Rush The Court

Ok, the time for messing around is over.  Let’s get conference play started and see what those top teams are really made of, shall we?  Analysis after the jump…

QnD Analysis.

• KU Back On Top. It only took one week for the Jayhawks to reclaim their rightful spot atop our rankings. Following their thrashing of Temple on Saturday, Kansas vaulted past Texas (who subsequently struggled with Texas A&M-CC) to the #1 spot in unanimous fashion. In fact, the top six teams were all unanimous amongst our four voters in order- Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Purdue, Duke, Villanova.
• In n’ Out. Seems like every week four new teams enter our poll. The most notable is Wisconsin, who vaulted an incredible 11 spots from unranked to #15 following two dominating performances against Ohio State and Penn State. Their home win over Duke is also looking stronger and stronger. Also entering the poll at #18 is BYU with a stingy 14-1 record, the only loss coming on the road in a tough environment at Utah State. Mountain West play will certainly challenge the Cougars more than their softer non-conference slate. Gonzaga re-entered the ranks after their OT win vs. Illinois and Florida State is also in the club. Dropping out to make way for these four teams were Clemson, Florida, UAB and Ohio State.
• Variance.  The credibility of Connecticut came into question this week. A series of close wins against inferior opponents is scary, but two of their three losses are to Duke and Kentucky. The Huskies came in anywhere from #11 to #18. Tennessee had the large single variance amongst voters, going as high as #12 and as low as unranked. How the circumstances surrounding this week’s suspensions plays out will determine how long they stay in the 13-17 range. One #16 vote for Texas Tech vaulted them into the last spot in the poll despite the other three voters having the Red Raiders completely out.
• Ed. Note. RTC Big East correspondent Rob Dauster subbed in for NVR this week as a voter, who will return next Monday.
• Conference Call.  Big East (5), SEC (4), Big 12 (4), ACC (4), Big 10 (3), MWC (2), A-10 (1), Pac-10 (1), WCC (1).