Feb. 25-March 3, 2019
Amazingly, no feature games this week, so we'll get right into the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 7-22, 5-11 T-7th America East.
3/1/19 at Albany (L 78-66).
Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, who finish with a loss. That loss didn't hurt them too bad, as they win a tiebreaker with Binghamton and we'll be the 7th seed in the America East Tournament, taking on an Albany team that just beat them.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 5-24, 2-15 11th (last) American.
2/27/19 vs. UConn (L 70-60).
3/2/19 at South Florida (L 67-58).
At least the Pirates aren't losing by 20+ points like they did several games in a row early this season, but they still need a lot of work.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 12-17, 7-9 7th American.
2/27/19 vs. Houston (W 70-59).
3/2/19 vs. Cincinnati (L 49-44).
A split for the Golden Hurricane, who fought hard against Cincinnati but just don't have it this season.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 15-13, 10-6 T-4th Atlantic 10.
2/27/19 vs. Fordham (W 89-53).
3/2/19 at George Washington (L 69-67, OT).
The Wildcats really needed that win over GW, because they have 2 tough games coming up next week to finish the regular season.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 7-22, 4-13 14th ACC.
2/27/19 vs. North Carolina (L 60-50).
3/2/19 at Louisville (L 100-74).
The Tigers lose 2 more this week, but played UNC tough for a while. Louisville smoked them though, and Clemson finishes the regular season winless on the road.
#25 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 23-6, 13-3 2nd ACC.
2/27/19 vs. Virginia Tech (W 84-76).
3/2/19 at Florida State (W 80-75).
2 more wins for the Blue Devils as it sets up a huge game with conference leader Notre Dame next week. A win there could give the Blue Devils a share of the ACC title.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 18-10, 9-7 T-3rd Big 12.
2/25/19 at #20 Baylor (W 63-59).
3/2/19 at Oklahoma State (L 72-58).
The Jayhawks split this week, as they sweep Baylor, but follow up a positive with a negative by losing to Oklahoma State convincingly. Next week are 2 home games as they look to get back to their winning ways in Lawrence.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 9-19, 3-14 10th (last) Big 12.
2/25/19 vs. Texas Tech (L 80-60).
3/2/19 vs. West Virginia (W 74-70).
A split for the Horned Frogs, who get their first conference win against a non-Texas team in quite some time.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 13-15, 7-9 7th Big Ten.
2/27/19 vs. Illinois (W 80-78).
3/2/19 at #7 Maryland (L 60-58).
A split for the Wolverines this week, who played much better basketball. They got a win over a strong Illinois team and almost upset Maryland.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 12-15, 5-11 T-11th Big Ten.
2/27/19 vs. Indiana (L 86-72).
3/2/19 vs. Minnesota (L 74-55).
Wow, the Spartans continue to suck this season as they lose by double digits twice this week. Unbelievable.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 8-20, 6-10 T-9th Big Ten.
2/27/19 vs. #7 Maryland (L 75-66).
3/2/19 at Nebraska (L 82-55).
2 more losses for the Wildcats, as 3 of their last 4 losses have been by 25 points or more.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 12-15, 6-9 7th Big West.
2/28/19 vs. UC Irvine (L 67-59).
3/2/19 at Cal State Northridge (L 79-76).
2 more losses for the Warriors as firecoachgunn.com is now over 750,000 hits. Yikes!
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 9-18, 5-11 T-11th Conference USA.
2/28/19 at Louisiana Tech (L 78-58).
3/2/19 at FIU (L 69-55).
2 more losses for the 49ers who are struggling again after a brief 2 game win streak.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 14-13, 7-9 T-8th Conference USA.
2/28/19 at UTSA (W 79-66).
3/2/19 at Southern Miss (W 82-52).
2 big wins this week for the Owls as they have a tough game coming up against Louisiana Tech next week. With 2 wins, they can finish .500 in conference play.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 19-11, 11-9 T-3rd MAAC.
3/1/19 at Canisius (W 61-55).
Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, and it is a win that boosted them up to a 3rd place tie in the MAAC. Unfortunately they lost the 3rd place tiebreaker and will be the 4th seed in the MAAC Tournament. They'll take on 5th seed Iona in their first game.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 10-18, 4-11 T-11th MEAC.
2/25/19 at #24 North Carolina Central (L 72-36).
3/2/19 vs. Savannah State (L 62-52).
The losses are mounting up again for the Spartans after they had a 3 game winning streak. This is their worst season yet.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 14-14, 8-8 T-5th Pac 12.
2/28/19 vs. USC (W 84-51).
3/2/19 at Oregon (L 80-53).
Another split for the Buffaloes, as they can't gain any ground in the conference. Both their results this week were 25+ point results, 1 good and 1 bad.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 17-11, 8-8 T-5th Pac 12.
2/28/19 at Washington (L 67-62).
3/2/19 at Utah (L 51-47).
2 tough road losses for the Cardinal, damaging losses that could hurt their seeding big time in the NCAA Tournament.
#4 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 24-4, 12-4 2nd Pac 12.
2/28/19 at California (W 85-65).
3/2/19 at #14 Arizona (L 91-88).
The Bruins split this week, and the game they really needed to win, they lost. They remain 1 game behind Arizona and need to win both next week and get some help.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 13-14, 6-10 T-9th Pac 12.
2/28/19 vs. Arizona State (W 74-65).
3/2/19 vs. USC (L 73-72).
The Cougars almost got a 2 win week, but fell short. They are playing better basketball as of late, with splits the last 2 weeks.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 20-9, 10-6 T-3rd SEC.
2/27/19 at Georgia (L 82-70).
3/2/19 at #10 Vanderbilt (W 70-67, OT).
The Crimson Tide split this week, getting a big win over conference leader Vanderbilt. They'd be closer to the hunt for an SEC title without those bad losses to teams like Georgia. They are 2 games back, they need to win both games next week and get a lot, and I do mean a lot of help.
Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 13-15, 6-10 T-12th SEC.
2/27/19 at Tennessee (W 84-71).
3/2/19 vs. Ole Miss (W 67-53).
2 wins for the Gators, who are showing signs of life at the end of season. They've got a couple big games next week that will better determine if they are in position to make a late season run.
#18 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 21-7, 12-4 T-1st SEC.
2/27/19 vs. Auburn (W 80-71).
3/2/19 at Tennessee (W 76-56).
2 more wins for the Wildcats who have won 4 in a row since that brief 2 game losing streak. All they have to do to share a conference title is win both their games next week, and they are hoping Vandy loses a game.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 11-16, 6-12 10th Sun Belt.
2/28/19 vs. Georgia Southern (W 79-63).
3/2/19 at Appalachian State (L 54-46).
A split for the Trojans which is a minor victory considering their struggles this season. 2 more games next week to try and finish on a good note.
Here is a look at the national top 25 heading into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Iowa State (38) 25-4 1761 2 Big 12 Conference
2. Gonzaga (25) 28-2 1725 3 West Coast Conference
3. Virginia (9) 24-4 1693 1 Atlantic Coast Conference
4. Wisconsin 23-5 1554 6 Big Ten Conference
5. UCLA 24-4 1536 4 Pacific-12 Conference
6. Notre Dame 23-5 1442 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Maryland 22-6 1299 7 Big Ten Conference
8. Providence 25-4 1239 12 Big East Conference
9. Arizona 23-6 1197 14 Pacific-12 Conference
10. Ohio State 19-7 1135 5 Big Ten Conference
11. Vanderbilt 21-7 1057 10 Southeastern Conference
12. Iowa 20-8 992 11 Big Ten Conference
13. Texas A&M 23-6 949 8 Southeastern Conference
14. Illinois State 24-6 934 17 Missouri Valley Conference
15. Kentucky 21-7 738 18 Southeastern Conference
16. Oakland 26-4 664 19 Horizon League
17. Duke 23-6 625 25 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. San Diego State 21-7 580 21 Mountain West Conference
19. Georgetown 20-8 509 13 Big East Conference
20. North Carolina Central 25-4 399 24 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
21. Baylor 22-7 330 20 Big 12 Conference
22. Northern Iowa 24-6 312 16 Missouri Valley Conference
23. Boise State 21-6 183 NR Mountain West Conference
24. Villanova 20-8 136 NR Big East Conference
25. Syracuse 21-7 128 15 Atlantic Coast Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
SMU 23-6 116 American Athletic Conference
Wichita State 23-6 47 Missouri Valley Conference
Alabama 20-9 32 Southeastern Conference
Saint Mary's 22-7 30 West Coast Conference
Manhattan 23-5 22 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Pittsburgh 19-9 17 Atlantic Coast Conference
Green Bay 24-6 13 Horizon League
Belmont 23-7 6 Ohio Valley Conference
UCLA drops a spot after their loss to Arizona, while Kentucky moves up 3 spots. Duke has the biggest rise this week, jumping 8 spots. Alabama benefitted from that win over Vanderbilt as they received quite a few more votes this week.
Now for the mid-major top 25:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Gonzaga (72) 28-2 1800 1 West Coast Conference
2. Illinois State 24-6 1718 2 Missouri Valley Conference
3. San Diego State 21-7 1577 4 Mountain West Conference
4. Boise State 21-6 1550 7 Mountain West Conference
5. Oakland 26-4 1542 5 Horizon League
6. Northern Iowa 24-6 1480 3 Missouri Valley Conference
7. SMU 23-6 1362 6 American Athletic Conference
8. Wichita State 23-6 1276 8 Missouri Valley Conference
9. North Carolina Central 25-4 1184 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
10. Manhattan 23-5 1114 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
11. Green Bay 24-6 1102 14 Horizon League
12. Saint Mary's 22-7 1028 9 West Coast Conference
13. UTEP 22-6 900 15 Conference USA
14. Buffalo 20-9 834 12 Mid-American Conference
15. Dayton 22-6 791 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
16. Bucknell 23-7 728 13 Patriot League
17. Belmont 23-7 673 16 Ohio Valley Conference
18. Rhode Island 20-8 652 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
19. Cincinnati 20-8 494 25 American Athletic Conference
20. Toledo 21-7 415 21 Mid-American Conference
21. Massachusetts 21-7 374 18 Atlantic 10 Conference
22. St. Bonaventure 20-8 311 20 Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Stephen F. Austin 21-6 191 23 Southland Conference
24. Eastern Kentucky 22-7 149 22 Ohio Valley Conference
25. Harvard 20-8 59 NR Ivy League
Others Receiving Votes:
South Florida 19-8 30 American Athletic Conference
Pepperdine 19-10 29 West Coast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 20-8 17 Big West Conference
Eastern Michigan 19-10 10 Mid-American Conference
Vermont 20-8 5 America East Conference
Louisiana Tech 19-9 3 Conference USA
Stony Brook 20-9 2 America East Conference
Our FOFC teams are shut out again this week.
The season is coming to a close, just a couple more weeks in the regular season. Let's take a look at the bubble watch. 2 of our FOFC teams make an appearance in the Overall Bubble Watch.
Code:
OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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Pepperdine 19-10 .563 (51) 3-4 2-1 9-5 5-0 65 In
Buffalo 20-9 .572 (43) 2-3 2-4 8-1 8-1 55 In
VCU 17-11 .571 (44) 5-7 4-2 6-1 2-1 22 In
St. Bonaventure 20-8 .566 (48) 1-1 4-3 9-2 6-2 147 In
Louisville 17-11 .570 (45) 4-6 3-3 6-2 4-0 23 In
Stanford 17-11 .576 (40) 4-4 3-4 7-2 3-1 28 In
Saint Joseph's 18-10 .553 (58) 2-2 2-1 8-6 6-1 127 In
LSU 17-11 .554 (56) 3-8 3-1 5-2 6-0 77 In
Georgia State 19-11 .562 (53) 3-5 3-2 1-0 12-4 85 Out
Howard 20-9 .541 (67) 1-1 4-3 4-4 11-1 180 Out
Monmouth 19-11 .541 (66) 0-3 5-1 7-2 7-5 160 Out
Eastern Michigan 19-10 .539 (73) 2-1 4-3 3-3 10-3 184 Out
Drexel 19-11 .539 (74) 1-1 1-3 6-5 11-2 151 Out
Massachusetts 21-7 .515 (126) 2-1 2-1 7-4 10-1 322 Out
South Florida 19-8 .523 (108) 2-2 1-4 5-1 11-1 285 Out
Stanford is still projected in, but not as safely in as last week. 2 losses will do that to you. What is saving them is the fact they play in a big conference, so they have a solid SOS and RPI.
Monmouth, on the other hand, is facing the hardships of being a mid-major. Their 19-11 record is nice, their SOS is decent at 160, and their 5-4 record against the top 100 looks really good. But 7-5 against teams with an RPI of 200+? That is killing them and is easily the worst of our 15 teams in the Overall Bubble Watch.
Now for the rest of the teams:
Locks: Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Alabama, Kentucky.