Dec. 19-25, 2016
1 feature game this week, so let's get to it:
12/25/16-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- The Cougars led by 12 at halftime, but Hawaii wouldn't go away easily, fighting back thanks to 18 Wazzou turnovers. Unfortunately, a buzzer beater clanked the front of the rim, and the Cougars escaped.
Final Score: Washington State- 60, Hawaii- 59
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-9, 0-1 America East.
12/19/16 at Fordham (L 73-57).
12/21/16 at #6 LaSalle (L 60-37).
12/23/16 vs. Yale (L 70-48).
12/25/16 vs. Stony Brook (L 71-61).
Wow, credit the Hawks for loading up the week of Christmas, unfortunately, no presents for Coach Ginsberg, as his team was handled in all 4 games.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-8, 0-0 American.
12/22/16 at #20 Virginia (L 68-58).
Just 1 game for the Pirates this week, and they actually competed well, but couldn't get over the hump.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 3-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
12/24/16 at Vanderbilt (L 77-61).
Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, and it was the first of 3 against SEC teams. This one resulted in a loss, 2 more SEC opponents next week.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big 12.
12/20/16 at Nebraska (L 94-81).
12/23/16 at Texas A&M (L 90-59).
So this week was new Big 12 vs. old Big 12 for the Horned Frogs, as they took on 2 former Big 12 members, and lost to both by double digits.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/20/16 vs. Providence (W 86-67).
1 game this week for the Wolverines, and they took care of business.
#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 11-1. 0-0 Big Ten.
12/20/16 at Oregon (W 91-73).
12/22/16 vs. California (W 73-43).
12/24/16 vs. Central Michigan (W 98-43).
Easy week for the Spartans, who actually took on a couple decent opponents. You would never have guessed by the results though.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-7, 0-0 Big West.
12/22/16 vs. Northwestern State (W 63-48).
12/25/16 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
So the Warriors end the losing streak, and come a buzzer beater away from starting a winning streak. They've got 1 more big test next week before conference play.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 3-6, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/20/16 at Duke (L 54-53).
12/22/16 at #17 Florida State (L 58-42).
The 49ers almost pulled off the upset against the Dukies, but fell just short. They had a major letdown against FSU, but they played better this week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-5, 0-0 Conference USA.
No games this week for Coach Shocker or the Owls.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 5-9, 3-4 MAAC.
12/23/16 at Manhattan (L 78-52).
12/25/16 at Marist (L 60-50).
2 road tests for the Hawks this season, and they failed both, falling under .500 in conference play.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-7, 0-0 MEAC.
12/20/16 at Gardner Webb (L 68-61).
Just the 1 game for the Spartans, who had a halftime lead but couldn't hold it.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/19/16 at #18 Iowa State (L 58-57).
12/24/16 vs. Tulsa (W 69-66).
2 tough games for the Buffaloes this week, who narrowly missed defeating another top 25 team, but did end the week with a win. They'll get next week off before starting conference play.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/21/16 vs. Ole Miss (W 75-67).
12/23/16 vs. Northern Arizona (W 68-47).
The Cardinal showed no rust after a 12 day layoff, winning both games this week.
#7 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/21/16 vs. Missouri (W 70-28).
12/24/16 at George Washington (W 88-65).
The Mizzou game is very misleading. It was an 8 point game at halftime and the Bruins outscored them 45-11 in the second half. Holy cow!
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-6, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/25/16 at Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
Just 1 game this week for the Cougars, and they escaped, barely.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-9, 0-0 SEC.
12/24/16 vs. #4 Cincinnati (L 84-78).
1 game this week for the Crimson Tide, who outrebounded Cincy. Better shooting and taking care of the basketball might have resulted in an upset, but it was not to be.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-2, 0-0 SEC.
12/20/16 vs. #1 Kansas (W 72-63).
12/23/16 vs. FIU (W 67-61).
Almost a huge letdown for the Gators after the big upset over KU, but they survived.
#23 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 8-3, 0-0 SEC.
12/19/16- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (8) Kent State (W 79-62).
12/20/16- Diamond Head Classic Semifinals vs. (4) #16 Oklahoma State (W 76-49).
12/22/16- Diamond Head Classic Championship vs. (2) #19 Villanova (L 74-62).
12/25/16 vs. Indiana (W 66-57).
3 out of 4 this week ain't bad for the Wildcats, but they missed a chance for a season tournament title, losing in the ship.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-5, 2-0 Sun Belt.
12/19/16 vs. Marshall (L 75-72).
12/24/16 vs. Texas State (W 77-55).
An encouraging start to conference play for the Trojans, as they've won both their first 2 conference games.
Let's take a look at the national top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Baylor (37) 12-0 1765 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Michigan State (35) 11-1 1755 3 Big Ten Conference
3. Cincinnati 13-0 1657 4 American Athletic Conference
4. Marquette 12-0 1561 5 Big East Conference
5. UCLA 9-1 1517 7 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Kansas 10-1 1423 1 Big 12 Conference
7. La Salle 11-0 1315 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Georgetown 10-1 1310 8 Big East Conference
9. Miami 10-1 1267 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. North Carolina 11-1 1181 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Villanova 10-1 1037 19 Big East Conference
12. Wichita State 11-2 868 10 Missouri Valley Conference
13. Washington 9-1 809 15 Pacific-12 Conference
14. Florida State 12-0 778 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Iowa 9-2 767 12 Big Ten Conference
16. Virginia 10-2 735 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Iowa State 10-2 705 18 Big 12 Conference
18. New Mexico State 11-1 548 25 Western Athletic Conference
19. San Diego State 10-2 535 24 Mountain West Conference
20. Stephen F. Austin 11-1 456 21 Southland Conference
21. SMU 10-1 444 22 American Athletic Conference
22. Ohio State 9-2 202 14 Big Ten Conference
23. Richmond 9-1 202 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Duke 8-2 153 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Vanderbilt 9-1 109 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Florida 8-2 103 Southeastern Conference
Oklahoma State 8-2 69 Big 12 Conference
Arkansas 10-1 32 Southeastern Conference
Syracuse 8-2 26 Atlantic Coast Conference
VCU 9-2 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kentucky 8-3 19 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 12-1 16 Ohio Valley Conference
Pittsburgh 10-2 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
UTEP 8-1 2 Conference USA
Wisconsin 9-3 2 Big Ten Conference
Illinois State 9-2 1 Missouri Valley Conference
So Michigan State and UCLA move up after good weeks, while Kentucky falls out of the top 25, even after a 3 out of 4 week. Florida is very, very close to being back in the top 25.
And now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Cincinnati (72) 13-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 11-0 1727 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 11-2 1648 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. San Diego State 10-2 1576 6 Mountain West Conference
5. New Mexico State 11-1 1478 7 Western Athletic Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 11-1 1427 5 Southland Conference
7. SMU 10-1 1337 8 American Athletic Conference
8. VCU 9-2 1311 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Richmond 9-1 1294 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Murray State 12-1 1101 14 Ohio Valley Conference
11. Illinois State 9-2 993 10 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Akron 8-2 947 17 Mid-American Conference
13. UTEP 8-1 932 22 Conference USA
14. Southern Miss 9-1 862 19 Conference USA
15. Boise State 8-2 787 24 Mountain West Conference
16. Saint Joseph's 7-1 667 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Memphis 10-2 619 NR American Athletic Conference
18. Cleveland State 9-3 560 13 Horizon League
19. San Francisco 11-2 483 NR West Coast Conference
20. Georgia State 8-3 411 NR Horizon League
21. Gonzaga 10-3 410 15 West Coast Conference
22. Mercer 10-2 382 NR Southern Conference
23. Portland 11-2 279 16 West Coast Conference
24. Utah State 9-2 154 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Colorado State 8-2 78 18 Mountain West Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
North Dakota State 10-2 40 Summit League
Dayton 8-3 27 Atlantic 10 Conference
Houston 7-2 20 American Athletic Conference
Fordham 7-2 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
Valparaiso 10-3 10 Horizon League
Massachusetts 9-3 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 9-3 7 Missouri Valley Conference
Rhode Island 8-3 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
William & Mary 10-3 3 Colonial Athletic Association
Montana 7-2 2 Big Sky Conference
Oral Roberts 7-2 1 Summit League
And once again, no representation from our mid-major teams. I'd say I'm shocked, but I'm not.