College Basketball Couch Power 10 (Jan. 29th)
Kyle Guy, who reads The Couch, knows where his team is ranked
Welcome back to the College Basketball Power Rankings. We mentioned last week that this season has been kind of crazy, right? Right. So, in keeping with the theme, we saw another wild week last week, with 4 different Top 10 teams losing, and many other ranked teams drop a decision.
What's more, Tobacco Road, the undisputed Santiago de Compastela of College Basketball, got WILD. In one of the best games of the season to date, defending champs North Carolina were upset at home by rivals, and huge underdogs, NC State. Immediately following, in one of the biggest games to date, #4 Duke lost a close decision to #2 Virginia in Cameron Indoor Stadium. This marked the first time since 1973 that North Carolina and Duke lost at home on the same day. (1973!! That's 45 years! And people act like that isn't the best rivalry in Sports...)
Anyways, here's my increasingly futile attempt at a Top 10:
1. Virginia (20-1)
I wasn't really sold on any team at this point last week, defaulting, like everyone else, to put Villanova #1. Now, there can be no doubt. Virginia had looked the part already, but after gutting out a road win against the most talented team in the country, they have to be seen as the team to beat.
2. Villanova (20-1)
Wins over Providence and Marquette. Nova's still good. Their conference schedule still isn't.
3. Purdue (21-2)
A solid week from the red-hot Boilermakers. They extended their winning streak to 17 by holding off a ranked Michigan team, then beating Indiana in Assembly Hall to establish the upper hand in the rivalry.
4. Michigan State (20-3)
It's been an absolutely horrid couple weeks for Michigan State off the court. On the court, though, the team has been able to re-establish a bit of momentum, capitalizing on an easier stretch in their schedule.
5. Duke (19-3)
A 2-point loss to arguably the best team in the country isn't exactly a reason to sound the alarm bells. Still, it can't be comforting for the preseason #1 team that on their biggest stage, they only put up 60 points, lost at home, and as a result are likely already out of the ACC race.
6. Xavier (19-3)
An easy week for Xavier with one win in one game. But hey, in a year, like this, that's the way to go.
7. Cincinnati (19-2)
See above. Except they lost to Xavier, so advantage other Cincy team.
8. Auburn (19-2)
The Tigers make a deserved debut. Blowout wins over Missouri and LSU this week vaulted them to the top of the SEC Standings. Look out for Bruce Pearl, baby!
9. Arizona (17-4)
The Wildcats are still not quite playing up to their ridiculously high potential, as evidenced by how they've barely been scarping by in recent games. Still, their 6-game winning streak indicates they're finally starting to put the pieces together.
10. Texas Tech (17-4)
Just about every team in the Big XII has been all over the place this year, and Texas Tech is no different. They're still just a week and half removed from getting stomped by Iowa State, but have bounced back with two solid wins over Oklahoma State and South Carolina. And oh by the way, they still have the head-to-head over Kansas.
Just missed: Kansas, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Clemson, Tennessee, Theo Pinson's Career Game
Bonus: #1 Seed Predictions!
SOUTH (Atlanta): Virginia
EAST (Boston): Villanova
MIDWEST (Omaha): Purdue
WEST (Los Angeles): Duke