College Basketball Poll Update
With plenty of upsets this past weekend, the Top 25 pollsters had their jobs cut out for them. College hoops has a new No. 1 while other elite programs moved up and down the national rankings. Here are the schools to look out for in this week’s Top 25:
New No. 1
The Syracuse Orange are this week’s top team after toppling Big East rival Villanova at home Saturday night. The last time the Orange topped the national poll was following their 2003 title. Syracuse took a 95-77 win over the Wildcats as a 4.5-point home favorite and got some help from Kansas and Kentucky, who fell to conference foes Saturday. The Orange have won three straight games since losing to Louisville back on Valentine’s Day, covering the spread in each of those victories.
Even though Saturday’s win all but punched Syracuse’s ticket to the dance as a No. 1 seed, head coach Jim Boeheim still has much work to do before the Big East tournament begins. Keeping his team focused and cautious of a letdown spot might not be easy with a feisty St. John’s squad on tap this Tuesday and the Cardinals, who knocked off the Orange 66-60 in the Carrier Dome, waiting in the final game of the regular season.
Rising
The Ohio State Buckeyes jumped from No. 9 to sixth in this week’s Top 25. The Buckeyes earned wins over the Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan Wolverines this week, going 1-1 against the spread as favorites in both games. Ohio State is just one win away from claiming the Big Ten regular season title. It has an important showdown with the Illinois Fighting Illini at home Tuesday night. The Buckeyes already have a win over the Illini this season, defeating their conference foes 72-53 as 2-point road favorites in Champaign on Valentine’s Day.
Tuesday’s game could provide sharp bettors with some extra value. Four seniors will be honored on Senior Night and it could very well be the final game for star guard Evan Turner in front of the fans in Columbus. Turner, who is averaging just under 20 points per game, is a front runner for the Wooden Award and will be a lottery pick if he decides to declare for the NBA draft after his junior year at OSU. There have been conflicting reports on Turner’s future with the Buckeyes, making Tuesday’s game even more important.
Falling
The Georgetown Hoyas tumbled from No. 11 in the polls to No. 19 after losing a shocker to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. Georgetown opened the week with a victory over Louisville, winning 70-60 as 4-point road underdogs in Freedom Hall. The 78-64 loss to the Irish was followed by a one-sided defeat to the West Virginia Mountaineers Monday night, which won’t sit well with poll voters for next week’s Top 25. That was the Hoyas’ fourth loss in five games in which they are just 1-4 against the spread.
Georgetown is back home in the Verizon Center against the Cincinnati Bearcats this coming Saturday. The Hoyas are a solid 11-4 at home but have gone just 5-7 ATS in Washington D.C. Georgetown hasn’t faced the Bearcats yet this season but remembers last year’s 64-62 overtime win against Cincinnati. Greg Monroe scored 13 points in that win and is coming off a 22-point, nine-rebound performance against the Mountaineers Monday.
Should be in
The Ivy League doesn’t get much love from poll voters, hence the Cornell Big Red getting snubbed in this week’s national rankings after winning back-to-back games over Dartmouth and Princeton this week and extending their winning streak to five games. Voters aren’t the only ones unimpressed with the Big Red’s streak. Bettors have cashed in on just one of those five games and have been dealt losses in three straight outings. While Cornell ranks just 71st in RPI and doesn’t face a tough conference slate, the Big Red could prove voters wrong in the early stages of the NCAA Tournament.
Eight players are taking in their final two regular season games of their college careers this week when the team travels to Brown and Yale. One of those seniors making their swan song is sharp-shooting guard Ryan Wittman, who is challenging for Ivy League Player of the Year. Wittman is averaging more than 17 points per game this year and has the range to burn some big-name opponents this March. Cornell is expected to draw a No. 13 seed come Selection Sunday.
