Hoops: 'Nova clear #1, UCF 1 vote in Coach's Poll, 16th RPI, top defense

[UCFProf]

UCF leads nation in FG% defense (30.8%), 2nd in scoring defense (54.6/game), 5th in 3-pt% defense (25.2%), tied for 2nd in fewest fouls (14.4/game), 2nd in defensive rebounds (35.43/game), 8th in rebounding margin (11.1), 7th in rebounds (45.57/game)

Villanova, our only loss (by 10 pts), displaced Kentucky as consensus #1 in the polls, snagging most all 1st place votes (28 of 32 in the Coach's Poll). UCF's SOS and 3 quality wins over top 100 teams may help come tournament select time: beat 6-3 Charleston (#64), #77 UMass (5-2), #80 Nicholls, and 6-2 Miss. St.

 

[80'sKnight]

I had to check it out just for the novelty of UCF getting noticed. Cincy's ranked- good for the conference. Temple gets a vote in 1 poll, but where's that powerhouse Memphis? They've been kind of sucking butt since getting out of the weaker C-USA and having to compete against slightly better teams every year. Could be wrong since I'm just a very casual BB fan.

 

[UCFProf]

I had to check it out just for the novelty of UCF getting noticed. Cincy's ranked- good for the conference. Temple gets a vote in 1 poll, but where's that powerhouse Memphis? They've been kind of sucking butt since getting out of the weaker C-USA and having to compete against slightly better teams every year. Could be wrong since I'm just a very casual BB fan.

Memphis had weak schedule (330th SOS),193rd in RPI despite 6-2 record, both losses to only good teams they played.
Without their hall of fame coach Larry Brown, SMU is barely good at 6-3 (101st RPI) and 1-2 vs. top 100 opponents.
Pre-season pick to win conference, UConn, is 3-4 (223rd in RPI) and decimated by injury.
Tulsa, another top-6 AAC team, is 3-3 despite not playing any top 100 opponent. RPI 224th.

Thus, AAC likely to be the weakest in its brief history, with only Cincy, Houston, Temple so far doing well. SMU and UConn will get things together and be in the mix as they have been.

That's good and bad for UCF: for the first time, likely to finish in top 6 that we'll need for a post-season tourney invite.
The bad part: off-year (decline?) for conference's OOC will clobber everyone's SOS and rankings, thus fewer invite.
However, OCC for AAC is NOT that bad: 13-11 vs. the top 100 RPI (thanks to UCF/Temple combined 7-2).

 

[KNIGHTTIME^]

Uconn did beat Syracuse last night. Good win for them after sucking this season.

 

[UCFProf]

Uconn did beat Syracuse last night. Good win for them after sucking this season.

What a game. UConn went from 9-point down deep into the second half by going on a 14-0 run, with 9lead and didn't score for 6 minutes near the end to trail until tying it back up with only 12 seconds to go, then broke a tie with 3 seconds left by sinking 2 free throws. Held Syracuse to UCF-type percentages, 26% FG shooting. Congrats to them to finally pull even at 4-4!

Tonight, 7-2 ECU plays at #14 ranked UVa, so that's a very likely loss. Hope for an upset.

 

[mattropolis]

I had to check it out just for the novelty of UCF getting noticed. Cincy's ranked- good for the conference. Temple gets a vote in 1 poll, but where's that powerhouse Memphis? They've been kind of sucking butt since getting out of the weaker C-USA and having to compete against slightly better teams every year. Could be wrong since I'm just a very casual BB fan.

Pasternick was horrible. He should have been canned after 2-3 seasons like DJ should have been.

 

[UCFProf]

Houston and ECU went into tonight with only 3 losses between them. Thanks to Virginia and Arkansas, they now have two more losses. AAC is really taking a beating. Meanwhile, pitiful 2 win FAU goes into Columbus tonight and beats 1 loss Ohio State with a second to go in OT. See, that's how you do it.

 

[ucfversusbcs]

Its still early but starting off strong is good for UCF. Unless we win the tourney, we can't afford to start off slow like UConn and Memphis can. They can build momentum before conference starts and become bubble teams before the end.