Fantasy College Hoops: Update - Week 14

[Monday] College basketball's annual rivalry week showcased two résumé-building road wins. In the first head-to-head matchup of teams ranked in the top five, Jay Wright and #4 Villanova (+5.5) went into rough and rowdy Morgantown to knock off #5 West Virginia 82-75. It was a confidence restoring win for the Wildcats, after getting manhandled by Georgetown last week. In the late game, Bill Self and #1 Kansas (-2) recorded their first win in Austin since he became the head coach in Lawrence. Texas looked in complete disarray for much of the night, and the Jayhawks managed to throw in a 22-0 run over a 10:55 stretch in the first half. The only starting player in action last night was God's on my side's Ashton Gibbs (20pts, 3reb, 2ast), as Pittsburgh took a breather from rugged Big East play to bury Robert Morris 77-53. Gibbs' only shots taken were from behind the arc (4-10) and the charity stripe (8-8)... but that's nothing new.

[Tuesday] Despite a respectable 17-5 record - and three of those losses coming on the road to Purdue, Georgia Tech and Duke - Wake Forest remains unranked after downing Boston College 92-85 last night . Two Demon Deacons in particular, Al-Farouq Aminu (22pts, 8reb, 2ast, 4blk, 1stl) and newly acquired Ishmael Smith (9pts, 3reb, 11ast, 2stl), helped The Pink Jellybeans and Crimson & Bluebloods off to fast starts. Kentucky overcame another slow start, before pulling away from Ole Miss 66-55 in Lexington. Freshman phenom John Wall (22pts, 10reb, 2ast, 1blk, 3stl) still managed to double-double, despite matching a season-low two assists. And just after ending a decade long winless streak in Bloomington last week, Matt Painter and #6 Purdue (+2.5) went into the Breslin Center and handed #10 Michigan State a loss for the first time since 1998. E'Twaun Moore (25pts, 3reb, 6ast, 1stl) was clutch, knocking down four 3-pointers before delivering the final dagger, a smooth teardrop runner in the lane.

[Wednesday] With the league's last playoff spot hanging in the balance, The Pink Jellybeans dodged a major bullet. Although Booo Joel got a double-double from Craig Brackins (12pts, 14reb, 3stl), he only shot 5-for-16 from the floor. Overcoming a 2-player disadvantage is going to be one tough order now.

In the Game of the week, Neenan's Warriors underachieved while Crimson & Bluebloods fell flat on their faces last night. Courtney Fortson (17pts, 6reb, 5ast, 2stl) only logged 25 minutes, hardly playing in the second half of Arkansas' 87-52 blowout of LSU. Ekpe Udoh (8pts, 9reb, 3ast, 6blk) attempted a season-low four shots, but did hit the go-ahead bucket with :25 left in Baylor's 55-53 win at Nebraska. But last night was a disaster for the league's top-ranked squad, who's been struggling to put up points as of late. As it turns out, Ed Davis (4pts, 5reb, 1ast, 6blk) broke his wrist against Duke and will miss the rest of the season.

[Thursday] The last four nights have set the table for an exciting weekend of college hoops. The early game showcased Michigan's dynamic duo: Manny Harris (20pts, 4reb, 7ast, 2stl) and DeShawn Sims (27pts, 7reb, 1ast) raised the Wolverines' disappointing record to 12-12. Sims was Chalmers Chiefers first starting player to see action this week. While his opponent, Paul Rudd > Ashley Judd, only has one player remaining. We'll see if they can pull off the comeback over this weekend's games.

The matchup between Gordon Bombay and God's on my side is shaping up for a fantastic finish as well. Mike Montgomery and #13 California (-5.5) swept their regular season series with #24 Washington, a 93-81 home victory. Jerome Randle (33pts, 3reb, 3ast) buried a season-high 12 field goals, including 3-for-5 from downtown. But these teams' heavy hitters (i.e. Harangody, Varnado, James and Thompkins) have yet to see the floor. So it looks like this one could come right down to the wire...

[Friday] Round #2 of the Backyard Brawl ended as a triple-overtime thriller, with #23 Pittsburgh handing #4 West Virginia their second loss this week. Although the final score wasn't in their favor, a pair of Mountaineers - Da'Sean Butler (32pts, 11reb, 3ast, 2blk) and Devin Ebanks (17pts, 10reb, 4ast) - recorded double-doubles and combined to play for more than 100 minutes.

[Saturday] With the final playoff spot up for grabs, the Game of the week appears to be headed for a Valentine's Day showdown. Unfortunately for Neenan's Warriors, the reliable duo of Devan Downey (18pts, 2reb, 3ast) and Dominique Jones (16pts, 9reb, 1ast, 2blk) only managed to score 13 fantasy points a piece. That leaves the backdoor open for the projected #1 seed in the upcoming playoffs, Crimson & Bluebloods, to help The Pink Jellybeans into the playoffs.

WGP continued his hot streak, downing Boilers in an unexpected upset. With his second 40+ outing in as many weeks, Lazar Hayward (18pts, 14reb, 2blk, 3stl) notched his third double-double in Marquette's last five games. Gordon Bombay's Trey Thompkins (21pts, 10reb, 4ast, 1blk) recorded his first double-double since Week 8.

[Sunday] Despite not getting a single player to double-double, Crimson & Bluebloods dashed Neenan's Warriors postseason dreams, springing The Pink Jellybeans into the playoffs as the #8 seed. Greg Monroe (19pts, 8reb, 6ast, 4blk) did a little bit of everything in Georgetown's loss at Rutgers. While Mac Koshwal (11pts, 10reb, 5ast, 2blk, 2stl) led a scoring resurgence for Chalmers Chiefers, as they ended a 4-game losing streak by defeating Paul Rudd > Ashley Judd.

This week's most heartbreaking loss belongs to God's on my side. Luke Harangody suffered a severe knee bruise, after hyper-extending it against Seton Hall earlier in the week. He did not end up playing against St. John's today, which could have been surely been a shoe-in victory. Although there was no ligament or cartilage damage found on an MRI, Harangody will likely miss extended action. Reports indicate his first game back could be as late as February 24th against Pittsburgh. For now, it looks like God's on my side is going to have to battle through the first round of the playoffs without their wounded warrior.

Here's a look at the current scoreboard:

Fantasy College Hoops: Update - Week 14