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h1

College Basketball Top 25: MacRankings

January 8, 2012

What a wild week. College basketball proved that the national title is up for grabs this year and the amount of parity in the game is quite sickening. Temple can beat a team like Duke and then get beat by Dayton. Rutgers has taken down Florida and Connecticut. Seton Hall might be nationally ranked tomorrow. The Hoosiers are a top ten program right now. Colorado is on top of the PAC-12 standings. Xavier was 8-0 a couple weeks ago, looked like a top ten program, got in a fight with Cincinnati and are now 10-5. What’s going on?

TOP 25:

1. Syracuse (17-0)
Last Week: #1

2. Kentucky (15-1)
Last Week: #2

3. Baylor (15-0)
Last Week: #3

4. Ohio State (15-2)
Last Week: #4

5. North Carolina (14-2)
Last Week: #6

6. Duke (13-2)
Last Week: #5

7. Missouri (14-1)
Last Week: #8

8. Michigan State (14-2)
Last Week: #12

9. Indiana (15-1)
Last Week: #15

10. Georgetown (13-2)
Last Week: #9

11. Louisville (13-3)
Last Week: #10

12. Michigan (13-3)
Last Week: #11

13. Kansas (12-3)
Last Week: #17

14. UNLV (16-2)
Last Week: #13

15. Connecticut (12-3)
Last Week: #7

16. San Diego State (13-2)
Last Week: #20

17. Murray State (16-0)
Last Week: #21

18. Virginia (14-1)
Last Week: #23

19. Gonzaga (13-2)
Last Week: #25

20. Kansas State (11-2)
Last Week: #22

21. Mississippi State (13-3)
Last Week: #16

22. Seton Hall (14-2)
Last Week: Unranked

23. Alabama (12-3)
Last Week: Unranked

24. Wisconsin (12-5)
Last Week: #19

25. Marquette (12-4)
Last Week: #14

DROPPED OUT:

18. Florida (12-4)
Last Week: #18

24. Harvard (13-2)
Last Week: #24

BUBBLE:

Cincinnati (12-4)
Creighton (13-2)
Illinois (14-3)
New Mexico (14-2)
St. Mary’s (14-2)
Temple (10-4)
Vanderbilt (11-4)

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h1

Some Interesting Poker Hands.

January 6, 2012

Here are some interesting hands from some of the poker tournaments I’ve played this past week.

First hand is from the final table of an All-Star Lanes tournament. I have 16,000 in chips and blinds are 1500-3000. It folds to the hi-jack (two off the button) and he limps in, leaving 7500 behind. I’m in the cut off with QdTd. My hand should do fairly well against my opponent’s range, but playing my hand creates several problems. First off, limping in for 20% of my stack with a weak Q high hand is not a great play. Secondly, any of the three players left to act behind me could raise and based on their stack sizes, I might have to call. Raising might seem like a decent option, but I don’t like my hand enough against his range to play for stacks and let’s be real: this dude is calling me if I put him all-in. He might not like his hand enough to raise it himself, but it’s rare that I see these weak players limp in for 30% of their stack and then fold to a raise. Folding is the right play here and you’ll soon see why. I call. The button goes all-in for 10,500. Both blinds fold, but the first limper calls for the rest of his stack, which is exactly 10,500 total. The uneducated player might think this is an easy fold, but they’d be wrong. With both players all-in for 10,500, 4500 in dead blind money, and 3000 from my limp, there’s 28,000 in the pot and it’s 7500 more for me to call. I’m getting 3.8 to 1 pot odds which means they could both show me AQ and I’d still be right to call. Even though calling in this spot is clearly correct, the situation shows why limping in the first place is wrong. The last thing I want to do at this stage of the tournament is play a huge pot with a mediocre hand that HAS to win a showdown when losing will cripple me and destroy any preflop fold equity I had going for me. I managed to spike a T on the river and win a huge pot against AK and KJ, a pot that propelled me to a second place finish in the tournament, but clearly, I misplayed my hand here by limping in.

Tournament at All-Star Lanes tonight. Two tables left. Blinds are 800-1600. There’s some weird button movement going on and I think I’m under the gun with A9o at a 9-handed table and about 16K in chips, so I muck. The dealer hands me my cards back and says “don’t fold your hand, you’re the big blind.” Everyone at the table saw me muck though and it folds to a thinking and aggressive player in mid-late position. He min-raises to 3200, leaving himself with about 8000 behind. Everyone folds around to me. I know this player saw me muck my hand and I feel like he’s trying to take a cheap stab at the blinds. While it may not be the case, his min-raise makes me think he wants the option of folding if someone else happens to wake up with a hand. His stack size dictates that he should either be folding or going all-in. My conclusion: I have him crushed. I audibly laugh, knowing how ridiculous this is going to look, and announce “all-in.” The table goes into a state of shock. Even the dealer is laughing. My opponent is perplexed and doesn’t seem to know what to do. Just as limping in with the QT in my previous hand was a mistake, this is yet another example of not planning ahead gone wrong. I’m sure he was going to muck if anyone else at the table re-raised him, but he had no plan whatsoever for this scenario. I’m sure it wasn’t even a possibility to him. For whatever reason, this player seemed to come to the conclusion that I was making some sort of move on him. He’s wrong. As a good player, I don’t expect to have much fold equity here, which means that I expect my hand to win the majority of the time in a showdown. Which means I’m NEVER bluffing. With 15.2K in the pot and having to call another 8000, he’s getting 1.9 to 1 pot odds and should call me with just about any two cards. Mathematically, he’s probably priced in, and knowing that, I still shoved it on him. He did the right thing and called and his K2 outdrew my A9. Min-raising with his hand in the first place is a mistake though. With his stack size, he has to either go all-in or fold it. There are too many stack sizes that you’re going to have to call when you get re-raised that giving yourself the option of folding to a 3-bet is clearly wrong. The sickest thing about this hand is that if he had just open-shoved himself, I may have seriously considered folding. I’m not saying that’s what I would have done for sure, but folding would have at least crossed my mind as a real option.

Same tournament, heads up with a friend of mine. We’ve been battling it out for a short time and though he started with a clear stack size advantage, I have gained significant ground. With the blinds at a ridiculous 6000-12000, he open-raises to 28K from the SB on the button. I look down at Ah5h and it’s 14K more to me. After calling the raise, I’d have 23K left behind. Since I’ll have first action after the flop, the idea of a pulling a stop and go (calling now and going all-in on any flop) seems appealing, but this is not the type of player that is going to fold two overcards (or many hands at all) in that spot. The only hands he’ll fold are complete garbage that totally whiffed the flop and if he has a hand like that, I might as well get him to stack off with it before the flop. I go all-in and he instantly looks disgusted as he stacks off for a 100K, and tournament-deciding, pot with Q4 offsuit. He flops a 4 that holds up to win and takes down first place. Yet another hand where poor planning preflop puts someone in a tough spot, playing a huge pot with a weak hand. With Q4o and 6000 in on the button, putting in a raise that crosses the commitment threshold is a questionable play since Q4o is a below average hand. I’m not folding too many hands that beat Q4, so my opponent might as well be raising blind and he might as well be going all-in. He’s clearly not playing his hand for value and his raise is entirely reliant on me not having a strong enough hand to play. His cards are completely irrelevant at this point. However, a queen heads up is a decent hand and he has the option of calling 6000 and being able to play the rest of the pot in position. A clearly superior option to stacking off for his entire stack preflop with a weak hand.

The theme of this blog post seems to be: PLAN YOUR HANDS. If you make a play and get a response to that play that either you a) don’t like or b) don’t know how to handle, you have misplayed your hand.

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h1

MacRankings: January 2nd, 2011

January 2, 2012

TOP 25:

1. Syracuse (15-0)
Key Wins: (n)VT, (n)Stanford, #10 Florida, Marshall, @NCSU, SHU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #1
Comments:

2. Kentucky (13-1)
Key Wins: (n)#12 Kansas, (n)ODU, #5 UNC, #4 UL
Key Losses: @Indiana
Last Week: #4
Comments:

3. Baylor (13-0)
Key Wins: SDSU, @Northwestern, @BYU, (n)SMC, (n)WV, #15 Miss St
Key Losses:
Last Week: #7
Comments:

4. Ohio State (13-2)
Key Wins: #7 Florida, #3 Duke, Northwestern
Key Losses: @#13 Kansas, @#13 Indiana
Last Week: #2
Comments:

5. Duke (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)MSU, (n)Tennessee, (n)#15 Michigan, (n)#14 Kansas, (n)UW
Key Losses: @#2 OSU
Last Week: #3
Comments:

6. North Carolina (13-2)
Key Wins: (n)MSU, #9 Wisconsin, LBSU, Texas
Key Losses: @UNLV, @#1 Kentucky
Last Week: #8
Comments:

7. Connecticut (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, #25 Harvard, SJU
Key Losses: (n)UCF
Last Week: #6
Comments:

8. Missouri (13-0)
Key Wins: NDU, (n)#20 Cal, (n)Villanova, #25 Illinois, @ODU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #9
Comments:

9. Georgetown (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)#8 Memphis, @#12 Alabama, Memphis, @#4 UL
Key Losses: (n)#14 Kansas
Last Week: #12
Comments:

10. Louisville (12-2)
Key Wins: @Butler, LBSU, #20 Vanderbilt, Memphis
Key Losses: #12 G’town, @#3 UK
Last Week: #5
Comments:

11. Michigan (12-2)
Key Wins: (n)#8 Memphis, (n)UCLA, Minnesota
Key Losses: (n)#6 Duke, @UVA
Last Week: #14
Comments:

12. Michigan State (13-2)
Key Wins: FSU, @#23 Gonzaga, #13 Indiana
Key Losses: (n)#1 UNC, (n)#6 Duke
Last Week: #18
Comments:

13. UNLV (15-2)
Key Wins: #1 UNC, UCSB, @#19 Illinois, Cal
Key Losses: @Wichita St, @#14 Wisconsin
Last Week: #17
Comments:

14. Marquette (12-2)
Key Wins: @#9 Wisconsin, (n)UW, Villanova
Key Losses: @LSU, Vandy
Last Week: #13
Comments:

15. Indiana (13-1)
Key Wins: Butler, @NCSU, #1 UK, @UND, #2 OSU
Key Losses: @#16 MSU
Last Week: #16
Comments:

16. Mississippi State (13-2)
Key Wins: (n)#19 A&M, (n)#15 Arizona, WV, Utah St
Key Losses: Akron, @#6 Baylor
Last Week: #11
Comments:

17. Kansas (10-3)
Key Wins: (n)Georgetown, (n)UCLA, Long Beach St, #2 OSU
Key Losses: (n)#2 Kentucky, (n)#6 Duke, Davidson
Last Week: #19
Comments:

18. Florida (11-3)
Key Wins: Arizona, #22 TAMU, FSU
Key Losses: @#3 OSU, @#4 Syracuse, @Rutgers
Last Week: #10
Comments:

19. Wisconsin (12-3)
Key Wins: (n)BYU, UNLV
Key Losses: @#5 UNC, #16 Marquette, Iowa
Last Week: #15
Comments:

20. San Diego State (12-2)
Key Wins: LBSU, @#23 Arizona, #24 Cal
Key Losses: @# 11 Baylor, Creighton
Last Week: #21
Comments:

21. Murray State (14-0)
Key Wins: Dayton, @#21 Memphis
Key Losses:
Last Week: #23
Comments:

22. Kansas State (10-1)
Key Wins: @VTU, #23 Alabama, (n)LBSU
Key Losses: WV
Last Week: Unranked

23. Virginia (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)Drexel, #14 Michigan, George Mason
Key Losses: (n)TCU
Last Week: Unranked

24. Harvard (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, (n)UCF, St Joes
Key Losses: @#9 UCONN
Last Week: Unranked
Comments:

25. Gonzaga (11-2)
Key Wins: NDU, Arizona, Butler, @Xavier
Key Losses: Illinois, MSU
Last Week: Unranked
Comments:

DROPPED OUT:

20. Xavier (9-4)
Key Wins: Georgia, @#20 Vandy, Purdue, @Butler, UC
Key Losses: Oral Roberts, (n)LBSU, @Hawaii, Gonzaga
Last Week: #20
Comments:

22. Pittsburgh (11-4)
Key Wins: @Tennessee, OkSU
Key Losses: LBSU, Wagner, @UND, UC
Last Week: #22
Note: Travon Woodall out 4-6 weeks
Comments:

24. Creighton (11-2)
Key Wins: @SDSU, Northwestern, @Wichita St
Key Losses: @St Joes, Missouri St
Last Week: #24
Comments:

25. Illinois (12-3)
Key Wins: @Maryland, #19 Gonzaga, Minnesota
Key Losses: UNLV, @#9 Mizzou, @Purdue
Last Week: #25
Comments:

BUBBLE:

Alabama (10-3)
Key Wins: (n)Wichita St, (n)Purdue, VCU, Detroit, OKSU
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Dayton, @KSU

Cincinnati (11-3)
Key Wins: @Georgia, @#22 Pitt
Key Losses: Presbyterian, Marshall, @#8 Xavier

Saint Louis (12-2)
Key Wins: Washington, (n)Villanova
Key Losses: @Loyola Marymount, @New Mexico

St. Mary’s (13-2)
Key Wins: (n)Missouri St, BYU
Key Losses: @Denver, (n)#6 Baylor

Vanderbilt (9-4)
Key Wins: (n)Oregon, (n)Oregon St, @#14 Marquette
Key Loses: Cleveland State, #11 Xavier, @#6 Louisville, Indiana St
Comments:

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h1

College Basketball MACrankings: December 26th, 2011

December 25, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Syracuse (13-0)
Key Wins: (n)VT, (n)Stanford, #10 Florida, Marshall, @NCSU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #1
Comments:

2. Ohio State (12-1)
Key Wins: #7 Florida, #3 Duke
Key Losses: @#13 Kansas
Last Week: #2
Comments:

3. Duke (10-1)
Key Wins: (n)MSU, (n)Tennessee, (n)#15 Michigan, (n)#14 Kansas, (n)UW
Key Losses: @#2 OSU
Last Week: #3
Comments:

4. Kentucky (11-1)
Key Wins: (n)#12 Kansas, (n)ODU, #5 UNC
Key Losses: @Indiana
Last Week: #4
Comments:

5. Louisville (12-0)
Key Wins: @Butler, LBSU, #20 Vanderbilt, Memphis
Key Losses:
Last Week: #5
Comments:

6. Connecticut (10-1)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, #25 Harvard
Key Losses: (n)UCF
Last Week: #6
Comments:

7. Baylor (12-0)
Key Wins: SDSU, @Northwestern, @BYU, (n)SMC, (n)WV
Key Losses:
Last Week: #7
Comments:

8. North Carolina (11-2)
Key Wins: (n)MSU, #9 Wisconsin, LBSU, Texas
Key Losses: @UNLV, @#1 Kentucky
Last Week: #8
Comments:

9. Missouri (12-0)
Key Wins: NDU, (n)#20 Cal, (n)Villanova, #25 Illinois
Key Losses:
Note: Laurence Bowers out for season.
Last Week: #9
Comments:

10. Florida (10-2)
Key Wins: Arizona, #22 TAMU, FSU
Key Losses: @#3 OSU, @#4 Syracuse
Last Week: #14
Comments:

11. Mississippi State (12-1)
Key Wins: (n)#19 A&M, (n)#15 Arizona, WV
Key Losses: Akron
Last Week: #13
Comments:

12. Georgetown (10-1)
Key Wins: (n)#8 Memphis, @#12 Alabama, Memphis
Key Losses: (n)#14 Kansas
Last Week: #16
Comments:

13. Marquette (11-1)
Key Wins: @#9 Wisconsin, (n)UW
Key Losses: @LSU
Last Week: #11
Comments:

14. Michigan (10-2)
Key Wins: (n)#8 Memphis, (n)UCLA
Key Losses: (n)#6 Duke, @Virginia
Last Week: #17
Comments:

15. Wisconsin (11-2)
Key Wins: (n)BYU, UNLV
Key Losses: @#5 UNC, #16 Marquette
Last Week: #18
Comments:

16. Indiana (12-0)
Key Wins: Butler, @NCSU, #1 UK, @UND
Key Losses:
Last Week: #19
Comments:

17. UNLV (13-2)
Key Wins: #1 UNC, UCSB, @#19 Illinois, Cal
Key Losses: @Wichita St, @#14 Wisconsin
Last Week: #20
Comments:

18. Michigan State (11-2)
Key Wins: FSU, @#23 Gonzaga
Key Losses: (n)#1 UNC, (n)#6 Duke
Last Week: #21
Comments:

19. Kansas (8-3)
Key Wins: (n)Georgetown, (n)UCLA, Long Beach St, #2 OSU
Key Losses: (n)#2 Kentucky, (n)#6 Duke, Davidson
Last Week: #12
Comments:

20. Xavier (9-3)
Key Wins: Georgia, @#20 Vandy, Purdue, @Butler, UC
Key Losses: Oral Roberts, (n)LBSU, @Hawaii
Last Week: #10
Comments:

21. San Diego State (11-2)
Key Wins: LBSU, @#23 Arizona, #24 Cal
Key Losses: @# 11 Baylor, Creighton
Last Week: #23
Comments:

22. Pittsburgh (11-2)
Key Wins: @Tennessee, OkSU
Key Losses: LBSU, Wagner
Last Week: #15
Note: Travon Woodall out 4-6 weeks
Comments:

23. Murray State (13-0)
Key Wins: Dayton, @#21 Memphis
Key Losses:
Last Week: #24
Comments:

24. Creighton (10-1)
Key Wins: @SDSU, Northwestern
Key Losses: @St Joes
Last Week: #25
Comments:

25. Illinois (11-2)
Key Wins: @Maryland, #19 Gonzaga
Key Losses: UNLV, @#9 Mizzou
Last Week: #22
Comments:

DROPPED OUT:

BUBBLE:

Alabama (9-3)
Key Wins: (n)Wichita St, (n)Purdue, VCU, Detroit, OKSU
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Dayton, @KSU

Gonzaga (9-2)
Key Wins: NDU, Arizona, Butler
Key Losses: Illinois, MSU

Florida State (8-4)
Key Wins: UCF
Key Losses: (n)Harvard, (n)#4 UCONN, @MSU, @#11 UF

Harvard (10-1)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, (n)UCF
Key Losses: @#9 UCONN
Comments:

Kansas State (10-1)
Key Wins: @VTU, #23 Alabama, (n)LBSU
Key Losses: WV

Saint Louis (11-1)
Key Wins: Washington, (n)Villanova
Key Losses: @Loyola Marymount

Virginia (10-1)
Key Wins: (n)Drexel, #14 Michigan, George Mason
Key Losses: (n)TCU

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h1

College Basketball Top 25

December 18, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Syracuse (11-0)
Last Week: #1
2. Ohio State (10-1)
Last Week: #2
3. Duke (9-1)
Last Week: #3
4. Kentucky (9-1)
Last Week: #4
5. Louisville (10-0)
Last Week: #5
6. Connecticut (9-1)
Last Week: #6
7. Baylor (9-0)
Last Week: #7
8. North Carolina (9-2)
Last Week: #8
9. Missouri (11-0)
Last Week: #10
10. Xavier (8-1)
Last Week: #9
11. Marquette (10-0)
Last Week: #11
12. Kansas (7-2)
Last Week: #12
13. Mississippi State (11-1)
Last Week: #13
14. Florida (8-2)
Last Week: #14
15. Pittsburgh (10-1)
Last Week: #15
16. Georgetown (9-1)
Last Week: #16
17. Michigan (9-2)
Last Week: #17
18. Wisconsin (10-2)
Last Week: #18
19. Indiana (10-0)
Last Week: #19
20. UNLV (11-2)
Last Week: #22
21. Michigan State (9-2)
Last Week: #23
22. Illinois (10-1)
Last Week: #21
23. San Diego State (9-2)
Last Week: #24
24. Murray State (12-0)
Last Week: Unranked
25. Creighton (8-1)
Last Week: Unranked

DROPPED OUT:

20. Alabama (8-3)
Last Week: #20
25. Texas A&M (8-2)
Last Week: #25

BUBBLE:

Harvard (9-1)
Gonzaga (7-2)
Saint Louis (10-1)
California (9-2)
Cleveland State (10-1)
Florida State (8-3)
Stanford (9-1)
Virginia (9-1)

Notes:

*Nothing changes in the Top 8. North Carolina is ranked significantly lower than they are in the national polls. While I still think they are a top 3 team in the nation, it’s hard to argue they have better resumes than the teams I have ranked ahead of them. Most of the top teams coasted this past week, but Louisville posted a strong win against Memphis and Baylor got taken to the buzzer by BYU.

*Xavier took its first loss of the season… to Oral Roberts. However, they only drop one spot because Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons–their two best players–were both suspended for the game.

*Missouri jumps a spot due to the Xavier loss. I’d consider holding Xavier at #9, but Mizzou has just been MASHING every team they play.

*I’ve kept UNLV in my top 25 ever since they knocked off North Carolina, but the national polls made a rash move in dropping them out after losses to Wichita State and Wisconsin, both tough teams. After handing Illinois their first loss of the season, however, the Running Rebels should make a return to the national polls tomorrow.

*After being one of the few publications to rank Michigan State in the preseason, I was happy to see them crack the top 25 last week. They are currently on a 9-game winning streak that includes wins over Florida State and Gonzaga, two teams that were ranked in the preseason. The Spartans only losses were against Duke and North Carolina, both top 8 teams.

*Much like UNLV several weeks ago, there’s no reason to push the eject button on Illinois just because they lost a game. They still deserve a spot in the top 25 for now… but Big Ten play should prove this is a team that eventually doesn’t belong.

*How many weeks have I had San Diego State in my top 25? Is this the week the rest of the nation finally catches on? With Alabama, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt all likely dropping out of the AP Poll, I think so.

*Speaking of Alabama, what is going on with the Crimson Tide? The first several weeks of the season, they emerged as one of the stronger and more surprising teams in the nation. Now they’ve dropped three of four… to unranked teams. WTF?

*With 8 undefeated teams left in the nation, does anyone want to place bets on which team will last the longest without a loss? Put your money on Murray State. At 12-0 and with wins over Dayton and Memphis, I finally bite the bullet and rank them. They’ve managed to make it through non-conference play unscathed and have a better chance than anyone to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated.

*I put Texas A&M back in my top 25 last week solely on the strength of star Khris Middleton returning to the line-up. The Aggies rewarded my faith by promptly getting smashed by Florida. See ya.

*Creighton returns to my top 25 although they have only one notable win on their resume (vs. San Diego State). Doug McDermott is just too damn good though (24.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg).

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h1

Christmas Wish List

December 17, 2011

Here’s an easy guide to anyone that is buying me gifts this holiday season. Ranked in order of preference:

1. The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. Advanced Pot Limit Omaha: Small Ball & Short-Handed Play by Jeff Hwang
3. Lids.Com Gift Certificate
4. Tommy Hilfiger cologne
5. Batman: The Animated Series Vol. 2
6. Batman: The Animated Series Vol. 3
7. Batman: The Animated Series Vol. 4

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h1

College Basketball Top 25

December 11, 2011

I’m insanely tired and I have a long work day ahead of me tomorrow. I will clean this up and add commentary when I can, but this is my top 25 through today’s action.

TOP 25:

1. Syracuse (10-0)
Last Week: #3
Comments: Consider this a brief stay at the top. While Syracuse is clearly benefiting from recent losses for Kentucky and Ohio State, they have at least emerged as a legitimate national title contender.

2. Ohio State (8-1)
Last Week: #2
Comments: Good to see the national polls feel the same way I do: losing on the road to a good Kansas team without Jared Sullinger on the floor is a loss that comes with an asterisk.

3. Duke (9-1)
Key Wins: (n)MSU, (n)Tennessee, (n)#15 Michigan, (n)#14 Kansas, (n)UW
Key Losses: @#2 OSU
Last Week: #5
Comments: Take away the blowout loss to Ohio State and Duke might have the most impressive resume in the nation.

4. Kentucky (8-1)
Last Week: #1
Comments: Growing pains: that’s what we call the loss at Indiana.

5. Louisville (9-0)
Last Week: #4
Comments: Went against my conventional routine and dropped Louisville one spot even though they haven’t lost a game all season. Anyone care to argue that any of the teams ranked above them haven’t been more impressive?

6. Connecticut (8-1)
Last Week: #6

7. Baylor (7-0)
Last Week: #7

8. North Carolina (8-2)
Last Week: #8
Comments: I have UNC lower than the national polls because they have two losses and struggled against Long Beach State this weekend. I still think this is one of the nation’s top 3 teams, but they haven’t played that way so far.

9. Xavier (8-0)
Last Week: #9
Comments: Hopefully the suspensions that resulted from the brawl with Cincinnati don’t cause this team to lose a game. The Musketeers have looked tough as nails so far.

10. Missouri (9-0)
Last Week: #10

11. Marquette (9-0)
Last Week: #11

12. Kansas (7-2)
Last Week: #16
Comments: Even without Jared Sullinger playing, the win against Ohio State is still impressive.

13. Mississippi State (9-1)
Last Week: #13

14. Florida (7-2)
Last Week: #14

15. Pittsburgh (9-1)
Last Week: #15

16. Georgetown (8-1)
Last Week: #17

17. Michigan (7-2)
Last Week: #18

18. Wisconsin (8-2)
Last Week: #19

19. Indiana (9-0)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: Okay, the Hoosiers are for real. This team was undefeated before toppling #1 Kentucky and hyped freshman Cody Zeller has exceeded expectations.

20. Alabama (8-2)
Last Week: #12
Comments: I really liked Alabama the first couple weeks of the season, but they’ve been scuffling recently.

21. Illinois (10-0)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: I might be a week late with this ranking.

22. UNLV (9-2)
Key Wins: #1 UNC, UCSB
Key Losses: @Wichita St, @#14 Wisconsin
Last Week: #20
Comments:

23. Michigan State (8-2)
Key Wins: FSU, @#23 Gonzaga
Key Losses: (n)#1 UNC, (n)#6 Duke
Last Week: Unranked
Comments:

24. San Diego State (9-2)
Key Wins: LBSU, @#23 Arizona, #24 Cal
Key Losses: @# 11 Baylor, Creighton
Last Week: #24
Comments:

25. Texas A&M (8-1)
Key Wins: (n)SJU
Key Losses: (n)Miss St
Last Week: Unranked
Comments:

DROPPED OUT:

21. Memphis (5-3)
Key Wins: (n)Tennessee, @Miami, Murray St
Key Losses: (n)#15 Michigan, (n)G’town
Last Week: #21
Comments:

22. Harvard (9-1)
Key Wins: (n)#22 FSU, (n)UCF
Key Losses: @#9 UCONN
Last Week: #22
Comments:

23. Creighton (7-1)
Key Wins: @SDSU
Key Losses: @St Joes
Last Week: #23
Comments:

25. Gonzaga (5-2)
Key Wins: NDU
Key Losses: Illinois, MSU
Last Week: #25
Comments:

BUBBLE:

Murray State (10-0)
Key Wins: Dayton, @#21 Memphis
Key Losses:

Vanderbilt (6-3)
Key Wins: (n)Oregon, (n)Oregon St
Key Loses: Cleveland State, #11 Xavier, @#6 Louisville
Comments:

Saint Louis (9-1)
Key Wins: Washington, (n)Villanova
Key Losses: @Loyola Marymount

Purdue (9-2)
Key Wins: (n)Temple, Miami
Key Losses: (n)#16 Alabama, @#11 Xavier

Arizona (7-3)
Key Wins: (n)SJU, Clemson
Key Losses: (n)Miss St, SDSU, @#12 Florida

California (8-2)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: (n)#21 Mizzou, @SDSU

Cleveland State (10-1)
Key Wins: @#7 Vanderbilt
Key Losses: @Hofstra

Florida State (7-3)
Key Wins: UCF
Key Losses: (n)Harvard, (n)#4 UCONN, @MSU

Stanford (8-1)
Key Wins: Oklahoma State, NC St
Key Losses: (n)#5 Syracuse

Temple (6-2)
Key Wins: (n)Wichita St, Villanova
Key Losses: (n)Purdue, @Bowling Green

Virginia (8-1)
Key Wins: (n)Drexel, #14 Michigan, George Mason
Key Losses: (n)TCU

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h1

College Basketball MacRankings: December 5th, 2011

December 5, 2011

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?

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h1

College Basketball MacRankings: November 26th, 2011

November 28, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Kentucky (6-0)
Last Week: #2
Comments: I’ve had Kentucky at #2 all year and with North Carolina losing to UNLV, it only makes sense…

2. Ohio State (6-0)
Last Week: #3
Comments: …but I have a feeling maybe this team deserves to be #1 instead.

3. Duke (7-0)
Last Week: #6
Comments: Duke’s season is reminding me of 2010 when then kind of surprised everyone by winning the national title. It’s hard to argue against their preseason resume so far: they’ve already posted four quality wins, including two over top 15 teams. It should be no surprise that they are now #1 in the RPI rankings.

4. North Carolina (5-1)
Last Week: #1
Comments: Wow. The best frontcourt in the nation got beat up by UNLV… and Harrison Barnes left the building on crutches. Not good.

5. Syracuse (6-0)
Last Week: #5
Comments: Syracuse has a couple decent wins and remain undefeated, but I jumped Duke ahead of them anyways… this is a program that might be taking a lot of heat soon.

6. Florida (4-1)
Last Week: #7

7. Connecticut (5-1)
Last Week: #4
Comments: Losing to UCF is a slap in the face, but UCONN bounced back by beating a ranked Florida State team. There shouldn’t be too much cause for concern here.

8. Baylor (5-0)
Last Week: #9
Comments: Perry Jones is back in action this week and the Bears are looking plenty good already.

9. Louisville (5-0)
Last Week: #10
Note: Wayne Blackshear ineligible for the year. Peyton Siva injured.
Comments: Tough week ahead with games against Long Beach State and Vanderbilt.

10. Alabama (7-0)
Last Week: #11

11. Xavier (4-0)
Last Week: #12

12. Pittsburgh (5-1)
Last Week: #13
Comments:

13. Vanderbilt (5-1)
Last Week: #15
Comments: The Commodores are finally at 100% with center Festus Ezili returning from suspension this week.

14. Wisconsin (6-0)
Last Week: #16
Comments: Wisconsin posted their first quality win of the season over BYU and seem to be more of a team than the one man show I was expecting. On the down side, superstar Jordan Taylor is only averaging 11 points a game.

15. Marquette (5-0)
Last Week: #17
Comments: After blowing away their first four opponents, Marquette narrowly edged a Norfolk State team they beat by 31 a week earlier. Marquette has played a pretty easy schedule so far, but have Wisconsin and Washington coming up.

16. Michigan (5-1)
Last Week: #18
Comments: Even though Michigan lost to Duke, they move up a couple spots on the strength of wins over Memphis and UCLA.

17. Gonzaga (4-0)
Last Week: #19
Comments: The Zags have been mostly inactive and unchallenged the first couple weeks of the season. The typical Mark Few non-conference schedule awaits, however, with Notre Dame and Illinois coming up this week.

18. Missouri (6-0)
Note: Laurence Bowers out for season.
Last Week: #21
Comments: Missouri absolutely destroyed California last week.

19. Mississippi State (7-1)
Last Week: #23
Comments:

20. UNLV (7-0)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: After toppling the #1 team in the nation, UNLV’s 7-0 start can no longer be ignored. The Running Rebels have five players averaging at least 9.8 points a game and might have the nation’s most surprising player in forward Mike Moser. The 6’8″ sophomore is averaging 15.1 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 steals a game and should be on the National Player Of The Year radar after drilling North Carolina for 16 points and 18 rebounds.

21. Kansas (3-2)
Last Week: #14
Comments: Losses to Kentucky and Duke don’t look so bad and this team is good enough to rally back to a top 15 ranking eventually.

22. San Diego State (7-1)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: Credit coach Steve Fischer for getting this team back into the top 25 after losing almost all his talent from last year’s amazing squad. The Aztecs have reeled off four straight quality wins since losing to Baylor and have a shown a knack for coming out on top in extremely close games.

23. Memphis (2-2)
Last Week: #8
Comments: The young Tigers had a rough week in the Maui Invitational, often looking like the same immature team they were most of last year.

24. Harvard (6-0)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: I can’t even name a single player on this team, but Harvard just took down a Battle In Atlantis tournament that featured #4 Connecticut, #22 Florida State, and UCF.

25. Texas A&M (4-1)
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: A&M didn’t do anything to jump back in the rankings except watch their stock improve as other ranked teams took losses. I give the Aggies the slight edge over the rest of the field because they’ve managed to play well despite having their best player sidelined.

DROPPED OUT:

20. California (5-1)
22. Florida State (5-2)
24. Temple (3-2)
25. Arizona (4-2)

BUBBLE:

Cleveland State (6-1)
Creighton (5-0)
Indiana (6-0)
Northwestern (5-0)
Michigan State (4-2)
Oregon State (5-1)
Purdue (6-1)
Saint Louis (6-0)
Washington (4-1)

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h1

College Basketball MacRankings: November 20th, 2011

November 21, 2011

TOP 25:

1. North Carolina (3-0)
Key Wins: (n)MSU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #1
Comments: Nation’s top team is yet to really be challenged.

2. Kentucky (4-0)
Key Wins: (n)#12 Kansas, (n)ODU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #2
Comments: Kentucky posted a huge win over Kansas this past week. Anthony Davis looks like he might post a triple-double with 10 blocks sometime this year. At this point, the only worry on this team is point guard Marquis Teague’s development. He’s a clear notch below all of Calipari’s previous one-and-done PGs and currently has a 2.5 to 4.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.

3. Ohio State (3-0)
Key Wins: #7 Florida
Key Losses:
Last Week: #3
Comments:

4. Connecticut (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #4
Notes: Ryan Boatright suspended six games.
Comments: Shabazz Napier has really stepped up his play this year, posting a triple-double today and is currently averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists a game. Jeremy Lamb is averaging 22.8 points a game. Meanwhile, the #1 recruit in the nation, Andre Drummond, had a bit of a coming out party against Maine with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks, but has lacked impact in 3 of 4 games now.

5. Syracuse (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #5
Comments: No one on this team is really putting up eye-popping numbers, but Syracuse is insanely deep, with 19 different players logging minutes this year.

6. Duke (4-0)
Key Wins: (n)MSU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #7
Comments: Coach K is one of the top 3 college basketball coaches of all-time. Congrats. Don’t be surprised to see this team lose a game in the Maui Invitational though.

7. Florida (2-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: @#3 OSU
Last Week: #6
Comments: The four guards are awesome and center Patric Young is putting up good numbers (11 ppg, 9 rpg, 1.7 bpg), but Ohio State showed how this small line-up will struggle against teams with quality big men.

8. Memphis (1-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #8
Comments: Pretty crazy that some teams have six games under their belts already and Memphis has still played only one. They play a ranked Michigan team tomorrow though and we’ll get to see what they’re really made of.

9. Baylor (3-0)
Key Wins: SDSU
Key Losses:
Last Week: #9
Note: Perry Jones suspended five games.
Comments: How much better does this team get when Perry Jones comes back next week? Scary good.

10. Louisville (3-0)
Key Wins: @Butler
Key Losses:
Last Week: #11
Note: Wayne Blackshear ineligible for the year. Peyton Siva injured.
Comments: Louisville beat Butler on the road with their star point guard sidelined. Impressive.

11. Alabama (5-0)
Key Wins: (n)Wichita St, (n)Purdue
Key Losses
Last Week: #15
Comments: This team is awesome. I had a chance to watch them play a couple games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a tournament they won, and they are seriously good. Their defense is stifling and they are loaded with experience and good, young players. Trevor Releford, JaMychal Green, and Tony Mitchell are at least as good as the more highly touted trio from Vanderbilt.

12. Xavier (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #12
Comments:

13. Pittsburgh (2-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: Long Beach St
Last Week: #10
Comments: The loss—at home—to Long Beach State is one of the most shocking upsets of the season. Long Beach State is pretty good this year, but still…

14. Kansas (1-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: (n)#2 Kentucky
Last Week: #13
Comments: Tied with Kentucky at halftime.

15. Vanderbilt (3-1)
Key Wins: (n)Oregon
Key Loses: Cleveland State
Last Week: #14
Note: Sr. C Festus Ezili suspended six games
Comments: Turning things around after that upset last week.

16. Wisconsin (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #16
Comments:

17. Marquette (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #18
Comments: Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom are having the big years you’d expect, plus sophomore Vander Blue has tripled his scoring average from last year.

18. Michigan (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #19
Comments: First big test tomorrow against Memphis.

19. Gonzaga (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #24

20. California (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Last Week: #25
Comments:

21. Missouri (3-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:
Note: Laurence Bowers out for season.
Last Week: Unranked
Comments:

22. Florida State (4-0)
Key Wins: UCF
Key Losses:
Last Week: Unranked

#23. Mississippi State (4-1)
Key Wins: (n)#19 A&M, (n)#15 Arizona
Key Losses: Akron
Last Week: No one had a bigger week than Mississippi State, who won the 2K Sports Classic on Friday and beat two ranked teams on their way to doing so. Renardo Sidney remains an enigma, but UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie is putting up huge numbers: 15.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg. This team is deep and talented, and we can forgive the ugly loss to Akron after such a big week.

24. Temple (3-1)
Key Wins: (n)Wichita St
Key Losses: (n)Purdue
Last Week: #23
Comments: One good win, one not so bad loss.

25. Arizona (4-1)
Key Wins: (n)SJU
Key Losses: (n)Miss St
Last Week: #22
Comments: Mississippi State showed the most overrated team in the PAC-12 who’s the boss.

DROPPED OUT:

20. Michigan State (2-2)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: (n)#1 UNC, (n)#6 Duke
Last Week: #20
Comments: Losing to North Carolina and Duke isn’t that bad, but no one in the top 25 should have two losses at this point. Looking at the box scores, MSU isn’t a very exciting team, but I think they’ll make another top 25 appearance before the season is finished.

17. Washington (3-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: @Saint Louis
Last Week: #19
Note: Scott Suggs injured 4-6 weeks.
Comments: Okay, even my biased self realizes that losing to Saint Louis is bad. Washington has had trouble on the road in recent years, so this loss fits the trend for a team that is more of a work in progress than anything else.

24. Texas A&M (3-1)
Key Wins: (n)SJU
Key Losses: (n)Miss St
Last Week: #24
Note: Khris Middleton injured.
Comments: Elston Turner and Ray Turner are filling the void decently, but not having Khris Middleton is a huge blow for this squad. They are a top 25 team with him in the line-up.

BUBBLE:

Cincinnati (2-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: Presbyterian

Cleveland State (3-0)
Key Wins: @#7 Vanderbilt
Key Losses:

Creighton (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:

Indiana (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:

Northwestern (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:

Oregon State (4-0)
Key Wins: (n)Texas
Key Losses:

UNLV (4-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:

Purdue (4-1)
Key Wins: (n)Temple
Key Losses: (n)#16 Alabama

San Diego State (5-1)
Key Wins: Long Beach St
Key Losses: @# 11 Baylor

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