By Stephen Barston
After one week of action, there have been some serious upsets. Here’s round two of the power rankings.
* *In parentheses are the record from the past week and the team’s previous ranking**
- Michigan State (2-0, #5): “The Magic Man” Feeley will accept nothing but a win for the Spartans, and his teammates have caught on. Two easy wins over Kentucky and Stanford, led by seamless chemistry between sophomores and freshmen, puts Michigan State atop the rankings for this week.
- North Carolina (2-0, #4): Philip Rech has been quite the consistent scorer so far into the season, and Ryan Murray has added points when his team needs them most. An easy win over Kentucky and a close win against Georgetown makes UNC one of the three remaining undefeated teams and pushes them up two spots in the rankings.
- Texas (2-0, #10): George Reed, MVP of Wednesday’s games as declared by Joe Marzano, has undoubtedly produced and spread the wealth for UT so far this year, with the Klingman brothers as valuable backcourt players. Matthew Hayes has cleaned the boards and Jack Garfield has stood tough in in the interior, despite taking numerous hits. Wins against opponents towards the bottom of these rankings, however, put the Longhorns as the last of the undefeated teams.
- UCONN (1-1, #2): A tough loss on Wednesday night marred the week for the Huskies, but they came back strong with a big win over Indiana, almost doubling their opponent’s score. If Conor Davey can avoid getting into foul trouble, UCONN should be able to win their upcoming games.
- Stanford (1-1, #9): With Aidan Coyle back, at least for this past Sunday’s game, the Cardinal may be able to make quite the run. A big win over Syracuse helped Stanford end the week on a high note after an 8-point loss to #1 Michigan State.
- Duke (1-1, #1): The upset of the week came on Sunday as Georgia Tech defeated the Blue Devils by 3 on Sunday. This game, however, was played without versatile Dylan Cunningham; I have faith that this team can rebound and return to the form that led them to a victory over Georgetown.
- Syracuse (1-1, #8): Daniel Traver and Timmy Lochtefeld led ‘Cuse to a convincing victory over UCONN, but the team couldn’t hold their own in a 6-point loss to Stanford on Sunday, ending the week on a sour note. In the upcoming week, look for them to have their way against Indiana and Georgia Tech and move up even further.
- Georgia Tech (1-1, #12): A huge upset against Duke moves the Yellow Jackets up four spots this week, but a loss against a lower-ranked Missouri team still concerns me. However, a relatively easy upcoming schedule means that Georgia Tech could move up even more and continue to shock the world.
- Missouri (1-1, #11): Mizzou and their sophomore veterans found a close win against Georgia Tech, but their most impressive game of the week came in a loss against Texas. After containing George Reed to an extent, the Tigers stuck with UT for the majority of the game, only losing by 4. If they can shore up their team defense, Mizzou can move up more.
- Kentucky (0-2, #3): The Wildcats may have fallen quite a bit since the original rankings, but their losses this past week came against the top two teams, UNC and Michigan State. As they continue to work on their chemistry, Kentucky and Peter “Wham Bam I Jam” Archey face Stanford and Indiana in the upcoming weeks and can work their way back towards the top.
- Georgetown (0-2, #6): The Hoyas put up quite a fight without Kevin Pendo against a strong Duke opponent, led by the Costantinos, and only fell to North Caroline by one point. If Pendo attends all of the future game, Georgetown can move up in the standings; they face a true test, however, against Michigan State on the 19th.
- Indiana (0-2, #7): A close loss to Texas was a disappointment for the Hoosiers, as they could not contain George Reed, but the real letdown came in a 16-point loss to UCONN. Once the players jell and work together well, Indiana might be able to move up to the middle of the pack, or even the top.
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