Here’s five things on my mind this week:
1. The sad state of affairs at Virginia and Miami: I get why Tony Bennett and Jim Larranaga retired. Burn out. The NIL/transfer portal issues. All understandable. But Miami gave up 117 points to SMU at home. Virginia has lost five in a row. The Hurricanes are 0-7 while Virginia is 1-6 in the ACC. Miami was in the Final Four two seasons ago. Virginia won the national title in 2019. Both programs have completely fallen apart. There is zero chance Miami hires interim coach Bill Courtney. The same is likely true of Ron Sanchez at Virginia. Both jobs should be highly coveted in the spring with the Cavaliers job certainly more desirable due to the tradition, fan support and potential for donor involvement. Both programs were challengers to Duke and North Carolina within the past decade. I would toss in Florida State, too, before their recent slide in the past few seasons. But the gap could be growing from Duke and yes still UNC (even if the record isn’t there this season). They need to get the hires right.
2. Don’t be surprised if Stanford and Cal are ACC upper division teams: While Virginia and Miami slide, the Cardinal and Bears are starting to make a move. Coaching matters. And the Cardinal and Bears have two winners. Expect Stanford’s Kyle Smith and Cal’s Mark Madsen to get it done and be factors in the ACC. Stanford won at North Carolina while Cal won at NC State. Stanford is 4-3 in the ACC, Cal 2-5.
3. A fun storyline is developing for March with the likelihood that both Pitinos will be in the NCAA Tournament. Rick Pitino has completely turned St. John’s around and now the Red Storm leads the Big East at 7-1, 16-3 overall. Richard Pitino has New Mexico atop the Mountain West at 7-1, 15-4 overall. The Red Storm beat the Lobos at Madison Square Garden earlier in the season. Both teams have improved steadily since that game. But conference championships by a father and son in the same season is a real possibility.
4. Gonzaga is in a real fight to win the WCC: The Zags had a rough week, losing at Oregon State and then to Santa Clara. Gonzaga is in a four-way tie for second with USF, Santa Clara and Washington State — all two games behind 6-0 Saint Mary’s. The Bulldogs are playing themselves out of a protected seed in Seattle. That’s a shame since the Bulldogs would have created quite an atmosphere if they were playing at Climate Pledge Arena.
5. Arkansas is 0-5 in the SEC: The Hogs seemed to have been on an upward trajectory after the win over Michigan at MSG in early December. But they have been unable to defend well enough in all five SEC games home or road. The biggest disappointment has been Johnell Davis’ scoring. He was averaging 18 points a game last season at Florida Atlantic. He’s at 8 a game, thus far.
RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | NET Rankings
The Power 37 for the week of Jan 20:
- Auburn (Prev.1, 17-1): The Tigers keep winning, even without the injured Johni Broome.
- Duke (Prev. 3, 16-2): Starting to feel like the Blue Devils could run the table in the ACC.
- Alabama (Prev. 4, 15-3): The Tide bounced back from an Ole Miss home loss to beat Kentucky on the road.
- Houston (Prev. 13, 14-3): The Cougars continue to cruise and are now the only undefeated team in the Big 12.
- Iowa State (Prev. 2, 15-2): Iowa State suffered its first Big 12 loss, at West Virginia.
- Michigan State (Prev. 9, 16-2): The Spartans won their 11th in a row by beating Illinois Sunday.
- Purdue (Prev. 15, 15-4): The Boilermakers got the Northwest sweep of Washington and Oregon.
- Illinois (Prev. 21, 13-5): The Illini may have lost in the final possession at Michigan State, but certainly look the part of a top-10 team.
- Marquette (Prev. 7, 15-3): The Golden Eagles won at DePaul and then were surprisingly beaten at home by Xavier by two.
- Kansas (Prev. 16, 13-4): No shame in losing at Iowa State. Kansas made sure it didn’t linger and beat Kansas State by 10.
- Kentucky (Prev. 11, 14-4): The Wildcats beat Texas A&M at home, but then Alabama came in and clipped UK.
- Tennessee (Prev. 6, 16-2): The Vols beat Georgia handily but then got stunned by Vanderbilt by one in Nashville.
- Missouri (Prev. 32, 15-3): The Tigers won at Florida and beat Arkansas.
- Florida (Prev. 5, 16-2): The Gators lost at home to Missouri and then beat Texas.
- St. John’s (Prev. 30, 16-3): Time to give the Red Storm its due. The Red Storm are atop the Big East.
- Texas A&M (Prev. 14, 14-4): The Aggies lost at Kentucky and then took down LSU.
- Wisconsin (Prev. 25, 15-3): The Badgers had a super win at USC to start a two-game trip to LA.
- Creighton (Prev. NR, 12-6): The Bluejays beat PC by 20 and then won at UConn.
- UConn (Prev. 10, 13-5): The Huskies aren’t the same team without Liam McNeeley. Hopefully, he’s back soon so they can resume their status as a Big East favorite.
- Louisville (Prev. 26, 14-5): Pat Kelsey has done a phenomenal job with the Cardinals, now 7-1 in the ACC.
- Clemson (Prev. 27, 15-4): The Tigers won at Georgia Tech and then at Pitt to keep pace with Louisville.
- Mississippi State (Prev. 23, 15-3): The Bulldogs lost by 22 at Auburn but then beat rival Ole Miss by three.
- Memphis (Prev. 8, 14-4): The loss at Temple stings, but the Tigers then found their groove again and dispatched Charlotte on the road.
- Ole Miss (Prev. 28, 15-3): The Rebels beat Alabama by 10 and then lost by three at Mississippi State.
- Michigan (Prev. 12, 14-4): The Wolverines lost at Minnesota on a Dawson Garcia 3-point buzzer-beater but then rebounded to knock off Northwestern Sunday.
- Texas Tech (Prev. NR, 13-4): Great week for the Red Raiders by beating Kansas State on the road and taking down Arizona handily.
- Arizona (Prev. 19, 11-6): The Wildcats lost to Texas Tech after beating Baylor.
- West Virginia (Prev. 20, 13-4): The Mountaineers got smacked by Houston, but then shocked Iowa State.
- Oregon (Prev. 24, 15-3): The Ducks did lose to Purdue at home, but had been rolling prior.
- New Mexico (Prev. 18, 15-4): The Lobos bounced back after a last-second loss at San Jose State with a convincing win over Boise State.
- Utah State (Prev. 17, 16-2): The Aggies suffered their first MWC loss to UNLV.
- Vanderbilt (Prev. NR, 15-3): The Commodores had a season-changing win over rival Tennessee.
- Georgia (Prev. 33, 14-4): The Bulldogs had a rough week losing at Tennessee and then to Auburn.
- Wake Forest (Prev. 35, 14-4): The Demon Deacons have won five in a row and have a monster opportunity this week with North Carolina and Duke coming to Winston-Salem.
- Saint Mary’s (Prev. NR, 16-3): The Gaels are the last remaining unbeaten team in the WCC.
- UC Irvine (Prev. NR, 17-2): The Anteaters are 7-0 in the Big West, 17-2 overall.
- George Mason (Prev. NR, 14-5): The Patriots are the latest A-10 team to sit atop the league after beating Dayton on the road and GW at home.
Dropped out: Gonzaga (22), Maryland (29), Baylor (31) Saint Louis (34), North Carolina (36), Iowa (37)
SATURDAY’s ACTION-PACKED SLATE: Three top 10 upsets in action-packed Saturday of men’s basketball
March Madness National Team of the Week
Creighton: The Bluejays had the win over Kansas at home. But they were desperately searching for a marquee road win or anywhere outside of Omaha. Creighton lost to San Diego State and Texas A&M in Las Vegas, fell at Alabama, at Marquette and even at Georgetown. So, knocking off UConn could turn into the win that cements an NCAA Tournament berth. The Bluejays were coming off a 20-point win at home over Providence but needed to get a win that would separate them from other contenders. The win at UConn could do that for them going forward. Creighton enters the week 5-2 in the Big East, 12-6 overall.
March Madness National Player of the Week
J’Wan Roberts, Houston: The senior big has helped the resurgence of the Big 12 undefeated, first-place Houston Cougars. Roberts scored 22 in a win over West Virginia and then 21 in a road win at UCF. The Mountaineers, which had won at Kansas a few weeks earlier and would then beat Iowa State, after the Houston game couldn’t handle Roberts. Roberts hit the game-winning bucket with 1.1 seconds left to beat the Knights in Orlando. Roberts is now averaging 10/6.6 a game.
March Madness Top 10 games of the week
Houston at Kansas, Saturday: This has become a massive game for Kansas. The Jayhawks enter the week two games behind Houston, and a game behind Iowa State, Arizona and tied with West Virginia, Texas Tech and Baylor. Kansas cannot afford to lose at home. Houston has risen up to the top — just like they always do under Kelvin Sampson.
Tennessee at Auburn, Saturday: The Vols suddenly have two losses after falling to Vanderbilt and could be in a deeper hole to the undefeated Tigers if they can’t win at Auburn.
Michigan at Purdue, Friday: The Boilermakers are one of the hottest teams in the country after the Northwest sweep. The Wolverines are tied with the Boilers in the loss column. Michigan finally has an edge inside after years of Zach Edey while Purdue has the clear advantage on the perimeter.
Mississippi State at Tennessee, Tuesday: The Vols need to take care of business earlier in the week. The Bulldogs got the best of their rival Ole Miss last week.
Wisconsin at UCLA, Tuesday: The Badgers and Bruins both played some of their best ball of the season Friday night with Wisconsin winning at USC and UCLA handling Iowa. The Badgers are looking for the LA sweep.
Georgia at Florida, Saturday: The Gators have cooled off a bit, losing at home to Missouri. Georgia hasn’t been as sharp as well, but no surprise in the loaded SEC. This should be a late-possession game.
Vanderbilt at Alabama, Tuesday: The Commodores are now 3-2 after shocking Tennessee and are fully in the NCAA Tournament picture. Alabama is scorching after a road win at Kentucky.
Michigan State vs. Rutgers, Saturday: This game is at Madison Square Garden, giving Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey their first look at an NBA court they will be playing on next season. But more importantly, the Scarlet Knights desperately need this Quad 1 win.
New Mexico at UNLV, Saturday: The Lobos are in first place in the Mountain West, but the Runnin’ Rebels are maybe the hottest in the league after beating Utah State and winning at San Diego State.
Bradley at Belmont, Tuesday: Bradley has won three in a row and stands in first in the Valley while Belmont is right behind, one game back tied with Drake.
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