Back Where They Belong
After five straight weeks outside the top 10, the Blue Devils will enter their highly anticipated matchup at North Carolina his week at the No. 8 spot in this week’s AP Poll. The Blue Devils are coming off two impressive wins this past week against Wake Forest and Boston College that displayed how much the team has grown defensively over the course of this season. Another strong showing defensively will be key in slowing down North Carolina’s duo of guard Marcus Paige and forward James Michael McAdoo. If Duke can come out of this week unscathed, the rematch against unanimous No. 1 Syracuse Feb. 22 in Cameron will receive even more hype than it already deserves.
Not What They Were Expecting
A foul. A fall. A shove. Another loss. When Marcus Smart decided to return to Oklahoma State for a second season, foregoing an opportunity to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft, he probably envisioned leading his team to a Final Four berth and possibly even a national title. However, after dropping its fourth game in a row and fifth of its last six, Oklahoma State has officially been dropped from the rankings. There have been many storylines over the course of this season in the Big 12 with the continued dominance of No. 7 Kansas and the resurgence of No. 19 Texas, but there really is no bigger, and sadder, story out of the Midwest than Smart’s three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan and Oklahoma State’s fall from the top.
Ohio State and Wisconsin Return to the Poll
In other news out of the Midwest, No. 22 Ohio State and No. 21 Wisconsin have returned to the rankings after a one-week departure. The Big Ten has been a lesson in parity this entire season and this past week was no exception. No. 9 Michigan State lost to Wisconsin, No. 15 Michigan lost to No. 16 Iowa, and Iowa lost to Ohio State. There is not a single pundit or analyst in America right now who can accurately predict what is going to happen in the Big Ten week to week—and that's a good thing for the sport.
SMU in Top 25 for First Time in Three Decades
After their upset over then-No. 7 Cincinnati last week, the No. 23 Mustangs have moved into the Top 25 for this first time since the 1984-85 season. SMU spent the last eight seasons as a member of Conference U.S.A., finishing 15-17 last season. This season, the Mustangs, led by former NBA head coach Larry Brown, joined the American Athletic Conference and currently are third in the conference behind No. 10 Cincinnati and No. 13 Louisville. The Mustangs have not qualified for the NCAA tournament since 1993. The future is certainly bright for this program.
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