My AP (BB) poll
Here is my Associated Press men's basketball poll, which remains unchanged from my preseason picks:
1. North Carolina
2. Louisville
3. Michigan State
4. Connecticut
5. Texas
6. Duke
7. UCLA
8. Memphis
9. Notre Dame
10. Gonzaga
11. Xavier
12. Florida
13. Tennessee
14. Pittsburgh
15. Arizona State
16. Purdue
17. Marquette
18. Davidson
19. USC
20. Ohio State
21. Oklahoma
22. Wake Forest
23. UNLV
24. Creighton
25. Saint Mary's
Quick question Brian,
Does your poll take into account Duke's game last night against Rhode Island? Even if it doesn't, did you think that was a foul on the last play? I thought it was clean and a typical Duke call, but I have a bit of an anti-Duke bias myself. I just think it's absurd that no one in the media is mentioning how the Blue Devils got completely bailed out by the refs. What's your take?
the officiating in the duke game was an absolute joke. Two sets of rules: one for Duke, one for Rhode Island.
BTW-Nobody in the media cares about the unfair officiating, just like they don't care that where you are ranked in the preseason before you play a game is much determinative of your chances at the national championship game in football than your actual performance.
Pretty good assessment, although I think Pitt should be a little higher up there. NO WAY Duke is better than UCLA, although we may be a little rusty right now, we'll go deeper in the tourney than Duke (my opinion only). Also, I think Texas is much better than UCONN.
Wow, look at the free throw stats:
RI Duke
FT Made-Attempted: 11-16 (.688) 28-32 (.875)
Thats just sad. I hope we don't get that type of officiating if/when we play them, it will take away our ability to play Howland's physical D.
Wow, 3 Catholic universities in the top 11 (2 of them Jesuit academic schools) and 5 in the top 25 (4 Jesuit). This is an interesting poll.
I'm sorry Uconn is better than Texas. Have you seen them play? I know it is still early in the year but I don't believe Texas will be in the top ten come march. I could be very wrong, but in my opinion I don't believe they will. And UCONN has a great chance of being in the final four. They have great depth and a very strong inside presence.
It's funny how we can argue about calls given what took place last year (Cal and Stanford games come to mind). Also, don't forget that we are a pretty aggressive defensive team. I'm surprised sometimes by the lack of calls that go against us given our aggression. I think this is what prompted coaches like Lute to complain about refs.
I guess if the poll is based on the team today, I think #7 for us is too high. Too inexperienced and many holes need to be plugged before we can call this a top 10 team. I think we're more like #20-25 right now with potential to be closer to teens down the stretch.
im sorry but you got your rankings wrong. ucla is better than mich. st. duke and texas. i think there a perfect fit at 4.
ill bet u my left lung, 2 of my future kids, and my xbox 360 that UCLA will dismantle duke when/if we play them this year. lol
ill bet u my left lung, 2 of my future kids, and my xbox 360 that UCLA will dismantle duke when/if we play them this year. lol
Pitt absolutely destroyed Miami of Ohio while we struggled against them. Who do you think is the better team right now? Everyone keeps saying we'll destroy Duke, but not the way we're playing right now. Duke is the more experienced/polished team right now. If we beat them, I would be surprised.