Dec. 7-13, 2020
2 feature games this week and they both involve Washington State. Let's get to it.
12/9/20-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- The slide continues for the Wildcats, as Washington State held them to just 31.3% shooting and forced 16 turnovers as they rolled to victory.
Final Score: Washington State- 64, Northwestern- 45
12/11/20-
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) @
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- A much closer game this time for the Cougars, but the result is the same as they again hold an opponent under 35% shooting. Hawaii made twice as many free throws which is really the only reason this game was close, but the Cougars continue to roll.
Final Score: Washington State- 51, Hawaii- 49
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 4-2, 0-0 America East.
12/7/20 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 69-66).
12/9/20 vs. VMI (W 54-39).
A home split this week for the Hawks, as a bad first half against Florida Atlantic was the only negative to the week.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 5-2, 0-0 American.
12/9/20 vs. Providence (L 71-69).
12/11/20 vs. Hofstra (W 65-47).
A split for the Huskies, who lost to a very, very good providence team. A big road test next week against a familiar foe.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-3, 0-0 American.
12/8/20 at #5 Ohio State (L 95-87).
12/10/20 vs. UNC Greensboro (W 67-54).
A split for the Pirates, and a very gutsy effort at Ohio State. If they would have been able to play some better defense, they might have pulled the upset.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-2, 0-0 American.
12/7/20 vs. Presbyterian (L 68-58).
12/11/20 vs. American (W 73-66).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, but another inexplicable loss to a lower prestige team. Although, Presbyterian isn't a bad team so far this season at 5-2.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 5-2, 0-0 ACC.
12/7/20 vs. Appalachian State (W 71-51).
12/12/20 vs. Florida A&M (W 75-70).
2 home wins for the Blue Devils this week as they try to pad their record with some wins against inferior competition, but they had a dog fight against Florida A&M.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-2, 0-0 Big 12.
12/11/20 vs. Stetson (W 80-70).
Just 1 game this week for the Horned Frogs, but it was a home win. Next week they have their rivalry game with Tulsa, and they also play Presbyterian, who just beat Tulsa, so it'll be an interesting week.
#19 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 4-2, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/12/20 vs. Notre Dame (L 85-74).
Just 1 game this week for the mighty Spartans, who weren't so mighty in a loss to Notre Dame.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-6, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/7/20 vs. Washington (L 75-61).
12/9/20 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/13/20 vs. Towson (W 79-62).
Well, 1 out of 3 isn't very good for the Wildcats. At least they got 1 win this week, but they are about to take a 2 game road trip through Texas the won't be fun, or easy.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 3-5, 0-0 Big West.
12/11/20 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/13/20 vs. Yale (W 77-58).
A good win for the Warriors against Yale that breaks a 3 game losing streak, but the schedule gets tougher again starting next week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 3-3, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/13/20 at Nebraska Omaha (W 91-83).
Good win for the Owls in their only game of the week, and they'll head back to Texas for a road and home game next week.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/11/20 at Denver (W 97-95).
12/13/20 at Lehigh (W 92-59).
The Buffaloes put up some points this week in a pair of road wins against teams with good records so far. They've won 5 of their last 6 after a 1-3 start.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 3-5, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/7/20 vs. Notre Dame (W 74-73, OT).
12/10/20 vs. Coastal Carolina (L 49-48).
12/13/20 vs. Binghamton (W 59-34).
2 games that came down to the final shot this week, and they split them. What would have been a great week for the Cardinal is dampered just a bit by the last second loss to Coastal Carolina, but a good win against Notre Dame.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/7/20 vs. Bowling Green (W 74-50).
12/11/20 vs. Bethune Cookman (W 79-62).
The Bruins continue to roll, beating up on a couple opponents at home this week.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/9/20 at Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
12/11/20 vs. Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
Are the Cougars for real? Or are they just taking advantage of a soft schedule, and a couple opponents that aren't living up to expectations. Unfortunately, we may not find out until January, as 4 of their remaining 5 conference games are against teams that they should beat. The real test will be Jan. 1 against Florida State.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-3, 0-0 SEC.
12/8/20 vs. #24 Georgetown (L 70-62).
12/10/20 at #14 Syracuse (W 71-69).
12/12/20 vs. Loyola Chicago (W 68-59).
A good week for the Crimson Tide who win 2 out of 3 against good competition.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 3-3, 0-0 SEC.
12/8/20 vs. Bradley (L 93-88).
12/11/20 vs. Ball State (W 75-62).
The Wildcats continue to play .500 ball on the season, as they just can't get any consistency going.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-3, 0-0 Sun Belt.
12/9/20 vs. Middle Tennessee (L 77-70).
1 game for the Trojans this week, as they fell short against a very good Middle Tennessee team.
Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week of Dec. 14-20:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wisconsin (72) 9-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Louisville 8-1 1717 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Baylor 7-1 1543 10 Big 12 Conference
4. Oklahoma 5-1 1426 7 Big 12 Conference
5. Western Michigan 8-0 1408 4 Mid-American Conference
6. Arkansas 7-0 1388 6 Southeastern Conference
7. Boise State 8-1 1366 12 Mountain West Conference
8. UAB 7-0 1363 8 Conference USA
9. Wichita State 7-1 1296 9 Missouri Valley Conference
10. Illinois 7-1 1282 18 Big Ten Conference
11. William & Mary 7-0 1184 11 Colonial Athletic Association
12. Providence 8-1 870 NR Big East Conference
13. Iowa 6-1 798 23 Big Ten Conference
14. Florida State 6-1 724 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Georgia State 9-1 710 NR Horizon League
16. Georgetown 6-2 674 24 Big East Conference
17. Oklahoma State 7-1 636 NR Big 12 Conference
18. Minnesota 5-1 475 NR Big Ten Conference
19. Villanova 6-1 399 NR Big East Conference
20. Rutgers 8-1 371 NR Big Ten Conference
21. Mercer 8-1 347 NR Southern Conference
22. UCLA 6-1 342 NR Pacific-12 Conference
23. Ohio State 5-2 284 5 Big Ten Conference
24. Belmont 8-1 188 NR Ohio Valley Conference
25. Syracuse 6-2 144 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Mississippi 6-1 142 Southeastern Conference
Akron 6-1 106 Mid-American Conference
Washington State 6-1 63 Pacific-12 Conference
Memphis 4-1 55 American Athletic Conference
St. Bonaventure 5-1 49 Atlantic 10 Conference
IPFW 7-1 48 Summit League
Quinnipiac 7-1 43 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Auburn 5-1 41 Southeastern Conference
Oregon State 5-1 34 Pacific-12 Conference
Mississippi State 5-1 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
Rhode Island 5-1 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
UTSA 6-1 14 Conference USA
Cal State Bakersfield 5-1 13 Western Athletic Conference
Fordham 5-1 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 4-1 10 Mountain West Conference
The pollsters continue to be tough, as Michigan State not only drops out of the top 25, but also loses all their votes after a loss to Notre Dame this week. UConn also loses their votes, while UCLA jumps into the top 25 and Washington State is receiving votes, for what I believe might be the first time in this dynasty.
Now for the mid-major top 25 for the week of Dec. 14-20:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Western Michigan (29) 8-0 1706 1 Mid-American Conference
2. Boise State (26) 8-1 1687 5 Mountain West Conference
3. UAB (12) 7-0 1669 2 Conference USA
4. Wichita State (3) 7-1 1635 3 Missouri Valley Conference
5. William & Mary (2) 7-0 1572 4 Colonial Athletic Association
6. Georgia State 9-1 1444 11 Horizon League
7. Mercer 8-1 1303 18 Southern Conference
8. Akron 6-1 1216 14 Mid-American Conference
9. Belmont 8-1 1216 20 Ohio Valley Conference
10. St. Bonaventure 5-1 1107 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
11. IPFW 7-1 1052 7 Summit League
12. Memphis 4-1 946 24 American Athletic Conference
13. Quinnipiac 7-1 943 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
14. Rhode Island 5-1 930 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Mississippi State 5-1 808 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Fordham 5-1 736 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. UTSA 6-1 699 9 Conference USA
18. Colorado State 4-1 599 NR Mountain West Conference
19. Cal State Bakersfield 5-1 586 NR Western Athletic Conference
20. Illinois State 6-2 329 12 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Oakland 6-2 202 NR Horizon League
22. Connecticut 5-2 170 16 American Athletic Conference
23. Pepperdine 6-2 165 NR West Coast Conference
24. San Diego State 5-2 147 NR Mountain West Conference
25. UC Santa Barbara 6-2 129 19 Big West Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Middle Tennessee 7-2 71 Conference USA
Davidson 5-2 60 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 7-2 45 Ivy League
Richmond 5-2 45 Atlantic 10 Conference
Southern Illinois 5-2 34 Missouri Valley Conference
South Florida 5-2 27 American Athletic Conference
Fresno State 6-2 21 Mountain West Conference
Loyola MD 7-2 21 Patriot League
Lehigh 6-2 18 Patriot League
Massachusetts 5-2 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
George Washington 4-2 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Denver 7-2 8 Summit League
High Point 5-2 8 Big South Conference
Western Illinois 3-2 8 Southland Conference
UC Irvine 4-2 3 Big West Conference
LIU Brooklyn 4-2 2 Northeast Conference
Presbyterian 5-2 2 Big South Conference
San Francisco 5-2 1 West Coast Conference
It's just UConn right now in the mid-major polls, as Tulsa and Hartford lose their votes after losses this week.