With 8 losses in 13 games, will Illinois really jump into the Top 25? That'd be ridiculous. Beating Indiana doesn't erase that pitiful losing streak. And while Illinois did follow up the IU win with a victory over a (currently) ranked Minnesota team (Minnesota will not be ranked on Monday) on the road, the Gophers have lost 6 of their last 8.

Illinois is not a Top 25 team, even after beating Indiana and Minnesota. And that really says something about how bad Illinois has been recently.

reclegend22;1386569 wrote:With 8 losses in 13 games, will Illinois really jump into the Top 25? That'd be ridiculous. Beating Indiana doesn't erase that pitiful losing streak. And while Illinois did follow up the IU win with a victory over a (currently) ranked Minnesota team (Minnesota will not be ranked on Monday) on the road, the Gophers have lost 6 of their last 8.

Illinois is not a Top 25 team, even after beating Indiana and Minnesota. And that really says something about how bad Illinois has been recently.

I am speculating that they will be. No guarantees, to be honest.

Laley23;1386568 wrote:Wrong. The top 10 wins, which is what I was getting at (with the top 25 wins comment) is very current. They happened within the last 5 games...all 3 of them. OSU, MSU and Michigan.

Duke...how is an important player being out not relevant?? That makes no sense. Im saying if Kelly is healthy they are probably my #1 team. But without him, they are closer to #5 imo.

We will see where Kansas is ranked tomorrow. I bet not Top 10. And because its the only 2 that I have readily available without searching lol, Seth Davis has Kansas 23rd (ridiculous, I admit) and CBS Sports (Goodman et all) have Kansas 10. Both have IU #1. Davis does his more by current thoughts and CBS does their joint rankings by resume, if I remember correctly.

The Duke comment was more on you saying they haven't been playing like the #1 team since Kelly went out.

Look, I realize KU isn't going to be in the top10 tomorrow...that's pretty obvious. I have no issue w/ anyone who has them outside the top 10. My issue is saying you're ranking them based on how well they're playing and have IU #1 despite a loss THIS WEEK to an unranked team.

SportsAndLady;1386574 wrote:The Duke comment was more on you saying they haven't been playing like the #1 team since Kelly went out.

Look, I realize KU isn't going to be in the top10 tomorrow...that's pretty obvious. I have no issue w/ anyone who has them outside the top 10. My issue is saying you're ranking them based on how well they're playing and have IU #1 despite a loss THIS WEEK to an unranked team.

The only other option I saw was Miami. I did say (or attempted to infer, and probably didnt make it clear) that my rankings are a combination of how they are playing and how I think they should be. I think IU is the best team in the country right now, despite a loss. I think they are playing their best basketball right now, despite a loss. Kansas, I think is a top 10 team on talent. But right now are playing like shit and dont look to good. Every team lost this week, but at least IU was able to bounce back and look awesome today on the road versus a top 10 opponent.

All that said, Kansas, I have no doubt, will roll K. St. tomorrow lol.

Laley23;1386578 wrote:The only other option I saw was Miami. I did say (or attempted to infer, and probably didnt make it clear) that my rankings are a combination of how they are playing and how I think they should be. I think IU is the best team in the country right now, despite a loss. I think they are playing their best basketball right now, despite a loss. Kansas, I think is a top 10 team on talent. But right now are playing like shit and dont look to good. Every team lost this week, but at least IU was able to bounce back and look awesome today on the road versus a top 10 opponent.

All that said, Kansas, I have no doubt, will roll K. St. tomorrow lol.

Probably not a good thing haha (unless they can maintain it through March & April..)

Hahaha SportsAndLady is so mad at so many comments.

What a pathetic human being.

karen lotz;1386581 wrote:Hahaha SportsAndLady is so mad at so many comments.

What a pathetic human being.

Reported for trolling

SportsAndLady;1386580 wrote:Probably not a good thing haha (unless they can maintain it through March & April..)

I agree. I think they can though. We still havent seen all 4 players hit on all cylinders in a game. Today was the closest, but Hulls was cold. Watford, Oladipo, Zeller and Hulls. If all 4 of them are on (like first half versus Minny), IU is unbeatable. No question in my mind. The question is can they all do it on the same night ever. But they are getting closer and closer as the weeks go by.

Plus, having Yogi start hitting shots and Hollowell gaining confidence as a freshman and Elston finally healthy they have some depth after Sheehey.

March should be fun. NCAAs and conference tourneys are so wide open.

Also, lets keep the BS between you two on the football forums that I dont moderate lol.

Laley23;1386585 wrote:I agree. I think they can though. We still havent seen all 4 players hit on all cylinders in a game. Today was the closest, but Hulls was cold. Watford, Oladipo, Zeller and Hulls. If all 4 of them are on (like first half versus Minny), IU is unbeatable. No question in my mind. The question is can they all do it on the same night ever. But they are getting closer and closer as the weeks go by.

Plus, having Yogi start hitting shots and Hollowell gaining confidence as a freshman and Elston finally healthy they have some depth after Sheehey.

March should be fun. NCAAs and conference tourneys are so wide open.

You make IU sound like the '68 Bruins. Haha. I mean, IU is a really good team, but there are probably four or five "unbeatable" teams when the five best players for those teams are all "on" at the same time. (That rarely happens, however.)

Duke, with Kelly, for example, would be pretty tough to beat if Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, Rasheed Sulaimon, Ryan Kelly and Quinn Cook were making all of their shots all game long like Glenn Rice in NBA In the Zone '98. And (sans Kelly) that actually did happen in the first half of Duke's game against N.C. State on Thursday night. Duke dropped 58 in the first half, holding State to 37. It was one of the best halves of basketball I've seen from any team this year. Like you, however, I am extremely biased.

I think there are about six teams that have a legitimate claim at being the best team in the country. They've all been highlighted here. There just isn't a team that is truly beyond the others. IMO.

reclegend22;1386592 wrote:I think there are about six teams that have a legitimate claim at being the best team in the country. They've all been highlighted here. There just isn't a team that is truly beyond the others. IMO.

What are those 6?

reclegend22;1386590 wrote:You make IU sound like the '68 Bruins. Haha. I mean, IU is a really good team, but there are probably four or five "unbeatable" teams when the five best players for those teams are all "on" at the same time. (That rarely happens, however.)

Duke, with Kelly, for example, would be pretty tough to beat if Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, Rasheed Sulaimon, Ryan Kelly and Quinn Cook were making all of their shots all game long like Glenn Rice in NBA In the Zone '98. And (sans Kelly) that actually did happen in the first half of Duke's game against N.C. State on Thursday night. Duke dropped 58 in the first half, holding State to 37. It was one of the best halves of basketball I've seen from any team this year. Like you, however, I am extremely biased.

I disagree when Indiana is firing on all cylinders no team in college basketball can beat them. There way too balanced to contain them.

Crimson streak;1386631 wrote:I disagree when Indiana is firing on all cylinders no team in college basketball can beat them. There way too balanced to contain them.

Disagree. There is no team like that this year...there are multiple teams, when playing well, can beat IU even if IU is firing on all cylinders.

Duke
Kansas
Butler
Michigan
Michigan State

Just 5 off the top of my head that I could see beating IU in March. Keep in mind, a very underrated aspect of March is coaching, and though I think Tom Crean is a fantastic coach, we don't know if he'll be able to coach a team to win a national championship--yet.

Outside of his 2003 Final Four appearance, here are his other 12 season results:

4-no tournament
3 NIT (never past the quarterfinals)
3-NCAA 1st round
1-NCAA 2nd round
1-NCAA Sweet Sixteen (last season)

Not somebody I would feel comfortable winning 6 in a row in March/April.

Tiger2003;1386616 wrote:What are those 6?

The teams that have already been mentioned here a million times. Miami, Duke, Florida, Syracuse, Indiana and Michigan. Also, at the end of the year, I fully expect Michigan State and Arizona and Kansas to be right there in the discussion.

The funny thing is, Butler might outlast every last one of those teams. Do not let the Bulldogs' close calls in the Atlantic 10 fool you. Even during Butler's national title run seasons in 2010 and 2011, they struggled mightily at times in the Horizon. Butler is the real deal and will be a serious national championship contender come tournament time. Brad Stevens is an amazing preparer and the NCAA tournament will give him a huge advantage with the quick turnaround over other coaches who are not as good in that capacity.

Crimson streak;1386631 wrote:I disagree when Indiana is firing on all cylinders no team in college basketball can beat them. There way too balanced to contain them.

There are other teams that are balanced as well. Florida is incredibly balanced.

And I know it's my favorite team, but Duke is amazingly balanced, too. Mason Plumlee is a 20 and 10 guy pretty much every night, with the capability of going for 30+ on any given night (he's done it twice thus far), and then you have Ryan Kelly (when he returns) in the swing spot and a bevy of talented guardplay with Curry, Sulaimon and Cook. When Duke is "firing on all cylinders" that is as balanced as it gets.

To be honest, I think the most balanced team in the country will be Miami when Reggie Johnson finally comes back into his own, and I fully believe he will. He is a beast when on his game. Pretty much unstoppable.

This season is pretty much just too crazy to say that there are a few unbeatable teams. Every team is beatable. An unbeatable team is a team that can still eek out a win when one or two major pieces are not playing the best. There are no teams like that this year.

To say "well if all of our players are playing perfect, we're unbeatable" is just a coup out and not really addressing anything. You're just saying that to win your team needs to get hot in the tournament... SHOCKER!

Also, I realize my post doesn't really add to the discussion much, but this season is just so "balanced" as far as top teams losing and big underdogs winning that it will be hard to predict a bracket. So much will depend on which team gets hot more so than other years.

Fly4Fun;1386688 wrote:This season is pretty much just too crazy to say that there are a few unbeatable teams. Every team is beatable. An unbeatable team is a team that can still eek out a win when one or two major pieces are not playing the best. There are no teams like that this year.

To say "well if all of our players are playing perfect, we're unbeatable" is just a coup out and not really addressing anything. You're just saying that to win your team needs to get hot in the tournament... SHOCKER!

Also, I realize my post doesn't really add to the discussion much, but this season is just so "balanced" as far as top teams losing and big underdogs winning that it will be hard to predict a bracket. So much will depend on which team gets hot more so than other years.

This pretty much sums up my points above. Agreed.

Seth Davis' Top 25........

1. Indiana (1)
2. Miami (4)
3. Duke (5)
4. Michigan State (6)
5. Michigan (2)
6. Gonzaga (7)
7. Syracuse (10)
8. Ohio State (12)
9. Florida (3)
10. Kansas State (14)
11. Arizona (9)
12. Pittsburgh (19)
13. Wisconsin (24)
14. Louisville (11)
15. New Mexico (15)
16. Butler (16)
17. Georgetown (18)
18. Oklahoma State (20)
19. Kansas (8)
20. Kentucky (23)
21. N.C. State (22)
22. Akron (25)
23. Marquette (NR)
24. Indiana State (NR)
25. Creighton (13)
Dropped out: Oregon (17), Cincinnati (21)
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Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130210/fast-break/#ixzz2Kbs12OMj
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I can't put Indiana #1 after losing to an unranked the same week.

WebFire;1386785 wrote:I can't put Indiana #1 after losing to an unranked the same week.

I really don't get it..OSU looked horrible yesterday, was that seriously such a great win that they're ignoring a loss to an unranked team???

SportsAndLady;1386787 wrote:I really don't get it..OSU looked horrible yesterday, was that seriously such a great win that they're ignoring a loss to an unranked team???

I don't know if OSU looked horrible. Indiana played a good game, they got OSU's centers into early foul trouble that persisted throughout the game, and Craft getting into foul trouble as well really hurt. It's not like OSU was just missing every shot they took. They shot 42% from the floor which isn't good, but it's not terrible.

I think you're exaggerating quite a bit if you are saying OSU looked horrible yesterday. Indiana just had a great game plan and executed it.

SportsAndLady;1386787 wrote:I really don't get it..OSU looked horrible yesterday, was that seriously such a great win that they're ignoring a loss to an unranked team???

Also, I'm not hating on Ohio State, but how are the Buckeyes such a juggernaut (at least according to Seth Davis and some people here) after they lost TWO games last week in a row? The Buckeyes have lost their last three games to ranked opponents and played single-digit games with Iowa and Nebraska in the last two weeks. That's not the track record of a super great team IMO. I do agree that the Buckeyes have the ability to beat anyone, though. They proved that against Duke by holding a double-digit lead in Cameron and the win over Michigan.

Regardless, the AP voted Kansas as the top team in the country today. I don't get it -- especially after Duke's convincing win over N.C. State and a tough win on the road at BC, going undedeated for the week, while Indiana lost to a team that was playing bottom of the barrel in the Big Ten -- but I am happy that Duke is not going to be No. 1 for the UNC game. Carolina needs no extra motivation for a win.

Fly4Fun;1386800 wrote:I don't know if OSU looked horrible. Indiana played a good game, they got OSU's centers into early foul trouble that persisted throughout the game, and Craft getting into foul trouble as well really hurt. It's not like OSU was just missing every shot they took. They shot 42% from the floor which isn't good, but it's not terrible.

I think you're exaggerating quite a bit if you are saying OSU looked horrible yesterday. Indiana just had a great game plan and executed it.

Horrible may have been too much..they certainly didn't look good though. And like rec said, haven't looked great,on paper, the last few weeks.

I more wanted to harp on the fact that Indiana lost to an unranked team and beat a good team, yet stayed #1. That's a joke.

SportsAndLady;1386808 wrote:Horrible may have been too much..they certainly didn't look good though. And like rec said, haven't looked great,on paper, the last few weeks.

I more wanted to harp on the fact that Indiana lost to an unranked team and beat a good team, yet stayed #1. That's a joke.

That was where I was going with that as well. I think that Ohio State has a team that can compete with anyone. But recently, the Buckeyes have just not been getting it done with an 0-3 record against the AP Top 25, and two straight losses with a couple of close calls with Iowa and Nebraska thrown in.

And yet, although Indiana lost on the road to a team that had lost 6 of 7 games, because they beat Ohio State the Hoosiers are all-of-sudden the '96 Bulls again? Wut? Lol.

I honestly am happy, though. At this rate, the number one team will lose again very shortly. My guess would be Feb. 19 in East Lansing. That's just how the season's been going.