SB Nation - Duke Blue Devils

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

BracketCat — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 05:00:18 -0000

Well, the Cats did what they needed to do, and survived to fight another day as Upset Saturday claimed numerous other victims.

In a fair world, the AP Top 15 that comes out tomorrow would look something like this:

Texas (10-0)
Kansas (10-0)
Kentucky (11-0)
Purdue (10-0)
Syracuse (11-0)
West Virginia (8-0)
Duke (9-1)
Villanova (10-1)
Michigan State (9-2)
Connecticut (7-2)
Kansas State (10-1)
Georgetown (8-1)
Ohio State (9-2)
New Mexico (12-0)
Ole Miss (10-1)

It will be interesting to see what the pollsters, in all their wisdom, come up with.

P.S. Did I call that Wichita State upset or what? Booyah!

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 10-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 3

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, IUPUI, Xavier, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Washington State, Alabama

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (10-1) | RPI = 24: Win over Centenary (108-64)
Dayton (8-2) | RPI = 31: Win over Presbyterian (71-52)
IUPUI (9-3, 2-0) | RPI = 50: Win over Duquesne (73-64)
No. 14* FHSU (8-1)
Washington State (9-2) | RPI = 83: Win over Portland State (93-69)
Xavier (6-4) | RPI = 47: Loss at No. 21 Butler (69-68)
UNLV (10-1) | RPI = 34: Win over SCUU (88-58)
Alabama (7-4) | RPI = 92: Loss to No. 17 Kansas State (87-74)
UAPB (0-9) | RPI = 260: Loss at Missouri (88-70)
Cleveland State (4-8, 0-2) | RPI = 247: Loss to No. 6 West Virginia (80-78)
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (7-3) | RPI = 179: Win over UAPB (88-70)
No. 23 Texas A&M (9-2) | RPI = 15: Win over The Citadel (71-50)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (10-0) | RPI = 6: Win over No. 10 North Carolina (103-90)
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (10-0) | RPI = 20: Win over Michigan (75-64)
Nebraska (8-2) | RPI = 163: Win over Jackson State (57-41)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (8-3) | RPI = 117: Win over Northern Colorado (80-79)
No. 16 Texas Tech (9-1) | RPI = 33: Loss at Wichita State (85-83)

*Division II Top 25

Raycom ACC Basketball Power Poll Ballot, week 6

DrB — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:54:08 -0000

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

1 day ago: Clemson forward Jerai Grant dunks against College of Charleston during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

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Sponsored by the Raycom Maryland blog & Testudo Times we'll be ranking the ACC teams each week. Feel free to complain and argue with how we rank 'em.

ACC Weekly scores

1. Duke - Fresh off a 76-41 drubbing of Gonzaga and a sound thumping of Gardner-Webb, we have to move them up to the top spot.

2. UNC - last week's #1 moves down after being out-efforted by Texas. I watched it and it seemed like they were totally outmatched and played terribly sloppy. Plus, Roy is a bitch.

3. FSU - Whether I think Clemson is better or not seems irrelevant, they just defeated Georgia Tech in Atlanta in OT, so they've beaten someone in the ACC on the road and deserve it. They also defeated Auburn (who beat UVA) and Georgia State this week.

4. Georgia Tech - beat UT-C, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and lost to FSU in OT at home.

5. Clemson - beat Furman, ECU on the road, and CofC pretty soundly.

6. Wake Forest - will have beaten NC State at home, UNC-Wilmington and Elon

7. Maryland - difficult to get a good read on exactly where to put the Terps. Their 3 losses have been to Cinci, 'Nova, and Wisconsin.

8. V. Tech - Beat Penn State last week, Charleston Southern this week

9. Miami - beat Stetson and FAU soundly

10. NC State - loses to Wake on the road, beat Elon by 3. Also beat Auburn earlier this year. Hard to get a great read on them so far.

11. BC - lost to Rhode Island 80-69, beat Bryant....wherever the hell that is. However they have beaten Miami 61-60 in Mass.

12. Virginia - is pretty bad.

Last week's rankings

12/19 Game Links

SFBE.NF — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:02:56 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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The Pac 10 is alive! USC routs Tennessee

Kansas handles Michigan; Xavier Henry also a pretty good freshman

Texas scores easy and often, tops UNC in Jerry Jones Dome

West Virginia tests road waters, escapes with win over Cleveland St.

Hoyas stay on campus, lose to Old Dominion

Duke routs Gonzaga at Cameron Indoor North

Richmond gets first true road win, upsets Florida

UMASS shocks Memphis in some sort of John Calipari Invitational

The biggest stage in college basketball: Zags vs. Duke

everydayezag — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 01:25:11 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

Hopefully Rob Sacre will be running off the court at Madison Square Garden after another great performance and victory.

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This game is one of those moments where you are excited and proud to be a follower of the Gonzaga program. Sure it was great playing at Michigan St. and winning a high profile tournament like the Maui Invitational. However, none of that compares to playing one of the most revered programs in college basketball at Madison Square Garden. When Gonzaga meets Duke on Saturday afternoon is will be a game televised on CBS and they will be playing at the greatest arena in the country, in arguably the most popular and unique city in the country. Even more important is the fact that they are facing one of the best Duke teams of this decade, with the Blue Devils ranked in the top 10 heading into this game. Coach K remains one of the most respected coaches in the industry. With that said, the days of Gonzaga looking in awe at a program like Duke are long gone. These Zags have one of the most recognizable coaches in the country, and have the same amount of talent that Duke will put on the court. The one question that remains is whether or not his team can elevate it's game on the biggest stage in the sport.

Much like the Zags, Duke has lots of experience and talent in their back court. Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler are the two most productive and important pieces on this Duke team, with Singler being one of the more difficult guys to guard in the country. Neither is a particularly elite athlete, but both have great intelligence on the court, and both need to have hands in their face on every shot they take. In Elias Harris, I think the Zags have the ideal match up to limit Singler, as Harris has the athleticism and toughness to limit Singler and make every shot and touch difficult for him. In terms of guarding Scheyer, I would assume that it will be a combo of Meech, Gray, and Arop. I don't think Matt or Grant are good enough defenders to fight through all the screens that Scheyer will receive on the offensive end. Therefore, those two will likely match up with Andre Dawkins, who can shoot the lights out but isn't a complete offensive player yet.

On the offensive end, there is a lot to like for the Zags. I don't think Duke has an answer for Matt Bouldin, as neither Scheyer or Nolan Smith have the combination of quickness and strength to handle Matt on the perimeter or on the drive. Elias should be able to use his versatility to force Singler or Lance Thomas into a tough position, as neither of them have a chance if Elias is playing smart and aggressively. It will also be important that Gonzaga makes sure they get Rob the ball in areas where he can establish offensive position, as I don't think either of the Plumlee brothers or Brian Zoubek can handle Rob/

Another area where I like Gonzaga in this game is in the depth department. Duke has a highly skilled starting five, but there bench is underwhelming. If the coaching staff can get a nice rhythm going with rotation, and utilize match ups for guys like Bol, Manny, and Grant off the bench, Gonzaga might be able to wear down Duke with so many different looks and aggressive play on both ends. It is this depth and versatility that I not only think will be the key for the game against Duke, but also the key to success the rest of the season. Behind a strong game from Elias Harris and the Gonzaga bench, I expect Gonzaga to pull away late for the 78-73 win.

Learning more about the Blue Devils: A few good questions with Crazie Talk

Zach B — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:26:30 -0000

More photos » by Andy Manis - AP

Wisconsin's defensive efforts on Lance Thomas and the rest of Duke (besides Kyle Singler) keyed the Badgers upset victory. Gonzaga will have to do the same if it hopes to take down the Blue Devils. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

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Even though you can probably catch every Duke game on national television, it's always nice to hear about an opponent from an insider's perspective. For that reason, we decided to reach out to Amogh and Jake of "Crazie Talk". They do an outstanding job covering Duke basketball from a student's perspective, much like us. We were able to ask them five questions about their squad this year and they really provided us with some outstanding information about the Blue Devils.

We also answered a few of their questions about Gonzaga which you can see by clicking here.

The Slipper Still Fits: The one blemish on Duke's very nice looking resume right now is a loss at Wisconsin. What did Wisconsin do to upset the Blue Devils? Was it just too much Trevon Hughes or can you blame it on Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith's poor offensive efforts?

Crazie Talk: At home in Madison; Wisconsin was able to dictate the tempo of the game. Once they hit their shots early, Duke was never really able to get back into the flow of the game. Everyone was out of rhythm offensively, except for Kyle, who exploded with a career high. Nolan had himself a decent game, but Jon completely disappeared offensively and had no answer for Hughes on defense. But if you were to pick out one thing that stood out to me over the course of the game, it would have to be the lack of production from the seniors, Zoubek and Thomas, in the post. Help defense was poor (especially on Hughes) rebounding was subpar, low post scoring was nowhere to be found. That's a recipe for a loss, especially against a hungry Wisconsin team.

TSSF: One of the things that got a lot of attention over the summer was Kyle Singler's move to the outside at small forward. How has Kyle looked at his natural position and what sort of impact has him moving outside had on Duke's front court.

CT: Kyle's move to small forward has helped our squad in a variety of ways. For one, Kyle creates mismatch problems for the opposing defense. At 6'8'', he often has a smaller player guarding him. This also allows him to conserve energy; you don't fatigue as much guarding smaller players than banging down low with bruisers. As the star of our team, we need him in for 35+ minutes most games, and it's important for him to be as fresh as possible. Also, he has been able to play outside-in a lot more than in previous seasons. Kyle has a knack for drawing contact and getting to the rim, and his jumper has become very consistent, especially from mid range. The move to the perimeter, his more natural area on the court, has allowed him to showcase both of these skills. Kyle can still bang down low and get offensive boards, but now we have three 6'10+ guys to do that too.

continue reading our Q&A with Crazie Talk after the jump...

TSSF: Speaking of position changes, there were also a lot of questions about Jon Scheyer starting his first full season as the Blue Devil's point guard. From an outsider's perspective, it appears that he is exceeding expectations with his ridiculous assist-to-turnover ratio. From a Duke perspective, are you as blown away as I have been?

CT: Honestly, I'm not surprised at all that Jon has thrived at the point thus far. He's one of the smartest players Duke has ever had, and his height(6'5) allows him to see the court a lot better than other shorter guards. He's a very heady player who minimizes turnovers - which is probably the most important statistic for a point guard. It seemed kind of strange to me that all the pundits were questioning Scheyer's abilities at the point when it was very clear at the end of the season that the team was much, much better with the ball in his hands.

TSSF: Gonzaga's defense lends itself to allowing their opponent to shoot the three-point shot at will. I'm assuming Mark Few will make some changes for Saturday but how worried should Gonzaga fans be about guys like Scheyer and Andre Dawkins who have been outstanding from beyond the arc.

CT: Scheyer is coming off a career night in Cameron in which he shot 11-13 from the field, including 7-9 from beyond the arc. I don't expect him to be allowed those kind of shots against Gonzaga. But a hot shooting Scheyer makes this team a lot better. Jon has proven himself an incredible playmaker this year, mainly with the pass. With the emergence of Nolan Smith as a go-to scorer, many thought that Scheyer would be the third offensive option behind Smith and Singler. But as his 36 point outing Tuesday night proved, he can still fill it up-especially from beyond the arc.

Dawkins has been an outstanding shooter. I didn't expect him to contribute this much this fast, especially being so clutch in the Connecticut and Wisconsin games. At the Kohl Center he singlehandedly gave us a chance with four consecutive threes. He currently shoots over 50% from distance. Accordingly, his minutes have increased to 20 per game. He's instant offense if his shot is on.

As for defending these two guys, Scheyer is the king of the shot fake. He draws a lot of fouls by getting his defender up in the air and shooting into the contact. Dawkins is more of a catch-and-shoot guy. If you leave him open, he'll take it. Both have a solid mid-range game as well, and can take one dribble into space and knock down an 18 footer.

So I would say that Few must adjust his defense. If our guys get good looks and get hot early, it could be a long night for the Bulldogs.

TSSF: How is the pulse of Blue Devil nation going into this game? Is this a game that you guys are really worried about or do you expect to go into MSG and win and if you can, what really worries you about this Gonzaga team?

We're pumped. Tuesday's win against Gardner-Webb was a solid tune-up, and the team looked exceptional the team had been through a lot in the past week - from the passing of Andre's sister to the rigors of final exams. That said, Gonzaga will be the toughest test yet for this Duke team. Bouldin is a fine player, and will be a handful for whoever ends up matching up with him on defense. What worries me the most, however, is the battle on the blocks. They have been excellent thus far-we really enjoyed their play in the Maui title game against Cincy. But Miles and Mason Plumlee, along with the improved Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek, are a formidable post presence as well. If Duke can control the glass, our size should win the game. But if Gonzaga gets a lot of second chance shots for guys like Bouldin and Gray, this could be a Bulldog win. I expect Kyle Singler to be the X-factor. If he plays like he did at Wisconsin, Duke should take this by 10. If he disappears, we may lose by 10. It will be a great game either way.

Prediction: Duke 75, Gonzaga 70 in a nail biter.

We'd like to thank the guys over at Crazie Talk for helping us (and you) learn more about Duke!

RPI WATCH: 12/17/09

BracketCat — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:15:17 -0000

by Laura Rauch - AP

Thanks to the Worldwide Leader, Frank and his Wildcats are sucking up all the national attention. Take that, Lew Perkins! (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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As an astute reader pointed out last night, Kansas State indeed moved up to No. 1 in the RPI.

So I guess I was wrong about No. 2 being the pinnacle — we managed to pass Duke after all.

I still say enjoy it while it lasts. After Alabama, we play a trio of teams that will put at least a small dent into that ranking. But once we get into the meat of Big 12 play, I could see it settling into the Top 10 or Top 15 and staying there for the duration.

Frank couldn't have planned this non-conference schedule any better if had tried. Not only are Dayton, Xavier and UNLV living up to expectations, but Loyola — who just netted a really nice road win — and Washington State appear to be better than expected, and IUPUI quickly is looking like a front-runner in its conference. Brave, Mr. Martin.

Wednesday night's results are after the jump. A couple of close ones, but our opponents pulled them out in the end and vaulted us to the top overall spot.

Current Kansas State AP Ranking = 17

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 1

Current Kansas State SOS = 2

Great Wins (RPI 1-50, bold = RPI 1-25) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (7-2, 1-1) | RPI = 45: Win at Bradley (68-65)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146
No. 20 Ole Miss (9-1) | RPI = 35: Win over UTEP (91-81 in overtime)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 27
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60
No. 22* FHSU (7-1)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88
Xavier (6-3) | RPI = 61
UNLV (8-1) | RPI = 24
Alabama (7-3) | RPI = 87: Win over Samford (60-45)
UAPB (0-8) | RPI = 281: Loss at No. 22 Georgia Tech (65-53)
Cleveland State (4-7, 0-2) | RPI = 235
South Dakota (6-4) | RPI = 139
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (9-0) | RPI = 5
Oklahoma State (9-1) | RPI = 42: Win at Stanford (71-70)
Baylor (8-1) | RPI = 72
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

Kentucky Basketball: Ken Pomeroy's Analysis

Truzenzuzex — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:13:09 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

We'll get there, guys. Just keep doing what you are doing.

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Yesterday, Ken Pomeroy of Kenpom.com (not the same guy as our Ken Pomeroy here on A Sea of Blue) came out with his Pythagorean projections of records. What this post will do is examine his projections (which, by the way, change as the season goes on to reflect improvement or regression of teams through their Pythagorean Winning Percentage. We'll get to all that in a few minutes.

Pomeroy's projections are always pretty good, but they are far from flawless. I don't track his performance over the years (you have to pay attention at the very beginning so you can compare the end) and I haven't done that, but I know historically they are pretty accurate taken as a whole.

Fortunately for the Kentucky Wildcats this year, they are very young, which makes them look worse early as the freshmen learn the college game. As this Wildcat team learns to play good defense, learns the Calipari system, and gets to better understand their roles on the team and how to best maximize their strengths and minimize their weakness, we can expect these stats to have a greater than normal margin for error.

Pomeroy really doesn't factor youth in to his equation (because there is just no real way to do so other than an arbitrary bugger factor), but it really makes a difference when you are talking about a group as talented as the Wildcats are. In fact, there has arguably been no group in college basketball this young and this talented since the Fab Five, and that means that Pomeroy's system has never come up against a scenario this potentially volatile. But let's leave that for now, and look at his projections.

Follow me over the jump.

First, let's examine a reproduction of Ken's projections as of now. I have highlighted the losses for easier reading:

2010 Schedule
(Game Plan)
Date	Opponent	Result		Prob.	Location	Record	Conf
Fri Nov 13	(261) Morehead St.	W, 75-59	73		Home	1-0
Mon Nov 16	(174) Miami OH	W, 72-70	63		Home	2-0
Thu Nov 19	(173) Sam Houston St.	W, 102-92	83		Home	3-0
Sat Nov 21	(211) Rider	W, 92-63	76		Home	4-0
Tue Nov 24	(212) Cleveland St.	W, 73-49	70		Neutral	5-0
Wed Nov 25	(114) Stanford	W, 73-65	65	OT	Neutral	6-0
Mon Nov 30	(334) NC Asheville	W, 94-57	70		Semi-Home	7-0
Sat Dec 5	(44) North Carolina	W, 68-66	74		Home	8-0
Wed Dec 9	(33) Connecticut	W, 64-61	69		Neutral	9-0
Sat Dec 12	(158) Indiana	W, 90-73	68		Away	10-0
Sat Dec 19	(202) Austin Peay	W, 80-61	68	96%	Home
Mon Dec 21	(145) Drexel	W, 65-52	65	92%	Home
Wed Dec 23	(95) Long Beach St.	W, 82-71	72	84%	Home
Tue Dec 29	(259) Hartford	W, 81-57	64	98%	Home
Sat Jan 2	(105) Louisville	W, 79-67	71	87%	Home
Sat Jan 9	(189) Georgia	W, 77-59	66	95%	Home
Tue Jan 12	(34) Florida	L, 70-66	68	30%	Away
Sat Jan 16	(132) Auburn	W, 74-68	72	73%	Away
Sat Jan 23	(232) Arkansas	W, 88-64	70	97%	Home
Tue Jan 26	(92) South Carolina	W, 77-75	75	58%	Away
Sat Jan 30	(63) Vanderbilt	W, 79-72	71	76%	Home
Tue Feb 2	(25) Mississippi	W, 75-74	72	54%	Home
Sat Feb 6	(113) Louisiana St.	W, 67-63	63	67%	Away
Tue Feb 9	(80) Alabama	W, 74-66	66	80%	Home
Sat Feb 13	(9) Tennessee	L, 77-72	71	34%	Home
Tue Feb 16	(14) Mississippi St.	L, 78-68	69	16%	Away
Sat Feb 20	(63) Vanderbilt	L, 76-75	71	46%	Away
Thu Feb 25	(92) South Carolina	W, 82-71	75	84%	Home
Sat Feb 27	(9) Tennessee	L, 81-68	71	12%	Away
Wed Mar 3	(189) Georgia	W, 73-63	66	84%	Away
Sun Mar 7	(34) Florida	W, 69-67	68	61%	Home
	Projected record:					24-7	10-6
	Chance of unbeaten record:					0.00%	0.00%
	Chance of winless record:						0.00%
Projected record is based on cumulative probabilities of
winning each game and may not equal the individual game predictions.
Home games played at Rupp Arena (23,000, 2nd largest in D-I)
Games against opponents yet to be determined are not included in the upcoming schedule.

Trust me, I can feel the gnashing of teeth out there right now. "Whad'ya mean we're gonna lose seven games! This guy is clueless! Tennessee is going to beat us twice, and we only have a 30% chance of taking down the Florida Gators in Gainesville? What a crock!"

Relax, it isn't a crock. The data at this point is relatively sparse, and a couple of games can make a huge change. This is typical of how these calculations look early in the season, so just chill and please don't beat on Ken Pomeroy for his effrontery -- this is a calculation that gets better as time goes on, and these numbers will change, most likely for the better (well, I certainly hope so, anyway!).

To explain why this looks the way it does, keep in mind that Pomeroy's system currently ranks the Wildcats at #41. Now, nobody believes that UK is only the 41st best team in the country right now -- all you have to do is have a look at the polls. Statistical systems cannot measure everything, and one thing that cannot be accounted for in any way is potential, which human systems can account for. Also realize that the more data statistical systems accumulate, the more accurate they are. Right now, only about 33% of the games have been played, so keep in mind that the data at this point is really sparse.

Why are the 'Cats so low right now? Take a look at this graph, brought to you by the magic of Google Fusion (note - clicking on the bar will bring up the value):

What I have done here is taken the top twenty teams from kenpom.com, including their offensive and defensive efficiencies and their strength of schedule, and appended Kentucky's numbers onto the end of that group. To make SOS graph better, I have multiplied it by 100, but relatively speaking, it is still the same thing.

So how does UK grade out? The fundamental basis for Ken Pomeroy's analysis, in the end, is the difference between offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency. Remember that for DE, lower is better, and it is represented by the red line, while OE is the blue line. The orange line is the difference between the two.

You may not quite be able to see it, but UK's DE is the worst of this lot, which is why they are not a top 25 team. The OE is competitive, but it also toward the low end of the teams in this list.

The orange line tells the tale. The margin between UK's OE and DE is much lower than the top clubs, hence our relative position in Pomeroy's system. To be honest, our OE is good enough for a top 20 team, no question -- even a top 10. But the DE is a big problem. Currently, UK is ranked 65th in defensive efficiency. That's not a good number at all.

The green line represents strength of schedule, with larger being better. You will note that UK's SOS is better than the Kansas Jayhawks or Syracuse Orange, but is much weaker than the Texas Longhorns or Duke Blue Devils. To make things worse, UK has not been able to defeat these weak opponents by a wide margin, hence our current place in Pomeroy's hierarchy.

There is no doubt whatever that Kentucky will move up this list fairly rapidly, particularly by the time we get to conference play, and as teams like Kansas, Missouri and Memphis start to play tougher squads. Kentucky has only one more daunting game in the non-conference season, the annual tilt with the Louisville Cardinals. If the 'Cats can start playing better defense and blowing out opponents, you will see them move up the Pomeroy rankings fairly quickly.

Ten things from this decade you can't forget: The Jay Williams "Miracle Minute"

SFBE.NF — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 00:25:51 -0000

The scene: Cole Field House; College Park, Maryland.
The crime: Theft, and a lot of it. All caught on camera.

In 2001 Duke was king, and Maryland was just trying to be the heir apparent. It was a nice time in my life. Admittedly, I grew up a Dookie. As a young boy learning the difference between right and wrong, I immediately became infatuated with Grant Hill’s pristine image, and Christian Laettner’s floppy hair. Hitting a turnaround jumper in the Elite Eight looked like a lot of fun; maybe someday I could do the same. So as the years went on, I became the type to cry, even die a bit inside, when Duke came up on the short end. Basically, I was a little bitch.

On January 27, 2001, I felt like I was about to be tossed into purgatory. The Blue Devils were down 10 to Maryland with under a minute to play, and were seemingly ready to walk off the court and concede defeat in a battle for ACC supremacy. The Terps, you remember, were currently undergoing a mini-renaissance under Gary Williams. They had a veteran nucleus and young explosive talent coming off the bench. Tonight All-American guard Jay Williams was struggling, and Steve Blake was prancing around like he was the best point guard in the ACC. Frankly, he wasn't even the best point guard on his team. Juan Dixon was Maryland basketball at the time, but Blake always seemed to get the camera time. Watching it all unfold, the Terps only needing two hours to supplant North Carolina as the heel in ACC basketball, was quite an unpleasant thing to watch. Suddenly I was losing feeling in my extremities. And why was everyone I knew calling my phone!?

Then eight points in 13 seconds happened.

It was Williams with a lay-up, then a steal, then a three. That alone was something Duke fans could savor. You only see that sort of stuff in 128-bit video graphics. But then Drew Nicholas missed a pair of free throws and Williams subsequently sank another three. Duke was only down two.

Now it was on.

A few more things happened, just not as thrilling, and like that we were preparing for overtime. In the extra session, Duke would of course prevail with a 98-96 miracle victory (StatSheet.com crunches the numbers), Mike Patrick began having hot flashes, and Brad Daugherty was so overwhelmed he went to cover NASCAR full-time for ESPN. That's how impactful Jay Williams was.

It was a huge choke job by the Terapins and Duke would retain it’s number-two national ranking. But further affects from the January loss would manifest itself just eight weeks later. Remember, these teams faced each other four times that season, highlighted by a Final Four match-up under Hubert H. Humphrey’s Metrodome. In that game, after falling behind 39-17, the Blue Devils miraculously (again, it was an absolute miracle!) closed the gap to just nine by halftime led by a strong performance by a young Carlos Boozer, playing despite being hampered by a foot injury suffered in February against, you guessed it, Maryland. Shane Battier played all 40 minutes, serving as Coach K's Avatar-like figure on the court en route to a 95-84 victory, earning them a spot in the national championship game. They haven't been back since.

2001 was the peak of the hatred between these two teams, with the JJ Redick era falling a close second. Today it's just not the same. Both programs lack the star power and polarizing players that were once so abundant for this series. Since then, my affection for Duke has slowly waned, and I view my former devotion to the school as more of a past affliction suffered during my childhood.

Gonzaga vaults to 15th in AP and Coaches Poll

Zach B — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

8 days ago: Joe Few, left, the son of Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, joins Gonzaga players, including center Robert Sacre (00) as they run off the court following an NCAA college basketball game against Davidson, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009n in Seattle. Gonzaga won 103-91. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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After a 2-0 week, the home loss to Wake Forest has pretty much been erased from memory as Gonzaga has entered the top 15 for the first time this season. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll was also just released and Gonzaga is tied with Georgia Tech for the 15th spot in the nation. Thanks to a plethora of subpar performances from a handful of top 25 teams, Gonzaga has risen six spots from their 21st ranking a week ago. All five schools directly ahead of the Zags in last weeks AP Poll (Wisconsin, Cincy, Washington, Texas A&M, and UNLV) all lost this week and Ohio State also fell to Butler. So just in case you were curious how that happened, there you go!

Heading into the week I think it is pretty safe to say that we didn't expect wins over division three Augustana and a two-win Davidson team to net Gonzaga six spots but with all the mediocrity in college basketball this season, anything is possible.

Keeping an eye on Gonzaga's future schedule, there is still only one ranked team remaining this point and that is the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has improved to #7 in the nation in both polls after Villanova was upset by Temple. Expect Gonzaga's schedule strength to improve a bit as Memphis is 26th in the nation according to the AP and Illinois is also receiving votes. I expected St. Mary's to get some votes this week from the AP but that did not happen. The loss of Wayne Hunter makes them much more vulnerable. The Gaels' versatile guard suffered a season ending knee injury this past week.

continue reading after the jump...

In the Coaches Poll, St. Mary's is receiving 17 votes but Memphis is still struggling to get recognition. They are only receiving 21 votes from the Coaches this week with their only loss being by two points to Kansas. Josh Pastner did a nice job at softening the Tigers' schedule with all the turmoil and that probably explains why they have yet to be ranked. The Gaels of St. Mary's have played a tougher schedule than Memphis but are getting less recognition.

The Pac-10 continues its free fall this week with Washington barely hanging on in the AP. They are somehow 21st in the Coaches Poll but 24th in the AP. Cal is receiving a couple votes in the Coaches Poll but other than that, the Pac-10 is downright woeful. I do expect Mike Montgomery to get the Golden Bears together in time to dominate the Pac-10 season schedule but Washington has a couple of big tests before they hit easy street with the conference slate. On Saturday they have Portland and then that following Tuesday they have Texas A&M. Both games will be played at home but, much like Gonzaga, the next couple weeks are of great importance for UW.

Assuming Duke takes care of Gardner-Webb, the game in Madison Square Garden has become very important for the Zags' tournament resume. Wins over Wisconsin, Cincinnati, and Washington State look pretty good but a win over a top ten Duke team would take this team to another level. The West Coast Conference has really come back to Earth and will probably only be a two-bid league at best. Memphis should be ranked when the two teams meet but aside from that, Saturday is the day when the Zags must show they are for real.

The moral of this story: Gonzaga is the best in the West!

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Laura Rauch - AP

The circle is complete: By beating the brains out of Lon Kruger's team, perhaps we finally have erased the demons that have plagued K-State basketball for 20 years — roughly ever since he ditched us for Florida. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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Sorry, guys. I accidentally set this to publish at 11:45 p.m. tonight when I meant for it to go last night. My bad.

Wow, what a Saturday.

I guess I'll start with us. I've adding a ranking indicator, because now that Xavier beat Cincinnati today (likely knocking them out of the Top 25), it's a 99-percent certainty that we will be ranked at this time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our RPI is an eye-popping TWO. I don't think we're likely to top Duke anytime soon, so this basically is the pinnacle for our resume this year, at least from a numbers standpoint. Kudos to Frank Martin for drawing up a PERFECT non-conference schedule, one that now is ranked fourth, after briefly spiking at second last night.

UNLV was added to the ledger of Top 50 wins, and Wazzu's win over Air Force, coupled with playing us, moved the Cougars into the Top 100. That gives us six quality wins so far, and to that you can add Fort Hays State's movement into the Division II Top 25 last week. We've beaten some damn good teams.

What does all this mean? Barring an absolute collapse in Big 12 play, we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And if things keep up like this, we'll have a pretty high seed, too. We almost don't need this feature anymore — the resume speaks for itself. But I'll keep tracking everything, nonetheless.

Here's a little trivia for you: Four teams in the country have three RPI Top 50 wins. Who are they? Answers after the jump. Oh, and be sure to vote in my poll.

Answer: Georgetown, Kansas State, Texas, Villanova

Bonus Answer: Kansas has ZERO Top 50 wins. LOL!

Current Kansas State Ranking = TBD

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40: Win over San Francisco (66-63)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320: Loss to Eastern Illinois (44-41)
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146: Win at Marist (88-72)
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34: Win over McNeese State (83-67)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Indiana-South Bend (92-56)
No. 22* FHSU (7-1): Win over Missouri Western (67-54)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88: Win over Air Force (75-68)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29: Loss to Kansas State (95-80)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91: Loss to No. 5 Purdue (73-65)
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232: Win over Wilberforce (113-61)
South Dakota (5-4) | RPI = 119
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161: Win over Fairleigh Dickinson (87-36)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18: Loss to New Mexico (84-81)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5: Win over Texas State (87-54)
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21: Win over La Salle (90-65)
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Oregon State (50-44)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142: Win at Utah (78-73 in overtime)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

SB Nation - Duke Blue Devils

RPI WATCH: 12/20/09

Raycom ACC Basketball Power Poll Ballot, week 6

12/19 Game Links

The Pac 10 is alive! USC routs Tennessee

Kansas handles Michigan; Xavier Henry also a pretty good freshman

Texas scores easy and often, tops UNC in Jerry Jones Dome

West Virginia tests road waters, escapes with win over Cleveland St.

Hoyas stay on campus, lose to Old Dominion

Duke routs Gonzaga at Cameron Indoor North

Richmond gets first true road win, upsets Florida

UMASS shocks Memphis in some sort of John Calipari Invitational

The biggest stage in college basketball: Zags vs. Duke

Learning more about the Blue Devils: A few good questions with Crazie Talk

RPI WATCH: 12/17/09

Kentucky Basketball: Ken Pomeroy's Analysis

Ten things from this decade you can't forget: The Jay Williams "Miracle Minute"

Gonzaga vaults to 15th in AP and Coaches Poll

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

What will K-State be ranked in today's AP poll?