The college basketball top ten has been widely debated so
far this season. There are many teams
that feel they have a claim on the number one spot. I wanted to put together a poll that
acknowledges a team for how they are playing at this moment.
1. Michigan
The Wolverines picked up a huge win at Minnesota last week. At the time it was one of the most impressive
B1G conference wins, but now the Gophers seem to be fading a bit. This spot is also easy to decipher now with
Duke getting shellacked last night in Miami.
Michigan is the country’s best offense, and they currently stand 2nd
in efficiency margin. Which I happen to
feel is more impressive than number 1 Florida in the terrible SEC.
2. Kansas
The Jayhawks fall into this second slot by default. Kansas has been on the verge of losing the
past two games, but have emerged atop of the Big 12. Like the SEC, this conference is horrible
this season. While the Jayhawks will
likely only lose 2 more games, at the most, I do not think they are athletic
enough to keep up with the team above them.
3. Florida
The Gators are superstars in every efficiency department
currently. If the season ended today,
Florida would be the 2nd best team in the history of college
basketball according to offensive and defensive efficiency numbers. This could
get into the WAR stat of the MVP race last year where people actually thought
Mike Trout should have won. The good
thing about this stat, it happens to be a team award and college basketball has
a tournament to decide everything. Florida is ripping apart the inept SEC. Their 17 point win over Georgia last night
was the closest game they have played in conference play. It looks like Florida will be playing
themselves into a number 1 seed with the top teams in the Big East and B1G
beating each other up.
4. Syracuse
The Orange went into Louisville and beat the Cardinals on
their home court. Most ESPN analysts
have been fawning over Louisville this season, so now the hype meter moves to ‘Cuse.
However they happen to be without their 2nd leading scorer with
academic issues, and it is unknown when he will return. The Big East as a conference seems to
personify New York City style basketball, athletic players who have more
success with slashing to the basket. The
Syracuse standard 2-3 zone works perfectly to pack in the middle and challenge
teams to shoot more jump shots. What
happens when they play some of the elite jump shooting teams?
5. Louisville
The Cardinals are still one of the toughest teams in the
nation. It will be interesting to see if
they can go into the Carrier Dome and beat Syracuse the 2nd time
around. At this time, Rick Pitino’s crew is on the outside looking in for the
final number 1 seed. This is a very
guard oriented, high pressure team. The
over-aggressive style of play will hurt them when they face a team with elite
ball handlers (think Trey Burke).
6. Indiana
The Hoosiers were upset at home against Wisconsin and
bounced back with a lackluster effort against Northwestern. Indiana seemed to get back on track a bit
with a dominating win over the B1G bottom dweller, Penn State. This weekend will be another good barometer
of where the B1G sits when Michigan State travels to Bloomington. The Hoosiers are still one of the most
athletic teams in the country, but they seem to lose focus at key times. The physicality of Wisconsin really
frustrated Cody Zeller and company, will Michigan State be able to do the same?
7. Duke
Yes the 27 point loss against an average Miami team might be
weighing in this decision more than it should, but I can’t help it. I just can’t see any team above them losing
by nearly 30 points, even if on a road trip.
Duke is really missing Ryan Kelly right now. NC State gave the ACC a blue print of how to
beat this team right now, and Miami followed it perfectly. Collapse the middle after Plumlee receives a
post pass. Make him play against 3
defenders and make a decision under pressure.
This has led to turnovers and contested shots. When the ball is passed out to the perimeter,
the defense closes hard and forces the ball off the 3 point line. Duke’s best shooters were a combined 1-29
last night. The ACC is really down this
year so Duke will be able to right the ship with a slim chance of losing the
rest of the regular season. If Ryan
Kelly comes back, nobody will want to see the Dukies in their bracket.
8. Michigan State
This might be a shock to some people, but the Spartans just
completed the best 2 game stretch of the B1G season thus far. Saturday night they defeated Ohio State and
then traveled to Wisconsin to beat the Badgers in the Kohl Center. Yes, both wins were extremely ugly. Yes, the Spartans still have some major
questions on the offensive end. But in
the B1G, their physical defensive play will affect most teams to keep the
scores low. I still wouldn’t say the
Spartans are national title contenders, and I am not sure if I would put them
in the top tier of the B1G yet. However,
the past two wins are impressive and has Tom Izzo’s squad on the upswing.
9. Arizona
Yes the Wildcats only have 1 loss so far, but they should
have 3. I have not been impressed with
Zona this season, their soft schedule coupled with the Pac 12 being useless for
yet another year has given the Wildcats an inflated record. They are a finesse team that would struggle against
any team with some post strength. I am a
little B1G biased, but I think Arizona would struggle to finish in the top 4 of
the best conference.
10. Gonzaga
I know the Zags just lost at Butler, but that was a heck of
a basketball game. Gonzaga has one of
the most balanced scoring attacks in the country. They can play a slow paced game, or keep up
in a high scoring contest. Since the
Bulldogs play in a lower level conference they will likely run to another league
title. Gonzaga could end with an
inflated record, but this is a team I wouldn’t want to face on a neutral court
come March.
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