Sunday, January 31, 2016

Weekly Top 10, The One That Matters

1. Oklahoma - The Sooners went into Baton Rouge yesterday and beat LSU on a late shot by Isaiah Cousins. It was a brilliant game by National POY leader Buddy Hield that put Boomer Sooner in position to win. Some pundits are starting to question Oklahoma because of their 2-point reliance and it's a valid concern but this is the new basketball. The 3 rules.

2. North Carolina - The Tar Heels start the hard part of their schedule this week with trips to Louisville and Notre Dame. They have a 3rd straight road game at BC followed by 3 straight home games against Pitt, Duke & Miami. We'll learn how good they are quickly.

3. Iowa - They lost at Maryland Thursday night in a game where Jarrod Uthoff played his worst game of the year. Still, they had a chance to win late. 

4.Villanova - Whoops

5. Xavier - CBS Sports ran a graph yesterday showing Xavier's propensity for huge in-game runs as they went on an absurd 18-1 run to close out the 1st half. The ability to dominate both sides of the floor against inferior opponents for such stretches makes them a good bet to advance in March.

6. Virginia - The universal love for Virginia guarantees an early exit in March. They beat an overrated Louisville team yesterday that is brutal on offense. You'd have thought Virginia just whipped the Globetrotters. 

7. Michigan State - Sparty raced up KenPom after motorboating Northwestern. They look to be back on track but I still have doubts.

8. Texas A&M - Called the Arkansas loss but they bounced back nicely with a win over Iowa State yesterday. 

9. Kansas - I picked them to win it all but I see a team that can't guard the perimeter. What they could use is a Jeff Withey type patrolling the paint. Wayne Selden was a monster yesterday in their win over Kentucky.

10. Wichita State - The Valley is the 4th best "mid-major" conference (my definition of mid-major) behind the Colonial, Summit and MAC. Still, this is a dangerous team and given the dearth of great teams, as capable as any at making a deep March run.

Coming: Oregon
Going: West Virginia

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