The final undefeated team finally lost this week, and as a result there is a new #1 for the 4th straight week. A couple of mid-major teams are finally making their move, with two entering the top 25 this week and 5 in the next 15 spots. Any one of the top 10 teams still has a real possibility at winning the championship this year, which pretty much makes this a wide-open field. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.
1. Duke (2-0) (23-2) -23.00 (3)
2. Ohio State (1-1) (25-1) -22.04 (1)
3. Kansas (1-1) (24-2) -21.47 (2)
4. Texas (2-0) (22-3) -19.02 (5)
5. Pittsburgh (1-0) (23-2) -18.92 (4)
6. BYU (2-0) (24-2) -18.77 (6)
7. Washington (2-0) (17-7) -18.55 (9)
8. Purdue (1-0) (20-5) -18.45 (10)
9. San Diego State (1-0) (25-1) -17.67 (11)
10. Wisconsin (2-0) (19-5) -17.52 (8)
11. Kentucky (1-1) (18-7) -17.12 (7)
12. Georgetown (2-0) (20-5) -16.18 (15)
13. Arizona (1-0) (21-4) -15.97 (16)
14. North Carolina (2-1) (19-6) -15.70 (12)
15. Belmont (1-0) (23-4) -15.69 (18)
16. Notre Dame (2-0) (21-4) -15.17 (23)
17. Syracuse (1-2) (21-6) -14.84 (13)
18. Saint Mary's (2-0) (22-4) -14.79 (NR)
19. Illinois (1-1) (16-9) -14.54 (14)
20. Maryland (1-2) (16-10) -14.53 (21)
21. George Mason (2-0) (22-5) -14.19 (NR)
22. Villanova (1-2) (20-6) -14.16 (17)
23. Vanderbilt (2-0) (18-6) -14.09 (20)
24. Louisville (1-1) (19-6) -13.88 (22)
25. Connecticut (1-1) (19-5) -13.53 (19)
Dropping out:
Missouri (2-0) (20-6) -13.10 (24)
Marquette (1-2) (15-11) -11.69 (25)
Making a Push
Saint John's is on fire lately. They have now won 5 of their last six games, including a big win over Duke 2 weeks ago, and the last three wins have all come over Big East teams that are likely to be playing games that matter in March. The last two wins, over Cincinnati and Marquette, were especially impressive, because they came on the road, and Saint John's now has 7 wins over teams that are likely to participate in March Madness, with only 2 bad losses against them.
Kansas State's win over Kansas this week after their in-state rivals had been named #1 earlier in the day was a huge boost to a team still hoping for a tournament berth. Their previous game, a two-point loss at Colorado, was also somewhat impressive, because the Buffaloes have been one of the toughest teams to beat this year in the Big 12. If they win the games they're expected to the rest of the way, they're in.
Saint Mary's took care of business on the road this week, winning at both Santa Clara and San Francisco, and their biggest win this season, over Saint John's in November, is starting to look even better after the week the Red Storm had. It also helps that three of the 4 teams that have beaten them (BYU, San Diego State, and Vanderbilt) have also been playing very well lately.
Notre Dame had two very impressive victories over Louisville and South Florida this week, and have also been helped out by their 8 wins over likely tournament teams, including an early-season victory over Wisconsin, the latest team to upset a #1. They still have a tough road ahead, but they have established themselves as one of the best in the very tough Big East.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs may have only one quality win this year, over Marquette back in November, but three of their losses were to the other teams on this hot list, Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, and Kansas State. They appeared to be out of the running last week after they lost to Memphis, but what is March Madness without the Zags?
Stepping Back
Marquette barely beat South Florida this week before losing consecutive games to Georgetown and Saint John's, but even with those two losses contributing to their total of 11, the Golden Eagles should not be counted out. All 11 of those losses have come to teams currently ranked above 36 in my rankings, and they have managed to get three wins against teams in that same range.
Kansas celebrated their move back to #1 by losing to Kansas State the very same day, and it didn't help that the game wasn't even close. The Jayhawks are probably still a #1 seed in the tournament, but they chose a bad time to have their second letdown of the season. The toughest challenge they have left is the last game of the season against Missouri.
Kentucky's loss to Vanderbilt was not unexpected, but their win over Mississippi State last night was much closer than it should have been. I have had the Wildcats ranked in the top 10 all season, but that narrow escape knocked them to #11 for the first time all season.
Two weeks ago, Duquesne was on an 11-game winning streak and had spent a couple days in the top 25, but they followed that up with two surprising losses at Saint Bonaventure and against Xavier at home. The Dukes must beat Richmond to end the regular season to strengthen their case for making it to March.
After one week as one of the hottest teams in the country, Syracuse returned to the cold list this week, where it had spent the previous two weeks. Their win over West Virginia on Valentine's Day saved them from being named the coldest team of the week, but losing to Georgetown and Louisville didn't help them, especially now that they've lost 6 of their last 9.
NBA Player of the Day
Dwyane Wade - MIA - 41 pts, 12 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 16-29 FG, 1-4 3P, 8-10 FT
Channing Frye may have scored a career-high 31 points for Phoenix last night, but Wade matched that total in the first half alone as Miami beat the Indiana Pacers on the road last night. Not only was he the best player yesterday, but he had the play of the day also, with a court-length alley-oop pass to LeBron James that has been running on SportsCenter all morning.
Predictions - 16 Feb
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Wizards at Magic - Magic by 14
Heat at Raptors - Heat by 10
Nets at Celtics - Celtics by 15
Lakers at Cavaliers - Lakers by 13
Pacers at Pistons - Pacers by 1
Hawks at Knicks - Knicks by 2
Clippers at Timberwolves - Wolves by 1
Kings at Mavericks - Mavs by 12
76ers at Rockets - Rockets by 3
Nuggets at Bucks - Bucks by 1
Warriors at Jazz - Jazz by 5
Hornets at Trail Blazers - Blazers by 2
College Basketball
Oklahoma State at (2) Texas - Texas by 19
South Florida at (4) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 25
(5) Duke at Virginia - Duke by 16
New Mexico at (6) San Diego State - San Diego State by 13
(9) Georgetown at (12) Connecticut - UConn by 3
(10) Wisconsin at (11) Purdue - Purdue by 7
(16) Louisville at Cincinnati - Cincinnati by 3
Iowa State at (17) Texas A&M - Texas A&M by 10
(18) Vanderbilt at Georgia - Vandy by 1
(23) Saint Mary's at San Diego - Saint Mary's by 18
Michigan at Illinois - Illinois by 12
Prediction Results - 15 Feb
NBA: 5-1 (.833) 451-188 overall (.706)
College Basketball: 6-0 (1.000) 432-101 overall (.811)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 112-74 overall (.602)
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