Blue Devils Fall Despite Victories
Duke (9-2) fell to No. 9 this week after being tied with Villanova (11-0) for eighth last week, despite a 85-66 home win against Gardner-Webb at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Monday and an impressive 80-63 win at Madison Square Garden against an explosive UCLA team on Thursday. Led by seniors Tyler Thornton and Josh Hairston, the Blue Devils are starting to do the little things and sophomores Rasheed Sulaimon and Amile Jefferson showed that Duke could be cutting down the nets in April if the duo plays like they did against the Bruins (9-2).
Huskies Stunned at Home
Connecticut (9-1) suffered its first loss this season, a home 53-51 defeat at the hands of Stanford (8-2). Former Duke star and assistant coach Johnny Dawkins employed an effective defensive strategy against Huskie star senior guard Shabazz Napier—thought by many to be the player of the year to this point—that held him to 12 points. The entire Connecticut team could not get anything going with their star neutralized for the first time this season, scoring just 13 second-half points in the loss. The Huskies fell five spots in this week's poll and are now No. 15 after being ranked 10th last week.
Tar Heels Miss Free Throws in Home Loss... Again
Done in by missed free throws—23 to be exact—for the third time this season, the Tar Heels (7-3) fell 86-83 at home to Texas (10-2) on Wednesday in junior guard Leslie McDonald's first game of the season, prompting an angry press conference from head coach Roy Williams, who said his players would have their backsides and every other body part in the gym at 5 a.m. the following morning. North Carolina escaped more disappointment on Saturday after learning that junior guard P.J. Hairston would not be returning to the team, holding on for a 97-85 overtime win against Davidson. After another roller-coaster week, the Tar Heels fell to No. 19 this week after being ranked 14th last week.
Buckeyes Stay Unbeaten—Irish Lose more than the Game
No. 3 Ohio State (12-0) used a miraculous comeback to stay unbeaten on Saturday against Notre Dame (8-4) with a 64-61 win at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Up by eight with 50 seconds left, the Irish found themselves without senior point guard Eric Atkins, who had fouled out, and lost their heads, committing multiple turnovers and unwise fouls to give Ohio State and senior guards Lenzelle Smith, Jr. and Aaron Craft new life. The Buckeyes capitalized on Notre Dame's miscues, with Smith, Jr. scoring seven points in the final 33 seconds to give his team the win. On Sunday, senior guard Jerian Grant, the Fighting Irish's leading scorer, withdrew from the university because of academic ineligibility issues and will miss the rest of the season. Needless to say, the Irish saw their NCAA tournament hopes take a big hit last week.
Gators Prevail and Shockers Find Themselves in the Top 10
Florida (8-2) beat Memphis (8-2) 77-75 on Tuesday in Madison Square Garden as part of the Jimmy V Classic thanks to late free throws by senior Casey Prather. After beating then-No. 18 Kansas the week prior, the Gators continued to build on the momentum against the Tigers to earn a second impressive non-conference victory. With the win, Florida rose three spots this week and is now No. 16 and looking like a real SEC contender and Memphis fell to No. 17 after being ranked No. 15 last week.
Despite many ranked teams losing, no unranked teams last week were able to crawl into this week's top 25, showing that this season's upper echelon of 20-25 basketball teams is a cut above the rest of the country. Lesser known teams like No. 10 Wichita State (12-0), a team ranked in the top-10 for the first time in seven years, and No. 23 Massachusetts (10-1) have already been included in the rankings, making for fewer surprises as the season progresses.
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