College Basketball Ranking Updates

As I jumped up and down in the sea of maize and blue last night watching the Wolverines out-class a very solid NC State team, I was able to come up with one thing: College basketball is finally in full swing (and my Wolverines are pretty good also). The top 5 in the country seem to be right where they were a few weeks ago, with a few shifts in the polls.

#1- Indiana:

The Hoosiers are still the best team in the country, and from a Michigan standpoint, that is not a good sign at all. I still believe that Cody Zeller is not a very good player, but it is undeniable that the Hoosiers are loaded with talent and depth. If Watford, Oladipo, Ferrell, Hulls, Sheehey, Mosquera-Pereira (when he returns from suspension) and that bum Zeller can play how they have been playing recently, they should be the best team in the country.

#2- Duke:

The Blue Devils must be licking their lips. After playing very well in a tough Atlantis tournament field, their next test is #4 Ohio State. This is a HUGE game for both teams, as Duke wants to continue their hot streak against a very formidable team, and the Buckeyes look to steal a win in Cameron Indoor (the stadium that the basketball Gods built to cause chaos and hell to any opposing team.)

#3- Michigan:

At the beginning of the year, I was skeptical to put Michigan this high, but after the first six games of the season, I would 100% say that the Wolverines are legit. Their top three known offensive threats, Glenn Robinson III, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Trey Burke have been outstanding so far, but the surprise (as I predicted) has been Nik Stauskas. He was absolutely phenomenal last night, scoring 20 points on 10 shots, including 4-7 from 3's. If those four can continue to score in double figures all season, and the interior play of Mitch McGary, Jordan Morgan and Jon Horford can hold up, few teams will be able to stop Michigan.

#4- Ohio State:

To be honest, Ohio State hasn't beaten anyone great yet this year, but they haven't lost yet either. So to see whether they fall flat on their face against Duke tonight or play well tonight will be a huge test for Thad Matta. They have two of the best players in the country in DeShaun "I don't ever wanna pass the ball" Thomas and the ever-crafty Aaron Craft at point guard. To see how Evan Ravenel, Sam Thompson and Shannon Scott perform against this Blue Devils team will be interesting to see if it translates to success in the Big 10 (January 13th, to be exact)

#5- Louisville:

Coming into the season with all the weapons they had, Louisville seemed to be the team with the most going forward besides for Indiana. Losing star center Gorgui Dieng for 4-6 weeks could be very detrimental for the team, but they have enough weapons with Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan to lead them for the time being while their main defensive stopper is sidelined. If they can keep their ranking around the same level without Dieng, they should be that much better for the rest of the season with him.

One team that could be sneaky good: Creighton

Two words: Doug McDermott. One of the best players in the country, McDermott will single-handedly lose and win games for the Bluejays this season. Whether he can win more of these games on his own than lose will be a huge thing for these mid-major darlings from Omaha, Nebraska. They return Rugters transfer Gregory Echinique, Grant Gibbs, Avery Dingman, Ethan Wragge and Jahenns Manigat, and the veteran presence along with McDermott should be able to propel the Bluejays to make a deep tournament run if they can handle business in the Missouri Valley Conference.