Dec. 26, 2016-Jan. 1, 2017
1 feature game this week, and it's a Rose Bowl quality game, if this was football.
12/30/16-
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @
#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Not much to talk about in this one, as the Bruins took control early and never let up. They forced 18 turnovers and held Michigan to 38.9% shooting in an easy road victory.
Final Score: #5 UCLA- 81, Michigan- 54
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-9, 2-1 America East.
12/30/16 vs. Albany (W 75-66).
1/1/17 vs. UMBC (W 62-57).
Good week for the Hawks, who win both games this week. The Albany win was really nice as Albany has already won 10 games.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 2-10, 0-1 American.
12/28/16 vs. #3 Cincinnati (L 82-52).
12/31/16 vs. Longwood (L 40-38).
Ouch! Not a good week for the Pirates. Losing to Longwood is unacceptable. Coach Hutt better get it figured out quick.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
12/26/16 vs. South Carolina (W 73-59).
12/29/16 at Georgia (W 75-48).
Not sure what was said after the last game, but the Wildcats responded with 2 big wins over SEC opponents. Feel good wins heading into conference play.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-7, 0-2 Big 12.
12/26/16 at West Virginia (L 96-78).
12/31/16 at Kansas State (L 71-42).
The Horned Frogs are getting a reality check to start conference play, as they've been blitzed in their first 2 B12 games.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-5, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/30/16 vs. #5 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
Not a good display for the Wolverines against a big time opponent. Now they head into an always tough Big Ten.
#2 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-1, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/26/16 at Ole Miss (W 78-54).
Easy game for the Spartans, who roll over a not so good SEC opponent before conference play starts.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 5-8, 0-0 Big West.
12/29/16 at Rhode Island (L 86-50).
The Warriors are struggling big time, losers of 6 of their last 7. If it's anything like last year, conference play is exactly where they need to be.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/26/16 at Georgia (L 66-58).
12/30/16 vs. Jacksonville (W 54-45).
The 49ers break a 4 game losing streak with the Jacksonville win and take some momentum heading into conference play.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 5-6, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/27/16 at Tennessee (L 76-58).
The Owls get credit for going on the road against tough competition during the holidays, but it was not to be as they really weren't competitive.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 7-9, 5-4 MAAC.
12/30/16 vs. St. Peter's (W 74-66).
1/1/17 vs. Niagara (W 64-54).
Nice week for the Hawks who get 2 big wins to go back over .500 in conference play.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-9, 0-1 MEAC.
12/26/16 vs. North Carolina Central (L 79-48).
12/29/16 vs. Seattle (L 78-72).
The losing streak is up to 4 for the Spartans, and what's more frustrating is both losses were at home.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.
No games this week for Coach Nielsen and the Buffaloes.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/26/16 at Seattle (W 92-54).
12/28/16 at Idaho State (W 88-63).
A couple easy road victories for the Cardinal as they head into conference play.
#5 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 11-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/28/16 at Maryland (W 81-66).
12/30/16 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
The Bruins continue to roll, with 2 road wins against very solid teams. They've now won 9 in a row.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 5-7, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/31/16 vs. Long Beach State (L 63-52).
A letdown this week for the Cougars after a good win last week, not what they wanted heading into conference play.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 2-10, 0-0 SEC.
12/26/16 vs. #1 Baylor (W 78-77, OT).
12/29/16 vs. VCU (L 86-80).
No matter what happens the rest of the season, the Crimson Tide can take some solace in knowing they upset a #1 ranked team at some point in the season. Granted, it was by 1 point, and it took overtime, but it's still a monumental win. What would have been great is if they could have compounded it by winning against VCU.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 10-2, 0-0 SEC.
12/28/16 at Stetson (W 79-59).
12/30/16 vs. Georgia Tech (W 73-54).
A couple easy ones for the Gators this week as they continue to build momentum heading into conference play.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-3, 0-0 SEC.
12/30/16 at Western Kentucky (W 63-41).
Just 1 game for the Wildcats this week, but it was an easy one.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-6, 3-1 Sun Belt.
12/29/16 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 69-52).
12/31/16 vs. Appalachian State (W 68-56).
A split this week for the Trojans, who lose their first conference game but rebound nicely in what looks to be a wide open Sun Belt.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Michigan State (68) 12-1 1796 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Cincinnati (4) 15-0 1687 3 American Athletic Conference
3. Kansas 12-1 1686 6 Big 12 Conference
4. UCLA 11-1 1578 5 Pacific-12 Conference
5. Georgetown 12-1 1524 8 Big East Conference
6. Miami 12-1 1395 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. North Carolina 12-1 1300 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. La Salle 12-0 1295 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
9. Marquette 12-1 1286 4 Big East Conference
10. Baylor 12-2 1199 1 Big 12 Conference
11. Wichita State 13-2 1082 12 Missouri Valley Conference
12. Virginia 11-2 999 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa 10-2 895 15 Big Ten Conference
14. Florida 10-2 825 NR Southeastern Conference
15. SMU 12-1 751 21 American Athletic Conference
16. Duke 10-2 700 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Stephen F. Austin 12-1 562 20 Southland Conference
18. Syracuse 10-2 562 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Richmond 11-1 383 23 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Florida State 13-1 334 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Villanova 11-2 298 11 Big East Conference
22. Vanderbilt 11-1 232 25 Southeastern Conference
23. San Diego State 11-3 212 19 Mountain West Conference
24. Wisconsin 10-3 163 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Washington 10-2 132 13 Pacific-12 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
VCU 10-2 116 Atlantic 10 Conference
Kentucky 9-3 114 Southeastern Conference
Arkansas 11-1 98 Southeastern Conference
Murray State 14-1 88 Ohio Valley Conference
Iowa State 11-3 52 Big 12 Conference
Pittsburgh 11-2 31 Atlantic Coast Conference
New Mexico State 12-2 17 Western Athletic Conference
UTEP 9-1 6 Conference USA
Southern Miss 10-1 2 Conference USA
Michigan State moves back up to #1 after the Baylor upset loss, while UCLA moves up a spot after a couple huge wins this week. Florida gets a huge jump back into the top 25 after a good week, and Kentucky sits just on the outside.
Now a look at the mid-major top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Cincinnati (72) 15-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 12-0 1698 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Wichita State 13-2 1686 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. SMU 12-1 1513 7 American Athletic Conference
5. Stephen F. Austin 12-1 1461 6 Southland Conference
6. VCU 10-2 1447 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Richmond 11-1 1380 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. San Diego State 11-3 1360 4 Mountain West Conference
9. New Mexico State 12-2 1196 5 Western Athletic Conference
10. Murray State 14-1 1172 10 Ohio Valley Conference
11. UTEP 9-1 1011 13 Conference USA
12. Cleveland State 11-3 992 18 Horizon League
13. Gonzaga 12-3 975 21 West Coast Conference
14. Southern Miss 10-1 923 14 Conference USA
15. Valparaiso 12-3 755 NR Horizon League
16. Colorado State 10-2 622 25 Mountain West Conference
17. Akron 9-3 613 12 Mid-American Conference
18. Northern Iowa 11-3 571 NR Missouri Valley Conference
19. Illinois State 10-3 427 11 Missouri Valley Conference
20. Boise State 9-3 426 15 Mountain West Conference
21. Dayton 9-3 289 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Memphis 11-3 254 17 American Athletic Conference
23. Fordham 9-2 168 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Georgia State 9-4 147 20 Horizon League
25. BYU 9-4 131 NR West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Rhode Island 9-3 106 Atlantic 10 Conference
Massachusetts 9-3 86 Atlantic 10 Conference
Harvard 10-4 37 Ivy League
Mercer 10-3 37 Southern Conference
Oral Roberts 9-2 34 Summit League
Portland 12-3 23 West Coast Conference
UNC Wilmington 10-3 20 Colonial Athletic Association
North Texas 9-2 15 Conference USA
Montana 8-2 14 Big Sky Conference
Eastern Kentucky 11-3 6 Ohio Valley Conference
Quinnipiac 11-3 3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
North Dakota State 11-3 2 Summit League
Shocker of the year, no FOFC representation in this poll