LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — It’s that time of year. Pitchers and catchers have reported and the Associated Press needs to slice the number of teams in its college basketball poll from 25 to 20.
Or maybe 17 this season.
You get to the bottom of the poll and all you find are used paper clips and broken shoe strings.
My ballot this week:
1. Baylor (23-1) — The Bears have a rematch with Kansas Saturday — and they beat the Jayhawks in lovely Lawrence.
2. Gonzaga (26-1) — The Zags could stumble Saturday when they visit Mark Pope and BYU.
3. Kansas (22-3) — The Jayhawks have a 10-game winning streak and the nation’s best defensive numbers.
4. Duke (22-3) — The Blue Devils have the ACC lead and a clear path to the regular-season title.
5. San Diego State (26-0) — The Aztecs have only one road test remaining and Steve Alford’s Nevada squad won’t stop them from an unbeaten regular season.
6. Dayton (23-2) — Rhode Island was no match for the Flyers.
7. Maryland (21-4) — The Terps need to hold off Penn State for the Big Ten title. The destruction of the Big Ten is complete.
8. Florida State (21-4) — The Seminoles get Pitt and NC State before Louisville visits next week.
9. Kentucky (20-5) — Beat LSU Tuesday and the SEC title is in sight.
10. Penn State (20-5) — It’s taken Pat Chambers nine seasons to make the NCAA Tournament and he’s doing it in style.
11. Louisville (21-5) — What will it take for the Cardinals to get right against Syracuse?
12. Auburn (22-3) — Hard to justify a loss to Missouri.
13. Oregon (20-6) — Solid win over Colorado.
14. West Virginia (18-7) — No penalty for losing to Kansas and Baylor.
15. Marquette (17-7) — Need to beat Creighton Tuesday to hold serve in the Big East.
16. Creighton (20-6) — The Bluejays have won seven of eight and become a major factor in the Big East.
17. Seton Hall (18-7) — It wasn’t a good week for Kevin Willard’s team.
18. Iowa (18-8) — The Hawkeyes have been on a win one, lose one stretch. Who hasn’t in this end of the poll?
19. Villanova (19-6) —The Wildcats ended their three-game losing streak with gusto.
20. Colorado (20-6) — Trying to hold off Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon in the Pac-12.
21. BYU (21-7) — The Cougars have the fifth-most efficient offense in the nation. Rick Pitino must be proud of Mark Pope.
22. Rhode Island (19-6) — Maybe the Rams will fare better when Dayton comes to Kingston because they were no match for the Flyers in Dayton.
23. Cincinnati (17-8) — You think this is too high? I’m not going to argue.
24. Michigan (16-9) — The Wolverines have won five of six after losing four in a row.
25. Houston (20-6) — I had to pick somebody. It's the law.
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