1) Duke Blue Devils: It should not be much of a surprise that Duke has made it back up here. They took on a very good Temple team, and disposed of them easily. This puts Duke right back in contention for a number one seed, but that could easily be ruined in their last game of the season on the road against rival UNC.
2) Ohio State Buckeyes: It is easily debatable that Ohio State is still the best team in the NCAA. A loss on the road to Purdue is nothing to be embarrassed about. Especially when E’Twaun Moore goes for 38, while throwing in a pair of steals, five assists, and four rebounds.
3) Kansas Jayhawks: It did not take long for last week’s AP top team to get bumped. That is what happens when Jacob Pullen explodes for 38 on his home court (sound familiar?).
4) Pitt Panthers: Here we go again. Pitt was yet another top five team to go down last week, but a loss in Madison Square Garden (even though Pitt is known for playing well in The Garden) to St. John’s is something that top 25 teams have become accustomed to.
5) BYU Cougers: Huge game coming up between BYU and San Diego State. The last time they met, BYU won by 13 at home. It should be a great game to watch with the venue switched.
6) San Diego State Aztecs: The Cougers have a slightly better resume than the Aztecs. If San Diego State does not want to drop their second game of the season to BYU, they are going to find a way to at least slow down Jimmer Freddette from the 43 that he had in their last meeting. The winner of this game will have a shot at being a mid major number one seed if they can win out. Do not be surprised if these two meet again in the Mountain West conference tournament.
7) Texas Longhorns: If you thought the big upsets were done after Pitt lost to St. Johns on Saturday, you were wrong, and this one was the worst yet. Texas lost on the road to lowly Nebraska, whom now has an outside shot at the tournament. Texas is very talented, but they cannot get out of their bad habit of playing down to their opponent, which will get the bounced from the tournament quickly if they don’t break it.
8) Purdue Boilermakers: Back to back wins against Wisconsin and Ohio State were very impressive. JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore have ignored the fact that their fellow baby boiler has not been able to play this season. Most people have been saying that there are no truly “great” teams this year, and I can’t help but think how “great” these Boilermakers would be with Robbie Hummel.
9) Notre Dame Fighting Irish: You know you are a tough team when you let up 52 points to Providence’s Marshon Brooks, and you still pull out a win. I suppose 32 from Ben Hansbrough and 28 from Tim Abromaitis probably helped.
10) Wisconsin Badgers: The Big Ten tournament could be very interesting. Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin are all very tough teams to play, and then Michigan State, Illinois, Penn State, Michigan, and Minnesota will be playing their heart out to find a tournament bid. Anything can happen.
11) Arizona Wildcats: It is nice to see Arizona winning even after Lute Olsen has left. I thought that they might end up dropping off after their poor season last year. It just seams right to me to see the Wildcats as a top team. Derrick Williams had one heck of a clutch block in the last seconds of Saturday night’s game against Washington to clinch their 12th Pac-10 win.
12) Florida Gators: Billy Donovan has his Gators playing great basketball, but they still have four tough conference games left to play. This is crunch time for Florida, but if they play well, they could be looking at a strong two seed.
13) Louisville Cardinals: Louisville has played tough ball at home, which has really helped them to keep afloat in the Big East, with everyone beating up on each other.
14) Georgetown Hoyas: Did I say that the Big East was beating up on each other? The Hoyas could not even beat Cincinnati in front of their home crowd. To make everything better, Chris Wright now has a broken hand.
15) Connecticut Wildcats: Wait, UConn beat Georgetown, and then went around and lost to Louisville two days later? Makes sense in the Big East. Both Georgetown and UConn need strong finishes. Making the tournament is not going to be a problems, but seeding may be.
16) North Carolina Tar Heels: UNC has kept up their strong conference play, and we all know what they have their eyes on. That end of the regular season home game against Duke. I can see the Heels salivating from here. Hopefully they do not get caught looking ahead, because Maryland and Florida State will not lay down for them.
17) Missouri Tigers: The Tigers are staying strong at home, but to finish off their undefeated home season they have one opponent left to beat…Kansas. They also have road games against Kansas State and Nebraska prior.
18) Syracuse Orangemen: The Orange get to take on their long time rival the Hoyas on Saturday for a chance at back-to-back ranked conference wins. What did I say about finishing strong?
19) Villanova Wildcats: Nova fell to Syracuse on Monday, and the rest of the road does not get any easier to finish their regular season. Home against St. Johns, and then on the road against Notre Dame and Pitt to close out the season.
20) Texas A&M Aggies: The Aggies find themselves in the middle of a five game winning streak, which seems to be very hard to come by for most teams in a major conference right now
21) Vanderbilt Commodores: It is always tough when you loose at home to your rival, especially when that rival breaks one of those tough five game winning streaks that you just came off of. Vanderbilt has to rebound quickly, because they still have to play Florida and Kentucky to finish out the season.
22) St. John’s Red Storm: The Red Storm have been exactly that…a storm. However, now they will not be playing in MSG, but they have to travel Philly to take on Villanova.
23) Utah State Aggies: The Aggies won a huge game against Saint Mary’s that may have finally given them the respect that their 25-3 record deserves. This is a tough team. Their only losses have been to Georgetown, BYU, and Idaho. Utah State plays great defense, and are a deeper team than most mid major teams can claim.
24) Kentucky Wildcats: The Wildcats are young, yes, but loosing to Arkansas is inexcusable. Now, they have to play Florida and Vanderbilt, before finishing out the season on the road against Tennessee. These Wildcats need a wakeup call. Just because you were hot stuff coming out of high school, does not mean the NBA is still going to want you if you cannot beat average teams. No one is going to give you anything, so you better start working for it.
25) George Mason Patriots: Remember these guys? They will not be sneaking up on anybody in this years tournament that is for sure. These Patriots can shoot that is for sure. Do not give them room or they will drop threes on you all day. I am beginning to get surprised that Jim Larranaga has not had offers from any bigger schools to coach. He certainly deserves the chance.
