College Basketball Reference

By Adam Kiefaber

1) Memphis 24-0 (10-0 C-USA) (last week: No. 1)
Memphis took care of Houston, the conference’s second best team, for the second time this season. However, the Tigers have yet to play UAB, the team that historically has given them trouble. This Saturday, Memphis will visit UAB, but the game everyone is looking forward to is the showdown with Tennessee on Feb. 23.
2) Duke 22-1 (10-0 ACC) (last week: No. 2)
The Blue Devils have three games in the upcoming week, but they should win all three easily since they are against Wake Forest, Miami (Fla.) and St. John’s. In fact, Duke should win out and be 28-1 (16-0 ACC) before wrapping up the season with a home game against rival North Carolina.
3) Tennessee 22-2 (9-1 SEC) (last week: No. 7)
UT looked impressive in its last win over Arkansas, which was a team that I thought was on the rise. Tennessee should be able to win its next two games against Georgia and Auburn before it takes on Memphis.
4) North Carolina 23-2 (8-2 ACC) (last week: No. 5)
I know that UNC is without its point guard, Ty Lawson, but it still shouldn’t struggle like it has recently. This week, the Tar Heels needed overtime to defeat Clemson. They also beat Virginia (1-9 ACC) by one point. This Saturday, UNC plays Virginia Tech, if it losses that game, many will jump off this bandwagon.
5) Kansas Jayhawks 23-2 (8-2 BIG-12) (last week: No. 3)
On Monday, Kansas lost a road game to Texas (picture above), which will happen. The Jayhawks should bounce back with a win on Saturday against Colorado. Actually, the next challenging game should be on March 1 when Kansas will get that rematch against Kansas St.
6) UCLA 21-3 (9-2 PAC-10) (last week: No. 4)
UCLA lost to Washington on Sunday. The PAC-10 schedule doesn’t let up as UCLA will have to visit USC to play its rival once again. The Bruins should get a No. 1 seed in the tournament if they win the conference tournament in mid-March.
7) Georgetown 20-3 (10-2 BIG EAST) (last week: No. 6)
The Hoyas received a controversial win over Villanova on Monday. In my opinion, this team as yet to click on all cylinders, which is kind of scary since GTOWN is 10-2 in the BIG EAST. This Saturday, GTOWN will visit Syracuse.
8) Texas 20-4 (7-2 BIG-12) (last week: No. 11)
Texas has won four straight, including a huge win over Kansas on Monday. The Longhorns will visit a scrappy Baylor team on Saturday and then will play rival Texas A&M on Monday.
9) Stanford 20-4 (9-3 PAC-10) (last week: No. 8)
Stanford drops a spot after losing to Arizona St in overtime on Thursday. The Cardinal will visit Arizona this Saturday in another tough PAC-10 match up. Stanford needs to finish off this month strong because it has to end its season with back-to-back road games against UCLA and USC.
10) Xavier 21-4 (9-1 A-10) (last week: No. 13)
Xavier isn’t winning games by much, but it is winning games against teams in a very tough conference. The next game won’t get any easier as XU visits Rhode Island on Monday.
11) Purdue 20-5 (11-1 BIG-10) (last week: No. 24)
The young Boilermakers have quickly become the BIG-10’s best team, winning the last ten straight against teams like Ohio St., Wisconsin (twice) and Michigan St. They should continue their streak with a win over Northwestern on Saturday, but they could be challenged at Indiana on Tuesday.
12) Texas A&M 20-4 (6-3 BIG-12) (last week No. 15)
The Aggies have won five straight in BIG-12 play and is back in the conference race after starting with a 1-3 record in the BIG-12. They play Oklahoma St. this Saturday and will have visit Texas on Monday.
13) Wisconsin 20-4 (10-2 BIG-10) (last week: No. 9)
The Badgers just can’t seem to beat Purdue, but who can in the BIG-10. Wisconsin should finish the season out strong, as it only as two challenging games left at Ohio St. (Feb. 24) and versus Michigan St. (Feb. 28). That doesn’t mean there couldn’t be an upset in there, but it just doesn’t seem likely in the top-heavy BIG-10.
14) Michigan St. 20-4 (8-3 BIG-10) (last week: No. 10)
The Spartans finally lost to a good team in the conference by losing to Purdue on Tuesday. Previously, MSU lost to Iowa and Penn St. The Spartans visit Indiana on Saturday.
15) Indiana 20-4 (9-2 BIG-10) (last week: No. 12)
IU lost a heartbreaker to Wisconsin on Wednesday. Now, the team must be distracted as its head coach, Kelvin Sampson, might be suspended soon. Not a very good time for this to be happening, as IU plays MSU on Saturday and then it plays Purdue on Tuesday.
16) Connecticut 19-5 (8-3 BIG EAST) (last week: No. 17)
UCONN has won eight in a row and seems unbeatable in the BIG EAST. The rest of schedule isn’t that difficult for BIG EAST standards. The Huskies had a big win over Notre Dame on Wednesday and could beat out Georgetown for the regular season conference title.
17) Louisville 19-6 (9-3 BIG EAST) (last week: No. 18)
The Cardinals are another team that is contending for a BIG EAST title after a rocky start to the season. Louisville has won its last four, including a win over Georgetown. This Saturday, UL visits Providence and then will take on Syracuse on Monday.
18) Kansas State 17-6 (7-2 BIG-12) (last week: No. 14)
The Wildcats lost to the Pat Knight coached Texas Tech Red Raiders on Wednesday. Despite the loss, KSU is near the top of the BIG-12 standings in what should be a great race.
19) Notre Dame 18-5 (8-3 BIG EAST) (last week: No. 16)
The Irish recent loss to UCONN drops them down a few spots because I have three BIG EAST teams ranked close together. ND should get back on track on Sunday in a road game against Rutgers before facing Pittsburgh on Thursday.
20) Washington St. 19-5 (7-5 PAC-10) (last week: No. 19)
WSU is starting to play below expectations. This Saturday, the Cougars will visit Oregon. Next week they have home games against Arizona State and Arizona. WSU must win all three if they want to move up in the polls.
21) Pittsburgh 19-5 (7-4 BIG EAST) (last week: No. 23)
Pitt beat Providence on Tuesday and has three tough games coming up. Tonight, Pitt will visit Marquette then it will visit Notre Dame on Thursday followed by a game next Sunday (Feb. 24) against Louisville.
22) Butler 23-2 (12-2 Horizon) (last week: No. 21)
The Bulldogs have a good team and will be in the NCAA Tournament, but how can you rank a team No. 9 (AP ranking) after losing two games in the Horizon league.
23) Drake 22-2 (13-1 MVC) (last week: No. 22)
I don’t want to take anything away from Drake’s magical season, but the MVC seems to be having a down year. That being said, it is still a challenging conference and the Bulldogs should be ranked higher.
24) St. Mary’s 21-3 (8-1 WCC) (last week: No. 25)
The Gaels have been in-and-out of the CBR rankings this season. They definitely deserve to ranked better than this after their overtime win over Gonzaga.
25) Vanderbilt 21-4 (6-4 SEC) (last week: not ranked)
Vandy never convinced me that it was worthy of being ranked with its easy non-conference schedule. However, the Commodores have won four in a row and looked pretty strong in their blowout win over Kentucky. This Saturday, Vandy plays Florida.

Dropped out: No. 20 Baylor

This entry was posted Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm and is filed under CBR's Top 25 rankings. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.