The Bat Cave

TOP 25:

1. Kentucky (8-0)
Last Week: #1
Comments: Well, any doubts about whether or not this team is worthy of the #1 ranking should be erased after edging North Carolina this week.

2. Ohio State (8-0)
Last Week: #2
Comments: Looked like the best team in the nation while easily disposing of Duke.

3. Syracuse (8-0)
Last Week: #5
Comments: The zone defense of The Orange proved too much for Florida.

4. Louisville (7-0)
Last Week: #9
Comments: Louisville has earned this spot and are definitely better than I thought they’d be. Regardless, I don’t think they are top 4 caliber or even the best team in the Big East.

5. Duke (7-1)
Last Week: #3
Comments: Duke was probably the most impressive team in the nation up until the spanking they received from Ohio State. That game really exposed the lack of leadership on the Blue Devils roster.

6. Connecticut (7-1)
Last Week: #7
Comments: I still think this is the best team in the Big East and they just got even better this past week: freshman point guard Ryan Boatright went off for 23 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists in his second game of eligibility.

7. Baylor (7-0)
Last Week: #8
Comments: Perry Jones in his first game back from suspension: 27 points, 6 rebounds.

8. North Carolina (6-2)
Last Week: #4
Comments: If anything, losing by 1 @ #1 Kentucky shows just how good this team is. Wouldn’t be surprising to see those two teams match up again in March for the national title.

9. Xavier (6-0)
Last Week: #11
Comments: The Musketeers had a monster week with defining wins over Vanderbilt and Purdue.

10. Missouri (7-0)
Last Week: #18
Comments: Missouri has won every game by at least 15 points.

11. Marquette (7-0)
Last Week: #15
Comments: Marquette made quite the statement with a convincing win against a #9 Wisconsin team that had won 23 straight games at home.

12. Alabama (7-1)
Last Week: #10
Comments: Crimson Tide took it’s first loss of the season to a surprising Georgetown team.

13. Mississippi State (8-1)
Last Week: #19
Comments: Beating West Virginia only adds to an already impressive resume. What in the world happened against Akron?

14. Florida (5-2)
Last Week: #6
Comments: Florida definitely doesn’t have any bad losses, but the final score against Syracuse made the game look a lot closer than it felt. Syracuse dominated the Gators with their size and zone defense.

15. Pittsburgh (7-1)
Last Week: #12
Comments: This team is officially a wild card: Travon Woodall was putting up surprisingly awesome numbers (14.1 ppg, 8.3 apg), but is now sidelined for at least a month; super freshman Khem Birch hasn’t made much of an impact; and Pitt barely beat a pretty weak Tennessee team this past week. Ashton Gibbs is amazing, but trouble could be ahead for the Panthers.

16. Kansas (5-2)
Last Week: #21
Comments:

17. Georgetown (7-1)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: Should be universally ranked after wins over two top 12 teams and a close loss to Kansas.

18. Michigan (6-2)
Last Week: #16

19. Wisconsin (6-2)
Last Week: #14
Comments: The Badgers played North Carolina tough on the road and then lost at home to Marquette.

20. UNLV (8-1)
Last Week: #20
Comments: We’ll call it a wash this week. UNLV beat a good UC-Santa Barbara team and then lost to a good Wichita State team.

21. Memphis (4-2)
Last Week: #23

22. Harvard (8-0)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, (n)UCF
Comments: If Harvard can upset Connecticut this week, there’s a reasonable chance they could enter the NCAA tournament undefeated.

23. Creighton (7-0)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: The Blue Jays posted their first quality win of the season by beating San Diego State and should be ranked in most polls tomorrow. Sophomore Doug McDermott is averaging 23.7 points and 9 rebounds a game. Dude is sick.

24. San Diego State (8-2)
Last Week: #22
Comments: Overlooked in all the polls last week, SDSU responded by playing a tough game against Creighton and beating California.

25. Gonzaga (5-1)
Last Week: #17
Comments: Gonzaga lost their first real test of the season.

DROPPED OUT:

22. Vanderbilt (5-3)
Last Week: #13
Comments: Festus Ezili is no longer suspended but is still injured and his absence could arguably be the difference between the Commodores being a top 10 team and probably not being ranked tomorrow.

BUBBLE:

Arizona (6-2)

California (6-2)

Cleveland State (8-1)

Florida State (5-3)

Illinois (8-0)

Indiana (8-0)

Michigan State (6-2)

Purdue (7-2)

Saint Louis (7-1)

Stanford (8-1)

Temple (4-2)

Texas A&M (6-1)

Virginia (7-1)

AP Poll
* 1.Kentucky (47)
* 2.Ohio St. (18)
* 3.Syracuse
* 4.North Carolina
* 5.Louisville
* 6.Baylor
* 7.Duke
* 8.Xavier
* 9.Connecticut
* 10.Missouri
* 11.Marquette
* 12.Florida
* 13.Kansas
* 14.Wisconsin
* 15.Pittsburgh
* 16.Alabama
* 17.Mississippi St.
* 18.Georgetown
* 19.Creighton
* 20.Michigan
* 21.Memphis
* 22.Texas A&M
* 23.Gonzaga
* 24.Illinois
* 25.Harvard

Comparison/Contrast:

-There’s no doubting the fact that North Carolina is one of the two or three best teams in the nation, but I don’t see how you can keep them in the top 5 with two losses right now while dropping UNLV completely out just because they lost to… Wichita State, a pretty damn good team last time I checked. It’s not like that UNLV-UNC game was all that close.

-:lol @ UCONN actually dropping a spot after Ryan Boatright becomes active and drops 37 points in his first two games.

-Alabama and Mississippi State are definitely being underrated. After the week Wisconsin had and with Pittsburgh losing Travon Woodall, I don’t see how you can reasonably have either of those teams ranked ahead of the former two.

-I’m big on Creighton–I was tempted to put them in my top 25 in the preseason–but jumping them all the way to #19 seems a little trigger happy. San Diego State is their only signature win so far and this same poll doesn’t even think that’s a top 25 team. I don’t know in what world the Blue Jays resume is unquestionably more impressive than UNLV’s.

-Am I the only person that thinks Texas A&M is not a top 25 team without Khris Middleton? It’s not like the Aggies have done anything noteworthy.

-Yeah, your boy was on time with Harvard. Nice of you to catch up, rest of the nation. Look at their remaining schedule and tell me they don’t have a reasonable chance to finish the regular season undefeated. If they pull that off, I wonder how far they climb up the national rankings. It’s not like they’ll have the same kind of resumes SDSU or BYU did last year.

-I don’t have any qualms with Illinois being ranked this week; it’s certainly no surprise… BUT… if you’re going to do it, do it right. One spot below Gonzaga. Really?

-San Diego State is snubbed for the second straight week. The Aztecs now have two wins over nationally ranked teams and their two losses were against Baylor and a Creighton team that is now ranked in the top 20. I’m supposed to believe they’ve been less impressive than, say, Texas A&M because the Aggies beat…. uh… St. John’s?