DECEMBER DOLDRUMS, U.S.A. — The least interesting month of the college basketball season is in full swing, but fear not folks the fun stuff (conference play) is right around the corner. To help bridge the gap between now and the Gophers’ Big Ten opener Jan. 2 (the Gophers may be catching Michigan at exactly the right time), here are some odds and ends from what’s happened so far this 2013-14 season.
For starters, let’s take a gander at RTSS’s “Field of 68 projection 2.0”, our first projection since early October. Please note that this projection is a combo platter, based partially on what teams have accomplished (who ya’ played, where ya’ played ’em, who ya’ beat, who ya’ lost to) and partially trying to project ahead (predicting future results). This will be the last such projection of that nature. Starting with the next projection (date TBD) it’ll be all about results up to that point of the season.
Teams’ current RPIs are listed in parentheses.
FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (12/16/13)
America East (1): Albany (145)
American (3): Connecticut (13), Memphis (24), Louisville (65)
ACC (5): Syracuse (5), North Carolina (16), Pitt (26), Virginia (54), Duke (63)
Atlantic Sun (1): Mercer (56)
Atlantic 10 (4): Massachusetts (1), Dayton (25), George Washington (31), VCU (53)
Big East (4): Villanova (7), Butler (36), Creighton (55), Georgetown (74)
Big Sky (1): Eastern Washington (62)
Big South (1): Winthrop (68)
Big Ten (6): Wisconsin (2), Ohio State (14), Michigan State (23), Iowa (32), Illinois (45), Indiana (90)
Big XII (6): Baylor (3), Kansas (4), Oklahoma State (11), Iowa State (18), Texas (34), Oklahoma (39)
Big West (1): UCSB (37)
Colonial (1): Drexel (35)
Conference USA (2): Southern Miss (28), UAB (58)
Horizon (1): Green Bay (47)
Ivy (1): Harvard (22)
Metro Atlantic (1): Manhattan (77)
MAC (1): Toledo (50)
MEAC (1): North Carolina Central (119)
Missouri Valley (1): Wichita State (12)
Mountain West (3): San Diego State (15), New Mexico (20), Boise State (52)
Northeast (1): Bryant (57)
Ohio Valley (1): Belmont (44)
Pac 12 (5): Oregon (6), Arizona (8), Colorado (9), UCLA (42), Arizona State (88)
Patriot (1): Bucknell (51)
SEC (5): Missouri (19), Florida (30), LSU (33), Arkansas (41), Kentucky (43)
Southern (1): Elon (128)
Southland (1): Oral Roberts (76)
SWAC (1): Jackson State (126)
Summit (1): North Dakota State (29)
Sun Belt (1): Louisiana (49)
West Coast (4): BYU (21), Saint Mary’s (10), Gonzaga (17), Pacific (27)
WAC (1): New Mexico State (67)
Last 4 In: UAB (58), Georgetown (74), Arizona State (88), Indiana (90)
First 4 Out: Princeton (38), Ole Miss (40), Missouri State (60), Saint Louis (61)
Others Considered: Saint John’s (46), GOPHERS (59), SMU (71), Virginia Tech (73), Stanford (78), Indiana State (102), Cincinnati (105), Florida State (106), Clemson (110)
New to the Field (22): Albany, Arkansas, Bucknell, Butler, Dayton, Drexel, Eastern Washington, George Washington, Illinois, Jackson State, Louisiana, Mercer, North Carolina Central, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts, Pacific, Pitt, Saint Mary’s, Texas, UAB, UCSB, Winthrop
Dropped Out (22): Cal Poly, Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Indiana State, La Salle, Lafayette, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan, Morgan State, North Dakota, Northwestern State, Notre Dame, Purdue, Saint John’s, Stanford, Stony Brook, Tennessee, Texas Southern, Towson, Western Kentucky
THE UNBEATENS
There are 14 remaining undefeated teams in college basketball. Who they are, and who they “got next”:
1. Arizona — Southern U (Thursday)
2. Connecticut — Stanford (Wednesday)
3. Iowa State — vs. George Mason @ Diamond Head Classic (Sunday)
4. Massachusetts — @ Ohio (Wednesday)
5. Missouri — vs. Illinois (Saturday)
6. Ohio State — Delaware (Wednesday)
7. Oregon — Cal-Irvine (Tuesday)
8. Pitt — vs. Cincinnati (Tuesday)
9. Saint Mary’s — American (Thursday)
10. Syracuse — High Point (Friday)
11. Toledo — @ Arkansas State (Tuesday)
12. Villanova — Rider (Saturday)
13. Wichita State — @ Alabama (Tuesday)
14. Wisconsin — Prairie View A&M (Dec. 28)
5 PLEASANT SURPRISES
1. Dayton (8-2) — 3rd place finish @ Maui included wins over Gonzaga, Cal
2. George Washington (9-1) — wins vs. Creighton, Maryland
3. Oklahoma (9-1) — was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Lon Kruger
4. Pacific (7-1) — won @ Utah State (tough place to win), only loss @ Oregon
5. Princeton (8-1) — only loss was by 3 points to Butler; overcame 20-point 2nd half deficit to win @ Penn State
5 DISAPPOINTING DEBBIE DOWNERS
1. Florida Gulf Coast (3-4) — 4 double-digit losses for last year’s tournament darlings
2. Kentucky (8-3) — all that talk about 40-0? Lost its 3 most significant games (MSU, Baylor, North Carolina)
3. La Salle (5-5) — with a lot returning from last year’s Sweet 16 dquad, Explorers perhaps season’s biggest bust
4. Marquette (6-4) — in fairness, Warriors have played a difficult schedule
5. Michigan (6-4) — disappointing to this point, yes, but don’t expect the Wolverines to stay down
EXEMPT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
These schools earned championships in some of the more significant exempt tournaments. There are two exempt tournaments of note remaining, the Las Vegas Classic (spearheaded by UNLV) and the Diamond Head Classic, which features two of the remaining unbeatens (Iowa State & Saint Mary’s). We’ll break down the championships by conference.
American (2) — Connecticut (2K Sports), Memphis (Old Spice)
ACC (4) — Maryland (Paradise Jam), Pitt (Legends), Syracuse (Maui), Virginia (Corpus Christi Challenge)
Atlantic 10 (1) — Massachusetts (Charleston)
Big East (1) — Villanova (Battle 4 Atlantis)
Conference USA (2) — Charlotte (Puerto Rico Tip-Off), Louisiana Tech (Gulf Coast Showcase)
Big Ten (2) — Michigan State (Coaches vs. Cancer), Wisconsin (Cancun Challenge)
Ivy (1) — Harvard (Great Alaska Shootout)
Missouri Valley (1) — Wichita State (CBE Hall of Fame)
Mountain West (1) — San Diego State (Wooden Legacy)
Ohio Valley (1) — Belmont (Hall of Fame Tip-Off)
Pac 12 (1) — Arizona (NIT Season Tip-Off)
SEC (2) — Missouri (Las Vegas Invitational), Ole Miss (Barclay’s Center)