Here's the Maniac's take on a great end to the bulk of the "non-conference" schedule
Sunday:
Kansas State took an 18 point lead in the first half, and cruised to an easy victory at Alabama. The Tide's record may not be strong, but they are tough at home and pushed a very good Purdue team to the final buzzer several weeks ago. I am on board with K State deserving a Top Ten slot in the Christmas Bracketeering Edition.
Arizona State might be the sleeper team in the Pac-10. Their 3-point win over San Diego State Sunday is one that will help come March.
Clemson absolutely hammered Charleston, 99-54. Charleston is not an upper tier team, but one would have thought Bobby Cremin's Cougars would have given their in-state big brother a better run.
Cleveland State is a far cry from last year's squad that upset Wake Forest in the first round. However their 80-78 loss to West Virginia gives the Mountaineer's a "bad loss" that won't show up in the RPI. Cleveland State followed up that daring near upset with a 13 point loss to wounded Ohio State. Cleveland State is 4-9 on the season, while WVU remains undefeated heading into a Christmas day tussle with Seton Hall.
I'm not sure whether to give Duke more credit or ring more panic alarms in Gonzaga after the Devils 76-41 pasting of the Zags. This one will loom large on Selection Sunday.
Illinois State notched a nice win for the Valley with their 73-63 win at Utah. The Valley and MWC are often pitted against each other for the few "spare" at large bids. This is nice win to have in the hip pocket.
Richmond continued the A-10's super play with a road win at the then-#13 Florida Gators. The Gators might be showing their hand a bit after another home loss (this time to South Alabama) followed. Richmond is one of five teams who can win the A-10 and contend for an at-large bid.
Speaking of the A-10, Temple did it again. This time they clipped undefeated Seton Hall in their own gym. This is looking like not only a tourney team, but a team that might be hanging around into the second weekend of March.
Mississippi State got a nice win at a tough Houston squad, and is continuing to look good after a tough few opening weeks.
Northwestern is going to be flirting with a Top 25 ranking real soon. The Wildcats moved to 10-1 with a win over Stanford. They are a legit at-large contender this season.
Not all was lost in the Pac-10 though, USC earned the conference's first legit win with their 22 point schelaacking of the Tennessee Volunteers. Washington took out a little frustration on Portland, pummeling the Pilots by 35. It is looking more and more likely that Portland's hot start was a bit of a mirage.
Wofford beating South Carolina? What is it with the SEC in December against low-major opponents? It seems an annual trend at this point
Any doubts about Texas's legitimacy to knock off Kansas in the Big 12 should have been erased after their 11 point over the Tarheels. This week Texas knocked off UNC and Michigan State in the span of three days. Sounds like a team tuning up for, say, a Final Four?
Old Dominion started the season as the CAA fave, only to take a few tough losses early. They put their name back in the mix in a BIG way with the best win of the weekend, a 61-57 win at Georgetown.
SUNDAY:
Sunday games always get lost in the media swell that is NFL Sunday. Here's a few important results that might have snuck past...
Florida State opened ACC play with a nice road win at Georgia Tech. Wake Forest defended their home turf beating NC State. The Maniac sees a lot of canibalization going on in the ACC this year, as teams three through nine are virtually impossible to distinguish between.
South Florida's 69-60 win at San Diego is a good one. The Bulls have little chance to compete in the upper tier of the BEast, but they have shown some solid improvement at 9-2 this season.
MONDAY:
Yes, Arizona's last second win was thrilling. But an 83-82 win over Lipscomb has to make Cat fans seriously wonder if their record NCAA Tourney appearance streak is about dead. The follow-up win (in equally thrilling fashion) over NC State last night was a HUGE one.
UTEP is looking more and more like a tourney team after my early season skepticism. Oklahoma is not very good yet, but a 15 point win over the Sooners is a solid W for UTEP. WIth Character rounding into form and Culpepper the Miners look like a real challenger to Tulsa, UAB and Memphis is C-USA.
The Big Red of Cornell got a BIG win, taking down ST. John's 71-66. The Johnnies have been good thus far, and are a legit possibility to finish in the top half of the BEast. Cornell looks like a 13 seed to be wary of in March.
TUESDAY:
Clemson followed up their hammering of Charleston with a nice 20 point win over Western Carolina. The win won't pop on paper, but this is the same Catamount team that throttled Louisville a few weeks ago.
The Gators slide continued with a heartbreaking buzzer-beater by South Alabama. The Jags will compete for the Sun Belt title, and Richmond likewise in the A-10, but back-to-back home losses are an unsettling sign for Gator fans heading into SEC East play.
More Big 12 dominance: Double digit wins for both Kansas and Texas over Cal and Michigan State. I think all us hoops junkies have the matchup between the Jayhawks and Longhorns circled. (Feb 8th)
WEDNESDAY:
Missouri moved to 8-3 with a nice 13 point win over Illinois. The Illini have not looked like a tourney team to this point, but is still a nice comparison win from the Big12-Big10 comparison.
Old Dominion beating Charlotte is not a stunner. Beating them 81-48 raised a few eyebrows. The 49'ers are 9-2 and were gaining steam in the polls. Their two losses are by a combined total of 75 points.
Oral Roberts got another big win, tackling previously unbeaten New Mexico 75-66. They have already beaten Stanford and Missouri. The Golden Eagles should contend for the Summit League title. New Mexico needs to regroup quickly with Texas Tech, Dayton, San Diego State, and UNLV next on the slate. We'll know exactly how good the Lobos are in two weeks.
Is USC for real? They followed up the decimation of Tennessee with a nearly-as-impressive win over a very good St. Mary's team. As much as the Pac-10 has been beaten up, Washington, USC and Washington State have been pretty respectable of late.
In the game of the night, West Virginia got their first show-me-somethin' win of the year beating Ole Miss 76-66. The Mountaineers have Final Four talent, and a game like this one helps gets them ready for Big East play.
TEAMS OF THE WEEKS:
USC, Texas, and Old Dominion
DROPS OF THE WEEK:
Florida, Gonzaga, Charlotte
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Do it all @ MarchManiacs.com
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