What a difference a week makes. Big name school asserted themselves (UConn, Duke, Michigan St.) "mid-majors" looked middling (Xavier, Davidson), and a few big conference unheralded squads began to place themselves squarely into the Bracketeering discussion (Minnesota, Clemson).
Little changed at the top; at the VERY top that is, other than another great addition to history, as Tyler Hansbrough eclipsed Phil Ford's 30-year standing as the leading scorer in the illustrious history of North Carolina basketball. Up next? Tyler sets his sights on JJ Reddick's ACC mark (our guesss? expect sometime in February...hey, what
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FINAL FOUR:1.
UNC - Perhaps they just beat everyone by twenty; they did the same to Evansville and Valpo this week. Other 20-point victims this year? Kentucky, Notre Dame and Michigan St.
2.
UConn- Speaking of "focus." I think we all see what can happen when the Huskies hunker down. This team is loaded, loaded, loaded with AJ Price an excellent equivalent to Ty Lawson at the point. There are some reason to grade this team tough (schedule, close games to sub RPI-100 teams) but lets be truthful. No one else has the depth or horses (other than maybe Duke) to give UNC a game.
3.
Oklahoma - I love these guys more every time I watch them. Wins over VCU may not pique the nation's fancy; but they are a good sign this team possesses the focus to
not stumble in the second round come March.
4.
Duke - Michigan game aside (the second one, when Scheyer and Singler went icicles against the 1-3-1 halfcourt) this has been the second best team in the country. Their thorough dismantling of Xavier Saturday
looked like a Final Four team. They are versatile (Singler, Henderson), deep (nine players solid - I know,
"Paulus sucks" but name me a better backup PG in America??), and tenacious defensively. This team scored 21 points and forced a half dozen turnovers before giving up a single bucket to a very good Xavier club.
ELITE EIGHT:5.
Pitt - Nice win over Florida State. Pitt is good. An eight point win over Florida State is not enough to put them in the Top 4. They will take on their first ranked opponent Jan 3rd @ Georgetown. I am looking forward to that game, it should be a nice unveiling for Sam Young, LaVance Fields and company.
6. Purdue - This is a complete ballclub when they are getting offensive contributions from their point guards and bigs like they did against Davidson Saturday. E'Twan Moore has not been
"All-American" good like some media outlets projected, but Purdue plays a fluid team style that does not lend to statistics. The defensive effort of Chris Kramer on Steph Curry this weekend was masterful. Purdue is a contender in an absolutely fantastic Big 10.
7. Ohio State - The Elite 8 numbers six through eight was tough this week. The AP poll give you: Wake Forest, Gonzaga & Notre Dame. Two of those teams have TWO losses; the other (Wake Forest) I defy
any of our readers to make a compelling case that they are the 6th best team in America. Meanwhile the unbeaten Bucks languish in the low teens. If the pre-season polls had them ranked, they would be #4 right now. We at least have them 7th. And that's probably why you are one of
our readers. .. (we appreciate it, b.t.w.)
8.
Gonzaga - A loss
yes, but not one to drop them in Bracketeering. An overtime loss to the 2nd best team in the nation should not be a crippler. But, the Arizona loss has us a little uneasy (particularly after they got housed by UNLV on Saturday). Gonzaga is really good, but seems to be teetering a bit on underachieveing...
Sweet and lurking: The next tier (in order)
9. Syracuse - The AP poll has them 17th this week. The buzzer beater loss to Cleveland State? Yup, a bad one. The subsequent road win at Memphis minus Devendorf makes up for it. If you are scoring at home, Boeheim's December bakery run has been replaced with wins over Florida, Kansas and the aforementioned Tigers.
10. Wake Forest - Undefeated still, but we have a little different criteria to move UP than the AP poll does (their criteria? "teams losing ahead of you while you munch cupcakes") Honestly, do you think this is the 6th best team in the country?? Other than the win over Baylor, there is little to brag about pre-ACC.
11. Georgetown - Things are going great so far for the Hoyas, but their stretch from Dec 29th - Jan 6th is BRUTAL (UConn, Notre Dame and Pitt). Survive that unblemished? #2 is realistic. Let's win ONE first though...
12. Notre Dame - My highest ranked 2-loss club other than Gonzaga. They get a free pass for the UNC loss, I think most of us were amazed by HOW good UNC is; that win was the grand unveiling. However, with Harangody healthy again, this is a legit Final Four caliber team.
13. Michigan St. - They firmly handled Texas in Dallas. Izzo's teams are
always better in March than November. If they are as good as they looked in Dallas this weekend, look out.
14. UCLA - Time to stop punishing them for two close losses. The Michigan loss seems more reasonable after their handling of Duke, and losing @ Texas is no embarrassment. As J'Rue Holliday gets more comfortable, the Bruins are looking more comfortable winning a down Pac-10.
15. Missouri - Their only loss was a last-minute defeat to Xavier in Puerto Rico. They have beaten Cal and Arizona State handily. Their game tonight against Illinois is a quiet GREAT game. I like them at #15 over more heralded conference mate Baylor. Tonight will show me if I am right.
16. Michigan - The Big Ten is legit. Their could easily be 6 teams in the top 16 if I was ready to consider Minnesota "good" more than I consider Louisville "un-good". Michigan's wins over UCLA and Duke stand on their own. However, since then, the Wolverines have been biding time tackling stalwarts like Florida Gulf Coast and Oakland. Since they haven't played anyone, it is hard to move them up - and their wins haven't gotten any LESS impressive. So for now - they stay at #16.
They resume
basketball next week playing Wisconsin and Illinois. Win those and we can consider moving them up.
Slippin': The Maniac drops the hammerXavier - It hurts, but lets be honest. Saturday showed that senior BJ Raymond was right when he called the Muskies "the worst undefeated team in the country."
Yes! I agree! #7 was WAY too high!
Louisville - This season reminds me of '05 for the Cards. Preseason Top 5 ranking. A few big name returners, a big-time heralded recruit coming, and disappointing loss after disappointing loss. Cards fans hope this year doesn't end in similar Spring kNITinng.
Texas - The polls won't punish them as hard as we will for the Michigan State loss... because it is NOT about the Michigan State game. It is the back-to-back somnambulistic performances versus in-state corpses Texas St & Texas Southern.
Closing In...
Villanova, Illinois, St. Mary's, Baylor, Tennessee, UNLV, Butler
Half Court Heaves: Long shots worth keeping an eye onDrake, Kentucky, Dayton, VMI, Illinois-Chicago, Evansville, Boston College, Texas A&M, Houston, Illinois St, Charleston, IUPUI
Davidson might have even more to worry about; Charleston can PLAY.. LOOKING BACK...
Intriguing...Now Come Out and Play! (Copied from LAST week - let's see each team's responses)
Minnesota (10-0) - Georgia St, Virginia, Bowling Green (yes, those are their "best" wins)
Went out and whooped Lousiville. "Nuff Said. Tubby has more than just getting to the tourney on his mind from here on out.Stanford (5-0) - Air Force, Colorado, Colorado St. (that's right, you're my bitch Colorado!)
Nice home win over Northwestern. Still have some proving to do.LSU (7-0) - This list is simply awesome, I shall post it in it's entirety: Troy, Centenary, CSU Fullerton, Jackson St, Alcorn St, Grambling St, Northwestern St. (3-0 vs. the SWAC!!)
Lost to Texas A&M by a dozen. Oh well, there's always the SWAC tournament...
When you think about it, not a BAD build at all...
"Pre" Season Grade: A- (click for game details)
