EXAMINER TOP 25
Michigan St. falls out of top 10
The top five remain undefeated and unchanged. It will be interesting to see how these teams deal with the rigors of conference play, which fires up the next two weeks. With its loss at home to Texas, Michigan State falls from the top 10 for the first time this year, tumbling from No. 6 to No. 15. Surprising teams that continued their slow, steady climb up the rankings include No. 10 San Diego State, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 16 Central Florida, No. 20 Texas A&M and No. 23 Cincinnati. Returning to the rankings were Louisville, UNLV, Washington and Wisconsin.
| No. Team » Comment » Last week 1. Duke (11-0) » Coach K now 23 wins behind D-I leader Bobby Knight » 1 2. Ohio State (12-0) » Much tougher road in Big 10 than Duke has in the ACC » 2 3. Kansas (11-0) » For what it’s worth, KU is now No. 1 in Sagarin ratings » 3 4. UConn (9-0) » Starting with Pitt (Mon.), 7 of 10 games vs. ranked foes » 4 5. Syracuse (13-0) » Open Big East schedule Tue. night at Providence (11-2) » 5 6. Pittsburgh (12-1) » Show of force — six from the Big East among the top 13 » 7 7. Georgetown (11-1) » At Memphis (89-69), Freeman (9 of 12) was unflappable » 8 8. Missouri (11-1) » Vs. Illinois, took ‘Braggin Rights’ for 2nd straight year » 9 9. Villanova (10-1) » Face toughest of its Big 5 foes (Temple) on Thursday » 10 10. San Diego St. (14-0) » Survived 3 of 20 from the arc in 56-54 win over IUPUI » 11 11. Texas (10-2) » First nonconference team to win at MSU since 2003 » 14 12. Kentucky (9-2) » Lamb set UK freshman record (32 points) vs. Winthrop » 13 13. Notre Dame (11-1) » Tough week – vs. No. 7 Georgetown, at No. 5 Syracuse » 17 14. Purdue (11-1) » With bunny schedule, hard to get read on Boilermakers » 18 15. Michigan St. (8-4) » All four losses are to teams now ranked in the top 11 » 6 16. Central Fla. (11-0) » At UMass, injured Jordan hit 5 of 6 FTs in final minute » 19 17. Minnesota (11-1) » Tough holiday trip — at Wisconsin (Tue.) at MSU (Fri.) » 20 18. BYU (12-1) » Fredette fifth in the nation with 24.2 points per game » 22 19. Memphis (9-2) » Tigers’ youth exposed by savvy Georgetown backcourt » 15 20. Texas A&M (11-1) » Middleton avoided brawl, scored 31 in OT win vs. Ark. » 23 21. Louisville (10-1) » At WKY, Cardinals posted highest total (114) in decade » NR 22. Washington (8-3) » Three quality losses — UK, Michigan St., Texas A&M » NR 23. Cincinnati (12-0) » Highest ranked victim — Dayton (No. 98 in Sagarin) » 24 24. UNLV (11-2) » Rebels are 4-1 against schools from BCS conferences » NR 25. Wisconsin (10-2) » Four of Badgers’ next five games against ranked teams » NR *Through Sunday’s games |
HEATING UP
Central Florida; Also » Wisconsin, Texas A&M
COOLING DOWN
Baylor; Also » Michigan State, Kansas State
TOP 25 GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 21 Louisville at No. 12 Kentucky
Is there a fiercer nonconference rivalry or an oilier coaching matchup than John Calipari of Kentucky and Rick Pitino of Louisville? The pomp, the pageantry and the coaches’ fabulous coifs and tailored suits will be on display for their high noon New Year’s Eve throwdown. Calipari has a 6-8 record against Pitino-coached teams. Players to watch in the revolving-door lineup of Kentucky are freshmen Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones. (Fri., noon, CBS)
PLAYER TO WATCH
John Shurna, Northwestern, F
In seven brutal days, Northwestern (11-1) plays at No. 14 Purdue (Friday), No. 15 Michigan State (Monday), and at formerly ranked Illinois (Jan. 6). The Wildcats reached this point last season with one loss before falling to MSU and Illinois. This is an opportunity for Shurna to showcase his efficient offensive arsenal. The 6-foot-8 junior leads the Big Ten in scoring (23.3 ppg) and is second in the nation in 3-point shooting (62.3 percent). (Fri., 12 p.m., ESPN2)
STORYLINES
1. Butler, UNI rise again » After unimpressive starts, “tournament” was music to the ears of Butler and Northern Iowa. Both the Midwest mid-majors, which lit up the 2010 NCAAs with upsets, won tournaments last week, conquering major-conference teams. Butler (9-4) captured the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, toppling Utah, Florida State and Washington State behind Shelvin Mack (50 points, 10 assists) and MVP Matt Howard (56 points, 26 rebounds). UNI won the Las Vegas Classic as Kwadzo Ahelegbe scored 24 points in a semifinal win over Indiana and Anthony James scored 23 in the title game victory over New Mexico.
2. KSU, Baylor undressed » A season that started with such promise for Big 12 powers Kansas State (10-3) and Baylor (8-3) is off the tracks. The Wildcats are the worst free throw shooting team in the nation (53.4 percent) and their top two scorers, Jacob Pullen (three games) and Curtis Kelly (indefinite), are serving suspensions for accepting gifts from a Manhattan (Kan.) clothier, and no one is lighting a match near combustible coach Frank Martin. Meanwhile, Baylor lost three games in eight days. In a loss to Washington State in the Diamond Head semifinals, the Bears surrendered 57 percent shooting. The next night, the Bears were outrebounded 41-27 by Florida State.
3. Conference play » At long last, conference play arrives this week with the most interesting scores to be settled in the loaded Big East, which has seven ranked teams; the Big Ten, with five ranked squads; and the Big 12, which has five ranked teams and Baylor, which started the year in the top 10. No. 1 Duke will be weakened in the backcourt by the loss of sensational freshman Kyrie Irving, but it may take a while for the Devils to be exposed in the uncharacteristically mediocre ACC, which doesn’t have another team in the Top 25.
AREA INTELLIGENCE
MARYLAND
In between ACC games against Boston College (Dec. 12) and Duke (Jan. 9), the Terrapins (8-4) play three games in a span of 27 days. The teams have a combined four wins over Division I teams. Next up is North Florida (4-7) of the Atlantic Sun Conference, followed by Colgate (0-10) of the Patriot League.
Next » North Florida, Wed., 8 p.m.
GEORGETOWN
The No. 7 Hoyas (11-1) are No. 1 in the nation in adjusted field goal shooting (60.4 percent) behind Austin Freeman (56.8 FG percentage, 49.2 3-point percentage), Jason Clark (52.1 FG, 44.8 3-point) and Hollis Thompson (54.4 FG, 48.3 3-point). GU has lost its last two against Wednesday night foe Notre Dame.
Next » at No. 13 Notre Dame, Wed., 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
VIRGINIA TECH
Manny Atkins hit a 3-pointer at the start of OT and the Hokies were on their way to a 76-68 win over St. Bonaventure on Thursday in Rochester, N.Y. It was the third straight victory for Virginia Tech after three consecutive defeats. Next up is Atlantic Sun school USC Upstate (2-9), which is in its fourth season in Division I.
Next » USC Upstate, Thu., 2 p.m.
GEORGE MASON
Before playing 15 straight CAA games, the Patriots (9-2) try to extend their seven-game winning streak at Dayton (10-3). Last year, the Flyers halted GMU’s 18-game home winning streak 56-55. Defending NIT champion Dayton is led by forwards Chris Wright (13.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Chris Johnson (11.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg).
Next » at Dayton, Wed., 7 p.m.
VIRGINIA
Senior F Mike Scott returned from ankle surgery Wednesday night, but it was hardly cause for celebration as Virginia (8-4) suffered a shocking 59-53 loss to Seattle. Frontcourt starters Akil Mitchell and Assane Sene combined for no points and four rebounds, and the backcourt starters hit one of 16 shots from 3-point range.
Next » Iowa State, Thu. 8 p.m.
