Jan. 13-19, 202
We have 2 feature games for you this week, and we'll start in the Big Ten.
1/15/20-
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) @
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- The Spartans had no trouble in this in-state rivalry, as they held Michigan to just 37.7% shooting and hit 11 three pointers in an easy victory.
Final Score: Michigan State- 79, Michigan- 57
1/16/20-
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- This was not a game for the week at heart, as neither team shot above 37%. The problem was, Colorado couldn't stop fouling. They committed 29 team fouls and sent Stanford to the line 39 times. Granted, the Cardinal only made 23 of them, but it was enough to escape with a victory.
Final Score: Stanford- 58, Colorado- 55
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 12-5, 5-1 America East.
1/14/20 vs. Providence (W 86-76).
1/19/20 vs. New Hampshire (W 81-74).
The Hawks keep it rolling, including a big non-conference victory over Providence that could go a long way come March.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-11, 0-6 American.
1/15/20 at South Florida (L 68-46).
1/18/20 vs. South Florida (L 72-53).
2 more losses for the Pirates, as they get blown out by a good South Florida team twice.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 11-6, 3-2 American.
1/15/20 at #8 UConn (L 95-92).
1/18/20 vs. Temple (W 68-49).
The Golden Hurricane split this week, and they were very close to pulling out a big road victory over a top 10 team. Coach Brown has these guys playing great ball right now.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 8-8, 3-1 Atlantic 10.
1/15/20 at #11 Dayton (L 67-64).
1/18/20 vs. Fordham (W 74-63).
The Wildcats also split this week, and like Tulsa, they almost got a big road victory over a very good team. They aren't far from being a solid team again.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-12, 0-5 ACC.
1/15/20 vs. Wake Forest (L 79-51).
1/18/20 at Virginia Tech (L 86-80).
2 more losses for the Tigers. They'll be kicking themselves for a while over the VA Tech loss, as they led at halftime.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 11-6, 1-3 ACC.
1/15/20 vs. Fairfield (W 95-81).
1/18/20 at #1 North Carolina (L 76-68).
The Blue Devils split this week, winning their non-conference game, but falling short against their conference rivals North Carolina. It was a good effort, but not quite good enough.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-7, 2-3 Big 12.
1/18/20 at #2 Baylor (L 80-57).
Just 1 game for the Jayhawks this week, and it's pretty telling when TCU fares better against Baylor than Kansas does, but that's what we've had so far.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 11-6, 3-2 Big 12.
1/13/20 at Kansas State (W 54-47).
1/18/20 at Texas Tech (W 86-67).
2 good road wins for the Horned Frogs, who continue to show just how much they've improved.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 5-11, 1-3 Big Ten.
1/15/20 at Michigan State- feature game, highlighted above.
1/18/20 vs. Ohio State (W 63-55).
The Wolverines split this week, getting a win over their main football rivals. The rivalry isn't quite as strong in basketball, but still huge for them to get their first conference victory.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-4, 4-0 Big Ten.
1/15/20 vs. Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
1/18/20 at #21 Illinois (W 77-64).
The Spartans continue to roll, playing very good basketball right now. It's still a little too soon to say Sparty is back, but I think there's a pretty good chance.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-7, 2-2 Big Ten.
1/15/20 at Iowa (L 81-70).
1/18/20 at Purdue (W 69-61).
A road split for the Wildcats this week, as the Purdue win breaks a 2 game losing streak. They get Purdue again next week and then face a stretch of 4 straight teams currently ranked.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 9-7, 2-2 Big West.
1/16/20 vs. UC Riverside (W 77-68).
1/18/20 at UC Santa Barbara (L 66-63).
Another split for the Warriors. These splits aren't going to win a Big West Championship, nor are they going to get Coach Gunn off the hotseat at firecoachgunn.com. They need a nice winning streak.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-11, 2-2 Conference USA.
1/16/20 at Old Dominion (W 73-69).
1/18/20 vs. North Texas (L 61-53).
Another split for the 49ers. They'll actually take the splits right now, as they are just looking for any wins period.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-9, 2-2 Conference USA.
1/16/20 at North Texas (L 66-49).
1/18/20 vs. Southern Miss (L 85-74).
The Owls wasted a strong conference start by losing 2 this week. They didn't just lose 2, they were dominated in both games.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 9-9, 7-4 MAAC.
1/17/20 at St. Peter's (W 68-56).
1/19/20 vs. Marist (L 62-55).
Guess what the Hawks did this week? Yep, you guessed it, another split. They've got to find a winning streak, somehow, somewhere.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 3-14, 1-4 MEAC.
1/13/20 at Coppin State (L 77-71).
1/18/20 vs. North Carolina A&T (W 68-65).
The Spartans still can't win on the road, but they did manage to pick up their first conference win of the season. Will they use it for momentum now?
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 3-13, 0-4 Pac 12.
1/16/20 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1/18/20 vs. Utah (L 63-62).
2 agonizing defeats this week for the Buffaloes, who played much better basketball this week. Or is it more that the teams they played didn't play up to par? Hmm, interesting question.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-5, 4-0 Pac 12.
1/16/20 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
1/18/20 vs. #20 Washington (W 65-48).
The Cardinal get 2 more wins this week, including a nice pasting of what was a ranked Washington team. They are 1 of 2 teams still undefeated in Pac 12 play, Arizona being the other. They'll meet next week.
#18 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 13-3, 2-2 Pac 12.
1/16/20 vs. USC (L 71-66).
1/18/20 at Oregon State (W 85-68).
The Bruins split this week, and they will not take that loss to USC lying down. UCLA doesn't like losing to USC in anything.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-8, 0-4 Pac 12.
1/16/20 at Utah (L 61-40).
1/18/20 vs. Oregon (L 62-45).
The Cougars get hammered in 2 more games this week and are still trying to figure it out since conference play has started.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-3, 3-1 SEC.
1/15/20 vs. #14 Arkansas (W 81-78).
1/18/20 at Auburn (W 103-86).
The Crimson Tide get a big win over Arkansas this week, as they take care of business in both their games for the week.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-8, 1-3 SEC.
1/15/20 vs. VCU (W 79-73).
1/18/20 vs. Texas A&M (L 77-66).
The Gators split this week, including getting a win over VCU, who has struggled a bit since coming to the SEC. Coach Oppenheimer is now 2 wins away from career win #100.
#5 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 15-1, 4-0 SEC.
1/15/20 at South Carolina (W 92-77).
1/18/20 vs. LSU (W 76-67).
The Wildcats keep on rolling, picking up 2 more victories. They are beating up on the lower part of the SEC, but it should get tougher soon.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 10-6, 4-4 Sun Belt.
1/16/20 vs. Arkansas Little Rock (W 86-82).
1/18/20 vs. Northern Kentucky (W 71-63).
The Trojans are starting to get it together again, at least we hope. 2 tight wins this week and they are at .500 in conference play.
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. North Carolina (54) 16-1 1782 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Baylor (18) 17-1 1746 2 Big 12 Conference
3. Maryland 14-2 1624 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Connecticut 15-2 1502 8 American Athletic Conference
5. Virginia 14-3 1415 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
6. Vanderbilt 14-2 1384 6 Southeastern Conference
7. Kentucky 15-1 1376 5 Southeastern Conference
8. Arizona 13-3 1324 7 Pacific-12 Conference
9. Wisconsin 14-3 1220 4 Big Ten Conference
10. Louisville 14-3 1213 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Dayton 15-1 1170 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
12. Nebraska 14-2 1049 16 Big Ten Conference
13. Syracuse 13-3 923 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Iowa State 14-3 884 9 Big 12 Conference
15. Boise State 13-3 759 23 Mountain West Conference
16. Arkansas 14-3 720 14 Southeastern Conference
17. Texas A&M 12-4 620 NR Southeastern Conference
18. New Mexico 15-3 558 17 Mountain West Conference
19. Alabama 12-3 462 NR Southeastern Conference
20. UCLA 13-3 350 18 Pacific-12 Conference
21. Illinois 12-4 240 21 Big Ten Conference
22. Florida State 13-4 216 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Pittsburgh 13-4 191 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
24. Minnesota 12-4 162 15 Big Ten Conference
25. Niagara 17-3 136 22 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Wichita State 12-3 115 Missouri Valley Conference
Penn State 12-3 69 Big Ten Conference
USC Upstate 15-3 49 Atlantic Sun Conference
UAB 12-3 31 Conference USA
Yale 13-3 25 Ivy League
Oakland 13-3 24 Horizon League
Richmond 11-3 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
Gonzaga 14-4 19 West Coast Conference
Michigan State 12-4 12 Big Ten Conference
Louisiana Tech 13-4 6 Conference USA
Washington 12-4 3 Pacific-12 Conference
So Kentucky drops 2 spots even after going 2-0 this week. Apparently beating up on bad teams doesn't go a long ways when you are a Kentucky Wildcat. Alabama rightfully moves back in the top 25 after a big win over Arkansas this week. UCLA only drops 2 spots after losing to USC this week. And let's welcome back Michigan State, who is receiving votes for the first time in a while!
Now a look at the mid-major top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Connecticut (69) 15-2 1797 1 American Athletic Conference
2. Dayton (3) 15-1 1731 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Boise State 13-3 1652 4 Mountain West Conference
4. New Mexico 15-3 1584 3 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 12-3 1456 10 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Yale 13-3 1341 11 Ivy League
7. Niagara 17-3 1261 5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
8. Louisiana Tech 13-4 1241 8 Conference USA
9. Gonzaga 14-4 1155 6 West Coast Conference
10. UAB 12-3 1127 14 Conference USA
11. USC Upstate 15-3 1118 12 Atlantic Sun Conference
12. Oakland 13-3 1079 7 Horizon League
13. Richmond 11-3 1052 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
14. South Florida 14-4 872 15 American Athletic Conference
15. UTEP 12-4 872 17 Conference USA
16. UC Santa Barbara 12-4 758 18 Big West Conference
17. Harvard 13-4 649 19 Ivy League
18. Drake 13-4 581 13 Missouri Valley Conference
19. Western Michigan 12-4 471 21 Mid-American Conference
20. Memphis 10-5 377 16 American Athletic Conference
21. Lehigh 14-5 349 NR Patriot League
22. Idaho 11-4 189 25 Big Sky Conference
23. Portland 13-5 180 NR West Coast Conference
24. Mercer 12-5 167 NR Southern Conference
25. William & Mary 12-5 106 NR Colonial Athletic Association
Others Receiving Votes:
North Dakota State 12-5 65 Summit League
North Carolina Central 12-5 45 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Hartford 12-5 39 America East Conference
Eastern Michigan 12-5 22 Mid-American Conference
UC Irvine 12-6 21 Big West Conference
Furman 12-5 16 Southern Conference
Northeastern 12-5 16 Colonial Athletic Association
San Diego State 10-7 9 Mountain West Conference
Fresno State 11-6 1 Mountain West Conference
George Washington 10-6 1 Atlantic 10 Conference
Tulsa loses their mid-major votes after a tough loss to UConn this week, but the Merry Go Round continues, as Hartford is now receiving a fair share of votes. It seems to be a curse when we have a new team receiving votes in the mid-major poll. They almost always lose a game the following week. Let's hope Hartford can break that trend.