Dec. 23-29, 2019
2 feature games for you this week, so let's get to it.
12/27/19-
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) @
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1 thing is for sure with this game, one of
bbgunn's two teams are guaranteed to win. On the flip side, the other is guaranteed to lose. Fortunately, this one wasn't a game bbgunn needed to sweat over, as it was done at halftime. Hawaii rolled to a 21 point halftime lead and shot 61.9% for the game, as they win easily.
Final Score: Hawaii- 70, Washington State- 42
12/28/19-
#25 Alabama (Roy Rogers) @
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- This game needed more than just 40 minutes to complete. An instant classic, as Bama made 15 three pointers in the game. This countered the 45-29 rebounding edge Kansas ended up with. In the end, the Crimson Tide were a little stronger in the extra frame, getting another big win to add to their resume.
Final Score: #25 Alabama- 83, Kansas- 79 (OT)
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-4, 1-0 America East.
12/26/19 at Boston College (W 71-57).
12/29/19 at Vermont (W 63-52).
The Hawks have already matched their win total from last season, and should beat it easily. With Vermont and Maine both having down years, the America East is much more wide open this season.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-5, 0-0 American.
12/26/19 at UNC Wilmington (W 79-70).
The Pirates continue to play better basketball, getting back to .500 on the season in their only game of the week as they head into conference play.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 6-4, 0-0 American.
12/24/19 vs. Kent State (W 70-62).
12/26/19 at Missouri (L 74-62).
The conventional split for the Golden Hurricane this week, winning at home and losing on the road. They have 1 more non-conference game before they start conference play.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-6, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
12/26/19- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (3) #20 VCU (L 77-72).
12/24/19- Diamond Head Classic Consolation Round vs. (7) UC Irvine (L 92-82).
12/26/19- Diamond Head Classic 7th Place Game vs. (8) New Mexico State (W 83-46).
The Wildcats had a golden opportunity against VCU but lost it late, and had a major downfall against UC Irvine. Good recovery to finish 7th though, but still their worst finish in an 8 team tournament so far.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-7, 0-0 ACC.
12/23/19 at #6 Vanderbilt (L 82-69).
12/25/19 at Ohio State (L 77-69).
12/28/19 vs. USC Upstate (L 77-74).
3 tough games for the Tigers this week. 3 tough losses, but they played well in all 3 games. They aren't quite there yet though.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 9-2, 0-0 ACC.
No games this week for Coach Hoo and the Blue Devils.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 6-4, 0-0 Big 12.
12/28/19 vs. #25 Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
Tough loss for the Jayhawks in their only game of the week, but when 2 FOFC coaches are playing each other, somebody has to lose. Now they enter conference play.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 8-3, 0-0 Big 12.
12/23/19 vs. Houston Baptist (W 80-45).
Just 1 game this week for the Horned Frogs, but they are playing really well, building a 5 game winning streak. Granted, most of them are feel good wins, but the UTEP win was huge. They have 1 more non-conference game before conference play starts for them.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 3-8, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/28/19 vs. #13 Texas (W 64-52).
1 game this week for the Wolverines, but Coach Tribble must have said something because they looked like a completely different team. They still have another non-conference game before they get into the always tough Big Ten schedule.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/29/19 at Toledo (L 71-68).
Just when it looked like the Spartans were back, they drop an inexcusable road game to Toledo. Not the kind of losses they need if they are going to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 6-5, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/24/19 vs. Eastern Illinois (L 67-58).
No reason for the Wildcats to be losing a home game to Eastern Illinois. They've got 1 more chance to add a victory to their record before conference play starts.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big West.
12/27/19 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
12/29/19 vs. Utah (W 63-49).
The Warriors had a nice week, getting 2 wins against Pac 12 teams. Still 1 more game to pad their record heading into conference play.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 2-7, 0-0 Conference USA.
No games this week for Coach Tribble and the 49ers.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 4-6, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/27/19 vs. South Florida (L 62-57).
If there is such a thing as a good loss, this would be it. The Owls lose their only game of the week, but they lose to a South Florida team that has played a pretty good schedule.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 6-6, 4-1 MAAC.
12/27/19 at Rider (W 68-59).
12/29/19 at Marist (L 79-41).
The Hawks lose their first conference game of the season in a convincing way. The next 4 games will be critical, as they are all home games.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 2-9, 0-0 MEAC.
12/23/19 at Richmond (L 78-53).
12/28/19 vs. Tennessee Martin (W 59-56).
A split for the Spartans, who are hoping their second win of the season turns into a nice stretch as conference play is set to begin.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 3-9, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/19 at Villanova (W 88-84).
Just 1 game this week for the Buffaloes, a big road win as they head into conference play.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 5-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
No games this week for Coach Sanchez and the Cardinal.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 11-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/23/19- Diamond Head Classic First Round vs. (7) UC Irvine (W 71-58).
12/24/19- Diamond Head Classic Semifinal vs. (3) #20 VCU (W 71-68).
12/26/19- Diamond Head Classic Championship vs. (5) #4 Indiana (W 70-51).
12/29/19 vs. Buffalo (W 67-54).
Great week for the Bruins, who not only sweep through the Diamond Head Classic, but then turn around 3 days later and finish the week with a tough home win against a surprisingly challenging Buffalo team. Congrats to Coach Shepard, who has coached the Bruins to 3rd 8 team tourney win in 3 attempts.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 6-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
12/27/19 vs. Hawaii- feature game, highlighted above.
The Cougars get hammered in their only game of the week and have a couple more non-conference games at home before they start conference play.
#25 Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.
12/23/19 at #17 Virginia (W 78-68).
12/28/19 at Kansas- feature game, highlighted above.
Great week for the Crimson Tide, who get 2 huge wins against top 25 teams, on the road no less. They've got another big road test against a top 15 team next week.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-5, 0-0 SEC.
12/26/19 vs. Georgetown (L 83-60).
That's 2 losses in a row for the Gators, not what you want heading into conference play.
#8 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-1, 0-0 SEC.
12/24/19 vs. Columbia (W 83-48).
The Wildcats roll in an easy non-conference victory. Next up: The showdown with Duke.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 7-3, 1-1 Sun Belt.
12/26/19 at Montana State (W 61-60).
The Trojans struggled in their only game of the week, but got the win. Unfortunately, their going to have to play a lot better than having to rely on a buzzer beater to beat a 1 win team.
Here's a look at the national top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. North Carolina (72) 11-0 1800 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Maryland 10-0 1726 2 Big Ten Conference
3. Baylor 12-1 1658 3 Big 12 Conference
4. Vanderbilt 10-1 1525 6 Southeastern Conference
5. New Mexico 12-0 1481 7 Mountain West Conference
6. Indiana 10-1 1365 4 Big Ten Conference
7. Louisville 10-2 1326 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Iowa State 10-1 1297 12 Big 12 Conference
9. Illinois 9-1 1266 11 Big Ten Conference
10. Florida State 10-1 1158 14 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. UCLA 11-1 1125 NR Pacific-12 Conference
12. Kentucky 9-1 958 8 Southeastern Conference
13. Wisconsin 9-2 870 22 Big Ten Conference
14. Alabama 9-1 836 25 Southeastern Conference
15. Dayton 9-1 726 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Syracuse 9-2 632 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Virginia Tech 9-1 616 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Oakland 9-1 461 NR Horizon League
19. Arizona 8-3 447 NR Pacific-12 Conference
20. Richmond 8-1 425 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
21. Connecticut 9-2 401 23 American Athletic Conference
22. Duke 9-2 301 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
23. Ohio State 8-3 300 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Nebraska 10-2 148 15 Big Ten Conference
25. Arkansas 9-2 141 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Virginia 9-3 123 Atlantic Coast Conference
Minnesota 9-2 79 Big Ten Conference
Marquette 9-2 38 Big East Conference
Washington 9-2 37 Pacific-12 Conference
UC Santa Barbara 9-2 31 Big West Conference
Missouri 8-2 26 Southeastern Conference
Texas A&M 8-3 24 Southeastern Conference
Rutgers 9-2 22 Big Ten Conference
Notre Dame 8-2 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
Niagara 12-2 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Western Michigan 9-2 4 Mid-American Conference
UAB 8-2 3 Conference USA
West Virginia 9-2 3 Big 12 Conference
Providence 8-2 2 Big East Conference
Penn State 9-2 1 Big Ten Conference
The big week for UCLA jumps them from being unranked, all the way up to #11. Nice job! Kentucky inexplicably wins their game this week but drops 4 spots. What?? Alabama has an expected jump after beating 2 top 25 teams on the road, and Duke is back in the top 25 without even playing a game this week.
Now for the mid-major top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. New Mexico (72) 12-0 1800 1 Mountain West Conference
2. Dayton 9-1 1681 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. Connecticut 9-2 1667 5 American Athletic Conference
4. Richmond 8-1 1563 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Oakland 9-1 1549 10 Horizon League
6. UC Santa Barbara 9-2 1396 4 Big West Conference
7. UTEP 8-2 1328 13 Conference USA
8. Wichita State 7-2 1286 6 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Niagara 12-2 1147 7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
10. Drake 9-2 1128 8 Missouri Valley Conference
11. Western Michigan 9-2 1110 9 Mid-American Conference
12. UAB 8-2 1035 20 Conference USA
13. Cal State Fullerton 8-2 1008 18 Big West Conference
14. Boise State 8-3 866 22 Mountain West Conference
15. Gonzaga 10-3 758 23 West Coast Conference
16. Cincinnati 9-3 685 25 American Athletic Conference
17. Louisiana Tech 9-3 635 24 Conference USA
18. South Florida 9-3 524 NR American Athletic Conference
19. SMU 8-3 495 3 American Athletic Conference
20. San Jose State 8-3 371 NR Mountain West Conference
21. Yale 8-3 336 NR Ivy League
22. USC Upstate 9-3 269 16 Atlantic Sun Conference
23. William & Mary 8-3 242 NR Colonial Athletic Association
24. Missouri State 8-3 203 15 Missouri Valley Conference
25. North Dakota State 8-3 136 NR Summit League
Others Receiving Votes:
Eastern Michigan 9-3 72 Mid-American Conference
Western Kentucky 6-3 44 Conference USA
South Alabama 7-3 28 Sun Belt Conference
South Dakota State 7-3 18 Summit League
Howard 6-3 15 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Troy 7-3 5 Sun Belt Conference
Welcome back Troy to the mid-major picture. They are getting some votes again!