Dec. 20-26, 2021
2 feature games this week, and we'll start with the American taking on the SEC:
12/20/21-
UConn (Randolph Childress) @
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- My oh my how the mighty have fallen! Kentucky held UConn to just 34.7% shooting and forced 17 Huskie turnovers while committing just 8 turnovers themselves. All that equated to a very, very easy win for the Wildcats.
Final Score: Kentucky- 88, UConn- 55
Now we head to a Big 12/Conference USA matchup:
12/22/21-
Rice (Charlie Shocker) @
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- this one was close at halftime, but the Owls took control in the second half, and they did it at the foul line. TCU was whistled for 11 more fouls than Rice and shot 16 more free throws. Of course, when a team pulls down 46 rebounds, the other team tends to have to foul a lot more. In any case, Rice gets a big road win.
Final Score: Rice- 78, TCU- 69
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-7, 1-0 America East.
12/23/21 at Eastern Washington (W 46-35).
12/26/21 at Vermont (W 60-57).
2 more wins for the Hawks this week, who are now back at .500. They also get a nice win in their conference opener.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 5-5, 0-0 American.
12/20/21 at Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
12/25/21 at #23 Villanova (W 62-60).
A split for the Huskies, who got dominated by Kentucky, but came back with a nice win over ranked Villanova. The jury is still out on them this season.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-6, 1-0 American.
12/22/21 vs. Cincinnati (W 79-67).
12/24/21 vs. Stetson (W 74-61).
2 more wins for the Pirates, including a nice conference opening win against Cincinnati.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-8, 0-1 American.
12/22/21 at #17 Memphis (L 89-71).
Just 1 game this week for the Golden Hurricane, their conference opener against the preseason conference favorites, and both teams played like we expected. Coach Brown has a lot of work to do to make this team competitive.
#16 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-2, 0-0 ACC.
12/20/21 at Creighton (L 68-57).
Just 1 game for the Blue Devils this week, and unfortunately that loss ended an 8 game losing streak. Creighton is a good team, but Coach Hoo knows they missed a golden opportunity.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 4-5, 0-0 Big 12.
12/22/21 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough game for the Horned Frogs this week, as fouling and giving up too many free throws was the problem. This loss broke a 3 game winning streak.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-2, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/21/21 at Washington (W 73-70).
12/23/21 vs. George Mason (W 75-65).
The Spartans seem to have recovered nicely since that loss to a good Green Bay team. 2 wins this week, and next week brings a chance for 2 more non-conference wins before Big Ten play starts.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-4, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/26/21 vs. North Dakota (W 71-61).
1 game for the Wildcats this week, but it was a much needed win after that loss last week. They get next week off before starting Big Ten play.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 7-3, 0-0 Big West.
12/20/21 at North Dakota State (W 62-57).
12/25/21 at Prairie View A&M (W 62-61).
2 tough wins for the Warriors this week, both on the road. They were consistent, scoring 62 points in both games.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-2, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/22/21 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/25/21 vs. Kennesaw State (W 64-55).
2 more wins for the Owls, including a nice road win at TCU, and they are clicking on all cylinders. A couple tough non-conference tests next week though.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/25/21 at #19 Kansas State (L 65-44).
Tough one for the Buffaloes this week. Normally I'd be happy at a K-State win, but for the purposes of this dynasty, we needed Coach Nielsen to get it done. Hopefully they can rebound and win a couple next week to get back on track.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
No games this week for Coach Sanchez and the Cardinal.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/21 at Cal State Fullerton (L 69-64).
12/26/21 at UNLV (L 92-69).
Not a good week for the Bruins, who lose 2 road games. The UNLV loss could be forgivable if it wasn't by 23 points, but the Cal St. Fullerton loss? Not so much. Hopefully this is just a temporary setback.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/21 vs. Montana (W 82-56).
12/25/21 at Southern (W 66-63).
2 more wins for the Cougars, who have now won 4 in a row. It wasn't easy though, as they barely squeaked out that win over Southern.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-6, 0-0 SEC.
12/20/21- Diamond Head Classic vs. (5) #20 Oklahoma State (W 75-66).
12/21/21- Diamond Head Classic Semifinal vs. (8) Eastern Kentucky (W 80-72).
12/23/21- Diamond Head Classic Championship vs. (2) Providence (W 64-45).
Something definitely clicked with the Crimson Tide in this tournament, as they looked like a completely different team. Granted, they avoided top seed North Carolina in the semifinals, but still, a big congrats go to Coach Rogers, as he leads Alabama to their first tournament title since this dynasty started.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-2, 0-0 SEC.
12/20/21 vs. UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
12/22/21 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (W 74-73).
12/24/21 vs. California (W 89-63).
Good week for the Wildcats, but I'm still trying to figure out how they destroyed UConn and Cal but needed a late second shot to beat Corpus Christ. Oh well, 3 more wins, and Big Blue Nation is rolling again.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-5, 2-2 Sun Belt.
12/23/21 at UL Lafayette (L 88-74).
12/25/21 vs. Northern Kentucky (L 78-70).
Well it looks like it's going to be another inconsistent conference season for the Trojans. 2 losses this week, 1 at home and 1 on the road. They have got to put together a nice streak, somehow, some way.
Now a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wisconsin (71) 11-1 1799 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Wichita State 12-1 1709 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Baylor (1) 12-0 1638 5 Big 12 Conference
4. Iowa State 11-1 1609 6 Big 12 Conference
5. Syracuse 10-1 1482 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Oklahoma 11-1 1421 11 Big 12 Conference
7. Arkansas 9-1 1394 3 Southeastern Conference
8. San Diego State 11-1 1270 9 Mountain West Conference
9. St. John's 9-1 1233 10 Big East Conference
10. Texas 10-1 1167 14 Big 12 Conference
11. Notre Dame 10-1 1059 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Memphis 11-1 999 17 American Athletic Conference
13. North Carolina 8-2 883 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Massachusetts 11-1 877 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Kansas State 10-1 863 19 Big 12 Conference
16. Virginia 9-2 666 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Vanderbilt 9-2 612 25 Southeastern Conference
18. Duke 9-2 493 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Xavier 9-2 489 13 Big East Conference
20. Kentucky 9-2 452 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Missouri 10-2 434 NR Southeastern Conference
22. Oakland 11-2 249 18 Horizon League
23. William & Mary 9-2 195 NR Colonial Athletic Association
24. Portland 10-2 151 NR West Coast Conference
25. Penn State 9-2 75 NR Big Ten Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Wake Forest 7-2 63 Atlantic Coast Conference
Louisville 7-3 44 Atlantic Coast Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 9-2 28 Atlantic Sun Conference
Michigan State 7-2 19 Big Ten Conference
Sacred Heart 9-2 19 Northeast Conference
Old Dominion 8-2 5 Conference USA
Alabama A&M 9-2 3 Southwestern Athletic Conference
Duke moves down 2 spots after their loss to Creighton, while Kentucky is back in the top 25 after a 3-0 week. And hello Michigan State, who is receiving votes again!
Now for the mid-major top 25 for the week of Dec. 27-Jan. 2:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wichita State (72) 12-1 1800 1 Missouri Valley Conference
2. San Diego State 11-1 1724 2 Mountain West Conference
3. Memphis 11-1 1652 4 American Athletic Conference
4. Massachusetts 11-1 1592 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Oakland 11-2 1469 5 Horizon League
6. Portland 10-2 1414 11 West Coast Conference
7. William & Mary 9-2 1382 12 Colonial Athletic Association
8. Florida Gulf Coast 9-2 1309 7 Atlantic Sun Conference
9. Sacred Heart 9-2 1209 14 Northeast Conference
10. Old Dominion 8-2 1178 8 Conference USA
11. Alabama A&M 9-2 1089 18 Southwestern Athletic Conference
12. Rice 7-2 960 NR Conference USA
13. Green Bay 10-3 901 10 Horizon League
14. UNLV 8-3 820 NR Mountain West Conference
15. Fresno State 10-3 758 9 Mountain West Conference
16. SMU 9-3 647 NR American Athletic Conference
17. UTEP 8-3 638 NR Conference USA
18. The Citadel 9-3 441 NR Southern Conference
19. Eastern Michigan 8-3 432 22 Mid-American Conference
20. VMI 9-3 345 16 Southern Conference
21. Davidson 8-3 323 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Manhattan 9-3 276 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
23. Detroit 7-3 192 NR Horizon League
24. Valparaiso 8-3 108 17 Horizon League
25. North Texas 8-3 105 NR Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
Northeastern 7-3 100 Colonial Athletic Association
South Florida 7-3 81 American Athletic Conference
Hawaii 7-3 75 Big West Conference
Colorado State 7-3 52 Mountain West Conference
Wagner 9-3 51 Northeast Conference
FIU 6-3 45 Conference USA
Richmond 7-3 42 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Louis 8-3 42 Atlantic 10 Conference
Loyola MD 9-3 37 Patriot League
Florida Atlantic 7-3 36 Conference USA
Dayton 8-3 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 6-3 20 American Athletic Conference
UAB 6-3 9 Conference USA
Fordham 7-3 6 Atlantic 10 Conference
Oral Roberts 7-3 6 Summit League
New Hampshire 8-3 2 America East Conference
Sam Houston State 7-3 1 Southland Conference
Well hello Rice and Hawaii! Rice is in the mid-major top 25 and Hawaii is receiving a fair amount of votes. Let's just hope this doesn't turn into the jinx that it normally does. Both teams need to keep winning!