Few teams have established themselves as No. 1 seeds
Posted: Monday January 13, 2003 11:40 AM
Updated: Monday January 13, 2003 12:15 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com
On these cold January days, March couldn't feel much farther away.
So why is the NCAA tournament already on this writer's mind?
Because most years, you could already pencil in at least three of the four No. 1 seeds by now. This year, you can't. And quite frankly, it's irksome.
Seriously, think back to last year. Maryland, Duke and Kansas had already firmly separated themselves from the pack. The year before, Duke, Stanford and North Carolina were rotating in and out of No. 1 in the polls.
But this season? Where do you even begin?
Duke, like much of the past four years, finds itself on top, but Mike Krzyzewski isn't exactly talking like the coach of a No. 1 team these days. Arizona? Most would agree the Wildcats are loaded, but even they haven't turned it on yet.
Who else? Alabama? Pittsburgh? Kansas? Florida? All have shown signs, but all have also suffered notable slip-ups. This past week alone, six of CNNSI.com's top 10 teams suffered at least one loss.
Parity reigns, my friends. You gotta love it.
Unless, of course, you're trying to seed an NCAA bracket two months early.
College Basketball Power Rankings
Rank
LW
Team
1
1
Duke Blue Devils (11-0) Welcome to the Duke nightmare, 2002-03 style: Any of four guys, Dahntay Jones, Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing, can shoot you out of the building (see Wake Forest). This week: vs. Virginia, Wednesday; at Maryland, Saturday.
2
2
Arizona Wildcats (11-1) Luke Walton is back, though not producing at his usual level (besides eight assists against Washington State) just yet. No worries, the 'Cats have still won six straight. This week: at USC, Thursday; at UCLA, Saturday.
3
8
Florida Gators (13-2) In a scintillating individual shootout with Georgia's Jarvis Hayes, Gators frosh Anthony Roberson hit seven 3-pointers, including the game-winner at the buzzer. This week: vs. Tennessee, Wednesday; at South Carolina, Saturday.
4
9
Pittsburgh Panthers (12-1) The Panthers began their Big East repeat bid last Monday by blowing previously torrid Notre Dame out of the building with a 16-0 second-half run. This week: at West Virginia, Tuesday; vs. Syracuse, Saturday.
5
12
Oklahoma Sooners (10-2) The Hollis Price we've been waiting for all year showed up in last Tuesday's clash with then-undefeated Connecticut, scoring a career-high 33 points. This week: at Oklahoma State, Monday; at Iowa State, Saturday.
6
11
Texas Longhorns (10-2) The Longhorns have been cruising for nearly a month, but there's a brutal stretch ahead in two weeks when they host Missouri on a Saturday, visit Kansas on Monday. This week: at Baylor, Wednesday; vs. Texas A&M, Saturday.
7
3
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-2) It's going on three years now, this problem the Tide have winning on the road. Obviously, the SEC has some tough trips, but Vanderbilt? A top five team? This week: Mississippi State, Wednesday; at Auburn, Saturday.
8
6
Georgia Bulldogs (9-4) Don't be fooled by the low rankings elsewhere, people, this is a solid, solid team that went toe-to-toe with Florida at the O-dome right up until Roberson's dagger. This week: at Arkansas, Saturday.
9
4
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-2) Lost amidst the hoopla over point guard Chris Thomas and big man Torin Francis has been Matt Carroll's offensive explosion. The guy's averaging almost 20 per game. This week: vs. Rutgers, Tuesday; at Kentucky, Saturday.
10
13
Louisville Cardinals (10-1) Don't look now, folks, but Rick Pitino's boys haven't lost since Nov. 30, winning at such respectable locales as Ohio State and Charlotte. This week: at East Carolina, Thursday; vs. TCU, Saturday.
11
14
Illinois Fighting Illini (12-1) Sean Harrington is, dare we say, en fuego, shooting almost 53 percent from three-point range, including 6-of-9 in last week's win at Minnesota. This week: at Iowa, Wednesday; at Indiana, Saturday.
12
5
Connecticut Huskies (10-1) The step up in competition has been a bit of a shock for the Huskies, who got destroyed at Oklahoma and went to overtime before holding off Miami. This week: vs. Virginia Tech, Tuesday; at North Carolina, Saturday.
13
17
Kansas Jayhawks (11-3) Having rolled off seven straight double-digit victories, here's guessing Kansas will be ranked far higher by the time of its Jan. 25 showdown with Arizona. This week: vs. Wyoming, Wednesday; vs. Kansas State, Saturday.
14
15
Missouri Tigers (10-1) Arthur Johnson is a beast, there's no getting around it. The man singlehandedly destroyed Baylor with 30 points and 15 rebounds. This week: at Syracuse, Monday; at Oklahoma State, Saturday.
15
7
Mississippi St. Bulldogs (10-3) The Bulldogs fell back to Earth in a big way last week, failing tests against both Florida and LSU, and it's not about to get any easier. This week: at Alabama, Wednesday.
16
--
Maryland Terrapins (9-3) How did the Terps ever fall out of these rankings anyway? After a week of destroying both Hampton and Florida State, look who comes calling now. This week: at Wake Forest, Wednesday; vs. Duke, Saturday.
17
10
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-1) This is going to be a very good team in coming years, led by freshman stud Eric Williams. But Wake's youngsters just aren't Duke's youngsters yet. This week: vs. Maryland, Wednesday; vs. Georgia Tech, Sunday.
18
20
Creighton Bluejays (13-1) Is it just my imagination, or has Kyle Korver gotten the most face time thus far of any college basketball player this side of Tucson, Ariz.? This week: vs. Evansville, Wednesday; vs. Southern Illinois, Saturday.
19
--
Kentucky Wildcats (11-3) The Wildcats aren't dominating people by any means, but they have played better since the Louisville loss and early in SEC play. This week: at Vanderbilt, Tuesday; vs. Notre Dame, Saturday.
20
--
LSU Tigers (11-2) The Tigers weren't gone from these parts long, not after rebounding from their humiliation at Georgia to overpower top 10 foe Mississippi State. This week: vs. Centenary, Wednesday; vs. Ole Miss, Saturday.
