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:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Gonzaga (70) 31-1 1798 1 West Coast Conference
2. Iowa (2) 28-2 1730 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 29-1 1647 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Villanova 27-4 1528 6 Big East Conference
5. Baylor 26-4 1493 5 Big 12 Conference
6. Duke 26-3 1410 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Kansas 25-5 1407 4 Big 12 Conference
8. Ohio State 26-4 1336 7 Big Ten Conference
9. Louisville 25-5 1230 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Syracuse 25-5 1108 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Arizona 24-6 1107 12 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Kentucky 25-5 1013 9 Southeastern Conference
13. Iowa State 24-6 975 8 Big 12 Conference
14. UCLA 24-6 848 14 Pacific-12 Conference
15. VCU 25-5 774 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Michigan State 23-7 718 16 Big Ten Conference
17. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 623 20 Southland Conference
18. Wisconsin 23-7 578 18 Big Ten Conference
19. Oklahoma 23-7 537 17 Big 12 Conference
20. Harvard 26-4 428 19 Ivy League
21. San Diego State 23-7 295 24 Mountain West Conference
22. Northern Iowa 27-5 221 NR Missouri Valley Conference
23. Stanford 24-7 214 21 Pacific-12 Conference
24. Miami 23-7 191 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Vanderbilt 23-7 76 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Boise State 24-5 35 Mountain West Conference
Akron 23-6 24 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 27-3 14 America East Conference
Georgia State 24-4 12 Sun Belt Conference
North Florida 29-3 8 Atlantic Sun Conference
George Washington 23-8 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
Murray State 27-4 6 Ohio Valley Conference
Virginia 21-9 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
South Dakota State 24-5 3 Summit League
Washington 22-8 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Kentucky drops 3 spots after the loss this week, while UCLA stays even. Michigan State also stays eve, and that horrible loss to Utah dropped Stanford 2 spots.
Now for the mid-major top 25, although I don't even know why I'm bothering.
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (71) 31-1 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati (1) 29-1 1729 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 25-5 1656 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Stephen F. Austin 28-2 1528 7 Southland Conference
5. San Diego State 23-7 1503 5 Mountain West Conference
6. Harvard 26-4 1466 4 Ivy League
7. Northern Iowa 27-5 1395 9 Missouri Valley Conference
8. George Washington 23-8 1217 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Akron 23-6 1121 12 Mid-American Conference
10. Cleveland State 23-7 1064 8 Horizon League
11. Boise State 24-5 1033 13 Mountain West Conference
12. South Dakota State 24-5 929 17 Summit League
13. Georgia State 24-4 925 16 Sun Belt Conference
14. Wichita State 21-10 906 10 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Connecticut 23-8 838 6 American Athletic Conference
16. Murray State 27-4 590 14 Ohio Valley Conference
17. New Mexico State 25-5 554 22 Western Athletic Conference
18. Tulsa 25-6 472 18 American Athletic Conference
19. Illinois State 26-6 408 15 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Eastern Kentucky 27-5 370 19 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Green Bay 21-8 342 20 Horizon League
22. Massachusetts 23-7 324 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Stony Brook 27-3 273 24 America East Conference
24. Louisiana Tech 24-6 262 25 Conference USA
25. North Florida 29-3 227 23 Atlantic Sun Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
St. Bonaventure 20-8 227 Atlantic 10 Conference
Richmond 22-8 57 Atlantic 10 Conference
Iona 26-6 56 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Robert Morris 28-4 37 Northeast Conference
Belmont 26-7 28 Ohio Valley Conference
UNLV 21-8 26 Mountain West Conference
Hofstra 24-7 10 Colonial Athletic Association
Middle Tennessee 22-7 9 Conference USA
Toledo 23-7 7 Mid-American Conference
BYU 21-10 6 West Coast Conference
North Dakota State 24-7 4 Summit League
Vermont 25-5 2 America East Conference
As expected, nothing. Ridiculous that Hawaii isn't getting votes.
No change in the bubble watch, no change of any kind, so that ends the week.