March 7-13, 2016
Amazingly, there were no feature games this week, so you can figure there were some upsets in the conference tournaments. Let's get to the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-21, 7-9 America East.
No games for the Hawks this week, as their conference tourney was last week. Their season is over.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 9-22, 5-13 American.
3/10/16- American First Round vs. (9) Tulane (W 78-68).
3/11/16- American Quarterfinals vs. (1) #3 Cincinnati (L 78-36)
The Pirates ran into a buzzsaw in Cincinnati, who is all but a lock for a #1 seed. Meanwhile, The Pirates will end their season.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 12-20, 5-13 Atlantic 10.
3/9/16- Atlantic 10 First Round vs. (13) George Mason (W 67-62).
3/10/16- Atlantic 10 Second Round vs. (5) Richmond (L 77-76).
Heartbreaker for the Wildcats against Richmond, as they battled the whole game but will see their season end.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-25, 1-17 Big 12.
3/9/16- Big 12 First Round vs. (7) Oklahoma State (L 79-71).
Another good effort for the Horned Frogs, who really played much better down the stretch, but their season is over.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 16-15, 9-9 Big 10.
3/10/16- Big 10 Second Round vs. (8) Indiana (L 72-64).
The Wolverines couldn't hang on against Indiana, and most likely their season is over, although they could sneak into a lower tournament.
#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 24-8, 12-6 Big 10.
3/11/16- Big 10 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Nebraska (W 86-70).
3/12/16- Big 10 Semifinals vs. (1) # 2 Iowa (L 68-59).
The Spartans fall short against an Iowa team that has a great chance to win a national title. Meanwhile, the Spartans are safely in the NCAA Tournament.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 24-9, 13-3 Big West.
3/10/16- Big West Quarterfinals vs. (8) Cal State Northridge (W 87-43).
3/11/16- Big West Semifinals vs. (4) Long Beach State (W 86-59).
3/12/16- Big West Championship vs. (3) UC Santa Barbara (L 79-64).
Crazy to think the Warriors could lose in the championship game the way they dismantled their first 2 opponents. With their record, if they aren't in the NCAA Tournament it's a shame. But considering they can't even get 1 mid-major vote, who knows?
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 13-17, 9-9 Conference USA.
3/9/16- Conference USA Second Round vs. (10) Southern Miss (L 66-64).
The 49ers fell just short in a quest to extend their season, and they will be sitting at home the rest of March.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-19, 5-13 Conference USA.
3/8/16- Conference USA First Round vs. (12) UTSA (L 70-63, OT).
A good effort by the Owls, but not enough as their season comes to an end.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-21, 8-12 MAAC.
The Hawks played their conference tournament last week and their season is over.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 18-15, 10-6 MEAC.
3/9/16- MEAC Quarterfinals vs. (6) Delaware State (W 66-61).
3/11/16- MEAC Semifinals vs. (7) South Carolina State (W 59-53).
3/12/16- MEAC Championship vs. (8) Coppin State (W 66-56).
Congrats to Coach Carrano and the Spartans for their MEAC Tournament win, but let's be honest. They were very lucky to not have to play either of the top 2 seeds, although they did play both teams that beat those top 2 seeds, so I guess in a way, that's just as meaningful. They'll be dancing, more than likely into the First Four, but they could sneak a #15 seed.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 21-10, 13-5 Pac 12.
3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 78-52).
What in the world happened to the Buffaloes? It was like they just didn't want to be there. Damaging loss, while they should still be safely into the NCAA's, a loss like that will give them a seed drop or 2 surely.
#23 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 25-8, 13-5 Pac 12.
3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (7) California (W 54-51).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (6) Oregon (L 59-49).
So the Cardinal becomes the 2nd FOFC team that Oregon takes out in the Pac 12 Tournament. Apparently they are either on a hot streak or better than their seed shows. Stanford will be dancing, easily.
#14 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-6, 12-6 Pac 12.
3/10/16- Pac 12 Quarterfinals vs. (5) Washington (W 82-79).
3/11/16- Pac 12 Semifinals vs. (8) Arizona State (W 82-61).
3/12/16- Pac 12 Championship vs. (6) Oregon (W 68-60).
Congrats to the Bruins and Coach Shepard for doing what 2 of their FOFC Pac 12 counterparts couldn't do.. knock Oregon out of the Pac 12 Tourney, and winning the tourney. With this win, surely a #2 or #3 seed in the NCAA's is reasonable.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-21, 2-16 Pac 12.
3/9/16- Pac 12 First Round vs. (5) Washington (L 82-47).
Not even a game here, as it looked like the Cougars packed it in before the game even started. Their season is over.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 15-15, 11-7 SEC.
3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (11) LSU (L 69-53).
Killer loss for the Crimson Tide, who needed a couple wins in this tournament to feel safe about any kind of postseason tournament berth. I have to think their season is over, but we'll wait and see.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 22-10, 11-7 SEC.
3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (5) Ole Miss (W 66-52).
3/12/16- SEC Semifinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 56-53).
Tough loss for the Gators, who at least won their Quarterfinal game. They will most likely be safely in the NCAA Tournament, but double digit loss teams generally get double digit seeds.
#12 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 25-6, 15-3 SEC.
3/11/16- SEC Quarterfinals vs. (8) Georgia (L 93-88).
When is the last time the Wildcats lost 2 games in a row in reality? It's probably been a while. Sadly, they had a 7 point lead at halftime against Georgia. No matter, they'll still be a top 4 seed in the NCAA's.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-20, 8-12 Sun Belt.
3/10/16- Sun Belt First Round vs. (7) Arkansas Little Rock (L 63-61, OT).
This loss hurts considering the Trojans held UALR to just 15 first half points. Troy will see their season come to an end with this loss.
The final National top 25 poll before the postseason is here:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Iowa (48) 30-3 1774 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga (18) 31-2 1736 1 West Coast Conference
3. Duke (6) 29-3 1644 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Baylor 29-4 1571 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Cincinnati 31-2 1554 3 American Athletic Conference
6. Ohio State 27-5 1403 8 Big Ten Conference
7. Louisville 27-6 1377 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Villanova 28-5 1295 4 Big East Conference
9. Kansas 25-6 1245 7 Big 12 Conference
10. Arizona 24-7 1119 11 Pacific-12 Conference
11. UCLA 27-6 1078 14 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Syracuse 25-6 953 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Wisconsin 26-7 923 18 Big Ten Conference
14. Iowa State 24-7 884 13 Big 12 Conference
15. Kentucky 25-6 818 12 Southeastern Conference
16. VCU 26-6 716 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Michigan State 24-8 645 16 Big Ten Conference
18. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 621 17 Southland Conference
19. San Diego State 26-7 498 21 Mountain West Conference
20. Harvard 26-4 433 20 Ivy League
21. Oklahoma 23-8 345 19 Big 12 Conference
22. Northern Iowa 27-5 222 22 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Miami 24-8 174 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Stanford 25-8 130 23 Pacific-12 Conference
25. Georgia State 26-4 86 NR Sun Belt Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Tulsa 28-6 59 American Athletic Conference
Stony Brook 29-3 30 America East Conference
George Washington 26-8 29 Atlantic 10 Conference
Vanderbilt 24-8 10 Southeastern Conference
North Florida 29-3 9 Atlantic Sun Conference
Boise State 26-6 6 Mountain West Conference
Murray State 27-4 5 Ohio Valley Conference
Akron 23-7 4 Mid-American Conference
Washington 23-9 3 Pacific-12 Conference
Robert Morris 29-4 1 Northeast Conference
UCLA moves up 3 spots after winning the Pac 12 Tourney, while Kentucky moves down 3 spots after losing in the SEC Quarterfinals. Michigan State drops 1 spot after their gallant effort loss to Iowa, and Stanford also drops a spot.
And the final mid-major top 25 poll:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Gonzaga (61) 31-2 1789 1 West Coast Conference
2. Cincinnati (11) 31-2 1739 2 American Athletic Conference
3. VCU 26-6 1652 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 26-7 1559 5 Mountain West Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 30-2 1523 4 Southland Conference
6. Harvard 26-4 1440 6 Ivy League
7. Northern Iowa 27-5 1343 7 Missouri Valley Conference
8. George Washington 26-8 1311 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Georgia State 26-4 1088 13 Sun Belt Conference
10. Connecticut 24-9 1070 15 American Athletic Conference
11. Boise State 26-6 1063 11 Mountain West Conference
12. Akron 23-7 935 9 Mid-American Conference
13. Tulsa 28-6 921 18 American Athletic Conference
14. Wichita State 21-10 801 14 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Cleveland State 23-8 749 10 Horizon League
16. Green Bay 23-8 637 21 Horizon League
17. Stony Brook 29-3 590 23 America East Conference
18. Murray State 27-4 551 16 Ohio Valley Conference
19. South Dakota State 24-6 515 12 Summit League
20. Illinois State 26-6 391 19 Missouri Valley Conference
21. St. Bonaventure 22-9 366 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Eastern Kentucky 27-5 321 20 Ohio Valley Conference
23. Iona 27-6 253 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
24. North Florida 29-3 190 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
25. New Mexico State 27-6 163 17 Western Athletic Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
BYU 23-10 112 West Coast Conference
Louisiana Tech 24-7 80 Conference USA
Massachusetts 24-8 75 Atlantic 10 Conference
Robert Morris 29-4 60 Northeast Conference
Richmond 23-9 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Toledo 25-7 27 Mid-American Conference
Belmont 26-7 19 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 26-7 17 Summit League
UNLV 21-9 12 Mountain West Conference
Vermont 26-6 4 America East Conference
Middle Tennessee 23-8 3 Conference USA
Again, our teams were left out.