2022 Season Tournaments

UConn will be the 5th seed in the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis and open up the tournament against 4th seeded Buffalo.

Duke will be the 2nd seed in the 2022 Diamond Head Classic and open up against 7th seed Tulsa.

Stanford will be the 3rd seed in the 2022 Diamond Head Classic and will open up against 6th seed Butler.

Michigan State will be the top seed in the 2022 Great Alaska Shootout and will open up against 8th seed Cal State Northridge.

Alabama will be the 2nd seed in the 2022 Great Alaska Shootout and will open up against 7th seed ECU, which is recently removed as an active human coached team.

UCLA will be the top seed in the 2022 Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will open up against 8th seed Ohio.

TCU will be the 3rd seed in the 2022 Hall of Fame Tip-Off and will open up against 6th seed San Diego.

FIU will be the 10th seed in the 16 team 2022 Las Vegas Classic and will open up against 7th seed South Florida.

Northwestern will be the top seed in the 4 team 2022 Las Vegas Holiday Classic and will open up against 4th seed Western Carolina.

Rice will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2022 Little Rock Regional and will open up against 2nd seed Ball State.

Colorado will be the top seed in the 2022 Maui Invitational and will open up against 8th seed American.

Hawaii will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2022 Meadowlands Regional and will open up against 3rd seed Sam Houston State.

Washington State will be the top seed in the 4 team 2022 Michigan Tournament and will open up against 4th seed UNC Greensboro.

Hartford will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2022 Sun Bowl Classic and will open up against 2nd seed VMI.

Whoo, free trip to Maui!

One to the Bahamas and one to Alaska! so on the whole moderate temps. :)

2022-2023 Preseason Mid Major Top 25

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Davidson (27) 0-0 1469 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
2. BYU (19) 0-0 1427 5 West Coast Conference
3. Boise State (9) 0-0 1371 25 Mountain West Conference
4. San Diego State (2) 0-0 1117 2 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State (2) 0-0 698 1 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Buffalo (9) 0-0 659 7 Mid-American Conference
7. Memphis 0-0 610 3 American Athletic Conference
8. SMU 0-0 599 11 American Athletic Conference
9. Cincinnati 0-0 556 NR American Athletic Conference
10. Richmond 0-0 498 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Illinois State (1) 0-0 487 NR Missouri Valley Conference
12. Connecticut 0-0 458 NR American Athletic Conference
13. Fresno State 0-0 412 9 Mountain West Conference
14. New Mexico 0-0 410 NR Mountain West Conference
15. Kent State 0-0 390 NR Mid-American Conference
16. George Washington 0-0 373 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Rhode Island 0-0 343 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Saint Mary's 0-0 340 NR West Coast Conference
19. Akron 0-0 338 NR Mid-American Conference
20. Evansville 0-0 308 NR Missouri Valley Conference
21. Indiana State 0-0 280 NR Missouri Valley Conference
22. Pepperdine 0-0 275 NR West Coast Conference
23. St. Bonaventure 0-0 251 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Harvard 0-0 247 NR Ivy League
25. Eastern Michigan 0-0 224 NR Mid-American Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
UAB 0-0 211 Conference USA
South Florida 0-0 205 American Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 0-0 199 Atlantic 10 Conference
Western Michigan 0-0 196 Mid-American Conference
San Diego 0-0 194 West Coast Conference
Portland 0-0 192 West Coast Conference
Georgia State 0-0 191 Horizon League
UC Irvine 0-0 189 Big West Conference
La Salle 0-0 185 Atlantic 10 Conference
Louisiana Tech 0-0 184 Conference USA
Massachusetts 0-0 180 Atlantic 10 Conference
Utah State 0-0 179 Mountain West Conference
Santa Clara 0-0 177 West Coast Conference
Middle Tennessee 0-0 176 Conference USA
Dayton 0-0 170 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 0-0 168 Colonial Athletic Association
East Carolina 0-0 160 American Athletic Conference
Temple 0-0 156 American Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 0-0 153 Missouri Valley Conference
Columbia 0-0 151 Ivy League
UNLV 0-0 150 Mountain West Conference
UC Santa Barbara 0-0 148 Big West Conference
Toledo 0-0 142 Mid-American Conference
Fordham 0-0 141 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 0-0 138 Mountain West Conference
Old Dominion 0-0 133 Conference USA
USC 0-0 132 West Coast Conference
Duquesne 0-0 125 Atlantic 10 Conference
Hofstra 0-0 124 Colonial Athletic Association
Northeastern 0-0 123 Colonial Athletic Association
Tulsa 0-0 121 American Athletic Conference
Manhattan 0-0 112 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Mississippi State 0-0 109 Atlantic 10 Conference
Mercer 0-0 107 Southern Conference
Tulane 0-0 103 American Athletic Conference
Yale 0-0 103 Ivy League
Belmont 0-0 101 Ohio Valley Conference
Oakland 0-0 101 Horizon League
Pacific 0-0 99 West Coast Conference
Green Bay 0-0 96 Horizon League
Princeton 0-0 96 Ivy League
Wyoming 0-0 95 Mountain West Conference
Long Beach State 0-0 91 Big West Conference
Bowling Green 0-0 89 Mid-American Conference
Lehigh 0-0 89 Patriot League
Loyola Chicago 0-0 85 Missouri Valley Conference
San Francisco 0-0 85 West Coast Conference
FIU 0-0 79 Conference USA
Elon 0-0 74 Colonial Athletic Association
Air Force 0-0 73 Mountain West Conference
Niagara 0-0 73 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
UTEP 0-0 73 Conference USA
UCF 0-0 64 American Athletic Conference
Canisius 0-0 63 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
George Mason 0-0 63 Atlantic 10 Conference
Cornell 0-0 61 Ivy League
Loyola Marymount 0-0 58 West Coast Conference
Iona 0-0 57 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Drexel 0-0 53 Colonial Athletic Association
Albany 0-0 51 America East Conference
Colgate 0-0 51 Patriot League
UNC Wilmington 0-0 48 Colonial Athletic Association
Army 0-0 47 Patriot League
Murray State 0-0 42 Ohio Valley Conference
Siena 0-0 41 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Southern Illinois 0-0 40 Missouri Valley Conference
American 0-0 38 Patriot League
Louisiana Lafayette 0-0 38 Sun Belt Conference
Southern Miss 0-0 37 Conference USA
Stony Brook 0-0 37 America East Conference
Charlotte 0-0 36 Conference USA
Cal State Fullerton 0-0 35 Big West Conference
Quinnipiac 0-0 33 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
San Jose State 0-0 30 Mountain West Conference
Marist 0-0 29 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Cal State Northridge 0-0 28 Big West Conference
Saint Louis 0-0 27 Atlantic 10 Conference
St. Francis NY 0-0 27 Northeast Conference
Dartmouth 0-0 26 Ivy League
Milwaukee 0-0 24 Horizon League
Northern Illinois 0-0 24 Mid-American Conference
Oral Roberts 0-0 24 Summit League
Penn 0-0 24 Ivy League
Montana 0-0 22 Big Sky Conference
Austin Peay 0-0 21 Ohio Valley Conference
Binghamton 0-0 21 America East Conference
Bradley 0-0 21 Missouri Valley Conference
Bucknell 0-0 21 Patriot League
Montana State 0-0 21 Big Sky Conference
North Carolina Central 0-0 21 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Seattle 0-0 21 Western Athletic Conference
East Tennessee State 0-0 20 Southern Conference
Eastern Washington 0-0 20 Big Sky Conference
Illinois Chicago 0-0 20 Horizon League
Portland State 0-0 20 Big Sky Conference
Appalachian State 0-0 19 Sun Belt Conference
Eastern Illinois 0-0 19 Ohio Valley Conference
Lafayette 0-0 19 Patriot League
Tennessee Martin 0-0 19 Ohio Valley Conference
Chattanooga 0-0 18 Southern Conference
Hawaii 0-0 18 Big West Conference
Sacred Heart 0-0 18 Northeast Conference
SIU Edwardsville 0-0 18 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Riverside 0-0 18 Big West Conference
UNC Greensboro 0-0 18 Southern Conference
Fairfield 0-0 17 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
James Madison 0-0 17 Colonial Athletic Association
Nevada 0-0 17 Mountain West Conference
Tennessee Tech 0-0 17 Ohio Valley Conference
Wagner 0-0 17 Northeast Conference
Western Carolina 0-0 17 Southern Conference
Western Illinois 0-0 17 Southland Conference
Chicago State 0-0 16 Western Athletic Conference
Hartford 0-0 16 America East Conference
High Point 0-0 16 Big South Conference
Radford 0-0 16 Big South Conference
Robert Morris 0-0 16 Northeast Conference
Tennessee State 0-0 16 Ohio Valley Conference
Cal Poly 0-0 15 Big West Conference
Campbell 0-0 15 Big South Conference
Central Connecticut 0-0 15 Northeast Conference
VMI 0-0 15 Southern Conference
Florida Atlantic 0-0 14 Conference USA
Hampton 0-0 14 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Lipscomb 0-0 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
LIU Brooklyn 0-0 14 Northeast Conference
Stephen F. Austin 0-0 14 Horizon League
Towson 0-0 14 Colonial Athletic Association
Gardner Webb 0-0 13 Big South Conference
Norfolk State 0-0 13 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Cleveland State 0-0 12 Horizon League
Liberty 0-0 12 Big South Conference
UC Davis 0-0 12 Big West Conference
UNC Asheville 0-0 12 Big South Conference
Longwood 0-0 11 Big South Conference
North Carolina A&T 0-0 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
St. Francis PA 0-0 11 Northeast Conference
McNeese State 0-0 10 Southland Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 0-0 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
Louisiana Monroe 0-0 9 Sun Belt Conference
Sacramento State 0-0 9 Big Sky Conference
Drake 0-0 8 Missouri Valley Conference
Houston 0-0 7 American Athletic Conference
Miami OH 0-0 7 Mid-American Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 0-0 6 Western Athletic Conference
Ball State 0-0 5 Mid-American Conference
Northwestern State 0-0 3 Southland Conference
Ohio 0-0 3 Mid-American Conference
College of Charleston 0-0 2 Colonial Athletic Association
Eastern Kentucky 0-0 1 Ohio Valley Conference

Milestone Win Watch for 2022-2023 Season

Coaches Within 25 Wins of 100 Career Wins

Will Brown (Tulsa)- 19 away
DeShawn St. John (Washington State)- 11 away
Brett Hawkins (FIU)- 1 away

Nov. 14-20, 2022

With opening weekend always having a lack of games, there are only 6 games to cover, and I will just focus on the teams that had games.

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

11/11/22- Sun Bowl Classic First Round vs. (2) VMI (L 72-39).
11/12/22- Sun Bowl Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Youngstown State (L 70-66).

Another 4th place finish in a season tournament for Coach Ginsberg and the Hawks, as they were obliterated by VMI, but had a better showing against Youngstown.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 0-1, 0-0 American.

11/13/22 at Villanova (L 69-67).

Tough one for the Huskies, as Villanova is considered a rival in some ways. A good effort on the road, but these are the type games Coach Childress needs to find a way to win.

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

11/13/22 at Illinois State (L 92-84).

The Spartans don't start off this season in a good way, falling on the road. Take nothing away from Illinois State, they should be solid this year, but Coach Mighty wants better from his squad.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/13/22 at Florida (W 97-75).

It didn't take Coach Hawkins long in this season to get his 100th career win. First game of the season, and he got it done, going on the road and beating an in-state rival.

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

11/13/22 vs. High Point (W 70-58).

A win is a win, but I know Coach Rogers wanted it to be a little more convincing. Still though, getting on the right track with a season opening win is always important.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Nov. 14-20:



With their losses, Michigan State and UConn lose their votes.

And the mid-major top 25 for the week of Nov. 14-20:

Nov. 14-20, 2022

No feature games this week, and 23 games on the docket. Let's get into it:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-2, 0-0 America East.

11/14/22 at St. Peter's (W 66-57).
11/17/22 at Delaware State (W 64-57).
11/19/22 vs. Iona (W 65-62).

A much better week for the Hawks, who got 3 single digit wins this week, 2 on the road.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 0-2, 0-0 American.

11/15/22 vs. VMI (L 72-70).

The Huskies drop another heartbreaker to fall to 0-2 on the season. Starting to think this VMI team might be better than advertised.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-1, 0-0 American.

11/14/22 at UTEP (W 96-87).
11/18/22 at Texas Tech (L 92-67).

A split for the Golden Hurricane to start the season, as both were on the road, but would have liked a better effort at Texas Tech.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 0-1, 0-0 ACC.

11/18/22 vs. Buffalo (L 71-66).

Yet another FOFC human coached team that opened the season with a loss. Gonna be an interesting game next week when they take on FIU.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/15/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (6) San Diego (L 69-59).
11/19/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (7) Southern Illinois (L 71-70).
11/20/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off 5th Place Game vs. (5) St. Bonaventure (W 91-72).

The Horned Frogs will settle for 5th place in this tournament, and quite honestly have a lot of momentum going into their next few games which should all be wins. Key word: should.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/15/22 vs. Georgia Tech (W 96-85).
11/17/22 vs. Georgia State (W 89-81).

A good recovery week for the Spartans, who took care of business against 2 teams from Georgia, both at home. They have their season tournament next week.

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

11/17/22 at Cincinnati (W 63-46).

A big time win for Coach Vee and the Wildcats, and might put a few teams on notice. It's too early to tell, but things look promising for another solid non-conference record.

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

11/19/22 vs. Houston (W 69-61).

A nice season opening win for the Warriors as they get ready for their season tournament next week.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Coach Hawkins and the Golden Panthers, as they look forward to a big showdown against Duke next week.

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

11/19/22- Little Rock Regional First Round vs. (2) Ball State (W 80-61).
11/20/22- Little Rock Regional Championship vs. (4) Marist (L 74-59).

Another 2nd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Owls, as the entire field was absolutely shocked by what Marist did. Many people expected that championship to be the consolation game.

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

11/17/22 vs. St. Louis (W 68-58).

Good season opening victory for the Buffaloes as they head into their season tournament next week.

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

11/19/22 vs. Manhattan (W 83-57).

Total dominance in the Cardinal's first game of the season, as they continue their creampuff non-conference schedule. Their first real test might not come until mid-December.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/15/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (8) Ohio (W 67-66).
11/19/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Semifinal vs. (4) UAB (L 68-64).
11/20/22- Hall of Fame Tip-Off 3rd Place Game vs. (6) San Diego (L 77-75).

Hard to get an early read on this Bruins team, as they haven't had a margin of victory or defeat higher than 4 points yet. Unfortunately, they ended up taking 4th in their season tournament.

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

11/18/22- Michigan Tournament First Round vs. (4) UNC Greensboro (W 56-31).
11/20/22- Michigan Tournament Championship vs. (3) Texas Southern (L 81-78).

The Cougars have been consistent in 4 team tournaments. They've played in 2 of them and finished 2nd both times. This time around, it was a tight game, but they couldn't get over the hump.

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

No games this week for the Crimson Tide and Coach Rogers, as they get ready for their season tournament next week.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Nov. 21-27:



Duke and Tulsa lost games this week, and all their votes. Hawaii garnered a single vote, and Coach Gunn has once again been reprimanded for vote tampering. He keeps claiming his innocence, but I dunno! And kudos to Alabama for jumping up 3 spots in the top 25 without even stepping on the floor this week.

Here's a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Nov. 21-27:



Tulsa lost their votes after a loss this week, and FIU dropped out of the mid-major top 25 after not playing this week.

Hawaii's still undefeated! Gotta like that. :

And hey... somebody's gotta vote for Hawaii, right? ;)

Nov. 21-27, 2022

We have 2 feature games on the schedule this week, and 22 games total. Let's start with the feature games.

11/21/22- FIU (Brett Hawkins) @ Duke (Dean Hoo) -- A back and forth game that saw FIU make just a few more shots and have a pretty big rebounding edge, 45-37. A huge road win for Coach Hawkins.

Final Score: FIU- 88, Duke- 86

11/26/22- Great Alaska Shootout Championship - (2) #12 Alabama (Roy Rogers) vs. (1) Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- Good to see the top 2 seeds, both human coached teams, make it to the finals of this tourney. The Spartans had an 8 point halftime lead, but in the second half it became a foul fest. Michigan State committed 29 fouls and Bama shot 41 free throws, making 29 of them compared to just 14 for Sparty. This was more than enough for the Crimson Tide to walk away with the title.

Final Score: (2) #12 Alabama- 79, (1) Michigan State- 73

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-2, 0-0 America East.

11/27/22 at Brown (W 56-48).

While it isn't the greatest competition, the Hawks are on a 4 game winning streak, and anytime you can get 3 road wins in a row, it's a good thing.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 1-4, 0-0 American.

11/23/22- Battle 4 Atlantis First Round vs. (4) Buffalo (W 68-61).
11/24/22- Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal vs. (1) Baylor (L 68-53).
11/25/22- Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd Place Game vs. (7) Utah State (L 83-82).

The struggles continue to be real for Coach Childress and the Huskies, as they lose their 4th out of 5 to start the season. To be fair, the combined record of 4 teams that have beat them is 18-2, and the average margin of victory is 5 points.

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

11/21/22 at Nebraska Omaha (L 83-60).
11/23/22 vs. Northwestern State (W 66-50).
11/27/22 vs. Incarnate Word (L 90-87).

The Golden Hurricane lose 2 out of 3 this week, and quite honestly, the 2 losses are inexplicable. Coach Brown has to get some consistency figured out for this group.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 1-2, 0-0 ACC.

11/21/22 vs. FIU- feature game, highlighted above.
11/25/22 at South Carolina State (W 86-80).

The Blue Devils split this week, finally getting their first win of the season, but they have another tough game coming up next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big 12.

No games this week for Coach Mighty and the Horned Frogs, as they get back to business next week.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/23/22- Great Alaska Shootout First Round vs. (8) Cal State Northridge (W 71-60).
11/25/22- Great Alaska Shootout Semifinal vs. (5) Kansas State (W 65-50).
11/26/22- Great Alaska Shootout Championship vs. (2) #12 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

All in all a good tournament for the Spartans, who fell just short against Alabama. 2nd place is good, but it might not be good enough for the board, who has high expectations.

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

No games this week for Coach Vee and the Wildcats who have a tough one next week before the schedule lightens up.

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

11/25/22- Meadowlands Regional First Round vs. (3) Sam Houston State (W 72-55).
11/26/22- Meadowlands Regional Championship vs. (1) USC (L 71-61).

The Warriors are still searching for their first season tournament win, as they've finished 2nd in 4 team tournaments 3 times now. It was a good effort, but not good enough.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/21/22 at Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
11/25/22 vs. Tennessee Martin (W 77-53).

Couldn't ask for a better start for Coach Hawkins in his first season at FIU. The Golden Panthers have gotten road wins at both Florida and Duke. Another road test next week.

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

No games this week for Coach Shocker and the Owls, who have a couple huge tests coming up in the next few days.

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

11/21/22- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (8) American (W 60-48).
11/22/22- Maui Invitational Semifinal vs. (5) Michigan (W 76-75).
11/23/22- Maui Invitational Championship vs. (2) #6 Texas A&M (W 54-45).

The Buffaloes have just won their first season tournament, and it couldn't come in a better way, as they defeated an old Big 12 foe in Texas A&M. Coach Nielsen has these guys rolling, but it doesn't get any easier.

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

11/21/22 at UC Davis (W 72-64).

It wasn't the prettiest, but the Cardinal won their only game this week as they continue a creampuff schedule until mid-December.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/27/22 vs. #2 Georgetown (L 82-73).

3 losses in a row for the Bruins, who are going to have to pick it up if they want to make the NCAA Tournament, let alone the Final Four. An interesting game next week as they face Fresno State, the team that walloped them in the national championship a couple seasons ago.

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

No games this week for Coach St. John and the Cougars, who have some winnable games coming up.

#12 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/23/22- Great Alaska Shootout First Round vs. (7) ECU (W 70-64).
11/25/22- Great Alaska Shootout Semifinal vs. (6) Georgia Tech (W 66-52).
11/26/22- Great Alaska Shootout Championship vs. (1) Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Another season tournament win for the Crimson Tide, this makes 3 of them. A couple big showdowns coming up in a couple weeks, but next week, they should be able to take it easy with a couple subpar opponents.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 4:



Great to see so many of our human coached teams represented in the national top 25. Alabama moves up 6 spots with their season tournament win, while Colorado jumps in with their season tournament win. Stanford also sneaks in, while FIU and Northwestern continue to climb the ladder.

And a look at the mid-major top 25 for the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 4:



FIU jumps back in the mid-major top 25 after a solid win at Duke. Unfortunately Hawaii loses their votes.

Well that's a tough start to the season for Duke.

I knew I forgot to do something this week. :)

Mai Tai's for all!

Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2022

25 games to cover this week, but no feature games, so we'll get right into the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-3, 0-0 America East.

11/30/22 at Northeastern (L 76-55).
12/2/22 vs. San Jose State (W 62-60).

A split this week for the Hawks, with a statement game coming next week against another strong mid-major. At least strong this season.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 3-4, 0-0 American.

11/30/22 at Providence (W 75-60).
12/2/22 vs. Washington (W 78-67).

Much better week for the Huskies, who get 2 wins over what should end up being strong competition. Still have a tough schedule coming up though.

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

12/4/22 at Oral Roberts (W 90-74).

A dominant win for the Golden Hurricane in their only game of the week. Strong on the road, and they get next week off.

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

11/28/22 at #3 Iowa State (W 64-63, OT).

A very important win in OT for the Blue Devils, as they hand Iowa State their first loss of the season, and have what should be 2 easy games next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-1, 0-0 Big 12.

11/29/22 at Central Connecticut (W 59-55).
12/4/22 vs. Stephen F. Austin (W 73-53).

2 wins for the Horned Frogs this week, but a bit of a reversal of what was expected, as they struggled against the team they should have dominated, and dominated the team I figured they'd struggle against. Oh well, a win is a win, no matter how you get it.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 5-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/1/22 at Miami (L 78-68).
12/4/22 vs. James Madison (W 70-52).

A split for the Spartans, who still aren't dominating like Coach Mighty hoped. They are improved, but still a ways to go to get back to Sparty ball.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/28/22 at Texas (W 88-74).
12/2/22 vs. Valparaiso (W 93-66).
12/4/22 vs. South Dakota State (L 74-64).

Good week for the Wildcats, winning 2 of 3, but it could have been even better. No excuse for losing by double digits to South Dakota State.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-1, 0-0 Big West.

11/30/22 vs. Montana (W 72-63).
12/4/22 at Santa Clara (W 67-48).

Nice week for the Warriors, who rolled at Santa Clara in what might be their best win of the season so far.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/30/22 at Illinois (W 94-86).
12/2/22 vs. Sam Houston State (W 57-45).

An absolutely incredible start to the season for the Golden Panthers, who are thriving under Coach Hawkins so far. It's still too early to tell, but it looks like the decision to move to FIU might have been the right one.

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

11/30/22 at #19 Texas A&M (W 77-75).
12/2/22 vs. North Dakota State (L 77-74).

A split for the Owls, but a weird one. After pulling the upset at A&M, they fall to North Dakota State, which is the game everyone had them winning. Another huge road test next week.

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

12/1/22 at #12 Wisconsin (L 69-64).
12/3/22 at Iowa (L 83-75).

The honeymoon is over for the Buffaloes, who couldn't handle a road trip through the Big Ten. It doesn't get any easier with a trip to Syracuse coming up.

#24 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/28/22 vs. McNeese State (W 83-70).

A subpar effort for the Cardinal this week, as their only game was against a winless team and they had to play a perfect 2nd half as they found themselves down 13 at halftime. Still, they pulled it out, but will have to get better.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 2-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/30/22 vs. Fresno State (W 63-62).

Revenge is sweet for the Bruins, who avenge that national championship loss 2 seasons ago, and stay home for 2 more next week.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/28/22 at Sacramento State (L 55-47).

More struggles for the Cougars, who drop a tough one in a very winnable game. Still a chance to get a few wins in the next coming games, gonna have to do better though.

#6 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-0, 0-0 SEC.

12/2/22 vs. Alabama State (W 74-51).

A solid win against a winless team for the Crimson Tide this week. They needed the confidence boost, because the rest of their schedule (non-conference and conference) is brutal.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 5-11:



So Alabama stays put after their win over easy competition this week. By the same token, Stanford struggled against their easy competition and moved up 6 spots. FIU jumps all the way into the national top 25 after 2 more solid wins this week. Meanwhile, Colorado, to nobodies surprise, loses their votes, and Northwestern loses theirs too, in a bit of a surprise.

Here's a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Dec. 5-11:


Hello FIU! They received 1 first place vote in the mid-major top 25, which has a lot of unexpected teams at the top. Meanwhile, Hawaii keeps getting more votes and with a good week next week, should break into the mid-major top 25.

Dec. 5-11, 2022

22 games to cover this week, and 1 feature game, so we'll jump right to that.

12/5/22- UConn (Randolph Childress) @ UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A game between 2 storied franchises that have fallen on a bit of hard times needed extra time to decide. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have needed extra time, but the home cookin was definitely on display in this one. UCLA shot 41 free throws to just 19 for UConn. Without that, it's a completely different game.

Final Score: UCLA- 96, UConn- 84 (OT)

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-5, 0-0 America East.

12/8/22 at #10 Yale (L 79-54).
12/10/22 vs. Rhode Island (L 81-78).

2 losses for the Hawks this week against pretty solid competition. Yale is just 1 of a number of mid-major teams that are having incredible starts. As for the Hawks, they are back to .500.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 3-5, 0-0 American.

12/5/22 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Just the 1 game for the Huskies this week, who got some tough officiating in the loss. 2 more on the road next week.

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

No games this week for Coach Brown and the Golden Hurricane, who will try to put together a winning streak starting next week.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 4-2, 0-0 ACC.

12/7/22 vs. ECU (W 71-61).
12/9/22 vs. Cleveland State (W 75-67).

2 more wins for the Blue Devils as they go into a test next week against an always good Arizona team.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-1, 0-0 Big 12.

12/6/22 vs. Southern Illinois (W 87-74).

The Horned Frogs win their only game this week against a pretty decent Southern Illinois team. A good chance to get a couple more next week and try to build their win total before conference play starts.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 5-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

No games this week for Coach Mighty and the Spartans, who got in some hard practice this week in an attempt to get the team back to their glory days.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 5-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/7/22 vs. Western Michigan (W 87-83).
12/11/22 at Toledo (W 83-58).

The Wildcats took care of business this week against MAC teams, including a really tough one against Western Michigan, who has an RPI of 20 right now. Good week for the Cats.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 6-1, 0-0 Big West.

12/7/22 vs. Bowling Green (W 70-51).
12/9/22 vs. Boston College (W 71-61).

2 more wins for the Warriors, who are playing their best, most consistent basketball in a long time. Not gonna jinx it, but....

#15 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-0, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/5/22 at Florida Gulf Coast (W 63-61).
12/9/22 at Miami (W 93-81).

While both games were technically on the road, the Golden Panthers stayed in Florida this week, getting 2 more wins. Can't say enough about the start Coach Hawkins is having at FIU. Next week, their season tournament.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 2-3, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/9/22 at #4 LSU (L 92-80).

Not a bad effort from the Owls in their only game of the week. They fell short to undefeated LSU, but fought back valiantly from a 22 point halftime deficit.

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

12/6/22 at #3 Syracuse (L 79-50).
12/9/22 vs. Texas (W 81-47).
12/11/22 vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W 81-66).

2 out of 3 this week for the Buffaloes, and none of the games were close. They dominated the Texas teams but got dominated by Syracuse. Just not a good showing in that one.

#18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-0, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/22 at Abilene Christian (W 76-71).
12/7/22 vs. Miami (OH) (W 76-65).

Despite not playing their best, the Cardinal get 2 more wins this week to stay undefeated. Next week a road test at St. Mary's.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 3-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/5/22 vs. UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
12/8/22 vs. Clemson (L 76-74).

Quite honestly, the Bruins probably should have lost both games this week. If not for some favorable officiating against UConn, Coach Shepard could be staring at a 2-5 record instead of 3-4. This just isn't a very good team right now.

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

12/5/22 vs. Utah Valley (W 66-64).
12/10/22 vs. William & Mary (W 84-83).

2 wins by about the slimmest of margins this week for the Cougars. They are over .500 now, but they've got a tough 3 game stretch against solid mid-majors.

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

12/7/22 vs. Loyola Chicago (W 76-47).

The Crimson Tide needed a blowout victory in their only game this week, because they are about to get tested hardcore. Their next 3 games are on the road against 2 ACC teams and a Big Ten team with a combined record of 18-2 so far.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 12-18:



I'm absolutely ecstatic to see so much human representation in the national top 25. Granted, things can and probably will change, but this might be the best start to a season we've had from human coaches. Alabama stays putt, but so did every team in front of them. FIU moves up 4 spots with 2 solid wins, while Stanford didn't play their best but moves up 6 spots. Northwestern jumps into the top 25, and TCU and Hawaii both receiving votes. Good stuff!

Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Dec. 12-18:


It's still just FIU and Hawaii for human representation in the mid-major poll, but FIU is now receiving 10 FPV. If it wasn't for Yale, then FIU would probably be at the top. Hawaii jumps into the mid-major top 25 after 2 solid wins this week.

Unfortunately, Coach Sheppard didn't have enough to pay both groups of refs...I mean, his team didn't play well enough...to win both games.

Go FIU!

Dec. 12-18, 2022

29 games on the schedule this week, and 1 feature game. Let's take a look:

12/16/22- Tulsa (Will Brown) @ TCU (Bee Mighty) -- A tale of 2 halves, as Tulsa lead at halftime but couldn't maintain it. Despite a huge turnover differential (TCU committed 17, Tulsa only 5), TCU shot over 53% to just 37% for Tulsa, and that was enough to get a home victory.

Final Score: TCU- 68, Tulsa- 60

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-6, 0-0 America East.

12/13/22 at Sacred Heart (L 66-61).

1 game this week for the Hawks, and it was a road loss. A couple more tough non-conference games before America East play begins.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 3-7, 0-0 American.

12/12/22 at Texas A&M (L 73-68).
12/18/22 at St. John's (L 81-67).

The downward spiral continues for the Huskies, who go into conference play with a very dismal record, but a solid RPI.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-5, 0-0 American.

12/14/22 vs. New Mexico State (L 79-70).
12/16/22 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.

Tough week for the Golden Hurricane, who also drop 2 games. They kick off their season tournament next week in a feature game against Duke.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 5-3, 0-0 ACC.

12/13/22 at Arizona (L 76-54).
12/16/22 vs. Columbia (W 56-43).

A split for the Blue Devils, who just didn't have anything to bring to Arizona in an old fashioned slaughtering. Even their win over Columbia was a half hearted effort.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-1, 0-0 Big 12.

12/12/22 vs. Incarnate Word (W 77-52).
12/16/22 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

7 in a row for the Horned Frogs, although the schedule hasn't been majorly tough, all but 2 of their opponents so far have a current RPI better than 100. It gets tougher starting next week though.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/17/22 at Boise State (W 79-78).

It took a buzzer beater to get it done, but the Spartans win their only game of the week. They have a couple non-conference games next week that shouldn't be too challenging.

#22 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 7-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/16/22 at Milwaukee (W 63-55).
12/18/22- Las Vegas Holiday Classic First Round vs. (4) Western Carolina (W 76-63).

2 more wins for the Wildcats, who have won 4 in a row against pretty good mid-major competition. Next week, they've face Drexel in their season tournament championship game.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-1, 0-0 Big West.

12/12/22 at Portland (W 64-62).
12/15/22 vs. Stephen F. Austin (W 64-54).
12/18/22 at Penn (W 79-68).

3 wins this week for the Warriors, who have won 7 in a row. A little bit tougher non-conference slate to end the year 2022, then on to the Big West, where they haven't fared well.

#11 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/14/22- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (7) South Florida (W 84-60).
12/16-22- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinal vs. (2) Gonzaga (L 95-75).

A split for the Golden Panthers, who see their undefeated run come to an end. No shame in losing to Gonzaga though. They'll get next week off then try to start a new winning streak.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 3-5, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/13/22 vs. Northwestern State (L 77-71).
12/16/22 at Texas Southern (L 79-70).
12/18/22 at #9 Oklahoma State (W 81-70).

Crazy week for the Owls, who lose the 2 games they were expected to win, but break a 4 game losing streak by winning at a ranked Oklahoma State team. Hopefully they can keep it going, as more winnable games are upcoming.

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

12/14/22 vs. Seattle (W 65-57).

Just the 1 game this week for the Buffaloes, but they've won 3 in a row. Next week they have 2 more non-conference games, both against former Big 12 foes, then they jump into conference play.

#12 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-2, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/13/22 at Central Connecticut (L 61-58).
12/17/22 at St. Mary's (L 63-62).

2 agonizing losses this week for the Cardinal by a combined 4 points. Both on the road. The loss to Central Connecticut is tough to forgive. Next week they start their season tournament.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/13/22 at UC Irvine (W 72-60).
12/18/22 vs. Brown (W 86-53).

The Bruins move back over .500 with 2 easy victories over subpar opponents, although UC Irvine is proving to be fairly solid to start the season. It continue with a few more winnable non-conference games next week.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 4-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/15/22 vs. Portland (L 62-45).
12/17/22 at Nevada (W 61-52).

A split for the Cougars this week against decent competition. Another road-home split next week as both games seem winnable.

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

12/13/22 at #1 North Carolina (W 73-68).
12/16/22 at Nebraska (L 85-73).
12/18/22 at #16 Florida State (L 77-66).

A brutal week for the Crimson Tide, losing 2 of 3. It started out promising with a win over #1, but went downhill from there.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 19-25:



Tough week for a couple of our teams, as Alabama drops 15 spots after going 1-2 this week, seems tough to me considering all the games were on the road. What's even more ludicrous is Stanford going from #12 in the nation to losing all their votes after 2 losses by a combined 4 points. FIU also drops 8 spots after their first loss of the season to an always good Gonzaga team. On the other hand, Hawaii and TCU jump into the top 25, while Northwestern rises 2 spots.

And now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Dec. 19-25:


FIU and Hawaii are still representing our mid-major teams. FIU drops 3 spots, and Hawaii rises 5.

Woo-hoo! I'm cautiously optimistic.

Dec. 19-25, 2022

27 games on the schedule this week, with 2 feature games. Let's get to the feature games, which both involve Duke in their season tournament.

12/19/22- Diamond Head Classic First Round - (7) Tulsa (Will Brown) vs. (2) Duke (Dean Hoo) -- After playing a subpar first half, the Blue Devils picked it up in the second half, running away with this one. Of course, it helps when you have a 47-33 rebounding advantage.

Final Score: (2) Duke- 80, (7) Tulsa- 58

12/20/22- Diamond Head Classic Semifinal - (3) Stanford (Benito Sanchez) vs. (2) Duke (Will Brown) -- A huge shooting advantage lifted the Blue Devils to the Diamond Head Championship, as they shot 44.1% to just 36.2% for Stanford.

Final Score: (2) Duke- 64, (3) Stanford- 52

Now we go to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-8, 0-1 America East.

12/19/22 at St. Joseph's (L 69-39).
12/21/22 vs. Rutgers (W 80-61).
12/25/22 at UMBC (L 72-57).

An embarrassing loss for the Hawks in their conference opener, losing to a team with an RPI of 344. Not gonna cut it. At least losing to a 2 loss St. Joseph's team is respectable, even if it was by 30. A nice 19 point win over Rutgers though.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 4-7, 1-0 American.

12/21/22 vs. Houston (W 75-59).

Just the 1 game for the Huskies this week, but it was an important one as they get conference play started off on the right foot. In what looks to be a wide open American this season, hopefully they can feed off this win and get it going.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-8, 0-0 American.

12/19/22- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (2) Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
12/20/22- Diamond Head Classic Consolation Round vs. (6) Butler (L 73-53).
12/22/22- Diamond Head Classic 7th Place Game vs. (4) Florida (W 59-50).
12/25/22 at Eastern Washington (L 82-49).

Not a good week for the Golden Hurricane at all, losing 3 of 4. The win they got was unexpected for sure, which at least salvaged them 7th place in their season tournament. What was even more unexpected was losing by 33 to Eastern Washington. Jeez!

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 8-3, 0-0 ACC.

12/19/22- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (7) Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
12/20/22- Diamond Head Classic Semifinal vs. (3) Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
12/22/22- Diamond Head Classic Championship vs. (5) Richmond (W 64-53).

Great week for the Blue Devils, as they get their first 8 team season tournament championship under Coach Hoo. Couldn't have come at a more important time as they can take some momentum into next week when conference play begins.

#18 TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-2, 0-0 Big 12.

12/21/22 at UTEP (W 73-65).
12/23/22 at #4 LSU (L 80-64).

A road split for the Horned Frogs, and it didn't come easy as they played teams with an RPI of 7 and 1, respectively. It won't get any easier, as it's Big 12 time for Coach Mighty and TCU.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/19/22 vs. Creighton (W 77-64).
12/22/22 vs. Illinois Chicago (W 92-60).

A couple of easy victories for the Spartans this week, who have a tough non-conference feature game next week before opening up Big Ten play against a ranked Iowa team.

#20 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/19/22- Las Vegas Holiday Classic Championship vs. (2) Drexel (W 78-69).

The Wildcats just had the 1 game this week, but it was a good one. They win their 2nd 4 team tournament championship since this dynasty started, and are on a roll as they take a trip through California for a couple non-conference games next week.

#16 Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-2, 0-0 Big West.

12/20/22 at New Mexico (L 79-71).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, who see their 7 game winning streak snapped, and will look to recovery next week against a couple pretty tough opponents.

#19 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Coach Hawkins and the Golden Panthers, as they have 2 more non-conference games next week.

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

12/22/22 vs. Lamar (W 71-54).
12/24/22 at Nebraska Omaha (W 65-61).

The Owls get back to .500 on the season with 2 wins this week, and they get ready to start conference play against a pretty solid lineup.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/20/22 vs. Kansas (W 68-55).

1 game for the Buffaloes this week, as they take out a former Big 12 rival. Just wanna say, Kansas has fallen on very hard times in this dynasty, as they are just 3-8 this season. Wow!

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/19/22- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (6) Butler (W 71-59).
12/20/22- Diamond Head Classic Semifinal vs. (2) Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
12/22/22- Diamond Head Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Iowa State (W 62-56).
12/25/22 vs. Michigan (W 83-71).

Nice week for the Cardinal who win 3 of 4 and take 3rd place in the Diamond Head Classic. Next week a tough non-conference game before they start Pac 12 play.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/22/22 vs. George Mason (W 81-58).

Easy win for the Bruins in their only game of the week. Next week starts a 5 game road trip in which the first 2 are non-conference games against Big West teams.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/22/22 at New Mexico (W 78-71).
12/24/22 vs. Portland State (L 90-63).

A split this week for the Cougars, but not the expected split. Many had them pegged to lose to New Mexico and beat Portland State. I'd like to say they have 2 more very winnable non-conference games next week, but if they lose by 27 to a 2 win (at the time) Portland State team, who knows.

#21 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-2, 0-0 SEC.

12/20/22 vs. Mississippi State (W 95-55).
12/22/22 vs. Memphis (W 81-77).

2 more wins for the Crimson Tide, who absolutely thrashed former SEC foe Mississippi State. A huge non-conference game next week before jumping into SEC play.

Here is a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1:



All 5 FOFC teams that received votes last week are receiving votes this week. Alabama moves up 8 spots in the top 25, while Northwestern moves up 6 spots. FIU, which didn't play, moves up 2 spots. Hawaii and TCU drop out of the national top 25 but are still receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25 for the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1:



Still just FIU and Hawaii representing us in the mid-major top 25. FIU moves up 2 posts in this poll as well, without playing. Meanwhile, Hawaii has a bad drop of 8 spots after their loss to New Mexico.

Duke finally putting a run together

Dec. 26, 2022-Jan. 1, 2023

23 games to cover this week, including a huge feature game which we'll jump right into.

12/30/22- #13 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- Ugly shooting all around for the Crimson Tide in this one. While Michigan State didn't shoot great, they did shoot well enough to pull out a huge home victory going into conference play.

Final Score: Michigan State- 75, #13 Alabama- 67

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-10, 0-3 America East.

12/28/22 vs. UMass Lowell (L 76-70).
1/1/23 vs. Maine (L 75-63).

2 more losses for the Hawks, who have lost 7 of their last 8 and aren't showing too many signs of life lately.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 5-8, 2-1 American.

12/28/22 at Temple (L 73-69).
12/31/22 at ECU (W 62-42).

A split for the Huskies this week, as they drop a tough one at Temple. Still a wide open conference, but they have to find consistency.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-9, 0-1 American.

12/28/22 vs. UCF (L 68-56).

Just 1 game this week for the Golden Hurricane, and it was another loss. They have lost 6 of 7, with quite a few blowouts mixed in.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-4, 1-0 ACC.

12/26/22 vs. Vanderbilt (L 72-61).
12/31/22 vs. N.C. State (W 71-51).

The Blue Devils split this week at home, losing their final non-conference game, but getting a nice start to conference play. A couple winnable games next week before the schedule toughens up.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-3, 1-1 Big 12.

12/26/22 vs. Oklahoma (L 77-68).
12/31/22 vs. West Virginia (W 75-51).

A split for the Horned Frogs at home, and next week a tough road stretch as they face 2 of the top Big 12 teams.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-3, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/30/22 vs. #13 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.

Big win for the Spartans in their final non-conference test. They start Big Ten play with a bang, facing a top 10 team.

#14 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

12/26/22 at Cal State Northridge (L 86-73).
12/31/22 at #15 UC Riverside (W 86-77).

A west coast split for the Wildcats, who would have liked to have gotten both, but 9 wins in conference play is encouraging. Now to conference play which hasn't been so kind.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-3, 0-0 Big West.

12/26/22 at St. Louis (L 72-62).
12/31/22 vs. Mississippi State (W 66-53).

A split for the Warriors, who lost on the road but won at home. Conference play starts next week, and this is their chance to prove they can be a contender this season.

#17 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

12/26/22 vs. Cal Poly (L 103-97).
12/29/22 vs. Mississippi State (W 80-70).

The Golden Panthers split 2 home games this week, losing a shootout to a good Cal Poly team. They open conference play with a top 25 battle next week.

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

12/26/22 at UT Arlington (L 82-74).

Just 1 game for the Owls this week, and it was another loss to fall back under .500.

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

12/26/22 vs. Texas A&M (L 69-62).

The Buffaloes lose their only game this week against another former Big 12 foe. Now they jump into conference play starting next week.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/27/22 at #5 LSU (L 55-47).

Just 1 game for the Cardinal this week, and they lose a low scoring battle. Tough one to lose, they had the lead at halftime. To top things off, they have to start conference play against Arizona next week. Yeck!

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-5, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/26/22 at UC Santa Barbara (L 72-70).
12/28/22 at Long Beach State (W 87-60).

A split for the Bruins in their 2 game swing through the Big West conference. A tough loss at UCSB, they needed to win both this week to build momentum going into Pac 12 play.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/28/22 vs. Chicago State (W 84-62).
12/31/22 at Troy (W 77-59).

A couple dominating performances this week for the Cougars, including a whomping of Coach Hawkins' former team, Troy. Now the grind of Pac 12 play begins.

#13 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-3, 0-0 SEC.

12/30/22 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

Just 1 game for the Crimson Tide, who lost a tough one at Michigan State. If they would have shot better, the result could have been different.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 2-8:



These polls were not kind to our FOFC teams. Northwestern dropped 5 spots, Alabama dropped 7 spots, and FIU dropped 8 spots after losses this week. TCU and Hawaii are no longer receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Jan. 2-8:



It's still just FIU and Hawaii receiving votes for our FOFC mid-major teams. Both are losing ground, but still receiving a lot of votes.

Jan. 2-8, 2023

29 games on the schedule this week, and 1 feature game, so let's get to it.

1/7/23- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A tale of 2 halves in this one, as the Cougars led at halftime but couldn't hold on, as Stanford shot lights out in the 2nd half to roll to victory.

Final Score: Stanford- 81, Washington State- 66

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 8-10, 2-3 America East.

1/4/23 at #23 Stony Brook (W 69-60).
1/8/23 vs. Binghamton (W 74-67).

A couple much needed wins for the Hawks, including a huge road win over what was a ranked Stony Brook team that is 13-4 on the season. Next week they go on the road for 2 games.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 6-9, 3-2 American.

1/4/23 at UCF (W 64-44).
1/7/23 vs. South Florida (L 72-49).

A split for the Huskies this week and both games were blowouts. Winning on the road, losing at home.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-9, 2-1 American.

1/4/23 vs. SMU (W 83-69).
1/7/23 at Memphis (W 61-59).

2 solid wins for the Golden Hurricane over 2 teams that are usually at the top in the American.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-5, 2-1 ACC.

1/4/23 at Miami (W 70-65, OT).
1/7/23 at Georgia Tech (L 59-51).

A split for the Blue Devils, who go into a tough stretch now, facing 4 ranked opponents in their next 5 games.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-3, 3-1 Big 12.

1/2/23 at Baylor (W 55-51).
1/7/23 at #16 Oklahoma State (W 75-59).

Big week for the Horned Frogs, beating 2 very good teams. Things are a little easier for the next few games, or at least they should be.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 10-4, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/4/23 at #8 Iowa (W 93-72).
1/7/23 vs. Maryland (L 75-64).

A weird week for the Spartans, who blow out a top 10 Iowa on the road, but go back home and lose to a sub .500 Maryland team. Their next 4 games are against teams just at .500.

#19 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 10-3, 1-1 Big Ten.

1/4/23 vs. Indiana (W 67-64).
1/7/23 at Illinois (L 69-47).

A split for the Wildcats, and a bad loss at Illinois. Their next 3 games should be pretty tough.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-5, 0-2 Big West.

1/5/23 at Cal State Northridge (L 91-70).
1/7/23 at UC Santa Barbara (L 79-78).

2 losses for the Warriors, as they are into conference play which has always been a tough spot for them. It won't get easier next week, as they play 2 more strong teams.

#25 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-3, 1-1 Conference USA.

1/5/23 vs. #14 Old Dominion (W 87-84).
1/7/23 at South Dakota State (L 70-67).

A split to open conference play for the Golden Panthers. They got a nice win over a ranked Old Dominion team, but lost a tough one to new conference member SD State. 2 more winnable games next week.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 2-0 Conference USA.

1/5/23 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 69-52).
1/7/23 at Marshall (W 65-59).

A promising start to conference play for the Owls, who are now over .500 overall, but a tough week coming up next week.

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

1/5/23 at Washington (W 65-55).
1/7/23 vs. Gonzaga (W 76-62).

Good week for the Buffaloes, who start conference play on a good note and look to build on that next week against a .500 team and a sub-.500 team.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-5, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/5/23 vs. #10 Arizona (L 74-65).
1/7/23 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cardinal, who had to go against a hot Arizona team, but broke a 2 game losing streak by beating Washington State.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-6, 1-1 Pac 12.

1/5/23 at Arizona State (W 69-61).
1/7/23 at Washington (L 90-67).

Another split for the Bruins, who are definitely underperforming this season. A tough week next week as they take on 2 of the top conference teams right now.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-6, 0-2 Pac 12.

1/5/23 vs. Oregon State (L 79-72).
1/7/23 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

2 losses for the Cougars, who might have a tough time winning games now that they are in conference play, but they have a couple fair chances next week.

#20 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-4, 1-1 SEC.

1/4/23 at Texas A&M (W 78-63).
1/7/23 vs. Florida (L 55-53).

A split for the Crimson Tide, who lost a heartbreaker to Florida. Next week they have to take on a top 5 Arkansas team.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 9-15:



Northwestern and Alabama both lose a few spots in the top 25, while TCU is back in with 2 big victories this week. FIU also falls out after their loss, and Colorado is receiving a few votes.

And now for the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Jan. 9-15:



Just FIU remains in the mid-major top 25, Hawaii has lost all their votes after 2 losses this week.

firecoachgunn.com is starting to get some more hits.

Feb. 9-15, 2023

27 games on the schedule this week, and 2 feature games. We'll start in the American.

1/11/23- Tulsa (Will Brown) @ UConn (Randolph Childress) -- A big game for both teams, but it was Tulsa who came out on top, taking advantage of 14 UConn turnovers and getting to the line more often to get a big road win.

Final Score: Tulsa- 62, UConn- 53

Now we move to the Pac 12:

1/12/23- UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- The Cardinal were lights out from the three point line, hitting 14 treys and also going 20-31 from the line as they keep the UCLA tailspin going.

Final Score: Stanford- 84, UCLA- 75

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-11, 3-4 America East.

1/13/23 at New Hampshire (W 72-68).
1/15/23 at Albany (L 79-75).

A couple tight road games for the Hawks, as they split and both margins of victory were 4 points. The loss to Albany broke a 3 game winning streak.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 7-10, 4-3 American.

1/11/23 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/23 at Memphis (W 76-70).

A split this week for the Huskies, as they get an important road win at Memphis as they go into a tough 3 game stretch which involves at least 1 ranked team.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 8-9, 4-1 American.

1/11/23 at UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/23 vs. Temple (W 91-65).

2 more wins for the Golden Hurricane who are rolling to start conference play. A big showdown next week with a 12 win Cincinnati team.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-6, 2-2 ACC.

1/14/23 at #5 North Carolina (L 79-44).

1 game this week for the Blue Devils, and they get crushed in a rivalry game, still 2 more games that will be tough before they get back to the easier part of the schedule.

#18 TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-5, 3-2 Big 12.

1/9/23 at South Dakota (L 59-53).
1/14/23 vs. Iowa State (L 83-64).

A couple losses this week for the Horned Frogs, including an embarrassing non-conference loss on the road against a 5 win team. Definitely not the kind of momentum they wanted, but still a few winnable games coming up.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-5, 2-2 Big Ten.

1/11/23 vs. Michigan (W 81-74).
1/14/23 at Illinois (L 70-62).

A split this week for the Spartans, who are still trying to regain the glory and consistency they once had. They better figure it out soon, because another tough part of the schedule is upcoming.

#22 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 11-4, 2-2 Big Ten.

1/11/23 at #20 Iowa (L 89-66).
1/14/23 at Purdue (W 85-78).

Another split for the Wildcats, who clearly weren't prepared to face Iowa. They'll need a better showing next time.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-6, 1-3 Big West.

1/10/23 vs. Long Beach State (W 77-58).
1/14/23 vs. #14 UC Riverside (L 93-91).

All in all, a good week for the Warriors, who come out with a split but could have easily won both this week if not for a late game collapse against Riverside. We'll see what next week brings with 2 winnable road games.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-3, 3-1 Conference USA.

1/12/23 vs. Southern Miss (W 80-72).
1/14/23 vs. Marshall (W 113-95).

2 more wins for the Golden Panthers, who continue their hot start, and man can they put up some points!

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-8, 2-2 Conference USA.

1/12/23 at #17 North Texas (L 80-73).
1/14/23 vs. South Dakota State (L 68-59).

The Owls fall back under .500 overall with 2 conference losses, but a good effort against North Texas. Unfortunately, 2 more ranked C-USA foes await them next week.

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

1/12/23 vs. Oregon State (W 61-53).
1/14/23 vs. Utah (W 60-40).

2 more wins for the Buffaloes who have a great start to conference play, but we'll find out a lot more about them in the coming weeks as the schedule toughness really increases.

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

1/12/23 vs. UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/23 at Oregon (W 79-70).

2 more wins for the Cardinal, after a conference opening loss. They continue the road trip next week.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 8-8, 1-3 Pac 12.

1/12/23 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1/14/23 vs. #7 Arizona (L 92-74).

2 more losses for the Bruins, who are just shellshocked right now. They have chances to get their season back on track starting next week, and they'll need to pick it up.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-6, 2-2 Pac 12.

1/12/23 at Utah (W 63-60).
1/14/23 vs. Gonzaga (W 73-57).

Good week for the Cougars who get 2 wins, including a nice win over a tough Gonzaga team. In just 4 conference games, they already have almost as many conference wins as they did last season.

#25 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 11-5, 2-2 SEC.

1/11/23 vs. #4 Arkansas (W 66-58).
1/14/23 at Auburn (L 72-66).

A split for the Crimson Tide, who expended a lot of energy in an upset over Arkansas, and didn't have enough in the tank to go to Auburn and win too.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 16-22:

# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Syracuse (72) 17-1 1800 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Notre Dame 15-1 1719 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Wisconsin 14-2 1665 3 Big Ten Conference
4. North Carolina 14-3 1573 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Florida State 14-2 1504 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Arizona 14-2 1451 7 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Arkansas 13-3 1351 4 Southeastern Conference
8. Georgetown 13-4 1279 6 Big East Conference
9. LSU 14-3 1205 8 Southeastern Conference
10. Louisville 12-4 1153 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Old Dominion 13-2 1035 15 Conference USA
12. UC Riverside 14-2 1023 14 Big West Conference
13. North Texas 13-2 916 17 Conference USA
14. Yale 15-3 802 12 Ivy League
15. Richmond 13-3 688 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Villanova 14-4 634 NR Big East Conference
17. Baylor 13-4 587 NR Big 12 Conference
18. California 11-4 587 NR Pacific-12 Conference
19. Virginia 12-4 432 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. FIU 12-3 425 NR Conference USA
21. Ohio State 11-5 411 16 Big Ten Conference
22. Iowa 11-5 263 20 Big Ten Conference
23. BYU 14-5 231 NR West Coast Conference
24. Colorado 12-4 154 NR Pacific-12 Conference
25. Western Michigan 13-4 91 11 Mid-American Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Oklahoma State 14-4 73 Big 12 Conference
Alabama 11-5 67 Southeastern Conference
Wichita State 13-4 55 Missouri Valley Conference
Davidson 12-4 49 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego State 13-5 43 Mountain West Conference
Tulane 13-4 33 American Athletic Conference
Mercer 15-4 29 Southern Conference
Saint Joseph's 12-4 28 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northwestern 11-4 15 Big Ten Conference
Oakland 12-4 15 Horizon League
St. John's 13-5 6 Big East Conference
UC Irvine 13-5 3 Big West Conference
Nebraska 10-4 2 Big Ten Conference
UAB 12-4 2 Conference USA
Western Carolina 13-4 1 Southern Conference

FIU and Colorado jump into the top 25, while Alabama and Northwestern fall out after losses this week. TCU, which lost twice, also lost all their votes.

Now here is a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Jan. 16-22:



FIU is the only team still represented in the mid-major top 25, and they've jumped up 2 spots.

A nice surprising start to conference play for Tulsa.

Watch the Buffs get snubbed somehow for the tourney again.

Jan. 16-22, 2023

26 games on the schedule this week, with 3 feature games, 2 of them involving UCLA. So let's get to it, but we start in Conference USA.

1/19/23- #20 FIU (Brett Hawkins) @ Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- FIU took full advantage of Rice's 20 turnovers, despite being outshot, they were able to get a lot of fast breaks and three point plays to pull out the road victory.

Final Score: #20 FIU- 77, Rice- 65

Now we move to the Pac 12:

1/19/23- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- UCLA may be on a down slide, but they were getting the Cougars at the right time. Washington State shot just 31.6% and trailed by 18 at the half. It was smooth sailing from there for the Bruins.

Final Score: UCLA- 79, Washington State- 51

1/21/23- #24 Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @ UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A spirited game, with both teams badly needing a win. Unfortunately, 1 team shot lights out (Colorado) and the other team didn't (UCLA). Despite the Bruins hitting 13 three pointers, it wasn't enough to make up for the rest of their shooting struggles as Colorado picks up a marquee road win.

Final Score: #24 Colorado- 83, UCLA- 79

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-11, 4-4 America East.

1/22/23 at UMass Lowell (W 83-68).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks, but it was a win, evening their conference record.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 7-12, 4-4 American.

1/17/23 at Seton Hall (L 56-48).
1/21/23 vs. Tulane (L 64-49).

Tough week for the Huskies, as they lose twice, 1 of them a key non-conference game. Coach Childress has just not had it easy since moving to Connecticut.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 8-11, 4-3 American.

1/18/23 vs. Cincinnati (L 93-82).
1/21/23 at ECU (L 87-83).

2 losses for the Golden Hurricane, who now look like just a regular team after a hot conference start.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-7, 3-3 ACC.

1/18/23 vs. #10 Louisville (W 86-77).
1/21/23 vs. #1 Syracuse (L 78-37).

Definitely a Jekyll and Hyde week for the Blue Devils, who picked up a big win against Louisville, then apparently got overconfident, because they didn't show up against Syracuse, scoring just 16 second half points.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-7, 3-4 Big 12.

1/16/23 vs. Texas (L 86-78).
1/21/23 vs. Kansas State (L 64-54).

2 more losses for the Horned Frogs, who have now lost 4 in a row since beating both Baylor and Okie State on the road.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-6, 3-3 Big Ten.

1/18/23 vs. Illinois (W 73-61).
1/21/23 at Penn State (L 88-78).

Another conference split for the Spartans, who are just struggling to find consistency. Coach Mighty might want to start building his resume, as his seat gets hotter by the minute.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 12-5, 3-3 Big Ten.

1/18/23 vs. Purdue (L 82-72).
1/21/23 vs. Minnesota (W 71-67).

A split for the Wildcats who have also split all 3 weeks in conference play so far. Unlike Michigan State, their expectations are much lower.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-7, 2-4 Big West.

1/19/23 at Cal Poly (W 66-58).
1/21/23 at UC Davis (L 87-74).

A split for the Warriors, and Coach Gunn's seat is also getting hotter by the minute. As well as firecoachgunn.com up and running full blast again.

#20 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 14-3, 5-1 Conference USA.

1/19/23 at Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
1/21/23 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 82-78).

2 more wins for the Golden Panthers as they move into their big rematch next week with Old Dominion, a game that could very well go a long way in deciding the regular season champion.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-9, 3-3 Conference USA.

1/19/23 vs. #20 FIU- feature game, highlighted above.
1/21/23 vs. #11 Old Dominion (W 83-74).

A split for the Owls, and they certainly didn't help out FIU, as Old Dominion will be even more fired up for that game next week. Regardless, the Owls get a big wins but still have a brutal 4 game stretch coming up.

#24 Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-5, 5-1 Pac 12.

1/19/23 at #6 Arizona (L 78-64).
1/21/23 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Buffaloes, who have to be disappointed in the effort at Arizona. They had a chance to really make a statement there. Still, beating UCLA, even in their down year, is an accomplishment.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 13-5, 5-1 Pac 12.

1/19/23 at Arizona State (W 74-72).
1/21/23 at Utah (W 65-62).

2 tough, grind em out road victories this week for the Cardinal, with 2 tests coming up next week against Colorado and Gonzaga.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-9, 2-4 Pac 12.

1/19/23 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/21/23 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

The Bruins still have a lot of work to do this season. Beating Washington State, even though they are having a decent year, is nothing to brag about. Fortunately they have a good chance to pick up a couple wins next week as they face the Oregon teams.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-7, 3-3 Pac 12.

1/19/23 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/21/23 vs. Arizona State (W 75-70).

A split for the Cougars, who have already won just as many conference games as they did all of last season. Don't expect any wins next week though as they go on the road to face Cal and Arizona.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-5, 4-2 SEC.

1/18/23 at Florida (W 66-61).
1/21/23 vs. South Carolina (W 75-57).

2 bounce back wins for the Crimson Tide after a loss last week. 2 much needed wins as they have it tough in their next few games.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Jan. 23-29:



FIU moves up 4 spots in the top 25, while Alabama jumps all the way in after 2 wins. Colorado falls out of the top 25 with their loss to Arizona, and Northwestern loses their remaining votes. Taking their place in receiving votes is Stanford.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Jan. 23-29:



It appears that unless 1 of our other mid-major teams catches fire, it'll be FIU leading the way in these polls. They jumped 3 spots and are receiving 1st place votes again.

Jan. 23-29, 2023

28 games on tap this week, with 1 of those games being a feature game, so let's go to the Pac 12 for our lone feature game this week.

1/26/23- Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2 of the teams that were in a tie for 1st place to start the week met up this week in Boulder, and it was not the type of game you'd expect from co-conference leaders. The teams combined for 28 turnovers, and Stanford shot just 31.5%. The only thing that kept this from being a total blowout was that Stanford hit 10 three pointers, while Colorado hit just 1. Otherwise, it was all Buffaloes.

Final Score: Colorado- 63, Stanford- 50

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-13, 4-6 America East.

1/27/23 vs. Vermont (L 61-51).
1/29/23 vs. Stony Brook (L 85-77).

It's 1 step forward, 2 steps back for the Hawks this season, as they lose 2 more games this week and are back under .500 in conference play. Probably not the worst losses, as Stony Brook is solid this season, and Vermont ran the conference for several years, but still, gotta get those wins.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 7-14, 4-5 American.

1/25/23 vs. #12 Virginia (L 69-68).
1/28/23 at SMU (L 74-71).

2 agonizing losses for the Huskies this week, and they now have a 4 game losing streak, but all 4 games could have easily gone the other way. That doesn't matter to the fans though, as they are starting to call for Coach Childress's head.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 9-12, 5-3 American.

1/23/23 vs. Air Force (L 64-54).
1/28/23 vs. South Florida (W 87-82, OT).

A split for the Golden Hurricane, as they lost a non-conference game, but get an important conference victory, fighting off a game South Florida team in OT.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 13-7, 5-3 ACC.

1/25/23 vs. Boston College (W 60-50).
1/28/23 vs. #6 North Carolina (W 68-59).

2 wins for the Blue Devils this week, including a sweet revenge victory over a top 10 UNC team that beat them by 35 points just 2 weeks ago. My how things can change when you're at home.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 12-8, 4-5 Big 12.

1/23/23 at Texas Tech (W 80-76).
1/28/23 at Kansas (L 82-74).

A split this week for the Horned Frogs, and they really needed to win both to get over .500 in conference play, as the Oklahoma State/Baylor tandem comes to town next week in critical games.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 13-7, 4-4 Big Ten.

1/25/23 vs. Iowa (L 80-66).
1/28/23 at Nebraska (W 79-69).

Another conference week, another conference split for the Spartans. Mediocrity at its best, as they just can't put a string of wins together since their 6 game winning streak earlier this season.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 12-7, 3-5 Big Ten.

1/25/23 at Minnesota (L 73-64).
1/28/23 vs. Illinois (L 80-57).

A setback for the Wildcats this week as they drop 2 games, 1 of them that wasn't competitive. It won't get easier, as that might have been their best chance to snag a victory for a couple weeks at least.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-7, 3-4 Big West.

1/26/23 vs. Cal State Fullerton (W 83-57).

Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, but they took care of business in a big way, hammering Fullerton. Hopefully that will get them the momentum they need to go on a run and get back in the Big West race. Even with this win, the hits on firecoachgunn.com have not subsided.

#16 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 15-4, 6-2 Conference USA.

1/26/23 at #17 Old Dominion (W 85-76).
1/28/23 at Marshall (L 73-71).

A split this week for the Golden Panthers, who got a big win against Old Dominion, but then a heartbreaking loss to Marshall to break a 5 game winning streak.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-10, 4-4 Conference USA.

1/26/23 at Western Kentucky (W 66-65).
1/28/23 at UAB (L 87-81).

A split this week for the Owls, who played both teams tough on the road, but couldn't quite pull off the upset at UAB. Next week they have 2 more tough road games awaiting.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 14-6, 6-2 Pac 12.

1/26/23 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1/28/23 at California (L 87-65).

Well, 1 of 2 ain't bad for the Buffaloes I guess. But that 22 point loss at California is unacceptable. They have a chance to avenge it next week though.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-6, 6-2 Pac 12.

1/26/23 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/28/23 vs. Gonzaga (W 80-69).

The Cardinal stay in a 4 way tie for 1st in the Pac 12 by splitting, getting a key win against Gonzaga. Next week they get another shot at Arizona.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-10, 3-5 Pac 12.

1/26/23 at Oregon State (L 80-60).
1/28/23 vs. Oregon (W 67-58).

A split for the Bruins, as they win the home game but lose the road game. Still no consistency from the once proud Bruins, who are having their worst season in years.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-9, 3-5 Pac 12.

1/26/23 at California (L 76-59).
1/28/23 at #8 Arizona (L 88-81).

Not an easy week for the Cougars who had to go up against 2 of the conference leaders, but a gallant effort at Arizona, and a much easier week coming next week.

#15 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 14-6, 5-3 SEC.

1/25/23 at Vanderbilt (W 70-54).
1/28/23 vs. Auburn (L 82-79).

A split this week for the Crimson Tide as it's never fun losing to your in-state rival, and next week a couple more tough games await.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5:



Alabama stays put at #15 even with their split, and FIU got shafted huge this week, as they fall all the way out of the top 25 after a 2 point loss. Ridiculous! They are still receiving votes though, as are Stanford and Colorado. Duke, by virtue of their win over what is now a top 5 North Carolina team (what? I guess I really don't understand rankings, at least not on FBCB) is also now receiving votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Jan. 30-Feb. 5:



FIU drops 3 spots in the mid-major poll and loses their FPVs. At least the mid-major polls weren't nearly as harsh. And Coach Gunn is at it again, as Hawaii got 2 votes. I can guess where 1 of them came from, but who did he convince for the other vote??

Whew the Duke seat was getting a little warm for my tastes.

Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2023

30 games on the docket this week, but no feature games, so we'll jump right into the weekly recap.

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-15, 4-8 T-6th America East.

2/3/23 vs. UMBC (L 75-73).
2/5/23 vs. New Hampshire (L 75-67).

2 more losses for the Hawks, who are currently in a 4 way tie for 6th in the conference. That is actually a tie for last place at the moment, not where Coach Ginsberg anticipated his team being.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 9-14, 6-5 T-5th American.

2/1/23 vs. UCF (W 85-69).
2/4/23 at Tulane (W 76-52).

2 dominating performances for the Huskies, who would like to have a lot more of those as the season goes on. They've got a chance. That win at Tulane was huge as Tulane is probably a bubble team right now.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 10-13, 6-4 T-3rd American.

2/1/23 vs. Houston (L 63-58).
2/4/23 at SMU (W 80-75).

A split for the Golden Hurricane, but it's a matter of what could have been against Houston, as they let it slip away late.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 15-7, 7-3 T-5th ACC.

2/1/23 vs. Virginia Tech (W 73-65).
2/4/23 at Clemson (W 63-52).

2 very important wins for the Blue Devils this week, important because they stay on the road next week to face 2 of the top 3 teams in the ACC currently. They really need to get at least 1 of those games, hopefully both.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 12-10, 4-7 T-7th Big 12.

1/30/23 vs. Oklahoma State (L 71-68).
2/4/23 vs. #16 Baylor (L 89-81).

2 losses for the Horned Frogs, which is what most people were expecting to happen both times they played these 2 teams, not just once. A feel good non-conference game next week as they start a stretch of 4 on the road.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 14-8, 5-5 T-6th Big Ten.

2/1/23 vs. Penn State (W 76-45).
2/4/23 at Maryland (L 87-80).

Another split for the Spartans, and does anybody want to hazard a guess on what their conference record might end up at? 9-9? Sounds about right to me, although they have more tough games coming up than they do easy games.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-7, 5-5 T-6th Big Ten.

2/1/23 vs. Nebraska (W 83-72).
2/4/23 vs. Iowa (W 79-62).

2 solid victories for the Wildcats this week to get back to .500 in conference play. They'll have to fight to stay there though, as they have 2 big tests next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 14-8, 4-5 T-4th Big West.

2/2/23 at UC Irvine (L 94-78).
2/4/23 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 74-63).

Another split for the Warriors, who might as well forget about that goal of winning the Big West this season. They are 5 games behind the leaders, with 7 to go. In fact, the best they might hope for is 3rd, because even 2nd might be tough, unless they go on a huge run. What does that mean for Coach Gunn? If they activity on firecoachgunn.com tells us anything, it'll be sayonara.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 17-4, 8-2 2nd Conference USA.

2/2/23 vs. South Dakota State (W 87-77).
2/4/23 at Southern Miss (W 105-85).

2 more wins for the Golden Panthers, as they get back on the right track after that upset loss at Marshall.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-12, 4-6 9th Conference USA.

2/2/23 at Old Dominion (L 81-64).
2/4/23 at Middle Tennessee (L 57-42).

2 more losses for the Owls, and they weren't very competitive this week, losing both by double digits. A chance to get back to .500 next week, as the schedule lightens up a little.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-7, 7-3 T-2nd Pac 12.

2/2/23 at Oregon State (L 71-64).
2/4/23 vs. California (W 82-68).

A split for the Buffaloes this week, and a wasted opportunity at Oregon State. The games against .500 or sub .500 teams are the games they have to win if they are going to win a conference championship.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 16-6, 8-2 1st Pac 12.

2/2/23 vs. Arizona State (W 65-55).
2/4/23 at #8 Arizona (W 73-71).

A big sweep through Arizona this week for the Cardinal, who now sit all alone at the top of the Pac 12. They control their own destiny now, and aside from a couple games that could be challenging, the schedule definitely falls in their favor.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-12, 3-7 T-9th Pac 12.

2/2/23 vs. Gonzaga (L 97-74).
2/4/23 vs. Washington (L 77-66).

2 more losses for the Bruins who are just having an epic meltdown this season and are in serious danger of missing the postseason for the first time in this dynasty. The natives of Westwood are getting very restless and don't be surprised if we see a firecoachshepard.com page starting up soon.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 12-9, 5-5 T-7th Pac 12.

2/2/23 vs. Oregon (W 76-67).
2/4/23 at Arizona State (W 78-54).

2 wins for the Cougars this week, and a monumental win against Oregon, as that was career win #100 for Coach St. John! Congrats to him, as many people had doubts he would get there this season. Unfortunately, they are now into the brutal part of their schedule, as they might only be favored in 1 of their remaining 8 games.

#15 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-7, 6-4 T-5th SEC.

2/1/23 vs. Texas A&M (L 92-88, OT).
2/4/23 vs. #23 Ole Miss (W 73-68).

A split for the Crimson Tide, who missed a golden opportunity themselves with a heartbreaking OT loss to Texas A&M.

Now a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Feb. 6-12:



Alabama drops down 2 more spots after the split this week, while FIU is back in the top 25. Stanford is welcomed to the top 25 after a big win at Arizona, and Duke continues to gain ground while Colorado continues to lose ground.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Feb. 6-12:



Despite 2 convincing wins this week, FIU drops 1 spot in the mid-major poll.

And now it's time for our first bubble watch of the 2022-2023 season. We'll start with the overall bubble watch, which sees 2 of our teams in.


2 teams that we're surprised to see on here, for differing reasons. Michigan State has had a very inconsistent season, and to be honest, their last few seasons have been. They really need to go on a nice winning streak to get off the bubble and confirm themselves as a lock. Meanwhile, Hawaii is the last team on the list, a surprise to see them there as they look for their first NCAA Tournament berth, and that might be the only thing that saves Coach Gunn's job at this point. Again, it's going to take a nice winning streak though, as they probably need to get to that 20 win threshold.

Now for the rest of our FOFC teams, and remember, if a team isn't listed, that means they are projected out. I'm only mentioning locks and teams projected in. This is only for the NCAA tournament, not other tournaments.

Locks: Duke, Northwestern, FIU, Colorado, Stanford, Alabama.

Nice to see so many of our FOFC teams as locks, almost half of them. Let's hope that trend continues.

This is it, make or break for B.B. Gunn. Time to show what kind of mettle he has.

Man, what a surprising turn of events for Coach Shepard and UCLA.

Nice to see Coach Sanchez lead Stanford into the Top 25.

Nice to finally win some games...

Feb. 6-12, 2023

27 games on the schedule this week, including 2 very critical feature games. We'll start in the Big Ten.

2/11/23- Northwestern (Ess Vee) @ Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- This game was not for the week of heart, as the teams combined for 52 fouls and 69 free throw attempts. What sealed the deal though was Michigan State hitting 9 three pointers. They led most of the game and picked up a big, big win.

Final Score: Michigan State- 89, Northwestern- 80

Now we move to the Pac 12:

2/11/23- UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- Even in a down year, the Bruins are still good enough to beat Washington State, as both teams shot lights out, but the Bruins shot a little better, attempting and making more shots to get a much needed road victory.

Final Score: UCLA- 90, Washington State- 80

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 11-15, 5-8 T-6th America East.

2/8/23 at Maine (W 70-56).

1 game for the Hawks this week, and it was a much needed win, as they break a 4 game losing streak and still have a chance to finish .500 in conference if they can win their last 3 games, which is doable.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 9-16, 6-7 T-6th American.

2/8/23 vs. Temple (L 100-92)
2/11/23 at South Florida (L 66-50).

2 steps forward, 2 steps back for the Huskies as they fall back under .500 in conference play with 2 losses this week. Next week gives them a chance to go back over .500 with 2 winnable games, but the inconsistency is overwhelming.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 11-14, 7-5 T-4th American.

2/8/23 at Cincinnati (L 78-63).
2/11/23 at Temple (W 72-61).

A road split for the Golden Hurricane this week, and with their remaining schedule, they have the potential to really earn themselves a bye in the conference tournament and set themselves up nicely.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 15-9, 7-5 T-6th ACC.

2/8/23 at #2 Notre Dame (L 84-64).
2/11/23 at #11 Virginia (L 76-57).

No real surprise here to see the Blue Devils lose 2 games this week. Coach Hoo hasn't shown that he can beat the top teams consistently. The good news is that 4 of their remaining 6 games are against teams with losing records. Of the 2 that aren't, 1 is winnable, the other is a toss-up.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 13-11, 4-8 T-8th Big 12.

2/7/23 at Grand Canyon (W 71-48).
2/11/23 at Iowa State (L 65-61).

A road split for the Horned Frogs, as they hammer a hapless Grand Canyon team, but really the game they needed to win was the Iowa State game. Conference wins mean more at this point.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 16-8, 7-5 T-4th Big Ten.

2/8/23 vs. Rutgers (W 101-93).
2/11/23 vs. Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.

Exactly what the Spartans needed as they break the curse of the split and win 2 games this week. Next week they have a nice test, but if they can win it, they'll be back in business.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-9, 5-7 T-8th Big Ten.

2/8/23 vs. #9 Ohio State (L 97-65).
2/11/23 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.

A reality check for the Wildcats, who really weren't competitive this week. Ohio State beat them by 32, and even the Michigan State game wasn't as close as the score indicated.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 16-8, 6-5 T-3rd Big West.

2/7/23 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 85-55).
2/11/23 at Long Beach State (W 98-94, OT).

It's too soon to call this a turnaround, but the Warriors won 2 games this week, are on a 3 game winning streak, and next week face the 2nd place team in the Big West. A win there, and 2nd place becomes much more of a reality. Regardless, Coach Gunn knows he is coaching for his job every single game at this point.

#22 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 19-4, 10-2 2nd Conference USA.

2/9/23 at Western Kentucky (W 90-86).
2/11/23 vs. Charlotte (W 106-72).

2 more wins for the Golden Panthers, but a couple tests next week that they really need to win.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-14, 4-8 T-9th Conference USA.

2/9/23 vs. Charlotte (L 85-83).
2/11/23 vs. Marshall (L 75-59).

It's going downhill fast for the Owls, who have lost 5 in a row and 8 of their last 10. They still have some winnable games on the schedule, and the goal at this point might be to finish with double digit wins.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-9, 7-5 5th Pac 12.

2/9/23 vs. Washington (L 81-69).
2/11/23 vs. #10 Arizona (L 79-49).

Things aren't so rosy in Boulder anymore, as the Buffaloes have lost 4 of their last 5 and have all but fallen out of the hunt for a conference title. They could still get back in it, but they would almost have to win out and get some help. Now they might just be playing for a bye in the Pac 12 Tourney.

#21 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-6, 10-2 1st Pac 12.

2/9/23 vs. Oregon (W 84-64).
2/11/23 at Gonzaga (W 95-80).

2 more wins for the Cardinal, who remain a game up in the conference race. Plus, they just beat Gonzaga, which many people feel was their toughest test the rest of the way, so now it's just a matter of taking care of business.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-12, 5-7 9th Pac 12.

2/9/23 vs. Arizona State (W 84-71).
2/11/23 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

A much needed 2 wins for the Bruins this week, and I say much needed because their next 4 games are on the road, and 3 of them are against Colorado, Arizona, and Stanford. They definitely have a chance to play spoiler, if nothing else.

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

2/9/23 at Oregon State (W 94-86, OT).
2/11/23 vs. UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Cougars this week, as the loss to UCLA breaks a mini 3 game winning streak. They have a chance to do some spoiling next week as well, with Arizona and Stanford on the schedule.

#17 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 17-7, 8-4 T-4th SEC.

2/8/23 at Georgia (W 60-52).
2/11/23 at Tennessee (W 88-85).

2 tough road wins this week for the Crimson Tide as they are still in position for a first round bye in the SEC tournament. Still a lot of games left though, and a lot of work to do.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Feb. 13-19:



Alabama, Stanford, and FIU all move up after 2-0 weeks. Duke barely stays in the picture, receiving a few votes. Colorado isn't so lucky, as their slide has cost them all their votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Feb. 13-19:



FIU moves up 3 spots in the polls, back up to 4th. No FPV though. And Hawaii is back to receiving votes, a fair amount. Well deserved.

Now for this weeks edition of the Bubble Watch, and we'll start with the Overall Bubble Watch which again sees 2 of our FOFC teams in the mix:


2 teams going in completely different directions, as Hawaii really helped their cause by winning 2 games this week. Their game against Big West 2nd place team UC Riverside just became a lot more critical, as they can't afford any setbacks at this point.

Colorado, meanwhile, with losses in 4 of their last 5 games, has moved from being a lock to being on the bubble. Fortunately, next week brings 2 winnable games, but also brings games against teams whose RPI aren't very good, so even with 2 wins, it may not help a lot.

Now for the rest of the Bubble Watch:

Locks: Michigan State, FIU, Stanford, Alabama
In: Duke

Some major changes here, as Michigan State moves from the bubble to being a lock, while Duke is no longer a lock, but still projected safely in. Meanwhile, Northwestern, who was a lock last week, is now projected out. And of course, we've already mentioned Colorado and Hawaii.

Bring on UC Riverside!

Feb. 13-19, 2023

We have 27 games on the schedule this week, and 3 of them are feature games. We'll start in the Pac 12, where all 4 of our FOFC teams are involved in a feature game.

2/16/23- UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2 teams who are seeing their season go in different ways all of a sudden, and it continued tonight. The Bruins made 30 free throws and shot 88.2% from the line, while Colorado made just 51.7% of their free throws. UCLA also made 6 more three pointers than the Buffs did. All that led to another road win for the Bruins, who are hot right now.

Final Score: UCLA- 92, Colorado- 83

2/18/23- #18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- The Cougars had a chance to play spoiler in this game, and they didn't disappointed. Of course, I've always said this game had a huge discrepancy toward the home team when it came to fouls and free throws, and this game might be the worst I've seen. Stanford: 38 fouls committed, 20 free throws attempted. Washington State: 17 fouls committed, a whopping 57 free throws attempted. This game might have been blowout status had they not missed more free throws than the Cardinal attempted, but the fact they got so many chances was enough as Coach Sanchez let his displeasure be known after the game and will probably be in for a hefty fine.

Final Score: Washington State- 78, #18 Stanford- 73

Now for a trip to the American, where we have 2 struggling teams:

2/18/23- UConn (Randolph Childress) @ Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 2 teams that will probably finish under .500 overall for the season, as UConn continues to play their hot week/cold week game. Tulsa didn't help themselves by shooting a dismal 33.3% from the field and just 9.1% from three point land. Both teams took care of the ball, but it came down to shooting here.

Final Score: UConn- 69, Tulsa- 59

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 12-16, 6-9 T-6th America East.

2/15/23 at Binghamton (L 62-59).
2/19/23 at Vermont (W 62-53).

A road split for the Hawks, as they dropped a tough one late at Binghamton. They finish off the regular season in a big way next week as they take on the conference leaders at home. A loss, and they could end up in the cellar.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 11-16, 8-7 5th American.

2/15/23 vs. SMU (W 90-81).
2/18/23 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Again, it's a win/lose pattern for the Huskies. They win both games this week, and are still fighting for a first round bye in the conference tournament.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 12-15, 8-6 T-3rd American.

2/15/23 at South Florida (W 82-69).
2/18/23 vs. UConn- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Golden Hurricane, who are also fighting for a first round bye in the conference tournament. Still a few conference games to play though.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 17-9, 9-5 5th ACC.

2/15/23 at Pittsburgh (W 79-67).
2/18/23 vs. Wake Forest (W 88-56).

The Blue Devils had a big week with a couple double digit wins. They get a top 10 Florida State team on the road next week, then 3 games against what are currently sub .500 teams, so a top 4 finish in the conference is still doable, but they need to win out.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 14-12, 5-9 T-7th Big 12.

2/13/23 at Kansas State (W 59-43).
2/18/23 at Texas (L 84-60).

A road split for the Horned Frogs, who also go into a 3 game stretch against sub-.500 teams. They still have a slight chance to get to .500 in the conference if they can win out.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 18-8, 9-5 T-3rd Big Ten.

2/15/23 at Michigan (W 80-71).
2/18/23 at #9 Ohio State (W 67-61).

The Spartans stay hot, winners of 4 in a row and 5 of their last 6, and they are definitely working themselves off the bubble. Still some tough games coming up, but their momentum has them going in the right direction.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 16-9, 7-7 T-6th Big Ten.

2/15/23 vs. Penn State (W 72-71).
2/18/23 at Indiana (W 80-61).

A great bounce back week for the Wildcats, who are probably back into big dance consideration with those performances. They also need to stay hot as they have a tough road swing next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-9, 7-6 T-3rd Big West.

2/14/23 at UC Riverside (L 69-59).
2/18/23 vs. Cal Poly (W 69-61).

A split for the Warriors, who fell in their battle against Riverside. That eliminates them from conference title consideration, but still 3 more games. If they can get to 20 wins this season, that might be enough to save Coach Gunn.

#21 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 19-6, 10-4 T-3rd Conference USA.

2/16/23 at #20 North Texas (L 84-62).
2/18/23 at Middle Tennessee (L 61-58).

Tough week for the Golden Panthers who have suffered their first 2 game losing streak since mid-December. Next week will be key, as they can't afford the type of late season slide that happened often when Coach Hawkins was at Troy.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-16, 4-10 T-11th Conference USA.

2/16/23 at Southern Miss (L 78-69).
2/18/23 at UTEP (L 91-80).

2 more losses for the Owls, 7 in a row now. They are just falling apart since late January. Next week doesn't look promising to break that streak.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-10, 8-6 T-4th Pac 12.

2/16/23 vs. UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/23 at Arizona State (W 80-61).

A split for the Buffaloes, who break a 3 game losing streak but have still lost 5 of their last 8. More tough tests next week, with a trip through Gonzaga and Oregon.

#18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 19-7, 11-3 T-1st Pac 12.

2/16/23 vs. Oregon State (W 63-46).
2/18/23 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

If Stanford misses out on the Pac 12 regular season title, they will definitely look back at the 3 officials who worked the game at Washington State. Just an ugly game that was definitely one sided in many ways. They can't afford any slip-ups now, if they can win out they'll guarantee a share, but any slip-ups may cost them.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 13-13, 6-8 9th Pac 12.

2/16/23 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/18/23 at #10 Arizona (L 86-79).

The Bruins are a little hot right now, but Arizona cooled them off. That was the game they really wanted, but being at .500 right now after the way they started this season, Coach Shepard will take it. Next week is big, as they face the other Pac 12 co-leader in Stanford, and it'll be a feature game, of course.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 14-11, 7-7 T-6th Pac 12.

2/16/23 vs. #10 Arizona (L 83-48).
2/18/23 vs. #18 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

Considering how bad the Cougars played against Arizona, they'll be the first to tell you they didn't deserve the home cooking they got against Stanford, in a game that could be talked about for years to come. Don't get me wrong, Coach St. John will take the win and run with it, but it's one everybody knows they shouldn't have had.

#15 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 19-7, 10-4 T-3rd SEC.

2/15/23 vs. Missouri (W 84-78).
2/18/23 vs. #17 LSU (W 81-70).

A good week for the Crimson Tide as they got a nice win over LSU. Their schedule doesn't get any easier though, a rematch with Arkansas next week. Win that one, and an SEC title becomes a consideration.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Feb. 20-26:



I'm a bit stunned by the polls this week (what a shock, I disagree with them). Alabama drops a spot, while LSU, who lost to the Crimson Tide this week, jumps 2 spots? No way. Stanford stays put at #18. Nothing against Washington State, but most see that win over the Cardinal as a fluke that was given to them. Duke retains and adds a few more votes, while FIU drops out of the national top 25 after 2 losses this week, but still receives a few votes. And Michigan State with their strong performance at Ohio State, receives a few votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Feb. 20-26:



Huge drop for FIU after 2 losses this week, and Hawaii does lose some votes as expected, but stays in the mix with a few votes.

Time for this weeks edition of the Bubble Watch, and we'll start with the Overall Bubble Watch which sees 2 of our teams again mentioned.


Again it's Hawaii and Colorado, as both teams drop a little bit. Hawaii is now in the Last Four In, as that loss to UC Riverside really hurt them. They can solidify their spot in the tournament by finishing strong.

Colorado meanwhile, is now projected out. Still on the bubble but projected out, as their season as taken a bit of a turn for the worse. Would really be a shame to see a team with that good of an RPI shafted, but Coach Nielsen is already fearing the worst.

Now for the rest of the Bubble Watch:

Locks: Duke, Michigan State, FIU, Stanford, Alabama
In: Northwestern

A couple changes this week, as Northwestern is back to being projected in, and Duke is back to being a lock. Otherwise, everything looks to have stayed the same.

Feb. 20-26, 2023

28 games on the schedule this week, with 1 feature game. Let's take you out to the Pac 12 in a game that has just gotten a lot more meaningful.

2/25/23- #18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A great one here, as both teams shot lights out. Despite being outrebounded and outscored at the line, Stanford made more shots, including three pointers, to escape with a big win that leaves them back on top of the conference.

Final Score: #18 Stanford- 80, UCLA- 78

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 12-17, 6-10 T-7th America East.

2/24/23 vs. Albany (L 79-71).

The Hawks finish the regular season with a whimper, finishing with their worst conference record in about 4 seasons. They'll limp into the America East tournament as the 7th seed after winning a tiebreaker and will open up in the first round against 2nd seed New Hampshire.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 13-16, 10-7 5th American.

2/22/23 vs. ECU (W 84-71).
2/25/23 at Houston (W 71-60).

2 more wins for the Huskies who are finishing strong. Their final conference game won't be easy as they take on a conference leading Cincinnati team that'll be going for their 20th win. If the Huskies can stay hot, they can still finish top 4. A loss all but locks them into the 5th seed.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-15, 10-6 T-3rd American.

2/22/23 vs. Memphis (W 81-66).
2/25/23 vs. ECU (W 72-64).

The Golden Hurricane also win 2 games this week, and have 2 crucial road games next week. Their final game is at Tulane, who is currently in 2nd place. Win both, and they could finish in 2nd place. Losing both could drop them down to 6th. If they can win both and get a lot of help, they could end up sharing a conference title, but that would take a LOT of luck.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 17-11, 9-7 7th ACC.

2/22/23 at #9 Florida State (L 75-73).
2/25/23 vs. Georgia Tech (L 72-57).

Tough week for the Blue Devils, who continue to be inconsistent. A tough loss at Florida State, then they fell apart against GA Tech. Their final 2 regular season games are winnable, but the best they can hope for is a 5th place finish which is unacceptable for Duke standards.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 16-12, 7-9 T-6th Big 12.

2/20/23 vs. Kansas (W 76-67).
2/25/23 vs. Texas Tech (W 72-67).

2 wins for the Horned Frogs this week, and those 2 wins will ensure they don't finish in the cellar. If they can win both next week, they'll finish .500 in the conference, but they can still finish anywhere between 5th and 9th.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-9, 10-6 T-3rd Big Ten.

2/22/23 at Minnesota (L 85-80).
2/25/23 at Indiana (W 91-90).

Just more inconsistency for the Spartans, with the loss to Minnesota breaking a 4 game losing streak. A good bounce back win at Indiana. They have 2 more games next week, with 1 of them against the conference leaders. If they can somehow win both, a share of the conference title is doable. Lose both, and they could fall all the way to 8th place.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 17-10, 8-8 T-7th Big Ten.

2/22/23 at Rutgers (L 74-59).
2/25/23 at #3 Wisconsin (W 77-65).

A huge win for the Wildcats over Wisconsin, it's just a shame they had to lose to Rutgers before that. 2 winnable games next week, as despite the conference record, they seem to be looking pretty good for a postseason berth.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 18-10, 8-7 T-3rd Big West.

2/23/23 vs. UC Davis (W 69-56).
2/25/23 at Cal State Fullerton (L 77-70).

Tough week for the Warriors who do split, but they needed that win against Fullerton as they finish off the regular season next week against the conference leaders UC Irvine. A conference title isn't going to happen, and depending on what does happen next week, Hawaii will finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th. firecoachgunn.com is still running wild.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 21-6, 12-4 T-2nd Conference USA.

2/23/23 at Florida Atlantic (W 66-58).
2/25/23 vs. UTEP (W 76-72).

2 more wins for the Golden Panthers, who are over 20 wins for the 3rd straight season. They can't finish any worse than 5th in the conference, and need to beat UAB next week. If they can win both, it's still possible for a 1st or 2nd place finish.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-18, 4-12 T-12th Conference USA.

2/23/23 vs. #12 North Texas (L 89-77).
2/25/23 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 97-65).

The nightmare season continues for the Owls, who lost twice more this week and are in the midst of their worst season since this dynasty started. Fortunately, they still have a chance to pick up double digit wins, as they have 2 teams in the bottom half of the conference next week. However, 1 of the games is against Fla Atlantic who is currently in last place. If the Owls lose that one, the cellar is theirs.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-12, 8-8 T-6th Pac 12.

2/23/23 at Gonzaga (L 77-65).
2/25/23 at Oregon (L 69-60).

The Buffaloes are quickly playing themselves out of the NCAA Tournament. It's amazing to think at 1 time they were 14-5 overall and 6-1 in Pac 12 play. Since then, they've lost 7 of their last 9, and haven't been competitive in a lot of those games. In fact, 4 of those 7 losses were by double digits, and 2 more were by 9 points. Not sure what has happened, but they need to right the ship next week as they finish off with the next to last place team in the conference, and then Washington State.

#18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 21-7, 13-3 1st Pac 12.

2/23/23 vs. Utah (W 77-76).
2/25/23 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

It wasn't easy, but the Cardinal won both games this week, and thanks to Arizona beating Gonzaga this week, Stanford is back alone at the top of the Pac 12. It's not gonna be easy next week though, as they face 2 opponents that could knock them off. If they win just 1 of those games, they clinch a share of the conference title. Winning both clinches the title outright. Losing both.. well that could drop them all the way down to 3rd in the conference. Still a lot to play for.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 14-14, 7-9 T-8th Pac 12.

2/23/23 at Oregon (W 72-66).
2/25/23 vs. #18 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Bruins, who need to win both games next week just to finish at .500 in the conference. It's been a long time since they've been that bad, and definitely the 1st time in this dynasty. Scary thing is, if they win both next week, and things go right otherwise, they could end up getting 4th place in the conference. Not likely, I would expect them to finish somewhere between 6th and 10th. Hopefully towards the high end of that.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-12, 8-8 T-6th Pac 12.

2/23/23 vs. Washington (L 69-59).
2/25/23 vs. Utah (W 59-56).

A split for the Cougars, who are having their best season in a while. They have yet to sniff the postseason in this dynasty, and if they can somehow win a couple games next week and a couple in the Pac 12 Tournament, they might get there. Unfortunately, they have to face a hot Gonzaga team next week, as well as a Colorado team trying to get back on track. Not how you want to finish off the regular season.

#16 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 21-7, 12-4 T-1st SEC.

2/22/23 at #4 Arkansas (W 83-74).
2/25/23 at South Carolina (W 92-89).

The Crimson Tide couldn't have asked for a better week. They went into Arkansas and shocked the Razorbacks, then held on against a tough South Carolina team. They are now in position to earn at least a split for the conference title, if they can continue to win both games next week. It won't be easy though, as they travel to VCU and return home to end the regular season against Kentucky. Although both teams are down a little, they are still going to be very tough games.

Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Feb. 27-March 6:



Alabama jumps 4 spots in the poll after a big win at Arkansas, while Stanford raises 1 spot after 2 narrow victories. FIU jumps back into the top 25, barely. Michigan State and Duke, 2 once proud programs that made a living in the top 25, are nowhere to be found after losing all their votes again.

Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Feb. 27-March 6:

Mid Major Top 25



FIU moves up 6 spots after a good week, while Hawaii just barely hangs in consideration, getting 3 votes. You can be assured that 1 of those votes came from Coach Gunn lol.

Now for this weeks edition of the Bubble Watch. As always we'll start with the Overall Bubble Watch, which once again features 2 of our teams.


With 2 losses this week, Duke now finds themselves on the Bubble. They are still projected in, but not nearly as safely in as they'd like. They definitely need to win probably both games next week to get off that bubble. Meanwhile, Hawaii remains in the last 4 in, but that could change next week. They face the conference leaders. A win could get them off the bubble, and a loss will probably see them in the First or Next Four Out.

Now for the rest of the FOFC Bubble Watch:

Locks: Michigan State, Northwestern, FIU, Stanford, Alabama

The big changes from last week are that Northwestern moves from Safely In to the Lock category, Colorado is off the bubble and is no longer on the radar, projected out with a lot of work to do, and Duke, who was a lock last week, is on the bubble, but still projected in. Just not safely in.

Nice to see UCLA put up a fight and have a classic game with Stanford. What was the final score of the game?

Oops, didn't realize I didn't put the final up. 80-78. I've edited the post to reflect that. Thanks!

WAZZU PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER THE STANFORD UPSET:

REPORTER FROM LARGE SPORTS NETWORK: Some people are claiming that the referees did a little home cooking in order to give your Cougars the upset victory tonight. What are your thoughts on the matter?

WAZZU COACH ST. JOHN: What are they talking about? The win tonight was yuge! It was bigly. 57 free throws? We're the best team ever. You haven't seen a team as good as this one. We're so good we're tired from all this winning. To say otherwise is just fake news, and YOU'RE fake news. Next question!

Feb. 27-March 5, 2023

26 games on the schedule this week, including 1 feature game in the Pac 12, so let's start there.

3/4/23- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- This one was close at halftime, but the Buffs used some tight defense in the 2nd half to blow it open. Colorado forced 17 turnovers total, but many of them came in the 2nd half and led to easy fast break points as the Buffs salvage a .500 record in the Pac 12.

Final Score: Colorado- 82, Washington State- 63

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-17, 6-10 America East.

3/2/23- America East Quarterfinals vs. (2) New Hampshire (W 66-55).

The Hawks extend their season for at least 1 more game as they try to start a Cinderella run into the NCAA Tournament. They'll need to win 2 more games to get there though.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 13-17, 10-8 T-4th American.

3/4/23 vs. Cincinnati (L 56-44).

Just 1 game for the Huskies this week, and it didn't go well as the 4 game winning streak is broken. They lost the tiebreaker for 4th place, but it really didn't matter, as they'll face the 4th place team in the American Quarterfinals next week.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-17, 10-8 T-4th American.

3/1/23 at UCF (L 72-69).
3/4/23 at Tulane (L 87-58).

2 road losses this week for the Golden Hurricane lock them in a tie for 4th place, which they've won. Again, it doesn't really matter, because they'll face the 5th seed UConn next week in the American Quarterfinals. That means 1 of our FOFC coaches in the American will end their season for sure next week, while the other will extend it for at least 1 game.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 18-12, 10-8 7th ACC.

3/1/23 at N.C. State (W 76-74, OT).
3/4/23 vs. Miami (L 67-55).

A split for the Blue Devils, as they win in OT on the road then lose at home. They'll get the 7th seed in the ACC Tournament and get a bye into the Second Round where they will take on the winner between 15th seed Boston College and 10th seed Miami.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 17-13, 8-10 T-6th Big 12.

2/27/23 at West Virginia (W 68-57).
3/4/23 at Oklahoma (L 70-58).

A road split for the Horned Frogs who fail to finish .500 in conference. They lost the tiebreaker for 6th place and will be the 7th seed in the Big 12 Tournament, they'll open up in the First Round against 10th seed Texas Tech.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-11, 10-8 T-5th Big Ten.

3/1/23 vs. Purdue (L 99-93).
3/4/23 vs. #3 Wisconsin (L 95-87).

A consistent week for the Spartans, but not the way they wanted it. They lost 2 this week but both were close. They do win the tiebreaker for 5th place though and will be the 5th seed in the Big Ten Tournament. They'll get a First Round bye and take on the (13) Nebraska/(12) Minnesota winner in the Second Round.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 18-11, 9-9 7th Big Ten.

3/1/23 vs. Maryland (W 81-66).
3/4/23 at Michigan (L 72-64).

A split for the Wildcats, winning at home and losing on the road. They'll be the 7th seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will open up in the Second Round against 10th seed Purdue.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 18-11, 8-8 T-4th Big West.

3/4/23 vs. UC Irvine (L 74-62).

A tough one for the Warriors who were looking to finish back over .500 in conference play but it wasn't meant to be. They do win the tiebreaker for 4th place and will be the 4th seed in the Big West Tournament. They'll open up in the Quarterfinals against 5th seed Cal Poly.

#25 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 22-7, 13-5 T-2nd Conference USA.

3/2/23 vs. #13 UAB (L 98-90).
3/4/23 vs. Louisiana Tech (W 85-76).

A split for the Golden Panthers, who just couldn't get by UAB. They finished 2nd in a 3 way tie for 2nd place, so they'll get the 3rd seed in the Conference USA Tournament. They'll get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on either (14) Florida Atlantic, (11) Western Kentucky, or (6) Middle Tennessee.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-19, 5-13 12th Conference USA.

3/2/23 at South Dakota State (L 68-62).
3/4/23 vs. Florida Atlantic (W 72-70).

Finally! The 10 game losing streak comes to an end in the final regular season game for the Owls, as they beat FAU. They'll be the 12th seed in the C-USA Tournament and open up in the First Round against 13th seed Charlotte, hoping to build a winning streak.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 17-13, 9-9 T-5th Pac 12.

3/2/23 at Utah (L 68-58).
3/4/23 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Buffaloes, who do break a 3 game losing streak with the win over Washington State. Just no consistency since late January, as they ended up losing 8 of their last 11 regular season games. They also lost the 5th place tiebreaker and will be the 6th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament. They'll open up against the 11th seed Utah team that just beat them earlier this week.

#17 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-8, 14-4 T-1st Pac 12.

3/2/23 at Washington (L 55-50).
3/4/23 vs. California (W 87-75).

A split for the Cardinal, who will split the regular season Pac 12 title with Gonzaga, as that loss to Washington kept them from winning the title outright. They do get the tiebreaker for the top seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, and they'll get a bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the winner of the First Round game between 9th seed Oregon and 8th seed Washington State.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-14, 9-9 T-5th Pac 12.

3/2/23 at California (W 103-94).
3/4/23 vs. Utah (W 69-61).

A good week for the Bruins, who won against teams that beat Colorado and Stanford, respectively. A good recovery for UCLA, as they finish the regular season winners of 6 of their last 8 games to hold out hope for a postseason berth. They won the 5th place tiebreaker and will be the 5th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, opening up in the First Round against 12th seed Arizona State.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-14, 8-10 T-8th Pac 12.

3/2/23 at #20 Gonzaga (L 82-72).
3/4/23 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cougars had tough competition this week on the road, losing twice. They won the tiebreaker for the 8th seed, but we'll find out the real winner next week, as they face 9th seed Oregon in the First Round of the Pac 12 Tournament.

#12 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 22-8, 13-5 T-1st SEC.

3/1/23 at VCU (L 66-50).
3/4/23 vs. Kentucky (W 79-78, OT).

You can bet the Crimson Tide want back that game at VCU, as they didn't show up. That broke a 7 game winning streak and cost them the SEC Title outright, as they'll have to share it with Arkansas. They do win the tiebreaker for top seed in the SEC Tournament, and they'll get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they await the winner of a Second Round game between 9th seed LSU and 8th seed Missouri.

Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of March 7-13:



Both Alabama and Stanford drop 2 spots in the polls after losing a game this week and a chance to win their respective conference titles outright. FIU also split this week and falls out of the top 25 but is still receiving a lot of votes.

Now for a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of March 7-13:



FIU drops 3 spots in the mid-major top 25, while Hawaii loses what few votes they had.

Now for the final edition of the bubble watch for the 2022-2023 season. Starting with the Overall Bubble Watch which sees... you guessed it, 2 of our FOFC teams.


Duke drops a little, down to the Last Four In. It's critical that they win their Second Round game of the ACC tournament, whoever they play, whether it be Miami and Boston College. A win there would probably seal their spot in the Big Dance, especially with a good effort in the Quarterfinals against Notre Dame. But if the Miami/BC winner beats the Blue Devils, that might be enough to knock them into NIT land.

Hawaii on the other hand, drops to the First Four Out. In fact, they are the first team out on the list. They MUST win their Quarterfinal game in the Big West Tournament against Cal Poly, and even then a semifinal win might be necessary, depending on what else happens. The Big West quarterfinal is a must win though, that we know for sure.

Now for the rest of the FOFC Bubble Watch:

Locks: Michigan State, Northwestern, FIU, Stanford, Alabama.

The only thing that changed this week was the Overall Bubble Watch in which Hawaii went from being projected In to being Projected Out. Everything else was the same.

Ugh, not good for the Rainbow Warriors.

March 6-12, 2023

26 games this week, and only 1 of them is a feature game. We knew it was coming, and it takes place in the American Conference. We'll start there.

3/10/23- American Quarterfinals - (5) UConn (Randolph Childress) vs. (4) Tulsa (Will Brown) -- We figured this would be a hotly contested game, and it didn't disappoint. In fact, it was so hotly contested that it needed extra time, as the game went into overtime. In the end, it was a buzzer beater that sent Tulsa on, and ended another disappointing UConn season.

Final Score: (4) Tulsa- 72, (5) UConn- 70, OT

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 15-17, 6-10 America East.

3/6/23- America East Semifinal vs. (3) Binghamton (W 67-57).
3/11/23- America East Championship vs. (1) Albany (W 83-64).

Not sure where this spurt came from for the Hawks, but congrats to them and Coach Ginsberg, who came out of nowhere to win the America East Tournament and steal a bid from someone. They are going dancing, and with that record, it's a very safe bet they'll be playing in the First Four. Still, they are dancing.

UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 13-18, 10-8 American.

3/10/23- American Quarterfinal vs. (4) Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.

Another dismal finish to another dismal season for the Huskies and Coach Childress. They'll sit at home again during the postseason, and one has to wonder if he regrets leaving Davidson, as they will almost certainly be extended their season. He doesn't have to worry about losing his job yet, but another season like this and he might.

Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 15-18, 10-8 American.

3/10/23- American Quarterfinal vs. (5) UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
3/11/23- American Semifinal vs. (1) Cincinnati (L 63-60).

What could have been for the Golden Hurricane, who had a halftime lead over Cincy but couldn't hold it. Wouldn't have mattered though, they would have needed to win that game and another one to extend their season. They'll be sitting at home this postseason as well.

Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 18-13, 10-8 ACC.

3/8/23- ACC Second Round vs. (15) Boston College (L 61-48).

An embarrassing loss for the Blue Devils, who are struggling to regain the magic they once had. With that loss, they will now have to sweat out Selection Sunday, as they may have just lost their spot in the NCAA Tournament, especially with Hartford stealing a bid. Might be NIT for the Dukies.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 17-14, 8-10 Big 12.

3/8/23- Big 12 First Round vs. (10) Texas Tech (L 74-59).

Another dismal performance in their conference tournament for 1 of our FOFC teams. The NCAA won't happen for the Horned Frogs, and it's unlikely that the NIT will. If anything, I see them hosting a couple games in the CBI.

Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 21-12, 10-8 Big Ten.

3/9/23- Big Ten Second Round vs. (13) Nebraska (W 75-65).
3/10/23- Big Ten Quarterfinal vs. (4) Indiana (W 55-53, OT).
3/11/23- Big Ten Semifinal vs. (1) #7 Wisconsin (L 80-72).

While they still haven't recovered the full Sparty magic, the Spartans have definitely done enough to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Now.. what kind of seed will they get? That's anybodys guess, but with the inconsistency they showed, a mid-range seed would be likely.

Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 19-12, 9-9 Big Ten.

3/9/23- Big Ten Second Round vs. (10) Purdue (W 73-69).
3/10/23- Big Ten Quarterfinal vs. (2) #9 Ohio State (L 93-85).

The Wildcats can thank a couple big non-conference wins for their RPI of 19, as they will definitely be dancing, but should be a mid-range seed as well.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 19-12, 8-8 Big West.

3/9/23- Big West Quarterfinal vs. (5) Cal Poly (W 67-52).
3/10/23- Big West Semifinal vs. (3) UC Santa Barbara (L 84-65).

The Big West reseeds their teams in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament, with the highest remaining seed playing the lowest remaining seed, and the other 2 seeds meeting. This really hurt the Warriors, as the #8 seed beat the #1 seed, and without the reseeding, they'd have played the #8 seed in the semifinals. That would have given them a better chance to win, as they really needed to make it to the championship to feel good about an NCAA bid. With their 63 RPI, I'd look for them to be hosting in the NIT.

FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 23-8, 13-5 Conference USA.

3/9/23- C-USA Quarterfinal vs. (6) Middle Tennessee (W 90-70).
3/10/23- C-USA Semifinal vs. (10) Marshall (L 78-58).

Taking nothing away from the season the Golden Panthers have had, they were all set up for a tournament championship. Either way, the first season for Coach Hawkins at FIU has been nothing but successful. They'll be dancing and might be in position for a top 4 seed in their region. This will surely open up some more tempting job offers for Mr. Hawkins.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-20, 5-13 Conference USA.

3/7/23- C-USA First Round vs. (13) Charlotte (W 76-52).
3/8/23- C-USA Second Round vs. (5) Louisiana Tech (L 85-68).

The Owls needed to win out to even sniff a postseason bid. It didn't happen, and Coach Shocker and the Owls will be sitting at home again this postseason.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 18-14, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/8/23- Pac 12 First Round vs. (11) Utah (W 77-71).
3/9/23- Pac 12 Quarterfinal vs. (3) #11 Arizona (L 81-72).

We can't say it enough, the meltdown that the Buffaloes suffered. They were on pace to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they'll be lucky to get a bid and if they do they could be looking at the First Four. It's more likely they'll be demoted to the NIT. If that's the case, they should host a First Round game.

#19 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 24-9, 14-4 Pac 12.

3/9/23- Pac 12 Quarterfinal vs. (9) Oregon (W 80-75, OT).
3/10/23- Pac 12 Semifinal vs. (4) Washington (W 74-48).
3/11/23- Pac 12 Championship vs. (3) #11 Arizona (L 79-71).

That loss to Oregon in the Quarterfinals could have been damaging to the Cardinal, but they survived. Couldn't finish the deal in the Pac 12 championship though, as Arizona reigns supreme again. Still a remarkable season for Coach Sanchez, as Stanford should be a top 3 or 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 17-15, 9-9 Pac 12.

3/8/23- Pac 12 First Round vs. (12) Arizona State (W 79-61).
3/9/23- Pac 12 Quarterfinal vs. (4) Washington (L 87-79, OT).

A heartbreaking season for the Bruins, and a heartbreaking Pac 12 quarterfinal against Washington. They had it, but lost it in OT. Their dismal 128 RPI might not be enough to get them into a tournament based on name alone. I predict UCLA will be sitting at home during the postseason for the first time since this dynasty started.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-15, 8-10 Pac 12.

3/8/23- Pac 12 First Round vs. (9) Oregon (L 92-75).

It was the 2nd best season for the Cougars since this dynasty started, but a .500 record and a 122 RPI just isn't going to be enough to get them their first postseason berth. They are done for the season.

#14 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 22-9, 13-5 SEC.

3/10/23- SEC Quarterfinal vs. (8) Missouri (L 75-71).

Not what the Crimson Tide wanted going into the SEC Tournament. A tough quarterfinal loss that might knock them down a seed line or 2. They'll still be in the NCAA Tournament without a doubt, but look for a 5 or 6 seed for them.

And now that that's out of the way.. it's Selection Sunday time!!

2023 Selection Sunday

Michigan State got the 8th seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against 9th seed Iowa State.

Stanford got the 4th seed in the NCAA Midwest Region and will open up against 13th seed Ohio.

Northwestern got the 9th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 8th seed Southern Illinois.

FIU got the 4th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 13th seed Kansas State.

Alabama got the 3rd seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against 14th seed North Dakota State.

Hartford will play in the NCAA First Four, going up against Seattle. The winner will be the 16th seed in the NCAA East Region and take on top seed Syracuse.

Duke got the 4th seed in the NIT West Region. They'll open up by hosting 5th seed Missouri in the NIT West Region Quarterfinals.

Hawaii got the 2nd seed in the NIT Midwest Region and will host the winner of a First Round game between 10th seed Idaho and 7th seed Memphis.

Colorado got the 9th seed in the CBI. They'll will travel to 8th seed Utah State in the First Round. Coach Nielsen might feel they got snubbed a little bit, but when you lose 9 of 13 games since January 26th, getting a postseason demotion tends to happen. They'll definitely have a chip on their shoulder though.

9 of our 15 remaining FOFC teams made the postseason. Not bad.

lol Rice can't seem to ever get its stuff together