First, Cleveland State punches it’s ticket to the Big Dance by punching Associated Press number 16 ranked Butler in the face 57-54 for the Horizon League tournament championship. Cleveland State (25-10) is dancing for the first time in 23 years.

Now the question is, will the selection committee take two teams from the Horizon League to the Big Dance?

I’m also watching the Cleveland Cavaliers lose to the Clippers right now. It’s late in the first half, and I’m sure once the second half gets underway, LeBron James will restore order.

DePaul’s win against Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East tournament is one more reason why I hate conference tournaments and why last place teams should stay home!

Did anyone stay up late enough to see No. 12 Gonzaga take apart St. Mary’s 83-58 for the West Coast Conference championship?

I’m now having second thought on giving the St. Mary’s an at-large tournament bid. Gonzaga really put a hurt on them.

Georgetown is out. The Hoyas (16-14), which were ranked as high as the top 10 this season were dismissed by St. John’s (16-16) 64-59 in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Ben Woodside buried a jumper with three seconds left to send North Dakota State (26-6) to NCAA’s with a 66-64 win against Oakland for the Summit League championship.

And as I write this, Western Kentucky just made reservations! The Hilltoppers (24-8) just beat South Alabama (20-13) 64-56 for the Sun Belt Conference championship.

Right now the NIT is shaping up to be a pretty decent tournament. You could have Georgetown, St. Mary’s, Davidson and Butler in the battle for No. 66.

We won’t know for sure until this weekend now, will we?

Here’s the latest list of teams headed for the Big Dance.

Cornell, Ivy League
East Tennessee State, Atlantic Sun Conference
Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
Radford, Big South Conference
Cleveland State, Horizon League
Gonzaga, West Coast Conference
Siena, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Virginia Commonwealth, Colonial Athletic Association
Chattanooga, Southern Conference
Western Kentucky, Sun Belt Conference
North Dakota State, Summit League

Post from: EveryJoe

Cleveland (State) Rocks!

North Carolina was the consensus number one pick at the beginning of the season and held it for the first seven weeks of the season. The Tar Heels (27-3) lost that ranking eight weeks ago after an upset loss to Boston College.

And after a nice win over 79-71 win against Duke yesterday to sweep the season series, and with last week’s number one Connecticut’s 70-60 lost to Pittsburgh, the Tar Heels find themselves back where they started.

The win gave North Carolina its 17th Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. If UNC win the ACC tournament, which starts this week, it will be the number one team going into the Big Dance no matter what happens in the other conference tournaments.

No one really checked in or out of this week’s ESPN/USA Today Top 25 for the first time since the second week of the regular season. Brigham Young (24-6) managed to sneak in at No. 25 in the Associated Press Top 25 replacing Illinois. I think it’s safe to say that everyone ranked in the top 25 will get an invite to the Big Dance.

But it going to be a bumpy ride for many of the top teams. North Carolina, No. 3 UConn, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Duke, No. 15 UCLA, and No. 21 Marquette, all have suffered an injury or two to a top player this season.

The latest on the “Oh no” list is UCLA’s Darren Collison. Collison, a Preseason All-American, bruised his tailbone in the Bruins’ win against Oregon on Saturday. Collison says that nothing is broken after x-rays, but if you’re a Bruins fan, it does make you very concerned.

A mighty congratulations to the Washington Huskies. The No. 13 Huskies (24-7) won its first regular season conference title since 1953.

I dare anyone reading this to prove to me that you were alive in 1953.

“Championship Week,” another one of those cute terms make up by the fine folks at ESPN, continues tonight with a handful of teams trying to punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

No. 12 Gonzaga (27-5) plays unranked St. Mary’s (25-5) for the West Coast Conference title tonight. Gonzaga’s in no matter what, but I think that St. Mary’s should get an at-large invite even if it loses. The Gaels were 18-1 and ranked in the top 25 until they lost guard Patrick Mills to a broken hand in a 69-62 loss to Gonzaga on Jan. 29.

Charleston (26-7) plays Chattanooga (17-16) for the Southern Conference championship. George Mason (22-9) faces Virginia Commonwealth (23-9) for the Colonia Athletic Association title, and Niagara (26-7) meets Siena (25-7) for the Metro Athletic Association Conference championship.

Could there be a team more on the bubble right now than Davidson?

The Wildcats, (26-7) last season’s Big Dance darlings that were a shot away from the Final Four, lost to Charleston in the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament yesterday 59-52. Davidson did play a very tough schedule this season that included Oklahoma, West Virginia, No. 24 Purdue, No. 9 Duke, winning only one of those games (68-65 against West Virginia).

It seems like everyone in the country likes this team and all-star junior guard Stephen Curry. The winner of the Charleston vs. Chattanooga gets in, but where does that leave Davidson? Will the Wildcats sneak in because of their tough scheduled, star power and body of work from last season?

Not only do the losses to the above mentioned top 25 teams hurt, but three losses in a weak conference hurt even more.

I say that the 26-7 record and regular season title should be enough to the Wildcats an at-large invite. Especially when you consider some of the slobs that will get in with sub-par records, because they had a good run and won their conference tournaments.

Already in:
Cornell, Ivy League
East Tennessee State, Atlantic Sun Conference
Morehead State, Ohio Valley Conference
Northern Iowa, Missouri Valley Conference
Radford, Big South Conference

Here are the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (35) 27-3, 1,734
2. Pittsburgh (33) 28-3, 1,731
3. Connecticut 27-3, 1,592
4. Memphis (2) 28-3, 1,544
5. Louisville (1) 25-5, 1,513
6. Oklahoma 27-4, 1,399
7. Michigan State 25-5, 1,349
8. Wake Forest 24-5, 1,246
9. Duke 25-6, 1,237
10. Villanova 25-6, 1,108
11. Kansas 25-6, 1,038
12. Gonzaga 25-5, 978
13. Washington 24-7, 910
14. Missouri 25-6, 779
15. UCLA 24-7, 752
16. Butler 26-4, 536
17. Clemson 23-7, 528
18. Syracuse 23-8, 518
19. Xavier 24-6, 465
20. LSU 25-6, 461
21. Marquette 23-8, 453
22. Florida State 23-8, 333
23. Arizona State 22-8, 199
24. Purdue 22-9, 169
25. Brigham Young 24-6, 158

Others Receiving Votes
Illinois 131, Texas A&M 63, Saint Mary’s 56, Utah 21, West Virginia 17, Auburn 9, Dayton 7, Utah State 6, Virginia Commonwealth 6, Weber State 5, Creighton 4, Northern Iowa 3, Siena 3, Oklahoma State 3, Penn State 2, New Mexico 2, California 2, Texas 2, American University 1, Ohio State 1, Tennessee 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (23) 27-3, 767
2. Pittsburgh (5) 28-3, 740
3. Memphis (3) 28-3, 702
4. Connecticut 27-3, 679
5. Louisville 25-5, 659
6. Michigan State 25-5, 608
7. Oklahoma 27-4, 592
8. Duke 25-6, 545
9. Wake Forest 24-5, 532
10. Washington 24-7, 466
11. Kansas 25-6, 444
12. Gonzaga 25-5, 426
13. Villanova 25-6, 410
14. UCLA 24-7, 369
15. Missouri 25-6, 327
16. LSU 25-6, 274
17. Butler 26-4, 251
18. Clemson 23-7, 223
19. Xavier 24-6, 196
20. Syracuse 23-8, 182
21. Marquette 23-8, 157
22. Florida State 23-8, 135
23. Arizona State 22-8, 133
24. Purdue 22-9, 68
25. Illinois 23-8, 57

Others Receiving Votes
Saint Mary’s 43, Brigham Young 30, Utah State 23, Dayton 11, California 9, Utah 7, Boston College 3, Texas 3, Texas A&M 2, Siena 1, Weber State 1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Division I Rankings for March 9, 2009

Today, I’m not going to start at the top of the polls and talk about how much I want this week’s number one Connecticut to win it all. I really do because I’d like to see the expression on the state government’s and that nutty freelancer/activist faces when coach Jim Calhoun holds the trophy.

This time I’m going to start at the bottom of the top 25 and work my way up.

Looks like I might have been all wrong about No. 25 Syracuse. The Orange are 28-8 overall and 9-7 in the Big East. With games left against Rutgers (10-19, 1-15) and Associated Press No. 13 Marquette (23-6, 12-4), a split may be enough to get the Orange into the Big Dance, no matter how they do in the Big East tournament.

If West Virginia (20-9, 9-7) gets by the team formally known as DePaul (8-16, 0-21) on Wednesday, you could be looking at eight teams from the Big East Dancing in March.

In other news…

What’s the deal with Arizona State?

It seems like every time the No. 21 Sun Devils (21-7, 10-6) just may break into the top 10 and become the Pacific 10 front runner, they go ahead and take a couple of steps back. The Sun Devils went up to the state of Washington and were swept by Washington (73-70) and Washington State (51-49). Both losses were in overtime.

Is it too early to start talking about Cinderalla yet?

I think teams like No. 14 Gonzaga (23-5, 14-0) and No. 22 Butler (25-4, 15-3) have been around long enough, and developed enough street cred with the big boys that we can now look at them as legit contenders.

That leaves teams like St. Mary’s (24-5, 10-4) and Creighton (25-6, 14-4) to try on the slipper and see if they can stay out past midnight, or the second round.

Or how about American University?

The Eagles (21-7, 13-1) ran away with the Patriot League regular season title. American is the number seed in the league tournament for the second straight year. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday. Could the Eagles get in and make things miserable for a team like Wake Forest, UCLA or LSU?

I’m just throwing that out there.

Nice to see defending champion and No. 9 Kansas (24-5, 14-1) restore order by putting No. 15 Missouri (24-5, 11-3) in its place over the weekend.

And finally, whatever happened to the teams formally known as USC, Clemson, Notre Dame and Texas? Didn’t we all have high expectations from these also rans at the beginning of the season?

Arkansas, Baylor, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Michigan have all let me down too.

Looks like it’s going to be an interesting NIT though.

Here are the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

AP Top 25
1. Connecticut (67) 27-2, 1,792
2. North Carolina (3) 25-3, 1,678
3. Pittsburgh (1) 26-3, 1,612
4. Oklahoma 26-3, 1,576
5. Memphis (1) 26-3, 1,543
6. Louisville 23-5, 1,462
7. Duke 24-5 1,340
8. Michigan State 23-5, 1,302
9. Kansas 24-5, 1,190
10. Wake Forest 22-5, 1,158
11. Villanova 23-6, 913
12. LSU 25-4, 894
13. Marquette 23-6, 860
14. Gonzaga 23-5, 837
15. Missouri 24-5, 795
16. Washington 22-7, 704
17. Xavier 23-5, 629
18. Clemson 22-6, 564
19. Purdue 22-7, 545
20. UCLA 22-7, 497
21. Arizona State 21-7, 347
22. Butler 25-4, 302
23. Illinois 23-7, 287
24. Florida State 22-7, 272
25. Syracuse 21-8, 99

Others Receiving Votes
Creighton 52, Brigham Young 41, Utah 22, Saint Mary’s 13, Dayton 11, West Virginia 10, Davidson 9, Texas 9, California 8, South Carolina 7, Providence 7, Washington State 4, Arizona 3, Oklahoma State 2, Boston College 1, Rhode Island 1, American University 1, Utah State 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Connecticut (27) 27-2, 769
2. North Carolina 25-3, 711
3. Memphis (4) 26-3, 698
4. Pittsburgh 26-3, 667
5. Oklahoma 26-3, 653
6. Louisville 23-5, 630
7. Duke 24-5, 597
8. Michigan State 23-5, 557
9. Kansas 24-5, 509
10. Wake Forest 22-5, 480
11. LSU 25-4, 420
12. Missouri 24-5, 377
13. Washington 22-7 346
14. Gonzaga 23-5, 339
15. Marquette 23-6 327
16. Villanova 23-6, 324
17. UCLA 22-7 295
18. Xavier 23-5, 260
19. Clemson 22-6 219
20. Purdue 22-7, 211
21. Arizona State 21-7 189
22. Butler 25-4, 168
23. Illinois 23-7, 107
24. Florida State 22-7, 67
25. Syracuse 21-8, 37

Others Receiving Votes
Saint Mary’s 26, Utah State 17, Texas 15, Creighton 13, Brigham Young 12, Utah 10, Dayton 9, California 6, Providence 4, Boston College 4, West Virginia 2.

Post from: EveryJoe

Division I Rankings for March 2, 2009

This was the second time Bob’s son has been chastised by the conference. Earlier this season he was told to go to his room without any dinner after running onto the court not once, but twice twice to argue a foul call in a game against Nebraska.

According to the Associated Press, assistant coach Stew Robinson will replace Knight for today’s game against Texas.

Pat may be taking on some of the same characteristics as his dad, but if you’re going to be that obnoxious, try winning one or two or three championships first like your father did.

Post from: EveryJoe

Like Father, Like Son

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.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Rankings for February 23, 2009

Congratulations to the Connecticut Huskies (22-1, 10-1) for hanging on to the number one ranking for a second week in a row in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. An even bigger congrats if you achieved this feat without using steroids.

Looks like No. 2 Oklahoma (23-1, 9-0) may have to wait another week or two for its chance to claim the top spot. The Huskies play No. 23 Syracuse (18-6, 6-5) at home on Wednesday and visit Seton Hall (13-9, 4-6) on Saturday.

Oklahoma is stuck playing at Baylor (15-8, 3-6) on Wednesday and hosts Texas Tech (12-11, 2-6) and the comedy stylings of coach Pat Knight on Saturday.

Could No. 3 North Carolina possibly leap frog both teams and reclaim the top spot if one should lose and the Tar Heels (21-2, 7-2) win at No. 6 Duke (20-3, 7-2) on Wednesday and at Miami (FL) (15-8, 4-6) on Sunday?

The revolving door that is the bottom half of the AP top 25 has Florida State (18-5) at No. 25, Ohio State (17-5) checks in at No. 24 and Missouri (20-4) comes in at No. 17.

Texas, Minnesota and Washington were voted off the island.

And there is no sign of Notre Dame anywhere in the top 25.

Here are both polls.

AP Top 25
1. Connecticut (67) 22-1, 1,795
2. Oklahoma (3) 23-1, 1,710
3. North Carolina (2) 21-2, 1,672
4. Pittsburgh 21-2, 1,583
5. Louisville 18-4 1,423
6. Duke 20-3, 1,350
7. Wake Forest 18-3, 1,242
8. Memphis 20-3, 1,237
9. Michigan State 19-4, 1,214
10. Marquette 20-3 1,137
11. UCLA 19-4, 1,131
12. Clemson 19-3, 1,097
13. Villanova 19-4, 989
14. Xavier 20-3, 893
15. Butler 21-2, 762
16. Kansas 19-4, 751
17. Missouri 20-4, 395
18. Arizona State 18-5, 389
19. Gonzaga 17-5, 361
20. Purdue 17-6, 353
21. Utah State 23-1, 317
22. Illinois 19-5, 303
23. Syracuse 18-6, 280
24. Ohio State 17-5, 216
25. Florida State 18-5, 182

Others Receiving Votes
LSU 167, Washington 135, Texas 106, Florida 66, Minnesota 43, Dayton 31, California 16, Kansas State 8, West Virginia 8, South Carolina 7, Davidson 7, Miami (FL) 7, Utah 4, Arizona 4, San Diego State 2, Siena 2, Northeastern 2, Robert Morris 1, Boston College 1, Green Bay 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Texas 16, Minnesota 19, Washington 22.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Connecticut (30) 22-1, 774
2. Oklahoma (1) 23-1, 735
3. North Carolina 21-2, 711
4. Pittsburgh 21-2, 689
5. Duke 20-3, 604
6. UCLA 19-4, 554
7. Louisville 18-4, 553
8. Wake Forest 18-3, 541
9. Michigan State 19-4, 521
10. Memphis 20-3, 486
11. Clemson 19-3, 456
12. Marquette 20-3, 446
13. Villanova 19-4, 416
14. Xavier 20-3, 375
15. Butler 21-2, 346
16. Kansas 19-4, 300
17. Utah State 23-1, 258
18. Arizona State 18-5, 214
19. Missouri 20-4, 162
20. Illinois 19-5, 143
21. Gonzaga 17-5, 124
22. Syracuse 18-6, 115
23. Purdue 17-6, 114
24. Washington 17-6, 86
25. Florida State 18-5, 62

Others Receiving Votes
Ohio State 55, Texas 50, LSU 50, Dayton 34, Minnesota 30, Florida 26, Davidson 9, Utah 9, South Carolina 7, Saint Mary’s 5, Brigham Young 5, California 3, San Diego State 3, Penn State 2, UNLV 1, Arizona 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Texas 17, Minnesota 19.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For February 9, 2009

They either end up back in the classroom teaching or in Washington D.C. costing tax payers trillions!

And remember what fan is short for – FANATIC! “A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause,” according to Dictionary.com.

When I take a look at standings, teams and players, it’s easy for me to make a pretty decent judgment based on this and other tangibles.

For instance.

Syracuse is 17-5 and ranked 20th in this week’s Associated Press poll.

Pretty good overall record, huh? I’m sure some teams in the SWAC, MAC and Big West would love to have that record and ranking.

But take a closer look and you’ll see that four of those losses are in Big East Conference play. That puts Syracuse in seventh place at 5-4.

Pretty lousy for a top 25 team if you ask me.

Granted, there are about 20 teams in the Big East, but you know what I’m saying.

I’m not against the Orange and don’t wish them any ill will, or any team mind you. I watched gleefully as coach Jim Boeheim finally won a National Championship in 2002-03. It was fun to watch, but it didn’t change my life in any way. Just as a watching my favorite football team win the Super Bowl this weekend didn’t either.

That was great too, but life goes on here in pro football-less L.A.

There aren’t any teams out there that I really like or really hate. I’m more of a fan of the history and pagentry of the game. The post-Adolph Rupp Kentucky teams, Dean Smith’s North Carolina teams, and John Wooden’s UCLA teams. I find Bobby Knight to be as entertaining as most of you find him to be annoying. You know, that sort of stuff.

I love some of the great individual teams such as the 1966 Texas Western (now UTEP) team, the 1977 Marquette team, the 1983 North Carolina State team, the 1985 Villanova team, the 1988 Kansas team, the 1994 Arkansas team, the 1997 Arizona team and the 2002 Maryland team.

I fill out brackets every season only to be done by the second round, and begin wondering when baseball season starts. That’s what happens when I pick teams like Boston College TWICE to go to Final Four a few years ago.

I went to and live walking distance from a “Mid-Major,” Long Beach State of the Big West Conference(I don’t know why it’s called the “Big West, because there’s nothing big about that conference).

I support the 49ers and I’m happy when they win and only mildly annoyed when they lose, which is often these days.

The 49ers make an appearence in the Big Dance every five years or so after winning the conference, and is usually a 15th or 16th seed after winning 20-plus games.

Our biggest rival is Cal State Fullerton. I don’t like the Titans and openly boo when they play the 49ers. But after the games are over and during the offseason, I will get together with one of them every now and then to hang out.

Now if the 49ers win the championship that will change my life, because I would swear that the world is coming to an end. I will also rub it in the face of any Cal State Fullerton fan within an earshot until the lights go dark and the end of the world as we know it has come.

Recently I’ve wanted to come on this blog and boast about Long Beach’s current first place standing, but won’t because I don’t want to sound like a Duke football fan does in September. There’s plenty of basketball left to play.

The last time a “Mid-Major” made it to the NCAA championship game was Utah in 1998 when the Utes lost to Kentucky.

And where was Utah from at the time?

The Western Athletic Conference!

Which finally bring me to this week’s No. 25 team Utah State out of (you guessed it) the WAC.

I know the Aggies pretty well, because they used to play in the Big West and abuse Long Beach State every chance they got.

But keep in mind this isn’t college football where the WAC is very competitive. But this is college basketball and posting a 21-1 record and a 19-game winning streak (the longest in the nation right now) against slobs like Idaho, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State is not going to impress the powers that be that decide the pairings on Selection Sunday.

Syracuse and Utah State are more examples of rankings being useless, but we’ve already had that discussion.

When teams from confereces such as the WAC, MAC, Big West, Big Sky Atlantic 10, and the way they’ve been playing this year, the Big 10 (Plus One), they aren’t called “powers.” They’re called “Cinderellas.”

These are teams that unexpectantly make a nice run in the tournament upsetting one or two favorites along the way, only to have the carriage turn back into a pumpkin, and the dress turned back into a Goodwill hand-me-down in the round of 16 or the Elite Eight.

That’s one of the reasons why you will rarely see someone like a Utah State or Long Beach State break into the top 10 or top 15. It’s because their conferences are so lousy that you can’t possibly justify ranking them any higher than the lower half of the polls.

But we all love Cinderella teams and stories, right? That’s why college basketball is one of the most exciting spectator sports around.

Does last year’s Davidson team ring a bell? How much fun was that watching them on that insane run?

But let’s not get too carried away when a Utah State goes on a big run and is given a token top 25 ranking in February. Nor should we get too carried away when a seventh place team gets dissed for being a seventh place team.

It’s all about who comes out on top in the end. And right now, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be Syracuse or Utah State.

Post from: EveryJoe

I’m a Fan, but not a Fanatic

Connecticut is your new number one team and that may only last until about 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The Huskies (20-1, 9-1 in the Big East) are in Louisville to take on the fifth ranked Cardinals (17-3, 8-0).

If the Huskies win then no biggie. They get to hold on to the top spot for at least a week, because they play a couple of lousy teams in Michigan and Syracuse later this week.

If the Cardinals win then newly No. 2 Oklahoma (21-1, 7-0) in the Big 12 will more than likely take over, becoming the sixth team to sit at number one so far this season.

As I’m looking at the rest of the polls, I see that it’s pretty much business as usual But here’s one that caught my eye.

Utah State checks in at No. 25 this week.

Utah State!?

The Aggies are 21-1 and 9-0 in the Western Athletic Conference. Their only loss was to BYU, but they really haven’t beaten anyone that good.

Oh well. Congrats to Utah State and see you as the 16th seed and a date with Duke, North Carolina or UConn at the Big Dance in March.

For the record, I’ll continue to publish both polls, but I’m only referring to the Associated Press polls from now on. This two poll system with the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll where the rankings are different is driving me crazy!

Here are both polls.

AP Top 25
1. Connecticut (64) 20-1
2. Oklahoma (5) 21-1
3. North Carolina (3) 19-2
4. Duke 19-2
5. Louisville 17-3
6. Pittsburgh 19-2
7. Wake Forest 17-2
8. Marquette 19-2
9. Xavier 19-2
10. Clemson 18-2
11. Butler 19-1
12. Purdue 17-4
13. Michigan State 17-4
14. Memphis 18-3
15. UCLA 17-4
16. Texas 15-5
17. Villanova 17-4
18. Gonzaga 16-4
19. Minnesota 18-3
20. Syracuse 17-5
21. Kansas 17-4
22. Washington 16-5
23. Illinois 18-4
24. Arizona State 16-5
25. Utah State 21-1

Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 95, Davidson 85, Missouri 39, Penn State 37, LSU 36, West Virginia 33, South Carolina 33, UNLV 29, Florida 24, Providence 14, USC 8, Notre Dame 7, Siena 4, Kansas State 4, Northeastern 3, Ohio State 3, Kentucky 2, Arizona 2, Florida State 1, Northern Iowa 1, Virginia Military 1.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Connecticut (28) 20-1
2. Oklahoma (3) 21-1
3. Duke 19-2
4. North Carolina 19-2
5. Pittsburgh 19-2
6. Wake Forest 17-2
7. Louisville 17-3
8. Marquette 19-2
9. Xavier 19-2 529
10. Clemson 18-2
11. Butler 19-1
12. UCLA 17-4
13. Purdue 17-4
14. Michigan State 17-4
15. Memphis 18-3
16. Villanova 17-4
17. Texas 15-5
18. Gonzaga 16-4
19. Minnesota 18-3
20. Syracuse 17-5
21. Illinois 18-4
22. Utah State 21-1
23. Arizona State 16-5
24. Kansas 17-4
25. Washington 16-5

Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 69, Missouri 30, Davidson 27, UNLV 19, Saint Mary’s 18, USC 15, Penn State 13, LSU 10, South Carolina 8, Florida 6, West Virginia 5, Notre Dame 4, Georgetown 3, Kentucky 3, Baylor 3, Brigham Young 2, Utah 2, Boston College 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Saint Mary’s 18, Notre Dame 22, Georgetown 23.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For February 2, 2009

You sat around, waited patiently and won all but one of your games. You did while pretenders like those other two schools in your state and Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh?) held the top ranking this season.

So here you are at the top of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. And it’s the first time in three seasons you’ve held the top spot.

And to add insult to injury, you solidified the number one ranking by clobbering an Atlantic Coast Conference cream puff in Maryland by 41 points over the weekend.

Didn’t Maryland used to be good?

But lets be honest here Duke fans, does this really mean anything?

What has more meaning? Being number one on January 26 or being number one at the end of the season? Your standards are too high to be celebrating a number one spot this time of the year. Leave that to others like Wake Forest and Pittsburgh (again, Pittsburgh?).

If anyone tells you how great of a feat this is, tell them to talk to you in April when it will really mean something.

Washington is making a fool out of me and anyone else who said that UCLA was a Final Four team. The Huskies beat this Bruins this weekend for something like the fifth straight time in Seattle and climbed to the top of the Pac-10 rankings. They check in at No. 23 in the AP poll, but not the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. UCLA dropped to 16th in one poll and 17th in another.

But you never know how these things will play out. UCLA is notorious for getting hot at the end of the season and making a run. That’s why the Bruins have been to three straight Final Fours. But losses like the one to Washington and Arizona State may be the reason why they haven’t cashed one in.

Not to get all cryptic or anything, but last week’s number one Wake Forest DEMON DEACONS got 666 points in the ESPN/USA Today poll this week as they dropped to fourth.

Here’s the top 25.

AP Top 25
1. Duke (62) 18-1
2. Connecticut (6) 18-1
3. Pittsburgh (3) 18-1
4. Oklahoma (1) 19-1
5. North Carolina 17-2
6. Wake Forest 16-1
7. Louisville 15-3
8. Marquette 17-2
9. Michigan State 16-3
10. Xavier 17-2
11. Texas 14-4
12. Clemson 17-2
13. Butler 18-1
14. Arizona State 16-3
15. Syracuse 17-4
16. Purdue 15-4
17. UCLA 15-4
18. Memphis 16-3
19. Illinois 17-3
20. Gonzaga 14-4
21. Villanova 15-4
22. Saint Mary’s 18-1
23. Washington 15-4
24. Kentucky 16-4
25. Georgetown 12-6

Others Receiving Votes
Notre Dame 154, Minnesota 138, Kansas 84, Florida 65, Missouri 52, Virginia Tech 37, Baylor 34, West Virginia 32, Davidson 27, Utah State 23, Dayton 14, California 13, UNLV 4, Florida State 3, Ohio State 1, Virginia Commonwealth 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Notre Dame 19, Minnesota 21, Florida 24.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Duke (30) 18-1
2. Connecticut (1) 18-1
3. Pittsburgh 18-1
4. Wake Forest 16-1
5. Oklahoma 19-1
6. North Carolina 17-2
7. Louisville 15-3
8. Marquette 17-2
9. Michigan State 16-3
10. Xavier 17-2
11. Clemson 17-2
12. Texas 14-4
13. Butler 18-1
14. Arizona State 16-3
15. Syracuse 17-4
16. UCLA 15-4
17. Purdue 15-4
18. Saint Mary’s 18-1
19. Memphis 16-3
20. Illinois 17-3
21. Villanova 15-4
22. Notre Dame 12-6
23. Georgetown 12-6
24. Minnesota 17-3
25. Gonzaga 14-4

Others Receiving Votes
Florida 59, Utah State 56, Kentucky 50, Baylor 42, Washington 41, California 31, Missouri 22, Dayton 18, Davidson 14, Kansas 13, Brigham Young 6, Florida State 3, UNLV 2, Virginia Tech 1, West Virginia 1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For January 26

Would it be number three and one loss Duke, which had an impressive non-conference win against Georgetown? Or would it be number two Wake Forest, which had a big win against a team who some believe (Ryan) is one of the more overrated rated teams in Clemson?

I guess the voters in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls agree that undefeated defeating undefeated gets you the number one spot no matter how overrated the team you beat is.

Wake Forest (16-0), who I don’t think has been number one since Tim Duncan played there, is the third team this season to take the top spot.

Like Pittsburgh, which dropped to fourth, the Demon Deacons may not last long. Assuming they get past Virginia Tech on Wednesday, a date with Duke awaits on Jan. 28.

If Duke wins more than likely it will take over the spot making them the fourth team to do so this season and the third from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

No one has really stood out as a dominate team this season. I thought it would be UCLA, North Carolina and maybe Louisville. I still think that Michigan State will sneak up and surprise everyone in the weak Big 10 (plus one) conference.

But what do I know, right?

If the polls prove anything it’s that they really don’t mean a thing. They just give us something to write about and something for everyone else to talk about each week. We do this until the madness begins in March when the real number one team will be crowned.

Here are both the top 25 polls.

AP Top 25
1. Wake Forest (68) 16-0
2. Duke (4) 16-1
3. Connecticut 16-1
4. Pittsburgh 16-1
5. North Carolina 16-2
6. Oklahoma 17-1
7. Michigan State 15-2
8. Syracuse 17-2
9. Louisville 13-3
10. Clemson 16-1
11. Marquette 16-2
12. Georgetown 12-4
13. UCLA 14-3
14. Texas 13-4
15. Xavier 15-2
16. Butler 16-1
17. Arizona State 15-3
18. Purdue 14-4
19. Notre Dame 12-5
20. Villanova 14-3
21. Minnesota 16-2
22. Memphis 14-3
23. Gonzaga 12-4
24. Florida 16-2
25. Illinois 15-3

Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 148, Saint Mary’s 137, Kentucky 105, California 82, Florida State 34, Kansas 23, Ohio State 20, Missouri 14, Davidson 14, Tennessee 14, Utah State 12, Washington 12, West Virginia 8, Miami (FL) 8, Arkansas 6, Michigan 5, Dayton 4, George Mason 1, LSU 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Baylor 21, California 22, Tennessee 24, Michigan 25.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Wake Forest (25) 16-0
2. Duke (6) 16-1
3. Connecticut 16-1
4. Pittsburgh 16-1
5. Oklahoma 17-1
6. North Carolina 16-2
7. Michigan State 15-2
8. Syracuse 17-2
9. Clemson 16-1
10. Marquette 16-2
11. UCLA 14-3
12. Louisville 13-3
13. Xavier 15-2
14. Georgetown 12-4
15. Texas 13-4
16. Arizona State 15-3
17. Butler 16-1
18. Purdue 14-4
19. Notre Dame 12-5
20. Minnesota 16-2
21. Villanova 14-3
22. Saint Mary’s 17-1
23. Baylor 14-3
24. Illinois 15-3
25. Memphis 14-3

Others Receiving Votes
California 65, Florida 52, Gonzaga 35, Utah State 31, Ohio State 22, Brigham Young 22, Dayton 16, Missouri 13, Kentucky 12, Davidson 9, Kansas 3, West Virginia 3, Washington 2, Miami (FL) 2, Florida State 2, Arkansas 2, Michigan 1.

Dropped From Rankings
California 23, Michigan 24.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For January 19