This is a Cincinnati Bearcats blog, maybe THE Cincinnati Bearcats blog (not really), but occasionally I think that we should take a look around the nation and see what’s up with the what’s up. That’s street lingo for see what’s happening around the nation. Everyone knows that the best way to do that is to make a list of the Top 26 teams of the country. Why 26? Because I hit 6 instead of 5. Sometimes life throws you curveballs like that. You have to roll with them, or they will roll you. Write that down kiddies, because that is advice for life. I bet you didn’t see that coming in a Top 26 list post. This isn’t going to be a list of the AP top 25, it’s going to be better. How? Take a look. It’s in a book. Reading rainbow.
- Kentucky Wildcats 19-0. Up next: @South Carolina. I have Kentucky here because they are undefeated. I don’t really think they are the best team, but as the Nature Boy says, to be the man, you have to beat the man. No one has beaten Kentucky. They have one of the best players, if not the best, in John Wall. Cousins and Bledsoe are also really good, and there’s that Patterson fellow. The only problem is that Kentucky fans are the worst. I hope they go undefeated and lose to a 16 seed.
- Syracuse Orange 20-1. Up next: @DePaul. Pittsburgh is one of those teams that matches up well with Syracuse, and I think it’s clear that Pitt was playing their best ball of the season against the Orange. They aren’t the most talented team, but they play great together. Wes Johnson is a stud, and barring injury or turning into Eric Devandorf, he’s going to be the Big East Player of the Year.
- Kansas Jayhawks 19-1. Up next: @Kansas State. Kansas has the most talent out of any team but maybe Kentucky. They have pros at every position with Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry (we should pronounce Xavier za-vee-eh because fuck Xavier), Cole Aldrich and Marcus Morris. They are Kansas, so a tournament flameout is a possibility. I think they are at least Elite 8 material.
- Texas Longhorns 17-2. Up next: Texas Tech. Yeah they lost twice last week, but they lost on the road to good teams. They don’t have a point guard, can’t shoot free throws and Rick Barnes looks stupid. Whatever. They are going to be a 1 seed. If they aren’t, your money back.
- Duke Blue Devils 16-3. Up next: Florida State. When I clicked on the Duke team page on ESPN, Dick Vitale started yelling at me. Duke isn’t great, but they are good, deal with it. They will probably, no they will definitely choke in the tournament to all of our delight, but Jon Scheyer is for reals.
- Villanova Wildcats 18-1. Up next: Notre Dame. I’m not sold on Villanova. I would have dropped them lower in fact, but have you taken a look at the teams ranked under them? Scottie Reynolds is really good, and probably the second best player in the Big East. Jay Wright is a good coach and I wouldn’t mind hanging out at hotel bar drinking gin and tonics with him while talking about our short games on the golf course. But, they stink of overration from last year’s tournament and quite frankly, they are going down early this year.
- Michigan State Spartains 17-3. Up next: @Michigan. Michigan State barely beat Minnesota and Iowa came back on them. So of course they are ranked over Texas in the stupid polls because Texas beat them and has a better record. Oh wait, the reason is because voters are ass hats. Michigan State is undefeated in the Big 11, but they haven’t played Purdue.
- Purdue Boilermakers 16-3. Up next: Wisconsin. Purdue already lost to Wisconsin, but they are ranked over Wisconsin because they haven’t lost to Wisconsin Green Bay. Purdue is going to mess up every bracket that I fill out this year because I will either be infatuated with them and have them go deep, or I will have hate in my heart and have them lose early. Is this a post on how teams are now, or how they are going to be? I’m not sure, it kinda changed didn’t it?
- Gonzaga Bulldogs 16-3. Up next: Santa Clara. They haven’t beaten anyone worth a damn since they lost to Duke, but they are winning and looking good. They are probably going to roll through the conference with 0 or 1 loss, and they are going to be dangerous as usual.
- Brigham Young Cougars 20-1. Up next: @New Mexico. Jimmer Fredette is a stud, and he highlights this overlooked team. BYU somehow lost to Utah State, but don’t let that fool you. They are running over the solid Mountain West. They are also a team that I’m penciling into the Sweet 16 right now.
- Kansas State Wildcats 16-3. Up next: @Baylor. Jacob Pullen is Amish. Any player that inspires Frank Martin to wear a fake beard is cool in my book. Denis Clemente is also very good, but he spells Denis weird and all of his friends secretly don’t like it. They are a flame out early team. Probably not a 3 who loses to a 14, but a 4 that loses to a 13 if it comes to that.
- West Virginia Mountaineers 15-3. Up next: @DePaul. Does anyone think that West Virginia is going anywhere this year without a point guard? I sure don’t. Da’Sean Butler is great, but he can’t do it all on his own, he’s no superman.
- Temple Owls 17-3. Up next: @Charlotte. Boring ol’ Temple is ranked this high not just because they beat Xavier, but because they are good. I think that they have the makings of a dangerous team in March. They will either play a 1 seed like Texas and terrorize them and win, or they will play a 1 seed like Kansas and get blown out again. There is no in between for the Owls.
- Wisconsin Badgers 16-4. Up next: @Purdue. Boring ol’ Wisconsin follows boring ol’ Temple in the boring teams section of the Top 26. Wisky is always solid, and always a boring team to watch. Even in close games, you think ‘why couldn’t Wisconsin be interesting a full 40 minutes?’ Sorry Badger fans, you know this.
- Pittsburgh Panthers 15-4. Up next: St John’s. Pitt seems to be falling off a little, but I think they have a better squad than the rest of the teams. In 3 weeks when Pitt is 18-9, remind me of how stupid this ranking was.
- Tennessee Volunteers 15-3. Up next: Vanderbilt. Tennessee has some good talent, talent that is stupid enough to get arrested, but good talent. They are really tough to be in Knoxville, but they don’t play every game there. I think the Georgia loss exposed them a lot.
- Baylor Bears 15-3. Up next: Kansas State. This is going to look really stupid when Baylor loses to K State and Texas back to back. Having said that, I’ve really bought into the Bears. They nearly beat Kansas, and they destroyed UMass Saturday. Ekpe Udoh is a monster on defense, and he can pop a triple. I’ve kept my eye on them since they beat Xavier, and I like the looks of this team.
- Ohio State 14-6. Up next: @IowaZack10Bucks. The Buckeyes are a completely different team with the ‘Villain’ Evan Turner. Turner is actually my choice for player of the year, and he carries the Bucks. The only problem is that all of Ohio State’s players like watching him too instead of playing. And oh my god Wally Szczerbiak is on some random CBS College Sports show. I’ll never forget the Utah game World.
- Georgetown Hoyas 15-4. Up next: Duke. This is the time of year Georgetown gets exposed. They were pummeled by Syracuse. They will lose to the Dukies. Georgetown gets a reprieve with USF, followed by another loss against Villanova. They are UC with better talent. Their offense goes in the tank with the best of them.
- Mississippi Rebels 15-4. Up next: @Auburn. The Rebs get Auburn and Arkansas before their showdown with Kentucky. That’s essentially a bye. I haven’t seen them play, and I put them here because of their record and because I like Andy Kennedy. I don’t think AK should have gotten the UC job, so save your emails.
- New Mexico Lobos 18-3. Up next: BYU. New Mexico is a very good team that is underrated because the Mountain West decided to be stupid and not continue their contract on ESPN. The Lobos have Darington Hobson, who not only has a kick ass name, but he can play. Hook up your satellite dish, or find a stream or something and watch their game against BYU Wednesday.
- Northern Iowa Panthers 17-2. Up next: The Drake. Northern Iowa lost to DePaul before losing a non head scratcher against the dreaded Shockers of Wichita State. UNI will be a 10 or 11 seed I’ll pick to win in the Dance and they will totally screw me over.
- Florida State Seminoles 15-4. Up next: @Duke. Florida State just beat Georgia Tech to sweep the season series, yet the pollsters ranked Georgia Tech, who also has a worse record. Florida State would have a better chance to beat Duke in Tallahassee, but they can give them a game in Cameron Indoor. I used to love watching Florida State when they had Bob Sura and Charlie Ward.
- Connecticut Huskies 13-6. Up next: @Providence. I nearly didn’t rank UConn until I looked to see who they had coming up. I think they’ll sweep Providence, Marquette and Louisville. Louisville just matches up poorly with UConn every year it seems, and I think the Huskies are turning the corner. They probably won’t have another game like against Texas, but the fact they can have games like that intrigues me.
- Vanderbilt Commodores 15-3. Up next: @Tennessee. I would have ranked Vandy higher, but I think they are going to lose their next 3 against Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi State. Their court is funky, but I have to admit that I like it.
- Butler Bulldogs 16-4. Up next: @Wis-Green Bay. Butler bit off a little more than they could chew early on. They are rounding into form now though. I certainly wouldn’t want the gritty Bulldogs in the big dance.
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