Overrated
1. Xavier
2. Texas A&M (1)
3. Florida (2)
4. Temple (5)
5. Utah State (4)
Xavier moved into the AP poll this week after two impressive victories over Georgia and Duquesne, both top 65 teams. The problem I have with them being ranked is that they lost just one week before that to Charlotte, currently ranked 175th in my rankings. The only victories they have earned over top 50 schools so far were that win over Duquesne and their earlier win over Temple, but neither is a top 30 team, which makes two losses to teams ranked below 170 (they also lost to Miami-Ohio) more important, and basically cancels out the good those wins have done. They probably won't lose again this season, with the toughest game coming February 27 at Dayton.
This week, Texas A&M moves down a spot after pulling off a tough overtime victory at Colorado, a game I predicted they would lose, but it's not enough to prove they're not overrated. They beat Texas Tech 3 nights later by the same margin, 3 points, which shows me that they still have some work to do. They still have 3 losses left this season, one for each week, and this week's loss will come Saturday at Oklahoma State.
Florida stayed in the overrated ranks this week after a single-point home victory over Tennessee, which negated the effect of the huge road win at South Carolina earlier in the week. They still have to face Kentucky and Vanderbilt on the road, and a win in either of those games would convince me to take them off this list, but I don't see that happening.
Temple had the misfortune of having to play Duquesne and Xavier, the other two power teams in the Atlantic 10, on the road, losing both of the very important games. They still have to face off with Duke on the road, but the rest of the schedule is relatively smooth sailing. This week's test is against Richmond, but they'll have the home court advantage, which should be enough for them to win.
The Idaho Vandals shocked the world this week when they took down the mighty Utah State Aggies up in Moscow. I, for one, did not see it coming, but it did not knock Utah State from the national rankings, which seems mighty strange considering that they play in the WAC, a conference that is criticized for being weak. I thought that any loss would knock them out, but I expected that loss to come this weekend at Saint Mary's, which is still looking like a good possibility.
Underrated
1. Washington (2)
2. Belmont (4)
3. Illinois (3)
4. Maryland (1)
5. Kentucky (5)
Washington bounced back nicely after their surprising 3-game losing streak, beating Cal and Stanford soundly to take back the momentum they had lost, and just in time. This weekend they head to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats in a game that will be very important in deciding the regular season conference champion. Although I'm picking them to lose that game, a win is not out of the question, and would help them make their way back toward the top 25.
Belmont is still flying under the radar, and that is unlikely to change before the tournament. The Bruins have made only 3 tournament appearances in their history, losing in the first round each time, but I predict that they will win at least one game this year, most likely an upset of a much higher seed, since they are currently projected as a 12th seed.
Illinois upset Minnesota this week, just as I predicted, then blew a golden opportunity to gain some momentum by losing to Purdue in their next game. Two upsets in a row would have thrust them back into the national spotlight, but all that people are seeing right now is 6 losses in 9 games, which is not as bad as it sounds when you consider that 4 of those losses came on the road to teams they should have lost to. Expect more of the same this week when they visit Michigan State.
Maryland is another team that is not helping its own cause by losing games they should be winning. This week Boston College was the team taking advantage of the Terps, and tonight it will be Virginia Tech's turn. If Maryland somehow survives, they would certainly be deserving of at least a few votes in the polls.
Kentucky has lost 3 of their last 4 games, but all three of those losses were on the road to good teams in the SEC. I still believe that Kentucky is the best team in the conference, but that the gap is much closer than most people thought earlier this season. Their tough road tests are pretty much a thing of the past, so now it's time to finish strong.
NBA Player of the Day
Courtney Lee - HOU - 22 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 8-14 FG, 5-7 3P, 1-1 FT
Lee took control of Houston's upset win over Denver off the bench yesterday, scoring 22 points in just 25 minutes of action, including 5 for 7 from 3-point range. Lee probably won't be a fixture in this spot like some other players, but he should definitely enjoy the night that he was the league's best player.
Predictions - 15 Feb
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Heat at Pacers - Heat by 4
Bobcats at Bulls - Bulls by 10
Kings at Thunder - Thunder by 10
76ers at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 3
Jazz at Suns - Suns by 3
Hornets at Warriors - Hornets by 3
College Basketball
Michigan State at (3) Ohio State - Ohio State by 17
(14) Villanova at Seton Hall - Nova by 1
Wake Forest at (19) North Carolina - UNC by 30
Texas Tech at (21) Missouri - Mizzou by 20
Mississippi State at (22) Kentucky - Kentucky by 25
Maryland at Virginia Tech - VTech by 5
Prediction Results - 14 Feb
NBA: 5-1 (.833) 446-187 overall (.705)
College Basketball: 1-1 (.500) 426-101 overall (.808)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 111-74 overall (.600)
No comments:
Post a Comment