Dec. 12-18, 2022
29 games on the schedule this week, and 1 feature game. Let's take a look:
12/16/22-
Tulsa (Will Brown) @
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- A tale of 2 halves, as Tulsa lead at halftime but couldn't maintain it. Despite a huge turnover differential (TCU committed 17, Tulsa only 5), TCU shot over 53% to just 37% for Tulsa, and that was enough to get a home victory.
Final Score: TCU- 68, Tulsa- 60
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 5-6, 0-0 America East.
12/13/22 at Sacred Heart (L 66-61).
1 game this week for the Hawks, and it was a road loss. A couple more tough non-conference games before America East play begins.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 3-7, 0-0 American.
12/12/22 at Texas A&M (L 73-68).
12/18/22 at St. John's (L 81-67).
The downward spiral continues for the Huskies, who go into conference play with a very dismal record, but a solid RPI.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 3-5, 0-0 American.
12/14/22 vs. New Mexico State (L 79-70).
12/16/22 at TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough week for the Golden Hurricane, who also drop 2 games. They kick off their season tournament next week in a feature game against Duke.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 5-3, 0-0 ACC.
12/13/22 at Arizona (L 76-54).
12/16/22 vs. Columbia (W 56-43).
A split for the Blue Devils, who just didn't have anything to bring to Arizona in an old fashioned slaughtering. Even their win over Columbia was a half hearted effort.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-1, 0-0 Big 12.
12/12/22 vs. Incarnate Word (W 77-52).
12/16/22 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
7 in a row for the Horned Frogs, although the schedule hasn't been majorly tough, all but 2 of their opponents so far have a current RPI better than 100. It gets tougher starting next week though.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 6-3, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/17/22 at Boise State (W 79-78).
It took a buzzer beater to get it done, but the Spartans win their only game of the week. They have a couple non-conference games next week that shouldn't be too challenging.
#22 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 7-1, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/16/22 at Milwaukee (W 63-55).
12/18/22- Las Vegas Holiday Classic First Round vs. (4) Western Carolina (W 76-63).
2 more wins for the Wildcats, who have won 4 in a row against pretty good mid-major competition. Next week, they've face Drexel in their season tournament championship game.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-1, 0-0 Big West.
12/12/22 at Portland (W 64-62).
12/15/22 vs. Stephen F. Austin (W 64-54).
12/18/22 at Penn (W 79-68).
3 wins this week for the Warriors, who have won 7 in a row. A little bit tougher non-conference slate to end the year 2022, then on to the Big West, where they haven't fared well.
#11 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-1, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/14/22- Las Vegas Classic First Round vs. (7) South Florida (W 84-60).
12/16-22- Las Vegas Classic Quarterfinal vs. (2) Gonzaga (L 95-75).
A split for the Golden Panthers, who see their undefeated run come to an end. No shame in losing to Gonzaga though. They'll get next week off then try to start a new winning streak.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 3-5, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/13/22 vs. Northwestern State (L 77-71).
12/16/22 at Texas Southern (L 79-70).
12/18/22 at #9 Oklahoma State (W 81-70).
Crazy week for the Owls, who lose the 2 games they were expected to win, but break a 4 game losing streak by winning at a ranked Oklahoma State team. Hopefully they can keep it going, as more winnable games are upcoming.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/14/22 vs. Seattle (W 65-57).
Just the 1 game this week for the Buffaloes, but they've won 3 in a row. Next week they have 2 more non-conference games, both against former Big 12 foes, then they jump into conference play.
#12 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/13/22 at Central Connecticut (L 61-58).
12/17/22 at St. Mary's (L 63-62).
2 agonizing losses this week for the Cardinal by a combined 4 points. Both on the road. The loss to Central Connecticut is tough to forgive. Next week they start their season tournament.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/13/22 at UC Irvine (W 72-60).
12/18/22 vs. Brown (W 86-53).
The Bruins move back over .500 with 2 easy victories over subpar opponents, although UC Irvine is proving to be fairly solid to start the season. It continue with a few more winnable non-conference games next week.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 4-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/15/22 vs. Portland (L 62-45).
12/17/22 at Nevada (W 61-52).
A split for the Cougars this week against decent competition. Another road-home split next week as both games seem winnable.
#6 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-2, 0-0 SEC.
12/13/22 at #1 North Carolina (W 73-68).
12/16/22 at Nebraska (L 85-73).
12/18/22 at #16 Florida State (L 77-66).
A brutal week for the Crimson Tide, losing 2 of 3. It started out promising with a win over #1, but went downhill from there.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Dec. 19-25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Arkansas (59) 10-0 1787 2 Southeastern Conference
2. Syracuse (12) 10-1 1711 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Notre Dame (1) 9-1 1619 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. LSU 10-0 1576 4 Southeastern Conference
5. North Carolina 8-1 1544 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Ohio State 8-1 1430 7 Big Ten Conference
7. Yale 12-0 1369 10 Ivy League
8. Louisville 7-1 1313 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Florida State 9-1 1196 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Old Dominion 7-0 1099 17 Conference USA
11. Villanova 10-1 1059 19 Big East Conference
12. Wisconsin 7-2 1000 18 Big Ten Conference
13. Iowa 8-2 757 25 Big Ten Conference
14. Tulane 9-1 744 20 American Athletic Conference
15. Northern Iowa 8-1 639 21 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Hawaii 9-1 623 NR Big West Conference
17. Dayton 8-1 570 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
18. TCU 7-1 517 NR Big 12 Conference
19. FIU 8-1 509 11 Conference USA
20. Northwestern 7-1 475 22 Big Ten Conference
21. Alabama 7-2 429 6 Southeastern Conference
22. Arizona 7-2 327 NR Pacific-12 Conference
23. Oakland 7-1 304 NR Horizon League
24. Jacksonville State 9-1 279 15 Ohio Valley Conference
25. Pacific 7-1 199 14 West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
UC Riverside 7-1 111 Big West Conference
Middle Tennessee 6-1 67 Conference USA
North Texas 7-1 55 Conference USA
Nebraska 5-1 32 Big Ten Conference
St. John's 8-2 27 Big East Conference
Davidson 8-2 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
Missouri 5-1 16 Southeastern Conference
Baylor 8-2 1 Big 12 Conference
Tough week for a couple of our teams, as Alabama drops 15 spots after going 1-2 this week, seems tough to me considering all the games were on the road. What's even more ludicrous is Stanford going from #12 in the nation to losing all their votes after 2 losses by a combined 4 points. FIU also drops 8 spots after their first loss of the season to an always good Gonzaga team. On the other hand, Hawaii and TCU jump into the top 25, while Northwestern rises 2 spots.
And now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Dec. 19-25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Yale (69) 12-0 1797 1 Ivy League
2. Old Dominion (3) 7-0 1724 4 Conference USA
3. Tulane 9-1 1580 6 American Athletic Conference
4. Oakland 7-1 1500 8 Horizon League
5. FIU 8-1 1493 2 Conference USA
6. Hawaii 9-1 1436 11 Big West Conference
7. Northern Iowa 8-1 1388 7 Missouri Valley Conference
8. Dayton 8-1 1300 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Jacksonville State 9-1 1235 5 Ohio Valley Conference
10. Pacific 7-1 1172 3 West Coast Conference
11. UC Riverside 7-1 1073 9 Big West Conference
12. North Texas 7-1 1039 13 Conference USA
13. Middle Tennessee 6-1 995 14 Conference USA
14. Davidson 8-2 812 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
15. Western Michigan 8-2 789 24 Mid-American Conference
16. Wichita State 7-2 646 NR Missouri Valley Conference
17. Utah State 7-2 612 NR Mountain West Conference
18. Saint Joseph's 7-2 542 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
19. UTEP 6-2 487 NR Conference USA
20. Bowling Green 7-2 397 NR Mid-American Conference
21. VMI 7-2 362 NR Southern Conference
22. Stony Brook 8-2 283 12 America East Conference
23. Mississippi State 6-2 231 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Florida A&M 6-2 109 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
25. BYU 8-3 108 NR West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Western Carolina 6-2 93 Southern Conference
Richmond 6-2 91 Atlantic 10 Conference
Loyola MD 6-2 39 Patriot League
Nicholls State 7-2 29 Southland Conference
Green Bay 8-3 20 Horizon League
Illinois State 8-3 9 Missouri Valley Conference
San Diego State 7-3 9 Mountain West Conference
FIU and Hawaii are still representing our mid-major teams. FIU drops 3 spots, and Hawaii rises 5.