Nova no. 1 next week?

[Tugg Speedman]

No.1 Oklahoma had a bad loss at Kansas state

No. 2 UNC was upset at ND

So does no 3 Nova move to no.1?  The beat Prov tonight.

X moves into top 5 in both polls? 

How much does no. 11 Prov fall given they lost to presumptive no. 1 Nova?

[Jay Bee]

No.1 Oklahoma had a bad loss at Kansas state

No. 2 UNC was upset at ND

So does no 3 Nova move to no.1?  The beat Prov tonight.

X moves into top 5 in both polls? 

How much does no. 11 Prov fall given they lost to presumptive no. 1 Nova?

I don't really pay attention to polls, but Providence would fall far more because of their loss to DePaul earlier this week, a-inal?

There's a dirty not-so-little secret about Providence that national media likes to ignore... their offense isn't good.

Lots of gushing over Kris Dunn, but at the end of the day he's a 4-year player who has an eFG% 48.7% and a turnover rate of more than 20%.

[BM1090]

I don't really pay attention to polls, but Providence would fall far more because of their loss to DePaul earlier this week, a-inal?

There's a dirty not-so-little secret about Providence that national media likes to ignore... their offense isn't good.

Lots of gushing over Kris Dunn, but at the end of the day he's a 4-year player who has an eFG% 48.7% and a turnover rate of more than 20%.

I actually think that Seton Hall is the 3rd best team in the conference. I think Marquette matches up pretty well with Providence and we win on Wednesday.

[Jay Bee]

I actually think that Seton Hall is the 3rd best team in the conference. I think Marquette matches up pretty well with Providence and we win on Wednesday.

You can make a very reasonable argument that Seton Hall is #3 in the conference and that Providence, despite being ranked #11 in the nation, is in the bottom half of the conference.

[Cooby Snacks]

I actually think that Seton Hall is the 3rd best team in the conference. I think Marquette matches up pretty well with Providence and we win on Wednesday.

PC is a little thin beyond Dunn and Bentil. Bullock is decent, but the group of Cartwright, Lindsey, and Lomomba is pretty average. I agree that they're not the scariest team if you can keep the two stars somewhat in check.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

No.1 Oklahoma had a bad loss at Kansas state

No. 2 UNC was upset at ND

So does no 3 Nova move to no.1?  The beat Prov tonight.

X moves into top 5 in both polls? 

How much does no. 11 Prov fall given they lost to presumptive no. 1 Nova?

I would guess X stays at #6 assuming Iowa takes care of Illinois.

1. Villanova
2. Maryland
3. North Carolina
4. Oklahoma
5. Iowa
6. Xavier
7. Kansas

[Herman Cain]

I would guess X stays at #6 assuming Iowa takes care of Illinois.

1. Villanova
2. Maryland
3. North Carolina
4. Oklahoma
5. Iowa
6. Xavier
7. Kansas

UNC lost twice this week. Also lost to The "Ville"

[KenoshaWarrior]

I actually think that Seton Hall is the 3rd best team in the conference. I think Marquette matches up pretty well with Providence and we win on Wednesday.

agree on everything you said. SHU remibds me of a Buzz team

[PGsHeroes32]

UNC is not gonna be in front of OU lol. Maybe not even X

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

UNC lost twice this week. Also lost to The "Ville"

Forgot that they lost twice. Thought it was just the once. In that case,

1. Villanova
2. Maryland
3. Oklahoma
4. Iowa
5. Xavier
6. Kansas

Top 6 teams will be from three conferences. Beastly.

[Tugg Speedman]

Forgot that they lost twice. Thought it was just the once. In that case,

1. Villanova
2. Maryland
3. Oklahoma
4. Iowa
5. Xavier
6. Kansas

Top 6 teams will be from three conferences. Beastly.

And none from the ACC, supposedly the best conference in the country ( according to their broadcast partner, ESPN)

[MarquetteDano]

And none from the ACC, supposedly the best conference in the country ( according to their broadcast partner, ESPN)

Almost any metric you use at this point it has to be the Big 12.  #2 best there can be a few arguments made for several conferences but Big 12 reins supreme at this point.

[Johnny B]

Nova being number one is beyond ridiculous. In no way are they the best team in the country. OU and Virginia handled them.  Cant wait to see them get a one seed again and blow it in the second round 3 straight years. It just makes the conference look over rated.

[naginiF]

Nova being number one is beyond ridiculous. In no way are they the best team in the country. OU and Virginia handled them.  Cant wait to see them get a one seed again and blow it in the second round 3 straight years. It just makes the conference look over rated.

So what's your suggestion, have them lose more during the season and fall to a 5/6 seed? 

Personally I like having as many BE teams ranked as high as possible for as long as possible.  Good press and coverage for the majority of the season not just over a 10 day period, which is how anyone but the casual fan views a conferences strength.

[MarquetteDano]

So what's your suggestion, have them lose more during the season and fall to a 5/6 seed? 

Personally I like having as many BE teams ranked as high as possible for as long as possible.  Good press and coverage for the majority of the season not just over a 10 day period, which is how anyone but the casual fan views a conferences strength.

I agree to an extent but if Nova is not going to get past the Sweet Sixteen then I would actually prefer they lose more to the likes of Us (obviously), X, Seton Hall, Providence.  That way we have more ranked teams, possibly more teams in the tourney, and better seeds.

It does the Big East no favors if they go 16-2 in conference and then lose in the Sweet Sixteen or earlier again.  I am not cheering against Nova per se.  I am just saying if they flame out again it would have been better if they lost more within conference to the better teams.

[Herman Cain]

I agree to an extent but if Nova is not going to get past the Sweet Sixteen then I would actually prefer they lose more to the likes of Us (obviously), X, Seton Hall, Providence.  That way we have more ranked teams, possibly more teams in the tourney, and better seeds.

It does the Big East no favors if they go 16-2 in conference and then lose in the Sweet Sixteen or earlier again.  I am not cheering against Nova per se.  I am just saying if they flame out again it would have been better if they lost more within conference to the better teams.

Conference makes more money if more teams are in the tournament.  If beating Villanova gets more teams in the tournament that is a positive. After the first round all games are hard so I while I would like to see Villanova and Xavier both get 1 seeds I would rather see 6 teams in the tourney again.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Nova being number one is beyond ridiculous. In no way are they the best team in the country. OU and Virginia handled them.  Cant wait to see them get a one seed again and blow it in the second round 3 straight years. It just makes the conference look over rated.

They may not be the best team in the country, but they are definitely one of the 4-5 best. I happen to think X is better - even though they got rolled by Nova. Sumner was injured that game and the team was not themselves after seeing their teammate take a scary fall.  X is one of the best 3 teams in the country, and like Wojo said in his presser, they have the makings of a team that could win it all. 

[brewcity77]

Nova being number one is beyond ridiculous. In no way are they the best team in the country. OU and Virginia handled them.  Cant wait to see them get a one seed again and blow it in the second round 3 straight years. It just makes the conference look over rated.

Okay...so who should be ahead of them? Here's each team's case:

Villanova: Their three losses came to teams all ranked in the top-11 in the country (last week's poll) and they avenged one of those losses when they beat Providence on the road. Yes, Oklahoma rolled them, but they hung with UVa for most of that game on the road before losing at the end.

Oklahoma: Their three losses all line up as worse than 'Nova's losses (KU< OK, ISU<UVa, KSU<PC) and in their last 10 games, they are 7-3 while 'Nova is 9-1. You simply can't make a vote based on one result because you are comparing all 351 teams in the country.

Iowa: They'll get some votes, but of their 4 losses, only 1 (Maryland) is to a top-10 team. Also, their 10-1 conference record includes only 5 top-60 wins per Pomeroy, whereas Villanova has 8.

Maryland: Definitely worth a thought. I'd vote 'Nova because of better losses (OK>UNC, UVa>MSU, PC>UM) but it's really close and those are very comparable losses. If the better losses doesn't sway you, I'd point out UMD having only 3 top-60 conference wins to 'Nova's 8.

Xavier: Like with Oklahoma, I'd throw out the head to head loss. XU only has two losses, but the Georgetown one is definitely glaring compared to the 'Nova losses, especially as it was at home. Is it much worse than PC at home? Tough to say. What really stands out for me is conference play. 'Nova has a better record in the same conference, but they have done so against a tougher conference schedule as well. Of XU's 9 conference wins, 6 came against the bottom 3 teams (SJU, DPU, MU). 'Nova hasn't just been better in conference, they've been better against the tougher teams. No real question here.

Who else can you even consider for #1? Kansas, who is only 5-3 in their last 8 including getting blasted by a bad Oklahoma State team? Michigan State, who is 4-3 in their last 7 with two of those losses at home, including a bad Nebraska team? Virginia, who is 7-3 in their last 10 with all three losses coming to teams that have a combined zero votes in both polls? UNC, who lost twice this week including to an unranked ND team?

Unless you can argue someone is more deserving (and I think I pretty compellingly proved there isn't anyone more deserving) then 'Nova pretty much has to be your #1. It won't do anything for them in March, but based on body of work and recent trends of play, right now Villanova looks like the best team in the country.

[WarriorPride68]

Almost any metric you use at this point it has to be the Big 12.  #2 best there can be a few arguments made for several conferences but Big 12 reins supreme at this point.

Updated ESPN bracketology today per conference:

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Thinking the Hall may crack the top 25. If not, top 30 for sure.

Hopefully Providence sticks in the top 20.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Nova 1 in the coaches poll.

4. X
17. Providence


31. Seton Hall

[LloydsLegs]

I sent Ms. Legs (Nova freshman) a text letting her know that Nova is ranked no. 1. 

Response:  "Is the AP out yet?" 

Raised right (other than choice of schools).

[MarquetteDano]

Updated ESPN bracketology today per conference:

Proving again B12 is tops. They have the highest % of teams in right now.

[BrewCity83]

Proving again B12 is tops. They have the highest % of teams in right now.

Tied with the Big East.

[WarriorPride68]

Tied with the Big East.

Nah, Big 12 reigns supreme