Feb. 22-28, 2021
We have 3 feature games this week, 2 of them involving ECU. Let's get to it:
2/24/21-
ECU (Al Hutt) @
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- UConn controlled the battle of the boards, outrebounding ECU by 9. They couldn't take care of the basketball though, committing 19 turnovers, and couldn't stop ECU's hot shooting. The Pirates shot 46.6% in rolling to a road victory.
Final Score: ECU- 73, UConn- 58
2/27/21-
ECU (Al Hutt) @
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- The ECU defense did it again, holding Tulsa to just 17 halftime points and forced 21 turnovers throughout the game. They rolled to another easy victory, as they are starting to leave fans from other teams shell shocked.
Final Score: ECU- 65, Tulsa- 42
Now we move to the Pac 12:
2/27/21-
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) @
#25 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- The Bruins had only a 3 point lead at halftime, but outscored Stanford 48-24 in the second half, shooting 51.9% for the game, and holding the Cardinal to 31.8% shooting and forcing 22 turnovers as they absolutely rolled to a home victory.
Final Score: #25 UCLA- 85, Stanford- 58
Now for the rest of the weekly recap:
Hartford (David Ginsberg) -- 19-9, 9-7 T-2nd America East.
2/26/21 at New Hampshire (W 58-56).
Just 1 game for the Hawks this week, and they finish off conference play on a good note. They have 1 more non-conference game next week, and then the America East tourney. They fell short in the tiebreakers and will be the 4th seed and open up against 5th seed Binghamton.
UConn (Randolph Childress) -- 14-15, 9-8 6th American.
2/24/21 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/21 at Houston (W 72-60).
A split for the Huskies this week, as the win at Houston broke a brief 3 game losing streak. They have 1 game next week, a chance to finish .500 overall in the regular season.
ECU (Al Hutt) -- 16-11, 10-6 4th American.
2/24/21 at UConn- feature game, highlighted above.
2/27/21 at Tulsa- feature game, highlighted above.
2 key wins for the Pirates, and the best thing is they did it on the road. Did I mention that Coach Hutt has to be both a conference and national coach of the year candidate?
Tulsa (Will Brown) -- 13-13, 7-9 7th American.
2/24/21 vs. #11 Memphis (W 72-64).
2/27/21 vs. ECU- feature game, highlighted above.
A split for the Golden Hurricane, as they shock Memphis, then get blown out by ECU. That loss broke a 4 game winning streak, but they have a chance to win 2 games next week, as the competition isn't very tough.
#19 Duke (Dean Hoo) -- 21-7, 12-4 T-3rd ACC.
2/24/21 at #4 Florida State (L 84-75).
2/27/21 vs. Georgia Tech (W 88-49).
A split for the Blue Devils, and man did they need that game against GA Tech. Granted, it's still been a good season, but getting a marquee win over 1 of the other top teams in the ACC is something that the Dukies didn't do this season.
TCU (Bee Mighty) -- 21-8, 12-5 2nd Big 12.
2/22/21 vs. Oklahoma State (W 95-87).
2/27/21 vs. Oklahoma (W 74-63).
The Horned Frogs hosted a couple teams from Oklahoma this week, and took care of business with both of them. After a brief 3 game losing streak, they are back on a roll, with 1 conference game left. They are already locked into the 2nd seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
Michigan State (Al Mighty) -- 15-13, 7-9 T-9th Big Ten.
2/24/21 at Minnesota (L 72-66).
2/27/21 at Indiana (W 77-70).
A split for the Spartans, who finally get back on the winning side of things. It's been tough going the past few seasons for Coach Mighty, as this win at Indiana broke yet another 3 game losing streak.
Northwestern (Ess Vee) -- 9-19, 5-11 13th Big Ten.
2/24/21 at #16 Rutgers (W 69-54).
2/27/21 vs. #2 Wisconsin (L 78-54).
The Wildcats split this week, picking up a nice win against Rutgers, then getting hammered by a strong Wisconsin team. Double digit wins is the goal at this point for Coach Vee, as he knows there is a good chance he'll be packing his backs at seasons end.
Hawaii (B.B. Gunn) -- 13-14, 7-7 T-5th Big West.
2/27/21 at UC Santa Barbara (L 66-62).
Just 1 game this week for the Warriors, and if not for getting themselves into a big hole early, they might have won it. Coach Gunn continues to struggle to find consistency from his players.
Rice (Charlie Shocker) -- 12-15, 5-11 T-12th Conference USA.
2/25/21 vs. North Texas (L 78-61).
2/27/21 vs. Louisiana Tech (L 76-67).
2 more losses for the Owls, as that makes 4 in a row. No trouble for them to find consistency, as they are consistently bad right now.
Colorado (Rob Nielsen) -- 13-15, 7-9 8th Pac 12.
2/25/21 at Gonzaga (W 86-80).
2/27/21 at Oregon (L 86-81).
2 tough games on the road for the Buffaloes, and they split them. Coach Nielsen is inching closer to career win #100, but unless they go on a deep run somehow, it won't happen this season.
Stanford (Benito Sanchez) -- 14-14, 8-8 T-6th Pac 12.
2/25/21 vs. Utah (L 86-76).
2/27/21 at #25 UCLA- feature game, highlighted above.
Not a good week for the Cardinal, who simply just fell apart in the second half of both games.
#25 UCLA (Tim Shepard) -- 20-8, 11-5 2nd Pac 12.
2/25/21 at Oregon (W 86-81).
2/27/21 vs. Stanford- feature game, highlighted above.
2 wins for the Bruins, who seem to have recovered from yet another loss to Arizona. It's still a possibility for UCLA to win the Pac 12, but they need to win twice next week and hope Arizona loses twice. In short, probably not gonna happen.
Washington State (DeShawn St. John) -- 15-13, 6-10 T-9th Pac 12.
2/25/21 vs. Washington (L 64-58).
2/27/21 vs. Utah (L 80-45).
This season has gone south in a hurry for the Cougars, who have lost 5 in a row and 6 of the last 7. Coach St. John had this team looking to make it's first postseason tournament since this dynasty started, but that's unlikely to happen now.
Alabama (Roy Rogers) -- 13-15, 6-10 11th SEC.
2/24/21 at Arkansas (W 79-64).
2/27/21 at South Carolina (W 75-70).
The Crimson Tide win 2 more this week, and that brings it up to a 3 game winning streak. I'd like to say they are hitting their stride, but next week they have to take on VCU and Kentucky, and that won't be easy to overcome.
#15 Kentucky (Patrick Hutt) -- 20-7, 13-3 T-1st SEC.
2/24/21 vs. VCU (W 93-84).
2/27/21 vs. #23 Tennessee (W 69-44).
The Wildcats continue to roll, getting 2 easy wins this week. As long as they keep winning, they've got the inside track to at least a share of the SEC regular season title, and considering they beat Missouri in their only meeting of the season, provided both teams win out, that would make Kentucky the #1 seed in the SEC Tournament. Getting ahead of myself though, both teams still have 2 conference games left.
Troy (Brett Hawkins) -- 14-14, 9-9 5th Sun Belt.
2/25/21 at Arkansas Little Rock (L 82-71).
2/27/21 at Appalachian State (W 68-50).
A split for the Trojans, who avoided the end of season collapse they had last season, but Coach Hawkins wants more out of this team.
Here's a look at the national top 25 for the week of March 1-7:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wisconsin (36) 24-4 1754 2 Big Ten Conference
2. Louisville (23) 24-5 1703 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
3. Baylor (11) 25-3 1700 1 Big 12 Conference
4. Florida State (1) 24-4 1587 4 Atlantic Coast Conference
5. Wichita State 27-4 1512 5 Missouri Valley Conference
6. San Diego State (1) 25-3 1461 6 Mountain West Conference
7. Boise State 23-5 1362 10 Mountain West Conference
8. Syracuse 21-5 1268 8 Atlantic Coast Conference
9. Illinois 23-5 1237 7 Big Ten Conference
10. Villanova 21-7 1153 9 Big East Conference
11. Penn State 22-7 1035 14 Big Ten Conference
12. Kentucky 20-7 998 15 Southeastern Conference
13. UAB 23-5 895 18 Conference USA
14. Missouri 21-7 847 22 Southeastern Conference
15. Fresno State 23-5 789 13 Mountain West Conference
16. Harvard 23-5 719 20 Ivy League
17. Duke 21-7 646 19 Atlantic Coast Conference
18. Providence 21-7 545 12 Big East Conference
19. UCLA 20-8 514 25 Pacific-12 Conference
20. Memphis 20-6 485 11 American Athletic Conference
21. Rutgers 20-8 302 16 Big Ten Conference
22. Middle Tennessee 22-6 261 21 Conference USA
23. TCU 21-8 168 NR Big 12 Conference
24. Georgetown 19-9 113 NR Big East Conference
25. Western Michigan 22-7 104 NR Mid-American Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Buffalo 20-8 101 Mid-American Conference
Arizona 19-9 54 Pacific-12 Conference
Virginia 18-10 26 Atlantic Coast Conference
Tennessee 19-9 16 Southeastern Conference
UC Irvine 21-7 13 Big West Conference
Rhode Island 21-7 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
Quinnipiac 22-6 9 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Mercer 22-7 6 Southern Conference
Washington 20-8 5 Pacific-12 Conference
So Kentucky moves up 3 spots after 2 big wins this week, while Duke moves up 2 spots after splitting their games. UCLA moves up 6 spots, and TCU is back in the national top 25!
Now for a look at the mid-major top 25 for the week of March 1-7:
Code:
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference test test test test
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1. Wichita State (67) 27-4 1795 1 Missouri Valley Conference
2. San Diego State (5) 25-3 1733 2 Mountain West Conference
3. Boise State 23-5 1656 3 Mountain West Conference
4. UAB 23-5 1569 7 Conference USA
5. Memphis 20-6 1489 4 American Athletic Conference
6. Fresno State 23-5 1395 6 Mountain West Conference
7. Harvard 23-5 1361 10 Ivy League
8. Buffalo 20-8 1224 12 Mid-American Conference
9. Western Michigan 22-7 1190 13 Mid-American Conference
10. Rhode Island 21-7 1148 5 Atlantic 10 Conference
11. SMU 20-8 1107 9 American Athletic Conference
12. Middle Tennessee 22-6 1106 8 Conference USA
13. UC Irvine 21-7 896 14 Big West Conference
14. Pepperdine 20-8 804 17 West Coast Conference
15. Georgia State 21-9 769 11 Horizon League
16. Quinnipiac 22-6 682 18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
17. Richmond 20-8 594 25 Atlantic 10 Conference
18. William & Mary 21-8 589 15 Colonial Athletic Association
19. Mercer 22-7 538 19 Southern Conference
20. Illinois State 20-10 405 20 Missouri Valley Conference
21. Northern Kentucky 21-6 321 23 Sun Belt Conference
22. George Washington 18-9 287 NR Atlantic 10 Conference
23. Akron 19-10 249 22 Mid-American Conference
24. Detroit 21-10 114 21 Horizon League
25. Kent State 19-9 110 16 Mid-American Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
FIU 19-8 97 Conference USA
Northeastern 21-9 69 Colonial Athletic Association
Davidson 18-10 42 Atlantic 10 Conference
Cincinnati 18-10 18 American Athletic Conference
Lehigh 20-9 17 Patriot League
UTEP 17-9 11 Conference USA
Arkansas State 19-8 7 Sun Belt Conference
Massachusetts 18-10 3 Atlantic 10 Conference
USC Upstate 21-8 3 Atlantic Sun Conference
Columbia 18-10 2 Ivy League
For about the 6th week in a row (I don't know exactly, I lost count), we have no FOFC mid-major teams getting votes.
It's time for this weeks edition of the bubble watch. Starting with the overall bubble watch in which we again have none of our FOFC teams listed. Here's a look anyways:
Code:
OVERALL BUBBLE WATCH
Team Record RPI vs. 1-50 vs. 51-100 vs. 101-200 vs. 200+ SOS Projected
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FIU 19-8 .578 (22) 3-3 3-1 4-1 9-3 110 In
Arkansas 17-11 .557 (51) 5-8 1-2 6-1 5-0 71 In
Nebraska 17-11 .571 (31) 3-7 6-2 5-1 3-1 27 In
Oregon State 18-10 .550 (64) 2-4 2-3 5-2 9-1 113 In
Akron 19-10 .559 (49) 2-4 2-1 6-3 9-2 98 In
Columbia 18-10 .553 (57) 3-4 1-1 7-2 7-3 89 In
Marshall 18-10 .559 (48) 3-4 1-0 6-3 8-3 111 In
UTEP 17-9 .562 (46) 0-6 2-1 9-1 6-1 62 In
William & Mary 21-8 .557 (50) 0-0 2-2 6-4 13-2 184 Out
Miami 17-11 .564 (40) 1-9 5-1 6-1 5-0 36 Out
Virginia 18-10 .541 (70) 4-4 3-2 8-4 3-0 99 Out
Cincinnati 18-10 .550 (63) 2-6 0-1 5-0 11-3 101 Out
Davidson 18-10 .547 (67) 1-2 3-3 6-3 8-2 93 Out
Evansville 17-10 .546 (68) 0-3 3-2 5-4 9-1 120 Out
Kent State 19-9 .541 (72) 3-4 2-0 2-5 12-0 188 Out
Let's take a look at the bubble watch for all our FOFC teams. Not that I expect any changes, but we'll look anyways.
Locks:
Duke,
TCU,
UCLA,
Kentucky
Not much of a surprise here, as there are no changes from the last couple weeks.