Rankings, Irrelevant Comments & More (Take 5)

For the 5th week of my Rankings and Irrelevant Comments I’ve added a section for the upset picks of the week. This was prompted by Jim Collins’ unsolicited and incredible prediction that BC would beat UNC. I’ve now changed the name of this post to Rankings, Irrelevant Comments & More. I’m so crafty.

RANKINGS
1.Pitt (14-0)
Best wins: Washington St., Florida State, at Georgetown

My Irrelevant Comment: I have a problem. When I was a kid, I had a big crush on Blair from Facts of Life. No, that’s not the problem. The problem is I think of her whenever I see Pitt’s 6’ 7”, 265lb forward DeJuan Blair. I guess I should just be happy that I don’t think of Natalie whenever I see LPGA hottie, Natalie Gulbis.

2.North Carolina (14-1)
Best wins: Michigan State and Notre Dame
Loss: Boston College

My Irrelevant Comment: Even after knocking off #1 ranked UNC, BC still can’t win the hearts of Boston fans. My solution: don’t recruit another guy with a name like their star freshman - Reggie Jackson. Seriously, if next year they have a shot at some McDonald’s All-American, they need to pass if he goes by A-Rod.

3.UConn (12-1)
Best Wins: Miami, at Wisconsin, at Gonzaga, West Virginia
Losses: Georgetown

My Irrelevant Comment: Over the last few seasons Connecticut has had more than a few players with criminal records. If one more guy on that squad gets arrested the school might want to think about dropping the second “n” in UConn.

4. Duke (13-1)
Best Wins: Michigan, Purdue, Xavier, Davidson
Worst Loss: Michigan

My Irrelevant Comment: Apparently Duke has mastered human cloning. Yeah, they clearly duplicated Scheyer and named his clone Singler. I’m not impressed though. I mean, they previously took Bobby Hurley’s J-Chromosome and used it to create Wojciechowski and Reddick. The J-Chromosome, of course, being the one that results in jerks.

5.Wake Forest (13-0)
Best Wins; Baylor, UTEP & BYU

My Irrelevant Comment:
Wake’s Bobby Hoekstra indicated that he was looking forward to his senior year. That was before he registered a stat line of less than a half-point a game. Oh well. Maybe he really meant he was looking forward to his “senior years”. It’s possible he could yearn for a daily attire that includes Depends and Fix-A-Dent.

6. UCLA (12-2)
Best Wins: Southern Illinois, at Oregon
Losses: Michigan, Texas

My Irrelevant Comment: On ESPN’s UCLA basketball page there is video of the cheerleaders. You’re welcome.

7.Oklahoma (13-1)
Best Wins: Purdue, Davidson & Utah
Loss – at Arkansas

My Irrelevant Comment:
Sooners coach Jeff Capel missed last week’s game against the Hawks of Maryland-Eastern Shore due to a stomach virus. Oddly, the Hawks’ coach had serious stomach aliments after the game. His pains weren’t cause by a virus though. He was done in by the sight of his players who had just lost by 36 points.

8 Syracuse (14-1)
Best Wins: Florida, Kansas, Virginia, at Memphis
Losses: Cleveland State

My Irrelevant Comment
If there’s one thing you have to respect about Syracuse it’s clearly – their mascot. Take Georgetown, who are called the Hoyas, but use a bulldog as their mascot. Or North Carolina, called the Tar Heels, yet use a ram as their mascot. Syracuse, however, is called the Orange and they quite creatively decided that their mascot should be – an orange. You’ve got to respect that.

9.Clemson (14-0)
Best Wins: at Illinois, at Miami, Alabama

My Irrelevant Comment:
The school was named after Tom Green Clemson. They got to be happy they went with that guy’s last name instead of his first and middle. Tom Green University just doesn’t evoke academic excellence.

Just to clarify, Tom Green is a gross-out comic whose career pinnacled with the not so-family friendly flick entitled “Freddy Got Fingered”. I would like to see what fraternity initiations at Tom Green University would entail. You know, given that its namesake previously drank milk from a cow – that’s directly from a cow.

10. Texas (11-3)
Best Wins: UCLA, Oregon, & Villanova, Wisconsin
Losses: Notre Dame, Michigan St., Arkansas

My Irrelevant Comment: Texas’ colors are white and “burnt orange”. I’m really not sure what “burnt orange” means. But from the look of their jerseys I guess it’s the color of puke.


MOST OVERRATED TEAM

Louisville
The have 3 losses (one to Western Kentucky) and not a single victory over any team in the top 50. Somehow they are ranked 21st by the Coaches and 23rd by the AP. Even their travel difficulties are over-hyped. On Tuesday their plane made an emergency landing due to - no, not ice on the wings, nor a sudden decrease in cabin pressure – a fire that turned out to be harmless. Mainly because it was nonexistent.

Other Opinions

Anil Joseph: Boston College - Ugh-we moved up too much. We're at 17 in AP and 24 in ESPN. I see bad things coming...and dead people. [Too bad Anil was right: BC lost to Harvard by 12 Wednesday night. Ugh.]

Harold Barend: West Coast Teams - It is no secret the Big East and the ACC appear to be the dominate divisions. With the exception of Gonzaga, from the Mississippi River West college basketball is a secondary sport and it really shows this year.

MOST UNDERRATED TEAM

South Carolina
Darrin Horn in his first year coaching the Gamecocks has them at 11-2. This being a team that The Sporting News predicted to finish at the bottom of the SEC. I’d say Coach Horn deserves at least one vote for his team from the AP or the Coaches. Or at least get the guys who play the trumpet in the pep band to name themselves the “Darin” section.

Other Opinions
Bill Sullivan: Marquette- I am sticking with Marquette as my underrated pick. They knocked Villanova and Cincy to start Big East play. They will do some real damage this year.

Matt Carty: Miami Dolphins - I wasn't gonna say anything, but since Dave let the comments on the Cowboys and Eagles get through last time (football smack on a college hoops board?), I figured I'd chime in and get a shout out for my Dolphins!!!! GO MIAMI!!! If they've lost to Baltimore by the time you've read this, I don't apologize. I still haven't come down from the high of watching them keep both the Jets AND Patriots from getting to the playoffs!

Harold Barend: Duke - I thought Duke was underrated last week and I still think they are underrated. Unfortunately for the Blogmeister, he felt it a necessity to say I might be the only one who thought Duke underrated. He forgot to take into consideration those who compile the rankings. Each game, I see more cuts and bruises on the Dukies than their opposition. Could it be the ACC refs think like the Blogmeister. [Note from the “Blogmeister” – given that Duke is currently ranked #2 in both Polls, it’s almost a mathematical impossibility for them to be underrated.]

Ken Robbins: George Mason - GMU is still tops in the CAA.

Matt Carty #2: Arizona State - I don't know anything about college hoops, but I guess Arizona State is doing pretty good this year. And, from what I hear on sports radio out here, Herb Sendek rules. I couldn't agree more. I loved Where the Wild Things Are. (It was either go for that joke, or the WKRP/Herb Tarlek connection - hope I picked the funnier one.) [Evidence that my blog has not quite hit the big time: one of my few contributors starts his comment with “I don’t know anything about college hoops”.]

Harold Barend #2: Syracuse - Syracuse could be a major surprise during their first showing in three years in the NCAA tournament. They have depth, power on the inside, great three-point shooting, and a healthy basketball team. Unfortunately, they sometimes follow their coach's example and fall asleep. They are off to one of their best starts ever but only after a number of shaky moments and razor thin endings. To prepare for this season, Syracuse fans should buy plenty of stress tabs.

UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK

Florida State over Duke on Sat.
These two have had some classic battles of late. Even some OT thrillers if my memory serves. There’s no way the refs let this on go to extra time though. Why? They want to see the NFL playoffs. And given that the game is at FSU they’ll make sure the Seminoles win. Why? They’d like to be alive to see those playoffs.

Other Opinions

Jim Collins: Texas wins at Oklahoma 1/12
But everything is OK because Sooners win against Florida in FedEx BCS National Championship

Jim Collins #2.Wake Forest beats Boston College 1/14
18 point win for Demon Deacons.

Jim Collins #3 - Final 4 in Detroit- Where teams will bailout not bow out. Detroit Hotel Rules- Minimum Four Night Stay Required (April 3-6, 2009) First Prize- 1 week in Detroit Second Prize 2 weeks in Detroit.

Ken Robbins: Jim Collins will be wrong
Big deal on that massive fortune tale by Jim picking BC over UNC. Hey if Jim picks the next huge upset and then I'll call it "incredible" as Dave did.

If you want to contribute to next Thursday posting of the most overrated/underrated teams or the upset of the week, email be your comments by Wednesday night and they’ll be up in the morning. Next Rant is coming on Monday.

Take it easy,
Dave