March 1-7, 2021
We have 2 feature games this week, and we'll start in the Pac 12:
3/6/21-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Poor shooting was the theme of this game, as Colorado only shot 36.8%. However, that was more than enough to beat Washington State, who made just 11 shots and shot a terrible 26.8%. That poor shooting percentage alone was enough for the Buffaloes to pull out a home victory.
Final Score: Colorado- 50, Washington State- 42
Now to the SEC:
3/6/21-
#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- Not much of a game here, as the Big Blue defense forced 19 turnovers, and despite being outrebounded, the Wildcats had no trouble closing out Bama on the road.
Final Score: #12 Kentucky- 80, Alabama- 62
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 20-10, 9-7 America East.
3/1/21 vs. Youngstown State (W 63-61).
3/4/21- America East Quarterfinals vs. (5) Binghamton (L 65-54).
Tough end to the regular season for the Hawks, who did win a non-conference game before the America East tournament, but fell short in their first game there. Will 20 wins be enough to get them into the NIT? Probably, but knowing how the game likes to snub our FOFC teams, I wouldn't be surprised if they get relegated to the CBI or CIT, especially with that RPI of 256.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 14-16, 9-9 6th American.
3/6/21 vs. Cincinnati (L 78-59).
Coach Childress's first season with the Huskies did not go at all like he'd hoped, as they struggled all season to find consistency. They'll be the 6th seed in the American Tournament and open up with 11th seed Houston, so at least they have a good chance to get 1 more win.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 18-11, 12-6 T-2nd American.
3/3/21 at Cincinnati (W 75-65).
3/6/21 vs. Houston (W 63-55).
The Pirates finish the regular season on a 5 game winning streak, and winning 9 of their last 11, as they continue to shatter team records. For the first time ever, ECU will get a bye in the American Tournament, as they get to watch UConn and Houston play, knowing they'll get the winner in the Quarterfinals.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 13-15, 7-11 8th American.
3/3/21 at UCF (L 63-48).
3/6/21 at Tulane (L 60-49).
Some embarrassing losses this week for the Golden Hurricane. We thought they were figuring it out, but apparently not. They'll get a chance for redemption though, as the 8th seed in the American Tournament, they open up with 9th seed Tulane, a team they just performed poorly against.
#17 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 22-8, 13-5 4th ACC.
3/3/21 at N.C. State (L 68-60).
3/6/21 vs. Miami (W 66-43).
The Blue Devils split this week, ending the regular season losing 2 of 4. They get a double bye into the Quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, where their Quarterfinal opponent will either be 13th seed Virginia Tech, 12th seed Clemson, or 5th seed Virginia.
#23 TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 22-8, 13-5 2nd Big 12.
3/6/21 at Texas Tech (W 89-81).
Just 1 game for the Horned Frogs this week, as they finish the regular season in style, winning their last 4. They'll get a bye in the Big 12 Tournament, going straight to the Quarterfinals where they await the winner of 10th seed Kansas (my god how bad have they gotten) and 7th seed Oklahoma State.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 17-13, 9-9 T-5th Big Ten.
3/3/21 vs. Purdue (W 78-74, OT).
3/6/21 vs. #1 Wisconsin (W 83-62).
The Spartans finish the regular season with a lot of momentum, as they absolutely hammer top ranked Wisconsin in their regular season finale. They'll take that momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, where they drew the lucky cards in a 5 way tie for 5th, as they'll get the 6th seed and a sorta kinda bye to the Second Round, as they'll await the winner of 14th seed Maryland and 11th seed Purdue.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 10-20, 6-12 13th Big Ten.
3/3/21 vs. Maryland (L 76-63).
3/6/21 at Michigan (W 74-65).
A split for the Wildcats, who at least finish the regular season with a win, but it might not be enough to save Coach Vee's job. They'll get another chance in the Big Ten Tournament, where they'll be the 13th seed and open up against 12th seed Iowa in the First Round.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 15-14, 9-7 4th Big West.
3/4/21 vs. UC Irvine (W 80-53).
3/6/21 at Cal Poly (W 75-54).
2 very impressive wins to close out the regular season for the Warriors, as they have their best conference finish in 3 years. Also, the win at Cal Poly was career win #100 for Coach Gunn, who was beginning to wonder if he would have to wait until next season to get it, so congrats to him. They still have work to do though, as they'll be the 4th seed in the Big West Tournament and open up against 5th seed Long Beach State.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-15, 7-11 T-10th Conference USA.
3/4/21 at Southern Miss (W 96-84).
3/6/21 vs. Florida Atlantic (W 77-75).
The Owls are on the right side of a couple wins this week, getting closer to .500. Those 2 wins prove to be very big, as they move up to the 11th seed in the Conference USA Tournament as they'll open up in the First Round against 14th seed Southern Miss, who they just beat.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-15, 9-9 T-6th Pac 12.
3/4/21 at Utah (W 63-52).
3/6/21 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
Strong finish to the regular season for the Buffaloes, who win 2 tough games. They win the tiebreaker for the 6th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, and will turn right around and face an 11th seed Washington State team that they just beat.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 16-14, 10-8 T-4th Pac 12.
3/4/21 at Washington (W 80-78).
3/6/21 vs. California (W 92-78).
The Cardinal also finish the regular season in style, including a good road win against a Washington team that won 21 games in the regular season. Unfortunately, they lost the tiebreaker for the 4th seed in the Pac 12 Tournament. That would have given them a First Round bye. Instead, they'll be the 5th seed and open up against.. go figure, 12th seed California, which they just beat this week.
#19 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 21-9, 12-6 T-2nd Pac 12.
3/4/21 at California (W 66-54).
3/6/21 vs. Utah (L 70-53).
The Bruins split this week, missing a chance to win the Pac 12 regular season title. Instead, they do win the tiebreaker for the 2nd seed and will be the 2nd seed in the Pac 12 Tournament, they'll get a First Round bye and take go straight to the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the winner of 10th seed Oregon and 7th seed Arizona State.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-15, 6-12 11th Pac 12.
3/4/21 at Gonzaga (L 74-40).
3/6/21 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
The Cougars finish the regular season with 7 straight losses. After finishing non-conference play with a 9-3 record, Coach St. John feared that his team would fall apart in conference play, and he was right. Which means they'll probably have to win the Pac 12 Tournament to see the postseason. They get a chance as the 11th seed and will also get another chance as they take on 6th seed Colorado in the First Round.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-17, 6-12 T-11th SEC.
3/3/21 at VCU (L 101-92).
3/6/21 vs. #12 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
The Crimson Tide, after a couple breakthrough seasons, have fallen back down this season. They'll be the 12th seed in the SEC Tournament and open up in the First Round against 13th seed Georgia.
#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-8, 14-4 T-1st SEC.
3/3/21 vs. Texas A&M (L 89-88, OT).
3/6/21 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough break for the Wildcats, who lost a chance to win the SEC title outright when they lost to Texas A&M in overtime. However, they have gotten their hands on every regular season SEC title since I started this dynasty, 6 to be exact. They've shared 4 of them though, but still a pretty incredible feat. They win the tiebreaker and get the top seed in the SEC Tournament, yet again. They get a double bye into the Quarterfinals where they'll take on the winner of a Second Round game between 9th seed Arkansas and 8th seed Texas A&M.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 16-14, 11-9 T-4th Sun Belt.
3/4/21 at Texas State (W 81-71).
3/6/21 vs. Arkansas State (W 82-62).
Big week for the Trojans, who finish the regular season winning 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5. They set a team high for most conference wins in a season since this dynasty started, and have tied the team record for most overall wins in a season. Their best season up to this point was 4 seasons ago, so Coach Hawkins seems to have things going in the right direction. And most importantly, they get a chance to improve on their overall win total, and they qualify for the Sun Belt Tournament. They'll be the 5th seed and open up in the First Round against 8th seed Texas State. The Sun Belt doesn't use a traditional bracket, as the top 2 seeds get byes straight the the Semifinals, the 3 and 4 seeds get byes to the Second Round, and the other 4 teams battle it out in the First Round. Kinda crazy, but a benefit for our Trojans as they get a very good chance to pile up another win or 2.
Here's a look at the final Top 25 polls as well go into the big conference tournament week, starting with the National Top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Louisville (65) 26-5 1793 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Florida State (2) 26-4 1715 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Baylor (3) 26-4 1647 3 Big 12 Conference
4. San Diego State (2) 27-3 1611 6 Mountain West Conference
5. Wisconsin 24-6 1488 1 Big Ten Conference
6. Wichita State 27-5 1432 5 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Boise State 25-5 1373 7 Mountain West Conference
8. Syracuse 23-5 1313 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Illinois 24-6 1229 9 Big Ten Conference
10. Kentucky 21-8 1069 12 Southeastern Conference
11. Villanova 22-8 1052 10 Big East Conference
12. Providence 23-7 1015 18 Big East Conference
13. Missouri 22-8 911 14 Southeastern Conference
14. Fresno State 24-6 853 15 Mountain West Conference
15. UAB 24-6 779 13 Conference USA
16. Penn State 22-9 652 11 Big Ten Conference
17. Harvard 24-6 649 16 Ivy League
18. Rutgers 22-8 621 21 Big Ten Conference
19. Duke 22-8 541 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Memphis 21-7 387 20 American Athletic Conference
21. UCLA 21-9 343 19 Pacific-12 Conference
22. Buffalo 21-8 248 NR Mid-American Conference
23. Tennessee 21-9 224 NR Southeastern Conference
24. Western Michigan 23-7 203 25 Mid-American Conference
25. TCU 22-8 120 23 Big 12 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Middle Tennessee 23-7 51 Conference USA
Georgetown 20-10 36 Big East Conference
Northern Kentucky 23-6 19 Sun Belt Conference
Quinnipiac 24-7 14 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
William & Mary 24-8 11 Colonial Athletic Association
Arizona 20-10 1 Pacific-12 Conference
We still have 4 FOFC teams ranked, the same 4 obviously. Duke and UCLA move down 2 spots after splits this week. TCU also moves down 2 spots, despite winning their only game this week. Then you have media darlings Kentucky, who actually move up 2 spots after splitting this week. To be fair, their loss was a 1 point loss in overtime, but still.
Now to the final Mid-Major Top 25, which (spoiler alert) has 1 of our FOFC teams finally receiving votes again!
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. San Diego State (65) 27-3 1793 2 Mountain West Conference
2. Wichita State (7) 27-5 1730 1 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Boise State 25-5 1661 3 Mountain West Conference
4. UAB 24-6 1564 4 Conference USA
5. Memphis 21-7 1427 5 American Athletic Conference
6. Fresno State 24-6 1386 6 Mountain West Conference
7. Harvard 24-6 1345 7 Ivy League
8. Buffalo 21-8 1325 8 Mid-American Conference
9. Western Michigan 23-7 1251 9 Mid-American Conference
10. Middle Tennessee 23-7 1161 12 Conference USA
11. SMU 21-9 1048 11 American Athletic Conference
12. Rhode Island 22-8 1015 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. William & Mary 24-8 960 18 Colonial Athletic Association
14. Richmond 22-8 910 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. UC Irvine 22-8 758 13 Big West Conference
16. Georgia State 21-9 703 15 Horizon League
17. Quinnipiac 24-7 676 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
18. Northern Kentucky 23-6 561 21 Sun Belt Conference
19. Kent State 20-9 510 25 Mid-American Conference
20. Mercer 22-8 336 19 Southern Conference
21. Detroit 21-10 300 24 Horizon League
22. Pepperdine 20-10 249 14 West Coast Conference
23. FIU 20-9 177 NR Conference USA
24. Illinois State 20-11 176 20 Missouri Valley Conference
25. Evansville 20-11 74 NR Missouri Valley Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
St. Bonaventure 18-10 50 Atlantic 10 Conference
Cincinnati 19-11 48 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 19-11 46 Atlantic 10 Conference
McNeese State 22-8 38 Southland Conference
George Washington 18-11 35 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northeastern 21-10 27 Colonial Athletic Association
Lehigh 21-10 13 Patriot League
UTEP 18-10 13 Conference USA
Massachusetts 19-11 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
Akron 19-11 8 Mid-American Conference
Cal State Northridge 19-11 6 Big West Conference
Loyola Chicago 21-12 6 Missouri Valley Conference
East Carolina 18-11 3 American Athletic Conference
Arkansas State 20-9 2 Sun Belt Conference
Well hello ECU! Back receiving votes (although just 3) after a long absence. Of all the FOFC mid-major teams in this dynasty, ECU (no offense to Coach Hutt) would have been one of the last ones I would forsee receiving mid-major votes going into the final week of the regular season.
Alright folks, the last Bubble Watch of the 2020-2021 season is out. Although none of our FOFC teams are in the Overall Bubble Watch, let's take a look at it anyways.
Code:
OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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FIU 20-9 .567 (32) 2-4 4-1 5-1 9-3 112 In
Nebraska 18-12 .561 (42) 4-8 4-2 7-1 3-1 39 In
Xavier 18-12 .553 (52) 5-6 2-4 4-2 7-0 65 In
UTEP 18-10 .559 (45) 1-5 2-2 10-1 5-2 72 In
Evansville 20-11 .548 (59) 0-3 4-6 6-1 10-1 121 In
George Washington 18-11 .548 (60) 2-1 5-5 5-2 6-3 81 In
Marquette 20-10 .543 (69) 4-8 3-2 6-0 7-0 132 In
Davidson 19-11 .549 (56) 1-1 4-3 5-5 9-2 84 In
Marshall 19-11 .548 (58) 3-4 1-0 6-4 9-3 153 Out
Akron 19-11 .546 (62) 2-4 2-1 6-3 9-3 125 Out
Oregon State 18-12 .546 (64) 2-4 3-5 6-2 7-1 94 Out
Virginia 18-12 .543 (68) 4-5 3-1 8-6 3-0 57 Out
UC Irvine 22-8 .542 (70) 0-1 2-1 10-5 10-1 270 Out
Columbia 18-12 .554 (50) 3-4 1-2 5-2 9-4 67 Out
Arkansas 18-12 .546 (65) 4-10 2-1 5-1 7-0 92 Out
A lot of mid-major teams in the Overall Bubble Watch. Of course that means their conference tournaments are that much more huge. Now let's look at our FOFC teams and see how they are doing, although again I don't expect much change.
Locks:
Duke,
TCU,
UCLA,
Kentucky
To the surprise of nobody, there is absolutely no change.