The Confidential

The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for January 24, 2012

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for January 24, 2012:

1. Syracuse (21-1).  The Orange suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday without key player Fab Melo.  Rebounded nicely, figuratively and literally, against Cincinnati.  Not fair to penalize them for losing long after Kentucky and Missouri did.  Next up: West Virginia.
2. Kentucky (19-1).  Still waiting for that matchup against Florida.  Who else in the SEC can challenge them?  Next up: @ Georgia.
3. Missouri (18-1).  Great win at Baylor.  Not much depth on this team, but they keep on winning the big games.  Next up: @ Oklahoma State.
4. Ohio State (17-3).  Rolling along now.  Got an easy week with only a game against Nebraska.  Those are rare in the Big 10.  Next up: Penn State.
5. Kansas (17-3).  No losses in Big 12 play yet.  Not winning by a lot, but they are certainly not losing.  Next up: @ Iowa State.
6. Baylor (17-2).  The only losses have come from the top 5.  Need to avoid a let down loss in next outing.  Next up: Oklahoma.
7. Duke (16-3).  Buzzer beater loss to Florida State was disappointing.  But it’s not losing by 33 points (ahem, Tar Heels).  Next up: @ Maryland.
8. North Carolina (16-3).  Got back in the groove against the Hokies.  But they lost Dexter Strickland to injury for the season.  Next up: North Carolina State.
9. Michigan State (16-4).  Rebounded from loss to Michigan by beating Purdue handily.  No bad losses for the Spartans yet.  Next up: Minnesota.
10. Creighton (18-2).  Creighton beat San Diego State and just keeps on winning.  Oddly enough.  Next up: @ Drake.
11. San Diego State (17-2).  Like Baylor, only two losses were to teams above them.  Coincidentally, one of those was Baylor.  Next up: @ Wyoming.
12. UNLV (18-3).  Two more wins for UNLV.  Time for a road trip.  Next up: @ Boise State.
13. Georgetown (16-3).  Hoyas now have a few wins in a row.  Will they extend the Panthers’ losing streak to 8 games?  Next up: Pittsburgh.
14. Marquette (16-4).  This Marquette team is going to be tough in the Big Dance.  Nobody is going to want to play them.  Next up: South Florida.
15. Kansas State (14-4).  Bounced back after a tough week to win both games.  They avoid the big three for another week too.  Next up: @ Texas Tech.
16. Indiana (16-4).  Losses to Minnesota and Nebraska are showing that Indiana is not quite ready for the top 10.  Still, it’s already been a great turnaround.  Next up: @ Wisconsin.
17. Virginia (15-3).  Destroyed Georgia Tech, but was then upset by previously winless in conference Virginia Tech.  Like Indiana, Virginia is ahead of schedule.  Next up: Boston College.
18. Murray State (20-0).  The last unbeaten.  Deserve to be moving up for not succumbing to the pressure.  Next up: Eastern Illinois.
19. Mississippi State (16-4).  Tough loss to in-state rival Mississippi.  But turned the switch back on by defeating Vandy on the road.  Next up: LSU.
20. Michigan (15-5).  Battle Arkansas tough on the road.  A tough loss, but not the end of the world.  Next up: @ Purdue.
21. West Virginia (15-5).  Three wins in a row for the Mountaineers.  The week ends with a tough trip to Syracuse.  Next up: @ St. John’s..
22. Wisconsin (16-5).  Wins over Northwestern and at Illinois are looking good.  This team is primed to start moving up in the standings.  Next up: Indiana.
23. North Carolina State (15-5).  Took care of business against Boston College and Miami.  Now they get to go to wounded North Carolina.  Next up: @ North Carolina.
24. Florida (15-4).  Only game was a win over LSU.  Nice, but not worthy of significant movement.  Next up: @ Mississippi.
25. Florida State (13-6).  This team may be ranked too high with the losses they have, but destroying North Carolina and beating a good Maryland team and top 8 Duke on the road is a great week.  Next up: @ Wake Forest.
26. Wichita State (17-3).  Nice road win at Northern Iowa.  Giving Creighton a run for the league title.  Next up: @ Evansville.
27. UConn (14-5).  Just when you thought UConn was playing better, they go out and lose to streaking Cincinnati at home and mediocre Tennessee on the road.   Next up: Notre Dame.
28. St. Mary’s (19-2).  Beat Pepperdine and Santa Clara for two more wins.  Next up:  @ Loyola-Marymount.
29. Dayton (14-5).  After a tough out-of-conference slate, Dayton is coming on stronger.  That win at Temple is looking better now too.  Next up: @ St. Joseph’s.
30. George Mason (16-5).  If a major conference team wants this slot, they need to avoid a split.  The Patriots have won 9 of 10 games.  Next up: @ Hofstra.

Tell us what you think.  Is anyone unfairly missing?  Anyone too high or too low?