NCAA Update

The Jayhawks still reign supreme, even though strong arguments could be made for the Longhorns and the Wildcats of Kentcuky. Texas didn't help their cause much by sleepwalking through a close win against TAMU Corpus Christi. (That should be a pornstar's name...Corpus Christi or Christi Corpus...she could do the whole nun thing...nevermind.)

Kansas continues to impress by blowing opponents out of the water. The latest victim? A-10's Temple Owls who somehow managed to stay at #21 despite a 32 point loss at Kansas. It will be interesting to see how they hold up in conference play against the likes of Oklahoma, Kansas State and of course Texas. I predict they finish with about 2-3 losses this season. Going through a conference season without a loss is damn near impossible these days. Especially in the Big12. A10 (ala St Joe's or Memphis ala Conference USA is one thing...Big12 is another animal.)

As for Temple...they play the Runnin' Rams of Rhody on January 10. A win against Akron tonight and a win over Temple Sunday and the Rams should finally see the Top 25 again. They had a nice win at Mohegan Sun arena the other night over Oklahoma State. A win over a Big12 squad, albeit a down year for the Cowboys, still a nice win.

Kentucky continues to be studly with John Wall and now Demarcus Cousins playing some serious ball...and throwing some serious elbows to boot! They start conference play against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. How long before recruiting violations surface about Wall and/or Cousins? Will Kentucky be next on the trail of schools behind Coach Cal? Where would he possibly go after that? Back to NBA??? Stay tuned...it's only a matter of time with this guy.

The Big East has already started beating up on each other with Syracuse going down to Pitt the other night.
'Nova still looks good, beating Marquette by two last Saturday.

The Mountaineers went down at the hands of Purdue who continues to impress as well. I may have underrated that squad a bit, as they're a bit more athletic than I anticipated. Robbie Hummel continues to win the "Shoulda Gone to Duke" award...so I hate him. Fuck Purdue.

The Tar Heels had an abysmal loss to College of Charleston! (WHO?!) It was already noted on this site, so I need not say more.

A couple sleeper teams could be Kansas State (though they're starting to enter that weird "Everyone's calling them a sleeper, so can they still be a sleeper?" phase, and Georgetown. I always liked Georgetown...I don't know why. Maybe it was all the cool players like, Iverson and 'Zo. Plus I think I always secretly wanted to be a black basketball player, kinda like Bill "Jamaal Abdul" Simmons. And Georgetown seems to be the go-to gangsta basketball school, ever since UNLV fell off the map and Chris Webber took money from Michigan. (I even wore black socks and baggy shorts in my youth league, just like the Fab 5!)

1. Kansas (56)
Last game: at Temple, W 84-52 (1/2)
Next game: Cornell (1/6)
13-0
2. Texas (8)
Last game: vs TAMU Corpus Christi, W 76-70 (1/2)
Next game: Arkansas (1/5)
13-0
3. Kentucky (1)
Last game: vs Louisville, W 71-62 (1/2)
Next game: Georgia (1/9)
15-0
4. Purdue
Last game: vs West Virginia, W 77-62 (1/1)
Next game: Minnesota (1/5)
13-0
5. Duke
Last game: vs Clemson, W 74-53 (1/3)
Next game: Iowa St. (1/6)
12-1
6. Villanova
Last game: at Marquette, W 74-72 (1/2)
Next game: DePaul (1/6)
12-1
7. Syracuse
Last game: vs Pittsburgh, L 72-82 (1/2)
Next game: Memphis (1/6)
13-1
8. West Virginia
Last game: at Purdue, L 62-77 (1/1)
Next game: Rutgers (1/6)
11-1
9. North Carolina
Last game: at Charleston, L 79-82 (1/4)
Next game: Virginia Tech (1/10)
11-4
10. Michigan St.
Last game: at Northwestern, W 91-70 (1/2)
Next game: Wisconsin (1/6)
11-3
11. Kansas St.
Last game: vs South Dakota, W 91-69 (1/3)
Next game: Missouri (1/9)
13-1
12. Georgetown
Last game: at DePaul, W 67-50 (1/3)
Next game: Marquette (1/6)
11-1
13. Connecticut
Last game: vs Notre Dame, W 82-70 (1/2)
Next game: Seton Hall (1/6)
10-3
14. Mississippi
Last game: vs Jacksonville St., W 90-75 (12/29)
Next game: UCF (1/5)
11-2
15. New Mexico
Last game: vs Dayton, W 68-66 (1/1)
Next game: San Diego St. (1/5)
14-1
16. Tennessee
Last game: at Memphis, W 66-59 (12/31)
Next game: Charlotte (1/6)
10-2
17. Wisconsin
Last game: at Penn St., W 63-46 (1/3)
Next game: Michigan St. (1/6)
12-2
18. Florida St.
Last game: vs TAMU Corpus Christi, W 94-54 (1/4)
Next game: Maryland (1/10)
13-2
19. Gonzaga
Last game: at Illinois, W 85-83 (1/2)
Next game: Portland (1/9)
11-3
20. Georgia Tech
Last game: at Charlotte, W 76-67 (1/2)
Next game: Georgia (1/5)
11-2
21. Temple
Last game: vs Kansas, L 52-84 (1/2)
Next game: St. Joseph's (1/6)
11-3
22. Texas Tech
Last game: vs UTEP, W 86-78 (1/3)
Next game: Oklahoma St. (1/9)
12-2
23. Pittsburgh
Last game: at Cincinnati, W 74-71 (1/4)
Next game: Connecticut (1/13)
13-2
24. Washington
Last game: vs Oregon, L 79-90 (1/2)
Next game: Arizona St. (1/8)
10-3
25. BYU
Last game: vs Eastern New Mexico, W 95-49 (1/2)
Next game: UNLV (1/6)
14-1

Dropped Out: No. 15 Ohio St., No. 21 Clemson, No. 24 UAB, No. 25 Northwestern
Others Receiving Votes: Clemson 139, Texas A&M 86, Cincinnati 76, Florida 75, Baylor 73, Miami (FL) 70, Rhode Island 52, USC 46, Dayton 45, Wake Forest 42, Ohio St. 42, William & Mary 37, Northern Iowa 35, UAB 29, Mississippi St. 26, Virginia Tech 20, Oklahoma St. 16, California 15, UNLV 12, Cornell 9, Butler 6, VCU 5, Oregon 4, Minnesota 3, Vanderbilt 1