Ranking the Rankings: Stagnance

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics when the polls come out.

Headlining: Connecticut tops the charts ... again. This isn't surprising, because they didn't lose. The fact that they didn't lose -- something that's happened to a lot of No. 1 teams -- is what's mildly shocking, especially considering they had a Monday headliner with Louisville, which they won easily behind the oh-so-strong play of Hasheem Thabeet. Good times, though, when we're not sure that anyone can really hold onto the top spot, no?

Also holding strong at No. 2 were Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners, who actually used the week to gain a little ground on UConn, for whatever that's worth. After that, though, things get a little shaky: North Carolina, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest, Memphis, Michigan State and Marquette are all top-10 teams in one poll (and one order) or another. Parity, baby. Parity.

Freefallin': Texas (15-7). When you lose twice -- coughing up a game to Missouri is fine, but Nebraska, not so much -- in one week and you were already kind of hitting the skids at No. 15, well, you're probably not going to be hanging around the standings very long. Purdue (17-6). After moving as high as No. 12 in the AP poll last week, the Boilermakers coughed up an overtime loss at Ohio State and summarily got blown out by Illinois on the road. I realize both places are tough to play, and the Boilermakers were without star Robbie Hummel, but that's not the kind of week you want if you're trying to either win the Big Ten or manage to stay ranked.

You Gotta Rise Up: Florida State (18-5). The 'Noles crept into the standings on the heels of a huge choke by win over Clemson, which was preceded by a narrow loss to Carolina and a squeaker over Georgia Tech, not to mention senior Toney Douglas scoring 20-plus points in seven straight games.

Hyped: The Seminoles come to mind immediately. It's not that I don't think they're good, or that they'll end up in the NCAA tournament, but after what should be an easy win against Virginia this week, they play at Wake, against Miami, at Virginia Tech, at Boston College, against Clemson, at Duke, and close with a home game against Virginia Tech. Holy. Guh. Give Leonard Hamilton credit for getting them this far, but, man, if they can close out 4-3 in that stretch, I'll be impressed.

Bunked: Missouri's win over Kansas made me rethink this choice. Originally (and at about halftime last night) I had the Jayhawks pegged as underrated. I still think they might be, though, considering only one of their five losses, to UMass, is remotely embarrassing. But man, you gotta give credit to Mizzou for stepping up, and the Tigers look dangerous as hell. They're talented as all get out and play tenacious defense. But Mizzou shoots free throws very poorly, which scares me, as does blowout losses at Kansas State and a 51-point effort against Nebraska. The good news is we'll find out if the Tigers are for real by March 5 -- back-to-back games at Kansas and against Oklahoma kind of dictate that.

WTF? Eight. Yes, the number. Because it appears to be how many ACC teams are going to make the tournament this year. And while the Big East has performed such a feat (in 2006 and 2008), the ACC only has 12 teams. Dios mio. I see it difficult to leave out any of North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech or Boston College. Add in a few more teams like Georgetown and Notre Dame collapsing and a strong run by Maryland or Miami and it could happen. Eight of 12 would be ridiculous.

People Who Vote Are Smart (Brought to you by Pollspeak.com): Dave Jones, The Patriot-News. I'm going to be a little persnickity with Mr. Jones here re: his ACC action. See, he's got North Carolina (No. 3), Wake Forest (5), Clemson (10) and Duke (11). I respect rewarding the transitive property and all, but, um, Duke's not 11th overall. They're just not. Michigan State also seems, ahem, a touch skeptical at No. 17. Kudos to Jones though, for rolling Mizzou up there high -- clearly they deserved that.