<u>OFFICIAL WEEK 3 RANKINGS</u> 1. Pittsburgh - 97(1) 2. UCLA - 96 (2) 3. Ohio State - 92 (1) 4. Kansas - 84 5. Texas A&M - 82 6. Florida - 79 7. North Carolina - 78 8. Alabama - 69 9. Wisconsin - 62 10. Syracuse - 52 11. Georgia Tech - 50 12. Georgetown - 48 13. Marquette - 44 14. LSU - 41 15. Washington - 40 16. Virginia - 38 17. Duke - 36 18. Wichita State - 32 19. Oregon - 32 20. Gonzaga - 30 21. Arizona - 30 22. Butler - 28 23. Nevada - 21 24. Maryland -17 25. Memphis - 14 <u>On the Bubble</u> Michigan (3), New Mexico (2), Connecticut (2), San Diego State (1) <u>Dropped from Rankings</u> #25 Creighton, #22 Conneticut, #20 Kentucky
Once again, I am totally amazed and disgusted by Syracuse's early season top 10 ranking. For the 83rd year in a row, they do not play a single game outside of New York, and only ONE game away from the Carrier Dome, before the second week of January. Why are they ranked this high? They have less, younger, and more inconsistent talent than most of the top 20 or so teams, and in an age where elite programs are now shedding their skin of only playing the softies early on, why do we not criticize them more for absolutely wussing out every single season? Its really frustrating to see a Duke play against Marquette, UNC against Gonzaga, etc etc, and then see the mighty Cuse open up at home for a month and a half against Canisus and St. Francis of NY.
<div class="quote_poster">Schaddy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Once again, I am totally amazed and disgusted by Syracuse's early season top 10 ranking. For the 83rd year in a row, they do not play a single game outside of New York, and only ONE game away from the Carrier Dome, before the second week of January. Why are they ranked this high? They have less, younger, and more inconsistent talent than most of the top 20 or so teams, and in an age where elite programs are now shedding their skin of only playing the softies early on, why do we not criticize them more for absolutely wussing out every single season? Its really frustrating to see a Duke play against Marquette, UNC against Gonzaga, etc etc, and then see the mighty Cuse open up at home for a month and a half against Canisus and St. Francis of NY. </div> I understand your frustration with Syracuse's schedule, and the same could be said for a lot of other teams unfortunately, like Connecticut, but that's no logical reason to knock them. Talent-wise, they are, indeed, one of the best teams in the nation. They've had a history of underachieving, but every player on their starting lineup will likely wind up in the pro's, and Paul Harris isn't too shabby of a sixth man. They're very well-rounded and every player on this year's team seems to know their role, unlike last year's. And they're actually one of the most experienced teams in the Big East, contrary to what you just said. Nichols, Roberts, Gorman, and Watikins are all seniors and Wright is a junior. Their only consistent contributers who are underclassmen are Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris. By the way, their next game is against Wichita State, who if I recall correctly, you had really high in your top twenty-five.
<div class="quote_poster">Shard Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">UNC that far ahead of Gonzaga?</div> Losing to Butler took away a lot of Gonzaga's momentum after the UNC victory. Unfortunately, Gonzaga went under the radar early on, so they are playing catchup to the rest of the pack. The win over UNC caught the attention of people, but you have to follow up a big win with another strong victory otherwise the big win could be perceived as a fluke.
