ESPN/USA rankings week of 2/23

[jv001]

1. Pittsburgh
2. U-Conn
3. Oklahoma
4. Memphis
5. unc
6. Louisville
7. Duke
8. Missouri
9. Michigan State
10.Marquette

#13. Clemson
#14. Wake Forest
#15. Florida State

I still believe Clemson & Wake are better than #13 & #14 in the country.
Go Duke!

[Ders24]

I haven't seen Missouri at all yet. Are they legit?

[Cdog923]

I haven't seen Missouri at all yet. Are they legit?

They are very good. Play very good defense, which translates into good offensive possesions. They could win the Big XII, especially if Griffin's concussion has any lingering effects.

[jv001]

I haven't seen Missouri at all yet. Are they legit?

Pretty good but I think the Big 12 is weaker than years past. Go Duke!

[should_be_working]

wow, i don't think memphis has any business being in the top 10, let alone the top 5

[jv001]

wow, i don't think memphis has any business being in the top 10, let alone the top 5

Now they are in a real bad conference. They've won something like 54 in a row in the conference. I believe that figure is correct. Go Duke!

[Bluedog]

I haven't seen Missouri at all yet. Are they legit?

My personal opinion? Not a top ten team. Definitely a top 15-20 team. Quality wins: TX, Kansas, and Cal. Losses: Xavier, IL, Nebraska, Kansas State.

But I don't think MSU is top ten quality either. I hope we have Big XII/Big Ten teams in our region...except for Oklahoma. Lots of good teams in the Big Ten, in my opinion, but no great ones.

[geraldsneighbor]

wow, i don't think memphis has any business being in the top 10, let alone the top 5

Memphis is not better then UNC. If you play zone on them, they are done. I'd hope they would win as many games as they do in that conference because its brutal. It might be a one-bid league.

[crimsonandblue]

I haven't seen Missouri at all yet. Are they legit?

Depends on what you mean by legit. They're a legitimately solid Big XII team (which isn't saying much). In any other year, they'd maybe deserve top 20 consideration. This year, they might actually deserve to be in the 15 range.

Mizzou has KState at home and Kansas on the road this week. They also have OU at home. It'll be a big surprise to win two of those three. So, I doubt they'll win the Big XII. Hell, I'll eat my hat if they win the Big XII. It's not happening.

[Bluedog]

#13. Clemson
#14. Wake Forest
#15. Florida State

FSU is ranked 25, NOT 15.

[JDev]

If they were to meet, I would take Wake over Memphis and any of the teams 6-10, besides Duke.

[Clipsfan]

wow, i don't think memphis has any business being in the top 10, let alone the top 5

Surprisingly, they are #1 according to Pomeroy. Duke is 5th

[Matches]

Pretty harsh that Wake dropped six spots for losing on the road to a top-10 team in a game that was competitive until near the end.

[jv001]

FSU is ranked 25, NOT 15.

You are correct. My bad, hit the wrong key. FSU is #25. Go Duke!

[throatybeard]

I don't know how real or unreal Mizzou is, but Mike Anderson sure has cleaned Quin's mess up in short order:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/spo...?OpenDocument=

[should_be_working]

Surprisingly, they are #1 according to Pomeroy. Duke is 5th

That's interesting. I guess we'll see just how good they are when they start playing better competition in the NCAA tournament. I just think if they get a 2 or 3 seed they are being rewarded for playing in a weak conference.

[roywhite]

That's interesting. I guess we'll see just how good they are when they start playing better competition in the NCAA tournament. I just think if they get a 2 or 3 seed they are being rewarded for playing in a weak conference.

On Memphis, maybe so. But there's also the theory that they aren't wearing themselves out butting heads against good teams night after night like ACC and Big East teams are doing.

Calipari has done a good coaching job. He had a lineup change of his own involving PG play by giving that responsbility to Tyreke Evans; it's worked out well.

[Wander]

How many NCAA tournaments do you have to watch before you realize conference affiliation has basically zero effect on how far a team goes in the tournament?

I'm not guaranteeing that Memphis will make the Elite 8, but if they do get upset, it won't have anything to do with playing in C-USA.

[should_be_working]

On Memphis, maybe so. But there's also the theory that they aren't wearing themselves out butting heads against good teams night after night like ACC and Big East teams are doing.

Calipari has done a good coaching job. He had a lineup change of his own involving PG play by giving that responsbility to Tyreke Evans; it's worked out well.

I suppose having the best of both worlds would be ideal - the experience and toughness of playing high level competition all season long matched though with the freshness of blowing people out on a nightly basis, but obviously that's near impossible. There's no question Calipari has done a nice coaching job, considering what he lost, but rewarding them a 2 seed, or even crazier a 1 seed, just doesn't seem right for a team that hasn't had ACC or Big East type quality competition. Just doesn't seem fair/right, but of course i'm bias coming from the ACC.

EDIT: I'm not saying a team from a weaker conference can't go far in the tournament, obviously they can (as previous tournaments has taught us), I just don't see the evidence for, in this case, Memphis getting a coveted 1 or 2 seed, maybe even a 3, based on the games they've won and lost.

[rasputin]

How many NCAA tournaments do you have to watch before you realize conference affiliation has basically zero effect on how far a team goes in the tournament?

I'm not guaranteeing that Memphis will make the Elite 8, but if they do get upset, it won't have anything to do with playing in C-USA.

People made the same argument last year, that Memphis would flame out in the tourney because of their weak conference. Then they made the Final Four. They did play a very strong out-of-conference Tennessee team down the stretch last year.