Rank (Last Week) | Record | Comment |
1. Kentucky (1) | 23-1 | OK, here is the week we’ve been waiting for – vs. Florida (Tuesday) and at Vanderbilt (Saturday). |
2. Syracuse (2) | 23-1 | If there is any doubt still lingering as to the identity of the best team in the Big East, it can be removed this week (Wednesday vs. Georgetown and Saturday vs. Connecticut). |
3. Ohio State (3) | 20-3 | Home can be pretty sweet for Buckeyes this week (vs. Purdue on Tuesday and vs. Michigan State on Saturday). |
4. Missouri (5) | 21-2 | It’s Virginia Tech (on the road, Thursday) and Miami (home, Sunday) before the tilt we’re all hankering to see – at North Carolina on Feb. 8. |
5. North Carolina (7) | 20-3 | This is a huge ACC week in Chapel Hill – vs. Duke (Wednesday) and Virginia (Saturday). |
6. Kansas (6) | 18-5 | That Saturday night experience in Columbia is going to sting awhile. |
7. Baylor (8) | 21-2 | This week provides an opportunity for the Bears to grab a bit of payback from Kansas (Wednesday in Waco) and Missouri (Saturday in Columbia). |
| 8. Michigan State (9) | 18-5 | In case you needed to be reminded Sunday, yes, Draymond Green’s presence in the lineup makes the Spartans a much better team! |
9. Duke (4) | 19-4 | A nifty night in Chapel Hill on Wednesday will do a lot to ease the sting that was felt in Durham on Sunday afternoon. |
10. Murray State (11) | 23-0 | An Ohio Valley game at Southeast Missouri State on Feb. 15 means it’s no sure thing that the Racers will remain unbeaten for BracketBuster vs. Saint Mary’s three days later. |
11. Florida State (13) | 16-6 | Home game with Miami on Saturday suddenly has a lot more ACC pop to it than one would have anticipated a month ago, eh? |
12. Saint Mary’s (14) | 22-2 | Thursday night things should be poppin’ in Spokane! |
13. Creighton (10) | 21-3 | The BlueJays hook up with next-best (Wichita State) in MVC Saturday in Omaha. |
14. San Diego State (16) | 20-3 | What happens this Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas could determine No. 1 seed for MWC Tournament in the city a month later. |
15. UNLV (12) | 21-4 | Losses by Rebels (at Wyoming) and San Diego State (at Colorado State) is indicative of just how good the MWC is this season. |
16. Indiana (15) | 18-6 | Meyers Leonard vs. Cody Zeller will be one of the “battles within a battle”-kind of matchups Thursday night vs. Illinois. |
On the cusp: Virginia 18-4, Florida 19-4, Harvard 20-2, Mississippi State 18-5, Georgetown 18-4, Wisconsin 18-6, Michigan 17-7, Vanderbilt 16-7, Notre Dame 15-8, Marquette 19-5, Louisville 18-5, Iowa State 17-6, North Carolina State 17-7, Kansas State 16-6, Cleveland State 20-4, Wichita State 20-4, Gonzaga 18-4, Connecticut 15-7, Southern Mississippi 20-3, Miami 14-7 and Temple 17-5.
THE TOP PERFORMANCES OF JAN. 30-FEB. 5
TEAMS: Ohio State (beat Michigan and won at Wisconsin), Syracuse (edged West Virginia and rolled vs. St. John’s in Madison Square Garden), Southern Mississippi (won at Central Florida and edged Memphis), Arizona (swept Bay Area trip vs. Cal and Stanford), Miami (beat Boston College, Maryland and Duke) and Missouri (beat Texas Tech, Texas and Kansas).
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Missouri
PLAYERS: Marcus Denmon (Missouri/scored nine points in the 11-0 run to close game for win over Kansas), Anthony Davis (Kentucky/hit 15 of 17 shots with 40 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, 15 blocked shots and only two turnovers in wins over Tennessee and South Carolina), Jared Sullinger (Ohio State/ had 24 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in win at Wisconsin), Damian Lillard (Weber State/scored 35 and 40 points against Portland State and Northern Colorado, respectively, while hitting a combined 11 of 17 shots behind the arc) and Grady Stutz (Wichita State/had 49points and 26 rebounds in wins over Missouri State and Indiana State)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Denmon
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
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