Jan. 1-7, 2024
28 games on the schedule this week, including 2 feature games. Both feature games involve a team that is having a landmark season thus far. We'll start in Conference USA.
1/6/24-
FIU (Brett Hawkins) @
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- FIU came into this season as the favorites to win C-USA, but they have played like anything but favorites thus far. It continued in this one, as they shot 33.3% and committed 16 turnovers. Rice took a 1 point halftime deficit and turned it into a 23 point victory.
Final Score: Rice- 77, FIU- 54
Now to the Pac 12:
1/6/24-
#9 Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
#19 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A pretty tight one throughout, but 19 turnovers doomed the Cardinal, who were outscored quite a bit in the last few minutes. A signature win for Wazzou, especially on the road.
Final Score: #9- Washington State- 69, #19 Stanford- 60
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 10-7, 2-2 America East.
1/5/24 at Maine (W 69-65).
1/7/24 at Stony Brook (L 55-47).
A road split for the Hawks, who continue to play .500 ball in conference early on.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 4-10, 1-4 American.
1/3/24 at UCF (L 72-51).
1/6/24 vs. South Florida (L 92-57).
It's 5 straight losses for the Huskies, this week seeing 2 blowout losses, and there are rumors that the board at UConn is starting to work on a buyout package for Coach Childress, who just hasn't gotten it done.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-9, 2-1 American.
1/3/24 vs. SMU (W 63-52).
1/3/24 at Memphis (L 63-40).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, who started out strong in conference play. Hopefully they can get it going again next week.
Notre Dame (Al Mighty) -- 8-7, 1-2 ACC.
1/3/24 at #20 Wake Forest (W 93-77).
1/6/24 vs. #21 Lousiville (L 82-74).
A split for the Fighting Irish, and Coach Mighty hasn't had it easy in his first season there. They've got a good 3 game stretch though, until it gets tough again.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-5, 2-1 Big 12.
1/1/24 vs. Oklahoma (W 92-69).
1/6/24 vs. #4 Baylor (L 74-71).
A home split for the Horned Frogs, who gave top 5 Baylor all they wanted and then some. This is still a good TCU team, don't count them out yet.
#10 St. John's (Dean Hoo) -- 13-2, 3-1 Big East.
1/3/24 at #5 Providence (W 81-78).
1/6/24 at #7 Georgetown (L 88-76).
A split for the Red Storm, who suffer their first conference loss. No shame in losing to a team like Georgetown though, they are tough, and it was on the road.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-6, 1-1 Big Ten.
1/3/24 vs. #22 Indiana (W 93-83).
1/6/24 at Illinois (L 87-78).
A split for the Wildcats, who see a 5 game losing streak snapped with the loss at Illinois. It gets tough now, and we'll find out more about the boys, as their next 6 games are against teams with either an 11-3 or a 9-5 record (including a set of back to backs).
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 4-8, 1-1 Big West.
1/4/24 vs. Long Beach State (L 65-53).
1/6/24 at UC Riverside (W 87-67).
A split for the Warriors, which seems to be the theme of the week so far. Coach Gunn knows there are lofty goals, and he knows his time will be running out quick unless something big happens.
FIU (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-8, 1-1 Conference USA.
1/4/24 vs. #24 North Texas (W 78-66).
1/6/24 at Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
The Golden Panthers really wanted to win 2 this week, but at least they won 1. They've still won 5 of their last 7, but the C-USA is tough, and they need to step up their game.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 10-3, 2-0 Conference USA.
1/4/24 at UTEP (W 85-59).
1/6/24 vs. FIU- feature game, highlighted above.
2 more blowout wins for the Owls, who are starting to look dominant again after 2 games in which they struggled. It's possible they could roll off 5 or 6 more wins in a row before they get into the meat of their schedule.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-7, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/4/24 at Washington (L 70-60).
1/6/24 vs. Gonzaga (W 66-47).
A split for the Buffaloes, who have won 3 of their last 4. They really need to take care of business next week because the schedule gets brutal in mid-January.
#19 Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-4, 0-2 Pac 12.
1/4/24 vs. #3 Arizona (L 61-58).
1/6/24 vs. #9 Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough week for the Cardinal who suffer 2 pretty close losses to teams that figure to be in the conference title mix at the end of the season. They've got a great chance to bounce back over their next several games.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 11-4, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/4/24 at Arizona State (W 106-92).
1/6/24 at Washington (L 82-61).
We're being told that Lavar Ball made an appearance at the Bruins' games this week and threatened to pull the whole team from school if they didn't make the Final Four this year (Sorry, I couldn't resist, Lavar Ball makes it way too easy to make fun of him!). Needless to say, UCLA is feeling the grind of this road trip, as they are only able to muster a split this week.
#9 Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 12-1, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/4/24 vs. Oregon State (L 69-68).
1/6/24 at #19 Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1 lone point separated the Cougars from remaining undefeated this week, but at least they got back on track in a marquee win at Stanford. They'll look to continue their quest for their first postseason trip, of which they are off to a roaring start.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 7-6, 1-1 SEC.
1/3/24 at Texas A&M (L 75-66).
1/6/24 vs. Florida (W 91-50).
A split for the Crimson Tide, but they got their first conference win in convincing fashion, hammering Florida by 41 points. Wow!
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 8-14:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Virginia (71) 15-0 1799 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Arizona 13-1 1714 3 Pacific-12 Conference
3. Syracuse (1) 15-0 1671 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Georgetown 13-2 1572 7 Big East Conference
5. Baylor 13-2 1469 4 Big 12 Conference
6. Creighton 15-1 1443 8 Big East Conference
7. Providence 13-2 1418 5 Big East Conference
8. Wisconsin 13-2 1287 6 Big Ten Conference
9. St. John's 13-2 1122 10 Big East Conference
10. Iowa 11-3 1063 16 Big Ten Conference
11. Washington State 12-1 1046 9 Pacific-12 Conference
12. Ohio State 9-3 1007 23 Big Ten Conference
13. Xavier 12-2 946 17 Big East Conference
14. Louisville 12-3 910 21 Atlantic Coast Conference
15. Iowa State 10-4 749 11 Big 12 Conference
16. UC Irvine 12-2 659 12 Big West Conference
17. Texas A&M 11-3 651 NR Southeastern Conference
18. UAB 11-2 574 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. St. Bonaventure 10-3 495 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. California 10-4 461 NR Pacific-12 Conference
21. Sam Houston State 12-2 379 NR Southland Conference
22. Florida Atlantic 12-2 320 15 Conference USA
23. Vanderbilt 10-4 255 18 Southeastern Conference
24. BYU 13-4 144 NR West Coast Conference
25. LSU 10-3 58 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Yale 12-3 58 Ivy League
Indiana 11-3 32 Big Ten Conference
Purdue 11-3 28 Big Ten Conference
UCLA 11-4 22 Pacific-12 Conference
La Salle 11-3 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
Michigan State 9-4 13 Big Ten Conference
Florida Gulf Coast 12-3 11 Sun Belt Conference
North Texas 12-3 9 Conference USA
Stanford 10-4 1 Pacific-12 Conference
St. John's moves up a spot, and Washington State moves down 2 spots this week. Not sure about that, but ok. UCLA and Stanford both receive votes.. well Stanford receives 1 vote anyways, after losing 2 tough ones this week. UCLA receives a few more votes than just 1.
Now for the mid-major top 25 going into the week of Jan. 8-14:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. UC Irvine (57) 12-2 1779 1 Big West Conference
2. UAB (8) 11-2 1706 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. St. Bonaventure (6) 10-3 1627 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. BYU 13-4 1550 10 West Coast Conference
5. Florida Atlantic 12-2 1510 4 Conference USA
6. Sam Houston State (1) 12-2 1506 6 Southland Conference
7. Yale 12-3 1319 9 Ivy League
8. La Salle 11-3 1260 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. North Texas 12-3 1209 5 Conference USA
10. Florida Gulf Coast 12-3 1136 19 Sun Belt Conference
11. Illinois State 11-4 1049 7 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Arkansas State 12-3 1026 18 Sun Belt Conference
13. Rice 10-3 875 23 Conference USA
14. Memphis 11-4 847 8 American Athletic Conference
15. Tulane 11-4 834 NR American Athletic Conference
16. San Francisco 11-4 676 11 West Coast Conference
17. George Washington 10-4 663 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
18. Detroit 10-4 505 NR Horizon League
19. Massachusetts 10-4 466 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Drexel 10-4 419 13 Colonial Athletic Association
21. Richmond 10-4 310 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Colorado State 11-4 299 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Houston 10-4 162 17 American Athletic Conference
24. Robert Morris 13-4 141 NR Northeast Conference
25. Western Carolina 10-4 88 NR Southern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Wichita State 12-5 74 Missouri Valley Conference
San Diego State 11-5 70 Mountain West Conference
USC Upstate 12-4 56 Atlantic Sun Conference
UCF 9-4 53 American Athletic Conference
South Dakota State 8-4 51 Conference USA
Central Michigan 9-4 35 Mid-American Conference
Delaware 12-4 34 Colonial Athletic Association
American 12-4 24 Patriot League
Northwestern State 10-4 22 Southland Conference
Fresno State 10-5 9 Mountain West Conference
Indiana State 11-5 7 Missouri Valley Conference
Albany 11-5 3 America East Conference
Huge jump for Rice after 2 solid wins this week. And by solid, I mean blowout wins. Unfortunately, it appears they might be the only FOFC mid-major team getting mid-major votes this season. It's down otherwise.