Top 10 Dumped Again

Another week and weekend where the Top 10 went down to defeat in numbers. Seven of the top 10 teams lost this week, only Duke, San Diego State and BYU won. I don't recall a year where we have had so much change with the top spot or within the top 10. This is a very balanced year and one where March Madness could come down to 10-12 possible teams that could win it. Here is a quick recap.

1. Kansas (25-2) Gets smoked by rival Kansas St 84-68 but bounces back with win over Colorado on Saturday
2. Texas (23-4) Loses to Nebraska on Saturday 70-67
3. Ohio State (25-2) Loses to #11 Purdue in one of the toughest and loudest places to win, Mackey Arena, 73-62
4. Pittsburgh (24-3) Becomes another MSG victim of St. John's, 60-59. St. John's is making a lot of noise
5. Duke (25-2) Wins 79-57 over Georgia Tech - they will be new number 1 and will stay there until NCAA
6. San Diego St (27-1) Beats Air Force 70-58. Should get number 2 spot but probably won't. Not enough respect for this team
7. BYU (25-2) Tops TCU 79-56. Looking forward to showdown with SDSU this coming weekend
8. Notre Dame (21-5) Drop game at West Virginia 72-58 on Saturday
9. Georgetown (21-6) Loses to #13 UCONN 78-70 on Tuesday but rebounds to win over USF on Saturday by 61-55 margin
10 Wisconsin (20-6) Lose to #11 Purdue on Wednesday 70-62 but bounce back against Penn St to win 76-66 on Sunday

You should see Duke #1 and San Diego State University # 2 but they won't put them at #2 because of Strength of schedule. You should also see Purdue and Arizona enter the top 10 and it would not surprise me to see St. John's in the top 25 as they have a SOS rating of 3 and RPI rating of 16 and just beat a very physical Pittsburgh team. The Big East will get 10 teams in for sure and now have a good shot of getting 11 in. That is dominance.

Speaking of the Big East, my Syracuse Orangemen had another scare at home against Rutgers as Rutgers missed a 3 at the end of regulation that would have given them a HUGE upset at the Carrier Dome. The Orange survived in OT thanks to Chris Joseph and won 84-80.

Michigan is keeping their NCAA hopes alive with a nice come from behind win at Iowa in OT as well. They won 75-72 and were paced by an unbelievable freshman performance by Tim Hardaway Jr who scored 30 and had a nasty in your face dunk down the stretched that he also got fouled on and converted the free throw. This young team is really starting to come together and will be a contender next year. They have won 4 out of the last 5 and need to win 2 of their last 3 to have a chance to make the dance. It will not be easy as they face Wisconsin at Home, Minnesota on the road and finish at home vs. Michigan State. That last game on Saturday March 5th could decide which Michigan team makes it in to the NCAA's.

Michigan State won a big game on College Game Day Saturday as Kalin Lucas once again carried this team to victory. He scored 25 and was not to be denied on this night in their 61-57 victory over Illinois. The Spartans are now 15-11 but only 7-7 in league play. They have 4 games remaining and will have to win at least three to be eligible for the Dance. They do have SOS on their side but must win at Minnesota and beat Iowa at home for sure. The games that will challenge them will be at home against Purdue (Saturday 2/27) and on the road at Michigan on 3/5. Sparty is at least playing more with a sense of urgency and desperation and they will need that to succeed.

Western Michigan won another close game at home on Saturday over Illinois State, 68-65. They have now won 6 of their last 7 and have won their last three at home by margins of 2, 3 and 2. They are 16-10 and are leading the Western Conference of the MAC with a 7-4 record. They are led by Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) who has scored in double figures for 10 straight games now.

University of Detroit Mercy is fading fast and is at a disappointing 6th place in the Horizon league with a 9-8 conference record. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and now sit at an even 500 record of 15-15 on the season. I was expecting better from this team especially with the addition of Ray McCallum. While he does lead the team in scoring at 14 a game and leads in assists I thought his play would translate to more wins. What will be interesting is if he will be a recruiting magnet for the better Detroit PSL players to stay at home and join forces with him going forward.

Oakland University continues to roll up the wins and the points. They won again at home for their 20th win of the season and 25 consecutive home conference win. They are now 20-9 on the season and 15-1 in conference and virtually impossible to beat at home in conference play. In their 105-96 win over South Dakota State they were led by 22 apiece from both Larry Wright and Travis Bader. Bader once again was strong from behind the arc as he was 6-10 from 3 point land. This Oakland team is very good and one that I predict will win a NCAA first round game for their first time ever this year.

Purdue's win over Ohio State showed that they can play with anyone and are a team to watch come tournament time. E'twaun Moore's record high 38 points was sick as no one from Ohio State could stop him.

Some great games this week and weekend getting us all amped for conference and tournament play.

Monday 2/21 #17 Syracuse (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova (21-6)
Wednesday 2/23 #23 Temple (21-5) vs. #5 Duke (25-2) - We will see if the Atlantic 10 can compete with the Dukies
Wednesday 2/23 #10 Wisconsin (20-6) vs. Michigan (17-11) - just a local game of big interest
Saturday 2/26 #6 San Diego State (27-1) vs. #7 BYU (25-2) - A chance for SDSU to avenge their only loss of the season
Saturday 2/26 #9 Georgetown (21-6) vs. #17 Syracuse (22-6) - at Verizon Center in DC
Saturday 2/26 #14 Florida (21-5) at #22 Kentucky (19-7) - Kentucky is terrible road team but this one is at home. Should be good game
Saturday 2/26 #15 Villanova (21-6) vs. St. John's (17-9) - St. John's is visiting but should be ranked in top 25 by then
Sunday 2/27 #4 Pittsburgh (24-3) at #16 Louisville (20-7) - We will see how well Pitt rebounds. Strength vs. Athleticism in this one
Sunday 2/27 #14 Purdue (22-5) at Michigan State (15-11) - local interest game again and Purdue will be in top 10 by then


Enjoy the games, it is heat up time for some or freeze and stay out in the cold.

Your Basketball SNOB