Top 25 teams fared a little better than last week. Still, a few bushes shook.
1. Ohio State – The Buckeyes visit Madison on Saturday. “The party’s over…”
2. Texas – The ‘Horns will have to guard against complacency as they travel to Oklahoma. Baylor comes to town on Saturday. You don’t suppose…NAH!
3. Kansas – The Jayhawks play truth and consequences with Missouri tonight.
4. Pittsburgh – With their star guard injured, the Panthers will experience life without Ashton Gibbs for a few days.
5. BYU – The Cougars travel to Air Force before hosting Utah on Saturday.
6. Duke – No big deal. The Blue Devils just host UNC on Wednesday.
7. SDSU – The Aztecs have Utah and UNLV on the slate this week.
8. Notre Dame – The Irish host Louisville on Wednesday.
9. Villanova – The ‘Cats get a chance to prove themselves when Pittsburgh comes to town on Saturday.
10. Kentucky – UK is holding opponents to 38.1 percent from the field (eighth in the country).
11. UConn – The Huskies’ 33 percent from behind the arc is not helping things.
12. Georgetown – The Hoyas have rattled off six wins in a row.
13. Syracuse – Funny how the 2-3 zone worked well last week.
14. Arizona – Arizona has jumped to the top of the Pac 10 with five wins in a row and eight of nine. The Wildcats are tops in the country limiting opponents from behind the arc (26.5 percent).
15. Louisville – The Cards travel to Notre Dame before hosting Syracuse on Saturday.
16. Florida -UF beat Vanderbilt and Kentucky this past week. Will the real Florida Gators please stand up.
17. Missouri – It’s only the first week of February, but tonight’s game at the Phog has a do-or-die feel for the Tigers.
18. Utah State – The Aggies have won 17 in a row by limiting opponents to 58.6 per game.
19. Texas A&M – After losing three in a row, coach Mark Turgeon and his Aggies are wondering if there is a store that sells resilience.
20. Washington – The Huskies return home on Thursday after losing three in a row on the road.
21. Wisconsin – The Badgers will try and NOT overlook Iowa on Wednesday.
22. North Carolina – Larry Drew who?
23. Purdue – The Boilermakers have lost four in a row on the road and travel to Illinois on Sunday.
24. Alabama – The Tide limits opponents to 36.3 percent from the field (2nd in the nation).
25. Wichita State – Can the Shockers survive the Missouri Valley?
No Penn State? 😉
Casey —
On the Kentucky Wildcats … you shoulda said: “UK is holding opponents to 38.1 percent from the field (eighth in the country) while limiting their own shooting percentage to something that feels just as low.”
Wasn’t Penn State in the Top 20 last week??? What happened to …. oh … right. 😉
Only three Big 10 teams in the Top 25 and counting down … 3-2-1.
Wow … sure appears that Izzo has lost his team. The Spartans seem to be mailing it in … never thought I’d say that with Izzo at the helm.
You’re being “quite kind” to Texas A&M after 3 losses in a row, including looking pretty bad in at least one of them. Gut feeling?
Wally – Hahaha – Good point about Kentucky. I guess the dribble-drive isn’t working so well.
Re: A&M – while fewer top 25 teams lost this past week, enough still fell. I had A&M at 13 last week. It helps their cause that the teams behind them can be equally as inconsistent. I’m wondering if Baylor finally has their feet on the ground.
I was telling someone yesterday that I might need to re-calibrate my college basketball compass. Michigan State has been as accurate a gauge as there has been for the past 10-12 years. Now? Geez, your guess is as good as mine. It looks like Izzo has lost his team, BUT if any coach can turnaround a team in the final month, Izzo is the guy.
Big 10 teams are dropping, BUT I still see 2-3 in the Sweet Sixteen (Ohio State, Purdue and …)
Chas – sorry buddy. 🙂
Isn’t Sean Miller coaching at Arizona now? Hmmm – looks like the Wildcats knew what they were doing when they lured Miller away from Xavier.
Speaking of Xavier – when do they crack the Top 25? Would a victory over Duquense do it this week?
Right now, I think Izzo has to be shooting for getting the Spartans in the NIT – although a run in the Big Ten tournament could get them an automatic bid. Anyone think the off season courting of Izzo by the Cavaliers has hurt the program a little?
Smitty – yeah, I am withholding judgment of Xavier until after this week. The Muskies play AT Georgia tomorrow and then AT Duquesne on Sunday. The Dukes do not have another game until that contest.
You make a good point about Izzo and the Cavs. It would make sense that that is having some influence.
Yes, Sean Miller is coaching Arizona.
Oh and XU’s loss at Charlotte hurt their chances this week.
Seriously, Smitty … since when is a victory over Duquesne a springboard to ANYTHING? And you must spell it correctly first, before moving on to stage two of the debate.
Yes, WINNING the Big 10 tournament would get MSU into the Big Dance for sure. Simply “making a run” … even to the Finals? No. They have totally SUCKED for a full month. Plus I don’t think they have it in them to win two B10 tournament games. Okay … I’ll be a little more lenient to allow for a miracle. They are 13-10 right now. So they have … what … 5 regular season games left and then the B10 tournament. IF they can go 4-1 in these remaining games and then win 3 in a row at the tournament, then lose in the Finals, that would put ’em at 20-12. That “might get ’em in”, but only because of all the goodwill Izzo has built up through the years. If we were talking Virginia Tech, forget it.
As Casey said … if ANYONE can turn this around, Tom Izzo is the guy. BUT, getting humiliated by Iowa and then annihilated by Wisconsin doesn’t give one the warm fuzzies.
Smitty – I am little surprised that game is NOT being played at the Palumbo Center. The Dukes had a decided advantage at the on-campus site when they downed the Muskies two years ago.
Casey – I agree with you. The decision to not have the game on campus is puzzling. With first place on the line for the A-10, you would think the Dukes would want to take advantage of their` strengths.