{"id":164,"date":"2014-11-21T16:28:59","date_gmt":"2014-11-21T22:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/67.227.157.91\/~kenpom\/wp_blog\/week-in-review-i-11141121\/"},"modified":"2014-11-21T16:28:59","modified_gmt":"2014-11-21T22:28:59","slug":"week-in-review-i-11141121","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/week-in-review-i-11141121\/","title":{"rendered":"Week in Review I, 11\/14-11\/21"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the weekly column where I take a look at least-likely comebacks, biggest upsets, and other extremes in the college hoops universe over the past week. There’s also a dash of Alan Williams news and other random thoughts. Just read it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Public service message:<\/strong> Currently, Division-I teams are 129-0 against teams not in Division-I. These 129 games are real in the sense that they count in a team\u2019s record, but they are not real in the sense that they mean anything. Based on the 100% winning percentage, the outcomes of the games aren\u2019t in doubt, and even if they were, there is no evidence that the NCAA’s Men\u2019s Basketball Committee cares about the outcome or even that they were scheduled in the first place.<\/p>\n

For whatever reason, it is tradition to count the stats from these games in the historical record. So when Minnesota scores 109 on Franklin Pierce (Alan Alda must be crying) or Tennessee Martin holds Champion Baptist to 29, these get counted in team and individual stats just like any other game. This despite the fact that these contests are often classified as exhibitions for the opponent. Because these games are complete shams, I don\u2019t count the stats from these games anywhere on the site. If you are looking for individual or team shooting numbers, the data on my site may not match the \u201cofficial\u201d stats that will show up in media guides and other on-line sources. But don\u2019t let that hold you back. Let\u2019s work together to fight the pollution of Division-I stats with these quasi-exhibition games.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s look at the extremes from the past week according to my computer…<\/p>\n

Biggest upset:<\/strong> Fairleigh Dickinson 58, Saint Joseph\u2019s 57<\/a> (6%) The Knights are no stranger to this category. Last season they went 6-10 in the NEC, 10-21 overall, yet posted road wins over Seton Hall and Rutgers in back-to-back games. Last Friday, they beat the Hawks by forcing 16 turnovers. Well, maybe those turnovers weren\u2019t forced so much as they just happened. That\u2019s the thing about stats, you never really know who was responsible. Mustafaa Jones hit a 3 with 3.3 seconds left to give FDU the win. Note: This victory may not stand the test of time considering that Saint Joe\u2019s was nearly quintupled<\/em> by Gonzaga in the first half on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Least likely comeback:<\/strong> Miami FL 69, Florida 67<\/a> (1.1%). The computer was underrating the Hurricanes during the first week of the season, but they were down 52-38 with 9:14 left at Gainesville before going on an 18-3 run that would give them the lead. A three by Angel Rodriguez with 15 seconds left provided the final points. An impressive comeback by any standard. <\/p>\n

#ShootersClub<\/a><\/strong>: My five-man #ShootersClub is barnstorming the country this season, spreading goodwill and providing inspiration that you, too, can make three-point shots with enough practice. This past week they were in places such as Honolulu, Coraopolis, Moraga, and Morgantown. Collectively, club members made 19-of-53 three-pointers against Division-I foes, for a 36% clip. That\u2019s good, but it will get better when they get some home cooking. These guys can\u2019t stop and won\u2019t stop.<\/p>\n

Fastest game<\/strong>: Arkansas 97, Alabama State 79<\/a> [82 possessions] Arkansas made a statement for fast-paced hoops in its season opener. Through two games the Hogs have made 15-of-29 three-pointers. They are like their own #ShootersClub. Even 6-11 Bobby Portis has made 3-of-4 (after making just 27% last season).<\/p>\n

Slowest game<\/strong>: Arkansas Pine Bluff 55, Cal State Bakersfield 49<\/a> [52] Watch this space for sub-50 possession games as the season progresses, but for now we\u2019re left to celebrate one of two D-I wins for the SWAC in the first week of the season. This was a veritable offensive explosion for Bakersfield. In their next game, the Roadrunners would get shut out for the first 12 minutes at San Diego State and score a total of 27. <\/p>\n

Alan WiIliams Watch:<\/strong> I’m still watching Alan and you should be too because the conspiracy to keep him out of the headlines continues. He went to Allen Fieldhouse and dropped 22 and 13 on the Jayhawks last Friday. He also provided four blocks and a pair of assists for good measure. And nobody said anything about it! So then at Florida Gulf Coast he went for 29 and 16, and added four assists. And still nobody said anything! Probably because he doesn\u2019t exist and is just a creation of my imagination. And that is OK. <\/p>\n

kPOY race<\/a>:<\/strong> It\u2019s way too early to talk kPOY, but publicity and such dictates I mention that UConn\u2019s Ryan Boatright is the frontrunner heading into today. He\u2019s pretty much the entire UConn offense and they\u2019ve started 3-0. The Huskies are looking like the favorite to win the American, although SMU with an eligible Markus Kennedy will be a worthy challenger in a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Five best games of the week (Saturday through next Friday, according to FanMatch, all times Eastern):<\/strong>
\nThere will be better games in later rounds of various tournaments, so check your local listings, but here are the five best on the schedule at the moment:
\nVillanova vs. VCU (at Brooklyn), Monday, 7 PM, ESPN2
\nMichigan vs. Oregon (at Brooklyn), Monday 9:30 PM, ESPN3 (Really?)
\nUCLA vs. Oklahoma (at the Bahamas), Wednesday, 2:30 PM, ESPN2
\nFlorida vs. Georgetown (at the Bahamas), Wednesday, 9:30 PM, AXS TV
\nBaylor vs. Memphis (at Las Vegas), Thursday, Midnight, Fox Sports 1<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the weekly column where I take a look at least-likely comebacks, biggest upsets, and other extremes in the college hoops universe over the past week. There’s also a dash of Alan Williams news and other random thoughts. Just read it. Public service message: Currently, Division-I teams are 129-0 against teams not in Division-I. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenpom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}