Nov. 18-24, 2019
1 feature game to talk about this week, so let's get to it.
11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals -
(13) TCU (Bee Mighty)
vs.
(5) Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- This one certainly didn't go as expected. The Horned Frogs held Alabama to just 16 first half points and held them to 32.7% shooting for the game as TCU advances to the HOF Classic Semifinals with an easy victory.
Final Score: (13) TCU- 71, (5) Alabama- 45
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 0-2, 0-0 America East.
11/18/19 vs. Harvard (L 77-68).
11/20/19 at North Carolina Central (L 68-53).
The Hawks are still finding their groove this season, as they've started with a couple tough low major conference opponents, and played pretty well but not well enough.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 1-1, 0-0 American.
11/22/19- Michigan Tournament First Round vs. (3) Charleston Southern (L 75-67).
11/24/19- Michigan Tournament Consolation Game vs. (4) Utah Valley (W 83-75).
Another 3rd place finish in a 4 team tournament for the Pirates, who were nothing but consistent. Both their margins this week were 8, with 1 win and 1 loss.
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 2-0, 0-0 American.
11/21/19 vs. Wagner (W 87-85).
11/23/19 at Arkansas Little Rock (W 71-39).
A good start for the Golden Hurricane. While the competition wasn't brutally tough, they did struggle against Wagner. Getting victories is key though.
Davidson (Randolph Childress) -- 1-0, 0-0 Atlantic Ten.
11/23/19 at #16 Miami (W 62-54).
Big opening season win for the Wildcats, and they need all they can get as they have a really tough non-conference schedule, as always.
Clemson (Charles Johnson) -- 1-0, 0-0 ACC.
11/21/19 at Central Michigan (W 91-74).
Just the 1 game for the Tigers this week, but it was a good win to start. They also have a pretty tough non-conference schedule.
Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 4-0, 0-0 ACC.
11/22/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Semifinals vs. (2) #1 Ohio State (W 73-50).
11/23/19- Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Championship vs. (1) #3 Baylor (W 68-66).
A huge congrats to Coach Hoo and the Blue Devils, who have been in 3 16 team tournaments in Coach Hoo's 3 years, and have improved their finish every year. They beat some really, really tough teams to win this seasons tournament, so congrats to them.
Kansas (Dave Johnson) -- 0-1, 0-0 Big 12.
11/23/19 at Illinois State (L 85-83, OT).
Tough way to start the season for the Jayhawks, who actually trailed by 12 at halftime but fought back to force OT. Illinois State is a pretty good team though.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 2-0, 0-0 Big 12.
11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (5) Alabama- feature game, highlighted above.
Big win for the Horned Frogs who look much improved so far. They can ride this momentum because they won't have to face the top seed in the Semifinals, so a trip to the Championship is very much a possibility.
Michigan (Cillian Tribble) -- 0-0, 0-0 Big Ten.
The Wolverines are still waiting to play their first game, but they'll get started next week in their season tournament.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 0-3, 0-0 Big Ten.
11/19/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off First Round vs. (8) San Francisco (L 50-43).
11/23/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off Consolation Round vs. (4) Tennessee (L 74-69).
11/24/19- Hall of Fame Tip-Off 7th Place Game vs. (6) Murray State (L 86-72).
Wow, oh wow! How far has Sparty fallen? To be fair, 2 of the 3 wins were tight, and they did play 3 teams that are usually pretty good. I'm giving them a pass, as I don't think they are this bad, especially since they have 4 players, including 2 starters, on the DL right now.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 3-0, 0-0 Big Ten.
11/19/19 vs. Georgia Tech (W 75-58).
11/23/19 vs. Cleveland State (W 83-58).
Very impressive week for the Wildcats, who beat up on 2 teams that have pretty storied histories this week. They start their season tournament next week.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 1-0, 0-0 Big West.
11/20/19 vs. Kent State (W 87-79).
Good start for the Warriors, as they open their season with a tough victory.
Charlotte (Timmy Tribble) -- 0-3, 0-0 Conference USA.
11/18/19 at #5 North Carolina (L 74-58).
The 49ers aren't that far off from being a decent team. They actually led UNC early on in the game, but couldn't hold it. Problem is, their non-conference, as per usual, is stacked.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 1-0, 0-0 Conference USA.
11/19/19 vs. McNeese State (W 72-60).
The Owls open the season with a win before going to their season tournament next week.
Monmouth (Thomas Carrano) -- 0-2, 0-0 MAAC.
11/18/19 at Columbia (L 69-58).
11/20/19 at Temple (L 88-61).
Not a good start for the Hawks, but to their credit, they lost to a couple teams that look like postseason teams this season.
Norfolk State (Payten Carrano) -- 0-2, 0-0 MEAC.
11/19/19 vs. Mt. St. Mary's (L 66-56).
11/22/19 vs. South Florida (L 61-60).
The Spartans need to learn to finish. They lost leads in the second half in both of their games. If they can finish, they'll be alright.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 0-3, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/19/19 at Gonzaga (L 58-49).
11/22/19 vs. Winthrop (L 70-64).
The Buffaloes are being put through the grind early, with 3 tough games to open the season. They lost all 3, but have gained valuable experience.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/19/19 vs. Navy (L 65-51).
11/22/19 at Tennessee State (W 56-55).
The Cardinal need to figure it out fast. Losing at home to Navy won't cut it as it is, but needing a buzzer beater to beat Tennessee State? Coach Sanchez needs to hit them hard in practice this week.
UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/22/19 at Long Beach State (L 74-66).
It's not often the Bruins drop one in non-conference play to a non-power conference team, but they did here. Look out for Long Beach though, they look legit.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 1-1, 0-0 Pac 12.
11/18/19 vs. Weber State (L 47-46).
11/22/19 vs. Wofford (W 52-51).
Well, 1 thing is sure for the Cougars: they love tight games. Not sure if it's a case of bad offense, great defense, or a little of both.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 1-1, 0-0 SEC.
11/18/19- Hall of Fame Classic Quarterfinals vs. (13) TCU- feature game, highlighted above.
A shocker here for the Crimson Tide, but maybe TCU is just that much improved? We'll soon find out.
#22 Florida (Noah Oppenheimer) -- 1-1, 0-0 SEC.
11/23/19 vs. James Madison (L 72-65).
Another Power 5 team going down at the hands of a mid-major. Inexcusable. The Gators start their season tournament next week.
#17 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 1-0, 0-0 SEC.
11/23/19- Cancun Challenge First Round vs. (8) Albany (W 82-64).
An expected start for the Wildcats, who run through an opponent not even in their league.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 1-0, 0-0 Sun Belt.
11/23/19 vs. Alabama State (W 71-55).
The Trojans will take a season opening win heading into their conference tournament. Their schedule is favorable for a 15+ win season, but will the players do their part? We'll see.
Let's take a look at the national top 25 going into next week:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. North Carolina (70) 3-0 1798 5 Atlantic Coast Conference
2. Virginia (1) 1-0 1693 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Oregon 1-0 1600 7 Pacific-12 Conference
4. Maryland 1-0 1536 8 Big Ten Conference
5. Vanderbilt 1-0 1512 9 Southeastern Conference
6. Iowa State 1-0 1460 12 Big 12 Conference
7. Syracuse (1) 1-0 1313 13 Atlantic Coast Conference
8. Texas A&M 2-0 1306 15 Southeastern Conference
9. Kentucky 1-0 1127 17 Southeastern Conference
10. Florida State 4-0 939 24 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Illinois 1-0 937 18 Big Ten Conference
12. VCU 1-0 893 19 Southeastern Conference
13. Connecticut 1-0 857 20 American Athletic Conference
14. Ohio State 2-1 794 1 Big Ten Conference
15. Arizona 2-1 705 2 Pacific-12 Conference
16. Louisville 2-1 648 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
17. Indiana 1-0 630 NR Big Ten Conference
18. Duke 4-0 438 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
19. Baylor 3-1 428 3 Big 12 Conference
20. Louisiana Tech 2-0 339 NR Conference USA
21. Minnesota 1-0 336 NR Big Ten Conference
22. Marquette 3-0 205 NR Big East Conference
23. Wisconsin 1-1 182 11 Big Ten Conference
24. Cincinnati 3-0 159 NR American Athletic Conference
25. Texas 0-0 158 NR Big 12 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Providence 3-0 123 Big East Conference
Northwestern 3-0 115 Big Ten Conference
LSU 2-0 97 Southeastern Conference
Old Dominion 3-0 81 Conference USA
Mississippi State 3-0 80 Atlantic 10 Conference
Gonzaga 2-0 75 West Coast Conference
Wake Forest 2-0 63 Atlantic Coast Conference
UC Santa Barbara 3-0 61 Big West Conference
USC 3-0 59 Pacific-12 Conference
Akron 2-0 48 Mid-American Conference
Iowa 1-1 37 Big Ten Conference
UCF 2-0 36 American Athletic Conference
West Virginia 2-0 33 Big 12 Conference
South Florida 2-0 32 American Athletic Conference
TCU 2-0 32 Big 12 Conference
Tulsa 2-0 32 American Athletic Conference
Loyola Chicago 2-0 26 Missouri Valley Conference
Buffalo 1-0 25 Mid-American Conference
Washington 1-0 25 Pacific-12 Conference
New Mexico 2-0 23 Mountain West Conference
Columbia 2-0 20 Ivy League
James Madison 2-0 18 Colonial Athletic Association
Temple 2-0 18 American Athletic Conference
Davidson 1-0 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
FIU 2-0 17 Conference USA
Long Beach State 2-0 17 Big West Conference
Rutgers 2-0 17 Big Ten Conference
Saint Joseph's 2-0 17 Atlantic 10 Conference
Green Bay 2-0 16 Horizon League
Nebraska 1-0 14 Big Ten Conference
Niagara 2-0 13 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Michigan 0-0 12 Big Ten Conference
Virginia Tech 1-0 11 Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson 1-0 10 Atlantic Coast Conference
UNC Wilmington 2-0 9 Colonial Athletic Association
North Dakota State 2-0 8 Summit League
Binghamton 2-0 7 America East Conference
Miami 1-1 7 Atlantic Coast Conference
William & Mary 0-0 7 Colonial Athletic Association
Cal Poly 2-0 6 Big West Conference
Drexel 2-0 6 Colonial Athletic Association
Miami OH 2-0 6 Mid-American Conference
Middle Tennessee 1-0 6 Conference USA
Northern Arizona 3-0 5 Big Sky Conference
Seton Hall 0-0 4 Big East Conference
Cal State Bakersfield 2-0 3 Western Athletic Conference
Campbell 2-0 3 Big South Conference
Lafayette 2-0 2 Patriot League
Notre Dame 1-0 2 Atlantic Coast Conference
Portland 2-0 2 West Coast Conference
San Jose State 1-0 2 Mountain West Conference
Samford 2-0 1 Southern Conference
UC Riverside 1-0 1 Big West Conference
I know it's early, but I love seeing so many of our FOFC teams getting votes. As for teams actually in the top 25, can't really believe Kentucky moved up 8 spots after their win, but I'm definitely ok with Duke being in the top 25. They deserve it.