Dec. 26, 2022-Jan. 1, 2023
23 games to cover this week, including a huge feature game which we'll jump right into.
12/30/22-
#13 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- Ugly shooting all around for the Crimson Tide in this one. While Michigan State didn't shoot great, they did shoot well enough to pull out a huge home victory going into conference play.
Final Score: Michigan State- 75, #13 Alabama- 67
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 6-10, 0-3 America East.
12/28/22 vs. UMass Lowell (L 76-70).
1/1/23 vs. Maine (L 75-63).
2 more losses for the Hawks, who have lost 7 of their last 8 and aren't showing too many signs of life lately.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 5-8, 2-1 American.
12/28/22 at Temple (L 73-69).
12/31/22 at ECU (W 62-42).
A split for the Huskies this week, as they drop a tough one at Temple. Still a wide open conference, but they have to find consistency.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-9, 0-1 American.
12/28/22 vs. UCF (L 68-56).
Just 1 game this week for the Golden Hurricane, and it was another loss. They have lost 6 of 7, with quite a few blowouts mixed in.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-4, 1-0 ACC.
12/26/22 vs. Vanderbilt (L 72-61).
12/31/22 vs. N.C. State (W 71-51).
The Blue Devils split this week at home, losing their final non-conference game, but getting a nice start to conference play. A couple winnable games next week before the schedule toughens up.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-3, 1-1 Big 12.
12/26/22 vs. Oklahoma (L 77-68).
12/31/22 vs. West Virginia (W 75-51).
A split for the Horned Frogs at home, and next week a tough road stretch as they face 2 of the top Big 12 teams.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-3, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/30/22 vs. #13 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
Big win for the Spartans in their final non-conference test. They start Big Ten play with a bang, facing a top 10 team.
#14 Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-2, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/26/22 at Cal State Northridge (L 86-73).
12/31/22 at #15 UC Riverside (W 86-77).
A west coast split for the Wildcats, who would have liked to have gotten both, but 9 wins in conference play is encouraging. Now to conference play which hasn't been so kind.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 10-3, 0-0 Big West.
12/26/22 at St. Louis (L 72-62).
12/31/22 vs. Mississippi State (W 66-53).
A split for the Warriors, who lost on the road but won at home. Conference play starts next week, and this is their chance to prove they can be a contender this season.
#17 FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 9-2, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/26/22 vs. Cal Poly (L 103-97).
12/29/22 vs. Mississippi State (W 80-70).
The Golden Panthers split 2 home games this week, losing a shootout to a good Cal Poly team. They open conference play with a top 25 battle next week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-6, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/26/22 at UT Arlington (L 82-74).
Just 1 game for the Owls this week, and it was another loss to fall back under .500.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 8-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/26/22 vs. Texas A&M (L 69-62).
The Buffaloes lose their only game this week against another former Big 12 foe. Now they jump into conference play starting next week.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/27/22 at #5 LSU (L 55-47).
Just 1 game for the Cardinal this week, and they lose a low scoring battle. Tough one to lose, they had the lead at halftime. To top things off, they have to start conference play against Arizona next week. Yeck!
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 7-5, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/26/22 at UC Santa Barbara (L 72-70).
12/28/22 at Long Beach State (W 87-60).
A split for the Bruins in their 2 game swing through the Big West conference. A tough loss at UCSB, they needed to win both this week to build momentum going into Pac 12 play.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/28/22 vs. Chicago State (W 84-62).
12/31/22 at Troy (W 77-59).
A couple dominating performances this week for the Cougars, including a whomping of Coach Hawkins' former team, Troy. Now the grind of Pac 12 play begins.
#13 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-3, 0-0 SEC.
12/30/22 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
Just 1 game for the Crimson Tide, who lost a tough one at Michigan State. If they would have shot better, the result could have been different.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 2-8:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Syracuse (72) 13-1 1800 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Notre Dame 11-1 1716 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Arkansas 11-1 1645 1 Southeastern Conference
4. North Carolina 11-2 1560 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. LSU 12-1 1519 5 Southeastern Conference
6. Wisconsin 10-2 1468 9 Big Ten Conference
7. Louisville 10-2 1309 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Iowa 10-2 1239 11 Big Ten Conference
9. Yale 13-1 1197 7 Ivy League
10. Arizona 10-2 1118 16 Pacific-12 Conference
11. Villanova 13-2 1079 19 Big East Conference
12. Georgetown 10-3 1059 NR Big East Conference
13. Florida State 10-2 917 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Old Dominion 10-1 891 10 Conference USA
15. North Texas 10-1 805 18 Conference USA
16. Oklahoma State 12-2 665 25 Big 12 Conference
17. Ohio State 9-3 541 12 Big Ten Conference
18. Western Michigan 11-2 537 NR Mid-American Conference
19. Northwestern 9-2 413 14 Big Ten Conference
20. Alabama 9-3 361 13 Southeastern Conference
21. Dayton 10-2 284 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Saint Joseph's 10-2 263 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Stony Brook 13-2 262 NR America East Conference
24. San Diego State 11-3 227 NR Mountain West Conference
25. FIU 9-2 114 17 Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
Virginia 9-3 109 Atlantic Coast Conference
UC Riverside 10-2 81 Big West Conference
Nebraska 8-2 67 Big Ten Conference
California 8-3 53 Pacific-12 Conference
Pacific 9-2 46 West Coast Conference
Missouri 8-2 25 Southeastern Conference
Middle Tennessee 8-2 20 Conference USA
Baylor 10-3 8 Big 12 Conference
Wichita State 10-3 2 Missouri Valley Conference
These polls were not kind to our FOFC teams. Northwestern dropped 5 spots, Alabama dropped 7 spots, and FIU dropped 8 spots after losses this week. TCU and Hawaii are no longer receiving votes.
Now for the mid-major top 25 heading into the week of Jan. 2-8:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Yale (68) 13-1 1796 1 Ivy League
2. Old Dominion (3) 10-1 1699 2 Conference USA
3. North Texas (1) 10-1 1612 5 Conference USA
4. Western Michigan 11-2 1579 8 Mid-American Conference
5. Saint Joseph's 10-2 1438 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. FIU 9-2 1418 3 Conference USA
7. Dayton 10-2 1355 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Stony Brook 13-2 1285 16 America East Conference
9. San Diego State 11-3 1206 19 Mountain West Conference
10. UC Riverside 10-2 1139 4 Big West Conference
11. Pacific 9-2 1099 18 West Coast Conference
12. Middle Tennessee 8-2 978 6 Conference USA
13. Wichita State 10-3 972 7 Missouri Valley Conference
14. Portland 10-3 790 24 West Coast Conference
15. Bowling Green 10-3 729 25 Mid-American Conference
16. Oakland 9-3 679 10 Horizon League
17. Northern Iowa 10-3 559 11 Missouri Valley Conference
18. Tulane 10-3 506 13 American Athletic Conference
19. Davidson 9-3 477 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. UAB 9-3 448 22 Conference USA
21. Hawaii 10-3 389 14 Big West Conference
22. Holy Cross 11-3 361 NR Patriot League
23. Richmond 9-3 268 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Utah State 9-3 262 15 Mountain West Conference
25. Illinois State 12-4 218 NR Missouri Valley Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Cal Poly 8-3 69 Big West Conference
Western Carolina 10-3 52 Southern Conference
Bradley 10-4 11 Missouri Valley Conference
Northern Colorado 8-3 6 Big Sky Conference
It's still just FIU and Hawaii receiving votes for our FOFC mid-major teams. Both are losing ground, but still receiving a lot of votes.