Feb. 21-27, 2028
Only 33 gams on the schedule this week, but 2 of them are feature games. Both in the Pac 12, involving Wazzou. Let's start with those:
2/24/28-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Major developments in Bruin country tonight, as they took a beating from the most unexpected source. Washington State led by 14 at halftime and maintained that double digit lead all through the 2nd half in a complete stunner, as Coach St. John gets what might be his biggest win ever.
Final Score: Washington State- 88, UCLA- 78
2/26/28-
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- Feeding off the momentum of their win 2 days ago, Wazzou kept the heat on, holding Stanford to 33.9% shooting, getting their 2nd stunner of the week in another double digit win.
Final Score: Washington State- 69, Stanford- 57
OK, well now that the shock factor is out of the way (although I wouldn't be surprised if there was more to come), let's get to the rest of the weekly recap.
North Carolina (Ariel Pryde) -- 16-11, 8-8 T-6th ACC.
2/23/28 at #15 Florida State (L 82-76).
2/26/28 at Wake Forest (W 82-57).
A road split for the Tar Heels, who put up a good effort against Florida State but it wasn't meant to be.
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 13-15, 6-10 12th ACC.
2/23/28 at #18 Louisville (L 73-49).
2/26/28 vs. Georgia Tech (W 84-60).
A split for the Fighting Irish, as they get dominated on the road, but do pick up a solid home victory. Still a disappointing season for the Irish.
North Florida (Felix Abel) -- 16-13, 9-5 2nd Atlantic Sun.
2/24/28 at NJIT (W 89-66).
2/26/28 at Stetson (W 94-86).
The Ospreys finish their conference regular season on a good note with 2 road victories. They finish 2nd in the Atlantic Sun and will be the #2 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 10-17, 4-12 9th Big 12.
2/21/28 at Baylor (W 80-69).
2/26/28 at Texas Tech (W 56-54).
The surprises continue this week, as the Horned Frogs get 2 road wins this week, temporarily getting them out of the cellar. This probably won't be enough to save Coach Mighty's job, but not finishing last in the conference would be an encouraging finish.
#12 St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 22-6, 12-4 1st Big East.
2/23/28 at Marquette (W 67-66).
2/26/28 at #6 Providence (W 85-74).
Huge week for the Red Storm who go atop the conference with 2 road wins, including a big one over what was the conference leaders.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 17-11, 8-8 T-7th Big Ten.
2/23/28 at Michigan (L 72-63).
2/26/28 vs. #19 Indiana (L 76-64).
A couple setbacks for the Wildcats this week, as they take 2 on the chin against good competition, which will probably hurt their NCAA chances.
#10 Ohio State (Brett Hawkins) -- 20-8, 9-7 T-4th Big Ten.
2/23/28 vs. Penn State (W 95-86).
2/26/28 at Purdue (L 61-54).
A split for the Buckeyes, as they are not finding life in the Big Ten to be very easy this season. The conference is tough, but a top 4 finish is still doable.
#23 Wichita State (David Ginsberg) -- 22-7, 13-5 2nd MVC.
2/23/28 at Southern Illinois (W 100-78).
2/26/28 at Northern Iowa (L 53-43).
The Shockers split 2 games on the road this week, missing a chance to share the conference title. As it stands, they finish 2nd and will be the #2 seed in the MVC Tournament.
San Jose State (Thomas Shepard) -- 15-13, 7-9 T-7th Mountain West.
2/23/28 vs. Fresno State (W 82-71).
2/26/28 vs. Nevada (L 59-37).
A split for the Spartans, and a really ugly loss to Nevada. A postseason bid is not assured yet, still work to be done.
Bryant (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-16, 7-11 T-7th Northeast.
2/26/28 at St. Francis (PA) (L 88-78).
Just 1 game for the Bulldogs this week, and a tough road loss. They win the tiebreaker for the 7th seed in the Northeast Tournament.
Wagner (Will Brown) -- 20-9, 12-6 2nd Northeast.
2/24/28 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (W 81-65).
2/26/28 vs. Sacred Heart (L 74-66).
The Seahawks split this week and also miss a chance to share the regular season title. They'll be the #2 seed in the Northeast Tournament.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-10, 9-7 T-4th Pac 12.
2/24/28 at Utah (W 76-63).
2/26/28 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
The Cardinal split this week, and that unexpected loss to Washington State broke a 6 game winning streak.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 19-9, 10-6 T-2nd Pac 12.
2/24/28 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/26/28 at Arizona (L 69-56).
Really tough week for the Bruins, who lost a ton of ground in the Pac 12 race. They have lost 4 of 5 and are really fading down the stretch.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-18, 4-12 12th (last) Pac 12.
2/24/28 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/26/28 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
The Cougars are going to need the miracle of a lifetime to avoid the Pac 12 cellar yet again, but they can at least take some pride in knowing they pulled 2 upset victories this week.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 16-12, 8-8 T-5th SEC.
2/23/28 vs. #8 Texas A&M (L 73-56).
2/26/28 at Missouri (L 99-81).
Bad week for the Crimson Tide who get blown out twice. The possibility of a first round bye in the SEC Tournament is out the door, and they need a really strong finish to feel good about an NCAA Tournament berth.
Alabama State (Randolph Childress) -- 7-20, 6-10 9th SWAC.
2/21/28 at Texas Southern (W 71-65).
2/26/28 at Prairie View A&M (L 66-56).
A split for the Hornets this week, who get their first win in 9 games with the win at Texas Southern. They still expected better this season and Coach Childress might find his seat a little hotter next season.
Arkansas Pine Bluff (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-16, 9-7 T-4th SWAC.
2/21/28 vs. Southern (W 107-106, OT).
2/26/28 vs. Alcorn State (W 78-65).
2 important wins for the Golden Lions who could still finish in the top 3 in the conference, which would still be underwhelming compared to expectations, but a better finish than what could have been.
Troy (Benton Gale) -- 18-11, 13-6 2nd Sun Belt.
2/26/28 at Florida Gulf Coast (W 75-67).
A road win this week for the Trojans, who finish the season off against the conference leaders. No matter what happens in that game, Troy is locked into the #2 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
San Diego (Charlie Shocker) -- 15-15, 8-10 T-5th WCC.
2/26/28 vs. BYU (L 80-72).
Not the end of the regular season the Toreros wanted. Their losing conference record was still good enough for a tie for 5th, as there was major difference between them and the top 4 teams in the conference. They win the tiebreaker and will be the #5 seed in the WCC Tournament.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Feb. 28-Mar. 5:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wisconsin (72) 26-2 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Syracuse 23-5 1725 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Virginia 23-5 1655 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Minnesota 22-6 1573 4 Big Ten Conference
5. Duke 21-7 1426 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. St. John's 22-6 1381 12 Big East Conference
7. Pepperdine 25-6 1364 5 West Coast Conference
8. Iowa State 21-7 1314 9 Big 12 Conference
9. Texas A&M 21-7 1205 8 Southeastern Conference
10. Iowa 20-8 1068 11 Big Ten Conference
11. LSU 21-7 981 13 Southeastern Conference
12. Ohio State 20-8 926 10 Big Ten Conference
13. Providence 22-8 921 6 Big East Conference
14. UAB 23-5 913 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Louisville 20-9 885 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Texas 21-7 769 16 Big 12 Conference
17. Villanova 21-7 723 21 Big East Conference
18. Florida State 20-8 635 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Indiana 19-9 449 19 Big Ten Conference
20. Jacksonville State 25-6 418 25 Ohio Valley Conference
21. Georgia Southern 23-4 402 NR Sun Belt Conference
22. Loyola Marymount 22-7 192 22 West Coast Conference
23. Arkansas 19-9 185 NR Southeastern Conference
24. Seton Hall 21-7 165 24 Big East Conference
25. Wichita State 22-7 123 23 Missouri Valley Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
California 20-8 69 Pacific-12 Conference
Northeastern 21-6 54 Colonial Athletic Association
Tennessee 19-9 31 Southeastern Conference
Southern Miss 21-6 24 Conference USA
Texas A&M Corpus Christi 21-5 18 Southland Conference
Memphis 19-9 6 American Athletic Conference
And a look at the Mid-Major Top 25 going into the week of Feb. 28-Mar. 5:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Pepperdine (71) 25-6 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. UAB (1) 23-5 1723 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Jacksonville State 25-6 1611 5 Ohio Valley Conference
4. Wichita State 22-7 1549 4 Missouri Valley Conference
5. Loyola Marymount 22-7 1469 6 West Coast Conference
6. Memphis 19-9 1419 7 American Athletic Conference
7. Georgia Southern 23-4 1386 8 Sun Belt Conference
8. Northeastern 21-6 1377 3 Colonial Athletic Association
9. Southern Miss 21-6 1243 9 Conference USA
10. Buffalo 20-9 1116 17 Mid-American Conference
11. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 21-5 1049 13 Southland Conference
12. Eastern Michigan 19-10 904 12 Mid-American Conference
13. Nebraska Omaha 21-8 877 18 Summit League
14. Utah State 18-11 791 15 Mountain West Conference
15. Dayton 18-8 749 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Colorado State 18-10 677 19 Mountain West Conference
17. Rice 20-8 580 25 Conference USA
18. Loyola Chicago 19-11 527 10 Missouri Valley Conference
19. South Florida 19-10 498 11 American Athletic Conference
20. Princeton 19-9 369 24 Ivy League
21. Santa Clara 18-11 273 NR West Coast Conference
22. New Mexico 19-10 268 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Cleveland State 21-9 250 NR Horizon League
24. High Point 21-8 164 20 Big South Conference
25. Akron 18-11 103 NR Mid-American Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Drexel 19-11 98 Colonial Athletic Association
George Washington 18-10 94 Atlantic 10 Conference
Nevada 16-10 89 Mountain West Conference
The Citadel 19-10 70 Southern Conference
Toledo 17-11 66 Mid-American Conference
Eastern Kentucky 20-9 54 Ohio Valley Conference
Oakland 18-11 38 Mid-American Conference
Wagner 20-9 36 Northeast Conference
Boise State 17-11 30 Mountain West Conference
Grand Canyon 18-9 22 Western Athletic Conference
Central Michigan 17-11 14 Mid-American Conference
VMI 17-10 10 Southern Conference
Pacific 17-12 3 West Coast Conference
SMU 16-11 3 American Athletic Conference
Utah Valley 18-9 2 Western Athletic Conference
Here's a look at the Overall Bubble Watch going into next week, and 2 of our teams are on it.
Code:
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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Eastern Michigan 19-10 .546 (60) 2-5 2-2 6-1 9-2 108 In
Northwestern 17-11 .556 (46) 3-4 4-1 7-4 3-2 65 In
Drexel 19-11 .549 (52) 2-4 1-2 10-1 6-4 83 In
Georgetown 17-11 .550 (51) 3-6 3-3 2-0 9-2 74 In
Grand Canyon 18-9 .546 (59) 1-2 2-2 3-1 12-4 163 In
Nevada 16-10 .549 (54) 2-4 0-2 8-3 6-1 91 In
Toledo 17-11 .554 (47) 1-4 5-3 4-2 7-2 58 In
Central Michigan 17-11 .546 (61) 2-5 2-2 3-2 10-2 98 In
Creighton 18-10 .542 (70) 1-5 4-2 5-1 8-2 111 Out
North Carolina 16-11 .588 (13) 2-8 6-2 3-1 5-0 5 Out
Akron 18-11 .542 (72) 3-3 2-3 4-3 9-2 109 Out
South Florida 19-10 .542 (71) 2-1 2-3 10-3 5-3 147 Out
Rutgers 16-11 .577 (22) 2-7 2-2 7-2 5-0 20 Out
Pacific 17-12 .545 (64) 3-4 3-4 5-3 6-1 64 Out
VMI 17-10 .534 (80) 0-1 2-3 6-5 9-1 185 Out
Northwestern is on the bubble, and they really need a good, strong finish. Their RPI is good enough right now for an at-large berth, but any more losses and it'll change. North Carolina, despite the top 15 RPI and top 5 SOS, finds themselves on the outside looking in during this edition of the Bubble Watch. They need a strong finish as well. Here's a look at the rest of the bubble watch:
Locks:
St. John's,
Ohio State,
UCLA,
Stanford
In:
Wichita State