The Emery Board: Week 6 Well, that was fun

College basketball has not seen a team go undefeated since Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0 in 1975-1976. The closest we have seen since then was a Jameer Nelson-led St. Joseph's team that went 27-0 in the 2003-2004 season before losing to Xavier in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Every season a team flirts with the notion of an undefeated season, but every season that notion slowly fades as January turns to February and February turns to March. BYU's senior guard Jackson Emery, has made the bold prediction that his team, a Cougar squad that finished with a 27-4 record last season, will in fact go undefeated this season.

We have decided that, in honor of Emery's swagger, we will keep a watch on the BYU Cougar's schedule, see if they can walk-the-walk. We will also keep tabs on any other undefeated teams who try to make a run at the perfect season.

Week 6:
It's over. It's all over.

It wasn't suppose to happen this way.

Jackson Emery said they wouldn't lose. Not to UCLA, not to anybody.

What the hell man?

You say your team is going to go undefeated, which presumably means you will win the NCAA tournament, and you can't beat UCLA? for shame Jackson, for shame.

“It’s tough to handle. You don’t want to lose, ever. I don’t think anyone thought we’d go undefeated. [But] we expect to go out and perform, and we didn’t."

That's what Jimmer Fredette had to say following the team's first lost. He is clearly forgetting that Emery thought they'd go undefeated.

This was a huge win for the Bruins, a consistently inconsistent team that was hosting the John Wooden Classic. The "Wizard of Westwood" was not there to watch them play, but you know he was looking over them. Jimmer Fredette lead all scorers for the ninth time this season with 25 points. But Fredette also had seven turnovers. The UCLA frontcourt dominated the undersized Cougars, with 55 of the team's 86 points.

Jackson Emery had 15 points as well as two steals. The two steals gave the guard 179 career steals, bringing him within three steals of tying Marty Haws to take over the second place spot in all-time BYU steals. Emery remains just 16 steals behind Danny Ainge who holds the all-time steals record with 195 during his time as a Cougar. Emery is also just two treys away from tying Mike Rose in all-time three-point field goals at BYU. With 161 career threes, three more three-pointers would bring the senior guard into fourth place all time in treys made at BYU, right behind Jimmer Fredette who has made 198 career three-pointers.

But despite the records Emery is close to breaking, the one record he won't get close to is 32-0.

Next Game: 12/21 at Weber State

Next Potential Loss: Who cares?


BYU might have ruined my plans for an epic "Ankiel Watch" level of prediction, but there are still nine teams left that have a shot at the undefeated season. So we might as well use this space to document their chances.

Other Undefeated Teams

No. 1 Duke: 10-0
Next Game: 12/20 vs. Elon
Next Potential Loss: 1/2 vs. Miami

Duke won't go undefeated this year. Sorry it just won't happen. That was a sexy statement to make following the Michigan State game, but without Kyrie Irving, you can forget about 32-0. But, of all nine unbeaten teams remaining, I give Duke the best chance to be the last team in the country to get a tally in the loss column. The ACC isn't great, but teams come ready to play every night when they have Duke sitting in the visiting locker room. Circle the Dukie's first conference road game (1/12 @ Florida State) as a possible end-date for that unblemished record. If they can get past that game, it could be February before Duke loses a game.


No. 2 Ohio State: 10-0
Next Game: 12/21 vs. UNC-Ashville
Next Potential Loss: 12/23 vs. Oakland

The Buckeyes very well be the best team in America. Right about now, a Duke/tOSU National Championship game would be one helluva game to watch. It's very possible that the Buckeyes make it to mid-January before they lose for the first time. Then again, they play upset-minded Oakland before the end of 2010, so you never know. Jerrod Sullinger is currently the best freshman in the country and is definitely a current contender for national player of the year award contention. But again, they cannot look past Oakland. the first-year big-man will be matched up against Keith Benson,a 6-foot-1l senior who would see his NBA draft stock soar with a big performance against Sullinger. But, in all honest, the most likely date for tOSU's first loss is January 22 at Illinois. And that's a long ways away.


No. 3 Kansas: 9-0
Next Game: 12/22 at California
Next Potential Loss: 1/17 at No.9 Baylor

For some reason, people thought Kansas would have a "down year" this season, and I just didn't see it. Now that they have a true playmaker in their lineup, the Jayhawks are looking like the best team in the Big-12 and a true National Championship contender. With upcoming games against Cal, Miami (OH), Missouri-Kansas City, and Michigan, I don't see a loss anywhere in the team's near future.I predict their first loss to come somewhere during a four-game stretch in late January (@ Baylor, vs. Texas, @ Colorado, vs. Kansas State).


No. 4 Connecticut: 8-0
Next Game: 12/20 vs. Coppin State
Next Potential Loss: 12/27 at No. 8 Pittsburgh

The Huskies have been the surprise team of the year. We all knew they could be good, but not this good. But unfortunately they play in the Big East, which means losses will come. If they can get past Pittsburgh next week, they will still have to face Notre Dame and Texas in back-to back games in early January. UConn has been playing with allot of moxy recently, and a loss can take a lot of that away. The last thing a young team like this needs is to hit a rough patch. Like I said, they play in the Big East, and I think hitting a rough patch is unavoidable.


No. 5 Syracuse: 10-0
Next Game: 12/20 vs. Morgan State
Next Potential Loss: 12/28 vs. Providence

The 'Cuse have as good a chance as Duke or tOSU in being the last remaining unbeaten team in the country, and they can thank their schedule for that. their next five games are against Morgan State, Drexel, Providence, Notre Dame and Seton Hall. Syracuse better not sleep on Drexel, because we all know what they are capable of. Providence is much better this year but still cant' match up with the bigs of 'Cuse. Notre Dame seems like the most difficult opponent for Syracuse in the near future. If the Orange can get past The Dragons and the Fighting Irish, it could be the end of January before they lose for the first time.


No. 11 San Diego State: 10-0
Next Game: 12/21 vs. San Francisco
Next Potential Loss: 1/5 at TCU

The Aztecs may be the best team west of the Rocky Mountains. In the 90-year history of the program, this is the best start and best ranking they have ever had. Playing in the Mountain West does have it's benefits, but for SDSU five of their first six conference games are against top teams (@ Utah, vs. UNLV, @ New Mexico, vs. Air Force, @ BYU). As good as the Aztecs are, I just don't see them making it through that stretch unblemished.


Central Florida: 10-0
Next Game: 12/22 at UMass
Next Potential Loss: 1/5 vs. Marshall

I can't imagine anybody int he country pegged this team to start out the season 10-0. The team is ranked third in the country in field-goal percentage and is in the top-30 in scoring. The problem is, Marcus Jordan, who was leading the team with 16ppg, suffered a high-ankle sprain in the team's come-from-behind victory over Miami. Jordan had been the team's playmaker and go-to scorer and I just don't think the team can continue to play at the level they were playing at without the services of Jordan.


Cincinnati: 8-0
Next Game: 12/21 vs. Miami (OH)
Next Potential Loss: 12/31 vs. Seton Hall

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise to see the Bearcats undefeated at this point. Their toughest opponent thus far was Dayton, and although they double-dipped them 68-34, Cinncy hasn't been tested yet. We will really see what this team is made of come early January when they have to play Xavier, at Villanova, and at Syracuse in just nine days.


Northwestern: 5-0
Next Game: 12/20 vs. St. Francis (NY)
Next Potential Loss: 12/31 at No.19 Purdue

Is this the season Northwestern finally makes it to the big dance? It could be, it really could. They haven't played too tough of a schedule, but wins against American and Georgia Tech are a good building block. If this team makes it past the first week of January unblemished I will dye my hair purple. Why? because they open Big Ten play at Purdue, followed up with Michigan State at home, then have to play a road game at Illinois. That is not a fun way to start conference play.


Drop-Outs

No. 7 Tennessee: 7-2
First Loss Oakland 89-82
It was just seven days ago that writers across the country were praising Bruce Pearl and his team for the poise they have showed early in the season. Then, just like that, they lose back-to-back games against Oakland and Charlotte. The Oakland game is excusable, but not the Charlotte game. This is not a good place to be if your a volunteers fans. Two bad losses and now they have to play a scrappy-USC team that was a turnover away from beating Kansas. Things do not look good for Bruce Pearl and his squad.


No. 9 Baylor: 7-1
First Loss: Gonzaga 68-64

We all wondered if Baylor was for real. Their schedule had been filled with more cupcakes than an episode of Cake Boss. But the Bears got beat by a Gonzaga team missing their best player. Despite how well laceDarius Dunn is playing, it looks like the Bears are seriously missing Tweety Carter at the point. Baylor is going to be a good team, but they won't win the Big-12, that's for certain.


No. 20 Louisville: 9-1
First Loss: Drexel 52-46

The Cardinals got out-rebounded by nearly 25 en route to an ugly loss to the dragons during exam week. It's not an ugly loss in the sense that it will look bad on their resume, but ugly in a sense that, damn the game was ugly. At times neither team could hit the broad side of a barn, but every time either team missed, it was Drexel getting the rebounds.


Cleveland State: 12-1
First Loss: at West Virginia 74-63
Cleveland State's loss to West Virginia isn't a deflating one. The Vikings had a bunch of guys in foul trouble, and they couldn't stop Casey Mitchell. But the Vikings are set up to do big things in the Horizon League this year. Norris Cole is a stud and don't be surprised if it's CSU and not Butler representing the Horizon League in the Big Dance.



The Bottom of the Barrel:

It would be rude of us to include the "have's" and but not the "have-not's". After all, planetary balance is very essential. For every team that hasn't lost a game, there has to be a team still fighting for their first win.

Alcorn State: 0-8
Next Game: 12/21 at South Alabama (4-5)
First Potential Win: 1/4 vs. Prairie View A&M (2-10)

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 0-10
Next Game: 12/21 at Denver (3-9)
First Potential Win: 12/21 at Denver (3-9)

Centenary: 0-12
Next Game: 12/20 at Wyoming (5-6)
First Potential Win: 1/15 vs. Southern Utah (3-8)

Centenary will be moving to the D-III level after this season, so most the scholarship players have bolted already. It is very possible that this team does not win a single game all season.


Colgate: 0-9
Next Game: 12/22 at Albany (6-6)
First Potential Win: 1/2 at Longwood (3-10)

With Holy Cross' stunning 18-point victory over Marist, Colgate is now the lone winless team in the Patriot League. If the Red Raiders can't beat Longwood, it might be a long time before they find their first W.


Maryland-Baltimore County: 0-11
Next Game: 12/22 at No.24 Notre Dame (10-1)
First Potential Win: 12/30 vs. Niagara (3-8)

The Retrievers are bad, really bad. But luckily their are some other really bad teams in the America East Conference (Hartford and Binghamton). UMBC will win a game this season. It won't be soon, but they will get a W.

UNC Greensboro: 0-10
Next Game: 12/22 vs. Richmond (8-3)
First Potential Win: 1/10 vs. Elon (4-6)

You just gotta feel for the Spartans. They were one possession away from winning their first game of the season, against Wake Forest no less. I know we all make fun of Wake Forest for being terrible this year, but still, a win over a BCS-conference team would have been huge for UNCG. But now it's back to the drawing board.