Latest Division I Rankings for February 23, 2009

I’ve been away for the past week due to a death in the family. My wife has been out of the country for the funeral (her dad’s), and that left my four-year-old son and I here alone together. All we had to promise my wife was that we wouldn’t kill each and/or destroy the house.

Promises, promises. As long as we get the foot print stains on the ceiling cleaned by the time she gets back on Wednesday night, we’ll be fine.

I was able to keep track of some of the goings on in the world of college basketball and here’s what I was able to gather.

Burgers contain all of the major food groups, as does a fully loaded pizza.

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is my new hero.

You have to wonder how much UCLA, USC, Kansas, Memphis and other tournament teams from last year hate hot shot freshmen who only stay for one year.

Somehow Missouri sneaked into the ESPN/USA Today top 10 when I wasn’t looking.

Somehow California is 20-7 and not ranked.

Syracuse was finally put out of its misery and out of the top 25. The only thing that can save them now is a good run in the Big East tournament. But one the 18 or so teams from the conference ahead of the Orange will most likely send them back to the NIT.

Green Bay defeated Long Beach State in a Bracket Buster game on Saturday. I understand they retired Bret Farve’s jersey during a halftime ceremony. What’s odd about this is that that game was at Long Beach State!

One player really does make a difference on a team. Just ask Oklahoma, Davidson and Connecticut.

Somebody is going to win the national championship this year.

And no one has a clue as to who it will be.

This may be one of the most unpredictable seasons in college basketball in recent years. The number one ranking has been a revolving door and it’s probably driving all the selection committee people crazy.

By the time the white smoke comes out of the chambers where college basketball’s Illuminati meet, I think we will all be in for some big surprises when the final 64 are announced.

This week Pittsburgh is back at number one in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

How long will the Panthers (25-2) hold on is anybody’s guess. Pittsburgh’s remaining schedule includes, Providence, Seton Hall, No. 8 Marquette and No. 2 Connecticut.

It’s a safe bet that the Panthers will probably lose at least one of those games. If they don’t, pencil them in as the top seed for the Big Dance and watch out!

At number two is the former number one Connecticut. Somehow I thought the Huskies (25-2) would stay on top a little longer that a week or two, but Pittsburgh had other plans. The injury to Jerome Dyson didn’t help either. No 7 Marquette, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh await the Huskies before the Big East Tournament.

No. 3 Oklahoma should have been the number one team this week. After UConn’s loss to Pittsburgh last week all the Sooners (25-2) had to do was beat Texas this weekend. But as fate would have it, my new pick for Player of the Year, Blake Griffin went down with an injury and the Sooners unraveled and lost to the Longhorns 73-68.

Oklahoma are playing host to No. 15 Kansas right now and so far no sign of Griffin.

But never fear Sooner fans! I’m sure the BCS will grant you an automatic bid in the tournament and maybe even the championship game.

The Sooners finish out the regular season against Texas Tech, No. 11 Missouri and Oklahoma State.

In spite of the loss to 88-85 overtime loss to Maryland this weekend, I still think No. 4 North Carolina will go waaaaay deep in the Big Dance if the Tar Heels (24-3) stay healthy. North Carolina wrap up the regular season against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and home against No. 7 Duke.

Has anyone noticed that Memphis is the fifth ranked team in the country? I had them written off for dead sometime ago. But the Tigers (24-3) haven’t lost a Conference USA game since midway through the second term of the George W. Bush administration. The Tigers may be the hottest team that no one is paying any attention to.

Much of that has to do with the fact that they play in Conference USA. But that shouldn’t matter. Remember, Memphis was a bad coaching decision away from winning it all last year.

It doesn’t even matter who Memphis plays the rest of the season. All games will be like practice or scrimmage for the tournament.

I’m not writing off No. 7 Duke. I’m just not talking about them very much. They let me down and I feel like a jilted lover.

Michigan State ranked ninth and 21-5 is still a team to beat as long as Tom Izzo is coaching.

Louisville, Marquette, and Villanova are all ranked in the top 10 behind UConn and Pittsburgh. The Big East is one scary conference this year.

Here’s the entire top 25 from the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today.

AP Top 25
1. Pittsburgh (69) 25-2, 1,797
2. Connecticut (1) 25-2, 1,692
3. Oklahoma (2) 25-2, 1,643
4. North Carolina 24-3, 1,556
5. Memphis 24-3, 1,543
6. Louisville 21-5, 1,403
7. Duke 22-5, 1,228
8. Marquette 23-4, 1,169
9. Michigan State 21-5, 1,136
10. Villanova 22-5, 1,125
11. Missouri 23-4, 1,094
12. Clemson 22-4, 1,050
13. Wake Forest 20-5, 992
14. Arizona State 21-5, 869
15. Kansas 22-5, 812
16. Purdue 21-6, 765
17. Gonzaga 21-5, 661
18. LSU 23-4, 541
19. Xavier 22-5, 413
20. Illinois 22-6, 364
21. Washington 20-7, 291
22. UCLA 20-7, 268
23. Florida State 21-6, 217
24. Butler 23-4, 192
25. Texas 18-8, 162

Others Receiving Votes
Utah 108, West Virginia 96, Syracuse 53, Arizona 33, Dayton 21, Creighton 21, Utah State 16, Florida 14, California 11, Siena 9, South Carolina 8, Penn State 8, Saint Mary’s 5, Davidson 3, Minnesota 3, Kansas State 3, Brigham Young 2, American University 1, Kentucky 1, Maryland 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Syracuse 24, Dayton 25.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Pittsburgh (30) 25-2, 774
2. Connecticut (1) 25-2, 721
3. Oklahoma 25-2, 691
4. Memphis 24-3, 682
5. North Carolina 24-3, 668
6. Louisville 21-5, 585
7. Duke 22-5, 559
8. Missouri 23-4, 517
9. Michigan State 21-5, 511
10. Marquette 23-4, 471
11. Arizona State 21-5, 434
12. Villanova 22-5, 428
13. Clemson 22-4, 424
14. Wake Forest 20-5, 411
15. Kansas 22-5, 355
16. Purdue 21-6, 261
17. Gonzaga 21-5, 257
18. LSU 23-4, 239
19. UCLA 20-7, 202
20. Illinois 22-6, 197
21. Washington 20-7, 178
22. Xavier 22-5, 175
23. Butler 23-4, 75
24. Texas 18-8, 55
25. Florida State 21-6, 52

Others Receiving Votes
Utah 22, Utah State 22, Dayton 21, Syracuse 18, Florida 16, Penn State 10, Arizona 9, California 7, West Virginia 7, Brigham Young 6, South Carolina 5, Saint Mary’s 4, Boston College 3, Creighton 2, Kentucky 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Utah State 23, Syracuse 25.