Top 25 Polls: UCONN #1 in Both
The Story: A common theme seems to be re-occurring in the college hoops world, a new week brings a new No. 1 team in the country. With Duke losing to Wake Forest last week, Connecticut earns this week’s top spot. The Huskies, 20-1 overall, don't possess the top spot in the Big East, but have earned the top spot in the nation. They'll immediately be tested as they take on #5/7 Louisville tonight on ESPN. Connecticut’s women’s program is also ranked No. 1 and this marks the 6th time that a school has had both programs ranked No. 1 at the same time. Oklahoma, No. 2 in both polls, was the only other team to receive first place votes (3) in the coaches’ poll. Both the Sooners and North Carolina received first place votes in the AP poll. Eight of the top ten teams come from either the ACC or the Big East. Mid-major Butler, has moved up to No. 11 and could crack the top ten next week. Kentucky’s stay in the AP poll was brief. The Wildcats along with Saint Mary’s and Georgetown, all fell from this week’s AP poll. Utah State, Kansas, and Minnesota replace those three teams. Notre Dame continues to struggle and fell out of the coaches’ poll this week.
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Ryter’s Block: Connecticut’s surge to No. 1 marks the most changes at the top of the coaches’ poll since 2003-04. It has been a crazy few weeks for the numero uno. Is this position jinxed? Maybe a team would rather be No. 2 then be No. 1. First off, I like the addition of Utah State in both polls. The Utah State Aggies are 21-1 with their only loss coming to a tough BYU team this year. I like to see mid-major programs crack the polls from time to time. With that being said, if Butler can win tonight at UWGB, they could run the table for the year (depending on whether they do in fact head to Davidson in the BracketBuster event). How high can this team be ranked at season’s end if this happens? It will be interesting to see because there would be much debate about their strength of schedule. The Big East and ACC continue to dominate the top ten. Next week we may see something different. Connecticut and Louisville play each other tonight and Duke and Clemson also plays each other this week. Since all four teams can’t win, two may drop. What happened to Notre Dame? They have dropped from both polls and if they continue to play like this, they will be begging for an NIT berth. I think Michigan State, after losing at home to Penn State, should have dropped a few more spots. With that being said, look out for Penn State. They are receiving votes in both polls.
Here are a few games to watch out for this weekend…
Monday, February 2 No. 1 Connecticut at No. 7 Louisville
Wednesday, February 4 No. 3 Duke at No. 10 Clemson
No. 19 Minnesota at No. 14 Michigan State
Thursday, February 5 No. 18 Gonzaga at Portland
Saturday, February 7 No. 15 Memphis at No. 18 Gonzaga
No. 20 Syracuse at No. 16 Villanova
Notre Dame at No. 12 UCLA
Sunday, February 8 No. 13 Purdue at No. 21 Illinois
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About Matthew Ryter
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Background
Matt Ryter is a graduate of Providence College. He is a life long college basketball junkie. Although his Friars may not be atop the Big East, he follows the conference religiously. When Matt worked at ESPN he was a part of the Stats and Analysis team where he mainly covered college basketball. Matt wears black Nike socks whenever he can to honor the Fab Five.
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