USA Today/ESPN 1. Connecticut (25) 2. Duke (3) 3. Michigan St. (1) 4. Arizona 5. Kansas 6. Missouri 7. Syracuse (1) 8. Florida 9. Kentucky 10. North Carolina (1) 11. Texas 12. Gonzaga 13. Illinois 14. Wisconsin 15. Oklahoma 16. Louisville 17. Stanford 18. St. Joseph's (PA) 19. Cincinnati 19. Notre Dame 21. Wake Forest 22. Pittsburgh 23. Marquette 24. Oklahoma St. 25. Maryland Others Receiving Votes: Oregon 33, N.C. St. 30, Xavier 30, Utah 29, Colorado 25, Auburn 23, Brigham Young 20, California 19, Purdue 16, Texas Tech 12, Ohio St. 10, Arizona St. 10, Memphis 10, Dayton 8, Charlotte 6, Providence 5, Creighton 4, LSU 4, Akron 3, Colorado St. 3, Seton Hall 3, LA Lafayette 3, Tennessee 2, Wichita St. 2, Bowling Green 2, Utah St. 2, Temple 2, Illinois-Chicago 1, Minnesota 1, Manhattan 1, Indiana 1
Duke is always overrated. I wonder when that started. Anyway, those are pretty much the generic rankings, except for Maryland. Maryland shouldn't be ranked.
That's what I was thinking. I don't really like these rankings at all. They are pre-season rankings though so everything will sort itself out eventually.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">That's what I was thinking. I don't really like these rankings at all. They are pre-season rankings though so everything will sort itself out eventually.</div> You are right about that, things will quickly sort out and Duke will be number 1.
Too High - <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">USA Today/ESPN 2. Duke (3) 17. Stanford 18. St. Joseph's (PA) 19. Cincinnati 19. Notre Dame 23. Marquette 24. Oklahoma St. 25. Maryland Others Receiving Votes: Auburn 23, Brigham Young 20, Memphis 10, Charlotte 6, Creighton 4, LSU 4, LA Lafayette 3, Tennessee 2, Wichita St. 2, Bowling Green 2, Utah St. 2, Temple 2, Illinois-Chicago 1</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting go_duke21:</div><div class="quote_post">You are right about that, things will quickly sort out and Duke will be number 1.</div>You may be right, but only because Duke plays one of the most sorry non-conference schedules in the nation. If Duke didn't have to play in the Dreyfus Classic and Big Ten/ACC Challenge then their best non-conference opponent would be Davidson. However since they do have to play in the Big Ten/ACC challenege, Duke's third game is against Michigan State and it's at Michigan State. If the game were at Duke it would be close, but since it's at the Breslin it is almost a guarunteed loss for the Devils.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sportsrock37:</div><div class="quote_post">At least Maryland was in the Top 25 at some point this year!!!!!!!!</div>I don't know if you can count the pre-season rankings as official rankings.
Well this year atleast I'm glad Duke carries a weak non-conference schedule because they play the Pacific Tigers in the Alaska shootout if I'm not mistaken on ESPN. It's nice to see a local college get some pub.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">Well this year atleast I'm glad Duke carries a weak non-conference schedule because they play the Pacific Tigers in the Alaska shootout if I'm not mistaken on ESPN. It's nice to see a local college get some pub.</div>Definitely. That game could be an upset. Although Pacific lost Jackson, they still have the highly touted Christian Maraker.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Wave:</div><div class="quote_post">You may be right, but only because Duke plays one of the most sorry non-conference schedules in the nation. If Duke didn't have to play in the Dreyfus Classic and Big Ten/ACC Challenge then their best non-conference opponent would be Davidson. However since they do have to play in the Big Ten/ACC challenege, Duke's third game is against Michigan State and it's at Michigan State. If the game were at Duke it would be close, but since it's at the Breslin it is almost a guarunteed loss for the Devils.</div> I can't wait for the MSU/Duke game. Duke doesn't really need to have a super non-conference schedule though because the ACC has a lot of good teams. Yes, it would be great to see Duke play all the top ten teams but it can also wear a team out over the course of a season which can cause problems come tournament time. But I do have to give MSU credit for always trying to play the best. BTW didn't we make some sorta bet about the Duke/MSU game a long time ago??
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting go_duke21:</div><div class="quote_post">BTW didn't we make some sorta bet about the Duke/MSU game a long time ago??</div>Yeah. I'll bump that thread back up once the season starts.
It's strange to me that Illinois and Wisconsin are way up there at #13 and #14, but Michigan, Iowa and Ohio State are nowhere to be found. Ohio State is in the "other receiving votes" ... behind Purdue?
Illinois deserves that spot. They had unbelievable contributions from their underclassmen last season (of which the whole roster was made of) and with a years more experience they will produce more. They have a top three backcourt in the country that will lead them to victories and a pretty good frontcourt as well. Wisconsin lost one or two players I think and gained Brian Butch. That's why they are so high (even though the player they lost was their most important player).
I didn't really ask why they are so high as much as if they are that high, where are some of these other Big Ten teams?
Having Duke at 2 is a good bet...They have now got Lou Deng who is a great talent...rated the 2nd best high schooler after Lebron last year...Many think he could be last years Carmelo Anthony and led them to the NCAA title Connecticut or Duke are the two best teams in my book and deserve to be ranked where they are.
