Rankings, Irrelevant Comments & More (Take 7)

I was really looking forward to beginning this post with a re-cap of my beloved St. Bonaventure Bonnies’ big win over Xavier last night. Didn’t quite work out. They were a mere 20 points short. Anyway, here’s Take #7 of my Rankings, Irrelevant Comments & More.

RANKINGS

1.UConn (17-1)
Best Wins: Miami, at Wisconsin, at Gonzaga, West Virginia, Villanova
Losses: Georgetown

My Irrelevant Comment:
Whenever I hear a reference to Coach Jim Calhoun, I can’t help but envision Haystacks Calhoun – former WWF champ who weighed in at 600lbs. But not when I actually see the coach. Then I usually envision - a used car salesman.

2.Pitt (17-1)
Best wins: Florida State, at Georgetown, Syracuse
Loss: at Louisville

My Irrelevant Comment:
While Pitt’s Coach Jamie Dixon was a TV actor during his childhood, Memphis Coach John Calapari is hoping to start an acting career. He apparently is vying for one of two roles in the upcoming Sopranos Movie: Fat Guy#1 or Fat Guy #2.

3.Oklahoma (17-1)
Best Wins: Purdue, Davidson, Utah, Texas
Loss at Arkansas

My Irrelevant Comment:
Last week I heard an announcer say, “Oklahoma is the class of the Big 12”. And there you have it - the first time in history that the word “class” has been used to describe anything associated with the state of Oklahoma.”

4.Wake Forest (16-1)
Best Wins; Baylor, BYU, UNC, at Clemson
Loss: Virginia Tech

My Irrelevant Comment:
Wake Forest’s arena is called the Lawrence Joel Coliseum. Who’s Lawrence Joel? I’m guessing the love child of Lawrence Welk and Billy Joel.

5. Duke (16-1)
Best Wins: Michigan, Purdue, Xavier, Georgetown
Loss: Michigan

My Irrelevant Comment:
Greg Paulus is a decent player, but his basketball skills do not nearly match his ability to be annoying. So he likely won’t play pro, but he is more than qualified to write a college hoop humor blog.

6.North Carolina (15-2)
Best wins: Michigan State, Notre Dame, Clemson
Loss: Boston College, Wake Forest

My Irrelevant Comment:
Dick Vitale has taken to calling Wayne Ellington, “Duke”. This is supposedly a reference to Duke Ellington. Or could it be another attempt by Vitale to promote Duke University? I don’t know about that. I think better evidence of Dickie V’s plugging of the Blue Devils is when he refers to Roy Williams as Coach K.

7.Clemson (16-2)
Best Wins: at Illinois, at Miami, Alabama
Loss: Wake Forest, UNC

My Irrelevant Comment:
Coach Oliver Purnell scares me. He’s got huge hands, extremely long arms, and massively wide shoulders. But that’s not what scares me. What scares me is what’s on top – an Emmanuel Lewis-sized head.

8.Marquette (16-2)
Best Wins: Wisconsin, Villanova, West Virginia
Losses: Dayton, Tennessee

My Irrelevant Comment:
Back when I was dating (yes, eons ago), I’d test a woman’s intelligence by seeing if she could correctly pronounce Marquette. One actually said “Mar-Cutie”. God, I miss her.

9.UCLA(14-3)
Best Wins: Southern Illinois, at Oregon
Losses: Michigan, Texas, Arizona State

My Irrelevant Comment:
Monday was the 35th anniversary of UCLA’s win streak ending loss to Notre Dame. It also the marked the 3,500th time that Digger Phelps re-told the story.

10. Michigan State (15-3)
Best Wins: Texas, Minn., Ohio St., Kansas, Illinois
Losses: Maryland, UNC, Northwestern

My Irrelevant Comment:
Michigan State is looking into whether Apple’s I-Book has infringed on rights of its senior center whose last name is Ibok. I don’t think they have much of a case. But if Apple created a computerized sex toy then this guy might have a claim – his first name is Idong.

MOST OVERRATED TEAM

Texas

The Longhorns have lost to almost every decent team it has faced. And now they have to deal with the former president’s return. I heard a rumor that “W” was seen at the Arkansas game holding a banner at half-time that said “Mission Accomplished.”

MOST UNDERRATED TEAM

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys are currently 12-4 and somehow receive no votes in either poll. Even more amazing is that there are 19,000 students at that school. I mean, it’s amazing that there are 19,000 students who couldn’t get into Oklahoma.

UPSET PICK OF THE WEEK

Notre Dame over UConn on Saturday night

If this game was in Stoors, I’d say it’d be a blow out for the Huskies, but the Irish are basically unbeatable at home. I will admit I’m not overly confident about this pick. I am, however, confident that I will be missing the game. Yes, I’m giving up watching what may be the epic battle of the year to attend a “father-daughter” dance. So instead of hearing Dickie V yell, “That’s Awesome, baby,” my ears will be subjected to a never-ending loop of the soundtrack from High School Musical 3. Please pray for me.

OTHER OPINIONS
Ken Robbins: Syracuse
That 'Cuse win over "No Defense" Notre Dame would have been a good one to watch!!!

Jim Richens: Pittsburgh:
It's going to take something really exceptional to happen to the Hoyas (and everybody else except North Carolina, perhaps) for them to get past Pittsburgh. I've seen several of their games this year (including the early-Saturday-morning affair against the Hoyas) and I'm discouraged to report that Pitt's the real deal. And yes, I'm aware of Louisville's win against them earlier this week.

Harold Barend – Syracuse & Duke:
If you are a Syracuse fan, it is like having the same feeling as being a Buffalo Bills fan. They make you feel like something good is going to happen then kick you in the groin. My problem with Syracuse is: can their coach inspire the team. When you see Jim Boeheim sitting on the bench you know he must be carrying a horseshoe, wearing a lucky tie, and saying his novenas because he is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball--but inspiration does not appear to be his strong point.

Duke is already getting ready for the final four. How many college teams play the kind of defense Duke administers the whole game. They are deep, talented and battle scarred. When March arrives they will be ready to go all the way

Jim Collins: Upset Specials
Duke over Wake next week. (My 3rd # 1 knockout)
UCONN will lose to ND and Louisville. (That's right two losses in a row.) Loyola Marymount beats Gonzaga in the city of Angels for 2nd win of long season. FIFA Soccer special 1/24/2009 also from LA, Friendly - USA 0 Sweden 0

Bill Sullivan – Marquette & St. Bonaventure:
As for underrated, I still think Marquette is underrated at # 10, and after beating Richmond on the road, I will have to list the Bonnies which should make all the Bona alums here happy..

Pete Frey – Providence:
Providence is just slowly draining the life out of me by showing they can compete with the big boys but can't win.



If you’d like to contribute to next Thursday’s post with your comments on the most overrated/underrated team or with an upset pick just email me by Wednesday night at davebarend@yahoo.com. Rant#11 coming Monday.

Take it easy,
Dave