RTC Top 25: Week Four Edition
Posted by Walker Carey on December 15th, 2015Another exciting week of college basketball is in the books and it was accompanied by two teams in particular standing out in earning impressive victories. #3 Oklahoma moved its overall record to 7-0 by earning victories over #11 Villanova and Oral Roberts. What made the former triumph so notably impressive was that the Sooners blew out the previously unbeaten Wildcats by a non-competitive 23-point margin. The Big 12 race this season figures to be hotly contested with #2 Kansas, #8 Iowa State, #15 Baylor, and #20 West Virginia all looking strong, but if the Sooners can replicate their performance in the victory over Villanova, Lon Kruger’s team could certainly be the team that emerges with the league crown. #5 Virginia has now won six straight games after its opening week setback at #25 George Washington. Last Tuesday’s dominant win over West Virginia once again showcased the beast that is Virginia basketball. The Cavaliers trailed by six at halftime before turning the heat on in the second half and out-scoring the Mountaineers by 22 points in the second stanza. This week’s slate is relatively light until Saturday, which is jam-packed with tremendous action. The Quick N’ Dirty is after the jump.
Quick N’ Dirty Thoughts.
- Michigan State stays at #1. The Spartans remain in the top spot in this week’s RTC25. Tom Izzo’s squad was victorious in both of its games last week, a 78-35 blowout over Maryland-Eastern Shore and a hard-fought 58-52 win over Florida. Michigan State is off until this Saturday when it will travel to Boston to face a Northeastern squad that Izzo says is a “major concern” for his group. Could this just be an instance of a coach talking up an opponent just to keep his team motivated? We will find out this weekend.
- UCLA continues on a winning track. After dropping three of its first six games, UCLA has ramped things up and now looks like a potential Pac-12 contender. A week after defeating then-#1 Kentucky, the Bruins traveled to Spokane and bested previously-#21 Gonzaga in a very hostile environment. That victory had to be particularly sweet for Steve Alford’s squad, as it was Gonzaga that ended UCLA’s season last March in the Sweet Sixteen. The Bruins have another chance to make a statement on Saturday when they will take on #12 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic at the Barclays Center.
- Undefeated South Carolina enters the RTC25. #23 South Carolina is not known for its basketball tradition. It has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and it has not even made a postseason appearance of any kind since 2009. At this rate, it appears one (if not both) of those droughts will end this season. Frank Martin’s Gamecocks are currently 8-0 and stand as the only remaining SEC team with an unbeaten record. While their strength of schedule has not been arduous, the Gamecocks are learning how to win and gaining confidence as conference play nears. It is probably premature to conclude that South Carolina can keep its sharp play going all season, but it is a team that needs to be paid attention to as it winning streak continues.
Game of the Week. #5 Virginia vs. #11 Villanova. Two top 15 teams facing off in non-conference action? As always, sign us up. Saturday’s showdown in Charlottesville figures to be must-see television as Virginia looks to continue its hot streak and Villanova seeks a signature win following its blowout loss to Oklahoma. The matchup to keep an eye on in this game will be between Virginia’s backcourt of London Perrantes and Malcolm Brogdon versus Villanova’s duo of Ryan Arcidiacono and Jalen Brunson.
Keep Tabs On. #23 South Carolina vs. Clemson; #7 Duke vs. Utah; #12 North Carolina vs. #23 UCLA; #10 Purdue vs. #16 Butler; #15 Baylor vs. Texas A&M; #13 Arizona vs. UNLV.
Conference Call: Big 12 (5), ACC (5), Big East (5), Big Ten (3), Pac-12 (2), SEC (2), AAC (2), Atlantic 10 (1).
