1. Duke (2-0) (13-0) -24.31 (2)
2. Ohio State (2-0) (15-0) -23.46 (1)
3. Washington (2-0) (10-3) -21.78 (4)
4. Kansas (2-0) (13-0) -21.72 (3)
5. Kentucky (2-0) (12-2) -20.93 (6)
6. Vanderbilt (2-0) (11-2) -18.89 (9)
7. Purdue (1-0) (13-1) -18.78 (5)
8. BYU (2-0) (14-1) -18.13 (11)
9. Pittsburgh (1-0) (14-1) -17.99 (7)
10. Saint Mary's (2-0) (12-2) -17.12 (12)
11. Texas (2-0) (12-2) -16.97 (14)
12. Arizona (1-1) (12-3) -16.42 (10)
13. North Carolina (1-0) (10-4) -16.19 (18)
14. Georgetown (1-2) (12-3) -15.59 (8)
15. Belmont (2-0) (11-3) -15.35 (23)
16. Illinois (2-0) (12-3) -15.29 (NR)
17. UNLV (1-0) (12-2) -15.26 (17)
18. Wisconsin (0-1) (11-3) -15.25 (22)
19. Maryland (2-0) (10-4) -14.96 (25)
20. Louisville (0-1) (11-2) -14.87 (13)
21. San Diego State (1-0) (15-0) -14.86 (19)
22. Syracuse (1-0) (15-0) -14.77 (24)
23. Missouri (1-0) (13-1) -14.42 (NR)
24. Michigan State (2-0) (10-4) -14.09 (NR)
25. Villanova (2-0) (12-1) -13.91 (15)
Dropping out:
West Virginia (1-2) (9-4) -12.93 (20)
Texas A&M (2-0) (13-1) -11.89 (21)
Butler (1-1) (10-5) -10.00 (16)
Ranked Teams by conference:
Big 10: 5
Big East: 5
ACC: 3
Big 12: 3
MWC: 3
Pac 10: 2
SEC: 2
WCC: 1
Atl Sun: 1
The Big 10 caught up to the Big East this week with 5 ranked teams each, and most of the mid-major teams have fallen from the rankings. The Mountain West (which shouldn't count as a mid-major) has 3 (BYU, UNLV, San Diego State), with Belmont and Saint Mary's representing the other small conferences. Two undefeated teams failed to make this weeks top 25. UCF, from Conference USA, is at #26 and could reenter at any time. Cincinnati, from the mighty Big East, has managed to go 14-0 without playing anyone, but that will change this week when they visit Villanova. A win in that game would give them a good possibility of entering next week's rankings.
Duke and Ohio State continue to play leapfrog at the top, switching places for the third time in a month. They seem to be trying to one-up the other each time they play, and it seems to be working for both of them. It may be early, but there is a decent chance of seeing these two in the national championship game.
Vanderbilt has finally earned a little respect from the polls, but I think that some of those voters will be surprised when they start beating up on conference opponents. Only Kentucky looks like their equal to me in the SEC, and a visit from equally underrated Saint Mary's in late January should also help.
North Carolina had a statement game against Saint Francis-PA this week, nearly doubling up the Red Flash 103-54. The Tar Heels are much improved over last year, and look like they certainly won't be sitting out the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.
Georgetown lost two conference road games this week, dropping their road record to 3-3, with one of those wins coming in overtime at Missouri. They have yet to lose at home, but a visit from Pitt next Wednesday could change that too.
Belmont continues to rise in my rankings despite being totally ignored by the national voters. Their biggest problem is that they have failed to beat a ranked team, going 0-3 against Tennessee and Vanderbilt this year, and they won't have another chance to prove themselves until the Tournament because of the weakness of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Illinois' upset win over Wisconsin brought the Fighting Illini back into the top 25, after they had spent two weeks sitting just outside. With Michigan State also joining the top 25 this week, 5 of the 11 Big 10 teams are now ranked, and Northwestern could join them with a couple of solid weeks.
Louisville took a big plunge this week when they lost at home to Kentucky, because they should have won or at least made the game close, but a 15-point loss at home should never happen to a ranked team, especially one from a power conference.
I've been calling the Missouri Tigers overrated for weeks now, but they have now shown me that they are a decent team worthy of a top 25 spot, and the only team to beat them, Georgetown, has been ranked all season long, and should remain that way.
Villanova nearly dropped from the rankings despite winning both of their games this week. The close game against Temple was not that bad, but they didn't take care of Rutgers like they should have, and the Big East as a whole was down this week, all of which contributed to the fall down the standings.
NBA Player of the Day
Zach Randolph - MEM - 31 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 11-20 FG, 9-10 FT
Randolph was the biggest reason that the Grizzlies were able to upset the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, putting up huge numbers, including 13 points in the 4th quarter alone. He also broke Miami's streak of 6 straight games with the Player of the Day, as he outplayed both James and Wade last night.
Predictions - 5 Jan
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Raptors at Cavaliers - Raptors by 1
Bulls at Nets - Bulls by 8
Bucks at Magic - Magic by 8
Wizards at 76ers - 76ers by 8
Spurs at Celtics - Celtics by 3
Warriors at Hornets - Hornets by 9
Bobcats at Timberwolves - Timberwolves by 4
Trail Blazers at Rockets - Rockets by 2
Hawks at Jazz - Jazz by 4
Nuggets at Clippers - Nuggets by 4
Lakers at Suns - Lakers by 4
College Basketball
UAB at (1) Duke - Duke by 20
UMKC at (3) Kansas - Kansas by 34
(6) San Diego State at TCU - San Diego State by 9
(10) Purdue at Penn State - Purdue by 9
(14) BYU at UNLV - UNLV by 3
Marshall at (18) UCF - UCF by 14
(22) Memphis at Tennessee - Tennessee by 8
Seton Hall at (23) Louisville - Louisville by 15
Belmont at Stetson - Belmont by 15
Michigan at Wisconsin - Wisconsin by 16
Prediction Results - 4 Jan
College Football: 1/1 (1.000) 54/81 overall (.667)
NBA: 6/7 (.857) 241/328 overall (.735)
College Basketball: 5/5 (1.000) 205/240 (.854)
Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 47/77 overall (.610)
I decided to add in my upset results with the rest of my prediction results so that everyone can see how I'm doing there too. I was pretty impressed with myself when I added them all up last night. Anything over 50% on upset picks would have been great.
Anything over 50% shows that you're not just guessing! :)
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