6 Left

       As of this afternoon in snowy Clover, South Carolina there remain 6 undefeated teams in conference play. Syracuse, Wichita State, St.Louis, Delaware, Georgia State, and Stephen F. Austin.            
       Conference play is extremely compelling to me. Obviously for the one bid leagues it is the ultimate. Which brings me to the San Diego State team. Comfortable in the national polls, an undefeated mountain west conference record going into Laramie, the Aztecs showed me something last night. It was as if it had been a chore to show up, let alone play basketball. And I get that. That is why Wyoming does have a "home-court" advantage, if you choose to call it that. Judging by last nights crowd, it wasn't a sell out but nonetheless the arena-auditorium(that's the name) faithful supported their Cowboys to a 68-62 victory. It was kind of uncomfortably cool to watch the fans storm the court and celebrate a huge win for Wyoming, knowing that this probably will be their highlight of the season. And that is in no way demeaning the effort of everybody involved with Wyoming basketball, just observing. San Diego State fell behind early and surged back at the end of the game cutting the once 16 point lead to 4. If the Aztecs make a 3, their 4th to last offensive possession, I think the Aztecs win. However they did not and despite the loss, I have no questions with the Aztecs. Simply, they have met that proverbial wall and unless you lost money, you are probably the only one that cares. When the horn sounded and a hesitant crowd rushed the court, the Aztec players went straight to the locker room. No handshake, which I thought was odd at the time but then I think that the players had to believe they mailed it in and they wanted to get the heck out of there. Yes, they probably were tired with the elevation factor but they had to, right then, know what they did wrong.  By no means am I condoning their effort or performance just observing. Because if you were also watching the game, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
       Syracuse 10-0 in the ACC(23-0 overall), number one, check. And if you came here to read Syracuse basketball, this ain't the place. Wichita State Wheat Shockers 13-0 in the Valley(26-0 overall), number four in the polls, check. St. Louis Billikens 9-0 in the A-10(22-2 overall), number 12 in the polls(number 1 in my heart), check, and could have an absolute gush fest on why they are my favorite team to watch. Stephen F. Austin, check. The Lumberjacks play out of the Southland conference and are similar to Weber State in that they have really good runs in the regular season but can't get over their bugaboo. In Weber's case it seems to be Montana and in Stephen F. Austin's case it seems to be Northwestern State.  In any case the 'Jacks sit atop the Southland at 11-0(22-2 overall). Delaware, check. Ahh Delaware. The Fightin' Blue Hens lead the Colonial Athletic Association at 10-0(18-7 overall). Strange for Delaware in that they have lost two starters for the month of February, Jarvis Threatt(yes, Sedale is related, albeit a cousin) and Marvin King-Davis due to school violations. They should get these guys back in March. Georgia State 10-0 in the Sun Belt, (17-6 overall), check.  The Panthers coached by Ron Hunter, is in his second season at Georgia State and previously led IUPUI to the NCAA tournament and coached George Hill, for you NBA fans.
       Looking forward to the Duke-UNC game tonight but looking more forward to the George Washington-VCU game.