FBCB Interactive Coaches Dynasty- part 2
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I like the limited movement. promotion relegation is cool!

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

The limited moving like last time.

second

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

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

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

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

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

Hooray! :banana:

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

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

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

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

2015-2016 Coach Goals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tim Shepard (UCLA)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen.

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

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

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky)- Reach the Final Four.

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

2015 Season Tournaments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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



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

Nice way to kick things off!

Nov. 13-15, 2015

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

ECU (Al Hutt)

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

TCU (Bee Mighty)

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

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

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

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

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

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

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

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

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

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

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

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

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

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

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



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



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

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

Nov. 16-22, 2015

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

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

Final Score: Davidson- 54, Troy- 41

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

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

ECU (Al Hutt)

No games this week for Al and the Pirates.

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

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

TCU (Bee Mighty)

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

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

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

#9 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

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

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

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

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

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

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

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

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

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

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

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

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

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

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

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

#11 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

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

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

No games this week for DeShawn and the Cougars.

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

No games this week for Roy and the Crimson Tide.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

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

#8 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

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

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

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



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



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

Nov. 23-29, 2015

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

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

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

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

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

ECU (Al Hutt)

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

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

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

TCU (Bee Mighty)

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

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

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

#8 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

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

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

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

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

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

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

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

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

No games this week for Thomas and the Hawks.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

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

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

No games this week for Rob and the Buffaloes.

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

No games this week for Benito and the Cardinal.

#12 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

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

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

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

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

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

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

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

#21 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

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

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

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

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

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

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



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



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

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

Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2015

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

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

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

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg)

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

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

ECU (Al Hutt)

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

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

Davidson (Randolph Childress)

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

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

TCU (Bee Mighty)

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

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

Michigan (Cillian Tribble)

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

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

#5 Michigan State (Al Mighty)

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

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

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn)

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

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

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble)

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

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

Rice (Charlie Shocker)

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

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

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano)

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

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

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano)

No games this week for Payten and the Spartans.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen)

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

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

Stanford (Benito Sanchez)

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

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

#7 UCLA (Tim Shepard)

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

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

Washington State (DeShawn St. John)

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

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

Alabama (Roy Rogers)

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

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

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer)

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

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

#1 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt)

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

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

Troy (Brett Hawkins)

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

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

Here's a look at the polls:



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



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

Dec. 7-13, 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No games this week for Tim and the Bruins.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No games this week for Patrick and the Wildcats.

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

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

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

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



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



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

Dec. 14-20, 2015

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

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

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

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

Final Score: ECU- 62, Norfolk State- 50

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

Dec. 21-27, 2015

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

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

Final Score: Hawaii- 73, Rice- 49

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

Final Score: Hawaii- 77, TCU- 68

Now on to the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's take a look at the polls:



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



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

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

Dec. 28, 2015-Jan. 3, 2016

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

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

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

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

Final Score: Hawaii- 82, Washington State- 72

And now onto the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No games this week for the Wildcats.

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

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

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

Here's a look at the polls:



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



Still no representation in the mid-major poll.

Great week for the Rainbow Warriors.

Jan. 4-10, 2016

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

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

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

And now to the Pac 12.

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

Final Score: Colorado- 57, Washington State- 41

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's take a look at the weekly polls:



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



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

Charlie will take wins where he can get them!

No respect for Hawaii, I see.

Jan. 11-17, 2016

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

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

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

And now to the Pac 12:

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

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

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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



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

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

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

Jan. 18-24, 2016

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

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

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

And now for the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let's take a look at the polls:



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





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

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

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

Jan. 25-31, 2016

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

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

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

And now to the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

Now for the Mid-Major Top 25:



Still no votes for Hawaii. Crazy!

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


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

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

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

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

Yep, will choose the NCAAs every time.

Feb. 1-7, 2016

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

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

Final Score: Colorado- 77, Washington State- 48

Now for the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 solid road wins for the Spartans this week.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

And the mid-major poll:




What a joke, still no Hawaii!!

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

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

The other 12 teams are all projected out.

Feb. 8-14, 2016

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

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

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

And now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#12 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 19-5, 8-4 4th Big 10.

2/10/16 vs. #18 Nebraska (W 70-56).
2/13/16 vs. #16 Ohio State (L 94-80).

A home split for the Spartans, but they were consistent with both results being by 14 points.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 18-7, 9-2 1st Big West.

2/11/16 vs. UC Davis (W 72-60).
2/13/16 at Cal Poly (L 93-88).

Ugh! The Warriors can't afford any losses if they want to crack the polls, although that's not their main concern.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 10-13, 6-6 T-6th Conference USA.

2/11/16 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 61-53).
2/13/16 at Southern Miss (W 72-56).

2 solid wins for the 49ers this week, including a big win over a good Mid. Tenn. team.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-14, 3-9 T-12th Conference USA.

2/11/16 vs. #25 Louisiana Tech (L 86-69).
2/13/16 at Middle Tennessee (L 86-64).

Yuck! The Owls were anything but competitive this week, but to be fair, the 2 teams they played this week have a combined 9 losses so far.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-17, 7-10 7th MAAC.

2/12/16 at Iona (L 65-47).
2/14/16 vs. St. Peter's (W 71-61).

A split for the Hawks, who continue to struggle on the road.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 11-14, 6-5 T-5th MEAC.

2/8/16 at North Carolina Central (L 76-70).
2/13/16 at Florida A&M (W 58-50).

A road split for the Spartans, who actually led at halftime at NC Central, who is currently undefeated in conference play. What a big win that would have been if they could have hung on.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 17-7, 9-3 3rd Pac 12.

2/11/16 at USC (W 67-58).
2/13/16 vs. Arizona State (W 70-67).

2 more wins for the Buffaloes, but that tough stretch of games begins next week.

#17 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-3, 11-1 1st Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Oregon State (W 75-60).
2/13/16 at Oregon (W 64-59).

Interesting week for the Cardinal this week, who faced both Oregon teams, but one was at home and one on the road. That's unusual, but they still won both.

#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 20-4, 8-4 4th Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Arizona State (W 94-68).
2/13/16 vs. Washington (L 92-87).

A home split for the Bruins, no shame in losing to Washington, they are an 18 win team.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-15, 1-11 T-11th Pac 12.

2/11/16 vs. Washington (L 70-60).
2/13/16 vs. Utah (W 66-58).

The losing streak is over for the Cougars, as they get their first conference win after 12 straight losses.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-11, 8-4 T-3rd SEC.

2/10/16 at Missouri (W 73-51).
2/13/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 71-47).

Easy week for the Crimson Tide, a week they really needed.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 18-6, 8-4 T-3rd SEC.

2/10/16 at South Carolina (W 74-49).
2/13/16 at #7 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.

A good week for the Gators. Absolutely no shame in losing to Kentucky, but they hung around for a long time in that one.

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-3, 11-1 1st SEC.

2/10/16 at Mississippi State (W 96-51).
2/13/16 vs. Florida- feature game, highlighted above.

A sweep this week for the Wildcats, who were completely dominant at Miss. State.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-14, 8-7 5th Sun Belt.

2/11/16 vs. Louisiana Lafayette (W 72-64, OT).

Just 1 game this week for the Trojans, who wanted to extend their week a little bit by going to overtime. They came out with the win though, and that's what is important.

Here is a look at the national Top 25:



Despite losing twice this week, Kentucky drops 2 spots in the polls. UCLA rises 2 spots, Stanford 1 spot, and with their split, Michigan State loses 2 spots. Florida loses some votes after their loss to Kentucky, which I think is a shame.

And the mid-major top 25:



No surprise here, still nothing for our mid-major teams. That Hawaii loss probably killed any chance of having a team in the mid-major poll this season.

Again, none of our teams are in the overall bubble watch, so let's get to the regular bubble watch by conference.

I'm going to make some changes here, instead of typing it all out every time, I'm only going to note any changes there might be, such as if a team goes from in to lock, or in to out, or something of the sorts. If you don't see your team listed, then that means there was no change in their position in the bubble watch.

This week, there was no change for any team. Things remained exactly the same as last week.

Good to see Wazzu finally make the win column in-conference.

Feb. 15-21, 2016

1 feature game to tell you about, and it is in the Pac-12.

2/18/16- #16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ #12 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- A complete tale of 2 halves in this one, as Stanford led 53-38 going into halftime, but UCLA outscored them 48-19 in the 2nd half to pull away! Wow!

Final Score: #12 UCLA- 86, #16 Stanford- 72

Now on to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-20, 7-9 6th America East.

2/19/16 vs. UMass Lowell (L 50-49).
2/21/16 vs. New Hampshire (L 82-76).

The Hawks end their regular season on a 4 game losing streak, and they'll get a break next week as they await the rest of the conference to finish up.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-18, 4-10 T-7th American.

2/17/16 at Houston (W 67-50).
2/20/16 at #18 UConn (L 89-62).

A road split for the Pirates, who actually had a 2 game winning streak going into the game at UConn, but they were slaughtered in that one.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-15, 5-9 T-8th Atlantic 10.

2/17/16 vs. St. Bonaventure (L 82-73).
2/20/16 vs. St. Joseph's (L 81-70).

2 more losses for the Wildcats who haven't made a smooth transition to the A-10.

)TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-21, 0-14 10th (last) Big 12.

2/15/16 vs. #7 Kansas (L 70-56).
2/20/16 vs. Oklahoma State (L 74-65).

These were the 2 closest games that the Horned Frogs have played in a long, long time, hopefully that could be the start of a turnaround. They've got 4 more games to avoid the conference 0-fer.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 14-12, 7-7 T-7th Big 10.

2/17/16 vs. #24 Wisconsin (L 75-64).
2/20/16 vs. Rutgers (W 65-49).

A split this week for the Wolverines, who played Wisconsin tough early on, but couldn't survive the defensive pressure.

#14 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 20-6, 9-5 T-4th Big 10.

2/17/16 at Purdue (L 87-79).
2/20/16 at Indiana (W 61-56).

A road split for the Spartans, fortunately the schedule gets a little easier the rest of the way, although they do have a revenge game against Michigan next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 20-7, 11-2 1st Big West.

2/16/16 at Long Beach State (W 69-68).
2/20/16 vs. UC Irvine (W 50-46).

It wasn't easy, but the Warriors survive probably their 2 toughest tests of the conference season, and should, I say should coast the rest of the way.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-14, 7-7 T-6th Conference USA.

2/18/16 at UAB (L 66-51).
2/20/16 vs. Louisiana Tech (W 67-65).

A split for the 49ers who got a big win against LA Tech, one of only 4 schools to beat LA Tech this season.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-15, 4-10 T-12th Conference USA.

2/18/16 at Western Kentucky (W 43-34).
2/20/16 at UTEP (L 78-70).

If you wanted a cure for sleep, watching the Rice/Western Kentucky game would have done it for you. It's not the teams didn't attempt shots, as they both attempted 45 or more, they just couldn't make them. Rice was 33.3%, WKU 23.4%. Ugly game, but Coach Shocker comes out on the right side.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-19, 7-12 T-7th MAAC.

2/19/16 at Manhattan (L 49-48).
2/21/16 at Marist (L 73-72).

Ugh! So close, yet so far. 2 one point losses in a row is enough to drive a coach insane.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 13-14, 8-5 5th MEAC.

2/15/16 vs. Hampton (W 66-53).
2/20/16 at Coppin State (W 48-38).

Good week for the Spartans who could see postseason play with a strong finish.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 19-7, 11-3 T-1st Pac 12.

2/18/16 at Utah (W 66-61).
2/20/16 vs. #6 Arizona (W 67-59).

Big week for the Buffaloes who got by the first stretch of their brutal 4 game schedule. Next week: games against Stanford and UCLA.

#16 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 22-5, 11-3 T-1st Pac 12.

2/18/16 at #12 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/20/16 at Washington (L 76-62).

Not a good week for the Cardinal at all, who are now fighting for 1st place in the conference. Dual 14 point losses won't make Coach Sanchez happy.

#12 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 22-4, 10-4 T-3rd Pac 12.

2/18/16 vs. #16 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/20/16 at Oregon State (W 78-39).

Good week for the Bruins who are back in title contention. They forced 22 Oregon State turnovers and held them to 28% shooting.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-16, 2-12 11th Pac 12.

2/18/16 vs. Oregon State (W 67-60).
2/20/16 vs. California (L 89-53).

The Cougars win the battle of cellar dwellars against Oregon State who had a horrible week, but got a slap in the face when Cal came in.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-12, 9-5 T-3rd SEC.

2/17/16 vs. Arkansas (W 62-42).
2/20/16 at Vanderbilt (L 93-83).

A split for the Crimson Tide who see their 5 game winning streak end at Vandy.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 20-16, 10-4 2nd SEC.

2/17/16 vs. Tennessee (W 77-49).
2/20/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 83-54).

The Gators are back with 2 blowout wins this week.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 23-3, 13-1 1st SEC.

2/17/16 at LSU (W 75-66).
2/20/16 at Missouri (W 89-67).

2 road wins for the Wildcats who seem to be cruising towards an SEC title.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-16, 8-9 6th Sun Belt.

2/18/16 at Texas State (L 62-58).
2/20/16 vs. Louisiana Monroe (L 51-41).

2 fairly close ones for the Trojans, but 2 losses will kill any momentum they had.

Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week:



Kentucky and UCLA each move up after 2-0 weeks, while Michigan State and Stanford drop after splitting. Inexplicably, Florida loses all their votes and drops completely out. Not quite understanding that.

And the mid-major top 25:



And as has been the theme all season, no respect for the mid-majors. Including Hawaii. Ugh!

None of our FOFC teams are on the overall bubble watch, and no change with any of our FOFC teams at all. Not that I expect many, but who knows.

Feb. 22-28, 2016

5 feature games to tell you about this week, we'll start in the Big 10.

2/24/16- Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @ #15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The Wolverines pulled another shocker against their in-state rivlas, holding Michigan State to 35.5% shooting in the upset victory as they sweep the season series.

Final Score: Michigan- 82, #15 Michigan State- 69

Now to the SEC:

2/24/16- Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) @ Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- The difference in this one was turnovers, as Alabama committed just 9 while Florida committed 19. Alabama also held a huge advantage at the line.

Final Score: Alabama- 85, Florida- 80

Moving to Conference USA:

2/25/16- Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) @ Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- Charlotte blew an a8 point halftime lead despite outrebounding the Owls by 13. Rice hit a buzzer beat to stun the 49ers.

Final Score: Rice- 71, Charlotte- 69

We finish with 2 feature games in the Pac 12:

2/25/16- #20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Although they turned the ball over more, Colorado held Stanford to just 30.5% shooting as they took control of the Pac 12 race with a big win.

Final Score: Colorado- 62, #20 Stanford- 52

2/27/16- #9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- The Bruins rolled to a 21 point halftime lead, proving they weren't ready to hand the title over to the Buffaloes.

Final Score: #9 UCLA- 85, Colorado- 62

And now back to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-20, 7-9 T-5th America East.

No games this week for the Hawks, who will be the 6th seed in the America East Tourney next week.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-20, 4-12 T-9th American.

2/24/16 at Temple (L 83-51).
2/27/16 vs. SMU (L 68-45).

2 games this week for the Pirates, who got hammered in both. They finish up conference play next week.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-17, 5-11 T-11th Atlantic 10.

2/24/16 vs. Rhode Island (L 68-43).
2/27/16 at St. Louis (L 62-40).

The Wildcats continue to struggle, having lost 4 in a row. They finish up conference play next week.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-23, 0-16 10th (last) Big 12.

2/22/16 at Kansas State (L 78-66).
2/27/16 at West Virginia (L 70-68).

The Horned Frogs are getting closer to that first Big 12 win, but not quite. They've got 2 more chances next week.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-12, 9-7 T-7th Big 10.

2/24/16 at #15 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 at Maryland (W 70-50).

Great week for the Spartans who beat their in-state conference rivals. They have 2 tough games next week to finish up conference play.

#15 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 21-7, 10-6 T-5th Big 10.

2/24/16 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. Penn State (W 93-71).

A split for the Spartans, who won't be happy about 2 losses to Michigan, but they should have an easy time in 2 games next week.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 21-8, 12-3 1st Big West.

2/25/16 vs. UC Riverside (W 68-51).
2/27/16 at Cal State Fullerton (L 103-98, OT).

A split for the Warriors, who don't seem to want to see their name in the mid-major top 25. 1 more game next week to end conference play.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 11-16, 7-9 T-7th Conference USA.

2/25/16 at Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. UTEP (L 68-46).

Not the kind of week the 49ers wanted, losing 2 games. They've got 2 more and can still finish with an even record in conference play.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-16, 5-11 T-11th Conference USA.

2/25/16 vs. Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. UAB (L 81-76).

Not a bad effort for the Owls this week, even though they split they played well in both games. 2 more conference games next week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-19, 8-12 MAAC.

2/26/16 vs. Siena (W 70-57).

Nice job finishing up conference play with a win. Next week: hosting a non-conference game against Pepperdine, then the MAAC Tournament where they will be the 7th seed.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-14, 10-5 3rd MEAC.

2/22/16 at Savannah State (W 79-55).
2/27/16 at Morgan State (W 58-44).

2 wins this week for the Spartans, and they've got a big one coming up next week to end conference play.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 20-8, 12-4 T-1st Pac 12.

2/25/16 vs. #20 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.

Still a nice week for the Buffaloes, even if they got hammered by UCLA. They've got 2 more games next week to finish conference play.

#20 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 23-6, 12-4 T-1st Pac 12.

2/25/16 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. USC (W 76-67).

Nice recovery for the Cardinal as they get back into the conference race with a win. The last week of the Pac 12 is going to be intense!

#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 23-5, 11-5 2nd Pac 12.

2/25/16 at #13 Arizona (L 84-75).
2/27/16 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.

A split for the Bruins, who need to win both games next week and get a lot of help to win the Pac 12 title.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-18, 2-14 T-11th Pac 12.

2/25/16 at USC (L 68-44).
2/27/16 at Oregon (L 74-71, OT).

The Cougars are back into a tie for last place after Oregon State won a game this week, but Wazzou almost stole one at Oregon.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-12, 11-5 T-2nd SEC.

2/24/16 vs. Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 vs. Auburn (W 61-59).

2 tough games for the Crimson Tide this week, but they are making a strong case for postseason play, with a couple games left in conference play next week.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 20-8, 10-6 5th SEC.

2/24/16 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/16 at Missouri (L 65-61).

2 tough road losses for the Gators next week, who really need a couple wins next week to finish strong.

#7 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 24-4, 14-2 1st SEC.

2/24/16 at Georgia (L 68-57).
2/27/16 vs. Arkansas (W 73-50).

Make a note, the Wildcats go down again! They are beatable, as Georgia really took it to them. All they really need to do is win 1 game next week to clinch the SEC title though.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-18, 8-11 7th Sun Belt.

2/25/16 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 61-40).
2/27/16 at Appalachian State (L 62-45).

The losing streak continues for the Trojans, who have 1 chance next week to break it as they end conference play.

Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week:



All 4 of our ranked teams move down this week after splitting, a little surprised UCLA dropped 5 spots as their loss was to a top 15 Arizona team. Colorado gets a vote and is welcome back into the mix. They could have gotten more votes if not being hammered by UCLA.

And the mid-major top 25:



No big surprise, again none of our teams are in.

No changes at all in any of the bubble watches, it's exactly the same.

Feb. 29-March 6, 2016

3 feature games to tell you about, we'll start in the SEC.

3/2/16- Alabama (Roy Rogers) @ #9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- A rough start to the game doomed the Crimson Tide, who shot just 37.3% from the field.

Final Score: #9 Kentucky- 70, Alabama- 56

Now we move to the Pac 12:

3/3/16- #14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @ Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- No problem for the Bruins in this one, as they forced 25 Washington State turnovers and weren't tested.

Final Score: #14 UCLA- 88, Washington State- 64

3/5/16- Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @ #21 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This one wasn't easy, as Wazzou led at halftime, but Stanford turned it on in the second half, getting a bunch of second chance points.

Final Score: #21 Stanford- 88, Washington State- 79

Now to the rest of the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-21, 7-9 America East.

3/3/16- America East Quarterfinals vs. (3) Albany (L 70-40).

The Hawks end their season with nary a whimper, as they didn't even come close to testing Albany in the tourney.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-21, 5-13 T-7th American.

3/2/16 vs. UCF (L 49-40).
3/5/16 at Tulane (W 62-54).

The Pirates get a split this week, and they'll be the 8th seed in the American Tournament. Ironically, they turn right around and face a Tulane team they just beat.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-19, 5-13 T-11th Atlantic 10.

3/2/16 at #15 VCU (L 86-63).
3/5/16 at Dayton (L 93-59).

A couple blowout losses for the Wildcats this week, and they'll be the 12th seed in the A-10 Tourney, where all 14 teams get to try and extend their season.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-24, 1-17 10th (last) Big 12.

2/29/16 vs. Texas Tech (W 75-62).
3/5/16 vs. Texas (L 54-52).

The Horned Frogs have been playing much better basketball in the last 3 weeks, and the persistence paid off as they got their first conference win, and almost picked up a second this week. They'll still be the 10th seed in the Big 12 Tourney, but they have a little confidence now.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-14, 9-9 T-8th Big 10.

3/2/16 at Illinois (L 80-79).
3/5/16 vs. #2 Iowa (L 78-56).

A heartbreaking loss for the Wolverines at Illinois, and they never really tested Iowa. They'll be the 9th seed in the Big 10 Tourney.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 23-7, 12-6 T-4th Big 10.

3/2/16 at Maryland (W 95-83).
3/5/16 vs. Northwestern (W 65-47).

2 solid wins for the Spartans this week, who will be the 4th seed in the Big 10 Tourney.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 22-8, 13-3 1st Big West.

3/5/16 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 56-44).

Congrats to the Warriors and Coach Gunn, who win the Big West title outright and will be the top seed in the Big West Tourney.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-16, 9-9 T-6th Conference USA.

3/3/16 vs. North Texas (W 57-49).
3/5/16 at Florida Atlantic (W 74-64).

Nice way to end conference play for the 49ers who get a couple big wins to finish .500 in C-USA play, and they'll be the 7th seed in the C-USA Tourney.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-18, 5-13 T-13th Conference USA.

3/3/16 vs. Southern Miss (L 76-68).
3/5/16 at North Texas (L 71-68).

2 more losses this week for the Owls, who will be the 13th seed in the C-USA Tourney.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-21, 8-12 MAAC.

2/29/16 vs. Pepperdine (L 69-45).
3/3/16- MAAC First Round vs. (10) Siena (L 55-42).

2 losses to end the season for the Hawks, but they'll consider it a successful season, at least in conference play as they were predicted to finish last.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-15, 10-6 T-3rd MEAC.

2/29/16 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (L 67-63).

Good effort by the Spartans this week against the 2nd place team in the conference. They'll be the 3rd seed in the MEAC Tourney.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 21-9, 13-5 T-2nd Pac 12.

3/3/16 at California (W 78-75).
3/5/16 vs. Washington (L 78-66).

The Buffaloes missed a chance to share the regular season title with that loss to Washington, who is actually a very good team. They'll be the 3rd seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

#21 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 24-7, 13-5 T-2nd Pac 12.

3/3/16 at Utah (L 86-59).
3/5/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.

Not sure what happened to the Cardinal at Utah, but that game also cost them a share of the regular season title. Instead, they'll be the 2nd seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 24-6, 12-6 4th Pac 12.

3/3/16 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 vs. Oregon (L 72-64).

The Bruins also missed a chance for a possible higher seed by losing to Oregon. Instead, they'll be the 4th seed in the Pac 12 Tourney.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-20, 2-16 T-11th Pac 12.

3/3/16 vs. #14 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 at #21 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.

The Cougars have just been marred by injuries this season, as they've got 4 players out right now, including their best player. They'll limp into the Pac 12 Tourney as the 12th seed.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-14, 11-7 T-3rd SEC.

3/2/16 at #9 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 at Tennessee (L 70-58).

With even 1 win, the Crimson Tide could have taken 2nd in the conference. But they lost 2 games and will be the 3rd seed in the SEC Tourney.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 21-9, 11-7 T-3rd SEC.

3/2/16 vs. Ole Miss (W 82-79).
3/5/16 vs. Auburn (L 79-60).

The Gators split this week, but limp into the SEC Tourney as the 4th seed after losing 3 of their last 4.

#9 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-5, 15-3 1st SEC.

3/2/16 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
3/5/16 vs. Texas A&M (L 61-52).

Despite losing their last game of the regular season, the Wildcats and Coach Hutt clinched the SEC regular season title and will be the top seed in the SEC Tourney.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-19, 8-12 T-6th Sun Belt.

3/3/16 at UT Arlington (L 73-45).

The Trojans get hammered in their final conference game of the season and will go into the Sun Belt Tourney as the 6th seed.

Let's take a look at the National Top 25 following this week:



Kentucky drops 3 spots after the loss this week, while UCLA stays even. Michigan State also stays eve, and that horrible loss to Utah dropped Stanford 2 spots.

Now for the mid-major top 25, although I don't even know why I'm bothering.



As expected, nothing. Ridiculous that Hawaii isn't getting votes.

No change in the bubble watch, no change of any kind, so that ends the week.

March 7-13, 2016

Amazingly, there were no feature games this week, so you can figure there were some upsets in the conference tournaments. Let's get to the weekly recap:

Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-21, 7-9 America East.

No games for the Hawks this week, as their conference tourney was last week. Their season is over.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 9-22, 5-13 American.

3/10/16- American First Round vs. (9) Tulane (W 78-68).
3/11/16- American Quarterfinals vs. (1) #3 Cincinnati (L 78-36)

The Pirates ran into a buzzsaw in Cincinnati, who is all but a lock for a #1 seed. Meanwhile, The Pirates will end their season.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 12-20, 5-13 Atlantic 10.

3/9/16- Atlantic 10 First Round vs. (13) George Mason (W 67-62).
3/10/16- Atlantic 10 Second Round vs. (5) Richmond (L 77-76).

Heartbreaker for the Wildcats against Richmond, as they battled the whole game but will see their season end.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-25, 1-17 Big 12.

3/9/16- Big 12 First Round vs. (7) Oklahoma State (L 79-71).

Another good effort for the Horned Frogs, who really played much better down the stretch, but their season is over.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-15, 9-9 Big 10.

3/10/16- Big 10 Second Round vs. (8) Indiana (L 72-64).

The Wolverines couldn't hang on against Indiana, and most likely their season is over, although they could sneak into a lower tournament.

#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 24-8, 12-6 Big 10.

3/11/16- Big 10 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Nebraska (W 86-70).
3/12/16- Big 10 Semifinals vs. (1) # 2 Iowa (L 68-59).

The Spartans fall short against an Iowa team that has a great chance to win a national title. Meanwhile, the Spartans are safely in the NCAA Tournament.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 24-9, 13-3 Big West.

3/10/16- Big West Quarterfinals vs. (8) Cal State Northridge (W 87-43).
3/11/16- Big West Semifinals vs. (4) Long Beach State (W 86-59).
3/12/16- Big West Championship vs. (3) UC Santa Barbara (L 79-64).

Crazy to think the Warriors could lose in the championship game the way they dismantled their first 2 opponents. With their record, if they aren't in the NCAA Tournament it's a shame. But considering they can't even get 1 mid-major vote, who knows?

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-17, 9-9 Conference USA.

3/9/16- Conference USA Second Round vs. (10) Southern Miss (L 66-64).

The 49ers fell just short in a quest to extend their season, and they will be sitting at home the rest of March.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-19, 5-13 Conference USA.

3/8/16- Conference USA First Round vs. (12) UTSA (L 70-63, OT).

A good effort by the Owls, but not enough as their season comes to an end.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-21, 8-12 MAAC.

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

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 18-15, 10-6 MEAC.

3/9/16- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (6) Delaware State (W 66-61).
3/11/16- MEAC Semifinals vs. (7) South Carolina State (W 59-53).
3/12/16- MEAC Championship vs. (8) Coppin State (W 66-56).

Congrats to Coach Carrano and the Spartans for their MEAC Tournament win, but let's be honest. They were very lucky to not have to play either of the top 2 seeds, although they did play both teams that beat those top 2 seeds, so I guess in a way, that's just as meaningful. They'll be dancing, more than likely into the First Four, but they could sneak a #15 seed.

Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 21-10, 13-5 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 78-52).

What in the world happened to the Buffaloes? It was like they just didn't want to be there. Damaging loss, while they should still be safely into the NCAA's, a loss like that will give them a seed drop or 2 surely.

#23 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 25-8, 13-5 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (7) California (W 54-51).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 59-49).

So the Cardinal becomes the 2nd FOFC team that Oregon takes out in the Pac 12 Tournament. Apparently they are either on a hot streak or better than their seed shows. Stanford will be dancing, easily.

#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-6, 12-6 Pac 12.

3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Washington (W 82-79).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (8) Arizona State (W 82-61).
3/12/16- Pac 12 Championship vs. (6) Oregon (W 68-60).

Congrats to the Bruins and Coach Shepard for doing what 2 of their FOFC Pac 12 counterparts couldn't do.. knock Oregon out of the Pac 12 Tourney, and winning the tourney. With this win, surely a #2 or #3 seed in the NCAA's is reasonable.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-21, 2-16 Pac 12.

3/9/16- Pac 12 First Round vs. (5) Washington (L 82-47).

Not even a game here, as it looked like the Cougars packed it in before the game even started. Their season is over.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-15, 11-7 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (11) LSU (L 69-53).

Killer loss for the Crimson Tide, who needed a couple wins in this tournament to feel safe about any kind of postseason tournament berth. I have to think their season is over, but we'll wait and see.

Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 22-10, 11-7 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (5) Ole Miss (W 66-52).
3/12/16- SEC Semifinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 56-53).

Tough loss for the Gators, who at least won their Quarterfinal game. They will most likely be safely in the NCAA Tournament, but double digit loss teams generally get double digit seeds.

#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-6, 15-3 SEC.

3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 93-88).

When is the last time the Wildcats lost 2 games in a row in reality? It's probably been a while. Sadly, they had a 7 point lead at halftime against Georgia. No matter, they'll still be a top 4 seed in the NCAA's.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-20, 8-12 Sun Belt.

3/10/16- Sun Belt First Round vs. (7) Arkansas Little Rock (L 63-61, OT).

This loss hurts considering the Trojans held UALR to just 15 first half points. Troy will see their season come to an end with this loss.

The final National top 25 poll before the postseason is here:



UCLA moves up 3 spots after winning the Pac 12 Tourney, while Kentucky moves down 3 spots after losing in the SEC Quarterfinals. Michigan State drops 1 spot after their gallant effort loss to Iowa, and Stanford also drops a spot.

And the final mid-major top 25 poll:



Again, our teams were left out.

2016 Selection Sunday

Norfolk State will be in the NCAA West Region in a First Four game where they will take on Wofford, with the winner playing (1) Baylor.

Remember what I said about double digit loss teams rarely getting a single digit seed. Scratch that. Colorado gets the 5th seed in the NCAA West Region, and they'll open up against (12) Green Bay.

Stanford gets the 3rd seed in the NCAA West Region and will open up against (14) BYU.

Kentucky gets the 4th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against (13) Belmont.

Michigan State gets the 5th seed in the NCAA South Region and will open up against (12) North Dakota State. We have a potential Kentucky-Michigan State match-up in the Round of 32.

UCLA gets the 2nd seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against (15) Lehigh.

Florida gets the 11th seed in the NCAA East Region and will open up against (6) Syracuse.

So Colorado and Florida have almost identical records, with Florida actually having 1 more win, but getting a seed 6 spots lower? Why you ask? It's all about RPI. Colorado's is 11, Florida's is 54. Moving on!

Snub city for Hawaii, and I had a feeling it might happen. The Warriors get left out of the NCAA's, instead picking up the top seed in the NIT West Region. They'll start out by hosting (8) Texas Southern.

I was debating on moving the NIT back up to 40 teams to give more of our teams a chance, but I think I'll leave it at 32. After all, we've got the teams and conferences and in-season tournaments mirroring reality, so we'll have the NIT mirror reality too.

And that my friends, is it. A pitiful performance by our FOFC teams as only 8 of 19 FOFC coached teams are in the postseason, and 7 of those 8 are in the NCAA's. I'm hoping for much better in the future.

NCAA First Four

West Region

Wofford beat Norfolk State 60-59.

NCAA First Round

West Region

(12) Green Bay shocked (5) Colorado 63-54. Not the way Coach Nielsen wanted his season to end.

(3) Stanford got by (14) BYU 59-57.

South Region

(4) Kentucky all over (13) Belmont 78-61.

(5) Michigan State hammers (12) North Dakota State 86-64. This means that one of our FOFC coached teams is for sure headed to the Sweet Sixteen.

East Region

(2) UCLA gets by (15) Lehigh 76-64.

(11) Florida upsets (6) Syracuse 65-62.

NIT First Round

West Region

(1) Hawaii hammers (8) Texas Southern 76-49.

NCAA Second Round

West Region

(3) Stanford over (6) Stephen F. Austin 79-64.

South Region

(4) Kentucky gets by (5) Michigan State 70-62.

East Region

(2) UCLA survives against (10) UConn 67-65.

(3) George Washington was too much for (11) Florida, beating them 77-62.

NIT Second Round

West Region

(4) North Carolina ends the run for (1) Hawaii, beating them 78-58.

NCAA Sweet Sixteen

West Region

(2) Iowa hammered (3) Stanford 89-55.

South Region

(4) Kentucky beat (9) San Diego State 78-71.

East Region

(2) UCLA got by (3) George Washington 75-64.


NCAA Elite Eight

South Region

(7) Vanderbilt pulls a mild upset over (4) Kentucky 68-63.

East Region

(1) Kansas just gets by (2) UCLA 84-81 in overtime.

And that does it for our FOFC coaches, as we send 2 teams to the NCAA Elite Eight but that's about it. Season recap coming up later.

2016 Postseason Recap

The NCAA Final Four saw (7S) Vanderbilt stun (2W) Iowa 71-57 in one semifinal, then (3MW) Iowa State beat (1E) Kansas 76-68 in the other semifinal. The national championship was over at halftime, as Iowa State dominated Vanderbilt 87-44.

The NIT Final Four saw (3S) Wichita State beat (7W) Richmond 79-77 in the first semifinal, then (4E) New Mexico State beat (2MW) Indiana 81-61 in the other semifinal. The NIT Championship was a classic, as Wichita State beat New Mexico State 72-70.

The CBI Championship Series went all 3 games, as (2) SMU beat (1) LaSalle 2 games to 1. SMU won the first game, 73-58, the LaSalle evened up the series by winning the second game 66-60 in overtime. SMU handled LaSalle in the rubber match, 63-49.

The CIT Championship saw (1) Albany beat (3) Lafayette 68-57.

2015-2016 National Awards

I am going to change it up this dynasty and just tell the number of awards each team got as opposed to naming the players. Since this is more about the coaches than anything else, I think the number of awards is fine. If you guys truly want to know player names of awards, that's fine, but I'll only give names if it is one of our coaches getting an award. With that in mind,

UCLA put 1 player on the All-NCAA 3rd Team.

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

2015-2016 Conference Awards

No awards for Hartford.

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

Davidson put 2 players on the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team.

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

Michigan had the Big 10 Freshman of the Year and put that same player on the Big 10 All Freshman Team.

Michigan State put 1 player on the Big 10 1st Team.

Hawaii coach B.B. Gunn was named Big West Coach of the Year. They also had the Big West Player of the Year and put 2 on the Big West First Team.

Charlotte put 1 player on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Rice.

No awards for Monmouth.

Norfolk State put 2 players on the MEAC 2nd Team.

Colorado coach Rob Nielsen was named Pac 12 Coach of the Year.

Stanford put 1 player on the Pac 12 1st Team and 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

UCLA had the Pac 12 Player of the Year and 1 player on the Pac 12 1st Team. They also put 1 player on the Pac 12 2nd Team.

Washington State put 1 player on the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team.

No awards for Alabama.

Florida put 1 player on the SEC 2nd Team and 1 player on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Kentucky coach Patrick Hutt was the SEC Coach of the Year. Kentucky also had the SEC Freshman of the Year and put that player on the SEC All-Freshman Team. They also put a player on the SEC 2nd Team.

Troy put 1 player on the Sun Belt All-Freshman Team.

2015-2016 Recruiting Class Rankings

Hartford had the 234th best class in the nation, good for 3rd best in the America East.

ECU had the 159th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the American.

Davidson had the 44th best class in the nation, tops in the Atlantic 10.

TCU had the 161st best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the Big 12.

Michigan had the 19th best class in the nation, good for 5th best in the Big 10.

Michigan State had the 3rd best class in the nation, tops in the Big 10.

Hawaii had the 110th best class in the nation, good for 5th best in the Big West.

Charlotte had the 239th best class in the nation, good for 10th best in Conference USA.

Rice had the 111th best class in the nation, good for 4th best in Conference USA.

Monmouth had the 272nd best class in the nation, last in the MAAC.

Norfolk State had the 260th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the MEAC.

Colorado had the 62nd best class in the nation, good for 8th best in the Pac 12.

Stanford had the 77th best class in the nation, good for 9th best in the Pac 12.

UCLA had the 16th best class in the nation, good for 4th best in the Pac 12.

Washington State had the 287th best class in the nation, last in the Pac 12.

Alabama had the 21st best class in the nation, good for 3rd best in the SEC.

Florida had the 13th best class in the nation, good for 2nd best in the SEC.

Kentucky had the 4th best class in the nation, tops in the SEC.

Troy had the 198th best class in the nation, good for 7th best in the Sun Belt.

2 teams changed conferences this season, in a move that will affect Troy in the Sun Belt. Georgia State is leaving the Sun Belt to go to the Horizon, and Northern Kentucky is leaving the Horizon to join the Sun Belt.

The best coaches seem to get job offers every offseason, and it's no different this season for Patrick Hutt of Kentucky. He got offers from Creighton, Duke, Kansas, N.C. State, Oregon State, Syracuse, and Washington. Zinto, let me know what you want to do.

Rob Nielsen also got offers from Creighton, Oregon State, and Washington. Coffee Warlord, what are you thinking here?

Noah Oppenheimer received 1 offer, from N.C. State. TheRivals40, what would you like to do?

Benito Sanchez was offered the jobs at Duke, Kansas, Oregon State, and Washington. What do you think rjolley?

Tim Shepard was offered at Oregon State and Washington. rjolley, you get to decide for both your coaches.

That's it for offers, and I'm waiting to hear back from several coaches.

Also, as you know, I started doing spreadsheets with many different stats on them, I was doing it around the last couple season of my last Coaches Dynasty, and I am doing them again this time. The question is, how often would you like to see these spreadsheets? Every year? Every other year? I'm open to whatever you guys want.

Patrick will stay at Kentucky

Congrats to all of the FOFC coaches that made the post season.

As for the coaches, they'll stay where they are in the Pac 12 and continue to duke it out.

Ugh, disappointing end for the Rainbow Warriors, but you gotta close it out in the Big West Tourney.

Still waiting to hear from Coffee Warlord and TheRivals40 to let me know what they want to do with their coach. I'd like to get the next season started as soon as tonight or tomorrow if possible. If I don't hear from you, I'll assume you want your coaches to stay, and if we have to, I can make a switch in the middle of the season. Thanks.

As I am ready to get the next season started, I am going to go ahead and keep Rob Nielsen at Colorado and Noah Oppenheimer at Florida. As TheRivals40 hasn't been on in over a month, the decision needs to be made to just keep him at Florida. Also, I can't imagine Coffee Warlord would want to move his coach to another Pac 12 school, and the Creighton job isn't so inviting, so I'm going to move forward.

I will be getting a recap of last seasons goals and a look at this seasons goals and season tournaments done tonight.

I hope everyone is still following, I know I have a lot of projects going right now and sometimes it's hard to keep track, but I'm doing my best to put equal time into all of them. Thanks for following and commenting guys.

Some offseason stuff to take care of yet, first a look at last seasons coach goals and how each coach/team fared:

David Ginsberg (Hartford)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the America East -- David failed this goal, finishing 2 games under .500 in conference play.

Al Hutt (ECU)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the American -- Al failed this goal miserably, as ECU was 8 games under .500 in conference.

Randolph Childress (Davidson)- Play in a postseason tournament. -- Randolph failed this goal, and it wasn't even close.

Bee Mighty (TCU)- Avoid last place in the Big 12 -- Failed, as TCU won a measly 1 game in conference.

Cillian Tribble (Michigan)- Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Failed, no postseason last season.

Al Mighty (Michigan State)- Reach the Final Four -- Failed, the Spartans lost in the Round of 32.

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Big West -- Passed, the Warriors were 10 games over .500 in conference.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte)- Finish with at least a .500 record in Conference USA. -- Passed, but barely. .500 was the conference record for Charlotte last season.

Charlie Shocker (Rice)- Improve the team's prestige (Now there's a goal I haven't seen before.) -- ok, now this goal, I'm not sure if it was passed or failed, as I'm not sure what Rice's initial prestige was. Sorry Charlie! Haha

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

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the MEAC. -- Passed, as Norfolk State was 4 games over .500 in conference play.

Rob Nielsen (Colorado)- Play in the NCAA Tournament. -- Passed, even though they lost in the First Round.

Benito Sanchez (Stanford)- Play in the NCAA Tournament. -- Passed, and made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Tim Shepard (UCLA)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen. -- Passed, and took it 1 stop further, advancing to the Elite Eight.

DeShawn St. John (Washington State)- Avoid last place in the Pac 12 -- Failed, as they actually tied for last place.

Roy Rogers (Alabama)- Play in the NCAA Tournament -- Failed, as they had no postseason.

Noah Oppenheimer (Florida)- Reach the Sweet Sixteen -- Failed, but not by much, as they fell 1 round short, losing in the Round of 32.

Patrick Hutt (Kentucky)- Reach the Final Four -- Ditto Florida. 1 round short.

Brett Hawkins (Troy)- Finish with at least a .500 record in the Sun Belt -- Failed, finished 4 games below .500.

2016-2017 Hot Seat Ratings and Coach Goals

David Ginsberg (Hartford) -- His rating is still average and the goal is to finish .500 in the America East.

Al Hutt (ECU) -- Average rating, goal is to finish .500 in the American Conference.

Randolph Childress (Davidson) -- Average rating, goal is to play in any postseason tournament.

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

Cillian Tribble (Michigan) -- Average rating, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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

B.B. Gunn (Hawaii) -- His rating is cool, and Hawaii's goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

Timmy Tribble (Charlotte) -- His seat is also cool, and Charlotte is expected to finish .500 or better overall.

Charlie Shocker (Rice) -- Average seat, goal is to improve Rice's prestige which is currently 31.

Thomas Carrano (Monmouth) -- Average seat, goal is to avoid last place in the MAAC.

Payten Carrano (Norfolk State) -- Cool seat, goal is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

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

Benito Sanchez (Stanford) -- Also a cool seat, goal is to compete for the Pac 12 Championship.

Tim Shepard (UCLA) -- Cool seat as well, goal is to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

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

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

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

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

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

One note, there are only 9 goals, so they will get quite repetitive after a while. But that's ok, 9 goals is enough.

2016 Season Tournaments

Colorado will be the 3rd seed in the 2016 Brooklyn Classic and will open up with 6th seed Vermont.

TCU will be the 7th seed in the 2016 Cancun Challenge and will open up with 2nd seed Northern Iowa.

Florida will be the top seed in the 2016 Charleston Classic and will open with 8th seed Loyola Chicago.

Hawaii will be the 6th seed in the 2016 Charleston Classic and will open with 3rd seed N.C. State.

UCLA will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2016 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. They'll open up with 15th seed Delaware.

Kentucky will be the top seed in the 2016 Diamond Head Classic and will open up with 8th seed Kent State.

Michigan State will be the 2nd seed in the 16 team 2016 Hall of Fame Classic and will open with 15th seed Lafayette.

Davidson will be the 9th seed in the 16 team 2016 Hall of Fame Classic and will open with 8th seed Green Bay.

Washington State will be the 8th seed in the 2016 Las Vegas Invitational and will open with top seed Iowa.

Stanford will be the top seed in the 2016 Legends Classic and will open with 8th seed UAB.

Michigan will be the 4th seed in the 2016 Legends Classic and will open with 5th seed Tennessee.

Monmouth will be the 3rd seed in the 4 team 2016 Los Angeles Classic and will open with 2nd seed Dunk City, otherwise known as Florida Gulf Coast.

Alabama will be the 2nd seed in the 2016 Maui Invitational and will open with 7th seed Western Michigan.

ECU will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2016 Military Classic and will open with 3rd seed UNC Wilmington.

Charlotte will be the top seed in the 4 team 2016 New Orleans Classic and will open with 4th seed Ball State.

Norfolk State will be the 2nd seed in the 2016 Paradise Jam and will open up with 7th seed UT Martin.

Rice will be the 2nd seed in the 4 team 2016 South Carolina Showcase and will open with 3rd seed Seattle.

Hartford will be the 4th seed in the 4 team 2016 Toledo Regional and will open with top seed Wagner.

Troy will be the top seed in the 2016 Wooden Legacy and will open with 8th seed IUPUI.

All 19 of our FOFC coached teams scored a tournament, and they really should every year with so many of them.

Let's take a quick look at the 2016-2017 Preseason Polls:



Little interesting not to see Colorado or Stanford getting votes, and Wichita State and Kansas State both getting votes. Hmm.



I have come to the conclusion that the preseason polls are a joke in this game. No Hawaii to be found? Really? Interesting.

My plans is to get the first week of the 2016-2017 season done tomorrow, and I'm hoping to do a week of gameplay every single day, but we'll see.

Nov. 11-13, 2016

Another short post to begin the season, as it seems with this dynasty, all seasons will start on a Friday. Makes sense to me. As always, this first post will only cover the teams that played a game, since there were only 9 games.

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

11/11/16- Military Classic First Round vs. (3) UNC Wilmington (L 65-51).
11/12/16- Military Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (4) Tennessee Tech (W 52-50).

A 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Pirates doesn't seem like much, but it's a start.

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

11/11/16- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (8) Green Bay (W 78-73).

Good opening win for the Wildcats, but Duke awaits next week.

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

11/11/16- Hall of Fame Classic First Round vs. (15) Lafayette (W 82-46).

No problem for the Spartans in their first game.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-1, 0-0 MAAC.

11/11/16- Los Angeles Classic First Round vs. (2) Florida Gulf Coast (W 58-53).
11/12/16- Los Angeles Classic Championship vs. (1) Portland (L 59-47).

The Hawks fought, but were never really in the LA Classic Championship. They'll take 2nd place though.

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

11/11/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic First Round vs. (15) Delaware (W 87-47).
11/13/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Quarterfinals vs. (10) New Mexico State (W 99-76).

Easy week for the Bruins, who rolled through inferior competition.

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

11/13/16 vs. FIU (W 66-42).

No problem for the Wildcats as they breeze in their lone game of the week.

Even with a lack of games, let's take a look at the national top 25 for the week:



So we've got 3 FOFC teams in the top 3 spots, all receiving FPV. Florida has yet to play, while Michigan and Davidson receive a few votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:



Davidson moves up 3 spots after winning their lone game this week. Norfolk State and Charlotte are still being considered.

Nov. 14-20, 2016

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

11/15/16 vs. Quinnipiac (L 73-64).

Not a good way to start the season for the Hawks in their lone game of the week.

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

11/15/16 vs. Albany (L 83-57).
11/19/16 vs. Mercer (L 78-66).

Not a good week for the Pirates who got boatraced in 2 home games.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/14/16- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (1) #11 Duke (W 80-79, OT).

What a huge, huge win for the Wildcats this week! Another big test awaiting next week.

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

11/19/16- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (2) Northern Iowa (W 55-51).

The Horned Frogs will certainly take the upset victory in this one, but it'll only get tougher from here.

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

11/17/16- Legends Classic First Round vs. (5) Tennessee (L 76-66).

Not the way the Wolverines wanted to start the season after a disappointing finish last season.

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

11/14/16- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (7) Illinois State (W 68-49).

No problem for the Spartans in this one, but they'll get tested in the semifinals for sure.

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

11/17/16- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (3) N.C. State (L 76-61).
11/18/16- Charleston Classic Consolation Round vs. (7) DePaul (W 76-65).
11/19/16- Charleston Classic 5th Place Game vs. (5) Penn State (L 61-52).

The Warriors were certainly hoping for better after their strong season last season, but hey, last season they finished 6th in an 8 team tournament, so at least they've improved there.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/17/16 at #24 Oklahoma State (L 79-44).

The 49ers got a harsh reality check in this one, going on the road and getting hammered.

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

11/19/16 at Georgia State (L 78-72).

The Owls battled in this one, but couldn't quite come away with the win.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 1-3, 0-0 MAAC.

11/14/16 at Columbia (L 66-48).
11/17/16 vs. Morgan State (L 65-57).

The struggles continue for the Hawks, losers of their last 3.

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

11/17/16- Paradise Jam First Round vs. (7) UT Martin (L 49-42).
11/20/16- Paradise Jam Consolation Round vs. (6) Northern Arizona (W 61-57).

The Spartans salvage a win in their first 2 games and will play for 5th in their tournament.

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

11/16/16 at UConn (L 72-71).

A heartbreaker for the Buffaloes, who led at halftime but couldn't overcome turnovers.

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

11/17/16- Legends Classic First Round vs. (8) UAB (W 87-77).

It was much tougher than expected, but the Cardinal move on in their tournament.

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

11/18/16- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Semifinals vs. (3) #8 Baylor (L 67-53).

Not the end to this tournament the Bruins wanted, as they came out flat and never competed against eventually tournament champ Baylor.

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

11/16/16 at Tennessee State (W 63-54).

A good tune-up win for their tournament, but the Cougars will take any wins they can get.

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

Coach Rogers and the Crimson Tide have yet to play a game.

#25 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 3-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/17/16- Charleston Classic First Round vs. (8) Loyola Chicago (W 72-46).
11/18/16- Charleston Classic Semifinals vs. (4) California (W 95-62).
11/20/16- Charleston Classic Championship vs. (3) N.C. State (W 106-84).

Congrats to Coach Oppenheimer and the Gators, who become the first FOFC coached team to win a season tournament this season, and they did so in very easy fashion.

#3 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 2-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/16/16 at #21 Syracuse (L 72-54).
11/18/16 vs. Elon (W 90-56).

A split this week for the Wildcats, who couldn't handle the pressure of going on the road against a top 25 team.

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

11/19/16 vs. Florida State (L 68-38).

Not a good season debut for the Trojans, who were hammered at home.

Here is a look at the national top 25:



Michigan State was the only one of our top 3 teams to hold serve, but man, how about UCLA and Kentucky? UCLA fell 18 spots and Kentucky fell 22 spots. This would never happen in reality, would it? Alabama gets a vote, basically because they haven't played a game. And I'm disappointed, I figured Davidson upsetting Duke would garner them a few more votes.

Now for the mid-major top 25:



Davidson does move up 4 spots in the mid-major poll after beating Duke, and are now the only FOFC coached mid-major team receiving votes.

Wow, not a good start for the Warriors.

Nov. 21-27, 2016

No feature games this week, so to the weekly recap we go:

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

11/21/16- Toledo Regional First Round vs. (1) Wagner (W 64-61).
11/22/16- Toledo Regional Championship vs. (3) Loyola (MD) (W 84-58).
11/27/16 at Princeton (L 59-51).

A big congrats to Hartford and Coach Ginsberg for winning their season tournament, even if it was only a 4 team tournament. Hopefully they can shake off the loss at Princeton and start winning again.

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

No games this week for ECU and Coach Hutt.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

11/21/16- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal vs. (4) #11 Oregon (L 79-64).
11/27/16 vs. St. John's (L 78-65).

2 losses for the Wildcats this week, but let's look at them for what they are: 2 losses against great competition.

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

11/22/16- Cancun Challenge Semifinal vs. (3) Memphis (L 74-70).
11/23/16- Cancun Challenge 3rd Place Game vs. (1) #13 North Carolina (L 84-55).

Tough week for the Horned Frogs who let one slip away against Memphis. Apparently TCU finished 2nd in an 8 team tourney last season, I'll have to go back and look. They've got some very winnable games coming up though.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/21/16- Legends Classic Consolation vs. (8) UAB (W 92-55).
11/22/16- Legends Classic 5th Place Game vs. (7) Toledo (W 82-49).

Nice bounce back for the Wolverines with a couple blowout wins, even if they were against the bottom 2 seeds in the tourney.

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

11/21/16- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinal vs. (3) #6 Georgetown (W 53-45).
11/22/16- Hall of Fame Classic Championship vs. (4) #11 Oregon (W 86-64).

Congrats to the Spartans and Coach Mighty, who become the first team and FOFC coach to win a 16 team tournament.

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

No games this week for the Warriors and Coach Gunn.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/25/16- New Orleans Classic First Round vs. (4) Ball State (W 57-46).
11/27/16- New Orleans Classic Championship vs. (3) Youngstown State (W 53-43).

Congrats to the 49ers and Coach Tribble. By my count they are the 4th FOFC team to win a season tournament so far. Not bad.

Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 1-2, 0-0 Conference USA.

11/24/16- South Carolina Showcase First Round vs. (3) Seattle (L 86-78).
11/26/16- South Carolina Showcase 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Illinois Chicago (W 74-64).

An improvement over last year for the Owls, who finished 4th in a 4 team tournament. Getting their first win over a tough team is nice.

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

11/26/16 vs. Cornell (W 46-38).

A low scoring battle for the Hawks in their only game of the week, but they survived it.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-1, 0-0 MEAC.

11/21/16- Paradise Jam 5th Place Game vs. (1) Gardner Webb (W 59-40).

The Spartans will be happy with a 5th place finish considering the way they started. Now they have a chance to build on that.

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

11/22/16- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (6) Vermont (W 74-46).
11/25/16- Brooklyn Classic Semifinal vs. (2) #12 Miami (W 80-77).
11/26/16- Brooklyn Classic Championship vs. (1) #4 Kansas (L 73-62).

Only fitting that it would be a former Big 12 foe that stood in the way of a tournament title for the Buffaloes. They may be 2-2 but it's a very, very good 2-2.

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

11/21/16- Legends Classic Semifinal vs. (5) Tennessee (W 70-62).
11/22/16- Legends Classic Championship vs. (2) Xavier (L 70-61).
11/27/16 at UNLV (L 75-67).

Tough way to end the week for the Cardinal with 2 straight losses, but they can certainly recover.

#20 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 4-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/23/16 at UC Davis (W 79-47).
11/27/16 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 90-63).

A couple easy wins for the Bruins against inferior west coast competition.

Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-3, 0-0 Pac 12.

11/21/16- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (1) #15 Iowa (L 87-68).
11/24/16- Las Vegas Invitational Consolation Round vs. (5) #17 Seton Hall (L 75-60).
11/25/16- Las Vegas Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (7) Rider (L 83-68).

Ugh! On the flip side of things, the Cougars and coach St. John become the first FOFC coached team to finish 8th in an 8 team tournament, and they weren't competitive in any of the 3 games.

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

11/21/16- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (7) Western Michigan (L 66-55).
11/22/16- Maui Invitational Consolation Round vs. (6) Utah State (L 78-77).
11/23/16- Maui Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (4) Illinois (L 74-61).

And that makes the 2nd team to finish 8th in an 8 team tournament, but at least the Crimson Tide were competitive. They actually led at halftime in 2 of the 3 games.

#14 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.

11/27/16 at Furman (W 83-50).

Easy pickings in the lone game of the week for the Gators, but it'll get tougher next week.

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

11/22/16 at #21 Oklahoma State (L 78-71).

Could be a bit of a rough season for the Wildcats, at least by their standards. Never did they expect to have 2 losses before December.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 0-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

11/24/16- Wooden Legacy First Round vs. (8) IUPUI (L 65-63).
11/25/16- Wooden Legacy Consolation Round vs. (4) St. Francis PA (L 58-55).
11/27/16- Wooden Legacy 7th Place Game vs. (6) Cal State Bakersfield (L 67-59).

What an agonizing week and tournament for Coach Hawkins and the Trojans. They came in the #1 seed and lost 3 games by a total of 13 points. And it's not like it was the toughest of competition either, at least it shouldn't have been.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:



Michigan State stays at #1, and they will until they are defeated most likely. Florida and UCLA both have major jumps after winning all their games this week. No surprise to see Kentucky out, and all the other FOFC teams that were receiving votes? Not anymore.

Now a look at the mid-major top 25:



Man, I figured Davidson would lose some votes, but I didn't think they'd lose ALL their votes. Tough polls.

Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2016

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

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

11/29/16 at Hofstra (W 72-69).

Just 1 game this week for the Hawks who grinded out a road win.

ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-4, 0-0 American.

12/3/16 at #10 VCU (L 78-36).

The lone game this week for the Pirates was a game to forget. They should have just stayed home. Maybe they did.

Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 2-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10.

12/3/16 vs. Indiana (L 76-61).

Another lone game this week, this time for the Wildcats who continue to schedule tough but can't handle it.

TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 3-2, 0-0 Big 12.

11/29/16 vs. UL Lafayette (W 78-59).
12/2/16 at UT Arlington (W 79-69).

The Horned Frogs stay in the state of Texas this week with their road game being against a Texas team. 2 solid wins and they are back above .500.

Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.

11/28/16 vs. San Diego State (L 84-66).
12/1/16 vs. Lafayette (W 87-59).
12/4/16 vs. Northern Iowa (W 88-85).

The Wolverines were put through the grind this week, but got to stay at home doing it. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

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

11/29/16 vs. Detroit (W 72-47).
12/3/16 vs. Bradley (W 80-41).

2 easy wins for the Spartans this week, and so far all but 1 of their wins has been by double digits.

Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-2, 0-0 Big West.

11/29/16 vs. Penn State (W 68-65).
12/2/16 at Wake Forest (W 67-59).

Good week for the Warriors who won 2 tough games against P5 competition. Those wins include a win over that same Penn State team they just played and lost to in the Charleston Classic.

Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.

No games this week for Timmy and the 49ers.

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

12/1/16 vs. Maine (W 73-46).
12/3/16 at Memphis (L 72-59).

The Owls hung with Memphis for a while but couldn't find a way to get past them, so they split this week.

Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 3-5, 1-0 MAAC.

11/30/16 at Princeton (L 55-42).
12/2/16 at Rutgers (L 67-49).
12/4/16 at Siena (W 57-56).

A huge grind for the Hawks this week as they have 3 road games, including starting conference play in early December??? I don't quite get that, but ok. At least they started conference play with a victory.

Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-3, 0-0 MEAC.

11/28/16 at Albany (L 86-55).
12/2/16 vs. American (L 69-66).

The Spartans forgot to show up at Albany, and almost got one against American, but alas, they are under .500 again.

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

11/28/16 vs. Minnesota (L 75-64).
11/30/16 vs. Northern Iowa (L 70-56).

Things are going south in a hurry for the Buffaloes, and it doesn't get any easier next week as they travel to a top 5 opponent.

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

11/29/16 at St. Mary's (W 71-62).
12/2/16 at Missouri (L 68-59).

A split for the Cardinal this week, both games on the road.

#8 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 5-1, 0-0 Pac 12.

12/2/16 vs. Mississippi State (W 74-40).

A little bit of irony here, as the team coach Shepard coaches in this dynasty just beat the team that Shepard plays for in the Interactive Player Dynasty. I knew I'd find a way to tie the 2 together sooner or later. Heh!

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

11/28/16 vs. Idaho (W 68-61).

Well it wasn't easy but the Cougars finally got back on the winning side of things. With their schedule, they should get a few more feel good wins before Pac 12 play starts.

Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-4, 0-0 SEC.

11/28/16 vs. Seattle (W 80-72).
12/4/16 vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (L 77-68).

The Crimson Tide got their first win of the season then get embarrassed at home. Next up on the schedule, a string of 6 games against current top 25 teams. Ay yi yi!

#7 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 4-1, 0-0 SEC.

11/30/16 vs. #14 Wisconsin (L 65-56).

First loss of the season for the Gators, who also have a brutal stretch of games coming up.

Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 SEC.

No games this week for Patrick and the Wildcats.

Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-4, 0-0 Sun Belt.

12/4/16 at Florida Gulf Coast (W 69-47).

A nice win against a strong FGCU team this week for the Trojans. With their non-conference schedule being very winnable, they need to take this win and run with it.

Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:



Michigan State stays on top, no surprise there. This game really seems to have a crush on the Spartans, even in my Interactive Player Dynasty. UCLA drops a spot after a 34 point win (huh?) and Florida drops 16 spots after a 9 point loss. Geez, the polls in this game have me shaking my head sometimes.

Now for the mid-major top 25, which I can all but guarantee none of our teams will be in.



Yep, I called it. I believe last year we had 8 teams make postseason and all but 1 were NCAA Tournament teams. If things keep going the way they are, we'll have just half that many playing in the postseason this season. It's pretty ugly so far.