Only one undefeated team remains among the 344 teams in Division I college basketball, thanks to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who took down #1 Syracuse in a game they dominated from start to finish, leaving only the Murray State Racers unblemished. Kentucky is the new #1 in the national polls, but they have yet to crack the top 5 in my statistical rankings. Here are this week's updated rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing different levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (ESPN)
1. (1) Ohio State (1-0) (17-3) -22.71 (3)
2. (3) Kansas (2-0) (16-3) -19.30 (5)
3. (4) Michigan State (1-1) (16-4) -17.01 (11)
4. (5) Missouri (2-0) (18-1) -16.81 (2)
5. (2) Syracuse (1-1) (20-1) -16.61 (4)
6. (6) Kentucky (2-0) (19-1) -16.45 (1)
7. (10) North Carolina (1-0) (16-3) -16.44 (8)
8. (13) Wichita State (2-0) (17-3) -15.92 (29)
9. (9) Wisconsin (2-0) (16-5) -15.47 (25)
10. (8) UNLV (2-0) (18-3) -15.39 (15)
11. (12) Florida (1-0) (15-4) -14.27 (13)
12. (11) Baylor (0-2) (17-2) -14.21 (7)
13. (18) Florida State (2-0) (13-6) -13.91 (26)
14. (7) Duke (1-1) (16-3) -13.88 (6)
15. (15) Indiana (1-1) (16-4) -12.74 (17)
16. (22) Creighton (2-0) (18-2) -12.33 (14)
17. (25) Middle Tennessee State (2-0) (19-2) -12.10 (30)
18. (20) West Virginia (2-0) (15-5) -12.00 (28)
19. (21) Marquette (2-0) (16-4) -11.95 (18)
20. (17) Memphis (1-1) (13-6) -11.80 (NR)
21. (NR) Saint Louis (1-0) (15-4) -11.70 (NR)
22. (19) Georgetown (2-0) (16-3) -11.39 (10)
23. (24) California (1-1) (16-5) -11.17 (NR)
24. (14) BYU (2-1) (17-5) -11.14 (NR)
25. (NR) Long Beach State (2-0) (14-6) -11.00 (NR)
Dropped Out
(23) Alabama (0-2) (13-6) -10.82 (NR)
(16) New Mexico (0-2) (15-4) -10.58 (38)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big East - 4
Big 12 - 3
ACC - 3
SEC - 2
MVC - 2
MWC - 1
Sun Belt - 1
CUSA - 1
Atl 10 - 1
Pac 12 - 1
WCC - 1
Big West - 1
The Wichita State Shockers entered my top 10 this week despite not being ranked nationally in either major poll, but they have had a very strong start in the Missouri Valley Conference, which is always among the strongest of the mid-majors, with their only loss coming to Creighton, who has been ranked all season long. Their most impressive win of the season came over UNLV in early December, when they beat the Rebels by 19. The Shockers are a very balanced team, with three players averaging over 12 points per game, but none scoring over 12.5.
Wisconsin has finally found their way back into the top 25 of the ESPN poll, although their drop was kind of extreme considering the fact that 4 of their 5 losses were to ranked teams, and they have beaten both BYU and UNLV already. They also play in the toughest conference, so a few losses are to be expected. They have two great upset opportunities coming up, with Indiana and Ohio State both making visits to Madison in the next 12 days.
Speaking of UNLV, the Rebels have lost three games all season, two to the teams ranked directly above them here, and one to San Diego State on the road, a team that has reached the top 25 nationally, although they are still only #69 by my calculations. Their big win came Thanksgiving weekend, when they beat then-#1 North Carolina. Senior Chace Stanback leads the team in scoring at 14.7 per game, but his biggest contribution has been from long range, where he is shooting 47.7% this season, up more than 11% over his previous best.
After four weeks away from the top 25, the Long Beach State 49ers are back with 7 straight wins to open conference play, including a 23-point victory over UC-Santa Barbara on the road, which is important because the Gauchos are in second place in the Big West so far. The Big West schedule is not very difficult, so the 49ers must win big every night if they want to maintain this spot for much longer.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Tuesday
(1) Kentucky at Georgia - Wildcats by 10
(7) Baylor at Oklahoma - Bears by 4
(12) San Diego State at Wyoming - Cowboys by 8
South Florida at (18) Marquette - Golden Eagles by 15
(22) Michigan at Purdue - Boilermakers by 8
Wednesday
(2) Missouri at Oklahoma State - Tigers by 10
Penn State at (3) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 31
(6) Duke at Maryland - Blue Devils by 9
Minnesota at (11) Michigan State - Spartans by 17
(14) Creighton at Drake - Bluejays by 5
(15) UNLV at Boise State - Rebels by 9
LSU at (16) Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 10
(24) Kansas State at Texas Tech - Wildcats by 11
Villanova at (25) Louisville - Cardinals by 9
BYU at Virginia Tech - Hokies by 3
Evansville at Wichita State - Shockers by 22
Rice at Memphis - Tigers by 20
Florida State at Wake Forest - Seminoles by 11
West Virginia at Saint John's - Mountaineers by 10
Saint Louis at Xavier - Musketeers by 3
Thursday
North Carolina State at (8) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 17
(13) Florida at Mississippi - Gators by 4
(17) Indiana at (25) Wisconsin - Badgers by 10
(20) Saint Mary's at Loyola Marymount - Lions by 1
Boston College at (21) Virginia - Cavaliers by 27
Troy at Middle Tennessee State - Blue Raiders by 26
Long Beach State at Cal-Riverside - 49ers by 9
Friday
(23) Harvard at Yale - Crimson by 2
Saturday
(1) Kentucky at LSU - Wildcats by 6
Texas Tech at (2) Missouri - Tigers by 31
West Virginia at (4) Syracuse - Orange by 12
(5) Kansas at Iowa State - Jayhawks by 5
Saint John's at (6) Duke - Blue Devils by 26
Texas at (7) Baylor - Bears by 11
Eastern Illinois at (9) Murray State - Racers by 26
(10) Georgetown at Pittsburgh - Hoyas by 1
(12) San Diego State at Colorado State - Rams by 4
(16) Mississippi State at (13) Florida - Gators by 14
Bradley at (14) Creighton - Bluejays by 24
(15) UNLV at Air Force - Rebels by 9
(18) Marquette at Villanova - Wildcats by 1
(20) Saint Mary's at BYU - Cougars by 8
(21) Virginia at North Carolina State - Wolfpack by 2
(23) Harvard at Brown - Crimson by 16
Oklahoma at (24) Kansas State - Wildcats by 14
(25) Louisville at Seton Hall - Pirates by 9
Wichita State at Drake - Shockers by 9
Middle Tennessee State at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 4
Marshall at Memphis - Tigers by 14
Cal State-Fullerton at Long Beach State - 49ers by 17
Saint Louis at Massachusetts - Minutemen by 1
Sunday
(22) Michigan at (3) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 23
Georgia Tech at (8) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 23
Iowa at (17) Indiana - Hoosiers by 18
Notre Dame at (19) Connecticut - Huskies by 11
Stanford at California - Golden Bears by 13
Prediction Results
College Basketball: 36-17 (.679) 284-61 overall (.823)
Upsets: 8-5 (.615) 27-13 overall (.675)
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