Power 16: February 10, 2012

Though Austin Rivers' 3-pointer won the game for the Blue Devils it's still not enough 
to earn them a 1 seed. There's still time. And seriously, what was Tyler Zeller thinking?

I held off making this week's Power 16 since there were so many intriguing games in the middle of the week. It paid off.  There's a lot of shuffling going on and while the top teams are starting to secure position the 3's and 4's are not even close to being settled. Check it out to see who moved up and who moved down.

1's	Record	RPI/SOS/vs. RPI top 50
Kentucky	24-1 (11-1)	3 / 74/ 5-1
Syracuse	24-1 (11-1)	1 /12 / 6-1
Ohio St.	21-3 (8-2)	4 /41 / 6-3
Missouri	22-2 (9-2)	9 /102 / 6-1

Kentucky continues to roll and unless they lose more than two times down the stretch a 1 seed is all locked up.  Syracuse held off a feisty Georgetown squad this week to stay atop the Big East.  They're in a dogfight with Kentucky for the top overall seed.  Ohio St. is 10-2 over their last 12 games and looks like they've got the Big Ten wrapped up. Missouri earns themselves the final 1 seed by currently sitting in first place in the Big 12. Wins over Kansas and Baylor help their cause.

Power 16: January 29, 2012

The Racers danced with excitement when I informed them of their inclusion
in my latest Power 16.  This is the type of reaction we like to see here at Sportstemps.

January's nearly over and there's still quite a bit of shuffling going on.  Syracuse finally lost, a third team entered the ACC title discussion (Florida St.), Wisconsin's back making the Big Ten more muddled than ever, and mid-majors are on the rise.  February is the most important month of the year since it's the last chance for teams to grab quality wins before the conference tournaments and mid-majors get to play in Bracket Busters.  This is also the month where the average fan who wants to win money in their bracket pools should begin to pay attention. Read on to see who's moved since the last Power 16.

1's	Record	vs. RPI top 50
Syracuse	22-1 (9-1)	4-0
Kentucky	21-1 (7-0)	5-1
Ohio St.	18-3 (6-2)	4-3
North Carolina	17-3 (4-1)	4-3

Though Syracuse lost at Notre Dame, they still sit atop the Big East and are an impressive 4-0 against the RPI top 50 with three of those wins coming against top 25 teams.  Kentucky won a close one last weekend against Alabama and now have a commanding lead in the SEC.  Their only loss remains a one point defeat at Indiana making this team a lock for a 1 seed.  Don't look now but Ohio St. is officially on a roll - playing Nebraska and Penn St. helps - and are sitting in a first place tie with Michigan St. in the Big Ten. UNC moves into the 1's almost by default as Baylor continues to struggle with the best teams.

Power 16: January 18, 2012

Soph. Dion Waiters leads the Orange's excellent defense this season.
According to Kenpom.com Waiters ranks 3rd in the nation in steal % which
along with his teammates puts Syracuse first nationally in steal %. This team
has to be the favorite to cut down the nets in April.

It's been more than two weeks since I put out a Power 16 and there has been some shuffling.  Conference play is underway for everyone so we're starting to sort out the pretenders from the contenders.  At 2/3 of the way through the season, if your team hasn't started to put things together by now it's likely they will not.  Here's how we stand in the third week of January:

1's	Record	Top 3 Quality Wins
Syracuse	20-0 (7-0)	Florida, Marquette, Stanford
Kentucky	18-1 (4-0)	Kansas, UNC, Louisville
Ohio St.	16-3 (4-2)	Duke, Florida, Indiana
Baylor	17-1 (4-1)	Kansas St., St. Mary's, BYU

Syracuse has been phenomenal.  At 20-0 they're one of only two undefeated teams remaining (Murray St.) and though the Big East is no cakewalk there are no teams that are on the same level with the Orange.  Kentucky will be tested vs. Alabama this weekend but with their only loss at Indiana they've got a firm grasp on a one seed.  Ohio St. is only 4-2 in conference play but has one of the best resumes of any team in the nation.  Plus Jared Sullinger is healthy and the committee will take that into consideration.  Baylor is a bit of an enigma.  They haven't played many top teams and their 18 point loss at Kansas raises some questions.

Conference Power Rankings: ACC

And now back to the Power Rankings series.
The ACC is typically one of the best conferences in college basketball with North Carolina and Duke consistently considered contenders as the best team.  In the last couple of years, however, the ACC has begun to slip.  This was first noticed when they lost the Big Ten/ACC Challenge for the first time in 2009 after winning it ten straight years. After three straight losses and a season in which it's likely to have more teams on the bubble than as locks come March, it's apparent to most fans this conference ain't what it used to be.  Now, this doesn't mean the ACC is a bad conference, just until some of the other schools like Maryland, Wake Forest, and N.C. State regain the success they had in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's the conference will not be considered elite.

Mike Scott has led the Cavaliers to a 14-2 start making
them perhaps the most surprising team in the country and
with rekindled hopes of an NCAA bid.

1. Duke 15-2 (3-0) -  I don't think Duke is the best team but right now they have the best profile; when you're undefeated you sit at the top. Close wins over Georgia Tech and Virginia are still wins. 
2. North Carolina 15-3 (2-1) - The Tar Heels  road woes continue - UNC is 12-0 at home, 2-0 on a neutral floor, but just 1-3 on the road.  
3. Florida St. 11-6 (2-1) - Statement wins are nice and Saturday's 90-57 win over North Carolina was just that.  The only thing FSU is lacking is consistency.  If they can put together a nice little streak of wins they'll be taken seriously.
4. Virginia 14-2 (1-1) - Virginia started off 13-1 and has really played well lately. They'll likely be favored in their next five games putting them at 19-2 which would really open a lot of people's eyes.
5. North Carolina St. 13-5 (2-1) - They beat Maryland then dropped a silly one at home to the Yellow Jackets. Following up that win with a 36 point shellacking of Wake Forest keeps them in the top five.
6. Maryland 12-4 (2-1) - What do you know, Maryland is 9-1 in their last ten games. The level of difficulty is about to increase significantly with FSU, Temple, and Duke the next three games. Let's see what happens.
7. Georgia Tech 8-9 (1-2) - GT doesn't have to play Duke, UNC, FSU, or Virginia twice this year. There is a chance for a fifth place finish and a solid NIT bid.
8. Miami 9-6 (0-2) - There's still time to right the ship. With North Carolina and Virginia out of the way, Miami's next five games are all winnable. 
9. Boston College 7-10 (2-1) - The win over Clemson was a bit of a surprise.  This team isn't as bad as many thought though losses to Holy Cross and Boston gave cause for people to see the worst in them.
10. Clemson 9-8 (1-2) - The loss at Boston College may say more about this team than the close loss to Duke. The Tigers play decent defense but they seem to struggle getting to the free throw line and their best players aren't good foul shooters anyway. That makes winning close games even tougher.
11. Wake Forest 10-7 (1-2) - Slowly but surely the Demon Deacons are climbing out of the cellar.  This is a team that went 1-15 in ACC play last season.  They've already got their win so perhaps they can double last season's total?
12. Virginia Tech 11-6 (0-3) - It wasn't supposed to be like this.  Losing to BC and Wake is inexcusable and with the next two against UNC and at Virginia it's about to get worse.

Power 16: Ringing in the New Year

What better way for the blog to celebrate the new year than with the first Power 16 of the college basketball season!  It's still early and only half the conferences have played a conference game but we're starting to see some separation at the top.  Remember, the Power 16 predicts which teams would earn protective seeds if the NCAA Tournament began today. 

Marquis Teague may be the best freshman
in the country.  He's also the starting PG for
the nation's best team. 

1's	Record	Top 3 Quality Wins
Kentucky	13-1 (0-0)	Kanas, UNC, Louisville
North Carolina	12-2 (0-0)	Michigan St., Wisconsin, Texas
Indiana	13-1 (1-1)	Kentucky, Ohio St., NC St.
Syracuse	14-0 (1-0)	Florida, Stanford, Seton Hall

Kentucky has been the best team this season; they own the best collection of quality wins and their only loss was suffered at IU.  I expect them to maintain their position all year.  North Carolina looks like another top tier team despite suffering a couple of losses (@UNLV, @Kentucky).  Their non-conference schedule was strong and boosts them to the #2 overall at this point. Indiana has home victories over both Kentucky and Ohio St.  They may not be able to sustain this level all year but they're pretty darn good and it will be a surprise if they lose at home this season.  Despite zero losses Syracuse sits at number four.  Going undefeated this long is impressive but it's slightly less impressive when you see they've only played one true road game, tied with Missouri for the fewest in the country.

Big Ten/ACC Challenge Preview Part 2

Well, that was interesting. The Big Ten took four out of the six games last night with Ohio St. stealing the show by routing Duke.  Tonight the BIG looks for their third straight Challenge title.

Indiana @ North Carolina St. (Wednesday ESPN2, 7:15pm)

Indiana looks improved this year and even has a couple of decent wins over Evansville and Butler as proof.  However, this looks to be their toughest game yet and will be used as a measuring stick for their progress.  They've done a great job shooting the ball and defending two point shots which may be largely attributed to freshman Cody Zeller. NC State also has been effective scoring this season and defending twos but have been burned by the three.  Taking care of the ball may be the Wolfpack's greatest strength so there likely won't be a lot of empty possessions on their end. IU will have to overcome this with excellent shooting of their own if they expect to prevail.

The Pick: IU gets hot from downtown and wins in a barn burner 80-74.