2012-13 NCAA Basketball Rankings - Vol. VII

Below are my rankings through games played on Sunday, February 17th:

Rank	Last	Team	Record	Conference
1	4	Florida	(21-3, 11-1)	SEC
2	1	Indiana	(23-3, 11-2)	B1G
3	6	Michigan St.	(22-4, 11-2)	B1G
4	5	Gonzaga	(25-2, 12-0)	West Coast
5	10	Miami	(21-3, 12-0)	ACC
6	3	Duke	(22-3, 9-3)	ACC
7	7	Louisville	(22-5, 10-4)	Big East
8	8	Kansas	(21-4, 9-3)	Big 12
9	2	Michigan	(22-4, 9-4)	B1G
10	17	Georgetown	(19-4, 9-3)	Big East
11	16	Oklahoma St.	(19-5, 9-3)	Big 12
12	21	Wisconsin	(18-8, 9-4)	B1G
13	19	Colorado St.	(21-4, 8-2)	Mountain West
14	13	Syracuse	(21-4, 9-3)	Big East
15	12	Pitt	(20-6, 8-5)	Big East
16	14	New Mexico	(22-4, 9-2)	Mountain West
17	11	Arizona	(21-4, 9-4)	PAC-12
18	28	Marquette	(18-6, 9-3)	Big East
19	9	Ohio St.	(18-7, 8-5)	B1G
20	30	VCU	(21-5, 9-2)	Atlantic 10
21	18	Butler	(21-5, 8-3)	Atlantic 10
22	29	Memphis	(22-3, 11-0)	Conference-USA
23	15	Minnesota	(18-8, 6-7)	B1G
24	20	Cincinnati	(19-7, 7-6)	Big East
25	27	St. Mary's	(22-5, 10-2)	West Coast
26	24	Oregon	(21-5, 10-3)	PAC-12
27	33	Saint Louis	(19-5, 8-2)	Atlantic 10
28	32	Kansas St.	(20-5, 9-3)	Big 12
29	25	UCLA	(19-7, 9-4)	PAC-12
30	23	San Diego St.	(18-7, 6-5)	Mountain West
31	38	UNLV	(18-7, 6-5)	Mountain West
32	36	Notre Dame	(20-6, 8-5)	Big East
33	N/A	Illinois	(19-6, 6-5)	B1G
34	22	Creighton	(21-6, 10-5)	Missouri Valley
35	45	Iowa	(17-8, 6-6)	B1G
36	N/A	Oklahoma	(16-8, 7-5)	Big 12
37	43	Wichita St.	(22-5, 11-4)	Missouri Valley
38	40	Connecticut	(17-8, 7-6)	Big East
39	N/A	Colorado	(17-8, 7-6)	PAC-12
40	N/A	Virginia	(18-7, 8-4)	ACC
41	41	Baylor	(16-10, 7-6)	Big 12
42	42	NC State	(18-7, 7-5)	ACC
43	37	Boise St.	(16-8, 4-6)	Mountain West
44	31	Iowa St.	(17-8, 7-5)	Big 12
45	26	Mississippi	(19-6, 8-4)	SEC
46	49	Louisiana Tech	(23-3, 14-0)	WAC
47	50	Middle Tennessee St.	(23-4, 15-1)	Sun Belt
48	N/A	Akron	(21-4, 12-0)	MAC
49	N/A	Maryland	(18-7, 6-6)	ACC
50	N/A	Alabama	(17-8, 9-3)	SEC

Dropped From Rankings: #34 Kentucky, #35 BYU, #39 St. John's, #44 Belmont, #46 Arkansas, #47 Indiana St., #48 Missouri

Teams Rising:

• +18 Illinois (19-6, 6-5)
• +15 Oklahoma (16-8, 7-5)
• +12 Colorado (17-8, 7-6)
• +11 Virginia (18-7, 8-4)
• +10 Marquette (18-6, 9-3), VCU (21-5, 9-2)

Teams Falling:

• -19 Mississippi (19-6, 8-4)
• -13 Iowa St. (17-8, 7-5)
• -12 Creighton (21-6, 10-5)
• -10 Ohio St. (18-7, 8-5)
• -8 Minnesota (18-8, 6-7)

Of the 68 NCAA Tournament teams, there are 37 at-large bids. This week, I consider teams in the Top 40 as 'Locks'. Of those teams, 10 are conference leaders and 29 are at-large locks (#38 UConn ineligible). The next 16 at-large teams are in my opinion bubble teams (First 8 in, next 8 out).

• Bubble Teams IN: Baylor, NC State, Boise St., Iowa St., Mississippi, Maryland, Alabama, North Carolina
• Bubble Teams OUT: Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, La Salle, Villanova, Northern Iowa, St. John's, Arizona St.
• Below the Bubble NIT Teams: Stanford, BYU, Charlotte, Tennessee, Indiana St., Florida St., Southern Miss, Cal

-40F Wind Chill Tonight?

What a day. The wind has been relentless - though not quite as strong as earlier. Currently in Grand Forks, it is -7°F, with a north wind of 26 mph gusting to 35 mph, producing a wind chill of -34F. Early this morning, the worst conditions were at 5:09am with a north wind of 43 mph gusting to 51 mph:

Conditions at:	KGFK observed 18 February 2013  11:09 UTC
Temperature:	-8.0°C (18°F)
Dewpoint:	-10.0°C (14°F) [RH = 85%]
Pressure (altimeter):	29.57 inches Hg (1001.4 mb)
Winds:	from the NNW (340 degrees) at 43 MPH (37 knots; 19.2 m/s) gusting to 51 MPH (44 knots; 22.9 m/s)
Visibility:	0.25 miles (0.40 km)
Ceiling:	indefinite ceiling with vertical visibility of 900 feet AGL
Clouds:	obscured sky
Present Weather:	FZFG  (freezing fog) SOME DATA ABOVE MAY BE INACCURATE!!! "$" is an indication the sensor requires maintenance
KGFK 181109Z AUTO 34037G44KT 1/4SM FZFG VV009 M08/M10 A2957 RMK AO2 PK WND 34044/1108 PWINO FZRANO TSNO $

However with much lower actual temperatures, the wind chill is now the worst it's been and I'm wondering if we can reach a -40F wind chill. I have never experienced that, with my coldest experienced wind chill being -38F earlier this winter. It looks like we will bottom out to an overnight low of about -12F around 6-7am. If we can retain a 24 mph wind at that time, that will result in a wind chill of -40F. Otherwise, -13 with a 21 mph wind will work. Going to be close!

...UPDATE...At 8:37am we had a temperature of -11F and north wind of 23mph for a wind chill of -38F. However the peak wind, or gust, at that time was 29 knots (33.4mph). Using the peak wind, the wind chill this morning was -42F! This marks the lowest wind chill of my life.

KGFK 191453Z 35020KT 10SM SCT010 M24/M28 A3034 RMK AO2 PK WND 35029/1437 SLP304 6//// T12391278 53024

-------------

Below are a couple of nice videos showing how poor the visibility was on the outskirts of Grand Forks this morning. Visibility there was at best an eighth of a mile (660 feet) and at worst 50-100 feet. Even in the middle of town where I live, with plenty of homes and trees nearby to inhibit the blowing snow, visibility was no better than a half mile through morning. The local paper - The Grand Forks Herald - dubbed this 'Blizzard Dolley' which is named after former first lady Dolley Madison.

Blizzard Warning for GFK

We're under a blizzard warning through 6pm...

WEST POLK-KITTSON-WEST MARSHALL-EASTERN WALSH-EDDY-NELSON-
GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CROOKSTON...EAST GRAND FORKS...
HALLOCK...WARREN...GRAFTON...NEW ROCKFORD...LAKOTA...
GRAND FORKS...COOPERSTOWN...FINLEY...MAYVILLE
953 PM CST SUN FEB 17 2013

...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 6 PM CST
MONDAY...

A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 6 PM CST
MONDAY.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY...AND MAY BE HEAVY AT
  TIMES OVERNIGHT.

* WINDS/VISIBILITY...WINDS WILL INCREASE OUT OF THE NORTH AT 30 TO
  40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE
  VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 10 INCHES. THE
  HEAVIEST SNOWFALL OF 5 TO 10 INCHES WILL OCCUR ACROSS THE
  LANGDON AND PEMBINA AREA. AREAS FURTHER SOUTH WILL RECEIVE 2 TO
  5 INCHES.

I think this is the third time this winter Grand Forks has been under a blizzard warning. I would have to go back and check, but I don't think we quite reached blizzard criteria on the first two. Well, the ground blizzard verified last month. Anyway, I have a hunch this one won't verify just because - well, this is Grand Forks, and for whatever reason during the two winters I have been here, winter has been largely underwhelming. I think we will be on the low end of the snowfall forecast of 2-5"...I say 2-3". As for winds and visibilities, I think we will fall just shy of blizzard criteria. Hopefully I'm wrong! Also I apologize to myself for the complete lack of scientific analysis regarding this...Grand Forks does this to us all sometimes I suppose.

-----------------------------------------

11:42 AM 2/18 UPDATE:  Sometimes it is good to be wrong. Blizzard warning verified!

KGFK 181653Z 34031G41KT 1/8SM BLSN VV009 M15/M18 A2981 RMK AO2 PK WND 34042/1609 TWR VIS 1/4 SNE26 SLP114 P0000 T11501178 $
KGFK 181553Z 35030G37KT 1/8SM SN BLSN VV009 M14/M16 A2977 RMK AO2 PK WND 35043/1459 TWR VIS 1/4 SLP099 P0001 T11391161 $
KGFK 181453Z 34032G38KT 1/8SM SN BLSN VV009 M14/M16 A2974 RMK AO2 PK WND 35044/1412 TWR VIS 1/4 SLP087 P0001 60003 T11391156 51039 $
KGFK 181353Z 34029G39KT 1/8SM SN BLSN VV006 M13/M15 A2971 RMK AO2 PK WND 34041/1334 TWR VIS 1/4 SNB24 SLP077 P0001 T11331150 $
KGFK 181253Z 34030G38KT 1/4SM BLSN VV007 M12/M14 A2968 RMK AO2 PK WND 34041/1204 TWR VIS 1/2 SLP066 P0001 T11221139 $
KGFK 181208Z 34032G41KT 1/4SM BLSN VV009 M11/M13 A2963 RMK AO2 PK WND 34041/1204 TWR VIS 1/2 $

A Belated Snowstorm Appreciation

This past Sunday (2/10), a strong snowstorm passed through the Northern Plains, bringing 6-12" of snowfall from the Sand Hills of Nebraska (where 50+ mph gusts aided in true blizzard conditions) to the Northland of Minnesota. The big winners from this storm were southeastern North Dakota, northeastern South Dakota, and west-central Minnesota. Across this area there were fairly widespread reports of 12-18", with a few locations reporting snowfall in the 18-24" range! For the early stages of this event, Grand Forks was on the northwest edge of snowfall. Then during the evening, a deformation band of snow set up across the Grand Forks area, allowing for a storm total of 4.9". Further south over the Fargo area (which saw a longer duration of snowfall), 7-10" reports were common. As far as Grand Forks goes, the 4.9" storm total was shockingly (if memory serves me correct) the largest storm total snowfall I have seen during the two winters I have been here. Not to discount a fine snow fall from this past Sunday, but in the grand scheme of things, I expected to see a better storm than that at some point over the past two winters. Here's hoping for a big March blizzard!   ....followed by a quick transition to Spring

2012-13 NCAA Basketball Rankings - Vol. VI

Below are my rankings through games played on Wednesday, February 6th:

Rank	Last	Team	Record	Conference
1	4	Indiana	(20-2, 8-1)	B1G
2	2	Michigan	(21-2, 8-2)	B1G
3	5	Duke	(19-2, 6-2)	ACC
4	3	Florida	(18-3, 8-1)	SEC
5	7	Gonzaga	(21-2, 8-0)	West Coast
6	9	Michigan St.	(19-4, 8-2)	B1G
7	12	Louisville	(20-4, 8-3)	Big East
8	1	Kansas	(19-3, 7-2)	Big 12
9	10	Ohio St.	(17-5, 7-3)	B1G
10	14	Miami	(18-3, 9-0)	ACC
11	13	Arizona	(20-2, 8-2)	PAC-12
12	22	Pitt	(19-5, 7-4)	Big East
13	6	Syracuse	(19-3, 7-2)	Big East
14	21	New Mexico	(20-3, 7-1)	Mountain West
15	16	Minnesota	(17-6, 5-5)	B1G
16	38	Oklahoma St.	(16-5, 6-3)	Big 12
17	25	Georgetown	(16-4, 6-3)	Big East
18	11	Butler	(19-4, 6-2)	Atlantic 10
19	27	Colorado St.	(19-4, 6-2)	Mountain West
20	20	Cincinnati	(18-5, 6-4)	Big East
21	23	Wisconsin	(16-7, 7-3)	B1G
22	24	Creighton	(20-4, 9-3)	Missouri Valley
23	19	San Diego St.	(17-5, 5-3)	Mountain West
24	8	Oregon	(18-4, 7-2)	PAC-12
25	18	UCLA	(16-6, 6-3)	PAC-12
26	15	Mississippi	(18-4, 7-2)	SEC
27	32	St. Mary's	(19-4, 7-1)	West Coast
28	26	Marquette	(16-5, 7-2)	Big East
29	33	Memphis	(19-3, 8-0)	Conference-USA
30	34	VCU	(18-5, 6-2)	Atlantic 10
31	35	Iowa St.	(16-6, 6-3)	Big 12
32	36	Kansas St.	(18-4, 7-2)	Big 12
33	49	Saint Louis	(17-5, 6-2)	Atlantic 10
34	N/A	Kentucky	(16-6, 7-2)	SEC
35	42	BYU	(18-6, 8-2)	West Coast
36	44	Notre Dame	(18-5, 6-4)	Big East
37	N/A	Boise St.	(15-7, 3-5)	Mountain West
38	31	UNLV	(16-6, 4-4)	Mountain West
39	48	St. John's	(15-8, 7-4)	Big East
40	37	Connecticut	(15-7, 5-5)	Big East
41	30	Baylor	(14-9, 5-5)	Big 12
42	28	NC State	(16-6, 5-4)	ACC
43	17	Wichita St.	(19-5, 8-4)	Missouri Valley
44	50	Belmont	(19-4, 10-0)	Ohio Valley
45	46	Iowa	(14-8, 3-6)	B1G
46	N/A	Arkansas	(14-8, 5-4)	SEC
47	N/A	Indiana St.	(15-8, 8-4)	Missouri Valley
48	29	Missouri	(16-5, 5-3)	SEC
49	47	Louisiana Tech	(19-3, 10-0)	WAC
50	N/A	Middle Tennessee St.	(20-4, 12-1)	Sun Belt

Dropped from rankings: #39 Villanova, #40 La Salle, #41 Arizona St., #43 Illinois, #45 Wyoming

Teams Rising:

• +22 Oklahoma St. (16-5, 6-3)
• +17 Kentucky (16-6, 7-2)
• +16 Saint Louis (17-5, 6-2)
• +14 Boise St. (15-7, 3-5)
• +10 Pitt (19-5, 7-4)

Teams Falling:

• -26 Wichita St. (19-5, 8-4)
• -19 Missouri (16-5, 5-3)
• -16 Oregon (18-4, 7-2)
• -14 NC State (16-6, 5-4)
• -11 Baylor (14-9, 5-4)

Projected 1-4 Seeds:
#1:  Indiana, Michigan, Duke, Florida
#2: Gonzaga, Michigan St., Louisville, Kansas
#3: Ohio St., Miami, Arizona, Pitt
#4: Syracuse, New Mexico, Minnesota, Oklahoma St.

Bubble Teams: Wichita St., Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana St., Missouri, Alabama, North Carolina,Oklahoma, Villanova, La Salle, Arizona St., Illinois, Wyoming, Stanford, Florida St., Colorado

'Below the Bubble' NIT Teams: Southern Miss, Northern Iowa, Air Force, Temple, Maryland, Charlotte, Virginia, Massachusetts

January 2013 Climate Data

 Notes:

• Temperature data from the airport (GFK) and precipitation data from the University.
• ##^R denotes record maximum
• ##_R denotes record minimum

Day	High	Low	Dep.	Precip.	Snow	Depth
1	19	-13	-4	Trace	Trace	4"
2	31	2	+10	Trace	Trace	4"
3	25	1	+6	Trace	Trace	4"
4	30	3	+10	0.00"	0.0"	4"
5	18	1	+3	Trace	Trace	4"
6	20	2	+4	Trace	Trace	3"
7	35	12	+17	0.00"	0.0"	3"
8	34	8	+15	0.04"	0.4"	3"
9	32	18	+19	0.00"	0.0"	3"
10	40	23	+26	0.17"	0.0"	3"
11	34	8	+15	0.06"	1.9"	1"
12	9	-5	-4	0.01"	0.5"	3"
13	6	-7	-6	Trace	Trace	3"
14	9	-4	-3	0.00"	0.0"	3"
15	35	0	+12	0.03"	0.6"	3"
16	37	-5	+10	Trace	Trace	3"
17	11	-3	-2	Trace	0.2"	3"
18	19	8	+8	0.05"	1.3"	4"
19	30	-7	+6	Trace	Trace	4"
20	-1	-13	-13	0.01"	0.1"	4"
21	-8	-17	-18	0.00"	0.0"	3"
22	5	-18	-12	Trace	Trace	3"
23	3	-17	-14	0.00"	0.0"	3"
24	9	-15	-10	0.01"	0.3"	3"
25	13	-9	-5	Trace	Trace	3"
26	14	-8	-4	0.00"	0.0"	3"
27	24	7	+9	0.00"	0.0"	3"
28	27	17	+15	Trace	Trace	3"
29	23	11	+10	Trace	Trace	2"
30	11	-4	-4	Trace	0.1"	2"
31	-5	-17	-19	Trace	Trace	2"
Jan 2013	19.0	-1.3	+2.1	0.38"	5.4"	Avg: 3.1"

Average High: 19.0°F [Departure from Normal: +2.5°F]
Average Low: -1.3°F [Departure from Normal: +1.8°F]
Mean Temperature: 8.8°F [Departure From Normal: +2.1°F]
Total Precipitation: 0.38" [Departure from Normal: -0.33"; 53% of normal]
Total Snowfall: 5.4" [Departure from Normal: -5.0"; 52% of normal]
Seasonal Snowfall: 19.6" [Departure from Normal: -23.2"; 46% of normal]

1981-2010 Climate Normals

Restaurant Review: Speedway - Grand Forks

On Wednesday evening, I dined at the Speedway Restaurant in Grand Forks for the first time. In the year and a half I've lived here, I think it was the only sit-down restaurant in the "Grand Cities" that I had not ate at. Shame on me.

I admit, most times I drove past Speedway without even realizing it was there. When I did notice it, I casually dismissed it as not being worth a visit - solely due to the fact that on the outside, there was not anything impressive about it. Again, shame on me. Speedway restaurant validates the phrase "you can't judge a book by it's cover".

I ordered the BBQ Feast which was on special that night for $11.99 and came with two sides. I chose a baked potato and cup of lasagna soup. I also ordered an appetizer of Hot Tots - a simple yet genius idea. Hot Tots were tater tots with bacon and jalapeno slice wrapped around each tot and covered with cheese, then baked. They came with BBQ sauce and were quite a tasty treat. The lasagna soup was fantastic - I could have ate a big bowl of that alone for a meal and been quite satisfied. My meal kept getting better as my bbq feast (beef brisket, pulled pork, and ribs - all covered with 'kickin bbq sauce') was delicious, as was the baked potato. The ribs were the prototypical "fall off the bone ribs"...possibly the best ribs I have ever had. I really have no complaints whatsoever with my meal.

I had heard the service was touch and go, but our waittress was on the ball. Our drink and food orders were taken promptly, food arrived quickly, we were asked several times if everything was ok, and offered drink refills in a timely manner. The icing on the cake was at the end of our visit- and a staple of any meal involving bbq - the complimentary wet-nap!

Food was excellent, service was excellent, pricing was reasonable, and as bonus - the company of great friends to share the memorable meal with. Overall grade:


10/10!