Dec. 13-19, 2021
No feature games this week, that's pretty rare. Let's get to the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-7, 0-0 America East.
12/13/21 at Northeastern (W 67-55).
12/15/21 at Dartmouth (W 65-56).
12/17/21 vs. Temple (L 71-56).
12/19/21 at Utah (W 51-36).
Heavy week for the Hawks, but a good week as they go 3-1. Surprisingly, their only loss was a home game to a tough Temple team. Coach Ginsberg has to be happy to getting that much closer to .500 overall.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 4-4, 0-0 American.
12/17/21 vs. Seton Hall (W 72-40).
Just 1 game this week for the Huskies, but they took care of business with a convincing win over Seton Hall. A feel good win, because their remaining 4 non-conference games will not be easy.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 6-6, 0-0 American.
12/13/21 vs. North Carolina Central (L 81-73).
12/16/21 vs. Virginia Tech (W 74-52).
12/18/21 at Georgetown (W 76-54).
Very confusing week for the Pirates, who go 2-1 to get back to .500. They hammered the teams that I expected to give them problems, but lost the game I really expected them to win.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-7, 0-0 American.
12/17/21 at New Mexico (L 62-51).
12/19/21 at Oral Roberts (W 83-78).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, who break a 4 game losing streak with the win at Oral Roberts. Hopefully that win gets them some momentum as they are into conference play.
#21 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-1, 0-0 ACC.
12/18/21 vs. Furman (W 76-68).
1 game this week for the Blue Devils, as Furman played them a lot closer than expected. Still a few more games before ACC play starts for them.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-4, 0-0 Big 12.
12/14/21 vs. Stephen F. Austin (W 83-74).
12/16/21 vs. Northwestern State (W 72-65).
Both were closer than expected, but the Horned Frogs win 2 games this week to get back to .500.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 5-2, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/18/21 vs. Green Bay (L 80-76).
Very tough loss for the Spartans, who really needed this one, as it could turn into a signature win before the season is over. Green Bay is now 9-2 on the season.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/13/21 at Tennessee (W 79-55).
12/16/21 at Penn (W 80-77).
12/19/21 vs. IPFW (L 70-64).
Just when it seems the Wildcats are figuring it out, they go and lose to a 2 win IPFW team, breaking a 4 game losing streak. They have 1 more non-conference game that should, I say, should be a breeze before they get into the Big Ten grind.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-3, 0-0 Big West.
12/16/21 at UNLV (W 54-49).
12/18/21 vs. Nicholls State (L 78-63).
Inconsistency again for the Warriors, who win a game they probably shouldn't have won, and lose a game they had no business losing. That bad loss to Nicholls State broke a 4 game winning steak.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-2, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/15/21 vs. UT Arlington (W 83-68).
1 game on the schedule this week for the Owls, but it's another win as they have won 4 out of their last 5.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/15/21 at #13 Virginia (W 65-56).
1 game this week for the Buffaloes, and it was by far their biggest win of the season so far, going to a top 15 Virginia team and stunning them. They have another chance to make a statement next week on the road against teams with a combined record of 16-3.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/15/21- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (15) Loyola MD (L 68-42).
I tend to think this Loyola MD team was way underseeded in this tournament, as they completely destroyed the Cardinal. Coach Sanchez needs to figure it out after 2 tough losses.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/18/21 vs. Georgia Tech (W 84-70).
1 game this week for the Bruins, but they get their 3rd win in a row. A few more winnable games on the schedule before Pac 12 play starts.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/14/21 vs. Colorado State (W 69-65).
12/16/21 vs. Idaho State (W 79-56).
2 more wins for the Cougars as they go back up over .500 on the season. That Colorado State win could turn out to be a big win come NCAA Tourney time.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 2-6, 0-0 SEC.
12/16/21 vs. Kansas (L 70-51).
1 game for the Crimson Tide this week, and they are a mess right now. We talked about this last week, taking on a great non-conference schedule is nice, but if you're gonna do it, you gotta be good enough to win some of them. They aren't right now, and next week they have their season tournament.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 6-2, 0-0 SEC.
No games this week for Coach Hutt and the Wildcats.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-3, 2-0 Sun Belt.
12/16/21 vs. UL Lafayette (W 73-68).
12/18/21 at Georgia Southern (W 93-68).
Great start to conference play for the Trojans, who needed a confidence boost. They've won 4 of their last 5. The Sun Belt is wide open, with no clear favorite, so if Coach Hawkins can keep his team consistent, they have a real chance to reach the postseason for the first time in the history of this dynasty.
Now a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 20-26:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wisconsin (72) 11-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Wichita State 11-0 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Arkansas 9-0 1646 3 Southeastern Conference
4. North Carolina 7-0 1554 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Baylor 11-0 1523 6 Big 12 Conference
6. Iowa State 9-1 1446 5 Big 12 Conference
7. Syracuse 9-1 1365 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Louisville 7-1 1254 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. San Diego State 10-1 1202 16 Mountain West Conference
10. St. John's 8-1 1123 11 Big East Conference
11. Oklahoma 10-1 1103 23 Big 12 Conference
12. Manhattan 9-0 1024 12 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
13. Xavier 8-1 848 17 Big East Conference
14. Texas 8-1 835 18 Big 12 Conference
15. Notre Dame 9-1 817 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Duke 9-1 806 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Memphis 10-1 647 24 American Athletic Conference
18. Oakland 10-1 572 NR Horizon League
19. Kansas State 9-1 464 25 Big 12 Conference
20. Oklahoma State 7-1 417 NR Big 12 Conference
21. Massachusetts 9-1 383 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Old Dominion 7-1 248 NR Conference USA
23. Villanova 8-2 222 15 Big East Conference
24. Florida Gulf Coast 7-1 159 14 Atlantic Sun Conference
25. Vanderbilt 8-2 66 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Nebraska 7-2 65 Big Ten Conference
Florida State 7-2 48 Atlantic Coast Conference
Fresno State 10-2 19 Mountain West Conference
Arizona 8-2 10 Pacific-12 Conference
Missouri 8-2 4 Southeastern Conference
Washington 6-2 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Duke moves up 5 spots after their win this week, but I can't believe teams like UCLA, Colorado, Kentucky aren't receiving any points. I seriously doubt that would be the case in reality.
Now a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Dec. 20-26:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wichita State (72) 11-0 1800 1 Missouri Valley Conference
2. San Diego State 10-1 1721 4 Mountain West Conference
3. Manhattan 9-0 1651 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
4. Memphis 10-1 1571 6 American Athletic Conference
5. Oakland 10-1 1516 7 Horizon League
6. Massachusetts 9-1 1432 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Florida Gulf Coast 7-1 1379 2 Atlantic Sun Conference
8. Old Dominion 7-1 1302 9 Conference USA
9. Fresno State 10-2 1189 5 Mountain West Conference
10. Green Bay 9-2 1107 24 Horizon League
11. Portland 8-2 1028 23 West Coast Conference
12. William & Mary 7-2 997 8 Colonial Athletic Association
13. South Florida 7-2 862 10 American Athletic Conference
14. Sacred Heart 8-2 829 NR Northeast Conference
15. Davidson 7-2 795 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. VMI 8-2 672 11 Southern Conference
17. Valparaiso 7-2 581 15 Horizon League
18. Alabama A&M 7-2 492 16 Southwestern Athletic Conference
19. Air Force 6-2 466 21 Mountain West Conference
20. Loyola MD 8-2 443 17 Patriot League
21. Richmond 6-2 431 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Eastern Michigan 6-2 376 NR Mid-American Conference
23. Cal Poly 6-2 287 20 Big West Conference
24. FIU 5-2 205 NR Conference USA
25. Oral Roberts 7-2 132 19 Summit League
Others Receiving Votes:
New Hampshire 7-2 88 America East Conference
Rice 5-2 41 Conference USA
Illinois State 6-3 7 Missouri Valley Conference
Rice is back receiving votes after their win this week. A little surprised Troy didn't get some votes. That's their motivation to keep on winning.