The season is coming to a close, with just a couple weeks left in the regular season, so now is the time for teams to make their move, and two mid-major teams made huge statements this week and established themselves among the top 10 teams in my rankings. Kentucky began to pull away from the crowd and is looking like the current favorite to win the national title. Here are the updated rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing different levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (ESPN)
1. (1) Kentucky (1-0) (26-1) -21.75 (1)
2. (2) Ohio State (1-1) (22-5) -19.16 (9)
3. (4) Kansas (2-0) (22-5) -18.85 (5)
4. (3) Michigan State (2-0) (22-5) -18.70 (6)
5. (5) North Carolina (2-0) (23-4) -18.11 (7)
6. (6) Syracuse (2-0) (27-1) -17.67 (2)
7. (8) Missouri (2-0) (25-2) -16.00 (3)
8. (11) Wichita State (2-0) (24-4) -15.81 (19)
9. (9) New Mexico (2-0) (22-4) -15.76 (21)
10. (10) Duke (2-0) (23-4) -15.37 (4)
11. (7) Wisconsin (1-1) (20-7) -14.96 (15)
12. (20) Florida (2-0) (21-6) -14.24 (11)
13. (16) Marquette (1-0) (22-5) -13.69 (10)
14. (15) Georgetown (1-0) (20-5) -13.55 (8)
15. (14) Belmont (1-0) (21-7) -13.51 (NR)
16. (13) Saint Louis (2-0) (22-5) -13.45 (30)
17. (12) Indiana (1-1) (20-7) -12.92 (24)
18. (18) Memphis (1-1) (19-8) -12.11 (NR)
19. (19) Louisville (1-1) (21-6) -11.87 (17)
20. (21) Baylor (1-1) (22-5) -11.55 (14)
21. (22) California (2-0) (22-6) -11.43 (28)
22. (NR) Vanderbilt (2-0) (19-8) -11.27 (33)
23. (23) Florida State (2-0) (19-7) -11.03 (16)
24. (17) UNLV (0-2) (22-6) -10.99 (20)
25. (24) BYU (2-0) (23-6) -10.96 (NR)
Dropped Out
(25) Texas (1-1) (17-10) -10.72 (NR)
Ranked Teams By Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big East - 4
Big 12 - 3
ACC - 3
SEC - 3
MWC - 2
MVC - 1
Atl 10 - 1
Atl Sun - 1
CUSA - 1
Pac 12 - 1
WCC - 1
This week New Mexico got the chance to avenge both of its losses from the past 11 weeks, and it did so in style, beating both San Diego State and UNLV, the two ranked teams from the Mountain West, by double digits, and it just so happens that I predicted both of those upsets right here last week. They have cracked the national rankings for the first time this season, and they may get another chance against at least one of those teams in the conference tournament, which is only two weeks away.
Wisconsin lost for the second time this month, and while both were to teams ranked in my top 4, they still did not perform well enough in either game to make them seem like real contenders in the conference. The Badgers have only one bad loss all season, but they also only have 3 impressive wins, to go along with 6 losses to good teams. They just aren't quite the same caliber as the Buckeyes and Spartans.
Florida bounced back nicely from its first losing streak of the season by taking down both Alabama and Arkansas on the road this week, the latter by 30 points. That win gave the Razorbacks their first home loss of the season, so you can't say it was an easy win. They face a relatively easy week before closing the season with the two best teams remaining in their conference, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
UNLV had a very tough week, starting off with an overtime loss at big underdog TCU, then escalating with a blowout loss at New Mexico, which gives them as many losses in the past 2 weeks as the rest of the season combined. The Rebels should be able to finish strong, because they don't face another truly tough team until the conference tournament.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Tuesday
(1) Kentucky at Mississippi State - Wildcats by 11
Kansas State at (3) Missouri - Tigers by 12
(7) North Carolina at North Carolina State - Tar Heels by 6
(8) Georgetown at Seton Hall - Pirates by 1
Illinois at (9) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 20
Auburn at (11) Florida - Gators by 21
(13) Michigan at Northwestern - Wildcats by 2
(21) New Mexico at Colorado State - Lobos by 6
Wednesday
South Florida at (2) Syracuse - Orange by 18
(5) Kansas at Texas A&M - Jayhawks by 12
(6) Michigan State at Minnesota - Spartans by 7
Rutgers at (10) Marquette - Golden Eagles by 17
West Virginia at (18) Notre Dame - Fighting Irish by 6
(19) Wichita State at Illinois State - Shockers by 7
Boise State at (20) UNLV - Rebels by 16
(22) Temple at LaSalle - Explorers by 4
North Carolina Central at (24) Indiana - Hoosiers by 23
Wyoming at (25) San Diego State - Aztecs by 5
East Carolina at Memphis - Tigers by 17
South Carolina at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 19
Thursday
(4) Duke at (16) Florida State - Seminoles by 1
(12) Murray State at Tennessee State - Racers by 1
(15) Wisconsin at Iowa - Badgers by 7
(17) Louisville at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 2
(23) Saint Mary's at Portland - Gaels by 9
Belmont at Kennesaw State - Bruins by 21
California at Utah - Golden Bears by 18
BYU at Gonzaga - Bulldogs by 4
Friday
(10) Marquette at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 2
Saturday
Vanderbilt at (1) Kentucky - Wildcats by 16
(2) Syracuse at Connecticut - Orange by 4
(3) Missouri at (5) Kansas - Jayhawks by 9
Virginia Tech at (4) Duke - Blue Devils by 17
Nebraska at (6) Michigan State - Spartans by 24
(7) North Carolina at Virginia - Tar Heels by 2
Villanova at (8) Georgetown - Hoyas by 15
(11) Florida at Georgia - Gators by 6
(12) Murray State at Tennessee Tech - Racers by 4
Purdue at (13) Michigan - Wolverines by 9
Oklahoma at (14) Baylor - Bears by 15
(18) Notre Dame at Saint Johns - Fighting Irish by 6
Drake at (19) Wichita State - Shockers by 23
Air Force at (20) UNLV - Rebels by 20
(21) New Mexico at TCU - Lobos by 11
(22) Temple at Saint Joseph - Hawks by 3
(23) Saint Mary's at San Francisco - Gaels by 1
Colorado State at (25) San Diego State - Aztecs by 6
Saint Louis at Rhode Island - Billikens by 14
Belmont at Mercer - Bruins by 3
Memphis at Marshall - Tigers by 1
Portland at BYU - Cougars by 25
Sunday
(15) Wisconsin at (9) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 10
(16) Florida State at Miami - Hurricanes by 3
Pittsburgh at (17) Louisville - Cardinals by 13
(24) Indiana at Minnesota - Hoosiers by 1
California at Colorado - Golden Bears by 1
Prediction Results
College Basketball: 37-15 (.712) 434-110 overall (.798)
Upsets: 3-4 (.429) 41-29 overall (.586)
No comments:
Post a Comment