SelectionSunday
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RPI data (through Sunday's games) courtesy of CollegeRPI.com.
BITS & PIECES
(1) The top 5 in the RPI heading into Monday. ... (1) Kansas State (9-1); (2) Duke (9-1); (3) Temple (9-2); (4) Southern Miss (4-1); and (5) St. John's (9-1).
(2) This from Jerry Palm at CollegeRPI.com on the possibility of NCAA Tournament expansion:
"It was reported this week that the NCAA is looking into the possibility of expanding the tournament field to 96 teams. I can't think of any good reason to do this. As it is, there are probably three or four teams in the tournament every year that would be better suited for the NIT. The last thing we need is another 31 teams that have no realistic chance of winning the tournament cluttering it up.
"Making the field that big would dilute the product and, I have to believe, make it less attractive to television, or at least TV viewers. Although, it is the TV people with whom the NCAA is currently consulting. Hopefully they aren't the same ones who told the Fiesta Bowl that TCU-Boise would be a big ratings winner.
"Really, if you're going to make it that big, you might as well go all the way and include everyone. Make it like high school and play little sectionals all over the country. And best of all, no coach will ever get fired for not making the tournament. And that's the only group of people even remotely in favor of expanding the field, the coaches who are trying to save their jobs."
(3) For What It's Worth: Respected sports journalist John Feinstein says it's a done deal. ... the tournament will expand beginning in 2012-13 because it's what the coaches want.
(4) There are 8 remaining unbeaten teams. The unblemished are: Kansas (Big 12); Kentucky (SEC); Missouri State (Missouri Valley); New Mexico (Mountain West); Purdue (Big 10); Syracuse (Big East); Texas (Big 12); and West Virginia (Big East).
(5) The Big 12 is running away with the title of best conference, and it's not just the teams at the top (Kansas & Texas). The conference is a whopping 20-8 vs. BCS teams, and that doesn't even include wins over Dayton (K-State), Memphis (Kansas), Old Dominion (Mizzou), UNLV (K-State) and Xavier (Baylor & K-State).
(6) The Big 10 is 17-17 vs. BCS opponents, with Northwestern and Wisconsin (both 4-0) and Purdue (3-0) doing most of the heavy lifting. The rest. ... Illinois (2-1); Ohio State (2-1); Penn State (1-1); Indiana (1-3); Michigan State (0-2); Minnesota (0-2); Iowa (0-3); and Michigan (0-4).
(7) In my opinion, save for K-State (see 5 above), no team has a better resume to this point than Temple. The Owls have wins over Villanova (#12), Virginia Tech (#50), Siena (#59) and Seton Hall (#71). The Owls' only two losses are to St. John's (#5) and Georgetown (#31). Still on the docket for Temple? A home game Jan. 2 vs. Kansas.
(8) Wishful Thinking: I sure wish Draymond Green had followed Tubby from Kentucky to Minnesota. This guy is turning into the perfect 4-year player for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He is, with apologies to Clark Kellogg, a stat-sheet stuffer who does a little bit of everything for Sparty. Not to mention that as a sophomore, it looks like he's not afraid to get into the faces of his teammates, even the older ones, if he sees something he doesn't like. Green is turning into the kind of leader Izzo's teams always seem to have (Mateen Cleaves, Antonio Smith, Alan Anderson, Travis Walton).
(9) Is anyone else getting sick of the Big 10 being ridiculed for calling itself the Big 10 despite having 11 teams? Get over it folks. The Big 10 is a freakin' BRAND NAME recognized nationally, and the conference (Jim Delany) would have to be completely insane to change its name simply because it no longer has 10 teams. If the media types and fans from other conferences don't like it, tough ti**ies. If it bothers them so much, how come we never hear them mocking the Atlantic 10 for having 14 teams?
(10) Trivial Pursuit: Speaking of conferences, here's something to chew on. Which BCS conference has sent the least amount of schools beyond the Sweet 16 in the last 5 seasons (since 2004-05 season)? The answer is the ACC; only North Carolina has made it to the Elite 8 & beyond, worst among the 6 major conferences. The Big East leads with 6 (Georgetown, Louisville, Pitt, UConn, Villanova, West Virginia), the Big 10 (Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin) and Big 12 (Kansas, Mizzou, Oklahoma, Texas) are next with 4, and they are followed by the Pac 10 (Arizona, Oregon, UCLA) and SEC (Florida, Kentucky, LSU). Aren't we being told all the time how great & how deep the ACC and Big East are? At least the Big East backs it up in the postseason.
(11) Nine times out of 10 I will let a season play out, am generally not a person who gets too worked up after a big Gopher win or too down in the dumps after a tough loss, but my gut tells me this. ... if the Gophers aren't 2-0 after their first two Big 10 games (Penn State, @ Iowa), it could be a long season (read: no NCAA bid) in Dinkytown. Because of their weak nonconference schedule and the fact they did little with the 3 tough opponents they played -- 1-2 (for now I'm calling Portland a bad loss), beating Butler & losing to Texas A&M and Miami -- the Gophers have even less margin for error than last season. This season there's no signature victory outside of the Big 10 like there was with Louisville.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 10
Monday
American at Penn State
South Carolina State at Iowa
Tuesday
Central Connecticut at Northwestern
Cleveland State at Ohio State
Coppin State at Michigan
Loyola (Maryland) at Indiana
Michigan State at Texas
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Purdue
Wednesday
Illinois vs.Mizzou
Milwaukee at Wisconsin
South Dakota State at Minnesota
Sunday
Illinois-Chicago at Wisconsin
WORTH KEEPING AN EYE ON (NON-BIG 10)
Monday
LaSalle vs. Oklahoma State
Tuesday
Butler at UAB
Cal at Kansas
LSU vs. Wazzu
Stanford at Texas Tech
Texas A&M at Washington
Western Carolina at Clemson
William & Mary at Radford
Wednesday
Charlotte at Old Dominion
Harvard at Georgetown
New Mexico at Oral Roberts
NC State at Arizona
Ole Miss at West Virginia
Saturday
West Virginia at Seton Hall
UPSET SPECIAL (2-4)
Oral Roberts over New Mexico (Wednesday). Last week -- UTEP blows a late lead, then loses 91-81 in OT to Ole Miss as I drop my second straight.
THE "STAPLES"
Non-BCS Wins over the Big 6 (by team)
Gonzaga (4) -- Cincinnati, Colorado, Wazzu, Wisconsin
Temple (4) -- Penn State, Seton Hall, Villanova, Virginia Tech
Butler (3) -- Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA
Northern Iowa (3) -- Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State
Portland (3) -- Minnesota, Oregon, UCLA
Richmond (3) -- Florida, Mississippi State, Mizzou
Loyola Marymount (2) -- Notre Dame, USC
New Mexico (2) -- Cal, Texas A&M
Oral Roberts (2) -- Mizzou, Stanford
Rhode Island (2) -- Boston College, Providence
San Diego (2) -- Oklahoma, Stanford
UAB (2) -- Cincinnati, Georgia
UNLV (2) -- Arizona, Louisville
Utah (2) -- Illinois, Michigan
Wichita State (2) -- Iowa, Texas Tech
Wofford (2) -- Georgia, South Carolina
American (1) -- DePaul
Boston U (1) -- Indiana
Bradley (1) -- Illinois
BYU (1) -- Arizona State
Cal State Fullerton (1) -- UCLA
Central Florida (1) -- Auburn
Central Michigan (1) -- South Florida
Charlotte (1) -- Louisville
Colorado State (1) -- Colorado
Cornell (1) -- Alabama
Creighton (1) -- Nebraska
Dayton (1) -- Georgia Tech
Duquesne (1) -- Iowa
East Tennessee State (1) -- Arkansas
George Mason (1) -- Indiana
Green Bay (1) -- Wisconsin
Harvard (1) -- Boston College
Houston (1) -- Oklahoma
Illinois-Chicago (1) -- Oregon State
Iona (1) -- Providence
Long Beach State (1) -- UCLA
Missouri State (1) -- Auburn
Montana (1) -- Oregon
Morgan State (1) -- Arkansas
NC-Wilmington (1) -- Penn State
Old Dominion (1) -- Georgetown
Rider (1) -- Mississippi State
Sacramento State (1) -- Oregon State
Saint Joseph's (1) -- Boston College
Saint Louis (1) -- Nebraska
St. Mary's (1) -- Oregon
Sam Houston State (1) -- Auburn
San Diego State (1) -- Arizona
South Alabama (1) -- Arkansas
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1) -- Oregon State
Texas San-Antonio (1) -- Iowa
Troy (1) -- Auburn
Tulane (1) -- Penn State
Tulsa (1) -- Oklahoma State
Vermont (1) -- Rutgers
VCU (1) -- Oklahoma
Western Carolina (1) -- Louisville
Western Kentucky (1) -- Vandy
William & Mary (1) -- Wake Forest
Xavier (1) -- Cincinnati
WEEK 6 RESUME BUILDERS
1. Butler over Xavier
2. Florida State wins @ Georgia Tech
3. Kansas State over Alabama
4. Richmond over Florida
5. Old Dominion wins @ Georgetown
6. South Carolina over Richmond
7. UAB over Cincinnati
8. Temple wins @ Seton Hall
9. Wake Forest over NC State
10. Wichita State over Texas Tech
WEEK 6 MOST STUNNING RESULT
USC 77, Tennessee 55 -- It's not so much that the Vols got beat in Los Angeles. It's that it appeared they quit early in the second half. Top-shelf teams never give up on a game, no matter how far they're down (see Purdue @ Alabama).
MY FANTASTIC 5 (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1. Duke (replace Kentucky after impressive throttling of Gonzaga)
2. Kansas (holdover)
3. Purdue (holdover)
4. Texas (holdover)
5. West Virginia (holdover)
MY BIG 10 POWER RANKINGS
1. Purdue (10-0)
2. Wisconsin (8-2)
3. Michigan State (9-2)
4. Northwestern (9-1)
5. Illinois (8-3)
6. Minnesota (8-3)
7. Ohio State (9-2)
8. Penn State (7-4)
9. Michigan (4-5)
10. Indiana (5-5)
11. Iowa (4-7)
BIG 10 IN THE RPI
10. Purdue
27. Wisconsin
51. Northwestern
63. Michigan State
67. Minnesota
77. Ohio State
116. Illinois
173. Iowa
204. Michigan
219. Penn State
230. Indiana
GOPHERS' NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS IN THE RPI
18. Texas A&M (8-2)
26. Butler (8-3, 1-0)
61. Portland (6-4)
76. Miami-Florida (10-1, 0-1)
101. Morgan State (6-4, 1-0)
103. Saint Joseph's (4-6)
177. Brown (3-7)
182. Tennessee Tech (4-6, 0-1)
214. Stephen F. Austin (5-3)
234. South Dakota State (3-7, 1-1)
289. Northern Illinois (1-7)
335. Utah Valley (2-5)
BCS CONFERENCES HEAD TO HEAD
Standings
1. Big 12 (20-8, 71.4%)
2. ACC (20-17, 54.1%)
3. SEC (21-19, 52.5%)
4. Big 10 (17-17, 50%)
5. Big East (15-16, 48.4%)
6. Pac 10 (6-22, 21.4%)
Week 6 Results (not listed among resume builders)
Florida State 76, Auburn 72
Georgia 70, Illinois 67
Kansas 75, Michigan 64
Northwestern 70, Stanford 62
Notre Dame 84, UCLA 73
Oklahoma State 71, Stanford 70
Texas 103, North Carolina 90
USC 77, Tennessee 55
Next RTSS: Monday, December 28
BITS & PIECES
(1) The top 5 in the RPI heading into Monday. ... (1) Kansas State (9-1); (2) Duke (9-1); (3) Temple (9-2); (4) Southern Miss (4-1); and (5) St. John's (9-1).
(2) This from Jerry Palm at CollegeRPI.com on the possibility of NCAA Tournament expansion:
"It was reported this week that the NCAA is looking into the possibility of expanding the tournament field to 96 teams. I can't think of any good reason to do this. As it is, there are probably three or four teams in the tournament every year that would be better suited for the NIT. The last thing we need is another 31 teams that have no realistic chance of winning the tournament cluttering it up.
"Making the field that big would dilute the product and, I have to believe, make it less attractive to television, or at least TV viewers. Although, it is the TV people with whom the NCAA is currently consulting. Hopefully they aren't the same ones who told the Fiesta Bowl that TCU-Boise would be a big ratings winner.
"Really, if you're going to make it that big, you might as well go all the way and include everyone. Make it like high school and play little sectionals all over the country. And best of all, no coach will ever get fired for not making the tournament. And that's the only group of people even remotely in favor of expanding the field, the coaches who are trying to save their jobs."
(3) For What It's Worth: Respected sports journalist John Feinstein says it's a done deal. ... the tournament will expand beginning in 2012-13 because it's what the coaches want.
(4) There are 8 remaining unbeaten teams. The unblemished are: Kansas (Big 12); Kentucky (SEC); Missouri State (Missouri Valley); New Mexico (Mountain West); Purdue (Big 10); Syracuse (Big East); Texas (Big 12); and West Virginia (Big East).
(5) The Big 12 is running away with the title of best conference, and it's not just the teams at the top (Kansas & Texas). The conference is a whopping 20-8 vs. BCS teams, and that doesn't even include wins over Dayton (K-State), Memphis (Kansas), Old Dominion (Mizzou), UNLV (K-State) and Xavier (Baylor & K-State).
(6) The Big 10 is 17-17 vs. BCS opponents, with Northwestern and Wisconsin (both 4-0) and Purdue (3-0) doing most of the heavy lifting. The rest. ... Illinois (2-1); Ohio State (2-1); Penn State (1-1); Indiana (1-3); Michigan State (0-2); Minnesota (0-2); Iowa (0-3); and Michigan (0-4).
(7) In my opinion, save for K-State (see 5 above), no team has a better resume to this point than Temple. The Owls have wins over Villanova (#12), Virginia Tech (#50), Siena (#59) and Seton Hall (#71). The Owls' only two losses are to St. John's (#5) and Georgetown (#31). Still on the docket for Temple? A home game Jan. 2 vs. Kansas.
(8) Wishful Thinking: I sure wish Draymond Green had followed Tubby from Kentucky to Minnesota. This guy is turning into the perfect 4-year player for Tom Izzo at Michigan State. He is, with apologies to Clark Kellogg, a stat-sheet stuffer who does a little bit of everything for Sparty. Not to mention that as a sophomore, it looks like he's not afraid to get into the faces of his teammates, even the older ones, if he sees something he doesn't like. Green is turning into the kind of leader Izzo's teams always seem to have (Mateen Cleaves, Antonio Smith, Alan Anderson, Travis Walton).
(9) Is anyone else getting sick of the Big 10 being ridiculed for calling itself the Big 10 despite having 11 teams? Get over it folks. The Big 10 is a freakin' BRAND NAME recognized nationally, and the conference (Jim Delany) would have to be completely insane to change its name simply because it no longer has 10 teams. If the media types and fans from other conferences don't like it, tough ti**ies. If it bothers them so much, how come we never hear them mocking the Atlantic 10 for having 14 teams?
(10) Trivial Pursuit: Speaking of conferences, here's something to chew on. Which BCS conference has sent the least amount of schools beyond the Sweet 16 in the last 5 seasons (since 2004-05 season)? The answer is the ACC; only North Carolina has made it to the Elite 8 & beyond, worst among the 6 major conferences. The Big East leads with 6 (Georgetown, Louisville, Pitt, UConn, Villanova, West Virginia), the Big 10 (Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin) and Big 12 (Kansas, Mizzou, Oklahoma, Texas) are next with 4, and they are followed by the Pac 10 (Arizona, Oregon, UCLA) and SEC (Florida, Kentucky, LSU). Aren't we being told all the time how great & how deep the ACC and Big East are? At least the Big East backs it up in the postseason.
(11) Nine times out of 10 I will let a season play out, am generally not a person who gets too worked up after a big Gopher win or too down in the dumps after a tough loss, but my gut tells me this. ... if the Gophers aren't 2-0 after their first two Big 10 games (Penn State, @ Iowa), it could be a long season (read: no NCAA bid) in Dinkytown. Because of their weak nonconference schedule and the fact they did little with the 3 tough opponents they played -- 1-2 (for now I'm calling Portland a bad loss), beating Butler & losing to Texas A&M and Miami -- the Gophers have even less margin for error than last season. This season there's no signature victory outside of the Big 10 like there was with Louisville.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 10
Monday
American at Penn State
South Carolina State at Iowa
Tuesday
Central Connecticut at Northwestern
Cleveland State at Ohio State
Coppin State at Michigan
Loyola (Maryland) at Indiana
Michigan State at Texas
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Purdue
Wednesday
Illinois vs.Mizzou
Milwaukee at Wisconsin
South Dakota State at Minnesota
Sunday
Illinois-Chicago at Wisconsin
WORTH KEEPING AN EYE ON (NON-BIG 10)
Monday
LaSalle vs. Oklahoma State
Tuesday
Butler at UAB
Cal at Kansas
LSU vs. Wazzu
Stanford at Texas Tech
Texas A&M at Washington
Western Carolina at Clemson
William & Mary at Radford
Wednesday
Charlotte at Old Dominion
Harvard at Georgetown
New Mexico at Oral Roberts
NC State at Arizona
Ole Miss at West Virginia
Saturday
West Virginia at Seton Hall
UPSET SPECIAL (2-4)
Oral Roberts over New Mexico (Wednesday). Last week -- UTEP blows a late lead, then loses 91-81 in OT to Ole Miss as I drop my second straight.
THE "STAPLES"
Non-BCS Wins over the Big 6 (by team)
Gonzaga (4) -- Cincinnati, Colorado, Wazzu, Wisconsin
Temple (4) -- Penn State, Seton Hall, Villanova, Virginia Tech
Butler (3) -- Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA
Northern Iowa (3) -- Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State
Portland (3) -- Minnesota, Oregon, UCLA
Richmond (3) -- Florida, Mississippi State, Mizzou
Loyola Marymount (2) -- Notre Dame, USC
New Mexico (2) -- Cal, Texas A&M
Oral Roberts (2) -- Mizzou, Stanford
Rhode Island (2) -- Boston College, Providence
San Diego (2) -- Oklahoma, Stanford
UAB (2) -- Cincinnati, Georgia
UNLV (2) -- Arizona, Louisville
Utah (2) -- Illinois, Michigan
Wichita State (2) -- Iowa, Texas Tech
Wofford (2) -- Georgia, South Carolina
American (1) -- DePaul
Boston U (1) -- Indiana
Bradley (1) -- Illinois
BYU (1) -- Arizona State
Cal State Fullerton (1) -- UCLA
Central Florida (1) -- Auburn
Central Michigan (1) -- South Florida
Charlotte (1) -- Louisville
Colorado State (1) -- Colorado
Cornell (1) -- Alabama
Creighton (1) -- Nebraska
Dayton (1) -- Georgia Tech
Duquesne (1) -- Iowa
East Tennessee State (1) -- Arkansas
George Mason (1) -- Indiana
Green Bay (1) -- Wisconsin
Harvard (1) -- Boston College
Houston (1) -- Oklahoma
Illinois-Chicago (1) -- Oregon State
Iona (1) -- Providence
Long Beach State (1) -- UCLA
Missouri State (1) -- Auburn
Montana (1) -- Oregon
Morgan State (1) -- Arkansas
NC-Wilmington (1) -- Penn State
Old Dominion (1) -- Georgetown
Rider (1) -- Mississippi State
Sacramento State (1) -- Oregon State
Saint Joseph's (1) -- Boston College
Saint Louis (1) -- Nebraska
St. Mary's (1) -- Oregon
Sam Houston State (1) -- Auburn
San Diego State (1) -- Arizona
South Alabama (1) -- Arkansas
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1) -- Oregon State
Texas San-Antonio (1) -- Iowa
Troy (1) -- Auburn
Tulane (1) -- Penn State
Tulsa (1) -- Oklahoma State
Vermont (1) -- Rutgers
VCU (1) -- Oklahoma
Western Carolina (1) -- Louisville
Western Kentucky (1) -- Vandy
William & Mary (1) -- Wake Forest
Xavier (1) -- Cincinnati
WEEK 6 RESUME BUILDERS
1. Butler over Xavier
2. Florida State wins @ Georgia Tech
3. Kansas State over Alabama
4. Richmond over Florida
5. Old Dominion wins @ Georgetown
6. South Carolina over Richmond
7. UAB over Cincinnati
8. Temple wins @ Seton Hall
9. Wake Forest over NC State
10. Wichita State over Texas Tech
WEEK 6 MOST STUNNING RESULT
USC 77, Tennessee 55 -- It's not so much that the Vols got beat in Los Angeles. It's that it appeared they quit early in the second half. Top-shelf teams never give up on a game, no matter how far they're down (see Purdue @ Alabama).
MY FANTASTIC 5 (ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
1. Duke (replace Kentucky after impressive throttling of Gonzaga)
2. Kansas (holdover)
3. Purdue (holdover)
4. Texas (holdover)
5. West Virginia (holdover)
MY BIG 10 POWER RANKINGS
1. Purdue (10-0)
2. Wisconsin (8-2)
3. Michigan State (9-2)
4. Northwestern (9-1)
5. Illinois (8-3)
6. Minnesota (8-3)
7. Ohio State (9-2)
8. Penn State (7-4)
9. Michigan (4-5)
10. Indiana (5-5)
11. Iowa (4-7)
BIG 10 IN THE RPI
10. Purdue
27. Wisconsin
51. Northwestern
63. Michigan State
67. Minnesota
77. Ohio State
116. Illinois
173. Iowa
204. Michigan
219. Penn State
230. Indiana
GOPHERS' NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS IN THE RPI
18. Texas A&M (8-2)
26. Butler (8-3, 1-0)
61. Portland (6-4)
76. Miami-Florida (10-1, 0-1)
101. Morgan State (6-4, 1-0)
103. Saint Joseph's (4-6)
177. Brown (3-7)
182. Tennessee Tech (4-6, 0-1)
214. Stephen F. Austin (5-3)
234. South Dakota State (3-7, 1-1)
289. Northern Illinois (1-7)
335. Utah Valley (2-5)
BCS CONFERENCES HEAD TO HEAD
Standings
1. Big 12 (20-8, 71.4%)
2. ACC (20-17, 54.1%)
3. SEC (21-19, 52.5%)
4. Big 10 (17-17, 50%)
5. Big East (15-16, 48.4%)
6. Pac 10 (6-22, 21.4%)
Week 6 Results (not listed among resume builders)
Florida State 76, Auburn 72
Georgia 70, Illinois 67
Kansas 75, Michigan 64
Northwestern 70, Stanford 62
Notre Dame 84, UCLA 73
Oklahoma State 71, Stanford 70
Texas 103, North Carolina 90
USC 77, Tennessee 55
Next RTSS: Monday, December 28