Confusing

It must be really confusing for the pollsters each week to try and come up with what is actually a representative poll of the top-25 college basketball teams in the country. We'll offer them some slack. We did mostly agree with them (within the boundaries they have set) on most everything until around #19. Then it got just plain dumb. We won't waste your time on this, but we do need to ask how in the hell did Indiana, who went 1-1 last week, climb from #24 to #19??

Enough of that. How about tonight's games?

6. Pitt: hosts Louisville. The Cardinals are OK, but they are a one-man-band, with Terrence Williams doing most of the work. And, they struggle with top-ranked teams. Pitt needs every win it can get to prove they actually deserve their ranking. We think this might be close, but Pitt pulls it out. We're so glad that someone proved what we have been saying all along--Pitt is NOT that good. Louisville didn't even have to have a good game from Williams as they just schooled the Panthers. Pitt jumped up to 5 this week, and they will beat Washington on Saturday, but they should fall in the rankings come this time next week.

17. Oklahoma State: at #25 Texas. Given the outcome of the last meeting of these two teams, and what disarray it has thrown both of them into afterwards, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Despite how little respect we have for Texas, we think they will win. Watch this game if you can. It is on ESPN at 9:00 EST. It will be a battle. Texas just took it to OSU. NOTE: UT had just fallen out of the rankings, and OSU was holding steady at 18. Texas should rejoin the top-25 after a win later this week against Baylor. They did look strong tonight.

23. Georgetown: plays host to West Virginia. This will be another fun game to watch. WVU is coming off a stunning win over UCLA, and Georgetown has won 7 in a row. Stats are pretty even, although the Mountaineers are a better defensive team than the Hoyas. We are going with Georgetown here. Georgetown welcomed West Virginia to the top-25 by beating them by 18. We won't say we told you so, but we never thought WVU should be ranked anyway. One good game (SEE: UCLA win) does not a top-25 team make.

What's on tap for tomorrow?

4. North Carolina: play host to #25 Virginia Tech. The Hokies are good and they are deep and they can run with the Heels. The key will be if Carolina will come to play. While they crushed Weak Forest on Saturday, remember that they also had all the hoopla in Chapel Hill surrounding the celebrations for the '57 and '82 championship teams. We're guessing that all of that weekend extra-curricular activity (like hanging with Michael Jordan, for instance) has altered UNC's focus a bit. Most likely they did not have a good practice until today, and that will hurt them early against VT. The question is whether or not they can rally from that let-down. We think Carolina will be down at the half, but will manage to scrape out a win.

6. Texas A&M: hosts Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are on a 5-game skid. We are certain they were flogged and beaten and kept from their loved ones this weekend by Bob Knight. We're not going to even think about stats here as we predict that each player and assistant coach and manager and water boy and bus driver for Texas Tech will do whatever it takes NOT to hand Knight 6 losses in a row. Fear can be a wonderful thing sometimes. The Red Raiders win.

12. Butler: host Florida Gulf Coast U. Uh, hey Butler--this FGCU team is not even D-1. Butler wins, but who the heck cares???

18. Southern Illinois: at Missouri State. Do you remember Missouri State? We do. They beat Win-consin back in November. The Bears are an impressive 19-7, BUT, other than Wisconsin and OK State, they have been stuck playing mid-majors. Southern Illinois has 2 more wins than MSU, but nothing that stands out as "WOW". We are calling the upset here. The Bears win.

18. Kentucky: at Tennessee. Forget the analysis here as we are tired. UT wins.

Have a great day!