Jan. 8-14, 2018
We have 3 feature games this week, so let's get to it:
1/10/18-
#18 Michigan State (Al Mighty) @
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- Last year the Wolverines upset Sparty in one of the 2 match-ups, but they'll need a lot better effort if they are going to do so this season. Michigan offered no defense as the Spartans shot 56.5% from the field and shot 26 free throws as opposed to Michigan shooting just 5 free throws and shooting 39.1%. This one was ugly.
Final Score: #18 Michigan State- 100, Michigan- 63
1/13/18-
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @
#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins never trailed in this one, as shooting again played a key role. UCLA shot 46.7% while Stanford shot just 38.8%. Although the Bruins had more turnovers, they countered that with good shooting, including making 14 three pointers as they win pretty easily.
Final Score: #10 UCLA- 72, Stanford- 55
1/13/18-
#3 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @
#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- Last season, these 2 teams had to wait until the last week of the regular season to play each other. Florida might wish this was the case this season, as the Kentucky defense cause 21 Florida turnovers. The Wildcats led by 21 at halftime and never looked back.
Final Score: #3 Kentucky- 91, #23 Florida- 68
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 11-9, 3-3 America East.
1/9/18 at Holy Cross (W 85-84, OT).
1/11/18 vs. North Carolina Central (L 88-52).
1/14/18 vs. Stony Brook (L 69-52).
Busy week for the Hawks, who actually had 2 non-conference games this week. They went 1-2, and even the game they won went to overtime. Not really a good week for Hartford.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 4-10, 1-5 American.
1/10/18 vs. Temple (L 86-85, OT).
1/13/18 at UConn (L 69-39).
Gallant effort for the Pirates against a good Temple team, but they fell just short in overtime. A big letdown at UConn as they were never in it.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 13-5, 5-1 American.
1/10/18 at Evansville (W 82-77).
1/13/18 at UCF (W 72-59).
2 more wins for the Golden Hurricane this week, including going on the road against a former MVC opponent in Evansville. They've got a couple sub .500 opponents next week before the schedule gets significantly tougher.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10.
1/10/18 at St. Louis (W 75-50).
1/13/18 vs. #22 Richmond (L 80-48).
The Wildcats split this week, and their first conference loss came in a big way. They'll get a chance to redeem that loss right off the bat as they play Richmond again next week.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-7, 2-3 ACC.
1/10/18 at #20 North Carolina (W 81-79).
1/13/18 vs. Louisville (L 73-69, OT).
All in all, a good week for the Tigers. They get a huge win against an always good North Carolina team, and take another good team in Louisville to overtime. Those close losses against good teams could hurt come selection sunday though.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-5, 2-3 ACC.
1/10/18 vs. #2 Virginia (W 95-79).
1/13/18 at #2 Virginia (L 78-72).
More dumb scheduling by FBCB, as the Blue Devils play 2nd ranked Virginia twice in a row. They were able to split with them though, running out of gas in the last couple minutes in the second game.
#11 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 13-4, 4-1 Big 12.
1/8/18 at Oklahoma (L 79-61).
1/13/18 at Oklahoma State (W 97-83).
The Jayhawks split the Oklahoma road trip, taking their first conference lump at Oklahoma, but coming back nicely to beat the Cowpokes.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-8, 1-4 Big 12.
1/8/18 at Tennessee Tech (W 71-63).
1/13/18 vs. Iowa State (L 69-57).
The Horned Frogs win a non-conference game, then go back into conference play and gave Iowa State a game, but couldn't get over the hump.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-8, 1-3 Big Ten.
1/10/18 vs. #18 Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/13/18 at Indiana (L 79-76, OT).
Not a good week for the Wolverines, as they get blasted by their in-state rivals, then blow a big halftime lead in an overtime loss to Indiana. It won't get any easier next week as they have a top 10 team coming into town.
#18 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 14-2, 4-0 Big Ten.
1/10/18 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/13/18 vs. Purdue (W 82-64).
Good week for the Spartans who win a couple easy games, including 1 against a good Purdue team. They'll see 2 teams next week with a combined record of 25-7, so it doesn't get any easier for Sparty.
#17 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-1, 3-1 Big Ten.
1/10/18 at #12 Illinois (W 62-51).
1/13/18 vs. Nebraska (W 68-58).
The Wildcats got a huge win at Illinois, proving they could actually be for real. They've got 6 very winnable games coming up, sandwiched in there is a game with Sparty.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-9, 2-2 Big West.
1/11/18 at UC Santa Barbara (L 76-63).
1/13/18 vs. Cal State Fullerton (L 85-62).
Bad news for the Warriors, as they pretty much get hammered in 2 games this week. Not only that, but the firecoachgunn.com website is back up and running.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 5-11, 2-2 Conference USA.
1/11/18 at UTEP (L 60-51).
1/13/18 at Western Kentucky (W 57-48).
The 49ers split on a road trip this week, and the margin was 9 in both games. Interesting. A tough 6 game stretch coming up, they'll need to play their best to get through it.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-7, 2-2 Conference USA.
1/11/18 vs. Southern Miss (L 86-83).
1/13/18 at Louisiana Tech (W 74-64).
I'm considering this a successful week for the Owls, as they played 2 very good teams, beat one of them, and came within seconds of beating the other. Hopefully they can keep up the strong play.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 8-11, 6-5 MAAC.
1/9/18 at Columbia (L 61-49).
1/14/18 at Quinnipiac (W 76-64).
A split for the Hawks this week, as they lose to the non-conference opponent but beat the conference opponent. A good trade off I guess.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 6-10, 2-3 MEAC.
1/8/18 at Morgan State (W 74-62).
1/13/18 at Howard (L 55-46).
A split for the Spartans, and with a wide open MEAC, they really need to go on a nice winning streak. There should be no reason why they can't.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-7, 3-1 Pac 12.
1/11/18 vs. Washington (L 61-54).
1/13/18 vs. California (W 51-41).
A split for the Buffaloes who blow a late lead against Washington. They've got a couple winnable games on the road next week.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 11-5, 2-2 Pac 12.
1/11/18 vs. Utah (W 79-60).
1/13/18 at #10 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
A split for the Cardinal, but they'll be very disappointed with that effort at UCLA. They'll need to do better if they want to get back in the NCAA Tournament.
#10 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 14-2, 4-0 Pac 12.
1/11/18 vs. Arizona State (W 70-68, OT).
1/13/18 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
It took overtime for the Bruins to get by Arizona State, but they did. Then they took care of business against Stanford.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-6, 2-2 Pac 12.
1/11/18 at Oregon State (W 81-58).
1/13/18 at Washington (W 63-59).
Don't look now but the Cougars have double digit wins for the 2nd straight season. They did it in impressive fashion, on the road no less. Next week a matchup with a top 10 team.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-9, 2-2 SEC.
1/10/18 at #9 VCU (L 78-63).
1/13/18 vs. Georgia (W 69-58).
A split for the Crimson Tide, who had to deal with new SEC member VCU. It was close for a while but VCU proved to be too much. However, a nice win against Georgia.
#23 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 12-4, 2-2 SEC.
1/10/18 at Arkansas (W 75-57).
1/13/18 vs. #3 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
A split for the Gators, who will definitely want another crack at Kentucky. This season, they'll get one, late in the season.
#2 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 14-2, 3-1 SEC.
1/10/18 vs. Auburn (L 65-47).
1/13/18 at #23 Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
The Wildcats split this week, but an embarrassing loss to a sub .500 Auburn team. No wonder they beat Florida so easily, they were embarrassed from a previous loss.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-10, 4-6 Sun Belt.
1/11/18 at South Alabama (L 74-58).
1/13/18 vs. UT Arlington (L 64-43).
2 more losses for the Trojans who have now lost 3 in a row after a 3 game winning streak. If the pattern continues, they are due for a 3 game win streak, but they have to face the ranked team in the conference next week.
Code:
Here is the national top 25 going into next week:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Ohio State (72) 17-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga 18-0 1700 4 West Coast Conference
3. Baylor 17-1 1622 6 Big 12 Conference
4. Virginia 15-2 1616 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Kentucky 14-2 1539 3 Southeastern Conference
6. Villanova 14-2 1427 5 Big East Conference
7. Wichita State 17-2 1323 8 Missouri Valley Conference
8. VCU 14-2 1318 9 Southeastern Conference
9. UCLA 14-2 1259 10 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Wisconsin 14-3 1104 13 Big Ten Conference
11. Syracuse 13-3 992 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. La Salle 15-1 954 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. Michigan State 14-2 913 18 Big Ten Conference
14. Kansas 13-4 868 11 Big 12 Conference
15. Northwestern 14-1 805 17 Big Ten Conference
16. Marquette 14-4 773 7 Big East Conference
17. Cincinnati 14-3 694 16 American Athletic Conference
18. Richmond 14-3 668 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Florida 12-4 402 23 Southeastern Conference
20. Illinois State 15-3 374 21 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Florida State 14-3 372 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
22. Illinois 13-3 299 12 Big Ten Conference
23. Colorado State 15-3 133 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Sam Houston State 13-2 111 NR Southland Conference
25. Arizona 11-5 81 24 Pacific-12 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Dayton 13-3 70 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNLV 12-4 35 Mountain West Conference
Middle Tennessee 13-3 33 Conference USA
Virginia Tech 12-3 29 Atlantic Coast Conference
Miami 12-5 26 Atlantic Coast Conference
Notre Dame 12-4 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
Georgetown 11-6 15 Big East Conference
UAB 13-3 14 Conference USA
Stephen F. Austin 14-3 7 Southland Conference
Connecticut 12-4 5 American Athletic Conference
Oakland 14-3 3 Horizon League
Kentucky drops 2 spots after that upset loss to Auburn. They probably would have dropped more if they hadn't blasted Florida. UCLA moves up a spot after their 2 win week, while Michigan State moves up 5 spots after their week. Kansas drops 3 spots with their split this week, and Northwestern moves up only 2 spots. A bit surprising, especially after that big win against Illinois. Still trying to figure out what the pollsters are doing with Florida, who moves up 4 spots despite the blowout loss to Kentucky. Weird.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Gonzaga (72) 18-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 17-2 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 14-3 1620 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 15-1 1615 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Richmond 14-3 1511 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Illinois State 15-3 1394 5 Missouri Valley Conference
7. UNLV 12-4 1303 14 Mountain West Conference
8. Colorado State 15-3 1266 12 Mountain West Conference
9. Middle Tennessee 13-3 1227 13 Conference USA
10. Dayton 13-3 1150 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Sam Houston State 13-2 1061 11 Southland Conference
12. UAB 13-3 972 20 Conference USA
13. Oakland 14-3 896 8 Horizon League
14. Connecticut 12-4 871 23 American Athletic Conference
15. Cleveland State 13-6 869 NR Horizon League
16. Stephen F. Austin 14-3 740 22 Southland Conference
17. Memphis 14-4 667 9 American Athletic Conference
18. American 13-4 521 17 Patriot League
19. Green Bay 13-4 409 NR Horizon League
20. Portland 11-4 393 NR West Coast Conference
21. Old Dominion 12-4 265 NR Conference USA
22. Tulsa 13-5 247 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Louisiana Tech 11-4 232 7 Conference USA
24. Davidson 11-5 114 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
25. Northern Arizona 12-4 88 NR Big Sky Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Temple 13-5 60 American Athletic Conference
UTEP 11-4 50 Conference USA
Duquesne 12-5 46 Atlantic 10 Conference
San Diego 11-5 43 West Coast Conference
Massachusetts 11-5 41 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 12-5 34 Ivy League
Oral Roberts 13-4 33 Summit League
Pepperdine 12-5 31 West Coast Conference
Quinnipiac 14-5 30 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Boise State 11-5 29 Mountain West Conference
Tennessee Martin 13-4 23 Ohio Valley Conference
South Dakota State 13-5 10 Summit League
UC Santa Barbara 13-5 5 Big West Conference
USC Upstate 12-5 5 Atlantic Sun Conference
Northern Iowa 14-6 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Tulsa and Davidson are back in the mid-major top 25, but getting there hasn't been the problem, staying there has. We'll see what this week brings for them.