“How many true National Championship contenders are there?” I like to look at teams in the Top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency. According to KenPom, seven teams currently fit that criteria: Duke Auburn Houston Iowa State Florida Illinois Arizona (20th in both!) Teams that fall just outside the criterion are Tennessee (22nd offense), Purdue […]

I have asked this question a few times, and it feels appropriate now: What happens when the SEC starts to eat each other? The idea that nearly the entire conference will get into the NCAA Tournament is still valid. Mid-major leagues aren’t loading up with potential at-large bids, and the ACC/Big East aren’t juicy bid […]

Top 25: 1. Auburn (13-1) (1) – The Tigers are on cruise control. Only two of their 13 wins were within single digits. 2. Tennessee (14-0) (2) – Only one of their 14 wins (Illinois) was within single digits. 3. Iowa State (12-1) (4) – Their 19-point romp over Baylor was a statement win. 4. Duke (12-2) (5) […]

This was the last “quiet” week. Conference play goes into full gear this week, and it should be entertaining in this age of super conferences. There is a lot of talk that the SEC will get nearly the entire conference into the tournament, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. We […]

What is going on in Piscataway? Rutgers, with two of the best freshmen in the college game, is having trouble converting talent into wins. It isn’t the fault of those freshmen, as Dylan Harper averages 23.3 points per game while Airious (Ace) Bailey is at 17.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. Yet, they have losses to Kennesaw State and […]

Finally, a week that stabilizes the Top 25. Only a few teams dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time this year. Both had a case to stay in. The SEC has 20 combined losses (it’s a 16-team league). Conference play has yet to begin, but while every team plays its share of […]

We aren’t getting a clear picture yet of the “middle tier” of college basketball squads this year. That is why my Top 25 is ever-evolving. Undefeated watch: Even though we are relatively early in the season, we only have eight undefeated teams left: Rhode Island (9-0) Loyola-Chicago (8-0) UC-Irvine (9-0) Drake (8-0) Utah State (9-0) […]

This time of year, there are two types of teams: those that played in a big non-conference tournament and those that didn’t. Separating the two is difficult, as the teams that decide not to play in one of the big tournaments have easier weeks than those who do. However, only one team can win the […]

This is always tough early in the season. You don’t want to penalize teams for random early-season losses, but you can’t ignore Rutgers losing to Kennesaw State.  Here is my first Top 25 of the season: 1. Kansas (5-0) 2. UConn (4-0) 3. Auburn (4-0) – Muscled up against Houston to beat them at their […]