Only one week left in the regular season... some conference tournaments starting already tomorrow... and the tournament selection show is already all set up in my DVR. March is here!!!
1. Pittsburgh (1) - I remain unwavering in my commitment to Pitt, and an overtime loss in Lville isn't going to change that too much, if anything help it.
2. Ohio St (2) - Still two very valid losses, but other than the win against Purdue and at Florida, there still isn't a whole lot else there. Chance to beat Wisconsin this week and nail down a 1 seed even if they lose in the B10 tourney.
3. Kansas (3) - Like OSU, not a ton on the resume still but just continuing to roll in a strong conference.
4. BYU (5) - This is looking like a pretty strong top 4 right now to me, and it's looking more and more realistic that BYU could be a likely 1 seed out West where you have to think they'd be hard to beat. Every bit of a 1 seed that Memphis was a few years ago.
5. Notre Dame (9) - Never too excited to rank the Irish this high. No bad losses but only one even sort of good road win (though the best - at Pitt) makes me pretty leery of this team.
6. Syracuse (15) - I've come full circle on this squad apparently. What I really like is the fact that home-away doesnt seem to matter a whole lot. You dont want to lose at home, but I get excited about four road victories at St Johns, UConn, Nova, and Gtown for sure.
7. Purdue (13) - Another team I've really come around on. Purdue is winning and winning big. Only one questionable loss and a lot of good really solid wins, though not much on the road.
8. St. John's (10) - There are 8 losses including those two awful ones early on. But there are also an astonishing 9 wins against teams solidly in my top 22, including three on the road which is the usual knock on this team. No one wants to play them right now, and the bad early losses could keep the seed down and sleeper status alive. Unless of course they use that great home court advantage and win the Big East tourney...
9. Duke (7) - Come to think of it, the resume isn't much different from my #2 or #3 team, they just don't pass the eye test as well. They're not winning big and they haven't beat a top 20 team yet. Show me what you can do at UNC Saturday and you'll have my respect. Very shoddy 1 seed candidacy unless they beat UNC two more times and look convincing.
10. Texas (5) - I smelled the dropoff coming. You can smell the Rick Barnes stinkbomb coming a mile away. Still the best road win in the country but you really have to worry about a team that talented losing to three very mediocre teams like USC, Nebraska, and Colorado.
11. Wisconsin (14) - They were ridiculous for a half against Ohio St. Let's see if they can take the show on the road this week.
12. Lousiville (17) - Really this team isn't a whole lot different from Notre Dame, until you factor in the losses to Providence and Drexel. I'm starting to see the talent there but I still worry when a team is THAT much better at home.
13. UConn (12) - Big win in Cincy especially without Kemba starring, but I still don't see a lot else there.
14. San Diego St (6) - I'm really not on board with this squad as a star contender. They should be something like a 4 or 5 seed I think. But they still have a chance to add a 3rd victory over UNLV basically on the road plus finally a win against BYU.
15. Georgetown (11) - The injury to Chris Wright is an absolute killer. The news about his injury and how long it may take mean everything to the Hoyas.
16. Cincinnati (19) - Still not sure how the Bearcats are a bubble team. They've only lost to top 20 teams, and they have three wins over top 20 squads too. Great chance to sweep Gtown this week.
17. West Virginia (20) - Still not in love with the questionable early losses to teams like Miami and Marshall, but there are five really good wins against top 25 teams as well including a pair of Notre Dame and Purdue.
18. Villanova (16) - Another Big East team that has a lot of big home wins, but a lot of home losses too. Underwhelming resume but always a good tourney team with all those guards.
19. UCLA (25) - The Bruins get my top Pac 10 spot this week after just destroying Arizona. They add that to wins over BYU and St. John's... but also confusing losses to VCU, USC, Cal, and inexplicably to Montana. Does the Pac 10 just totally suck this year?
20. Florida (18)
21. Kentucky (23) - Still not sure what to do with the SEC either. Obviously.
22. Marquette (21) - Still losing a bunch of good losable games, and they finally finished off that marquee victory at UConn this week and make it look like a real 11 Big East teams in the tourney this year.
23. Arizona (8) - Wow. What an absolutely awfully terribly disappointing week. I was ready to pick this team as a sleeper Final Four squad too. Yikes.
24. Vanderbilt (24) - Blah.
25. UNC (22) - I like this team a lot more than 25th best, but the resume doesn't show it yet. Definite Final Four potential there if they play up to it. Let's see them do it against Duke this week first.
Weird, no one dropped out of my top 25 this week. Very odd. I think Kansas St was my closest addition, which is also very odd. Big games this week...
M - KSt @ 10 Tex, 18 Nova @ 5 ND
T - 24 Van @ 21 UK
W - 12 UConn @ 17 WVa, 25 UNC @ FSU, 16 Cin @ 22 Marq
R - 19 UCLA @ Wash
S - 9 Duke @ 25 UNC, 2 KU @ Mizz, 10 Tex @ Bay, 19 Nova @ 1 Pitt, 5 ND @ 12 UConn, 15 Gtown @ 16 Cin, 20 Fla @ 24 Van, 11 Lville @ 17 WVa
S - 11 Wisc @ 3 OhSt, 21 UK @ Tenn
We also have our first bids ready to go out this week. I like Coastal Carolina in a big way out of the Big South. I think it will come down to an exciting one game playoff between Harvard and Princeton in the Ivy. And I'm excited for the Horizon tourney. I'll go with Butler over Milwaukee in the final.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
NCAA rankings - Feb 21
Wow, quite an awful week for the teams in my top 10. SEVEN of them took a loss this week, though none of them were utterly shocking or terrible losses and several of them were to each other. What happened is that there was so much attrition at the top but still such a big gap to the next tier that no one really moved up or down all that much. Let's get to it...
1. Pittsburgh (1) - Of all the teams that took a loss, Pitt's loss was the best - by 1 questionable point at St Johns, a top ten team. Realistically, that's a coin toss game anyway. This team still remains staunchly my #1 squad.
2. Ohio St (3) - Funny that the Buckeyes lose a second straight Sunday and raise to the highest spot I've given them all year. Definitely a bit concerned that they haven't got that one huge win.
3. Kansas (3) - That early neutral win over Arizona is starting to look pretty sweet, but they still need to do SOMEthing in conference. Ain't gonna happen this week.
4. Texas (2) - The loss at Nebraska was the worst of the week for top 10 squads.
5. BYU (5) - Starting to believe a 1 seed is a legit possibility. They'll need to beat San Diego St twice more though, and I don't see that happening.
6. San Diego St (8) - This Saturday. 1pm. BYU. Let's do this.
7. Duke (10) - Teams 6-8 are squads with 0 or 1 bad losses but who we still don't know enough about. So why is SDSt a 2 seed, Duke a 1, and the following team not even being mentioned?
8. Arizona (14) - Derrick Williams is a super duper mega stud. Timberwolves please? Excited for the game at UCLA this weekend.
9. Notre Dame (5) - Tough break for the Irish. No shame in a loss at West Va, but they weren't even close and look a lot like one of those teams that's sick at home and incredibly anywhere else. Which by the way, reminds me of...
10. St John's (11) - As bad a week as most teams had, the Johnnies went out and won at Marquette and then beat my #1 Pitt. An unreal 12 of their last 13 games have come against teams in my top 25, and in the last three weeks they've beaten #7 Duke, #12 UConn, #19 Cincy, #21 Marquette, and #1 Pitt. I got me some scarlet fever.
11. Georgetown (7) - Big week ahead for the Hoyas, who have a chance to add home victories over Cincy and Cuse and lock up a first round bye in the Big East tourney.
12. UConn (9) - Still slipping and no easy breath of air any time soon. Kemba has to be wearing down. This team peaked too early.
13. Purdue (25) - No team had a bigger week than the Boilers who just took care of business at home against Wisky and Ohio St and finally earned my respect. Robbie Hummel or not.
14. Wisconsin (12) - I basically could not separate the resumes of Purdue and Wisconsin. Almost completely identical.
15. Syracuse (16)
16. Villanova (13)
17. Louisville (15) - Yes we have reached the portion of good but not great Big East squads that I don't entirely believe in but are too hard to ignore.
18. Florida (17) - No question this has been the best in the SEC but we'll see just how good they can be with back to back road weekends in UK and Vandy.
19. Cincinnati (NR) - I hope the Bearcats have enjoyed their complimentary stay in my top 25. Up next? Georgetown, UConn, Marquette, and Georgetown again. Far from a March lock here.
20. West Va (23) - Suddenly we are looking at a quintet of wins over Vandy, Gtown, Purdue, Cincy, and Notre Dame that look pretty darn good. Brawl @Pitt Thursday is a game with nothing to lose and everything to win.
21. Marquette (18) - No team in the nation has a better resume of losses than the Eagles. They still don't have a bad loss. The only thing even close is a neutral game against Gonzaga. But at what point is 16-11 and only .500 in conference not enough? They could really use a win at UConn on Thursday night.
22. UNC (24) - Still hanging tough and I definitely have my eye on this team.
23. Kentucky (19) - Continuing a slow slide into oblivion...
24. Vanderbilt (21) - Insert useful comment here.
25. UCLA (20) - Tough loss at Cal but still a solid #2 in the Pac 10 and that win over BYU is still on the resume.
Feeling lonely - St. Mary's (22), the only team to fall from the rankings this week and boy did they ever
Upcoming games this week, my picks in bold...
M - 15 Syr @ 16 Nova
W - 19 Cin @ 11 Gtown, Tem @ 7 Duke
R - 21 Marq @ 12 UConn, 20 WVa @ 1 Pitt, Gonz @ StMary
S - 5 BYU @ 6 SDSt, 15 Syr @ 11 Gtown, 8 Ari @ 25 UCLA, 10 StJn @ 16 Nova, 18 Fla @ 23 UK, 7 Duke @ VT
S - 1 Pitt @ 17 Lville, 12 UConn @ 19 Cin, 13 Pur @ MiSt
1. Pittsburgh (1) - Of all the teams that took a loss, Pitt's loss was the best - by 1 questionable point at St Johns, a top ten team. Realistically, that's a coin toss game anyway. This team still remains staunchly my #1 squad.
2. Ohio St (3) - Funny that the Buckeyes lose a second straight Sunday and raise to the highest spot I've given them all year. Definitely a bit concerned that they haven't got that one huge win.
3. Kansas (3) - That early neutral win over Arizona is starting to look pretty sweet, but they still need to do SOMEthing in conference. Ain't gonna happen this week.
4. Texas (2) - The loss at Nebraska was the worst of the week for top 10 squads.
5. BYU (5) - Starting to believe a 1 seed is a legit possibility. They'll need to beat San Diego St twice more though, and I don't see that happening.
6. San Diego St (8) - This Saturday. 1pm. BYU. Let's do this.
7. Duke (10) - Teams 6-8 are squads with 0 or 1 bad losses but who we still don't know enough about. So why is SDSt a 2 seed, Duke a 1, and the following team not even being mentioned?
8. Arizona (14) - Derrick Williams is a super duper mega stud. Timberwolves please? Excited for the game at UCLA this weekend.
9. Notre Dame (5) - Tough break for the Irish. No shame in a loss at West Va, but they weren't even close and look a lot like one of those teams that's sick at home and incredibly anywhere else. Which by the way, reminds me of...
10. St John's (11) - As bad a week as most teams had, the Johnnies went out and won at Marquette and then beat my #1 Pitt. An unreal 12 of their last 13 games have come against teams in my top 25, and in the last three weeks they've beaten #7 Duke, #12 UConn, #19 Cincy, #21 Marquette, and #1 Pitt. I got me some scarlet fever.
11. Georgetown (7) - Big week ahead for the Hoyas, who have a chance to add home victories over Cincy and Cuse and lock up a first round bye in the Big East tourney.
12. UConn (9) - Still slipping and no easy breath of air any time soon. Kemba has to be wearing down. This team peaked too early.
13. Purdue (25) - No team had a bigger week than the Boilers who just took care of business at home against Wisky and Ohio St and finally earned my respect. Robbie Hummel or not.
14. Wisconsin (12) - I basically could not separate the resumes of Purdue and Wisconsin. Almost completely identical.
15. Syracuse (16)
16. Villanova (13)
17. Louisville (15) - Yes we have reached the portion of good but not great Big East squads that I don't entirely believe in but are too hard to ignore.
18. Florida (17) - No question this has been the best in the SEC but we'll see just how good they can be with back to back road weekends in UK and Vandy.
19. Cincinnati (NR) - I hope the Bearcats have enjoyed their complimentary stay in my top 25. Up next? Georgetown, UConn, Marquette, and Georgetown again. Far from a March lock here.
20. West Va (23) - Suddenly we are looking at a quintet of wins over Vandy, Gtown, Purdue, Cincy, and Notre Dame that look pretty darn good. Brawl @Pitt Thursday is a game with nothing to lose and everything to win.
21. Marquette (18) - No team in the nation has a better resume of losses than the Eagles. They still don't have a bad loss. The only thing even close is a neutral game against Gonzaga. But at what point is 16-11 and only .500 in conference not enough? They could really use a win at UConn on Thursday night.
22. UNC (24) - Still hanging tough and I definitely have my eye on this team.
23. Kentucky (19) - Continuing a slow slide into oblivion...
24. Vanderbilt (21) - Insert useful comment here.
25. UCLA (20) - Tough loss at Cal but still a solid #2 in the Pac 10 and that win over BYU is still on the resume.
Feeling lonely - St. Mary's (22), the only team to fall from the rankings this week and boy did they ever
Upcoming games this week, my picks in bold...
M - 15 Syr @ 16 Nova
W - 19 Cin @ 11 Gtown, Tem @ 7 Duke
R - 21 Marq @ 12 UConn, 20 WVa @ 1 Pitt, Gonz @ StMary
S - 5 BYU @ 6 SDSt, 15 Syr @ 11 Gtown, 8 Ari @ 25 UCLA, 10 StJn @ 16 Nova, 18 Fla @ 23 UK, 7 Duke @ VT
S - 1 Pitt @ 17 Lville, 12 UConn @ 19 Cin, 13 Pur @ MiSt
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thank God for Brandon...
or else this blog would probably be dead! With work and a child, I find it hard to update this, especially with no cable so I basically no nothing about sports anymore. Not true, but it feels that way sometimes. Anyways, I want to talk about the possibility of a lockout. Really, I don't see them not having a 2011 season. I think Goodell isn't that dumb, and the players won't want to make $0. I think it comes down to that. Goodell knows that the NFL will lose lots of money with no season, and I think that motivates him to get a deal done. The thing that only makes me 50% positive on that though, is that he knows he won't lose many (if any) fans if there isn't a season. That worries me, because I really don't want a lack of football next fall. What will I do with Sundays? Sofi won't be able to wear her really cute 9 month old Seahawks outfits!
I think the owners are being way too greedy on this CBA, and since they can afford to do it they won't budge. They will still get TV money, and people will still buy their team's merchandise because America loves the NFL.
I don't want an 18 game season, that seems way too long, and I want a shorter preseason. I think we all can agree the preaseason is lame and should be shorter, but 16 games is a lot on the players, and with how many injuries happened in the Super Bowl, it's possible that a Super Bowl winning team could have as many injured players as healthy players. The NFL players career is short enough as it is, now with the added games an 8 year career is as long as a current 9 year career. They lose a season before they turn 30! Ridiculous, especially with them cracking down on concussions...I don't know...just seems so hypocritical.
Sorry for the disorganized view on the CBA...but it's bothering me so I had to write about it...
By the way, did you hear Albert Pujols didn't sign an extension before his deadline, won't work on it during the season, and will be a free agent in 10 months?!? ;-)
I think the owners are being way too greedy on this CBA, and since they can afford to do it they won't budge. They will still get TV money, and people will still buy their team's merchandise because America loves the NFL.
I don't want an 18 game season, that seems way too long, and I want a shorter preseason. I think we all can agree the preaseason is lame and should be shorter, but 16 games is a lot on the players, and with how many injuries happened in the Super Bowl, it's possible that a Super Bowl winning team could have as many injured players as healthy players. The NFL players career is short enough as it is, now with the added games an 8 year career is as long as a current 9 year career. They lose a season before they turn 30! Ridiculous, especially with them cracking down on concussions...I don't know...just seems so hypocritical.
Sorry for the disorganized view on the CBA...but it's bothering me so I had to write about it...
By the way, did you hear Albert Pujols didn't sign an extension before his deadline, won't work on it during the season, and will be a free agent in 10 months?!? ;-)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
NCAA rankings - Feb 13
So I'm pretty upset that I didn't get to post my rant about Kansas being overrated and a ludicrous #1 team and ready for a dropoff before they got demolished yesterday. Even if I know no one reads this anyway. Let me just get to the rankings...
1. Pittsburgh (1) - Very impressive week for Pitt, maybe as impressive a week as anyone's had this year, and yet *even with the national #1 team losing* they STILL didn't get any love or move up. I'm not sure how. They're clearly the best team in clearly the best conference, and they just won 2 tough road games against tourney teams while missing their leading scorer. Smh.
2. Texas (2) - Starting to have some doubts due to a weak-ish resume. The only real big win right now is at Kansas, who also seems (especially now) to be very overrated. Still they're cruising in a BCS conference, even if it's hard to tell how strong it is.
3. Ohio St (3) - No reason to drop them after a good road loss, even one where they were up 15 in a place where no one wins.
4. Kansas (4) - Pretend like this was written 2 days ago. I'm dying to drop KU in the rankings and they're due for a fall. Just not an impressive resume - thank goodness for those early wins over Arizona and UCLA.
5. Notre Dame (6) - Can't believe the Irish are a top 5 team now, and I'd still love to see another road win than just Pitt, but if you're going to only have one, wouldn't you want it against the #1 team in the land?
6. BYU (7) - JIMMER.
7. Georgetown (8) - Lots of very quality wins, I count 10 over likely tourney teams including 5 on the road including Nova and Cuse... but starting to worry that many of the wins look less exciting in hindsight. Still haven't beat one of the top 4 Big East squads.
8. San Diego St (9) - Really thought they'd go down at UNLV. Are they really going to be a 2 seed? Easiest 2nd round upset pick ever.
9. UConn (5) - This team is weakening quickly. The only real road win was the crazy lucky one at Texas that is now keeping this team up for a high seed instead of slipping into the midst of the Big East. Still Kemba is slowing down, and there just isn't anything else in the cupboard. This is a huge week, with two very tough games in a span of two days. This team could plummet if they're not careful.
10. Duke (10) - Big comeback to secure the win against UNC, but I'm not sure they're necessarily the better team even. That's the first win over a sure tourney team, and even that was not exactly impressive.
11. St. John's (NR) - I clearly have no idea what to do with this team, but how can you argue against four wins against top 10 teams? Well... maybe by reminding folks of early season back to back losses against St. Bonaventure and Fordham. This is a big week, with a trip to Marquette and a home game vs Pitt. Even getting one of those would really fill out this resume.
12. Wisconsin (21) - Ok Badgers. I'll respect that big win, but I still want to see something on the road. How about at Purdue this week?
13. Villanova (11) - A good but not great team, always up for a potential upset with all those guards.
14. Arizona (15) - Hard to figure this team out, but the game against Washington this week should tell us quite a bit. I'm really loving this team and it's 3 point shooters.
15. Louisville (16) - Another one of those good not great Big East teams, but they sure are tough to beat at home.
16. Syracuse (12) - A very hit or miss squad. Just not a believer yet.
17. Florida (13) - This Parsons injury could really hurt a team that is rolling right now, and they still have a lot of rough losses on the resume despite the SEC dominance.
18. Marquette (18) - Amazing that this team has 10 losses already... but the only one that is sort of even questionable is the loss to Gonzaga, a team that many people had in their preseason Final Four. But they also don't have many wins, especially on the road.
19. Kentucky (14) - Somehow they keep losing the close ones, but I think this team is becoming underrated pretty quickly. Coach Cal will have his boys ready, and I'd still make them the favorite to win the SEC tourney.
20. UCLA (19) - Ok so there's not much in the Pac 10, but they're winning the ones they should, and those victories over BYU and St. John's are looking pretty good too.
21. Vanderbilt (25) - They keep on winning the games they should, and they're starting to tally a lot of wins over quality teams. Your usual Vandy squad.
22. St. Mary's (NR) - Finally time to share some love, but I've loved this team all year. Hard to know a ton about them, and I am looking forward to the trip to Gonzaga to see how they do on the road.
23. West Va (NR) - They get a spot for the week. But with Cuse and ND looming, we'll see if they stick around or just keep piling up respectable losses.
24. UNC (21) - Hard to really fault them for that loss at Duke. This team is really coming together and could be a quick out or a Final Four run - they have by far the most upside of anyone in the ACC for sure.
25. Purdue (NR) - I have NO idea how this team is ranked near the top 10 nationally. They don't have any bad losses, but they also may not even have a win over a sure tourney team. They'll sure get their chances this week without even leaving Indiana. Visits from Wisconsin and Ohio St make Purdue our team of the week.
TTYL - Tennessee (17), A&M (22), Temple (23), Cincy (24)
Big games this week and my winner in bold:
M - 23 West Va @ 16 Cuse
T - 11 St Johns @ 18 Marq
W - 7 Gtown @ 9 UConn... 12 Wisc @ 25 Purdue... 15 Lville @ Cincy
F - 9 UConn @ 15 Lville
S - 1 Pitt @ 11 St Johns... 5 NDame @ 23 West Va... Wash @ 14 Zona... Utah St @ 22 St Marys
S - 3 Ohio St @ 25 Purdue
1. Pittsburgh (1) - Very impressive week for Pitt, maybe as impressive a week as anyone's had this year, and yet *even with the national #1 team losing* they STILL didn't get any love or move up. I'm not sure how. They're clearly the best team in clearly the best conference, and they just won 2 tough road games against tourney teams while missing their leading scorer. Smh.
2. Texas (2) - Starting to have some doubts due to a weak-ish resume. The only real big win right now is at Kansas, who also seems (especially now) to be very overrated. Still they're cruising in a BCS conference, even if it's hard to tell how strong it is.
3. Ohio St (3) - No reason to drop them after a good road loss, even one where they were up 15 in a place where no one wins.
4. Kansas (4) - Pretend like this was written 2 days ago. I'm dying to drop KU in the rankings and they're due for a fall. Just not an impressive resume - thank goodness for those early wins over Arizona and UCLA.
5. Notre Dame (6) - Can't believe the Irish are a top 5 team now, and I'd still love to see another road win than just Pitt, but if you're going to only have one, wouldn't you want it against the #1 team in the land?
6. BYU (7) - JIMMER.
7. Georgetown (8) - Lots of very quality wins, I count 10 over likely tourney teams including 5 on the road including Nova and Cuse... but starting to worry that many of the wins look less exciting in hindsight. Still haven't beat one of the top 4 Big East squads.
8. San Diego St (9) - Really thought they'd go down at UNLV. Are they really going to be a 2 seed? Easiest 2nd round upset pick ever.
9. UConn (5) - This team is weakening quickly. The only real road win was the crazy lucky one at Texas that is now keeping this team up for a high seed instead of slipping into the midst of the Big East. Still Kemba is slowing down, and there just isn't anything else in the cupboard. This is a huge week, with two very tough games in a span of two days. This team could plummet if they're not careful.
10. Duke (10) - Big comeback to secure the win against UNC, but I'm not sure they're necessarily the better team even. That's the first win over a sure tourney team, and even that was not exactly impressive.
11. St. John's (NR) - I clearly have no idea what to do with this team, but how can you argue against four wins against top 10 teams? Well... maybe by reminding folks of early season back to back losses against St. Bonaventure and Fordham. This is a big week, with a trip to Marquette and a home game vs Pitt. Even getting one of those would really fill out this resume.
12. Wisconsin (21) - Ok Badgers. I'll respect that big win, but I still want to see something on the road. How about at Purdue this week?
13. Villanova (11) - A good but not great team, always up for a potential upset with all those guards.
14. Arizona (15) - Hard to figure this team out, but the game against Washington this week should tell us quite a bit. I'm really loving this team and it's 3 point shooters.
15. Louisville (16) - Another one of those good not great Big East teams, but they sure are tough to beat at home.
16. Syracuse (12) - A very hit or miss squad. Just not a believer yet.
17. Florida (13) - This Parsons injury could really hurt a team that is rolling right now, and they still have a lot of rough losses on the resume despite the SEC dominance.
18. Marquette (18) - Amazing that this team has 10 losses already... but the only one that is sort of even questionable is the loss to Gonzaga, a team that many people had in their preseason Final Four. But they also don't have many wins, especially on the road.
19. Kentucky (14) - Somehow they keep losing the close ones, but I think this team is becoming underrated pretty quickly. Coach Cal will have his boys ready, and I'd still make them the favorite to win the SEC tourney.
20. UCLA (19) - Ok so there's not much in the Pac 10, but they're winning the ones they should, and those victories over BYU and St. John's are looking pretty good too.
21. Vanderbilt (25) - They keep on winning the games they should, and they're starting to tally a lot of wins over quality teams. Your usual Vandy squad.
22. St. Mary's (NR) - Finally time to share some love, but I've loved this team all year. Hard to know a ton about them, and I am looking forward to the trip to Gonzaga to see how they do on the road.
23. West Va (NR) - They get a spot for the week. But with Cuse and ND looming, we'll see if they stick around or just keep piling up respectable losses.
24. UNC (21) - Hard to really fault them for that loss at Duke. This team is really coming together and could be a quick out or a Final Four run - they have by far the most upside of anyone in the ACC for sure.
25. Purdue (NR) - I have NO idea how this team is ranked near the top 10 nationally. They don't have any bad losses, but they also may not even have a win over a sure tourney team. They'll sure get their chances this week without even leaving Indiana. Visits from Wisconsin and Ohio St make Purdue our team of the week.
TTYL - Tennessee (17), A&M (22), Temple (23), Cincy (24)
Big games this week and my winner in bold:
M - 23 West Va @ 16 Cuse
T - 11 St Johns @ 18 Marq
W - 7 Gtown @ 9 UConn... 12 Wisc @ 25 Purdue... 15 Lville @ Cincy
F - 9 UConn @ 15 Lville
S - 1 Pitt @ 11 St Johns... 5 NDame @ 23 West Va... Wash @ 14 Zona... Utah St @ 22 St Marys
S - 3 Ohio St @ 25 Purdue
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Big college Saturday!
The times they are a changing... I went to before midnight on a Friday night to wake up early to watch this Man City v Man United soccer match that will essentially define the season for my beloved City. I can't help but feel we have the inferior squad here, by far it seems at least on the creatively offensive side, but I remain optimistic even on the road. David Silva already missed a golden opportunity in the early minutes that would've been huge.
In the meantime, today is a pretty monster day in college hoops so I thought it was time to settle in for a few predictions...
A few big bubble games today between teams barely hanging on almost look like knockout games... I like Nebraska and Colorado to win at home against Okie St and K St, but BC falls at home to Maryland. An important Colonial game as well between Old Dominion and VCU. Both these teams look tourney worthy but really need this one. I like Eric Maynor's boys at home.
A few teams should be on upset watch today... Temple needs to be very careful at Dayton but should be able to survive and deal a knockout blow to Dayton's bubble chances. And UNC's kids need to be very wary of the emotional letdown that seems likely to follow a missed chance at Duke. They face a hungry Clemson squad and I think the Tigers pull the upset. I definitely like San Diego St to pick up the loss at UNLV today, where the Rebels barely lose, but I genuinely don't think that is an upset. SDSt still has only one win against a tourney team and is overrated, and I think UNLV should always be a Vegas favorite at home. My big upset watch of the day falls on Texas, who faces a road Baylor team with absolutely nothing to lose. The Bears are just as talented and have not put everything together in a game yet this season. They could well lose by 30, I just have a feeling they could really put a scare in Texas or shock the world.
I've got 5 matchups today between teams in my top 25. Let's take a look...
17 Tennessee @ 13 Florida
The Gators are playing very well, but all of their biggest wins have been tight ones or overtime, including the overtime win at Tennessee the first time around. The Vols just don't have much room to mess around anymore. They still face Vandy and UK too, with 9 losses already. This is Bruce Pearl's second game back. I think the desperate Vols team eke out a road victory. If they don't, I may be done putting my faith in this squad for good.
12 Syracuse @ 16 Louisville
A matchup of Big East teams I really don't believe in, both of whom are hanging surprisingly weak overall resumes' hats on a win over recently-reeling UConn. I can tell I really don't like either of these squads much because I really want to pick each one to lose. Cuse has not been good on the road, but Louisville has been far from dominant at home over average competition. The one thing I believe in this game is the Syracuse 2-3 defense and I'm not sure the Cards have the shooting to beat them. I'll pick the Orange on the road.
14 Kentucky @ 25 Vanderbilt
This is not your UK team of yesteryear. They've lost 5 times on the road already, albeit close ones to good opponents mostly. Vandy meanwhile is the same team they always are. They win the games they should, beat pretty much everyone at home, and don't really have any big wins. Vandy has 6 losses as well, and 5 of them have been hard fought losses either by a final shot or in overtime. Take away the school names, and I think the home team would be a solid 7-10 point favorite. That's how I think this one turns out as well.
1 Pitt @ 11 Villanova
Pittsburgh is without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, and they may have survived at West Va earlier this week but Nova is a different animal. Villanova is really not the team you'd want to be facing when you're missing your best guard. Hard to say how the Cats will respond coming off that absolutely brutal loss at Rutgers the other night. How do you lose to Rutgers? How do you lose after being up 13 with four and a half minutes left? How do you lose in regulation when you're up 3 with six seconds left? You give up a FOUR POINT PLAY in the final second, that's how. So painful. I like Nova to gut out a hard fought home victory in this one to get back on the rebound.
3 Ohio St @ 21 Wisconsin
Fun fact... Wisconsin has only lost 12 times at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan, and one of those losses is to North Dakota St. Second fun fact... Wisconsin is really really really hard to beat at home. They've already played all the other tourney teams at home and their closest W this season was a comfy 7 points. Four of Ohio St's five road wins in the Big 10 have come by five or less points. I'm starting to come around to them just racking up win after win, but I really think the Badgers are underrated with their obscenely boring style of play - no turnovers, crazy efficiency, sloooow pace. That's why one of my cardinal rules each March is to just pencil Wisky right into my sweet 16. Just too tough of a matchup for most squads. I genuinely think Wisconsin should be favored in this matchup. I really like them to win at home, possibly even by double digit points.
I just realized that if all of this plays out, my #1, #2, and #3 teams would all go down on one day (assuming longshot Baylor comes through). That would certainly make my rankings interesting. Should be a great day of basketball. And maybe a big day of soccer too! GOOOOOOOAL for City and we are tied up at 1! Lucky as anything, don't even care. Time to buckle down and watch this game that I had almost given up on. Let's go City!!!
In the meantime, today is a pretty monster day in college hoops so I thought it was time to settle in for a few predictions...
A few big bubble games today between teams barely hanging on almost look like knockout games... I like Nebraska and Colorado to win at home against Okie St and K St, but BC falls at home to Maryland. An important Colonial game as well between Old Dominion and VCU. Both these teams look tourney worthy but really need this one. I like Eric Maynor's boys at home.
A few teams should be on upset watch today... Temple needs to be very careful at Dayton but should be able to survive and deal a knockout blow to Dayton's bubble chances. And UNC's kids need to be very wary of the emotional letdown that seems likely to follow a missed chance at Duke. They face a hungry Clemson squad and I think the Tigers pull the upset. I definitely like San Diego St to pick up the loss at UNLV today, where the Rebels barely lose, but I genuinely don't think that is an upset. SDSt still has only one win against a tourney team and is overrated, and I think UNLV should always be a Vegas favorite at home. My big upset watch of the day falls on Texas, who faces a road Baylor team with absolutely nothing to lose. The Bears are just as talented and have not put everything together in a game yet this season. They could well lose by 30, I just have a feeling they could really put a scare in Texas or shock the world.
I've got 5 matchups today between teams in my top 25. Let's take a look...
17 Tennessee @ 13 Florida
The Gators are playing very well, but all of their biggest wins have been tight ones or overtime, including the overtime win at Tennessee the first time around. The Vols just don't have much room to mess around anymore. They still face Vandy and UK too, with 9 losses already. This is Bruce Pearl's second game back. I think the desperate Vols team eke out a road victory. If they don't, I may be done putting my faith in this squad for good.
12 Syracuse @ 16 Louisville
A matchup of Big East teams I really don't believe in, both of whom are hanging surprisingly weak overall resumes' hats on a win over recently-reeling UConn. I can tell I really don't like either of these squads much because I really want to pick each one to lose. Cuse has not been good on the road, but Louisville has been far from dominant at home over average competition. The one thing I believe in this game is the Syracuse 2-3 defense and I'm not sure the Cards have the shooting to beat them. I'll pick the Orange on the road.
14 Kentucky @ 25 Vanderbilt
This is not your UK team of yesteryear. They've lost 5 times on the road already, albeit close ones to good opponents mostly. Vandy meanwhile is the same team they always are. They win the games they should, beat pretty much everyone at home, and don't really have any big wins. Vandy has 6 losses as well, and 5 of them have been hard fought losses either by a final shot or in overtime. Take away the school names, and I think the home team would be a solid 7-10 point favorite. That's how I think this one turns out as well.
1 Pitt @ 11 Villanova
Pittsburgh is without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, and they may have survived at West Va earlier this week but Nova is a different animal. Villanova is really not the team you'd want to be facing when you're missing your best guard. Hard to say how the Cats will respond coming off that absolutely brutal loss at Rutgers the other night. How do you lose to Rutgers? How do you lose after being up 13 with four and a half minutes left? How do you lose in regulation when you're up 3 with six seconds left? You give up a FOUR POINT PLAY in the final second, that's how. So painful. I like Nova to gut out a hard fought home victory in this one to get back on the rebound.
3 Ohio St @ 21 Wisconsin
Fun fact... Wisconsin has only lost 12 times at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan, and one of those losses is to North Dakota St. Second fun fact... Wisconsin is really really really hard to beat at home. They've already played all the other tourney teams at home and their closest W this season was a comfy 7 points. Four of Ohio St's five road wins in the Big 10 have come by five or less points. I'm starting to come around to them just racking up win after win, but I really think the Badgers are underrated with their obscenely boring style of play - no turnovers, crazy efficiency, sloooow pace. That's why one of my cardinal rules each March is to just pencil Wisky right into my sweet 16. Just too tough of a matchup for most squads. I genuinely think Wisconsin should be favored in this matchup. I really like them to win at home, possibly even by double digit points.
I just realized that if all of this plays out, my #1, #2, and #3 teams would all go down on one day (assuming longshot Baylor comes through). That would certainly make my rankings interesting. Should be a great day of basketball. And maybe a big day of soccer too! GOOOOOOOAL for City and we are tied up at 1! Lucky as anything, don't even care. Time to buckle down and watch this game that I had almost given up on. Let's go City!!!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
NCAA rankings - Feb 6
Yeah, yeah, Super Bowl. I picked the Steelers before the season. I'm sticking with them. Pitt by 5. Not nearly as much turmoil at the top of the rankings this week, but a lot more happening among the masses and bubble goodness everywhere. Let's get to it.
1. Pitt (2) - I'm not actually sure how I ranked Texas over Pitt last week. Pitt has one less loss, one more big win, and hey - they actually beat the Longhorns earlier this year.
2. Texas (1) - Hard to argue with the results. This team should be a double digit favorite until the Sweet 16 unless they meet KU in the Big XII finals.
3. Ohio St (4) - Still not a lot of big wins but looking impressive all the way. This weekend in Wisconsin is their biggest chance for a big road win - or a first loss.
4. Kansas (5) - Those early season wins over Arizona and UCLA are starting to look pretty solid. Unfortunately they probably don't have a win over a tourney time since. That should change tomorrow when Mizzou visits, assuming the Tigers right the ship after this rough stretch.
5. UConn (3) - Yeah so they lost at home this week, but to a desperate Cuse team that was top 3 in the nation only two weeks ago. Not exactly a bad loss. But the team is starting to fall off a bit and needed a huge comeback to escape a 3 game losing streak. Danger zone?
6. Notre Dame (6) - The schedule really opens up over the next 6 before the Irish close against Nova and UConn in games that could propel them to a surprise Big East title.
7. BYU (9) - They still have one more loss than SD St but they also have a pretty impressive slate of wins. In addition to SD St, they have now swept UNLV and also have wins over Arizona, St Mary's, and Utah St that each look better and better by the day.
8. Georgetown (7) - The schedule is about to get real. It's road trips to Cuse and UConn with a tough home game against WVa sandwiched in between. Could be rough.
9. San Diego St (8) - A whole lot of wins, 23 to be exact, but I'm beginning to feel a bit underwhelmed by the schedule. They got St Mary's too, but Gonzaga and Wichita are clear downgrades from Zona and Utah St, and they haven't beat UNLV yet either. They'll get their chance this Saturday in Vegas. But I bet they'll move down my rankings before they move up.
10. Duke (12) - This Wednesday is the first UNC-Duke game of the year. As far as I'm concerned, that marks the beginning of the real NCAA season every year. Giddyup.
11. Villanova (11) - The game of the week might be this Saturday when Pitt comes to town. Nova doesnt have any tough roadies until the final two games of the season. If they can get this home win and the one over Cuse in a week, they'll be back to the top 5 soon enough.
12. Syracuse (17) - A win at UConn can go a long way toward righting a losing ship. But they get Georgetown this week and then a trip to Louisville, so never a day to rest in the Big East.
13. Florida (NR) - Hard to overlook those nasty early losses to UCF and Jacksonville that just won't go away, but the good wins are really piling up. That's 6 or 7 wins now against likely tourney teams, easily the most of anyone in the SEC.
14. Kentucky (10) - Two road losses in a week, even both in the final seconds, leaves the Cats at 4-4 and well behind Florida in the SEC race and actually tied for last in the SEC East. Doesn't get any easier this week either with a visit from a desperate Vols team and then an always tough trip to Vandy.
15. Arizona (19) - Almost the best Cats in the nation suddenly. Still hard to know much about this team since they haven't really had a big win yet, but the four losses are all quite excusable.
16. Louisville (20) - Nice to lose a game and jump 4 spots, but the crap is about to hit the fan. At Notre Dame, home Cuse, at Cincy, home UConn should tell us plenty. I'm still not really sold on these Cards, but it'd be hard to ignore some of those Ws should they come.
17. Tennessee (14) - Losses like the OT one yesterday against Bama are losses Tennessee just can't afford. 7 of the final 8 games are against tourney or bubble teams, starting with road trips to UK and Florida this week. Time to find out if my faith will be rewarded.
18. Marquette (15) - Life in the Big East is never easy, but there are a lot of winnable games left on the schedule against bottom tier teams. Can they get that one big road win over Georgetown this week or UConn in two weeks to put them over the top? If not, beating all the bad Big East teams just might not matter.
19. UCLA (NR) - Why hello Ben Howland. Not so much on the road yet, but being the only team to beat BYU is looking better and better, and an easy win over the same St Johns that beat Duke a week ago looks good too.
20. UNC (NR) - Interesting that these two schools pop back in together. We may have given Roy Williams up for dead a bit too soon. These kids are really playing some ball and look like a definite tourney team, but let's see how far they've come against Duke this week.
21. Wisconsin (NR) - My honorary 2nd best Big 10 team for the week. I'll let them earn their stay with the home game against the Buckeyes this weekend.
22. Texas A&M (13) - I really thought the Aggies would beat Texas this week. Instead they lost ugly, then lost again, and now have lost 4 or 5. Better get some wins soon.
23. Temple (24) - Not any big conference wins yet and might not get their chance - they lost to Xavier and Duquesne and won't see them again til a conference tourney.
24. Cincinnati (25) - Still a blank canvas waiting to be written. Two more blah games before 5 of their last 6 are against top 25 squads.
25. Vanderbilt (NR) - Haven't we seen this team before? Yup, every year. They win the big home games and lose the road wins. Just winning at home this week will do the trick though, against Bama and Kentucky.
Peace out - Washington (16), Missouri (18), Purdue (21), St Johns (22), West Va (23)
1. Pitt (2) - I'm not actually sure how I ranked Texas over Pitt last week. Pitt has one less loss, one more big win, and hey - they actually beat the Longhorns earlier this year.
2. Texas (1) - Hard to argue with the results. This team should be a double digit favorite until the Sweet 16 unless they meet KU in the Big XII finals.
3. Ohio St (4) - Still not a lot of big wins but looking impressive all the way. This weekend in Wisconsin is their biggest chance for a big road win - or a first loss.
4. Kansas (5) - Those early season wins over Arizona and UCLA are starting to look pretty solid. Unfortunately they probably don't have a win over a tourney time since. That should change tomorrow when Mizzou visits, assuming the Tigers right the ship after this rough stretch.
5. UConn (3) - Yeah so they lost at home this week, but to a desperate Cuse team that was top 3 in the nation only two weeks ago. Not exactly a bad loss. But the team is starting to fall off a bit and needed a huge comeback to escape a 3 game losing streak. Danger zone?
6. Notre Dame (6) - The schedule really opens up over the next 6 before the Irish close against Nova and UConn in games that could propel them to a surprise Big East title.
7. BYU (9) - They still have one more loss than SD St but they also have a pretty impressive slate of wins. In addition to SD St, they have now swept UNLV and also have wins over Arizona, St Mary's, and Utah St that each look better and better by the day.
8. Georgetown (7) - The schedule is about to get real. It's road trips to Cuse and UConn with a tough home game against WVa sandwiched in between. Could be rough.
9. San Diego St (8) - A whole lot of wins, 23 to be exact, but I'm beginning to feel a bit underwhelmed by the schedule. They got St Mary's too, but Gonzaga and Wichita are clear downgrades from Zona and Utah St, and they haven't beat UNLV yet either. They'll get their chance this Saturday in Vegas. But I bet they'll move down my rankings before they move up.
10. Duke (12) - This Wednesday is the first UNC-Duke game of the year. As far as I'm concerned, that marks the beginning of the real NCAA season every year. Giddyup.
11. Villanova (11) - The game of the week might be this Saturday when Pitt comes to town. Nova doesnt have any tough roadies until the final two games of the season. If they can get this home win and the one over Cuse in a week, they'll be back to the top 5 soon enough.
12. Syracuse (17) - A win at UConn can go a long way toward righting a losing ship. But they get Georgetown this week and then a trip to Louisville, so never a day to rest in the Big East.
13. Florida (NR) - Hard to overlook those nasty early losses to UCF and Jacksonville that just won't go away, but the good wins are really piling up. That's 6 or 7 wins now against likely tourney teams, easily the most of anyone in the SEC.
14. Kentucky (10) - Two road losses in a week, even both in the final seconds, leaves the Cats at 4-4 and well behind Florida in the SEC race and actually tied for last in the SEC East. Doesn't get any easier this week either with a visit from a desperate Vols team and then an always tough trip to Vandy.
15. Arizona (19) - Almost the best Cats in the nation suddenly. Still hard to know much about this team since they haven't really had a big win yet, but the four losses are all quite excusable.
16. Louisville (20) - Nice to lose a game and jump 4 spots, but the crap is about to hit the fan. At Notre Dame, home Cuse, at Cincy, home UConn should tell us plenty. I'm still not really sold on these Cards, but it'd be hard to ignore some of those Ws should they come.
17. Tennessee (14) - Losses like the OT one yesterday against Bama are losses Tennessee just can't afford. 7 of the final 8 games are against tourney or bubble teams, starting with road trips to UK and Florida this week. Time to find out if my faith will be rewarded.
18. Marquette (15) - Life in the Big East is never easy, but there are a lot of winnable games left on the schedule against bottom tier teams. Can they get that one big road win over Georgetown this week or UConn in two weeks to put them over the top? If not, beating all the bad Big East teams just might not matter.
19. UCLA (NR) - Why hello Ben Howland. Not so much on the road yet, but being the only team to beat BYU is looking better and better, and an easy win over the same St Johns that beat Duke a week ago looks good too.
20. UNC (NR) - Interesting that these two schools pop back in together. We may have given Roy Williams up for dead a bit too soon. These kids are really playing some ball and look like a definite tourney team, but let's see how far they've come against Duke this week.
21. Wisconsin (NR) - My honorary 2nd best Big 10 team for the week. I'll let them earn their stay with the home game against the Buckeyes this weekend.
22. Texas A&M (13) - I really thought the Aggies would beat Texas this week. Instead they lost ugly, then lost again, and now have lost 4 or 5. Better get some wins soon.
23. Temple (24) - Not any big conference wins yet and might not get their chance - they lost to Xavier and Duquesne and won't see them again til a conference tourney.
24. Cincinnati (25) - Still a blank canvas waiting to be written. Two more blah games before 5 of their last 6 are against top 25 squads.
25. Vanderbilt (NR) - Haven't we seen this team before? Yup, every year. They win the big home games and lose the road wins. Just winning at home this week will do the trick though, against Bama and Kentucky.
Peace out - Washington (16), Missouri (18), Purdue (21), St Johns (22), West Va (23)
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