Three teams figure to make a serious run at The "U"-Word --
North Carolina (with everybody back), Ohio State (with its star center back) and Kentucky (who replaced
one GC star with four new ones). (Too bad UNC
plays UK at Rupp in December.) Connecticut has everybody back (except the Player of the Year). Duke has
one GC point guard and three brothers up front.
The Mid-Majors are quite healthy: Xavier(A-10), Butler(Horizon), Gonzaga(WCC), Memphis(C-USA) and George Mason(Colonial)
should all be great. The 1BC's are slim pickin's
after Belmont(A-Sun), Harvard(Ivy) and Long Beach State(Big West).
It's just the beginning of The "Great Conference Migration". Ten'll get you twelve as the Big 10
now has 12 members while the Big 12 has 10.
Tne New Boss, North Carolina, showed the same strengths (and weaknesses) as last year in beating Michigan State
(CARRIER). UCLA debuted in its home-away-from home for the year with a flop loss to Loyola Marymount. Oregon couldn't,
but Cleveland State [the Year After their 40p20r man] did handle
Vanderbilt in Nashville. Butler couldn't stop fouling host Evansville. Duke escaped at home against Belmont to help
Coach K tie the all-time win record.
The WxSE (SEC West) took two tournaments -- Alabama(PUERTO RICO, over Purdue, past Temple)
and Mississippi State(2KS/COACHES VS CANCER, over Arizona and Texas A&M) -- [not to mention going 1-2-3
in the latest BCS Football Poll: LSU-Alabama-Arkansas]. Duke's victory over Michigan State (CHAMPIONS) made
coach MIKE KRZYZEWSKI THE ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH (903, passing Bob Knight). Long Beach State won at Pitt (but lost in OT
at San Diego State); Ohio State handled Florida (GS-A); Oregon State shocked Texas (LEGENDS);
Kentucky handled Kansas (CHAMPIONS); Memphis routed Belmont (who won consolation at Middle Tennessee);
undermanned Louisville crushed Butler on the road; Kent State won at West Virginia; {Presbyterian} shocked
host Cincinnati; Lehigh was an Unwelcome Guest winner of the 2KS/CVC consolation at Liberty. Connecticut, Marquette,
Gonzaga, Texas and Northwestern(CHARLESTON) all had star performers.
Host UNLV shocked North Carolina (LAS VEGAS-THANX); Central Florida knocked off Connecticut at ATLANTIS (but Harvard beat
Florida State and CFla to take the crown); Syracuse (NIT TIP-OFF) handled Virginia Tech and Stanford; Marquette edged
scrappy Norfolk State in PARADISE; Wisconsin (CHICAGO) trounced BYU and Bradley; Duke knocked off Michigan and Kansas
in MAUI; Missouri (CBE) pounded California and Notre Dame; Vanderbilt (LEGENDS) edged Oregon State; St. Louis (76/ANAHEIM)
stunned Villanova and Oklahoma; Indiana (HOOSIER) routed struggling Butler; Creighton (GS-E/DALE HOWARD) beat Iowa;
Marshall (GS-D) won in OT at Cincinnati; Dayton (OS/ORLANDO) handled Minnesota and Fairfield; Houston, Oakland and Arkansas
split SOUTHWEST; Iowa State and Northern Iowa shared SOUTH PADRE; Illinois (CANCUN-THANX) beat Richmond and Illinois State;
Murray State (GREAT ALASKA) squeaked by Southern Mississippi and San Francisco.
Ohio State (GS-A), Louisville (GS-B), Michigan State (SPARTAN), Pittsburgh (PHILLY) and Louisville (GS-B) all won
round-robin showcases.
Unwelcome Guests -- Cleveland State won at Middle Tennessee (LEGENDS Cons A), George Washington (CBE Cons A) won
at Bowling Green; Lehigh (2KS/CVC Cons B) won at Liberty; South Dakota State (CBE Cons B) won at Mercer; Toledo (UTPA) won
at Texas-Pan American.
(tIim Abromaitis' knee injury dooms the season expectations for Notre Dame.)
Kentucky edged North Carolina on a game-winning block in a sensational game; Marquette won a brutal battle on the road
at state-rival Wisconsin; Xavier's backcourt sparked two comeback wins (at Vanderbilt, vs Purdue);
rugged invader Baylor crushed host Northwestern's finesse game; new-look Illinois held off Gonzaga.
The BIG 10 dominated the ACC 8-4 (highlighted by Ohio State's blowout win over Duke; as Michigan State routed Florida State
and Purdue handled Miami(Florida) while North Carolina edged Wisconsin and Virginia upset Michigan). Three-quarters
of the BIG EAST was too much for the SEC [8-4] (as Georgetown won at Alabama on a game-winning-three,
Syracuse held off Florida and Louisville beat Vanderbilt in OT). Wichita State spanked giant-killer UNLV to salvage
a 4-4 tie for the MVC against the MWC (as Creighton came back to edge host San Diego State).
Loyola Marymount handled St. Louis (but saw Columbia be the Unwelcome Guest at its own CENTENNIAL CLASSIC); Ohio U won
at Marshall; Murray State and Buffalo both beat Dayton.
The twits at Xavier and Cincinnati left a scar on this season with their CROSSTOWN brawl.
Indiana's buzzer-beater ended Kentucky's U-dreams; likewise, Kansas stopped the hopes of undermanned Ohio State.
Dayton handled Alabama, UConn handled Harvard, and Wisconsin handled UNLV -- all at home. Murray State handled Memphis,
and Michigan State's one-man show beat Gonzaga -- both on the road. The A-10 was up: St. Joseph's beat Creighton,
and Temple beat Villanova in the BIG 5 GotY; the PAC-10 was down: Arizona lost in OT at Florida while Washington lost
in NYC to Marquette and Duke; C-USA/Marshall fell at Syracuse; COLONIAL/George Mason was routed at Virginia.
[P.S. Don't forget: the PIGSKIN deadline is THIS SAT 17-DEC (2PMet)!]
Life's not so wonderful without your stars -- Ohio State survived at South Carolina, but Xavier was humbled at home
by Oral Roberts. Elsewhere, UNLV blew out Illinois in Chicago; Butler edged Purdue (CROSSROADS); Kansas State beat
Alabama; Florida's guards routed Texas A&M (ORANGE BOWL); Indiana State handed Vanderbilt its third loss at home;
Texas handled Temple; Louisville outlasted Memphis (HALL OF FAME); Gonzaga bested Arizona (SEATTLE); South Dakota State
embarrassed Washington on the road; Virginia won at Oregon; Middle Tennessee paid back Belmont.
The final tally for preseason tournaments: BIG 10 (6), SEC (4 1/3), BIG EAST (4), BIG 12 (3.5), A-10 (3), IVY (2),
MVC (1.5); 1 1/3 each -- C-USA and SUMMIT; 1 each -- MWC, ACC, A-SUN, OVC, HORIZON, PATRIOT, MAC; 0 for the PAC-12, WCC
and COLONIAL. BCS (18+), Mid-Major (8+), 1BC (7+) -- pretty healthy again this year.
In conference CHALLENGES, the BIG 10 thumped the ACC 8-4 (third win in a row, now); the BIG EAST won 8-4 in a full-size
matchup with the SEC; and the MWC and MVC split 4-4.
No clear Player of the Year frontrunner has emerged. Likewise, no GC player is far-and-away above the rest.
On the week, Baylor beat West Virginia in OT to take LAS VEGAS-CHRISTMAS; Kansas State won DIAMOND HEAD
(over undermanned Xavier). LSU stunned Marquette; Davidson shocked host Kansas. North Carolina routed Texas; Florida
routed Florida State; UNLV spanked California; Georgetown beat Memphis for the second time.
The Second Season greeted some teams with new results after disappointments in the first run-through:
Michigan State routed Indiana (which recovered to edge Ohio State at home); Georgetown beat Louisville on the road.
Struggling Iowa shocked Wisconsin on the road; retooled Missouri State won at Creighton (which returned the favor
at Wichita State); up-and-down Washington spanked Oregon State and Oregon; Purdue whipped Illinois.
In leftover preseason matchups: Kentucky handled Louisville; Vanderbilt pounded Marquette on the road; Baylor edged
Mississippi State at THE SHOWCASE; Rutgers upended Florida in 2OT; solid New Mexico edged St. Louis; Gonzaga won
at reeling Xavier; wayward Princeton outlasted Florida State in 3OT on the road.
Three late arrivals were Unwelcome Guests: Wagner (CABLE CAR past Air Force, at Santa Clara), Colorado State (SUN BOWL
at UTEP) and San Jose State (ELGIN BAYLOR at Seattle).
Iowa (9-6), Rutgers (8-6), Missouri State (8-5),
New Mexico (11-2), Washington (7-5),
Princeton (7-7),
Wagner (10-3) [2@CABLE],
Colorado State (9-4) [2@SUN BOWL],
San Jose State (6-8) [2@E.BAYLOR].
Out of conference, Duke fell at Temple; Harvard lost at Fordham. Missouri suffered its first loss in a blown out
at Kansas State. Marquette (at Georgetown, at Syracuse), Wisconsin (vs Michigan State, at Michigan) and Connecticut
(at Rutgers, at Seton Hall) all lost twice. Louisville stumbled at home in double-OT to Notre Dame; Mississippi State lost
at Arkansas; Florida lost at Tennessee; Purdue lost at Penn State.
Kansas blew out Kansas State; West Virginia beat Georgetown; Dayton won vs St. Louis and at Temple; Iowa State won vs Texas
and at Texas A&M.
Northern Iowa wrapped up the IOWA BIG 4 with a big win at Drake. Oral Roberts routed South Dakota State to take control
early in the SUMMIT.
Ohio State paid back Indiana; Baylor stayed unbeaten at Kansas State; Duke held off Virginia; UConn knocked off
West Virginia.
St. Mary's throttled Gonzaga to lead the WCC; San Diego State edged UNLV to start MWC play; Mississippi State beat Alabama.
Florida State humiliated North Carolina in a shocker; Northwestern upset Michigan State; Minnesota edged Indiana
on the road; Illinois beat Ohio State behind a stellar performance; Cincinnati won at Georgetown; Providence pounded
Louisville; Iowa spanked Michigan; St. Bonaventure clipped Dayton; South Florida surprised Seton Hall.
Notre Dame burned Syracuse with its first loss. Baylor fell twice: at Kansas and vs Missouri. Michigan knocked off
Michigan State; Virginia fell vs Virginia Tech; UConn fell vs Cincinnati. Mississippi State won in OT at Vandy;
Dayton crushed Xavier. Washington State swept Stanford and Cal. Davidson crushed College of Charleston; Bucknell won
at Lehigh; UNC-Asheville beat Coastal Carolina; Long Island won at Wagner.
At midconference, MVC/Creighton and Wichita State have a THREE-GAME GAP; Valparaiso and Cleveland State lead HORIZON;
Iona leads the MAAC; still unbeaten Murray State leads OVC by two. SUMMIT/Oral Roberts is undefeated;
George Mason leads the COLONIAL; UNC-Asheville leads the BIG SOUTH; NEC/Long Island is undefeated; BIG WEST/Long Beach State
is unbeaten with a gap; BIG SKY/Weber State is unbeaten; and Boston University and Stony Brook are tied
in AMERICA EAST.
Notre Dame (12-8), Michigan (14-5), Virginia Tech (12-7), Cincinnati (15-5), Dayton (14-5), Washington State (11-8),
Davidson (12-4),
Bucknell (14-6), UNC-Asheville (10-7), Long Island (14-6).
Rising Wisconsin continued Indiana's slide; Florida handled visiting Mississippi State; Syracuse hung on over West Virginia.
Ohio State routed Michigan; Vanderbilt dealt with Middle Tennessee.
Iowa State tripped up Kansas; Oklahoma State upset Missouri; Drake upset Wichita State; Oklahoma edged Kansas State
on the road; Colorado State handled first-place San Diego State. Towson (over UNCW) ended its 41-game losing streak.
At midconference, Ohio State led Michigan State(BIG 10); Syracuse led the BIG EAST; Cal and Washington were tied(PAC-12).
Unbeaten St. Mary's led WCC. Unbeaten with a gap lead: Middle Tennessee(SUN BELT), Davidson(SOCON) (before it stumbled),
Bucknell(PATRIOT), Nevada(WAC) and Norfolk State(MEAC). Belmont and Mercer were tied atop A-SUN.
Missouri edged Kansas; Florida beat Vanderbilt; resurgent Notre Dame routed Marquette; Ohio State won at Wisconsin;
Michigan handled Indiana; Arizona edged California; Florida State held off Virginia. Illinois edged Michigan State;
Miami(Florida) upset Duke; Wyoming beat UNLV; Northern Iowa topped Creighton; Arkansas handled Vanderbilt; BYU beat Gonzaga.
South Dakota routed Oral Roberts; Texas-Arlington edged Texas-San Antonio.
At midconference, unbeaten Kentucky led Florida(SEC) and then a gap; unbeaten Texas-Arlington had
a gap(SLAND); Utah Valley was undefeated with a two-game gap(GREAT W);
Mississippi Valley State was undefeated with a two-game gap(SWAC). Kansas led Missouri and Baylor(BIG 12);
San Diego State led UNLV nd New Mexico(MWC); Southern Mississippi led Memphis and Tulsa(C-USA); Akron led the way
in the MAC. Florida State and North Carolina were tied for first, ahead of Duke(ACC); Temple and La Salle were tied
ahead of a four-way logham(A-10).
Michigan State stifled @Ohio State; Duke's late run stunned @UNC; Kentucky destroyed vFlorida and rallied @Vanderbilt;
Syracuse beat vGeorgetown in OT; Gonzaga got one back vSt. Mary's; Wichita State dominated @Creighton; UNLV held on
vSan Diego State; Oregon routed Washington.
Baylor flopped even worse vKansas and @Missouri the second time around. Tennessee State ended Murray State's unbeaten run.
Also stumbling: Florida State(@Boston College), Florida(vTennessee), Creighton(@Evansville).
Southern Mississippi was routed at UAB.
Princeton knocked off unbeaten break-leader Harvard(IVY); {Seattle} and CS-Bakersfield led the INDEPs.
New leaders: Valparaiso routed host Cleveland State(HORIZ); Loyola(Maryland) edged Iona(MAAC); Vermont blew out
Stony Brook(AMER E). Meanwhile, UNC-Asheville clinched(BIG S).
New Mexico separated from the MWC pack with wins at San Diego State and vs UNLV.
Michigan beat Ohio State to tie for second in the BIG 10; Michigan State handled Wisconsin; Syracuse finally won
at Louisville.
UNLV tripped in OT at TCU; Baylor fell at home to Kansas State; Indiana was handled at Iowa; Gonzaga (at San Francisco)
and St. Mary's (vs Loyola Marymount) traded losses; San Diego State was edged out at Air Force.
In BRACKETBUSTERS, Murray State (vs St. Mary's), Creighton (vs Long Beach State), Weber State (vs Texas-Arlington),
Oral Roberts (vs Akron), Wichita State (at Davidson), Iona (vs Nevada), Drexel (at Cleveland State)
and Ohio U (vs UNC-Asheville) all had key wins. The top of the COLONIAL went 6-0.
Wichita State(MVC), Murray State(OVC), Middle Tennessee(SUN B), Oral Roberts(SUMMIT) and Davidson(SOCON) clinched
their regular season titles.
Kansas rallied from down 19 to beat Missouri in an OT classic; Wisconsin came back and won at Ohio State; Duke handled
host Florida State; Kentucky held off Vanderbilt; St. Joseph's knocked off Temple to share the BIG 5 title.
North Carolina came through at Virginia; Drexel edged host ODU; VCU handled George Mason, Memphis routed host Marshall.
Kansas State swept at Missouri; Seton Hall throttled Georgetown; Purdue handled host Michigan; Miami(Florida) beat
rival Florida State; Cincinnati tripped Louisville; Iowa edged Wisconsin; Colorado handled California; Penn won at Harvard.
Florida fell at Georgia; Notre Dame stumbled at St. John's; New Mexico fell at Colorado State and at TCU.
Kentucky(SEC), Syracuse(BIG E), Kansas(8TH STRAIGHT BIG 12), Michigan State(BIG 10), St. Mary's(WCC), Drexel(COLON),
Belmont(A-SUN), Long Beach State(BIG W), Iona(MAAC), Texas-Arlington(SLAND), Nevada(WAC), Akron(MAC), Bucknell(PAT),
Stony Brook(AMER E), Long Island(NEC), Mississippi Valley State(SWAC), Valparaiso(HORIZ) and Utah Valley(GREAT W)
all clinched.
UNC pounded host Duke to take the ACC title; Ohio State came back to edge Michigan State and split the BIG 10 title
three ways (with Michigan); Kentucky dominated Florida to finish the SEC unbeaten (SIX GAMES UP).
Indiana thumped Michigan State (to open the door for OSU and UM); Georgetown knocked off Notre Dame but wore down
at Marquette; Vanderbilt out-3'd Florida; Iowa State handled Baylor; Syracuse handled Louisville. Tennessee beat Vanderbilt
to finish as SEC #2; Cincinnati(over Marquette) and South Florida(over Louisville) finished BIG E #4s.
UNLV fell at Colorado State to let New Mexico and San Diego State share the MWC title; Harvard earned a share of the IVY
title (but may still face a playoff); Montana beat Weber State to take the BIG SKY (and host the tourney). Memphis(C-USA),
Temple(A-10), Washington(PAC-12) and Savannah State(MEAC) all clinched.
Illinois State edged Wichita State but fell in OT to Creighton in the MVC final. Murray State(OVC) in a thriller,
Belmont(A-SUN) and UNC-Asheville(BIG S) all went TiTo. SUN B(Arkansas State over Middle Tennessee)
and MAAC(Fairfield over Iona) are on Jack Dawson Alert.
Only two "Elite Eight"s won their tourneys -- Michigan State beat Ohio State in the BIG 10 final; Missouri won the BIG 12
crown (after Baylor beat Kansas). Vanderbilt beat Kentucky to win the SEC tourney. Syracuse fell to Cincinnati --
Louisville took the BIG EAST crown. Florida State beat Duke and UNC to win the ACC tourney.
New Mexico beat host UNLV and co-champ San Diego State to claim the MWC crown. St. Mary's went to OT before going
TiTo over Gonzaga in the WCC final. Host Memphis routed Central Florida and Marshall to win the C-USA crown.
VCU beat Drexel in the [1BC] COLONIAL final. Princeton's win over Penn gave Harvard the IVY outright.
Connecticut (beat West Virginia), Texas (beat Kansas State), N.C. State (beat Virginia) and Xavier (beat St. Louis) won
their way off the Bubble.
Colorado State and South Florida got in without advancing past their seeds.
California (lost Colorado), West Virginia (lost Connecticut) and Southern Mississippi (lost Marshall) got in, anyway.
Anti-Spoiler Iona[MAAC+2] took away an at-large bid.
St. Bonaventure[A-10] and Colorado[PAC-12] stole bids off the Bubble.
Oregon (lost Colorado), Washington (lost Oregon State), Arizona (lost Colorado), Northwestern (lost Minnesota),
Mississippi State (lost Georgia) and Tennessee (lost Mississippi) didn't make The Dance.
TiTos: Michigan State[BIG 10], New Mexico[MWC], St. Mary's[WCC], Memphis[C-USA+2], Long Beach State[BIG W+3],
Davidson[SOCON+4], Montana[SKY](over Weber State), Long Island[NEC], MS Valley[SWAC+3].
Jack Dawsons: Detroit("Valparaiso(+2)")[HORIZ], Western Kentucky("Middle Tennessee(+2)")[SUN B],
South Dakota State("Oral Roberts(+2)")[SUMMIT], Lamar("TX-Arlington(+3)")[SLAND], New Mexico State("Nevada(+3)")[WAC],
{North Dakota}("UT Valley(+3)")[GREAT W].