Feb. 20-26, 2017
3 feature games to tell you about this week, 2 in the Pac 12 and 1 in Conference USA.
2/23/17-
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) @
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- This was a close game throughout, and although the teams combined for 34 turnovers, neither team could pull away. Eventually, it came down to who had the ball last, as a buzzer beater won it for the Buffaloes, who get a huge, huge win.
Final Score: Colorado- 74, Stanford- 73
2/25/17-
#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) @
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- This one went about as expected, as the Bruins dominated in most offense categories, including ball handling. UCLA had just 4 turnovers the entire game. It's hard to beat a team that only has 4 turnovers, and this game was no different. The Bruins stay undefeated in Pac 12 play.
Final Score: #1 UCLA- 77, Washington State- 57
2/25/17-
Rice (Charlie Shocker) @
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- The Owls got off to a hot start on the road and never looked back. Rice led 40-19 at halftime and cruised in the second half. They shot 55.6% for the game while Charlotte shot 36.2% as Rice gets the win in the only game played between the 2 teams this regular season.
Final Score: Rice- 72, Charlotte- 57
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 13-16, 8-8 T-5th America East.
2/24/17 vs. UMass Lowell (W 72-66, OT).
The Hawks needed overtime to win in their only game of the week. They lost the tiebreaker and will be the 6th seed in the America East Tournament.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 7-20, 5-11 8th American.
2/22/17 vs. Memphis (L 66-54).
2/25/17 vs. UConn (L 59-58).
The Pirates gave a gallant effort this week against very tough competition. Maybe it was the fact both games were at home, I'm not sure, but they were in position to win both. Unfortunately they lost both and have 2 more brutal challenges next week.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 14-14, 9-7 T-5th Atlantic 10.
2/22/17 at George Washington (L 84-63).
2/25/17 at Duquesne (W 78-74).
A split for the Wolverines who break a 3 game losing streak and finish off conference play next week.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-19, 3-13 9th Big 12.
2/20/17 at #4 Baylor (L 77-38).
2/25/17 at #6 Kansas (L 89-81).
Not sure what happened to the Horned Frogs at Baylor, they just flat out didn't show up. At least they played to win at Kansas. They are locked into the 9th seed for the Big 12 tournament, there is no way they can improve or lower their seed, so next weeks games from a seeding standpoint are meaningless, but you know Coach Mighty would like to get one, if not both.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 15-13, 8-8 T-7th Big Ten.
2/22/17 at Illinois (L 58-49).
2/25/17 vs. Northwestern (L 55-46).
The win 2, lose 2 streak continues for the Wolverines. This week it was 2 losses, both by 9 points. 2 more games next week to finish off conference play.
#3 Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 25-4, 13-3 1st Big Ten.
2/22/17 vs. Rutgers (W 83-50).
2/25/17 vs. #18 Wisconsin (W 66-65).
The Spartans had to rely on a missed Wisconsin buzzer beater to survive, and all they need next week is to win 1 of their 2 games to clinch the Big Ten regular season title.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 16-12, 11-3 T-1st Big West.
2/23/17 vs. UC Irvine (W 56-54).
2/25/17 vs. Cal State Fullerton (W 67-47).
The Warriors have put themselves in position for a conference title by beating co-league leader UC Irvine this week. Next week they travel to 2nd place Long Beach State in what is basically a must win game, as they need to win twice next week and hope for UC Irvine to lose one of their games, as I think Irvine owns the tiebreaker.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 12-15, 8-8 T-7th Conference USA.
2/23/17 at FIU (L 64-63).
2/25/17 vs. Rice- feature game, highlighted above.
A heartbreaking loss at FIU after a big halftime lead, followed by the letdown at Rice, and the 49ers have lost all momentum going into next week.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 11-16, 6-10 10th Conference USA.
2/23/17 at North Texas (L 60-52).
2/25/17 at Charlotte- feature game, highlighted above.
Big win for the Owls over Charlotte, as that breaks a 3 game losing streak. 2 games next week to finish off conference play.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 14-15, 11-9 T-4th MAAC.
No games this week for the Hawks, who got to sit back and watch all the other MAAC teams beat up on each other. When all was said and done, Monmouth earned the 5th seed in next weeks MAAC Tournament.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 15-14, 10-5 T-2nd MEAC.
2/20/17 at South Carolina State (W 71-63).
2/25/17 vs. North Carolina A&T (W 51-41).
2 important wins for the Spartans, who have 1 more game next week. A win, and they should lock up the #2 seed in the MEAC Tourney which is important because they would avoid NC Central until the championship.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 15-13, 10-6 4th Pac 12.
2/23/17 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2/25/17 at California (W 71-45).
2 more wins for the Buffaloes who are getting it together down the stretch, winners of 8 of their last 9 now, but a couple tough games await next week.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 18-10, 9-7 T-5th Pac 12.
2/23/17 vs. Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
2/25/17 vs. USC (W 73-47).
The Cardinal recovered from the heartbreaking loss against Colorado by absolutely hammering USC. Next week brings a couple games that they should win fairly easily.
#2 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 27-1, 16-0 1st Pac 12.
2/23/17 vs. Oregon State (W 77-41).
2/25/17 at Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
2 more easy wins for the Bruins, who have clinched the Pac 12 regular season title with ease. Now on the line is an undefeated conference season, but they still have to go through Arizona, at Arizona, to do it.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 10-18, 5-11 T-9th Pac 12.
2/23/17 vs. Arizona State (W 67-65).
2/25/17 vs. #2 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
A nice win for the Cougars against Arizona State which broke a 7 game losing streak, then of course they go and get hammered by UCLA. 2 more games next week to finish off conference play.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-18, 8-8 T-7th SEC.
2/22/17 vs. Missouri (W 70-62).
2/25/17 vs. Vanderbilt (W 82-74).
The Crimson Tide have been playing much better ball as of late, and it finally translated to a pair of wins. They are part of a 5 way tie for 7th right now, so next weeks games could be the difference between a 7 seed or a 12 seed in the SEC Tourney.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 21-7, 11-5 2nd SEC.
2/22/17 at Arkansas (W 85-75).
2/25/17 at Missouri (W 66-53).
The Gators have recovered nicely after a 3 game losing streak, as they've won 3 in a row and have a big showdown next week with Kentucky that may very well decide the SEC regular season title.
#21 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-7, 12-4 1st SEC.
2/22/17 at Ole Miss (W 87-63).
2/25/17 vs. Tennessee (W 85-65).
The Wildcats have to be fuming at being projected out of the NCAA tournament as of last weeks projections, and they took it out on a couple opponents this week. They have 2 games next week, and winning either of those games all but guarantees an SEC regular season title.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 14-14, 9-9 5th Sun Belt.
2/23/17 at Texas State (W 81-74).
2/25/17 at South Alabama (W 67-58).
2 much needed wins for the Trojans to get back to .500 in the Sun Belt. 2 more games next week which are big to carry some momentum into the Sun Belt Tournament.
Let's take a look at the national top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. UCLA (62) 27-1 1789 2 Pacific-12 Conference
2. Cincinnati (10) 28-0 1737 1 American Athletic Conference
3. Michigan State 25-4 1658 3 Big Ten Conference
4. Baylor 25-5 1550 4 Big 12 Conference
5. La Salle 26-2 1518 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. VCU 24-4 1400 8 Atlantic 10 Conference
7. Georgetown 24-5 1361 9 Big East Conference
8. Kansas 23-6 1339 6 Big 12 Conference
9. Virginia 23-6 1177 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
10. Villanova 23-5 1121 11 Big East Conference
11. North Carolina 23-5 1052 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Miami 22-6 1046 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. San Diego State 23-5 946 12 Mountain West Conference
14. Wichita State 25-5 839 13 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 800 16 Southland Conference
16. Syracuse 22-6 758 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Duke 20-7 473 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Marquette 23-6 469 25 Big East Conference
19. Iowa 21-7 420 14 Big Ten Conference
20. BYU 24-5 369 17 West Coast Conference
21. Gonzaga 26-4 368 20 West Coast Conference
22. Kentucky 21-7 260 21 Southeastern Conference
23. New Mexico State 24-3 251 23 Western Athletic Conference
24. Ohio State 21-8 224 NR Big Ten Conference
25. Florida 21-7 187 NR Southeastern Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Murray State 27-3 168 Ohio Valley Conference
Akron 23-5 60 Mid-American Conference
Oklahoma 19-9 41 Big 12 Conference
Boise State 23-5 10 Mountain West Conference
Wisconsin 20-9 6 Big Ten Conference
Arizona 20-8 2 Pacific-12 Conference
Iowa State 19-9 1 Big 12 Conference
UCLA is back on top as they just keep swapping places with Cincinnati. Both are pretty much guaranteed #1 seeds in the NCAA Tourney. Michigan State stays put at 3rd. I have no idea what to think about the lack of respect for Kentucky. The Wildcats hammer 2 opponents this week yet fall 1 spot in the polls. This can't bode well for their NCAA projections. Florida is back in the top 25 going into next weeks huge showdown.
Now for the Mid-Major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Cincinnati (72) 28-0 1800 1 American Athletic Conference
2. La Salle 26-2 1722 2 Atlantic 10 Conference
3. VCU 24-4 1628 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
4. San Diego State 23-5 1611 3 Mountain West Conference
5. Wichita State 25-5 1516 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. BYU 24-5 1433 6 West Coast Conference
7. Stephen F. Austin 26-2 1346 7 Southland Conference
8. Gonzaga 26-4 1295 8 West Coast Conference
9. Akron 23-5 1185 11 Mid-American Conference
10. Boise State 23-5 1130 10 Mountain West Conference
11. New Mexico State 24-3 1071 9 Western Athletic Conference
12. Harvard 22-6 1012 15 Ivy League
13. Murray State 27-3 969 12 Ohio Valley Conference
14. Cleveland State 21-8 829 13 Horizon League
15. Northern Iowa 24-6 766 18 Missouri Valley Conference
16. Valparaiso 23-7 736 14 Horizon League
17. Memphis 22-6 687 16 American Athletic Conference
18. North Dakota State 25-4 504 19 Summit League
19. Mercer 24-5 474 21 Southern Conference
20. Portland 23-6 325 25 West Coast Conference
21. SMU 21-6 316 17 American Athletic Conference
22. Vermont 24-5 247 20 America East Conference
23. Illinois State 20-8 209 22 Missouri Valley Conference
24. Green Bay 20-7 158 23 Horizon League
25. Louisiana Tech 21-7 79 NR Conference USA
Others Receiving Votes:
Southern Miss 21-6 68 Conference USA
New Mexico 21-7 58 Mountain West Conference
North Florida 24-5 53 Atlantic Sun Conference
UC Irvine 21-7 46 Big West Conference
Massachusetts 19-9 43 Atlantic 10 Conference
Stony Brook 22-6 26 America East Conference
Eastern Kentucky 23-7 24 Ohio Valley Conference
UTEP 20-6 17 Conference USA
George Washington 17-10 11 Atlantic 10 Conference
Morehead State 22-7 4 Ohio Valley Conference
Georgia State 18-11 2 Horizon League
Again, none of our FOFC teams are represented. I'm not going to jinx it, but with a 2-0 week next week, I could see one of our teams getting at least a couple votes.
Now, for the Bubble Watch, where we have just 1 of our teams in the Overall Bubble Watch this week.
Code:
OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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Florida State 20-8 .573 (50) 3-4 2-2 8-2 7-0 125 In
Kansas State 18-11 .579 (45) 5-9 2-2 3-0 8-0 32 In
SMU 21-6 .567 (55) 0-5 4-1 5-0 12-0 184 In
Massachusetts 19-9 .561 (63) 4-5 3-0 7-3 5-1 124 In
Stanford 18-10 .566 (57) 3-5 1-3 9-2 5-0 90 In
George Washington 17-10 .595 (30) 2-5 3-3 9-1 3-1 14 In
Georgia State 18-11 .569 (54) 2-3 5-5 3-2 8-1 81 In
Seton Hall 17-11 .597 (29) 4-8 0-1 10-1 3-1 23 In
Middle Tennessee 19-9 .588 (39) 1-2 4-3 5-2 9-2 57 Out
Oakland 19-11 .572 (51) 2-4 4-4 4-1 9-2 65 Out
Northeastern 20-9 .557 (70) 1-2 2-2 12-3 5-2 150 Out
Washington 19-9 .553 (78) 3-4 3-1 8-4 5-0 140 Out
Southern Miss 21-6 .554 (77) 0-1 2-3 6-2 13-0 249 Out
Butler 16-11 .604 (22) 5-9 0-0 8-2 3-0 10 Out
Maryland 17-12 .572 (52) 4-11 2-1 6-0 5-0 26 Out
The 1 point loss 2 Colorado didn't do much damage to Stanford's chances. They are in the Last Four In group, which would probably mean a date in the First Four, but they can probably move up with 2 wins next week.
As for the rest of the teams:
Michigan St. and UCLA are still locks.
Florida stayed has played their way off the bubble and is now considered a lock, but that could change.
Kentucky is now projected In, despite dropping a spot in the polls.
The other teams are projected out of course.