Kansas Proves They're #1

#1 Kansas 84, #19 Temple 52
A quick glance at the Kansas roster is convincing enough for people like me that Kansas is the best team in the country, but some people have argued that they shouldn't be ranked #1 because they haven't showed it on the court yet. They've only been really tested in one game (against Memphis), and they scheduled an embarrassment of a schedule and just haven't really played many good teams. Pomeroy rates their out-of-conference schedule 218th, but that's deceptively high because they haven't played any teams in the 300+ ranking range. They've instead played a slew of mediocre teams like Oakland, Hofstra and Belmont. This was clearly their toughest test of the season, on the road at a Temple team that has already beaten Villanova, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech and Penn State, and they responded in a big way. The game just has so many parallels with that North Carolina game last season when they whooped Michigan State early in the season to make it clear to everybody who the best team was. This year's Jayhawks team isn't as good as last year's North Carolina team, but they're one of the best teams we've seen in the last decade. Their January 10th road game at Tennessee has suddenly become a whole lot less difficult with the suspension of Tyler Smith and three other key players, so Kansas will likely be 15-0 heading into Big 12 play, and in the driver's seat for the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. As for Temple, they will be disappointed by the margin of victory, but they had to know that this game was a long shot. They are now 11-3 against their out-of-conference schedule with all of the wins I mentioned before and zero bad losses, and with an absurd RPI of 4th in the nation. Sagarin and Pomeroy both think that this team is really more like the 35th best team in the nation, so they probably won't finish as well in the Atlantic Ten as some think, but they can probably lock up a Tournament bid by getting to 10-6 in conference play, and I think they will.

#11 Michigan State 91, Northwestern 70
There are few people other than Northwestern fans who admire more the way that Northwestern plays basketball and the way that Bill Carmody gets the most out of the talent he has to work with (a pure Princeton offense is always a joy to watch), but the fact that they were ranked 25th in the country by the AP Poll this week was ridiculous. There is no way that Northwestern is one of the 25 best teams in the country, even if they had a healthy Kevin Coble (who is out for the season). Still, this was an impressive road victory for Michigan State. You expect them to blow Northwestern off the boards, but they also got excellent guard play with 22 assists on 31 made baskets, by earning 30 free throws, and completely shutting down Northwestern's backcourt. The one Northwestern player who played well in this game was John Shurna, the goofy-looking sophomore who scored 29 points on 11-for-20 shooting. If you get a chance, watch a Northwestern game to see Shurna play, because you'll initially be shocked to see somebody like him on the floor in a Big Ten game, and then be even more shocked when he rocks whoever he plays for 20+ points. Northwestern gets more of these goofy-looking scorers than any other BCS conference team I can think of. That all said, Northwestern is still 0-2 in the Big Ten, and cannot afford to lose many more games or they will start losing touch with the bubble. They played well out-of-conference and could potentially make the Tourmament if they can get to 9-9 in conference play, but there will not be any easy wins over the next couple of weeks. As for Michigan State, the Evan Turner injury and this dominating win make them look like they are the clear second best team in the Big Ten. Their Big Ten schedule is back loaded, so if they're going to make any kind of a run at a Big Ten title then they will need to go on a winning streak over the next couple of weeks.

#20 Georgia Tech 76, Charlotte 67
It seems like Georgia Tech never wins unless Gani Lawal has a good game, but he had a good game here with 29 points on an insane 17-for-20 from the free thrown line, along with 10 rebounds. More importantly, when Georgia Tech blew a big second half lead to make this a ball game late, it was Lawal who took the team on his shoulder and forced his way to the free throw line over and over again to carry them to the victory. One disconcerting aspect of this game for them was the way that their three good freshmen: Derrick Favors, Mfon Udofia and Glen Rice, Jr disappeared for the most part. They will have to shoulder part of the load if Georgia Tech is going to finish third in the ACC, and cannot be disappearing in road games. Assuming the Yellow Jackets don't have a big letdown at Georgia tomorrow they will likely finish their out-of-conference schedule with a 13-1 record and wins over USC and Siena to go with a loss to Dayton. They have looked like the third best ACC team to me, but head into a really brutal stretch of their ACC schedule. They next play Duke, then at Virginia before heading to Chapel Hill, then playing Clemson at home, and then heading to Florida State. They cannot afford to get off to a 1-4 or 1-5 start, so they've got to take down some of those ranked teams. As for Charlotte, other than that surprise upset of Louisville they haven't looked at all like a Tournament team, and despite a 10-3 record have an RPI of 104th, and Sagarin and Pomeroy also put them near 100th. They get a good opportunity next at a Tennessee team that will be playing its first game since four of their nine player rotation was suspended.