Feb. 5-11, 2018
6 feature games this week, 3 of them coming from the Pac 12.
2/8/18-
#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- Neither team ripped the nets in this one, and it was all tied at halftime. The Bruins dominated the boards though, 42-29, and were able to get a big road victory, pulling away a bit in the 2nd half.
Final Score: #9 UCLA- 54, Stanford- 46
2/8/18-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 3 point shooting was the difference in this one, as the Cougars made 9 and Colorado only made 2. A game that the Buffaloes led at halftime and could have really used, but they couldn't get a clutch basket late, and fall in what has to be consider a minor upset.
Final Score: Washington State- 65, Colorado- 63
2/10/18-
Rice (Charlie Shocker) @
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- This game was a shootout, as neither team played much defense. Rice shot 50.8% and Charlotte shot 48.2%. There were 65 total free throws shot with 53 made. It came down to the three point line, as Rice doubled up Charlotte from there and it was enough for a road win.
Final Score: Rice- 92, Charlotte- 83
2/10/18-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Give the Cougars credit, they matched UCLA shot for shot in the first half, being tied at 36 going into the locker room. But as was the case for our other feature games, it came down to the three point line. UCLA made 7, Washington State made 1. Despite going 25-29 from the line, there would be no upset today, as UCLA hangs on.
Final Score: #9 UCLA- 83, Washington State- 74
2/10/18-
Duke (Dean Hoo) @
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- How far have the Blue Devils fallen? Well, they shot 35.6%, their lowest shooting percentage in a long time. That, combined with the fact that Clemson made 28 free throws to Duke's 14, and the slide continues for the once proud Blue Devils.
Final Score: Clemson- 70, Duke- 61
2/10/18-
Northwestern (Ess Vee) @
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- The Wildcats jumped out to a big lead early, leading by 12 at halftime. They shot 47.1% to just 35.9% for Michigan and get a much needed win.
Final Score: Northwestern- 82, Michigan- 69
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 15-12, 7-6 T-4th America East.
2/9/18 vs. Albany (W 68-44).
2/11/18 vs. UMBC (W 83-72).
2 solid wins for the Hawks, who now have a career high in wins at 15, and 2 of their last 3 regular season games are winnable.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 8-14, 5-7 7th American.
2/7/18 vs. Virginia Tech (L 78-68).
2/10/18 vs. UConn (W 93-75).
The Pirates split this week, but what a nice win against UConn, a team they wouldn't have even came close to beating 2 years ago.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 16-8, 8-4 T-4th American.
2/7/18 vs. Houston (W 69-51).
Good win for the Golden Hurricane in their only game of the week. Next week is a rematch with Cincinnati.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 18-6, 10-2 T-2nd Atlantic 10.
2/7/18 vs. St. Bonaventure (W 98-75).
2/10/18 at St. Joseph's (L 89-82).
A split for the Wildcats, and not a good loss at St. Joseph's. They've still got a chance for the A-10 title, but they also have some really tough games coming up.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 12-11, 6-7 10th ACC.
2/7/18 at Pittsburgh (W 65-63).
2/10/18 vs. Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
Good week for the Tigers who bounce back over .500 with the 2 wins this week. They've won 3 in a row.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 12-11, 4-9 12th ACC.
2/7/18 vs. Georgia Tech (W 76-52).
2/10/18 at Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
The week started good for the Blue Devils, as they pounded Georgia Tech, but Clemson was just too much for them. Of their last 6 regular season games, only 1 opponent has a sub .500 record. Oh boy!
#8 Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 19-6, 10-3 3rd Big 12.
2/5/18 vs. Oklahoma State (W 90-60).
2/10/18 vs. #21 Oklahoma (L 65-57).
A split for the Jayhawks, who fall out of first place with the loss to Oklahoma. More tough games coming.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-15, 1-11 10th (last) Big 12.
2/10/18 at #11 Iowa State (L 53-38).
The Horned Frogs had a dismal shooting night and don't look anywhere close to getting another Big 12 victory this season. 8 losses in a row now.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 12-12, 5-5 T-9th Big Ten.
2/7/18 at Purdue (L 84-76).
2/10/18 vs. Northwestern- feature game, highlighted above.
Not a good week for the Wolverines, who lost all the momentum of that Michigan State win. Fortunately, the rest of their schedule is favorable.
#16 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 20-4, 10-2 2nd Big Ten.
2/7/18 vs. #1 Ohio State (L 90-85, OT).
2/10/18 at Minnesota (W 66-35).
A gallant effort by the Wolverines against undefeated Ohio State. Taking them to overtime is the best anyone has done so far.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 17-6, 6-6 T-6th Big Ten.
2/7/18 at Penn State (L 60-57).
2/10/18 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
A road split for the Wildcats, and an embarrassing loss to Penn State. That shouldn't happen.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 14-11, 7-4 2nd Big West.
2/8/18 at Cal State Northridge (L 67-54).
2/10/18 vs. UC Santa Barbara (W 65-56).
Tough split for the Warriors, who drop a road game to a bottom feeder in the Big West. Ugh!
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 6-18, 3-9 T-11th Conference USA.
2/8/18 vs. FIU (L 69-52)
2/10/18 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
The slide continues for the 49ers, who have now lost 6 in a row.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-11, 6-6 T-8th Conference USA.
2/8/18 at UTSA (W 65-52).
2/10/18 at Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
Great week for the Owls who get back over .500 overall and back to .500 in conference play. Next week is a date with Old Dominion, who hasn't lost in conference play yet.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-13, 11-7 T-4th MAAC.
2/9/18 at Rider (L 75-55).
2/11/18 at St. Peter's (W 51-34).
A split for the Hawks, and with 2 games left in conference play, they can't win the conference, but they can still finish 2nd. They have St. Peter's again next week, and another winnable game after that.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-14, 5-6 T-6th MEAC.
2/5/18 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 64-55).
2/10/18 at Delaware State (L 72-56).
2 losses for the Spartans this week as they've lost 3 of 4 and next week they face the top 2 teams in the conference.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 12-11, 7-5 T-3rd Pac 12.
2/8/18 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 vs. Oregon State (L 61-56).
Tough week for the Buffaloes, who were just 7 points away from being 2nd in the conference. Fortunately, they've got 3 winnable games coming up before a date with UCLA.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-7, 8-4 2nd Pac 12.
2/8/18 vs. #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 at USC (W 76-56).
A split for the Cardinal, who played UCLA tough but couldn't pull it out. Their schedule is very favorable the rest of the way.
#9 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 21-3, 11-1 1st Pac 12.
2/8/18 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2 wins for the Bruins this week, as they recover from the major upset loss to California. They control their own destiny at this point, as they shouldn't lose again in the regular season.. then again they shouldn't have lost to Cal.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 14-10, 6-6 T-5th Pac 12.
2/8/18 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/10/18 at #9 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
A split for the Cougars, but it was really a good split. They beat a pretty solid Colorado team and hung with UCLA. They've still got some tough ones on the schedule, but 17 wins is doable.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-11, 8-4 T-2nd SEC.
2/7/18 vs. #12 VCU (W 56-53).
2/10/18 at South Carolina (W 69-60).
Big week for the Crimson Tide, who shocked VCU and then followed that up with a good win at South Carolina. If things go right, they could still win the SEC. Amazing.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 17-7, 7-5 T-3rd SEC.
2/7/18 vs. Texas A&M (W 84-71).
2/10/18 vs. Vanderbilt (W 69-52).
2 more wins for the Gators who have 4 winnable games before the rematch with Kentucky.
#4 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 20-4, 9-3 1st SEC.
2/7/18 at Ole Miss (W 84-70).
2/10/18 vs. Tennessee (L 82-76)
A split for the Wildcats, who lost another one unexpectedly. That SEC title isn't assured yet, as they still have meeting with VCU and Florida.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-15, 7-9 T-6th Sun Belt.
2/8/18 at Appalachian State (W 65-64).
2/10/18 vs. Louisiana Monroe (W 62-61).
Well, the Trojans won 2 games this week by the slimmest of margins, but they are on the right path. A 3 game winning streak with 4 regular season games to go.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Ohio State (72) 25-0 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Virginia 22-2 1708 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Gonzaga 26-0 1670 5 West Coast Conference
4. Baylor 23-3 1557 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Villanova 21-3 1473 7 Big East Conference
6. Kentucky 20-4 1469 4 Southeastern Conference
7. Wichita State 23-3 1356 6 Missouri Valley Conference
8. UCLA 21-3 1345 9 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Cincinnati 21-4 1215 13 American Athletic Conference
10. Kansas 19-6 1156 8 Big 12 Conference
11. La Salle 22-2 1011 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Michigan State 20-4 969 16 Big Ten Conference
13. Marquette 18-7 894 10 Big East Conference
14. Iowa State 19-5 847 11 Big 12 Conference
15. Illinois State 23-3 733 18 Missouri Valley Conference
16. VCU 18-6 728 12 Southeastern Conference
17. Syracuse 18-6 670 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Richmond 20-5 639 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Oklahoma 17-8 534 21 Big 12 Conference
20. Miami 18-7 384 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Cleveland State 19-7 286 23 Horizon League
22. Stephen F. Austin 21-3 270 24 Southland Conference
23. Illinois 18-6 267 19 Big Ten Conference
24. Memphis 21-4 217 25 American Athletic Conference
25. North Carolina 17-7 94 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Florida 17-7 39 Southeastern Conference
Old Dominion 20-4 36 Conference USA
Wisconsin 18-7 26 Big Ten Conference
Davidson 18-6 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 19-6 2 Ivy League
Notre Dame 17-7 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Kentucky and Kansas both drop 2 spots after losing a game this week, while UCLA moves up 1 spot. Michigan State also lost a game this week, but moved up 4 spots. HUH?? The only thing I can think of is they were rewarded for having the least margin of defeat against Ohio State. Florida and Davidson are still receiving votes.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Gonzaga (71) 26-0 1799 1 West Coast Conference
2. Wichita State (1) 23-3 1729 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Cincinnati 21-4 1656 3 American Athletic Conference
4. La Salle 22-2 1549 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cleveland State 19-7 1475 7 Horizon League
6. Illinois State 23-3 1457 6 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Richmond 20-5 1408 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Memphis 21-4 1302 9 American Athletic Conference
9. Davidson 18-6 1172 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
10. Stephen F. Austin 21-3 1135 11 Southland Conference
11. Middle Tennessee 19-5 1041 10 Conference USA
12. Old Dominion 20-4 950 13 Conference USA
13. Belmont 19-7 780 17 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Harvard 19-6 740 18 Ivy League
15. Boise State 17-7 697 NR Mountain West Conference
16. UNLV 16-8 666 21 Mountain West Conference
17. Manhattan 21-7 576 25 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
18. American 19-6 440 NR Patriot League
19. Northeastern 19-6 418 14 Colonial Athletic Association
20. San Diego State 14-9 400 24 Mountain West Conference
21. Massachusetts 16-8 345 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Rhode Island 17-7 256 15 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. UTEP 17-6 256 16 Conference USA
24. Louisiana Tech 17-6 206 NR Conference USA
25. Oakland 19-6 168 19 Horizon League
Others Receiving Votes:
SMU 17-8 132 American Athletic Conference
Quinnipiac 20-7 109 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Connecticut 16-8 97 American Athletic Conference
Dayton 17-7 56 Atlantic 10 Conference
Eastern Kentucky 19-6 51 Ohio Valley Conference
BYU 15-11 50 West Coast Conference
South Dakota State 19-7 50 Summit League
Mercer 18-7 41 Southern Conference
North Florida 19-6 35 Atlantic Sun Conference
UAB 17-7 35 Conference USA
Buffalo 16-9 25 Mid-American Conference
Stony Brook 19-7 22 America East Conference
Drexel 18-6 21 Colonial Athletic Association
Colorado State 16-8 16 Mountain West Conference
Sam Houston State 18-5 15 Southland Conference
UC Irvine 16-8 10 Big West Conference
Tulsa 16-8 9 American Athletic Conference
Georgia State 16-10 2 Horizon League
North Carolina Central 18-7 1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Northern Iowa 17-10 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Pepperdine 16-8 1 West Coast Conference
Davidson moves down a spot, while Tulsa is still receiving a few votes. Great to have some FOFC representation in the mid-major polls.
Here's a look at the overall bubble watch, which has none of our FOFC teams in it, but at least this way, some of our teams can take a look at who they have to compete with.
Code:
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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Virginia Tech 15-8 .560 (57) 1-5 4-1 7-2 3-0 116 In
SMU 17-8 .577 (42) 1-3 3-3 6-2 7-0 86 In
Massachusetts 16-8 .559 (61) 2-4 2-2 4-2 8-0 104 In
Arizona 15-9 .595 (24) 3-4 4-1 4-4 4-0 18 In
West Virginia 15-9 .597 (22) 3-6 3-1 6-2 3-0 16 In
UNLV 16-8 .601 (21) 0-2 1-4 9-2 6-0 22 In
Duquesne 16-9 .570 (49) 1-3 3-4 5-1 7-1 61 In
Memphis 21-4 .552 (70) 0-2 6-0 3-1 12-1 259 In
Vanderbilt 15-9 .557 (64) 2-5 3-1 5-2 5-1 82 Out
Lafayette 16-10 .559 (59) 1-3 1-2 5-4 9-1 103 Out
Georgia State 16-10 .559 (62) 0-6 0-1 6-3 10-0 80 Out
Pepperdine 16-8 .552 (71) 0-2 2-2 9-4 5-0 144 Out
Georgia 14-9 .589 (30) 2-6 3-0 6-3 3-0 23 Out
Xavier 14-9 .570 (50) 3-3 3-5 3-0 5-1 46 Out
Northern Iowa 17-10 .549 (77) 2-4 4-1 5-3 6-2 99 Out
I'm particularly interested in Memphis, who has a ridiculous SOS and if that were even in the 100's, we'd probably be looking at them as a lock. But then you look at the RPI at 70 and realize they are 6-2 against the RPI top 100. They will be an interesting team to follow.
As for our teams, it's easier for me to go ahead and list who is a lock or safely in every time as opposed to trying to remember week by week and only reporting when there is a change. So here we go, if you don't see your team listed, that means they are projected out.
Lock: Davidson, Kansas, Michigan State, UCLA, Stanford, Kentucky, Florida,