Big East:
@Seton Hall 75, St John's 70
@Creighton 83, Providence 64 - a pair of holds for the home teams here; too early to panic for the losers
ACC:
@Syracuse 68, Virginia Tech 56
SEC:
@Kentucky 66, Georgia 61
@Ole Miss 74, South Carolina 69
Pac-12:
Utah 66, @Oregon St 64 - any, and I mean ANY 2-win road sequence in the Pac-12 is noteworthy for a bubble team
@UCLA 74, Washington 53 - important service hold in week 1 for UCLA
@USC 89, Washington St 71 - and a mandatory hold for USC after a loose loss to UW
@Oregon 77, Colorado 62
AAC:
@Cincinnati 82, Memphis 48
Tulsa 65, @Tulane 56 - just in case people were thinking about Tulane as an at-large entity
UCF 59, East Carolina 39
@SMU 79, South Florida 39
MVC:
@Bradley 72, Northern Iowa 53 - this is the overkill portion of UNI's at-large-ending stretch of play
Missouri St 67, @Valparaiso 50 - we now funnel our attention to MSU; who I'm not really sure has an at-large case, but we'll monitor anyways
elsewhere:
@Appalachian St 80, UT Arlington 76 - I swear to God, the Fun Belt does this every year, their best team tanks in conference play
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Saturday, December 30, 2017
12/30 recap
Big East:
@Butler 101, Villanova 93 - only will be a problem for Nova if road losses become a pattern. Butler gains a bubble-securing signature win
@Xavier 77, DePaul 72
@Marquette 74, Georgetown 65
Big 12:
Oklahoma 90, @TCU 89 - we're going to need to discuss OU and the 1 line before too long here
Pac-12:
@Arizona 84, Arizona St 78 - Zona needs every signature win they can get to repair their damage. Tough to say what this means for ASU as I'm not completely sure how good they are
California 77, @Stanford 74 - man, Stanford blows
ACC:
@Duke 100, Florida St 93 - a non-event for both teams from a bracket perspective
@Virginia 59, Boston College 58 - it'd be nice if BC could just lay down during conference play, you know
@North Carolina 73, Wake Forest 69
Miami 67, @Pittsburgh 53
@Notre Dame 68, Georgia Tech 59
@Clemson 78, NC State 62 - not a big deal, but still, the first step a fledgling bubble team must take is to win all of these games
SEC:
@Alabama 79, Texas A&M 57 - road games are tough, y'know. This hurts A&M's hopes at one of the top 2 lines; the best teams don't lose like this. This should stand up as a Group 1 win for a Bama team that desperately needed it
@Arkansas 95, Tennessee 93 (OT) - not really compelled to change the outlook on either team after this one
@Florida 81, Vanderbilt 74
AAC:
Wichita St 72, @UConn 62 - road wins are never trivial
@Houston 76, Temple 73 - and Temple is just about done and dusted already
MWC:
@Nevada 77, New Mexico 74
@San Diego St 79, Utah St 59
Boise St 83, @UNLV 74 - probable Group 1 win. Crushing blow for UNLV, tough to build an at-large resume when you let a home game like this go by the boards. Big boon for Boise though
WCC:
@Gonzaga 101, Santa Clara 52
St Mary's 74, @BYU 64 - crushing blow to BYU's at-large hopes (quality wins aren't in abundance in the WCC) and a major Group 1 win savior for St Mary's
A-10:
@St Bonaventure 98, UMass 78 - we've reached the long bleak portion of the schedule where Bonaventure must do everything they can to hold serve every night
@Rhode Island 83, George Mason 64 - ditto for URI
miscellany:
@Green Bay 80, Oakland 79 - the Horizon favorite splits the Wisconsin trip
@Loyola(Chi) 66, Evansville 59 - you tell me who the favorite in the MVC is. I don't know
@Charleston 73, Towson 62 - your two probable favorites in the Colonial, home service hold in the first of two key games here
@UNC Greensboro 71, Wofford 67 - just in case everyone was penciling in Wofford. SoCon could be low-key fun this year
Middle Tennessee 63, @UAB 60
@Sacramento St 80, Portland St 75 - PSU was actually putting up a really good resume for a Big Sky team, so this loss is disturbing
@Butler 101, Villanova 93 - only will be a problem for Nova if road losses become a pattern. Butler gains a bubble-securing signature win
@Xavier 77, DePaul 72
@Marquette 74, Georgetown 65
Big 12:
Oklahoma 90, @TCU 89 - we're going to need to discuss OU and the 1 line before too long here
Pac-12:
@Arizona 84, Arizona St 78 - Zona needs every signature win they can get to repair their damage. Tough to say what this means for ASU as I'm not completely sure how good they are
California 77, @Stanford 74 - man, Stanford blows
ACC:
@Duke 100, Florida St 93 - a non-event for both teams from a bracket perspective
@Virginia 59, Boston College 58 - it'd be nice if BC could just lay down during conference play, you know
@North Carolina 73, Wake Forest 69
Miami 67, @Pittsburgh 53
@Notre Dame 68, Georgia Tech 59
@Clemson 78, NC State 62 - not a big deal, but still, the first step a fledgling bubble team must take is to win all of these games
SEC:
@Alabama 79, Texas A&M 57 - road games are tough, y'know. This hurts A&M's hopes at one of the top 2 lines; the best teams don't lose like this. This should stand up as a Group 1 win for a Bama team that desperately needed it
@Arkansas 95, Tennessee 93 (OT) - not really compelled to change the outlook on either team after this one
@Florida 81, Vanderbilt 74
AAC:
Wichita St 72, @UConn 62 - road wins are never trivial
@Houston 76, Temple 73 - and Temple is just about done and dusted already
MWC:
@Nevada 77, New Mexico 74
@San Diego St 79, Utah St 59
Boise St 83, @UNLV 74 - probable Group 1 win. Crushing blow for UNLV, tough to build an at-large resume when you let a home game like this go by the boards. Big boon for Boise though
WCC:
@Gonzaga 101, Santa Clara 52
St Mary's 74, @BYU 64 - crushing blow to BYU's at-large hopes (quality wins aren't in abundance in the WCC) and a major Group 1 win savior for St Mary's
A-10:
@St Bonaventure 98, UMass 78 - we've reached the long bleak portion of the schedule where Bonaventure must do everything they can to hold serve every night
@Rhode Island 83, George Mason 64 - ditto for URI
miscellany:
@Green Bay 80, Oakland 79 - the Horizon favorite splits the Wisconsin trip
@Loyola(Chi) 66, Evansville 59 - you tell me who the favorite in the MVC is. I don't know
@Charleston 73, Towson 62 - your two probable favorites in the Colonial, home service hold in the first of two key games here
@UNC Greensboro 71, Wofford 67 - just in case everyone was penciling in Wofford. SoCon could be low-key fun this year
Middle Tennessee 63, @UAB 60
@Sacramento St 80, Portland St 75 - PSU was actually putting up a really good resume for a Big Sky team, so this loss is disturbing
Friday, December 29, 2017
12/29 recap
Big 12:
West Virginia 85, @Oklahoma St 79 - road wins are never trivial. Bodes well for WVU's probably quest for a top 3 seed. Bodes not that great for OSU battling in the bottom-middle of this conference going for an at-large bid
Kansas 92, @Texas 86 - just take the analysis from the game above and apply it here too
@Texas Tech 77, Baylor 53 - and Baylor can't keep pace with the 2 favorites in conference. Eyebrow officially raised at TTU, maybe they won't be in the cellar. Will toy with moving them in the bracket now that they have a legitimate business win on top of Nevada
Kansas St 91, @Iowa St 75
Pac-12:
Utah 66, @Oregon 56 - a tale of two bubbles. On the one end, Utah was on the wrong side, then just turned in a probable Group 1 win. On the other, bubble teams are supposed to hold onto this game and Oregon is in trouble
Washington 88, @USC 81 - and here's another game where I thought the better team was at home, and they give a game. I'm not really sure how good Utah or Washington are, but we must rethink the pecking order behind the Arizonas, I guess. This could be a mess of a season in this conference
@Oregon St 76, Colorado 76
@UCLA 96, Washington St 82 - maybe UCLA is 3rd best
miscellany:
@Coastal Carolina 90, UT Arlington 65 - everyone's mid-major darling just absolutely punted this game. What is this I don't even
non-con:
@Kentucky 90, Louisville 61 - kind of a non-event from a bracketing perspective
by the way, 5 Big 10 teams played non-con games. There's 8 more non-con games tomorrow. Why couldn't they just play league games this weekend? Just play 2 in 3 days, man up and squeeze them in. I don't think this MSG stuff is going to work for them long-term.
West Virginia 85, @Oklahoma St 79 - road wins are never trivial. Bodes well for WVU's probably quest for a top 3 seed. Bodes not that great for OSU battling in the bottom-middle of this conference going for an at-large bid
Kansas 92, @Texas 86 - just take the analysis from the game above and apply it here too
@Texas Tech 77, Baylor 53 - and Baylor can't keep pace with the 2 favorites in conference. Eyebrow officially raised at TTU, maybe they won't be in the cellar. Will toy with moving them in the bracket now that they have a legitimate business win on top of Nevada
Kansas St 91, @Iowa St 75
Pac-12:
Utah 66, @Oregon 56 - a tale of two bubbles. On the one end, Utah was on the wrong side, then just turned in a probable Group 1 win. On the other, bubble teams are supposed to hold onto this game and Oregon is in trouble
Washington 88, @USC 81 - and here's another game where I thought the better team was at home, and they give a game. I'm not really sure how good Utah or Washington are, but we must rethink the pecking order behind the Arizonas, I guess. This could be a mess of a season in this conference
@Oregon St 76, Colorado 76
@UCLA 96, Washington St 82 - maybe UCLA is 3rd best
miscellany:
@Coastal Carolina 90, UT Arlington 65 - everyone's mid-major darling just absolutely punted this game. What is this I don't even
non-con:
@Kentucky 90, Louisville 61 - kind of a non-event from a bracketing perspective
by the way, 5 Big 10 teams played non-con games. There's 8 more non-con games tomorrow. Why couldn't they just play league games this weekend? Just play 2 in 3 days, man up and squeeze them in. I don't think this MSG stuff is going to work for them long-term.
12/28 recap
Big East:
@Seton Hall 90, Creighton 84 - remember the rule: when home teams hold in this type of game, both teams' profiles don't really move in either direction significantly
Providence 94, @St John's 72 - a big road win for a team that I think most people were ready to leave behind in the bubble discussion. And a disturbing loss for a team that I think most people were ready to put in the bracket with no thought. The plot thickens
AAC:
Tulane 85, @Temple 75 - a catastrophic loss right off the bat for a fringe bubble team
Houston 79, @USF 60
WCC:
@Gonzaga 81, Pacific 48
@BYU 69, Portland 45
@St Mary's 87, Loyola Marymount 59 - standard night for matchday 1 in the WCC
MVC:
Southern Illinois 56, @Northern Iowa 53 - here's a dumb loss that could end at-large discussion for a conference much earlier than expected
miscellany:
Oakland 76, @Milwaukee 68 - probably the 2 best teams in the Horizon, and Oakland binks a road win in the series right away
@SE Louisiana 73, Stephen F Austin 62 - SFA won't be a lock to win this year's Southland
non-con:
Hartford 60, @Rutgers 58 - good grief. Rutgers had a stupid non-con schedule. 13 home games. That's it.
LSU 71, @Memphis 61 - one more decent road win for the SEC's non-con ledger
New Mexico St 65, @UC Irvine 60 - road wins are never trivial
@Seton Hall 90, Creighton 84 - remember the rule: when home teams hold in this type of game, both teams' profiles don't really move in either direction significantly
Providence 94, @St John's 72 - a big road win for a team that I think most people were ready to leave behind in the bubble discussion. And a disturbing loss for a team that I think most people were ready to put in the bracket with no thought. The plot thickens
AAC:
Tulane 85, @Temple 75 - a catastrophic loss right off the bat for a fringe bubble team
Houston 79, @USF 60
WCC:
@Gonzaga 81, Pacific 48
@BYU 69, Portland 45
@St Mary's 87, Loyola Marymount 59 - standard night for matchday 1 in the WCC
MVC:
Southern Illinois 56, @Northern Iowa 53 - here's a dumb loss that could end at-large discussion for a conference much earlier than expected
miscellany:
Oakland 76, @Milwaukee 68 - probably the 2 best teams in the Horizon, and Oakland binks a road win in the series right away
@SE Louisiana 73, Stephen F Austin 62 - SFA won't be a lock to win this year's Southland
non-con:
Hartford 60, @Rutgers 58 - good grief. Rutgers had a stupid non-con schedule. 13 home games. That's it.
LSU 71, @Memphis 61 - one more decent road win for the SEC's non-con ledger
New Mexico St 65, @UC Irvine 60 - road wins are never trivial
Thursday, December 28, 2017
12/27 recap
We begin conference play, and we can begin focusing these recaps a bit more tightly.
Big Priest:
Villanova 103, @DePaul 85
Xavier 91, @Marquette 87 - mid-tier tourney teams lose these road games; protected seeds win these games. I don't think many had Marquette in legitimate bubble play, so this shouldn't change much
Butler 91, @Georgetown 89 (2OT) - near disaster for Butler; good to see most were paying attention to GU's schedule, have a feeling this will turn into a 2-16 conference team
American:
@SMU 56, UCF 51 - right off the bat, one crucial Group 1 win chance is off the board for UCF. But, thanks to crafty scheduling by the AAC offices, they should get all the AAC contenders 2x this season
Mountain West:
@New Mexico 87, Air Force 58
@Wyoming 82, San Diego St 69 - right away, one road loss for SDSU that's going to hurt the at-large profile
@Utah St 86, San Jose St 72
@Boise St 93, Colorado St 71 - starting to feel like Boise and Nevada could separate in the conference, and I think the conference should root for this. Should be able to get those 2 secured by March and take your shot at back-dooring a 3rd bid from there
Nevada 80, @Fresno St 65 - good sign here: the road win over competent team
Big Priest:
Villanova 103, @DePaul 85
Xavier 91, @Marquette 87 - mid-tier tourney teams lose these road games; protected seeds win these games. I don't think many had Marquette in legitimate bubble play, so this shouldn't change much
Butler 91, @Georgetown 89 (2OT) - near disaster for Butler; good to see most were paying attention to GU's schedule, have a feeling this will turn into a 2-16 conference team
American:
@SMU 56, UCF 51 - right off the bat, one crucial Group 1 win chance is off the board for UCF. But, thanks to crafty scheduling by the AAC offices, they should get all the AAC contenders 2x this season
Mountain West:
@New Mexico 87, Air Force 58
@Wyoming 82, San Diego St 69 - right away, one road loss for SDSU that's going to hurt the at-large profile
@Utah St 86, San Jose St 72
@Boise St 93, Colorado St 71 - starting to feel like Boise and Nevada could separate in the conference, and I think the conference should root for this. Should be able to get those 2 secured by March and take your shot at back-dooring a 3rd bid from there
Nevada 80, @Fresno St 65 - good sign here: the road win over competent team
Monday, December 25, 2017
12/27 S-CURVE
Posting on 12/25...with no games until 12/27, damn straight I'm timestamping this S-Curve as 12/27.
The 1 line: Villanova (12-0), Duke (12-1), Michigan St (12-1), Arizona St (12-0)
The 2 line: North Carolina (11-2), Xavier (12-1), Oklahoma (10-1), Texas A&M (11-1)
The 3 line: West Virginia (11-1), Virginia (11-1), Kentucky (9-2), Kansas (10-2)
The 4 line: Purdue (12-2), Wichita St (10-2), Miami (11-1), Arizona (10-3)
The 5 line: TCU (12-0), Seton Hall (11-2), Arkansas (9-2), Gonzaga (10-3)
The 6 line: Florida St (11-1), Cincinnati (11-2), Creighton (10-2), Clemson (11-1)
The 7 line: Notre Dame (9-3), Tennessee (9-2), Louisville (10-2), Maryland (10-3)
The 8 line: Baylor (9-2), Minnesota (11-3), SMU (10-3), Texas (9-3)
The 9 line: Nevada (11-3), Florida (8-4), Oregon (10-3), Butler (10-3)
The 10 line: Michigan (10-3), Alabama (8-4), UCLA (9-3), Rhode Island (7-3)
The 11 line: Boise St (9-2), Syracuse (10-2), Auburn (11-1), St Bonaventure (10-2), Oklahoma St (10-2), St John's (9-2)
The 12 line: Northern Iowa (6-4), New Mexico St (9-3), Middle Tennessee (7-4), Towson (8-3)
The 13 line: UT Arlington (8-4), Buffalo (6-5), South Dakota St (8-5), UC Santa Barbara (9-3)
The 14 line: Wofford (5-4), Portland St (7-3), Belmont (8-5), Vermont (7-5)
The 15 line: Iona (6-6), Penn (7-4), Oakland (8-5), Bucknell (6-7)
The 16 line: Lipscomb (7-4), Stephen F Austin (7-2), UNC-Asheville (5-6), Wagner (5-4), North Carolina A&T (5-7), Texas Southern (0-13)
Next 4 in:
Alabama
UCLA
Boise St
Syracuse
Last 4 in:
Auburn
St Bonaventure
Oklahoma St
USC
Last 4 out:
St Mary's (11-2)
Temple (7-4)
Texas Tech (11-1)
USC (9-4)
Next 4 out:
Missouri St (10-3)
Missouri (9-3)
Virginia Tech (10-2)
San Diego St (7-3)
Break it down!:
ACC 9
SEC 7
Big 12 6
Big East 6
B1G 5
Pac-12 4
AAC 4
MWC 2
A-10 2
Quick thoughts:
- ACC with 9 bids, seems to be a good line to set for an over/under for March bids.
- SEC up to 7 bids. Not convinced it'll stick, but their SoS work as a conference is showing dividends
- Big 12 with 6 bids, seems about right. Everyone is getting fooled by Texas Tech again. So stupid.
- B1G might be in legit trouble. They'll get to 5 bids just because someone has to win these conference games, but that might be their max
- Pac-12 is in trouble, but that's well documented by now, I hope.
- Big East has their typical 6
- Further down, I think A-10 could escape with 2 bids if Bonaventure separates with URI in league play
The 1 line: Villanova (12-0), Duke (12-1), Michigan St (12-1), Arizona St (12-0)
The 2 line: North Carolina (11-2), Xavier (12-1), Oklahoma (10-1), Texas A&M (11-1)
The 3 line: West Virginia (11-1), Virginia (11-1), Kentucky (9-2), Kansas (10-2)
The 4 line: Purdue (12-2), Wichita St (10-2), Miami (11-1), Arizona (10-3)
The 5 line: TCU (12-0), Seton Hall (11-2), Arkansas (9-2), Gonzaga (10-3)
The 6 line: Florida St (11-1), Cincinnati (11-2), Creighton (10-2), Clemson (11-1)
The 7 line: Notre Dame (9-3), Tennessee (9-2), Louisville (10-2), Maryland (10-3)
The 8 line: Baylor (9-2), Minnesota (11-3), SMU (10-3), Texas (9-3)
The 9 line: Nevada (11-3), Florida (8-4), Oregon (10-3), Butler (10-3)
The 10 line: Michigan (10-3), Alabama (8-4), UCLA (9-3), Rhode Island (7-3)
The 11 line: Boise St (9-2), Syracuse (10-2), Auburn (11-1), St Bonaventure (10-2), Oklahoma St (10-2), St John's (9-2)
The 12 line: Northern Iowa (6-4), New Mexico St (9-3), Middle Tennessee (7-4), Towson (8-3)
The 13 line: UT Arlington (8-4), Buffalo (6-5), South Dakota St (8-5), UC Santa Barbara (9-3)
The 14 line: Wofford (5-4), Portland St (7-3), Belmont (8-5), Vermont (7-5)
The 15 line: Iona (6-6), Penn (7-4), Oakland (8-5), Bucknell (6-7)
The 16 line: Lipscomb (7-4), Stephen F Austin (7-2), UNC-Asheville (5-6), Wagner (5-4), North Carolina A&T (5-7), Texas Southern (0-13)
Next 4 in:
Alabama
UCLA
Boise St
Syracuse
Last 4 in:
Auburn
St Bonaventure
Oklahoma St
USC
Last 4 out:
St Mary's (11-2)
Temple (7-4)
Texas Tech (11-1)
USC (9-4)
Next 4 out:
Missouri St (10-3)
Missouri (9-3)
Virginia Tech (10-2)
San Diego St (7-3)
Break it down!:
ACC 9
SEC 7
Big 12 6
Big East 6
B1G 5
Pac-12 4
AAC 4
MWC 2
A-10 2
Quick thoughts:
- ACC with 9 bids, seems to be a good line to set for an over/under for March bids.
- SEC up to 7 bids. Not convinced it'll stick, but their SoS work as a conference is showing dividends
- Big 12 with 6 bids, seems about right. Everyone is getting fooled by Texas Tech again. So stupid.
- B1G might be in legit trouble. They'll get to 5 bids just because someone has to win these conference games, but that might be their max
- Pac-12 is in trouble, but that's well documented by now, I hope.
- Big East has their typical 6
- Further down, I think A-10 could escape with 2 bids if Bonaventure separates with URI in league play
12/25 recap
Diamond Head:
USC 77, New Mexico St 72 - not the signature win USC was hoping for, but a solid neutral site win will have to do
Miami 84, MTSU 81 - the win has modest value, at least
Davidson 91, Akron 78
Princeton 77, Hawaii 63 - Hawaii does realize they technically lost 3 home games here, right?
USC 77, New Mexico St 72 - not the signature win USC was hoping for, but a solid neutral site win will have to do
Miami 84, MTSU 81 - the win has modest value, at least
Davidson 91, Akron 78
Princeton 77, Hawaii 63 - Hawaii does realize they technically lost 3 home games here, right?
Sunday, December 24, 2017
12/23 recap
Diamond Head:
New Mexico St 63, Miami 54 - there's the mini-disaster for Miami, although all is hardly lost for their profile. NMSU has modest at-large life, with a new Group 1 win
USC 89, Middle Tennessee 84 - catastrophic blow to USC's profile. With the current Pac-12 situation, USC needs access to every possible Group 1 win, and they just lost one
Princeton 64, Akron 62
Hawaii 79, Davidson 71
Signature wins:
UCLA 83, Kentucky 75
Tennessee 79, @Wake Forest 60 - road wins are never trivial
Stuff:
North Carolina 86, Ohio St 72
@Auburn 89, UConn 64 - SEC has been racking up these wins with regularity, bodes well for the conference in March
Illinois 70, Missouri 64
Las Vegas Classic:
San Francisco 66, Nevada 64 - Nevada has now spent most of its goodwill that it built up in the first month of the season
New Mexico St 63, Miami 54 - there's the mini-disaster for Miami, although all is hardly lost for their profile. NMSU has modest at-large life, with a new Group 1 win
USC 89, Middle Tennessee 84 - catastrophic blow to USC's profile. With the current Pac-12 situation, USC needs access to every possible Group 1 win, and they just lost one
Princeton 64, Akron 62
Hawaii 79, Davidson 71
Signature wins:
UCLA 83, Kentucky 75
Tennessee 79, @Wake Forest 60 - road wins are never trivial
Stuff:
North Carolina 86, Ohio St 72
@Auburn 89, UConn 64 - SEC has been racking up these wins with regularity, bodes well for the conference in March
Illinois 70, Missouri 64
Las Vegas Classic:
San Francisco 66, Nevada 64 - Nevada has now spent most of its goodwill that it built up in the first month of the season
Saturday, December 23, 2017
12/22 recap
Signature wins:
Xavier 77, @Northern Iowa 67 - likely a Group 1 road win
St Bonaventure 60, @Syracuse 57 - here's a Group 1 road win, and one the A-10 desperately needed. Bonaventure will have a legit at-large pulse
Texas 66, @Alabama 50 - and your other possible Group 1 road win for the day
Quality wins:
@Oklahoma 104, Northwestern 78
@Georgia 84, Temple 66
@Clemson 89, Louisiana 60
@Pittsburgh 63, Towson 59
@East Tennessee St 79, Georgia Southern 59
@Missouri St 64, Loyola(Chi) 59
lolz:
Stony Brook 75, @Rutgers 73
Rider 71, @Penn St 70 - oy
Wright St 85, @Georgia Tech 81
Diamond Head:
Middle Tennessee 69, Princeton 67
USC 84, Akron 53
New Mexico St 69, Davidson 68
Miami 75, Hawaii 57 - hey another tournament to work with! The best 4 teams won here, so good news for all legitimate tournament teams. Miami and USC seem the two best, but MTSU and NMSU can resurrect bubble hopes with 2 more wins here
Las Vegas Classic:
Nevada 86, Southern Illinois 64
Duquesne 67, San Francisco 65 - here's a dumb thing: matchups are fixed, so Nevada plays USF and misses Duquesne. Okay. Whatever. Nevada needs 2 wins to not damage its resume anyways
Xavier 77, @Northern Iowa 67 - likely a Group 1 road win
St Bonaventure 60, @Syracuse 57 - here's a Group 1 road win, and one the A-10 desperately needed. Bonaventure will have a legit at-large pulse
Texas 66, @Alabama 50 - and your other possible Group 1 road win for the day
Quality wins:
@Oklahoma 104, Northwestern 78
@Georgia 84, Temple 66
@Clemson 89, Louisiana 60
@Pittsburgh 63, Towson 59
@East Tennessee St 79, Georgia Southern 59
@Missouri St 64, Loyola(Chi) 59
lolz:
Stony Brook 75, @Rutgers 73
Rider 71, @Penn St 70 - oy
Wright St 85, @Georgia Tech 81
Diamond Head:
Middle Tennessee 69, Princeton 67
USC 84, Akron 53
New Mexico St 69, Davidson 68
Miami 75, Hawaii 57 - hey another tournament to work with! The best 4 teams won here, so good news for all legitimate tournament teams. Miami and USC seem the two best, but MTSU and NMSU can resurrect bubble hopes with 2 more wins here
Las Vegas Classic:
Nevada 86, Southern Illinois 64
Duquesne 67, San Francisco 65 - here's a dumb thing: matchups are fixed, so Nevada plays USF and misses Duquesne. Okay. Whatever. Nevada needs 2 wins to not damage its resume anyways
Friday, December 22, 2017
12/21 recap
Common theme this week: light impact games.
Signature wins:
@San Diego St 72, Gonzaga 70 - I'm not completely convinced this will hold as a Group 1 win for SDSU, but nevertheless it could be a resume saver. MWC is looking better and better to get 2 bids, although which 2 is still up in the air
Stuff:
Kansas 75, @Stanford 54 - road wins are never trivial
@Arizona 73, UConn 58 - Zona looks to be back to full strength
@Kent St 79, Oregon St 78 - lol Pac-12
Portland St 106, Cal 81 - as I mentioned before, Portland St might not be bad, and the Big Sky might escape even the 15 line this year, who knows
Signature wins:
@San Diego St 72, Gonzaga 70 - I'm not completely convinced this will hold as a Group 1 win for SDSU, but nevertheless it could be a resume saver. MWC is looking better and better to get 2 bids, although which 2 is still up in the air
Stuff:
Kansas 75, @Stanford 54 - road wins are never trivial
@Arizona 73, UConn 58 - Zona looks to be back to full strength
@Kent St 79, Oregon St 78 - lol Pac-12
Portland St 106, Cal 81 - as I mentioned before, Portland St might not be bad, and the Big Sky might escape even the 15 line this year, who knows
12/20 recap
What the fuck:
Wofford 79, @North Carolina 75 - this transcends analysis, straight into WTF mode. Will cost UNC multiple seed lines
Trivitalities:
St John's 77, St Joseph's 73 - neutral site win
Houston 70, Providence 59 - another neutral win, this a modest boost to Houston and significant damage to Provi's resume
@Oakland 97, Towson 86 - that's the CAA favorite losing on the road; no major sin, but the difference between being on the at-large periphery and not
Kansas St 68, @Washington St 65 - road wins are never trivial
Wofford 79, @North Carolina 75 - this transcends analysis, straight into WTF mode. Will cost UNC multiple seed lines
Trivitalities:
St John's 77, St Joseph's 73 - neutral site win
Houston 70, Providence 59 - another neutral win, this a modest boost to Houston and significant damage to Provi's resume
@Oakland 97, Towson 86 - that's the CAA favorite losing on the road; no major sin, but the difference between being on the at-large periphery and not
Kansas St 68, @Washington St 65 - road wins are never trivial
12/19 recap
Quality wins:
@Clemson 64, South Carolina 48 - Clemson is really legitimate, huh. USC will be fine because SEC play will now offer quality win chances to replace this one
Assorted:
@Syracuse 81, Buffalo 74
Bucknell 86, @Richmond 78
Auburn 81, @Murray St 77 - road wins are never trivial
@Georgia 80, Georgia Tech 59
@St Mary's 69, Dayton 54 - every win matters for St Mary's resume
Princeton 103, @USC 93 (OT) - ugh, Pac-12
UCF 74, @Stetson 55 - road wins, etc etc
@Clemson 64, South Carolina 48 - Clemson is really legitimate, huh. USC will be fine because SEC play will now offer quality win chances to replace this one
Assorted:
@Syracuse 81, Buffalo 74
Bucknell 86, @Richmond 78
Auburn 81, @Murray St 77 - road wins are never trivial
@Georgia 80, Georgia Tech 59
@St Mary's 69, Dayton 54 - every win matters for St Mary's resume
Princeton 103, @USC 93 (OT) - ugh, Pac-12
UCF 74, @Stetson 55 - road wins, etc etc
Thursday, December 21, 2017
12/18 recap
@Creighton 90, UT Arlington 81 - hey, UTA isn't half bad, so this might be a Group 2 win
Wake Forest 84, @Coastal Carolina 80 - mostly notable because Wake is out here playing true road games at mid-majors for the second straight year. It paid off last year
Fort Wayne 92, @Indiana 72 - oy
@SMU 86, Boise St 63 - anything approaching a quality win is big for SMU, and every missed chance for Boise is even huger
Most of the rest of the day was filled with trivial wins.
Wake Forest 84, @Coastal Carolina 80 - mostly notable because Wake is out here playing true road games at mid-majors for the second straight year. It paid off last year
Fort Wayne 92, @Indiana 72 - oy
@SMU 86, Boise St 63 - anything approaching a quality win is big for SMU, and every missed chance for Boise is even huger
Most of the rest of the day was filled with trivial wins.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
12/17 recap
not much here...
Signature wins:
North Carolina 78, @Tennessee 73 - road wins are never trivial
ok then:
@Arizona St 76, Vanderbilt 64
Penn St 72, @George Mason 54 - road wins, etc etc
@Stanford 71, San Francisco 59
@USC 98, UC Santa Barbara 87
Signature wins:
North Carolina 78, @Tennessee 73 - road wins are never trivial
ok then:
@Arizona St 76, Vanderbilt 64
Penn St 72, @George Mason 54 - road wins, etc etc
@Stanford 71, San Francisco 59
@USC 98, UC Santa Barbara 87
Monday, December 18, 2017
12/16 recap
After several days of drab games, an explosion!
Signature wins:
Oklahoma 91, @Wichita St 83 - what I like to call a Group 0 win right here. A transcendent Group 1 win.
Purdue 82, Butler 67 - neutral site wins like this are always useful
Indiana 80, Notre Dame 77 (OT) - IU's already on the brink of season failure, and UND absorbs a loss they'd rather not, given more will be coming in ACC. Don't want to use up your resume goodwill like this
Oklahoma St 71, Florida St 70 - neutral site wins everywhere! This is a good one for OSU
Clemson 71, Florida 69 - something might be wrong with Florida. Wasn't taking Clemson too seriously before, and still might not, but I'm officially watching
potent potables:
Michigan St 86, Oakland 73 - neutral site win, for the record
Miami 59, @George Washington 50 - road wins are never trivial
Kansas 73, @Nebraska 72 - road wins, triviality, etc etc
Arizona 89, @New Mexico 73 - blah blah blah
Cincinnati 77, @UCLA 63 - lol Pac-12
Louisville 81, Memphis 72
Syracuse 86, Georgetown 79 (OT) - please tell me you weren't taking G'town seriously either
Auburn 76, MTSU 70 - aw, I was hoping MTSU would make another at-large run
Oregon 68, @Fresno St 61 - road wins, etc etc
Iowa St 76, Northern Iowa 65 - this will prove to be a useful Group 1 win
holding serve (games where the winning team gets a modest resume boost and the loser isn't hurt):
@Kentucky 93, Virginia Tech 86
@Xavier 68, East Tennessee St 66 (ETSU should post a decent record this year)
@St Bonaventure 81, Vermont 79
@Rhode Island 68, Charleston 62
@VCU 85, Bucknell 79
@BYU 77, Utah 65
near-disasters:
@Gonzaga 89, North Dakota 83 (OT)
Northwestern 62, @DePaul 60
catastrophic losses:
@Rutgers 71, Seton Hall 65 - this being a roadie means it's not too bad, but still...it's Rutgers
UNC Greensboro 81, @NC State 76 - oy
Stephen F Austin 83, @LSU 82
@Milwaukee 73, Loyola(Chi) 56 - that at-large candidacy was fledgling
@UMass 72, Georgia 62
New Mexico St 74, Illinois 69
Signature wins:
Oklahoma 91, @Wichita St 83 - what I like to call a Group 0 win right here. A transcendent Group 1 win.
Purdue 82, Butler 67 - neutral site wins like this are always useful
Indiana 80, Notre Dame 77 (OT) - IU's already on the brink of season failure, and UND absorbs a loss they'd rather not, given more will be coming in ACC. Don't want to use up your resume goodwill like this
Oklahoma St 71, Florida St 70 - neutral site wins everywhere! This is a good one for OSU
Clemson 71, Florida 69 - something might be wrong with Florida. Wasn't taking Clemson too seriously before, and still might not, but I'm officially watching
potent potables:
Michigan St 86, Oakland 73 - neutral site win, for the record
Miami 59, @George Washington 50 - road wins are never trivial
Kansas 73, @Nebraska 72 - road wins, triviality, etc etc
Arizona 89, @New Mexico 73 - blah blah blah
Cincinnati 77, @UCLA 63 - lol Pac-12
Louisville 81, Memphis 72
Syracuse 86, Georgetown 79 (OT) - please tell me you weren't taking G'town seriously either
Auburn 76, MTSU 70 - aw, I was hoping MTSU would make another at-large run
Oregon 68, @Fresno St 61 - road wins, etc etc
Iowa St 76, Northern Iowa 65 - this will prove to be a useful Group 1 win
holding serve (games where the winning team gets a modest resume boost and the loser isn't hurt):
@Kentucky 93, Virginia Tech 86
@Xavier 68, East Tennessee St 66 (ETSU should post a decent record this year)
@St Bonaventure 81, Vermont 79
@Rhode Island 68, Charleston 62
@VCU 85, Bucknell 79
@BYU 77, Utah 65
near-disasters:
@Gonzaga 89, North Dakota 83 (OT)
Northwestern 62, @DePaul 60
catastrophic losses:
@Rutgers 71, Seton Hall 65 - this being a roadie means it's not too bad, but still...it's Rutgers
UNC Greensboro 81, @NC State 76 - oy
Stephen F Austin 83, @LSU 82
@Milwaukee 73, Loyola(Chi) 56 - that at-large candidacy was fledgling
@UMass 72, Georgia 62
New Mexico St 74, Illinois 69
Sunday, December 17, 2017
12/15 recap
@Colorado 112, South Dakota St 103 (2OT) - could've been a useful win for the Summit's seed in the bracket in March
...this was the only game that remotely even matters any little bit on this Friday.
...this was the only game that remotely even matters any little bit on this Friday.
12/13 recap
Quality wins:
Villanova 87, @Temple 67 - it's a probable Group 1 win
stuff and whatnot:
@Wisconsin 81, Western Kentucky 80 - dicey
@LSU 80, Houston 77 - no real sin for UH to lose this, but could've been very useful for the at-large resume
@Boise St 85, Grand Canyon 80 (2OT) - near disaster
@Oregon 95, Portland St 84 - PSU might not be terrible, so yeah
Villanova 87, @Temple 67 - it's a probable Group 1 win
stuff and whatnot:
@Wisconsin 81, Western Kentucky 80 - dicey
@LSU 80, Houston 77 - no real sin for UH to lose this, but could've been very useful for the at-large resume
@Boise St 85, Grand Canyon 80 (2OT) - near disaster
@Oregon 95, Portland St 84 - PSU might not be terrible, so yeah
12/12 recap
Signature wins:
Michigan 59, @Texas 52 - another one of those road Tier 1 wins
this 'n that:
@Cincinnati 65, Mississippi St 50 - I hope no one thinks MSU was ever any good
Georgia Southern 74, @George Mason 51 - road wins by good mid-majors are always notable
Louisiana 75, @Louisiana Tech 71 - see above comment
San Diego 69, @Colorado 59 - and it's a bit of a surprise to realize that USD fits this category now
Michigan 59, @Texas 52 - another one of those road Tier 1 wins
this 'n that:
@Cincinnati 65, Mississippi St 50 - I hope no one thinks MSU was ever any good
Georgia Southern 74, @George Mason 51 - road wins by good mid-majors are always notable
Louisiana 75, @Louisiana Tech 71 - see above comment
San Diego 69, @Colorado 59 - and it's a bit of a surprise to realize that USD fits this category now
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
12/12 BRACKET
This bracket is quite unbalanced, but it's not worth finding solutions at this time of year. That West regional sure is funny, though.
ACC - seems to be top heavy. We'll be able to discard the bottom teams quickly, while I expect an easy 8-9 teams to make it.
Pac-12 - is a tire fire, and I beg of you to tell me what to do with them.
B1G - is a secret tire fire as well, but has a few more viable bubble teams. They'll claw and scratch towards 6 bids.
Big 12 - is of their usual caliber this year
Big East - is of their usual caliber this year
SEC - scheduling is paying off! Should be a strong 6-7 bids this year, IMO.
A-10 - the tire fire to end all tire fires. I don't see an at-large path for anyone but URI at this point. Not a lot of time yet to fix.
WCC - struggling this year, St Mary's is in trouble, and heck maybe Gonzaga too if they stumble
MWC - the vacancies of the above two conferences plus their own rebound should mean that they are at least bubble players. They should find 2 teams, one way or the other
MVC - also helped by the others floundering, I give them a fighting shot at 2 bids
AAC - should get to 3 and maybe 4 bids. Of their typical strength this year
EAST 32
@Pittsburgh
1) Villanova vs. 16) Wagner/North Carolina A&T
8) Oregon vs. 9) Rhode Island
@Wichita
4) Purdue vs. 13) South Dakota St
5) Virginia vs. 12) Ohio St/Loyola(Chi)
@Nashville
3) Miami vs. 14) Murray St
6) Minnesota vs. 11) Syracuse/Alabama
@Wichita
2) Kansas vs. 15) Milwaukee
7) Creighton vs. 10) SMU
WEST 39
@Charlotte
1) North Carolina vs. 16) UNC Asheville
8) Tennessee vs. 9) Michigan
@San Diego
4) Seton Hall vs. 13) Georgia Southern
5) TCU vs. 12) Middle Tennessee
@Pittsburgh
3) West Virginia vs. 14) Vermont
6) Florida vs. 11) Temple
@San Diego
2) Arizona St vs. 15) Portland St
7) Arkansas vs. 10) Boise St
MIDWEST 31
@Detroit
1) Michigan St vs. 16) Stephen F Austin
8) Nevada vs. 9) USC
@Boise
4) Notre Dame vs. 13) Iona
5) Cincinnati vs. 12) Central Michigan
@Dallas
3) Wichita St vs. 14) Utah Valley
6) Arizona vs. 11) Oklahoma
@Dallas
2) Texas A&M vs. 15) Navy
7) Baylor vs. 10) UCLA
SOUTH 33
@Charlotte
1) Duke vs. 16) Lipscomb/Prairie View A&M
8) Texas vs. 9) Butler
@Boise
4) Gonzaga vs. 13) UC Davis
5) Florida St vs. 12) Towson
@Nashville
3) Kentucky vs. 14) Penn
6) Maryland vs. 11) St John's
@Detroit
2) Xavier vs. 15) Mercer
7) Louisville vs. 10) Northern Iowa
ACC - seems to be top heavy. We'll be able to discard the bottom teams quickly, while I expect an easy 8-9 teams to make it.
Pac-12 - is a tire fire, and I beg of you to tell me what to do with them.
B1G - is a secret tire fire as well, but has a few more viable bubble teams. They'll claw and scratch towards 6 bids.
Big 12 - is of their usual caliber this year
Big East - is of their usual caliber this year
SEC - scheduling is paying off! Should be a strong 6-7 bids this year, IMO.
A-10 - the tire fire to end all tire fires. I don't see an at-large path for anyone but URI at this point. Not a lot of time yet to fix.
WCC - struggling this year, St Mary's is in trouble, and heck maybe Gonzaga too if they stumble
MWC - the vacancies of the above two conferences plus their own rebound should mean that they are at least bubble players. They should find 2 teams, one way or the other
MVC - also helped by the others floundering, I give them a fighting shot at 2 bids
AAC - should get to 3 and maybe 4 bids. Of their typical strength this year
EAST 32
@Pittsburgh
1) Villanova vs. 16) Wagner/North Carolina A&T
8) Oregon vs. 9) Rhode Island
@Wichita
4) Purdue vs. 13) South Dakota St
5) Virginia vs. 12) Ohio St/Loyola(Chi)
@Nashville
3) Miami vs. 14) Murray St
6) Minnesota vs. 11) Syracuse/Alabama
@Wichita
2) Kansas vs. 15) Milwaukee
7) Creighton vs. 10) SMU
WEST 39
@Charlotte
1) North Carolina vs. 16) UNC Asheville
8) Tennessee vs. 9) Michigan
@San Diego
4) Seton Hall vs. 13) Georgia Southern
5) TCU vs. 12) Middle Tennessee
@Pittsburgh
3) West Virginia vs. 14) Vermont
6) Florida vs. 11) Temple
@San Diego
2) Arizona St vs. 15) Portland St
7) Arkansas vs. 10) Boise St
MIDWEST 31
@Detroit
1) Michigan St vs. 16) Stephen F Austin
8) Nevada vs. 9) USC
@Boise
4) Notre Dame vs. 13) Iona
5) Cincinnati vs. 12) Central Michigan
@Dallas
3) Wichita St vs. 14) Utah Valley
6) Arizona vs. 11) Oklahoma
@Dallas
2) Texas A&M vs. 15) Navy
7) Baylor vs. 10) UCLA
SOUTH 33
@Charlotte
1) Duke vs. 16) Lipscomb/Prairie View A&M
8) Texas vs. 9) Butler
@Boise
4) Gonzaga vs. 13) UC Davis
5) Florida St vs. 12) Towson
@Nashville
3) Kentucky vs. 14) Penn
6) Maryland vs. 11) St John's
@Detroit
2) Xavier vs. 15) Mercer
7) Louisville vs. 10) Northern Iowa
12/11 recap
@Minnesota 68, Drake 67
@Oregon 74, Texas Southern 68
um...@Northwestern 96, Chicago St 31?
So it was a light impact day. I got nothin'.
@Oregon 74, Texas Southern 68
um...@Northwestern 96, Chicago St 31?
So it was a light impact day. I got nothin'.
12/12 SEEDING LIST
Details/explanations will be thrown into a later post.
The 1 line: Villanova (10-0), Duke (11-1), Michigan St (9-1), North Carolina (9-1)
The 2 line: Texas A&M (8-1), Xavier (9-1), Kansas (7-2), Arizona St (9-0)
The 3 line: Kentucky (8-1), Wichita St (8-1), Miami (8-0), West Virginia (9-1)
The 4 line: Purdue (10-2), Notre Dame (7-2), Seton Hall (8-1), Gonzaga (8-2)
The 5 line: Virginia (8-1), Florida St (9-0), Cincinnati (7-2), TCU (10-0)
The 6 line: Arizona (7-3), Minnesota (8-3), Maryland (9-3), Florida (6-3)
The 7 line: Baylor (6-2), Creighton (7-2), Louisville (6-2), Arkansas (7-2)
The 8 line: Nevada (8-2), Tennessee (7-1), Texas (6-2), Oregon (6-3)
The 9 line: USC (4-3), Michigan (7-3), Rhode Island (5-3), Butler (8-2)
The 10 line: SMU (7-3), Northern Iowa (6-2), Boise St (8-1), UCLA (7-2)
The 11 line: Oklahoma (7-1), Temple (6-2), St John's (7-2), Syracuse (8-1), Alabama (7-3)
The 12 line: Ohio St (8-3), Loyola(Chi) (9-1), Central Michigan (6-1), Towson (8-1), Middle Tennessee (6-1)
The 13 line: South Dakota St (5-4), Georgia Southern (5-2), Iona (4-4), UC Davis (6-2)
The 14 line: Murray St (4-1), Vermont (5-4), Utah Valley (5-4), Penn (7-4)
The 15 line: Mercer (4-4), Portland St (6-2), Milwaukee (5-3), Navy (8-3)
The 16 line: Stephen F Austin (6-1), UNC Asheville (4-4), Wagner (5-1), Lipscomb (5-4), North Carolina A&T (3-4), Prairie View A&M (2-7)
Next 4 in:
UCLA
Oklahoma
Temple
St John's
Last 4 in:
Syracuse
Alabama
Ohio St
Loyola(Chi)
Last 4 out:
Missouri (7-2)
St Mary's (8-2)
St Bonaventure (8-2)
San Diego St (6-3)
Next 4 out:
Houston (8-1)
Providence (7-3)
Virginia Tech (9-1)
Auburn (8-1)
Break it down!:
ACC 8
Big East 6
Big 12 6
SEC 6
B1G 6
Pac-12 5
AAC 4
MVC 2
MWC 2
The 1 line: Villanova (10-0), Duke (11-1), Michigan St (9-1), North Carolina (9-1)
The 2 line: Texas A&M (8-1), Xavier (9-1), Kansas (7-2), Arizona St (9-0)
The 3 line: Kentucky (8-1), Wichita St (8-1), Miami (8-0), West Virginia (9-1)
The 4 line: Purdue (10-2), Notre Dame (7-2), Seton Hall (8-1), Gonzaga (8-2)
The 5 line: Virginia (8-1), Florida St (9-0), Cincinnati (7-2), TCU (10-0)
The 6 line: Arizona (7-3), Minnesota (8-3), Maryland (9-3), Florida (6-3)
The 7 line: Baylor (6-2), Creighton (7-2), Louisville (6-2), Arkansas (7-2)
The 8 line: Nevada (8-2), Tennessee (7-1), Texas (6-2), Oregon (6-3)
The 9 line: USC (4-3), Michigan (7-3), Rhode Island (5-3), Butler (8-2)
The 10 line: SMU (7-3), Northern Iowa (6-2), Boise St (8-1), UCLA (7-2)
The 11 line: Oklahoma (7-1), Temple (6-2), St John's (7-2), Syracuse (8-1), Alabama (7-3)
The 12 line: Ohio St (8-3), Loyola(Chi) (9-1), Central Michigan (6-1), Towson (8-1), Middle Tennessee (6-1)
The 13 line: South Dakota St (5-4), Georgia Southern (5-2), Iona (4-4), UC Davis (6-2)
The 14 line: Murray St (4-1), Vermont (5-4), Utah Valley (5-4), Penn (7-4)
The 15 line: Mercer (4-4), Portland St (6-2), Milwaukee (5-3), Navy (8-3)
The 16 line: Stephen F Austin (6-1), UNC Asheville (4-4), Wagner (5-1), Lipscomb (5-4), North Carolina A&T (3-4), Prairie View A&M (2-7)
Next 4 in:
UCLA
Oklahoma
Temple
St John's
Last 4 in:
Syracuse
Alabama
Ohio St
Loyola(Chi)
Last 4 out:
Missouri (7-2)
St Mary's (8-2)
St Bonaventure (8-2)
San Diego St (6-3)
Next 4 out:
Houston (8-1)
Providence (7-3)
Virginia Tech (9-1)
Auburn (8-1)
Break it down!:
ACC 8
Big East 6
Big 12 6
SEC 6
B1G 6
Pac-12 5
AAC 4
MVC 2
MWC 2
Monday, December 11, 2017
12/10 recap
Bracket might be coming soon. It's about that time of year that one can go up without it looking too nefarious.
Signature wins:
Arizona St 95, @Kansas 85 - the Pac-12, which is a tire fire, now has two wins at Kansas this week. What in the actual hell
Gonzaga 97, @Washington 70 - as a road win, has a good chance of ending up Tier 1
catastrophic losses:
@Oral Roberts 73, Missouri St 66
A very quiet day, which is the norm around this early December time.
Signature wins:
Arizona St 95, @Kansas 85 - the Pac-12, which is a tire fire, now has two wins at Kansas this week. What in the actual hell
Gonzaga 97, @Washington 70 - as a road win, has a good chance of ending up Tier 1
catastrophic losses:
@Oral Roberts 73, Missouri St 66
A very quiet day, which is the norm around this early December time.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
12/9 recap
signature wins:
@Boston College 89, Duke 84 - I don't expect BC to be any kind of player in the bubble race, but hey, everyone has to start their resume with a signature win somewhere
Florida 66, Cincinnati 60 - this is a stop-the-bleeding result that stabilizes the resume, just a bit
Wichita St 78, @Oklahoma St 66 - road wins are never trivial
@Arkansas 95, Minnesota 79
this and that:
Notre Dame 92, @Delaware 68 - how about that for a road game
@Xavier 96, Colorado 69 - probably won't have much value
West Virginia 69, @Pittsburgh 60 - Pitt is terrible so this ain't no signature road win
@Seton Hall 90, VCU 67 - VCU does not have the same resume value this year that they normally do
@Michigan 78, UCLA 69 (OT) - should be a quality win by March, but a home one nonetheless
Marquette 82, @Wisconsin 63
@Louisville 71, Indiana 62 - both these wins over B1G teams are a bit muted because they're not playing all that great
@Creighton 75, Nebraska 65
Penn 78, @Dayton 70
@Penn St 74, George Washington 54 - we've reached the A-10 fail portion of the recap
@Middle Tennessee 77, Ole Miss 58
Houston 77, @St Louis 58
@Arizona 88, Alabama 82
@UNLV 89, Illinois 82
questionable losses:
@UMass 72, Providence 63
@Ball St 71, Valparaiso 70
FGCU 85, @UT-Arlington 78 - this derails some of the UTA bandwagon
@Northeastern 71, Vermont 67 - and there goes the Vermont bandwagon. Road win are tough
California 63, @San Diego St 62 - really really bad loss for SDSU
Tulsa 61, @Kansas St 54
@Boston College 89, Duke 84 - I don't expect BC to be any kind of player in the bubble race, but hey, everyone has to start their resume with a signature win somewhere
Florida 66, Cincinnati 60 - this is a stop-the-bleeding result that stabilizes the resume, just a bit
Wichita St 78, @Oklahoma St 66 - road wins are never trivial
@Arkansas 95, Minnesota 79
this and that:
Notre Dame 92, @Delaware 68 - how about that for a road game
@Xavier 96, Colorado 69 - probably won't have much value
West Virginia 69, @Pittsburgh 60 - Pitt is terrible so this ain't no signature road win
@Seton Hall 90, VCU 67 - VCU does not have the same resume value this year that they normally do
@Michigan 78, UCLA 69 (OT) - should be a quality win by March, but a home one nonetheless
Marquette 82, @Wisconsin 63
@Louisville 71, Indiana 62 - both these wins over B1G teams are a bit muted because they're not playing all that great
@Creighton 75, Nebraska 65
Penn 78, @Dayton 70
@Penn St 74, George Washington 54 - we've reached the A-10 fail portion of the recap
@Middle Tennessee 77, Ole Miss 58
Houston 77, @St Louis 58
@Arizona 88, Alabama 82
@UNLV 89, Illinois 82
questionable losses:
@UMass 72, Providence 63
@Ball St 71, Valparaiso 70
FGCU 85, @UT-Arlington 78 - this derails some of the UTA bandwagon
@Northeastern 71, Vermont 67 - and there goes the Vermont bandwagon. Road win are tough
California 63, @San Diego St 62 - really really bad loss for SDSU
Tulsa 61, @Kansas St 54
12/8 recap
Light night, which is to be expected on Fridays
Arizona St 82, St John's 70 - neutral site win, which isn't nothing. ASU isn't cooperating with the narrative of Pac-12 failing
Oklahoma 85, USC 83 - see, this is more like it for the Pac-12
TCU 84, Nevada 80 - a probable Tier 1 win
@Oregon 95, Colorado St 65
Arizona St 82, St John's 70 - neutral site win, which isn't nothing. ASU isn't cooperating with the narrative of Pac-12 failing
Oklahoma 85, USC 83 - see, this is more like it for the Pac-12
TCU 84, Nevada 80 - a probable Tier 1 win
@Oregon 95, Colorado St 65
Friday, December 8, 2017
12/7 recap
@Purdue 80, Valparaiso 50
@Northern Iowa 62, UT Arlington 58
@Iowa St 84, Iowa 78
Holy crap this night was light. I got nothing else for ya. Carry on.
@Northern Iowa 62, UT Arlington 58
@Iowa St 84, Iowa 78
Holy crap this night was light. I got nothing else for ya. Carry on.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
12/6 recap
Signature wins:
Washington 74, @Kansas 65 - the Pac-12 is so weird. So down, but they have signature wins tucked away. Here's the most signature of signature wins for UW. Are they the favorites now? If not, who? This is such a mess. I have no idea what to do with the entire conference
Loyola(Chi) 65, @Florida 59 - Loyola suddenly goes from a nice little season to legitimate business at-large contenders
potent potables:
@Temple 59, Wisconsin 55 - Wisky has a loss accumulation problem
@Woford 63, Georgia Tech 60 - GT has a problem, in general
@South Carolina 80, Wyoming 64
@Old Dominion 79, Richmond 60
@Alabama 68, Rhode Island 64 - URI doesn't get dinged too badly for this, just be careful not to accumulate more losses
Middle Tennessee 66, @Vanderbilt 63 - road wins are never trivial
@BYU 80, Illinois St 68
Central Arkansas 96, @Cal 69 - lol
@Idaho 91, Washington St 64 - is the Big Sky playing its way off the 16 line? Perhaps
lot of notable mid-major stuff. SFA went on the road to beat La Tech...Towson wins to go 9-1...Hofstra over Monmouth on the road....EMU wins at home over Oakland...Bonaventure wins a roadie at Canisius...GW over Princeton...Harvard road win at Fordham...Akron over Fort Wayne...ETSU over NKU....New Mexico can probably be written off, Colorado beats them at home...NMSU lost to San Diego, who might actually not be bad
Why did I list all those games anyway? I dunno, but it's probably a safe bet 5 or 6 of those teams are going to win their conference and be in the 13-14 seed range in March. There's some quality road wins mixed in there. Some of these results will matter...just tough to say which ones when we're still in December.
Washington 74, @Kansas 65 - the Pac-12 is so weird. So down, but they have signature wins tucked away. Here's the most signature of signature wins for UW. Are they the favorites now? If not, who? This is such a mess. I have no idea what to do with the entire conference
Loyola(Chi) 65, @Florida 59 - Loyola suddenly goes from a nice little season to legitimate business at-large contenders
potent potables:
@Temple 59, Wisconsin 55 - Wisky has a loss accumulation problem
@Woford 63, Georgia Tech 60 - GT has a problem, in general
@South Carolina 80, Wyoming 64
@Old Dominion 79, Richmond 60
@Alabama 68, Rhode Island 64 - URI doesn't get dinged too badly for this, just be careful not to accumulate more losses
Middle Tennessee 66, @Vanderbilt 63 - road wins are never trivial
@BYU 80, Illinois St 68
Central Arkansas 96, @Cal 69 - lol
@Idaho 91, Washington St 64 - is the Big Sky playing its way off the 16 line? Perhaps
lot of notable mid-major stuff. SFA went on the road to beat La Tech...Towson wins to go 9-1...Hofstra over Monmouth on the road....EMU wins at home over Oakland...Bonaventure wins a roadie at Canisius...GW over Princeton...Harvard road win at Fordham...Akron over Fort Wayne...ETSU over NKU....New Mexico can probably be written off, Colorado beats them at home...NMSU lost to San Diego, who might actually not be bad
Why did I list all those games anyway? I dunno, but it's probably a safe bet 5 or 6 of those teams are going to win their conference and be in the 13-14 seed range in March. There's some quality road wins mixed in there. Some of these results will matter...just tough to say which ones when we're still in December.
12/5 recap
Signature wins:
Villanova 88, Gonzaga 72
Arizona 63, Texas A&M 64 - at this point, any win of this type is magnified for Zona's resume
@TCU 94, SMU 83 - borderline Tier 1 win
@Texas Tech 82, Nevada 76 (OT) - Nevada finally ran out of rungood, but they built up a lot of bubble equity before their first loss
Texas 71, @VCU 67 - road wins are never trivial
Catastrophic losses:
Ball St 80, @Notre Dame 77 - I don't think BSU's overall resume will play on the bubble this year, but still. This will be worth a seeding line to UND
@Nebraska 78, Minnesota 68 - yeah, road losses, but still, you can't do this and be a top 4 seed
buh:
Michigan St 62, @Rutgers 52
@Wichita St 95, South Dakota St 85
@Marquette 91, Vermont 81
@Butler 81, Utah 69
Syracuse 72, UConn 63
Villanova 88, Gonzaga 72
Arizona 63, Texas A&M 64 - at this point, any win of this type is magnified for Zona's resume
@TCU 94, SMU 83 - borderline Tier 1 win
@Texas Tech 82, Nevada 76 (OT) - Nevada finally ran out of rungood, but they built up a lot of bubble equity before their first loss
Texas 71, @VCU 67 - road wins are never trivial
Catastrophic losses:
Ball St 80, @Notre Dame 77 - I don't think BSU's overall resume will play on the bubble this year, but still. This will be worth a seeding line to UND
@Nebraska 78, Minnesota 68 - yeah, road losses, but still, you can't do this and be a top 4 seed
buh:
Michigan St 62, @Rutgers 52
@Wichita St 95, South Dakota St 85
@Marquette 91, Vermont 81
@Butler 81, Utah 69
Syracuse 72, UConn 63
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
12/4 recap
Signature wins:
Florida St 83, @Florida 66 - another game I like to call a Tier 0 win - a Tier 1 win, but even better
assorted detrubis:
@Ohio St 71, Michigan 62 - we're at the tail end of the B1G conference sneak preview...
Wisconsin 64, @Penn St 63 - any win of any kind is a big deal for Wisky right now
@Indiana 77, Iowa 64
Missouri St 71, @North Dakota St 58 - road wins are never trivial
...this was a light day. Mondays are usually light, so deal with it
Florida St 83, @Florida 66 - another game I like to call a Tier 0 win - a Tier 1 win, but even better
assorted detrubis:
@Ohio St 71, Michigan 62 - we're at the tail end of the B1G conference sneak preview...
Wisconsin 64, @Penn St 63 - any win of any kind is a big deal for Wisky right now
@Indiana 77, Iowa 64
Missouri St 71, @North Dakota St 58 - road wins are never trivial
...this was a light day. Mondays are usually light, so deal with it
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
12/3 recap
Signature wins:
Seton Hall 79, @Louisville 77 - there should be a Tier 0: Tier 1 wins, but with an extra oompf. Like this roadie
UCF 65, @Alabama 62 - a likely Tier 1 win
assorted:
Kansas St 84, @Vanderbilt 79 - alas, this road win is destined for Tier 2
Tennessee 77, @Georgia Tech 70 - alas, same story with Tier 2 here
@George Washington 71, Temple 67 - road wins are always a diffcult ask, but this does use up some of Temple's wiggle room on the bubble
@Long Beach St 76, Stanford 68 - I'm frankly more impressed LBSU got a home game with Stanford than the actual win
@San Diego St 75, Bradley 52 - for those scoring at home, there was a MWC/MVC challenge. 10 home teams won in 10 games. Great, we learned basically very little about either conference
@Mississippi St 61, Dayton 59
@Michigan St 86, Nebraska 57 - if a bad conference game on December 3 is played, does it really count?
@Minnesota 89, Rutgers 67 - ditto
@Purdue 74, Northwestern 69 - status quo for both
Maryland 92, @Illinois 91 (OT) - finally, a win of modest worth, since it was on the road
Seton Hall 79, @Louisville 77 - there should be a Tier 0: Tier 1 wins, but with an extra oompf. Like this roadie
UCF 65, @Alabama 62 - a likely Tier 1 win
assorted:
Kansas St 84, @Vanderbilt 79 - alas, this road win is destined for Tier 2
Tennessee 77, @Georgia Tech 70 - alas, same story with Tier 2 here
@George Washington 71, Temple 67 - road wins are always a diffcult ask, but this does use up some of Temple's wiggle room on the bubble
@Long Beach St 76, Stanford 68 - I'm frankly more impressed LBSU got a home game with Stanford than the actual win
@San Diego St 75, Bradley 52 - for those scoring at home, there was a MWC/MVC challenge. 10 home teams won in 10 games. Great, we learned basically very little about either conference
@Mississippi St 61, Dayton 59
@Michigan St 86, Nebraska 57 - if a bad conference game on December 3 is played, does it really count?
@Minnesota 89, Rutgers 67 - ditto
@Purdue 74, Northwestern 69 - status quo for both
Maryland 92, @Illinois 91 (OT) - finally, a win of modest worth, since it was on the road
Sunday, December 3, 2017
12/2 recap
signature wins:
Wichita St 69, @Baylor 62 - road win, self-explanatory
@Xavier 89, Cincinnati 76 - might matter a little bit to both teams, but won't make or break a resume
@SMU 72, USC 55 - no sin to lose on the road for USC, and SMU could've used the resume boost. Not convinced the AAC will be ripe with quality win chances yet
Georgia 73, @Marquette 66 - perhaps good for Georgia, but we may also need to consider Marquette isn't near the bubble
@Rhode Island 75, Providence 68 - you can't stress how important these things are for the entire A-10 right now
Arizona 91, @UNLV 88 (OT) - UNLV's pretty good, so this was very important
bad losses:
UC Davis 81, @Washington St 67 - just when we think Wazzu might actually be an upper division team in the Pac-12. Still might given the tire fire status of the conference right now
potent potables:
Kansas 76, Syracuse 60 - goes down as a neutral site win
Villanova 94, @St Joseph's 53 - goes down in the books as a road win in a Philly 5 matchup
@Kentucky 79, Harvard 70 - man, a lot of good mid-major programs this year are getting beat up trying to schedule up
@Michigan 69, Indiana 55 - home team holds, it may be time to assume Indiana is well off the bubble pace
@Colorado St 72, Colorado 63
Virginia Tech 83, @Ole Miss 80 (OT) - pretty sure Ole Miss isn't good, but a road win is a road win
St Bonaventure 73, @Buffalo 62
Oakland 78, @Western Michigan 73
@UConn 84, Monmouth 81 (OT)
Ohio St 83, @Wisconsin 58 - and we can definitely discard Wisconsin from discussion for awhile
Penn St 77, @Iowa 73 - road wins are never trivial
@VCU 82, Old Dominion 75
@Bucknell 81, Vermont 77 - Vermont probably wasn't getting an at-large anyway, but they're a good team and gives up precious seeding ground here
Middle Tennessee 81, @FGCU 76 - useful road win
@Houston 91, Arkansas 65
Missouri St 73, @South Dakota St 53 - useful road win
St Mary's 74, @California 63 - useful road win
Wichita St 69, @Baylor 62 - road win, self-explanatory
@Xavier 89, Cincinnati 76 - might matter a little bit to both teams, but won't make or break a resume
@SMU 72, USC 55 - no sin to lose on the road for USC, and SMU could've used the resume boost. Not convinced the AAC will be ripe with quality win chances yet
Georgia 73, @Marquette 66 - perhaps good for Georgia, but we may also need to consider Marquette isn't near the bubble
@Rhode Island 75, Providence 68 - you can't stress how important these things are for the entire A-10 right now
Arizona 91, @UNLV 88 (OT) - UNLV's pretty good, so this was very important
bad losses:
UC Davis 81, @Washington St 67 - just when we think Wazzu might actually be an upper division team in the Pac-12. Still might given the tire fire status of the conference right now
potent potables:
Kansas 76, Syracuse 60 - goes down as a neutral site win
Villanova 94, @St Joseph's 53 - goes down in the books as a road win in a Philly 5 matchup
@Kentucky 79, Harvard 70 - man, a lot of good mid-major programs this year are getting beat up trying to schedule up
@Michigan 69, Indiana 55 - home team holds, it may be time to assume Indiana is well off the bubble pace
@Colorado St 72, Colorado 63
Virginia Tech 83, @Ole Miss 80 (OT) - pretty sure Ole Miss isn't good, but a road win is a road win
St Bonaventure 73, @Buffalo 62
Oakland 78, @Western Michigan 73
@UConn 84, Monmouth 81 (OT)
Ohio St 83, @Wisconsin 58 - and we can definitely discard Wisconsin from discussion for awhile
Penn St 77, @Iowa 73 - road wins are never trivial
@VCU 82, Old Dominion 75
@Bucknell 81, Vermont 77 - Vermont probably wasn't getting an at-large anyway, but they're a good team and gives up precious seeding ground here
Middle Tennessee 81, @FGCU 76 - useful road win
@Houston 91, Arkansas 65
Missouri St 73, @South Dakota St 53 - useful road win
St Mary's 74, @California 63 - useful road win
12/1 recap
signature wins:
@Gonzaga 91, Creighton 74 - WCC is way down (I've mentioned this a few times now), so these mean more to Gonzaga at this point
Purdue 80, @Maryland 75 - as a road win, will likely go down in Tier 1. Early chance for Maryland to get a Tier 1 win goes by the boards early
Boise St 73, @Oregon 70 - road wins like this are golden, and can make a resume if the other pieces are in order
stuff:
North Carolina 85, Davidson 75 - appears to go down as a neutral site win
@Northwestern 72, Illinois 68 - likely won't mean much more than a service hold for NU
catastrophe of the day:
Grambling 64, Georgia Tech 63. Grambling is not a Top 350 D1 program.
There are 351 D1 programs.
There is no amount of words that can quantify how catastrophic this loss is.
miscellany:
Towson won a neutral site game over LaSalle...Pitt won a roadie over Duquesne, actually surprised by that...Louisiana won an easy roadie, and I think the Sun Belt could be very interesting this year between them, the Georgias, and UTA
@Gonzaga 91, Creighton 74 - WCC is way down (I've mentioned this a few times now), so these mean more to Gonzaga at this point
Purdue 80, @Maryland 75 - as a road win, will likely go down in Tier 1. Early chance for Maryland to get a Tier 1 win goes by the boards early
Boise St 73, @Oregon 70 - road wins like this are golden, and can make a resume if the other pieces are in order
stuff:
North Carolina 85, Davidson 75 - appears to go down as a neutral site win
@Northwestern 72, Illinois 68 - likely won't mean much more than a service hold for NU
catastrophe of the day:
Grambling 64, Georgia Tech 63. Grambling is not a Top 350 D1 program.
There are 351 D1 programs.
There is no amount of words that can quantify how catastrophic this loss is.
miscellany:
Towson won a neutral site game over LaSalle...Pitt won a roadie over Duquesne, actually surprised by that...Louisiana won an easy roadie, and I think the Sun Belt could be very interesting this year between them, the Georgias, and UTA
Saturday, December 2, 2017
11/30 recap
Not a lot on this day.
Signature win of the day:
@Michigan St 81, Notre Dame 63 - likely won't be too impactful for either team, but it's pretty safe to assume MSU is on the 1 line at this point and UND will be fine for the 2 line
Seton Hall 89, Texas Tech 79 - useful neutral-site win
Temple 76, South Carolina 60 - the A-10 is way down, so every contender needs to build their at-large resume in the non-con. Very important for Temple here
Missouri 62, @UCF 59 - road wins are never trivial
San Diego St 66, @San Diego 57 - ditto
Signature win of the day:
@Michigan St 81, Notre Dame 63 - likely won't be too impactful for either team, but it's pretty safe to assume MSU is on the 1 line at this point and UND will be fine for the 2 line
Seton Hall 89, Texas Tech 79 - useful neutral-site win
Temple 76, South Carolina 60 - the A-10 is way down, so every contender needs to build their at-large resume in the non-con. Very important for Temple here
Missouri 62, @UCF 59 - road wins are never trivial
San Diego St 66, @San Diego 57 - ditto
11/29 recap
B1G/ACC:
Duke 91, @Indiana 81 - I wonder what deal everyone made with Duke to actually get them to play a true road game in the non-con
Miami 86, @Minnesota 81 - possibly the signature win of the contest, a road win at a probable tourney team, a near lock to be a Tier 1 win
@North Carolina 86, Michigan 71
@NC State 85, Penn St 78
Clemson 79, @Ohio St 65 - that's pretty ugly for OSU. And the B1G just about ejected from this entire competition
@Nebraska 71, Boston College 62 - don't worry B1G, Nebraska's got your back
stuff of interest:
@TCU 87, Belmont 76
@Alabama 77, Louisiana Tech 74
Auburn 73, @Dayton 60 - road wins are never trivial, and it's time to get used to the SEC being more relevant in these bubble discussions
@St Joseph's 83, Bucknell 70 - Bucknell tried to bite off too much with their non-con
Vermont 71, @Richmond 65
@Northern Iowa 77, UNLV 68 (OT)
@Nevada 98, Illinois 68 - I'm officially on the Nevada bandwagon
quick hits:
A bunch of P6 schools holding over plucky mid majors this night. For example: Tennessee over Mercer....Providence over Rider...Stanford over Montana, UCLA over CSUB. UConn elsewhere needed OT to beat Columbia, oof.
Duke 91, @Indiana 81 - I wonder what deal everyone made with Duke to actually get them to play a true road game in the non-con
Miami 86, @Minnesota 81 - possibly the signature win of the contest, a road win at a probable tourney team, a near lock to be a Tier 1 win
@North Carolina 86, Michigan 71
@NC State 85, Penn St 78
Clemson 79, @Ohio St 65 - that's pretty ugly for OSU. And the B1G just about ejected from this entire competition
@Nebraska 71, Boston College 62 - don't worry B1G, Nebraska's got your back
stuff of interest:
@TCU 87, Belmont 76
@Alabama 77, Louisiana Tech 74
Auburn 73, @Dayton 60 - road wins are never trivial, and it's time to get used to the SEC being more relevant in these bubble discussions
@St Joseph's 83, Bucknell 70 - Bucknell tried to bite off too much with their non-con
Vermont 71, @Richmond 65
@Northern Iowa 77, UNLV 68 (OT)
@Nevada 98, Illinois 68 - I'm officially on the Nevada bandwagon
quick hits:
A bunch of P6 schools holding over plucky mid majors this night. For example: Tennessee over Mercer....Providence over Rider...Stanford over Montana, UCLA over CSUB. UConn elsewhere needed OT to beat Columbia, oof.
Friday, December 1, 2017
11/28 recap
B1G/ACC:
@Purdue 66, Louisville 57 - won't have much to say in games like these where the home team holds. Both seem in the 3-6 seed range, we can move on for now
Florida St 78, @Rutgers 73 - road wins at Rutgers are trivial
@Georgia Tech 52, Northwestern 51 - no sin to lose this game, but Northwestern is going to be playing resume catch-up this season
@Wake Forest 80, Illinois 73
@Virginia Tech 79, Iowa 55
Signature wins:
@Xavier 76, Baylor 63
South Dakota St 99, @Ole Miss 97 (OT) - never know which of these wins will end up being worth a seed line in March
Interesting scores:
Western Michigan 65, @St Louis 51
@Missouri St 77, Colorado St 67
@Valparaiso 72, Utah St 65
@Boise St 87, Loyola(Chi) 53
@Purdue 66, Louisville 57 - won't have much to say in games like these where the home team holds. Both seem in the 3-6 seed range, we can move on for now
Florida St 78, @Rutgers 73 - road wins at Rutgers are trivial
@Georgia Tech 52, Northwestern 51 - no sin to lose this game, but Northwestern is going to be playing resume catch-up this season
@Wake Forest 80, Illinois 73
@Virginia Tech 79, Iowa 55
Signature wins:
@Xavier 76, Baylor 63
South Dakota St 99, @Ole Miss 97 (OT) - never know which of these wins will end up being worth a seed line in March
Interesting scores:
Western Michigan 65, @St Louis 51
@Missouri St 77, Colorado St 67
@Valparaiso 72, Utah St 65
@Boise St 87, Loyola(Chi) 53
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