Jan. 7-13, 2019
We have 3 feature games this week, and we are firmly into conference play everywhere. Let's start in the ACC.
1/9/19-
Duke (Dean Hoo) @
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- It was only a 4 point game at halftime, but the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half, although neither team played particularly well, Duke played a little better.
Final Score: Duke- 69, Clemson- 55
Now to the Pac 12:
1/12/19-
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) @
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- Turnovers were the difference in this one, as Washington State took care of the basketball and turned it over 9 times, while Colorado had 18 turnovers and shot just 31.4%. All that led to a big Washington State road victory.
Final Score: Washington State- 64, Colorado- 55
And finally to the SEC:
1/12/19-
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) @
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- There was some major home cookin in this one, as Alabama was 34-37 from the line compared to just 5-8 for Kentucky. Team foul count: 7 for Alabama, 28 for Kentucky. Wow! This negated the fact that the Wildcats shot over 10% better than the Crimson Tide, but couldn't beat Alabama and the officials both.
Final Score: Alabama- 87, Kentucky- 83
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 3-13, 2-2 America East.
1/13/19 at Vermont (L 76-49).
Just 1 game this week for the Hawks, and they'd like to forget it. Pounded on the road against a league favorite.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 3-14, 0-5 American.
1/9/19 at Cincinnati (L 87-55).
1/12/19 at Memphis (L 78-49).
It's back to blowout city for the Pirates after a close game at Houston. At this rate, they'll be lucky to win a game in the AAC.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 5-10, 1-2 American.
1/9/19 vs. Temple (L 73-69).
1/12/19 at Houston (W 72-54).
A split for the Golden Hurricane this week who couldn't quite come back against Temple, but a good recovery at Houston.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 7-7, 2-0 Atlantic 10.
1/9/19 vs. Dayton (W 86-61).
1/12/19 vs. George Mason (W 78-51).
Good start to conference play for the Wildcats as they roll in a couple home games.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 4-11, 1-2 ACC.
1/9/19 at Duke- feature game, highlighted above.
1/12/19 vs. #13 Notre Dame (L 88-74).
So much for that! After the Tigers upset Pitt last week, they drop 2, but against 2 good teams.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 12-3, 3-0 ACC.
1/9/19 vs. Clemson- feature game, highlighted above.
1/12/19 at #20 Louisville (W 78-67).
Good week for the Blue Devils who have recovered nicely from that short 2 game losing streak to end December.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 8-6, 0-3 Big 12.
1/12/19 at Oklahoma (L 64-61, OT).
Just 1 game for the Jayhawks this week, but it was another conference loss, their 3rd already. The Lawrence natives are getting restless.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 6-8, 0-3 Big 12.
1/7/19 vs. #5 Baylor (L 75-63).
1/12/19 vs. #17 Oklahoma State (L 74-58).
2 more losses for the Horned Frogs who have now lost 6 in a row, although they did give Baylor a fight for a while.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 8-6, 2-0 Big Ten.
1/9/19 vs. Penn State (W 76-65).
1/12/19 at #15 Iowa (W 86-75).
Good start to conference play for the Wolverines, who win 2 games by the exact same margin.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 8-5, 1-1 Big Ten.
1/9/19 at Indiana (L 86-63).
1/12/19 at Purdue (W 73-72).
So the Spartans split this week, getting a much needed win at Purdue, heading into a tough week next week.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-11, 1-1 Big Ten.
1/9/19 vs. Nebraska (W 78-62).
1/12/19 at #8 Ohio State (L 80-61).
A split for the Wildcats this week, who break an 8 game losing streak, but I have a feeling another long losing streak is about to start.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 8-6, 2-0 Big West.
1/10/19 at Cal State Fullerton (W 57-55).
1/12/19 at UC Santa Barbara (W 72-52).
Good start to conference play for the Warriors, and this is where they need to make some noise. For now, the firecoachgunn.com website has been taken down, but it won't take much to open it back up.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 5-8, 1-1 Conference USA.
1/10/19 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 66-62).
1/12/19 at UTSA (W 75-52).
A split for the 49ers this week, who fought back valiantly after getting destroyed in the first half against LA Tech.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 7-6, 0-2 Conference USA.
1/10/19 at North Texas (L 77-68).
1/12/19 vs. Old Dominion (L 78-73).
Not they way the Owls wanted to start conference play, with 2 close losses.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 12-5, 6-4 MAAC.
1/11/19 vs. Fairfield (W 71-62).
1/13/19 at Manhattan (L 68-60).
So the Hawks see their 4 game winning streak end at Manhattan who is a very good team. They can still take some pride in knowing they've won 7 of their last 9.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 5-9, 1-3 MEAC.
1/7/19 at Savannah State (L 92-75).
1/12/19 vs. Bethune Cookman (L 68-66).
2 losses for the Spartans, and honestly, losing to a 2 win Bethune Cookman team might be the lowlight of the season to this point.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 7-7, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/10/19 vs. Oregon State (W 69-63).
1/12/19 vs. Washington State- feature game, highlighted above.
A home split for the Buffaloes, who lose their feature game this week, but do get a win over a very good Oregon State team.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 10-4, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/10/19 at Arizona State (L 64-58).
1/12/19 vs. Washington (W 61-52).
A split for the Cardinal, who win at home and lose on the road.
#3 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 14-0, 2-0 Pac 12.
1/10/19 at Washington (W 94-71).
1/12/19 vs. #21 Arizona (W 84-76).
2 more wins for the Bruins, who continue to just dominate everybody this season. We know they are prone to the upset though, it happened to them a couple times in conference play last season.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 8-5, 1-1 Pac 12.
1/10/19 vs. #21 Arizona (L 63-42).
1/12/19 at Colorado- feature game, highlighted above.
So the Cougars split, but still have some work to do as Arizona exposed them. Nice recovery against Colorado though.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 12-3, 2-0 SEC.
1/9/19 at Auburn (W 63-61).
1/12/19 vs. Kentucky- feature game, highlighted above.
The Crimson Tide get 2 wins this week, but can really think the officials for that Kentucky victory.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 8-6, 1-1 SEC.
1/9/19 at VCU (W 72-68).
1/12/19 vs. #19 LSU (L 56-43).
The Gators split this week, and that win over VCU, even though VCU is struggling a bit this season, will prove to be huge come March. They've got to get some consistency going though.
Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 10-4, 1-1 SEC.
1/9/19 vs. Tennessee (W 92-62).
1/12/19 at Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
A split for the Wildcats, and I don't need to say anymore about the Alabama game. I'm just curious to see how that might change things come the end of the conference season. Kentucky will be furious if that game cost them a chance at an SEC title.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 6-8, 3-5 Sun Belt.
1/10/19 vs. Arkansas State (L 49-43).
1/12/19 at Louisiana Lafayette (W 83-82, OT).
This Trojans team is hard to figure out. They have all the ability to be a contender in the Sun Belt, but they struggle putting it all together. They needed a buzzer beater to get their lone win this week.
Here's a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Virginia (71) 15-0 1799 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Gonzaga (1) 16-0 1689 2 West Coast Conference
3. UCLA 14-0 1689 3 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Baylor 16-0 1551 5 Big 12 Conference
5. Northern Iowa 16-1 1501 6 Missouri Valley Conference
6. Wisconsin 12-2 1468 9 Big Ten Conference
7. Pittsburgh 13-2 1326 12 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 14-1 1324 4 Southeastern Conference
9. Iowa State 12-3 1172 7 Big 12 Conference
10. Syracuse 13-1 1145 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Ohio State 10-2 1141 8 Big Ten Conference
12. North Carolina 12-3 996 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
13. Maryland 11-3 902 22 Big Ten Conference
14. Illinois State 14-3 875 24 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Providence 13-2 798 16 Big East Conference
16. Villanova 12-3 719 14 Big East Conference
17. Georgetown 11-3 613 18 Big East Conference
18. Cincinnati 12-3 553 NR American Athletic Conference
19. Notre Dame 11-4 542 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
20. LSU 11-3 320 19 Southeastern Conference
21. Massachusetts 12-2 303 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
22. Oklahoma State 11-3 269 17 Big 12 Conference
23. Arizona 11-4 226 21 Pacific-12 Conference
24. Iowa 10-4 104 15 Big Ten Conference
25. Duke 12-3 91 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
San Diego State 10-4 88 Mountain West Conference
Alabama 12-3 82 Southeastern Conference
Belmont 13-3 25 Ohio Valley Conference
Green Bay 14-3 25 Horizon League
Oakland 14-3 22 Horizon League
St. Bonaventure 11-3 22 Atlantic 10 Conference
Vanderbilt 10-4 12 Southeastern Conference
Manhattan 12-3 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Just how it should be, as our 4 undefeated teams are the top 4 in the country. UCLA stays 3rd with a FPV, and I don't see them moving up until Virginia or Gonzaga lose. Duke cracks the top 25 with 2 more wins this week, and Alabama is just on the outside looking in.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gonzaga (72) 16-0 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Northern Iowa 16-1 1728 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. Illinois State 14-3 1656 3 Missouri Valley Conference
4. Cincinnati 12-3 1580 5 American Athletic Conference
5. Massachusetts 12-2 1465 10 Atlantic 10 Conference
6. Oakland 14-3 1364 13 Horizon League
7. San Diego State 10-4 1362 11 Mountain West Conference
8. Belmont 13-3 1326 12 Ohio Valley Conference
9. Green Bay 14-3 1242 14 Horizon League
10. St. Bonaventure 11-3 1211 4 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. Manhattan 12-3 1096 16 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
12. Dayton 11-3 1000 7 Atlantic 10 Conference
13. North Dakota State 13-3 867 19 Summit League
14. Wichita State 11-4 839 8 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Stony Brook 12-4 711 25 America East Conference
16. Saint Joseph's 10-4 687 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
17. Utah State 12-4 653 NR Mountain West Conference
18. UTEP 10-4 530 6 Conference USA
19. Toledo 10-4 449 NR Mid-American Conference
20. Buffalo 10-5 417 NR Mid-American Conference
21. American 12-4 366 NR Patriot League
22. North Carolina Central 11-4 283 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
23. Howard 11-4 197 NR Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
24. UC Santa Barbara 10-4 146 17 Big West Conference
25. Saint Mary's 10-5 104 21 West Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Georgia State 12-5 79 Horizon League
Eastern Kentucky 11-4 74 Ohio Valley Conference
Robert Morris 11-4 66 Northeast Conference
Harvard 9-5 25 Ivy League
Air Force 9-4 24 Mountain West Conference
SMU 10-5 16 American Athletic Conference
Rhode Island 9-5 14 Atlantic 10 Conference
Niagara 12-5 8 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Eastern Michigan 10-5 7 Mid-American Conference
Pepperdine 10-5 6 West Coast Conference
Mount St. Mary's 11-4 2 Northeast Conference
Well that didn't last long. Monmouth lost a game this week, and lost their votes in the mid-major poll.