College Basketball 2013-14 Field of 68 (Feb 6, 2014)

1. Syracuse – Meeting every challenge put in their path, but can they really run the table through March?
2.  Arizona – Loss to Cal not as concerning as loss of Brandon Ashley
3. Wichita State – Still undefeated with game at Indiana State looming this week
4. Florida – Arguably playing better than any team not named Syracuse and now they get Chris Walker eligible

5. Villanova – The Wildcats have to be the least talked about team toward the top of the rankings
6. Michigan State – Another loss without Payne and Dawson, but now have work to do to get a #1 seed
7. Kansas – As the losses pile up, even the schedule they have taken on might be too much for a #1 seed
8. San Diego State – The RPI is still unkind, but as teams fall around them, this becomes a greater possibility

9. Creighton – Coaches will be praying that Doug McDermott ends up in a different region come Selection Sunday
10. Cincinnati – Big road win at Louisville proves Bearcats are for real.  I believe SOS is deceptively low.
11. Iowa State – Great road win at Oklahoma State has their resume right back on track 
12. Duke – Game at Syracuse was College Basketball at its best and is as good as a loss can be.

13. Michigan - Road wins @Minnesota, @Wisconsin and @Michigan State are unmatched, still can challenge for a higher seed
14. Texas – The victory over Kansas proves the Longhorns are for real
15. Virginia – A great road win at Pittsburgh has the Cavaliers ascending while teams around them continue to spiral
16. Wisconsin – A terrible week with two home losses continues the fall of the Badgers, a more dramatic fall to come if they don’t get on track

17. Kentucky – Missouri was best road win…I don’t love their profile, but the high RPI would dictate the committee at this point
18. Connecticut – Like Iowa, this seeding out-ranks their RPI considerably, but with a win over a #1 seed and only one bad loss, I believe it is warranted
19. Ohio State – Two big road wins in a row has the Buckeyes back where they were before
20. UCLA – Just when the Bruins can make a move, they lose at Oregon State.  Still 2nd best in a deep PAC-12.

21. Louisville – The loss at home to Cincinnati is a step backwards for a team lacking opportunities
22. St. Louis – Still lacking a lot of great wins, but only lost to Wichita State and Wisconsin
23. Oklahoma – A 2nd straight road loss, but they still lead the Cowboys in the Big 12 and have better RPI
24. Oklahoma State – Marcus Smart must turn this team around to justify his return

25. Iowa – I just don’t know what to do with Iowa.  The losses are good, but the wins are starting to lag.  Big drop.
26. Pittsburgh – All 4 losses are to top 15 teams on this list, but they have to beat somebody too 
27. Gonzaga – Resume fits well with St. Louis and Pitt, except the Zags lost to Portland
28. Massachusetts – Losing 3 of 4 has the Minutemen moving in the wrong direction

29. VCU – Have righted the ship in conference play and look to be St. Louis’ top challenger in A-10
30. North Carolina – Hitting a 7 game stretch that will determine their season
31. George Washington – Another A-10 team bunched in the middle…beat Creighton and VCU
32. New Mexico – Continue to plod along against a softer Mountain West 

33. Memphis – All Top 50 losses, but only 5 Top 150 wins make this an interesting profile
34. Colorado – 3-3 since loss of Dinwiddie, but all losses to teams in Field
35. Kansas State – A group of good wins, but 3 losses in 4 games precedes Texas and Kansas in the next week
36. Stanford – Victory over Cal vaults them past the Bears in the jumbled PAC-12

37. California – Big jump back into the Field, but who else has defeated Arizona (top seed wins carry weight)
38. Xavier – The Seton Hall loss was bad, Villanova was not, but Xavier now has the losses adding up
39. Minnesota – Teetering on the edge at 4-6 in Big 10 play
40. Florida State – Until last week, all losses were top 50, now the losses are adding up to too many

41. Providence – Recovered to beat DePaul, huge game at Xavier on Saturday 
42. LSU – Consecutive wins over Kentucky and Arkansas have the Tigers moving up…hit break in their schedule where 4-1 mark is needed before trip to Kentucky and Florida
43. Tennessee – Recovered well from losses at Kentucky and Florida, probably 3rd best in SEC
44. SMU – Just when I thought the Mustangs were dropping out, they go and beat Memphis
45. Oregon – Two games this week are at Arizona and Arizona State…cannot afford a 3-8 conference start

46. Arizona State – Beat Cal, lost to Stanford…remain as 7th PAC-12 team in field
47. Missouri – The Tigers have played a bad schedule and have bad losses to boot.
(other considered:  Baylor, Indiana, BYU, Georgetown, Richmond, St. Joseph’s, Clemson)
48. Southern Miss
49. Harvard
50. Toledo

51. Green Bay
52. North Dakota State
53. New Mexico State
54. Mercer

55. Belmont
56. UC-Santa Barbara
57. Delaware
58. Canisius

59. American
60. Stephen F. Austin
61. Georgia State
62. North Carolina Central

63. Weber State
64. Stony Brook
65. Robert Morris
66. Davidson
67. Southern U.
68. Coastal Carolina