Two weeks remain in conference play and little has been resolved.
Wake Forest clings to a half-game lead over Duke and Maryland in the ACC, for example, and the Demon Deacons have games remaining at Florida State, against Clemson and North Carolina and at North Carolina State. Duke and Maryland each have three league games left, but the Blue Devils must go on the road twice -- at Georgia Tech and UNC -- and Duke is just 2-4 away from home in league play. Maryland has a pair of road games left, too. In the unfamiliar role of looking down the conference, how will Wake Forest handle deciding its own fate?
Oklahoma moved to the pole position in the Big 12 by defeating Kansas on Sunday. The two powers are tied at 10-2, with the Sooners holding the sole tiebreaker (though the two teams would share the conference title if they tie for first place). Texas and Oklahoma State are a game back, and each have a shot at one of the top two. Unless one stumbles beforehand, however, the Texas at Oklahoma game on March 8 could decide the conference champ.
The Big Ten is a complete mess, as usual. Probation-shackled Michigan sits alone at the top, with Wisconsin a half-game back and Illinois a full game behind. The Illini have trips remaining to Madison, Wis., and Ann Arbor, Mich., while the Badgers play two of their three remaining games at home, where Wisconsin is undefeated in coach Bo Ryan’s two-year tenure. Advantage Wisconsin -- as long as the Badgers play better than they did at Penn State last week.
Conferences with divisional races are just as cloudy. There’s a logjam in the Big East’s West Division with three teams tied at 9-3. Kentucky is the closest thing to a lock anywhere in the nation, as the Wildcats lead the SEC by two games. The other Wildcats -- Arizona -- are a game up on Cal with a date in Berkeley this Thursday.
The point here is to pay close attention during these next two weeks. A season’s worth of work will be decided, one-way or another.
Men's College Basketball Power Rankings
Rank
LW
Team
1
1
Kentucky Wildcats (22-3) The Wildcats have two challenging hurdles remaining before the SEC tournament: at Georgia and at Florida. This week: vs. Tennessee, Wed.; at Georgia, Sun.
2
2
Arizona Wildcats (21-3) Looking every bit the Final Four favorite we all thought Arizona was before the season started. Saturday’s game at Stanford will tell us more. This week: at Cal, Thurs.; at Stanford, Sat.
3
5
Oklahoma Sooners (19-4) Hollis Price for Player of the Year? Why not? He’s this year’s Juan Dixon, and should join T.J. Ford as First Team All-Americas. This week: at Missouri, Wed.; at Texas A&M, Sat.
4
6
Florida Gators (22-4) Reason for concern: Vandy’s bench outscored Florida 30-0 on Saturday, but Florida still won the game. That won’t happen often. This week: vs. South Carolina, Tues.; at Auburn, Sat.
5
8
Pittsburgh Panthers (19-4) Could we have been wrong about the Panthers? Wins at Georgetown and against Rutgers showed a team starting to peak. This week: at Virginia Tech, Wed.; vs. UConn, Sat.
6
4
Texas Longhorns (18-5) Even when Texas loses, the ‘Horns look scary. The season-ender at OU on March 8 will be a treat. This week: vs. Baylor, Wed.; at Texas Tech, Sat.
7
9
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-7) Survived a scare at West Virginia and beat up on Virginia Tech. Even if the Irish win out, can they catch Pittsburgh? It’ll be tough. This week: vs. UConn, Mon.; at Rutgers, Sat.
8
14
Xavier (OH) Musketeers (20-4) Officially the hottest team in the nation not named Kentucky. The inside-outside punch of Romain Sato and David West is going to get XU to the Sweet 16 -- at least. This week: at Duquesne, Wed.; vs. George Washignton, Sat.
9
7
Kansas Jayhawks (20-6) Showed much heart in trimming a 32-point deficit to OU down to five, but the Jayhawk’s lack of perimeter offense and perimeter defense could spell doom in the tourney. This week: vs. Texas A&M, Wed.; vs. Oklahoma State, Sat.
10
10
Marquette Golden Eagles (20-4) Bounced back from the Louisville heartbreak with wins against Charlotte and at TCU. Room to move after the UL rematch. This week: at Lousiville, Thurs.; vs. UAB, Sat.
11
13
Duke Blue Devils (19-4) Strong week for the inconsistent Blue Devils. There’s time to catch Wake Forest, but it’s going to be close. This week: at Georgia Tech, Wed.; at St. John’s, Sun.
12
11
Syracuse Orangemen (19-4) Scraped by inferior Michigan State and St. John’s, but we still watch Carmelo Anthony, the No. 3 pick in the next NBA Draft, every chance we get. This week: vs. West Virginia, Wed.; at Georgetown, Sun.
13
3
Louisville Cardinals (19-4) Ten spots is quite a fall, but in the Year of the Home-Court Advantage, you can’t lose to Memphis at home. Plus, UL has dropped three of its past four. This week: vs. Marquette, Thurs.; vs. East Carolina, Sat.
14
12
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (19-4) Strange week began with a forgettable rout by Maryland before two bounce-back victories. Josh Howard should be Hollis Price’s main competition for Player of the Year. This week: at Florida State, Wed.; vs. Clemson, Sat.
15
19
Maryland Terrapins (17-7) The Terps went 2-1 in a long week, losing only at Duke. To make a run in March, Maryland will need to get more production from Tahj Holden. This week: vs. Clemson, Tues.; at N.C. State, Sun.
16
17
Illinois Fighting Illini (18-5) Brian Cook needs a big game to climb back into the national spotlight. This week’s game against the Hoosiers would be the right venue. This week: vs. Indiana, Thurs.; at Michigan, Sat.
17
--
Utah Utes (19-4) Utah has won 10 straight and continues to climb in the RPI with steady play from Tim Frost (12.9 ppg.), Nick Jacobson (12.8) and Britton Johnsen (12.3). This week: vs. BYU, Monday; at New Mexico, Sat.
18
18
Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-5) Just when we were ready to shovel dirt on the Cowboys, they bone up at home and knock off one of our Final Four favorites, Texas. This week: vs. Texas Tech, Mon.; at Kansas, Sat.
19
--
Stanford Cardinal (21-6) Here they come again. The Cardinal beat USC and UCLA on the road and have won five straight and nine of past 10. This week: vs. Arizona State, Thurs.; vs. Arizona, Sat.
20
16
Wisconsin Badgers (19-6) Badgers suffered an embarrassment losing at Penn State, but rebounded at Iowa. We still like Wisconsin to win the Big Ten. This week: vs. Michigan, Wed.; at Minnesota, Sun.
