MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – This week’s Associated Press Top 25 males’s basketball ballot has 22-3 Alabama at No. 1 this week.
The Crimson Tide will not be No. 1 subsequent week due to their midweek loss at Tennessee, however for argument’s sake, let’s proceed to function below the premise that Alabama is the No. 1 staff within the nation.
Well, three weeks in the past, the Tide misplaced by 24 at Oklahoma, which is now tied with Texas Tech for final place within the Big 12.
Why is Houston ranked No. 2? Because it would not play within the Big 12 – but.
Why is Purdue No. 3 and UCLA No. 4? Well, Purdue will get to play Minnesota and Ohio State whereas UCLA has Cal, Oregon and Stanford in its league.
Do you catch my drift?
“It will be interesting seeing some of the new teams that will be coming into this league next year,” West Virginia senior guard Erik Stevenson stated earlier in the present day. Stevenson has performed within the American, the Pac-12 and the SEC throughout his collegiate profession. “I believe the factor that stands out most to me (concerning the Big 12) is the changes I see coaches make throughout the video games.
“This league is legit,” he stated.
Stevenson believes the SEC is the second-most expert convention within the nation, behind the Big 12.
“The SEC is full of athletes, and it’s always above the rim,” he stated. “It’s fast and up and down, but I wouldn’t say it’s the most skilled league. This is the most skilled league. The Big 12 has got athletes, it’s got shooters, skilled guys and bigs who can play, and when you put that all together with a coach who knows how to coach, it’s going to be a good team.”
We’ve been listening to lots recently about Pitt and the AP voters’ lack of respect for the Panthers, who at the moment are tied with Virginia on the high of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings. Pitt is having an distinctive yr below Jeff Capel with 19 victories up to now, together with an eye-opening 12-3 mark within the ACC.
But … and it is a very massive however … the Atlantic Coast Conference is not simply down this yr, it is downright dangerous. Louisville, Notre Dame and Florida State are having epically dangerous seasons, whereas Georgia Tech and Boston College are simply not excellent. That’s near 40% of your league proper there.
The Panthers have 5 convention wins in opposition to these groups and remaining video games developing in opposition to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Notre Dame and 15th-ranked Miami, which probably means extra wins for the Panthers.
“You can put Texas Tech, Oklahoma, us and Oklahoma State in any other league and we’d probably be in the top four, with the exception of maybe the SEC or the Big Ten, which has like 50 teams in it,” Stevenson stated.
Pitt is related right here solely for the truth that West Virginia defeated the Panthers 81-56 in Pittsburgh manner again on Nov. 11, which just about looks as if one other season in the past. Yes, Pitt is healthier, for certain, however how a lot of that could be a perform of who they’re enjoying now quite than how they had been enjoying then?
More importantly, what about West Virginia? Were the Mountaineers higher earlier than the calendar flipped to January as a result of they had been enjoying higher, or is it due to who they’re enjoying now?
After shedding 5 in a row to start Big 12 play, West Virginia clipped then-14th-ranked TCU 74-65 on the WVU Coliseum and defeated Texas Tech 76-61 in Lubbock per week later to finish its lengthy Big 12 street drought.
The Mountaineers (15-11, 4-9) bought two in a row in opposition to Oklahoma and Iowa State, and likewise personal a giant nonconference win in opposition to then-15th-ranked Auburn within the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Now, the common season comes right down to a pair of essential video games in opposition to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in Morgantown, two brutal street video games at fifth-ranked Kansas and 19th-ranked Iowa State, and the common season finale on the Coliseum in opposition to 12th-ranked Kansas State on March 4.
West Virginia may win all 5 or lose all 5. None of them can be layups.
“Personally, I would have liked to have seen us all healthy and clicking at the same time – just to see how good we could be,” Stevenson stated. “But it’s not over and we’ve got games left at home to get into the dance. Once you get into the dance, it’s just a number by your name and that record is out the window.”
Texas Tech (14-12, 3-10) has recovered from its poor begin to win 4 of its final six video games, together with Monday evening’s spectacular 74-67 win in opposition to seventh-ranked Texas, which beat West Virginia by 34 two days prior.
Oklahoma State (16-10, 7-6) just lately gained 5 in a row in opposition to Ole Miss, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech and Iowa State earlier than falling to Kansas. Two of OSU’s victories had been on the street at Oklahoma and Iowa State, by the best way, so street video games will not be too bothersome for the Cowboys.
Kansas is now 21-5 and after its setback at Iowa State on Feb. 4, the Jayhawks have gained three in a row in opposition to Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and are in a three-way tie with Baylor and Texas with 9-4 Big 12 marks.
Iowa State (17-8, 8-5) has gotten over its latest tough stretch with an 11-point house win in opposition to TCU, whereas Kansas State has dropped two straight, however remains to be 19-7 total with seven Big 12 victories.
All 5 of West Virginia’s remaining Big 12 video games are going to be exhausting – a lot tougher than the 12 groups behind the Mountaineers in Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology up to date this morning.
Those 12 embody Lundardi’s “Last Four In” – Kentucky, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Clemson, his “First Four Out” – Mississippi State, USC, Oregon and Charleston, and his “Next Four Out” – New Mexico, Seton Hall, Utah State and Wake Forest.
“I feel really confident us playing any other team in any other league because our style of play is different,” Stevenson stated. “The Big 12 is just one of those leagues.”
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins says incessantly that the Big 12 has no backside. He repeated it earlier in the present day.
“The Big East had great teams and it was a great league, but there was a bottom,” he stated. “There is no bottom here when you look at what everybody’s done in this league. It’s incredible. I think the coaching in the Big East, even for the teams that weren’t considered elite, was really good. They just didn’t have enough players. Here, the coaching is really good, and they’ve got players.”
The final three weeks of the common season are going to be a matter of survival for West Virginia, beginning this Saturday afternoon in opposition to a Texas Tech staff seeking to avenge its 15-point house loss to the Mountaineers again on Jan. 25.
Saturday’s contest has already been introduced a sellout.
A midday tipoff and ESPNU tv protection has been designated for the competition. Mountaineer Sports Network radio protection on stations all through West Virginia and on-line by way of WVUsports.com and the cell apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network begins at 11 a.m.
submit credit score to Source link