Rivalry Week begins
Posted on 08. Feb, 2010 at 8:18 am by Meerkat in BIG 12 Basketball, BIG East Basketball, Basketball, NCAA Basketball
Football season is officially over. Those of you that don’t get into hoops until after the Super Bowl, well, jump in feet first right now. Time to quickly shift gears and embrace the 2 months that give you the most bang for your buck –> the final 60 days of the NCAA hoops season. This Big Monday is the best yet … with 4 teams in the top 14 squaring off against each other.
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4pm PST – #5 Villanova @ #4 West Virginia
After getting snowed under a flurry of Hoya 3-pointers on Saturday, the Wildcats have to follow that tough loss up with a road game in Morgantown. This game will be no picnic for either squad today. I expect a physical bruiser, most likely with Nova driving the lane all night long followed by some no-blood-no-foul hacks via the Mountaineer interior to deny the easy baskets. Let’s hope the rough-potential of this game doesn’t turn vicious like how it did Wedneday night when a few idiot WVU fans tossed some objects onto the court in dispute of some calls. I like Nova to bounce back and harass the Mountaineer guards into numerous turnover-to-transition-points.
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6pm PST – #1 Kansas @ #14 Texas
The Jayhawks have a comfortable 2 1/2 game cushion between them and the 2nd place KSU Wildcats. So a loss in Texas would not be so bad. On the other hand, the Longhorns are dropping fast. A Saturday loss to their Red River rivals Oklahoma designates this home game against Kansas as a very much needed win to a team that was highly ranked just a couple weeks ago. No doubt the Erwin Center will be rocking tonight when this game tips off, even if many of the students have a Super Bowl hangover. Texas really needs this self-esteem boost because back-to-back losses right now will be brutal on the ego. I believe the Longhorns will rally behind their raucous fans, play inspired ball, and pluck off the Jayhawks who are due for an L.
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| ESPN/USA Today Poll |
| 1. Kansas (29) 22-1 773 |
| 2. Kentucky (1) 22-1 731 |
| 3. Syracuse (1) 23-1 728 |
| 4. West Virginia 19-3 657 |
| 5. Villanova 20-2 639 |
| 6. Purdue 19-3 599 |
| 7. Duke 19-4 574 |
| 8. Georgetown 17-5 560 |
| 9. Kansas State 19-4 506 |
| 10. Michigan State 19-5 455 |
| 11. Gonzaga 19-4 427 |
| 12. Tennessee 18-4 417 |
| 13. Wisconsin 18-5 401 |
| 14. Texas 19-4 361 |
| 15. Butler 20-4 326 |
| 16. Ohio State 18-6 302 |
| 17. Brigham Young 22-3 298 |
| 18. Northern Iowa 21-2 221 |
| 19. New Mexico 21-3 211 |
| 20. Georgia Tech 17-6 150 |
| 21. Temple 19-5 131 |
| 22. Cornell 20-3 112 |
| 23. Pittsburgh 17-6 89 |
| 24. Vanderbilt 17-5 76 |
| 25. UNLV 19-4 55 |
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Others Receiving Votes
Baylor 44, Texas A&M 37, Saint Mary’s 29, Siena 28, Rhode Island 28, Missouri 25, Maryland 18, Mississippi 16, Virginia Tech 10, Florida State 8, Wake Forest 7, UAB 7, Notre Dame 6, Clemson 4, Tulsa 4, Dayton 2, Xavier 1, Connecticut 1, Louisiana Tech 1. |
2 Responses to “Rivalry Week begins”
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Donny
08. Feb, 2010
Another egg laid by Texas. Just getting worked like a dog. After today they’re only a couple losses from being bumped from the top 25 – far free fall after vaulting to number 1.
Meerkat
09. Feb, 2010
Huge win for Kansas, even though Texas is now officially considered ‘overrated’.
I am gonna go ahead an ‘write-in’ the Jayhawks to the Final Four now. They are simply beasts at home and on the road.