Predictions - 13 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Heat at Celtics - Celtics by 1
Lakers at Magic - Magic by 1
Wizards at Cavaliers - Wizards by 1
Trail Blazers at Pistons - Blazers by 2
Clippers at Raptors - Clippers by 1
Nuggets at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 2
Thunder at Warriors - Thunder by 3
Kings at Suns - Suns by 8

College Basketball

(5) Duke at Miami - Duke by 10
Providence at (9) Connecticut - UConn by 11
Marquette at (11) Georgetown - Georgetown by 10
(12) Purdue at Illinois - Illinois by 4
(16) Arizona at Arizona State - Arizona by 7
(15) Minnesota at Iowa - Iowa by 4

Prediction Results - 12 Feb

NBA: 4/8 (.500) 436/619 overall (.704)
College Basketball: 14/18 (.778) 421/519 overall (.811)
Upsets: 2/7 (.286) 107/179 overall (.598)

NBA Player of the Day

Kevin Durant - OKC - 35 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 13-22 FG, 1-3 3P, 8-13 FT
Even though he missed two free throws in the final seconds that would have put the game away, Durant did enough before that to give the Thunder a road victory against Sacramento. Durant's league-leading scoring average is now up to 29.1 per game, and he's nearly a lock to win his second straight scoring title.

NBA Regular Season and Playoff Predictions - 12 Feb

Last week I introduced my long-term NBA predictions, and today I am updating those predictions to reflect the results of recent games. Each team's projected record is followed by its current standing in the conference and its change in projected wins in parentheses. Teams that performed better than expected this week saw an increase in wins and sometimes seeding.

Eastern Conference

1. Miami (61-21) (1) (+1)

2. Boston (59-23) (2) (-2)

3. Chicago (56-26) (3) (-2)

4. Orlando (53-29) (5) (0)

5. Atlanta (47-35) (4) (-2)

6. Philadelphia (42-40) (7) (+2)

7. New York (41-41) (6) (-1)

8. Indiana (39-43) (8) (+3)

9. Milwaukee (35-47) (10) (-2)

10. Charlotte (33-49) (9) (-1)

Indiana's strong week and Milwaukee's collapse have allowed Indiana to grab a firm hold on the final playoff berth for now. Philadelphia has also jumped a spot this week thanks to a combination of their success and New York's struggles. The other change happened at the top, where Miami passed Boston after the Celtics lost multiple games this week. Those are still the only two teams with a real chance at the top seed in the East, with Chicago still barely in the hunt.

Western Conference

1. San Antonio (65-17) (1) (+1)

2. LA Lakers (58-24) (2) (+2)

3. Dallas (55-27) (3) (+1)

4. Oklahoma City (51-31) (4) (0)

5. New Orleans (49-33) (5) (-2)

6. Denver (47-35) (6) (-2)

7. Memphis (43-39) (9) (-1)

8. Portland (43-39) (8) (+1)

9. Utah (43-39) (7) (-1)

10. Phoenix (41-41) (10) (+2)

11. Houston (40-42) (11) (0)

The Spurs will be #1, the Lakers and Mavericks will have home court in the first round, but nothing else in the West is set. Denver looks somewhat safe at this point, but their are still 5 teams with a very good chance at the final two spots, which means every game is very important. Phoenix and Portland played themselves into good positions this week, with Portland knocking struggling Utah out of the current playoff picture, but only by the skin of their teeth. This should be a very interesting race to watch play out.

Playoffs

First Round

Heat over Pacers in 5

Celtics over Knicks in 5

Bulls over 76ers in 6

Magic over Hawks in 6

Spurs over Blazers in 5

Lakers over Grizzlies in 6

Mavericks over Nuggets in 7

Hornets over Thunder in 7

Second Round

Heat over Magic in 6

Celtics over Bulls in 7

Spurs over Hornets in 6

Lakers over Mavericks in 6

Conference Finals

Heat over Celtics in 7

Spurs over Lakers in 7

Finals

Heat over Spurs in 7

NBA Player of the Day

Kobe Bryant - LAL - 33 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 12-17 FG, 4-7 3P, 5-8 FT

As nice as it would be to put Antawn Jamison here for his great effort in ending Cleveland's record losing streak, Kobe's performance alone trumped his last night. Kobe scored 19 points in the first quarter, then sat out the entire 4th as the Lakers ran away from the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Just imagine what his stats would look like if the game was close enough that he had to play more than 29 minutes.

Predictions - 12 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Bobcats at Hawks - Hawks by 6

Knicks at Nets - Knicks by 2

Bulls at Hornets - Hornets by 1

76ers at Timberwolves - 76ers by 3

Spurs at Wizards - Spurs by 9

Mavericks at Rockets - Rockets by 1

Pacers at Bucks - Bucks by 2

Thunder at Kings - Thunder by 5

College Basketball

(1) Ohio State at (14) Wisconsin - Ohio State by 1

Iowa State at (2) Kansas - Kansas by 22

Baylor at (3) Texas - Texas by 17

(4) Pittsburgh at (10) Villanova - Nova by 1

(6) San Diego State at UNLV - UNLV by 2

(7) Notre Dame at South Florida - Notre Dame by 6

Utah at (8) BYU - BYU by 25

(13) Syracuse at (15) Louisville - Louisville by 6

Fresno State at (17) Utah State - Utah State by 17

(18) Kentucky at (24) Vanderbilt - Vandy by 1

Tennessee at (19) Florida - Florida by 8

Oklahoma at (20) Missouri - Missouri by 18

(21) North Carolina at Clemson - North Carolina by 1

(22) Texas A&M at Texas Tech - Texas A&M by 5

(23) Saint Mary's at San Francisco - Saint Mary's by 5

Belmont at Campbell - Belmont by 13

Maryland at Boston College - Maryland by 3

Stanford at Washington - Washington by 19

Prediction Results - 11 Feb

NBA: 5/10 (.500) 432/611 overall (.707)

NBA MVP Rankings - 11 Feb

In this week's Awards Watch on ESPN, Maurice Brooks finally agreed with me and moved LeBron James up to the top spot in the MVP rankings. He also moved Dorell Wright into his Most Improved Player rankings (finally) after I had had both players at #1 for over a month. While you may not see quite as much movement in my rankings as Brooks likes to use, I believe my rankings are a very accurate reflection of the actual state of the players in the NBA. Here are this week's rankings, with previous ranking in parentheses.

Most Valuable Player

1. LeBron James - MIA - 26.4 pts, 7.3 reb, 7.3 ast (1)

James' case to win his 3rd straight MVP is getting stronger each day. He scored 41 points against Indiana this week, his second straight week with a 40-point game. He is still the best player in the league, which he keeps proving. His stats are not that far below last year's numbers. He plays for the best team in the NBA (not the team with the best record, the best team). And his former team has now set a new record for consecutive losses, even more proof that LeBron is the Most Valuable Player in the NBA.

2. Dwyane Wade - MIA - 25.2 pts, 6.8 reb, 4.4 ast (2)

Wade continued to play second fiddle to LeBron James this week, putting up just one impressive performance, his triple double against the Charlotte Bobcats. They both seem to fit well into their roles, and Miami has now won 7 straight again, and they have their eye on the best record in the East, which is getting more likely with every Boston loss.

3. Derrick Rose - CHI - 24.7 pts, 4.4 reb, 8.2 ast (3)

Rose scored 36 points in 38 minutes of action against Portland this week, his highest output in nearly a month, but the end result was not the same. Last time he scored 36, Chicago upset Boston, but this time they lost by 6 to the Trail Blazers. Unless the Heat hit a big slump or one of their stars goes down, Rose will not climb any higher in the rankings.

4. Kevin Durant - OKC - 29.0 pts, 7.1 reb, 2.8 ast (4)

By his recent standards, this was a down week for the scoring leader, but the Thunder have maintained their spot at the top of the division, and Durant has now grabbed double-figure rebounds in 5 straight games, something he hadn't done in consecutive games yet this season.

5. Kobe Bryant - LAL - 25.4 pts, 5.2 reb, 5.0 ast (5)

Kobe has been playing very good all-around basketball so far this month, averaging 24.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.2 assists as the Lakers have started the month 4-1, with the only loss coming by one point to the San Antonio Spurs.

6. Pau Gasol - LAL - 18.7 pts, 10.5 reb, 1.8 blk (7)

When Pau reaches a double-double, the Lakers are 23-6 this season, but they are only 14-10 when he doesn't. This week, the big man's big games helped LA beat New Orleans and Boston on the road.

7. Russell Westbrook - OKC - 22.5 pts, 5.1 reb, 8.6 ast (6)

Westbrook posted 3 straight double-doubles this week, but the Thunder last at home to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, which was enough to drop Oklahoma City's point guard down a notch in the rankings this week.

8. Dirk Nowitzki - DAL - 22.7 pts, 6.8 reb, 2.5 ast (8)

The Mavericks' 10-game winning streak came to an end last night in Denver, but the only reason it didn't end a couple games earlier was that the previous two wins were against Cleveland and Sacramento, teams they could beat in their sleep. The loss to Denver was the third straight game that Dirk failed to score 20 points.

9. Dwight Howard - ORL - 22.5 pts, 13.8 reb, 2.1 blk (9)

Howard was a beast this week, averaging 25 points and 16 rebounds over 4 games for the Magic, but their week was marred by yet another loss, this one by 11 points at Boston, one of their chief rivals for the Eastern Conference title.

10. Al Horford - ATL - 16.2 pts, 9.9 reb, 3.6 ast (NR)

Al Horford makes his debut on the MVP rankings this week after missing two games due to injury, and it's easy to see how valuable he is to the Hawks when you notice that he was injured during their two worst losses of the season, the 34-point loss to Philadelphia this week and their 41-point loss to New Orleans last month.

Outside looking in:

Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony

Rookie of the Year

1. Blake Griffin - LAC - 22.6 pts, 12.6 reb, 3.5 ast (1)

You know you're good when it's news that you didn't record a double-double, which was the case for Griffin against New York two nights ago, just the second time since Thanksgiving he had failed to put up double figures in both points and rebounds.

2. John Wall - WAS - 14.8 pts, 4.2 reb, 9.0 ast (2)

After struggling mightily in a loss to New Orleans last week, Wall got his touch back, scoring at least 14 in each of Washington's last 3 games, but his assist numbers suffered as a result. The teeter-totter effect is still showing up heavily in Wall's stats.

3. DeMarcus Cousin - SAC - 13.9 pts, 8.0 reb, 1.8 ast (4)

Cousins was great in the Kings' close losses to Utah and Dallas, this week, putting up 25 and 14 against the Jazz and 19 and 15 against the Mavericks. He seems to be hitting his stride, which could be very good for Sacramento, which is already building a strong young foundation with reigning ROY Tyreke Evans.

4. Landry Fields - NYK - 10.0 pts, 7.2 reb, 1.9 ast (3)

In New York's 3 losses so far this month, he scored a total of 13 points. In their lone win, he had 25 points and 10 rebounds, the best game of his career so far. He may be the second weapon that the Knicks need to go along with Amare, but he needs to do it every night.

5. Greg Monroe - DET - 7.4 pts, 6.6 reb, 1.0 stl (NR)

Monroe registered two double-doubles this week, increasing his total for the season to 8, and all 8 have come since the beginning of January. The extra playing time he's been receiving lately has helped Detroit uncover a very good player in hiding.

Sixth Man of the Year

1. Jason Terry - DAL - 16.1 pts, 2.0 reb, 4.3 ast (1)

Terry averaged over 21 points per game this week, shot very close to 50%, and only missed one free throw in 25 attempts. The result was four more wins for Dallas, and if he had made that free throw, maybe they would have had one more.

2. Ramon Sessions - CLE - 11.8 pts, 2.9 reb, 5.2 ast (5)

The spike in Sessions' productivity is probably a direct result of him being inserted into the starting lineup as an injury replacement, but it's no fluke. He is averaging 19.8 points, 10.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2 steals per game in February while shooting nearly 60% from the field, not bad for a backup point guard on the league's worst team.

3. Jamal Crawford - ATL - 15.7 pts, 1.8 reb, 3.4 ast (2)

Crawford came off the bench to score 34 points against the Clippers last Friday, including 5 3-pointers, but in their two games since, he scored only 15 points on 6 for 20 shooting, with no 3-pointers.

4. Thaddeus Young - PHI - 11.8 pts, 5.1 reb, 1.1 ast (4)

Young scored in double-figures in 3 straight games this week, 2 of which were victories for the 76ers, who are still in the hunt for a playoff berth, but only put up 7 when they faced some real playoff competition on Tuesday.

5. Shawn Marion - DAL - 11.5 pts, 6.5 reb, 1.1 ast (NR)

Marion reentered the list of the top 5 bench players this week after scoring in double figures 4 times, one of which was a double-double effort against Cleveland. He still doesn't seem completely comfortable as a reserve, but he is 32 years old, which is past the prime of most athletic players.

Most Improved Player

1. Dorell Wright - GSW - +9.4 pts, +2.4 reb, +1.9 ast (1)

Wright made a strong case for the MIP award with the near triple-double against Denver that won him Player of the Day honors, but he was completely shut down by Phoenix last night, scoring just 3 points on 1-9 shooting.

2. D.J. Augustin - CHA - +8.5 pts, +1.7 reb, +3.8 ast (2)

Wright's struggles last night opened a window for Augustin to slip through, but the Bobcats' point guard struggled this week as well, posting two single-digit scoring games in the same week for the first time under coach Paul Silas.

3. Kevin Love - MIN - +7.4 pts, +4.6 reb, +0.2 ast (3)

Love's double-double streak now stands at 38 games, the third longest in the NBA since the merger in the late 1970's. The only person in that time to post a longer streak was Hall of Famer Moses Malone, just the kind of company to be keeping if you're a big man.

4. Nick Young - WAS - +9.0 pts, +1.3 reb, +0.7 ast (4)

Young keeps scoring, and the Wizards keep losing. Washington plays at Cleveland on Sunday, which is the best chance they will have of winning a road game this season. Young better bring his touch with him.

5. Jrue Holiday - PHI - +5.5 pts, +1.3 reb, +2.6 ast (5)

The Pac-10 is will represented in this week's Most Improved rankings, which is something that we haven't been able to say about the current slate of players in the conference. Holiday contributed 15 points to the 76ers' blowout of Atlanta this week.

NBA Player of the Day

Carmelo Anthony - DEN - 42 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 17-25 FG, 5-7 3P, 3-3 FT

He may have fouled out in the final seconds, but it was Carmelo's big night that put Denver in position to beat the Mavericks and end their 10-game winning streak. It was the second time in three games that Anthony scored over 40, a trend the Nuggets will be happy to see as long as he's still in their uniform.

Predictions - 11 Feb

NBA

Timberwolves at Pacers - Pacers by 7

Hornets at Magic - Magic by 6

Spurs at 76ers - Spurs by 4

Trail Blazers at Raptors - Blazers by 3

Nets at Bobcats - Bobcats by 5

Clippers at Cavaliers - Clippers by 5

Heat at Pistons - Heat by 8

Lakers at Knicks - Lakers by 4

Bucks at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 6

Suns at Jazz - Jazz by 2

Prediction Results - 10 Feb

NBA: 2/3 (.667) 427/601 overall (.710)

College Basketball: 5/5 (1.000) 407/501 overall (.812)

Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 105/172 overall (.610)

Predictions - 10 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Lakers at Celtics - Celtics by 3

Warriors at Suns - Suns by 5

Mavericks at Nuggets - Nuggets by 2

College Basketball

(9) Connecticut at Saint John's - Saint John's by 1

(23) Saint Mary's at Santa Clara - Saint Mary's by 7

Alabama at (24) Vanderbilt - Vandy by 10

Illinois at (25) Minnesota - Illinois by 1

California at Washington - Washington by 17

Prediction Results - 9 Feb

NBA: 6/10 (.600) 425/598 overall (.711)

College Basketball: 8/12 (.667) 402/496 overall (.810)

Upsets: 1/3 (.333) 103/170 overall (.606)

NBA Player of the Day

Dorell Wright - GSW - 23 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl, 8-20 FG, 4-11 3P, 3-4 FT

While Monta Ellis may have gotten more attention last night for his 37 points, his teammate Dorell Wright filled up the rest of the scoresheet as the Warriors upset the Denver Nuggets to close up a very productive homestand. Wright strengthened his case for Most Improved Player, and even Maurice Brooks of ESPN now has him among the contenders for the award.

College Basketball Rankings - 9 Feb

Two conference favorites lost games unexpectedly this week and hurt their chances at getting a good seed in the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky lost at Florida, dropping them 2 games behind the Gators for the SEC East lead. Washington lost consecutive road games to Oregon and Oregon State, which dropped them 2 games behind Arizona for the conference lead and third overall in the Pac 10. Most of the other favorites were able to take care of business this week, and a couple of familiar Big East faces have rejoined the top 25. Each team's record is followed by this week's record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Ohio State (2-0) (24-0) -23.09 (2)
2. Kansas (2-0) (23-1) -23.02 (1)
3. Duke (2-0) (21-2) -22.80 (3)
4. Pittsburgh (2-0) (22-2) -19.36 (7)
5. Texas (1-0) (20-3) -19.08 (4)
6. BYU (2-0) (22-2) -18.73 (8)
7. Kentucky (1-1) (17-6) -18.48 (6)
8. Wisconsin (1-0) (17-5) -17.97 (12)
9. Washington (0-2) (15-7) -17.65 (5)
10. Purdue (1-0) (19-5) -17.508 (11)
11. San Diego State (3-0) (24-1) -17.506 (9)
12. North Carolina (1-0) (17-5) -16.69 (10)
13. Syracuse (2-0) (20-4) -15.96 (NR)
14. Illinois (0-1) (15-8) -15.38 (15)
15. Georgetown (1-0) (18-5) -15.25 (13)
16. Arizona (2-0) (20-4) -15.17 (17)
17. Villanova (2-0) (19-4) -15.13 (25)
18. Belmont (2-0) (22-4) -14.71 (19)
19. Connecticut (1-1) (18-4) -14.23 (20)
20. Vanderbilt (1-0) (16-6) -14.17 (22)
21. Maryland (1-1) (15-8) -13.95 (16)
22. Louisville (1-0) (18-5) -13.74 (14)
23. Notre Dame (2-0) (19-4) -13.68 (21)
24. Missouri (1-2) (18-6) -13.66 (24)
25. Marquette (0-1) (14-9) -13.52 (NR)

Dropping out:

West Virginia (1-2) (15-8) -13.23 (18)
Saint Mary's (2-0) (20-4) -13.16 (23)

Ranked teams by conference:

Big East: 8
Big 10: 4
Big 12: 3
ACC: 3
MWC: 2
SEC: 2
Pac 10: 2
Atl Sun: 1

Feeling the Love

After spending the last 2 weeks on the cold list, the Syracuse Orange came back to life this week as they pulled off a huge upset at UConn and blew out South Florida on the road 3 days later. While the 4-game losing streak will be hard to forget, they're getting hot at just the right time, with games this week against Georgetown and Louisville.

Duke fought off a very tough Maryland team on the road this week in a game that I thought would be much closer than it was. Duke's victory gave them a very firm hold on a top 3 spot, and they have joined Kansas and Ohio State in pulling away from the rest of the pack this week.

Utah State still has not beaten a good team, but their two losses were to Georgetown and BYU, both of which are currently in my top 15, and they won their two conference games this week by an average of 25 points. They have now won 17 straight games and are making their move at just the right time.

Wisconsin only played one game this week, but what a game it was. They blasted preseason conference favorite Michigan State 82-56 in their highest scoring game in over two months. Coming up this week is a shot at taking down #1 Ohio State, an outcome that I think will most likely happen.

Villanova played two home games this week against teams that have been hanging right around the bottom of the top 25 for several weeks, and instead of winning by 6 or 7, like I expected, they won the two games by a combined 31 points, not giving either one of the challengers a chance to pull off the upset. This week they'll get the chance to impress even more as they take on conference-leading Pitt at home.

Broken Hearts

Washington's collapse this week was completely unexpected and very disturbing. The Ducks and Beavers have absolutely no hope of playing in the NCAA Tournament, and Washington was looking at getting a favorable seed, but now they may need to win the conference tournament just to ensure that they even get in the field.

Louisville did not lose a game this week, but a comeback win over DePaul, the only Big East team without a conference win this season, does not sound like a real victory. They Cardinals were missing several of their best players, but playing the conference doormat at home should be a recipe for an easy victory, no matter who takes the floor.

Washington State joins their in-state rivals on the cold list this week after they were also upset by the Oregon Ducks, 69-43. They did bounce back against the Beavers, winning the game by 6, but with the struggles coming from the two schools this week, it's starting to look doubtful that both will make the tournament anymore.

West Virginia continued their up-and-down play of the past few weeks with back-to-back losses to Villanova and Pitt this week. The Mountaineers are still looking like they will probably make it to March Madness, but they haven't beaten a ranked team in 3 weeks, which is like 3 months in Big East time.

Texas won the only game they played this week, at home over Texas Tech, 76-60. It may seem odd that they earned a spot on the cold list with that performance, but a national title contender should be blowing out any team with a losing record, especially at this point in the season, and 16 points just doesn't cut it at home.

NBA Player of the Day

LeBron James - MIA - 41 pts, 13 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 15-23 FG, 2-5 3P, 9-13 FT
The Indiana Pacers came out hot last night, shooting over 60% for more than half of the game, but they were no match for the MVP, who had an amazing game. James is just the 4th player to record those numbers in the past 25 years, and the others are very good company: David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Larry Bird.

Predictions - 9 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Pistons at Cavaliers - Pistons by 3
Bobcats at Pacers - Pacers by 6
Hornets at Nets - Hornets by 6
Magic at 76ers - Magic by 1
Bucks at Wizards - Bucks by 3
Spurs at Raptors - Spurs by 10
Clippers at Knicks - Knicks by 6
Bulls at Jazz - Bulls by 2
Mavericks at Kings - Mavs by 6
Nuggets at Warriors - Nuggets by 3

College Basketball

(3) Texas at Oklahoma - Texas by 12
(21) North Carolina at (5) Duke - Duke by 12
(15) Louisville at (7) Notre Dame - Notre Dame by 6
(8) BYU at Air Force - BYU by 9
(10) Villanova at Rutgers - Nova by 3
(11) Georgetown at (13) Syracuse - Syracuse by 6
(14) Wisconsin at Iowa - Wisconsin by 6
(17) Utah State at Idaho - Utah State by 6
(19) Florida at South Carolina - Florida by 4
(22) Texas A&M at Colorado - Colorado by 5
Longwood at Maryland - Maryland by 34
Marquette at South Florida - Marquette by 6

Prediction Results - 8 Feb

NBA: 4/7 (.571) 419/588 overall (.713)
College Basketball: 3/3 (1.000) 394/484 overall (.814)

I have now picked 9 straight college basketball games correctly, and we'll see if I can double that streak today.

College Basketball Overrated and Underrated - 8 Feb

There are three new teams in the overrated rankings this week, which means that three of last week's teams finally made an exit from that list. Two of them, Minnesota and UConn, left in the way I like to see, by being upset by lower-ranked or unranked teams, Minnesota to Indiana and UConn to Syracuse. Villanova, however, is no longer as overrated as before, thanks to impressive wins over Marquette and West Virginia showed that they are one of the best in the Big East. There is only one team exiting my underrated rankings this week, and it's a team that been with me almost the entire season: Saint Mary's. Their close wins over Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount this week made it clear that they are not the same team they were early in the season, although I still consider them a team with upset potential in the first round. Here are the new rankings, with last week's ranking in parentheses.

Overrated

1. Texas A&M (3)

2. Florida

3. Notre Dame

4. Utah State (2)

5. Temple

Texas A&M is still ranked, despite the fact that they have now dropped 4 of their last five games, including two losses to unranked teams, the last one on their home court. The other two losses were both 20-point blowouts against Texas, and even though Texas is good, no ranked team should be losing by 20 to anyone. Their losing streak should continue this week against Colorado before a visit to last-place Texas Tech allows them to stop the bleeding momentarily.

The Florida Gators' two wins over ranked teams (Kentucky and Vanderbilt) this week would seem to make them worthy of a spot in the rankings, but those victories would have been much more impressive three weeks ago when both of those teams were still playing their best basketball. I don't see them losing again until they go to Kentucky at the end of the month, so maybe they'll convince me to take them off this list by then.

Notre Dame has been just outside these rankings for week's now, and it's not that they aren't a good team, because they are, but they are not a top 10 team. They are just another average Big East team, but if there's a conference you want to be average in, it's the Big East. Last month they lost to Marquette and Saint John's, both unranked, and this week they narrowly escaped Rutgers, a team that is not even being considered for the tournament. I see their next loss coming at West Virginia on the 19th, but tomorrow against Louisville could also be close.

Utah State worked their way down these rankings last week the hard way, by obliterating weak competition. They won consecutive games over Nevada and Boise State by 22 and 28, respectively, and their biggest challenge the rest of the way will be their BracketBuster matchup with Saint Mary's on the 19th.

Temple made it back into the AP top 25 this week by virtue of having the best overall record in the Atlantic 10, but if you look at this week's results (which the voters obviously didn't), it doesn't make any sense. They beat LaSalle, a team with a losing record, by a measly four points, then beat Rhode Island, an average team at best, by 13 at home. If any team from the Atlantic 10 deserves to be ranked, it's Duquesne, the current conference leader and its best team.

Underrated

1. Maryland (1)

2. Washington (4)

3. Illinois (5)

4. Belmont (2)

5. Kentucky

Maryland didn't play nearly as well against Duke as they should have, so it's understandable that they don't have any votes in the polls, but they did blow out Wake Forest this week, a sign that they are a good team, but they will have to do the same to Longwood this week to maintain their spot in these rankings.

Washington lost to both Oregon and Oregon State, two of the worst teams in the Pac 10, this week, which is the cause of their drop from the national rankings, but by dropping them the voters are overlooking the fact that they beat Arizona handily and blew out some other very good teams, such as Portland, earlier in the year. If they lose to Cal or Stanford this week, my stance on them may begin to soften.

Illinois continued their descent in the polls this week with a loss to unranked Northwestern, their fifth loss in 7 games, but after they "upset" Minnesota and Purdue this week, I think the voters will be singing a different tune.

Belmont's win over North Florida this week was a little too close for comfort, but they are still 14-1 in conference play and don't look likely to slip up again before the regular season ends.

Two 2-point losses on the road to good SEC teams this week sent Kentucky flying down the rankings, but should it have? Kentucky is still the best team in the conference, even if the standings don't show it right now, and I'm worried that the voters won't forgive another loss, which is quite likely when they face Vanderbilt on the road this weekend.

NBA Player of the Day

LaMarcus Aldridge - POR - 42 pts, 8 reb, 2 blk, 15-23 FG, 12-14 FT

Yes, Carmelo Anthony was better than Aldridge in nearly every category last night, including points, rebounds, blocks, and shooting percentage, but there was one very important category where Aldridge beat Anthony last night - wins. The All-Star snub's 42 points were a career high, and Portland pulled within 2 games of passing Denver for the 7th seed in the playoffs.

Predictions - 8 Feb

NBA

76ers at Hawks - Hawks by 4

Clippers at Magic - Magic by 10

Spurs at Pistons - Spurs by 7

Pacers at Heat - Heat by 10

Raptors at Bucks - Bucks by 6

Grizzlies at Thunder - Thunder by 5

Timberwolves at Rockets - Rockets by 9

College Basketball

Utah at (6) San Diego State - San Diego State by 20

Indiana at (12) Purdue - Purdue by 15

Tennessee at (18) Kentucky - Kentucky by 15

Prediction Results - 7 Feb

NBA: 3/8 (.375) 415/581 overall (.714)

College Basketball: 2/2 (1.000) 391/481 overall (.813)

Upsets: 0/1 (.000) 102/167 overall (.611)

NBA Rankings - 7 Feb

The Cleveland Cavaliers have set a new record for futility, with a now-record 24-game losing streak currently in progress. They broke the record of 23 games that was originally set by the Vancouver Grizzlies in their first season, who had a certain current Cavaliers head coach on their roster at the time. I sure hope that's just a coincidence. The Indiana Pacers made a coaching change, and so far it's had the same kind of impact that Charlotte saw when it fired Larry Brown. Each team's name is followed by its weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (4-0) (37-14) -7.69 (2)

2. San Antonio (2-1) (42-8) -7.30 (1)

3. Boston (2-1) (38-12) -6.69 (3)

4. LA Lakers (2-1) (35-16) -6.19 (4)

5. Orlando (1-3) (32-20) -5.24 (6)

6. Chicago (1-1) (34-15) -5.12 (5)

7. Dallas (4-0) (35-15) -3.98 (8)

8. New Orleans (1-2) (32-20) -3.44 (7)

9. Denver (2-2) (30-21) -3.35 (9)

10. Oklahoma City (3-0) (33-17) -3.06 (10)

11. Atlanta (3-0) (33-18) -1.89 (11)

12. Memphis (3-1) (27-25) -1.70 (12)

13. Houston (2-1) (24-28) -1.16 (14)

14. New York (1-2) (26-24) -0.99 (13)

15. Portland (2-2) (27-24) -0.52 (15)

16. Philadelphia (2-1) (23-27) -0.22 (16)

17. Indiana (4-0) (21-27) -0.17 (20)

18. Utah (2-2) (30-22) -0.09 (17)

19. Phoenix (1-1) (23-25) 0.60 (19)

20. Milwaukee (0-4) (19-30) 1.08 (18)

21. Golden State (2-0) (22-27) 1.82 (22)

22. LA Clippers (1-3) (19-31) 2.09 (21)

23. Detroit (2-1) (19-32) 2.92 (24)

24. Charlotte (1-3) (21-29) 3.21 (23)

25. Toronto (1-2) (14-37) 4.76 (27)

26. Sacramento (0-2) (12-35) 4.98 (26)

27. Minnesota (0-3) (11-39) 5.25 (25)

28. Washington (0-4) (13-37) 5.77 (29)

29. New Jersey (1-3) (15-37) 5.96 (28)

30. Cleveland (0-4) (8-43) 9.82 (30)

Hot:

The Indiana Pacers are on a 4-game winning streak since they switched coaches, and even though 3 of those games were against teams in the bottom 6, the other one was a convincing win over Portland, who is currently occupying a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. While I wouldn't say they are resurrected quite yet, it's sure a good way to start a new coach's regime.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a very strong week, starting out with an impressive victory over the Hornets, a team they had lost to just a week earlier. They followed that up with consecutive road wins at Utah and Phoenix, both in games I thought they would lose. They should be favored to win each of their next five, which could have them riding an 8-game winning streak into San Antonio after the All-Star break.

The Detroit Pistons looked rejuvenated on Saturday, with Tracy McGrady playing point guard and Rip Hamilton back in the lineup after a lengthy benching due to trade rumors. Not only did they blow out the Bucks on the road, but they won the game before, against New Jersey, by double digits as well.

Not:

The Milwaukee Bucks went 0-3 on their West Coast road trip against the middle of the Pacific Division, which included no one who is currently playoff caliber. After the disappointing trip, they returned home to be beaten by the Detroit Pistons, who are even worse than any of the teams they lost to on the road. Milwaukee's next two games are against Toronto and Washington, but given how this week went, I wouldn't be too sure they'll win either one of them.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have only beaten 3 teams all season who are not among the 10 worst in the league, and they weren't even close to increasing that number this week in home blowouts against Memphis and Denver. Kevin Love was selected to the All-Star team this week, but he is the only reason the Wolves have won a game this year.

The Chicago Bulls were looking so good heading into their game with Golden State on Saturday, with 6 straight wins, the last 5 by a minimum of 9 points, and they were looking good midway through the 3rd quarter, but everything fell apart in the 4th and they lost to the Warriors by 11. Most likely they just had a bad quarter, but when it comes against a team that has no playoff hopes you always have to be a little concerned.

NBA Player of the Day

Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 41 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 17-21 FG, 7-7 FT

Amare flirted with Pistol Pete's Super Bowl day record of 50 points for a while as he and the Knicks avenged their loss to the 76ers last week. Stoudemire missed only 4 shots in the entire game and continued to establish himself among the MVP contenders.

Predictions - 7 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

College Basketball

(15) Missouri at (2) Kansas - Kansas by 15

(4) Pittsburgh at West Virginia - Pitt by 1

NBA

Celtics at Bobcats - Celtics by 7

Timberwolves at Hornets - Hornets by 11

Lakers at Grizzlies - Lakers by 2

Cavaliers at Mavericks - Mavs by 17

Rockets at Nuggets - Nuggets by 5

Bulls at Trail Blazers - Bulls by 2

Jazz at Kings - Jazz by 2

Suns at Warriors - Warriors by 2

Prediction Results - 6 Feb

NFL: 1/1 (1.000) 78/123 overall (.634)

NBA: 4/4 (1.000) 412/573 overall (.719)

College Basketball: 4/4 (1.000) 389/479 overall (.812)

Upsets: 1/1 (1.000) 102/166 overall (.614)