As we head into conference play, we are left with only 4 undefeated teams in the country, as Cincinnati bit the dust this week. Three of them are ranked in the top 3 spots of this week's AP poll, while Wyoming still hasn't managed enough votes to crack the top 25. That is not the case in my rankings, as all 4 teams are spread out among the top 25, but none are ranked next to each other. Here are my current top 25 teams, grouped by similar level of performance, with AP rank in parentheses. Also, my predictions for each conference champion are included below.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) Overall (AP)
1. (1) Indiana (1-0) 12-1 (5)
2. (2) Duke (1-0) 12-0 (1)
3. (3) Kansas (1-0) 11-1 (6)
4. (4) Louisville (1-0) 12-1 (4)
5. (5) Florida (1-0) 9-2 (13)
6. (7) VCU (1-0) 10-3 (30)
7. (8) Pittsburgh (0-0) 12-1 (24)
8. (12) Oklahoma State (0-0) 10-1 (22)
9. (6) Michigan (1-0) 13-0 (2)
10. (15) Ohio State (1-0) 10-2 (8)
11. (10) Arizona (1-0) 12-0 (3)
12. (9) Syracuse (1-0) 11-1 (7)
13. (11) Creighton (1-0) 12-1 (16)
14. (18) Kentucky (0-1) 8-4 (31)
15. (14) Colorado (1-0) 10-2 (NR)
16. (13) Minnesota (0-0) 12-1 (9)
17. (17) Gonzaga (1-0) 12-1 (10)
18. (16) Colorado State (1-0) 11-2 (NR)
19. (NR) Wichita State (1-0) 12-1 (32)
20. (23) Belmont (1-1) 9-4 (NR)
21. (21) Missouri (0-1) 10-2 (12)
22. (NR) Ole Miss (1-0) 10-2 (NR)
23. (19) Cincinnati (0-1) 12-1 (14)
24. (22) Wyoming (0-0) 12-0 (28)
25. (24) Illinois State (0-1) 9-4 (NR)
Dropped Out
(20) UNLV (0-1) 11-2 (26)
(25) North Carolina State (1-0) 10-2 (23)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big East - 4
SEC - 4
MVC - 3
Big 12 - 2
Pac 12 - 2
MWC - 2
ACC - 1
Atl 10 - 1
WCC - 1
OVC - 1
Wichita State jumped into the top 25 this week after beating up on Northern Iowa 66-41 yesterday, raising their record to 12-1. In addition to that win, the Shockers have also beaten Conference USA favorite Southern Miss and Atlantic 10 favorite VCU, and they have also beaten a strong Iowa team. None of the teams they have beaten are ranked, but the Missouri Valley Conference is the strongest of the mid-majors this year, with Illinois State and Creighton also ranked in my top 25, so they should get a little more strength of schedule than many others in conference play.
Ohio State bounced back against a very weak Chicago State team on Saturday, knocking the Cougars around and nearly doubling their scoring output. The Buckeyes have lost twice already, but both came against teams in my top 3, so it's tough to fault them for coming up just short against two tough opponents. Playing in the Big 10 means that they will have one of the toughest conference schedules in the nation, so they will have plenty of chances to atone for their losses.
Ole Miss lost in the opening round of the Diamond Head Classic over Christmas weekend, but they came back from that loss and won two straight, finishing it out with a 15-point win over the host team, Hawaii, which earned them 5th place in the tournament. Meanwhile, Indiana State, who beat Ole Miss last week, proved it wasn't a fluke by upsetting Illinois State yesterday.
Oklahoma State moved into the top 10 without playing this week, as they rode the momentum of 5 straight 20-point victories to join conference rival Kansas among the nation's elite. This week they'll get a chance to prove they deserve that kind of ranking, as they host Gonzaga tonight, then travel to face Kansas State this weekend, both of which are currently ranked. Cowboy victories in those two will make more people notice how good they are.
Conference Champion Predictions
With most conferences starting to play in-conference games this week, I decided it would be a good time to put in my predictions for the winners in each conference. I've also predicted each runner-up, and included my preseason prediction and the current conference leader for reference. All records include only non-conference games, and conferences are listed in order of the ranking of their strongest member. C stands for current leader, P is preseason pick, W is my pick, and R is for runner-up pick.
1. Big 10 - C: Michigan (13-0) P: Indiana (12-1) W: Indiana R: Michigan
2. ACC - C: Duke (12-0) P: Duke W: Duke R: North Carolina State (10-2)
3. Big 12 - C: Kansas (11-1) P: Kansas State (10-2) W: Kansas R: Oklahoma State (10-1)
4. Big East - C: Cincinnati (12-1) P: Notre Dame (12-1) W: Louisville (12-1) R: Pittsburgh (12-1)
5. SEC - C: Missouri (10-2) P: Florida (9-2) W: Florida R: Kentucky (8-4)
6. Atl 10 - C: Charlotte (11-2) P: Saint Joseph's (6-4) W: VCU (10-3) R: Butler (10-2)
7. Pac 12 - C: Arizona (12-0) P: Oregon State (9-3) W: Arizona R: Colorado (10-2)
8. MVC - C: Creighton (11-1) P: Creighton W: Creighton R: Wichita State (11-1)
9. WCC - C: Gonzaga (12-1) P: Gonzaga W: Gonzaga R: Saint Mary's (10-3)
10. MWC - C: Wyoming (12-0) P: New Mexico (13-1) W: Colorado State (11-2) R: Wyoming
11. OVC - C: Eastern Kentucky (10-3) P: Belmont (9-4) W: Belmont R: Murray State (9-3)
12. Sun Belt - C: Middle Tennessee (8-3) P: Middle Tennessee W: Middle Tennessee R: Arkansas State (6-3)
13. CUSA - C: Houston (10-2) P: Memphis (9-3) W: Southern Miss (9-4) R: Memphis
14. MAC - C: Akron (8-4) P: Ohio (8-5) W: Akron R: Ohio
15. Patriot - C: Bucknell (12-2) P: Bucknell W: Bucknell R: Lehigh (9-3)
16. Summit - C: North Dakota State (9-3) P: South Dakota State (9-4) W: North Dakota State R: Western Illinois (6-3)
17. Big Sky - C: Weber State (5-3) P: North Dakota (3-6) W: Weber State R: Montana (4-4)
18. Horizon - C: Loyola-Illinois (9-3) P: Valparaiso (10-4) W: Detroit (8-5) R: Valparaiso
19. MAAC - C: Fairfield (8-4) P: Manhattan (2-7) W: Canisius (7-4) R: Iona (5-5)
20. Am East - C: Albany (10-3) P: Vermont (7-5) W: Stony Brook (8-4) R: Boston (6-7)
21. WAC - C: Utah State (9-1) P: Denver (4-6) W: Louisiana Tech (9-3) R: Texas-Arlington (5-3)
22. Ivy - C: Harvard (7-4) P: Princeton (5-7) W: Princeton R: Harvard
23. Southland - C: Stephen F Austin (9-1) P: Stephen F Austin W: Stephen F Austin R: Oral Roberts (5-7)
24. Southern - C: Charleston (7-4) P: Davidson (5-5) W: Davidson R: Wofford (6-6)
25. Big South - C: Gardner-Webb (8-6) P: Charleston Southern (5-6) W: North Carolina-Asheville (6-7) R: Charleston Southern
26. Big West - C: Cal State-Northridge (9-3) P: UC-Irvine (6-7) W: Cal-State Fullerton (6-5) R: UC-Irvine
27. CAA - C: William & Mary (6-4) P: Drexel (4-7) W: George Mason (7-5) R: William & Mary
28. NEC - C: Bryant (7-4) P: Robert Morris (8-5) W: Robert Morris R: Bryant
29. Atl Sun - C: Florida Gulf Coast (8-5) P: USC-Upstate (5-7) W: Florida Gulf Coast R: North Florida (5-8)
30. SWAC - C: Southern (6-6) P: Texas Southern (1-12) W: Southern R: Texas Southern
31. MEAC - C: Savannah State (5-6) P: Savannah State W: North Carolina Central (5-7) R: Savannah State
12 of my preseason champion picks remain unchanged, and 7 others have become my runner-up pick, including 1-12 Texas Southern of the SWAC, who has at least competed in some of their losses. 7 of the current conference leaders were the teams I picked in the preseason, and I am picking just 13 of the 31 current leaders to end up on top after the season, which includes 6 of the teams that I picked originally.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
(5) Indiana at Iowa - Hoosiers by 8
Central Connecticut State at (7) Syracuse - Orange by 28
(18) Michigan State at (9) Minnesota - Golden Gophers by 10
(10) Gonzaga at (22) Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 8
(14) Cincinnati at (24) Pittsburgh - Panthers by 10
(20) New Mexico at Saint Louis - Billikens by 6
North Carolina-Greensboro at (23) North Carolina State - Wolfpack by 30
South Dakota at (25) Kansas State - Wildcats by 17
NBA
Memphis at Indiana - Pacers by 1
Charlotte at Chicago - Bulls by 12
Miami at Orlando - Heat by 7
Atlanta at Houston - Rockets by 6
Brooklyn at San Antonio - Spurs by 14
Phoenix at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 16
Prediction Results
NBA: 3-1 (.750) 310-140 overall (.689)
Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 54-37 overall (.593)
College Basketball: 0-1 (.000) 358-68 overall (.840)
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