Saturday, February 23, 2002
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Enquirer staff and news services
Top 5 list - this week's topic: Teams ranked in the preseason which are either out of NCAA Tournament consideration or stuggling to get there.
1. Iowa: Ranked No. 9 in preseason; now 15-13, 4-10 Big Ten. Steve Alford's club, once considered a favorite to challenge for the Big Ten title, is in a free-fall with five consecutive losses.
2. Temple: No. 16 in preseason; now 12-13, 9-4 Atlantic 10. After a 6-12 start, the Owls have won six of their last seven. Don't count them out in the A-10 tourney, their only chance for the NCAA.
3. North Carolina: No. 19 in preseason; now 7-17, 3-10 ACC. Not much to say about this well-documented debacle. Can Dean Smith even be sleeping at night?
4. Michigan State: No. 15 in preseason; now 16-10, 7-6 Big Ten. Needs a strong finish to have a chance at NCAA. Play Indiana and Ohio State, the league leaders, this week. RPI is 45.
5. Georgetown: No. 14 in preseason; now 15-10, 6-7 Big East. Hoyas have lost 3 of 4, and their RPI is 65. Guess that weak non-conference schedule doesn't help after all.
Enquirer power ratings for the top 16 teams in the country
1. Kansas (24-2) 11 straight wins, running table in Big 12
2. Duke (24-2) Despite loss, we give it edge over Maryland
3. Maryland (22-3) Despite rout of Duke, we keep Terps No. 3
4. Cincinnati (25-2) This ranking was made before Friday's game
5. Oklahoma (21-4) Faces Texas today; beat Longhorns in OT before
6. Gonzaga (24-3) Avenged earlier loss to Pepperdine
7. Marquette (23-3) This ranking was made before Friday's game
8. Pittsburgh (22-4) Running away with Big East's West division
9. Alabama (22-5) Lost two of four; Florida comes calling today
10. Florida (20-5) Visits Alabama in battle of SEC division leaders
11. Okla. State (21-6) Rallied recently by beating Oklahoma, Texas
12. Oregon (19-7) Big game coming Thursday against USC
13. Indiana (18-8) Has come a long way to claim Big Ten lead
14. USC (19-6) Beat Arizona and Stanford; faces Cal today
15. Georgia (19-7) Win over Kentucky ended 2-4 slide
16. Kentucky (18-7) Drops from No. 9 almost all the way out
ENQUIRER PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nick Collison
The 6-foot-9 junior has been a steadying force for top-ranked Kansas (24-2). He averaged 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in victories over Texas, Baylor and Iowa State. He is shooting 61.1 percent on the season, averaging 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds.
WHO'S HOT
Conference USA
The league is rated No. 8 in the RPI, but it's positioned to send a slew of teams to the NCAA Tournament. Cincinnati (No. 5 RPI), Marquette (20) and Charlotte (28) are in great shape, with South Florida (48) and Memphis (55) still in contention for at-large bids.
Wojciech Myrda
Who? The new NCAA leader in career blocked shots. The 7-foot-2 Louisiana-Monroe senior had 11 blocks last Saturday against Nicholls State, giving him 502 for his career to break the previous mark of 492 set by Colgate's Adonal Foyle from 1995-97.
Bo Ryan
Wisconsin's first-year coach won his 400th career game Tuesday against Iowa. (His first 383 victories came at Division III Wisconsin-Platteville and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.) After a 3-6 start, the Badgers have reached 17-11 and are on a five-game winning streak. They're within a game of the Big Ten lead.
WHO'S NOT
Georgetown
The Hoyas lost an eight-point lead in the final eight minutes against Connecticut on Tuesday and have lost three of their last four. Now 15-10 with a No. 66 RPI, they are just 6-7 in the Big East and 0-6 against RPI Top 25 teams.
Missouri
Yeah, we've had the Tigers in Who's Not before. But hey, this team was ranked No. 2 in December -- No. 2! -- but at 64th in the RPI is now all but out of consideration for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. It has lost five of its last nine games.
Virginia
Another repeat Who's Not offender. This former Top 10 team has lost six of its past eight games and slipped to No. 47 in the RPI. And two of Pete Gillen's final three games are against Duke and Maryland.
MUST-SEE TV
Keep an eye on these games in the upcoming week:
--Illinois-Chicago at Butler, 4 p.m. today (ESPN): Judge for yourself if the Bulldogs, 24-4 but hamstrung with a No. 63 RPI, should be invited to the NCAA Tournament.
--UCLA at Stanford, 4 p.m. today (Ch. 12): Here are two of six teams within a game of each other atop the ultra-competitive Pac 10.
--Indiana at Illinois, 7 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN): Raise your hand if you thought in November that Indiana would be the Big Ten leader, not Illinois.
--Texas Tech at Texas, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2): Round 2 of the Lone State State's hottest rivalry. Texas won the first meeting in OT.
--Cincinnati at Louisville, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN2): Hey, it's Huggs and Pitino again. Makes for great theatre.
Sports Stories
Little's jumper sinks Marquette
DAUGHERTY: Practice pays off for Little
Owls' 'D' makes Sato end with 0
Claims by Reese ring true to Young
Casey signs 3-year deal
SULLIVAN: Sean Casey
Reds notebook
Indians seek order in offense
Mercy posts stunning win
Purcell proves records mean nothing, ousts No. 4 CNE
Roundup: Boys hoops
Roundup: Girls hoops
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball scores
Indiana boys basketball scores
Indiana girls basketball scores
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
Boys swimming: Bombers in position for state title
Girls swimming: Historic effort for Ursuline's Myers
Swimming results
Wrestling: East, West among best
Wrestling results
High schools schedule
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