Nov. 26-Dec. 2, 2018
Just 1 feature game for you this week, and let's take a look.
11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round-
(5) Clemson (Charles Johnson) vs.
(4) Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- A hard fought victory that was tied at halftime. The difference was the shooting, as Clemson made 10 three pointers, but Colorado countered by making 23 free throws to just 9 for Clemson as the Buffaloes survived, advancing to the Maui Semifinals.
Final Score: (4) Colorado- 73, (5) Clemson- 69
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-5, 0-0 America East.
11/28/18 vs. South Florida (L 72-63).
The Hawks continue to look for their first win of the season, but the competition gets a little easier next week even though they'll be on the road.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-2, 0-0 American.
11/28/18- NIT Season Tip-Off First Round vs. (4) Rutgers (L 74-60).
11/29/18- NIT Season Tip-Off Consolation vs. (1) Harvard (L 70-53).
11/30/18- NIT Season Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (7) Miami (OH) (W 70-54).
The Pirates avoid an 0-fer for the week by salvaging the 7th place game in their season tournament. They got a tough draw in the consolation semifinal by having to take on the top seed.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 1-2, 0-0 American.
11/30/18- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic Semifinal vs. (1) #8 Syracuse (L 84-72).
12/1/18- Corpus Christi Coastal Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Nebraska (L 80-66).
2 tough losses against good competition this week for the Golden Hurricane. It doesn't get any easier next week as they return home for 2 tough games.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
11/27/18- Brooklyn Classic First Round vs. (5) UTEP (L 89-81).
11/30/18- Brooklyn Classic Consolation vs. (8) DePaul (W 63-40).
12/1/18- Brooklyn Classic 5th Place Game vs. (7) Bucknell (L 66-64).
Tough week for the Wildcats, as they open the season with a 6th place finish in their season tournament. They blew a lead late in the game against Bucknell.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-3, 0-0 ACC.
11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (4) Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
11/27/18- Maui Invitational Consolation vs. (1) UConn (L 95-57).
11/28/18- Maui Invitational 7th Place Game vs. (6) Evansville (W 90-84).
Tough luck for the Tigers this week, as they fell short against Colorado, then had to face a top seed with revenge on their mind. They did scrape out a win over Evansville, but they've got a brutal 4 game stretch coming up.
#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 3-0, 0-0 ACC.
No games this week for Coach Hoo and the Blue Devils, who get a nice rest before 5 cream puff games in a row.
#14 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 2-3, 0-0 Big 12.
11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (7) Belmont (L 89-73).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Consolation vs. (6) St. John's (W 67-53).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis 5th Place Game vs. (4) Memphis (L 72-69, OT).
12/2/18 at #18 Northern Iowa (L 83-69).
Not a good week at all for the Jayhawks, who aren't playing great basketball. 1-3 in a week just won't cut it. Nor will losing to teams like Belmont and Northern Iowa.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 3-1, 0-0 Big 12.
11/26/18 vs. Grand Canyon (L 49-47).
12/2/18 at Bethune Cookman (W 60-51).
The Horned Frogs suffer their first loss of the season, but almost rallied all the way back from a 13 point deficit. The schedule remains fairly easy as TCU looks to get some confidence before Big 12 play starts.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 2-2, 0-0 Big Ten.
11/26/18- Las Vegas Invitational First Round vs. (6) Iona (W 53-52).
11/29/18- Las Vegas Invitational Semifinal vs. (2) Northern Iowa (L 87-82).
11/30/18- Las Vegas Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Oklahoma (L 83-73).
4th place seems to be the number for the Wolverines, who have 3 4th place finishes in 4 8 team tournaments so far. The tough schedule continues, as their next 6 opponents are a combined 17-4 so far.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 1-1, 0-0 Big Ten.
No games this week for Coach Mighty and the Spartans, who get back on the court next week.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 1-1, 0-0 Big Ten.
No games this week either for Coach Vee and the Wildcats, who have a pretty tough schedule to face next week.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 0-1, 0-0 Big West.
Another team with no games this week, as Coach Gunn and the Warriors have had a very long layoff.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 1-1, 0-0 Conference USA.
And the trend continues, as the 49ers and Coach Tribble also had the week off.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 2-1, 0-0 Conference USA.
11/26/18 vs. Lamar (W 58-44).
12/1/18 vs. Texas-Rio Grande Valley (W 77-67).
The Owls get 2 home wins this week, and next week they start a 5 game road trip followed by their season tournament. In fact, Rice doesn't play a home game again until January 12th of 2019. Yeesh!
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 4-0, 0-0 MAAC.
11/25/18- Paradise Jam Semifinal vs. (8) Northern Arizona (W 72-44).
11/26/18- Paradise Jam Championship vs. (3) FIU (W 63-52).
12/2/18 at Hofstra (W 77-64).
Although it wasn't against the toughest of competition, the Hawks win their first season tournament in the Coach Carrano era, and follow it up with a good road win at Hofstra. They've got 3 more games on the road, all winnable, before returning home to start conference play.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-2, 0-0 MEAC.
11/30/18- New Orleans Classic First Round vs. (2) William & Mary (L 57-46).
12/2/18- New Orleans Classic 3rd Place Game vs. (1) Wofford (W 62-53).
Another 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Spartans. They'll take next week off before a 3 game home stretch.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 2-2, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/26/18- Maui Invitational First Round vs. (5) Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
11/27/18- Maui Invitational Semifinal vs. (8) Oakland (L 83-77).
11/28/18- Maui Invitational 3rd Place Game vs. (3) Oklahoma State (W 77-73).
The Buffaloes had a pretty good week, despite the upset loss to Oakland. Nothing to be ashamed there, as Oakland also beat top seed UConn by 27. They finished off 3rd place by taking care of a former Big 12 opponent.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/27/18- Cancun Challenge Semifinal vs. (3) West Virginia (L 53-50).
11/28/18- Cancun Challenge 3rd Place Game vs. (5) Rhode Island (W 63-55).
The Cardinal are slipping a bit in 8 team tournaments after winning one and being runner up in previous years. Still a hard fought loss against West Virginia. They've got some easy ones coming up next week.
#16 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 6-0, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (6) St. John's (W 85-63).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal vs. (7) Belmont (W 75-65).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis Championship vs. (5) UNLV (W 79-70).
12/2/18 vs. Illinois Chicago (W 99-49).
Great week for the Bruins, who took advantage of some upsets to avoid both Kansas and Kentucky and win the Battle for Atlantis. Then they hammered a hapless Illinois Chicago team for a 4 win week! UCLA has now won both the 8 team tourneys they've been in.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 2-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/2/18 at Maryland Eastern Shore (W 60-44).
Just the 1 game this week for the Cougars, but they get back on the winning track. Just 1 home game next week on the schedule.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 4-0, 0-0 SEC.
11/26/18- Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals vs. (9) #17 Seton Hall (W 67-34).
11/27/18- Hall of Fame Classic Championship vs. (2) #11 Arizona (W 74-65).
The Crimson Tide are rolling in the early season, becoming just the 2nd FOFC coached team ever to win a 16 team tournament, and they did it in easy fashion. They've got 3 home games in which they should roll coming up.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 3-0, 0-0 SEC.
11/27/18- Cancun Challenge Semifinals vs. (5) Rhode Island (W 57-48).
11/28/18- Cancun Challenge Championship vs. (3) West Virginia (W 62-48).
The Gators continue their impressive streak in season tournaments, as they've won 3 now. Next week is a heavy week with 3 games on the schedule.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 3-2, 0-0 SEC.
11/28/18- Battle for Atlantis First Round vs. (8) Bowling Green (W 82-80).
11/29/18- Battle for Atlantis Semifinal vs. (5) UNLV (L 72-70).
11/30/18- Battle for Atlantis 3rd Place Game vs. (7) Belmont (W 74-68).
3 very close games for the Wildcats, unfortunately they missed a chance for the title game by giving up a buzzer beater to UNLV. 3rd place is their worst finish in an 8 team tournament so far.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt.
No games for Coach Hawkins and the Trojans this week, as they get ready for 4 of their next 5 games on the road.
Here is a look at the national top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Virginia (71) 4-0 1799 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Iowa State 3-0 1686 1 Big 12 Conference
3. Georgetown 3-0 1663 3 Big East Conference
4. North Carolina 2-0 1499 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. San Diego State 3-0 1456 5 Mountain West Conference
6. UCLA (1) 6-0 1455 16 Pacific-12 Conference
7. Gonzaga 5-0 1292 19 West Coast Conference
8. Illinois State 4-0 1225 23 Missouri Valley Conference
9. LSU 3-0 1130 21 Southeastern Conference
10. Mississippi 4-0 1096 22 Southeastern Conference
11. Baylor 6-0 1048 24 Big 12 Conference
12. North Carolina State 3-0 998 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa 3-1 978 20 Big Ten Conference
14. Wisconsin 2-1 886 15 Big Ten Conference
15. Texas A&M 2-0 729 NR Southeastern Conference
16. Syracuse 5-0 686 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Duke 3-0 524 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Alabama 4-0 469 NR Southeastern Conference
19. Ohio State 1-1 443 NR Big Ten Conference
20. Florida 3-0 327 NR Southeastern Conference
21. Maryland 2-1 325 6 Big Ten Conference
22. St. Bonaventure 4-0 255 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Creighton 5-1 236 NR Big East Conference
24. Pittsburgh 4-1 220 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
25. William & Mary 4-0 168 NR Colonial Athletic Association
Others Receiving Votes:
Cincinnati 3-1 95 American Athletic Conference
Louisville 1-1 77 Atlantic Coast Conference
Penn State 3-0 77 Big Ten Conference
Stony Brook 4-0 72 America East Conference
Arizona 3-1 67 Pacific-12 Conference
Monmouth 4-0 60 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Sacramento State 3-0 60 Big Sky Conference
Niagara 4-0 58 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Toledo 2-0 51 Mid-American Conference
Tulane 2-0 41 American Athletic Conference
Bradley 2-0 40 Missouri Valley Conference
Idaho State 1-0 25 Big Sky Conference
USC Upstate 2-0 25 Atlantic Sun Conference
Manhattan 2-0 20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Buffalo 5-1 13 Mid-American Conference
McNeese State 2-0 11 Southland Conference
Mount St. Mary's 4-0 8 Northeast Conference
Providence 4-1 4 Big East Conference
Villanova 4-1 3 Big East Conference
Huge jumps for UCLA and Duke after big weeks, while Florida and Alabama also have big weeks and enter the national top 25. Monmouth, on the strength of winning their season tournament, is now receiving votes. Kansas is nowhere to be found, nor is Kentucky.