College Basketball Couch Power 10 (Feb. 11th)
Duke shot #3 Virginia out of their own gym last weekend.
Welcome back to the Power 10! We're approaching the nitty gritty of the college basketball season: March is in sight, so that means each week features some really big ticket conference games. Case in point: last Saturday saw a matchup of #2 and #3 in the country, as Duke traveled to Charlottesville to take on 3rd-ranked Virginia. It was a much-hyped showdown, with most predicting the Cavaliers would avenge their earlier-season loss to the Blue Devils. That, as it turns out, would not be the cards; Duke made it a season sweep with a 10-point victory. In other games last week between ranked teams, Louisville starred twice, upsetting #11 Virginia Tech then later falling to #22 Florida State in overtime. Michigan got revenge for their first loss of the season by holding off Ethan Happ and #19 Wisconsin, and Marquette beat defending champs Villanova for one of their most impressive victories of the season. A couple major upsets also transpired as Kansas State knocked off Kansas to continue their rivals' misery and surge to the top of the Big XII, Iowa State stumbled at TCU, and Virginia Tech followed up their loss to Louisville with a capitulation to Clemson. All of these blush in comparison, though, to 7-15 Illinois playing rude hosts to their visitors, suddenly-freefalling Michigan State.
Though I am still not convinced there's a reliably great team this year, it still seems there are tiers of about 4 teams or so that are beginning to develop, sides with varying levels of quality and legitimate chance to be a title contender. Here is my best attempt at who the true Top 10 currently is:
1. Duke (21-2)
Most everyone in the country, and certainly every nasally, bald correspondent at ESPN, expects Duke is the best team in the country. They were just waiting to see the Blue Devils show it against top competition. Well, the young squad rolled into likely the toughest game on their schedule this past weekend, and breezed past Virginia, shooting at a blistering pace from the 3-point line and leading virtually wire-to-wire. With a blowout win over Kentucky, and wins over Texas Tech and a season sweep of Virginia, I think it's safe to say that home loss to Syracuse is looking incredibly flukish.
2. Tennessee (22-1)
Tennessee isn't doing anything wrong. The AP #1 team won their 17th and 18th straight games this past week, easing past Missouri and Florida. They're victims of their schedule at this point, however; an 18-game winning streak is impressive no matter what, but they've played a whopping 1 ranked team in that stretch, and people are beginning to become skeptical. Never to worry, they've got a chance to change that this coming weekend, with a trip to Kentucky.
3. Gonzaga (23-2)
That one team Tennessee beat during their winning streak? A very, very good Gonzaga side. The Zags continued to absolutely maul all West Coast Conference competition last week, with wins of 30-point and 48-point margins. Just stop. It's not fair.
4. Kentucky (20-3)
Kentucky continued their turnaround trend with 2 more wins last week, a blowout over South Carolina, and a relatively competitive win on the road against Mississippi State, a matchup that had "trap game" written all over it. The Wildcats don't just spell danger for Tennessee the way they're playing right now, they spell danger for the entire country. Few teams have as high a ceiling as they do.
5. Michigan (22-2)
The Wolverines, who haven't looked as unstoppable in the new year, finally got a win against a ranked team again, which might be a significant foot forward in the Big Ten race. The fact that they avenged one of their two losses by offing Wisconsin has to feel good, too. The national spotlight has forgotten a bit about Michigan, but they're still around.
6. Virginia (20-2)
Let's be clear: there's not a whole lot of shame in losing to this Duke team, not even by home. Let me also be clear: I haven't really been sold on this Virginia team this year, and allowing 4 freshmen to essentially set up camp from behind the 3-point line in the biggest game of the year does little to dispel my skepticism. Let me also be clear: this is still a very good team, and they'll have plenty more chances to prove their quality against top teams in the ACC, starting tonight against North Carolina.
7. North Carolina (19-4)
My Tar Heels continued their hot streak with 2 more wins last week, but in wild fashion. Last Tuesday, they conceded 96 points to in-state rivals NC State, who had scored a whopping 24 points in their previous outing...but also had 100+ points by the under-4 timeout (they finished with 113). Then, on Saturday, they spent most of the 2nd half trailing ACC bottom-feeders Miami, and were down 6 with a minute left, but thanks to heroics largely from Coby White, somehow wrassled a miracle overtime victory away from the 'Canes. Roy Williams still has to feel pretty good about the trajectory of this team at the moment, but it's probably not the kind of game anyone wanted to see with them heading into a huge matchup with Virginia just 48 hours later.
8. Houston (23-1)
The battle between Houston and Nevada for Non-Gonzaga Mid-Major Dominance wages on, but the cougars struck an important blow on Saturday: a win over a ranked team! Yes, AAC foes Cincinnati snuck into the Top 25, only to be stifled by Houston on the latter's home court. It was a good showing for a bunch still looking to prove themselves.
9. Nevada (23-1)
Nevada did not beat, nor even play a ranked team last weekend. They did avenge their only loss of the season, though, with a 30-point win over New Mexico. So there's that.
10. Marquette (20-4)
The Golden Eagles had quite the week. They were stunned on their home floor by unranked St. John's, causing serious trouble in their Big East chances. But, on Saturday, with the chance to put themselves right back into conference contention and the national Top 10, Marquette took it, beating #15 Villanova in a thriller. The Wildcats still hold a 1 game lead in the Big East, but the win shows Marquette might just have the highest ceiling over the next month-plus, and who thought we would say that this year?
Just missed: Purdue, Villanova, Florida State, Iowa, Louisville, Coby Freaking White
Bonus: #1 Seed Predictions!
EAST (Washington, D.C.): Duke
SOUTH (Louisville): Tennessee
WEST (Anaheim): Gonzaga
MIDWEST (Kansas City): Michigan