By Adam Kiefaber

Everybody is losing!

Does anyone win anymore?

The reality of the game isn’t like the movie “White Men Can’t Jump” when Rosie Perez’s character says, “Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic mechanism, from which one extracts what one needs.”

To clarify, one of the two teams involved in a particular game has to win even though it didn’t seem like it this week.

CBR Top 10 teams of a week ago Michigan State, Washington State, Georgetown and Texas A&M all lost this past week. Nine other CBR Top 25 teams lost this week. Those teams included Vanderbilt (lost twice), Dayton, Texas, Marquette, Xavier, Butler, Rhode Island, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.

All those losers made it difficult to appropriately rank many of the teams.

Tennessee (above) was one of the teams that benefited from all the losing.

Previously, I avoided giving UT its respect because of its weak non-conference schedule.

Prior to December 22, the Vols two best wins were over West Virginia and Western Kentucky. Since then they have won five straight against quality opponents like Xavier, Gonzaga, Mississippi, South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

What do you do with Louisville, Marquette and Notre Dame?

Louisville made Marquette look silly in its 71-51 win. Marquette destroyed Notre Dame 92-66. And the Irish have BIG-EAST wins over WVU, UCONN and Cincinnati.

Instead of stressing out and worrying about what team I should rank and where to rank them, I decided to leave all three out.

This is the eleventh edition of the CBR Top 25 this season. To see the list of all my rankings this season click on CBR Top 25 rankings.

1) Memphis 16-0 (last week: No. 1)
The Tigers shouldn’t have any trouble with their next two opponents (Southern Miss on Saturday and Tulsa on Wednesday). However, they will finally play another good team in Gonzaga next Saturday.
2) Kansas 17-0 (last week: No. 2)
The Jayhawks beat up the Cornhuskers and the Sooners by a combined score of 164-113 in their last two games. This Saturday, Kansas plays another solid BIG-12 opponent in Missouri. I don’t expect an upset, as Kansas looks like the hottest team in the country right now.
3) North Carolina 18-0 (last week: No. 3)
UNC is only three games deep into its conference schedule and have already had two scares. The latest being a 83-82 win at Georgia Tech. In my mind, the Tar Heels are not the No. 1 team in country. However, both major polls have UNC ranked No. 1 and they should stay that way for awhile because the overall play in the ACC is down this year.
4) UCLA 16-1 (last week: No. 4)
The Bruins won a big game against Washington State last weekend. UCLA will face a disappointing USC squad this Saturday. While the Trojans haven’t played up to expectations, you have to love the matchup and can’t rule out the possibility of an upset. After that, UCLA will visit Oregon on Thursday Jan. 24.
5) Tennessee 15-1 (last week: No. 10)
The Volunteers beat South Carolina last Saturday and Vanderbilt last night. This team has absolutely been on fire and will play Ohio State this Saturday then Kentucky on Tuesday. The OSU matchup should be interesting, as the Buckeyes are in desperate need of a marque win.
6) Washington State 15-1 (last week: No. 6)
If you are just tuning in to the CBR Top 25 this week, you need to know that I don’t penalize a team for losing to a top team like WSU did to UCLA last Saturday. The Cougars bounced back with a win for PAC-10 doormat Oregon State last night. WSU will play Oregon on Sunday, then Arizona on Thursday Jan. 24 followed by Arizona State on Saturday Jan. 26.
7) Duke 14-1 (last week: No. 7)
How good are the Blue Devils? No one really knows. We should get a better idea with their game against Clemson this Saturday.
8) Indiana 15-1 (last week: No. 11)
I’m still not sold on this Hoosier team, but everyone keeps losing. IU got a near scare at Minnesota last night from Tubby and his high chair. Indiana also didn’t beat Illinois by much last Sunday. The Hoosiers play Penn St. on Sunday and then Iowa on Wednesday before playing UCONN next Saturday Jan. 26.
9) Michigan State 15-2 (last week: No. 5)
The Spartans got embarrassed in its 36-43 loss to Iowa. Fortunitely for MSU, anyone that watched the game fell asleep and will easily forget it. Especially after MSU bounced back with a 66-60 win over Ohio State on Tuesday. The Spartans will visit the Gophers this Sunday followed by a road game versus Northwestern on Thursday Jan. 24.
10) Mississippi 15-1 (last week: No. 13)
Ole Miss dropped in the major polls after its 83-85 heartbreaking loss to Tennessee. Due to the CBR Top 25 rule (see Washington State), I didn’t penalize the Rebels. Ole Miss bounced back nicely from the loss to defeat Florida on Wednesday. The Rebels will visit Auburn on Saturday.
11) Georgetown 13-2 (last week: No. 8)
The Hoyas fall after their loss to Pittsburgh on Monday. Honestly, I would love to drop them further because of their weak non-conference schedule. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s game against Notre Dame and then Monday’s game versus Syracuse.
12) Texas A&M 15-2 (last week: No. 9)
The Aggies dropped down a few spots because of the loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday. Texas A&M will have a tough stretch this week when it visits Kansas State on Saturday and then it faces a balanced Baylor team on Wednesday.
13) Pittsburgh 15-2 (last week: No. 20)
The Panthers showed great perseverance after injuries hit them hard in back-to-back games in late December against Duke and Dayton. Mike Cook was lost for the season in the win against Duke and Levance Fields suffered an injury in the blowout loss to Dayton. Despite that, Pitt was still able to beat Georgetown on Monday. Pitt will play a vastly improving Cincinnati team this Saturday.
14) Wisconsin 14-2 (last week: No. 17)
The Badgers is another team that I would like to rank lower, but they have won eight straight and are 4-0 in the BIG-10. The Badgers could easily win their next three conference games before facing Indiana on Jan. 31.
15) Vanderbilt 16-2 (last week: No. 12)
The Commodores really hurt themselves with back-to-back losses. The Tennessee loss hurts only because of the loss to Kentucky. I expect the voters of the major polls to penalize Vandy a lot worse than I did. Vanderbilt should get back to its winning ways when it plays LSU this Saturday.
16) Dayton 14-2 (last week: No. 14)
The injury to freshman Chris Wright kills this team because opponents can focus solely on stopping senior Brian Roberts. However, the injury could be a blessing as Wisconsin transfer Mickey Perry develops into a scoring threat and as sophomore Marcus Johnson becomes a star. The Flyers will visit Xavier, a place they never win, on Thursday Jan. 24.
17) Arizona State 14-2 (last week: No. 21)
The Sun Devils needed two OTs to defeat an underrated California team late last night. At 4-0 in the PAC-10, ASU has been a huge surprise this season and will has a tough road ahead. The Sun Devils visit Stanford on Saturday and following that is a home game against Washington on Thursday Jan. 24.
18) Texas 13-3 (last week: No. 15)
The Longhorns have lost three of their last five games. Granted the losses were to Michigan State, Wisconsin and Missouri - plus, there is a win in there against St. Mary’s. Bottom line, this Texas team is good and will be competitive in the BIG-12 and in the NCAA Tournament.
19) St. Mary’s 14-2 (last week: not ranked)
The Gaels are back in the CBR Top 25. St. Mary’s has quality wins over Drake, Oregon, Seton Hall, San Diego St. and Ohio. However, this team will be under the radar unless they can defeat Gonzaga. St. Mary’s plays Pepperdine on Saturday and then Loyola-Marymount on Monday.
20) Xavier 14-4 (last week: No. 18)
While everyone talked up the A-10 during non-conference play, now the A-10 is beating up one another. On Wednesday, XU lost to Temple and Dayton lost to UMASS. The Musketeers play George Washington on the road this Saturday before heading home to play Dayton on Thursday Jan. 24.
21) Baylor 14-2 (last week: not ranked)
For most of the season, the Bears have been ranked in the CBR Top 25. Baylor fell out of the rankings after a 78-85 loss to Arkansas. The Bears will be tested in a tough BIG-12 this year, they visit Nebraska on Saturday and then they visit Texas A&M on Wednesday.
22) Drake (last week: No. 25)
The Bulldogs edged out Bradley 69-68 on Wednesday. Drake has a huge game this Saturday when it plays the Illinois State Redbirds. Both teams are 6-0 in conference play. If you didn’t know - that’s the Missouri Valley Conference. Drake will play perennial MVC powerhouse Creighton on Tuesday.
23) Clemson 14-3 (last week: not ranked)
The Tigers fell all the way from No. 14 to out of the CBR Top 25 last week after the loss to Charlotte. Since then, Clemson has wins over Florida St. and N.C. State. The Tigers have a great chance to prove themselves this Saturday when they will face Duke on the road.
24) Oregon 12-5 (last week: not ranked)
It is tough to be in the PAC-10 conference. The Ducks have just lost to Washington, but have wins over Arizona, California and Stanford. During the non-conference schedule, Oregon beat Kansas St. and Utah. This ranking could be short lived - the next two games are against Washington State and UCLA.
25) Stanford 14-3 (last week: not ranked)
The Cardinal deserves to be ranked and look to be a scary team as the 7-foot Lopez twins are finally in full force. Brook Lopez missed the start of the year and is playing really well right now. Robin Lopez has seen his scoring numbers go down since Brook has been back, but he still plays a major role on this team. Late last night, Stanford beat a tough Arizona team and will have to play another tough team from Arizona (ASU) on Saturday.

Dropped Out:
No. 19 Butler, No. 22 Rhode Island, No. 23 Oklahoma, No. 24 Notre Dame

This entry was posted Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 3:36 am and is filed under CBR's Top 25 rankings. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.