Dec. 18-24, 2023
18 games this week, a bit of a light week, and 1 feature game. Let's get to it.
12/19/23-
TCU (Bee Mighty) @
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- A tight game throughout, as Tulsa held a 5 point halftime lead. Once again though, they couldn't hold it, as they were outrebounded 49-28, and TCU got many second chance points. All that meant was that TCU was able to come back and get a road win.
Final Score: TCU- 69, Tulsa- 63
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-5, 0-0 America East.
12/18/23 at #22 Yale (L 57-48).
12/20/23 at Penn (W 74-52).
A split for the Hawks, as they can't get the top 25 win at Yale despite a good effort. They'll feel good about going into conference play over .500, but Coach Ginsberg knows his team has missed some golden opportunities.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 4-6, 1-0 American.
12/20/23 vs. Houston (W 89-76).
12/22/23 at Washington (L 66-58).
A split for the Huskies, who get conference play started off on the right foot, but lose the first of a 4 game road swing. They aren't done with non-conference play yet, still another game mixed in among American play. Weird.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-7, 0-0 American.
12/19/23 vs. TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
12/21/23 at Denver (W 55-41).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, and the monkey is off Coach Brown's back. The win at Denver not only broke a 6 game losing streak, but also gave Coach Brown his 100th career win, finally!
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 7-5, 0-0 ACC.
12/19/23 at #19 Seton Hall (L 60-49).
Another loss for the Fighting Irish, as they've dropped 2 in a row heading into ACC play.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 7-3, 0-0 Big 12.
12/19/23 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
Just the 1 game for the Horned Frogs, as they can think a huge rebounding advantage for the win. It gets brutal from here on out though. A non-conference game against LSU, and then Big 12 play where every game will be tough.
#16 St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 10-1, 0-0 Big East.
12/19/23 at Kent State (W 72-64).
1 game for the Red Storm this week, but they get the win. They've got a pair of 5 game winning streaks sandwiched in-between their 1 loss and become the first FOFC coached team to reach 10 wins so far this season. Not bad for Coach Hoo's first year on the job. Big East play is still going to be a grind though.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/22/23 at Western Michigan (W 79-71).
12/24/23 vs. Cal State Northridge (W 78-67).
A pair of victories this week for the Wildcats, who are back over .500 overall and have 1 more non-conference game next week before Big Ten play.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 2-6, 0-0 Big West.
No games this week for Coach Gunn and the Warriors. We understand that the bulk of practice this week consisted of the team running suicides. If nothing else, they should be well conditioned!
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/18/23 at Florida State (L 62-51).
12/22/23 at George Washington (W 97-94, OT).
A road split for the Golden Panthers against tough competition. 1 more non-conference game, then C-USA play begins.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 8-3, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/18/23 at Alcorn State (L 69-59).
12/21/23 vs. Texas Southern (W 81-78).
Not a good week for the Owls, as they lose at Alcorn State, which shouldn't be happening, then struggle to a win against one of the worst teams in the NCAA so far this season. They'll have to pick it up now that C-USA play is here.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 4-6, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/21/23 vs. Texas Tech (L 55-54).
Another agonizing 1 point loss against a really good team, and the Buffaloes just continue to struggle to put games away. They've got 2 more chances next week in non-conference play.
#18 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/19/23 at #25 Fresno State (W 111-69).
1 game this week for the Cardinal, but wow what a game it was. They really exploded offensively and continue to stay hot.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/23 at #10 Xavier (L 65-62).
These are the type of games the Bruins need to be winning to get their groove back, so to speak. Road games at undefeated, top 10 teams. The road stretch continues for 4 more games.
#12 Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-0, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/22/23 vs. Nevada (W 74-36).
Total domination this week for the Cougars in their only game of the week. They could (and should) have this same kind of result in both their games next week, and will (or should) have huge momentum going into Pac 12 play.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 5-5, 0-0 SEC.
No games this week for Coach Rogers or the Crimson Tide, who have 1 more non-conference game next week. They need to find some consistency as they approach SEC play.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into the week of Dec. 25-31:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Virginia (55) 11-0 1783 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Syracuse (9) 11-0 1728 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Arizona (8) 11-1 1673 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Georgetown 10-1 1545 4 Big East Conference
5. Iowa State 9-1 1505 6 Big 12 Conference
6. Baylor 10-1 1473 8 Big 12 Conference
7. Providence 10-1 1327 7 Big East Conference
8. Xavier 10-0 1247 10 Big East Conference
9. Wisconsin 11-1 1238 11 Big Ten Conference
10. Ohio State 7-1 1185 9 Big Ten Conference
11. Creighton 11-1 1033 13 Big East Conference
12. Washington State 9-0 963 12 Pacific-12 Conference
13. Louisville 9-2 868 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Sam Houston State 10-0 782 14 Southland Conference
15. St. John's 10-1 752 16 Big East Conference
16. Villanova 9-2 657 20 Big East Conference
17. Stanford 9-1 612 18 Pacific-12 Conference
18. Iowa 8-2 610 5 Big Ten Conference
19. Yale 11-1 585 22 Ivy League
20. DePaul 9-1 427 24 Big East Conference
21. Michigan State 8-2 356 NR Big Ten Conference
22. UAB 9-1 351 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UC Irvine 9-1 324 21 Big West Conference
24. Florida Atlantic 10-1 180 NR Conference USA
25. St. Bonaventure 7-2 156 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Vanderbilt 9-3 33 Southeastern Conference
San Francisco 9-2 3 West Coast Conference
Seton Hall 9-2 2 Big East Conference
North Texas 10-2 1 Conference USA
Wake Forest 9-2 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
Washington State stays put at #12, I thought they might move up a spot after their blowout win, but I guess not. St. John's and Stanford do end up each moving up a spot though. UCLA loses all their votes, no big surprise.
Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Dec. 25-31:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Sam Houston State (53) 10-0 1778 1 Southland Conference
2. Yale (7) 11-1 1712 3 Ivy League
3. UC Irvine (6) 9-1 1646 4 Big West Conference
4. UAB (6) 9-1 1603 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Florida Atlantic 10-1 1492 11 Conference USA
6. St. Bonaventure 7-2 1480 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. San Francisco 9-2 1309 6 West Coast Conference
8. North Texas 10-2 1222 21 Conference USA
9. Massachusetts 8-2 1203 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Florida Gulf Coast 9-2 1116 9 Sun Belt Conference
11. Louisiana Tech 7-2 1060 8 Conference USA
12. Delaware 10-2 1006 25 Colonial Athletic Association
13. Houston 8-2 1000 7 American Athletic Conference
14. Saint Peter's 10-2 909 NR Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
15. Northwestern State 8-2 788 NR Southland Conference
16. Illinois State 8-3 681 NR Missouri Valley Conference
17. Tulane 9-3 583 NR American Athletic Conference
18. Fresno State 8-3 550 2 Mountain West Conference
19. Memphis 8-3 460 12 American Athletic Conference
20. Utah State 7-3 410 NR Mountain West Conference
21. Mercer 10-3 245 NR Southern Conference
22. La Salle 9-3 216 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UNLV 7-3 113 14 Mountain West Conference
24. USC Upstate 10-3 107 23 Atlantic Sun Conference
25. Portland 7-3 106 19 West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Long Beach State 7-3 98 Big West Conference
Drexel 7-3 86 Colonial Athletic Association
BYU 9-4 81 West Coast Conference
Rice 8-3 80 Conference USA
Central Michigan 7-3 72 Mid-American Conference
South Dakota State 6-3 39 Conference USA
Arkansas State 8-3 36 Sun Belt Conference
American 9-3 30 Patriot League
UCF 6-3 30 American Athletic Conference
Colorado State 8-3 27 Mountain West Conference
Towson 8-3 18 Colonial Athletic Association
Sacramento State 6-3 5 Big Sky Conference
UC Riverside 7-3 3 Big West Conference
While they are still receiving votes, Rice drops out of the mid-major top 25 after a pretty pitiful week.