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Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Syracuse loses at home to Louisville, which had just been crushed by St. John's. Rutgers (!) beats Georgetown. It's official: every team in the Big East has a surprise conference win (DePaul has beaten Marquette and may have beaten UConn if not for a 35-6 discrepancey in free throw attempts) -- except UConn. Maybe tomorrow night in Philly?
I was about to send my AP ballot in with Georgetown ranked No. 6, until Rutgers pulled off the upset. Instead, the Hoyas drop seven spots to 13. That's a lot, but you don't lose to Rutgers -- even on the road.
Here's my ballot:
1. Kansas 24-1
2. Kentucky 24-1
3. Villanova 22-2
4. Syracuse 24-2
5. Purdue 21-3
6. Kansas State 20-4
7. Duke 21-4
8. West Virginia 19-5
9. New Mexico 23-3
10. Gonzaga 21-4
11. Michigan State 20-6
12. Ohio State 20-6
13. Georgetown 18-6
14. Wisconsin 19-6
15. Brigham Young 23-3
16. Texas 20-5
17. Butler 23-4
18. Tennessee 18-6
19. Texas A&M 18-6
20. Temple 20-5
21. UTEP 19-5
22. Baylor 19-5
23. Wake Forest 18-5
24. Richmond 20-6
25. Virginia Tech 20-4
posted by David Borges at
6:15 PM
6 Comments:
Dave,
Why doesnt this team seem to play with any focus? I feel i'd be more pumped up playing out there than they do. Do they not understand that you cant stand around on offense and wait for things to happen? Its so incredibly fustrating. We have 5 freshman and none can contribute consistently with the exceptions of Majok defensively. My fear is that Trice, Smith, and JCM will transfer out.
I will say that sometimes -- sometimes -- when a team plays poorly, shoots poorly, etc., it is described as a lack of hustle. I don't think that's been the case for all of this season for UConn. I think they want to win and that, for the most part, they play hard. I, for one, never thought they could have erased a 16-point deficit to Syracuse.
Ultimately, their struggles boil down to a mix of a lack of overall talent and depth, lack of true vocal leadership and lack of fundamentals (can anyone EVER box out?). That's a lot to overcome.
All that said, would it shock me if they made a little run in the Big East tourney? Not saying win it all, but win 2 or 3 games, spring a big upset along the way? No, it wouldn't.
"All that said, would it shock me if they made a little run in the Big East tourney? Not saying win it all, but win 2 or 3 games, spring a big upset along the way? No, it wouldn't."
Well that is the only way this team is going to the tourney. Kind of like that Syracuse team from a few years back that made a run and as a result made the tourney. Actually if they don't pull it together real soon they may not even be NIT bound.
So, Dave are you still calling an upset for tonight at Nova. Last week you said they had a better shot of upsetting Nova on the road then Syracuse. You still think so? One thing is for sure. The Wachovia Center is a way more friendly venue than the Carrier Dome.
You know what, I'm through making predictions with this team. Done. Kaput. Is that a cop out on my part? Maybe. But, I simnply can't figure them out.
I'll say this: in theory, Villanova would be a better matchup than Syracuse, being smaller and not playing an imposing 2-3 zone.
I'd like to understanding your reasoning behind ranking Tennessee 18th, while leaving Vanderbilt completely off your ballot. Gary Parrish of CBS Sports makes a compelling argument in his Poll Attack! blog:
How can a team with more wins and fewer losses than a league rival -- plus a 2-0 record against said league rival -- be ranked behind that same league rival? No idea. But some voters ranked them that way. Their punishment is a Poll Attack!
AP poll: I like Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
Both should be ranked.
That's why I ranked both.
But I have Vanderbilt ahead of Tennessee in the Top 25 (and one), and I can't make sense of any ballot that doesn't also have them in that order, which is why I can't make sense of lots of AP ballots this week. Vandy has more wins, fewer losses, a two game lead on the Vols in the SEC East and ... two wins over Tennessee!
Vandy beat the Vols by nine at Tennessee.
Then beat the Vols by 19 at Vandy.
Just last week.
So it should be fresh in everybody’s mind.
But it's clearly not.
Because Al Balderas of the Orange County Register has Tennessee ranked 13th and Vanderbilt ranked 19th, Jeffrey Martin of the Houston Chronicle has Tennessee 13th and Vanderbilt 23rd, and Dave Borges of the New Haven Register has Tennessee 18th and Vanderbilt unranked. Honestly, I don't care where you have Vanderbilt and Tennessee ranked -- proof being how I won't take issue with my man Seth Davis, who ranked Tennessee 14th. That's seven spots higher than I have the Vols. But Seth has Vanderbilt at No. 13, one spot ahead of Tennessee, so it's all good.
The number beside the name isn't as important as the order.
And if you've got Tennessee ahead of Vandy, you've got the wrong order.
Complete oversight on my part. It will be rectified next week, assuming Vandy takes care of business.
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