TOP 25
No top seed for the Dukies
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Despite the imperfect science that are college basketball rankings, the top 16 teams in the final Examiner rankings have a good argument for dividing into the top four seeds in each region of the NCAA Tournament. And no, Duke doesn’t deserve a No. 1. The Devils were one of just six teams in the rankings that lost last week (with Syracuse, Kansas State, Villanova, Vanderbilt and Georgetown). The ghosts of Freedom Hall were on Louisville’s side, but it’s hard not to wonder whether the loss will cost the Orange the overall No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks, of course, are rolling into the postseason. Meanwhile, their in-state rival, Kansas State, played its way out of No. 1 seed consideration — perhaps No. 2 as well. The Terps, meanwhile, made the biggest leap forward, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
| No. | Team (Record) | Comment | Pvs. |
| 1 | Kansas (29-2) | No. 1 overall seed for NCAAs should be within grasp | 2 |
| 2 | Kentucky (29-2) | On senior day, Wildcats honored Patterson, a junior | 3 |
| 3 | Syracuse (28-3) | Rautins, Joseph combined for 5 points in L’ville loss | 1 |
| 4 | Ohio State (24-7) | Turner 20.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 6.3 apg over his last six games | 7 |
| 5 | Purdue (26-4) | Who wouldn’t want to face Hummel-less Boilers in NCAAs? | 5 |
| 6 | New Mexico (28-3) | A shame as Alford gives Lobos headlines for wrong reason | 8 |
| 7 | Duke (26-5) | Something rarely said after a 32-point win: Well, it was UNC | 6 |
| 8 | WVU (24-6) | Butler goes out on high note: 43 points, 16 rebs in last two | 11 |
| 9 | Michigan St. (24-7) | Beat Michigan so bad, had to watch Tiger-less golf | 9 |
| 10 | Kansas St. (24-6) | What’s the opposite of momentum? Yeah, ’Cats have that | 4 |
| 11 | Villanova (24-6) | Again: What’s the opposite of momentum? Yeah, ’Cats have that | 10 |
| 12 | UTEP (24-5) | Caracter’s dunk extends Miners’ winning streak to 14 | 13 |
| 13 | Tennessee (23-7) | Right now, playing the best basketball in the SEC | 15 |
| 14 | Maryland (23-7) | Not a bad draw in the ACC Tourney; could get Tar Heels | 17 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt (23-7) | Thought regular season ended at half vs. Gamecocks | 12 |
| 16 | Wisconsin (23-7) | 13 bench points combined between Badgers & Illini on Sunday | 14 |
| 17 | BYU (28-4) | Beat TCU by 30, get TCU in 1st round of MWC Tourney | 16 |
| 18 | Georgetown (20-9) | JT3: Hoyas’ second half vs. Cincy was best this year | 18 |
| 19 | Temple (26-5) | GW on wrong end as Owls clinched A-10 regular-season title | 19 |
| 20 | Baylor (24-6) | WWII was barely over last time Bears won this many games | 20 |
| 21 | Texas A&M (22-8) | Aggies won their final three to earn bye in Big 12 Tourney | 21 |
| 22 | Xavier (23-7) | Won final two regular-season games by a combined 47 points | 22 |
| 23 | Richmond (24-7) | Seriously, this year’s A-10 Tournament could be special | 23 |
| 24 | Butler (27-4) | Hasn’t beaten anyone of note since Xavier on Dec. 19 | 24 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh (24-7) | Gibbs’ 3-pointer and Dixon’s 24 pts saved Pitt vs. Providence | 25 |
TOP 25 GAME OF THE WEEK
William & Mary vs. ODU, Monday, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Appropriately, the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament final Monday night matches teams that made news earlier in the season with stunning upsets of major-conference foes. William & Mary upset Wake Forest and Maryland, while ODU toppled Georgetown. Seeking its first CAA title, William & Mary (22-9) won Sunday in the semifinals 47-45, getting a go-ahead 3-pointer from David Schneider and then weathering an amazing final 21 seconds in which Northeastern missed seven shots and got six offensive rebounds. ODU (25-8) won in breathtaking fashion as well 73-69 in overtime against VCU as Ben Finney hit the key 3-pointer.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Deontay Twyman, Quinnipiac, guard
After he got caught up in the Ronny Thompson debacle at Ball State, Twyman’s college career has finally achieved liftoff at Quinnipiac (23-8), which will play for the Northeast Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night (ESPN). Twyman, a Silver Spring resident, had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists as Quinnipiac defeated Long Island 83-78 on Sunday in the semifinals. After a lost freshman season at Ball State, the 5-foot-11 guard rebounded at Polk Community College (Fla.) before moving to Quinnipiac. Twyman led Sherwood to the Maryland state title in 2007.
STORY LINES
1. UNI to the rescue » Bubble teams far and wide rejoiced Sunday when Northern Iowa pulled away in the second half for a 67-52 win over Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference championship game. UNI (28-4) already was assured of its second straight NCAA berth, but if the Panthers had lost Sunday, they would have eaten up an at-large bid. Also winning its conference tournament last week as a No. 1 seed was Ohio Valley champion Murray State (30-4). Also assured of an NCAA bid was Cornell (27-4), which wrapped up the Ivy League, the only conference in Division I that doesn’t play a tournament.
2. Conference Tournament Madness » Forget the selection show. The sudden-death spirit of March Madness is underway in the form of the small-conference tournament championship games. These often are more compelling and certainly more competitive than the first round of the NCAA, often marred by hideous mismatches. Some of the one-bid conference tournament finals that will be played this week include the Southern (Monday), Horizon (Tuesday), Sun Belt (Tuesday), Summit (Tuesday), Metro Atlantic (Tuesday), Northeast (Wednesday), Big Sky (Wednesday), Southland (Saturday), MEAC (Saturday), Mid-America (Saturday) and America East (Saturday).
3. Top seeds? » Syracuse (28-3), Kansas (29-2) and Kentucky (29-2) seem assured of No. 1 seeds. But if one stumbles early in a conference tournament, could it fall to a No. 2, especially if teams such as Duke (26-5), Kansas State (24-6), Ohio State (24-7), Purdue (26-4) or Villanova (24-6) rush to fill the void by winning their respective conference tournaments? What if none of these teams emerge? Would the selection committee go against its big-conference bias and tab New Mexico (28-3) if it survives the Mountain West Conference Tournament? The Lobos would be a natural for the tough-to-fill West Region.
AREA INTELLIGENCE
MARYLAND
The Terps (23-7) earned a share of the ACC regular-season crown for the first time in eight years and will play Georgia Tech (19-11) or UNC (16-15) in the ACC quarterfinals Friday in Greensboro, N.C. Maryland also has received a verbal commitment from 6-foot-6 Haukur Palsson (Iceland).
GEORGETOWN
Greg Monroe (first team) and Austin Freeman (second team) were named All-Big East. After an opening-round bye in the Big East Tournament, the No. 8 Hoyas (20-9) will play Wednesday at noon at Madison Square Garden against No. 9 South Florida (19-11) or No. 16 DePaul (8-22).
GEORGE WASHINGTON
The No. 10 Colonials (16-13) will play at No. 7 Dayton (19-11) in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Tuesday. On Jan. 20, Dayton rolled to a 66-51 win over visiting GW. The pressure is on the Flyers, who probably need at least two wins to secure an NCAA at-large bid.
HOWARD
The No. 8 Bison (7-24) will face No. 9 North Carolina A&T (10-21) in the opening round of the MEAC Tournament on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C. Howard beat N.C. A&T twice this season as Calvin Thompson had a combined 47 points and 19 rebounds. Winner will play No. 1 Morgan State (24-9).
GEORGE MASON
The Patriots had a 53-51 lead on nemesis VCU on Saturday in the CAA Tournament quarterfinals, but Brandon Rozzell made a trio of 3-pointers in a span of 1:53 as the Rams pulled away for a 75-60 win. Despite losing seven of its last nine, George Mason (17-13) awaits an NIT bit.
