Jan. 16-22, 2017
1 feature game to talk about this week, it took place in the SEC.
1/21/17-
#21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- Not much to talk about in this one. Kentucky's pressure defense forced 25 Alabama turnovers and held them to just 39.2% shooting. That was too much to overcome for the Crimson Tide as the Wildcats get an easy road victory.
Final Score: #21 Kentucky- 91, Alabama- 72
And now on to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-12, 4-4 America East.
1/18/17 vs. Maine (L 61-53).
1/22/17 at Albany (L 69-44).
A major setback this week for the Hawks as they first lose at home to a 5 win team then get blasted on the road. All momentum from winning 2 games last week is gone.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-13, 3-4 American.
1/18/17 vs. Tulsa (L 75-55).
1/21/17 at UConn (W 64-59).
For the Pirates to beat UConn has to be considered an upset as they are always one of the better teams in college basketball. Big road win there.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-10, 3-3 Atlantic 10.
1/18/17 vs. #10 VCU (L 88-65).
1/21/17 at Rhode Island (L 74-66).
Bad week for the Wildcats who get blasted at home, but to be fair, they did play 2 of the top teams in the conference this week.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-12, 1-6 Big 12.
1/19/17 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (L 74-71).
1/21/17 at Iowa State (L 107-63).
Yikes! the Horned Frogs might as well just stayed home as opposed to going to Iowa State. They had to still be reeling from the upset loss to A&M-CC.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 11-7, 4-2 Big Ten.
1/18/17 vs. Purdue (L 53-50).
1/21/17 at Nebraska (W 74-66).
The Wolverines have to win against the mid-range teams in the conference, especially at home. That Purdue loss will sting for a while.
#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 17-2, 5-1 Big Ten.
1/18/17 vs. Indiana (W 83-57).
1/21/17 vs. Northwestern (W 76-62).
Easy week for the Spartans who have been blowing through Big Ten competition since the loss to Michigan.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-9, 4-1 Big West.
1/19/17 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 68-43).
1/21/17 at UC Irvine (L 66-52).
Don't look now but the Warriors have some competition in the Big West this season. The return match between Hawaii and Irvine could decide the Big West title.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 8-9, 4-2 Conference USA.
1/19/17 at Old Dominion (L 71-70).
1/21/17 at Western Kentucky (W 63-50).
So close, yet so far for the 49ers, who couldn't knock down a buzzer beater at Old Dominion. This hurts because the C-USA is tough, and getting a marquee win over an early contender would have really helped.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-10, 2-4 Conference USA.
1/19/17 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 72-56).
1/21/17 vs. UTSA (L 60-51).
The Owls are going in the wrong direction as they've lost 4 games in a row after a 2-0 start in conference play.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-10, 9-5 MAAC.
1/18/17 vs. LIU Brooklyn (W 42-30).
1/22/17 at Quinnipiac (W 60-32).
The Hawks have won 5 straight and have a very good chance for a MAAC title if they stay on course.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-12, 2-4 MEAC.
1/16/17 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (L 56-35).
Just 1 game this week for the Spartans, but it's a game to forget as they scored just 35 points! Brutal.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-11, 2-4 Pac 12.
1/19/17 vs. Arizona (L 77-46).
1/21/17 vs. Washington (L 71-61).
The Buffaloes are hitting rock bottom right now, and they've got to get it going soon. Next week won't be easy as they host the #1 team in the nation.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-4, 5-1 Pac 12.
1/19/17 at Utah (L 78-76).
1/21/17 vs. California (W 69-61).
We'll find out a lot more about this Cardinal team next week as their next 3 games are against teams with a combined record of 44-10. Bring your A game Coach Sanchez!
#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) --17-1, 6-0 Pac 12.
1/19/17 vs. Arizona State (W 67-48).
1/21/17 at Oregon State (W 76-75, OT).
It wasn't easy for the Bruins this week, as Oregon State gave them all they wanted and more, forcing it to overtime and seeing the game winner go in and out. Coach Shepard and the Bruins can count themselves lucky.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-10, 3-3 Pac 12.
1/19/17 vs. Oregon State (W 60-46).
1/21/17 vs. Arizona (L 85-60).
The Cougars already have more conference wins this season than they did all of last season, so that's something to build on, but this team still needs a lot of work.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-13, 3-3 SEC.
1/18/17 at Tennessee (W 64-59).
1/21/17 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
The Crimson Tide were hoping to be a bit more competitive against Kentucky, but at least they went on the road and beat a good Tennessee team.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 14-4, 4-2 SEC.
1/18/17 vs. Auburn (W 82-60).
1/21/17 vs. Ole Miss (W 102-94).
Just what the doctor order for the Gators, as they get a sweep this week, but how good can they really feel about beating teams who have 9 combined wins this season? Hey, a win is a win.
#21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 13-5, 4-2 SEC.
1/18/17 vs. Vanderbilt (L 68-62).
1/21/17 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
A split this week for the Wildcats, losing to a solid Vandy team. This certainly doesn't look like a Final Four team right now.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-8, 6-3 Sun Belt.
1/19/17 vs. Louisiana Monroe (L 50-49).
1/21/17 at Georgia Southern (W 71-64).
How bad do 1 point losses suck? Just ask our FOFC coaches, who dealt with a lot of them this week. Perhaps Troy would have beaten UL Monroe easy if not for 18 turnovers. Come on Coach Hawkins, ball handling!
Let's look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. UCLA (38) 17-1 1764 2 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (34) 20-0 1762 1 American Athletic Conference
3. Michigan State 17-2 1658 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 17-3 1544 8 Big 12 Conference
5. North Carolina 17-2 1485 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Kansas 16-3 1446 6 Big 12 Conference
7. VCU 16-2 1374 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. La Salle 17-1 1334 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Iowa 15-3 1212 4 Big Ten Conference
10. Wichita State 17-3 1101 14 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Georgetown 16-3 1071 15 Big East Conference
12. Villanova 16-3 1011 17 Big East Conference
13. Virginia 15-4 902 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Marquette 16-3 860 16 Big East Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 17-1 801 13 Southland Conference
16. Miami 15-4 684 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. San Diego State 16-4 667 12 Mountain West Conference
18. Oklahoma 15-5 535 23 Big 12 Conference
19. Syracuse 14-4 455 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. New Mexico State 16-2 384 19 Western Athletic Conference
21. Florida 14-4 370 NR Southeastern Conference
22. Florida State 17-2 333 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Iowa State 15-4 217 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Wisconsin 14-5 138 18 Big Ten Conference
25. Murray State 19-2 115 25 Ohio Valley Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Kentucky 13-5 91 Southeastern Conference
Gonzaga 18-3 22 West Coast Conference
Richmond 15-3 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
Washington 14-4 17 Pacific-12 Conference
Memphis 17-3 9 American Athletic Conference
Pittsburgh 15-4 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
BYU 15-4 5 West Coast Conference
Kansas State 15-5 2 Big 12 Conference
Ohio State 14-5 2 Big Ten Conference
Somehow, UCLA jumps to #1 over still unbeaten Cincinnati, but only 2 points separate them. Michigan State stays put, while Florida is back in the top 25 after a 2 win week. Kentucky falls just out after a loss this week, and I guess the pollsters don't think much of Stanford's 14-4 record as they don't even get a vote! Crazy.
Now for the mid-major top 25 so that we can all be disappointed.
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 20-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. VCU 16-2 1657 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 17-3 1645 5 Missouri Valley Conference
4. La Salle 17-1 1635 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. San Diego State 16-4 1537 2 Mountain West Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 17-1 1442 6 Southland Conference
7. New Mexico State 16-2 1358 7 Western Athletic Conference
8. BYU 15-4 1239 10 West Coast Conference
9. Richmond 15-3 1128 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Gonzaga 18-3 1112 9 West Coast Conference
11. Murray State 19-2 1026 12 Ohio Valley Conference
12. Akron 14-4 973 8 Mid-American Conference
13. Valparaiso 16-4 907 11 Horizon League
14. Memphis 17-3 900 15 American Athletic Conference
15. Cleveland State 15-5 823 14 Horizon League
16. Georgia State 14-5 723 20 Horizon League
17. SMU 14-4 716 13 American Athletic Conference
18. Harvard 14-5 605 22 Ivy League
19. Boise State 14-4 596 19 Mountain West Conference
20. UTEP 13-3 346 24 Conference USA
21. Northern Iowa 15-5 298 17 Missouri Valley Conference
22. North Dakota State 17-3 280 25 Summit League
23. Southern Miss 14-3 242 18 Conference USA
24. Portland 16-4 138 NR West Coast Conference
25. Mercer 15-4 66 NR Southern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Vermont 16-4 63 America East Conference
Eastern Kentucky 16-4 42 Ohio Valley Conference
Rhode Island 13-5 38 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 14-4 22 America East Conference
Massachusetts 13-5 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 13-5 8 Horizon League
Montana 13-3 8 Big Sky Conference
Middle Tennessee 13-5 7 Conference USA
UC Irvine 14-5 4 Big West Conference
New Mexico 14-5 2 Mountain West Conference
Old Dominion 13-4 1 Conference USA
We probably won't have a team represented in this poll all season, but I actually think we've got some FOFC mid-majors that are improving.