RTC Top 25: Week Three
Posted by Walker Carey on December 2nd, 2013Feast Week usually marks the start of the craziness in the college basketball season and this past week was no different. While the week was kind to #1 Michigan State, #2 Arizona, #3 Kentucky, and #4 Syracuse at or near the top of the poll, #6 Kansas, #9 Oklahoma State, and #10 Duke, among others, experienced the agony of defeat. Arizona shot up to #2 following its victories over Drexel and Duke to take home the Preseason NIT title, while Syracuse remained undefeated out in Maui with wins over Minnesota, California, and #22 Baylor to claim the tournament crown there. Kansas suffered its first setback of the young season on Friday night as the young Jayhawks fell to fast-rising #16 Villanova in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Oklahoma State, which had throttled #21 Memphis by 21 in Stillwater back on November 19, fell to the same Tigers’ squad Sunday evening in the final of the Old Spice Classic. As they say, college basketball is where the unexpected becomes the ordinary. The quick n’ dirty analysis of this week’s poll is after the jump.
Quick n’ dirty analysis:
- Michigan State Remains At #1 For A Third Consecutive Week. The Spartans took care of business in their only game of the week by topping Mount Saint Mary’s on Friday. They did overcome a bit of adversity though, as star guard Gary Harris sat out of that contest dealing with an ankle injury. Tom Izzo’s squad will be tested this Wednesday, however, as a North Carolina squad that has already defeated Louisville will invade the Breslin Center for what should be a hotly-contested affair.