Blue Devils Face Season-Defining Stretch
By virtue of their dramatic 69-65 home win over Virginia on sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon’s late 3-pointer and a 95-60 blowout win of in-state rival North Carolina State in front of President George H.W. Bush, the Blue Devils (14-4) climbed five spots in this week’s poll to check in at No. 18 this week. Duke will look to build on its momentum this week and earn its first road win at Miami before taking on Florida State at home. The Blue Devils will need to continue improving defensively and on the boards in preparation for a two-game road trip next week at No. 20 Pittsburgh (16-2) and at No. 2 Syracuse (18-0). If Duke’s road woes continue, the Blue Devils could see their chances at a high seed in the NCAA Tournament take a serious hit—Duke cannot afford to drop any further in the ACC standings, meaning that anything less than a 3-1 mark for the upcoming four-game stretch would be a huge disappointment.
Big 10 Powers Sliding
Wisconsin (16-2) suffered its first two losses of the season last week, falling 75-72 at Indiana before getting stunned 77-70 at home by Michigan. Bo Ryan’s squad has had a tough time slowing down its opponents in conference play and will likely continue sliding if their defensive woes continue—the Badgers are not built to compete with more athletic teams in fast-paced games. As a result of its losses, Wisconsin fell to No. 9 in this week’s poll after being ranked third last week.
Michigan State (17-1) rose to No. 3 as a result of Wisconsin’s misfortune and Michigan (13-4) climbed into the top 25 this week, checking in at No. 21. The Spartans and Wolverines are the only unbeaten teams in Big 10 play remaining, but will likely also fall soon because of the parity of the league. However, if Michigan continues its strong play, Duke’s early-season victory over the Wolverines could continue growing in value. Iowa (15-3) also benefited from the carnage in the Big 10 and all across the country, cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2002 by checking in at No. 10 this week.
Ohio State (15-3) suffered its third consecutive loss, falling 63-53 at Minnesota. The Buckeyes have struggled to score against tough Big 10 defenses without a real go-to-guy and will likely need to adjust their playing style to end their free fall to the bottom of the conference standings. Ohio State fell to No. 17 this week after being ranked 11th last week and third the week prior.
Guess Who Still Rules the Big 12
Kansas (13-4) has put to rest any notions that its reign as Big 12 king is over. The Jayhawks won at then-No. 8 Iowa State 77-70 before taking down then-No. 9 Oklahoma State 80-78 and getting revenge for last season’s loss to the Cowboys at Allen Fieldhouse. Led by junior point guard Naadir Tharpe and freshman center Joel Embiid, the Jayhawks are finally starting to live up to their insane potential. Freshman phenom Andrew Wiggins and sophomore forward Perry Ellis aren’t bad, either. Kansas already boasts road wins over No. 25 Oklahoma, No. 22 Kansas State and No. 16 Iowa State and a home win against No. 11 Oklahoma State, meaning that the teams listed above cannot slip up at all if they hope to catch the Jayhawks in the standings. Kansas takes on No. 24 Baylor on Monday looking to continue its dominance in conference play.
The Bears (13-4) had a tough week, suffering an awful 82-72 loss at Texas Tech before falling at home to No. 25 Oklahoma 66-64. As a result, Baylor fell 12 spots in this week’s poll to No. 24 after being ranked 12th last week. Iowa State joined Baylor in its descent in the conference standings, falling to Kansas at home before losing 86-76 at Texas. The Cyclones (14-3) fell eight spots to check in at No. 16 in this week’s poll and are now officially reeling after suffering three losses early in conference play.
SEC and American Athletic Conference Leaders Have Showdowns Coming
No. 6 Florida (15-2) is the only undefeated team in the SEC because Arkansas stunned Kentucky 87-85 in overtime on a ridiculous tip-slam at the buzzer. The Wildcats (13-4) only fell one spot because of the loss and will likely still be in good shape to challenge Florida for the SEC crown when the teams face of in mid-February and in the last game of the season—Kentucky and Florida look to be the class of the SEC to this point.
The American Athletic Conference is in a similar position, at least at this point in the season. No. 15 Cincinnati (17-2) is the only team undefeated in conference play and climbed four spots in this week’s poll as a result. No. 12 Louisville (16-3) is right on the heels of the Bearcats and won at Connecticut to climb six spots in this week’s poll. The Huskies and No. 23 Memphis (13-4) have lost ground on the Bearcats and Cardinals and will look to get back in the race for the conference title, but for now it looks like the Jan. 30 and Feb. 22 showdowns between Louisville and Cincinnati will have huge implications.
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