1 25 In
Stanford 18-8 .550 (70) 1-6 4-0 10-2 3-0 146 In
UAB 19-7 .551 (67) 1-2 4-2 5-1 9-2 219 Out
BYU 17-11 .588 (27) 0-6 6-1 7-1 4-3 12 Out
Georgia State 17-11 .562 (55) 0-6 1-1 6-4 10-0 72 Out
Old Dominion 20-6 .543 (80) 1-3 0-1 10-0 9-2 291 Out
Vanderbilt 17-9 .547 (72) 2-6 4-0 4-2 7-1 122 Out
Lafayette 17-11 .550 (69) 0-3 1-2 6-6 10-0 107 Out
Georgia 15-10 .571 (47) 2-7 3-0 6-3 4-0 32 Out

The key for Stanford is the 1-6 record against the RPI Top 50. If that record was even 1 or 2 games better, the Cardinal might be off the bubble. As it stands, they are in the Last Four In group, but their remaining schedule isn't the greatest.

As for the rest of our teams:

Lock: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Kentucky, Florida.
In: Tulsa.

[bbgunn]

2 more wins for the Crimson Tide who are rolling right now, winners of 6 in a row. With 4 games to go, they control their own destiny, as they are in a 3 way tie for first with Kentucky and VCU...
Wow, I must have missed VCU migrating to the SEC. :eek:

[collegesportsfanms]

Wow, I must have missed VCU migrating to the SEC. :eek:

I mentioned it during the offseason, VCU was moved to the SEC and replaced Mississippi State, who is now in the Atlantic 10. It's probably one that a lot of people missed! No biggie.

[law90026]

Dean Hoo in trouble isn't he?

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 19-25, 2018

1 feature game this week, and it took place in the Pac 12.

2/24/18- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ #10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins only led by 5 at halftime. Coach Shepard wasn't happy. UCLA outscored Colorado 47-24 in the second half. They shot 53.7% to just 35.4% for the Buffaloes. Not the effort Colorado needed.

Final Score: #10 UCLA- 80, Colorado- 52

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 16-14, 8-8 5th America East.

2/21/18 at Stony Brook (L 65-35).

The Hawks end the regular season with a whimper and limp to the 5th seed in the America East tourney where they'll take on 4th seed Vermont, who beat them twice in the regular season.

ECU (Al Hutt) --9-17, 6-10 7th American.

2/21/18 vs. UCF (W 70-59).
2/24/18 vs. SMU (L 78-68).

A split for the Pirates, and with 9 wins have matched their season high since this dynasty started. They'll have a hard time breaking it next week though, as they have 2 road games with opponents that are a combined 41-15.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 19-9, 11-5 4th American.

2/21/18 at South Florida (W 70-50).
2/24/18 vs. Temple (W 70-62).

2 important wins for the Golden Hurricane this week, who have a big showdown at UConn next week in a game which might decide 4th place in the conference.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 20-8, 12-4 T-2nd Atlantic 10.

2/21/18 vs. #18 LaSalle (L 77-71).
2/24/18 vs. George Mason (W 88-62).

A split for the Wildcats this week, but they really needed that game against LaSalle. That would have kept them at the top. Now they are going to have to win both games next week and get help.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 14-13, 8-9 9th ACC.

2/21/18 vs. Wake Forest (W 54-43).
2/24/18 at #15 Miami (L 68-55).

A split for the Tigers, who have 1 regular season game left next week against a 20 win team, so it'll be tough. They will finish either 9th, 10th, or 11th in the conference.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 14-13, 5-11 T-12th ACC.

2/21/18 at Notre Dame (L 65-55).
2/24/18 vs. North Carolina (L 73-64).

2 more losses for the Blue Devils, who we thought were turning the corner following that upset win over Villanova, but it appears not to be. The good thing is, they can't finish last in the ACC, but this has been a very disappointing season.

#7 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 23-6, 14-3 1st Big 12.

2/19/18 vs. #4 Baylor (W 82-69).
2/24/18 vs. Texas Tech (W 89-54).

The Jayhawks got a huge win against Baylor this week, that win putting them back at the top. All they have to do is beat in-state rivals Kansas State next week to clinch the conference title outright. If they lose, it could then become a 3 team race.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 10-18, 2-14 10th (last) Big 12.

2/19/18 vs. West Virginia (W 44-43).
2/24/18 vs. Texas (L 78-57).

An upset win for the Horned Frogs over West Virginia. They'll probably finish last in the Big 12 again, but they have a chance to keep their winning streak going over Texas Tech, as they play again next week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-15, 6-10 T-11th Big Ten.

2/21/18 vs. Nebraska (L 75-62).
2/24/18 vs. Rutgers (W 73-63).

The Wolverines break a 5 game losing streak with the win over Rutgers. Next week they have a winnable game with Indiana, then a really tough road game to finish up the regular season.

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 22-6, 12-4 2nd Big Ten.

2/21/18 vs. #17 Wisconsin (L 100-96).
2/24/18 vs. Penn State (L 75-74).

Ouch! 2 tough, tough losses for the Spartans. The Wisconsin loss is forgivable, the Penn State loss isn't. With these 2 losses, Michigan State can do no better than 2nd in the conference, and could drop to 4th if they lose both games next week. At this point, anything is possible.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 19-8, 8-8 T-6th Big Ten.

2/21/18 vs. #23 Illinois (W 72-69).
2/24/18 at #1 Ohio State (L 77-62).

A split for the Wildcats who get a big win over Illinois, and actually led Ohio State at halftime before falling apart. As crazy as the middle of the conference is, they could finish anywhere from 4th to 12th based on next weeks results.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 16-12, 9-5 T-1st Big West.

2/24/18 at UC Riverside (W 63-62).

1 game this week for the Warriors, and they escape with a road victory by the slimmest of margins. Still a lot to be decided in the conference with 2 games next week. If Hawaii can win both, they are guaranteed a share of the conference title. Losing 1 could still give them a chance. Losing both probably means 2nd place or worse.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-21, 4-12 T-11th Conference USA.

2/22/18 vs. North Texas (L 66-51).
2/24/18 at Marshall (L 65-50).

2 more losses for the 49ers, and with 2 games left in the regular season, they need to win 1 of those games to guarantee staying out of the cellar.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 16-11, 10-6 T-5th Conference USA.

2/22/18 at Southern Miss (W 60-58, OT).
2/24/18 at Florida Atlantic (W 87-51).

Don't look now, but the Owls are thinking about a postseason berth. Their last 2 regular season games are favorable for wins, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could finish 3rd in the conference. Regardless of what happens, Coach Shocker has to get some mention for C-USA Coach of the Year.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-16, 11-9 T-5th MAAC.

2/22/18 at Southern Illinois (L 56-45).

The Hawks finished off with a non-conference loss this week. They'll be the 6th seed in the MAAC Tournament and open up with 11th seed Marist, who they split with.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 13-15, 8-7 T-5th MEAC.

2/19/18 at Coppin State (W 66-56).
2/24/18 at South Carolina State (W 79-74).

2 good road wins for the Spartans. Believe it or not, with a win in their final regular season game next week, and losses by all the teams ahead of them, they could still claim the #2 seed in the MEAC tournament. It's a longshot though, a real long shot. More realistically, they'll be somewhere between the 5th and 10th seed.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 14-13, 9-7 T-4th Pac 12.

2/22/18 at USC (W 64-59).
2/24/18 at #10 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Buffaloes this week, and they would really love to win both games next week. They've got a slight, very slight, chance for 2nd place, but more than likely, they are looking at between 4th and 7th.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-8, 11-5 2nd Pac 12.

2/22/18 vs. California (W 64-58).
2/24/18 at Utah (W 57-49).

2 more wins for the Cardinal, who have another 20 win season. 2 more games next week, and they'll be playing for 2nd place, as 1st place is unattainable.

#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 24-4, 14-2 1st Pac 12.

2/22/18 vs. Utah (W 68-38).
2/24/18 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-13, 7-9 T-8th Pac 12.

2/22/18 at Arizona (L 72-56).
2/24/18 at Oregon (L 82-64).

The Cougars are slipping a bit, losers of 4 of their last 5, but they've already accomplished their goal of staying out of the cellar. They will most likely fall in the 7-9 seed range for the Pac 12 tournament.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 17-11, 12-4 T-1st SEC.

2/21/18 at Auburn (W 77-69).
2/24/18 vs. Texas A&M (W 66-52).

The Crimson Tide continue to roll, winners of 8 in a row and 10 of their last 11. They are back in the postseason picture, and have a great chance to win the SEC, as they play a .500 team and a sub .500 team. Beating both gives them a share of the SEC title.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 20-8, 10-6 T-5th SEC.

2/21/18 vs. Arkansas (W 94-61).
2/24/18 vs. South Carolina (W 88-74).

The Gators get a couple easy wins this week, as they keep their slight SEC title chances alive. Next week is the rematch against Kentucky, and they are hoping for a much better effort.

#8 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 23-5, 12-4 T-1st SEC.

2/21/18 vs. Missouri (W 96-59).
2/24/18 vs. Arkansas (W 81-72).

2 more wins for the Wildcats, who stay on pace for another SEC title. A big showdown with Florida next week, but they are in the same position as Alabama and VCU. 2 wins clinches a share of the SEC title.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-18, 7-12 10th Sun Belt.

2/24/18 vs. South Alabama (L 78-64).

Just 1 game for the Trojans this week, who took another loss. 1 game next week, and they'll stay out of the cellar guaranteed. With a win next week and the right teams losing, they could bounce up to the 6th seed in the conference tourney, but that is very unlikely.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 28-1 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 26-2 1726 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 30-0 1658 3 West Coast Conference
4. Kansas 23-6 1548 7 Big 12 Conference
5. Baylor 25-4 1535 4 Big 12 Conference
6. Wichita State 27-3 1443 6 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Cincinnati 24-4 1347 9 American Athletic Conference
8. Villanova 23-5 1260 5 Big East Conference
9. UCLA 24-4 1231 10 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Kentucky 23-5 1199 8 Southeastern Conference
11. Iowa State 22-6 1032 11 Big 12 Conference
12. VCU 22-6 992 13 Southeastern Conference
13. Marquette 21-7 939 14 Big East Conference
14. Wisconsin 22-7 871 17 Big Ten Conference
15. Illinois State 26-4 747 16 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Michigan State 22-6 682 12 Big Ten Conference
17. La Salle 24-4 662 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Miami 21-8 628 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Stephen F. Austin 25-3 518 21 Southland Conference
20. Memphis 24-4 446 22 American Athletic Conference
21. Syracuse 20-8 336 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Richmond 22-7 278 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Illinois 20-8 193 23 Big Ten Conference
24. Florida 20-8 128 NR Southeastern Conference
25. Cleveland State 22-8 88 24 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Creighton 20-9 24 Big East Conference
American 23-6 17 Patriot League
Boise State 21-7 16 Mountain West Conference
Harvard 22-6 16 Ivy League
Notre Dame 20-8 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
Middle Tennessee 22-6 10 Conference USA
North Carolina 19-9 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
North Carolina State 20-8 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
UTEP 21-6 2 Conference USA

Kansas moves up 3 spots after that big win at Baylor. UCLA moves up a spot, while Kentucky drops 2 spots after a 2 win week. I don't get that. Michigan State only drops 4 spots despite losing both games this week. They probably would have dropped more except the losses were by 5 points combined. Florida is back in the national top 25, but amazingly, Stanford is nowhere to be found. Not even receiving a vote. My goodness, what's it going to take for the Cardinal to get some respect from the pollsters?

Now for the mid-major top 25.

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 30-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati 24-4 1708 3 American Athletic Conference
3. Wichita State 27-3 1676 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Illinois State 26-4 1567 4 Missouri Valley Conference
5. La Salle 24-4 1487 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Memphis 24-4 1353 7 American Athletic Conference
7. Cleveland State 22-8 1352 5 Horizon League
8. Richmond 22-7 1345 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Stephen F. Austin 25-3 1269 9 Southland Conference
10. Boise State 21-7 1119 14 Mountain West Conference
11. Middle Tennessee 22-6 1032 10 Conference USA
12. UTEP 21-6 933 18 Conference USA
13. Davidson 20-8 910 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Harvard 22-6 900 12 Ivy League
15. American 23-6 728 16 Patriot League
16. Belmont 22-8 681 13 Ohio Valley Conference
17. Louisiana Tech 20-7 572 17 Conference USA
18. Quinnipiac 23-7 455 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
19. BYU 19-11 452 25 West Coast Conference
20. SMU 20-9 404 15 American Athletic Conference
21. UAB 21-7 329 NR Conference USA
22. Eastern Kentucky 23-6 220 NR Ohio Valley Conference
23. Buffalo 20-9 149 NR Mid-American Conference
24. San Diego State 16-11 143 23 Mountain West Conference
25. Old Dominion 21-7 138 22 Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Oakland 21-7 111 Horizon League
Dayton 20-8 99 Atlantic 10 Conference
Manhattan 22-8 85 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UNLV 18-10 82 Mountain West Conference
Northeastern 21-7 79 Colonial Athletic Association
South Dakota State 22-8 46 Summit League
Drexel 21-7 42 Colonial Athletic Association
Stony Brook 22-7 39 America East Conference
North Carolina Central 22-7 38 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Mercer 21-8 22 Southern Conference
Tulsa 19-9 21 American Athletic Conference
Connecticut 18-10 9 American Athletic Conference
Georgia State 19-11 5 Horizon League

Davidson drops 2 spots after their split, while Tulsa is still receiving a few votes.

Now for the bubble watch, and we have 2 of our FOFC teams represented.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nebraska 16-10 .605 (15) 3-7 4-2 5-1 4-0 5 In
Alabama 17-11 .594 (22) 4-5 5-2 6-4 2-0 19 In
Connecticut 18-10 .576 (38) 2-6 4-1 4-2 8-1 39 In
Texas 17-11 .579 (35) 4-9 2-1 6-1 5-0 36 In
West Virginia 17-11 .588 (28) 4-7 1-1 8-3 4-0 15 In
Rhode Island 18-10 .570 (45) 0-3 5-5 8-2 5-0 79 In
Arizona 17-11 .573 (40) 3-5 4-3 6-3 4-0 25 In
UNLV 18-10 .602 (17) 0-3 2-3 8-4 8-0 11 In
Pepperdine 18-10 .564 (51) 0-5 3-1 7-4 8-0 82 Out
BYU 19-11 .588 (27) 1-6 4-1 9-1 5-3 21 Out
George Washington 16-10 .563 (52) 1-4 5-3 6-3 4-0 60 Out
Georgia State 19-11 .557 (59) 0-6 1-1 6-4 12-0 92 Out
Tulsa 19-9 .554 (66) 3-3 5-2 6-2 5-2 139 Out
Old Dominion 21-7 .553 (67) 2-4 0-1 8-0 11-2 262 Out
Butler 17-12 .563 (53) 3-7 4-3 5-2 5-0 32 Out


Alabama is only projected in thanks to the RPI and the SOS. It's been that way for years. You can take a few losses if your SOS is in the top 50 or so. The 9-7 record against the RPI top 100 just proves it, as over half their games are against the top 100. They can really seal the deal with a couple wins next week. Even a split would probably be ok.

Tulsa, on the other hand, has some work to do. They are on the next four out list, which means they've got to really take care of business next week, really needing to win both. If they win at UConn, I like their chances. Either way, they've got some kind of postseason in their future.

Now for the rest of the FOFC teams:

Locks: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Stanford, Kentucky, Florida.

So let me get this straight, Stanford is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but can't get one vote in the national top 25?? What is up with that?

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 26-March 4, 2018

2 feature games to talk about this week, so let's jump to it.

2/28/18- #24 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ #10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- The Wildcats were determined not to lose their grip on the SEC title, and they took control of this one early, leading by 22 at halftime. The margin probably would have been bigger except Kentucky missed 11 free throws. It didn't make a difference though, as Kentucky rolled to an easy victory.

Final Score: #10 Kentucky- 84, #24 Florida- 67

3/1/18- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- It's hard to win games when you shoot only 29.4% from the field, and that's what the case was tonight for Stanford. Despite turning it over 19 times, the Cougars got a very important home victory that will definitely help improve their postseason chances.

Final Score: Washington State- 50, Stanford- 41

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 16-15, 8-8 America East.

3/1/18- America East Quarterfinals vs. (4) Vermont (L 68-60).

Tough loss for the Hawks, who seemed to be heading in the right direction. With the 16-15 record, their season is most likely over, but it has been a record setting season so far, at least as far as number of wins goes.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 9-19, 6-12 T-7th American.

2/28/18 at Temple (L 90-60).
3/3/18 at #7 Cincinnati (L 77-69).

2 losses for the Pirates, but they played Cincinnati very tough. They swept South Florida to win the tiebreaker and they'll be the 7th seed in the American Tournament where they'll take on 10th seed Tulane in the First Round.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 20-10, 12-6 4th American.

2/28/18 vs. Tulane (L 73-64).
3/3/18 at UConn (W 81-76).

A split for the Golden Hurricane, but that loss to Tulane was a very damaging loss. They'll be the 4th seed in the American Tournament and turn right around to take on UConn again, who is the 5th seed. That'll be a Second Round game.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 21-9, 13-5 T-3rd Atlantic 10.

2/28/18 vs. Fordham (W 88-71).
3/3/18 at Dayton (L 87-63).

A split for the Wildcats, who end the regular season on a sour not by getting hammered at Dayton. That loss to Dayton drops them to the 4th seed, where they still get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they will take on either (12) George Mason, (13) Mississippi State, or (5) Rhode Island.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 14-14, 8-10 9th ACC.

3/3/18 vs. Notre Dame (L 84-69).

Just 1 game for the Tigers this week, who limp into the ACC Tournament on a 2 game winning streak. They'll be the 9th seed and open up in the Second Round against (8) Syracuse.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 16-13, 7-11 T-10th ACC.

2/28/18 at Louisville (W 49-47).
3/3/18 vs. Florida State (W 72-62).

A big momentum builder for the Blue Devils as they get 2 much needed wins. Unfortunately, they lost every single tiebreaker in their 4 way tie for 10th place, so they drop all the way to the 13rd seed in the ACC Tournament, where they'll take on (12) Wake Forest in the First Round.

#4 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 24-6, 15-3 T-1st Big 12.

3/3/18 vs. Kansas State (W 79-58).

The win over their in-state rivals give the Jayhawks a share of the Big 12 title. They'll share it with Baylor, but because they swept Baylor, Kansas will be the #1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. They'll get a bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the winner of the First Round game between (9) Texas Tech/(8) Kansas State.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-19, 3-15 10th (last) Big 12.

2/26/18 at Texas Tech (W 83-61).
3/3/18 at #5 Baylor (L 77-59).

A split for the Horned Frogs, who continue their dominance over Texas Tech. They'll be the 10th seed in the Big 12 Tournament and open up in the First Round against (7) Oklahoma State.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-17, 6-12 T-11th Big Ten.

2/28/18 vs. Indiana (L 64-53).
3/3/18 at #23 Illinois (L 78-70).

2 more losses for the Wolverines, who finish the regular season losing 7 of 8. They lost their only game to Purdue this season, meaning Purdue gets the tiebreaker for 11th, and Michigan will be the 12th seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They'll take on (13) Penn State in the First Round.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 23-7, 13-5 T-2nd Big Ten.

2/28/18 vs. Iowa (L 82-66).
3/3/18 at Rutgers (W 59-50).

A split for the Spartans to finish off the regular season, but that loss to Iowa cost them a seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They tied with Wisconsin for 2nd place, but the Badgers beat Sparty in the regular season game, so that drops Michigan State to the 3rd seed. They'll get a double bye into the Quarterfinals and will take on either (14) Rutgers, (11) Purdue, or (6) Minnesota.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 20-9, 9-9 T-7th Big Ten.

2/28/18 at Purdue (W 74-61).
3/3/18 vs. #14 Wisconsin (L 77-64).

A split for the Wildcats, who fell right in the middle of the 3 way tie for 7th. They'll be the 8th seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will take on (9) Illinois in the Second Round.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-13, 10-6 T-2nd Big West.

2/27/18 vs. Cal Poly (W 65-56).
3/3/18 at UC Davis (L 80-60).

Ugh! An embarrassing loss for the Warriors, as they get hammered at UC Davis. This cost them a chance for the Big West title, but their sweep of Long Beach State gives them the 2nd place tiebreaker. They'll be the 2nd seed in the Big West Tournament, and will take on (7) Cal St. Fullerton in the Quarterfinals.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 8-22, 5-13 T-11th Conference USA.

3/1/18 at UTSA (L 78-74, OT).
3/3/18 at Southern Miss (W 79-62).

A split for the 49ers, who fought back valiantly against UTSA, but still lost in OT. They were in the middle in the 3 way tiebreaker for 11th place, so they'll be the 12th seed in the Conference USA Tournament. They'll take on (13) Western Kentucky.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 18-11, 12-6 T-5th Conference USA.

3/1/18 at Western Kentucky (W 86-63).
3/3/18 vs. Marshall (W 68-47).

The Owls keep it going, now winners of 8 in a row heading into the C-USA Tournament. They won the 5th place tiebreaker by sweeping LA Tech, and will be the 5th seed in the C-USA Tournament. They'll open in the Second Round against the (13) Western Kentucky/(12) Charlotte First Round winner.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 15-17, 11-9 MAAC.

3/1/18- MAAC First Round vs. (11) Marist (W 60-48).
3/3/18- MAAC Quarterfinals vs. (3) Iona (L 66-52).

The Hawks ran out of steam against Iona, and they'll end their season with a 15-17 record.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 14-15, 9-7 T-4th MEAC.

2/26/18 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (W 71-58).

The Spartans close the regular season on a good note, and take the middle of the 3 way tiebreaker for 4th. This gives them the 5th seed in the MEAC Tournament where they'll open up in the First Round against (12) Morgan State.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-13, 11-7 T-3rd Pac 12.

3/1/18 at California (W 62-53).
3/3/18 vs. Arizona (W 68-56).

The Buffaloes get 2 nice wins, 1 of them over an always powerful Arizona team. They swept Arizona State to win the 3rd place tiebreaker and the #3 seed in the Pac 12 Tournament. They'll get a bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the First Round winner between (11) Oregon/(6) Washington State.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 21-9, 12-6 2nd Pac 12.

3/1/18 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/3/18 vs. Arizona State (W 60-54).

The Cardinal end the regular season with a split, but the win over Arizona State was enough to give them 2nd place outright. They'll be the 2nd seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, getting a bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll face the First Round winner between (10) Washington/(7) Oregon State.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 26-4, 16-2 1st Pac 12.

3/1/18 at Washington (W 73-72).
3/3/18 vs. Oregon State (W 85-63).

The Bruins survived a tough one at Washington, but end the regular season on a 5 game winning streak. They won the Pac 12 Regular Season title with ease, finishing 4 games ahead of Stanford. They'll be the top seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, getting a bye into the Quarterfinals. They'll take on the First Round winner between (9) Utah/(8) California.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 17-13, 9-9 T-6th Pac 12.

3/1/18 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
3/3/18 vs. Washington (W 63-52).

Big week for the Cougars, who win a big game over Stanford and beat their in-state rivals to take some momentum into the Pac 12 Tournament. They swept Oregon State to win the 6th place tiebreaker. They'll be the 6th seed in the tourney and open up in the First Round against (11) Oregon.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 18-12, 13-5 T-2nd SEC.

2/28/18 vs. Arkansas (W 72-64).
3/3/18 at Tennessee (L 64-55).

The Crimson Tide split their final 2 regular season games, missing out on a chance to win the SEC title. They also lost to Ole Miss in the regular season, losing the 2nd place tiebreaker to them. They'll still be the 3rd seed in the SEC Tournament. They get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on either (14) Missouri, (11) Texas A&M, or (6) Florida.

#24 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 21-9, 11-7 T-5th SEC.

2/28/18 at #10 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
3/3/18 vs. Georgia (W 87-74).

The Gators fell apart against Kentucky, missing a chance for a higher seed. They recovered to beat Georgia, but lost their only regular season game to Tennessee. That drops them down to the 6th seed in the SEC Tournament where they'll take on the First Round winner between (14) Missouri/(11) Texas A&M.

#10 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-5, 14-4 1st SEC.

2/28/18 vs. #24 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
3/3/18 at Vanderbilt (W 86-78).

The Wildcats win a big game against Florida and win their 3rd straight SEC title in the Coach Hutt era. They'll obviously be the top seed in the SEC Tournament and get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the Second Round winner between (9) Georgia/(8) Vanderbilt.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-19, 7-13 10th Sun Belt.

3/1/18 at Arkansas State (L 63-62).

The Trojans lose a heartbreaker to end not only the regular season, but their season completely. The Sun Belt Tournament only takes the top 8 teams, and the Trojans failed to qualify, so they are done. They end the season on an 8 game losing streak.

Let's look at the national top 25 going into the rest of the conference tourneys:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 29-2 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 27-3 1725 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 30-1 1646 3 West Coast Conference
4. Wichita State 30-3 1595 6 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Baylor 27-4 1509 5 Big 12 Conference
6. Kansas 24-6 1428 4 Big 12 Conference
7. Kentucky 25-5 1336 10 Southeastern Conference
8. Cincinnati 26-4 1300 7 American Athletic Conference
9. UCLA 26-4 1221 9 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Villanova 25-5 1200 8 Big East Conference
11. Marquette 23-7 1040 13 Big East Conference
12. Iowa State 23-7 1015 11 Big 12 Conference
13. Wisconsin 24-7 939 14 Big Ten Conference
14. Miami 22-8 797 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Illinois State 28-5 785 15 Missouri Valley Conference
16. VCU 22-8 692 12 Southeastern Conference
17. Stephen F. Austin 26-3 633 19 Southland Conference
18. La Salle 25-5 615 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Michigan State 23-7 576 16 Big Ten Conference
20. Syracuse 21-9 346 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Boise State 23-7 245 NR Mountain West Conference
22. Creighton 21-9 206 NR Big East Conference
23. Richmond 24-7 175 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Memphis 24-6 154 20 American Athletic Conference
25. Florida 21-9 111 24 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cleveland State 22-8 110 Horizon League
Harvard 24-6 72 Ivy League
American 25-6 66 Patriot League
Notre Dame 22-8 42 Atlantic Coast Conference
Eastern Kentucky 25-6 15 Ohio Valley Conference
Illinois 21-9 4 Big Ten Conference
Louisiana Tech 22-7 2 Conference USA

Despite winning their game this week, Kansas drops 2 spots in the polls. Kentucky got 2 key wins and rises 3 spots. UCLA stays put, while Michigan State drops 3 spots after a split this week, and Florida drops 1 spot.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (51) 30-1 1775 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (21) 30-3 1749 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 26-4 1660 2 American Athletic Conference
4. Illinois State 28-5 1577 4 Missouri Valley Conference
5. La Salle 25-5 1485 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 26-3 1373 9 Southland Conference
7. Cleveland State 22-8 1346 7 Horizon League
8. Boise State 23-7 1316 10 Mountain West Conference
9. Richmond 24-7 1241 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Memphis 24-6 1152 6 American Athletic Conference
11. Harvard 24-6 1066 14 Ivy League
12. American 25-6 959 15 Patriot League
13. Louisiana Tech 22-7 881 17 Conference USA
14. Davidson 21-9 756 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. UTEP 22-7 699 12 Conference USA
16. Quinnipiac 25-7 691 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
17. UAB 23-7 656 21 Conference USA
18. Dayton 22-8 529 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. SMU 21-9 520 20 American Athletic Conference
20. Eastern Kentucky 25-6 515 22 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Middle Tennessee 22-8 319 11 Conference USA
22. Buffalo 21-9 253 23 Mid-American Conference
23. Drexel 23-7 216 NR Colonial Athletic Association
24. Belmont 22-9 178 16 Ohio Valley Conference
25. BYU 19-12 140 19 West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
San Diego State 17-12 60 Mountain West Conference
South Dakota State 23-8 53 Summit League
North Carolina Central 23-7 46 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 22-8 46 Conference USA
Stony Brook 23-7 41 America East Conference
Rhode Island 20-10 33 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 19-11 19 Mountain West Conference
Georgia State 21-11 14 Horizon League
Oakland 22-8 14 Horizon League
Manhattan 22-9 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Florida 24-8 6 Atlantic Sun Conference
Tulsa 20-10 5 American Athletic Conference
Sam Houston State 22-7 2 Southland Conference
Northeastern 21-8 1 Colonial Athletic Association

Davidson drops 1 spot, and Tulsa is still receiving a few votes.

The final edition of the Bubble Watch has been released, and we have 2 of our teams in the Overall Bubble Watch:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona State 19-11 .568 (44) 2-3 4-4 10-4 3-0 64 In
Rhode Island 20-10 .573 (38) 0-5 6-4 9-1 5-0 77 In
Connecticut 19-11 .567 (46) 2-6 4-1 7-3 6-1 52 In
Alabama 18-12 .584 (29) 4-5 4-2 8-5 2-0 24 In
Belmont 22-9 .556 (60) 2-1 0-3 5-4 15-1 142 In
West Virginia 18-12 .579 (34) 4-8 2-1 8-3 4-0 13 In
Rice 18-11 .567 (47) 3-3 2-2 4-5 9-1 54 In
Pepperdine 19-11 .558 (57) 0-5 5-4 6-2 8-0 84 In
BYU 19-12 .584 (28) 1-6 8-2 5-1 5-3 12 Out
Dayton 22-8 .551 (67) 4-4 2-2 6-1 10-1 183 Out
Georgetown 18-12 .569 (43) 1-9 6-2 7-1 4-0 23 Out
UNLV 19-11 .579 (32) 0-3 2-3 9-5 8-0 28 Out
George Washington 17-11 .558 (54) 2-5 4-4 5-2 6-0 66 Out
Georgia State 21-11 .558 (55) 0-6 0-0 7-5 14-0 108 Out
Arizona 18-12 .560 (53) 2-5 5-2 7-5 4-0 39 Out

Despite the record, Alabama looks to be in a good position. Their strength of schedule has really helped them. They could probably lose their first game in the SEC Tournament and still get in, but if they were to get blown out, it might change things.

Rice, on the other hand, is barely in the Last Four In. They really, really need to win their first game in the C-USA Tournament. Even that might be enough, as they may need to win 2 games. Still, it's been a great season for Coach Shocker and the Owls. Now let's take a look at the other teams:

Locks: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Kentucky, Florida
In: Stanford

[collegesportsfanms]

March 5-11, 2018

Through the conference tournaments, we had 4 feature games to talk about, so here we go:

3/7/18- Conference USA Second Round - (12) Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) vs. (5) Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- This one was much better than expected, as Rice turned it over 20 times but was able to shoot a whopping 56.3% from the field. That was enough, as the Owls advance to the next round.

Final Score: (5) Rice- 79, (12) Charlotte- 71

3/9/18- Pac 12 Semifinals- (3) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) vs. (2) Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This one was pretty even throughout, and it might not have even been as close had Colorado made more free throws. They were 17-27 from the line, but made 9 three pointers, and that was enough to give them a big win and send them to the Pac 12 Championship.

Final Score: (3) Colorado- 68, (2) Stanford- 60

3/9/18- SEC Quarterfinals- (6) #25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) vs. (3) Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The Gators looked like they were going to run away with this one early, as they built a double digit lead in the first half. But Alabama hung tough and actually had it tied late. But they had a couple turnovers at really bad times. Florida only made 7 free throws, but the biggest 2 makes came at the end of the game, as the Gators survive and advance.

Final Score: (6) #25 Florida- 68, (3) Alabama- 65

3/10/18- Pac 12 Championship- (3) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) vs. (1) #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- This one was a shootout, as Colorado shot 50% from the field, but UCLA shot 54%. There were 26, yes you heard me right, 26 three pointers made in this one. The difference was turnovers. The Bruins committed just 6 turnovers all game, allowing them to take and make a lot more shots. The Bruins win their 3rd Pac 12 Tournament in as many years since this dynasty started, and get another automatic berth.

Final Score: (1) #9 UCLA- 95, (3) Colorado- 85

Now we move to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 16-15, 8-8 America East.

The Hawks played their conference tournament last week, and are hoping 16-15 is enough to at least get them a CIT bid, but probably not.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 10-20, 6-12 American.

3/8/18- American First Round vs. (10) Tulane (W 85-83).
3/9/18- American Quarterfinals vs. (2) SMU (L 71-59).

Not a bad effort for the Pirates against SMU, as they had it tied at halftime. At 10-20, their season is over.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 20-11, 12-6 American.

3/9/18- American Quarterfinals vs. (5) UConn (L 88-80).

Tough loss for the Golden Hurricane in the American Quarterfinals, who probably needed to win this one to get an NCAA bid. My prediction is they'll be a top seed in the NIT.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 22-10, 13-5 Atlantic 10.

3/9/18- Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals vs. (13) Mississippi State (W 71-61).
3/10/18- Atlantic 10 Semifinals vs. (1) #23 Richmond (L 63-58).

The Wildcats shot themselves in the foot against Richmond by scoring just 19 first half points. Regardless, they were a lock coming into this tournament, so they'll be dancing.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 14-15, 8-10 ACC.

3/7/18- ACC Second Round vs. (8) #20 Syracuse (L 79-78).

Tough loss for the Tigers, who fell just short of what really would have been an upset. At 14-15, their season is almost certainly done.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 17-14, 7-11 ACC.

3/6/18- ACC First Round vs. (12) Wake Forest (W 78-70).
3/7/18- ACC Second Round vs. (5) Louisville (L 69-43).

A disappointing season by all accounts for the Blue Devils. We know they won't be dancing, but does name alone get them into one of the secondary tournaments? I say yes, but I don't think it'll be the NIT. I think they are CBI bound.

#6 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 25-7, 15-3 Big 12.

3/8/18- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (8) Kansas State (W 79-54).
3/9/18- Big 12 Semifinals vs. (5) Texas (L 81-75).

Everyone who was expecting a Kansas/Baylor Big 12 Championship game was disappointed with the Texas/Kansas result, as the Jayhawks may have been looking ahead. Either way, they'll be dancing, and probably be a top 2 or 3 seed.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 12-20, 3-15 Big 12.

3/7/18- Big 12 First Round vs. (7) Oklahoma State (W 61-38).
3/8/18- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (2) # 5 Baylor (L 68-42).

The Horned Frogs stunned everyone with their dominating First Round performance, but Baylor brought them down to earth. At 12-20, they are showing slight improvement every season, but are still a long way from being a tournament team.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 15-18, 6-12 Big Ten.

3/7/18- Big Ten First Round vs. (13) Penn State (W 69-60).
3/8/18- Big Ten Second Round vs. (5) Nebraska (W 79-60).
3/9/18- Big Ten Quarterfinals vs. (4) Iowa (L 82-65).

The Cinderella run ended in the Quarterfinals for the Wolverines, who were never really in that game. They needed to win the Big Ten tourney to extend their season, so they will be done with a 15-18 record.

#19 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 23-8, 13-5 Big Ten.

3/9/18- Big Ten Quarterfinals vs. (6) Minnesota (L 75-67).

Ay-yi-yi! Don't think anybody saw that one coming. Gotta think the Spartans were looking ahead to future games a little bit. They'll still be dancing, but their seed line probably dropped a seed or 2.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 20-10, 9-9 Big Ten.

3/8/18- Big Ten Second Round vs. (9) Illinois (L 50-46).

While the Wildcats greatly exceeded expectations, they have to be disappointed with the way their season was down the stretch. They needed to beat Illinois to have any chance at making the NCAA Tournament. They'll be in the NIT, probably hosting a First Round game.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-14, 10-6 Big West.

3/8/18- Big West Quarterfinals vs. (7) Cal State Fullerton (L 80-63).

Wow! The Warriors laid an egg in this one. They really had it set up nicely if they could have won this one. They have a 17-14 record. That was the same record that got them into the CIT last season. I see no reason why it won't again. Hawaii, back to the CIT where they'll start on the road. Just my prediction of course.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 9-23, 5-13 Conference USA.

3/6/18- Conference USA First Round vs. (13) Western Kentucky (W 53-42).
3/7/18- Conference USA Second Round vs. (5) Rice- feature game, highlighted above.

The 49ers end their season with a whimper, and the whole season was a complete disaster. They finish with a 9-23 record.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 21-12, 12-6 Conference USA.

3/7/18- Conference USA Second Round vs. (12) Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
3/8/18- Conference USA Quarterfinals vs. (4) UTEP (W 83-71).
3/9/18- Conference USA Semifinals vs. (8) FIU (W 83-54).
3/10/18- Conference USA Championship vs. (6) Louisiana Tech (L 69-59).

Gotta think the Owls just ran out of gas, but let's give credit to LA Tech. They beat the #3, #2, and #5 seeds to win the tourney. As for Rice, I figured they probably needed 2 wins in this tournament to feel safe about an at-large bid. They went ahead and won 3 and got to the C-USA title game. It will be a crying shame if they aren't playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 15-17, 11-9 MAAC.

The Hawks were eliminated from their conference tournament last week and will finish their season with a 15-17 record.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-16, 9-7 MEAC.

3/5/18- MEAC First Round vs. (12) Morgan State (W 76-68).
3/7/18- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (4) Florida A&M (L 61-53).

No MEAC title and no First Four game for the Spartans this season. They will be sitting at home as they'll finish with a 15-16 record.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 18-14, 11-7 Pac 12.

3/8/18- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (11) Oregon (W 68-54).
3/9/18- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (2) Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
3/10/18- Pac 12 Championship vs. (1) #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Good run for the Buffaloes, a run that might have saved their NCAA Tournament chances. I don't think so though, I think they'll be hosting a First Round game in the NIT.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-10, 12-6 Pac 12.

3/8/18- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (7) Oregon State (W 59-46).
3/9/18- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (3) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

22 win teams should be playing in the NCAA Tournament, especially win they are a power conference team. But that loss to Colorado in the Pac 12 semis hurt. Their RPI is actually worse than Colorado's is, which makes me believe they'll get a chance to defend their NIT Title, hosting a First Round game.

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 29-4, 16-2 Pac 12.

3/8/18- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (8) California (W 67-59).
3/9/18- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (4) Arizona State (W 68-59).
3/10/18- Pac 12 Championship vs. (3) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

Another Pac 12 Tournament, another tournament title for the Bruins. They go into the NCAA Tournament with a ton of confidence, looking at a #1 seed. Looking at the teams ranked ahead of them, it's a very good possibility. I think they'll get bumped to a #2 seed though. Just a hunch.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 17-14, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/7/18- Pac 12 First Round vs. (11) Oregon (L 91-87, OT).

Damaging loss for the Cougars, who needed this win. With their RPI in the low 100's, I have a feeling their season is over, but if it is, it was still a heck of a season for their standards.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 18-13, 13-5 SEC.

3/8/18- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (6) # 25 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough loss for the Crimson Tide, who really could have used the extra win. They have a great RPI though, but those 13 losses have to make you think they could be looking at a First Four game.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 25-9, 11-7 SEC.

3/8/18- SEC Second Round vs. (11) Texas A&M (W 91-72).
3/9/18- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (3) Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
3/10/18- SEC Semifinals vs. (2) Ole Miss (W 75-67).
3/11/18- SEC Championship vs. (5) Tennessee (W 107-100, OT).

The Gators go on an incredible run to win the SEC Tournament, this being Florida and Coach Hutt's first conference tournament championship. This will most certainly do wonders to their seed, which should be in the 4-6 range, if not higher.

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 26-6, 14-4 SEC.

3/9/18- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (9) Georgia (W 71-61).
3/10/18- SEC Semifinals vs. (5) Tennessee (L 94-84).

A shocking loss for the Wildcats, who had some really unexpected conference losses. They are still a lock for the NCAA Tournament though, and will probably be looking at the same seed line as Florida.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-19, 7-13 Sun Belt.

The Trojans failed to qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament, and end their season at 10-19.

Now, we take a look at the final polls heading into Selection Sunday, starting with the national top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 32-2 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Baylor 30-4 1674 5 Big 12 Conference
3. Virginia 27-4 1664 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Gonzaga 30-1 1620 3 West Coast Conference
5. Wichita State 30-3 1511 4 Missouri Valley Conference
6. UCLA 29-4 1407 9 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Kentucky 26-6 1360 7 Southeastern Conference
8. Kansas 25-7 1320 6 Big 12 Conference
9. Cincinnati 28-5 1243 8 American Athletic Conference
10. Villanova 26-6 1160 10 Big East Conference
11. Iowa State 24-8 1018 12 Big 12 Conference
12. Miami 26-8 1008 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Marquette 23-8 876 11 Big East Conference
14. Wisconsin 25-8 856 13 Big Ten Conference
15. Illinois State 28-5 769 15 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Stephen F. Austin 28-3 743 17 Southland Conference
17. Memphis 27-6 568 24 American Athletic Conference
18. Florida 25-9 548 25 Southeastern Conference
19. Syracuse 23-10 467 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. La Salle 25-6 378 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Boise State 26-7 366 21 Mountain West Conference
22. VCU 22-9 355 16 Southeastern Conference
23. Richmond 27-7 334 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Michigan State 23-8 246 19 Big Ten Conference
25. Louisiana Tech 26-7 72 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Georgetown 21-12 16 Big East Conference
Harvard 24-6 16 Ivy League
Creighton 22-10 2 Big East Conference
Cleveland State 23-9 1 Horizon League
Eastern Kentucky 25-6 1 Ohio Valley Conference
Notre Dame 22-9 1 Atlantic Coast Conference

UCLA rises 3 spots after winning the Pac 12 Tournament, while Kentucky stays put at 7. Kansas drops 2 spots after their Big 12 Semifinal lost, while Florida jumps 7 spots after winning the SEC Tournament. Michigan State was the big loser this week, dropping 5 spots after their Big Ten Quarterfinal loss.

Now for the Mid-Major Top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (57) 30-1 1777 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (14) 30-3 1742 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati (1) 28-5 1665 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Illinois State 28-5 1554 4 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Boise State 26-7 1479 8 Mountain West Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 28-3 1409 6 Southland Conference
7. Memphis 27-6 1327 10 American Athletic Conference
8. Richmond 27-7 1323 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. La Salle 25-6 1234 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Cleveland State 23-9 1184 7 Horizon League
11. Louisiana Tech 26-7 1130 13 Conference USA
12. Harvard 24-6 988 11 Ivy League
13. Quinnipiac 26-7 879 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
14. American 25-7 781 12 Patriot League
15. Eastern Kentucky 25-6 709 20 Ohio Valley Conference
16. Davidson 22-10 685 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Dayton 23-9 534 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. North Carolina Central 26-7 519 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
19. SMU 22-10 490 19 American Athletic Conference
20. UTEP 22-8 446 15 Conference USA
21. UAB 23-8 398 17 Conference USA
22. Middle Tennessee 23-9 272 21 Conference USA
23. BYU 19-12 196 25 West Coast Conference
24. Belmont 22-9 177 24 Ohio Valley Conference
25. Buffalo 21-10 116 22 Mid-American Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
San Diego State 19-13 101 Mountain West Conference
Drexel 23-8 77 Colonial Athletic Association
South Dakota State 24-9 48 Summit League
Stony Brook 24-8 39 America East Conference
Green Bay 23-9 25 Horizon League
Old Dominion 22-9 25 Conference USA
Manhattan 22-9 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Florida 24-8 16 Atlantic Sun Conference
Oakland 22-8 11 Horizon League
UNLV 20-12 9 Mountain West Conference
Mercer 22-9 7 Southern Conference
Connecticut 20-12 6 American Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 24-9 3 Summit League
Northeastern 21-8 2 Colonial Athletic Association

Davidson drops 2 spots despite their efforts against Richmond, and Tulsa loses their remaining votes.

[collegesportsfanms]

2018 Selection Sunday

Florida gets the 5th seed in the NCAA West Region and will await the winner of a First Four game between Rhode Island and Belmont.

UCLA does drop to a 2 seed, as they'll be the 2nd seed in the NCAA West Region and open up against (15) Weber State.

Rice gets the 12th seed in the NCAA Midwest Region and will open up against (5) N.C. State.

Davidson gets the 8th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 9th seed Creighton.

Michigan State gets the 4th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 13th seed North Carolina Central.

Kentucky gets the 2nd seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 15th seed Winthrop.

Surprise, surprise! Stanford gets the 10th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 7th seed Illinois. I'm glad I was wrong about them this season.

Kansas gets the top seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against the First Four winner between Bryant and Alcorn State.

Northwestern gets the 4th seed in the NIT West Region and will open up by hosting (5) Old Dominion.

Alabama gets the 3rd seed in the NIT Midwest Region and will open up by hosting (6) Indiana. This tells me they needed to do more than just beat Florida in the SEC Quarterfinals to get an NCAA bid.

Tulsa gets the 5th seed in the NIT South Region and will open up by travelling to (4) George Washington.

And that's it. I wish I was kidding but I'm not. Postseason snubs this season go out to Duke, Colorado, and Hawaii. Duke I was on the fence about, but Colorado definitely deserved to be playing somewhere. Hawaii, well, I think Coach Gunn will tell you they underachieved this season.

I'm thrilled that 11 of our 24 FOFC teams are playing postseason ball, a far cry from the 7 last year. But really? how do you leave Colorado out of all the tournaments? Crazy. This is why I wish I could find a way to add the 5th tournament, the Vegas 16. But there's no way. The only thing I can do for next season and beyond is make the NIT a 40 team tournament, giving 8 more teams a chance. I don't want to, but I'm going to.

[rjolley]

Don't understand why Colorado was left out of all of the tournaments. They deserved to be in the Big Dance, but at least the NIT.

Congrats to all of the coaches that will be playing in the postseason. Hope there's a good run by UCLA and Stanford and they meet in the Final Four.

[bbgunn]

Colorado got screwed, plain and simple.

Oh, and firecoachgunn.com.

[collegesportsfanms]

2018 Postseason

So 11 of our FOFC coached teams are in the postseason, and through all that we had just 1 feature game. Let's take a look at it.

3/18/18- NCAA South Region Second Round- (10) Stanford (Benito Sanchez) vs. (2) Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- This one wasn't much of a game, as Kentucky forced 22 Stanford turnovers and held them to 34.6% shooting. They led by 21 at halftime and never looked back, rolling into another Sweet Sixteen.

Final Score: (2) Kentucky- 74, (10) Stanford- 49

Let's take a look at the full postseason report.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 22-12, 12-6 American.

3/15/18- NIT South Region Quarterfinal at (4) George Washington (W 55-41).
3/19/18- NIT South Region Semifinal at (1) Buffalo (W 82-81).
3/22/18- NIT South Region Final vs. (2) Georgia State (L 81-73).

Good first season for Coach Brown and the Golden Hurricane, and a good run to the NIT Round of 8. They'll look to build on that next season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 22-11, 13-5 Atlantic 10.

3/16/18- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (9) Creighton (L 66-59).

The Wildcats see their season end against a pretty solid Creighton team. It was a very good season for Coach Childress, his best one yet.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 26-8, 15-3 Big 12.

3/16/18- NCAA East Region First Round vs. (16) Alcorn State (W 78-55).
3/18/18- NCAA East Region Second Round vs. (9) Georgetown (L 81-55).

Wow! Certainly didn't see that coming from the Jayhawks. They've had some early round meltdowns before, but never been dominated like that. A good first season for Coach Johnson, but there is definitely a sour taste after this game.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 25-9, 13-5 Big Ten.

3/15/18- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (13) North Carolina Central (W 83-73).
3/17/18- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (5) Louisiana Tech (W 100-94).
3/22/18- NCAA South Region Semifinal vs. (1) Virginia (L 72-51).

You kind of saw this one coming after the Spartans scraped by their first 2 NCAA Tournament games. This was an underachieving Michigan State team, finishing with a worse record than last season, but getting to the same spot in the postseason.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 22-11, 9-9 Big Ten.

3/15/18- NIT West Region Quarterfinal vs. (5) Old Dominion (W 68-60).
3/17/18- NIT West Region Semifinal at (1) Pepperdine (W 68-49).
3/24/18- NIT West Region Final vs. (7) Oakland (L 66-61).

By all accounts, it was a successful season for the Wildcats, who were expected to finish last in the Big Ten. They have to be disappointed that they let a trip to Madison Square Garden slip away though.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 21-13, 12-6 Conference USA.

3/16/18- NCAA Midwest Region First Round vs. (5) N.C. State (L 59-55).

A gallant effort for the Owls, who darn near pulled the 12-5 upset, but not quite. Still, a heck of a turnaround for Rice, who until this season had never won more than 12 games under Coach Shocker.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 23-11, 12-6 Pac 12.

3/16/18- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (7) Illinois (W 66-45).
3/18/18- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (2) Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

Yikes! The Cardinal certainly folded under the pressure against a high powered Kentucky team, but they will absolutely take this after last seasons snub.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 31-5, 16-2 Pac 12.

3/15/18- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (15) Weber State (W 76-64).
3/17/18- NCAA West Region Second Round vs. (7) North Carolina (W 76-68).
3/22/18- NCAA West Region Semifinal vs. (3) Wisconsin (L 65-55).

The Bruins will be happy to get out of the first weekend this season, but they had the potential for so much more. They've slipped just a little bit since their Elite Eight appearance 2 seasons ago.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 19-14, 13-5 SEC.

3/15/18- NIT Midwest Region Quarterfinal vs. (6) Indiana (W 55-54).
3/19/18- NIT Midwest Region Semifinal at (2) UTEP (L 90-66).

Well, the Crimson Tide end their season in a big (but not so good) way after getting hammered at UTEP. This has to be considered a successful season though, as it was the first postseason appearance under the Coach Rogers era.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 27-10, 11-7 SEC.

3/16/18- NCAA West Region First Round vs. (12) Belmont (W 74-67).
3/18/18- NCAA West Region Second Round vs. (13) St. Mary's (W 102-95).
3/22/18- NCAA West Region Semifinal vs. (1) Baylor (L 108-69).

Gadzooks! Sweet Sixteen teams, especially #5 seeds, should not be getting beat by 39 points. I'm happy that the Gators survived the first weekend, but after seeing this result, maybe we should wish they hadn't.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 30-7, 14-4 SEC.

3/16/18- NCAA South Region First Round vs. (15) Winthrop (W 84-61).
3/18/18- NCAA South Region Second Round vs. (10) Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
3/22/18- NCAA South Region Semifinal vs. (3) Wichita State (W 73-72).
3/24/18- NCAA South Region Final vs. (1) Virginia (W 73-70).
3/31/18- NCAA Final Four vs. (1W) Baylor (L 84-66).

Congrats to Coach Hutt, who becomes the first FOFC coach in this dynasty to take a team to the NCAA Final Four. Unfortunately, they didn't make the most of their stay, getting blasted. A much better postseason than last season.

So that takes care of the 2018 postseason. I have added a couple columns to the spreadsheets, so I will have to go back through the first 2 seasons to get those numbers. I am hoping there are no mistakes with any of the spreadsheets, but I don't guarantee it. Keeping track of them is something I want to do, but there could be a few mistakes here and there. So when I do send them out and you guys notice something, let me know.

As for the postseason recap and the spreadsheets, I hope to have that done, probably not tomorrow. It'll probably be Tuesday or Wednesday.

[bbgunn]

Congrats to Hutt and Kentucky for making the Final Four!

[collegesportsfanms]

2018 Postseason Recap

We already know that Kentucky got hammered by Baylor in one national semifinal. The other semifinal saw (4E) Syracuse get by (3MW) Gonzaga 82-78. Syracuse then went on to beat Baylor 71-65 for the national championship!

The NIT Final Four saw no power conference teams involved, and a very surprising team in it. The first semifinal saw (7W) Oakland beat (1S) UMass 73-58. The second semifinal saw (2E) Georgia State beat (1MW) BYU 66-64. Our NIT Championship was a battle of small conference schools as Oakland beat Georgia State 91-85.

The CBI held true to form, with the top 2 seeds playing in the Best of 3 Championship Series. In game 1, (1) Iona beat (2) Ole Miss 80-66. Ole Miss got the 2nd game by the slimmest of margins, 77-76. Game 3 wasn't nearly as close, as Ole Miss took care of Iona 73-56 to win the CBI Championship Series 2 games to 1.

In the CIT, (4) Army beat (14) Eastern Washington 86-68.

[collegesportsfanms]

2017-2018 National Awards

Michigan State had the NCAA Freshman of the Year, as well as 1 player on the NCAA All-Freshman Team, and 1 player on the All-NCAA 1st Team.

UCLA had 1 player on the All-NCAA 1st Team and 1 player on the All-NCAA 2nd Team.

Kentucky had 1 player on the All-NCAA 3rd Team.

2017-2018 Conference Awards

Hartford had 1 player on the America East 2nd Team, and 1 player on the America East All-Freshman Team.

ECU had 1 player on the American 1st Team and 1 player on the American All-Freshman Team.

Tulsa had 1 player on the American 1st Team and 1 player on the American 2nd Team.

Davidson had 1 player on the Atlantic 10 2nd Team.

No awards for Clemson.

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

Kansas had 2 players on the Big 12 1st Team, 1 player on the Big 12 2nd Team, and 1 player on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for TCU.

Michigan had 1 player on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Michigan State had both the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, as well as having 1 player on the Big Ten 1st Team and 1 player on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Northwestern had 2 players on the Big Ten 1st Team.

Hawaii had 2 players on the Big West 2nd Team and 1 player on the Big West All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Charlotte.

Rice head coach Charlie Shocker was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, and well deserved. The Owls also had 1 player on the Conference USA 1st Team, 1 player on the Conference USA 2nd Team, and 1 player on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

Monmouth had 1 player on the MAAC 2nd Team and 1 player on the MAAC All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Norfolk State.

Colorado had 2 players on the Pac 12 2nd Team.

Stanford had 1 player on the Pac 12 1st Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team.

UCLA again cleaned up on the awards. For the 2nd straight year, head coach Tim Shepard was named Pac 12 Coach of the Year. The Bruins also had the Pac 12 Player of the Year, as well as having 2 players on the Pac 12 1st Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team.

No awards for Washington State.

In what might be considered a bit of a surprise, Alabama head coach Roy Rogers was named SEC Coach of the Year. Congrats on an unexpected award! The Crimson Tide also had 1 player on the SEC 2nd Team.

Despite another great season, Florida was shut out on the awards.

Kentucky cleaned up. I mean really cleaned up. The Wildcats had the SEC Player of the Year, the SEC Freshman of the Year, 2 players on the SEC 1st Team, 1 player on the SEC 2nd Team, and 2 players on the SEC All-Freshman Team. Wow!

Troy had 1 player on the Sun Belt 2nd Team.

[collegesportsfanms]

2017-2018 Recruiting Class Rankings

Hartford had the 92nd best class in the nation, good for tops in the America East by far. The next closest was 229, but I think that 92nd ranked class is based more on quantity. 4 of the 5 recruits for Hartford are 1 star recruits.

ECU had the 48th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in the American.

Tulsa had the 79th best class in the nation, good for 5th in the American.

Davidson had the 167th best class in the nation, good for 8th in the Atlantic 10.

Duke had the 17th best class in the nation, but only good for 6th in the ACC.

Clemson had the 96th best class in the nation, good for 12th in the ACC. That's crazy when the 96th best recruiting class in the nation is only 12th best in your own conference.

Kansas had the 76th best class in the nation, good for 6th best in the Big 12.

TCU had the 119th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the Big 12.

Michigan had the 82nd best class in the nation, good for 12th best in the Big Ten. Dang, I thought a 96th best class in the nation but 12th in your conference was bad, yet Michigan's recruiting class was 14 spots better. Wow!

Michigan State had the 46th best class in the nation, good for 7th best in the Big Ten.

Northwestern had the 67th best class in the nation, good for 10th best in the Big Ten.

Hawaii had the 165th best class in the Big West, good for 7th best in the Big West.

Charlotte had the 98th best class in the nation, tops in Conference USA.

Rice had the 206th best class in the nation, good for 12th best in Conference USA.

Monmouth had the 130th best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the MAAC.

Norfolk State had the 198th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in the MEAC.

Colorado had the 43rd best class in the nation, good for 5th in the Pac 12.

Stanford had the 25th best class in the nation, good for 3rd in the Pac 12.

UCLA had the 160th best class in the nation, good for 10th best in the Pac 12. Yuck!

Washington State had the 74th best class in the nation, good for 7th best in the Pac 12.

Alabama had the 22nd best class in the nation, good for 4th in the SEC.

Florida had the 29th best class in the nation, good for 7th best in the SEC.

Kentucky had the 31st best class in the nation, good for 8th in the SEC.

Troy had the 126th best class in the nation, good for 2nd in the SUn Belt.

[collegesportsfanms]

movement this season, but we do have 2 coaches who have seen their prestige go up. Both Tim Shepard of UCLA and Patrick Hutt of Kentucky have seen their prestige move up to 8. Seems crazy that they are doing so well on just a prestige of 7 when the top prestige is 15. In any case, both Patrick and Tim have 20 bonus points to add to their ratings, however they choose. So let me know guys.

On to head coach movement. If you'll remember, I'm doing it differently now, I'm going through the whole coach movement period at once and presenting all offers at once, turning it into one session. This way, we don't have to wait for a decision from a coach in more than 1 round. So for this season, here is who got job offers:

Not a lot of movement, but there is 1 team that is interested in several of our FOFC Coaches.

Patrick Hutt, Al Mighty, Noah Oppenheimer, and Tim Shepard are all being courted by the Miami Hurricanes. Miami currently has a prestige of 90. I'm not going to go first come, first serve on this kind of job. All 4 of you need to let me know if you are interested in the job, and if we have multiple coaches that have interest, we'll work it out amongst ourselves somehow.

Randolph Childress got 3 offers: Western Michigan, Illinois State, and UNLV. so ntndeacon, please let me know what you want to do, and if you want info on any of the 3 schools compared to Davidson, let me know.

B.B. Gunn who is already feeling the pressure from the firecoachgunn.com website, now has an out. He got offers from UTEP and Drexel. bbgunn, same applies for you. Let me know, and if you want info about either school compared to Hawaii, I'd be glad to give it.

Until I hear back from all these coaches, I'll put this dynasty on hold. I will finish up the spreadsheets and get those attached so that you guys can have a look, but as far as moving on to next season, I'll wait on that until I get a response from everybody. Thanks.

[rjolley]

What's up with Tim's recruiting class? Not a lot of roster spots available?

He'll stay at UCLA.

What are his current ratings?

[muns]

Rice had a crappy class as well. Goodness.

[ntndeacon]

I'd like more information on wmu and ISU. I want to stay as east as possible.

[Coffee Warlord]

Keep recruiting shit, UCLA. Colorado is angry now, since our tourney snub. Next year.

[thealmighty]

Al atays (and both the Mighty brothers feel good to be working, since they can't recruit for shit. So much for high recruit point allocation for Bee Mighty).

[collegesportsfanms]

What's up with Tim's recruiting class? Not a lot of roster spots available?

He'll stay at UCLA.

What are his current ratings?

UCLA signed 3 this season. A 3 star recruit and 2 1 star recruits. 1 star recruits at UCLA? Are you serious? I can't tell you why, but that's what the chart shows.

As far as Tim's ratings, he is currently:

Recruiting- 90 (which makes this recruiting class even more baffling)
Scouting- 50
Offense- 90
Defense- 10

Just for grins and giggles, I decided to check out the stats of the recruiting coordinator and lead scout. The recruiting coordinator has a recruit rating of 87. The lead scout has a scout rating of 100, so I honestly have no possible theory on this years bad recruiting class.

[collegesportsfanms]

I'd like more information on wmu and ISU. I want to stay as east as possible.

I'll give you information on those schools, as well as Davidson, where you're at now.

If you were to stay at Davidson, you would have a roster where every single player has a current rating of red or orange (the 2 worst). Of those, 2 have green potential, but are seniors, 1 green potential is a junior, and you have 2 green potential and 1 blue potential sophomores, and a green potential freshman. In short, Davidson will probably suck this season, but should be pretty good again in the next couple seasons.

If you go to Illinois State, you would be inheriting a roster that has 3 seniors with a current rating color of green. You would also have 1 junior, 2 sophomores, and 3 freshmen that have either a blue or green potential rating, so there is less of a chance of a drop off. Illinois State had the 75th best recruiting class in the nation, but they were all 3 star recruits. Wichita State had the only 4 star recruit in the conference, and they would be competition year in and year out probably.

If you go to Western Michigan, you would inherit a roster with 1 current rating green senior, with everybody else being red or orange. So they probably won't be very good in the 2018-2019 season. However, you have 9 underclassmen, and 5 of them have a green or blue potential. So they may struggle over the next couple seasons, but depending on how they recruit, could be a force in the MAC in 2 seasons.

So there you go, I can't tell you much more than that. My personal opinion: No matter which way you go, you could be in for a bit of a struggle next season, but all 3 schools have lots of potential to be competitive in their conference within the next 2 seasons. Illinois State has the potential to compete in the MVC this upcoming season, and is probably your only postseason possibly of the 3 schools. But it's totally up to you. As we know with this game, things can change in a hurry, and look at the rosters isn't always a good indication of how things will go.

[collegesportsfanms]

still waiting to hear from the following:

bbgunn, Zinto, TheRivals40, and of course I just responded to rjolley and ntndeacon so I should be hearing from them soon.

Not a big rush, because my next few days are swamped, so even if everybody responds, I most likely won't be starting the 2018-2019 season until Tuesday at the earliest, and that may be wishful thinking.

[bbgunn]

B. B. Gunn will stay at Hawaii.

[rjolley]

Tim will go to Thibs' camp this summer and get 20 points to his defensive rating for his time.

And he's staying at UCLA if I didn't say that before.

[Zinto]

Patrick will stay at Kentucky and will take 10 points in offense and defense

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

[ntndeacon]

We'll stay at Davidson.

[Coffee Warlord]

Just for grins and giggles, I decided to check out the stats of the recruiting coordinator and lead scout. The recruiting coordinator has a recruit rating of 87. The lead scout has a scout rating of 100, so I honestly have no possible theory on this years bad recruiting class.

Don't mind the buckets of money Colorado paid to a whole bunch of high school kids to not commit to UCLA.

[rjolley]

Don't mind the buckets of money Colorado paid to a whole bunch of high school kids to not commit to UCLA.

Man, I knew sending Bill Walton to talk with recruits was a bad idea...

[collegesportsfanms]

2018-2019 Hot Seat Ratings and Coach Goals

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

Al Hutt (ECU) -- Average seat, goal is to again finish .500 in the American.

Will Brown (Tulsa) -- Cool seat, goal is to play in a 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) -- Average seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Al Mighty (Michigan State) -- Cool 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) -- Somehow, he is still on a cool seat, and the goal has been changed to win the Big West championship.

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

Charlie Shocker (Rice) -- Cool 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) -- Cool 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) -- Cool 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) -- Cool 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.

[collegesportsfanms]

2018 Season Tournaments

Kentucky will be the top seed in the 2018 Battle for Atlantis and open up against 8th seed Bowling Green.

Kansas will be the 2nd seed in the 2018 Battle for Atlantis and open up against 7th seed Belmont.

UCLA will be the 3rd seed in the 2018 Battle for Atlantis and open up against 6th seed St. John's.

What a stacked tournament the Battle for Atlantis is!

Davidson will be the 4th seed in the 2018 Brooklyn Classic and open up against 5th seed UTEP.

Florida will be the top seed in the 2018 Cancun Challenge and open up against 8th seed Ohio.

Stanford will be the 2nd seed in the 2018 Cancun Challenge and open up against 7th seed Hofstra.

Tulsa will be the 4th seed in the 2018 Corpus Christi Coastal Classic and will open up against 5th seed New Mexico State.

Northwestern will be the 6th seed in the 2018 Diamond Head Classic and will open up against 3rd seed Georgetown.

TCU will be the top seed in the 4 team 2018 Fargo Regional and will open up against 4th seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the 16 team 2018 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 16th seed UNC Wilmington.

Alabama will be the 5th seed in the 16 team 2018 Hall of Fame Classic and will open up against 12th seed Hawaii.

Duke will be the top seed in the 16 team 2018 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 16th seed Idaho.

Rice will be the 15th seed in the 16 team 2018 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 2nd seed Oregon.

Michigan will be the 3rd seed in the 2018 Las Vegas Invitational and will open up against 6th seed Iona.

Troy will be the 4th seed in the 4 team 2018 Little Rock Regional and will open up against top seed Boston College.

Hartford will be the 4th seed in the 4 team 2018 Los Angeles Classic and will open up against top seed Santa Clara.

Colorado will be the 4th seed in the 2018 Maui Invitational and will open up against 5th seed Clemson.

Charlotte will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2018 Michigan Tournament and will open up against 3rd seed Samford.

ECU will be the 5th seed in the 2018 NIT Season Tip-Off and will open up against 4th seed Rutgers.

Washington State will be the top seed in the 4 team 2018 New Jersey Regional and will open up against 4th seed SIU Edwardsville.

Norfolk State will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2018 New Orleans Classic and will open up against 2nd seed William & Mary.

Monmouth will be the 4th seed in the 2018 Paradise Jam and will open up against 5th seed College of Charleston.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 16-18, 2018

Opening week, or opening weekend as I like to call it, sees an all-time low for this dynasty, as we only have 5 games to cover this week. 2 of them are feature games.

11/16/18- Hall of Fame Classic First Round- (12) Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) vs. (5) Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- Not much of a game in this one, as Hawaii shot just 26.4% to 51.1% for Alabama. The Crimson Tide led by 17 at halftime and rolled, advancing to the Quarterfinals of the Hall of Fame Classic.

Final Score: Alabama- 67, Hawaii- 38

11/18/18- Clemson (Charles Johnson) @ #13 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins committed just 7 turnovers the entire game, and outrebounded Clemson 46-31. That was more than enough to take a 21 point halftime lead and coast from there.

Final Score: #13 UCLA- 89, Clemson- 61

Now let's cover the rest of the weekly recap, keeping in mind I'm only covering the teams that played games this week.

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

11/16/18- Los Angeles Classic First Round vs. (1) Santa Clara (L 83-65).
11/17/18- Los Angeles Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Western Carolina (L 60-59).

Not a great debut for the Hawks, who have been all in or all out in season tournaments. In the 4 season tournaments they've played, they've won 2 and finished last in 2.

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

11/18/18 at #13 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Not the start the Tigers wanted, they were hoping to be a little more competitive.

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

11/16/18- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (16) UNC Wilmington (W 76-56).

The Spartans roll in their opening game, but it'll get tougher.

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

11/16/18- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (5) Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Not the start the Warriors wanted, and a bit of a tough draw. That firecoachgunn.com website is up and running again already.

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

11/18/18 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.

An easier than expected win for the Bruins, as Clemson was expected to be much better competition.

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

11/16/18- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (12) Hawaii (W 67-38).

Good start for the Crimson Tide who take care of business, but their Quarterfinal opponent is a doozy. Louisville awaits.

As I apparently didn't get the preseason polls up, I will announce the polls heading into next week, starting with the national top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (65) 1-0 1780 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State (2) 0-0 1683 2 Big 12 Conference
3. Iowa (3) 0-0 1663 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Wisconsin (1) 0-0 1598 4 Big Ten Conference
5. Georgetown 0-0 1495 6 Big East Conference
6. Notre Dame 0-0 1375 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. San Diego State (1) 0-0 1314 8 Mountain West Conference
8. North Carolina 0-0 1255 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Maryland 0-0 1205 10 Big Ten Conference
10. Villanova 0-0 1098 11 Big East Conference
11. Louisville 1-0 1032 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. UCLA 1-0 949 13 Pacific-12 Conference
13. Cincinnati 1-0 875 15 American Athletic Conference
14. Butler 0-0 701 16 Big East Conference
15. Creighton 0-0 622 17 Big East Conference
16. Arizona 1-0 612 22 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Vanderbilt 0-0 544 18 Southeastern Conference
18. Texas 0-0 386 20 Big 12 Conference
19. Kansas 0-0 370 19 Big 12 Conference
20. Syracuse 0-0 341 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Illinois State 1-0 304 NR Missouri Valley Conference
22. Seton Hall 1-0 273 NR Big East Conference
23. Kentucky 0-0 199 24 Southeastern Conference
24. LSU 0-0 175 23 Southeastern Conference
25. Buffalo 2-0 135 NR Mid-American Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Gonzaga 0-0 132 West Coast Conference
Mississippi 1-0 128 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 0-0 126 Big 12 Conference
Oregon 0-0 100 Pacific-12 Conference
North Carolina State 0-0 90 Atlantic Coast Conference
Providence 0-0 77 Big East Conference
Illinois 2-0 72 Big Ten Conference
VCU 0-0 63 Southeastern Conference
Virginia Tech 0-0 62 Atlantic Coast Conference
Colorado 0-0 59 Pacific-12 Conference
Connecticut 0-0 51 American Athletic Conference
Harvard 0-0 45 Ivy League
Northern Iowa 0-0 45 Missouri Valley Conference
Bowling Green 0-0 39 Mid-American Conference
California 0-0 38 Pacific-12 Conference
USC 0-0 22 Pacific-12 Conference
Baylor 2-0 19 Big 12 Conference
Saint Mary's 1-0 19 West Coast Conference
Duke 0-0 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida 0-0 15 Southeastern Conference
Santa Clara 2-0 13 West Coast Conference
St. John's 1-0 13 Big East Conference
Texas A&M 0-0 11 Southeastern Conference
Washington 0-0 11 Pacific-12 Conference
Canisius 2-0 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 2-0 10 America East Conference
Washington State 0-0 10 Pacific-12 Conference
Arizona State 0-0 9 Pacific-12 Conference
Seattle 1-0 9 Western Athletic Conference
DePaul 1-0 8 Big East Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 8 Big Sky Conference
Auburn 2-0 7 Southeastern Conference
New Mexico 1-0 7 Mountain West Conference
Alabama 1-0 6 Southeastern Conference
Iona 1-0 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Utah State 1-0 6 Mountain West Conference
Fresno State 1-0 5 Mountain West Conference
Green Bay 2-0 5 Horizon League
Northwestern 0-0 5 Big Ten Conference
Ohio State 0-1 5 Big Ten Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Arizona 0-0 4 Big Sky Conference
Stanford 0-0 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Arkansas 0-0 3 Southeastern Conference
Hofstra 0-0 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Grand Canyon 0-0 2 Western Athletic Conference
Loyola Chicago 0-0 2 Missouri Valley Conference
Manhattan 0-0 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Oregon State 0-0 2 Pacific-12 Conference
SMU 2-0 2 American Athletic Conference
Oklahoma 1-0 1 Big 12 Conference
Pacific 1-0 1 West Coast Conference
South Carolina 1-0 1 Southeastern Conference
Southern Illinois 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Wichita State 1-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference

I am stunned that Michigan State is nowhere to be found.

[collegesportsfanms]

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. San Diego State (65) 0-0 1793 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Cincinnati (4) 1-0 1701 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Illinois State (1) 1-0 1545 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Buffalo (1) 2-0 1452 10 Mid-American Conference
5. Connecticut 0-0 1359 4 American Athletic Conference
6. Gonzaga (1) 0-0 1333 5 West Coast Conference
7. Northern Iowa 0-0 1329 6 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Bowling Green 0-0 1296 7 Mid-American Conference
9. Harvard 0-0 1112 9 Ivy League
10. Wichita State 1-0 872 11 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Saint Mary's 1-0 794 12 West Coast Conference
12. SMU 2-0 674 15 American Athletic Conference
13. Green Bay 2-0 526 NR Horizon League
14. North Carolina Central 0-0 475 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
15. Santa Clara 2-0 470 NR West Coast Conference
16. Eastern Michigan 1-0 447 17 Mid-American Conference
17. Rhode Island 0-0 416 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Stony Brook 2-0 274 NR America East Conference
19. Canisius 2-0 266 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
20. New Mexico 1-0 254 NR Mountain West Conference
21. UTEP 1-0 249 20 Conference USA
22. BYU 0-0 223 16 West Coast Conference
23. High Point 2-0 199 NR Big South Conference
24. Memphis 0-0 189 18 American Athletic Conference
25. Middle Tennessee 1-0 182 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Penn 2-0 169 Ivy League
Richmond 0-0 157 Atlantic 10 Conference
Fresno State 1-0 147 Mountain West Conference
Evansville 1-0 136 Missouri Valley Conference
Utah State 1-0 135 Mountain West Conference
Temple 1-0 119 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 0-0 114 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 0-0 110 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 99 Conference USA
Akron 0-0 95 Mid-American Conference
Tulsa 0-0 94 American Athletic Conference
Pacific 1-0 92 West Coast Conference
Mississippi State 1-0 91 Atlantic 10 Conference
Oakland 1-0 90 Horizon League
Georgia State 0-0 83 Horizon League
Northeastern 1-0 80 Colonial Athletic Association
Cal State Northridge 1-0 75 Big West Conference
George Washington 0-0 73 Atlantic 10 Conference
Dayton 0-0 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 0-0 68 Mountain West Conference
UAB 0-0 65 Conference USA
Iona 1-0 64 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 63 Conference USA
La Salle 0-0 62 Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 60 Atlantic 10 Conference
Pepperdine 0-0 57 West Coast Conference
Wyoming 0-0 57 Mountain West Conference
Drexel 1-0 55 Colonial Athletic Association
Indiana State 0-0 52 Missouri Valley Conference
North Florida 1-0 52 Atlantic Sun Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 52 Atlantic 10 Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 51 Big West Conference
Fordham 1-0 50 Atlantic 10 Conference
Seattle 1-0 49 Western Athletic Conference
Belmont 0-0 43 Ohio Valley Conference
San Francisco 0-0 41 West Coast Conference
Toledo 0-0 41 Mid-American Conference
East Tennessee State 1-0 35 Southern Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 34 Big Sky Conference
William & Mary 0-0 32 Colonial Athletic Association
Hofstra 0-0 29 Colonial Athletic Association
Loyola Chicago 0-0 28 Missouri Valley Conference
Long Beach State 0-0 26 Big West Conference
Manhattan 0-0 26 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 0-0 26 Summit League
American 1-0 24 Patriot League
Boston University 0-0 23 Patriot League
Saint Joseph's 0-0 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
Southern Illinois 0-0 23 Missouri Valley Conference
Albany 0-0 21 America East Conference
Holy Cross 0-0 21 Patriot League
Mercer 0-0 21 Southern Conference
Northern Arizona 0-0 21 Big Sky Conference
Cornell 0-0 20 Ivy League
Northern Illinois 0-0 20 Mid-American Conference
Bradley 0-0 19 Missouri Valley Conference
Grand Canyon 0-0 19 Western Athletic Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 18 Horizon League
Niagara 0-0 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
UMass Lowell 0-0 18 America East Conference
LIU Brooklyn 1-0 16 Northeast Conference
Montana State 0-0 16 Big Sky Conference
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 16 Ohio Valley Conference
Army 0-0 15 Patriot League
East Carolina 0-0 15 American Athletic Conference
FIU 0-0 15 Conference USA
James Madison 0-0 15 Colonial Athletic Association
Western Illinois 0-0 15 Summit League
Chicago State 0-0 14 Western Athletic Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 14 Sun Belt Conference
Milwaukee 0-0 14 Horizon League
New Mexico State 0-0 14 Western Athletic Conference
Oral Roberts 0-0 14 Summit League
Robert Morris 1-0 14 Northeast Conference
Colgate 0-0 13 Patriot League
Liberty 1-0 13 Big South Conference
North Dakota 0-0 12 Big Sky Conference
VMI 0-0 12 Southern Conference
Central Michigan 0-0 11 Mid-American Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Radford 0-0 10 Big South Conference
Towson 1-0 10 Colonial Athletic Association
Wofford 0-0 10 Southern Conference
Northern Kentucky 1-0 9 Sun Belt Conference
Weber State 0-0 9 Big Sky Conference
Bucknell 0-0 8 Patriot League
Longwood 0-0 8 Big South Conference
Loyola Marymount 0-0 8 West Coast Conference
Cal Poly 0-0 7 Big West Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 7 Big Sky Conference
UT Arlington 0-0 7 Sun Belt Conference
South Dakota State 0-0 6 Summit League
Charlotte 0-0 4 Conference USA
Northern Colorado 1-0 3 Big Sky Conference
Princeton 0-0 3 Ivy League
North Texas 0-0 2 Conference USA
San Jose State 0-0 2 Mountain West Conference
Tulane 0-0 2 American Athletic Conference
Cal State Fullerton 0-0 1 Big West Conference
Yale 0-0 1 Ivy League

[bbgunn]

Ugh... here we go again.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 19-25, 2018

1 feature game this week, and it was an old fashioned rivalry:

11/22/18- Duke (Dean Hoo) @ #23 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- A high scoring affair, as both teams shot over 50% from the field. The Blue Devils made more free throws than Kentucky, and the Wildcats turned it over 14 times compared to just 8 for Duke. This led to the Blue Devils getting a big early season win.

Final Score: Duke- 102, #23 Kentucky- 91

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-4, 0-0 America East.

11/21/18 at Rutgers (L 71-38).
11/24/18 at UMass (L 65-30).

The Hawks are still struggling for that first win of the season, but to be fair, their schedule has been pretty tough so far.

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

11/24/18 vs. UNC Greensboro (W 60-51).

Always nice to start the season off with a win, and the Pirates do so heading into their season tournament next week.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-0, 0-0 American.

11/25/18- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic First Round vs. (5) New Mexico State (W 56-55).

The Golden Hurricane escaped with a win in their first round game, but their next opponent is a lot tougher in Syracuse.

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

No games this week for the Wildcats, who will get their season underway next week in their season tournament.

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

No games this week for the Tigers, who start their season tournament next week.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 3-0, 0-0 ACC.

11/19/18 vs. VCU (W 69-61).
11/22/18 at Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
11/25/18 at Gardner Webb (W 69-47).

Great week for the Blue Devils who beat a non-conference rival, get past a scrappy VCU team, and start the season 3-0. Hopefully this is the beginning of a nice turnaround for Coach Hoo.

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

11/20/18 vs. Georgia State (W 64-51).

Not the cleanest performance this week for the Jayhawks, but they got that opening game victory out of the way and move on to their season tournament beginning next week.

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

11/23/18- Fargo Regional First Round vs. (4) Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W 76-57).
11/24/18- Fargo Regional Championship vs. (2) Oral Roberts (W 69-50).

Great start to the season for the Horned Frogs, who win their season tournament in convincing fashion and become the first FOFC team to win a season tournament in the 2018-2019 season.

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

11/21/18 vs. Southern Illinois (W 59-51).

The Wolverines beat a scrappy Southern Illinois team in their season opener, and move on to their season tournament next week.

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

11/19/18- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (9) #22 Seton Hall (L 79-75).

An unexpected loss for the Spartans, as they fell to a very good Seton Hall team. They'll take next week off before getting back to the grind in December.

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

11/20/18 at Youngstown State (W 66-59).
11/24/18 at Chicago State (L 59-45).

The Wildcats have lost their first non-conference game under Coach Vee's tenure, as they didn't lose a non-conference game last season. A shocking loss to a team that's generally not very good.

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

No games this week for the Warriors, who also have next week off. They may show some rust coming back in December.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 1-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/23/18- Michigan Tournament First Round vs. (3) Samford (W 69-66).
11/25/18- Michigan Tournament Championship vs. (1) Toledo (L 72-67).

A couple close ones for the 49ers this week, but they couldn't finish the deal against Toledo.

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

11/23/18 at Texas A&M (L 93-72).

The Owls took on a pretty tough opening game and hung tough for a while, but proved they aren't quite ready for the big boys of the power 5 conferences yet. Next week it gets easier.

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

11/22/18- Paradise Jam First Round vs. (5) College of Charleston (W 77-60).
11/25/18- Paradise Jam Semifinals vs. (8) Northern Arizona (W 72-44).

The Hawks coast to the Paradise Jam championship with a couple easy wins. In fact, their non-conference schedule is very favorable, but beating Charleston was a huge step in the right direction.

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

11/20/18 vs. Coastal Carolina (L 59-39).
11/23/18 at Gardner Webb (W 69-56).

A split for the Spartans this week, as they head into their season tournament next week.

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

11/24/18 vs. #14 Butler (L 65-63).

Great effort by the Buffaloes in this one, as they fell just short. They have a lot of ranked teams in their non-conference schedule, so they need to beat the ones that aren't ranked. They start their season tournament next week.

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

11/24/18- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (7) Hofstra (W 56-53).

A much tougher game than expected for the Cardinal, but they get post their opening opponent in the Cancun Challenge and move to the Quarterfinals next week.

#12 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/22/18 at UNLV (W 71-62).

The Bruins get a nice road win before heading into their season tournament next week.

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

11/23/18- New Jersey Regional First Round vs. (4) SIU Edwardsville (W 64-54).
11/25/18- New Jersey Regional Championship vs. (3) USC Upstate (L 77-69).

Hmm, not sure how to feel about that loss to USC Upstate. You've got to be able to beat the small conference teams consistently when you're in a Power 5 conference. That's a tough loss.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 2-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/19/18- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (4) #11 Louisville (W 74-70).

A huge win for the Crimson Tide, might be the biggest win in Coach Rogers' career to this point. This advances them to the Semifinals next week.

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

11/24/18- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (8) Ohio (W 84-81, OT).

Wow! Nearly a monumental upset here, as the Gators needed overtime to hang out. They'll need to put this one behind them and refocus for next week.

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

11/20/18 at Grambling (W 84-69).
11/22/18 vs. Duke- feature game, highlighted above.

The Wildcats will tell you they hate losing to Duke, but this season they do. Again, they'll need to put it behind them and get ready for their season tournament next week.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/24/18- Little Rock Regional First Round vs. (1) Boston College (L 65-56).
11/25/18- Little Rock Regional 3rd Place Game vs. (2) Delaware (L 85-65).

Not a good start to the season for the Trojans, who lost a lead against BC and got hammered against Delaware. They'll look to pick it up as well next week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa State (36) 2-0 1761 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Virginia (29) 1-0 1750 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Georgetown (5) 3-0 1660 5 Big East Conference
4. Villanova 3-0 1558 10 Big East Conference
5. San Diego State (1) 1-0 1465 7 Mountain West Conference
6. Maryland 1-0 1393 9 Big Ten Conference
7. North Carolina 0-0 1329 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Syracuse (1) 3-0 1162 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Butler 2-0 1147 14 Big East Conference
10. Cincinnati 1-0 993 13 American Athletic Conference
11. Arizona 2-0 976 16 Pacific-12 Conference
12. North Carolina State 3-0 930 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Providence 2-0 702 NR Big East Conference
14. Kansas 1-0 691 19 Big 12 Conference
15. Wisconsin 2-1 624 4 Big Ten Conference
16. UCLA 2-0 619 12 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Seton Hall 2-0 586 22 Big East Conference
18. Northern Iowa 2-0 577 NR Missouri Valley Conference
19. Gonzaga 2-0 504 NR West Coast Conference
20. Iowa 2-1 479 3 Big Ten Conference
21. LSU 1-0 410 24 Southeastern Conference
22. Mississippi 2-0 372 NR Southeastern Conference
23. Illinois State 1-0 282 21 Missouri Valley Conference
24. Baylor 4-0 214 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Duke 3-0 150 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Texas A&M 2-0 150 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 0-0 143 Big 12 Conference
Virginia Tech 1-0 119 Atlantic Coast Conference
Harvard 1-0 84 Ivy League
California 0-0 52 Pacific-12 Conference
Canisius 5-0 50 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Florida 1-0 42 Southeastern Conference
St. Bonaventure 3-0 38 Atlantic 10 Conference
Oklahoma 3-0 31 Big 12 Conference
Wichita State 2-0 29 Missouri Valley Conference
Alabama 2-0 27 Southeastern Conference
Richmond 2-0 27 Atlantic 10 Conference
Ohio State 0-1 25 Big Ten Conference
St. John's 2-0 22 Big East Conference
Georgia 2-0 21 Southeastern Conference
Fresno State 2-0 20 Mountain West Conference
Stony Brook 3-0 18 America East Conference
Pacific 2-0 17 West Coast Conference
Stanford 1-0 17 Pacific-12 Conference
Cal State Northridge 2-0 14 Big West Conference
DePaul 2-0 12 Big East Conference
Bradley 2-0 11 Missouri Valley Conference
Iona 2-0 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
William & Mary 2-0 11 Colonial Athletic Association
Florida State 1-0 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
Manhattan 2-0 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Niagara 3-0 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Tulane 2-0 8 American Athletic Conference
Weber State 1-0 7 Big Sky Conference
Sacramento State 1-0 5 Big Sky Conference
Wofford 2-0 5 Southern Conference
Idaho State 1-0 4 Big Sky Conference
Indiana 2-0 4 Big Ten Conference
Mercer 2-0 4 Southern Conference
Western Illinois 1-0 4 Summit League
FIU 2-0 2 Conference USA
Fordham 2-0 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
Tulsa 1-0 1 American Athletic Conference

So Kansas moves up 5 spots after a good week, and even though they won their game this week, UCLA drops 4 spots? Really? Duke jumps into the top 25, and we have a handful of teams receiving votes.

[collegesportsfanms]

Here's a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. San Diego State (67) 1-0 1793 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Cincinnati (2) 1-0 1688 2 American Athletic Conference
3. Northern Iowa 2-0 1585 7 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Gonzaga (1) 2-0 1574 6 West Coast Conference
5. Illinois State (1) 1-0 1454 3 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Harvard 1-0 1365 9 Ivy League
7. Wichita State 2-0 1186 10 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Canisius 5-0 1071 19 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
9. St. Bonaventure (1) 3-0 1028 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Richmond 2-0 847 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Toledo 2-0 763 NR Mid-American Conference
12. Rhode Island 1-0 746 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Stony Brook 3-0 606 18 America East Conference
14. Evansville 2-0 596 NR Missouri Valley Conference
15. Massachusetts 2-0 551 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Niagara 3-0 425 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
17. Tulsa 1-0 417 NR American Athletic Conference
18. UTEP 1-0 406 21 Conference USA
19. Tulane 2-0 400 NR American Athletic Conference
20. Bradley 2-0 348 NR Missouri Valley Conference
21. Manhattan 2-0 287 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
22. Fresno State 2-0 262 NR Mountain West Conference
23. George Washington 1-0 230 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. William & Mary 2-0 207 NR Colonial Athletic Association
25. Pacific 2-0 196 NR West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cal State Northridge 2-0 189 Big West Conference
Louisiana Tech 1-0 189 Conference USA
FIU 2-0 182 Conference USA
Wofford 2-0 172 Southern Conference
Oakland 2-0 170 Horizon League
Iona 2-0 151 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Mercer 2-0 149 Southern Conference
Memphis 0-0 146 American Athletic Conference
Weber State 1-0 140 Big Sky Conference
Monmouth 2-0 127 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Sacramento State 1-0 124 Big Sky Conference
UTSA 2-0 118 Conference USA
USC Upstate 2-0 104 Atlantic Sun Conference
Western Illinois 1-0 104 Summit League
Robert Morris 2-0 103 Northeast Conference
Idaho State 1-0 92 Big Sky Conference
Belmont 1-0 90 Ohio Valley Conference
North Florida 2-0 84 Atlantic Sun Conference
Davidson 0-0 83 Atlantic 10 Conference
Buffalo 3-1 74 Mid-American Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 74 Big Sky Conference
Fordham 2-0 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNC Asheville 2-0 70 Big South Conference
East Carolina 1-0 67 American Athletic Conference
Penn 2-0 65 Ivy League
Prairie View A&M 1-0 64 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 1-0 62 Atlantic 10 Conference
North Dakota 0-0 44 Big Sky Conference
Connecticut 1-1 43 American Athletic Conference
Northern Kentucky 1-0 41 Sun Belt Conference
Colgate 1-0 31 Patriot League
Mount St. Mary's 2-0 25 Northeast Conference
Morgan State 2-0 22 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Tennessee Tech 1-0 22 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 0-1 21 Mountain West Conference
Northwestern State 1-0 21 Southland Conference
Central Connecticut 2-0 16 Northeast Conference
McNeese State 1-0 12 Southland Conference
Mississippi Valley State 1-0 4 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Appalachian State 0-0 3 Sun Belt Conference
Southern 0-0 1 Southwestern Athletic Conference

Tulsa enters the mid-major top 25 this week, and 3 other teams are receiving votes. I like it.

[collegesportsfanms]

Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2018

Just 1 feature game for you this week, and let's take a look.

11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round- (5) Clemson (Charles Johnson) vs. (4) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- A hard fought victory that was tied at halftime. The difference was the shooting, as Clemson made 10 three pointers, but Colorado countered by making 23 free throws to just 9 for Clemson as the Buffaloes survived, advancing to the Maui Semifinals.

Final Score: (4) Colorado- 73, (5) Clemson- 69

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-5, 0-0 America East.

11/28/18 vs. South Florida (L 72-63).

The Hawks continue to look for their first win of the season, but the competition gets a little easier next week even though they'll be on the road.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 American.

11/28/18- NIT Season Tip-Off First Round vs. (4) Rutgers (L 74-60).
11/29/18- NIT Season Tip-Off Consolation vs. (1) Harvard (L 70-53).
11/30/18- NIT Season Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (7) Miami (OH) (W 70-54).

The Pirates avoid an 0-fer for the week by salvaging the 7th place game in their season tournament. They got a tough draw in the consolation semifinal by having to take on the top seed.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-2, 0-0 American.

11/30/18- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic Semifinal vs. (1) #8 Syracuse (L 84-72).
12/1/18- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Nebraska (L 80-66).

2 tough losses against good competition this week for the Golden Hurricane. It doesn't get any easier next week as they return home for 2 tough games.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/27/18- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (5) UTEP (L 89-81).
11/30/18- Brooklyn Classic Consolation vs. (8) DePaul (W 63-40).
12/1/18- Brooklyn Classic 5th Place Game vs. (7) Bucknell (L 66-64).

Tough week for the Wildcats, as they open the season with a 6th place finish in their season tournament. They blew a lead late in the game against Bucknell.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-3, 0-0 ACC.

11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (4) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
11/27/18- Maui Invitational Consolation vs. (1) UConn (L 95-57).
11/28/18- Maui Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (6) Evansville (W 90-84).

Tough luck for the Tigers this week, as they fell short against Colorado, then had to face a top seed with revenge on their mind. They did scrape out a win over Evansville, but they've got a brutal 4 game stretch coming up.

#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 3-0, 0-0 ACC.

No games this week for Coach Hoo and the Blue Devils, who get a nice rest before 5 cream puff games in a row.

#14 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 2-3, 0-0 Big 12.

11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (7) Belmont (L 89-73).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Consolation vs. (6) St. John's (W 67-53).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis 5th Place Game vs. (4) Memphis (L 72-69, OT).
12/2/18 at #18 Northern Iowa (L 83-69).

Not a good week at all for the Jayhawks, who aren't playing great basketball. 1-3 in a week just won't cut it. Nor will losing to teams like Belmont and Northern Iowa.

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

11/26/18 vs. Grand Canyon (L 49-47).
12/2/18 at Bethune Cookman (W 60-51).

The Horned Frogs suffer their first loss of the season, but almost rallied all the way back from a 13 point deficit. The schedule remains fairly easy as TCU looks to get some confidence before Big 12 play starts.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 2-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/26/18- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (6) Iona (W 53-52).
11/29/18- Las Vegas Invitational Semifinal vs. (2) Northern Iowa (L 87-82).
11/30/18- Las Vegas Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Oklahoma (L 83-73).

4th place seems to be the number for the Wolverines, who have 3 4th place finishes in 4 8 team tournaments so far. The tough schedule continues, as their next 6 opponents are a combined 17-4 so far.

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

No games this week for Coach Mighty and the Spartans, who get back on the court next week.

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

No games this week either for Coach Vee and the Wildcats, who have a pretty tough schedule to face next week.

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

Another team with no games this week, as Coach Gunn and the Warriors have had a very long layoff.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 1-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

And the trend continues, as the 49ers and Coach Tribble also had the week off.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/26/18 vs. Lamar (W 58-44).
12/1/18 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley (W 77-67).

The Owls get 2 home wins this week, and next week they start a 5 game road trip followed by their season tournament. In fact, Rice doesn't play a home game again until January 12th of 2019. Yeesh!

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 4-0, 0-0 MAAC.

11/25/18- Paradise Jam Semifinal vs. (8) Northern Arizona (W 72-44).
11/26/18- Paradise Jam Championship vs. (3) FIU (W 63-52).
12/2/18 at Hofstra (W 77-64).

Although it wasn't against the toughest of competition, the Hawks win their first season tournament in the Coach Carrano era, and follow it up with a good road win at Hofstra. They've got 3 more games on the road, all winnable, before returning home to start conference play.

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

11/30/18- New Orleans Classic First Round vs. (2) William & Mary (L 57-46).
12/2/18- New Orleans Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Wofford (W 62-53).

Another 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Spartans. They'll take next week off before a 3 game home stretch.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (5) Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
11/27/18- Maui Invitational Semifinal vs. (8) Oakland (L 83-77).
11/28/18- Maui Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Oklahoma State (W 77-73).

The Buffaloes had a pretty good week, despite the upset loss to Oakland. Nothing to be ashamed there, as Oakland also beat top seed UConn by 27. They finished off 3rd place by taking care of a former Big 12 opponent.

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

11/27/18- Cancun Challenge Semifinal vs. (3) West Virginia (L 53-50).
11/28/18- Cancun Challenge 3rd Place Game vs. (5) Rhode Island (W 63-55).

The Cardinal are slipping a bit in 8 team tournaments after winning one and being runner up in previous years. Still a hard fought loss against West Virginia. They've got some easy ones coming up next week.

#16 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (6) St. John's (W 85-63).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal vs. (7) Belmont (W 75-65).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis Championship vs. (5) UNLV (W 79-70).
12/2/18 vs. Illinois Chicago (W 99-49).

Great week for the Bruins, who took advantage of some upsets to avoid both Kansas and Kentucky and win the Battle for Atlantis. Then they hammered a hapless Illinois Chicago team for a 4 win week! UCLA has now won both the 8 team tourneys they've been in.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/2/18 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 60-44).

Just the 1 game this week for the Cougars, but they get back on the winning track. Just 1 home game next week on the schedule.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/26/18- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals vs. (9) #17 Seton Hall (W 67-34).
11/27/18- Hall of Fame Classic Championship vs. (2) #11 Arizona (W 74-65).

The Crimson Tide are rolling in the early season, becoming just the 2nd FOFC coached team ever to win a 16 team tournament, and they did it in easy fashion. They've got 3 home games in which they should roll coming up.

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

11/27/18- Cancun Challenge Semifinals vs. (5) Rhode Island (W 57-48).
11/28/18- Cancun Challenge Championship vs. (3) West Virginia (W 62-48).

The Gators continue their impressive streak in season tournaments, as they've won 3 now. Next week is a heavy week with 3 games on the schedule.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 3-2, 0-0 SEC.

11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (8) Bowling Green (W 82-80).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal vs. (5) UNLV (L 72-70).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis 3rd Place Game vs. (7) Belmont (W 74-68).

3 very close games for the Wildcats, unfortunately they missed a chance for the title game by giving up a buzzer beater to UNLV. 3rd place is their worst finish in an 8 team tournament so far.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.

No games for Coach Hawkins and the Trojans this week, as they get ready for 4 of their next 5 games on the road.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (71) 4-0 1799 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State 3-0 1686 1 Big 12 Conference
3. Georgetown 3-0 1663 3 Big East Conference
4. North Carolina 2-0 1499 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. San Diego State 3-0 1456 5 Mountain West Conference
6. UCLA (1) 6-0 1455 16 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Gonzaga 5-0 1292 19 West Coast Conference
8. Illinois State 4-0 1225 23 Missouri Valley Conference
9. LSU 3-0 1130 21 Southeastern Conference
10. Mississippi 4-0 1096 22 Southeastern Conference
11. Baylor 6-0 1048 24 Big 12 Conference
12. North Carolina State 3-0 998 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa 3-1 978 20 Big Ten Conference
14. Wisconsin 2-1 886 15 Big Ten Conference
15. Texas A&M 2-0 729 NR Southeastern Conference
16. Syracuse 5-0 686 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Duke 3-0 524 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Alabama 4-0 469 NR Southeastern Conference
19. Ohio State 1-1 443 NR Big Ten Conference
20. Florida 3-0 327 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Maryland 2-1 325 6 Big Ten Conference
22. St. Bonaventure 4-0 255 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Creighton 5-1 236 NR Big East Conference
24. Pittsburgh 4-1 220 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. William & Mary 4-0 168 NR Colonial Athletic Association

Others Receiving Votes:
Cincinnati 3-1 95 American Athletic Conference
Louisville 1-1 77 Atlantic Coast Conference
Penn State 3-0 77 Big Ten Conference
Stony Brook 4-0 72 America East Conference
Arizona 3-1 67 Pacific-12 Conference
Monmouth 4-0 60 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Sacramento State 3-0 60 Big Sky Conference
Niagara 4-0 58 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Toledo 2-0 51 Mid-American Conference
Tulane 2-0 41 American Athletic Conference
Bradley 2-0 40 Missouri Valley Conference
Idaho State 1-0 25 Big Sky Conference
USC Upstate 2-0 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
Manhattan 2-0 20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Buffalo 5-1 13 Mid-American Conference
McNeese State 2-0 11 Southland Conference
Mount St. Mary's 4-0 8 Northeast Conference
Providence 4-1 4 Big East Conference
Villanova 4-1 3 Big East Conference

Huge jumps for UCLA and Duke after big weeks, while Florida and Alabama also have big weeks and enter the national top 25. Monmouth, on the strength of winning their season tournament, is now receiving votes. Kansas is nowhere to be found, nor is Kentucky.

[collegesportsfanms]

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. San Diego State (59) 3-0 1785 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Gonzaga (5) 5-0 1710 4 West Coast Conference
3. Illinois State (7) 4-0 1685 5 Missouri Valley Conference
4. St. Bonaventure (1) 4-0 1492 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. William & Mary 4-0 1376 24 Colonial Athletic Association
6. Monmouth 4-0 1280 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
7. Stony Brook 4-0 1220 13 America East Conference
8. Niagara 4-0 1194 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
9. Cincinnati 3-1 1144 2 American Athletic Conference
10. Buffalo 5-1 1060 NR Mid-American Conference
11. Toledo 2-0 1033 11 Mid-American Conference
12. Mount St. Mary's 4-0 1024 NR Northeast Conference
13. Sacramento State 3-0 940 NR Big Sky Conference
14. Tulane 2-0 899 19 American Athletic Conference
15. Morgan State 3-0 821 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
16. Bradley 2-0 779 20 Missouri Valley Conference
17. USC Upstate 2-0 718 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
18. Manhattan 2-0 691 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
19. Central Connecticut 3-0 638 NR Northeast Conference
20. McNeese State 2-0 517 NR Southland Conference
21. Idaho State 1-0 409 NR Big Sky Conference
22. Boise State 2-1 376 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Northern Iowa 5-1 192 3 Missouri Valley Conference
24. North Carolina Central 3-1 101 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
25. Valparaiso 4-1 82 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Fresno State 4-1 31 Mountain West Conference
Oakland 5-1 28 Horizon League
Richmond 2-1 26 Atlantic 10 Conference
Florida Atlantic 4-1 24 Conference USA
Massachusetts 4-1 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
UC Santa Barbara 3-1 18 Big West Conference
Green Bay 4-1 15 Horizon League
George Washington 2-1 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Memphis 2-1 9 American Athletic Conference
Army 2-1 8 Patriot League
South Florida 3-1 8 American Athletic Conference
New Mexico State 4-1 6 Western Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 3-1 5 Conference USA
Nevada 3-1 4 Mountain West Conference
Colgate 2-1 3 Patriot League
Portland 2-1 3 West Coast Conference
Eastern Michigan 3-1 2 Mid-American Conference
Northern Arizona 2-1 2 Big Sky Conference
Robert Morris 3-1 2 Northeast Conference
Montana State 1-1 1 Big Sky Conference
Oral Roberts 3-1 1 Summit League
Stephen F. Austin 3-1 1 Southland Conference
UAB 2-1 1 Conference USA

Monmouth is our only representative in this poll, but what a season they've had so far.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 3-9, 2018

1 feature game to tell you about this week, and let's get to it.

12/6/18- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 40 minutes wasn't enough to decide this one, as Rice overcame 20 turnovers to hold Tulsa to just 39.4% shooting and dominated the overtime, getting a big road win.

Final Score: Rice- 84, Tulsa- 77 (OT)

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-8, 0-0 America East.

12/4/18 at Quinnipiac (L 86-70).
12/6/18 at St. Francis NY (L 68-56).
12/8/18 vs. Providence (L 73-36).

3 more losses for the Hawks this week, and none of them were very close. They've got 2 more chances to end the losing streak next week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-3, 0-0 American.

12/4/18 vs. Jacksonville (W 70-55).
12/6/18 vs. #12 N.C. State (L 78-68).

A decent effort against a very good N.C. State team, as the Pirates had it within 4 late, but ran out of gas. After a home game early next week, it gets much tougher as they embark on a 5 game road trip.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-4, 0-0 American.

12/3/18 vs. #15 Texas A&M (L 95-91).
12/6/18 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.

Much better effort this week for the Golden Hurricane. They fell short in 2 games but had A&M on the ropes. The schedule gets easier next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/6/18 at Xavier (L 62-48).

The Wildcats lose their only game of the week, but like some other teams, their schedule eases up over the next couple weeks.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-5, 0-0 ACC.

12/3/18 at VCU (L 88-79).
12/6/18 vs. South Carolina (L 95-84).

2 losses for the Tigers this week. A decent effort, but not great. Next week, 3 games, 2 against ranked teams.

#17 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 4-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/5/18 vs. George Mason (L 73-72).
12/7/18 vs. Georgia State (W 92-60).

Tough loss for the Blue Devils against George Mason, but a good recovery to end the week on a good note. A very easy schedule coming up before their season tournament in 2 weeks.

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

12/6/18 at Nebraska Omaha (W 65-34).

A much needed win for the Jayhawks this week as they go into a stretch next week where they play 2 ranked SEC opponents that haven't lost yet.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-1, 0-0 Big 12.

12/4/18 vs. McNeese State (W 80-54).
12/9/18 at Cal State Fullerton (W 74-73).

2 more wins for the Horned Frogs who are taking advantage of a soft non-conference schedule. That's ok though, they need all the wins they can get now before conference play starts.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 3-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/3/18 vs. Toledo (L 60-58).
12/6/18 at Texas (W 66-63).
12/9/18 at Boise State (L 80-79).

A heart wrenching week for the Wolverines, who lose 2 games by the combined margin of their lone win of the week, just 3 points. Tough week!

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 3-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/3/18 vs. Cleveland State (W 94-61).
12/6/18 at Northern Iowa (L 77-68).
12/9/18 at SMU (W 62-60).

The Spartans are struggling a little bit, but no shame in losing to Northern Iowa, they are good this season. Just 1 game next week before a 10 day layoff.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/3/18 vs. Vanderbilt (L 70-46).
12/5/18 vs. Texas Southern (W 73-66).
12/8/18 at #23 Creighton (L 59-31).

It's a far cry from last season for the Wildcats, who have already lost 3 non-conference games this season. Next weeks schedule is interesting, they play an undefeated team followed by a winless team.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 0-3, 0-0 Big West.

12/3/18 at Boston College (L 81-79).
12/6/18 vs. Stony Brook (L 66-64, OT).

The Warriors are still looking for their first win of the season, but this weeks effort was much better, as they only lost by 2 points each game.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/8/18 vs. Western Carolina (W 69-60).

Good win for the 49ers, who needed it as they go on a 6 game road trip now where the combined record of their opponents is 24-6.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/4/18 at Houston (W 80-76).
12/6/18 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Take nothing away from either of these opponents, even though the record doesn't show it, this will prove to be 2 solid road wins come March.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-2, 0-1 MAAC.

12/5/18 at Rhode Island (L 59-46).
12/7/18 at Yale (W 87-66).
12/9/18 at Niagara (L 73-65).

Not a good week for the Hawks, especially the start to conference play. At least they did hammer Yale, but the MAAC doesn't look too tough this season so a good finish is still a possibility.

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

No games this week for Coach Carrano and the Spartans.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/4/18 vs. Weber State (W 60-58).
12/7/18 at Denver (L 62-51).
12/9/18 vs. Western Illinois (W 70-42).

2 out of 3 this week for the Buffaloes isn't bad, but losing to teams like Denver won't do them any favors come March.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/4/18 at South Dakota State (W 52-50).

Just 1 game this week for the Cardinal, who struggled but got the victory.

#6 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/4/18 vs. Hofstra (W 81-74).
12/7/18 at Cal State Fullerton (W 71-63).

2 more wins for the Bruins as they remain undefeated. The win over Hofstra gave Coach Shepard his 100th win of his career, the first FOFC coach to reach that milestone!

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 3-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/18 vs. Portland State (W 68-60).

1 game again this week for the Cougars, but it was a win. Next week they get some more mid-major tests that should be a bit tougher.

#18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 6-0, 0-0 SEC.

12/4/18 vs. Northwestern State (W 65-51).
12/6/18 vs. Northern Illinois (W 73-43).

2 more wins for the Crimson Tide who are taking advantage of the easier schedule, needing a break from the grind they started with.

#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 6-0, 0-0 SEC.

12/3/18 vs. FIU (W 64-56).
12/5/18 vs. Duquesne (W 88-69).
12/7/18 at Louisville (W 76-73, OT).

Solid week for the Gators, who continue to win, including a tough road OT victory at Louisville.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 4-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/5/18 vs. Delaware (W 84-76).
12/8/18 at Xavier (L 66-62).

The Wildcats continue to play un-Kentucky like basketball, losing at Xavier. They better figure it out soon because their next 2 games are very challenging.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 2-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/6/18 vs. Seton Hall (W 82-78, OT).
12/8/18 at Jacksonville State (W 70-57).

A big win for the Trojans as they get one in OT over a pretty solid Seton Hall team. Hopefully they can keep the momentum going.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (64) 5-0 1790 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State (5) 5-0 1720 2 Big 12 Conference
3. San Diego State 5-0 1607 5 Mountain West Conference
4. North Carolina 4-0 1534 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. UCLA (2) 8-0 1528 6 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Gonzaga 7-0 1353 7 West Coast Conference
7. LSU 6-0 1347 9 Southeastern Conference
8. Illinois State 6-0 1235 8 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Syracuse (1) 6-0 1217 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. North Carolina State 5-0 1119 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Iowa 4-1 1077 13 Big Ten Conference
12. Baylor 8-0 1048 11 Big 12 Conference
13. Texas A&M 5-0 937 15 Southeastern Conference
14. Florida 6-0 830 20 Southeastern Conference
15. Mississippi 4-0 683 10 Southeastern Conference
16. Ohio State 3-1 666 19 Big Ten Conference
17. Pittsburgh 7-1 624 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Alabama 6-0 569 18 Southeastern Conference
19. Maryland 4-1 496 21 Big Ten Conference
20. Creighton 6-1 335 23 Big East Conference
21. St. Bonaventure 5-0 333 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Niagara 7-0 318 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
23. Cincinnati 5-1 243 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Toledo 4-0 166 NR Mid-American Conference
25. Manhattan 5-0 145 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Butler 5-1 105 Big East Conference
William & Mary 4-0 96 Colonial Athletic Association
USC Upstate 5-0 86 Atlantic Sun Conference
Vanderbilt 4-1 83 Southeastern Conference
Northern Iowa 7-1 34 Missouri Valley Conference
Providence 5-1 29 Big East Conference
Mount St. Mary's 5-0 18 Northeast Conference
Penn State 3-0 17 Big Ten Conference
Arizona State 5-1 6 Pacific-12 Conference
Wisconsin 3-2 6 Big Ten Conference

Good weeks for UCLA and Florida move them up the ladder, while Alabama stays at 18. A lack of respect for Duke who loses a game by 1 point and loses all their votes. Monmouth also loses their votes after a 1-2 week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. San Diego State (67) 5-0 1795 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Gonzaga (1) 7-0 1706 2 West Coast Conference
3. Illinois State (4) 6-0 1680 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. St. Bonaventure 5-0 1498 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cincinnati 5-1 1440 9 American Athletic Conference
6. Niagara 7-0 1408 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
7. Northern Iowa 7-1 1330 23 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Toledo 4-0 1291 11 Mid-American Conference
9. Manhattan 5-0 1281 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
10. USC Upstate 5-0 1196 17 Atlantic Sun Conference
11. William & Mary 4-0 1177 5 Colonial Athletic Association
12. Mount St. Mary's 5-0 1045 12 Northeast Conference
13. Oakland 6-1 787 NR Horizon League
14. Old Dominion 6-1 755 NR Conference USA
15. Massachusetts 6-1 672 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. UC Santa Barbara 4-1 563 NR Big West Conference
17. South Florida 4-1 539 NR American Athletic Conference
18. Stony Brook 5-1 497 7 America East Conference
19. Furman 5-1 329 NR Southern Conference
20. Sacramento State 4-1 300 13 Big Sky Conference
21. Nevada 4-1 288 NR Mountain West Conference
22. North Carolina Central 4-1 240 24 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
23. New Mexico 3-1 180 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Army 4-1 154 NR Patriot League
25. Morgan State 5-1 151 15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Buffalo 6-2 131 Mid-American Conference
Rice 4-1 122 Conference USA
Saint Louis 4-1 110 Atlantic 10 Conference
Pacific 4-1 108 West Coast Conference
Florida Atlantic 4-1 105 Conference USA
North Florida 5-1 78 Atlantic Sun Conference
Robert Morris 4-1 75 Northeast Conference
Quinnipiac 3-1 69 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Charlotte 2-1 57 Conference USA
Appalachian State 2-1 49 Sun Belt Conference
Northern Colorado 3-1 46 Big Sky Conference
Central Connecticut 4-1 41 Northeast Conference
South Carolina State 2-1 31 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Prairie View A&M 2-1 27 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Boise State 4-2 26 Mountain West Conference
Central Arkansas 2-1 23 Southland Conference

Man, tough crowd for Monmouth, as they drop all the way from #6 in the mid-major polls to losing all their votes. Both our Conference USA representatives in Rice and Charlotte are receiving votes now.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 10-16, 2018

4 feature games to tell you about this week, all non-conference games.

12/13/18- Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) @ Duke (Dean Hoo) -- A much closer one than expected, as a last second shot forced the game into OT. Neither team shot well, Charlotte just 37.8% and Duke an even worse 35.9%, but Duke controlled the extra 5 minutes at the free throw line, and knocked down a couple clutch three pointers to escape with a victory.

Final Score: Duke- 79, Charlotte- 70 (OT)

12/14/18- Northwestern (Ess Vee) @ #18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The Crimson Tide are on a mission this season, as they held Northwestern to just 39.1% shooting, making 12 three pointers and outrebounding the Wildcats 32-27. All that led to an easy home victory.

Final Score: #18 Alabama- 77, Northwestern- 56

12/14/18- Clemson (Charles Johnson) @ #14 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- A much tougher one than expected for the Gators, as Clemson committed 6 turnovers all game. Florida used a huge rebounding advantage though, 47-29, and despite going 2-13 from the three point line, they made 14 free throws to just 6 for Clemson. That proved to be the difference.

Final Score: Florida- 68, Clemson- 60

12/16/18- #18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- Nobody gave the Crimson Tide much of a chance in this one, as most people figured they weren't up to the Final Four type level yet. For 1 half, they were wrong as Kansas only led 35-31 at halftime. But the Jayhawks stepped up the D in the second half, outscoring Kansas 46-27, handing Bama their first loss by a wide margin.

Final Score: Kansas- 81, #18 Alabama- 58

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-10, 0-0 America East.

12/10/18 vs. Towson (L 84-78).
12/13/18 at Hofstra (L 71-55).

The Hawks continue to look for that illustrious first win of the season, coming close against Towson but no cigar. It doesn't look promising to get that first win next week as they go on the road for a tough game.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-6, 0-0 American.

12/10/18 vs. UNC Wilmington (L 75-64).
12/12/18 at VCU (L 78-76).
12/15/18 at #1 Virginia (L 88-68).

Not much to talk about for the Pirates this week, they almost pulled a bit of a shocker at VCU. They've still got 3 tough road games to deal with before they come back home.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-6, 0-0 American.

12/12/18 at UTEP (L 89-65).
12/15/18 at FIU (L 72-53).

You know things are bad when you get hammered by 19 at FIU. This isn't the same Golden Hurricane team we saw last season, and the honeymoon is over for Coach Brown.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/11/18 at Princeton (L 100-95, OT).
12/14/18 vs. South Florida (W 72-64).
12/16/18 vs. North Carolina A&T (L 82-76).

The Wildcats suffered an embarrassing home loss to NC A&T, one they won't live down anytime soon. We've got a lot of teams struggling this season.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-8, 0-0 ACC.

12/12/18 at #16 Ohio State (L 64-63).
12/14/18 at #14 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
12/16/18 vs. North Carolina Central (L 77-36).

I have no idea what happened to the Tigers this week. After 2 hard fought losses against ranked teams on the road, they go home and get blitzed by 41 points to an NC Central team that is good, but shouldn't be winning like that. Coach Johnson better figure it out fast.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 6-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/13/18 vs. Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
12/15/18 vs. Holy Cross (W 75-41).

2 easy wins for the Blue Devils this week as they get ready for their season tournament next week.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 5-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/12/18 at #15 Ole Miss (W 75-73, OT).
12/16/18 vs. #18 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Better week for the Jayhawks who get by a tough Ole Miss team on the road then hand Alabama their first loss. Things look to be starting to come together in Lawrence.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-2, 0-0 Big 12.

12/11/18 at New Mexico State (L 69-67).

The Horned Frogs let their only game of the week slip away, but next week is favorable as they face 2 teams on a downhill slide.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/12/18 at Xavier (W 67-64).

The Wolverines get an important win this week, much needed as their next 2 games are against non-power 5 teams who are currently ranked and undefeated.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/13/18 vs. Colgate (W 88-46).

Easy win for the Spartans this week as they are also starting to play better basketball.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-5, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/14/18 at #18 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
12/16/18 vs. Northern Illinois (L 73-65).

2 more losses for the Wildcats as they are struggling. Major difference from last year. They've got 1 game next week before their season tournament the following week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-4, 0-0 Big West.

12/11/18 vs. #7 LSU (L 66-62).
12/16/18 at New Mexico State (W 70-64, OT).

The Warriors look as if they may be turning a corner, as they led LSU at halftime and played well against a strong New Mexico State team. They've got another top 25 team on the schedule next week, we'll see how that goes.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/13/18 at Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
12/15/18 at #4 North Carolina (L 69-45).

The 49ers stay in their home state for 2 road games and lose both, 1 was close, the other wasn't.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/10/18 at South Florida (L 62-53).
12/12/18 at South Dakota (L 83-68).
12/15/18 at Texas Southern (W 86-68).

Travelling to schools that start with South wasn't kind to the Owls this week, as they lost both such games. At least they finished off their week strong, and now head into their conference tournament next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-3, 0-2 MAAC.

12/14/18 vs. #25 Manhattan (L 69-58).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks, and it was a tough game. They had to take on the undefeated team in the MAAC and played well, but not well enough.

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

12/10/18 vs. Rider (L 97-79).
12/12/18 vs. George Mason (W 62-48).

A split for the Spartans this week, as it was definitely a tale of 2 games.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/13/18 at #2 Iowa State (L 68-56).
12/15/18 vs. BYU (W 62-54).

A split for the Buffaloes, who played well at Iowa State but just not quite there yet.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/10/18 at Youngstown State (L 52-39).
12/12/18 vs. Loyola Chicago (W 61-52).
12/16/18 vs. #19 Maryland (W 73-66).

2 out of 3 for the Cardinal this week, and that big win over Maryland would mean more if not for the embarrassing loss at Youngstown State, although Youngstown isn't too bad. Still, if Stanford wants to dance in March, losses to teams like Youngstown State won't work.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/12/18 vs. Kansas State (W 83-59).
12/16/18 at Eastern Illinois (W 57-49).

The Bruins remain undefeated, but that game at Eastern Illinois wasn't easy. It was tied at halftime.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 4-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/11/18 at Valparaiso (L 81-62).
12/13/18 vs. Utah (W 95-86).
12/16/18 at Portland (L 86-74).

The Cougars lose 2 of 3 this week against pretty good Non-Power 5 competition, but they haven't done anything to prove they'll be a competitor in the Pac 12 this season.

#18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-1, 0-0 SEC.

12/12/18 vs. UMBC (W 83-69).
12/14/18 vs. Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
12/16/18 at Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.

No shame in having your first loss in 9 games be to Kansas. This is still a good Crimson Tide team with an already impressive resume.

#14 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/11/18 at New Orleans (L 58-53).
12/14/18 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
12/16/18 at Georgetown (L 60-59).

The Gators also lost 2 of 3 this week, and those losses were by a combined 6 points. 1 of those losses could prove to be costly come March.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 5-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/10/18 vs. #20 Creighton (W 79-60).

Good win for the Wildcats who only had the 1 game this week.

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

12/12/18 at Mississippi State (W 72-69).
12/15/18 at Sam Houston State (L 86-73).

A split for the Trojans this week, who win at Mississippi State, who if you remember is now in the Atlantic 10.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (71) 7-0 1798 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State 7-0 1707 2 Big 12 Conference
3. San Diego State 7-0 1612 3 Mountain West Conference
4. UCLA (1) 10-0 1543 5 Pacific-12 Conference
5. North Carolina 6-0 1524 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Illinois State 8-0 1442 8 Missouri Valley Conference
7. LSU 8-0 1310 7 Southeastern Conference
8. Syracuse 7-0 1280 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Gonzaga 8-0 1274 6 West Coast Conference
10. Baylor 10-0 1202 12 Big 12 Conference
11. Texas A&M 7-0 1087 13 Southeastern Conference
12. Pittsburgh 8-1 965 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Cincinnati 8-1 858 23 American Athletic Conference
14. Ohio State 4-1 823 16 Big Ten Conference
15. Northern Iowa 9-1 748 NR Missouri Valley Conference
16. St. Bonaventure 7-0 710 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Butler 7-1 703 NR Big East Conference
18. Manhattan 7-0 499 25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
19. Toledo 6-0 474 24 Mid-American Conference
20. Vanderbilt 5-1 409 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Wisconsin 5-2 325 NR Big Ten Conference
22. Mount St. Mary's 7-0 293 NR Northeast Conference
23. Iowa 5-2 221 11 Big Ten Conference
24. Minnesota 8-1 157 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Notre Dame 7-2 116 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Alabama 8-1 94 Southeastern Conference
Duke 6-1 78 Atlantic Coast Conference
Rutgers 8-1 42 Big Ten Conference
Maryland 5-2 40 Big Ten Conference
Georgetown 4-2 19 Big East Conference
Oakland 8-1 17 Horizon League
Niagara 8-1 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UC Santa Barbara 6-1 9 Big West Conference
North Carolina Central 7-1 4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Marquette 4-1 2 Big East Conference
Purdue 5-1 2 Big Ten Conference

UCLA stays put after 2 easy wins, and they lose a FPV. Alabama and Florida both fall out of the rankings. Florida loses all their votes while Bama is still receiving a fair amount and is just out. Right behind them is Duke, who continues to impress.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. San Diego State (64) 7-0 1792 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Illinois State (7) 8-0 1717 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Gonzaga (1) 8-0 1673 2 West Coast Conference
4. Cincinnati 8-1 1519 5 American Athletic Conference
5. Northern Iowa 9-1 1511 7 Missouri Valley Conference
6. St. Bonaventure 7-0 1483 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Manhattan 7-0 1354 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
8. Toledo 6-0 1328 8 Mid-American Conference
9. Mount St. Mary's 7-0 1228 12 Northeast Conference
10. Oakland 8-1 1096 13 Horizon League
11. Niagara 8-1 1028 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
12. UC Santa Barbara 6-1 946 16 Big West Conference
13. Massachusetts 7-1 922 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. Buffalo 7-2 912 NR Mid-American Conference
15. North Carolina Central 7-1 861 22 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
16. Saint Louis 6-1 742 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Florida Atlantic 4-1 691 NR Conference USA
18. Wichita State 5-2 419 NR Missouri Valley Conference
19. Belmont 6-2 413 NR Ohio Valley Conference
20. South Florida 6-2 284 17 American Athletic Conference
21. Green Bay 6-2 271 NR Horizon League
22. Army 6-2 155 24 Patriot League
23. Old Dominion 6-2 126 14 Conference USA
24. Milwaukee 5-2 119 NR Horizon League
25. Colorado State 4-2 76 NR Mountain West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Portland 5-2 76 West Coast Conference
UTEP 4-2 74 Conference USA
Dayton 5-2 62 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 5-2 62 Colonial Athletic Association
North Dakota State 7-2 54 Summit League
Saint Joseph's 4-2 51 Atlantic 10 Conference
New Mexico 4-2 46 Mountain West Conference
Nevada 5-2 44 Mountain West Conference
UAB 5-2 41 Conference USA
Quinnipiac 5-2 39 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UC Davis 5-2 33 Big West Conference
Howard 6-2 28 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Robert Morris 5-2 22 Northeast Conference
USC Upstate 5-2 22 Atlantic Sun Conference
Fordham 5-2 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
Sacramento State 4-2 17 Big Sky Conference
UNC Wilmington 3-2 12 Colonial Athletic Association
Western Michigan 5-2 11 Mid-American Conference
Oral Roberts 6-2 8 Summit League
Central Connecticut 5-2 5 Northeast Conference
Pacific 4-2 5 West Coast Conference
Youngstown State 4-2 2 Horizon League

Both Charlotte and Rice lose all their mid-major votes. No big surprise.

[vex]

Not looking good for TU..

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 17-23, 2018

2 feature games this week, and let's get to it.

12/21/18- TCU (Bee Mighty) @ Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- The Tigers really needed a win here, and they did their part by forcing 20 TCU turnovers. Leading by 11 at halftime, Clemson held on to that lead the entire 2nd half and got their 2nd win of the season.

Final Score: Clemson- 88, TCU- 81

12/23/18- Davidson (Randolph Childress) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- Despite turning the ball over 16 times, the Spartans held Davidson to just 36.7% shooting and outrebounded them 45-33 en route to an easy victory.

Final Score: Michigan State- 74, Davidson- 56

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-11, 0-0 America East.

12/22/18 at Northeastern (L 82-73).

The losing streak continues for the Hawks, who have 1 more non-conference game before they get into America East play.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-9, 0-0 American.

12/17/18 at Texas (L 78-63).
12/20/18 at Villanova (L 86-61).
12/22/18 at Wichita State (L 84-60).

The bad news for the Pirates is that they weren't close in any of their games this week. The good news is the road trip is over, and now they go home to start American play.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-6, 0-0 American.

12/19/18 vs. Samford (W 68-58).
12/21/18 at Oral Roberts (W 75-62).

A couple good wins for the Golden Hurricane to break the 6 game losing streak. They've got a couple more non-conference road games next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 3-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/18/18 vs. North Carolina Central (W 84-75).
12/23/18 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Wildcats this week. The win over NC Central was nice but they fell apart at Michigan State.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 2-8, 0-0 ACC.

12/21/18 vs. TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

A much needed win for the Tigers, but the schedule doesn't get any easier. 2 more tough non-conference games next week.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 8-1, 0-0 ACC.

12/19/18- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (16) Idaho (W 74-53).
12/21/18- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinals vs. (8) Yale (W 101-79).

A couple easy victories for the Blue Devils, who get their semifinal game next week.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/22/18 vs. FIU (W 64-60).

Just 1 game this week for the Jayhawks, and they struggled, but got the win. They'll have to play a lot better than that though.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-4, 0-0 Big 12.

12/17/18 vs. Lamar (W 71-54).
12/21/18 at Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
12/23/18 vs. Abilene Christian (L 84-73).

Bad week for the Horned Frogs who have lost 3 of their last 5. At least this weeks losses weren't terrible, the 2 teams they lost to have an average RPI of 76.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 5-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/23/18 vs. #3 San Diego State (W 79-74).

Nice win for the Wolverines who may be putting it together now. They've got another top 25 test next week.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 5-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/23/18 vs. Davidson- feature game, highlighted above.

Good win for the Spartans, as Davidson will be a better team than their record shows.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-6, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/19/18 at Boise State (L 83-50).

Yikes! The Wildcats continue to struggle, having now lost 4 in a row. They have their season tournament next week, then to the grind of the Big Ten where they are currently the only team with a losing record. Oh boy!!

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-4, 0-0 Big West.

12/18/18 vs. #24 Minnesota (W 85-77, OT).
12/21/18 at Columbia (W 63-55).

The firecoachgunn.com website is not as strong as it was after 3 straight Warrior wins, but they've still got some tough games coming up.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/22/18 at Miami (L 66-53).

Just 1 game for the 49ers this week, and they fought valiantly but still lost. It won't get easier next week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 6-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/19/18- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (2) Oregon (W 94-79).
12/21/18- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinal vs. (7) Eastern Michigan (L 81-68).

Huge upset for the Owls in the First Round of their season tournament, but it appears they used everything they had in that game as they came out flat against Eastern Michigan.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 8-3, 2-2 MAAC.

12/19/18 vs. Lehigh (W 70-62).
12/21/18 at Quinnipiac (W 86-73).
12/23/18 vs. Rider (W 62-54).

Nice week for the Hawks, who win 3 games and get back even in conference play. They need to keep it going if they have any hope of a postseason berth.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-5, 0-0 MEAC.

12/19/18 vs. Ohio (W 81-75).
12/21/18 at Richmond (L 67-49).
12/23/18 vs. LaSalle (L 83-59).

Good start to the week for the Spartans, then they ran up against better competition and got smoked.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-5, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/18/18 vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (L 67-65).
12/21/18 vs. North Carolina State (W 60-59).

The inconsistency of the Buffaloes bugs me. They beat a good team in N.C. State but lose to Corpus Christi? This has been a win one, lose one team all month, and they have the potential to be really good.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 6-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/19/18 at Cal State Fullerton (W 65-55).

The Cardinal get a win in their only game of the week, but it wasn't as easy as it should have been against a 2 win team.

#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for Coach Shepard and the Bruins.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/21/18 vs. Boston University (W 67-44).

Good win for the Cougars who have 3 more games before conference play starts. 2 should be easy, 1 is a toss-up.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/20/18 at Memphis (W 56-46).
12/23/18 at Notre Dame (L 92-66).

A split for the Crimson Tide this week, who again has a lot of potential but seems to be struggle a bit right now. Both their losses on the season have been by 23+ points.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-2, 0-0 SEC.

No games this week for Coach Oppenheimer and the Gators.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 6-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/18/18 at Oklahoma (W 59-56).

The Wildcats win their only game of the week, a match-up between 2 solid teams, and look ahead to an easier schedule next week.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-5, 0-2 Sun Belt.

12/20/18 at Arkansas State (L 96-84).
12/22/18 vs. Northern Kentucky (L 73-59).

Not a good start to conference play for the Trojans, but never fear, things seem to be pretty wide open as nobody in the conference stands out.

Now for the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (64) 9-0 1791 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State (6) 9-0 1726 2 Big 12 Conference
3. North Carolina 8-0 1633 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Gonzaga (2) 11-0 1596 9 West Coast Conference
5. UCLA 10-0 1508 4 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Syracuse 8-0 1423 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Baylor 11-0 1326 10 Big 12 Conference
8. Texas A&M 9-0 1319 11 Southeastern Conference
9. Pittsburgh 9-1 1210 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Ohio State 5-1 1121 14 Big Ten Conference
11. Butler 8-1 1028 17 Big East Conference
12. Northern Iowa 10-1 1002 15 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Iowa 7-2 904 23 Big Ten Conference
14. Vanderbilt 7-1 820 20 Southeastern Conference
15. Illinois State 9-1 818 6 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Wisconsin 7-2 738 21 Big Ten Conference
17. Notre Dame 8-2 646 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. LSU 9-1 601 7 Southeastern Conference
19. Duke 8-1 461 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. San Diego State 8-2 358 3 Mountain West Conference
21. Rutgers 9-1 244 NR Big Ten Conference
22. Oakland 10-1 212 NR Horizon League
23. Georgetown 5-2 209 NR Big East Conference
24. St. Bonaventure 8-1 141 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Louisville 7-2 138 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Arizona 8-2 95 Pacific-12 Conference
Toledo 8-1 94 Mid-American Conference
Cincinnati 8-2 81 American Athletic Conference
UC Santa Barbara 8-1 62 Big West Conference
Manhattan 8-1 32 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Massachusetts 8-1 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Florida Atlantic 6-1 21 Conference USA
Illinois 10-2 6 Big Ten Conference
Alabama 9-2 2 Southeastern Conference
Providence 8-2 2 Big East Conference
Villanova 8-2 1 Big East Conference

UCLA loses their FPV and 1 spot in the rankings after their bye week, while Duke wins 2 tournament games and jumps back in the top 25. Alabama is barely sticking around, getting just 2 votes this week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 11-0 1800 3 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 10-1 1726 5 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 9-1 1654 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 8-2 1526 1 Mountain West Conference
5. St. Bonaventure 8-1 1459 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Oakland 10-1 1411 10 Horizon League
7. Cincinnati 8-2 1349 4 American Athletic Conference
8. Toledo 8-1 1316 8 Mid-American Conference
9. Manhattan 8-1 1229 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
10. UC Santa Barbara 8-1 1198 12 Big West Conference
11. Massachusetts 8-1 1113 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Mount St. Mary's 8-1 1006 9 Northeast Conference
13. Florida Atlantic 6-1 968 17 Conference USA
14. Wichita State 7-2 863 18 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Belmont 8-2 752 19 Ohio Valley Conference
16. UTEP 6-2 643 NR Conference USA
17. Niagara 8-2 606 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
18. Dayton 7-2 529 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Robert Morris 7-2 377 NR Northeast Conference
20. Buffalo 7-3 353 14 Mid-American Conference
21. North Dakota State 9-2 336 NR Summit League
22. Drake 7-2 314 NR Missouri Valley Conference
23. Colorado State 6-2 234 25 Mountain West Conference
24. Portland 6-2 190 NR West Coast Conference
25. Howard 7-2 187 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Youngstown State 6-2 147 Horizon League
Sam Houston State 6-2 48 Southland Conference
Harvard 6-3 33 Ivy League
Saint Louis 6-2 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 9-3 8 America East Conference
Rhode Island 6-3 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

None of our teams represented. A tad surprised Monmouth isn't receiving a vote, but not shocked.

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 24-30, 2018

2 feature games to tell you about this week, so let's get to it.

12/24/18- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- A thrilling game that saw both teams shoot lights out. The different came at the line though, as Washington State shot and made 11 more free throws to steal a win in Hawaii.

Final Score: Washington State- 80, Hawaii- 74

12/29/18- Clemson (Charles Johnson) @ Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- It was definitely a tale of 2 halves, as Kentucky came out flat and trailed by 3 at halftime. They took control in the second half though, outscoring the Tigers 55-34 and held Clemson to just 38% shooting for the game as they rolled to victory.

Final Score: Kentucky- 86, Clemson- 68

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 2-11, 1-0 America East.

12/26/18 at Princeton (W 78-65).
12/30/18 vs. Binghamton (W 65-56).

Don't look now, but the Hawks have started a winning streak! Not only did they beat a usually strong Princeton team, they also won their America East opener.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-10, 0-1 American.

12/26/18 vs. South Florida (L 78-58).

Getting back home and into conference play didn't make a difference, as the Pirates still got blasted in their only game of the week.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-8, 0-0 American.

12/25/18 at Creighton (L 81-55).
12/29/18 at Oregon State (L 62-59).

Well it's back to losses for the Golden Hurricane, but both were pretty good losses really, as both Creighton and Oregon State are pretty solid this season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 4-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/26/18 vs. Marquette (W 80-73).

1 game this week for the Wildcats, who get a much needed win, but have a very tough schedule coming up. Their next 3 opponents are a combined 23-7.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 3-9, 0-0 ACC.

12/24/18 vs. Tennessee (W 84-80).
12/29/18 at Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

At this point, the Tigers need wins. Getting a win over a solid Tennessee team is good, but they've still gotta go through the brutal grind of the ACC.

#19 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-2, 0-0 ACC.

12/24/18- Las Vegas Classic Semifinal vs. (4) Kansas State (W 82-74).
12/25/18- Las Vegas Classic Championship vs. (3) #8 Texas A&M (L 64-59).

A much better finish than last seasons 16 team tournament for the Blue Devils, but they'll be kicking themselves for that loss to A&M. Now they have another tough non-conference match next week.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-3, 0-0 Big 12.

12/24/18 at Miami (W 72-64).
12/29/18 vs. #14 Vanderbilt (W 87-70).

The Jayhawks are rolling after a couple early season setbacks, winners of 6 in a row.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big 12.

12/25/18 at Nebraska (L 93-90, OT).

Give the Horned Frogs credit for taking Nebraska to OT, but they are struggling right now, losers of 3 in a row and having to open up Big 12 play with a 2 loss team and an undefeated team.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/25/18 vs. #24 St. Bonaventure (W 75-74).
12/30/18 vs. N.C. State (L 84-79).

A split for the Wolverines who are really playing gutwrenching ball right now. Their last 7 games have been decided by an average of about 3 points.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/25/18 at North Carolina A&T (W 63-48).
12/27/18 vs. Boston College (W 62-51).

The Spartans are on a nice 5 game winning streak, but they have a tough non-conference battle coming up to end the year 2018.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-9, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/24/18- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (3) #23 Georgetown (L 88-87, OT).
12/25/18- Diamond Head Classic Consolation vs. (7) Western Michigan (L 70-57).
12/27/18- Diamond Head Classic 7th Place Game vs. (5) Richmond (L 75-50).

The Wildcats had Georgetown on the ropes which could have turned their season around. They lost in overtime, failed to show up in the last 2 games of their season tournament, and now have a 7 game winning streak. It's ugly.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-5, 0-0 Big West.

12/24/18 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/26/18 vs. South Dakota State (W 74-72).
12/30/18 vs. North Dakota (W 63-53).

Great recovery for the Warriors, who end the year 2018 by winning 5 of their last 6 after losing their first 4 to start the season. They are back at .500, but they are about to embark on a 4 game road trip that won't be easy.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/27/18 at #14 Vanderbilt (L 77-67).
12/29/18 at Memphis (W 61-51).

The 49ers split this week, getting a mild upset at Memphis that they are hoping leads to a nice win streak.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 6-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Coach Shocker and the Owls.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-4, 3-3 MAAC.

12/28/18 at Fairfield (L 65-59).
12/30/18 at Iona (W 69-52).

A split for the Hawks, who end the month winning 4 of their last 5, still trying to break through in a wide open conference.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 4-6, 0-0 MEAC.

12/29/18 at Wake Forest (L 89-57).

Just 1 game for the Spartans this week, as even a not so good Wake Forest team is much more than they can handle. They start conference play next week.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/28/18 at Villanova (L 77-63).

The Buffaloes start conference play next week and stand at .500 after non-conference play. About 3 bad losses in the non-conference season could hurt them big come March.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/24/18 at New Mexico State (W 55-39).
12/27/18 vs. Mercer (W 69-52).
12/30/18 at Georgia (W 72-56).

Good week for the Cardinal, who win all 3 games in convincing fashion. 1 more big non-conference test next week.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/24/18 at Long Beach State (W 94-49).
12/29/18 vs. Kent State (W 105-65).

2 easy wins against overmatched competition this week for the Bruins, who are clearly the favorite heading into Pac 12 play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/24/18 at Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
12/26/18 vs. Montana State (W 78-51).

A couple much needed wins for the Cougars who end the month on a 3 game winning streak and have another feel good non-conference game next week before they start conference play.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-2, 0-0 SEC.

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

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/29/18 at #1 Virginia (L 100-87).

Good effort for the Gators in their only game of the week, unfortunately Virginia was hot, hot, hot.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 8-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/26/18 at Florida A&M (W 83-59).
12/29/18 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more wins for the Wildcats who have a nice non-conference test next week before SEC play starts.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-7, 0-4 Sun Belt.

12/27/18 vs. Texas State (L 63-59).
12/29/18 at Georgia Southern (L 73-61).

Close, but no cigar in 2 games for the Trojans this season, who have lost 5 in a row since it looked like they might be turning the corner.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (70) 11-0 1797 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (2) 13-0 1723 4 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 12-0 1643 5 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Syracuse 10-0 1564 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. North Carolina 10-1 1405 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Texas A&M 11-0 1403 8 Southeastern Conference
7. Baylor 12-0 1348 7 Big 12 Conference
8. Ohio State 7-1 1291 10 Big Ten Conference
9. Pittsburgh 11-1 1280 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Illinois State 11-1 1157 15 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Iowa State 10-2 1110 2 Big 12 Conference
12. Northern Iowa 12-1 1043 12 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Iowa 8-2 1011 13 Big Ten Conference
14. Wisconsin 8-2 860 16 Big Ten Conference
15. Louisville 8-2 700 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Cincinnati 9-2 659 NR American Athletic Conference
17. Rutgers 9-1 636 21 Big Ten Conference
18. UC Santa Barbara 9-1 479 NR Big West Conference
19. Providence 9-2 450 NR Big East Conference
20. Vanderbilt 8-2 436 14 Southeastern Conference
21. Villanova 9-2 300 NR Big East Conference
22. Mount St. Mary's 10-1 257 NR Northeast Conference
23. Notre Dame 8-3 221 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Duke 9-2 159 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Oklahoma State 8-2 153 NR Big 12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Georgetown 7-3 106 Big East Conference
Minnesota 9-2 56 Big Ten Conference
LSU 9-2 50 Southeastern Conference
Stanford 9-2 30 Pacific-12 Conference
Alabama 9-2 23 Southeastern Conference
Oakland 11-2 9 Horizon League
St. Bonaventure 8-2 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego State 8-3 8 Mountain West Conference
UTEP 9-2 8 Conference USA
Maryland 7-3 6 Big Ten Conference
Auburn 8-2 5 Southeastern Conference
Michigan State 7-2 3 Big Ten Conference
Arkansas 9-2 1 Southeastern Conference
Manhattan 8-2 1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

UCLA keeps moving up the ladder, but still a lot of undefeated teams to deal with. Duke gets punished by dropping 5 spots after a 5 point loss. Stanford, Alabama, and Michigan State are in the mix, receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 13-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 11-1 1721 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Northern Iowa 12-1 1663 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Cincinnati 9-2 1571 7 American Athletic Conference
5. UC Santa Barbara 9-1 1508 10 Big West Conference
6. Mount St. Mary's 10-1 1410 12 Northeast Conference
7. Oakland 11-2 1300 6 Horizon League
8. San Diego State 8-3 1285 4 Mountain West Conference
9. UTEP 9-2 1234 16 Conference USA
10. St. Bonaventure 8-2 1154 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Toledo 8-2 1025 8 Mid-American Conference
12. Dayton 9-2 1004 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Manhattan 8-2 941 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
14. Massachusetts 9-2 841 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. North Dakota State 11-2 831 21 Summit League
16. Robert Morris 9-2 742 19 Northeast Conference
17. Florida Atlantic 7-2 680 13 Conference USA
18. Wichita State 8-3 576 14 Missouri Valley Conference
19. Saint Louis 7-2 487 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Stony Brook 10-3 428 NR America East Conference
21. Belmont 9-3 390 15 Ohio Valley Conference
22. Green Bay 10-3 275 NR Horizon League
23. South Florida 8-3 182 NR American Athletic Conference
24. Denver 9-3 137 NR Summit League
25. Quinnipiac 7-3 63 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Kentucky 8-3 38 Ohio Valley Conference
Drake 8-3 33 Missouri Valley Conference
Sacramento State 6-3 23 Big Sky Conference
Youngstown State 7-3 20 Horizon League
Portland 7-3 19 West Coast Conference
Howard 8-3 14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Air Force 7-3 4 Mountain West Conference
Harvard 7-4 1 Ivy League

Again, none of our FOFC teams represented

[bbgunn]

The Cougs are starting to make some noise!

[collegesportsfanms]

Dec. 31, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019

We have 3 feature games to talk about this week, all non-conference games, so let's get to it.

1/2/19- Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A hotly contested game, as neither team led by more than 8 points throughout. Stanford led by 7 at halftime, but the Wildcats came back in the second half thanks to some hot three point shooting and pick up a narrow road win.

Final Score: Kentucky- 71, Stanford- 69

1/4/19- Tulsa (Will Brown) @ Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- Much like our previous game, it was tightly contested throughout. 2 things hurt the Wolverines though. They shot 30.2% from the field, and they committed 27 team fouls to 13 for Tulsa. Tulsa was 23-31 from the line while Michigan was 9-11. That was a huge difference as the Golden Hurricane pulled away to get a very important non-conference road victory.

Final Score: Tulsa- 64, Michigan- 55

1/5/19- Davidson (Randolph Childress) @ Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The road team made it 3 for 3 in our 3 feature games this week, as Davidson shot 53.7% from the field and 45.8% from three point land. Both teams took great care of the basketball with Davidson having 9 turnovers and the Gators having 10, but it was the shooting that made the difference.

Final Score: Davidson- 84, Florida- 76

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-12, 2-1 America East.

1/2/19 at Stony Brook (L 69-55).
1/6/19 at UMass Lowell (W 62-53).

A road split this week for the Hawks, who seem to be playing slightly better ball in conference.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-12, 0-3 American.

1/2/19 vs. SMU (L 65-46).
1/5/19 at Houston (L 77-69).

The bright note is the Pirates had their lowest margin of defeat in almost a month with the 8 point Houston loss, but they are nowhere close to being a real contender.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-9, 0-1 American.

1/2/19 vs. UConn (L 68-62).
1/4/19 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.

The Golden Hurricane split this week, as go figure, they lose at home and win on the road.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

1/2/19 at VCU (L 72-64).
1/5/19 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

The Wildcats will be happy to get a tough split on the road before conference play starts. They've got a good early season conference schedule to get ahead, if they can take advantage of it.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-9, 1-0 ACC.

1/2/19 vs. #9 Pitt (W 81-72).

Just 1 game for the Tigers this week, their conference opener in which they've already put a shock into someone. Big way to open ACC play with an upset win.

#24 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-3, 1-0 ACC.

12/31/18 at #14 Wisconsin (L 79-78, OT).
1/2/19 vs. Boston College (W 81-68).

The Blue Devils let the Wisconsin game slip away, as they had a lead late but couldn't hold it. At least they got off to a good start in ACC play.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-5, 0-2 Big 12.

12/31/18 at Texas (L 82-75).
1/5/19 at Kansas State (L 55-53).

A reality check early on for the Jayhawks, who lose their first 2 conference games, including a loss to their in-state rivals. They better figure it out fast.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-6, 0-1 Big 12.

1/5/19 vs. #11 Iowa State (L 83-55).

The Horned Frogs still have a long way to go to be competitive in the Big 12, as they learned the hard way after a 28 point loss.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-6, 0-0 Big Ten.

1/4/19 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

The Wolverines last game before conference play didn't leave a good taste in their mouth. Instead of home cooking, they were the victim of road cookin.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/31/18 at #20 Vanderbilt (L 59-49).
1/2/19 vs. Columbia (L 73-68).

My how the Spartans are falling. Columbia? Really? Come on Al Mighty, step up your coaching game! :lol:

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-10, 0-0 Big Ten.

1/4/19 vs. Virginia Tech (L 76-63).

It's been a bad, bad season for the Wildcats. Just 2 wins entering conference play in the rough, tough Big Ten. A far, far cry from last season.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 6-6, 0-0 Big West.

1/1/19 at UMass (L 77-72).
1/3/19 at Utah (W 65-62).

A road split for the Warriors as they head into conference play with a .500 record. Not a bad recovery after starting 0-4.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/31/18 at USC Upstate (L 82-62).
1/2/19 vs. Tennessee Tech (W 62-61).
1/5/19 at #8 Ohio State (L 95-51).

1 out of 3 this week for the 49ers, and even that 1 victory was by 1 point. They were smoked in their 2 losses.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) --7-4, 0-0 Conference USA.

1/3/19 at Brown (W 78-70).

1 game this week for the Owls, as they get a road win against a team that is a lot better than their 4-9 record.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 11-4, 5-3 MAAC.

1/4/19 vs. Quinnipiac (W 85-57).
1/6/19 vs. Marist (W 60-59).

2 more wins for the Hawks, but they can't be happy about needing a buzzer beater to beat a 2 win Marist team. Playing to the level of competition is not something they need to do.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-7, 1-1 MEAC.

12/31/18 at Delaware State (W 72-62).
1/5/19 at Morgan State (L 72-66).

The Spartans start MEAC play with a road split, looking to take advantage of a soft schedule next week.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-6, 0-0 Pac 12.

I was misquoted in my last post, as the Buffaloes and Coach Nielsen had this week off and will start conference play next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

1/2/19 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

1 game for the Cardinal this week, a tough loss to a very good Kentucky team.

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

No games this week for the Bruins and Coach Shepard, who are enjoying their undefeated record heading into conference play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

1/1/19 vs. Montana (L 79-57).

1 game this week for the Cougars, and they'd like to forget it. Hammered by a not so good Montana team, at home no less. That doesn't leave a good taste in their mouth heading into the tough Pac 12 schedule.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-3, 0-0 SEC.

1/1/19 at Purdue (L 87-72).
1/4/19 vs. #15 Louisville (W 58-49).

The Crimson Tide split this week, but losing to a 9 win Purdue team isn't bad at all. At least they ended the non-conference slate with an upset victory over Louisville.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-5, 0-0 SEC.

1/3/19 at Jacksonville (L 62-55).
1/5/19 vs. Davidson- feature game, highlighted above.

The Gators have now lost 4 in a row. The loss to Davidson can be forgiven, but losing at Jacksonville, who has an RPI of 301? Wow!

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

1/2/19 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

1 game this week for the Wildcats, who eek out a 2 point victory over a very good Stanford squad.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-7, 2-4 Sun Belt.

1/3/19 at UT Arlington (W 76-61).
1/5/19 vs. UT Arlington (W 65-64).

The Trojans might be back on track after a 5 game losing streak, as they win a road/home back to back doubleheader over UT Arlington. Even though they just got by them at home, hopefully they are figuring it out.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (70) 13-0 1798 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (2) 14-0 1729 2 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 12-0 1638 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Texas A&M 13-0 1556 6 Southeastern Conference
5. Baylor 14-0 1513 7 Big 12 Conference
6. Northern Iowa 14-1 1370 12 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Iowa State 11-2 1357 11 Big 12 Conference
8. Ohio State 9-1 1357 8 Big Ten Conference
9. Wisconsin 10-2 1225 14 Big Ten Conference
10. Syracuse 11-1 1185 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. North Carolina 11-2 1110 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Pittsburgh 11-2 1006 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Notre Dame 10-3 829 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Villanova 11-2 811 21 Big East Conference
15. Iowa 9-3 782 13 Big Ten Conference
16. Providence 11-2 741 19 Big East Conference
17. Oklahoma State 10-2 641 25 Big 12 Conference
18. Georgetown 9-3 567 NR Big East Conference
19. LSU 10-2 480 NR Southeastern Conference
20. Louisville 9-3 360 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Arizona 10-3 293 NR Pacific-12 Conference
22. Maryland 9-3 291 NR Big Ten Conference
23. UTEP 10-2 212 NR Conference USA
24. Illinois State 11-3 209 10 Missouri Valley Conference
25. St. Bonaventure 10-2 121 NR Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cincinnati 10-3 57 American Athletic Conference
Vanderbilt 9-3 50 Southeastern Conference
Dayton 10-2 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Mississippi 9-3 23 Southeastern Conference
Rutgers 10-2 22 Big Ten Conference
Kentucky 9-3 16 Southeastern Conference
Massachusetts 10-2 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Duke 10-3 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Robert Morris 11-2 2 Northeast Conference

UCLA stays put at #3, but still no FPV. Duke falls out of the top 25 after a split this week. Kentucky is receiving votes after a big win this week, and Michigan State, Stanford, and Alabama all lose their votes after losses this week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 14-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 14-1 1728 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 11-3 1638 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. St. Bonaventure 10-2 1534 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cincinnati 10-3 1495 4 American Athletic Conference
6. UTEP 10-2 1485 9 Conference USA
7. Dayton 10-2 1294 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Wichita State 10-3 1206 18 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Robert Morris 11-2 1198 16 Northeast Conference
10. Massachusetts 10-2 1197 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. San Diego State 9-4 1070 8 Mountain West Conference
12. Belmont 11-3 1046 21 Ohio Valley Conference
13. Oakland 12-3 961 7 Horizon League
14. Green Bay 12-3 889 22 Horizon League
15. South Florida 10-3 789 23 American Athletic Conference
16. Manhattan 10-3 745 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
17. UC Santa Barbara 9-3 644 5 Big West Conference
18. Eastern Kentucky 10-3 537 NR Ohio Valley Conference
19. North Dakota State 12-3 517 15 Summit League
20. Mount St. Mary's 10-3 347 6 Northeast Conference
21. Saint Mary's 9-4 324 NR West Coast Conference
22. Air Force 8-3 305 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Rhode Island 8-4 233 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Eastern Michigan 9-4 129 NR Mid-American Conference
25. Stony Brook 11-4 110 20 America East Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
North Carolina Central 10-4 39 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Saint Louis 7-3 37 Atlantic 10 Conference
Bucknell 10-4 32 Patriot League
Cal Poly 9-4 25 Big West Conference
Utah State 10-4 25 Mountain West Conference
Monmouth 11-4 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 8-4 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 9-4 3 Mountain West Conference

For the first time in a while, we have an FOFC team represented in the mid-major polls. Hopefully it's not just a 1 time thing for Monmouth.

[bbgunn]

WSU needs to get off to a good start in the Pac-12, crack the rankings, and get some momentum.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 7-13, 2019

We have 3 feature games this week, and we are firmly into conference play everywhere. Let's start in the ACC.

1/9/19- Duke (Dean Hoo) @ Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- It was only a 4 point game at halftime, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half, although neither team played particularly well, Duke played a little better.

Final Score: Duke- 69, Clemson- 55

Now to the Pac 12:

1/12/19- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Turnovers were the difference in this one, as Washington State took care of the basketball and turned it over 9 times, while Colorado had 18 turnovers and shot just 31.4%. All that led to a big Washington State road victory.

Final Score: Washington State- 64, Colorado- 55

And finally to the SEC:

1/12/19- Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- There was some major home cookin in this one, as Alabama was 34-37 from the line compared to just 5-8 for Kentucky. Team foul count: 7 for Alabama, 28 for Kentucky. Wow! This negated the fact that the Wildcats shot over 10% better than the Crimson Tide, but couldn't beat Alabama and the officials both.

Final Score: Alabama- 87, Kentucky- 83

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-13, 2-2 America East.

1/13/19 at Vermont (L 76-49).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks, and they'd like to forget it. Pounded on the road against a league favorite.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-14, 0-5 American.

1/9/19 at Cincinnati (L 87-55).
1/12/19 at Memphis (L 78-49).

It's back to blowout city for the Pirates after a close game at Houston. At this rate, they'll be lucky to win a game in the AAC.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 5-10, 1-2 American.

1/9/19 vs. Temple (L 73-69).
1/12/19 at Houston (W 72-54).

A split for the Golden Hurricane this week who couldn't quite come back against Temple, but a good recovery at Houston.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 7-7, 2-0 Atlantic 10.

1/9/19 vs. Dayton (W 86-61).
1/12/19 vs. George Mason (W 78-51).

Good start to conference play for the Wildcats as they roll in a couple home games.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-11, 1-2 ACC.

1/9/19 at Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
1/12/19 vs. #13 Notre Dame (L 88-74).

So much for that! After the Tigers upset Pitt last week, they drop 2, but against 2 good teams.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 12-3, 3-0 ACC.

1/9/19 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
1/12/19 at #20 Louisville (W 78-67).

Good week for the Blue Devils who have recovered nicely from that short 2 game losing streak to end December.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-6, 0-3 Big 12.

1/12/19 at Oklahoma (L 64-61, OT).

Just 1 game for the Jayhawks this week, but it was another conference loss, their 3rd already. The Lawrence natives are getting restless.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-8, 0-3 Big 12.

1/7/19 vs. #5 Baylor (L 75-63).
1/12/19 vs. #17 Oklahoma State (L 74-58).

2 more losses for the Horned Frogs who have now lost 6 in a row, although they did give Baylor a fight for a while.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-6, 2-0 Big Ten.

1/9/19 vs. Penn State (W 76-65).
1/12/19 at #15 Iowa (W 86-75).

Good start to conference play for the Wolverines, who win 2 games by the exact same margin.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-5, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/9/19 at Indiana (L 86-63).
1/12/19 at Purdue (W 73-72).

So the Spartans split this week, getting a much needed win at Purdue, heading into a tough week next week.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-11, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/9/19 vs. Nebraska (W 78-62).
1/12/19 at #8 Ohio State (L 80-61).

A split for the Wildcats this week, who break an 8 game losing streak, but I have a feeling another long losing streak is about to start.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 8-6, 2-0 Big West.

1/10/19 at Cal State Fullerton (W 57-55).
1/12/19 at UC Santa Barbara (W 72-52).

Good start to conference play for the Warriors, and this is where they need to make some noise. For now, the firecoachgunn.com website has been taken down, but it won't take much to open it back up.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 5-8, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/10/19 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 66-62).
1/12/19 at UTSA (W 75-52).

A split for the 49ers this week, who fought back valiantly after getting destroyed in the first half against LA Tech.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 0-2 Conference USA.

1/10/19 at North Texas (L 77-68).
1/12/19 vs. Old Dominion (L 78-73).

Not they way the Owls wanted to start conference play, with 2 close losses.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-5, 6-4 MAAC.

1/11/19 vs. Fairfield (W 71-62).
1/13/19 at Manhattan (L 68-60).

So the Hawks see their 4 game winning streak end at Manhattan who is a very good team. They can still take some pride in knowing they've won 7 of their last 9.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-9, 1-3 MEAC.

1/7/19 at Savannah State (L 92-75).
1/12/19 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 68-66).

2 losses for the Spartans, and honestly, losing to a 2 win Bethune Cookman team might be the lowlight of the season to this point.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-7, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/10/19 vs. Oregon State (W 69-63).
1/12/19 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

A home split for the Buffaloes, who lose their feature game this week, but do get a win over a very good Oregon State team.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-4, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/10/19 at Arizona State (L 64-58).
1/12/19 vs. Washington (W 61-52).

A split for the Cardinal, who win at home and lose on the road.

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 14-0, 2-0 Pac 12.

1/10/19 at Washington (W 94-71).
1/12/19 vs. #21 Arizona (W 84-76).

2 more wins for the Bruins, who continue to just dominate everybody this season. We know they are prone to the upset though, it happened to them a couple times in conference play last season.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-5, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/10/19 vs. #21 Arizona (L 63-42).
1/12/19 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

So the Cougars split, but still have some work to do as Arizona exposed them. Nice recovery against Colorado though.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-3, 2-0 SEC.

1/9/19 at Auburn (W 63-61).
1/12/19 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

The Crimson Tide get 2 wins this week, but can really think the officials for that Kentucky victory.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-6, 1-1 SEC.

1/9/19 at VCU (W 72-68).
1/12/19 vs. #19 LSU (L 56-43).

The Gators split this week, and that win over VCU, even though VCU is struggling a bit this season, will prove to be huge come March. They've got to get some consistency going though.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 10-4, 1-1 SEC.

1/9/19 vs. Tennessee (W 92-62).
1/12/19 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Wildcats, and I don't need to say anymore about the Alabama game. I'm just curious to see how that might change things come the end of the conference season. Kentucky will be furious if that game cost them a chance at an SEC title.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-8, 3-5 Sun Belt.

1/10/19 vs. Arkansas State (L 49-43).
1/12/19 at Louisiana Lafayette (W 83-82, OT).

This Trojans team is hard to figure out. They have all the ability to be a contender in the Sun Belt, but they struggle putting it all together. They needed a buzzer beater to get their lone win this week.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (71) 15-0 1799 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (1) 16-0 1689 2 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 14-0 1689 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Baylor 16-0 1551 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Northern Iowa 16-1 1501 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Wisconsin 12-2 1468 9 Big Ten Conference
7. Pittsburgh 13-2 1326 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 14-1 1324 4 Southeastern Conference
9. Iowa State 12-3 1172 7 Big 12 Conference
10. Syracuse 13-1 1145 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Ohio State 10-2 1141 8 Big Ten Conference
12. North Carolina 12-3 996 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Maryland 11-3 902 22 Big Ten Conference
14. Illinois State 14-3 875 24 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Providence 13-2 798 16 Big East Conference
16. Villanova 12-3 719 14 Big East Conference
17. Georgetown 11-3 613 18 Big East Conference
18. Cincinnati 12-3 553 NR American Athletic Conference
19. Notre Dame 11-4 542 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. LSU 11-3 320 19 Southeastern Conference
21. Massachusetts 12-2 303 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Oklahoma State 11-3 269 17 Big 12 Conference
23. Arizona 11-4 226 21 Pacific-12 Conference
24. Iowa 10-4 104 15 Big Ten Conference
25. Duke 12-3 91 NR Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
San Diego State 10-4 88 Mountain West Conference
Alabama 12-3 82 Southeastern Conference
Belmont 13-3 25 Ohio Valley Conference
Green Bay 14-3 25 Horizon League
Oakland 14-3 22 Horizon League
St. Bonaventure 11-3 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
Vanderbilt 10-4 12 Southeastern Conference
Manhattan 12-3 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

Just how it should be, as our 4 undefeated teams are the top 4 in the country. UCLA stays 3rd with a FPV, and I don't see them moving up until Virginia or Gonzaga lose. Duke cracks the top 25 with 2 more wins this week, and Alabama is just on the outside looking in.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 16-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 16-1 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 14-3 1656 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Cincinnati 12-3 1580 5 American Athletic Conference
5. Massachusetts 12-2 1465 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Oakland 14-3 1364 13 Horizon League
7. San Diego State 10-4 1362 11 Mountain West Conference
8. Belmont 13-3 1326 12 Ohio Valley Conference
9. Green Bay 14-3 1242 14 Horizon League
10. St. Bonaventure 11-3 1211 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Manhattan 12-3 1096 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
12. Dayton 11-3 1000 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. North Dakota State 13-3 867 19 Summit League
14. Wichita State 11-4 839 8 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stony Brook 12-4 711 25 America East Conference
16. Saint Joseph's 10-4 687 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Utah State 12-4 653 NR Mountain West Conference
18. UTEP 10-4 530 6 Conference USA
19. Toledo 10-4 449 NR Mid-American Conference
20. Buffalo 10-5 417 NR Mid-American Conference
21. American 12-4 366 NR Patriot League
22. North Carolina Central 11-4 283 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
23. Howard 11-4 197 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
24. UC Santa Barbara 10-4 146 17 Big West Conference
25. Saint Mary's 10-5 104 21 West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Georgia State 12-5 79 Horizon League
Eastern Kentucky 11-4 74 Ohio Valley Conference
Robert Morris 11-4 66 Northeast Conference
Harvard 9-5 25 Ivy League
Air Force 9-4 24 Mountain West Conference
SMU 10-5 16 American Athletic Conference
Rhode Island 9-5 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
Niagara 12-5 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Eastern Michigan 10-5 7 Mid-American Conference
Pepperdine 10-5 6 West Coast Conference
Mount St. Mary's 11-4 2 Northeast Conference

Well that didn't last long. Monmouth lost a game this week, and lost their votes in the mid-major poll.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 14-20, 2019

3 feature games this week, so let's get to them, starting in Conference USA.

1/17/19- Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) @ Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- A thrilling game in which neither team could pull away. While Rice made a couple more shots, Charlotte made a couple more free throws and a couple more three pointers, one of which proved to be the game winner as the 49ers escape with a road buzzer beater victory.

Final Score: Charlotte- 60, Rice- 59

Now to the AAC (or American Conference)

1/19/19- ECU (Al Hutt) @ Tulsa (Will Brown) -- No buzzer beater in this one, as Tulsa forced 20 ECU turnovers and held them to just 30% shooting in an easy home victory.

Final Score: Tulsa- 66, ECU- 48

And finally, the SEC:

1/19/19- Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @ Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- A complete tale of two halves in this one, as Kentucky jumped out to a 20 point halftime lead, but had to withstand a furious Gator rally. Florida got it down to 3 by holding a 49-34 rebounding edge, but the Wildcats held on.

Final Score: Kentucky- 69, Florida- 64

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-15, 2-4 America East.

1/16/19 vs. UMBC (L 76-40).
1/20/19 vs. Albany (L 72-57).

2 more big losses for the Hawks who have lost 3 in a row after winning 3 of their previous 4.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-15, 1-6 American.

1/16/19 vs. UCF (W 78-50).
1/19/19 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Congrats to the Pirates for getting their first American win of the season, and they did it in convincing fashion. Unfortunately, they went back to being blown out in their next game.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-11, 2-3 American.

1/16/19 at SMU (L 90-68).
1/19/19 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who are still struggling mightily compared to last season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 7-9, 2-2 Atlantic 10.

1/16/19 vs. Rhode Island (L 74-48).
1/19/19 at Mississippi State (L 55-54).

Just when it looked like the Wildcats were turning the corner, they go and lose 2 games this week, including to a Mississippi State team that was demoted to the A-10 a couple years ago. Ugh.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-12, 2-3 ACC.

1/16/19 at Georgia Tech (L 70-66).
1/19/19 vs. Miami (W 71-55).

A split for the Tigers, who break a quick 3 game losing streak with the win over Miami. They turn around and face Miami again next week before facing a brutal 4 game schedule.

#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 14-3, 5-0 ACC.

1/16/19 at Wake Forest (W 73-61).
1/19/19 at Georgia Tech (W 71-59).

It's too early to say Duke is back, as they still haven't played any of the ranked ACC teams, but they are definitely off to a good start and should have no problem exceeding last years win total.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 10-6, 2-3 Big 12.

1/14/19 vs. Texas Tech (W 74-65).
1/19/19 vs. West Virginia (W 73-48).

A much better week for the Jayhawks, and it couldn't come at a better time, as 3 of their next 4 games will be very tough.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-10, 0-5 Big 12.

1/14/19 at Texas (L 65-52).
1/19/19 at Kansas State (L 71-62).

2 more losses for the Horned Frogs, and the losing streak is now 8. They may go 0-fer in the Big 12 this season.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-8, 2-2 Big Ten.

1/16/19 at Illinois (L 75-65).
1/19/19 vs. Minnesota (L 61-60).

Good effort for the Wolverines this week, but they still lost 2 tough ones.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-7, 1-3 Big Ten.

1/16/19 vs. #24 Iowa (L 90-82).
1/19/19 vs. #6 Wisconsin (L 69-29).

My goodness, how the Al Mighty have fallen (sorry, bad joke, couldn't resist). The Spartans are struggling big time this season. A 40 point loss might be their biggest loss in the Al Mighty tenure, and is sure to get the fan base riled up.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-13, 1-3 Big Ten.

1/16/19 at #6 Wisconsin (L 75-47).
1/19/19 at #24 Iowa (L 75-49).

It's quite evident last years season for the Wildcats was a fluke, even if they did only finish .500 in Big Ten play. They've already lost more games this season than all of last season.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-7, 3-1 Big West.

1/17/19 vs. UC Riverside (W 93-69).
1/19/19 vs. Cal Poly (L 102-89).

Nothing to be alarmed with for the Warriors' first Big West loss, Cal Poly should be a contender. Still though, the Warriors need to put together a nice win streak.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-9, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/17/19 at Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
1/19/19 vs. UAB (L 77-61).

A split for the 49ers, who faced tough competition this week. Next week it gets a tad easier.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-7, 1-3 Conference USA.

1/17/19 vs. Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
1/19/19 at Middle Tennessee (W 87-54).

After a few near misses to start C-USA play, the Owls got their first conference win in a big way. Now with the C-USA wide open, they need to make a run.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 13-6, 7-5 MAAC.

1/18/19 vs. St. Peter's (L 65-61).
1/20/19 vs. Iona (W 72-62).

A home split for the Hawks, who lost a tough one against St. Peter's. They are still in pretty good shape though, if they can take care of business against the lower MAAC teams.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-11, 1-4 MEAC.

1/17/19 at Quinnipiac (L 73-59).
1/19/19 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (L 79-65).

The struggles are real for the Spartans this season (both Spartan teams, how ironic), as they've lost 5 in a row.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-8, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/17/19 vs. Oregon (L 73-66).
1/19/19 at Utah (W 72-62).

A split for the Buffaloes, who just can't put together any kind of winning or losing streak this season. It's been win one, lose one, or win a couple, lose a couple.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-6, 1-3 Pac 12.

1/17/19 vs. #23 Arizona (L 50-42).
1/19/19 vs. USC (L 53-42).

2 tough games for the Cardinal this week, as they lost both, but competed pretty well.

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-0, 4-0 Pac 12.

1/17/19 at Utah (W 85-74).
1/19/19 vs. California (W 77-64).

The Bruins keep rolling, and Coach Shepard keeps winning. He may be at 200 wins before some of our other coaches reach 100 wins.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-7, 1-3 Pac 12.

1/17/19 at USC (L 73-72).
1/19/19 vs. Washington (L 73-66).

2 losses this week for the Cougars, but at least they were consistent, giving up 73 points each game.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 14-3, 4-0 SEC.

1/16/19 vs. Ole Miss (W 82-52).
1/19/19 at Tennessee (W 75-73).

The Crimson Tide continue to roll, winners of 5 in a row after a brief 2 game losing streak. I'm quickly seeing an SEC showdown later in the year.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-8, 1-3 SEC.

1/16/19 at Missouri (L 86-85, OT).
1/19/19 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

2 tough losses for the Gators this week, as they got down big in both games, made a huge comeback, but couldn't get over the hump.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 12-4, 3-1 SEC.

1/16/19 at Georgia (W 83-69).
1/19/19 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

Good week for the Wildcats who are starting to get it together again.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-9, 4-5 Sun Belt.

1/17/19 vs. Maine (L 73-37).
1/19/19 at Louisiana Monroe (W 66-59).

The good news is the Trojans seem to be figuring it out a bit in Sun Belt play. The bad news is they got absolute hammered by a non-conference Maine team that has an RPI of 339. Yikes! I guess as long as they can keep the strong conference play going, they'll be alright.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (60) 16-1 1782 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (8) 18-0 1698 2 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA (2) 16-0 1698 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Baylor (2) 17-0 1516 4 Big 12 Conference
5. Wisconsin 14-2 1492 6 Big Ten Conference
6. Northern Iowa 18-1 1473 5 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Pittsburgh 15-2 1360 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 16-1 1277 8 Southeastern Conference
9. Iowa State 14-3 1236 9 Big 12 Conference
10. Ohio State 12-2 1142 11 Big Ten Conference
11. Syracuse 15-1 1116 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. North Carolina 14-3 1056 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Providence 15-2 903 15 Big East Conference
14. Georgetown 13-3 869 17 Big East Conference
15. Arizona 13-4 727 23 Pacific-12 Conference
16. Maryland 12-4 659 13 Big Ten Conference
17. Illinois State 15-4 578 14 Missouri Valley Conference
18. Duke 14-3 502 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Iowa 12-4 408 24 Big Ten Conference
20. Alabama 14-3 394 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Notre Dame 12-5 392 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
22. San Diego State 12-4 347 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Vanderbilt 12-4 213 NR Southeastern Conference
24. Oakland 16-3 193 NR Horizon League
25. Kentucky 12-4 124 NR Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Cincinnati 13-4 113 American Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 13-3 84 Atlantic 10 Conference
Manhattan 14-3 28 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
LSU 12-4 10 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 12-4 10 Big 12 Conference

Not much has changed at the top, and probably nothing will until one of the top 4 teams, who are all undefeated, loses. UCLA did earn a couple FPV this week. Duke has a great week with a couple nice wins and moves up 7 spots, and both Alabama and Kentucky jump into the national top 25.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 18-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 18-1 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 15-4 1649 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 12-4 1551 7 Mountain West Conference
5. Oakland 16-3 1482 6 Horizon League
6. Cincinnati 13-4 1471 4 American Athletic Conference
7. St. Bonaventure 13-3 1391 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Manhattan 14-3 1309 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
9. Wichita State 13-4 1194 14 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Saint Joseph's 12-4 1120 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. UTEP 12-4 1024 18 Conference USA
12. American 14-4 886 21 Patriot League
13. Saint Mary's 12-5 867 25 West Coast Conference
14. North Carolina Central 13-4 828 22 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
15. Rhode Island 11-5 666 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Dayton 12-4 582 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. UC Santa Barbara 12-4 578 24 Big West Conference
18. Howard 13-4 528 23 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
19. Belmont 13-5 446 8 Ohio Valley Conference
20. Eastern Michigan 12-5 402 NR Mid-American Conference
21. Massachusetts 12-4 378 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Harvard 11-5 374 NR Ivy League
23. Eastern Kentucky 13-4 357 NR Ohio Valley Conference
24. Robert Morris 13-4 195 NR Northeast Conference
25. Green Bay 14-5 178 9 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Boise State 11-6 125 Mountain West Conference
SMU 12-5 113 American Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 13-5 49 America East Conference
Georgia State 13-6 42 Horizon League
South Florida 11-5 31 American Athletic Conference
Colorado State 12-5 19 Mountain West Conference
Mount St. Mary's 13-4 19 Northeast Conference
Buffalo 11-6 11 Mid-American Conference
Toledo 11-5 7 Mid-American Conference

No FOFC mid-major teams represented, no big surprise.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 21-27, 2019

I had this post almost done when my piece of crap internet lost it, so with me having to restart it, I'm going scores only for this post.

We do have 2 feature games to start with, 1 in the Big 12, 1 in the Big Ten.

1/26/19- Kansas (Dave Johnson) @ TCU (Bee Mighty)

Final Score: Kansas- 72, TCU- 69 (OT)

1/26/19- Michigan State (Al Mighty) @ Northwestern (Ess Vee)

Final Score: Northwestern- 85, Michigan State- 72

Now for the rest of the weekly recap, scores only (Damn internet!)

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-16, 3-5 America East.

1/25/19 vs. Maine (L 69-62).
1/27/19 vs. Stony Brook (W 73-66).

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-17, 1-8 American.

1/23/19 vs. Memphis (L 67-55).
1/26/19 at UConn (L 70-58).

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 7-12, 3-4 American.

1/23/19 vs. South Florida (L 67-53).
1/26/19 at Cincinnati (W 66-63).

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 9-9, 4-2 Atlantic 10.

1/23/19 at George Mason (W 75-55).
1/26/19 at Duquesne (W 80-72).

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-14, 2-5 ACC.

1/23/19 at Miami (L 73-63).
1/26/19 vs. #1 Virginia (L 70-67).

#18 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 16-3, 7-0 ACC.

1/23/19 vs. #12 North Carolina (W 83-75).
1/26/19 at N.C. State (W 86-61).

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 11-7, 3-4 Big 12.

1/21/19 at #9 Iowa State (L 71-63).
1/26/19 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-12, 0-7 Big 12.

1/21/19 vs. Oklahoma (L 83-60).
1/26/19 vs. Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 9-9, 3-3 Big Ten.

1/23/19 at Minnesota (L 76-63).
1/26/19 at Indiana (W 93-84).

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-8, 2-4 Big Ten.

1/23/19 vs. Purdue (W 81-72).
1/26/19 at Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 4-14, 2-4 Big Ten.

1/23/19 at Illinois (L 76-64).
1/26/19 vs. Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-8, 4-2 Big West.

1/22/19 at Long Beach State (W 71-58).
1/26/19 at UC Irvine (L 62-43).

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-10, 3-3 Conference USA.

1/24/19 vs. UTSA (W 66-46).
1/26/19 vs. Marshall (L 78-61).

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-8, 2-4 Conference USA.

1/24/19 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 79-70).
1/26/19 at Florida Atlantic (W 78-69).

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 13-8, 7-7 MAAC.

1/25/19 at Marist (L 60-43).
1/27/19 vs. Siena (L 67-52).

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-11, 2-4 MEAC.

1/21/19 at Hampton (W 58-48).
1/23/19 vs. Radford (W 61-59).

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 9-9, 3-3 Pac 12.

1/24/19 at California (W 69-62).
1/26/19 at USC (L 73-47).

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 12-6, 3-3 Pac 12.

1/24/19 at Oregon State (W 67-61).
1/26/19 at Oregon (W 61-58).

#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-2, 4-2 Pac 12.

1/24/19 vs. USC (L 89-69).
1/26/19 at Arizona State (L 75-67).

Wow, of all the undefeated teams to go down this week, I never thought it would be ours.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-7, 3-3 Pac 12.

1/24/19 at Oregon (W 67-48).
1/26/19 vs. California (W 77-72).

#20 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-4, 5-1 SEC.

1/23/19 vs. Tennessee (L 90-82).
1/26/19 at VCU (W 86-73).

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 9-9, 2-4 SEC.

1/23/19 at Arkansas (L 74-66).
1/26/19 at Auburn (W 85-80).

#25 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 13-5, 4-2 SEC.

1/23/19 at Vanderbilt (L 83-71).
1/26/19 vs. Missouri (W 90-78).

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-10, 4-6 Sun Belt.

1/22/19 vs. Longwood (W 58-50).
1/24/19 at Northern Kentucky (L 89-87, OT).

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (48) 17-1 1776 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (24) 20-0 1752 2 West Coast Conference
3. Iowa State 16-3 1610 9 Big 12 Conference
4. Baylor 18-1 1546 4 Big 12 Conference
5. UCLA 16-2 1480 3 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Syracuse 17-1 1450 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Pittsburgh 16-3 1402 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 17-2 1311 8 Southeastern Conference
9. Wisconsin 14-4 1240 5 Big Ten Conference
10. Providence 17-2 1123 13 Big East Conference
11. Iowa 14-4 1035 19 Big Ten Conference
12. Northern Iowa 18-3 981 6 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Notre Dame 14-5 899 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Arizona 15-4 815 15 Pacific-12 Conference
15. Illinois State 17-4 794 17 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Duke 16-3 728 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Ohio State 12-4 693 10 Big Ten Conference
18. North Carolina 14-5 602 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Georgetown 14-4 503 14 Big East Conference
20. Oakland 18-3 442 24 Horizon League
21. Oklahoma State 14-4 202 NR Big 12 Conference
22. Alabama 15-4 198 20 Southeastern Conference
23. San Diego State 13-5 198 22 Mountain West Conference
24. St. Bonaventure 15-3 189 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Maryland 13-5 114 16 Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
LSU 14-4 77 Southeastern Conference
Kentucky 13-5 65 Southeastern Conference
Minnesota 14-4 61 Big Ten Conference
Creighton 14-5 53 Big East Conference
Vanderbilt 13-5 42 Southeastern Conference
Wichita State 15-4 16 Missouri Valley Conference
Manhattan 15-4 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 14-4 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

UCLA only drops 2 spots after losing 2 games this week, and Alabama drops 2 spots after splitting. Duke only moves up 2 spots after their 2 big wins this week, while Kentucky falls out of the top 25, but is still receiving a fair amount of votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 20-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 17-4 1696 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Northern Iowa 18-3 1687 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Oakland 18-3 1544 5 Horizon League
5. San Diego State 13-5 1491 4 Mountain West Conference
6. St. Bonaventure 15-3 1475 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Wichita State 15-4 1361 9 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Saint Joseph's 14-4 1269 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. SMU 15-5 1142 NR American Athletic Conference
10. Manhattan 15-4 1063 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
11. Rhode Island 13-5 1034 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. North Carolina Central 15-4 907 14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
13. Belmont 15-5 887 19 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Saint Mary's 14-5 868 13 West Coast Conference
15. Eastern Michigan 14-5 730 20 Mid-American Conference
16. Buffalo 13-6 700 NR Mid-American Conference
17. Dayton 14-4 669 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Boise State 12-6 627 NR Mountain West Conference
19. Robert Morris 15-4 489 24 Northeast Conference
20. Massachusetts 14-4 472 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Eastern Kentucky 15-4 401 23 Ohio Valley Conference
22. Cincinnati 13-6 339 6 American Athletic Conference
23. Georgia State 15-6 271 NR Horizon League
24. UTEP 13-5 216 11 Conference USA
25. American 15-5 99 12 Patriot League

Others Receiving Votes:
UC Santa Barbara 13-5 47 Big West Conference
Harvard 12-6 29 Ivy League
Green Bay 15-6 23 Horizon League
Howard 14-5 21 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Air Force 12-5 19 Mountain West Conference
Bucknell 14-6 9 Patriot League
Utah State 14-6 9 Mountain West Conference
Stony Brook 14-6 5 America East Conference
William & Mary 13-6 1 Colonial Athletic Association

Not a big surprise that none of our FOFC teams are here.

[collegesportsfanms]

Jan. 28-Feb. 3, 2019

We have a host of feature games this week, 5 to be exact. We'll start in the Big Ten.

1/30/19- Northwestern (Ess Vee) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- There would be no upset this time, as the Spartans broke open a 2 point halftime lead by outscoring Northwestern 46-22 in the second half, holding them to just 37% shooting. Now this is the Sparty team we're used to seeing.

Final Score: Michigan State- 80, Northwestern- 54

Now to the Pac 12 for 3 games:

1/31/19- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins led by 18 at halftime, thanks to 55.9% shooting on the entire game and rolled to an easy home victory.

Final Score: #5 UCLA- 91, Washington State- 67

1/31/19- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- An absolutely embarrassing performance all around for the Buffaloes, who were held to 13 first half points, were 9-36 from the field for 25%, missed all 14 of their three point attempts, and committed 21 turnovers. The result? I'll just put it to you this way, Stanford scored more points in the first half that Colorado did all game!

Final Score: Stanford- 52, Colorado- 28

2/2/19- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A battle of teams that are now fairly even in the standings, and the Bruins couldn't slow Stanford down. The Cardinal shot 52.4% for the game and despite being outrebounded by 9, Stanford steals one on the road.

Final Score: Stanford- 71, #5 UCLA- 61

And finally, to the SEC we go:

2/2/19- #18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- Based on the final score, you'd have never thought that this game would have went an extra 5 minutes, but it did. Alabama absolutely controlled the overtime period, picking up a key road victory.

Final Score: #18 Alabama- 82, Florida- 70 (OT)

Now, finally, to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-17, 3-6 T-6th America East.

1/30/19 at New Hampshire (L 79-64).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks, but they fall well short.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-17, 1-8 11th (last) American.

No games this week for Coach Hutt and the Pirates, who are still looking for their first road victory of the season.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 9-12, 4-4 6th American.

1/28/19 vs. New Mexico (W 61-53).
2/2/19 vs. Tulane (W 72-63).

2 home wins for the Golden Hurricane this week, including a non-conference win over a New Mexico team that could see postseason play.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-9, 6-2 T-3rd Atlantic 10.

1/30/19 vs. Duquesne (W 69-59).
2/2/19 at UMass (W 78-76, OT).

Good week for the Wildcats who get a big OT road victory at UMass.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-16, 2-7 14th ACC.

1/30/19 at #7 Pittsburgh (L 62-53).
2/2/19 vs. #6 Syracuse (L 91-75).

Tough going for the Tigers this week, who are in the midst of a brutal schedule. They are playing better basketball, but not good enough to win.

#16 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 17-4, 8-1 1st ACC.

1/30/19 vs. Louisville (L 79-64).
2/2/19 vs. #7 Pittsburgh (W 66-63).

A bit of a surprise here, with the Blue Devils losing to Louisville who is having a down season. Still though, Duke is back. Not only have they already matched last seasons overall win total, they've also eclipsed last seasons conference win total.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 13-7, 5-4 T-5th Big 12.

1/28/19 vs. #21 Oklahoma State (W 84-50).
2/2/19 vs. #4 Baylor (W 72-62).

Looks like the Jayhawks may be figuring it out as they got by a tough 2 game stretch with ease and keep their undefeated record at home in tact.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-13, 1-8 10th (last) Big 12.

1/28/19 at West Virginia (L 75-73).
2/2/19 at Texas Tech (W 59-56).

The Horned Frogs are starting to play better basketball, as evidenced by their first conference victory. They still have a big hole to get out of, but they could win a few more conference games before all is said and done.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 10-10, 4-4 T-6th Big Ten.

1/30/19 vs. Purdue (W 76-69).
2/2/19 vs. #9 Wisconsin (L 72-69).

Give the Wolverines credit, they gave Wisconsin everything they had, just fell a little short as their win one, lose one start to conference play continues.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-8, 4-4 T-6th Big Ten.

1/30/19 vs. Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 vs. Rutgers (W 70-68).

2 important wins for the Spartans as they try to get back on track, especially coming up on a tough road stretch where they face a couple ranked teams.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 5-15, 3-5 T-10th Big Ten.

1/30/19 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 vs. Penn State (W 65-55).

Good recovery for the Wildcats after that blowout loss at Michigan State. Their upcoming schedule also is a doozy.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-9, 4-3 T-4th Big West.

1/31/19 vs. Cal State Northridge (L 74-64).

The Warriors only had 1 game this week, and they really needed to win. They didn't, and now people are starting to talk again.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-12, 3-5 T-10th Conference USA.

1/31/19 at Western Kentucky (L 61-53).
2/2/19 at UAB (L 71-67).

Tough week for the 49ers who drop a couple road games. They played well, but they've now lost 3 in a row.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-8, 4-4 T-7th Conference USA.

1/31/19 vs. North Texas (W 68-62).
2/2/19 at FIU (W 75-49).

2 home victories for the Owls, and much needed victories at that. They have 2 of their next 3 at home and need to take advantage.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-8, 8-7 7th MAAC.

2/1/19 at Rider (W 68-67).

1 game for the Hawks this week, but it was a very important one, on the road against a pretty solid team. They stay on the road next week.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-13, 2-6 T-10th MEAC.

1/28/19 vs. Morgan State (L 63-60).
2/2/19 vs. Delaware State (L 67-65).

2 agonizing home defeats for the Spartans this week, as they can't quite get over the hump.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 9-11, 3-5 T-9th Pac 12.

1/31/19 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 vs. Washington (L 73-68).

A week to forget for the Buffaloes, especially the Stanford game. They need to shake it off and get back on track next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-6, 5-3 T-2nd Pac 12.

1/31/19 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 at #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Great week for the Cardinal, who steal a road victory against a top 5 team. Next week is crucial though, as they take on both Arizona and UCLA. A split would be big, a sweep would be grand.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 17-3, 5-3 T-2nd Pac 12.

1/31/19 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Bruins, who have now lost 3 of their last 4 after winning their first 16 to start the season.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 11-8, 4-4 T-7th Pac 12.

1/31/19 at #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/2/19 at Oregon State (W 74-60).

The Cougars are still playing better basketball, winners of 3 of their last 4, but they would have liked to be more competitive against UCLA.

#18 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 17-4, 7-1 1st SEC.

1/30/19 vs. Auburn (W 86-77).
2/2/19 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more wins for the Crimson Tide who are having a dream season so far.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 9-11, 2-6 T-13th SEC.

1/30/19 vs. Vanderbilt (L 60-52).
2/2/19 vs. #18 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more losses for the Gators who are having their worst season in a long time and have lost 6 of their last 7 and 10 of their last 12.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 15-5, 6-2 T-2nd SEC.

1/30/19 at Missouri (W 78-65).
2/2/19 vs. Arkansas (W 75-65).

Good comeback for the Wildcats who have won their last 3 and are starting to get their groove back.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-11, 4-7 8th Sun Belt.

1/28/19 vs. Colorado State (W 69-56).
2/2/19 vs. Louisiana Lafayette (L 79-68).

Same story as last week for the Trojans. They spent so much energy winning a non-conference game early in the week, then couldn't get it done in conference later in the week. It should be all conference games from here on out, so hopefully now they can get on a roll.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (61) 19-1 1789 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (11) 22-0 1739 2 West Coast Conference
3. Iowa State 17-4 1646 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Pittsburgh 17-4 1477 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. UCLA 17-3 1420 5 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Wisconsin 15-5 1376 9 Big Ten Conference
7. Illinois State 19-4 1350 15 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Providence 19-2 1271 10 Big East Conference
9. Syracuse 18-2 1225 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Northern Iowa 19-4 1176 12 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Notre Dame 15-5 1166 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Texas A&M 18-3 1105 8 Southeastern Conference
13. Iowa 15-5 805 11 Big Ten Conference
14. Baylor 18-3 796 4 Big 12 Conference
15. Arizona 16-5 617 14 Pacific-12 Conference
16. North Carolina 15-6 572 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Georgetown 15-5 494 19 Big East Conference
18. Duke 17-4 472 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Oakland 20-3 472 20 Horizon League
20. Alabama 17-4 464 22 Southeastern Conference
21. Ohio State 13-5 409 17 Big Ten Conference
22. Kentucky 15-5 373 NR Southeastern Conference
23. Vanderbilt 15-5 332 NR Southeastern Conference
24. San Diego State 15-5 328 23 Mountain West Conference
25. Maryland 14-6 289 25 Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Minnesota 16-4 104 Big Ten Conference
Villanova 15-6 96 Big East Conference
St. Bonaventure 16-4 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Oklahoma State 15-5 9 Big 12 Conference
Saint Mary's 16-5 9 West Coast Conference
Manhattan 17-4 5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Carolina Central 17-4 3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Despite the split, UCLA stays at #5. Duke wasn't so lucky, their split cost them 2 spots. Alabama, unbelievably also dropped 2 spots after winning both games this week. No respect I tell ya! Kentucky is back in the top 25 after 2 wins this week.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 22-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 19-4 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Northern Iowa 19-4 1652 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 15-5 1563 5 Mountain West Conference
5. Oakland 20-3 1519 4 Horizon League
6. SMU 16-5 1256 9 American Athletic Conference
7. Cincinnati 15-6 1245 22 American Athletic Conference
8. St. Bonaventure 16-4 1234 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Rhode Island 15-5 1130 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Eastern Michigan 16-5 1066 15 Mid-American Conference
11. Boise State 13-6 1063 18 Mountain West Conference
12. Saint Mary's 16-5 1045 14 West Coast Conference
13. Wichita State 16-5 996 7 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Buffalo 14-7 916 16 Mid-American Conference
15. Manhattan 17-4 915 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
16. North Carolina Central 17-4 715 12 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
17. Saint Joseph's 15-5 681 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. UTEP 15-5 501 24 Conference USA
19. Bucknell 16-6 491 NR Patriot League
20. Belmont 16-6 476 13 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Georgia State 16-7 380 23 Horizon League
22. Harvard 14-6 311 NR Ivy League
23. American 17-5 222 25 Patriot League
24. Green Bay 16-6 201 NR Horizon League
25. Dayton 15-5 95 17 Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
William & Mary 15-6 48 Colonial Athletic Association
Massachusetts 15-5 35 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 16-5 34 Ohio Valley Conference
Stony Brook 16-6 31 America East Conference
Utah State 14-7 18 Mountain West Conference
UC Santa Barbara 14-6 11 Big West Conference
Valparaiso 14-8 10 Horizon League
Robert Morris 16-5 7 Northeast Conference
USC Upstate 15-6 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Air Force 13-6 1 Mountain West Conference
Stephen F. Austin 14-5 1 Southland Conference

No FOFC teams in the mid-major top 25, as expected. I have a feeling though, that it won't be long before Gonzaga earns a conference promotion. Based on their region, their most likely destination would be the Pac 12. I'm sure that UCLA, Colorado, Stanford, and Washington State, as well as all the other Pac 12 teams, are thrilled about that. Not!

Well, we've come to February, and that means it's Bubble Watch time. The first edition of the overall bubble watch sees none of our FOFC teams in, but let's take a look at it anyways.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nebraska 13-7 .582 (41) 4-2 2-1 4-4 3-0 41 In
Saint Mary's 16-5 .588 (37) 0-3 3-0 7-1 6-1 86 In
Syracuse 18-2 .557 (65) 1-0 4-1 6-0 7-1 327 In
Bucknell 16-6 .601 (23) 0-3 4-2 4-1 8-0 49 In
Wichita State 16-5 .578 (46) 1-3 2-0 3-1 10-1 170 In
South Carolina 13-7 .560 (58) 4-4 1-0 6-3 2-0 105 In
Buffalo 14-7 .586 (39) 1-3 1-3 7-1 5-0 33 In
North Carolina State 13-7 .560 (60) 3-3 3-1 3-3 4-0 85 In
Howard 15-6 .559 (61) 0-1 3-3 3-2 9-0 125 Out
Valparaiso 14-8 .601 (21) 3-3 6-1 3-1 2-3 13 Out
Rutgers 13-7 .573 (50) 1-4 3-1 4-2 5-0 75 Out
Indiana 13-7 .560 (59) 1-6 3-0 3-1 6-0 91 Out
Stony Brook 16-6 .547 (78) 2-3 1-1 6-0 7-2 206 Out
Butler 13-8 .586 (40) 2-5 1-3 6-0 4-0 24 Out
Cincinnati 15-6 .518 (122) 1-2 2-2 3-1 9-1 272 Out

As for our FOFC teams, let's take a look at where they stand.

Lock: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Stanford, Alabama, Kentucky,

So 6 of our teams are projected to be a lock for the NCAA Tournament. The other 18 teams are projected out. Remember, this bubble watch is only for the NCAA Tournament. There might be some of our other FOFC teams that would be projected into some of the smaller tournaments.

[rjolley]

Did UCLA suffer some injuries, or is this just a cold streak?

[bbgunn]

B.B. Gunn's rear end must be steaming. The people in Hawaii expect nothing less than a Big West title.

Meanwhile, while some consistency over the season would be nice, you can't doubt that Wazzu is playing great basketball (by their standards).

[collegesportsfanms]

Did UCLA suffer some injuries, or is this just a cold streak?

No injuries, no academic suspensions. The Bruins apparently just got overconfident after a 16-0 start and are now on a cold streak.

[rjolley]

No injuries, no academic suspensions. The Bruins apparently just got overconfident after a 16-0 start and are now on a cold streak.

Well, then it's time to see what kind of coach Shepard is. Gotta keep the kids focused.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 4-10, 2019

There are 2 feature games this week, and they are both very key matchups. We'll start in the Pac 12:

2/9/19- #5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- The Bruins were looking for revenge after Stanford upset them last week, and they got it. UCLA outrebounded Stanford 29-21 and shot 60.4% and rolled to an easy victory.

Now to the SEC for an even bigger game:

2/9/19- #20 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- The Wildcats were determined not to fall any farther in the SEC, and they did it in a big way. Alabama committed 24 turnovers and Kentucky shot 60.3%. The Wildcats led by 27 at halftime and never looked back.

Final Score: #22 Kentucky- 105, #20 Alabama- 73

Now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-19, 3-8 T-8th America East.

2/4/19 vs. Holy Cross (W 58-56).
2/6/19 at Binghamton (L 70-65).
2/10/19 at UMBC (L 75-70).

A wild week for the Hawks, and a busy week. They won their non-conference game, but lost both their conference games on the road.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-19, 1-10 11th (last) American.

2/6/19 at Tulane (L 62-52).
2/9/19 vs. Cincinnati (L 65-50).

2 more losses for the Pirates who have now lost 5 in a row.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 9-14, 4-6 8th American.

2/6/19 vs. Memphis (L 60-54).
2/9/19 at Temple (L 70-61).

Looks like the Golden Hurricane haven't turned the corner after all, as they lose 2 this week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 12-10, 7-3 T-2nd Atlantic 10.

2/6/19 at Dayton (W 73-60).
2/9/19 vs. Mississippi State (L 69-63).

A split for the Wildcats, and it may take a while before they get over the fact of being swept by Mississippi State.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-18, 2-9 14th ACC.

2/6/19 at N.C. State (L 92-71).
2/9/19 at Wake Forest (L 82-79).

The Tigers came close to breaking their losing streak, but not quite.

#18 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 19-4, 9-1 1st ACC.

2/6/19 vs. Georgia Tech (W 77-57).
2/8/19 at Marist (W 67-57).

2 more wins for the Blue Devils, including a non-conference win.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 15-7, 6-4 T-5th Big 12.

2/7/19 vs. Hofstra (W 78-69).
2/9/19 vs. Oklahoma (W 64-54).

2 home wins for the Jayhawks who are starting to figure it out again.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-15, 1-10 10th (last) Big 12.

2/4/19 at Oklahoma State (L 73-54).
2/9/19 at #14 Baylor (L 58-47).

2 more losses for the Horned Frogs after getting their first conference win. They played decent against Baylor, but not great.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-10, 6-4 T-5th Big Ten.

2/6/19 vs. Nebraska (W 72-64).
2/9/19 vs. Indiana (W 65-52).

The Wolverines tried something new this week. Instead of splitting, they won 2 games in a row. Hopefully they won't lose 2 in a row next week.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-10, 4-6 T-9th Big Ten.

2/6/19 at Illinois (L 77-70).
2/9/19 at #6 Wisconsin (L 97-69).

Yikes! The Spartans are definitely down this season, as evidenced by that 28 point loss at Wisconsin. It's a strong possibility, unless they heat up quick, the Michigan State might miss the postseason.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 6-16, 4-6 T-9th Big Ten.

2/6/19 at Indiana (W 88-78).
2/9/19 vs. #21 Ohio State (L 78-68).

A split for the Wildcats this week, as they are definitely playing better ball, but still have a ways to go.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-10, 5-4 T-3rd Big West.

2/7/19 at UC Davis (L 93-85).
2/9/19 vs. Cal State Fullerton (W 78-69).

Another split for the Warriors. Thankfully, nobody is exactly pulling away in the conference, and they are just 1 game behind the leaders.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-14, 3-7 T-10th Conference USA.

2/7/19 vs. Old Dominion (L 58-57).
2/9/19 at Marshall (L 92-81).

The 49ers lose 2 more this week, including a heartbreaking loss to Old Dominion in which they had several chances to win. Their losing streak is 5 now.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-9, 5-5 T-8th Conference USA.

2/7/19 vs. Florida Atlantic (W 72-67).
2/9/19 at Old Dominion (L 85-80).

A couple 5 point margins for the Owls in a split. Old Dominion was not kind to our FOFC teams this week, beating 2 of them.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 16-9, 9-8 T-6th MAAC.

2/4/19 at Howard (W 64-62).
2/8/19 at St. Peter's (L 77-51).
2/10/19 vs. Canisius (W 60-54).

3 games for the Hawks this week, as they win 2 of them. Their loss was a big one though, but that 16th win of the season is a season best so far, with more games to go.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-15, 2-8 T-12th MEAC.

2/4/19 vs. South Carolina State (L 61-54).
2/9/19 at Florida A&M (L 65-56).

The slump continues for the Spartans, who lose 2 more and continue to be less than competitive in the conference. This will be Coach Carrano's worst season by far.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 11-11, 5-5 T-5th Pac 12.

2/7/19 vs. California (W 75-62).
2/9/19 at Oregon State (W 66-50).

Good week for the Buffaloes who get back to .500 overall and in conference play with 2 double digit wins.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-8, 5-5 T-5th Pac 12.

2/7/19 at #15 Arizona (L 64-43).
2/9/19 vs. #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cardinal came down to earth this week after shocking UCLA last week. Fortunately, they won't have to see either Arizona or UCLA again in the regular season.

#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 19-3, 7-3 2nd Pac 12.

2/7/19 at Oregon State (W 80-72).
2/9/19 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

Much better week for the Bruins, who get 2 road victories, including a revenge win over Stanford.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 11-10, 4-6 T-9th Pac 12.

2/7/19 vs. Utah (L 69-55).
2/9/19 at California (L 80-69).

2 losses this week for the Cougars, as they've lost 3 of their last 4.

#20 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 17-6, 7-3 T-2nd SEC.

2/6/19 vs. VCU (L 56-50).
2/9/19 at #22 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

2 losses this week for the Crimson Tide, and they'll want to put that Kentucky loss behind them quickly.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-12, 3-7 T-12th SEC.

2/6/19 at South Carolina (W 62-57).
2/9/19 vs. VCU (L 58-50).

A split for the Gators, and those 12 losses are a season high so far in Coach Oppenheimer's tenure here. That will not make the board happy.

#22 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-5, 8-2 T-2nd SEC.

2/6/19 at Ole Miss (W 87-69).
2/9/19 vs. #20 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

2 big wins for the Wildcats, and the win over Ole Miss was win #100 in the career of Coach Hutt. Congrats to him, he is the 2nd FOFC coach to reach the 100 win mark.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-13, 4-9 T-9th Sun Belt.

2/7/19 vs. Appalachian State (L 65-47).
2/9/19 at South Alabama (L 91-74).

The Trojans suffer 2 more losses and just can't quite get over that hump.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (48) 20-2 1775 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (24) 23-1 1752 2 West Coast Conference
3. Iowa State 19-4 1645 3 Big 12 Conference
4. UCLA 19-3 1553 5 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Illinois State 20-4 1348 7 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Providence 21-2 1347 8 Big East Conference
7. Wisconsin 17-5 1346 6 Big Ten Conference
8. Syracuse 20-2 1312 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Notre Dame 17-5 1237 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Iowa 17-5 1114 13 Big Ten Conference
11. Vanderbilt 17-5 1098 23 Southeastern Conference
12. Northern Iowa 21-4 1040 10 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Kentucky 17-5 964 22 Southeastern Conference
14. Ohio State 15-5 778 21 Big Ten Conference
15. Georgetown 17-5 763 18 Big East Conference
16. Texas A&M 19-4 756 12 Southeastern Conference
17. Baylor 19-4 690 14 Big 12 Conference
18. Maryland 16-6 628 25 Big Ten Conference
19. Duke 19-4 589 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Oakland 22-3 459 19 Horizon League
21. Arizona 18-5 346 15 Pacific-12 Conference
22. Alabama 17-6 191 20 Southeastern Conference
23. North Carolina 16-7 178 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Saint Mary's 18-5 164 NR West Coast Conference
25. Pittsburgh 17-6 129 4 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Creighton 16-7 78 Big East Conference
Kansas 15-7 36 Big 12 Conference
SMU 18-5 22 American Athletic Conference
North Carolina Central 19-4 20 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Manhattan 19-4 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Rhode Island 17-5 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego State 15-7 7 Mountain West Conference
Villanova 16-7 4 Big East Conference
Wichita State 18-5 3 Missouri Valley Conference
Belmont 18-6 2 Ohio Valley Conference
St. Bonaventure 17-5 1 Atlantic 10 Conference

So UCLA moves up 1 spot after a 2 win week, while Kentucky jumped up 9 spots! Big jump for them. Duke and Alabama each drop 2 spots, and here comes Kansas! Still a lot of points away from making the top 25, but they are definitely starting to show they belong there.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 23-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 20-4 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Northern Iowa 21-4 1656 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Oakland 22-3 1561 5 Horizon League
5. SMU 18-5 1378 6 American Athletic Conference
6. San Diego State 15-7 1370 4 Mountain West Conference
7. Saint Mary's 18-5 1308 12 West Coast Conference
8. Rhode Island 17-5 1240 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Boise State 15-6 1209 11 Mountain West Conference
10. Buffalo 16-7 1175 15 Mid-American Conference
11. Wichita State 18-5 1155 13 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Manhattan 19-4 1046 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
13. North Carolina Central 19-4 862 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
14. St. Bonaventure 17-5 826 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Cincinnati 16-7 802 7 American Athletic Conference
16. UTEP 17-5 725 18 Conference USA
17. Bucknell 18-6 708 19 Patriot League
18. Belmont 18-6 646 20 Ohio Valley Conference
19. Harvard 16-6 540 22 Ivy League
20. Green Bay 18-6 466 24 Horizon League
21. Massachusetts 17-5 377 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Georgia State 17-8 281 21 Horizon League
23. Eastern Michigan 16-7 204 10 Mid-American Conference
24. Saint Joseph's 15-7 113 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Dayton 16-6 71 25 Atlantic 10 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Utah State 15-7 43 Mountain West Conference
UC Santa Barbara 16-6 34 Big West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 17-6 29 Ohio Valley Conference
Stony Brook 17-7 15 America East Conference
Robert Morris 17-6 12 Northeast Conference
American 17-7 10 Patriot League
Niagara 16-8 4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
USC Upstate 16-7 4 Atlantic Sun Conference
Stephen F. Austin 15-6 2 Southland Conference

Not surprisingly, none of our teams are there.

And now we check out this weeks edition of the Bubble Watch. We have 1 FOFC team in our Overall Bubble Watch:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Bonaventure 17-5 .548 (67) 2-1 3-1 9-3 3-0 247 In
Howard 16-7 .555 (60) 0-1 2-3 5-3 9-0 117 In
Eastern Michigan 16-7 .563 (54) 2-1 1-2 6-1 7-3 139 In
Niagara 16-8 .552 (63) 1-2 1-3 6-2 8-1 110 In
Stony Brook 17-7 .543 (74) 2-3 0-1 6-1 9-2 207 In
LSU 14-8 .548 (66) 1-4 5-3 3-1 5-0 119 In
Butler 14-9 .588 (35) 2-5 3-4 5-0 4-0 24 In
Green Bay 18-6 .545 (70) 0-4 1-0 6-1 11-1 236 In
North Carolina State 14-8 .543 (72) 2-3 3-3 6-2 3-0 131 Out
Utah State 15-7 .541 (77) 0-3 2-0 7-3 6-1 162 Out
Valparaiso 14-9 .569 (49) 3-3 5-1 6-1 0-4 36 Out
Monmouth 16-9 .544 (71) 0-3 2-1 8-2 6-3 164 Out
Illinois 15-8 .521 (121) 2-5 0-2 6-0 7-1 211 Out
Massachusetts 17-5 .490 (198) 1-0 2-2 5-1 9-2 346 Out
American 17-7 .532 (94) 1-1 1-3 3-1 12-2 221 Out

Even I was shocked to see Monmouth in the First Four Out for the NCAA Tournament. If they can string together a few wins in a row, they'd put themselves in a really good position. Their RPI is 71, which is much higher than I expected. They are 2-4 against the RPI top 100 which isn't that bad for a mid-major team. With this being said, I have to say I'm surprised they aren't getting some votes in the mid-major poll.

Now for the rest of the teams and where they stand.

Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Alabama
In: Stanford

[law90026]

2 wins and dropping 2 spots? Media bias against Duke!

[bbgunn]

Uh oh! Wazzu is being exposed as posers in the Pac-12. And man, firecoachgunn.com must be getting TONS of hits, even with the parity in the Big West.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 11-17, 2019

2 feature games this week, and we'll start in the American Conference.

2/16/19- Tulsa (Will Brown) @ ECU (Al Hutt) -- The first half was the difference in this one, as Tulsa led 44-24 at halftime. The difference was a 44-34 rebounding edge, as well as a 15-7 edge at the free throw line as Tulsa tries to make a late push in the AAC.

Final Score: Tulsa- 79, ECU- 64

Now to the Big Ten:

2/13/19- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- Shooting was not good for either team, as the halftime score was a dismal 17-11. The Wolverines shot just 20% from the field, and the teams combined to go 6-35 from three point land. You can imagine how ugly this game was. Northwestern made more shots though, from inside the paint and the three point line, and they get a big home win.

Final Score: Northwestern- 47, Michigan- 34

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-20, 4-9 T-7th America East.

2/15/19 vs. UMass Lowell (L 94-84).
2/17/19 at Maine (W 66-42).

A split for the Hawks this week, as they lose at home and win on the road.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-21 1-12 11th (last) American.

2/13/19 at SMU (L 85-69).
2/16/19 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

2 more losses for the Pirates who have lost 7 in a row now.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 10-15, 5-7 T-7th American.

2/13/19 at South Florida (L 71-69).
2/16/19 at ECU- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who break a 3 game losing streak with the win at ECU.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 13-11, 8-4 T-4th Atlantic 10.

2/13/19 vs. LaSalle (W 70-60).
2/16/19 vs. St. Louis (L 76-69).

A home split for the Wildcats who are still holding on to slim postseason hopes.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 6-19, 3-10 14th ACC.

2/13/19 at Florida State (L 69-56).
2/16/19 vs. Virginia Tech (W 85-75).

A split for the Tigers, who shouldn't have a problem staying out of the cellar considering there is one conference team who hasn't won a game yet.

#19 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 20-5, 10-2 T-1st ACC.

2/13/19 at #1 Virginia (L 86-77).
2/16/19 at #8 Syracuse (W 74-62).

A split for the Blue Devils, as Coach Hoo picks up his first 20+ win season of his young coaching career. That loss to Virginia stings a little bit, but the ACC title could come down to an early March game against Notre Dame.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 16-8, 7-5 T-4th Big 12.

2/11/19 at West Virginia (L 73-72).
2/16/19 at Texas Tech (W 65-63).

2 close games for the Jayhawks this week, who see their 5 game winning streak ended with that tough loss at West Virginia. The Big 12 title is out of the question, now KU is just playing to keep their spot in the NCAA Tournament and an undefeated season at home.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-16, 2-11 10th (last) Big 12.

2/11/19 vs. Kansas State (L 89-75).
2/16/19 vs. Texas (W 72-60).

A split for the Horned Frogs, as both their conference wins have come against teams from Texas. I guess that's saying something.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-12, 6-6 T-7th Big Ten.

2/13/19 at Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
2/16/19 at Penn State (L 63-57).

Just win it looks like the Wolverines are turning a corner, they drop 2 on the road. They just can't get ahead.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-12, 4-8 11th Big Ten.

2/13/19 at #10 Iowa (L 87-77).
2/16/19 vs. Nebraska (L 72-59).

The Spartans just can't get past this nightmare season. After getting even in the conference, they have now lost 4 straight.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-16, 6-6 T-7th Big Ten.

2/13/19 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
2/16/19 vs. Purdue (W 75-60).

2 more wins for the Wildcats who have won 4 of their last 5. That could very well be their last win though, as they finish off the regular season against 6 teams that have 13 wins or more.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-12, 5-6 T-5th Big West.

2/14/19 vs. UC Santa Barbara (L 86-70).
2/16/19 at UC Riverside (L 64-61).

Things continue to go south for the Warriors, who have now lost 5 of their last 6. firecoachgunn.com now has over 500,000 hits.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 8-15, 4-8 T-10th Conference USA.

2/14/19 at Florida Atlantic (L 70-68).
2/16/19 at North Texas (W 81-60).

The 49ers break their 6 game losing streak in a big way, hammering North Texas on the road.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-11, 5-7 T-8th Conference USA.

2/14/19 vs. Western Kentucky (L 84-76).
2/16/19 vs. UTEP (L 106-67).

Yikes! The Owls forgot to show up against UTEP. They are trying to stay in the hunt for a postseason berth, but to do that, they'll pretty much have to win out.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 16-10, 9-9 8th MAAC.

2/15/19 at Siena (L 72-71, OT).

Bummer, the Hawks really needed that win against Siena to help their cause. That loss will probably have them out come this weeks Bubble Watch.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 9-15, 3-8 T-11th MEAC.

2/14/19 at Navy (W 72-44).
2/16/19 vs. North Carolina A&T (W 58-57, OT).

A couple good wins for the Spartans who are trying to finish strong and recover from a disappointing season so far.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 12-12, 6-6 T-4th Pac 12.

2/14/19 vs. Utah (W 50-41).
2/16/19 at Washington (L 76-69).

The Buffaloes continue to split, as that loss to Washington broke a 3 game winning streak. It's pretty sad when 6-6 in conference play is good enough for 4th place.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 15-9, 6-6 T-4th Pac 12.

2/14/19 vs. Arizona State (L 46-45).
2/16/19 vs. Oregon State (W 58-48).

A split for the Cardinal, who could have taken 3rd place outright with a victory over Arizona State. That one stings.

#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 21-3, 9-3 2nd Pac 12.

2/14/19 vs. Washington (W 81-60).
2/16/19 at USC (W 102-95, OT).

The Bruins are rolling again, and it always feels good to beat your in-state arch rivals.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 11-12, 4-8 T-10th Pac 12.

2/14/19 at #21 Arizona (L 82-56).
2/16/19 vs. Oregon (L 87-69).

The Cougars continue to slide, losers of 4 in a row and 5 of their last 6.

#22 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 18-7, 8-4 T-2nd SEC.

2/13/19 vs. Arkansas (L 64-55).
2/16/19 vs. South Carolina (W 67-58).

A split for the Crimson Tide who are quickly losing ground, but they do end a 3 game losing streak.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-13, 4-8 T-12th SEC.

2/13/19 vs. Missouri (W 71-62).
2/16/19 at Georgia (L 55-48).

Another split for the Gators, who don't play another losing team in the regular season. They've got their work cut out if they are going to avoid the SEC cellar.

#13 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 17-7, 8-4 T-2nd SEC.

2/13/19 vs. LSU (L 70-60).
2/16/19 vs. #16 Texas A&M (L 92-77).

Bad week for the Wildcats, who lose ground with 2 losses this week.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-14, 5-10 10th Sun Belt.

2/14/19 vs. South Alabama (W 71-68).
2/16/19 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (L 88-53).

Another split for the Trojans, but not the kind of split they want as they got hammered against Little Rock.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (63) 22-2 1791 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (9) 25-1 1733 2 West Coast Conference
3. Iowa State 21-4 1655 3 Big 12 Conference
4. UCLA 21-3 1578 4 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Wisconsin 19-5 1453 7 Big Ten Conference
6. Ohio State 17-5 1374 14 Big Ten Conference
7. Vanderbilt 19-5 1341 11 Southeastern Conference
8. Notre Dame 19-5 1261 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Syracuse 20-4 1183 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Texas A&M 21-4 1152 16 Southeastern Conference
11. Maryland 18-6 1104 18 Big Ten Conference
12. Northern Iowa 23-4 1037 12 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Georgetown 19-5 954 15 Big East Conference
14. Iowa 18-6 887 10 Big Ten Conference
15. Providence 21-4 729 6 Big East Conference
16. Illinois State 21-5 651 5 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Pittsburgh 18-6 646 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Baylor 20-5 601 17 Big 12 Conference
19. Arizona 20-5 563 21 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Duke 20-5 467 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Saint Mary's 20-5 326 24 West Coast Conference
22. Oakland 23-4 231 20 Horizon League
23. Creighton 18-7 157 NR Big East Conference
24. North Carolina 17-8 134 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Kentucky 17-7 124 13 Southeastern Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
San Diego State 17-7 96 Mountain West Conference
SMU 20-5 87 American Athletic Conference
North Carolina Central 21-4 48 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Wichita State 20-5 26 Missouri Valley Conference
Alabama 18-7 5 Southeastern Conference
Manhattan 19-5 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Boise State 17-6 2 Mountain West Conference
Bucknell 20-6 1 Patriot League

UCLA stays at 4, while Duke drops a spot. Kentucky gets punished bigtime for losing twice last week, losing 12 spots. Wow! Alabama falls out of the top 25 and is still receiving a couple votes, while Kansas loses all their votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 25-1 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 23-4 1727 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 21-5 1654 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Oakland 23-4 1525 4 Horizon League
5. San Diego State 17-7 1442 6 Mountain West Conference
6. SMU 20-5 1403 5 American Athletic Conference
7. Saint Mary's 20-5 1369 7 West Coast Conference
8. Boise State 17-6 1312 9 Mountain West Conference
9. Wichita State 20-5 1221 11 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Buffalo 18-7 1197 10 Mid-American Conference
11. North Carolina Central 21-4 1046 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
12. UTEP 19-5 1015 16 Conference USA
13. Bucknell 20-6 952 17 Patriot League
14. Manhattan 19-5 825 12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
15. Green Bay 20-6 821 20 Horizon League
16. Massachusetts 19-5 759 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Rhode Island 17-7 616 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. St. Bonaventure 18-6 549 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Belmont 19-7 524 18 Ohio Valley Conference
20. Cincinnati 18-7 430 15 American Athletic Conference
21. Saint Joseph's 17-7 346 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Dayton 18-6 281 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UC Santa Barbara 18-6 209 NR Big West Conference
24. Eastern Kentucky 19-6 133 NR Ohio Valley Conference
25. Georgia State 18-9 106 22 Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
Robert Morris 19-6 28 Northeast Conference
Stephen F. Austin 17-6 24 Southland Conference
Harvard 17-7 23 Ivy League
Toledo 17-7 23 Mid-American Conference
Utah State 16-8 18 Mountain West Conference
USC Upstate 18-7 11 Atlantic Sun Conference
Niagara 18-9 4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 19-6 4 Summit League
American 18-8 3 Patriot League


It's time for this weeks edition of the Bubble Watch. 2 of our teams are in the Overall Bubble Watch, let's take a look:

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Georgia State 18-9 .577 (36) 4-5 2-1 4-1 8-2 77 In
Nebraska 15-9 .563 (50) 3-4 5-2 3-3 4-0 60 In
Stanford 15-9 .586 (32) 4-4 2-3 4-1 5-1 20 In
Howard 17-8 .555 (58) 1-2 1-3 7-3 8-0 103 In
Niagara 18-9 .533 (88) 2-2 1-3 6-2 9-2 175 In
Syracuse 20-4 .543 (70) 3-1 2-2 6-1 9-0 312 In
Eastern Michigan 16-9 .546 (66) 2-1 3-2 4-2 7-4 146 In
Butler 15-10 .577 (37) 2-6 3-4 6-0 4-0 27 In
West Virginia 15-10 .553 (60) 3-4 3-2 7-2 2-2 69 Out
Stony Brook 17-9 .536 (80) 2-2 0-3 5-1 10-3 207 Out
Valparaiso 15-10 .567 (47) 4-4 4-1 4-1 3-4 45 Out
St. Bonaventure 18-6 .536 (81) 1-1 5-2 10-1 2-2 274 Out
Dayton 18-6 .512 (141) 1-1 1-0 8-3 8-2 336 Out
Monmouth 16-10 .538 (77) 0-3 2-1 8-2 6-4 168 Out
Illinois 16-9 .529 (96) 1-5 2-3 6-0 7-1 195 Out

Stanford is projected in, largely on the strength of an SOS of 20 and an RPI of 36. Anymore bad losses though, and that will change. Monmouth is hurt by the conference they play in. They really need to win out the rest of the way. 1, maybe 2 losses could keep them in, but they've got to win, win, win.

Now for the rest of the teams:

Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Alabama.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 18-24, 2019

A heavy week for feature games this week, as we have 5, count em, 5 of them. 5 different conferences got a feature game this week. We'll start in the Big 12.

2/18/19- TCU (Bee Mighty) @ Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- The final score of this game does not indicate how close it was, as it was only a 4 point game at halftime. Kansas shot 52.2% for the game, and outscored TCU 50-22 in the second half, rolling to victory.

Final Score: Kansas- 95, TCU- 63

Now to the Big Ten:

2/20/19- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The teams combined to shoot 60 free throws in the game, but the difference was turnovers. Michigan had 20 turnovers and Michigan State got 15 more shots off. This led to several more made shots as Sparty gets a big, much needed victory.

Final Score: Michigan State- 86, Michigan- 76

We head out east to the SEC:

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ #25 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- This one was also a 4 point game at halftime, and you'd have thought it went Florida's way as they outrebounded the Wildcats 43-34, but 34.4% shooting for Florida compared to 44.6% shooting for Kentucky led to the Wildcats pulling away.

Final Score: #25 Kentucky- 74, Florida- 57

We stay out east for a Conference USA matchup:

2/21/19- Rice (Charlie Shocker) @ Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- A bit of a shocker here (bit of irony there) as the 49ers controlled this game from start to finish. Rice was called for 25 fouls, to just 15 for Charlotte. Surprisingly, the 49ers only shot 2 more free throws, but they did make more free throws, three pointers, and field goals.

Final Score: Charlotte- 83, Rice- 67

And finally, we travel cross country and end our feature games in the Pac 12:

2/23/19- Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- Colorado got 12 more shots off than Washington State, including 10-18 from three point land. Despite Washington State having a better shooting percentage overall, the Buffaloes dominated the arc, and this game, becoming the only road team to win a feature game this week.

Final Score: Colorado- 66, Washington State- 52

Now, finally to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-21, 5-10 T-7th America East.

2/20/19 vs. Vermont (L 64-53).
2/24/19 vs. New Hampshire (W 72-63).

A split for the Hawks, who played surprisingly decent against conference leading Vermont. It wasn't enough though, as they'll end their regular season next week and can still finish anywhere between 6th and 9th (last) in the conference.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-22, 2-13 11th (last) American.

2/20/19 vs. Houston (L 74-62).
2/23/19 at UCF (W 94-85).

A split for the Pirates, who are well in last place in the conference. Their win at UCF broke an 8 game losing streak.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 11-16, 6-8 7th American.

2/20/19 at Tulane (W 96-64).
2/23/19 vs. SMU (L 66-55).

The Golden Hurricane just ran into a buzzsaw in SMU, who is undefeated in conference. They played well, but not good enough. They'll be happy with a split for the week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 14-12, 9-5 T-5th Atlantic 10.

2/20/19 vs. Richmond (W 69-56).
2/23/19 at Rhode Island (L 75-65).

The Wildcats split this week, and with just 1 game separating them from the 4 teams tied for 1st place, they need to win both next week against teams with losing records overall.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 7-20, 4-11 14th ACC.

2/20/19 vs. Boston College (W 71-48).
2/23/19 at #8 Notre Dame (L 74-46).

The Tigers split this week, and know for a fact they'll be staying out of the cellar. They've clinched that, but not much else.

#20 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 21-6, 11-3 T-2nd ACC.

2/20/19 vs. Miami (L 72-70).
2/23/19 at Boston College (W 83-73).

A split for the Blue Devils this week, who are just hoping that loss to Miami doesn't cost them a chance at an ACC title.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 17-9, 8-6 T-4th Big 12.

2/18/19 vs. TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 vs. #3 Iowa State (L 67-52).

A split for the Jayhawks, who just can't handle Iowa State. Kansas has no chance to win the Big 12 championship, which will be the first season in a long time this hasn't happened, and Iowa State ruined their perfect home record for the season.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-18, 2-13 10th (last) Big 12.

2/18/19 at Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 at Oklahoma (L 76-67).

The Horned Frogs lose 2 more after beating Texas. They are all but assured a finish back in the cellar, but still have 1 more chance to beat a Texas team next week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-14, 6-8 T-8th Big Ten.

2/20/19 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 vs. Rutgers (L 60-58).

2 more losses for Michigan after they had gotten over .500 a couple weeks ago. They've lost 4 in a row. Considering their last 4 regular season games are against the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th best teams in the conference, that losing streak could end up at 8.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-13, 5-9 T-10th Big Ten.

2/20/19 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 at Penn State (L 63-59).

A split for the Spartans, and a total letdown losing to Penn State after beating their in-state rivals.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-18, 6-8 T-8th Big Ten.

2/20/19 vs. #14 Iowa (L 93-60).
2/23/19 vs. #5 Wisconsin (L 89-52).

About what we expected from the Wildcats this week, as they get hammered by 2 of the top teams in the Big Ten. They also may finish the regular season on a hefty losing streak.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-13, 6-7 6th Big West.

2/21/19 at Cal Poly (W 74-66).
2/23/19 vs. Long Beach State (L 73-64).

Another split for the Warriors, who just continue to decline. They've got 3 more regular season games coming up, and all 3 are very winnable, but I bet they don't win them all.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 9-16, 5-9 T-9th Conference USA.

2/21/19 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 62-61).

Tough split for the 49ers, who lost a buzzer beater to Middle Tennessee, but are playing much better basketball this month.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-13, 5-9 T-9th Conference USA.

2/21/19 at Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 at UAB (L 82-48).

The Owls are a mess right now, no doubt about it. They need to get it turned around, starting with an 8 win UTSA team next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 18-11, 10-9 T-4th MAAC.

2/18/19 at Colgate (W 66-56).
2/20/19 vs. UNC Wilmington (L 64-53).
2/22/19 vs. Niagara (W 77-74).

2 out of 3 for the Hawks this week, and 2 of the games were non-conference games. They split those and won their conference game. With 1 to go, it's a jumbled mess. It's not out of the realm of possibility that if they win their final regular season game, they could finish in 2nd place in the MAAC. Or.. they could lose it and finish as low as 9th.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-16, 4-9 11th MEAC.

2/18/19 at Coppin State (W 47-46).
2/23/19 vs. Howard (L 73-53).

A split for the Spartans, who just can't beat the top teams this season. They narrowly escaped at a terrible Coppin State team.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-13, 7-7 T-5th Pac 12.

2/21/19 vs. #19 Arizona (L 61-60).
2/23/19 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Buffaloes, and give them credit. They played Arizona tough all game, but just couldn't hit the big shot. However, they had 21 turnovers. Cut those in half and they may win by a half dozen or so.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-9, 8-6 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/21/19 vs. Oregon (W 53-45).
2/23/19 at California (W 53-52).

It wasn't easy, but consistency was the key in the Cardinal winning 2 games this week. They scored 53 points in both games, but the defense was spot on.

#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 23-3, 11-3 2nd Pac 12.

2/21/19 vs. Utah (W 84-60).
2/23/19 vs. Arizona State (W 71-58).

The Bruins win 2 more games this week and stay the course for a game next week at Arizona that may very well decide the Pac 12 title.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 12-13, 5-9 10th Pac 12.

2/21/19 vs. Oregon State (W 77-57).
2/23/19 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cougars, as they break a 4 game winning streak with the hammering of Oregon State.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 19-8, 9-5 4th SEC.

2/20/19 at Ole Miss (W 93-73).
2/23/19 at #10 Texas A&M (L 64-53).

The Crimson Tide, while still having a great season for their standards, are struggling to get that big win since beating Kentucky back in early January. They've got a couple more chances in the upcoming weeks.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-15, 4-10 T-13th SEC.

2/20/19 at #25 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 vs. Auburn (L 66-55).

The Gators continue to have their worst season since this dynasty started, losing 2 more this week to teams they shouldn't be losing to.

#25 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 19-7, 10-4 T-2nd SEC.

2/20/19 vs. Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
2/23/19 vs. Georgia (W 81-66).

The Wildcats get back to business with 2 wins this week. They finish off the season against middle of the pack teams. What may cost them an SEC title is the fact they don't get revenge games against the 4 teams they've lost to in the SEC, which just happen to be among the top 6 teams in the SEC.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-15, 5-11 10th Sun Belt.

2/21/19 at Texas State (L 70-68, OT).

The Trojans will be kicking themselves at this one for a while, as they gave up a nice lead late only to lose in overtime. This was their only game of the week.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (55) 23-3 1779 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State (7) 23-4 1703 3 Big 12 Conference
3. Gonzaga (10) 26-2 1696 2 West Coast Conference
4. UCLA 23-3 1588 4 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Ohio State 19-5 1461 6 Big Ten Conference
6. Wisconsin 21-5 1422 5 Big Ten Conference
7. Maryland 20-6 1325 11 Big Ten Conference
8. Texas A&M 23-4 1305 10 Southeastern Conference
9. Notre Dame 21-5 1274 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Vanderbilt 20-6 1108 7 Southeastern Conference
11. Iowa 19-7 1015 14 Big Ten Conference
12. Providence 23-4 969 15 Big East Conference
13. Georgetown 20-6 930 13 Big East Conference
14. Arizona 22-5 878 19 Pacific-12 Conference
15. Syracuse 21-5 861 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Northern Iowa 24-5 616 12 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Illinois State 22-6 615 16 Missouri Valley Conference
18. Kentucky 19-7 510 25 Southeastern Conference
19. Oakland 25-4 505 22 Horizon League
20. Baylor 21-6 486 18 Big 12 Conference
21. San Diego State 19-7 336 NR Mountain West Conference
22. SMU 22-5 261 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Wichita State 22-5 212 NR Missouri Valley Conference
24. North Carolina Central 23-4 168 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
25. Duke 21-6 144 20 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Pittsburgh 18-8 110 Atlantic Coast Conference
Saint Mary's 21-6 64 West Coast Conference
Boise State 19-6 18 Mountain West Conference
Manhattan 22-5 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Villanova 19-8 17 Big East Conference
Alabama 19-8 4 Southeastern Conference
Green Bay 22-6 3 Horizon League

So UCLA stays at #4, and they probably won't get ahead unless the 3 teams in front of them have winless weeks. Kentucky wins a couple games, albeit not against the strongest competition, but still gains 7 spots. Duke loses 5 spots after their 2 point upset loss, while Alabama is hanging on by a thread, receiving just enough points to be mentioned still.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 26-2 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 22-6 1673 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Northern Iowa 24-5 1657 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 19-7 1542 5 Mountain West Conference
5. Oakland 25-4 1492 4 Horizon League
6. SMU 22-5 1414 6 American Athletic Conference
7. Boise State 19-6 1389 8 Mountain West Conference
8. Wichita State 22-5 1332 9 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Saint Mary's 21-6 1190 7 West Coast Conference
10. North Carolina Central 23-4 1121 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
11. Manhattan 22-5 1097 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
12. Buffalo 19-8 1019 10 Mid-American Conference
13. Bucknell 22-6 956 13 Patriot League
14. Green Bay 22-6 898 15 Horizon League
15. UTEP 20-6 775 12 Conference USA
16. Belmont 21-7 717 19 Ohio Valley Conference
17. Dayton 20-6 637 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Massachusetts 20-6 591 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Rhode Island 18-8 496 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. St. Bonaventure 19-7 434 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Toledo 19-7 330 NR Mid-American Conference
22. Eastern Kentucky 21-6 293 24 Ohio Valley Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 19-6 179 NR Southland Conference
24. Saint Joseph's 18-8 117 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Cincinnati 18-8 91 20 American Athletic Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UC Santa Barbara 19-7 57 Big West Conference
South Florida 18-8 29 American Athletic Conference
Georgia State 19-10 23 Horizon League
American 20-8 19 Patriot League
Louisiana Tech 18-8 16 Conference USA
Utah State 17-9 6 Mountain West Conference
Howard 19-8 5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Pepperdine 17-10 3 West Coast Conference
Harvard 18-8 1 Ivy League
Stony Brook 19-9 1 America East Conference

Big surprise, nothing.

Onto the bubble watch, and this weeks edition of the Overall Bubble Watch doesn't have any of our teams in it.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UTEP 20-6 .555 (56) 0-1 4-1 6-4 10-0 193 In
Rhode Island 18-8 .590 (30) 0-4 4-1 9-3 5-0 33 In
Nebraska 16-10 .570 (46) 4-4 5-3 4-3 3-0 45 In
VCU 16-10 .580 (38) 4-6 5-2 5-1 2-1 19 In
Louisville 16-10 .574 (44) 4-5 4-3 4-2 4-0 29 In
St. Bonaventure 19-7 .552 (60) 1-1 4-2 8-2 6-2 217 In
Butler 16-10 .590 (28) 3-6 3-4 6-0 4-0 15 In
Howard 19-8 .552 (61) 1-3 2-1 7-4 9-0 136 In
Saint Joseph's 18-8 .562 (49) 1-1 3-1 9-5 5-1 173 Out
Georgia State 19-10 .555 (57) 3-4 3-2 2-1 11-3 121 Out
Pepperdine 17-10 .549 (62) 2-4 2-1 7-4 6-1 85 Out
Illinois 18-9 .545 (67) 4-6 1-2 6-0 7-1 143 Out
Eastern Michigan 17-10 .545 (66) 2-1 3-2 4-4 8-3 139 Out
American 20-8 .541 (74) 1-2 1-1 4-3 14-2 221 Out
Delaware State 16-11 .580 (41) 1-3 2-2 8-2 5-4 40 Out



Here's a look at where all our teams stand, as none were in the overall bubble watch:

Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Alabama, Kentucky
In: Stanford

[collegesportsfanms]

Alrighty guys, I need some opinions here. I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of seeing so many of our teams struggle consistently. I realize some of our teams are just having a rare down year (Michigan State, Florida), but a handful of our teams are consistently near or at the bottom in their conference. I want you all to have fun following your teams, and I know a couple of you have PMed me about how to shake things up. So I'm offering the following solutions for us to vote on:

For All Teams

I can just make every FOFC coach prestige 15, make all 4 rankings 100, and see how it goes.

Or, I can just bump the coach prestige up a notch or 2, perhaps up to 9 or 10 or something, to maybe make things a bit easier.

For Select Teams

I have a few options here. I can either let those coaches that really want to change their ratings around to see if it makes a difference, keeping their same prestige rating.

I can also allow selected coaches to make a change on their coaching staff, knowing that if they fire a coach, the coach that ends up getting hired could have a lower rating. I can either let you guys choose coaches to hire, I could manually do it myself, or I could just let the game decide.

A third option would be to let you resign from your team and get on with another team. The rules here though, would be that it has to be a team around the same prestige as the team you resigned from, or, it goes to job offers where you resign from your job and then I let you know which teams offer and you just choose one of them, hoping for the best.

So we have options. Almost all the teams could benefit, although UCLA and Kentucky have been consistently good. If I'm going to change coach prestiges, I'll do it for all coaches. You can either PM me what you think, or voice it in this thread, either way. I've still got a few more weeks left in the current season, but once it is over, hopefully I'll have enough opinions that I'll know which route to go.

[bbgunn]

I personally wouldn't mind the bump in prestige up to 15. I know it's a bit unrealistic, but Hollywood stories usually are unrealistic. :) If that's a no-go, then a bump up to 9 or 10 would be nice.

I'd like to see B.B. Gunn make a career at Hawaii, and I think I like St. John at WSU unless a more prestigious offer comes along.

[collegesportsfanms]

Feb. 25-March 3, 2019

Amazingly, no feature games this week, so we'll get right into the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-22, 5-11 T-7th America East.

3/1/19 at Albany (L 78-66).

Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, who finish with a loss. That loss didn't hurt them too bad, as they win a tiebreaker with Binghamton and we'll be the 7th seed in the America East Tournament, taking on an Albany team that just beat them.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-24, 2-15 11th (last) American.

2/27/19 vs. UConn (L 70-60).
3/2/19 at South Florida (L 67-58).

At least the Pirates aren't losing by 20+ points like they did several games in a row early this season, but they still need a lot of work.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 12-17, 7-9 7th American.

2/27/19 vs. Houston (W 70-59).
3/2/19 vs. Cincinnati (L 49-44).

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who fought hard against Cincinnati but just don't have it this season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 15-13, 10-6 T-4th Atlantic 10.

2/27/19 vs. Fordham (W 89-53).
3/2/19 at George Washington (L 69-67, OT).

The Wildcats really needed that win over GW, because they have 2 tough games coming up next week to finish the regular season.

Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 7-22, 4-13 14th ACC.

2/27/19 vs. North Carolina (L 60-50).
3/2/19 at Louisville (L 100-74).

The Tigers lose 2 more this week, but played UNC tough for a while. Louisville smoked them though, and Clemson finishes the regular season winless on the road.

#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 23-6, 13-3 2nd ACC.

2/27/19 vs. Virginia Tech (W 84-76).
3/2/19 at Florida State (W 80-75).

2 more wins for the Blue Devils as it sets up a huge game with conference leader Notre Dame next week. A win there could give the Blue Devils a share of the ACC title.

Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 18-10, 9-7 T-3rd Big 12.

2/25/19 at #20 Baylor (W 63-59).
3/2/19 at Oklahoma State (L 72-58).

The Jayhawks split this week, as they sweep Baylor, but follow up a positive with a negative by losing to Oklahoma State convincingly. Next week are 2 home games as they look to get back to their winning ways in Lawrence.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-19, 3-14 10th (last) Big 12.

2/25/19 vs. Texas Tech (L 80-60).
3/2/19 vs. West Virginia (W 74-70).

A split for the Horned Frogs, who get their first conference win against a non-Texas team in quite some time.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-15, 7-9 7th Big Ten.

2/27/19 vs. Illinois (W 80-78).
3/2/19 at #7 Maryland (L 60-58).

A split for the Wolverines this week, who played much better basketball. They got a win over a strong Illinois team and almost upset Maryland.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-15, 5-11 T-11th Big Ten.

2/27/19 vs. Indiana (L 86-72).
3/2/19 vs. Minnesota (L 74-55).

Wow, the Spartans continue to suck this season as they lose by double digits twice this week. Unbelievable.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-20, 6-10 T-9th Big Ten.

2/27/19 vs. #7 Maryland (L 75-66).
3/2/19 at Nebraska (L 82-55).

2 more losses for the Wildcats, as 3 of their last 4 losses have been by 25 points or more.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-15, 6-9 7th Big West.

2/28/19 vs. UC Irvine (L 67-59).
3/2/19 at Cal State Northridge (L 79-76).

2 more losses for the Warriors as firecoachgunn.com is now over 750,000 hits. Yikes!

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 9-18, 5-11 T-11th Conference USA.

2/28/19 at Louisiana Tech (L 78-58).
3/2/19 at FIU (L 69-55).

2 more losses for the 49ers who are struggling again after a brief 2 game win streak.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-13, 7-9 T-8th Conference USA.

2/28/19 at UTSA (W 79-66).
3/2/19 at Southern Miss (W 82-52).

2 big wins this week for the Owls as they have a tough game coming up against Louisiana Tech next week. With 2 wins, they can finish .500 in conference play.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 19-11, 11-9 T-3rd MAAC.

3/1/19 at Canisius (W 61-55).

Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, and it is a win that boosted them up to a 3rd place tie in the MAAC. Unfortunately they lost the 3rd place tiebreaker and will be the 4th seed in the MAAC Tournament. They'll take on 5th seed Iona in their first game.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-18, 4-11 T-11th MEAC.

2/25/19 at #24 North Carolina Central (L 72-36).
3/2/19 vs. Savannah State (L 62-52).

The losses are mounting up again for the Spartans after they had a 3 game winning streak. This is their worst season yet.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 14-14, 8-8 T-5th Pac 12.

2/28/19 vs. USC (W 84-51).
3/2/19 at Oregon (L 80-53).

Another split for the Buffaloes, as they can't gain any ground in the conference. Both their results this week were 25+ point results, 1 good and 1 bad.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-11, 8-8 T-5th Pac 12.

2/28/19 at Washington (L 67-62).
3/2/19 at Utah (L 51-47).

2 tough road losses for the Cardinal, damaging losses that could hurt their seeding big time in the NCAA Tournament.

#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 24-4, 12-4 2nd Pac 12.

2/28/19 at California (W 85-65).
3/2/19 at #14 Arizona (L 91-88).

The Bruins split this week, and the game they really needed to win, they lost. They remain 1 game behind Arizona and need to win both next week and get some help.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 13-14, 6-10 T-9th Pac 12.

2/28/19 vs. Arizona State (W 74-65).
3/2/19 vs. USC (L 73-72).

The Cougars almost got a 2 win week, but fell short. They are playing better basketball as of late, with splits the last 2 weeks.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 20-9, 10-6 T-3rd SEC.

2/27/19 at Georgia (L 82-70).
3/2/19 at #10 Vanderbilt (W 70-67, OT).

The Crimson Tide split this week, getting a big win over conference leader Vanderbilt. They'd be closer to the hunt for an SEC title without those bad losses to teams like Georgia. They are 2 games back, they need to win both games next week and get a lot, and I do mean a lot of help.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 13-15, 6-10 T-12th SEC.

2/27/19 at Tennessee (W 84-71).
3/2/19 vs. Ole Miss (W 67-53).

2 wins for the Gators, who are showing signs of life at the end of season. They've got a couple big games next week that will better determine if they are in position to make a late season run.

#18 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-7, 12-4 T-1st SEC.

2/27/19 vs. Auburn (W 80-71).
3/2/19 at Tennessee (W 76-56).

2 more wins for the Wildcats who have won 4 in a row since that brief 2 game losing streak. All they have to do to share a conference title is win both their games next week, and they are hoping Vandy loses a game.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 11-16, 6-12 10th Sun Belt.

2/28/19 vs. Georgia Southern (W 79-63).
3/2/19 at Appalachian State (L 54-46).

A split for the Trojans which is a minor victory considering their struggles this season. 2 more games next week to try and finish on a good note.

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Iowa State (38) 25-4 1761 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Gonzaga (25) 28-2 1725 3 West Coast Conference
3. Virginia (9) 24-4 1693 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Wisconsin 23-5 1554 6 Big Ten Conference
5. UCLA 24-4 1536 4 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Notre Dame 23-5 1442 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Maryland 22-6 1299 7 Big Ten Conference
8. Providence 25-4 1239 12 Big East Conference
9. Arizona 23-6 1197 14 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Ohio State 19-7 1135 5 Big Ten Conference
11. Vanderbilt 21-7 1057 10 Southeastern Conference
12. Iowa 20-8 992 11 Big Ten Conference
13. Texas A&M 23-6 949 8 Southeastern Conference
14. Illinois State 24-6 934 17 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Kentucky 21-7 738 18 Southeastern Conference
16. Oakland 26-4 664 19 Horizon League
17. Duke 23-6 625 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. San Diego State 21-7 580 21 Mountain West Conference
19. Georgetown 20-8 509 13 Big East Conference
20. North Carolina Central 25-4 399 24 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
21. Baylor 22-7 330 20 Big 12 Conference
22. Northern Iowa 24-6 312 16 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Boise State 21-6 183 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Villanova 20-8 136 NR Big East Conference
25. Syracuse 21-7 128 15 Atlantic Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
SMU 23-6 116 American Athletic Conference
Wichita State 23-6 47 Missouri Valley Conference
Alabama 20-9 32 Southeastern Conference
Saint Mary's 22-7 30 West Coast Conference
Manhattan 23-5 22 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Pittsburgh 19-9 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
Green Bay 24-6 13 Horizon League
Belmont 23-7 6 Ohio Valley Conference

UCLA drops a spot after their loss to Arizona, while Kentucky moves up 3 spots. Duke has the biggest rise this week, jumping 8 spots. Alabama benefitted from that win over Vanderbilt as they received quite a few more votes this week.

Now for the mid-major top 25:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 28-2 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 24-6 1718 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. San Diego State 21-7 1577 4 Mountain West Conference
4. Boise State 21-6 1550 7 Mountain West Conference
5. Oakland 26-4 1542 5 Horizon League
6. Northern Iowa 24-6 1480 3 Missouri Valley Conference
7. SMU 23-6 1362 6 American Athletic Conference
8. Wichita State 23-6 1276 8 Missouri Valley Conference
9. North Carolina Central 25-4 1184 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
10. Manhattan 23-5 1114 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
11. Green Bay 24-6 1102 14 Horizon League
12. Saint Mary's 22-7 1028 9 West Coast Conference
13. UTEP 22-6 900 15 Conference USA
14. Buffalo 20-9 834 12 Mid-American Conference
15. Dayton 22-6 791 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Bucknell 23-7 728 13 Patriot League
17. Belmont 23-7 673 16 Ohio Valley Conference
18. Rhode Island 20-8 652 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Cincinnati 20-8 494 25 American Athletic Conference
20. Toledo 21-7 415 21 Mid-American Conference
21. Massachusetts 21-7 374 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. St. Bonaventure 20-8 311 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 21-6 191 23 Southland Conference
24. Eastern Kentucky 22-7 149 22 Ohio Valley Conference
25. Harvard 20-8 59 NR Ivy League

Others Receiving Votes:
South Florida 19-8 30 American Athletic Conference
Pepperdine 19-10 29 West Coast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 20-8 17 Big West Conference
Eastern Michigan 19-10 10 Mid-American Conference
Vermont 20-8 5 America East Conference
Louisiana Tech 19-9 3 Conference USA
Stony Brook 20-9 2 America East Conference

Our FOFC teams are shut out again this week.

The season is coming to a close, just a couple more weeks in the regular season. Let's take a look at the bubble watch. 2 of our FOFC teams make an appearance in the Overall Bubble Watch.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pepperdine 19-10 .563 (51) 3-4 2-1 9-5 5-0 65 In
Buffalo 20-9 .572 (43) 2-3 2-4 8-1 8-1 55 In
VCU 17-11 .571 (44) 5-7 4-2 6-1 2-1 22 In
St. Bonaventure 20-8 .566 (48) 1-1 4-3 9-2 6-2 147 In
Louisville 17-11 .570 (45) 4-6 3-3 6-2 4-0 23 In
Stanford 17-11 .576 (40) 4-4 3-4 7-2 3-1 28 In
Saint Joseph's 18-10 .553 (58) 2-2 2-1 8-6 6-1 127 In
LSU 17-11 .554 (56) 3-8 3-1 5-2 6-0 77 In
Georgia State 19-11 .562 (53) 3-5 3-2 1-0 12-4 85 Out
Howard 20-9 .541 (67) 1-1 4-3 4-4 11-1 180 Out
Monmouth 19-11 .541 (66) 0-3 5-1 7-2 7-5 160 Out
Eastern Michigan 19-10 .539 (73) 2-1 4-3 3-3 10-3 184 Out
Drexel 19-11 .539 (74) 1-1 1-3 6-5 11-2 151 Out
Massachusetts 21-7 .515 (126) 2-1 2-1 7-4 10-1 322 Out
South Florida 19-8 .523 (108) 2-2 1-4 5-1 11-1 285 Out

Stanford is still projected in, but not as safely in as last week. 2 losses will do that to you. What is saving them is the fact they play in a big conference, so they have a solid SOS and RPI.

Monmouth, on the other hand, is facing the hardships of being a mid-major. Their 19-11 record is nice, their SOS is decent at 160, and their 5-4 record against the top 100 looks really good. But 7-5 against teams with an RPI of 200+? That is killing them and is easily the worst of our 15 teams in the Overall Bubble Watch.

Now for the rest of the teams:

Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Alabama, Kentucky.

[collegesportsfanms]

I personally wouldn't mind the bump in prestige up to 15. I know it's a bit unrealistic, but Hollywood stories usually are unrealistic. :) If that's a no-go, then a bump up to 9 or 10 would be nice.

I'd like to see B.B. Gunn make a career at Hawaii, and I think I like St. John at WSU unless a more prestigious offer comes along.

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.

[rjolley]

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

[bbgunn]

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.

[Breeze]

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...

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

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.

[bbgunn]

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!

[collegesportsfanms]

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:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (51) 26-4 1772 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State (6) 26-4 1704 1 Big 12 Conference
3. Gonzaga (14) 29-2 1669 2 West Coast Conference
4. Wisconsin (1) 25-5 1615 4 Big Ten Conference
5. UCLA 26-4 1520 5 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Arizona 25-6 1399 9 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Iowa 22-8 1339 12 Big Ten Conference
8. Vanderbilt 23-7 1265 11 Southeastern Conference
9. Notre Dame 23-7 1202 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Northern Iowa 27-6 1026 22 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Providence 25-5 961 8 Big East Conference
12. Kentucky 23-7 952 15 Southeastern Conference
13. Maryland 22-8 919 7 Big Ten Conference
14. San Diego State 23-7 870 18 Mountain West Conference
15. Ohio State 20-8 783 10 Big Ten Conference
16. Illinois State 25-7 703 14 Missouri Valley Conference
17. Duke 24-7 696 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Oakland 26-4 669 16 Horizon League
19. Baylor 24-7 623 21 Big 12 Conference
20. North Carolina Central 26-4 470 20 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
21. Texas A&M 24-7 348 13 Southeastern Conference
22. Boise State 22-6 300 23 Mountain West Conference
23. Manhattan 26-5 227 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
24. Wichita State 26-7 200 NR Missouri Valley Conference
25. Minnesota 21-9 56 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Belmont 25-7 46 Ohio Valley Conference
Villanova 22-8 29 Big East Conference
UTEP 24-6 13 Conference USA
Syracuse 22-8 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
Green Bay 24-6 5 Horizon League
Pittsburgh 20-10 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
Saint Mary's 22-8 2 West Coast Conference
Alabama 21-10 1 Southeastern Conference
North Carolina 20-10 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
SMU 23-7 1 American Athletic Conference

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:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 29-2 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 27-6 1703 6 Missouri Valley Conference
3. San Diego State 23-7 1655 3 Mountain West Conference
4. Illinois State 25-7 1568 2 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Boise State 22-6 1508 4 Mountain West Conference
6. Oakland 26-4 1448 5 Horizon League
7. Wichita State 26-7 1360 8 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Manhattan 26-5 1268 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
9. North Carolina Central 26-4 1193 9 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
10. SMU 23-7 1189 7 American Athletic Conference
11. UTEP 24-6 1063 13 Conference USA
12. Green Bay 24-6 987 11 Horizon League
13. Belmont 25-7 928 17 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Saint Mary's 22-8 824 12 West Coast Conference
15. Dayton 23-7 747 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Massachusetts 23-7 652 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Buffalo 21-10 644 14 Mid-American Conference
18. Bucknell 24-8 631 16 Patriot League
19. Rhode Island 21-9 595 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. St. Bonaventure 22-8 484 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Cincinnati 21-9 324 19 American Athletic Conference
22. South Florida 21-8 257 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Toledo 21-8 182 20 Mid-American Conference
24. Harvard 22-8 159 25 Ivy League
25. UC Santa Barbara 22-8 80 NR Big West Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 22-7 45 Southland Conference
Pepperdine 21-10 41 West Coast Conference
Louisiana Tech 21-9 28 Conference USA
Eastern Kentucky 22-8 18 Ohio Valley Conference
Vermont 22-8 12 America East Conference
Utah State 20-10 4 Mountain West Conference
Connecticut 18-12 1 American Athletic Conference
Eastern Michigan 20-10 1 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 21-9 1 America East Conference

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.

OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH

Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Bonaventure 22-8 .566 (48) 1-1 6-3 10-2 5-2 160 In
Pepperdine 21-10 .564 (50) 3-4 0-1 12-4 6-1 89 In
Syracuse 22-8 .543 (68) 4-2 4-5 5-1 9-0 227 In
Virginia Tech 18-12 .552 (55) 3-5 5-3 5-4 5-0 80 In
Stanford 18-12 .567 (46) 3-4 4-4 8-3 3-1 32 In
Drexel 21-11 .547 (59) 1-1 2-3 5-5 13-2 133 In
Georgia State 20-12 .555 (54) 3-5 1-2 5-1 11-4 98 In
South Florida 21-8 .543 (67) 2-2 2-4 7-1 10-1 224 In
Saint Joseph's 18-12 .546 (63) 2-2 2-4 7-4 7-2 109 Out
Louisville 17-12 .567 (47) 4-6 4-5 5-1 4-0 17 Out
Utah State 20-10 .537 (77) 1-4 0-1 10-5 9-0 181 Out
Eastern Michigan 20-10 .540 (71) 2-1 3-2 5-5 10-2 194 Out
Howard 20-10 .538 (73) 1-1 4-4 3-3 12-2 162 Out
Loyola MD 21-10 .536 (78) 1-2 1-2 4-2 15-4 197 Out
Illinois 19-12 .533 (89) 4-5 2-5 6-1 7-1 137 Out

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[rjolley]

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

[Coffee Warlord]

I like prestige. :)

[collegesportsfanms]

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

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.

[DavidCorperial]

I'm fine either way myself.

[law90026]

More points you say? Love it

[Neuqua]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[rjolley]

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.

[thealmighty]

More is better for the Mighty clan.

[ntndeacon]

I'd like both my coaches to get a bump

[collegesportsfanms]

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!

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[rjolley]

Tim and Benito will continue to build their current programs.

[ntndeacon]

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

[bbgunn]

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

[rjolley]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[rjolley]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[Zinto]

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

[ntndeacon]

The Chill will stay a Wildcat!

[collegesportsfanms]

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!

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[bbgunn]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

2019-2020 Preseason Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Arizona (43) 0-0 1730 8 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Louisville (8) 0-0 1666 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Ohio State (13) 0-0 1654 13 Big Ten Conference
4. North Carolina (5) 0-0 1607 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Baylor 0-0 1493 14 Big 12 Conference
6. Virginia (1) 0-0 1428 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Oregon 0-0 1321 NR Pacific-12 Conference
8. Maryland 0-0 1239 19 Big Ten Conference
9. Vanderbilt 0-0 1200 10 Southeastern Conference
10. Villanova (1) 0-0 1162 NR Big East Conference
11. Wisconsin 0-0 1111 3 Big Ten Conference
12. Iowa State 0-0 1031 2 Big 12 Conference
13. Syracuse (1) 0-0 898 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Iowa 0-0 798 7 Big Ten Conference
15. Texas A&M 0-0 789 25 Southeastern Conference
16. Miami 0-0 693 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Kentucky 0-0 657 23 Southeastern Conference
18. Illinois 0-0 486 NR Big Ten Conference
19. VCU 0-0 432 NR Southeastern Conference
20. Connecticut 0-0 424 NR American Athletic Conference
21. Xavier 0-0 385 NR Big East Conference
22. Oklahoma State 0-0 265 NR Big 12 Conference
23. Florida 0-0 225 NR Southeastern Conference
24. Oklahoma 0-0 153 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Indiana 0-0 90 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Florida State 0-0 76 Atlantic Coast Conference
Arkansas 0-0 50 Southeastern Conference
San Diego State 0-0 44 Mountain West Conference
DePaul 0-0 36 Big East Conference
Missouri 0-0 26 Southeastern Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 18 Conference USA
California 0-0 15 Pacific-12 Conference
Minnesota 0-0 12 Big Ten Conference
UNLV 0-0 12 Mountain West Conference
Boise State 0-0 11 Mountain West Conference
Buffalo 0-0 11 Mid-American Conference
Nevada 0-0 11 Mountain West Conference
Gonzaga 0-0 10 West Coast Conference
Pittsburgh 0-0 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
St. John's 0-0 9 Big East Conference
Washington 0-0 9 Pacific-12 Conference
Duke 0-0 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
Michigan State 0-0 8 Big Ten Conference
Washington State 0-0 8 Pacific-12 Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Texas 0-0 7 Big 12 Conference
Georgetown 0-0 6 Big East Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 5 Big Sky Conference
Manhattan 0-0 5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Carolina State 0-0 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Hofstra 0-0 4 Colonial Athletic Association
Providence 0-0 4 Big East Conference
Seattle 0-0 4 Western Athletic Conference
Harvard 0-0 3 Ivy League
Illinois State 0-0 3 Missouri Valley Conference
Iona 0-0 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Marquette 0-0 3 Big East Conference
Michigan 0-0 3 Big Ten Conference
Richmond 0-0 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Alabama 0-0 2 Southeastern Conference
Columbia 0-0 2 Ivy League
Creighton 0-0 2 Big East Conference
Northwestern 0-0 2 Big Ten Conference
Seton Hall 0-0 2 Big East Conference
Virginia Tech 0-0 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Loyola Chicago 0-0 1 Missouri Valley Conference
West Virginia 0-0 1 Big 12 Conference


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

[collegesportsfanms]

2019-2020 Preseason Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Connecticut (64) 0-0 1756 NR American Athletic Conference
2. San Diego State (2) 0-0 1407 5 Mountain West Conference
3. Boise State 0-0 1173 6 Mountain West Conference
4. Louisiana Tech (2) 0-0 1116 22 Conference USA
5. Wichita State (1) 0-0 767 7 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Harvard 0-0 745 NR Ivy League
7. Gonzaga (1) 0-0 725 1 West Coast Conference
8. Cincinnati 0-0 705 13 American Athletic Conference
9. Northern Iowa 0-0 656 2 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Memphis 0-0 563 NR American Athletic Conference
11. SMU 0-0 562 12 American Athletic Conference
12. Illinois State 0-0 560 3 Missouri Valley Conference
13. BYU 0-0 521 NR West Coast Conference
14. Richmond 0-0 432 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Buffalo (1) 0-0 424 23 Mid-American Conference
16. Dayton 0-0 412 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Akron 0-0 374 NR Mid-American Conference
18. Davidson 0-0 370 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Saint Mary's 0-0 324 17 West Coast Conference
20. Massachusetts 0-0 275 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Middle Tennessee 0-0 254 NR Conference USA
22. UNLV (1) 0-0 253 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Georgia State 0-0 229 NR Horizon League
24. La Salle 0-0 218 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. UAB 0-0 204 NR Conference USA

Others Receiving Votes:
Old Dominion 0-0 202 Conference USA
Tulsa 0-0 187 American Athletic Conference
South Florida 0-0 172 American Athletic Conference
Kent State 0-0 170 Mid-American Conference
Belmont 0-0 169 Ohio Valley Conference
Pepperdine 0-0 167 West Coast Conference
Toledo 0-0 157 Mid-American Conference
New Mexico 0-0 155 Mountain West Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 154 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 0-0 153 Horizon League
Eastern Michigan 0-0 151 Mid-American Conference
George Washington 0-0 149 Atlantic 10 Conference
Utah State 0-0 140 Mountain West Conference
Temple 0-0 136 American Athletic Conference
San Diego 0-0 135 West Coast Conference
East Carolina 0-0 133 American Athletic Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 130 Big West Conference
William & Mary 0-0 130 Colonial Athletic Association
Mississippi State 0-0 125 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 123 Atlantic 10 Conference
Rhode Island 0-0 116 Atlantic 10 Conference
Evansville 0-0 114 Missouri Valley Conference
UC Irvine 0-0 113 Big West Conference
Mercer 0-0 111 Southern Conference
Fresno State 0-0 108 Mountain West Conference
Western Michigan 0-0 108 Mid-American Conference
George Mason 0-0 101 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 0-0 100 Mountain West Conference
Murray State 0-0 99 Ohio Valley Conference
San Francisco 0-0 98 West Coast Conference
Indiana State 0-0 96 Missouri Valley Conference
Drexel 0-0 91 Colonial Athletic Association
Portland 0-0 88 West Coast Conference
Cleveland State 0-0 87 Horizon League
Loyola Chicago 0-0 87 Missouri Valley Conference
Yale 0-0 87 Ivy League
Duquesne 0-0 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 84 Ohio Valley Conference
Santa Clara 0-0 83 West Coast Conference
North Carolina Central 0-0 81 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Hofstra 0-0 76 Colonial Athletic Association
Wyoming 0-0 74 Mountain West Conference
Manhattan 0-0 73 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northeastern 0-0 72 Colonial Athletic Association
Air Force 0-0 71 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 70 Sun Belt Conference
Bowling Green 0-0 68 Mid-American Conference
UTEP 0-0 65 Conference USA
Southern Illinois 0-0 64 Missouri Valley Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 62 Atlantic 10 Conference
Columbia 0-0 61 Ivy League
Northern Illinois 0-0 61 Mid-American Conference
Southern Miss 0-0 61 Conference USA
Tulane 0-0 60 American Athletic Conference
Charlotte 0-0 59 Conference USA
UCF 0-0 59 American Athletic Conference
Bradley 0-0 58 Missouri Valley Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 55 Horizon League
Long Beach State 0-0 55 Big West Conference
Bucknell 0-0 52 Patriot League
Eastern Illinois 0-0 51 Ohio Valley Conference
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 48 Ohio Valley Conference
Princeton 0-0 46 Ivy League
Eastern Washington 0-0 45 Big Sky Conference
Nevada 0-0 44 Mountain West Conference
Pacific 0-0 44 West Coast Conference
Western Illinois 0-0 44 Southland Conference
Fordham 0-0 43 Atlantic 10 Conference
Iona 0-0 43 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Seattle 0-0 43 Western Athletic Conference
Chicago State 0-0 41 Western Athletic Conference
Oakland 0-0 41 Horizon League
Stephen F. Austin 0-0 37 Summit League
Elon 0-0 34 Colonial Athletic Association
Central Michigan 0-0 33 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 0-0 31 America East Conference
UNC Wilmington 0-0 31 Colonial Athletic Association
Canisius 0-0 29 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Lehigh 0-0 29 Patriot League
Hawaii 0-0 28 Big West Conference
Albany 0-0 27 America East Conference
Loyola Marymount 0-0 27 West Coast Conference
Wofford 0-0 27 Southern Conference
Cal Poly 0-0 26 Big West Conference
Cornell 0-0 26 Ivy League
Niagara 0-0 25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
High Point 0-0 23 Big South Conference
Milwaukee 0-0 23 Horizon League
Montana 0-0 23 Big Sky Conference
Oral Roberts 0-0 23 Summit League
North Dakota State 0-0 22 Summit League
Lafayette 0-0 21 Patriot League
Missouri State 0-0 21 Missouri Valley Conference
Montana State 0-0 21 Big Sky Conference
Quinnipiac 0-0 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Western Carolina 0-0 21 Southern Conference
Detroit 0-0 20 Horizon League
Drake 0-0 20 Missouri Valley Conference
East Tennessee State 0-0 20 Southern Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 20 Atlantic Sun Conference
James Madison 0-0 20 Colonial Athletic Association
North Dakota 0-0 20 Big Sky Conference
San Jose State 0-0 20 Mountain West Conference
Army 0-0 19 Patriot League
North Florida 0-0 19 Atlantic Sun Conference
Penn 0-0 19 Ivy League
Southeast Missouri State 0-0 19 Ohio Valley Conference
Tennessee Martin 0-0 19 Ohio Valley Conference
VMI 0-0 19 Southern Conference
Weber State 0-0 19 Big Sky Conference
Chattanooga 0-0 18 Southern Conference
FIU 0-0 18 Conference USA
Radford 0-0 18 Big South Conference
Sacred Heart 0-0 18 Northeast Conference
UC Davis 0-0 18 Big West Conference
UMKC 0-0 18 Western Athletic Conference
Utah Valley 0-0 18 Western Athletic Conference
Colgate 0-0 17 Patriot League
Fairfield 0-0 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Florida Atlantic 0-0 17 Conference USA
Norfolk State 0-0 17 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Robert Morris 0-0 17 Northeast Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 17 Big Sky Conference
Tennessee Tech 0-0 17 Ohio Valley Conference
Appalachian State 0-0 16 Sun Belt Conference
Austin Peay 0-0 16 Ohio Valley Conference
Cal State Fullerton 0-0 16 Big West Conference
Hampton 0-0 16 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Hartford 0-0 16 America East Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 16 Northeast Conference
Central Connecticut 0-0 15 Northeast Conference
Liberty 0-0 15 Big South Conference
Siena 0-0 15 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Tennessee State 0-0 15 Ohio Valley Conference
Cal State Northridge 0-0 14 Big West Conference
Longwood 0-0 14 Big South Conference
UNC Greensboro 0-0 14 Southern Conference
Bethune Cookman 0-0 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Delaware 0-0 13 Colonial Athletic Association
Gardner Webb 0-0 13 Big South Conference
Lipscomb 0-0 13 Atlantic Sun Conference
Marist 0-0 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Campbell 0-0 12 Big South Conference
UC Riverside 0-0 12 Big West Conference
Valparaiso 0-0 12 Horizon League
American 0-0 11 Patriot League
UNC Asheville 0-0 11 Big South Conference
Florida A&M 0-0 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
North Carolina A&T 0-0 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
St. Francis PA 0-0 10 Northeast Conference
Wagner 0-0 10 Northeast Conference
Jacksonville 0-0 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
Sacramento State 0-0 9 Big Sky Conference
Dartmouth 0-0 8 Ivy League
LIU Brooklyn 0-0 8 Northeast Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 0-0 7 Western Athletic Conference
New Mexico State 0-0 7 Western Athletic Conference
Houston 0-0 6 American Athletic Conference
Miami OH 0-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Binghamton 0-0 5 America East Conference
Ohio 0-0 5 Mid-American Conference
Stetson 0-0 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
Western Kentucky 0-0 4 Conference USA
Towson 0-0 2 Colonial Athletic Association
South Dakota State 0-0 1 Summit League

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (52) 2-0 1766 3 Big Ten Conference
2. Arizona (7) 0-0 1650 1 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Baylor 2-0 1612 5 Big 12 Conference
4. Louisville (8) 0-0 1598 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. North Carolina (3) 0-0 1556 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Virginia (1) 0-0 1411 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Oregon 0-0 1294 7 Pacific-12 Conference
8. Maryland 0-0 1214 8 Big Ten Conference
9. Vanderbilt 0-0 1175 9 Southeastern Conference
10. Villanova 0-0 1143 10 Big East Conference
11. Wisconsin 0-0 1098 11 Big Ten Conference
12. Iowa State 0-0 1021 12 Big 12 Conference
13. Syracuse (1) 0-0 873 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Iowa 1-0 828 14 Big Ten Conference
15. Texas A&M 1-0 815 15 Southeastern Conference
16. Miami 1-0 753 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Kentucky 0-0 625 17 Southeastern Conference
18. Illinois 0-0 465 18 Big Ten Conference
19. VCU 0-0 418 19 Southeastern Conference
20. Connecticut 0-0 395 20 American Athletic Conference
21. Xavier 0-0 361 21 Big East Conference
22. Florida 1-0 324 23 Southeastern Conference
23. Oklahoma State 0-0 208 22 Big 12 Conference
24. Florida State 2-0 146 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Oklahoma 0-0 124 24 Big 12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Indiana 0-0 71 Big Ten Conference
Boise State 2-0 55 Mountain West Conference
Arkansas 0-0 47 Southeastern Conference
DePaul 0-0 42 Big East Conference
San Diego State 0-0 38 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Tech 1-0 33 Conference USA
Duke 2-0 29 Atlantic Coast Conference
Nevada 2-0 18 Mountain West Conference
Pittsburgh 1-0 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
Minnesota 0-0 14 Big Ten Conference
California 0-0 12 Pacific-12 Conference
Buffalo 0-0 10 Mid-American Conference
Gonzaga 1-0 10 West Coast Conference
Texas 0-0 10 Big 12 Conference
UNLV 0-0 10 Mountain West Conference
Seattle 2-0 9 Western Athletic Conference
Wake Forest 2-0 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
Michigan State 0-0 8 Big Ten Conference
Northwestern 1-0 8 Big Ten Conference
South Carolina 2-0 7 Southeastern Conference
St. Bonaventure 0-0 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Washington 0-0 7 Pacific-12 Conference
Georgetown 1-0 6 Big East Conference
Manhattan 0-0 6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Washington State 0-0 6 Pacific-12 Conference
Hofstra 0-0 5 Colonial Athletic Association
Loyola Chicago 1-0 5 Missouri Valley Conference
Alabama 1-0 3 Southeastern Conference
Green Bay 1-0 3 Horizon League
Iona 0-0 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Old Dominion 1-0 3 Conference USA
Providence 0-0 3 Big East Conference
Belmont 2-0 2 Ohio Valley Conference
Columbia 0-0 2 Ivy League
Creighton 0-0 2 Big East Conference
Eastern Illinois 1-0 2 Ohio Valley Conference
Harvard 0-0 2 Ivy League
Marquette 0-0 2 Big East Conference
Michigan 0-0 2 Big Ten Conference
Seton Hall 0-0 1 Big East Conference

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Connecticut (56) 0-0 1740 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Boise State (4) 2-0 1576 3 Mountain West Conference
3. San Diego State (1) 0-0 1346 2 Mountain West Conference
4. Louisiana Tech (4) 1-0 1234 4 Conference USA
5. Belmont 2-0 825 NR Ohio Valley Conference
6. Mississippi State 2-0 797 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Cincinnati (2) 1-0 783 8 American Athletic Conference
8. Gonzaga (1) 1-0 752 7 West Coast Conference
9. Harvard 0-0 673 6 Ivy League
10. Nevada (1) 2-0 631 NR Mountain West Conference
11. Green Bay (1) 1-0 565 NR Horizon League
12. New Mexico 1-0 534 NR Mountain West Conference
13. Indiana State 1-0 478 NR Missouri Valley Conference
14. SMU 0-0 453 11 American Athletic Conference
15. Saint Joseph's 1-0 422 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Old Dominion 1-0 377 NR Conference USA
17. Loyola Chicago (1) 1-0 349 NR Missouri Valley Conference
18. Stephen F. Austin 1-0 346 NR Summit League
19. Buffalo (1) 0-0 323 15 Mid-American Conference
20. Seattle 2-0 312 NR Western Athletic Conference
21. Dayton 0-0 294 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Davidson 0-0 288 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Akron 0-0 252 17 Mid-American Conference
24. Missouri State 1-0 249 NR Missouri Valley Conference
25. Saint Mary's 0-0 239 19 West Coast Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Middle Tennessee 0-0 214 Conference USA
FIU 1-0 208 Conference USA
Dartmouth 1-0 198 Ivy League
UNLV 0-0 185 Mountain West Conference
Tulsa 0-0 179 American Athletic Conference
South Florida 0-0 173 American Athletic Conference
Eastern Michigan 0-0 166 Mid-American Conference
Massachusetts 0-0 164 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 0-0 158 Colonial Athletic Association
Pepperdine 0-0 157 West Coast Conference
East Carolina 0-0 148 American Athletic Conference
Lehigh 1-0 143 Patriot League
St. Bonaventure 0-0 142 Atlantic 10 Conference
Murray State 0-0 136 Ohio Valley Conference
Utah State 0-0 135 Mountain West Conference
Evansville 0-0 129 Missouri Valley Conference
San Diego 0-0 126 West Coast Conference
Cleveland State 0-0 124 Horizon League
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 124 Big West Conference
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 122 Ohio Valley Conference
Eastern Illinois 1-0 116 Ohio Valley Conference
South Alabama 1-0 116 Sun Belt Conference
North Carolina Central 0-0 112 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
George Washington 0-0 106 Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 0-0 106 American Athletic Conference
Bowling Green 0-0 102 Mid-American Conference
Chattanooga 1-0 101 Southern Conference
UTEP 0-0 101 Conference USA
Colorado State 0-0 97 Mountain West Conference
Rhode Island 0-0 97 Atlantic 10 Conference
Southern Illinois 0-0 97 Missouri Valley Conference
San Francisco 0-0 96 West Coast Conference
Southern Miss 0-0 95 Conference USA
New Mexico State 1-0 93 Western Athletic Conference
Tulane 0-0 89 American Athletic Conference
UCF 0-0 86 American Athletic Conference
Portland 0-0 83 West Coast Conference
Santa Clara 0-0 82 West Coast Conference
Drexel 0-0 77 Colonial Athletic Association
Yale 0-0 75 Ivy League
Central Michigan 0-0 74 Mid-American Conference
Duquesne 0-0 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
Hofstra 0-0 68 Colonial Athletic Association
Valparaiso 0-0 67 Horizon League
Wyoming 0-0 66 Mountain West Conference
Manhattan 0-0 65 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Air Force 0-0 64 Mountain West Conference
Elon 0-0 64 Colonial Athletic Association
Wofford 0-0 63 Southern Conference
Northern Illinois 0-0 62 Mid-American Conference
Bradley 0-0 57 Missouri Valley Conference
Columbia 0-0 57 Ivy League
Long Beach State 0-0 57 Big West Conference
Western Illinois 1-0 52 Southland Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 51 Horizon League
Sacramento State 1-0 50 Big Sky Conference
Pacific 0-0 49 West Coast Conference
Chicago State 0-0 45 Western Athletic Conference
Western Kentucky 0-0 44 Conference USA
Fordham 0-0 43 Atlantic 10 Conference
Iona 0-0 42 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
James Madison 0-0 42 Colonial Athletic Association
UNC Wilmington 0-0 42 Colonial Athletic Association
Bucknell 0-0 40 Patriot League
North Dakota State 0-0 36 Summit League
Princeton 0-0 36 Ivy League
Miami OH 0-0 33 Mid-American Conference
Cal Poly 0-0 32 Big West Conference
Stony Brook 0-0 32 America East Conference
Hawaii 0-0 30 Big West Conference
St. Francis PA 1-0 30 Northeast Conference
Drake 0-0 29 Missouri Valley Conference
South Dakota State 0-0 29 Summit League
Albany 0-0 28 America East Conference
Niagara 0-0 27 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Cornell 0-0 26 Ivy League
Florida A&M 1-0 26 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Ohio 0-0 25 Mid-American Conference
Western Carolina 0-0 25 Southern Conference
Milwaukee 0-0 22 Horizon League
Montana 0-0 22 Big Sky Conference
Central Connecticut 1-0 21 Northeast Conference
Montana State 0-0 21 Big Sky Conference
Quinnipiac 0-0 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
San Jose State 0-0 21 Mountain West Conference
UNC Greensboro 0-0 21 Southern Conference
Army 0-0 20 Patriot League
North Dakota 0-0 20 Big Sky Conference
Radford 0-0 20 Big South Conference
Southeast Missouri State 0-0 20 Ohio Valley Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 20 Northeast Conference
Cal State Fullerton 0-0 19 Big West Conference
Florida Atlantic 0-0 19 Conference USA
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 19 Atlantic Sun Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 19 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
East Tennessee State 0-0 18 Southern Conference
Hampton 0-0 18 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Weber State 0-0 18 Big Sky Conference
Liberty 0-0 17 Big South Conference
Sacred Heart 0-0 17 Northeast Conference
Tennessee Martin 0-0 17 Ohio Valley Conference
Cal State Northridge 0-0 16 Big West Conference
Hartford 0-0 16 America East Conference
Longwood 0-0 16 Big South Conference
Utah Valley 0-0 16 Western Athletic Conference
Austin Peay 0-0 15 Ohio Valley Conference
Gardner Webb 0-0 15 Big South Conference
LIU Brooklyn 0-0 15 Northeast Conference
Southern Utah 0-0 15 Big Sky Conference
Campbell 0-0 14 Big South Conference
Tennessee State 0-0 14 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Riverside 0-0 14 Big West Conference
Bethune Cookman 0-0 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Lafayette 0-0 13 Patriot League
UNC Asheville 0-0 13 Big South Conference
Binghamton 0-0 12 America East Conference
Delaware 0-0 12 Colonial Athletic Association
North Carolina A&T 0-0 12 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 0-0 11 Western Athletic Conference
Jacksonville 0-0 11 Atlantic Sun Conference
Penn 0-0 11 Ivy League
American 0-0 9 Patriot League
Robert Morris 0-0 9 Northeast Conference
Wright State 0-0 3 Horizon League
Ball State 0-0 1 Mid-American Conference

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. North Carolina (70) 3-0 1798 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Virginia (1) 1-0 1693 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Oregon 1-0 1600 7 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Maryland 1-0 1536 8 Big Ten Conference
5. Vanderbilt 1-0 1512 9 Southeastern Conference
6. Iowa State 1-0 1460 12 Big 12 Conference
7. Syracuse (1) 1-0 1313 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 2-0 1306 15 Southeastern Conference
9. Kentucky 1-0 1127 17 Southeastern Conference
10. Florida State 4-0 939 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Illinois 1-0 937 18 Big Ten Conference
12. VCU 1-0 893 19 Southeastern Conference
13. Connecticut 1-0 857 20 American Athletic Conference
14. Ohio State 2-1 794 1 Big Ten Conference
15. Arizona 2-1 705 2 Pacific-12 Conference
16. Louisville 2-1 648 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Indiana 1-0 630 NR Big Ten Conference
18. Duke 4-0 438 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Baylor 3-1 428 3 Big 12 Conference
20. Louisiana Tech 2-0 339 NR Conference USA
21. Minnesota 1-0 336 NR Big Ten Conference
22. Marquette 3-0 205 NR Big East Conference
23. Wisconsin 1-1 182 11 Big Ten Conference
24. Cincinnati 3-0 159 NR American Athletic Conference
25. Texas 0-0 158 NR Big 12 Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Providence 3-0 123 Big East Conference
Northwestern 3-0 115 Big Ten Conference
LSU 2-0 97 Southeastern Conference
Old Dominion 3-0 81 Conference USA
Mississippi State 3-0 80 Atlantic 10 Conference
Gonzaga 2-0 75 West Coast Conference
Wake Forest 2-0 63 Atlantic Coast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 3-0 61 Big West Conference
USC 3-0 59 Pacific-12 Conference
Akron 2-0 48 Mid-American Conference
Iowa 1-1 37 Big Ten Conference
UCF 2-0 36 American Athletic Conference
West Virginia 2-0 33 Big 12 Conference
South Florida 2-0 32 American Athletic Conference
TCU 2-0 32 Big 12 Conference
Tulsa 2-0 32 American Athletic Conference
Loyola Chicago 2-0 26 Missouri Valley Conference
Buffalo 1-0 25 Mid-American Conference
Washington 1-0 25 Pacific-12 Conference
New Mexico 2-0 23 Mountain West Conference
Columbia 2-0 20 Ivy League
James Madison 2-0 18 Colonial Athletic Association
Temple 2-0 18 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 1-0 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
FIU 2-0 17 Conference USA
Long Beach State 2-0 17 Big West Conference
Rutgers 2-0 17 Big Ten Conference
Saint Joseph's 2-0 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 2-0 16 Horizon League
Nebraska 1-0 14 Big Ten Conference
Niagara 2-0 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Michigan 0-0 12 Big Ten Conference
Virginia Tech 1-0 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson 1-0 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
UNC Wilmington 2-0 9 Colonial Athletic Association
North Dakota State 2-0 8 Summit League
Binghamton 2-0 7 America East Conference
Miami 1-1 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
William & Mary 0-0 7 Colonial Athletic Association
Cal Poly 2-0 6 Big West Conference
Drexel 2-0 6 Colonial Athletic Association
Miami OH 2-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Middle Tennessee 1-0 6 Conference USA
Northern Arizona 3-0 5 Big Sky Conference
Seton Hall 0-0 4 Big East Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 3 Western Athletic Conference
Campbell 2-0 3 Big South Conference
Lafayette 2-0 2 Patriot League
Notre Dame 1-0 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Portland 2-0 2 West Coast Conference
San Jose State 1-0 2 Mountain West Conference
Samford 2-0 1 Southern Conference
UC Riverside 1-0 1 Big West Conference

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Connecticut (51) 1-0 1737 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Louisiana Tech (10) 2-0 1550 4 Conference USA
3. Cincinnati (5) 3-0 1313 7 American Athletic Conference
4. UC Santa Barbara 3-0 1161 NR Big West Conference
5. Akron 2-0 1091 23 Mid-American Conference
6. Mississippi State 3-0 1091 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Gonzaga (1) 2-0 936 8 West Coast Conference
8. New Mexico 2-0 925 12 Mountain West Conference
9. Old Dominion (1) 3-0 894 16 Conference USA
10. Long Beach State 2-0 734 NR Big West Conference
11. Saint Joseph's 2-0 696 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. North Dakota State 2-0 595 NR Summit League
13. Temple 2-0 554 NR American Athletic Conference
14. UCF 2-0 549 NR American Athletic Conference
15. Cal Poly 2-0 543 NR Big West Conference
16. Tulsa (1) 2-0 508 NR American Athletic Conference
17. Miami OH 2-0 502 NR Mid-American Conference
18. South Dakota State 2-0 424 NR Summit League
19. SMU 1-0 419 14 American Athletic Conference
20. Northern Arizona 3-0 375 NR Big Sky Conference
21. Columbia 2-0 374 NR Ivy League
22. Davidson 1-0 348 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Green Bay (1) 2-0 345 11 Horizon League
24. FIU 2-0 343 NR Conference USA
25. James Madison 2-0 288 NR Colonial Athletic Association

Others Receiving Votes:
Buffalo 1-0 271 Mid-American Conference
Loyola Chicago 2-0 248 Missouri Valley Conference
Lafayette 2-0 247 Patriot League
UNC Wilmington 2-0 242 Colonial Athletic Association
UT Arlington 2-0 232 Sun Belt Conference
South Florida 2-0 220 American Athletic Conference
Middle Tennessee 1-0 187 Conference USA
UTEP 1-0 185 Conference USA
Portland 2-0 163 West Coast Conference
Drexel 2-0 159 Colonial Athletic Association
Bowling Green 1-0 158 Mid-American Conference
Coastal Carolina 2-0 152 Big South Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 137 Western Athletic Conference
Samford 2-0 136 Southern Conference
USC Upstate 2-0 135 Atlantic Sun Conference
Campbell 2-0 133 Big South Conference
San Jose State 1-0 133 Mountain West Conference
Southern Miss 1-0 130 Conference USA
Niagara 2-0 128 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Loyola MD 2-0 126 Patriot League
Binghamton 2-0 117 America East Conference
Colorado State 1-0 116 Mountain West Conference
Rice 1-0 111 Conference USA
UC Riverside 1-0 105 Big West Conference
Hawaii 1-0 98 Big West Conference
Cal State Fullerton 0-0 87 Big West Conference
Kennesaw State 2-0 86 Atlantic Sun Conference
Florida A&M 2-0 82 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Furman 2-0 79 Southern Conference
Texas-Rio Grande Valley 2-0 78 Western Athletic Conference
Ohio 0-0 77 Mid-American Conference
Portland State 1-0 74 Big Sky Conference
William & Mary 0-0 72 Colonial Athletic Association
Howard 1-0 63 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Idaho 1-0 62 Big Sky Conference
Maryland Eastern Shore 1-0 55 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Southeastern Louisiana 2-0 51 Southland Conference
Prairie View A&M 0-0 46 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Troy 1-0 44 Sun Belt Conference
Presbyterian 1-0 25 Big South Conference
Central Arkansas 1-0 20 Southland Conference
Jacksonville 1-0 18 Atlantic Sun Conference
Boise State 2-1 17 Mountain West Conference

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.

[vex]

FPV? We'll take it!

[law90026]

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

[collegesportsfanms]

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:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. North Carolina (70) 5-0 1798 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Maryland 4-0 1708 4 Big Ten Conference
3. Iowa State (2) 4-0 1665 6 Big 12 Conference
4. Connecticut 4-0 1446 13 American Athletic Conference
5. Syracuse 3-0 1397 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kentucky 3-0 1339 9 Southeastern Conference
7. Ohio State 4-1 1313 14 Big Ten Conference
8. Florida State 5-0 1097 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Baylor 5-1 1092 19 Big 12 Conference
10. Indiana 3-0 1069 17 Big Ten Conference
11. VCU 1-0 1033 12 Southeastern Conference
12. Texas 4-0 953 25 Big 12 Conference
13. Duke 6-0 938 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Arizona 3-1 919 15 Pacific-12 Conference
15. Gonzaga 5-0 736 NR West Coast Conference
16. Oregon 3-1 657 3 Pacific-12 Conference
17. Vanderbilt 3-1 525 5 Southeastern Conference
18. Providence 5-0 524 NR Big East Conference
19. Notre Dame 4-0 523 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. New Mexico 4-0 378 NR Mountain West Conference
21. Wake Forest 4-0 341 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Marquette 3-0 248 22 Big East Conference
23. UTEP 4-0 230 NR Conference USA
24. Virginia Tech 4-0 200 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Iowa 1-1 184 NR Big Ten Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Rutgers 4-0 167 Big Ten Conference
FIU 4-0 107 Conference USA
UC Santa Barbara 3-0 97 Big West Conference
Ohio 3-0 89 Mid-American Conference
Mississippi State 3-0 88 Atlantic 10 Conference
Furman 4-0 66 Southern Conference
Illinois 2-1 66 Big Ten Conference
UT Arlington 3-0 63 Sun Belt Conference
San Jose State 3-0 51 Mountain West Conference
Florida A&M 4-0 50 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Louisville 4-2 48 Atlantic Coast Conference
Kennesaw State 4-0 38 Atlantic Sun Conference
Samford 3-0 38 Southern Conference
South Dakota State 2-0 37 Summit League
Northern Arizona 3-0 32 Big Sky Conference
Howard 3-0 25 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Troy 3-0 18 Sun Belt Conference
Coastal Carolina 2-0 7 Big South Conference

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.

[collegesportsfanms]

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

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Connecticut (69) 4-0 1797 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Gonzaga (2) 5-0 1669 7 West Coast Conference
3. New Mexico 4-0 1549 8 Mountain West Conference
4. UTEP (1) 4-0 1490 NR Conference USA
5. UC Santa Barbara 3-0 1402 4 Big West Conference
6. Ohio 3-0 1351 NR Mid-American Conference
7. FIU 4-0 1311 24 Conference USA
8. Mississippi State 3-0 1280 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. UT Arlington 3-0 1224 NR Sun Belt Conference
10. Florida A&M 4-0 1078 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
11. Furman 4-0 1059 NR Southern Conference
12. Samford 3-0 987 NR Southern Conference
13. San Jose State 3-0 949 NR Mountain West Conference
14. Kennesaw State 4-0 895 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
15. South Dakota State 2-0 866 18 Summit League
16. Northern Arizona 3-0 847 20 Big Sky Conference
17. Howard 3-0 760 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
18. Troy 3-0 683 NR Sun Belt Conference
19. Coastal Carolina 2-0 614 NR Big South Conference
20. Louisiana Tech 3-1 358 2 Conference USA
21. Cincinnati 5-1 307 3 American Athletic Conference
22. Temple 4-1 121 13 American Athletic Conference
23. Nevada 4-1 108 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Drexel 4-1 107 NR Colonial Athletic Association
25. Cleveland State 4-1 81 NR Horizon League

Others Receiving Votes:
South Florida 4-1 57 American Athletic Conference
Columbia 4-1 51 Ivy League
Eastern Michigan 4-1 48 Mid-American Conference
Missouri State 4-1 37 Missouri Valley Conference
USC Upstate 4-1 33 Atlantic Sun Conference
Portland 3-1 28 West Coast Conference
Old Dominion 3-1 26 Conference USA
Western Michigan 4-1 22 Mid-American Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 4-1 21 Western Athletic Conference
Richmond 2-1 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
Fordham 4-1 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 3-1 16 Mountain West Conference
Louisiana Monroe 3-1 15 Sun Belt Conference
Montana 2-1 10 Big Sky Conference
Northern Illinois 1-1 10 Mid-American Conference
Western Illinois 1-1 8 Southland Conference
Davidson 1-1 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Drake 3-1 7 Missouri Valley Conference
Niagara 4-1 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
SMU 2-1 7 American Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 3-1 6 Summit League
UNC Wilmington 2-1 6 Colonial Athletic Association
South Alabama 3-1 5 Sun Belt Conference
Hawaii 2-1 4 Big West Conference
Oakland 3-1 4 Horizon League
UAB 2-1 4 Conference USA
UC Riverside 2-1 4 Big West Conference
William & Mary 2-1 4 Colonial Athletic Association
Albany 2-1 3 America East Conference
Dayton 2-1 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Loyola Marymount 1-1 3 West Coast Conference
Rhode Island 2-1 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
UCF 2-1 3 American Athletic Conference
East Carolina 1-1 2 American Athletic Conference
Milwaukee 1-1 2 Horizon League
North Carolina A&T 1-1 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Sacramento State 1-1 1 Big Sky Conference
St. Francis NY 3-1 1 Northeast Conference

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