A Look at the AP Top Ten
2/17/2009 | Posted by
Scott Lunn
Another week has passed and a lot has changed amongst the AP Top Ten rankings. As March rapidly approaches, many teams are out to prove themselves as contenders while others just hope to hang on to a top seed for the tournament. Let's take a look at the current standings in the polls.
1. Connecticut (24-2)
I think it's safe to say this is the last time you'll see UConn at the top of the heap for awhile. #4 Pittsburgh came to town last night and beat them by 8, which will surely drop the Huskies a few spots next week at this time. The homestretch doesn't get any easier either as Connecticut still has to travel to #10 Marquette and has a rematch with the Panthers in Pittsburgh to finish out the regular season. Hasheem Thabeet has been a monster for UConn, but losing second leading scorer Jerome Dyson for the year could prove very costly.
2. Oklahoma (25-1)
The Sooners are one of the teams that haven't seen much change in the past week, they continue to dominate Big 12 play with no signs of slowing down. They'll surely be #1 in next week's poll and they deserve it. Blake Griffin continued his quest for the National Player of the Year honors by dropping 40 points and 23 boards against Texas Tech on Saturday. That 19 point win coupled with a 15 point victory at Baylor last week proves Oklahoma's conference dominance and a matchup at Texas on Saturday looks to be their only possible challenge between now and tournament time.
3. North Carolina (23-2)
UNC was everybody's preseason pick, but a brief stumble in early January had some wondering. The Tar Heels have been working on erasing that doubt as of late, defeating both #9 Duke and Miami on the road last week. UNC had issues with the red hot Blue Devils in the first half of their matchup, but remained cool and turned it up in the 2nd half before claiming a 14 point victory. Putting up 101 on a Duke team that was only allowing 61 per game goes a long ways towards showing just how incredible the UNC offense really is. The ACC provides a challenge in almost every conference game, but the real test for Carolina will be the season finale at home against Duke, who should be motivated more so than normal.
4. Pittsburgh (24-2)
The Panthers will be on their way up come next Monday too. Knocking off the #1 team on the road and moving within a half game of the Big East lead capped off another great week for Jamie Dixon's squad. Pittsburgh easily handled Cincinnati last Saturday and continued to get the most out of their star big man, DeJuan Blair. If Pittsburgh can finish out the season without any miscues, including hosting UConn on March 7, they should find themselves as a #1 seed in the Big Dance.
5. Memphis (22-3)
Memphis continued to embarass their Conference USA opponents since my last look at the Top 10, defeating Tulane 63-37, and Southern Miss 72-47. Memphis remains hard to gauge as they simply don't have any competition within their conference. Playing low level competition isn't likely going to help them prepare for what they'll face in the tournament, but it'll still likely earn them a 1 or 2 seed. They've fared well the past few years despite the weak conference opposition, so perhaps John Calipari will have his team ready again this season. Either way, one thing is for sure, we'll find out soon enough.
6. Michigan St. (20-4)
The Spartans haven't played since knocking off in state rival Michigan on 2/10, but face #19 Purdue for the first of two matchups tonight. Junior Raymar Morgan has been solid all year for Michigan State, averaging 12.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. He will certainly play a large role in any success they might have in the NCAA tourney, but the question is going to be who else steps up. Due to a lackluster Big Ten conference, MSU will need to essentially run the table to have a hope at a #2 seed.
7. Louisville (19-5)
Louisville has has perhaps the most unusual week of anybody in the Top Ten. They played at Notre Dame last Thursday and were absolutely dismantled 90-57 in a game where Luke Harangody went off for 32 points and 17 boards. In response, the Cardinals took Big East weakling Depaul to the cleaners on Sunday, winning 99-54. #10 Marquette is the only ranked team left on Louisville's schedule, however the Notre Dame game proves that the Big East doesn't offer many nights off. Rick Pitino certainly knows how to get it done in March, but does he have the players to aid his success this time around?
8. Wake Forest (19-4)
Wake Forest suffered another unexpected loss when they played at NC State on Wednesday, dropping the game 82-76. They then turned around and pounded on Florida State at home 86-63 on Saturday. This week brings a chance for revenge when they host Georgia Tech tomorrow night, before heading to Durham and a rematch against the Blue Devils on Sunday evening. Wake Forest currently sits tied for 3rd in the ACC with Clemson, but could find themselves as high as 2nd if they win both matchups this week. Jeff Teague continues to play at a very high level and has plenty of support from very athletic forwards James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu. All three will need to continue to play at their best to survive the end of the regular season and an always brutal ACC tourney.
9. Duke (20-5)
The rough stretch for Duke continues to get worse as they went 0-2 last week. The Blue Devils played perhaps their best half of basketball against UNC on Wednesday night before falling apart in the 2nd and giving up 101 to the Tar Heels in a tough home loss. As a followup effort, Duke headed to Boston College on Sunday night, where despite leading for the majority of the game, they eventually fell to the Eagles, 80-74. This week brings an out of conference trip to NYC to face St. John's on Thursday, followed by a home game against Wake Forest on Sunday. Revenge should be a huge motivating factor in that one as Duke lost in the final seconds in Winston-Salem on 1/28.
10. Marquette (21-4)
The Golden Eagles split last week's games, dropping a big matchup with Villanova on Tuesday and then rebounding with a 14 point win at home against St. John's on Saturday. They face Seton Hall and Georgetown this week before taking on a murderer's row of sorts to end February and begin March. 4 teams are within a game of each other at the top of the Big East standings. One of those is Marquette, and the other three are Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Louisville, who the Golden Eagles play in consecutive games between 2/25 and 3/4. Essentially this means that Marquette has the ability to claim the top spot in the conference heading into the the Big East tourney, but it's a daunting task to say the very least.
1. Connecticut (24-2)
I think it's safe to say this is the last time you'll see UConn at the top of the heap for awhile. #4 Pittsburgh came to town last night and beat them by 8, which will surely drop the Huskies a few spots next week at this time. The homestretch doesn't get any easier either as Connecticut still has to travel to #10 Marquette and has a rematch with the Panthers in Pittsburgh to finish out the regular season. Hasheem Thabeet has been a monster for UConn, but losing second leading scorer Jerome Dyson for the year could prove very costly.
2. Oklahoma (25-1) The Sooners are one of the teams that haven't seen much change in the past week, they continue to dominate Big 12 play with no signs of slowing down. They'll surely be #1 in next week's poll and they deserve it. Blake Griffin continued his quest for the National Player of the Year honors by dropping 40 points and 23 boards against Texas Tech on Saturday. That 19 point win coupled with a 15 point victory at Baylor last week proves Oklahoma's conference dominance and a matchup at Texas on Saturday looks to be their only possible challenge between now and tournament time.
3. North Carolina (23-2)
UNC was everybody's preseason pick, but a brief stumble in early January had some wondering. The Tar Heels have been working on erasing that doubt as of late, defeating both #9 Duke and Miami on the road last week. UNC had issues with the red hot Blue Devils in the first half of their matchup, but remained cool and turned it up in the 2nd half before claiming a 14 point victory. Putting up 101 on a Duke team that was only allowing 61 per game goes a long ways towards showing just how incredible the UNC offense really is. The ACC provides a challenge in almost every conference game, but the real test for Carolina will be the season finale at home against Duke, who should be motivated more so than normal.
4. Pittsburgh (24-2)
The Panthers will be on their way up come next Monday too. Knocking off the #1 team on the road and moving within a half game of the Big East lead capped off another great week for Jamie Dixon's squad. Pittsburgh easily handled Cincinnati last Saturday and continued to get the most out of their star big man, DeJuan Blair. If Pittsburgh can finish out the season without any miscues, including hosting UConn on March 7, they should find themselves as a #1 seed in the Big Dance.
5. Memphis (22-3) Memphis continued to embarass their Conference USA opponents since my last look at the Top 10, defeating Tulane 63-37, and Southern Miss 72-47. Memphis remains hard to gauge as they simply don't have any competition within their conference. Playing low level competition isn't likely going to help them prepare for what they'll face in the tournament, but it'll still likely earn them a 1 or 2 seed. They've fared well the past few years despite the weak conference opposition, so perhaps John Calipari will have his team ready again this season. Either way, one thing is for sure, we'll find out soon enough.
6. Michigan St. (20-4)
The Spartans haven't played since knocking off in state rival Michigan on 2/10, but face #19 Purdue for the first of two matchups tonight. Junior Raymar Morgan has been solid all year for Michigan State, averaging 12.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. He will certainly play a large role in any success they might have in the NCAA tourney, but the question is going to be who else steps up. Due to a lackluster Big Ten conference, MSU will need to essentially run the table to have a hope at a #2 seed.
7. Louisville (19-5)
Louisville has has perhaps the most unusual week of anybody in the Top Ten. They played at Notre Dame last Thursday and were absolutely dismantled 90-57 in a game where Luke Harangody went off for 32 points and 17 boards. In response, the Cardinals took Big East weakling Depaul to the cleaners on Sunday, winning 99-54. #10 Marquette is the only ranked team left on Louisville's schedule, however the Notre Dame game proves that the Big East doesn't offer many nights off. Rick Pitino certainly knows how to get it done in March, but does he have the players to aid his success this time around?
8. Wake Forest (19-4) Wake Forest suffered another unexpected loss when they played at NC State on Wednesday, dropping the game 82-76. They then turned around and pounded on Florida State at home 86-63 on Saturday. This week brings a chance for revenge when they host Georgia Tech tomorrow night, before heading to Durham and a rematch against the Blue Devils on Sunday evening. Wake Forest currently sits tied for 3rd in the ACC with Clemson, but could find themselves as high as 2nd if they win both matchups this week. Jeff Teague continues to play at a very high level and has plenty of support from very athletic forwards James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu. All three will need to continue to play at their best to survive the end of the regular season and an always brutal ACC tourney.
9. Duke (20-5)
The rough stretch for Duke continues to get worse as they went 0-2 last week. The Blue Devils played perhaps their best half of basketball against UNC on Wednesday night before falling apart in the 2nd and giving up 101 to the Tar Heels in a tough home loss. As a followup effort, Duke headed to Boston College on Sunday night, where despite leading for the majority of the game, they eventually fell to the Eagles, 80-74. This week brings an out of conference trip to NYC to face St. John's on Thursday, followed by a home game against Wake Forest on Sunday. Revenge should be a huge motivating factor in that one as Duke lost in the final seconds in Winston-Salem on 1/28.
10. Marquette (21-4)
The Golden Eagles split last week's games, dropping a big matchup with Villanova on Tuesday and then rebounding with a 14 point win at home against St. John's on Saturday. They face Seton Hall and Georgetown this week before taking on a murderer's row of sorts to end February and begin March. 4 teams are within a game of each other at the top of the Big East standings. One of those is Marquette, and the other three are Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Louisville, who the Golden Eagles play in consecutive games between 2/25 and 3/4. Essentially this means that Marquette has the ability to claim the top spot in the conference heading into the the Big East tourney, but it's a daunting task to say the very least.
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