Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2020
Just 1 feature game this week, and it's in the Pac 12. Let's take a look:
1/30/20-
#15 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- The slide for the Buffaloes continues as they shoot just 34% in this one, and UCLA rolls to an easy victory.
Final Score: #15 UCLA- 76, Colorado- 49
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 14-7, 7-3 T-1st America East.
1/29/20 at Albany (W 75-65).
2/2/20 at Stony Brook (L 77-68).
The Hawks split this week, and split a 4 game road trip. They are still right in the thick of things though.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-14, 0-9 11th (last) American.
2/1/20 at Memphis (L 76-67).
Just 1 game this week for the Pirates, and while it was close, it was still a loss. They are still looking for their first conference win.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 14-6, 6-2 3rd American.
2/1/20 vs. South Florida (W 78-71).
Good win for the Golden Hurricane in their only game of the week, as they beat a very tough South Florida team.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 11-9, 6-2 T-2nd Atlantic 10.
1/29/20 vs. George Washington (W 81-59).
2/1/20 vs. St. Louis (L 85-68).
A split for the Wildcats, as the loss to St. Louis breaks a 4 game winning streak. Still a lot of season left though.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 5-15, 0-8 15th (last) ACC.
1/29/20 vs. Miami (L 73-71).
Just 1 game this week for the Tigers, who were much more competitive but they are still looking for their first conference win.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 13-8, 3-5 10th ACC.
1/29/20 vs. Boston College (W 78-71).
2/1/20 vs. #1 North Carolina (W 59-56).
Huge week for the Blue Devils who get a big win over their main rival that could go a long way come March. Hopefully this gets them back on track after a 3 game losing streak before this week.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 10-9, 4-5 T-5th Big 12.
1/27/20 at Texas (L 87-83, OT).
2/1/20 at West Virginia (L 70-68).
2 tough road losses for the Jayhawks this week, including one in overtime. They need to pad that record a bit if they want to continue their string of NCAA appearances.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 13-8, 5-4 T-3rd Big 12.
1/27/20 at Oklahoma State (W 78-63).
2/1/20 at #17 Iowa State (L 90-77).
A split for the Horned Frogs, who actually had Iowa State on the ropes early in the second half then let it slip away. The win at Oklahoma State set 2 milestones for the Coach Mighty era in TCU: It is the most overall and conference wins both in a season since this dynasty began, and I see more on the horizon.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 7-13, 3-5 T-9th Big Ten.
1/29/20 at Rutgers (L 82-57).
2/1/20 at Ohio State (W 74-57).
A split for the Wolverines, as that Rutgers loss will sting for a while. One bright note, they did sweep their rivals this season, beating Ohio State twice.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 14-6, 6-2 T-1st Big Ten.
1/29/20 vs. Iowa (W 68-66).
2/1/20 at #11 Nebraska (L 66-62).
The Spartans split a couple close ones this week, maintaining their share of first place and have quite a streak going, they are undefeated at home this season.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 10-10, 3-5 T-9th Big Ten.
1/29/20 at #16 Minnesota (L 77-63).
2/1/20 vs. Illinois (L 79-74).
2 tough losses for the Wildcats this week, as they are still trying to find consistency in conference play. They've lost 3 in a row.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 11-9, 4-4 6th Big West.
1/30/20 vs. Cal State Fullerton (L 72-64).
2/1/20 at Cal Poly (W 60-51).
Well what do you know? Another week, another split for the Warriors. The rumors of coach Gunn being an average coach and nothing more continue.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 7-12, 5-3 T-4th Conference USA.
1/30/20 at Southern Miss (W 81-68).
2/1/20 at North Texas (W 87-82).
Good week for the 49ers who sweep a couple road games. They have won 4 of their last 6 and are playing much better basketball.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 9-11, 4-4 T-7th Conference USA.
1/30/20 at Western Kentucky (W 70-67).
2/1/20 at UTEP (L 99-72).
The Owls split a pair of road games this week, and would have really liked a better effort against UTEP.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 10-12, 8-6 4th MAAC.
1/30/20 at New Hampshire (L 66-50).
2/2/20 at #23 Niagara (W 85-77).
A weird week for the Hawks, who split a couple road games. They lose badly to New Hampshire, then go and beat a Niagara team that was ranked. Again, no consistency there. They have 6 conference games left, and quite honestly, all of them are winnable if they play Monmouth basketball.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 6-15, 3-5 T-9th MEAC.
1/27/20 vs. Morgan State (W 57-53).
2/1/20 vs. South Carolina State (W 82-62).
Don't look now but the Spartans are on a winning streak. They've won 3 in a row and 4 of their last 5. They can get back into the conference race if they can keep it going.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 5-15, 2-6 T-10th Pac 12.
1/30/20 vs. #15 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
2/1/20 at California (W 68-60).
A split for the Buffaloes who get a win over a good Cal team, but would have loved a better effort against UCLA.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 12-7, 6-2 T-2nd Pac 12.
1/30/20 vs. USC (W 48-41).
2/1/20 vs. Arizona State (W 63-55).
The Cardinal get 2 wins this week, but against a couple of the weaker conference teams. Still, it's good to get back on track.
#15 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 16-4, 5-3 T-4th Pac 12.
1/30/20 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/1/20 vs. Oregon (L 76-71).
The Bruins drop a tough one to a dangerous Oregon team and now have some work to do to get back in the conference race. Beating Arizona next week is a must.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 9-11, 1-7 12th (last) Pac 12.
1/30/20 at California (L 81-73).
2/1/20 at #4 Arizona (L 66-61).
A couple moral victories for the Cougars this week, as they play 2 solid teams down to the wire. They fell short in both, but the effort was much better.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-6, 4-4 T-6th SEC.
1/29/20 at #7 Vanderbilt (L 73-62).
2/1/20 vs. Auburn (W 84-47).
A split for the Crimson Tide, who broke a 3 game losing streak by absolutely crushing a pretty good Auburn team. Hopefully this gets them back on track.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 11-9, 4-4 T-6th SEC.
1/29/20 vs. Tennessee (W 70-53).
2/1/20 vs. #20 Arkansas (L 75-63).
A split for the Gators, and that Arkansas game was one that they should have had. Way too many missed opportunities.
#3 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 18-2, 7-1 2nd SEC.
1/29/20 vs. #20 Arkansas (L 74-71).
2/1/20 at Georgia (W 81-69).
The Wildcats drop their first conference game of the season, losing to a very good Arkansas team. Nothing to be ashamed of as they are still one of the best teams in the nation, let alone the SEC.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 12-8, 6-6 5th Sun Belt.
1/30/20 at Northern Kentucky (L 78-64).
2/1/20 at UT Arlington (L 96-57).
A week to forget for the Trojans, especially the 39 point loss at UT Arlington. Next week is key for them getting back on track.
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. Baylor (63) 21-1 1791 2 Big 12 Conference
2. North Carolina (9) 19-2 1737 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Arizona 17-3 1610 4 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Vanderbilt 18-2 1603 7 Southeastern Conference
5. Kentucky 18-2 1510 3 Southeastern Conference
6. Maryland 17-3 1428 5 Big Ten Conference
7. Syracuse 17-3 1373 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Virginia 15-5 1270 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Wisconsin 16-5 1264 12 Big Ten Conference
10. Connecticut 17-4 1079 10 American Athletic Conference
11. Arkansas 17-4 1027 20 Southeastern Conference
12. Louisville 16-5 971 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Iowa State 16-4 931 17 Big 12 Conference
14. Nebraska 16-4 856 11 Big Ten Conference
15. Florida State 17-4 842 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. New Mexico 19-3 743 14 Mountain West Conference
17. Texas A&M 14-6 593 19 Southeastern Conference
18. Minnesota 15-5 522 16 Big Ten Conference
19. Illinois 15-5 519 NR Big Ten Conference
20. Dayton 17-3 513 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
21. UCLA 16-4 365 15 Pacific-12 Conference
22. Boise State 15-5 263 18 Mountain West Conference
23. Iowa 12-7 204 NR Big Ten Conference
24. Wichita State 15-4 122 22 Missouri Valley Conference
25. Notre Dame 15-5 63 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
UAB 15-4 39 Conference USA
Yale 16-4 34 Ivy League
Oregon 13-7 32 Pacific-12 Conference
Gonzaga 17-5 22 West Coast Conference
Washington 15-5 22 Pacific-12 Conference
South Florida 16-5 18 American Athletic Conference
Michigan State 14-6 8 Big Ten Conference
Oakland 16-4 7 Horizon League
Niagara 19-5 5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Alabama 13-6 4 Southeastern Conference
Duke 13-8 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
Providence 15-5 4 Big East Conference
San Diego State 14-7 2 Mountain West Conference
Kentucky drops 2 spots this week after the loss to Arkansas while UCLA drops 6 spots after losing to Oregon. Michigan State picks up a few more votes, while Alabama and Duke pick up votes this week.
Now for the mid-major top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Connecticut (72) 17-4 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. New Mexico 19-3 1725 2 Mountain West Conference
3. Dayton 17-3 1618 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. Boise State 15-5 1548 4 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 15-4 1474 3 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Gonzaga 17-5 1346 7 West Coast Conference
7. UTEP 15-5 1283 11 Conference USA
8. South Florida 16-5 1230 10 American Athletic Conference
9. San Diego State 14-7 1229 18 Mountain West Conference
10. Yale 16-4 1165 6 Ivy League
11. Louisiana Tech 15-6 1085 17 Conference USA
12. UAB 15-4 1080 8 Conference USA
13. Oakland 16-4 970 12 Horizon League
14. Harvard 16-5 783 15 Ivy League
15. UC Santa Barbara 15-5 780 14 Big West Conference
16. Indiana State 15-7 628 NR Missouri Valley Conference
17. Niagara 19-5 595 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
18. Tulsa 14-6 573 NR American Athletic Conference
19. Richmond 13-5 545 21 Atlantic 10 Conference
20. Western Michigan 15-5 432 24 Mid-American Conference
21. Northeastern 15-5 285 19 Colonial Athletic Association
22. USC Upstate 17-5 245 23 Atlantic Sun Conference
23. Portland 16-6 215 NR West Coast Conference
24. Lehigh 17-6 198 13 Patriot League
25. Middle Tennessee 13-7 150 NR Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
North Dakota State 15-6 76 Summit League
Mercer 14-6 64 Southern Conference
Memphis 12-7 63 American Athletic Conference
San Jose State 13-7 48 Mountain West Conference
North Carolina Central 14-6 45 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
SMU 13-8 26 American Athletic Conference
Idaho 14-5 15 Big Sky Conference
Saint Louis 13-7 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
Saint Mary's 14-9 13 West Coast Conference
Seattle 13-7 12 Western Athletic Conference
Cal State Fullerton 13-7 11 Big West Conference
Cincinnati 13-8 10 American Athletic Conference
UT Arlington 13-6 5 Sun Belt Conference
George Washington 12-8 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
Northern Arizona 13-7 4 Big Sky Conference
William & Mary 14-7 4 Colonial Athletic Association
Hartford 14-7 3 America East Conference
Drake 14-7 1 Missouri Valley Conference
Tulsa continues to rise as they enter the mid-major top 25, and Hartford is still hanging around with a couple votes.
Now for the first edition of this years bubble watch. We'll start with the Overall Bubble Watch, in which 2 of our FOFC teams are listed:
Code:
OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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Middle Tennessee 13-7 .603 (20) 1-4 0-0 7-2 5-1 28 In
Iowa 12-7 .638 (5) 5-7 4-0 2-0 1-0 3 In
San Jose State 13-7 .576 (41) 1-1 1-2 6-2 5-2 77 In
Northern Arizona 13-7 .576 (40) 0-2 1-3 4-1 8-1 85 In
Oregon 13-7 .554 (68) 1-4 4-2 5-1 3-0 76 In
TCU 13-8 .614 (13) 3-5 4-2 3-1 3-0 8 In
West Virginia 13-7 .552 (70) 2-3 1-2 5-1 5-1 100 In
Texas 13-8 .579 (35) 3-4 6-3 2-1 2-0 32 In
Pittsburgh 14-7 .551 (71) 2-2 3-2 3-3 6-0 102 Out
Duke 13-8 .595 (25) 2-3 1-4 5-1 5-0 10 Out
Memphis 12-7 .567 (47) 1-3 1-2 4-2 6-0 74 Out
Harvard 16-5 .518 (125) 1-2 1-1 2-1 12-1 312 Out
USC Upstate 17-5 .506 (153) 0-1 2-1 7-1 8-2 332 Out
North Carolina Central 14-6 .518 (126) 2-0 0-1 4-4 8-1 263 Out
UT Arlington 13-6 .520 (121) 2-0 2-0 3-3 6-3 237 Out
TCU is in based on their 7-7 record against teams in the top 100 of RPI, and a SOS rated 8th in the nation.
It almost seems unfair that Duke is listed as Out at the moment. They are just 3-7 against teams in the top 100 of RPI, and their SOS is 10th in the nation. Sadly, they probably wouldn't even be considered right now if not for that win over top ranked North Carolina this week.
Now for the rest of the FOFC teams, and remember, this is for the NCAA Tournament only.
Locks:
Michigan State,
UCLA,
Kentucky,
Alabama
In:
Hartford,
Tulsa
Real nice to see so many of our FOFC teams either locks or projected in at the moment.