These are the five most overrated and underrated teams in college basketball so far this season, based on their standing in the AP poll. Three teams left these rankings this week, and all in the right direction: Florida fell from the AP rankings, and Louisville and Vanderbilt finally got the recognition they deserve. Here are the freshly updated standings, with last week's ranking in parentheses.
Overrated
1. Memphis (1)
2. Minnesota (2)
3. Connecticut
4. Missouri (3)
5. Michigan State (5)
All five of these teams could realistically lose this week, and I'm actually predicting that a minimum of three will. Memphis lost its last game to Georgetown, and a loss tonight to Lipscomb (7-3) is possible, although I would put it at about 35%. Minnesota faces Michigan State in a matchup of two overrated teams tomorrow, and I believe Michigan State will take that game easily. Connecticut is coming off a loss to Pittsburgh, and they are going to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on Tuesday, where I have a 68% chance of an upset happening. Michigan State, after taking care of Minnesota tomorrow, has to face Northwestern, and I would give Northwestern a 65% chance of winning that game. Missouri looks like the safest overrated team this week, with only a 25% chance of losing to Old Dominion tonight.
Underrated
1. Saint Mary's (3)
2. Washington (2)
3. Arizona (1)
4. Belmont
5. Southern Mississippi
Washington is the only one of these five schools with a real chance to impress voters this week, with a game against UCLA (9-4) coming up. Arizona plays Oregon and Oregon State, both of which are in the lower half of the Pac 10. Belmont has played its last ranked team of the season, so they will probably have to go nearly undefeated the rest of the way to even get noticed. Saint Mary's will open some eyes when they destroy Gonzaga later this year.
NBA Player of the Day
Dwyane Wade - MIA - 45 pts, 7 reb, 17-24 FG, 10-10 FT
Wade becomes the first player to win this award on consecutive days after he improved upon his previous day's performance by scoring 45 and hitting over 70% of his field goals and having a perfect night from the free throw line. He became the first player since Kobe in March 2007 to score over 40 points on consecutive days, and helped the Heat become the first team in history to win 10 straight road games in a single month.
Predictions - 30 Dec
Upset picks are in italics.
College Football
Army vs. SMU - SMU by 5
Kansas State vs. Syracuse - Kansas State by 5
North Carolina vs. Tennessee - Tennessee by 5
(18) Nebraska vs. Washington - Nebraska by 12
NBA
Knicks at Magic - Magic by 7
Spurs at Mavericks - Mavericks by 1
Jazz at Trail Blazers - Jazz by 1
College Basketball
Temple at (8) Villanova - Villanova by 10
Old Dominion at (10) Missouri - Missouri by 10
(16) BYU at Buffalo - BYU by 6
Princeton at (21) UCF - UCF by 15
Lipscomb at (22) Memphis - Memphis by 6
Central Michigan at UNLV - UNLV by 27
Arizona at Oregon - Arizona by 15
Prediction Results - 29 Dec
College Football: 1/3 (.333) 44/65 overall (.677)
NBA: 7/11 (.636) 210/289 overall (.727)
College Basketball: 9/10 (.900) 168/199 overall (.844)
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