Rank (Last Week) | Record | Comment |
1. Ohio State (1) | 8-0 | The Buckeyes dismantled then-No. 3 Duke by 22 points last week; life will be a lot more difficult in Lawrence Saturday afternoon against No. 12 Kansas. |
2. Kentucky (3) | 8-0 | The game in Bloomington Saturday (against unbeaten Indiana) is suddenly shaping up to be much more intriguing than anyone would have a suggested a few weeks ago. |
3. Syracuse (4) | 8-0 | Despite all of the controversy swirling around the program, the team continues to knock off quality opponents; the Orange faces another one of those Tuesday night (5-1 Marshall). |
4. Connecticut (6) | 7-1 | Freshman Ryan Boatright (18.5 ppg in two games since becoming eligible) is a prime example of why this club is deeper than the 2010-11 national title-winning team. |
5. Baylor (8) | 7-0 | One word will suffice as reaction to 28-point win at then-unbeaten Northwestern on Sunday: Wow! |
6. North Carolina (5) | 6-2 | The Tar Heels have had their last loss for a while (at Florida State on Jan. 14 is the next biggest challenge). They need to continue to polish their half-court offense and defense. |
7. Duke (3) | 7-1 | The Blue Devils’ defense wasn’t the first, or the last, that will be dissected by the Ohio State Buckeyes this season. |
| 8. Florida (10) | 5-2 | The NCAA Championship Committee, come tourney bracketing time, is certainly going to look upon seven- and four-point decisions at Ohio State and Syracuse, respectively, as “good losses”. |
9. Louisville (11) | 7-0 | Rick Pitino could be doing as good as a coaching job as he’s ever turned in. The Cardinals almost certainly will be 9-0 when they play host to Memphis on Dec. 17. |
10. Xavier (13) | 6-0 | Any questions about this team were answered with come-from-behind wins over Vanderbilt and Purdue last week. |
11. Creighton (14) | 7-0 | The Blue Jays recorded a marvelous road victory over California’s best team (San Diego State) last week and then in-state foe Nebraska Sunday. |
12. Kansas (16) | 5-2 | Talented but erratic Long Beach State could be a stumbling block Tuesday night if the Jayhawks are looking ahead to Saturday game with the nation’s best team. |
13. Missouri (NR) | 7-0 | No one has come any closer than within 15 points of the Tigers this season. That should change Tuesday night (vs. Villanova in Madison Square Garden). |
14.Harvard (NR) | 8-0 | A victory over Florida State on a neutral floor was impressive. A victory over Connecticut in Storrs on Thursday would be overwhelming. |
15. Marquette (NR) | 7-0 | The victory in Madison certainly was an attention grabber, wasn’t it? The Golden Eagles face Washington Tuesday night in what should be a high-scoring affair. |
16. Illinois (NR) | 8-0 | All in all, it was a pretty nifty week for the Illini (a seven-point win at Maryland and nine-point victory at home over then-unbeaten and No. 9 Gonzaga). |
On the cusp: San Diego State (8-2), Gonzaga (5-1), Memphis (4-2), UNLV (8-1), Saint Louis (7-1), Alabama (7-1), Georgetown (7-1), California (6-2), Michigan (6-2), Kansas State (5-0), Vanderbilt (5-3), Indiana (8-0), Stanford (8-1), Mississippi State (8-1), Tulane (9-0), Virginia (7-1) and Wichita State (5-2)
Top performances of Nov. 28-Dec. 4
TEAMS: Ohio State (dismantled Duke in Columbus), Kentucky (edged North Carolina in Lexington), Baylor (blew out then-unbeaten Northwestern in Evanston), Xavier (wins over probable NCAA tourney participants Vanderbilt and Purdue), Marquette (win over Wisconsin IN Madison), Georgetown (win at then-unbeaten Alabama), Illinois (win over then-unbeaten Gonzaga), Creighton (win at San Diego State).
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Ohio State
PLAYERS: William Buford (Ohio State), Tu Holloway (Xavier), Meyers Leonard (Illinois), Terrence Jones (Kentucky), Joe Ragland (Wichita State), Doug McDermott (Creighton) and Damian Lillard (Weber State).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lillard (the 6-2 junior guard had a combined 77 points in games with Saint Mary’s and San Jose State, hitting 24 of 39 from the field – including eight of 16 on 3s – as well as 21 of 25 from the free-throw line).
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
