Stephen Curry is on a tear of epic proportions right now. He’s scored 44 twice already in is staking his claim as national player of the year. He has Davidson primed for another undefeated season in the Southern Conference and you can just about book that at-large bid. I truly believe he’s capable of leading the Wildcats to the Final Four.
Apparently, no one saw his brother coming though. Really? At 6’3 and averaging 22 points per game his senior year, none of the bigger schools thought it important to throw the full court press on Seth Curry. It’s already clear that the younger Curry is better than any guard currently playing for Charlotte, NC State, East Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, or Virginia Tech (Where his father, Dell played). He’s already averaging over 21 points a game and has shown the knack to hit clutch shots just as his brother. He was only offered by Liberty and Davidson and that’s ridiculous.
Stock Up: Ohio St. Not only did the Buckeyes stage a furious comeback on the road at Miami, but they also went into South Bend and beat a very good Notre Dame team. This team has been surprising thus far and may end up being the real challenge to Purdue for the Big Ten title rather than Michigan St.
Stock Down: USC. Three losses already can’t be good for such a young basketball team. The Trojans have struggled against quality competition thus far and need to right the ship in a hurry. The Pac-10 doesn’t appear to be as strong this season so USC has an opportunity to make some noise. We’ll see how the youngsters react.
Stock Up: Butler. The Bulldogs lost too much…right? They can’t possibly be on of the best mid-majors in the country can they? Don’t look now, but Butler is 6-0 and is coming off an impressive last second victory over preseason Horizon League favorite, Cleveland St. Butler has games coming up against Ohio St and Xavier so we’ll get a measuring stick of how good it really is. Right now it’s lookinl like another banner year in Indianapolis.
Stock Down: SEC. It’s bad. It’s real bad. Kentucky lost at home to VMI. Both Auburn and Alabama lost at home to Mercer. Georgia lost to Loyola-Chicago. Vanderbilt lost to Illinois-Chicago. Tennessee is going to win the conference without much of a challenge from anyone besides Florida.
Stock Up: Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers followed up their big win over Louisville with wins over Georgia and at Tulane. It appears that WKU may be on the fast track to a possible at-large bid.
Stock Down: SWAC. I understand the nature of the beast. They have to take games versus a lot of high-majors to get checks, but this is ridiculous. The 10 teams in the conference are a combined 3-58. That’s how you end up in the play-in game EVERY season.
SOUTH
1.North Carolina16.Lamar Greensboro, NC
8.California9.Northwestern
5.Davidson12.Illinois St Miami, FL
4.Georgetown13.Miami(OH)
6.Florida St11.Western Kentucky Minneapolis, MN
3.Notre Dame14.Navy
7.Michigan St St10.Nebraska Greensboro, NC
2.Tennessee15.Mercer
WEST
1.Gonzaga16.Wagner Portland, OR
8.Dayton9.Seton Hall
5.Villanova12.Washington St Portland, OR
4.Purdue13.Boise St
6.Clemson11.Minnesota Minneapolis, MN
3.Syracuse14.Jacksonville St
7.Marquette10.BYU Kansas City, MO
2.Oklahoma15.Long Beach St
MIDWEST
1.Pittsburgh16. ND St/Grambling St Dayton, OH
8.Miami(FL)9.Florida
5.Baylor12.Utah Boise, ID
4.Ohio St13.George Mason
6.Kansas11.Mississippi Kansas City, MO
3.Louisville14.Eastern Washington
7.Arizona St10.Illinois Philadelphia, PA
2.Duke15.Binghampton
EAST
1.Connecticut16.Cornell Philadelphia, PA
8.Wisconsin9.St. Mary’s
5.Wake Forest12.Butler Boise, ID
4.UCLA13.Niagra
6.Memphis11.San Diego St Miami, FL
3.Texas14.VMI
7.Michigan10.West Virginia Dayton, OH
2.Xavier15.Hampton
Bracketville USA 