Scramble Up Top

My Top Five:

1. Kansas
2. Pitt
3. Ohio State
4. Duke, 4a. Texas

Now that Ohio State has been beaten, it looks like Kansas will take the top spot.  Of course, Texas has a legitimate argument to make after beating Kansas in Lawrence earlier this year.  The Big 12's top 2 have stepped up, and deserve high spots in the polls.  I believe that Duke deserves as high a ranking as Texas, though.  Why?  Duke has lost 2 games this year, at Florida State (likely the 3rd best team in the ACC behind Duke and UNC) and at St. John's (at the Garden, and St. John's is one of the hottest teams in the country). Duke also beat a red hot UNC team this week.  Also, Texas lost to USC, who has 7 losses in a sub-par PAC-10.

Don't overlook what the Pitt Panthers did today.  Winning at Villanova is no small feat, especially since Pitt was missing their top scorer in Ashton Gibbs.  Down 4 at half, Pitt grinded out a win against competition that made Kansas's and Texas' look like Division II opponents.  Nova is so much better than Iowa State and Baylor that it isn't even fair to compare them.  In addition, Pitt beat Texas earlier in the year.

Of course, Kansas has only lost once this year and Selby was out today.  I think they deserve the top spot, but Pitt deserves the number 2 spot, barely behind Kansas.  Pitt's Big East schedule has been brutal, and while I respect the Big 12, it isn't even close to the Big East.  (Nor is any other conference for that matter.)

Ohio State should, in all fairness, slip no further than 3rd.  The Big Ten is a tough league; it's tougher than the Big 12 and not as brutal as the Big East.  The Buckeyes have done well all year.  However, Pitt's accomplishments have been more significant.

I believe there are no fewer than 12 teams in the country that are, as of this post, legitimately capable of winning it all.  The parity is unprecedented in college basketball history.  I will give you the teams and my logic next Tuesday.