Duke Falls One Spot After Tumultuous Week
The No. 6 Blue Devils came out fairly well off after what was definitely their most difficult week of the year thus far. After a rout of Georgia Tech and a disheartening loss to then-unranked North Carolina, Duke was able to salvage the week by beating then-No. 1 Syracuse in an exciting rematch in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke plays just one game this week—facing Virginia Tech this Tuesday in Cameron—and will be off until they visit Wake Forest March 5. The Blue Devils will need that rest period to refresh and make final adjustments before the real season begins. After losing its first two games of the year, No. 4 Syracuse lost its claim to the top spot in the country, though it remains likely to receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. With Cuse’s two losses this week there is a new team sitting atop the ACC standings: No. 12 Virginia. After beating Duke, No. 19 North Carolina returns to the poll for the first time in seven weeks. Like the Big Ten and the Big 12, the ACC is showing a lot of parity down the stretch, which can only mean that we should expect the unexpected come the ACC tournament, two weeks from now.
Gators Reign Supreme
For the first time since they repeated as national champions in 2007, the Florida Gators are the No. 1 team in the nation. After two wins this week against Auburn and Ole Miss, the Gators look nearly uncontested in a beleaguered SEC. The Gators are flourishing on both sides of the ball but especially on defense: Florida has surrendered more than 70 points once since Jan. 11. If any team in the SEC can challenge the Gators it’s No. 17 Kentucky, which has already lost to Florida in Lexington. The rematch is the regular season finale for both teams and is set for March 8 in Gainesville.
Kansas’ Resurgence
No. 5 Kansas is having a very similar season to Duke this year and after slowly but surely working they way back up from some mid-season hiccups they are back in the top five for the first time since week four of the season. Coming off an impressive 85-54 win over then-No. 19 Texas at home, Kansas is sitting right where they want to be: comfortably on top of the Big 12 standings and in position to be eligible for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Kansas’ two freshmen stars, Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, have continued to improve as the season has progressed and in a season where there is no clear “best team in the nation” Kansas looks just as dangerous as anyone.
Look Out for Louisville
Remember that Louisville team that got hot at the end of the regular season and went on to win the national championship last year? Well they’re back again in an eerily similar fashion as last year’s team. During the 2012-13 season, Louisville was dominant early on only to experience a few setbacks midway through the season, namely dropping three straight games, two of which were against unranked teams. Something clicked though for the Cardinals and they ended winning every game from Feb. 9 onward. This year’s team? Well, they started the season ranked No. 3 and were dominant early on but again had a few key losses midway through the season in addition to some off the court issues with forward Chane Behanan—now a member of Colorado State. Now, No. 7 Louisville hasn’t dropped a game since late January. If anyone thought this might not be Louisville’s year, remember that everyone thought the same thing this time last year. Maybe Louisville just likes following the same script.
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