FanHouse Power Poll: So Ranking Basketball Teams is How You Get Ulcers

This week's FanHouse Power Poll has subjected me to some unique emotional forces. First, I've learned that when you rank teams, especially a Power 16 Poll like the FanHouse's, it's realllllly important to start with a well-reasoned set of rankings to begin with. Otherwise, how do you justify zipping teams all over the place week after week?

Second, and more importantly, the gravitational tug of what my heart tells me vs. what the brain refuses to ignore have resulted in a multi-hour gastrointestinal distress session while computing the my latest ballot. My heart tells me that Texas A&M is a Top 5 team. My brain tells me I can't penalize Wisconsin for winning. My heart tells me North Carolina's wins (@ Duke, then a home trouncing of Wake Forest) were more impressive than Ohio State's nominal home wins over Michigan and Purdue -- both closer in margin than they should have been. But the grey matter tells me I must slide Ohio State into the #2 slot vacated by UCLA.

Finally, I've determined some method to the madness when it comes to picking the "On the Cusp" teams vs. the 12-16 rankings. Generally, a team that loses one game in the 12-16 slice in my poll will find themselves bumped into "On the Cusp" unless some team makes a case for itself to suddenly be included. This week, that team is West Virginia, which is no problem considering that Vandy and Air Force ripped themselves out the Cusp category due to overall stinkage.

Without further ado, I give you Ferguson's FanHouse Power Poll Ballot. (You have to click the "Continue reading... " link below.)

1. Florida -- Gators play Kentucky in a nasty night road game with 2 starting big men playing 21 total minutes due to foul trouble and sharpshooter Lee Humphrey going 1-7 from 3-point land. They win anyway.
2. Ohio State -- weak wins this week for Ohio State. But how can one punish them for winning?
3. North Carolina -- good win @ Duke. "Psycho T" left a little blood in Cameron. Duke is now on the bubble.
4. Pittsburgh -- went on the road and played WVU... just like UCLA. Difference is, Pitt won decisively. Why aren't the Panthers getting more press?
5. Wisconsin -- goes into the half down 4 points to lowly Iowa, comes back to win in the second half. At home. Bleah. I remain unconvinced, but I'm unable to drop them further. My bias against teams which rely on one star player might be putting more hurt on Wisconsin than they deserve.
   
6. Texas A&M -- in my heart, Texas A&M is the #5 if not the #4 team in the country. In my mind, I can't let them climb over Wisconsin... yet. I'm hella impressed by this group of kids.
   
7. UCLA -- they don't deserve to tumble so far (I had them at #2 last week) because their point guard was out against WVU. Nonetheless, they lost, and their Top 5 brethren didn't.
8. Kansas -- Two so-so wins means they stay put at #8 this week in my ballot.
9. Washington State -- their two wins: Cal and Stanford. Cal's not very good. But Stanford beat UCLA... due to losses above them, Washington State vaults into the Ferguson's Top 10. This is a weak #9 in my opinion.
   
10. Memphis -- wins @ UAB and at home vs. Tulane. Marc Cohn might wear blue suede shoes when he's walkin' in Memphis, but they stay put at #10 on my ballot, which is where they were last week.
    
11. Marquette -- A road loss @ #23 Georgetown is survivable. Marquette's otherwise solid resume protects them from a rockslide style tumble down the rankings. Besides that, Georgetown is pretty good.
    
12. Nevada -- make their first appearance here in my ballot. They appear largely by default. I do not expect them to stick around.
13. Georgetown -- almost certainly a better team than Nevada, but they have too many losses to climb too high, too fast.
14. Southern Illinois -- Welcome to the Power 16, Salukis! Last week you were ignored. This week, you're famous!
15. Butler -- Frankly, they deserved to fall out of the Power 16. And I want them gone... the rest of these teams didn't cooperate. This is a solid mid-major team, but losing to Wright State is unacceptable for any "top" team.
    
16. Arizona -- They weren't even in my "on the cusp" category last week. Two road wins -- one over a Top 15 team -- get them in to #16.
    

On the cusp:

1. Kentucky -- a win over Florida would have been huge. HUGE! But the 3-point margin made the game seem closer than it really was. Kentucky never led, and never took a shot that would have given them a chance to do so. Kentucky remains on the cusp.
2. Indiana -- They appeared at #16 last week. I cannot excuse the loss @ Iowa followed by a win over one of Illinois' weakest teams ever. Other teams impress more, therefore they advance.
3. West Virginia -- They need a better resume. But this team is pretty damn good. Other than the UCLA upset, their best win is over #9 UConn... back when everyone really believed they were #9. I'm not positive WVU belongs here yet. A win over Pitt would have been a big deal.
   
4. Oregon -- Lost 3 of their last 4. On a slide. But I would not be surprised to see them back in the Power 16 next week.

New category: OUT! That's Duke. Since I don't write about the ACC, I can freely express my total dissatisfaction with the Devils by demonstrating my obvious glee that they're out, out, out of the Top 16. And if I were voting in the Top 25, they'd be outta there too, bay-bee! I called them out as pretenders when they were ranked in the Top 10 and they have not failed to disappoint. Duke's 10-year reign in the Top 25 might be coming to an end in the next 24 hours.