Rank (Last Week) | Record | Comment |
1. Kentucky (1) | 28-1 | The Wildcats can wrap up SEC regular-season perfection with wins over Georgia (in Lexington Thursday) and at Florida (Saturday). Anthony Davis has long since wrapped up the conference’s Freshman and Player of the Year honors. |
2. Syracuse (2) | 29-1 | A regular-season ending home win against Louisville Saturday would make the Orange 10-1 vs. RPI Top 50 teams. That would be very impressive – but so would 9-2. |
3. Kansas (4) | 24-5 | The Comeback of the Season Saturday kept the Jayhawks in position for a No. 1 seed come March 11. |
4. Michigan State (5) | 24-5 | Just getting to the Big Ten Tourney final should be more than enough to give the Spartans one of the four NCAA Tourney top seeds. |
5. Missouri (3) | 25-4 | Barring collapse, the Tigers seem secure in thoughts they should get no worse than a No. 2 seed in the Field of 68. |
6. Duke (6) | 25-4 | The Blue Devils have rarely overwhelmed opponents at home this season and Saturday the toughest opponent yet (UNC) will visit Cameron Indoor Stadium. |
7. North Carolina (8) | 25-4 | That was a nifty pair of road wins the Tar Heels pulled out last week vs. NCSU and Virginia. |
| 8. Wichita State (10) | 26-4 | Save for Kentucky, Syracuse and Michigan State, is anyone playing better than the Shockers right now? |
9. Marquette (12) | 24-5 | This team might be the answer to the above question. |
10. Ohio State (8) | 23-6 | With three losses in past five games (two of those at home), the Buckeyes close regular season at Northwestern (Thursday) and Michigan State (Sunday). |
11. Creighton (13) | 25-5 | The Bluejays have cut things close of late – past three wins have been decided by a cumulative four points. |
12. Murray State (14) | 28-1 | The Racers can slow down a bit with a couple of byes until OVC Tourney semifinals Friday in Nashville. |
13. Indiana (16) | 22-7 | Hoosiers close regular-season with a couple of nifty matchups at home: Michigan State (Tuesday) and Purdue (Sunday). |
14. Iowa State (NR) | 21-8 | The Cyclones can enhance their tournament seeding – for both the Big 12 and NCAA brackets – with regular-season wrap-ups vs. Missouri (Wednesday in Columbia) and Baylor (Saturday in Ames). |
15. Florida State (9) | 19-9 | The Seminoles need a split this week – at Virginia on Thursday and home to Clemson on Sunday – to sew up the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tourney. |
16. Georgetown (NR) | 21-6 | Relative to the caliber of competition, a 3-point overtime loss at Syracuse on Feb. 8 might be this team’s most impressive performance. |
On the cusp: Baylor 24-5, Wisconsin 21-8, Florida 22-7, Saint Mary’s 25-5, Michigan 21-8, Gonzaga 23-5, Vanderbilt 20-9, Louisville 22-7, Notre Dame 20-9, Virginia 21-7, Temple 22-6, Kansas State 19-9, UNLV 24-6, Drexel 25-5, Purdue 19-10, New Mexico 22-6, Memphis 21-8, Miami 17-10, Alabama 19-9, Texas 18-11, San Diego State 22-6, Harvard 24-4.
THE TOP PERFORMANCES OF FEB. 20-26
TEAMS: Kansas (rallied from 19 points down in the second half at home to beat Missouri in OT/also won by eight at Texas A&M); Syracuse (held on to win by two points at Connecticut/edged South Florida by eight at home); North Carolina (won at North Carolina State and Virginia); Purdue (won by 14 points at Michigan and by 18 at home to Nebraska); Marquette (has won 12 of 13 games after wins at home against Rutgers and at West Virginia); Kentucky (rallied to win at Mississippi State and then pulled away down stretch at home to knock off Vanderbilt).
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Kansas
PLAYERS: Jae Crowder (Marquette/53 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, five blocked shots and six steals during wins over Rutgers and West Virginia); Tyler Zeller (North Carolina/34 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots in wins at North Carolina State and Virginia, including game-winner vs. the Cavaliers); Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas/36 points and nine assists in wins at Texas A&M and at home vs. Missouri/hitting tying and go-ahead free throws in OT vs. Missouri); Anthony Davis (Kentucky/41 points, 22 rebounds, eight blocked shots and four steals win wins over Mississippi State and Vanderbilt).
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Taylor
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
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The Blue Devils are 25-4, not
The Blue Devils are 25-4, not 24-5.
This article is nifty.
This article is nifty.
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Really nice article for every fan of it.
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