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Happy New Year, everybody |
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Written by J.P. Gorman
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Thursday, 03 January 2008 |
As 2007 became 2008, the college basketball season rounded into focus. Memphis established itself as a team hell-bent on being taken seriously as a national power, one who delivered on its monumental promise in the biggest game of the young season; Georgetown, the team they beat in that game, showed that they have a LOT to prove about themselves in conference play; and, big surprise, everybody continued to jock the North Carolina Tar Heels regardless of a pansy-laden early schedule that proved little outside of their ability to reach triple digits against substandard competition.
But Duke lost! And Marquette continued to roll! Pittsburgh followed Texas’ lead and looked like one of the best teams in college basketball for all of nine days, before being embarrassed and losing two of their best players. Oh, it was an eventful holiday season in college basketball.
And so, without further ado, onto the rankings:
1) Memphis – Pasting Georgetown in a premier showdown that didn’t turn out to be much of a contest is impressive; following it up with a shellacking of Arizona to finish off their non-conference schedule puts the Tigers atop these rankings. Yes, they now head into one of the weakest conferences in the nation, but they did what they had to do in their early season to establish their identity as the team to beat in college basketball this year.
2) Kansas – They’ve held serve and have a few quality wins to their credit so far this year. Brandon Rush is only averaging eleven points a game so far, but he’s also only playing 24 minutes a night. As the schedule intensifies and the Jayhawks get into the thick of things in the Big 12, expect both numbers to increase substantially.
3) North Carolina – Call me a hater, Tar Heel fans, I can take it. A quick look at their schedule reveals that they have played absolutely nobody thus far. They are beating everyone they play by quite a bit, but they haven’t played one ranked opponent thus far. I am coming around on Hansbrough and his averages of 22 and 10.
4) Washington State – Those goofy Cougars remain unbeaten and head into Pac-10 play as the conference’s only remaining unbeaten. They play the next team on this list in ten days, and one hopes Washington State is enjoying the view from their current position while they still hold it.
5) UCLA – Beating Michigan no longer counts as much of anything beyond a level of name recognition absent from the likes of Idaho State, UC Davis, and Western Illinois. The Bruins start their Pac-10 schedule with a bang, on the road at Stanford. Kevin Love’s 58% shooting says they shouldn’t have too much trouble with the Cardinal.
6) Michigan State – They lost to UCLA in a tough game but turned around and beat Texas, the team that bested the Bruins. Does that mean they break even? I’m no mathematician, but as long as Drew Neitzel maintains his 4-to-1 assist/turnover ratio the Spartans will remain a top ten team, considering the oxymoronic “strength” of their conference.
7) Tennessee – The gunners just keep gunning, and Tennessee rolls along. You can’t call them paper tigers anymore, with statement wins against Xavier and Gonzaga validating the Volunteers as they head into the SEC. Well, the wins validate them against small Jesuit universities anyway. Bring on a Loyola, any Loyola!
8) Duke – I initially had the Blue Devils two seeds lower before realizing they beat the team I would’ve placed above them. And losing to Pittsburgh by one is not such a terrible thing, though the loss was immediately discredited by the Panther’s follow-up performance. The Blue Devils get to roll through a few more patsies before the ACC starts, which should help dry those tears in Durham.
9) Marquette – I can personally attest to the weakness of the Golden Eagles schedule since the big Wisconsin win, a slate including three “state” schools that are not, in fact, states (Savannah, Coppin, and Sacramento). If we’re going to be fair, though, not one of those games was within 24 points, which says something for their will to dominate. The westernmost university in the Big East starts the conference season as the team to beat, and the Golden Eagle faithful couldn’t be more ecstatic about this team.
10) Georgetown – Speaking of Jesuit universities, what was with that no-show against Memphis? I’ve had it explained to me by die-hard Hoya fans, but the fact remains that Roy Hibbert had 6 points in 27 minutes in their biggest game of the year thus far. They now enter the Big East with almost no momentum and fewer big wins. Here goes nothing, Georgetown.
11) Indiana – Freshman Eric Gordon cooled off somewhat in December: he is now averaging only 23 points a game and sports a 1-to-1.4 assist/TO ratio. He also leads the Hoosiers in minutes per, at just above 32. To make matters worse, the Hoosiers now start the Big Ten schedule, so Kelvin Sampson can’t ease up on the gas now. Now we’ll see what these freshmen are really made of.
12) Pittsburgh – Not the best response to beating Duke in Durham. In all fairness, Dayton is a very difficult place to play, especially when the arena is rocking the way it was December 29. Now, that doesn’t excuse a 25-point loss on national television coming off a huge win that catapulted the Panthers into the big-time. And Villanova is not an easy start to the Big East schedule. Poof…just like that, doubts about Pittsburgh re-emerge.
13) Texas – Perhaps I jumped the gun a little bit ranking them number 1 in my last poll. The evidence was there, and I took a stand. As will happen several more times this year I’m sure, the stand was summarily destroyed by back-to-back losses against the Big Ten. Neither loss was too terrible, so they should be okay once the Big 12 begins, positioned as they still are as the class of the South.
14) Vanderbilt – Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Andrew Ogilvy: the 6’10”, 250 pound Aussie is averaging 19 points, 7 boards, 1 assist and 1 block in 25 minutes of action while shooting 66% from the field and 80% from the charity stripe. But here’s the thing: he’s not the best player on his team. That honor belongs to 6’6” senior Shan Foster, who is averaging 20 points and 5 boards while shooting 53% from the field and an astounding 52.5% from three in 101 attempts. The Commodores will make the SEC very interesting this year.
15) Texas A&M – The Aggies have spent the past month destroying the likes of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Florida A&M in a vain attempt to gain back the respect they squandered in the Arizona meltdown. They get LSU January 5 before starting their Big 12 schedule, and the 7-5 Tigers are what qualify as a quality opponent on the Aggies’ non-conference schedule.
16) Mississippi – Another under-the-radar SEC unbeaten. The Rebels beat Clemson in a showdown of disrespected undefeated teams December 22, and though they’ve really played no one else besides the Tigers, credit is due before this no-loss season evaporates in their SEC opener against Tennessee. Or maybe they play some defense against the Vols and establish a national presence. We shall see.
17) Dayton – Again, perhaps I jumped the gun nominating Xavier as the mid-major of note this year. The Flyers’ portfolio so far features a road win at Louisville and the aforementioned 25-point thrashing of Pittsburgh last weekend. Senior Brian Roberts is a throwback floor general who commands the respect of teammates and opponents alike, and his 31 points basically willed the Flyers to victory over Pitt. The A-10 appears to be up substantially this season, and the Flyers are leading the charge.
18) Villanova – Here we have a traditional Big East power that hasn’t beaten anyone (sound familiar?) but somehow finds itself one point away from entering the conference schedule undefeated. Scottie Reynolds leads the 10-1 Wildcats in scoring and assists, and if he holds up through the Big East slog (he’s currently averaging an even 34 minutes a game), Jay Wright’s boys should prove to be a tough out on any given night.
19) Arizona – I’ve been riding these guys all season long, so why stop now? The Memphis loss hurts, that can’t be denied. But super freshman Jerryd Bayless missed the game, and they had won six in a row coming in. Also, the loss came at Memphis. This year’s Pac-10 will be most entertaining, with several talented teams that have been up-and-down thus far. Arizona’s fortunes depend on how long Bayless’ sprained right knee keeps him out.
20) Clemson – They lost to Mississippi in a battle of unbeatens that will be rendered irrelevant within the next three weeks, but Clemson might have real staying power once the ACC begins. Besides the Tarheels and the Blue Devils, someone else has to win some conference games, right? Oliver Purnell, as always, has his team well-positioned heading into the conference season. It’s up to his players to follow through better than they did last year.
Noses pressed against the glass:
USC – O.J. Mayo is playing almost the entire game every night out and has a negative assist-TO ratio. I realize he is Tim Floyd’s meal ticket, but this is a Pac-10 team that might sink instead of swim.
Rhode Island – The Rams have played as big a role in the A-10’s resurrection this year as Dayton or Xavier, with only one loss and wins against three Big East teams.
Stanford – Well, hello again. They only lost once in their non-conference schedule and star center Brook Lopez was able to return for a few games before the start of Pac-10 play.
Wisconsin – The Texas win was a huge boost for Wisco’s confidence heading into Big Ten play. Beating one of the three good teams you’ve played always helps the ol’ self-esteem.
Mayday! D.O.A. to start conference play:
Louisville – They were overrated heading into the year, this much is clear, but they had Padgett back and still delivered that stink bomb against Cincy. It’s going to be a long, cold winter for basketball fans in the Bluegrass State. Anyone else take some joy in that?
Oregon – They looked like a Pac-10 team that might make some noise before they delivered back-to-back depression-inducing collapses against Nebraska and Oakland (!). The Ducks stand as one of the more volatile elements in a combustible Pac-10, a team as capable of winning out as they are of doing the exact opposite.
Kansas State – Jacob Pullen’s production has tailed-off the last month, and a season that started with such promise (some might call it hype) is developing into one featuring an underachieving team that causes the occasional problem for conference rivals.
Gonzaga – The Bulldogs have lost each important game this season and generally looked bad doing so. If they don’t watch out, St. Mary’s will jack their automatic bid to the tournament. Yes, there are other teams in the WCC, ones who have steadily improved in ‘Zaga’s shadow. This might be the year one of them moves forward to the head of the conference.
With that, here’s hoping everyone had a lovely holiday, and until next time, may you always make it rain.
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Random Hoops
“For a college basketball player or coach, to reach the Final Four is la-la land. You've achieved, you've got your stamp of approval. My first team to do that was in 1986. Then we did it in '88, '89 and '90. Mike Krzyzewski
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