Jan 31: Power 16

What a crazy week in college basketball!  I am anxious to see Joe Lunardi's latest bracket tomorrow.  Here's how I have the top 16 this week:

School	Record	vs RPI top 25
Kansas	20-1 (6-0)	3-1
Syracuse	21-1 (8-1)	3-1
Villanova	19-1 (8-0)	1-1
Kentucky	20-1 (5-1)	1-0

 

It's pretty clear who the top four teams are now.  The only question is what order should they be ranked?  I think Kansas jumps back to the number one overall seed after a road victory at Kansas St.  Syracuse and Villanova hold at two and three respectively and Kentucky comes in at number four.  Kentucky may have the most talent but they currently have played the weakest schedule of these four teams and in my mind that drops them.

School	Record	vs RPI top 25
Michigan St.	19-3 (9-0)	1-1
West Virginia	17-3 (6-2)	0-2
Georgetown	16-4 (6-3)	4-2
Tennessee	16-4 (4-2)	1-2

 

Michigan St. currently sits as the top two seed.  If one of the number one's were to falter down the stretch (lose more than one game) the Spartans are the team that is most likely to capitalize.  Being undefeated in conference play means a lot.  West Virginia had a scare versus Louisville but held on for the victory.  The same for Tennessee against Florida after losing two in a row.  Georgetown leapfrogs into the twos after an impressive home victory over Duke.

School	Record	vs RPI top 25
Duke	17-4 (5-2)	1-3
Kansas St.	17-4 (4-3)	2-1
Purdue	18-3 (6-3)	4-1
BYU	21-2 (6-1)	0-1

 
The threes are where things get interesting.  Duke still only has one real road win and really played poorly at Georgetown.  Purdue seems to be back on track and gets the second three seed thanks to their 4-1 record against the top 25 in the ESPN RPI.  Kansas St. nearly knocked off the number one overall seed at home.  They're not penalized for that but move down because I feel I overrated them last week.  And an impressive BYU squad rounds earns the fourth spot to round out the threes.

School	Record	vs RPI top 25
Vanderbilt	16-4 (5-1)	1-1
Texas	18-3 (4-2)	2-1
Wisconsin	16-5 (6-3)	2-2
Ohio St.	16-6 (6-3)	3-3

Vanderbilt vaults into the rankings.  Although they looked overmatched at Kentucky, they are still 5-1 in conference and are really playing well.  Texas is really slipping.  With another loss they may fall out of the Power 16.   Wisconsin is holding steady but also is not doing anything special. Ohio St. gets the last four seed because they have only lost two times with Evan Turner in the lineup.  I still maintain the committee will take this into consideration when the final pairings are announced.

Also considered: Gonzaga, Butler, Baylor, Pittsburgh