Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC Conferences.

SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – There are no undefeated teams anymore in the MAAC. Last Saturday , in a rematch of last year’s MAAC championship, host Rider knocked off Siena 90-88 to hand the Saints their first conference loss of the season. The victory secured the two outstanding player of the week awards for Rider. 

Sophomore guard Justin Robinson earned Player of the Week honors. Robinson scored a career high 25 points and had three rebounds in that win over Siena. Novar Gadson, a freshman swingman, earned Rookie of the Week accolades with his 17 point, 4 rebound , 4 assist performance in the same contest.

The standings as of Friday February 13, 2009:

1. Siena  14-1
2. Niagara  11-3
3. Rider  9-4
4. Manhattan  8-7
5. Fairfield  8-7
6. Iona   6-8
7. Loyola  6-8
8. St. Peter’s  4-10
9. Marist  4-11
10. Canisius  2-13

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Rick Henderson of The Owl’s Nest is the RTC correspondent for the Sun Belt Conference.

Toppers and Trojans Battle for Top Spot in the East

Orlando Mendez-Valdez scored 24 points, including going 6-for-10 on 3-pointers, to lead Western Kentucky in a 67-59 win over South Alabama on Saturday and keep them atop the SBC.  But they will face the  East Division’s hottest team, Troy, this Saturday at the Trojan Arena in Alabama. Each are riding on win streaks; with the Trojans having won eight in a row while the Toppers are four-deep in their own stretch.  “I would like it a little more stretched out, but it is what is. You go on the road, it’s going to be tough”, said Toppers Coach Ken McDonald.

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Damon Lewis, a reporter and play-by-play announcer for the Horizon League Network, is RTC’s Horizon League correspondent.

1. Butler (#15/15)  12-1, 21-2
2. Green Bay   11-3, 19-7
3. Cleveland State  9-5, 18-8
4. Wright State   9-5, 15-10
5. Milwaukee   9-5, 14-10
6. Youngstown State  6-8, 9-15
7. Loyola    4-10, 12-14
8. UIC    4-10, 11-13
9. Valparaiso   3-10, 6-18
10. Detroit    2-12, 7-17

This edition of the HL “check in” comes smack dab in the middle of a whirlwind tour of the Horizon League.  Loyola to Cleveland State to Butler to Valparaiso…four games in six days, all in an effort to sew up my notes on as many teams as possible heading into the Horizon League Championship, which begins on March 3rd.  Some things are already crystal clear while others remain murky, much like the weather we deal with here in the Midwest this time of year.  Two weeks ago it was snow measured in feet and this week it’s been unseasonable warmth, followed by wind and rain.  It’s a nice sign that March is right around the corner, but for now the return of the winter chill is a reminder that this time of year features “Mock Selection Thursday” and not “Selection Sunday.”

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JC of HBCUSportsBlog is the RTC correspondent for the SWAC and MEAC Conferences.

Just when you were starting to get those early brackets together and were set to peg the SWAC as the 65th seed, the top two teams in the conference may have you thinking otherwise.

Alabama State and Jackson State are coming down the stretch for the top seed in the conference and the inglorious mockery of the college hoops nation heading into March Madness. But there’s a lot more to the Hornets and Jaguars than being a play-in place holder.

Here’s the scoop on the this week in the SWAC.

THIS WEEK – Alabama State was this close to being undefeated in the SWAC conference. A hiccup against Alcorn State is the Hornets’ lone defeat of 2009, and one of two in the last 14 games. Jackson State has traveled a similar road, with two winning streaks of four games or better in 2009, and only two conference losses to Prairie View A&M and…Alabama State.

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Michael Hurley is the RTC correspondent for the Pac-10 Conference. 

My checking in on the Pac-10 this week is a breakdown of each teams’ chances at postseason.

Locks

UCLA

Overall: 19-4  Conference: 8-2
Home: 13-1  Road: 4-2  Neutral: 2-1
Last 10: 8-2
Good Wins: at USC, Arizona, California, USC
Bad Losses: Michigan (neutral),

The Bruins have really picked it up under Ben Howland and won 15 of their last 17.  This is the team that was ranked four in the country in the preseason. Darren Collison is leading this tear, while freshman Jrue Holiday scored in double figures three straight games  for the first time this season before facing Notre Dame. They have held home court with only Arizona State beating them at the Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are in the driver’s seat in the Pac-10 the rest of the way. They have won their last four games by an average of over 22 points a game. Out of the four losses Michigan is the only inexcusable one, at Texas, at Washington, and even at home against Arizona State are not big deals.  At this point they are just fighting for seeding, right now I would have them at a three seed.

Washington

Overall: 17-6 Conference: 8-3
Home: 12-2 Road: 5-3 Neutral: 0-1
Last 10: 7-3
Good Wins:  USC, UCLA, at Arizona State
Bad Losses: at Portland

Only one loss out of first place is not a bad situation for the Huskies. They have held home court well in the Pac-10 going 3-1, with the only loss a triple overtime game against California. They have managed to go 5-2 on the road in the Pac-10 so far.  The early season losses to Florida and Kansas will hurt them, but only when it comes to seeding. Isaiah Thomas is going to be a force for years to come. Right now I would put them at a six seed.

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Kevin McCarthy of Parsing the WAC and Sam Wasson of bleedCrimson.net are the RTC correspondents for the WAC.

Playing for second. The Utah State Aggies can wrap up a share of the regular season WAC title this week with a win over Idaho. And if they are to do it, they’ll have to do it on the road. Utah State is 11-0 in league play and is looking to complete the first undefeated season since TCU turned the trick in the 1997-98 season at 14-0 and then a year later when Utah also completed the feat going 14-0. In both cases the teams were playing in the then (and first) 16 team league and won their division. The race for the league’s 2-seed in the conference tournament is heating up as five teams are within two games of each other with anywhere from five (NM State) to seven (Idaho) league games remaining.

Current Standings:

1. #17/21 Utah State (11-0, 23-1)
2. Boise State (6-4, 16-7)
3. Nevada (6-4, 13-10)
4. New Mexico State (6-5, 12-12)
5. Idaho (4-5, 10-12)
6.  San Jose State (4-7, 12-11)
7. Hawai’i (4-7, 12-11)
8. Louisiana Tech (3-8, 9-15)
9. Fresno State (2-7, 10-14)

Official Player of the Week: For the third time this season, Utah State’s Gary Wilkinson has been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.  Versus New Mexico State, he scored 18 points and nabbed 11 boards. He didn’t miss all night — going 5-5 from the floor and 8-8 at the foul line. Wilkinson then added 16 points against Louisiana Tech.

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College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This Week in the A-10
By CCT Staff | February 9, 2009

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Aaron Jackson (Sr.), Duquesne.

The leader of the Dukes had another huge week, averaging 25 points, 5.5 rebounds, and three assists in two games.  In Duquesne’s upset of No. 9 Xavier, Jackson scored a game-high 21 points, including five clutch free throws in the final 31 seconds of the game.  Jackson netted 29 points and grabbed six rebounds earlier in the week in a loss at Saint Louis.  In the seven day span, Jackson shot 52% (17-of-33) from the field and connected on 15-of-18 from the foul line.

HONORABLE MENTION:  Lavoy Allen (So.), Temple; Kevin Lisch (Sr.), Saint Louis;  Ahmad Nivins (Sr.), Saint Joseph’s

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Rob Dauster of Ballin is a Habit is the RTC correspondent for the Big East Conference.

It is time to stop talking about the Big East as the best conference in college hoops. In the current installment of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, the Big East is getting seven teams in. That’s one fewer than the ACC and one more than the Pac-10. In fact, if we are talking in terms of percentage of league members to get a bid, the Big East slides all the way down to fourth as the Big Televen sends five teams.

Of course, if you look a little deeper, things could turn around pretty quickly. Cincinnati and Georgetown are Lunardi’s first two teams out while Providence is his sixth team out. He also has teams like Kansas State, Arizona, USC, and Boston College currently in the field. Maybe I’m a Big East homer (I don’t think I am) and maybe I just don’t know enough about the other teams and conferences (believe me, not true), but I find it tough to believe that those four teams are going to continue to win at the rate they currently are.

My question is why has the Big East gone from the “toughest conference in the history of conferences” to one with only the fourth highest percentage of teams into the dance this season?

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Allen R of Houston Basketball Junkies is the RTC correspondent for Conference USA.

Conference Standings.

1. Memphis:   20-3 (8-0)
2. Tulsa:   17-7 (7-2)
3. UAB:   16-8 (6-3)
4. Houston:   14-7 (5-3)
5. UCF:   15-8 (5-4)
6. UTEP:   13-9 (4-4)
7. East Carolina:   12-10 (4-5)
8. Southern Miss:   13-9 (3-5)
9. Marshall:   11-13 (3-6) 
10. Tulane:   9-13 (3-6)
11. Rice:   7-15 (2-6)
12. SMU:   7-14 (1-7)

Slowly but surely, Conference USA basketball has rounded back into the form that’s earned it the nickname of: Memphis and the 11 dwarves in recent seasons.  I don’t want to completely trash every other team in the league, because there are some good teams and good players out there. Just because things are so ‘top-heavy’ in CUSA basketball, that’s not an excuse to completely ignore everyone else.  But the underlying fact remains: nobody besides Memphis has played well enough up to this point to earn a trip to the big dance.

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Josh & Mike of Big Ten Geeks are the RTC correspondents for the Big Ten Conference.

Looking Back

Amazing what can change in a week.  Just a week ago, we were detailing how Michigan State’s armor was beginning to crack, and how Purdue seemed poised to jump through that door of opportunity.  Consider that door to be nearly closed.  Purdue has since lost two games in the interim, including an 18 point pounding in Champaign.  Meanwhile, the Spartans were inflicting some pain of their own with a pair of 25+ point wins over Minnesota and Indiana.  By efficiency margin, Michigan State has pulled away from the rest of the conference, and is actually starting to look like a Final Four contender.  But they still have two showdowns against the Boilers to get through (the first coming after a week off after last night’s matchup against Michigan).

The other team of the week is Wisconsin, who won at Penn State and against Illinois at home to pull themselves out of the basement in the Big Ten.  They’re not quite to .500 yet in conference play, but this is a better team than their record.  Keep in mind, they still have two games against Indiana left on the schedule.

Oh yeah, speaking of those Hoosiers, they finally got their first win in the Big Ten!  So it looks like Northwestern won’t be getting any company in the record books this season.

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