College Basketball: Top 25 Polls & Commentary

The Story: The streak of new No. 1’s comes to an end as Connecticut remains atop both polls for the second consecutive week. The Huskies defeated Louisville on the road and beat Michigan at home this week. Oklahoma, No. 2, received one first place vote in the Coaches’ poll, while the other 30 went to Connecticut. North Carolina moves up to the No. 3 spot and will take their seven game win streak into No. 5/6 Duke on Wednesday night. Duke dropped to No.5/6 after getting lblown out at Clemson 74-47. Marquette fell a few spots to No. 12/10 after South Florida handed them their first conference loss. Memphis, No. 10/8 is climbing up the polls while riding a 14 game winning streak. Texas and Minnesota dropped off both polls this week. The Longhorns have lost three straight and sit at .500 in conference play. Joining Texas and Minnesota in dropping out of the AP Top 25 is Washington. Replacing Texas and Minnesota in the Coaches’ poll is Florida State and Missouri. The Ohio State Buckeyes, as well as Florida State and Missouri, are the newcomers in the AP poll. 

Ryter’s Block: In watching Connecticut handle Louisville rather easily last week, it's clear they deserve the No. 1 spot. It seems as if the Huskies have all the right pieces this year. They have one of the best backcourts, senior leadership, depth, and the best shot blocker in the nation. Thabeet is a game changer. He alters almost every shot in the lane. I was in awe watching him throw a Louisville shot about half way down the court. UCLA should be ranked higher in the AP poll. The Pac-10 is having a “down” year; however they have the talent to play with the best teams in the nation. They should be ranked ahead of Wake Forest, who looked terrible against Miami (FL). Memphis is another team that is starting to flourish. Although they don’t play in a Big 6 Conference and take some heat for that, they proved to be a worthy opponent against Gonzaga. Utah State, 23-1, is climbing up both polls, but has a tough matchup on Valentine’s Day at Boise State. LSU, the number one team in the SEC, should be ranked. I think Purdue should have fallen off both polls and LSU should take their spot. It seems like each week there is a big upset. Who will fall this week?

Here’s a look at the games to watch this week; highlighted by UNC at Duke on Wednesday…

Monday, February 9:                          No. 16 Kansas at No. 19 Missouri

Tuesday, February 10:                        No. 12 Marquette at No. 13 Villanova

Wednesday, February 11:                   No. 3 North Carolina at No. 5 Duke

                                                            No. 22 Syracuse at No. 1 Connecticut

Thursday, February 12:                       No. 6 UCLA at No. 18 Arizona State

Saturday, February 14:                       No. 25 Florida State at No. 8 Wake Forest