The University of North Carolina parlayed its continued impressive play into
its first appearance in the Scout.com Top 10 this season.
Coach Roy Williams’ team, which will take a
five-game winning streak into its home regular-season finale Wednesday night
against Virginia, climbed two
spots into No. 9 slot in the latest Top 25.
The Tar Heels, who’ve won eight of
their past nine games behind the probable national Freshman of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough, take the 15-minute
bus ride to Durham Saturday evening
for the national Game of the Week: a showdown with top-ranked Duke.
Connecticut,
despite its impressive 89-75 Big East Conference victory over visiting Villanova
Sunday afternoon, didn’t change positions in the Top 25, and for good reason:
The Huskies were already No. 2 despite losing to the Wildcats in
Philadelphia a few weeks
ago.
A look at some of the week’s better
matchups:
Monday
Pittsburgh
at West Virginia:
The third seed in the Big East Tournament is at stake – all the better to
likely bypass a hookup with
Connecticut until the final in
Madison
Square
Garden on March
11.
Tuesday
Illinois at Minnesota: The
Illini, to maintain any hopes of catching Ohio State for at least a share of the
Big Ten’s regular-season title, can’t afford to pull a Indiana, Michigan State
or Iowa (by losing on the Gophers’ home floor).
Cincinnati
at Seton Hall: The loser of this one will make it a lot easier on the NCAA
Tournament selection crew in
Indianapolis on the March 10-12
weekend.
Wednesday
Duke at
Florida
State: An upset by
the Seminoles would do much to erase the leftover bitterness from their 97-96
overtime loss in Durham on Feb. 4 –
and pump a little adrenalin into the NCAA Tournament at-large hopes that took a
hit with an 11-point loss at Virginia Tech Saturday.
Kentucky
at Tennessee:
The Wildcats couldn’t nail down a great opportunity for an eye-catching win
(at LSU) Saturday. They’re running out of time to lock down an at-large bid. A
victory in Knoxville would put them
oh-so-close to doing so.
Ohio
State at Northwestern:
A slip-up by the Buckeyes in this one is, in reality, the last real hope of
Illinois,
Iowa or
Wisconsin of getting at least a
share of the Big Ten regular-season championship.
Colorado
at Kansas: Hey,
Buffaloes – if you want an at-large bid, show you’re worthy with a solid effort
in Lawrence. It doesn’t necessarily
have to be a victory, mind you. Just be more competitive than you were over much
of your last four Big 12 road games (all losses).
Thursday
Memphis
at UAB: The Blazers can take a big step toward grabbing the Conference USA
Tourney’s No. 2 seed and jump-starting their at-large hopes by handing the
Tigers their first conference loss.
UCLA at
California: The
Bruins can cinch no worse than a share of the Pac 10 regular-season title with a
win in Berkeley. In reality, though,
there is more of a sense of urgency to the game for the Golden Bears: Their NCAA
Tournament at-large hopes are no where near air-tight, even with 11 conference
wins.
Wisconsin
at Michigan
State: With four
losses in their past five games, the Spartans are backpedaling to the Big Ten
and NCAA tournaments.
Syracuse
at DePaul: Here’s the scoop for the
Orange – win this one or face a
can’t afford to lose confrontation with Villanova on Sunday in the
Carrier Dome.
Saturday
North
Carolina at Duke: The Tar Heels might be
playing as well as anyone in the country right now. And it’s not a stretch to
think that this could be the second of what could eventually be four meetings
between the rivals this season.
Houston
at Memphis: If the
Cougars want to add a little heft to their at-large bid argument, here’s a
suggestion – win this game.
Charlotte
at George Washington: The 49ers were starting to make a decent at-large case
for themselves . . . before they lost Saturday at home by three points to
Saint Louis.
Illinois
at Michigan
State: This will
have Big Ten title implications only if
Ohio
State screws up against Northwestern
(Wednesday) and/or Purdue (Sunday).
Washington
at Arizona:
Based on what happens in
Berkeley (Thursday and Saturday) and
at Stanford (the Cardinal vs. UCLA, Saturday), at least a share of the Pac 10
title could be the prize for the winner of this one.
Indiana
at Michigan: The
winner will feel considerably more enthused about their chances for big smiles
on March 12.
Players of the
Week
(based on play during Feb. 19-25
games; players whose teams played at least twice during the seven-day span get
stronger consideration over those who played just once)
Glen Davis (6-8, So.,
LSU)
A cumulative 44 points, 26 rebounds and six
steals during SEC victories over Vanderbilt and
Kentucky were enough to bag him Scout.com Player of
the Week honors for the second week in a row.
For the season: 18.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3
steals, 1.1 blocked shots per game; .511 FG%
Terence Dials (6-9, Sr.,
Ohio
State)
He helped moved the Buckeyes
another couple of steps closer to a Big Ten Conference regular-season
championship, with 19 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot during
a 79-68 win at Michigan State, and 22 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots
as the Buckeyes cruised past visiting Michigan,
65-54.
For the season: 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.0
blocked shots per game; .569 FG%
Nick Fazekas (6-11, Jr.,
Nevada)
The Wolf Pack all but wrapped up the
regular-season championship of the WAC with wins at
Idaho (26 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked
shots by Fazekas) and Utah State (23, 16 and three), thanks in large part to
Fazekas’ play. It’s back to back POW kudos for
Fazekas.
For the season: 21.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.1
steals, 1.4 blocked shots per game; .529 FG%
P.J. Tucker (6-5, Jr.,
Texas)
His 19-point, eight-rebound and seven-assist
performance helped the Longhorns beat Kansas, 80-55, in a Big 12 showdown Saturday night,
three nights after he had 14 points and 12 rebounds during his team’s 65-64
victory at Kansas State. If he wasn’t beforehand, he’s definitely
the frontrunner for Big 12 Player of the Year honors
now.
For the season: 16.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9
steals per game; .536 FG%
Shelden Williams (6-8, Sr.,
Duke)
J.J. Redick struggled with his jump shot but Williams
and the rest of the Blue Devils were able to compensate during road wins at
Georgia Tech and Temple. Williams had 26 points, 11 rebounds and two
steals in Atlanta, and 23 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked
shots in Philadelphia.
For the season: 18.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.0
steals, 3.6 blocked shots per game; .588 FG%
Scout.com’s updated Top
25
(Last week’s ratings in
parentheses; records of Feb. 26)
1. (1) Duke (27-1) Next game:
at Florida State (Wednesday)
2. (2) Connecticut (25-2) Next
game: at South Florida (Wednesday)
3. (3) Memphis (26-2) Next game:
at UAB (Thursday)
4. (4) Gonzaga (24-3) Next game:
vs. University of San Francisco (Monday)
5. (6) Texas (24-4) Next game:
at Texas A&M (Wednesday)
6. (5) Villanova (22-3) Next
game: vs. St. John’s (Wednesday)
7. (7) George Washington (24-1)
Next game: at St. Bonaventure (Wednesday)
8. (8) Pittsburgh (21-4) Next
game: at West Virginia (Monday)
9. (11) North Carolina (19-6)
Next game: vs. Virginia (Wednesday)
10. (14) Ohio State (21-4) Next
game: at Northwestern (Wednesday)
11. (17) LSU (20-7) Next game:
at South Carolina (Tuesday)
12. (9) Boston College (22-6)
Next game: vs. Wake Forest (Tuesday)
13. (12) Illinois (23-5) Next
game: at Minnesota (Tuesday)
14. (15) Tennessee (20-5) Next
game: vs. Kentucky (Wednesday)
15. (10) North Carolina State
(21-7) Next game: at Wake Forest (Saturday)
16. (19) Georgetown (19-7) Next
game: at South Florida (Saturday)
17. (20) Washington (22-5) Next
game: at Arizona State (Thursday)
18. (13)
West Virginia (19-8)
Next game: vs. Pittsburgh
(Monday)
19. (21) UCLA (22-6) Next game:
at Cal (Thursday)
20. (23) Marquette (19-8) Next
game: at Louisville (Wednesday)
21. (25) Nevada (22-5) Next
game: vs. San Jose State (Thursday)
22. (18) Kansas (20-6) Next
game: vs. Colorado (Wednesday)
23. (16) Florida (22-6) Next
game: vs. Georgia (Wednesday)
24. (ur) Arkansas (19-8) Next
game: vs. Mississippi State (Wednesday)
25. (24) Wisconsin (19-8) Next
game: at Michigan State (Thursday)
Dropped out: Iowa
(22)
Inducted into the USBWA Hall of
Fame last April, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s national basketball expert and is
also a columnist for the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. He can be reached
at frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at
www.FrankHoops.com