Dec. 11-17, 2023
23 games on the schedule this week, and no feature games, so we'll jump right into the overall recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-4, 0-0 America East.
12/11/23 at Hofstra (W 70-62).
12/13/23 at Princeton (W 66-63).
2 more wins for the Hawks, who have won 5 of their last 6 and feeling pretty good about themselves. 2 more road non-conference games next week, and they both could be tough.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 3-5, 0-0 American.
12/11/23 vs. St. Bonaventure (W 81-67).
12/14/23 vs. Stony Brook (W 85-75).
12/16/23 at Kentucky (L 80-57).
2 out of 3 this week is an improvement for the Huskies, but they've still got a lot of work to do. That 23 point loss to Kentucky will sting for a while.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-6, 0-0 American.
12/14/23 vs. Valparaiso (L 61-60).
Just 1 game for the Golden Hurricane this week, and it was? You guessed it, a loss. That's 5 in a row now, although they had their chances in this one. Nevertheless, Coach Brown stays stuck on career win #99.
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 ACC.
12/14/23 vs. Indiana State (W 78-70).
12/17/23 at #11 Xavier (L 70-49).
A split for the Fighting Irish, who are into the buzzsaw part of their non-conference schedule. Although their first few games in ACC play will be a grind too.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big 12.
12/11/23 vs. Texas A&M (L 87-82).
Just 1 game this week for the Horned Frogs, who see their 6 game winning streak come to an end in a hard fought loss.
#23 St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 9-1, 0-0 Big East.
No games this week for Coach Hoo and the Red Storm.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 4-5, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/12/23 vs. Northern Illinois (L 80-51).
12/17/23 at Austin Peay (W 96-78).
A split this week for the Wildcats, as Coach Vee edges closer to career win #100.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 2-6, 0-0 Big West.
12/13/23- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (7) Colorado State (L 81-73).
Good effort, but yet another loss for the Warriors. Firecoachgunn.com is up to almost a million hits now.
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 3-6, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/14/23 vs. Florida A&M (W 79-65).
Another win for the Golden Panthers in their only game of the week. Not the toughest competition, but a couple feel good wins as it gets tougher next week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-2, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/16/23 at UTSA (W 72-52).
Another dominating performance for the Owls in their only game of the week. They've won 5 in a row now, and 7 of their last 8.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-5, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/17/23 at #2 Virginia (L 58-57).
So close, yet so far for the Buffaloes in their only game of the week. They came within a buzzer beater of an upset. 2 more tough ones next week.
#24 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/15/23 vs. Michigan (W 83-75).
A win for the Cardinal in their only game of the week, as the competition should improve next week.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/11/23 vs. Loyola Marymount (W 70-58).
12/15/23 vs. Illinois Chicago (W 75-54).
12/17/23 at Cal State Northridge (W 82-65).
3 more wins for the Bruins, although not against the strongest competition. They have a statement game next week.
#17 Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-0, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/14/23 at UC Riverside (W 84-64).
12/17/23 vs. Brown (W 58-56).
2 more wins for the Cougars, who stay undefeated but get a major scare from Brown. Still hard to tell too much about this team, but they are riding the wave right now, and have a very good chance to get into Pac 12 play undefeated.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-5, 0-0 SEC.
12/13/23- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (15) UCF (W 74-63).
12/15/23- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinal vs. (7) Colorado State (L 71-63).
A split for the Crimson Tide, who fall in the Quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Classic and are still trying to find the consistency they've had over the past few seasons.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 18-24:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Syracuse (59) 10-0 1787 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Virginia (9) 10-0 1729 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Arizona (4) 10-1 1663 5 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Georgetown 9-1 1561 7 Big East Conference
5. Iowa 8-0 1531 6 Big Ten Conference
6. Iowa State 8-1 1408 9 Big 12 Conference
7. Providence 8-0 1379 8 Big East Conference
8. Baylor 9-1 1309 3 Big 12 Conference
9. Ohio State 7-1 1175 4 Big Ten Conference
10. Xavier 9-0 1174 11 Big East Conference
11. Wisconsin 9-1 1089 14 Big Ten Conference
12. Washington State 8-0 937 17 Pacific-12 Conference
13. Creighton 9-1 890 21 Big East Conference
14. Sam Houston State 9-0 800 16 Southland Conference
15. Louisville 7-2 681 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. St. John's 9-1 648 23 Big East Conference
17. Vanderbilt 7-2 536 12 Southeastern Conference
18. Stanford 8-1 510 24 Pacific-12 Conference
19. Seton Hall 8-1 356 NR Big East Conference
20. Villanova 7-2 336 13 Big East Conference
21. UC Irvine 8-1 325 NR Big West Conference
22. Yale 9-1 307 NR Ivy League
23. Purdue 8-1 262 NR Big Ten Conference
24. DePaul 8-1 193 NR Big East Conference
25. Fresno State 8-1 174 NR Mountain West Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Michigan State 6-2 112 Big Ten Conference
Houston 8-1 84 American Athletic Conference
Illinois 6-1 76 Big Ten Conference
UAB 7-1 74 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Francisco 8-1 69 West Coast Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 8-1 58 Sun Belt Conference
Louisiana Tech 7-1 52 Conference USA
Central Michigan 7-1 40 Mid-American Conference
Florida Atlantic 8-1 38 Conference USA
UCLA 9-2 22 Pacific-12 Conference
Texas A&M 7-2 11 Southeastern Conference
Gonzaga 6-2 4 Pacific-12 Conference
Nice jumps for Washington State, St. John's, and Stanford, and finally some love again for UCLA, who is receiving votes again.
Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Dec. 18-24:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Sam Houston State (56) 9-0 1773 1 Southland Conference
2. Fresno State (6) 8-1 1645 7 Mountain West Conference
3. Yale (4) 9-1 1621 5 Ivy League
4. UC Irvine 8-1 1554 8 Big West Conference
5. UAB (6) 7-1 1488 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. San Francisco 8-1 1396 12 West Coast Conference
7. Houston 8-1 1369 15 American Athletic Conference
8. Louisiana Tech 7-1 1336 10 Conference USA
9. Florida Gulf Coast 8-1 1278 17 Sun Belt Conference
10. Central Michigan 7-1 1229 3 Mid-American Conference
11. Florida Atlantic 8-1 1127 2 Conference USA
12. Memphis 8-2 993 4 American Athletic Conference
13. St. Bonaventure 5-2 836 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. UNLV 7-2 799 13 Mountain West Conference
15. Oakland 6-2 750 25 Horizon League
16. Drexel 6-2 579 NR Colonial Athletic Association
17. Rice 7-2 507 24 Conference USA
18. Massachusetts 6-2 479 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Portland 6-2 469 NR West Coast Conference
20. Tennessee State 8-2 418 16 Ohio Valley Conference
21. North Texas 8-2 412 NR Conference USA
22. Akron 7-2 363 14 Mid-American Conference
23. USC Upstate 8-2 308 NR Atlantic Sun Conference
24. Colorado State 7-2 189 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Delaware 8-2 147 18 Colonial Athletic Association
Others Receiving Votes:
South Dakota State 5-2 124 Conference USA
Arkansas State 7-2 90 Sun Belt Conference
Saint Peter's 8-2 57 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northwestern State 6-2 56 Southland Conference
San Diego State 7-3 8 Mountain West Conference
Nice jump for Rice in the mid-major poll, but now we need more FOFC representation.