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

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

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

Big deal!

What’s more insulting is that Duke leaped over the Tar Heels to second while UNC drops to third.

So Pittsburgh is your new number one team.

Again – Big deal!

Yes, it’s the first time the Panthers have been at the top in the school’s history and they play a tough schedule and in a tough conference. And the last time Pittsburgh was number one in anything was when Dan Marino was throwing passes for the Panthers 30 years ago.

The Big East is so wild with Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Syracuse and Connecticut all in the top 10, and Notre Dame, Louisville, Marquette and West Virginia are all breathing down each others necks.

Don’t get me wrong here. I say congratulations to the Panthers for making it to the top, and for maybe giving me something else to talk about other than UNC and Old What’s His Name. But don’t expect a long stay at the top for the Panthers.

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

AP Top 25
1. Pittsburgh (70) 14-0, 1,798
2. Duke 12-1, 1,660
3. North Carolina (2) 13-1 1,651
4. Wake Forest 13-0, 1,553
5. Connecticut 12-1, 1,474
6. Oklahoma 13-1, 1,358
7. Texas 11-2, 1,348
8. Michigan State 11-2, 1,269
9. Georgetown 10-2, 1,208
10. UCLA 12-2, 1,162
11. Syracuse 14-1, 1,113
12. Clemson 14-0, 968
13. Notre Dame 10-3, 802
14. Purdue 11-3, 774
15. Tennessee 9-3, 533
16. Xavier 11-2, 483
17. Boston College 13-2, 453
18. Marquette 13-2, 436
18. Villanova 12-2, 436
20. Arizona State 12-2, 374
21. Butler 12-1, 341
22. Minnesota 13-1, 290
23. Baylor 12-2, 289
23. Louisville 9-3, 289
25. West Virginia 11-2, 230

Others Receiving Votes
Michigan 153, California 122, Arkansas 109, Illinois 108, Gonzaga 86, Wisconsin 86, Memphis 67, Davidson 56, Saint Mary’s 50, UNLV 43, Illinois State 39, Kansas 37, Ohio State 28, Texas A&M 27, Maryland 25, Dayton 22, Florida 13, Florida State 13, Brigham Young 12, Miami (FL) 8, Missouri 4.

Dropped From Rankings
Gonzaga 16, Michigan 23, Ohio State 24.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Pittsburgh (30) 14-0, 774
2. Duke 12-1, 714
3. North Carolina (1) 13-1, 707
4. Wake Forest 13-0, 687
5. Connecticut 12-1, 630
6. Oklahoma 13-1, 593
7. Texas 11-2, 546
7. UCLA 12-2, 546
9. Syracuse 14-1, 526
10. Georgetown 10-2, 506
11. Clemson 14-0, 480
12. Michigan State 11-2, 452
13. Notre Dame 10-3, 277
14. Purdue 11-3, 261
15. Marquette 13-2, 251
16. Arizona State 12-2, 238
17. Villanova 12-2, 225
18. Xavier 11-2, 217
19. Minnesota 13-1, 183
20. Butler 12-1, 147
21. Louisville 9-3, 136
22. West Virginia 11-2, 132
23. Baylor 12-2, 98
24. Boston College 13-2, 90
25. Tennessee 9-3, 85

Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 54, Illinois State 50, Michigan 49, Saint Mary’s 43, Ohio State 40, Memphis 37, Illinois 34, Brigham Young 34, California 31, Davidson 31, Arkansas 27, Gonzaga 27, Wisconsin 26, Texas A&M 22, Missouri 21, Florida 11, UNLV 11, LSU 10, Kansas 7, Stanford 5, Maryland 1, Florida State 1, Utah State 1, Washington 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Gonzaga 17, Ohio State 23, Michigan 24.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For January 5

Not much change in this week’s rankings until you get to the bottom half and see teams like Gonzaga and Xavier tumbling after losses last week.

My question is, of the remaining undefeated teams, (North Carolina 12-0, Connecticut 11-0, Pittsburgh 12-0, Oklahoma 12-0, Wake Forest 11-0 and I’ll even throw in Clemson 12-0 and Minnesota 12-0) which one will flinch and lose a game first?

My money is on anyone ranked below North Carolina. Conference is about to start and all of these teams are vulnerable.

North Carolina is 12-0 and all 12 wins have been by double figures, a school record. Granted some of those wins came against cream puffs like UC Santa Barbara and Chaminade, but you have to admit that this is a pretty cool accomplishment and shows just how dominate they are.

The Tar Heels won’t get a true test until Jan. 11 when they play at No. 6 Wake Forest.

In other news, Missouri dropped out of the AP Top 25.

Honestly, I didn’t know they were ranked.

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

Associated Press
1. North Carolina (72) 12-0, 1,800
2. Connecticut 11-0, 1,719
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 1,641
4. Oklahoma 12-0, 1,600
5. Duke 10-1, 1,511
6. Wake Forest 11-0, 1,351
7. Notre Dame 9-2, 1,231
8. Texas 10-2, 1,193
9. Purdue 11-2, 1,160
10. Michigan State 9-2, 1,058
11. Georgetown 9-1, 1,015
12. UCLA 10-2, 991
13. Syracuse 12-1, 863
14. Tennessee 8-2, 854
15. Villanova 11-1, 691
16. Gonzaga 8-3, 608
17. Arizona State 10-1, 602
18. Louisville 8-2, 588
19. Baylor 10-1, 580
20. Clemson 12-0, 563
21. Minnesota 12-0, 351
22. Xavier 9-2, 327
23. Michigan 9-2, 237
24. Ohio State 9-1, 219
25. Butler 10-1, 166

Others Receiving Votes
West Virginia 100, Marquette 79, Illinois 64, Davidson 50, Memphis 43, Saint Mary’s 30, Texas A&M 21, Stanford 17, Brigham Young 13, Florida 12, Maryland 12, Dayton 11, Florida State 10, Arizona 7, Miami (FL) 6, Illinois State 2, Creighton 2, George Mason 1, Missouri 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Missouri 25.

ESPN/USA Today
1. North Carolina (31) 12-0, 775
2. Connecticut 11-0, 737
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 715
4. Oklahoma 12-0, 683
5. Duke 10-1, 651
6. Wake Forest 11-0, 598
7. Texas 10-2, 531
8. Georgetown 9-1, 510
9. UCLA 10-2, 496
10. Notre Dame 9-2, 453
11. Purdue 11-2, 398
11. Syracuse 12-1, 398
13. Villanova 11-1, 351
14. Arizona State 10-1, 346
15. Michigan State 9-2, 308
16. Clemson 12-0, 293
17. Gonzaga 8-3, 285
18. Louisville 8-2, 223
18. Tennessee 8-2, 223
20. Baylor 10-1, 194
21. Minnesota 12-0, 181
22. Xavier 9-2, 169
23. Ohio State 9-1, 158
24. Michigan 9-2, 66
25. Marquette 11-2, 55

Others Receiving Votes
Brigham Young 43, West Virginia 41, Butler 37, Memphis 33, Dayton 32, Saint Mary’s 26, Davidson 12, Arizona 10, Missouri 9, Illinois 8, Illinois State 6, Stanford 6, Florida 5, LSU 4, Texas A&M 3, Florida State 2, Utah State 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Memphis 24.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For December 29

Undefeated North Carolina (11-0), Connecticut (10-0), Pittsburgh (12-0) and Oklahoma (11-0) are one through four and Wake Forest (10-0) is sixth in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls (Finally! Something these two can agree on!).

That leaves Ohio State (8-0), Clemson (12-0) and Minnesota (10-0) as the other undefeated teams in the top 25.

It was a battle of former Kentucky coaches with championships at Kentucky last weekend.

Louisville’s Rick Pitino won the title with the Wildcats in 1995-96 and Minnesota’s Tubby Smith won the 1997-98 championship.

Smith and Minnesota’s 70-64 “upset” win against Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals was good enough for the Golden Gophers to debut into the top 25 at No. 23. The loss dropped the Cardinals (7-2) from 10th to 19th in both polls. The biggest drop of the week.

Just because you weren’t privileged enough to be ranked in the preseason and you’re already undefeated, doesn’t necessarily mean that your win against some preseason top 10 team was that big of a deal.

Just ask Michigan.

The Wolverines (8-2), with wins against UCLA and Duke this season check in to the Associated Press Top 25 at 24, but failed to make it in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Gonzaga (8-2) is the highest ranked two-loss team at seven in both polls. The Bulldogs suffered their second loss of the season to UConn 88-83 in overtime on Saturday.

Memphis, Marquette and Davidson check in and out of both polls.

Enjoy!

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (71) 11-0, 1,775
2. Connecticut 10-0, 1,693
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 1,618
4. Oklahoma 11-0, 1,580
5. Duke 10-1, 1,486
6. Wake Forest 10-0, 1,294
7. Gonzaga 8-2, 1,154
8. Notre Dame 8-2, 1,116
9. Texas 9-2, 1,108
10. Purdue 9-2, 1,083
11. Michigan State 8-2, 907
12. Georgetown 8-1, 880
13. UCLA 8-2, 873
14. Xavier 9-1, 861
15. Ohio State 8-0, 766
16. Tennessee 8-2, 758
17. Syracuse 11-1, 742
18. Villanova 10-1, 594
19. Louisville 7-2, 521
20. Arizona State 9-1, 477
21. Baylor 9-1, 466
22. Clemson 12-0, 462
23. Minnesota 10-0, 198
24. Michigan 8-2, 183
25. Missouri 9-1, 71

Others Receiving Votes
Memphis 70, Marquette 69, Davidson 66, Butler 40, Dayton 25, Saint Mary’s 25, Illinois 20, Brigham Young 18, Maryland 16, Texas A&M 11, Kansas 10, Florida 8, Florida State 8, Stanford 8, Miami (FL) 6, Wisconsin 5, UNLV 1, West Virginia 1, Western Kentucky 1, George Mason 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Davidson 22, Memphis 23, Marquette 24.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (31) 11-0, 775
2. Connecticut 10-0, 737
3. Pittsburgh 12-0, 715
4. Oklahoma 11-0, 683
5. Duke 10-1, 651
6. Wake Forest 10-0, 552
7. Gonzaga 8-2, 499
8. Texas 9-2 486
9. Georgetown 8-1, 476
10. UCLA 8-2, 465
11. Notre Dame 8-2, 398
12. Xavier 9-1, 392
13. Ohio State 8-0, 371
14. Syracuse 11-1, 368
15. Purdue 9-2, 341
16. Villanova 10-1, 324
17. Arizona State 9-1, 306
18. Michigan State 8-2, 254
19. Louisville 7-2, 231
20. Clemson 12-0, 218
21. Tennessee 8-2, 215
22. Baylor 9-1, 163
23. Minnesota 10-0, 78
24. Memphis 6-3, 60
25. Marquette 9-2, 58

Others Receiving Votes
Brigham Young 44, Davidson 39, Michigan 38, Missouri 28, Dayton 26, Butler 14, Saint Mary’s 14, Miami (FL) 10, Kansas 10, Arizona 9, Wisconsin 9, West Virginia 5, Florida 4, Illinois State 3, LSU 3, Stanford 3.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division I Polls For December 22

Blah, blah, blah.

And it looks like the Tar Heels will keep the top spot for at least another week. They play one game against cream puff Oral Roberts on Saturday.

That will keep No. 2 Connecticut looking up at the Tar Heels again as the Huskies have the week off.

But there was plenty of movement elsewhere this week in both polls as top 10 and top 20 teams clashed with each other last week.

And it drives me crazy, because neither poll can agree on even the slightest movement up or down of a team.

Duke only dropped three spot from No. 4 to No. 7 after being upset by unranked Michigan on Saturday.

Checking into the top 10 are Tennessee (No. 8), Xavier (No. 9) and Louisville (10).

Wake Forest makes the biggest jump from 17th to 11.

The only debut into the top 25 is Ohio State checks at No. 21. The Buckeyes had two big wins last week against No. 22 Miami (FL) (73-68) and No. 7 Notre Dame (67-62).

Marquette at 7-1 returns to the top 25 at No. 24 with a key win against Wisconsin 61-58 on Saturday.

Michigan State took the biggest tumble falling from 12 to 20 by ESPN and 18th by the AP.

Oh come on! All the Spartans did was lose to No. 1 North Carolina 98-63 last week.

Notre Dame dropped out of the top 10 to No. 13 by ESPN/USA Today, and 12th by AP.

UCLA is went from ninth to 14th (ESPN/USA Today) and 16th (AP).

Purdue is 17th down from 10th (ESPN/USA Today) and 14th (AP).

Wisconsin and Florida dropped out of the ESPN/USA Today top 25, while Miami (FL) and Florida dropped out of the AP poll.

Here are both polls.

AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (72) 8-0 1,800
2. Connecticut 8-0 1,710
3. Pittsburgh 9-0 1,633
4. Gonzaga 6-0 1,574
5. Oklahoma 8-0 1,529
6. Texas 6-1 1,381
7. Duke 8-1 1,256
8. Tennessee 6-1 1,203
9. Louisville 4-1 1,080
10. Xavier 7-0 1,041
11. Wake Forest 8-0 957
12. Notre Dame 6-2 954
13. Syracuse 8-0 869
14. Purdue 6-2 718
15. Villanova 8-0 713
16. UCLA 5-2 705
17. Memphis 5-1 579
18. Michigan State 5-2 536
19. Georgetown 5-1 475
20. Arizona State 7-1 462
21. Ohio State 5-0 435
22. Baylor 7-1 351
23. Davidson 6-1 348
24. Marquette 7-1 222
25. Kansas 7-1 206

Others Receiving Votes
Dayton 155, Clemson 141, Michigan 119, Miami (FL) 63, Brigham Young 33, Florida 33, Missouri 22, LSU 21, Butler 15, Wisconsin 13, Illinois 11, Florida State 9, Saint Mary’s 8, Maryland 7, Texas A&M 5, Northwestern 4, Minnesota 2, Utah 1, Houston 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Miami (FL) 21, Florida 23.

ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. North Carolina (31) 8-0 775
2. Connecticut 8-0 734
3. Pittsburgh 9-0 715
4. Gonzaga 6-0 674
5. Oklahoma 8-0 632
6. Texas 6-1 601
7. Duke 8-1 551
8. Tennessee 6-1 465
9. Xavier 7-0 463
10. Louisville 4-1 446
11. Wake Forest 8-0 368
12. Villanova 8-0 362
13. Notre Dame 6-2 359
14. UCLA 5-2 349
15. Memphis 5-1 330
16. Syracuse 8-0 317
17. Purdue 6-2 293
18. Arizona State 7-1 254
19. Georgetown 5-1 246
20. Michigan State 5-2 190
21. Ohio State 5-0 173
22. Davidson 6-1 143
23. Kansas 7-1 136
24. Marquette 7-1 102
25. Miami (FL) 5-2 69

Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 65, Dayton 57, Wisconsin 43, Brigham Young 34, Clemson 29, Michigan 29, Butler 27, Florida 22, Saint Mary’s 8, Missouri 5, Maryland 3, Minnesota 2, Washington State 2, West Virginia 1, Florida State 1.

Dropped From Rankings
Florida 21, Wisconsin 22.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Polls for December 8