The Confidential

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07 Feb 2012
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The Confidential’s Basketball Top 30 for February 7, 2012

With over 300 teams in college basketball, the top 25 is just not enough anymore.  Here is the Confidential’s Top 30 for February 7, 2012 (before tonight’s games):

  1. Syracuse (23-1).  The return of Fab Melo injected life into Syracuse.  However, a massively tough schedule awaits.  Next up: Georgetown.
  2. Kentucky (23-1).  The Florida game is finally here.  Winner gets some serious momentum.  Next up: Florida.
  3. Ohio State (20-3).  Big win at Wisconsin.  Can they hold off Michigan State?  Next up: Purdue.
  4. Missouri (22-2).  Got the needed win over Kansas to stay solidly on the top line in bracket predictions.  Then won at Oklahoma.  Next up: @ Kansas.
  5. Baylor (21-2).  Very tough week for the Bears, who seem to be feast or famine on the schedule.  Road trip to Missouri looms after the next game.  Next up: Kansas.
  6. North Carolina (20-3).  North Carolina is really on a roll since the Florida State embarrassment.  The Duke game is finally here.  Next up: Duke.
  7. Michigan State (18-5).  Missing the extra-point to lose at Illinois 42-41, hurts.  But MSU has been better for the past few weeks than Duke.  Will it continue? Next up: Penn State.
  8. Duke (19-4).  The Florida State loss was understandable–even at home.  But a home loss to Miami?  Next up: @ North Carolina.
  9. Florida (19-4).  The Gators have been on a mini-roll lately.  But the Kentucky game will be a true test of where this team is at.  Next up: @ Kentucky.
  10. Kansas (18-5).  All of the sudden, Kansas has five losses.  And it gets Baylor next.  Next up: @ Baylor.
  11. Georgetown (18-4).  Looked real good in beating UConn.  Looked even better beating a much improved South Florida team.  Next up: @ Syracuse.
  12. Murray State (23-0).  This team should not be this high, but the other teams in the second ten keep losing.  Next up: Tennessee State.
  13. Florida State (16-6).  Who has done more lately?  Six losses are high, but this team is on fire.  Next up: @ Boston College.
  14. Creighton (21-3).  Creighton finally dropped a game–at Northern Iowa.  Still a solid resume.  Next up: @ Evansville.
  15. San Diego State (20-3).  Yet another 20-win season for San Diego State.  Next up: @ UNLV.
  16. Virginia (18-4).  Ran into the unstoppable Seminoles.  Almost stopped them too.  Next up: Wake Forest.
  17. Wisconsin (18-6).  The home loss to Ohio State was disappointing, but not the end of the world.  Still on a roll lately.  Next up: @ Minnesota.
  18. Marquette (20-5).  The blowout loss at Notre Dame was a shocker.  But the Irish have been pretty good at home and Marquette was due for a loss.  Next up: @ DePaul.
  19. UNLV (21-4).  Losing at Wyoming is not as damaging as it sounds.  Still, UNLV only has so many chances to impress.  A missed opportunity.  One awaits.  Next up: San Diego State.
  20. Indiana (18-6).  Split a tough road swing at Michigan and Purdue.  The wins are slowing down a bit for this young team.  Next up: Illinois.
  21. Michigan (17-7).  Beat Indiana, before losing to Michigan State in East Lansing.  That latter would have been a huge win.  Next up: @ Nebraska.
  22. Mississippi State (18-5).  Got the win over Auburn.  Two more home games ahead on the schedule.  Next up: Mississippi.
  23. St. Mary’s (22-2).  Was able to focus against San Diego.  The big game is next though.  Next up: @ Gonzaga.
  24. Southern Mississippi (20-3) Debuted in this ranking last week.  Moves up after the win over Memphis.  Next up: @ UAB.
  25. Louisville (18-5).  The Cardinals demolished UConn last night.  Big weekend ahead with a trip to West Virginia before hosting Syracuse.  Next up: @ West Virginia.
  26. Notre Dame (15-8).  The win over Syracuse could be rationalized by the absence of Fab Melo.  But the Irish stopped Marquette’s momentum.  Next up: @ West Virginia.
  27. Iowa State (17-6)  All of the sudden Iowa State is making a move.  Swept the Kansas schools and then won at Oklahoma.  Next up: @ Oklahoma State.
  28. Virginia Commonwealth (20-5).  The Rams have won 9 straight.  The out-of-conference performance was a little weak, so they need this late run.  Next up: Towson.
  29. New Mexico (19-4).  Going to have to upset either San Diego State or UNLV to make some real noise.  Those opportunities will both come next week.  Next up: Wyoming.
  30. Washington (16-7).  The Huskies have won 5 in a row.  Not a lot of horrible losses, really… just too many of them.  Next up: @ Oregon.

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

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , ,
06 Feb 2012
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ACC Basketball Rankings: February 6, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  Here is how we view the ACC basketball schools as of January 30, 2012:

1.  Syracuse (23-1)  With Fab Melo back, the Orange returned to their dominant ways.  However, all seven remaining games for the Orange are against teams in the top half of the Big East standings.  This will not end easy for Syracuse.

2. North Carolina (20-3)  Looked dominant in wins over Wake Forest and Maryland.  Next up?  Duke and Virginia.

3. Florida State (16-6)  That’s seven straight conference wins for the Seminoles.  In the process, they have defeated nationally ranked Virginia and North Carolina at home, while defeating Maryland and Duke on the road.

4. Duke (19-4)  The home loss to Florida State at the buzzer was a shocker.  Losing to Miami?  This isn’t football.

5. Virginia (18-4)  No shame in losing to Florida State on the road.  Virginia fared much better than the Tar Heels.

6. North Carolina State (17-7)  A good week for the Wolfpack, who beat both BC and Wake Forest to get back to their winning ways.  All five starters were in double-digits against Wake too.

7.  Miami (14-7)  The win over Duke, at Duke, was the marquee win that Miami needed.  Now they need to keep up the 6-3 conference pace down the stretch.

8. Maryland (13-9)  While the loss to North Carolina stings, it was the road loss to Miami that will be regretted.  That was a winnable game, as evidenced by the overtime.

9. Pittsburgh (15-9)  Don’t look know, but the Panthers have won four straight.  If they keep this up, the Big Dance is not out of the question.

10. Virginia Tech (13-10)  The Hokies took care of business against Clemson.  That 2-6 conference record still hurts.

11. Clemson (11-11)  Swept by both Virginia schools.  A tough road for the Tigers this past week.

12. Wake Forest (11-12)  Wake Forest was overmatched by North Carolina and North Carolina State.  Not a surprise.

13. Georgia Tech (9-14)  Georgia Tech is part of the 3-way tie in the ACC cellar at 2-7 in conference play.  The win over BC gets them to 13th.

14. Boston College (7-16)  The Eagles could have gotten out of the cellar with a win against Georgia Tech.  Alas, it was not meant to be.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
04 Feb 2012

Weekend Preview: February 4-5

As is often the case this time of year, there are a number of ACC games this weekend in college basketball.

Saturday

At noon, Syracuse travels to New York City–its home away from home–to play St. Johns.

There are three 1:00 games.  Boston College travels to Georgia Tech in a game featuring teams that are a combined 15-29 on the year.  North Carolina State hosts Wake Forest as it tries to improve to 17-7 on the season.  And the big game of the day is #16 Virginia at #21 Florida State.  While Virginia’s season has been a bit of a surprise, Florida State disappointed early but really has things working right now.  Virginia’s tough defense will look to stop the Seminoles.

At 4pm, #5 North Carolina travels to Maryland for its final tune-up before hosting Duke.  The Tar Heels have to be careful to not look past Maryland though.  Clemson travels to struggling Virginia Tech as well.

 

Sunday

At 2pm, Pittsburgh hosts its in-state rival Villanova.  Both teams are struggling through subpar, disappointing seasons.  Someone is coming away slightly happier.

At 3pm, Miami travels to #7 Duke and tries to get the game over well before the Super Bowl.  Miami has been OK this year, but has not shown signs of being ready to defeat a top 20 team on the road.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , ,
01 Feb 2012
1 Comment

Signing Day Update

According to MaxPreps, the ACC had five teams pull in top-25 recruiting classes.  Most of the school names on the list are the ones that you would expect–Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, and Michigan.  And it is no different with the ACC teams that made the list–especially the top 4 of Florida State, Miami, Clemson, and Virginia Tech.  Impressively, Virginia cracked the list as well.

Florida State edged out Miami to have the 6th best overall class and the best class in the ACC.  Both schools were probably disappointed to see Florida take the 5 spot ahead of both of them.  For Florida State, it is yet another great class to build on its young foundation and bright future.  But, at #7, Miami showed that the off-field issues are not going to stop the talent from flowing in.

At #11, Clemson took advantage of its nice season.  Again, however, the Tigers finished behind in-state rival South Carolina in these rankings. Even the disappointing (and then some) Orange Bowl performance did not prevent the class from being outstanding.

Virginia Tech landed in at #16, which is pretty much what the Hokies are expected to do most years.  Perhaps more surprising is that in-state rival, Virginia, cracked the top 25.  After a great rebound season under new coach Mike London, the Cavaliers look to challenge Virginia Tech each season.

Obviously, these rankings do not mean much in the big picture.  Texas, Ohio State, and Notre Dame have all had issues in recent years converting top 5 recruiting classes into top 5 seasons.  But it’s all fans have to go by right now.

So congratulations to these five schools and their new recruits.  And congrats to all the future ACC players that signed letters of intent today.

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , ,
01 Feb 2012

North Carolina and Virginia Keep Winning

North Carolina and Virginia each did their part in maintaining their placement in the polls last night, as both were able to win.  The #16 Cavaliers defended their home court in a 65-61 victory of Clemson.  The #5 Tar Heels handled Wake Forest on the road, 68-53.

The ugly game of the night across the nation was Illinois’ victory over Michigan State by a score of 42-41.  That is a score reminiscent of the 1940’s.  As usual, however, the abysmal shooting in that game will be rationalized as a product of “good defense.”

Well, their must have been some good defense in the North Carolina-Wake Forest game too, as the two teams shot 31.0% and 29.6% from the field.  Nevertheless, both teams were able to avoid scores in the low 40’s, in part because both teams were competent at the free throw line.  The rebounding numbers were pretty impressive too–with North Carolina edging Wake 50-36.  That’s a lot of boards.  In fact, Tyler Zeller had 18 of them, while Josh Henson added 12.  Terrell McKie led the Demon Deacons with 13 rebounds.  From a scoring standpoint, the Tar Heels only had 6 players score, but 4 of them were in double-figures, led by Zeller’s 18.  CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points.  With the loss, Wake Forest drops to 11-11.  North Carolina improves to 19-3.

Up in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers narrowly defeated Clemson in a typically slow tempo game.  In comparison to the rebound-fest described above, Virginia and Clemson combined for only 48 rebounds–with Virginia having an impressive 31-17 edge in that regard.  But the game was a nail biter for Virginia as Clemson maintained a lead into the early part of the second-half before Virginia pulled away.  The Tigers made it close down the stretch, forcing Virginia to win it at the free throw line.  Devin Booker led the Tigers, who dropped to 11-10, with 14 points.  As usual, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 10 rebounds.  Virginia improves to 18-3 and maintains its 4th place position in the conference standings.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
30 Jan 2012

Everyone in the ACC is Moving Up in the Polls!

The ESPN/USA Today top 25 has been released and the ACC schools all moved up.

#2 Syracuse improved from #4, leapfrogging Ohio State and taking the place of Missouri.  The Orange defeated Cincinnati and West Virginia last week.

#5 Duke improved from #6.  The Blue Devils defeated both Maryland and St. Johns last week.

#6 North Carolina improved from #8.  The Tar Heels defeated North Carolina State and Georgia Tech.

#18 Virginia improved from #21.  The Cavaliers defeated Boston College and Notre Dame last week.

And Florida State launched itself into the polls at #24, after defeating Wake Forest on the road last week.  Of course, Florida State has made the most news by defeating North Carolina by 33 and upsetting Duke on the road.  Although the Confidential has North Carolina State ranked higher, Florida State does have the better wins.

So, nothing but upward mobility for the ACC teams.  Hopefully, it will continue next week…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , ,
30 Jan 2012
1 Comment

ACC Basketball Rankings: January 30, 2012

This is particularly complex with Pitt and Syracuse not yet in the ACC, but it can still be done.  Here is how we view the ACC basketball schools as of January 30, 2012:

1.  Syracuse (22-1)  While weaker minds will blame the Syracuse win on the referees, West Virginia had every opportunity to win the game–including the ball in the half court with 6+ seconds to go.  That they chose to shoot an off-balance three pointer instead of trying to use their advantage down low is not the referees’ fault.  Just sayin’.

2. Duke (18-3)  Duke keeps the #2 spot.  After losing to the Seminoles, Duke went on the road and beat a very good Maryland team.  And then a tough out-of-conference foe in St. Johns gave them a tough test at home.  Narrowly above North Carolina.  Will these two teams EVER play?

3. North Carolina (18-3)  Look out for the Tar Heels.  After the embarrassing blowout loss, North Carolina is on a roll.  North Carolina State did not provide much of a test though.  Upcoming two game road trip to Maryland and Wake Forest.

4. Virginia (17-3)  Rebounded nicely from the Virginia Tech stunner to defeat Boston College at home.  Even more impressive was the win at North Carolina State.

5. Florida State (14-6)  Another road win–this time over Wake Forest by a comfortable margin of 23.  If the Seminoles can get by Georgia Tech on Wednesday, the focus will shift to the visiting Cavaliers on Saturday.

6. North Carolina State (15-7)  Tough week for the Wolfpack, as they had to travel to Chapel Hill and then host Virginia.  Despite the two losses, still 4-3 in conference play.

7.  Maryland (13-7)  Maryland kept its record at .500 in conference by edging Virginia Tech on Saturday.  Nice bounce-back after losing to Duke.  Up next?  A trip to Miami.

8.  Miami (12-7)  The Hurricanes are up to 3-3 in conference play with wins over Georgia Tech and Boston College.  Both were significant margin victories on the road.  Return on home Wednesday to host Maryland.

9. Clemson (11-9)  3-3 in conference after beating Wake Forest on Saturday.  Next up is a trip to Virginia to play both schools in road games.  Doesn’t get any easier.

10. Pittsburgh (13-9)  The Panthers are starting to warm-up a bit.  On Saturday, they got their second win in a row with a victory over #9 Georgetown.

11. Wake Forest (11-10)  Tough call between Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.  The Demon Deacons have the extra conference win to provide the edge.

12. Virginia Tech (12-9)  The Hokies looked good in 2011, but 2012 has been very unkind.  They are now a dismal 1-5 in conference play.  Next up?  Duke.  Gulp.

13. Georgia Tech (8-13)  Georgia Tech cannot buy a win right now.  After traveling to red-hot Florida State midweek, Boston College comes to town.  That’s a must win for the coaching staff.

14. Boston College (7-14)  Doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles.  They host North Carolina State on Wednesday–a Wolfpack team that has lost to North Carolina and Virginia in its recent games, and really really needs a win.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let us know!

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
29 Jan 2012

ACC Basketball Recap: January 28, 2012

Here is the recap for the ACC basketball action on January 28, 2012.  It was a big day for impressive individual performances, as a few players got into the high teens in rebounds.

The big win of the day goes to… Pittsburgh, who defeated #9 Georgetown by a score of 72-60.  Bear in mind that the Panthers had lost eight straight before winning their last game.  To get that second conference win, and to do it over a very good Georgetown team, is going to rejuvenate this team.  Nasir Robinson went 9 for 9 from the field en route to a 23 point-game to lead Pitt.  Robinson added 8 rebounds too.   Lamar Patterson was another star for Pitt, with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds.  At this juncture, every win is a big one for Pittsburgh.  But Saturday’s win was huge.  For Georgetown, this would ordinarily be chalked up as a “good” road loss.  With the Panthers’ struggles this year, that may not be the case.  Still, Georgetown is 16-4 and looking at a top seed in the Big Dance.  Otto Porter led the Hoyas with 14 points.

As a close second, how about #19 Virginia landing a road win over the streaking North Carolina State Wolfpack?  The Cavaliers won 61-60,  as Lorenzo Brown missed a desperation 3-pointer at the end of the game that would have won it for NC State.  Not surprisingly, Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points and 5 rebounds.  However, despite winning, the Cavaliers were outrebounded 40-20.  In  fact, North Carolina State’s Richard Howell almost single-handedly outrebounded Virginia by grabbing 18 boards.  With the loss, the Wolfpack dropped to 15-7 on the season.  Virginia improved to 17-3.

#3 Syracuse also overcame a poor rebounding effort, narrowly defeating visiting West Virginia, 63-61.  The Mountaineers dominated Syracuse–who was again playing without Center Fab Melo–on the glass, 36-20.  But this game was notable for its poor officiating, as the referees failed to call a rather obvious goaltending against Syracuse with less than 10 seconds to go.  However, before feeling too sorry for West Virginia, they retained possession and missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.  Had the basket counted, Syracuse would have had 9 seconds to get off a shot.  Kevin Jones led West Virginia with 20 points and 8 rebounds, but missed the three-pointer as time expired.  Brandon Triche led Syracuse with 18 points.

Visiting St. Johns rallied in the second half, but ultimately lost to #8 Duke in Durham, 83-76.  Duke had a 16-point lead at the half, which grew to 22 points during the second half.  However, the Red Storm were able to narrow the margin to only four points with 21 seconds remaining.  They would never get any closer.  St. Johns looks like it has a budding star in Moe Harkness, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.  The big star for Duke was Mason Plumlee, who scored 15 points and grabbed an impressive 17 rebounds.  With the win, Duke improved to 18-3 on the season and looks poised to rise a few places in the rankings this week.

Maryland got back to its winning ways with a 73-69 victory over Virginia Tech.  Credit the Hokies for making a game of it, as they trailed by 13 at the half and by as many as 16 in the second-half.  But they just dug too big a hole to get out of.  Erick Green led the Hokies with 18 points.  At 12-9, Virginia Tech is running out of time to get back on the right side of the bubble.  Terrell Stoglin was the hero for Maryland, leading the Terps with 28 points.  Maryland is now 13-7 and controls its own post-season destiny.

Finally, Clemson handed Wake Forest its 10th loss of the season, defending its home court in a 71-60 victory.  CJ Harris led Wake Forest with 19 points, while Andre Young led the four Clemson players that scored in double-figures with 19 points of his own.  With the win, Clemson improves to 11-9.

 

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , ,
28 Jan 2012

Weekend Preview: January 28-29

As is often the case this time of year, there are a number of ACC games this weekend in college basketball.

Saturday

In a rather late out-of-conference game, #8 Duke hosts St. John’s at noon. This is not the St. John’s team from last year that made the Big Dance.  At 9-11, the only March dancing the Red Storm will be doing is if they get a WII and Dance Dance Revolution.  But let’s hope Coach Lavin’s recovery continues unabated.  He did a great job with that team last year.

In another noon game, Wake Forest travels to Clemson in the “Battle to Avoid 10th Loss” Bowl.   Wake Forest is 11-9, while Clemson is 10-9.

#3 Syracuse takes the Carrier Dome floor at 1pm to play West Virginia.  The Orange will likely have to play against without Center Fab Melo.  So far, they are 1-1 without the super-Sophomore.  West Virginia usually shoots well in the Dome.

At 2:30 pm,  Maryland hosts Virginia Tech.  The 12-8 Hokies are desperate for a win just to get back on the bubble.  Meanwhile, at 12-7, Maryland has to be careful.  After a nice December stretch, January has been less successful with a 2-3 conference record.  Both teams desperately need a win.

Pittsburgh looks to make it two straight wins when it hosts #9 Georgetown at 4pm.  Despite losing 8 straight games, the Panthers are still sitting at 12-9 overall.

At 8:00 pm, North Carolina State hosts #19 Virginia.  At 16-3, the Wahoos are looking to get a quality conference road win.  North Carolina State, however, needs to rebound from its ugly loss to the Tar Heels.  And the Wolfpack need to defend home court.

 

Sunday

At 1pm, Boston College hosts Miami.  At 11-7, the Hurricanes need to start stringing some wins together.  A road win over 7-13 Boston College is a necessity.

The 6pm game on Sunday features Georgia Tech visiting #7 North Carolina.  The Tar Heels are looking to make it two comfortable home wins in a row.  In fact, they have yet to lose at home all year.  And, while the Florida State loss still lingers, North Carolina has won 11 of their last 12 games.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , ,
24 Jan 2012

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?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Rankings and tagged , , , , ,

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