Jan. 15-21, 2018
Only 2 feature games to tell you about this week, but let's get to it:
1/17/18-
Alabama (Roy Rogers) @
#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- This one was closer than anticipated, as it was all deadlocked at 35 going into halftime. There honestly wasn't a lot of separation in this one, but the three point line proved to be the difference. Kentucky made 11 three pointers while Alabama made only 5.
Final Score: #5 Kentucky- 95, Alabama- 81
1/18/18-
#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- There would be no upset in this one, as the Bruins led from start to finish. Washington State made just 15 shots all game, and were 0-15 from the three point line. Almost half their points came from the free throw line where they were 22-30. The Bruins also outrebounded them 43-24 as they rolled to victory.
Final Score: #9 UCLA- 81, Washington State- 52
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-9, 5-3 America East.
1/19/18 at UMBC (W 72-43).
1/21/18 at UMass Lowell (W 61-50).
The Hawks took care of business this week and have 2 more games on the road next week.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-11, 2-6 American.
1/17/18 at South Florida (W 76-73).
1/20/18 vs. Memphis (L 72-64).
A split for the Pirates, and give them credit for playing another good team tough, as they took Memphis to the wire.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-6, 6-2 American.
1/17/18 vs. UCF (W 82-67).
1/20/18 vs. South Florida (L 59-51).
A split for the Golden Hurricane who suffered a bad loss to South Florida. Next week they've got a couple tough ones.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 13-5, 5-1 Atlantic 10.
1/17/18 at #18 Richmond (W 68-63).
1/20/18 vs. George Washington (W 74-69).
What a week for the Wildcats, as they turn around and beat a Richmond team that just beat them by 32 points a week ago. They follow that up with another impressive win over a strong GW team. They'll get their first game with A-10 newcomer Mississippi State next week.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 8-9, 2-5 ACC.
1/17/18 at Louisville (L 73-66).
1/20/18 vs. #11 Syracuse (L 77-67).
2 tough losses for the Tigers, who were competitive in both games, but aren't quite ready for the grind of the ACC, at least it doesn't appear.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-6, 3-4 ACC.
1/17/18 vs. Boston College (W 73-68).
1/20/18 vs. Miami (L 63-46).
A split for the Blue Devils this week, who continue to struggle a bit. They've had splits in their last 3 weeks.
#14 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 15-4, 6-1 Big 12.
1/15/18 vs. West Virginia (W 90-76).
1/20/18 vs. Texas (W 92-68).
2 more easy wins for the Jayhawks, but next week a big test at a 1 loss Baylor team.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-10, 1-6 Big 12.
1/15/18 vs. Oklahoma (L 66-45).
1/20/18 vs. Oklahoma State (L 66-43).
Consistency for the Horned Frogs this week, as they lose both games by an almost exact score. The only difference was they scored 2 less points against Oklahoma State.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 9-9, 2-4 Big Ten.
1/17/18 vs. #10 Wisconsin (L 84-74).
1/20/18 at Rutgers (W 88-77).
A split for the Wolverines, who break a 4 game losing streak with the win at Rutgers.
#13 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 16-2, 6-0 Big Ten.
1/17/18 at Purdue (W 81-65).
1/20/18 vs. #22 Illinois (W 86-78).
Good week for the Spartans as they win a couple more tough games.
#15 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 14-3, 3-3 Big Ten.
1/17/18 at Nebraska (L 63-49).
1/20/18 at Maryland (L 87-79).
Uh-oh! A reality check for the Wildcats. Let's hope this isn't the start of a downward slide. They've got a couple chances to redeem themselves next week.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-10, 2-3 Big West.
1/16/18 at UC Irvine (L 58-54).
Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, but it was a loss. The season is starting to go south, as Hawaii is on a 3 game losing streak after winning 7 in a row.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-12, 3-3 Conference USA.
1/18/18 at Middle Tennessee (L 76-50).
1/20/18 vs. UAB (W 71-63).
A split for the 49ers, who get a nice win against UAB, but have to go on the road to face them next week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-8, 3-3 Conference USA.
1/18/18 at UAB (W 67-65).
1/20/18 vs. Florida Atlantic (L 82-74).
Also a split for the Owls, who won the game most people expected them to lose, and lost the game people expected them to win. Basketball is a funny game like that.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-12, 6-6 MAAC.
1/17/18 at Morgan State (W 80-78).
1/21/18 vs. Manhattan (L 64-56).
A split for the Hawks who win the non-conference game but lose the conference game.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 7-11, 2-4 MEAC.
1/15/18 vs. Florida A&M (L 80-73).
1/18/18 at Stetson (W 55-37).
A split for the Spartans, who break a short 2 game losing streak with a non-conference road win.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 10-7, 5-1 Pac 12.
1/18/18 at Oregon State (W 84-77, OT).
1/20/18 at Utah (W 78-77).
2 tough road wins for the Buffaloes, who are off to a good start in Pac 12 play, but the schedule gets tougher next week.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 13-5, 4-2 Pac 12.
1/18/18 at Oregon (W 67-59).
1/20/18 at California (W 62-57).
The Cardinal also get 2 good road wins this week. They'll have a feature game next week, but otherwise the schedule is favorable for a couple weeks.
#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-2, 6-0 Pac 12.
1/18/18 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at USC (W 84-60).
2 easy wins for the Bruins on the road, as they keep rolling.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-8, 2-4 Pac 12.
1/18/18 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 vs. Arizona State (L 61-30).
Not a good week for the Cougars who get absolutely hammered in 2 games. Their next 3 games are against teams with losing records, so they would love to get all those.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-10, 3-3 SEC.
1/17/18 at #5 Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at LSU (W 67-64).
A split for the Crimson Tide, who actually played Kentucky pretty well, but couldn't stop the three point game. They rallied for a nice win at LSU.
#19 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 13-5, 3-3 SEC.
1/17/18 vs. LSU (W 93-68).
1/20/18 vs. Ole Miss (L 92-81).
A split for the Gators, who need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss is a game they shouldn't be losing.
#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 16-2, 5-1 SEC.
1/17/18 vs. Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
1/20/18 at Arkansas (W 99-91).
The Wildcats are back in business, with a 3 game winning streak since that upset loss to Auburn.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-13, 4-7 Sun Belt.
1/16/18 vs. #24 Sam Houston State (L 68-42).
1/18/18 vs. St. John's (L 77-52).
1/20/18 at UT Arlington (L 79-43).
The Trojans get blasted in all 3 of their games this week and have now lost 6 in a row after a 3 game winning streak.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Ohio State (72) 19-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Gonzaga 20-0 1652 2 West Coast Conference
3. Virginia 17-2 1648 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Baylor 19-1 1613 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Kentucky 16-2 1564 5 Southeastern Conference
6. Villanova 16-2 1429 6 Big East Conference
7. VCU 16-2 1353 8 Southeastern Conference
8. Wichita State 18-2 1280 7 Missouri Valley Conference
9. UCLA 16-2 1267 9 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Marquette 16-4 1035 16 Big East Conference
11. Kansas 15-4 1029 14 Big 12 Conference
12. Michigan State 16-2 987 13 Big Ten Conference
13. Syracuse 15-3 978 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. La Salle 17-1 907 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Wisconsin 15-4 855 10 Big Ten Conference
16. Cincinnati 16-3 763 17 American Athletic Conference
17. Richmond 15-4 598 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Illinois State 17-3 570 20 Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois 14-4 403 22 Big Ten Conference
20. Miami 14-5 392 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Dayton 15-3 348 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Northwestern 14-3 244 15 Big Ten Conference
23. Iowa State 14-5 207 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Florida State 15-4 198 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
25. Florida 13-5 145 19 Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Stephen F. Austin 15-3 71 Southland Conference
Arizona 12-6 20 Pacific-12 Conference
Memphis 16-4 20 American Athletic Conference
Colorado State 16-4 17 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 14-3 3 Southland Conference
Georgetown 12-7 2 Big East Conference
Connecticut 13-5 1 American Athletic Conference
Creighton 14-5 1 Big East Conference
Kentucky and UCLA stay put at 5 and 9 respectively, while Kansas moves up 3 spots after a 2 win week, and Michigan State moves up 1 spot. Northwestern moves down 7 spots after losing twice this week, and Florida moves down 6 spots after their bad loss.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 20-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State 18-2 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 16-3 1648 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 17-1 1592 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Illinois State 17-3 1473 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Richmond 15-4 1468 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Dayton 15-3 1346 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Colorado State 16-4 1223 8 Mountain West Conference
9. Memphis 16-4 1150 17 American Athletic Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 15-3 1115 16 Southland Conference
11. Middle Tennessee 14-4 1031 9 Conference USA
12. Cleveland State 14-7 959 15 Horizon League
13. Connecticut 13-5 894 14 American Athletic Conference
14. Davidson 13-5 870 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Sam Houston State 14-3 762 11 Southland Conference
16. Oakland 15-4 760 13 Horizon League
17. Old Dominion 14-4 692 21 Conference USA
18. Boise State 13-5 590 NR Mountain West Conference
19. Quinnipiac 16-5 508 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
20. UTEP 13-4 404 NR Conference USA
21. American 14-5 280 18 Patriot League
22. UNLV 12-6 251 7 Mountain West Conference
23. Portland 13-5 224 20 West Coast Conference
24. Northeastern 14-5 134 NR Colonial Athletic Association
25. Green Bay 14-5 106 19 Horizon League
Others Receiving Votes:
Louisiana Tech 12-5 69 Conference USA
Tulsa 14-6 61 American Athletic Conference
UAB 13-5 46 Conference USA
Pepperdine 13-6 36 West Coast Conference
Temple 14-6 28 American Athletic Conference
North Florida 14-5 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
Massachusetts 12-6 24 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 14-5 20 Ohio Valley Conference
North Dakota State 14-5 17 Summit League
San Diego 12-6 16 West Coast Conference
Duquesne 13-6 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Iowa 15-7 11 Missouri Valley Conference
Stony Brook 14-6 8 America East Conference
UC Irvine 12-6 6 Big West Conference
Harvard 13-6 5 Ivy League
Oral Roberts 14-5 4 Summit League
Western Michigan 12-5 3 Mid-American Conference
Rhode Island 12-6 1 Atlantic 10 Conference
Davidson jumps 10 spots after a 2-0 week, while Tulsa is still receiving votes, but does fall out of the mid-major top 25. At least we've got some FOFC representation!