Syracuse Prevails

The Orangemen, or Orange, or Orange Jullius, or whatever they are called, beat an extremely good Georgetown team tonight. Did we call the upset? Come and see:

3. Kansas: at Oklahoma. The Sooners are on a four-game slide. This could only mean one of two things: 1. they are extremely likely to be pissed off enough to pull off an upset; or 2. they are really bad, and suffering from the late-season slump. So, what's the call? If you hate Duke, then you want Kansas to win, since ex-Blue Satan Jeff Capel is the OK coach. If you like to take a chance, you could look to the 10-point loss the Sooners had against here-and-there but ranked Texas. Can they compete? Well, let's face it--ANYONE can compete when playing at home. Sleeping in your own bed the night before the game and having your girlfriend at the game waving at you from Section 5, seat A-1, can motivate any player. As bad as they are, the Sooners will be fired-up for this game. We're going to call this one an upset. Not because we like Capel, but because we have seen too many times how the basketball gods work. We're not going to stay up for this game, but at the half this is looking like all-Kansas, who leads by 14. One point: is there a clause in the ESPN college basketball contract that says that the announcers have to call Duke Coach Cry AND all former Dook players "classy"? Quote from this game: "We can't say enough how classy Jeff Capel and this Oklahoma program are." Yes, you CAN say it enough, and now we have heard it enough.

10. Georgetown: at Syracuse. The Hoyas are now good enough to be getting the best shot from every team it plays. This will be no exception. Call this one a "coaching battle." Our call? The Orange (please stop with the crappy team names--this one makes us think of that mall store Orange Julius) will grab more rebounds, and clog up the lane to bring the Hoyas down. Orange Julius wins! We called this one. Quite the physical game. Big East=Thugs. Slapping, bumping, pushing, elbowing--this looked like an UFC bout. The Orange Julius played great D. Georgetown celebrates its new #10 ranking with a big loss.

Speaking of rankings, let us walk you through this week's Coaches' poll:

1. Ohio State: stayed the same with a big win against Wisconsin.

2. UCLA: lots of people are sold on this team. We agree they are good. But #2? No.

3. Kansas: looking good.

4. Florida: lost to LSU but still stayed in the top-5. Uh, wrong. Let's see what they do this week against UT and UK.

5. Wisconsin: should be in the top-3. But, check this out: top-rebounder Brian Butch is going to be out 4-6 weeks with an elbow injury. Ouch.

6. Texas A&M: WHAT? OK, they beat a faltering Oklahoma State and not-good Baylor. Over-ranked.

7. Memphis: should be top-5. Better than Texas A&M and Florida by leaps and bounds.

8. UNC: they have to prove themselves this week away at Georgia Tech and at home with Duke. They need to step it up because they are right now in the midst of squandering a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tourney. The selection committee weighs the last 10 games of each team and the Heels have lost 3 of their last 10. Even if they win 2 this week then they will still have lost 3 of their last 10, but a win against the Blue Satans would put them as a number 1 seed somewhere.

9. Nevada: definitely a top-10 team. They will be tough in the Tourney.

10. Georgetown: lost tonight at Syracuse. They are still the team to beat in the Big East tournament. They should bounce back later this week against UCONN.

11. Southern Illinois: the hound dogs are good, BUT, their conference is not.

12. Pitt: a more accurate ranking for the Panthers should be in the 20's.

13. Washington State: they are facing their most challenging week of the season this week as they face #2 UCLA and # 24 USC.

14. Duke: another team that should be ranked in the 20's.

15. Texas: a good team. Number 15? More like 19.

16. Butler: no comment. However, if we were to comment, we would ask how long will this team have to look like a true mid-major to fall from the rankings?

17. Notre Dame: streaking Irish are looking good.

18. Oregon: the Ducks are in the right spot.

19. Louisville: not ranked last week and now 19? Did we miss something?

20. Air Force: questionable. Lost two games last week to unranked teams. They need a win against the Mormons this week to stay ranked.

21. Marquette: game at Pitt this week should prove Marquette belongs higher in the rankings.

21. Virginia Tech: perfect. The Hokies are peaking.

23. Vandy: should not be ranked. Lost to 1 bad team and barely beat another bad team this week.

24. USC: should be ranked in the teens.

25. Virginia: wishy-washy team. Play a hot Virginia Tech team this week at home.

Vederla dopo.