Dec. 31, 2018-Jan. 6, 2019
We have 3 feature games to talk about this week, all non-conference games, so let's get to it.
1/2/19-
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- A hotly contested game, as neither team led by more than 8 points throughout. Stanford led by 7 at halftime, but the Wildcats came back in the second half thanks to some hot three point shooting and pick up a narrow road win.
Final Score: Kentucky- 71, Stanford- 69
1/4/19-
Tulsa (Will Brown) @
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- Much like our previous game, it was tightly contested throughout. 2 things hurt the Wolverines though. They shot 30.2% from the field, and they committed 27 team fouls to 13 for Tulsa. Tulsa was 23-31 from the line while Michigan was 9-11. That was a huge difference as the Golden Hurricane pulled away to get a very important non-conference road victory.
Final Score: Tulsa- 64, Michigan- 55
1/5/19-
Davidson (Randolph Childress) @
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- The road team made it 3 for 3 in our 3 feature games this week, as Davidson shot 53.7% from the field and 45.8% from three point land. Both teams took great care of the basketball with Davidson having 9 turnovers and the Gators having 10, but it was the shooting that made the difference.
Final Score: Davidson- 84, Florida- 76
Now to the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-12, 2-1 America East.
1/2/19 at Stony Brook (L 69-55).
1/6/19 at UMass Lowell (W 62-53).
A road split this week for the Hawks, who seem to be playing slightly better ball in conference.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-12, 0-3 American.
1/2/19 vs. SMU (L 65-46).
1/5/19 at Houston (L 77-69).
The bright note is the Pirates had their lowest margin of defeat in almost a month with the 8 point Houston loss, but they are nowhere close to being a real contender.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 4-9, 0-1 American.
1/2/19 vs. UConn (L 68-62).
1/4/19 at Michigan- feature game, highlighted above.
The Golden Hurricane split this week, as go figure, they lose at home and win on the road.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 5-7, 0-0 Atlantic 10.
1/2/19 at VCU (L 72-64).
1/5/19 at Florida- feature game, highlighted above.
The Wildcats will be happy to get a tough split on the road before conference play starts. They've got a good early season conference schedule to get ahead, if they can take advantage of it.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-9, 1-0 ACC.
1/2/19 vs. #9 Pitt (W 81-72).
Just 1 game for the Tigers this week, their conference opener in which they've already put a shock into someone. Big way to open ACC play with an upset win.
#24 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 10-3, 1-0 ACC.
12/31/18 at #14 Wisconsin (L 79-78, OT).
1/2/19 vs. Boston College (W 81-68).
The Blue Devils let the Wisconsin game slip away, as they had a lead late but couldn't hold it. At least they got off to a good start in ACC play.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-5, 0-2 Big 12.
12/31/18 at Texas (L 82-75).
1/5/19 at Kansas State (L 55-53).
A reality check early on for the Jayhawks, who lose their first 2 conference games, including a loss to their in-state rivals. They better figure it out fast.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-6, 0-1 Big 12.
1/5/19 vs. #11 Iowa State (L 83-55).
The Horned Frogs still have a long way to go to be competitive in the Big 12, as they learned the hard way after a 28 point loss.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 6-6, 0-0 Big Ten.
1/4/19 vs. Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
The Wolverines last game before conference play didn't leave a good taste in their mouth. Instead of home cooking, they were the victim of road cookin.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 7-4, 0-0 Big Ten.
12/31/18 at #20 Vanderbilt (L 59-49).
1/2/19 vs. Columbia (L 73-68).
My how the Spartans are falling. Columbia? Really? Come on Al Mighty, step up your coaching game!
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 2-10, 0-0 Big Ten.
1/4/19 vs. Virginia Tech (L 76-63).
It's been a bad, bad season for the Wildcats. Just 2 wins entering conference play in the rough, tough Big Ten. A far, far cry from last season.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 6-6, 0-0 Big West.
1/1/19 at UMass (L 77-72).
1/3/19 at Utah (W 65-62).
A road split for the Warriors as they head into conference play with a .500 record. Not a bad recovery after starting 0-4.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 4-7, 0-0 Conference USA.
12/31/18 at USC Upstate (L 82-62).
1/2/19 vs. Tennessee Tech (W 62-61).
1/5/19 at #8 Ohio State (L 95-51).
1 out of 3 this week for the 49ers, and even that 1 victory was by 1 point. They were smoked in their 2 losses.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) --7-4, 0-0 Conference USA.
1/3/19 at Brown (W 78-70).
1 game this week for the Owls, as they get a road win against a team that is a lot better than their 4-9 record.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 11-4, 5-3 MAAC.
1/4/19 vs. Quinnipiac (W 85-57).
1/6/19 vs. Marist (W 60-59).
2 more wins for the Hawks, but they can't be happy about needing a buzzer beater to beat a 2 win Marist team. Playing to the level of competition is not something they need to do.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-7, 1-1 MEAC.
12/31/18 at Delaware State (W 72-62).
1/5/19 at Morgan State (L 72-66).
The Spartans start MEAC play with a road split, looking to take advantage of a soft schedule next week.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 6-6, 0-0 Pac 12.
I was misquoted in my last post, as the Buffaloes and Coach Nielsen had this week off and will start conference play next week.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 9-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
1/2/19 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
1 game for the Cardinal this week, a tough loss to a very good Kentucky team.
#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 12-0, 0-0 Pac 12.
No games this week for the Bruins and Coach Shepard, who are enjoying their undefeated record heading into conference play.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 7-4, 0-0 Pac 12.
1/1/19 vs. Montana (L 79-57).
1 game this week for the Cougars, and they'd like to forget it. Hammered by a not so good Montana team, at home no less. That doesn't leave a good taste in their mouth heading into the tough Pac 12 schedule.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 10-3, 0-0 SEC.
1/1/19 at Purdue (L 87-72).
1/4/19 vs. #15 Louisville (W 58-49).
The Crimson Tide split this week, but losing to a 9 win Purdue team isn't bad at all. At least they ended the non-conference slate with an upset victory over Louisville.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 7-5, 0-0 SEC.
1/3/19 at Jacksonville (L 62-55).
1/5/19 vs. Davidson- feature game, highlighted above.
The Gators have now lost 4 in a row. The loss to Davidson can be forgiven, but losing at Jacksonville, who has an RPI of 301? Wow!
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 9-3, 0-0 SEC.
1/2/19 at Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
1 game this week for the Wildcats, who eek out a 2 point victory over a very good Stanford squad.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 5-7, 2-4 Sun Belt.
1/3/19 at UT Arlington (W 76-61).
1/5/19 vs. UT Arlington (W 65-64).
The Trojans might be back on track after a 5 game losing streak, as they win a road/home back to back doubleheader over UT Arlington. Even though they just got by them at home, hopefully they are figuring it out.
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. Virginia (70) 13-0 1798 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (2) 14-0 1729 2 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 12-0 1638 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Texas A&M 13-0 1556 6 Southeastern Conference
5. Baylor 14-0 1513 7 Big 12 Conference
6. Northern Iowa 14-1 1370 12 Missouri Valley Conference
7. Iowa State 11-2 1357 11 Big 12 Conference
8. Ohio State 9-1 1357 8 Big Ten Conference
9. Wisconsin 10-2 1225 14 Big Ten Conference
10. Syracuse 11-1 1185 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. North Carolina 11-2 1110 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
12. Pittsburgh 11-2 1006 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Notre Dame 10-3 829 23 Atlantic Coast Conference
14. Villanova 11-2 811 21 Big East Conference
15. Iowa 9-3 782 13 Big Ten Conference
16. Providence 11-2 741 19 Big East Conference
17. Oklahoma State 10-2 641 25 Big 12 Conference
18. Georgetown 9-3 567 NR Big East Conference
19. LSU 10-2 480 NR Southeastern Conference
20. Louisville 9-3 360 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
21. Arizona 10-3 293 NR Pacific-12 Conference
22. Maryland 9-3 291 NR Big Ten Conference
23. UTEP 10-2 212 NR Conference USA
24. Illinois State 11-3 209 10 Missouri Valley Conference
25. St. Bonaventure 10-2 121 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Cincinnati 10-3 57 American Athletic Conference
Vanderbilt 9-3 50 Southeastern Conference
Dayton 10-2 31 Atlantic 10 Conference
Mississippi 9-3 23 Southeastern Conference
Rutgers 10-2 22 Big Ten Conference
Kentucky 9-3 16 Southeastern Conference
Massachusetts 10-2 13 Atlantic 10 Conference
Duke 10-3 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
Robert Morris 11-2 2 Northeast Conference
UCLA stays put at #3, but still no FPV. Duke falls out of the top 25 after a split this week. Kentucky is receiving votes after a big win this week, and Michigan State, Stanford, and Alabama all lose their votes after losses 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. Gonzaga (72) 14-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 14-1 1728 3 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 11-3 1638 2 Missouri Valley Conference
4. St. Bonaventure 10-2 1534 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
5. Cincinnati 10-3 1495 4 American Athletic Conference
6. UTEP 10-2 1485 9 Conference USA
7. Dayton 10-2 1294 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
8. Wichita State 10-3 1206 18 Missouri Valley Conference
9. Robert Morris 11-2 1198 16 Northeast Conference
10. Massachusetts 10-2 1197 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. San Diego State 9-4 1070 8 Mountain West Conference
12. Belmont 11-3 1046 21 Ohio Valley Conference
13. Oakland 12-3 961 7 Horizon League
14. Green Bay 12-3 889 22 Horizon League
15. South Florida 10-3 789 23 American Athletic Conference
16. Manhattan 10-3 745 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
17. UC Santa Barbara 9-3 644 5 Big West Conference
18. Eastern Kentucky 10-3 537 NR Ohio Valley Conference
19. North Dakota State 12-3 517 15 Summit League
20. Mount St. Mary's 10-3 347 6 Northeast Conference
21. Saint Mary's 9-4 324 NR West Coast Conference
22. Air Force 8-3 305 NR Mountain West Conference
23. Rhode Island 8-4 233 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
24. Eastern Michigan 9-4 129 NR Mid-American Conference
25. Stony Brook 11-4 110 20 America East Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
North Carolina Central 10-4 39 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Saint Louis 7-3 37 Atlantic 10 Conference
Bucknell 10-4 32 Patriot League
Cal Poly 9-4 25 Big West Conference
Utah State 10-4 25 Mountain West Conference
Monmouth 11-4 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Saint Joseph's 8-4 9 Atlantic 10 Conference
Colorado State 9-4 3 Mountain West Conference
For the first time in a while, we have an FOFC team represented in the mid-major polls. Hopefully it's not just a 1 time thing for Monmouth.