Posts Tagged ‘coache’s poll’

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Mac’s College Basketball Rankings – Valentine’s Day Edition

February 14, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Texas (22-3)
Key Wins: Illinois, @UNC, @MSU, Arkansas, A&M, @Kansas, @Ok St, Mizzou, @A&M, Baylor
Key Losses: @Pitt, @USC, UCONN
Last Week: #3
Comments: I’ve been on the Texas bandwagon for a few weeks now, so it should come as no surprise that I bumped them to #1 now that Ohio State has finally taken an L. I’m kind of expecting Kansas to be #1 tomorrow and I can see the reasoning there: they were #2 last week and are currently #1 in the RPI rankings, so if we ignore all other factors, it seems like an obvious choice to move them into the top spot. Texas will get some first place votes though because I can’t imagine I’m the only person in the nation that can’t ignore the glaring fact that Texas beat Kansas by 9 in Kansas. Sure, Texas has three losses and there’s no excuse for getting blown out by USC, but if you look at Texas’ other two losses they happened by a whopping combined total of 3 points at the hands of two top ten teams (Pitt & UCONN). I can see the argument for Kansas, but Texas has that huge road victory over the Jayhawks and all the momentum right now.

2. Kansas (24-1)
Key Wins: Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, USC, @Cal, UNT, @Michigan, @Iowa St, @Baylor, @Colorado, KSU, Mizzou
Key Losses: Texas
Last Week: #2
Comments: Just to add to my comments above, I don’t really understand how Kansas is #11 in Strength of Schedule and Texas is #17. They play in the same conference and Kansas’ non-conference schedule included Memphis and… well, the Pac-10, while Texas played Pitt, UCONN, Michigan State, Illinois, and North Carolina (all five of which have been ranked this season, two of which are still in the top ten) … uhhh… okay.

3. Ohio State (24-1)
Key Wins: @Florida, @FSU, South Carolina, Oakland, Minnesota, @Michigan, Penn St, @Illinois, Purdue, N’western, @Minnesota
Key Losses: @Wisconsin
Last Week: #1
Comments: I think a lot of people saw that first loss coming this weekend. Wisconsin is a good team that plays even better at home. It was bound to happen. OSU should still snag some first place votes and certainly won’t fall any lower than this.

4. Pittsburgh (23-2)
Key Wins: Maryland, Texas, UCONN, Marquette, @Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincy, @WVU, @Villanova
Key Losses: Tennessee, NDU
Last Week: #4
Comments: The Panthers have long made it clear that they’re the team to beat in the Big East, but added an exclamation point to the statement with road wins over West Virginia and Villanova this week.

5. Duke (23-2)
Key Wins: Marquette, Kansas State, MSU, Butler, Miami, UAB, Maryland, @NC St, BCU, @Maryland, NC St, UNC, @Miami
Key Losses: @FSU, @SJU
Last Week: #5
Comments: Okay… Duke takes the first round at home against North Carolina, but the Tarheels showed it could be a different story when Duke comes to their house. Isn’t it funny how Duke went from the consensus best team in America to having almost no buzz at all now? Blame it on the rest of the ACC… and Kyrie Irving’s injury. I still don’t know the timetable for Irving to come back, but if he’s healthy when the tournament starts, don’t forget about Duke.

6. BYU (24-2)
Key Wins: Utah St., St. Mary’s, @Vermont, Arizona, UTEP, @UNLV, @Colorado St, SDSU, UNLV
Key Losses: @UCLA, @New Mexico
Last Week: #6

7. San Diego State (25-1)
Key Wins: @Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Wichita St., @Cal, UNLV, @New Mexico, Colorado St, @UNLV
Key Losses: @BYU
Last Week: #7

8. Notre Dame (21-4)
Key Wins: Cal, Georgia, @Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Georgetown, UCONN, SJU, Cincy, Marquette, @Pitt, L’ville
Key Loses: @Kentucky, @Syracuse, @Marquette, @SJU
Last Week: #8
Comments: I remember when UCONN shocked the world by knocking off Wichita State, Michigan State and Kentucky way back in November… they made a historic jump up the rankings, going all the way from unranked to the top 5. Well, Notre Dame has taken a much longer road, but the end result is no less stunning. This was a team that might make the tournament this year after losing star Luke Harongody and now finds itself firmly in the top ten… a place I can’t remember them ever reaching with their previously mentioned superstar. Crazy.

9. Georgetown (20-5)
Key Wins: NC State, @ODU, @Missouri, Utah State, @Memphis, SJU, @Villanova, L’ville, @Syracuse, Marquette
Key Losses: @Temple, @Notre Dame, @St. John’s, WVU, Pitt
Last Week: #10
Comments: The hottest team in the nation outside of Texas continues its assault on the Big East knocking off Syracuse on the road and then beating Marquette at home.

10. Wisconsin (19-5)
Key Wins: @BCU, NC State, @Marquette, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, @Northwestern, Purdue, MSU, OSU
Key Losses: @UNLV, Notre Dame, @Illinois, @MSU, @Penn St
Last Week: #14
Comments: Another team that has really been gaining momentum in the past couple weeks made the biggest statement of the week by handing Ohio State its first loss; and it was a gutsy performance to boot: Wisconsin was down 15 at one point in the second half. Oh, the Badgers also beat some team called Michigan State this week… by 30.

11. Connecticut (19-5)
Key Wins: Wichita State, MSU, Kentucky, @Texas, Villanova, Tennessee, @Marquette
Key Losses: @Pitt, @NDU, L’ville, Syracuse, @SJU
Last Week: #9

12. Florida (20-5)
Key Wins: @FSU, KSU, Xavier, RIU, Ole Miss, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Georgia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, @SCU, Tennessee
Key Losses: OSU, @UCF, Jacksonville, SCU, @Miss St
Last Week: #16
Comments: Florida started the year looking pretty inconsistent, posting a mixture of great wins and some bad losses. Things have since evened out for the Gators and they’ve started to take on the look of one of the best teams in the country. It’s taken a while for their actual ranking to catch up to their RPI standing, but at 11-2 against top 100 teams and a #6 ranking in SoS, you can’t ignore this team anymore.

13. Purdue (20-5)
Key Wins: Oakland, @V-Tech, @Michigan, N’western, @Penn St, Penn St, MSU, Minnesota, @Illinois
Key Losses: @Richmond, @Minnesota, @WVU, @OSU, @Wisconsin
Last Week: #13

14. Villanova (17-6)
Key Wins: UCLA, Temple, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, @Syracuse, Marquette, WVU
Key Losses: Tennessee, @UCONN, @Providence, Georgetown, @Rutgers, Pitt
Last Week: #11
Comments: The Wildcats had a tough week with two losses and a particularly bad one against Rutgers, but Villanova manages to avoid a freefall down the rankings due an overall impressive resume.

15. Arizona (21-4)
Key Wins: @NC State, @Oregon, ASU, @WSU, UCLA, USC, @Cal
Key Losses: @Kansas, @BYU, @Oregon St, UW
Last Week: #18
Comments: Arizona has earned their way into the top 15, but I’m not entirely sold on this team. They’re 1-3 against the top 50 and can’t really claim any great wins on their resume. They played Kansas relatively close, but BYU destroyed them. Mark me down as skeptical.

16. North Carolina (18-6)
Key Wins: Kentucky, @Virginia, V-Tech, Clemson, @Miami, NC St, @BCU, FSU, @Clemson
Key Losses: Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, @Georgia Tech, @Duke
Last Week: #15
Comments: Pretty much a break even week for UNC. No one really expects them to win @Duke and a road win @Clemson takes a lot of heat off that loss. Their momentum hit a road block, but I still consider this a team on the rise.

17. Syracuse (20-6)
Key Wins: MSU, NC State, Notre Dame, @St. John’s, Cincinnati, @UCONN
Key Losses: @Pitt, Villanova, Seton Hall, @Marquette, G’town, @L’ville
Last Week: #12
Comments: Syracuse lost two games in the same week for the third time this year and now hold a 4-4 record against top 50 teams. I was pretty skeptical about the Orange earlier in the year and then they started to make me look stupid… well, now they’re sitting about where I always expected they would.

18. Vanderbilt (18-6)
Key Wins: UNC, Marquette, Georgia, Ole Miss, St. Mary’s, @Miss St, SCU, Alabama, Kentucky
Key Losses: WVU, Missouri, @South Carolina, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Florida
Last Week: #25
Comments: The Commodores beat Kentucky and a pretty decent Alabama team and finally had the breakthrough week they’ve been looking for after hanging around the top 25 bubble for most of the season.

19. Kentucky (17-7)
Key Wins: @Portland, Washington, Notre Dame, @Louisville, @SCU, Georgia, Tennessee
Key Losses: @UCONN, @UNC, @Georgia, @Alabama, @Ole Miss, @Florida, @Vanderbilt
Last Week: #17
Comments: Kentucky is still one of the strongest teams in the RPI rankings, but the rest of the SEC doesn’t seem to care too much about all that: Kentucky is now 5-5 in conference play and tied for 4th in the SEC East. There’s a ton of talent on this team, maybe the most in the nation, but it seems like they’re still figuring out how to win as a team and having a bit more growing pains than last year’s similarly young roster.

20. Louisville (19-6)
Key Wins: Butler, UNLV, Marquette, SJU, WVU, @UCONN, Syaracuse
Key Losses: Drexel, Kentucky, @Villanova, @Providence, @G’town, @NDU
Last Week: #19

21. St. John’s (15-9)
Key Wins: ASU, Northwestern, @WVU, @Providence, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UCONN, @Cincy
Key Losses: @St. Mary’s, St. Bonaventure, @Fordham, @Notre Dame, Syracuse, @Louisville, Cincy, @Georgetown, @UCLA
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: I almost didn’t rank St. John’s because of the nine losses, but they also have a pretty stellar resume. They’ve posted wins over Notre Dame, Georgetown, and UCONN: all ranked in my top 11… and they beat West Virginia on the road, a team I’ve had ranked for weeks now. SJU is inconsistent and unpredictable, but they’re tied with Villanova, Connecticut, and West Virginia in the Big East standings and are half a game ahead of Syracuse, so they’ve certainly proved they can hang with the best teams in the nation.

22. Xavier (18-6)
Key Wins: Butler, @RIU, Dayton, Temple, @Richmond, @Georgia, @Duquesne
Key Losses: ODU, Miami (OH), Gonzaga, Florida, @Cincy, @Charlotte
Last Week: #22
Comments: For some reason, the Atlantic 10 is represented in the AP top 25 by Temple, while Xavier finished 34th in votes last week. Xavier is 19th in the RPI, Temple is 33rd. Xavier is 29th in SoS, Temple is 99th. Xavier is 9-4 against the top 100, Temple is 7-5. And this probably isn’t important, but Xavier BEAT Temple. Really???

23. Texas A&M (19-5)
Key Wins: Temple, Washington, Arkansas, OK St, Missouri, KSU, @Colorado
Key Losses: BCU, @Texas, @Nebraska, Texas, Baylor
Last Week: #21
Comments: I’ve been harsh on A&M in recent weeks. It’s not like they’re losing a lot of games they shouldn’t be. Hell, 40% of their losses are to the team I now have as #1 in the nation and they have a handful of quality wins under their belt. The only crime A&M has committed is that their momentum has kind of gone stagnant in a Big 12 Conference that isn’t as good as everyone thought it would be, while everyone else is gaining steam while playing tougher schedules.

24. Missouri (19-6)
Key Wins: @Oregon, Vanderbilt, Illinois, ODU, KSU, Iowa St, Colorado
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Colorado, @Texas A&M, @Texas, @OkSU, @Kansas
Last Week: #20

25. West Virginia (16-8)
Key Wins: Oakland, Vanderbilt, Cleveland St., @Georgetown, Purdue, @Cincy
Key Losses: Minnesota, @Miami, St. John’s, @Marquette, Marshall, @Louisville, @Villanova, Pitt
Last Week: #23

DROPPED OUT:

24. Minnesota (17-8)
Key Wins: @UNC, @West Virginia, Purdue, @Michigan, N’western
Key Losses: Virginia, @Wisconsin, @MSU, @OSU, @Purdue, @Indiana, OSU, Illinois
Last Week: #24

Other Notes:

-To continue my bashing of Utah State (currently #21 in the nation and rising), here’s another statistic: 19 of their 23 wins have come against teams ranked #151 or worse. I don’t want to give the impression that I think this team sucks–they’ve been the best team in their conference for years now–I just think it’s silly to rank them with the top teams in the nation when there’s absolutely no basis for it. They do face St. Mary’s next Saturday, which is by far their toughest game of the year, but it’s feasible they could finish the year 27-4 and ranked inside the top 20… and what kind of seed will that get them in the NCAA tournament? A 4 or a 5 seed? No… at best they’ll get a 7 seed, but more than likely they’ll be a #10 and enter the first round as an underdog to a team they finished ahead of in the national rankings.

-For a moment today, before doing my final edits, I had George Mason in my top 25. They are currently in the top 25 of the RPI and sitting atop of a Colonial Conference that boasts six teams that are at least sniffing at large berths. Obviously that’s not going to happen, but I think George Mason, Old Dominion, and VCU are all in right now. Yes, the Colonial Conference has more tournament prospects than the PAC-10. Gross.

-Kansas State is still firmly in the at large picture, but I just can’t help but toss this stat out there: 0 wins, 7 losses against teams in the top 50.

-UCLA can be considered amongst my teams that are currently on the rise. The Bruins have been okay against the nation’s best teams (4-5 against the top 100), but they’ve reeled off 9 wins in their last 10 games (including a win over St. John’s) and have gone from the NCAA tourney bubble to nationally relevant.

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College Basketball Rankings – February 6th, 2011

February 6, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Ohio State (24-0)
Key Wins: @Florida, @FSU, South Carolina, Oakland, Minnesota, @Michigan, Penn St, @Illinois, Purdue, N’western, @Minnesota
Key Losses:
Last Week: #1

2. Kansas (22-1)
Key Wins: Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, USC, @Cal, UNT, @Michigan, @Iowa St, @Baylor, @Colorado, KSU
Key Losses: Texas
Last Week: #2

3. Texas (20-3)
Key Wins: Illinois, @UNC, @MSU, Arkansas, A&M, @Kansas, @Ok St, Mizzou, @A&M
Key Losses: @Pitt, @USC, UCONN
Last Week: #4

4. Pittsburgh (21-2)
Key Wins: Maryland, Texas, UCONN, Marquette, @Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincy
Key Losses: Tennessee, NDU
Last Week: #3

5. Duke (21-2)
Key Wins: Marquette, Kansas State, MSU, Butler, Miami, UAB, Maryland, @NC St, BCU, @Maryland, NC St
Key Losses: @FSU, @SJU
Last Week: #5

6. BYU (22-2)
Key Wins: Utah St., St. Mary’s, @Vermont, Arizona, UTEP, @UNLV, @Colorado St, SDSU, UNLV
Key Losses: @UCLA, @New Mexico
Last Week: #8

7. San Diego State (23-1)
Key Wins: @Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Wichita St., @Cal, UNLV, @New Mexico, Colorado St
Key Losses: @BYU
Last Week: #6

8. Notre Dame (19-4)
Key Wins: Cal, Georgia, @Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Georgetown, UCONN, SJU, Cincy, Marquette, @Pitt
Key Loses: @Kentucky, @Syracuse, @Marquette, @SJU
Last Week: #9

9. Connecticut (18-4)
Key Wins: Wichita State, MSU, Kentucky, @Texas, Villanova, Tennessee, @Marquette
Key Losses: @Pitt, @NDU, L’ville, Syracuse
Last Week: #7

10. Georgetown (18-5)
Key Wins: NC State, @ODU, @Missouri, Utah State, @Memphis, SJU, @Villanova, L’ville
Key Losses: @Temple, @Notre Dame, @St. John’s, WVU, Pitt
Last Week: #16

11. Villanova (17-4)
Key Wins: UCLA, Temple, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, @Syracuse, Marquette, WVU
Key Losses: Tennessee, @UCONN, @Providence, Georgetown
Last Week: #10

12. Syracuse (20-4)
Key Wins: MSU, NC State, Notre Dame, @St. John’s, Cincinnati, @UCONN
Key Losses: @Pitt, Villanova, Seton Hall, @Marquette
Last Week: #15

13. Purdue (18-5)
Key Wins: Oakland, @V-Tech, @Michigan, N’western, @Penn St, Penn St, MSU, Minnesota
Key Losses: @Richmond, @Minnesota, @WVU, @OSU, @Wisconsin
Last Week: #13

14. Wisconsin (17-5)
Key Wins: @BCU, NC State, @Marquette, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, @Northwestern, Purdue, MSU
Key Losses: @UNLV, Notre Dame, @Illinois, @MSU, @Penn St
Last Week: #19

15. North Carolina (17-5)
Key Wins: Kentucky, @Virginia, V-Tech, Clemson, @Miami, NC St, @BCU, FSU
Key Losses: Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, @Georgia Tech
Last Week: #20

16. Florida (18-5)
Key Wins: @FSU, KSU, Xavier, RIU, Ole Miss, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Georgia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky
Key Losses: OSU, @UCF, Jacksonville, SCU, @Miss St
Last Week: #23

17. Kentucky (16-6)
Key Wins: @Portland, Washington, Notre Dame, @Louisville, @SCU, Georgia
Key Losses: @UCONN, @UNC, @Georgia, @Alabama, @Ole Miss, @Florida
Last Week: #11

18. Arizona (20-4)
Key Wins: @NC State, @Oregon, ASU, @WSU, UCLA, USC, @Cal
Key Losses: @Kansas, @BYU, @Oregon St, UW
Last Week: #24

19. Louisville (18-5)
Key Wins: Butler, UNLV, Marquette, SJU, WVU, @UCONN
Key Losses: Drexel, Kentucky, @Villanova, @Providence, @G’town
Last Week: #18

20. Missouri (18-5)
Key Wins: @Oregon, Vanderbilt, Illinois, ODU, KSU, Iowa St, Colorado
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Colorado, @Texas A&M, @Texas, @OkSU
Last Week: #14

21. Texas A&M (17-5)
Key Wins: Temple, Washington, Arkansas, OK St, Missouri, KSU
Key Losses: BCU, @Texas, @Nebraska, Texas, Baylor
Last Week: #12

22. Xavier (16-6)
Key Wins: Butler, @RIU, Dayton, Temple, @Richmond
Key Losses: ODU, Miami (OH), Gonzaga, Florida, @Cincy, @Charlotte
Last Week: #22

23. West Virginia (15-7)
Key Wins: Oakland, Vanderbilt, Cleveland St., @Georgetown, Purdue, @Cincy
Key Losses: Minnesota, @Miami, St. John’s, @Marquette, Marshall, @Louisville, @Villanova
Last Week: #25

24. Minnesota (16-7)
Key Wins: @UNC, @West Virginia, Purdue, @Michigan, N’western
Key Losses: Virginia, @Wisconsin, @MSU, @OSU, @Purdue, @Indiana, OSU
Last Week: #21

25. Vanderbilt (16-6)
Key Wins: UNC, Marquette, Georgia, Ole Miss, St. Mary’s, @Miss St, SCU
Key Losses: WVU, Missouri, @South Carolina, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Florida
Last Week: Unranked

DROPPED OUT:

Washington (15-7)
Key Wins: Portland, @USC, @UCLA, Oregon, @Cal, Arizona, ASU
Key Losses: @MSU, @Kentucky, @Texas A&M, @Stanford, @WSU, @Oregon St, @Oregon
Last Week: #17

NEXT FIVE:

Old Dominion (18-6)
Key Wins: Xavier, Clemson, Richmond, Dayton, George Mason
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Delaware, @Missouri, @Drexel, VCU, @George Mason

Temple (17-5)
Key Wins: Georgetown, @Georgia, @Maryland, @RIU
Key Losses: @Cal, @Texas A&M, @Villanova, @Duquesne, @Xavier

Tennessee (15-8)
Key Wins: VCU, Villanova, @Pittsburgh, Memphis, Vanderbilt, @Georgia, @Ole Miss
Key Losses: Oakland, @Charlotte, USC, Charleston, @Arkansas, Florida, @UCONN, Alabama

UNLV (17-6)
Key Wins: @Murray St., Wisconsin, @Virginia Tech, @KSU, New Mexico
Key Losses: @Louisville, UCSB, BYU, @SDSU, Colorado St, @BYU

Utah State (22-2)
Key Wins: @Nevada
Key Losses: @BYU, @Georgetown

Notes:

-I bumped Texas ahead of Pitt this week even though both teams won out for the week. Here’s why: a) Texas is extremely hot right now and has momentum on their side; b) Texas has 8 wins over top 50 teams and no one else in the country can say that; and c) Texas beat Pitt in their head-to-head match up earlier this year when Pitt was clearly the better team.

-I bumped BYU ahead of SDSU in a similar scenario. BYU is #1 in RPI, has played a tougher schedule, has twice as many wins over top 50 teams and beat SDSU H2H.

-Texas may be the hottest team in the nation, but Georgetown is right up there. After starting the Big East schedule 1-4, the Hoyas have reeled of six straight wins, including victories over ranked teams in Villanova and Louisville.

-Wisconsin had a monster week taking out Purdue and MSU and climbing five spots in the rankings.

-North Carolina has become nationally relevant again. Larry Drew transferred out of the program now that freshman Kendall Marshall has taken the reigns as the starting point guard and all the Tarheels have done under his watch is go undefeated. The Duke-UNC game this Wednesday is actually going to be worth all the attention it’s going to get.

-Florida has been extremely inconsistent this year, constantly falling out of the rankings and taking bad losses…but here it is, six weeks from tournament time and they sit alone atop the loaded SEC East. Whatever flaws the Gators may have, here are some numbers that are hard to argue against: #14 in RPI, #6 in strength of schedule, and an 11-2 record vs the top 100 teams.

-How reliable are the RPI rankings? Let’s use Florida and Kentucky as an example. Kentucky is #8 in SoS, Florida is #6. Kentucky is 4-4 vs top 50 teams, Florida is 6-1. Kentucky is 1-2 against RPIs 51-100, Florida is 5-1. Florida beat Kentucky. Kentucky is #14 in RPI, Florida is #16. Okay, so Florida has 3 losses against teams ranked 101-150 and the Wildcats are 3-0…but how important is that? Against top competition, it’s pretty obvious which team has had the better season. Are bad losses more important than good wins?

-Texas A&M has been spiraling. When they were sitting around #10 in the nation, I asked the question “is this for real?” and gave my own answer: “no.” We all knew they weren’t going to be a top ten team, but now they are starting to make a case that they aren’t even top 25 good, losing 4 of 5 games in a Big 12 that isn’t nearly as good as everyone expected it to be.

-The last four spots of my top 25 have become a nightmare. Xavier, West Virginia, Minnesota, and Vanderbilt all lost this week… but it’s hard to replace those teams when everyone on the bubble is either losing themselves (Tennessee, St. John’s) or virtually untested (Utah State, St. Mary’s). I bumped Utah State to my top 30 this week, but even if they win out, I still can’t envision myself ranking them in the top 25 when they haven’t played a team in the top 25.

-Finally, I dropped Washington out of the rankings and you know how much it has to kill me to do so. But if you’ve been watching Huskies basketball the past two weeks, you know damn well they are not playing like a top 25 team right now. After flashing NBA-ability for a couple weeks, Isaiah Thomas has looked lost the past four games… starting to go back to his underclassman ways of driving hopelessly into the lane and expecting the refs to bail him out any time he can’t get off a shot. What happened to the guy that had double digit assists in back-to-back games? When Scott Suggs has turned into your most reliable scorer, you know your team is in trouble.

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h1

College Basketball Rankings – January 3rd, 2010

January 3, 2011

TOP 25:

1. Duke (13-0)
Key Wins: Marquette, Kansas State, MSU, Butler, Miami
Key Losses:
Analysis: Duke cruised through most of December and got their first challenge in nearly a month from a solid Miami team tonight, but came out of the game remaining undefeated.
Last Week: #1

2. Ohio State (14-0)
Key Wins: Florida, FSU, South Carolina, Oakland
Key Losses:
Analysis: Nothing much new to say about the Buckeyes except that I’m looking forward to their Big Ten match-ups.
Last Week: #2

3. Kansas (12-0)
Key Wins: Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, USC, Cal
Key Losses:
Last Week: #3

4. Syracuse (15-0)
Key Wins: MSU, NC State, NDU
Key Losses:
Analysis: Syracuse opened Big East play with a win over Providence and a big victory over Notre Dame. With a #3 ranking in the RPI and a top 35 SoS mark, I can’t say they’re untested anymore.
Last Week: #5

5. Pittsburgh (13-1)
Key Wins: Maryland, Texas, UCONN
Key Losses: Tennessee
Analysis: The final score of the Pitt-UCONN game looked closer than it actually was. Pitt pretty much dominated from the opening tip, never gave up the lead, and made Kemba Walker work for every single one of his 31 points.
Last Week: #7

6. San Diego State (15-0)
Key Wins: Gonzaga, St. Mary’s,Wichita St., Cal
Key Losses:
Analysis: There’s something incredible about a team like San Diego State being ranked this high. If they can come out of conference play with a top 10 ranking, that would be quite the feat, one likely worthy of at least a #3 seed.
Last Week: #8

7. Connecticut (11-1)
Key Wins: Wichita State, MSU, Kentucky
Key Losses: Pitt
Analysis: UCONN really got exposed by Pittsburgh last week. No one thought this was a top 25 team in the preseason, let alone a top 5 team. Kemba Walker may wind up being a first team All-American, but his supporting cast looked awful against Pitt and one man can only do so much. Kemba is going to get his points, but UCONN is going to need to look more like a basketball TEAM if they plan on getting a top 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Last Week: #4

8. Georgetown (12-2)
Key Wins: NC State, ODU, Missouri, Utah State, Memphis
Key Losses: Temple, Notre Dame
Analysis: Obviously, I think Georgetown has been an underrated team so far. I still have Georgetown higher in my rankings than they were in the AP Poll last week before losing at Notre Dame. Here’s the thing, the Hoyas have lost to two good teams, but they also have more quality wins than just about anyone in the country (five); even with a loss this past week, Georgetown is still #1 in RPI, #3 in strength of schedule and 12-2 overall. Let’s be serious here.
Last Week: #6

9. Villanova (12-1)
Key Wins: UCLA, Temple
Key Losses: Tennessee
Analysis: The win over Temple was big and Nova figures to stay hot as they open with one of the easier stretches of any Big East team: vs. Rutgers, @ South Florida, and vs. Cincinnati.
Last Week: #9

10. Kentucky (11-2)
Key Wins: Washington, Notre Dame, Louisville
Key Losses: UCONN, UNC
Analysis: KU smoked Louisville on the road and could go undefeated in January against the far easier half of its SEC schedule.
Last Week: #10

11. Missouri (13-1)
Key Wins: Vanderbilt, Illinois, ODU
Key Losses: Georgetown
Last Week: #12

12. BYU (14-1)
Key Wins: Utah St., St. Mary’s, Arizona, UTEP
Key Losses: UCLA
Analysis: Big match-up on the road vs. UNLV this coming Wednesday.
Last Week: #13

13. Purdue (13-1)
Key Wins: Oakland, Virginia Tech, Michigan, N’western
Key Losses: Richmond
Analysis: Great start to Big Ten play for Purdue with a dismantling of Michigan on the road and another quality win over Northwestern at home.
Last Week: #14

14. Texas (11-2)
Key Wins: Illinois, @UNC, @MSU
Key Losses: @Pitt, @USC
Analysis: The Longhorns’ stock has risen the past couple weeks with wins over Michigan State and North Carolina on the road.
Last Week: #15

15. Texas A&M (12-1)
Key Wins: Temple, Washington, Arkansas
Key Losses: BCU
Last Week: #17

16. Notre Dame (12-2)
Key Wins: Cal, Georgia, @Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Georgetown
Key Loses: @Kentucky, @Syracuse
Analysis: Pretty break even week for The Fighting Irish with a big win over Georgetown and an expected loss vs. Syracuse on the road.
Last Week: #16

17. Kansas State (11-3)
Key Wins: Gonzaga, Virginia Tech, @WSU
Key Losses: @Duke, @Florida, UNLV
Analysis: KSU hit a bad stretch that finds them relatively underrated at the moment. This is still a top ten team and they should start creeping back up the rankings now that Jacob Pullen is back.
Last Week: #18

18. UCF (13-0)
Key Wins: Florida, @Miami
Key Losses:
Analysis: In my first edit of this post, I had Memphis and UCF switched, but when you compare resumes, UCF has the better wins and remains undefeated, even if Memphis has played a tougher schedule. Conference USA is shaping up to be surprisingly competitive.
Last Week: #23

19. Memphis (10-2)
Key Wins: Miami, @LSU
Key Losses: @Kansas, Georgetown
Analysis: Memphis heads to Tennessee to take on a struggling Volunteers team this coming Wednesday before diving into the C-USA schedule.
Last Week: #20

20. UNLV (12-2)
Key Wins: @Murray St., Wisconsin, @Virginia Tech, @KSU
Key Losses: @Louisville, UCSB
Analysis: Somehow the Running Rebels went unranked in the AP poll last week despite possessing three quality road wins, an 11-2 record, and a top 25 ranking in the RPI. What else do they want?
Last week: #24

21. Minnesota (11-3)
Key Wins: Siena, W.Kentucky, @UNC, @West Virginia, @St. Joe’s
Key Losses: Virginia, @Wisconsin, @MSU
Analysis: Minnesota had a tough week taking two losses on the road against two good opponents (MSU, Wisconsin) and come tumbling down the rankings this week.
Last Week: #11

22. Illinois (12-3)
Key Wins: @Maryland, UNC, @Gonzaga
Key Losses: @Texas, @Ill.Chicago, @Missouri
Last Week: #21

23. Washington (10-3)
Key Wins: Portland, @USC, @UCLA
Key Losses: @MSU, @Kentucky, @Texas A&M
Analysis: How close are the Huskies to being 13-0 right now? It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where UW wins the three games they lost; they were all pretty close up until the final minutes. Seriously, Washington could easily be San Diego State and if I had to bet between the two teams, I’d go with my Dawgs. As it is, UW has fought its way back into the top 25 by winning two of the toughest games on the PAC-10 ledger. They are also at #23 in the RPI and 29th in strength of schedule, so I’m not just being a homer here.
Last Week: Unranked

24. Louisville (11-2)
Key Wins: Butler, UNLV, @W.Kentucky
Key Losses: Drexel, Kentucky
Analysis: Losing to Kentucky at home isn’t great, but it’s not terrible either.
Last Week: #22

25. Michigan State (9-4)
Key Wins: Washington, Oakland, Minnesota
Key Losses: @UCONN, @Duke, @Syracuse, Texas
Analysis: When you look at some of the losses MSU has taken, it’s hard to say too many teams have played a much tougher schedule (even though the rank 29th in strength of schedule). MSU also has a measly #49 ranking in the RPI. I had this spot reserved for Wisconsin, but the Badgers couldn’t pull off the upset vs. Illinois on Sunday night.
Last Week: Unranked

DROPPED OUT:

19. West Virginia (8-4)
Key Wins: Oakland, Vanderbilt, VMI, Cleveland St.
Key Losses: Minnesota, @Miami, St. John’s, @Marquette
Analysis: West Virginia went from being a little underrated nationally to dropping its first two games of Big East play against a couple of the conference’s medium-talented teams.

25. Tennessee (9-4)
Key Wins: VCU, Villanova, @Pittsburgh
Key Losses: Oakland, @Charlotte, USC, Charleston
Analysis: The Vols continue their fall from grace with another loss, this time vs. Charleston, their third loss at home against a team they should be better than.

NEXT FIVE:

Butler (10-4)
Key Wins: @Siena, Stanford, FSU, @WSU
Key Losses: @Louisville, Evansville, @Duke, @Xavier

Florida (10-3)
Key Wins: @FSU, KSU, Xavier
Key Losses: OSU, @UCF, Jacksonville

Temple (9-3)
Key Wins: Georgetown, @Georgia, @Maryland
Key Losses: @Cal, @Texas A&M, @Villanova

Vanderbilt (10-2)
Key Wins: UNC, Marquette
Key Losses: WVU, Missouri

Wisconsin (11-3)
Key Wins: @BCU, NC State, @Marquette, Minnesota
Key Losses: @UNLV, Notre Dame, @Illinois

BUBBLE:

Arizona (11-2)
Key Wins: NC State
Key Losses: Kansas, BYU

Baylor (9-3)
Key Wins: ASU
Key Losses: Gonzaga, WSU, FSU

Boston College (11-3)
Key Wins: Texas A&M, Cal, Maryland, South Carolina
Key Losses: Yale, Wisconsin, RIU

Cincinnati (14-0)
Key Wins:
Key Losses:

Cleveland State (15-1)
Key Wins:
Key Losses: West Virginia

Gonzaga (10-5)
Key Wins: Marquette, Baylor, Xavier, OK St.
Key Losses: KSU, SDSU, Illinois, WSU, Notre Dame

North Carolina (9-4)
Key Wins: Kentucky
Key Losses: Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas

Northwestern (9-2)
Key Wins: Georgia Tech
Key Losses: St. John’s, Purdue

Oklahoma State (11-2)
Key Wins: Murray St., Stanford
Key Losses: Virginia Tech, Gonzaga

Old Dominion (9-3)
Key Wins: Xavier, Clemson, Richmond, Dayton
Key Losses: Georgetown, Delaware, Missouri

Richmond (10-3)
Key Wins: Purdue, ASU, VCU
Key Losses: Iona, ODU, G-Tech

St. John’s (9-3)
Key Wins: ASU, N’western, WVU
Key Losses: St. Mary’s, St. Bonaventure, Fordham

St. Mary’s (12-2)
Key Wins: St. John’s, Texas Tech, Miss State
Key Losses: BYU, SDSU

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