Inside College Basketball: Roz’s Weekly Roundup (Jan. 23)

After the nation saw eleven ranked teams fall last week, college basketball still finds ways to amaze us.  Two more teams fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this week leaving the Murray State Racers as America’s lone unbeaten.

A few thoughts…Baylor’s losses this week should reflect more on the greatness of Kansas and Missouri than Baylor’s poor defensive showing this week… Saturday was the first time Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Calhoun lost on the same day since 2003.  As deep as Syracuse is, they aren’t the same team without Fab Melo.  While he may be an inconsistent player on offense, his shot blocking and altering presence in the middle of the 2-3 zone are what allows the Orange to defend on a high level… If you thought Duke’s buzzer beater loss to Florida State was shocking check this out: the Blue Devils are dead last in the ACC in Field Goal Percentage Defense at 44.1%.  That’s something Coach K will fix sooner than later…UConn’s loss at Tennessee shows how much they miss Ryan Boatright’s play-making ability at the point.  Without him, the Huskies transition game is minimized and the rhythm is taken away from their motion offense.

Team of the Week: Kansas (16-3)

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Jayhawks.  At least that was the thinking after they lost the Morris twins to the NBA draft in addition to a less than stellar recruiting class.  Instead, Bill Self has done his best coaching job ever in Lawrence putting Kansas right in the thick of the Big 12 race.  The Jayhawks have reeled off nine straight wins since their loss to Davidson a month ago.  They get the honors this week from their impressive wins over Baylor and Texas.  While the win at Texas was no easy task, the Baylor win was a real eye-opener.  The Bears came in unbeaten at 17-0, yet the Jayhawks steam-rolled them 92-74.  It just goes to show any opponent to always Beware of the Phog.

Other Teams that Impressed:

Florida State (13-6): What do you know, the giant killers are at it again.  Chris Snaer’s game winning 3-pointer against Duke at Cameron Indoor gave the Seminoles their second victory over a top five team in as many weeks.  Coupled with a win against Maryland earlier in the week, the Seminoles have won four straight to take the lead in the ACC.  What’s scary is that their offense is starting to form a nice balance with their conference leading 36.9% Field Goal Percentage Defense.

Missouri (18-1): This team reminds me a lot of the 2006 Villanova team, both of which feature a four-guard lineup. The Tigers shoot the ball efficiently on offense and maintain their aggressive helter-skelter defense.  Ricardo Ratliffe offers an excellent low-post presence that presents major match-up problems. Just ask Baylor, his 27 points, 8 rebounds fueled Missouri’s 89-88 win.

Marquette (16-4): The Golden Eagles aren’t here necessarily due to who they beat, but how they won.  A win at pesky Providence on Saturday was nice, but the Monday win over Louisville really showed how resilient this team is.  Marquette dug themselves into in 18-2 hole against Louisville before chipping away to defeat the Cardinals 74-63.  What Buzz Williams is really smiling about is that Marquette’s toughest part of the conference schedule is behind them, they will be favored in their next five games.

Player of the Week: Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas

The Senior guard is on fire.  He couldn’t miss a shot against Baylor scoring 28 points on 10 of 14 shooting.  Taylor 22 points against Texas give him three straight 2o point games.  He has had a checkered past on and off the court at Kansas.  However, Taylor has saved his best season for last averaging a career high 16.5 points per game.  As important as Thomas Robinson is to Kansas, the Jayhawks will only go as far as both him and Taylor take them.

Honorable Mention:

Thomas Robinson, Kansas: Tack on two more days of dominance for the big guy.  He dominated Baylor with 27 points and 17 boards and added 17 and 9 against Texas. Robinson owned the glass against Baylor, a team with some talented big men.  Right now, he is my national player of the year averaging 17 points and 12 rebounds a game.  Sure, his numbers are impressive.  But the award is his to lose because of his value to his team.  Kansas is not a top five team without his outstanding production every game.

Matthew Dellavedova, St. Mary’s: The Australian’s 26 point, 5 rebound, 7 assist night against Santa Clara are just a snapshot of the Junior’s amazing production this season. He leads the Gaels in scoring and assists. More importantly he’s led the Gaels to a 19-2 record.

Kevin Jones, West Virginia: In two games this week, Jones combined for 50 points and 20 rebounds in wins over Marshall and Cincinnati.  West Virginia’s four wins in the last five games is due largely to Jones’s five straight 20 point games. The Senior is averaging 20 points and 11 boards a game and putting himself in the Naismith mix.

Top 25

Next Up: Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State, Gonzaga, Seton Hall, Illinois, Alabama, Xavier, New Mexico, Purdue

Dropped Out: 21 Seton Hall, 22 Louisville

What to Watch For this Week:

Monday

5 Syracuse vs. Cincinnati- 7:00 PM EST on ESPN

Texas A&M vs. 4 Kansas- 9:00 PM EST on ESPN

Tuesday

19 Michigan vs. Purdue- 7:00 PM EST on ESPN

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt- 7:00 PM EST on ESPNU

1 Kentucky vs. Georgia- 9:00 PM EST on ESPN

Wednesday

Villanova vs. Louisville- 7:00 PM EST on ESPN

8 Duke vs. Maryland- 9:00 PM EST on ESPN

Colorado State vs. New Mexico- 10:00 PM EST on CBS College Sports

Thursday

NC State vs. 3 UNC- 7:00 PM EST on ESPN

16 Indiana vs. Wisconsin- 9:00 PM EST on ESPN2

Friday

23 Harvard vs. Yale- 7:00 PM EST

Saturday

St. Johns vs. 8 Duke- 12:00 PM EST on ESPN

Texas vs. 7 Baylor- 1:00 PM EST on CBS

25 West Virginia vs. 5 Syracuse- 1:00 PM EST on ESPNU

Middle Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt- 2:00 PM EST

9 Georgetown vs. Pittsburgh- 4:00 PM EST on ESPN

Louisville vs. Seton Hall- 8:00 PM EST on SNY

22 St. Mary’s vs. BYU- 9:00 PM EST on ESPNU

Sunday

19 Michigan vs. 2 Ohio State- 12:00 PM EST on CBS

Stanford vs. Cal- 8:30 PM EST