Pittsburgh took a big step toward getting itself into the “at-large” hunt with its win at home against North Carolina Saturday.
And it would be firmly in position to get one of those 37 slots on March 15 if it is able to come out of Charlottesville Monday night with a win against No. 4 Virginia.
But the biggest ACC game this week takes place Wednesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Yeah – North Carolina vs. Duke is about as big as it gets these days in college hoops, rivalry wise.
Rank (Last week’s rank) | Record | Comment |
1. Kentucky (1) | 25-0 | The Wildcats came oh-so-close to suffering their first defeat before getting out of Baton Rouge with a victory then had zilch in the problems depart while pummeling South Carolina in Lexington. This team is going into the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. |
2. Gonzaga (2) | 26-1 | Based on the two regular-season WCC meetings, the Bulldogs would probably just as soon avoid a third game with Pepperdine in the conference tournament. |
3. Duke (3) | 22-3 | When things get a bit dicey, that throwing-the-ball-inside-to-Jahlil Okafor thing works out pretty good for the Blue Devils. |
4. Virginia (4) | 23-1 | The Cavaliers’ last three victories have come by a collective margin of 10 points. |
5. Wisconsin (5) | 23-2 | The Badgers were the clear-cut favorites going into the Big Ten season but there was a sense that there would be a tad more intrigue in the conference race than exists right now. |
6. Villanova (6) | 23-2 | The Wildcats, via wins in Providence and Indianapolis, just gave everyone a nice reminder as to who the best team in the Big East Conference is. |
7. Arizona (8) | 22-3 | The Wildcats have home games against USC and UCLA before a trek to the Rocky Mountains the following week that will likely dictate the Pac 12’s regular season champion. |
8. Notre Dame (9) | 22-4 | The Irish have bagged five ACC victories outside of South Bend. |
9. Utah (10) | 20-4 | The Utes are on a four-game winning streak with an average winning margin about 22 points per game. |
10. Kansas (11) | 21-4 | The Jayhawks’ lead in the Big 12 is two games with six to go. |
11. Northern Iowa (13) | 24-2 | The winning streak is at 13 and seems like to be at 16 when the MVC Showdown in Wichita State takes place on Feb. 28. |
12. Wichita State (15) | 23-3 | A great bit of trivia here – the Shockers haven’t allowed more than 62 points since Dec. 23. |
13. Louisville (7) | 20-5 | This is not a time to be struggling – three of the Cardinals’ next four ACC games are outside of Louisville. |
14. Arkansas (16) | 20-5 | The Saturday win at Mississippi added plenty of fuel to the “the Razorbacks are second best in the SEC” fire. |
15. Iowa State (12) | 18-6 | The Cyclones will need a road sweep this week to stay within Big 12 striking distance of Kansas. |
16. Maryland (NR) | 21-5 | With three home games and road games against Rutgers and Nebraska to close conference, the Terps are looking like a solid choice to finish at No. 2 in the Big Ten regular-season standings. |
ON THE CUSP: Butler 18-7, Dayton 19-5, Indiana 17-9, Iona 21-6, Michigan State 17-8, North Carolina 18-7, Ohio State 19-7, Oklahoma 17-8, Providence 18-8, Purdue 17-9, San Diego State 20-6, SMU 21-5, Stephen F. t 20-4, Texas A&M 17-8, Valparaiso 24-4 and West Virginia 19-6.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Feb. 9-15)
*Quinn Cook (Duke): The Blue Devils ground out ACC victories at Florida State and Syracuse as the senior guard averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals.
*Darrun Hilliard III (Villanova): The 6-6 senior averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as the Wildcats collected Big East road victories against Providence and Butler.
*Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin): The Badgers continued on their way to a regular-season Big Ten title with wins against Nebraska and Illinois as the 7-foot center averaged 18.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
*Markus Kennedy (SMU): The Mustangs picked up a couple of American Conference victories (over Houston and Connecticut) as the 6-9 senior averaged 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds.
*Delon Wright (Utah): The Utes stayed on track with Arizona, two weeks before they meet in Salt Lake City, with home Pac 12 victories against Stanford and Cal as the 6-5 senior point guard averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.5 steals.
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
