Jan. 3-9, 2022
We have 2 feature games this week, and we start in the American.
1/5/22-
Tulsa (Will Brown) @
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- This conference game between 2 struggling teams wasn't much of a game. It was a foul fest, but the problem is Tulsa committed shooting fouls, while UConn didn't, so there was a bit of a free throw difference. It also didn't help that the Huskies made 8 three pointers to roll to victory.
Final Score: UConn- 70, Tulsa- 55
Now we move to the Pac 12:
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- Pac 12 play has been a different ball game for the Cougars, and this game was no different. Coach St. John's team kept it close, but couldn't get over the hump. Once again the game was won at the free throw line, as UCLA got there 14 more times than Washington State.
Final Score: UCLA- 78, Washington State- 67
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 9-9, 3-2 America East.
1/5/22 vs. Maine (L 59-48).
1/9/22 vs. UMass Lowell (W 72-42).
Another split for the Hawks as they continue to beat up on the bad teams in the conference, but struggle with the better teams.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 7-7, 2-1 American.
1/5/22 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
1/8/22 at Temple (L 81-72).
The Huskies split this week, winning at home and losing on the road.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 10-8, 3-2 American.
1/5/22 at UCF (W 75-54).
1/8/22 at South Florida (L 55-54).
Almost a big week for the Pirates, as they split a pair of road games. They won't be happy about that South Florida loss, especially since they double up against the conference favorites next week.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 5-10, 1-3 American.
1/5/22 at UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
1/8/22 vs. UCF (W 53-41).
A much needed win for the Golden Hurricane as they get their first win in conference and are hoping to build some momentum from that.
#16 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 12-3, 2-1 ACC.
1/5/22 at N.C. State (W 80-66).
1/8/22 vs. #22 Louisville (L 79-64).
As seems to be the theme for our FOFC teams, the Blue Devils split, breaking a 3 game winning streak. Plenty of time to build a new strak though, the schedule is favorable for the rest of the month, aside from a couple games.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 5-8, 1-3 Big 12.
1/3/22 at #8 Texas (L 79-69).
1/8/22 at #7 Iowa State (L 77-56).
Tough week for the Horned Frogs, but they know what they are up against in the Big 12. It won't get any easier, so they are going to have to fight that much harder to fare well in conference.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 9-4, 1-1 Big Ten.
1/5/22 vs. Ohio State (L 75-68).
1/8/22 at Maryland (W 71-60).
A split for the Spartans, who won't be happy about a loss to their archrivals. They hold the cards though, as the conference, sans Wisconsin who is just amazing, seems to be pretty balanced.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-5, 1-1 Big Ten.
1/5/22 at #1 Wisconsin (L 83-58).
1/8/22 vs. Illinois (W 64-63).
A split for the Wildcats. No surprise that they were hammered by Wisconsin, as that's been happening to a lot of teams. Good recovery though against Illinois.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 8-6, 0-2 Big West.
1/4/22 at UC Riverside (L 82-78).
1/8/22 at UC Irvine (L 65-48).
And the hits are already coming for the firecoachgunn.com website. A less than impressive start to conference play, although they did play Riverside tough.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-4, 1-1 Conference USA.
1/6/22 vs. Middle Tennessee (W 69-60).
1/8/22 at UTEP (L 74-54).
A split for the Owls, as they have 3 more games on the road before they return back home.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 9-5, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/6/22 at Arizona State (W 85-66).
1/8/22 vs. Gonzaga (L 83-68).
Surprise surprise! Another FOFC split. This time it was a little different, as the Buffaloes won on the road but lost at home.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 8-4, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/6/22 vs. Gonzaga (L 67-66).
1/8/22 at California (W 83-73).
Another split, another team losing at home and winning on the road. This time it is the Cardinal who played a dismal first half against Gonzaga and couldn't catch up.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 10-4, 2-0 Pac 12.
1/6/22 at California (W 85-83).
1/8/22 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
Well it took a while, but finally an FOFC team wins all their games in a week. Go figure that it would be the Bruins, but it wasn't easy as they got a challenge from Cal.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-6, 0-2 Pac 12.
1/6/22 at Oregon State (L 72-64).
1/8/22 at UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
Good efforts by the Cougars, but 2 losses to start conference play. As I mentioned above, Pac 12 play is a different animal for Coach St. John.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 8-6, 2-0 SEC.
1/5/22 at Auburn (W 83-73).
1/8/22 vs. VCU (W 95-91).
Don't look now, but the Crimson Tide are playing great basketball. They've won 6 in a row going into a big week next week.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 11-4, 0-2 SEC.
1/5/22 vs. LSU (L 91-90, OT).
1/8/22 at #15 Vanderbilt (L 60-57).
On the flip side of things, the Wildcats go 0-fer this week. Although to be fair, it was tough competition, and their total margin of defeat for the week was 4 points. We'll see if they can get back to Big Blue basketball next week.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 8-7, 3-3 Sun Belt.
1/3/22 vs. Chicago State (L 82-73).
1/5/22 vs. Loyola Chicago (W 71-66).
The Trojans go out of conference this week and split. But really, they can't be losing to teams like Chicago State if they want to start gaining respect.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into the week of Jan. 10-16:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wisconsin (72) 15-1 1800 1 Big Ten Conference
2. Wichita State 16-1 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Oklahoma 15-1 1656 4 Big 12 Conference
4. Baylor 15-1 1581 3 Big 12 Conference
5. Texas 13-1 1500 8 Big 12 Conference
6. Syracuse 12-2 1417 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Memphis 14-1 1356 9 American Athletic Conference
8. San Diego State 14-2 1339 6 Mountain West Conference
9. Virginia 12-3 1133 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Notre Dame 13-2 1068 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. North Carolina 11-3 1036 20 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Iowa State 12-3 1013 7 Big 12 Conference
13. Arkansas 11-3 968 10 Southeastern Conference
14. Oakland 15-2 887 18 Horizon League
15. Louisville 10-3 830 22 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Massachusetts 13-2 731 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
17. St. John's 11-3 620 14 Big East Conference
18. Vanderbilt 12-3 566 15 Southeastern Conference
19. Sacred Heart 13-2 504 21 Northeast Conference
20. Duke 12-3 439 16 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Old Dominion 11-2 428 24 Conference USA
22. SMU 13-3 262 NR American Athletic Conference
23. Alabama A&M 12-2 224 25 Southwestern Athletic Conference
24. Kansas State 12-3 135 NR Big 12 Conference
25. Missouri 11-3 83 19 Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Villanova 11-4 36 Big East Conference
Buffalo 10-4 24 Mid-American Conference
Kentucky 11-4 15 Southeastern Conference
Richmond 11-3 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Florida State 10-4 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Manhattan 11-3 2 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
FIU 10-3 1 Conference USA
No surprise as Duke falls 4 spots in the polls thanks to their loss, and Kentucky falls all the way out, even though their losses were only by 4 combined points.
Now for the mid-major poll going into the week of Jan. 10-16:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Wichita State (72) 16-1 1800 1 Missouri Valley Conference
2. San Diego State 14-2 1709 2 Mountain West Conference
3. Memphis 14-1 1675 3 American Athletic Conference
4. Oakland 15-2 1572 5 Horizon League
5. Massachusetts 13-2 1508 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Old Dominion 11-2 1431 7 Conference USA
7. Sacred Heart 13-2 1352 6 Northeast Conference
8. SMU 13-3 1289 10 American Athletic Conference
9. Alabama A&M 12-2 1246 8 Southwestern Athletic Conference
10. Buffalo 10-4 1103 23 Mid-American Conference
11. Richmond 11-3 1058 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. FIU 10-3 1057 18 Conference USA
13. Manhattan 11-3 901 21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
14. Portland 12-4 831 9 West Coast Conference
15. Fordham 10-3 756 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
16. UTEP 10-4 678 13 Conference USA
17. William & Mary 11-4 597 11 Colonial Athletic Association
18. Florida Gulf Coast 12-4 577 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
19. Belmont 12-4 572 NR Ohio Valley Conference
20. The Citadel 12-4 363 14 Southern Conference
21. Davidson 10-4 318 16 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. VMI 12-4 259 15 Southern Conference
23. Northeastern 10-4 228 NR Colonial Athletic Association
24. Colorado State 10-4 132 NR Mountain West Conference
25. Loyola MD 12-4 119 19 Patriot League
Others Receiving Votes:
Dayton 10-4 65 Atlantic 10 Conference
Cal State Northridge 9-4 51 Big West Conference
Fresno State 12-5 39 Mountain West Conference
Green Bay 12-5 33 Horizon League
UAB 8-4 25 Conference USA
UNLV 10-5 15 Mountain West Conference
Rice 9-4 14 Conference USA
BYU 12-5 10 West Coast Conference
Southern Utah 9-4 9 Big Sky Conference
Oral Roberts 10-4 8 Summit League
Rice still has a few votes in the Mid-Major top 25, but they can't take another .500 week. Doesn't look like any of our other mid-major teams will be sniffing this poll anytime soon.