March 6-12, 2017
Just 3 feature games in all of the conference tournaments, and one of them we knew was happening. To Conference USA we go:
3/6/17- Conference USA Second Round-
(9) Rice (Charlie Shocker) vs.
(8) Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- The first half proved to be the downfall for the Owls, as they really struggled to hit shots. For the game, they shot just 30.6%. This game wouldn't have even been close except for the fact that Charlotte was just 17-37 from the free throw line. Despite the 45.9% free throw shooting, the 49ers move on.
Final Score: Charlotte- 70, Rice- 60
To the SEC for our other 2 feature games:
3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals-
(9) Alabama (Roy Rogers) vs.
(1) #20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The Crimson Tide didn't give themselves a chance in this one as they trailed by 23 at halftime. A gallant effort to try and come back, but the difference was far too much, far too early, as Florida moves on.
Final Score: #20 Florida- 88, Alabama- 80
3/12/17- SEC Championship-
(2) Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) vs.
(1) #20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The rematch that everybody wanted to see didn't start so hot, as Florida led by 15 at halftime. But in the second half, the Wildcats turned up the D and ended up forcing 21 turnovers for the game. This led to an amazing comeback despite the fact that Kentucky only shot 34.4% from the field, but they made enough extra free throws and three pointers to make up the difference and get revenge, claiming the SEC Championship in the process.
Final Score: Kentucky- 63, #20 Florida- 61
Now we go to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 14-17, 8-8 America East.
3/6/17- America East Semifinals vs. (2) Stony Brook (L 63-54).
Maybe the long layoff was too much, but either way, the Hawks will end their season with a 14-17 record.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-23, 5-13 American.
3/9/17- American First Round vs. (8) Tulane (L 71-61).
The Pirates fall in the first round of their tournament and will end their season with a 7-23 record.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 16-15, 11-7 Atlantic 10.
3/10/17- Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals vs. (5) St. Joseph's (L 79-74).
Not a good effort for our FOFC teams so far this week, as the Wildcats become the 3rd team to go one and done. With a 16-15 record, you'd think their season would be over, but that RPI of 47 may be enough to get them into the CBI or CIT.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-21, 4-14 Big 12.
3/8/17- Big 12 First Round vs. (8) West Virginia (W 70-64).
3/9/17- Big 12 Quarterfinals vs. (1) #4 Baylor (L 90-68).
At least the Horned Frogs got 1 win in the Big 12 tourney, that's an improvement. The season as a whole was an improvement, but still at 11-21, they are done.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-15, 9-9 Big Ten.
3/9/17- Big Ten Second Round vs. (9) Nebraska (L 73-57).
Not a good effort at all for the Wolverines who really struggled down the stretch. At 16-15 and with a 42 RPI, they are in the same position as Davidson in that they could sneak into the CBI or CIT. Most likely the CBI.
#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 27-6, 14-4 Big Ten.
3/10/17- Big Ten Quarterfinals vs. (9) Nebraska (W 77-73).
3/11/17- Big Ten Semifinals vs. (4) #25 Wisconsin (L 70-56).
The Spartans didn't play a very good game at all against Wisconsin, but still, they will be dancing for sure, although a #1 seed may not happen. I'd bet they get a 2 seed.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 17-14, 12-4 Big West.
3/9/17- Big West First Round vs. (7) UC Riverside (L 71-62).
Ugh! A damaging loss for the Warriors who may have played themselves out of a postseason tournament with this loss. Then again, they did share the Big West regular season title, and the top seed UC Irvine won the Big West tourney, so in my mind Hawaii should go to the NIT. We'll see how it plays out.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 15-17, 9-9 Conference USA.
3/8/17- Conference USA Second Round vs. (9) Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
3/9/17- Conference USA Quarterfinals vs. (1) Louisiana Tech (W 72-63).
3/10/17- Conference USA Semifinals vs. (5) UTEP (L 63-52).
A nice run for the 49ers, but they needed more. Upsetting the top seed is nice but they needed to win the tournament. At 15-17, their season is over.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-18, 7-11 Conference USA.
3/8/17- Conference USA Second Round vs. (8) Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
One and done for the Owls, who improved very, very slightly, but at 12-18 their season is over.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-16, 11-9 MAAC.
The Hawks played their conference tournament last week, and while they improved, it wasn't enough. At 14-16, their season is over.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 19-14, 11-5 MEAC.
3/8/17- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (7) South Carolina State (W 60-58).
3/10/17- MEAC Semifinals vs. (11) Delaware State (W 69-61).
3/11/17- MEAC Championship vs. (1) North Carolina Central (W 68-65, OT).
My goodness, the Spartans have done it again! 2 years in a row they rise through and win the MEAC Tournament. And this year, they may actually avoid a First Four game. Maybe. But they'll still be a 16 seed I'm sure.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 16-15, 11-7 Pac 12.
3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (12) USC (L 76-66).
Well, any chance that the Buffaloes had to make a deep run went away quickly. A huge upset here, and Colorado becomes our 3rd FOFC team with a 16-15 record and an RPI in the 40's. The NIT, CBI, and CIT have some tough decisions to make regarding these teams. I can see them squeaking in at least one of those tournaments.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 20-11, 11-7 Pac 12.
3/8/17- Pac 12 First Round vs. (12) USC (L 68-64).
Damaging loss for the Cardinal, who needed to win to really feel safe about an NCAA berth. Now, they'll have to sweat it out on selection sunday, but I think they are still in the NCAA's.
#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 31-2, 17-1 Pac 12.
3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (9) Oregon State (W 60-40).
3/10/17- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (12) USC (W 79-66).
3/11/17- Pac 12 Championship vs. (2) #23 Arizona (W 84-58).
Well, it was clear the Bruins had their sights set on one thing, the Arizona rematch, and they didn't disappoint, blasting Arizona to win the Pac 12 Championship. They'll no doubt be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 11-21, 5-13 Pac 12.
3/8/17- Pac 12 First Round vs. (7) Arizona State (W 54-39).
3/9/17- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (2) Arizona (L 85-82, OT).
Well, remember what I said about the Cougars having a tough time beating Arizona State 3 times? Well they had no problem with that, and took Arizona to overtime. Great effort to end the season, but unfortunately at 11-21 their season is over.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-20, 9-9 SEC.
3/9/17- SEC Second Round vs. (8) LSU (W 73-70).
3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (1) #20 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
At least the Crimson Tide got 1 win in the SEC Tourney, but they finish a very disappointing season with a 12-20 record.
#20 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 25-8, 13-5 SEC.
3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. #9 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
3/11/17- SEC Semifinals vs. (5) Vanderbilt (W 69-66).
3/12/17- SEC Championship vs. (2) Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough loss in the ship for the Gators, but they were a lock going into this tournament and making it to the championship certainly guarantees them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-8, 13-5 SEC.
3/10/17- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (7) Tennessee (W 67-59).
3/11/17- SEC Semifinals vs. (3) Arkansas (W 84-55).
3/12/17- SEC Championship vs. (1) #20 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
So the Wildcats get revenge on Florida and get the win in the SEC Championship. They probably would have been going to the NCAA Tournament anyways, but now they have an auto bid.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 16-16, 10-10 Sun Belt.
3/9/17- Sun Belt First Round vs. (8) Northern Kentucky (W 70-60).
3/10/17- Sun Belt Second Round vs. (4) Arkansas Little Rock (L 60-51).
The Trojans were just average this entire season, lots of splits during the week. Just as their 16-16 record shows, average teams usually don't play in the postseason, and chances are they won't.
Let's take a look at the final polls before Selection Sunday, starting with the national top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (65) 33-0 1793 1 American Athletic Conference
2. UCLA (7) 31-2 1735 2 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Michigan State 27-6 1656 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 29-5 1584 4 Big 12 Conference
5. VCU 26-5 1429 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Georgetown 26-6 1419 7 Big East Conference
7. La Salle 27-4 1383 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Villanova 27-6 1317 10 Big East Conference
9. North Carolina 27-6 1221 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1119 11 Southland Conference
11. Wisconsin 25-9 1084 25 Big Ten Conference
12. Kansas 23-8 891 9 Big 12 Conference
13. Kentucky 25-8 804 NR Southeastern Conference
14. Iowa 24-8 796 16 Big Ten Conference
15. Miami 25-8 763 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. New Mexico State 29-3 742 22 Western Athletic Conference
17. Wichita State 28-5 739 13 Missouri Valley Conference
18. San Diego State 25-7 547 15 Mountain West Conference
19. Virginia 23-8 526 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. BYU 27-6 425 17 West Coast Conference
21. Akron 27-5 395 24 Mid-American Conference
22. Arizona 24-9 298 23 Pacific-12 Conference
23. Ohio State 25-9 234 21 Big Ten Conference
24. Gonzaga 27-5 156 19 West Coast Conference
25. Florida 25-8 145 20 Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Syracuse 23-8 101 Atlantic Coast Conference
Duke 22-9 40 Atlantic Coast Conference
Marquette 24-8 35 Big East Conference
Murray State 27-4 13 Ohio Valley Conference
Boise State 25-6 6 Mountain West Conference
Florida State 26-8 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
So UCLA and Michigan State stay at 2 and 3, respectively. Kentucky takes a big jump into the top 25 by winning the SEC Tournament. Florida drops 5 spots, kind of a tough loss considering they made it to the SEC Championship.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 33-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 27-4 1700 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 26-5 1665 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 25-7 1555 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 28-5 1540 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1427 7 Southland Conference
7. BYU 27-6 1388 6 West Coast Conference
8. Akron 27-5 1294 9 Mid-American Conference
9. New Mexico State 29-3 1187 11 Western Athletic Conference
10. Gonzaga 27-5 1174 8 West Coast Conference
11. Harvard 24-6 1030 12 Ivy League
12. Boise State 25-6 1028 10 Mountain West Conference
13. Cleveland State 25-8 970 14 Horizon League
14. Murray State 27-4 816 13 Ohio Valley Conference
15. Northern Iowa 26-7 761 15 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Valparaiso 24-8 669 16 Horizon League
17. Portland 26-6 651 21 West Coast Conference
18. SMU 25-7 464 20 American Athletic Conference
19. North Dakota State 28-5 441 17 Summit League
20. Mercer 27-6 436 22 Southern Conference
21. New Mexico 25-8 346 24 Mountain West Conference
22. Memphis 24-8 266 18 American Athletic Conference
23. George Washington 21-11 181 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Vermont 27-6 155 19 America East Conference
25. UTEP 24-8 131 NR Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Kentucky 26-7 82 Ohio Valley Conference
UC Irvine 25-8 79 Big West Conference
Louisiana Tech 23-8 47 Conference USA
Stony Brook 25-6 44 America East Conference
Charleston Southern 26-7 20 Big South Conference
Georgia State 21-12 18 Horizon League
Richmond 22-11 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
Illinois State 21-9 8 Missouri Valley Conference
American 24-7 5 Patriot League
Green Bay 20-9 3 Horizon League
Hofstra 23-10 1 Colonial Athletic Association
North Florida 26-6 1 Atlantic Sun Conference