The Kentucky Wildcats led by superfrosh John Wall and Eric Bledsoe have taken their rightful place as the #1 team in the land. The Longhorns took a big ol' shit on my claims of them being the best team in the nation with two straight losses. However, you have to give them props for going to Connecticut to play a big game. Other coaches could learn a thing or two about stepping up from Rick Barnes. They lost, but I don't think that loss will kill them come tourney ranking time if they finish strong, because I think UConn will finish with a good season in the Big East. Some critics of Texas have said that Barnes is playing too many guys, routinely dipping into his bench for five and sometimes six reserves. For a while I held off from this criticism as I figured early in the year it may be good to rest some of the marquis big guys like James and Pittman, but once conference season rolls aroudn you should have your lineup well situated. Barnes may have been trying to do that against UConn, but foul trouble forced his hand in playing a lot of guys off the bench. The college game just isn't long enough to warrant no player going over 30 minutes when your big name guys are as talented as Texas. Bottom line though, Pittman didn't show up in CT. He fouled out in 15 minutes and was mostly useless while he was in there. Texas should be fine, with enough big games left on the schedule to impress the selection committee. I still expect them to compete for a #1 seed in March.
UConn on the other hand seemed to finally be the team we've been waiting for, ironically enough without coach Jim Calhoun on the sideline. He's currently taking a leave due to personal illness which is not believed to be career threatening. (They said the same about Lute Olsen in Arizona.)
Hopefully, the Huskies can keep it up and run through a very tough Big East season without any let-down losses. A win at Providence on Wednesday will certainly help keep the train rolling.
Kansas, Villanova and Syracuse all still have 1 loss a piece (heading into Tuesday night), though I would put Syracuse ahead of Villanova because I think they're more versatile and their win over a good G'Town team was impressive. That being said I think G'Town is a bit high coming off that loss to 'Cuse at #7. I'd probably swap them with Purdue who continues to impress and may just be my Final Four sleeper in March if they keep it up.
All Rams fans should be rooting for Oklahoma State to keep up their winning ways, after a nice win over Kansas State who had previously knocked off #1 Texas.
Temple is #15. I haven't seen them play in person, but I have a hard time believing in an Atlantic 10 team in the Top 15. I'm an A-10 guy, but I think there are probably some teams better deserving of that spot. I'll have to try to catch them soon.
BYU also has one loss, and no doubt is sporting some 7 foot Mormons who can shoot, pass and block shots. (They're also probably 26!)
Pitt has taken a couple bad losses in recent games, including their last game at Seton Hall. (Another testament to how tough conference road games are.)
Vandy seems a bit out of place on these rankings, but 20-25 every week are starting to become a revolving door. At least we don't have Northern Iowa in here anymore and Butler is also nowhere to be seen. Back to the pumpkin carriage with you, Butler!
AP Top 25 (Rank, record, points, previous ranking).
1. Kentucky (65) 19-0, 1625, 2
* Last game: vs Arkansas, W 101-70 (1/23)
2. Kansas 19-1, 1519, 3
* Last game: vs Missouri, W 84-65 (1/25)
3. Villanova 18-1, 1503, 4
* Last game: at St. John's, W 81-71 (1/23)
4. Syracuse 20-1, 1455, 5
* Last game: vs Georgetown, W 73-56 (1/25)
5. Michigan St. 17-3, 1324, 6
* Last game: at Minnesota, W 65-64 (1/23)
6. Texas 17-2, 1307, 1
* Last game: at Connecticut, L 74-88 (1/23)
7. Georgetown 15-4, 1124, 12
* Last game: at Syracuse, L 56-73 (1/25)
8. Duke 16-3, 1120, 7
* Last game: at Clemson, W 60-47 (1/23)
9. West Virginia 15-3, 1113, 11
* Last game: vs Ohio St., W 71-65 (1/23)
10. Purdue 16-3, 977, 13
* Last game: vs Michigan, W 69-59 (1/23)
11. Kansas St. 16-3, 960, 10
* Last game: vs Oklahoma St., L 69-73 (1/23)
12. BYU 20-1, 894, 14
* Last game: at San Diego St., W 71-69 (1/23)
13. Gonzaga 16-3, 847, 15
* Last game: vs Loyola Marymount, W 85-69 (1/23)
14. Tennessee 15-3, 837, 8
* Last game: at Georgia, L 63-78 (1/23)
15. Temple 17-3, 707, 16
* Last game: at Fordham, W 62-45 (1/23)
16. Wisconsin 16-4, 635, 18
* Last game: vs Penn St., W 79-71 (1/24)
17. Pittsburgh 15-4, 599, 9
* Last game: at Seton Hall, L 61-64 (1/24)
18. Mississippi 15-4, 411, 22
* Last game: at LSU, W 73-63 (1/23)
19. Connecticut 13-6, 286, NR
* Last game: vs Texas, W 88-74 (1/23)
20. Ohio St. 14-6, 270, 21
* Last game: at West Virginia, L 65-71 (1/23)
21. Vanderbilt 15-3, 264, NR
* Last game: vs Auburn, W 82-74 (1/23)
22. Georgia Tech 14-5, 194, 19
* Last game: at Florida St., L 66-68 (1/24)
23. New Mexico 18-3, 180, NR
* Last game: vs Colorado St., W 82-64 (1/23)
24. Baylor 15-3, 157, 25
* Last game: vs Massachusetts, W 71-45 (1/23)
25. UAB 17-2, 125, NR
* Last game: at Marshall, W 61-59 (1/23)
Dropped Out: No. 17 Clemson, No. 20 Northern Iowa, No. 23 Mississippi St., No. 24 North Carolina
Others Receiving Votes: Florida St. 111, Northern Iowa 106, Clemson 103, Wake Forest 98, Butler 69,Mississippi St. 42, Texas A&M 29, Oklahoma 25, Missouri 24, Maryland 22, Cornell 16, Old Dominion 11, Xavier 11, UNLV 6, Northwestern 5, Virginia 3, Siena 3, St. Mary's 2, Louisiana Tech 2, California 2, Harvard 1, Coastal Carolina 1
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