New NCAA Top 50

These rankings are an update from my rankings last month and include all games through Monday, 2/25. From this point on through March Madness, I will do my best to post weekly rankings. We'll see how that goes though.

Rank	LW	Team	Record
1	9	Tennessee	(25-2, 11-1)
2	1	Memphis	(26-1, 12-0)
3	3	Texas	(23-4, 10-2)
4	4	UCLA	(24-3, 12-2)
5	7	North Carolina	(26-2, 11-2)
6	5	Georgetown	(22-4, 12-3)
7	11	Wisconsin	(23-4, 13-2)
8	8	Duke	(23-3, 10-2)
9	15	Xavier	(24-4, 12-1)
10	2	Kansas	(24-3, 9-3)
11	14	Butler	(25-3, 14-2)
12	18	Stanford	(22-4, 11-3)
13	12	Indiana	(23-4, 12-2)
14	13	Vanderbilt	(23-4, 8-4)
15	21	Drake	(24-3, 14-2)
16	27	Notre Dame	(21-5, 11-3)
17	30	Louisville	(22-6, 12-3)
18	23	Purdue	(21-6, 12-2)
19	29	Connecticut	(21-6, 10-4)
20	31	Marquette	(20-6, 10-5)
21	6	Washington State	(21-6, 9-6)
22	35	Gonzaga	(21-6, 10-1)
23	10	Michigan State	(22-5, 10-4)
24	24	Kansas State	(18-8, 8-4)
25	16	St. Mary's	(23-4, 10-1)
26	17	Texas A&M	(20-7, 6-6)
27	47	South Alabama	(22-5, 14-2)
28	NR	Kent State	(23-5, 11-2)
29	58	Davidson	(21-6, 18-0)
30	36	Villanova	(17-9, 7-7)
31	57	New Mexico	(22-6, 9-4)
32	63	BYU	(21-6, 10-2)
33	20	Pitt	(19-8, 7-7)
34	25	Oklahoma	(18-9, 6-6)
35	33	Clemson	(19-7, 7-5)
36	39	USC	(17-9, 8-6)
37	52	Miami (FL)	(19-7, 6-6)
38	34	Massachusettes	(18-9, 7-6)
39	43	Maryland	(17-11, 7-6)
40	41	Arkansas	(18-8, 7-5)
41	42	West Virginia	(19-8, 8-6)
42	45	Syracuse	(17-11, 7-8)
43	50	Creighton	(19-8, 10-7)
44	64	Kentucky	(15-10, 9-3)
45	61	VCU	(21-6, 13-3)
46	62	UNLV	(20-6, 9-3)
47	65	Houston	(20-6, 9-3)
48	NR	Illinois State	(20-8, 11-5)
49	19	Dayton	(17-9, 5-8)
50	22	Arizona	(17-10, 7-7)

Chicken, Alaska: -72°F!

Yesterday morning, the booming metropolis of Chicken, AK reached a low temperature of -72°F. Can you imagine feeling that? FYI...the all-time Alaskan, and U.S., record for coldest recorded temperature is -75°F. That's brisk baby!

Finally Gearing Toward Madness

Since high school I have been a huge fan of the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Maryland Terrapins, and college basketball in general. Usually I am gung ho into it by December, but not this year. For some reason or another I am just now paying attention to it and it is almost February. I have caught some games here and there and have noticed something a little surprising. In a game full of parity, there is even more parity and unpredictability than ever before. So much so, that if there were ever a year that a #16 seed would beat a #1 seed in the tournament, I think this would be the year. Aside from Memphis and maybe Kansas, there really aren't any dominating teams. I think you have to attribute this to so many star players leaving for the NBA after their freshman or sophomore seasons. Still, that doesn't hurt college basketball as it just makes a fun game even more fun. By the way, the game that got me back into college basketball was none other than the Terps' upset AT North Carolina. What a well-played game by Maryland and of course, another fine coaching job by Gary Williams. I also want to salute Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs for playing a brutal non-conference schedule. Granted, they haven't won many of those tough games, but they have been close. With today's loss to Memphis, 3 of their 5 losses are to teams currently in the Top 6 in the polls (Memphis, Tennessee, Washington State). Their other two losses were against Texas Tech in the Great Alaska Shootout and at Oklahoma. I think come tournament time, Gonzaga will be ready for anything. Now, onto my highly uncertain inaugural rankings for this season:

Rank	Team	Conference	Record
1	Memphis	Conference USA	(19-0, 5-0)
2	Kansas	Big 12	(20-0, 5-0)
3	Texas	Big 12	(16-3, 3-1)
4	UCLA	Pac-10	(17-2, 5-1)
5	Georgetown	Big East	(16-2, 6-1)
6	Washington State	Pac-10	(17-2, 5-2)
7	North Carolina	ACC	(19-1, 4-1)
8	Duke	ACC	(16-1, 4-0)
9	Tennessee	SEC	(17-2, 4-1)
10	Michigan State	Big 10	(17-2, 5-1)
11	Wisconsin	Big 10	(16-3, 6-1)
12	Indiana	Big 10	(17-2, 6-0)
13	Vanderbilt	SEC	(17-2, 2-2)
14	Butler	Horizon	(19-2, 8-2)
15	Xavier	Atlantic 10	(16-4, 4-1)
16	St. Mary's	West Coast	(17-2, 4-0)
17	Texas A&M	Big 12	(16-4, 2-3)
18	Stanford	Pac 10	(16-3, 5-2)
19	Dayton	Atlantic 10	(14-4, 2-3)
20	Pitt	Big East	(16-4, 2-3)
21	Drake	Missouri Valley	(18-1, 9-0)
22	Arizona	Pac-10	(14-6, 4-3)
23	Purdue	Big 10	(15-5, 6-1)
24	Kansas State	Big 12	(14-4, 4-0)
25	Oklahoma	Big 12	(14-5, 2-2)
26	Baylor	Big 12	(16-3, 4-1)
27	Notre Dame	Big East	(14-4, 4-2)
28	Mississippi	SEC	(15-3, 2-3)
29	Connecticut	Big East	(14-5, 4-3)
30	Louisville	Big East	(15-5, 5-2)
31	Marquette	Big East	(14-4, 4-3)
32	Ohio State	Big 10	(14-6, 5-2)
33	Clemson	ACC	(15-4, 3-2)
34	Massachusettes	Atlantic 10	(13-5, 2-2)
35	Gonzaga	West Coast	(15-5, 4-0)
36	Villanova	Big East	(13-5, 3-4)
37	Oregon	Pac-10	(12-8, 3-5)
38	Arizona State	Pac-10	(14-5, 4-3)
39	USC	Pac-10	(12-6, 3-3)
40	Rhode Island	Atlantic 10	(17-3, 3-2)
41	Arkansas	SEC	(14-5, 3-2)
42	West Virginia	Big East	(15-5, 4-3)
43	Maryland	ACC	(12-7, 2-2)
44	Boston College	ACC	(12-6, 3-2)
45	Syracuse	Big East	(13-7, 3-4)
46	Florida	SEC	(17-3, 4-1)
47	South Alabama	Sun Belt	(16-3, 8-0)
48	Charlotte	Atlantic 10	(13-6, 4-1)
49	Mississippi State	SEC	(14-5, 5-0)
50	Creighton	Missouri Valley	(14-5, 5-4)

Final 2007-08 Post Bowl Rankings

Rank	Previous	Team	Record
1	3	LSU	(12-2, 6-2)
2	2	Georgia	(11-2, 6-2)
3	1	Ohio State	(11-2, 7-1)
4	7	USC	(11-2, 7-2)
5	8	Missouri	(12-2, 7-1)
6	9	Kansas	(12-1, 7-1)
7	12	West Virginia	(11-2, 5-2)
8	4	Virginia Tech	(11-3, 7-1)
9	5	Oklahoma	(11-3, 6-2)
10	6	Hawai'i	(11-1, 8-0)
11	14	Boston College	(11-3, 6-2)
12	16	Tennessee	(10-4, 6-2)
13	26	Texas	(10-3, 5-3)
14	24	Auburn	(9-4, 5-3)
15	15	Clemson	(9-4, 5-3)
16	11	Arizona State	(10-3, 7-2)
17	25	Texas Tech	(9-4, 4-4)
18	22	Cincinnati	(10-3, 4-3)
19	27	Michigan	(9-4, 6-2)
20	10	Florida	(9-4, 5-3)
21	13	Illinois	(9-4, 6-2)
22	21	BYU	(11-2, 8-0)
23	17	Wisconsin	(9-4, 5-3)
24	28	Utah	(9-4, 5-3)
25	38	Oregon	(9-4, 5-4)
26	23	Virginia	(9-4, 6-2)
27	31	Oregon State	(9-4, 6-3)
28	18	Arkansas	(8-5, 4-4)
29	32	Wake Forest	(9-4, 5-3)
30	33	Kentucky	(8-5, 3-5)
31	36	Penn State	(9-4, 4-4)
32	34	Michigan State	(7-6, 3-5)
33	29	Connecticut	(9-4, 5-2)
34	19	Boise State	(10-3, 7-1)
35	20	South Florida	(9-4, 4-3)
36	35	Texas A&M	(7-6, 4-4)
37	40	Mississippi State	(8-5, 4-4)
38	41	TCU	(8-5, 4-4)
39	37	South Carolina	(6-6, 3-5)
40	45	Fresno State	(9-4, 6-2)
41	43	Oklahoma State	(7-6, 4-4)
42	39	Central Florida	(10-4, 7-1)
43	30	Air Force	(9-4, 6-2)
44	46	Rutgers	(8-5, 3-4)
45	44	Florida State	(7-6, 4-4)
46	48	Tulsa	(10-4, 6-2)
47	NR	East Carolina	(8-5, 6-2)
48	NR	California	(7-6, 3-6)
49	47	UCLA	(6-7, 5-4)
50	42	Georgia Tech	(7-6, 4-4)

After evaluating players entering the NFL draft, returning players, and recruiting classes, I will issue an early pre-season ranking for next year. Don't look for this until next month though. This will be revised again in August I suppose. Take them with a grain of salt though. Here's a tease though with my current thoughts:

1. Georgia
2. USC
3. Florida
4. Missouri
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Texas Tech
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas

College Football Update

With the bowl season winding down, I have begun my post-bowl rankings. I have completed rankings 4-45, and will complete my rankings after tomorrow night's GMAC Bowl and then the National Championship. I will give you a few sneak peaks:

1. Georgia will finish no worse than #2.
2. Texas profits the most from their bowl game. Their blowout of Arizona State jumps them to #13.
3. After a HUGE win, Michigan returns to the top 20, finishing #19.
4. Utah, a team to watch next year, reaches the Top 25 for the first time all season, finishing at #24.
5. After falling flat on their faces in their bowl games, Boise State and South Florida finish at #34 and #35 respectively.

Overrated/Underrated: A Look Back at my Preseason Top 50

My Preseason Top 50

My LSU/USC national championship was only half-right and then it got kinda ugly. But there are a few bright spots which I will show. And then again some teams (ehem, Louisville) just did not live up to the expectations of most.

Top 13 Overachieving Teams

Team	Record	Pre-Bowl Rank	Pre-Season Rank	Difference
Kansas	(11-1, 7-1)	9	66	57
Illinois	(9-3, 6-2)	13	61	48
Arizona State	(10-2, 7-2)	11	50	39
Georgia	(10-2, 6-2)	2	37	35
Cincinnati	(9-3, 4-3)	22	56	34
Virginia	(9-3, 6-2)	23	57	34
Connecticut	(9-3, 5-2)	29	62	33
Mississippi State	(7-5, 4-4)	40	72	32
Kentucky	(7-5, 3-5)	33	63	30
Boston College	(10-3, 6-2)	14	42	28
Air Force	(9-3, 6-2)	30	55	25
Central Florida	(10-3, 7-1)	39	64	25
Ohio State	(11-1, 7-1)	1	22	21

Top 13 Underachieving Teams

Team	Record	Pre-Bowl Rank	Pre-Season Rank	Difference
Nebraska	(5-7, 2-6)	77	17	-60
California	(6-6, 3-6)	61	12	-49
Notre Dame	(3-9)	80	35	-45
Ohio	(6-6, 4-4)	72	29	-43
Miami(FL)	(5-7, 2-6)	78	36	-42
Rutgers	(7-5, 3-4)	46	7	-39
Louisville	(6-6, 3-4)	49	11	-38
Western Michigan	(5-7, 3-4)	79	48	-31
Iowa	(6-6, 4-4)	74	47	-27
Central Michigan	(8-5, 6-1)	54	27	-27
Southern Miss.	(7-5, 5-3)	68	43	-25
Michigan	(8-4, 6-2)	27	3	-24
TCU	(7-5, 4-4)	41	18	-23

13 Teams that Met Expectations

Team	Record	Pre-Bowl Rank	Pre-Season Rank	Difference
Oklahoma	(11-2, 6-2)	5	5	0
Oregon State	(8-4, 6-3)	31	31	0
Florida	(9-3, 5-3)	10	9	-1
Arkansas	(8-4, 4-4)	18	19	1
LSU	(11-2, 6-2)	3	1	-2
Utah	(8-4, 5-3)	28	30	2
Virginia Tech	(11-2, 7-1)	4	8	4
Auburn	(8-4, 5-3)	24	20	-4
Oregon	(8-4, 5-4)	38	34	-4
USC	(10-2, 7-2)	7	2	-5
West Virginia	(10-2, 5-2)	12	6	-6
Boise State	(10-2, 7-1)	19	13	-6
Oklahoma State	(6-6, 4-4)	43	49	6

So there you have it...if you are interested in a team that I have not listed, let me know.

Assuming Hawaii Doesn't Choke like Missouri and WVU...

Rank	Previous	Team	Record
1	3	Ohio State	(11-1, 7-1)
2	4	Georgia	(10-2, 6-2)
3	5	LSU	(11-2, 6-2)
4	7	Virginia Tech	(11-2, 7-1)
5	11	Oklahoma	(11-2, 6-2)
6	8	Hawai'i	(11-0, 8-0)
7	9	USC	(10-2, 7-2)
8	1	Missouri	(11-2, 7-1)
9	6	Kansas	(11-1, 7-1)
10	10	Florida	(9-3, 5-3)
11	13	Arizona State	(10-2, 7-2)
12	2	West Virginia	(10-2, 5-2)
13	14	Illinois	(9-3, 6-2)
14	12	Boston College	(10-3, 6-2)
15	15	Clemson	(9-3, 5-3)
16	16	Tennessee	(9-4, 6-2)
17	17	Wisconsin	(9-3, 5-3)
18	18	Arkansas	(8-4, 4-4)
19	19	Boise State	(10-2, 7-1)
20	20	South Florida	(9-3, 4-3)
21	22	BYU	(10-2, 8-0)
22	21	Cincinnati	(9-3, 4-3)
23	23	Virginia	(9-3, 6-2)
24	24	Auburn	(8-4, 5-3)
25	25	Texas Tech	(8-4, 4-4)
26	26	Texas	(9-3, 5-3)
27	28	Michigan	(8-4, 6-2)
28	29	Utah	(8-4, 5-3)
29	30	Connecticut	(9-3, 5-2)
30	31	Air Force	(9-3, 6-2)
31	42	Oregon State	(8-4, 6-3)
32	32	Wake Forest	(8-4, 5-3)
33	34	Kentucky	(7-5, 3-5)
34	35	Michigan State	(7-5, 3-5)
35	39	Texas A&M	(7-5, 4-4)
36	40	Penn State	(8-4, 4-4)
37	37	South Carolina	(6-6, 3-5)
38	27	Oregon	(8-4, 5-4)
39	44	Central Florida	(10-3, 7-1)
40	41	Mississippi State	(7-5, 4-4)
41	45	TCU	(7-5, 4-4)
42	46	Georgia Tech	(7-5, 4-4)
43	48	Oklahoma State	(6-6, 4-4)
44	49	Florida State	(7-5, 4-4)
45	50	Fresno State	(8-4, 6-2)
46	33	Rutgers	(7-5, 3-4)
47	38	UCLA	(6-6, 5-4)
48	43	Tulsa	(9-4, 6-2)
49	NR	Louisville	(6-6, 3-4)
50	36	Troy	(8-4, 6-1)

Final Bowl Outlook

Bowl Game	Predicted Matchup
Poinsettia	NR Navy vs. NR Utah
New Orleans	NR Memphis vs. NR Florida Atlantic
Las Vegas	#21 BYU vs. NR California
New Mexico	#45 Fresno State vs. NR New Mexico
Papa Johns	NR Southern Miss. vs. #22 Cincinnati
Hawaii	NR East Carolina vs. NR Nevada
Motor City	NR Indiana vs. NR Central Michigan
Holiday	#25 Texas Tech vs. #11 Arizona State
Emerald	#44 Florida State vs. #38 Oregon
Texas	#45 TCU vs. NR Houston
Champs Sports	#23 Virginia vs. NR Iowa
Liberty	#39 Central Florida vs. #37 South Carolina
Meineke Car Care	#32 Wake Forest vs. #30 Connecticut
Alamo	#35 Texas A&M vs. #36 Penn State
Independence	#43 Oklahoma State vs. #34 Kentucky
Armed Forces	#47 UCLA vs. #31 Air Force
Music City	#42 Georgia Tech vs. #40 Mississippi State
Sun	#31 Oregon State vs. #20 South Florida
Insight	NR Colorado vs. #34 Michigan State
Chik-Fil-A Peach	#18 Arkansas vs. #14 Boston College
Humanitarian	NR Maryland vs. #19 Boise State
Outback	#17 Wisconsin vs. #24 Auburn
Cotton	#9 Kansas vs. #16 Tennessee
Gator	#15 Clemson vs. #26 Texas
Capital One	#10 Florida vs. #27 Michigan
Rose	#13 Illinois vs. #9 USC
Sugar	#3 LSU vs. #8 Missouri
Fiesta	#5 Oklahoma vs. #6 Hawaii
Orange	#4 Virginia Tech vs. #12 West Virginia
International	NR Ball State vs. #46 Rutgers
GMAC	NR Bowling Green vs. #48 Tulsa
BCS Championship	#1 Ohio State vs. #2 Georgia

*Bold denotes team has accepted bowl bid as of midnight