College Basketball Couch Power 10 (Feb. 19th)
An eventful week for Kentucky ended with a very impressive statement win.
Welcome back to the Power 10! The annual college basketball shuffle continued last week, with a fair amount of movement amongst noteworthy teams, including a stumble at the top of the rankings. (Not at the top of our rankings, though. The Couch is always ahead of the game.)
This time last week, Virginia had already scored a hugely important win in Chapel Hill, Kansas had survived in overtime against TCU, Michigan had lost to the worst team in the Big Ten, LSU had upset Kentucky in Rupp Arena on a last-second tip-in, and Duke had just completed a comeback from a 23-point deficit with 12 minutes remaining. The madness didn't stop there, as this past weekend Iowa State upset Kansas State on the Big XII leader's home court, Michigan bounced back with a win over Top 25 Maryland, #21 Iowa kept their winning streak alive on a full-court heave turned buzzer beater, and in primetime, #5 Kentucky obliterated #1 Tennessee.
I am still not convinced there's a reliable tournament team this year, but it here is my best attempt at who the true Top 10 currently is:
1. Duke (23-2)
Whether you think Duke's Houdini act in Louisville last week was a Herculean comeback effort or an all-time choke job by the Cardinals (and for the record, I lean towards the latter), one thing is undeniable: these Blue Devils are just plain hard to beat. It certainly doesn't help when you play like you're already intimated by them. They have a chance to essentially lock down the ACC tomorrow in the first matchup against archrivals North Carolina.
2. Virginia (23-2)
The Cavs got a huge win over North Carolina last week. Coach Tony Bennett has seemed to have the Tar Heels’ number during his tenure in Charlottesville, but that does not lessen the significance of this big win, which essentially keeps Virginia’s ACC title hopes alive. The ‘Hoos reverted to mediocre form last weekend against Notre Dame, but their win last night on the road at rivals Virginia Tech should remind the country they are one of the top teams yet again.
3. Kentucky (21-4)
What a week for Kentucky, who hosted two ranked teams. If you were to tell Wildcat fans they were going to drop one of those decisions, they would spit their chaw out, then tell you it would probably be to the #1 team in America. On the contrary, #19 LSU came in last Tuesday and battled the Cats to the very end, eventually winning on a last second tip-in that officially-wasn’t-but-definitely-was still on the rim when touched in. Not to worry, Kentucky had a golden opportunity to redeem themselves when #1 Tennessee came to town Saturday night, and boy, did they take that chance. The Wildcats dominated from the jump, and the LSU result notwithstanding, appear to be playing some of the best basketball in the country at the moment.
4. Tennessee (23-2)
That was a tough result for Tennessee. Ending a 19-game win streak was always going to be tough, but the way Kentucky pushed around the Vols in doing so had to hurt. It’s not panic time in Knoxville though, far from it. The Vols still boast one of the most solid, experienced lineups of anyone out there.
5. Gonzaga (25-2)
Gonzaga didn’t do anything wrong last week, but falls as a result of losing the head-to-head to Tennessee earlier, who is now their most direct competition. The Zags are legitimately an elite team, I think, but it is tough to assert yourself when your peers are beating the likes of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina, and you’re smacking around Santa Clara and San Diego.
6. Houston (25-1)
The Cougars did what many of their ranking neighbors couldn’t do last week: avoided a loss. Sure, it’s easier when you’re playing Tulane, but hey, we’ll give them credit this time around.
7. Nevada (24-1)
The Wolfpack did what many of their ranking neighbors couldn’t do last week: avoided a loss. Sure, it’s easier when you’re playing Wyoming, but hey, we’ll give them credit this time around.
8. Michigan (23-3)
Michigan had a delightfully wacky week in an increasingly wacky Big Ten. The Wolverines had been starting to play a lot better once more, as evidenced by their home victory over Maryland this past weekend. But before that win over the Terps came a decisive loss to conference bottom-feeder Penn State. You still have to (overall) like where the Wolverines are at heading into their first rivalry clash with Michigan State this weekend, but this team is starting to take the form of a big shrug emoji.
9. North Carolina (20-5)
Speaking of shrug emojis…North Carolina! The Heels had a big chance to make a statement with a win over Virginia last week, but fell short. A couple in-game injuries to key players didn’t help, but that doesn’t change the fact that apart from a 10-minute stretch in the 2nd half, they really didn’t have good answers for the Top 5 Cavaliers on either end of the floor. This is still a deep, talented, experienced, and increasingly tough team, and their 3-point fest at Wake Forest over the weekend showed their immense skill. But they need to win a game like the one they had against UVA to show they can be a national title contender. Hey, good thing they’re playing a certain 4-letter team tomorrow! I’ve heard they’re pretty good, too.
10. LSU (21-4)
TIt’s long past time for LSU to grace the Top 10. The Tigers are well-coached and tough, and have one loss in the SEC, a one-point flukish loss to Arkansas. Apart from that, their losses are to Top 15 teams Florida State and Houston, and hey, you might have heard, they just beat Top 5 team Kentucky on the road. Keep an eye on these guys in March.
Just missed: Michigan State, Kansas, Texas Tech, Florida State, Purdue, Cameron "Give Him the 3" Johnson
Bonus: #1 Seed Predictions!
EAST (Washington, D.C.): Duke
SOUTH (Louisville): Virginia
MIDWEST (Kansas City): Kentucky
WEST (Anaheim): Gonzaga