The regular season has ended, and most conferences are in the middle of their conference tournaments. In four days we will know exactly which teams will be competing for the championship this year. Only one team in my top 25 has finished the season (Belmont) and earned their tournament bid, but the rest should follow this week. Here are the final rankings of the regular season, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.
1. Ohio State (1-0) (29-2) -22.62 (1)
2. Kansas (2-0) (29-2) -21.12 (2)
3. Duke (1-1) (27-4) -20.48 (3)
4. Texas (1-0) (25-6) -17.35 (7)
5. Purdue (0-1) (25-6) -17.31 (5)
6. BYU (1-1) (28-3) -17.24 (4)
7. Pittsburgh (2-0) (27-4) -17.15 (6)
8. Kentucky (1-0) (22-8) -16.45 (10)
9. San Diego State (1-0) (29-2) -16.08 (8)
10. North Carolina (2-0) (24-6) -15.94 (13)
11. Washington (1-1) (20-10) -15.91 (9)
12. Syracuse (1-0) (25-6) -15.55 (14)
13. Wisconsin (1-1) (23-7) -15.38 (11)
14. Belmont (3-0) (30-4) -15.16 (12)
15. Louisville (1-1) (23-8) -14.32 (16)
16. Notre Dame (1-0) (25-5) -14.21 (15)
17. Illinois (1-0) (19-12) -13.91 (19)
18. Cincinnati (2-0) (24-7) -13.12 (NR)
19. Georgetown (0-1) (21-9) -12.75 (18)
20. UNLV (1-0) (23-7) -12.62 (NR)
21. Florida (1-0) (24-6) -12.61 (25)
22. Arizona (2-0) (25-6) -12.54 (21)
23. Connecticut (1-2) (22-9) -12.38 (23)
24. Utah State (2-0) (28-3) -12.26 (NR)
25. West Virginia (2-0) (20-10) -12.17 (22)
Dropping out:
Vanderbilt (0-1) (21-9) -12.10 (17)
Marquette (1-2) (19-13) -12.03 (24)
Maryland (0-2) (18-13) -10.82 (20)
Ranked teams by conference:
Big East: 8
Big 10: 4
MWC: 3
Big 12: 2
ACC: 2
SEC: 2
Pac 10: 2
Atl Sun: 1
WAC: 1
Bubbling Up
Cincinnati ended the regular season in style, winning by 7 at Marquette before whipping Georgetown by 22 at home to close it out. For a team that opened the season with low expectations, this season couldn't have gone much better, with all 7 of their losses coming to Big East opponents that will be playing in March.
Utah State made a statement in their final regular season game, beating Louisiana Tech 72-30 on the road and allowing just 15 points in each half of the game. They are the runaway favorites to win the WAC title and earn a return trip to the NCAA's.
UNLV closed out their season with a 20-point road win at Utah, wrapping up a season that included just two losses to unranked teams. They may not have beaten BYU or San Diego State in the regular season, but they are the hottest of the three teams right now, and the conference tournament is on their home court, so I am picking them to take the automatic bid.
Syracuse took out a lot of frustration on DePaul in their final game of the season, winning the contest 107-59 after maintaining a 20-point lead for the final 32 minutes of the game. The win earned the Orange a double bye in the Big East tournament, which could come in very handy in this very deep conference.
Drifting Down
I've been a big proponent of Maryland all season long, but after losing to Miami and Virginia to close out the season in two games that weren't even close, the Terrapins have dropped from my rankings and from tournament contention. It was the first time all season they had lost back-to-back games that they should have won.
Being swept by a New Mexico team that probably won't make the tournament wasn't a good way to celebrate a huge victory over San Diego State, but that's what happened to BYU this week. The loss came on the heels of the suspension of their leading rebounder, and they'll have to use the Mountain West tournament as practice on how to play without Davies.
Vanderbilt moved up a little after nearly beating Kentucky on the road last week, but then they didn't take that momentum and turn it into an upset of Florida like I would have liked to see. The game caused the two teams to switch positions in my rankings and left Vandy cold heading into the conference tourney.
George Mason lost for the first time in nearly two months this week, dropping a game to VCU in the conference semifinals, but their spot in March Madness is still safe. They haven't beaten any ranked teams this year, but they've been good enough to present a challenge in the first couple rounds.
Saint Mary's lost to Gonzaga for the second time in as many weeks and lost 4 of their last 6 games overall, but they did reach the conference championship game, and Gonzaga is one of the hottest teams in the nation currently, but it still doesn't mean anything if they don't pick up a win in the NCAA Tournament.
NBA Player of the Day
Vince Carter - PHX - 32 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 13-17 FG, 5-7 3P, 1-2 FT
Vince Carter made up for his missed free throws that cost Phoenix their previous game with a huge fourth quarter that included 15 points and 2 3-pointers as Phoenix was able to take a late lead, then held on to beat the Rockets and remain in 9th place in the West.
Predictions - 9 Mar
Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.
NBA
Warriors at Nets - Nets by 1
Thunder at 76ers - 76ers by 2
Jazz at Raptors - Jazz by 2
Bulls at Bobcats - Bulls by 7
Clippers at Celtics - Celtics by 11
Mavericks at Hornets - Hornets by 1
Cavaliers at Bucks - Bucks by 11
Pacers at Timberwolves - Pacers by 1
Knicks at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 4
Pistons at Spurs - Spurs by 13
Magic at Kings - Magic by 8
College Basketball
Rutgers at (18) Saint John's - Saint John's by 11
(19) Connecticut vs. (22) Georgetown - Georgetown by 1
South Florida vs. Cincinnati - Cincinnati by 12
Marquette vs. West Virginia - West Virginia by 1
Prediction Results - 8 Mar
NBA: 4-2 (.667) 542-226 overall (.706)
College Basketball: 1-0 (1.000) 541-134 overall (.801)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 143-94 overall (.603)
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