Basketball Power Ranks - The Homestretch

1. 1. Tennessee. 25-2. They have now achieved the school’s highest ranking in history for the second week in a row(#2 then, #1 now). And they were able to end Memphis’ undefeated streak, guaranteeing the ’76 Hoosiers retain their record for at least another year. One of the biggest things to take away from their defeat of #1 Memphis: Chris Lofton only had to contribute 7 points.

2. North Carolina. 25-2. Even without Ty Lawson, the Tarheels manage to stay in the hunt for the ACC title, thanks in large part to Lawson’s stand-in, Quentin Thomas. The emergence of Thomas means they will become that much deeper when Lawson returns. And Hansbrough continues to lead his team in a way that, in my opinion, makes him the player of the year. If your team is on the bubble and isn't at least competing for your conference title, I don't think you deserve the award. UNC and Hansbrough are almost a guaranteed 1-seed, and should go into the final game of the year tied atop the ACC. Meanwhile, Michael Beasley and his K-State squad have work to do to get into the tourney, and are not on the Big 12 radar.

3. 3. Memphis. 26-1. They might have lost a game, but it is their only loss this season. Things like this are generally good for teams, though, as the higher you climb the harder you can fall (See: NE Patriots). Expectations can weigh heavily on an undefeated team; Memphis no longer bears that burden, but they still have a dangerous combo of talented guards and solid post play.

4. 4. UCLA. 24-3. Quite a few teams could occupy this spot, and of all these teams, UCLA has the more excusable losses. Losses to streaky cross-town rival USC and solid Texas, a freakish L at Washington, and 24 wins in the process is o.k. in a season that is anybody’s for the taking. They are still deep, talented, and battle-tested from previous Final Four runs.

5. 5. Duke. 23-3. Getting beat by a team for the first time in a half-century never looks good, but the Blue Devils can certainly regroup and should be able to welcome UNC to Cameron on March 8^th for a de-facto ACC title game. Unfortunately for the Dookies, their team leaders in blocks and rebounds are a pair of 6-4 guards, so the question remains: where is their post presence?

6. 6. Kansas. 24-3. This very talented and athletic team has suddenly lost 3 of its last 7 games, and is looking up at Texas in the Big 12. Michael Beasley & Co. could conceivably roll into Lawrence and make some more history next week. Good thing they don’t actually play K-State in Africa. I don’t doubt they are still very good and very dangerous, but is this a flare-up of Bill Self Syndrome??

8. Indiana, 23-4 & Texas, 23-4. (TIE) Not very similar teams otherwise, but Aarmon Basset has been doing his best D.J. Augustin impression lately. IU’s stellar guard play, plus a post game that has been strengthened by the emergence of Kyle Taber and better contributions from DeAndre Thomas, will allow this team to go deep if they can focus their feelings about the Sampson situation and use it as motivation. Texas is now in the Big 12 driver’s seat, but they must still play K-State, and close out their season against OK State, who just upended Kansas.

9. Georgetown. 22-4. They have been overshadowed in the Big East by resurgent UConn and Louisville, but they still sit atop the conference and control their own destiny. The final two games of their season, at Marquette and home against Louisville, are must-wins if they want to win the conference outright. I truly believe that when Roy Hibbert is on, this team can play with anyone, easily. But that question is more easily asked that answered.

10. Xavier. 24-4. They may be a “mid-major” but their schedule looks like anything but. Playing games against Indiana, Tennessee, and Kansas State is no easy task for anyone, but Xavier boasts an outstanding resume right ahead of tournament time. Could their coach become a prime target for the Indiana faithful?

Basketball Power Ranks: Shit Gets Wierd

Memphis vs. The Field? Maybe.

1. Memphis, 22-0. Are they the best team? Until someone beats them, yes. They are the only squad with a big fat zero in the loss column, but could they sustain that without Dorsey? I say no, but Dorsey isn't going anywhere yet. And neither is Memphis from the #1 spot. However, I retain my suspicions about a team whose conference schedule consists of teams like SMU, Rice, and UA-B. Putting the hurt on a Mike Davis team doesn't say much.

2. Duke, 21-1. Any questions I had about this team being a legit contender were answered when the went into the Dean Dome and dominated. Pardon my alliteration. But seriously, it looks like Greg Paulus has decided to play during Duke's conference schedule, something he barely did for the first part of the season. Shrewed coaching, multiple threats on the floor, the demeanor that comes from having the DUKE target on your back and STILL continuing to win...this team has it all.

3. Kansas, 23-1. Much like Duke, this team has weapons at all positions. Any one (or more) of their players can have career nights during any given game. They Gayhawks sit atop what is arguably the nation's toughest conference this season, and as a result are highly-battle tested and will be formidable deep into march. If they can emerge from their remaining schedule (plenty of road games and three games against Top 25 teams) unscathed they will be tough to beat or to pick against.

4. North Carolina, 21-2. Yeah yeah, they lost at home to Duke. Guess what? So has every other team that has played basketball over the last twenty years. Two things suggest that the Duke victory is no reason to drop this team out of the top five: the TarHeels' floor general Ty Lawson didn't play in the Duke game, and they still have Tyler Hansbrough. He's knarsty.

5. Tennessee, 21-2. A close win against a reeling LSU program gives me more reason to doubt the Vols as a serious contender. That they only scored 47 points against an LSU team which allows an average of 76 points to its opponents is cause for concern, but with the wide open pack of teams trailing the top four, I'm calling the Vols the best of the rest.

6. UCLA, 20-2. Sure they are a great team. Yes Love and Collison are spectacular. But I have watched several of the Bruins' games this season and don't see them as an intense, inspired team that can make the tourney their playground and win the damn thing. Call me a hater. You will be right.

7. Xavier, 18-4. The Musketeers are emerging as the cream of a legit A-10 crop. They have a half-dozen players averaging double-figures per game, and Drew Lavender is a special talent on this very dangerous team. However, great wins over Indiana and K-State are tainted by losses to teams like Miami(OH), Temple, and Arizona St.

8. Texas, 19-4. The Horns continue to roll through the Big 12, as Augustin and Abrams are as good as advertised. A mild scare at Iowa State today is no cause for concern, as road wins in BCS conferences are never easy to come by. Back-to-back losses to quality Big Ten teams Michigan St. and Wisconsin raise questions about how they would fare during the long road to the Final Four, but the most serious concern is the lack of a post presence to compliment Connor Atchley.

9. Indiana, 19-3. Yeah, I said it. So what? Their game at Illinois proves the Hoosiers can win in the most hostile of environments, and no one can deny that they have all the pieces: prolific scorer(Gordon), post presence (DJ White), speedy point guard (Bassett) and a whole host of dangerous, quality supporting cast members (Crawford, Ellis, Stemler, Thomas). Can they put the pieces together to play their best b-ball in the spring? Only time will tell. But upcoming games against Purdue and Michigan State will be very telling.

10. Butler, 21-2. A.J. Graves is the shit. Today's win against Wisconsin-Green Bay isn't. Much like Xavier, Butler has shown they can dominate their lesser-than-worthy competition, but can they do it against the name-brands they are sure to face in the tourney?

Also receiving votes: Georgetown, Stanford, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Purdue

Updated Power 10

Lots of shit has gone down since Young Porque posted his NCAA B-Ball Power 10, so how do things shake out now after this huge weekend of upsets?

1. Kansas (18-0). Probably the most solid, well-rounded team of the two unbeatens. Extreme depth. Many threats with Chalmers, now-healthy Rush, Arthur, etc. Not to mention it's much harder to play a Big 12 Schedule than in the CUSA.

P.S.: Just imagine how nasty IU would be if Darrell Arthur had honored his commitment to be a Hoosier. Oh well, if he thinks playing for Sampson is that much worse than Davis, he's probably so stupid that we're better off without him.

2. Memphis (17-0). Yeah yeah, they're undefeated. They also play a bunch of pretenders. Derrick Rose isn't even good enough to be allowed to wash Eric Gordon's jock strap.

3. Tennessee (16-1). Are they they best one-loss team? Maybe. But do they have the best resume of any one-loss teams? Yes. Vandy might be very overrated, but they have still taken care of their business.

4. Duke (15-1). Looked like dogshit earlier in the season, but the real Dookies are starting to show up. I think a lack of Dickie V seriously hurt this team, there was no one around to obnoxiously over-hype them. But now that UNC has been exposed as a team that can't play D, Coach K is pushing his team to show all the haters that the Devils are the true kings of the ACC.

5. North Carolina (18-1). Everybody knew they were probably the weakest undefeated team until Maryland did work against them. Young Hansbrough is still a man amongst boys, but why was he taking the last-second three against the Terps? I'll bet Roy & co. would like to have that shot back, but it isn't exactly curtains for the TarHeels. Look for them to rebound against weaker ACC foes, struggle with Duke (but maybe eek out a win), and go deep in March.

6. Your INDIANA HOOOSIERS (16-1). They're only loss was to a very strong, if inconsistent, Xavier club. They've won 12 in a row, and the Big 10 is the toughest conference to play in, night in and out, especially on the road where it's always hostile as hell. White/Gordon might be...actually IS, the best inside-out combo in the country, and the supporting cast is deep and damn good. Upcoming games against a resurgent UConn, Wisconsin, and Sparty will tell us a lot about how the Hoosiers will fare in March.

7. Michigan State (16-2). Very talented team, despite two losses, including one to Iowa, an opponent that they should be beating. And even though they did have a brutal pre-season loss, this is Tom Izzo we're talking about and his teams always show up to play hard when it counts. They will almost certainly win their next six games before I show up to watch them lose to the Hoosiers in B-town.

8. UCLA (16-2). An hour before they lost their second game of the season, everyone was SURE they were the best one-loss team in the country. Haha. Frankly I hate this team, but they are well-rounded and well-coached, so they are always going to be dangerous.

9. Georgetown (14-2). This team only belongs here on days that Roy Hibbert decides to play. Otherwise, Pat Ewing Jr. isn't really taking this team anywhere.

11 (tie). Washington St. (16-1). I hate to put them here, but they do only have one loss...never mind that they play stinky teams. If they hadn't pulled out a close one against Oregon last night they would have fallen very, very far down.

11 (tie). Wisconsin (15-2). Don't look now but Bo Ryan (aka undisputed master of winning no matter the talent level) has Landry and Flowers playing like two guys named Tucker and Harris. Oh and Bryan Butch is pretty good too.