Showing posts with label Not Top 10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Not Top 10. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2011

B.I.A.H Not Top Ten

Every week, a plethora of writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the past seven days worth of action. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams, save a few upsets here or there.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place.

Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances of the week. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk. We'll provide detail on the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now, there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us here.


After the jump, you will find our list of the ten most screwed-up teams in the country. It's going to get ugly.

1. Boston College (2-3)

The Eagles Are woefully bad. Sure they have nine freshman on the roster, and they didn't return any real production from last year's squad.. But their two wins have come against New Hampshire (by 3) and UC-Riverside (In overtime by 4). Their three losses have come to Holy Cross, UMass and Saint Louis, by a combine 69 points. Even the worst BCS-conference team should be able avoid getting smacked by Holy Cross by 22-points. According to KenPom, the Eagles are the worst BCS-conference team in the country. the Eagles look like a team that may not win a single ACC game this season. In fact, they look like a team that might lose to North Carolina by triple-digits.


2. UCLA (1-4)

Where, oh where to begin. Well, first, they have yet to log a win against a D-I opponent. They sport ugly, double-digit losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee. The team's best player, Reeves Nelson, was suspended for three days because of attitude problems. A day after his suspension was lifted, he missed the team flight to Hawaii. To follow this up, Ben Howland benched Nelson for just one half.



Then there is Josh Smith, the team's massive center. The 310lb-behemoth refuses to lose weight and work on his endurance, and has only logged 20+ minutes in two games. Plus the Bruins are the worst team in the country in defending the 3-pointer, with their opponents making 61% of their shots from behind the arc. If things weren't already bizarre-enough, Travis Wear injured his foot while on a snorkeling trip over the weekend. Yup, that's right, he injured his foot while snorkeling. This team is toast.


3. Utah (1-4)

I often struggle to understand why exactly the Pac-12 decided to bring in Utah. They stink at football and they are absolutely dreadful at basketball. The Utes have lost five straight since their first and only win of the season, against non-DI San Diego Christian who they only beat by 3-points. Sure, you could argue that all the teams they lost to (Boise State by 21, Montana State by 6, 28 to Harvard, UMass by 14, and UNC-Ashville by 22) are better than people expected. But still, all five of those losses came to mid and low major schools. This team probably won't win a single conference game, which says a lot since the Pac-12 is in such a state of disarray already.


4. Notre Dame (4-2)

Nobody expected Notre Dame to be great this season. Sure, Tim Abromaitis would be an All-Conference player, and they have some quality players, but nobody thought they would be world-beaters. But I don't think anybody thought they would go out and get run off the floor by Missouri. A loss to Missouri isn't bad, but a 29-point loss isn't exactly good either. Then they followed that up with a ugly four point loss to a not-so-good Georgia team.


But the biggest blow came during practice last week, when Abromaitis tore his ACL, and will miss the rest of the season. This team looks to be on it's last legs.


5. Cincinnati (3-2)

The Bearcats were predicted to be one of the best teams in the Big East. Their non-conference schedule is riddled with cupcakes and this was supposed to set them up to enter the Big East conference season with very few blemishes on their record. But that's before they lost in the upset of the year to Presbyterian, a school that has been in Divison-I for less than five years. The Bearcats blew a 21-point led en route to a humiliation loss to the Blue Hose. But then they followed that up with an overtime loss to Marshall, the only opponent that could have provided the program with a good non-conference win. (Ed. Note: Other than Xavier, obviously. Whoops.)


6. Hawaii (2-2)

Maybe this was my fault. I was pretty sure Hawaii had the talent, skill, and experience to become the best team in the WAC. But through the first four games, they have looked more like a middling mid-major than the conference powerhouse I expected them to be. Not many teams in the country allow their opponents to shoot more foul shots than the Warriors. Their opponents are currently shooting 79% against them. The 19-point loss to Gonzaga on a "neutral court" in Canada is one thing, but losing to Eastern Washington by 15 at home isn't.


7. South Carolina (2-4)

There is only one BCS-conference team with worse 3-point defense than South Carolina, and that team is ranked #2 on this very list. The bottom of the SEC is pretty bad, but I'm positive that LSU and Auburn are going to be better than the 'Cocks. How on earth Darrin Horne still has a job is beyond me, but he probably has to write quarterly checks to Devan Downey.


Two of SC's losses have been to Elon and Tennessee State. Woof. SC's wins have come against Mississippi Valley State and Western Carolina. Double-woof. The 'Cocks leading scorer averages just 11.8-ppg and is the only player on the team to average double-digits. Triple-woof.


8. Grambling State (0-5)

The SWAC is not a good place to be in mid-November and early-December. All ten teams are below .500 and Grambling State is yet to taste victory. Sure, the university is making money from these "guarantee games" but the Tigers have played at home just once, and they won't play another home game until 2012. The Tigers have lost all five games by a combined 178-points, or roughly 36-ppg. But on the plus side, they did lose three consecutive games by 30-points. That's pretty cool, right? But seriously, their leading scorer is averaging 7.8-ppg. That's brutal.


9. UAB (1-4)

The Blazers were picked to finish in the top half of the C-USA this season. But after five games, I see a team that looks like they won't win a single conference game. Sure, Cameron Moore
is averaging a double-double per contest, and Ovie Soko is just shy of averaging a double-double as well.


But, I mean, the Blazers are averaging just eight rebounds per game. Just eight. That's deplorable. Did it ever occur to Mike Davis that he might want to find a successor to all-conference point guard Aaron Johnson? Plus, the Blazers lost to UT-Martin, whose only win was against a non-DI school.


10. Towson (0-5)

The Tigers are losing by roughly 28-ppg. In fact, they've lost two games by exactly 46-points each. On top of that, the Tigers are averaging just seven assists a game. Only four players are averaging more than five points per game. Pat Skerry, the new Towson head coach has a lot of work ahead of him.







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Friday, January 28, 2011

B.I.A.H Not-Top-Ten Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

1. Syracuse Orange
Record: 18-3 (5-3)

Suffering back-to-back losses in the Big East is not all that bad, especially when both losses are to top-10 teams. But a team follows up those two losses with a 22-point drubbing AT HOME to a team like Seton hall, then they deserve to get slammed. What happened to that raucous Carrier Dome atmosphere that was present for the Villanova game? Fans started leaving the Seton Hall game with nine minutes to go in the second half.


This team was supposed to be a real threat to win it all this year. But I guess we shouldn't forget that this is also the team that went to Pittsburgh and promptly got down 19-0 before the first TV timeout. With games against Marquette and UConn on the horizon, the Orange need to get out of this funk quickly or else they could slip-n-slide right into the middle of the Big East pack.


2. Michigan State Spartans
Record; 12-8 (4-4)

What on Earth is going on in East Lansing? First, Chris Allen was removed from the program before the season started, then Korie Lucious got a DUI. After that, it was reported that two players raped a MSU student in her dorm room. On top of that, Tom Izzo was suspended one game for a minor recruiting violation. All of that took place before Big-Ten play started, and when it did, the wheels were already off the bus.


Tom Izzo benched Durrell Summers due to lack on enthusiasm. They've lost four of their last six, including losses to Penn State and Michigan. last week, Korie Lucious was suspended for the rest of the season. We are all aware that you can't doubt Tom Izzo's squad come March Madness time. But what if they don't even make it to the tournament?


3. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Record: 13-8 (3-3)

For the second time this season, the 'Zags have lost three games in-a-row. For what must be the first time in at least a decade, the 'Zags have lost three league games in a row. Last night they lost to St. Mary's on a buzzer-beater, but that followed up back-to-back losses at Santa Clara (75-81) and at San Francisco (91-96 OT). Elias Harris was supposed to have a breakout season worthy of a guaranteed lottery pick, but so far he's been hampered by injuries and is averaging just 12.5-ppg and 5.6-rpg. It looks like Gonzaga's NCAA tournament streak may be in jeopardy because they have almost no shot of getting an at-large bid, and well, at 3-3 in league play, it doesn't look like they will get the automatic bid either.


4. West Virginia Mountaineers
Record: 13-6 (4-3)

Ten days ago they were the hottest team in the country. Ten days later, they have nine scholarship athletes, and suspended their best scorer for the second time this season. They've lost to Marshall (down 47-23 at the half) and to Louisville. During their lone win in that time frame, their back-up forward Danny Jennings got up off the bench and walked out of the game, something I don't think I've ever seen or heard about before in my life. A couple days later Casey Mitchell was suspended indefinitely for breaking team rules.


Bob Huggins is constantly dealing with player personnel issues with this squad. Regardless of how good they might play during some games, this team has some serious problems.


5. Towson Tigers
Record: 4-16 (0-10)

For a team that's played ten conference games already, they have the worst record in the country. They've lost ten in-a-row, and that streak feature losses by 31 and 26. Their most recent loss, the 26-point blowout at George Mason came under much scrutiny. Towson University was unable to make their Wednesday night game at George Mason, who's campus is just two hours away. Poor planning of snow travel caused the game to be pushed back to Thursday afternoon at 4:00PM, and the university received a public reprimand from the conference for their lack of preparation. The team was dealt a 26-point loss to boot.


6. Central Florida Knights
Record: 14-5 (1-5)

UCF's 14-game winning-streak at the beginning of the season wasn't just a product of an easy non-con schedule. They beat a couple good teams in that stretch and were primed for a breakout year in the Conference-USA. That's why it's so hard for me to understand how this team has lost five games in-a-row. Yes, they've had to play the top teams in the league, but they led us to believe they were capable of winning those games. In their last game, a 15-point loss at Memphis, the Knights got down by as many as 25-points and never led in the ballgame. Their next four games are against UAB, at UTEP, at ECU, and against Memphis. It's very possible UCF is 1-9 in C-USA play by Valentines Day.


7. Arizona State Sun Devils
Record: 9-11 (1-7)

I don't think people realize Arizona State is as bad as they are. Well, maybe they aren't BAD per se, but they sure do lose a lot. They've lost four in-a-row and six of their last seven. None of their recent losses have been too catastrophic, but they can't score (ranked 287th in the country) and can't rebound (299th), and like I said, have lost seven games in the Pac-10, and that's pretty bad. In fact, I'm having trouble figuring out what their "best win" is. Herb Sendek's seat is getting hot, and I don't think a lot of people realize that yet.


8. Iowa Hawkeyes
Record: 8-12 (1-7)

Want to get an idea of how bad this team is? They lost to Wake Forest. BOOM. But seriously, this team hasn't won since before Christmas, and has lost their last five games by an average of 19.6-ppg. It's entirely possible that this team doesn't win another conference game this season. Oh wait, nevermind, they still have to play Michigan State twice.


9. North Texas Mean Green
Record: 16-5 (5-3)

Maybe it's my fault for being so high on the Mean Green bandwagon. I was sure this team could roll through the Sun Belt Conference with maybe only one or two losses. As of now they are 5-3, and their last two losses have come against teams with a combined total of ten wins. With the Denver Pioneers off to a quick start at 6-0, and a match-up with them tomorrow, the Mean Green can ill-afford to play at the level of mediocrity that they are now.


10. East Carolina Student Section

Listen, I'm all for getting under the skin of the opposing team. I have no problem with profanity-laced insults and borderline-hurtful signs and chants towards players. I was a soccer hooligan for four years in college and believe that it is the responsibility of the student section to get inside the opposing players heads and take them out of their game, even if that means getting personal. But regardless of how rowdy and insulting you get, you must respect your elders. Coaches and parents are the type of people you do not insult or disrespect. But apparently the ECU student section didn't get memo during their team's home game against Southern Mississippi.


The Golden Eagles head coach, Larry Eustachy battled alcoholism for a long portion of his early career and was eventually fired from Iowa State when photos were leaked of him partying it up with college students back in 2003. The Pirate fans were mocking Eustachy the entire game, which his team won 84-77. The coach hasn't had a drink in almost seven years and the students were still getting on him. Listen kids, would you say that to a professor? How about one of your friend's parents? Go after a player who got a DUI or someone who failed English Lit. but show some respect for the elders.



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Friday, January 21, 2011

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

1. Wake Forest
Record: 7-12 (0-4)
They are 0-4 in ACC play and are losing by an average of 26-points in those contests. In their last outing, a 35-point loss to Georgia Tech, the Demon Deacons managed to score only 39-points. They have also lost 9 out of their last 11 games. Their next contest is against Duke. Can you say "seal-clubbing"?


I really can't emphasize just how bad this team is. I'd bet my lunch money that the Deacs don't win a single ACC game this season. That's saying a lot, because after all, the ACC is pretty bad.


2. DePaul
Record: 6-12 (0-6)

I hope Oliver Purnell doesn't mind losing, because, well DePaul figures to do allot of that in the Big East conference. in fact, all they do in conference play is lose. They have yet to win a Big East game, and other than a 2-point scare they game West Virginia, they haven't been close to getting a W. Their last game against Marquette ended in a 35-point shellacking. The lone bright spot for the Blue Demons is freshman Cleveland Melvin. He is leading the team with 14-ppg, and is likely a lock for the Big East all-freshman team. Other than that, DePaul is DePaulful.


3. Texas Tech
Record: 8-11 (0-4)

Texas Tech is losing to Big-12 competition by an average of 21.5-ppg. In fact, in back-to-back games, against Texas and Kansas State, they lost by a combined 65-points, which is more than the Red Raiders scored in either of those contests. Plus, their most recent loss came to Oklahoma, the other Big-12 team battling for BCS-Conference suckitude.


It's kind of a shame they are this bad, because Mike Singletary and John Roberson are tremendous players, but it just so happens the rest of their team blows.


4. UNLV
Record: 14-5 (2-3)

Hey, remember that time UNLV was 9-0 and surging up the rankings on their way to legitimacy? Yeah, seems like eons ago, doesn't it? Since the beginning of the new calender year, The Runnin' Rebels are 2-3, lost to Colorado State at home by 15, and don't have back-to-back wins since before Christmas. UNLV was once considered a contender to win the MWC, but with the way BYU and SDSU are playing right now, UNLV looks more like pretenders.


5. Kansas State
Record: 13-6 (1-3)

I think it's safe to say that K-State is the biggest disappointment of the season thus far. They've got issues everywhere, on and off the court. Jacob Pullen went from budding superstar at the beginning of the season to full-fledged stubborn prima donna. The Wildcats haven't won back-to-back games since the beginning on January, when they beat North Florida and Savannah State. In fact, K-State has losses to UNLV (another Not-Top-10-Team), Florida (who beat Auburn by FIVE), Oklahoma State by 14, Colorado by 8 and Missouri by 16. Frank Martin must be losing his mind.


6. Central Florida
Record: 14-3 (1-3)


No team in the country has had a bigger reality check than the Knights of UCF. They completed their non-con schedule without a blemish, and reached as high as No. 21 in the national rankings. But since C-USA play started, they are just 1-3 and have dropped their last three games. In the 14 games UCF has won, Marcus Jordan is averaging 17-ppg, and in the three games they have lost, he is only averaging 13-ppg. Conference-USA is better than people expected, so UCF cannot afford to slip up any more than they already have.


7. Bradley
Record: 6-13 (0-8)

The Braves have only two wins since Thanksgiving. They are yet to defeat a conference opponent are ranked 270th or higher in the four major statistical categories. They will get a chance to finally get a conference win, when they host Illinois State, the MVC's other winless team, on January 26th. Remember, when your thinking about how bad your day is, there is somebody out there covering this basketball team for a living



8. Drexel
Record: 11-6 (3-4)

Ok, listen, Drexel isn't a bad team. They aren't particularly great, but they certainly aren't bad. Bruiser Flint is a good coach and they have some quality wins (Rider, at Louisville, Old Dominion). But it seems like every season, the Dragons get tossed-n-turned in CAA play. The Dragons are 2-3 since the start of 2011, and, although two of the losses were to the top two teams in the league (Hofstra, VCU), they also have a 24-point loss to evenly-matched George Mason and a unforgivable 14-point loss at William & Mary. Hopefully the Dragons can get back to their winning ways with upcoming games against Northeastern and Georgia State .


9. Quinnipiac
Record: 12-6 (4-3)

The Bobcats make the list because of one thing: An injured Justin Rutty. The forward is a two-time NEC first-teamer and was last season's conference PoY. Since Rutty went out with an injured elbow on January 10th, the Bobcats have gone 1-3 and all of the losses have come against sub-.500 teams. The Bobcats are ranked 2nd in the country in rebounding, but that was due in large part to Rutty's 9.6-rpg. Just like Drexel, I'm not saying Quinnipiac is bad. But I am certainly saying that they are struggling, bad.


10. Christian Standhardinger

I imagine you've heard about this guy by now. The 6'8 German import was going to transfer from Nebraska because of a lack of playing time, and was planning on transferring to LaSalle. The only problem is that Christian tried to "shack-up" with a coed in a local park and was busted for public indecency. LaSalle found out and now he won't be transferring. OK, listen: You're not in Germany anymore. I know Germany (and all of Europe for that matter) is a pretty liberal place when it comes to sex, but unfortunately, you're in Nebraska, which is practically the polar-opposite of Germany. Listen, I went to Central Europe for a month back in school. But I made sure I knew my surroundings. I did my best to not look, act, or do anything remotely American.


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Friday, January 14, 2011

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

1. Georgetown Hoyas
Record: 12-5 (1-4)

They've lost four out of five, and the one win was an underwhelming 11-point win at home against DePaul. The Hoyas aren't rebounding, aren't playing aggressive defense, and aren't making good decisions. They are forcing turnovers, missing foul shots, not executing on offense and seem to lack desire and leadership. They still have 13 more Big East games left, so they have time to correct the problems, or they could continue to implode.


Our very-own Rob Dauster made an excellent point about the leadership on this team. When the current seniors were freshman, they won the Big East before getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament. During their sophomore seasons, they started 10-1 before staging an epic implosion which included Chris Wright punching Jessie Sapp in the face in a locker room confrontation after a loss at Duke. Last season, their junior year, they rallied to make the Big East tournament finals before losing to the Ohio Bearcats in the first round. How are the seniors supposed to lead if they have never been exposed to leadership before?


2. Memphis Tigers
Record: 12-4 (1-1)

Losers of three out of their last six, the Tigers seem to be falling apart at the seams. They suffered their first "bad loss" to SMU on Wednesday, but they haven't had a "good win" since early December. Young Josh Pastner has his hands full trying to coach up a young team and keep his kids in line. He has already dismissed Jelan Kendrick, had Angel Garcia leave to pursue a pro career, and just recently suspended Welsey Witherspoon indefinitely.


3. Kansas State Wildcats
Record: 12-5 (0-2)

The preseason favorites to win the Big-12 are currently 0-2 in conference play. Has Frank Martin lost his team? It certainly looks that way.


Jacob Pullen, the lovable scamp who took the country by storm last season with his inspired play and manly beard, has turned into a stubborn zealot. He's committed NCAA violations, called out fake K-State fans, and even said that if they make the N.I.T., he won't be playing. He may be having the most disappointing season of anybody in the country.


4. St. Louis
Record: 5-11 (0-3)

You really hate to see a team like St. Louis struggle this much, especially given the circumstances. Their head coach is out for three games with a leg infection due to a cut he sustained during a sideline collision last week. On top of that, the Billikens are on a six-game losing streak and haven't seen a W since before Christmas. From a statistics standpoint, they are just as bad. they rank 337th in rebounding and 317th in total points, plus their leading scorer averages less than 10-ppg.


5. The SEC West

I can't figure out the SEC at all. The East is anybodies to win, and nobody should be allowed to win the West. Think about it, Alabama and LSU are both tied for the lead in the West with 2-0 records. The same Alabama team that has lost to Providence, Seton Hall, Iowa and St. Peter's. LSU might even be worse. They have losses to Nicholls State, Coastal Carolina, Rice, Virginia, Memphis, and a 20-point blunder against North Texas. Yet somehow both these teams are 2-0. Arkansas and Mississippi State sit at 1-1, and we all are aware of MSU's problems. Ole Miss is 0-2, along with Auburn, arguably one of the worst BCS-conference teams in the country. It really is the Wild wild SEC West.


6. Indiana
Record: 9-8 (0-4)

They started off on a six-game winning streak. Then came a 3-2 stretch of play. But that was followed up by a current seven-game losing streak, including losses to a underwhelming Northern Iowa squad and Penn State. Indiana's last win against a remotely-credible opponent was way back in November, and that was against 8-8 Evansville. There's no doubt that Tom Crean can recruit, but he's certainly having some trouble coaching up his guys. Oh yeah, plus there was this little doozy:




7. Oregon
Record: 8-9 (1-4)

I am writing off their win against USC last night because it was the first game in their new arena, so the atmosphere was in their favor. but I mean, did you look at their new arena? It's ugly. It's hideous. it's down-right awful. It's so bad that even Oregon's uniforms for the National Championship were easier on the eyes than the new Matt Court.


The six-point win over USC was their first victory in seven games, and their first win since before Christmas. Oregon is bad, and so are their new digs. I mean, do you see a midcourt line? Neither do I.


8. Providence
Record: 11-7 (0-5)

There was so much promise for this Friars team heading into Big East play. They were 11-2, determined who their key players and role players were, and even looked not-that-bad in their two suspect losses. They even played well in their first conference game against Syracuse (a 81-74 road loss). But since then, they've lost four more, including a 13-nlowout at the hands of Rutgers and a 30-point drubbing by West Virginia. The Friars know how to score the basketball, but their defense is down-right awful. They are giving up an average of roughly 71-ppg.


9. Seton Hall
Record: 8-9 (2-3)

They've lost five of their last seven, and despite getting Jeremy Hazell back and beating DePaul by 11, Seton Hall is not the team some predicted to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Get this, against Syracuse the Pirates shot 11% from behind the arc. Jordan Theodore and Fuquan Edwin combined for 1-15 from long distance. That's an ugly stat.


10. Centenary
Record: 0-17 (0-5)

Poor Centenary. With Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State and UNC-Greensboro all tallying their first W's of the season this week, the Gentlemen remain the only winless team in D-I hoops. The team is transitioning back to D-III so any scholarship players they had probably transferred. It is entirely possible that Centenary doesn't win a single game this season, becoming the first team to do so since New Jersey Tech did it in 2008.


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Friday, January 7, 2011

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

1. Mississippi State
Record: 8-6
Evidence: On the brink of anarchy


This is a no-brainer. If they had done things correctly, MSU probably could have gotten Sidney vs. Bailey on the televised portion of UFC 125:Resolution. Seriously, things could not be worse in Starkville if they tried. Rick Stansbury has decided to keep the biggest headcase in college basketball yet remove a senior co-captain from the program. The Fightin' Bulldogs have lost four of their last five, and while the SEC West is abysmal, things don't look good at all.


2. Butler
Record: 10-5
Evidence: 24-point loss to UW-Milwaukee

The loss to UW-Milwaukee was their first in five games, but there is no reason the back-to-back Horizon League champs should be losing to a middle-of-the-pack team by 24. What's worse is the marquee match-up this weekend between first-place Cleveland State and the Bulldogs has lost some of it's luster. This game was going to be a possible preview of the conference championship, but now it looks like Cleveland State is in a league of it's own, despite not even playing Butler yet. If Butler wants to make it back to the NCAA tournament, they will probably have to do it by getting an at-large bid, and I don't see that happening.


3. UMass
Record: 8-5
Evidence: Patheticism (if that's a word)

Where to start, where to start? Well, first, it's entirely possible that UMass is the worst team in the A-10. Look past their eight wins and look directly at their five losses. A five-point loss to Boston College (who has lost to Harvard and Yale), a 12-point loss to Maine, a 25-point loss to Seton Hall, a six-point loss to UCF (their only "good" loss), and get this, a 29-POINT LOSS TO CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE. I feel sick just writing that. I don't care if they have eight wins. UMass is ranked 266th in FG% and doesn't have a single good win.


4. Memphis
Record: 11-3
Evidence: "They are who we thought they were"

Well, "they are who I thought they were". I never believed Memphis was a top-25 team. All you had to do was look at their results after five games. They would blow out the "little sisters of the poor" but would struggle to put away BCS-conference bottom-feeders like Miami and LSU. Once they faced real competition (see: Georgetown, Kansas, Tennessee) it became apparent that this team was nothing more then a couple of freak athletes.


Hell, they even struggled to put away middling mid-majors like Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tennessee State. In the past week, Josh Pastner recieved his first technical foul of the season and the Tigers got into a slight tussle with Tennessee State. Throw in the Jelan kendrick dismissal and Angel Garcia's departure and things look real ugly for the Tigers, especially considering how good C-USA is looking this year.


5.Georgetown
Record: 12-3
Evidence: Struggling "Run-DMV", Decline of "Big-man U."

It pains me to do this, it really does, but there is no denying that the Hoyas are struggling as of late. It seems like not too long ago people were pegging them as favorites to win the Big East. But even after watching their first game of the season against ODU, it was evident that this team will live by the three and die by the three, and in more than just one way.


If the Hoyas have the hot-hand, they are tough to beat, but when teams play suffocating defense and don't allow the Hoyas to get open looks (see Temple, Notre Dame, St. John's) the Hoyas are very beatable. The "Run-DMV" trio of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark has been mediocre at best in the past couple of games. They need all three of them to have big games in order to stay competitive in the Big East. Plus the Hoyas frontcourt is pretty bad. Julian Vaughn can't stay out of foul trouble, and while Henry Simms has improved, he is still nowhere near being a Big-East caliber big-man. If they don't get things going soon, we could see them crash-and-burn just like they did two years ago.


6. West Coast Point Guards
Evidence: Drug arrests, injuries and transfers

It has been a tough week for point guards out west. First we had Washington State's Reggie Moore getting arrested for a marijuana possesion charge he got in December. Then California freshman guard Gary Franklin decided he wanted to transfer after seeing his minutes diminish, and finally, Washington's Abdul Gaddy, the conference's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio tore his ACl and will be out for the season. If I was a guard out west, I'd stay home for the rest of the week.


7. Georgia Tech
Record: 7-6
Evidence: Another bad ACC team

The bottom-half of the ACC might as well be called the SEC West. Georgia Tech is making their case for being one of the worst BCS-conference teams in the country. It's hard to be worse than Wake Forest, but the Yellow Jackets are certainly making a case for themselves. We all know about their early-season loss to Kennesaw State, but Tech also has losses to a not-so-good Siena team as well as Charlotte. In the Charlotte game, they blew a 16-point first-half lead and eventually lost in overtime to a much inferior squad. Methinks Paul Hewitt is on his last legs down in Hot-lanta.


8. Florida State
Record: 11-4
Evidence: Losses to Butler and Auburn

As we mentioned earlier, Butler is not in a good place right now. Yet Florida State still found a way to lose to them. Yes, FSU did follow it up with a win against Baylor, but you have to be blind to not see that Baylor was overrated. But the big blow to the Seminoles came earlier this week when they lost to Auburn, who is arguably the worst team in any BCS-conference. Did I mention that the Seminoles have virtually no offense whatsoever? The ACC might be bad, but if you can't score points, winning games will be tough, even if your conference is crappy.


9. Mt. St. Marys
Record: 4-12
Evidence: Ineptitude, 9-game losing streak, scored 34-points against Virginia Tech

I had a chance to watch a practice at The Mount earlier in the fall, and it honestly looked like an intramural squad. The Mountaineers went nine games without finding a W, and during the stretch had games in which they scored 53, 42, 47, and 34 points. That's terrible regardless of the quality of your team.


10. Toledo
Record: 3-11
Evidence: One quality win and a bunch of ugly, smelly losses

The Rockets didn't get a win til damn-near Christmas, and they still needed an extra session to defeat Valparasio. Their other wins are against Florida Gulf Coast and some school called Indiana Northwest. But what's worse is that they have scored under 50-points five times this season, including a 41-point output against a sub-par Alabama squad. In that game, Toledo went scoreless for seven minutes to start the second half and wound up losing by more than their total output, 83-41. Continue reading...

Thursday, December 23, 2010

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has the virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


Last Week's Not-Top-10 Rankings

Once again it's Wake Forest who sits atop the mountain the pile of horse manure. There have been a lot of things in college hoops for us to shake our heads at recently, but none as head-scratchingly bad as Wake Forest. Continue reading for the the third edition of B.I.A.H's Not-Top-10 Rankings.

1a.Wake Forest (1)
Record: 6-6
Evidence: Trust me, they suck

I'll try to keep it short because I don't want to waste my precious time discussing terrible basketball, and after all Wake Forest is terrible. Last week the Demon Deacons were one possession away from losing to UNC-Greensboro, a team that still hasn't won a single game. Then they go and lose to Presbyterian. Five years ago Presbyterian was competing at the D-III level. Seriously, it is inexcusable for a high-major team to lose to the Blue Hose. Congratulations Wake Forest, you are hands-down the most pathetic team in D-I college hoops. Where ever Randolph Childress is right now, he's crying. A lot.


1b. Auburn (3)
Record: 4-7
Evidence: 5 losses to mid-majors

Picking the suckier team between Auburn and Wake Forest is like trying to chose between Milli or Vanilli, because they both suck. Auburn lost back-to-back games to Rutgers and South Florida, followed up by the kiss of death, a loss to Presbyterian. At this point I think Auburn and Wake Forest need to only play each other this season so other teams don't have to come in contact with such pathetic basketball.


3. Renardo Sidney (NR)
Career Stats: 1gp, 25min, 12pt, 3rbds
Evidence: Seriously?

I don't even know what to say about Renardo Sidney at this point. He was suspended for for the entirety of last season including nine games this season for accepting impermissible benefits and later lying to NCAA investigators about the benefits. We were all anxiously awaiting to see what this big man could do, and this was his oppurtunity to give the NCAA the proverbial "F-You". But one game into his collegiate career, he throws a temper-tantrum at practice and get's suspended...Again. He's fat, he's out of shape, he's a program liabillity and he's a headcase. He's a perfect fit for the NBA.


4. Tennessee (NR)
Record: 7-3
Evidence: 3 straight losses

You all know why Tennessee makes the Not-Top-10 this week, and surprisingly enough, it has nothing to do with barbecue's at the Pearl residence. The Vols have lost three in a row, all against lesser competition. Listen, there is no shame in losing three in a row, it happens. But Tennessee had just finished their toughest stretch of non-conference play, and it is evident by the results that the Vols decided to put it in low-gear and coast until conference play starts. That's a big mistake, especially for a team that has overachieved as much as they had. But Bruce Pearl is a great motivator, and I imagine they will turn it around. Hopefully soon.


5. Kansas State/Curtis Kelly/Jacob Pullen (NR)
Record: 9-3
Evidence: Underachievement, lack of leadership, 5-finger discounts

K-State reserved their tickets for the hype-train express months ago, but never seemed to make it to the platform. They looked unipressive against Va. Tech, got slaughtered by Duke, and have back-to-back losses to suspect top-25 teams (Florida and UNLV). There has been a handful of issues affecting the wildcats thus far. Jacob Pullen isn't doing what we expected him to do. Nobobody is stepping up and answering the call. Wally Judge took a personal leave of absence, Curtis Kelly was benched earlier in the season due to lack of dedication, and Pullen handled himself poorly on the twitter machine. That's alot of distractions for one team, especially one with such high expectations. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the most-recent incident: Pullen and Kelly recieving some free swag from a local shopping mall. That's like a basic no-no for college athletes. As much as you want free clothing, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT. These two guys are seniors. How many compliance meetings do you think they went to where this type of thing was discussed? Frank Martin's blood-pressure must be through the roof right now.


6. Michigan State (NR)
Record: 8-4
Evidence: Lack of quality wins, desire and essentially everything we expected from them

Is this the same team we all predicted to be the second-best team in the country? Listen, I'm not writing them off yet, because that would be foolish considering Izzo's late-season track record. But still, MSU hasn't had an impressive win thus far (maybe the 5-point win over Washington in Maui), and their losses have all been ugly. It's true they have only lost to ranked opponents, but they have not looked competative in any of them. Their most recent game against Texas is evidence enough. Plus when you add in the recruiting violation that Tom Izzo committed, as minor as it may have been, things aren't looking to good for the Spartans as they head into Big Ten play.


7. Oregon State (NR)
Record: 4-6
Evidence: 3 sets of back-to-back losses , overall suck-itude in general

Some people may argue this is too low for the Beavers. They have no wins that are close to being "good" and all their losses are terrible. Their last back-to-back loss-set was to Montana and George Washington. Listen, you can be a high-major bottom-feeder, and get away with it. But you can't lose to teams like George Washington or Montana (or Utah Valley, or Texas Southern, or Seattle). Oregon State should join Auburn and Wake Forest, and just play each other all season. Good teams shouldn't have to subject themselves to such bad competition.

8. Florida (NR)
Record: 9-3
Evidence: No leadership, frustrated coach, ugly loss to Jacksonville

On numerous occasions this year, Billy Donovan has noted that his team fails to exhibit leadership and desire to be the best. He called out his team to raise the level of their play atleast twice. And for a moment or two, it looked like they may have responded. After losing to Central Florida, they won three in a row, including a big win over Kansas State. But a 11-point loss to Jacksonville AT HOME derailed any thoughts that Donovan's team had changed. Just 7 days ago, we were all thinking that the SEC East could be it's own super-conference. But a Tennesee implosion and a lackluster week for Florida may have changed our opinions.

9. Marist (NR)
Record: 2-10
Evidence: 18-point loss to Holy Cross

Holy Cross had not won a single game all season yet the Red Foxes allowed them to come in to their own arena and pimp-smack them by 18 points. Marist is 2-3 at home but their three losses have all be by more than 15-points. To make matters worse, they also have a loss to Wake Forest, and we all know how much Wake Forest sucks.


10. Virginia (NR)
Record: 8-4
Evidence: False Identifacation

There were literally no expectations for the Cavaliers this season before they went on the road and defeated a smoking-hot Minnesota team and a ranked Virginia Tech team. They won four in a row before they faced Norfolk State, a 1-8 MEAC team. Virginia won, but it was ugly. They trailed most of the game and escaped with a one-point victory on their home court. They followed that up with a unacceptable 59-53 home loss to Seattle. What a way to start the holiday season - barely beating a MEAC school and losing to a D-I independent, both at home. Yuck.


Continue reading...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has the virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


Last Week's Not-Top-10 Rankings


The Not-Top-10 List
The number in parentheses is the team's Not-Top-10 rank from the previous week

1. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6)
Record: 5-4
KenPom Rank: 155


Listen, it's understandable for a team with a new coach, young players and some off-the-court issues to struggle early in the season. But it's not understandable when said-team is a traditional power in the ACC and has lost all four games to mid-major teams. The Deacons most recent loss was by 12 points to UNC-Wilmington. Wake has yet to have an impressive win. In fact, they only beat winless Holy Cross by 11. If it were up to me, I'd demote Wake Forest to the Big South Conference.


2. Chicago State Cougars (3)
Record: 2-7
KenPom Rank: 343


Last week I detailed just how bad the Cougars defense was, so this week, I'll take a shot at their offense. Against Stephen F. Austin over the weekend, the Cougars scored 38 points. At the half it was 41-14. The final was 94-38, which is not too far off from the elusive triple-dip. That's pretty bad. SFA is a decent defensive team, mid-majorly speaking of course, but it's not acceptable to get beaten by almost double your entire output. Now to the defense. You know it must be bad when they've given up more than 90 points seven times.


3. Auburn Tigers (1)
Record: 3-5
KenPom Rank: 210


The Tiger's drop two spots from last week's rankings. But it's not because they played any better this week. It just happened that two teams played even worse than them. Auburn had one game this past week, and it was against Rutgers, the perennial Big East bottom-feeder. We predicted Auburn to lose by 20, and they proved us wrong, only losing by nine. But they had to fight back in garbage time to make the game close. in fact, Auburn didn't score for roughly seven minutes in the second half. In fact, the Tigers had four scoreless droughts during the game totaling nearly 17 minutes of basketball without scoring a single point. Maybe Tony Barbee should see if Cam Newton is available after the BCS Championship game.


4. DePaul Blue Demons (NR)
Record: 3-6
KenPom Rank: 209


You know it was just a matter of time before DePaul would state their case for being the worst BCS-conference team in the country. Look at this twitpic and try to tell me it's not the funniest thing you've seen in a while. Listen, I know the Blue Demons last loss was a two-point overtime defeat against 5-and-3 Ball State, but lets dig a littler bit deeper. To do so, we must use the age-old tradition of transitive math, a.k.a NCAAlgebra. DePaul lost to Ball State. Ball State lost to D-II Alaska-Anchorage by 18. DePaul also lost to Indiana State by 22, who lost to Wyoming by 30 who lost to North Florida by 16. I'm not sure what all this means except that DePaul is DePaulful.


5. Colgate Red Raiders (NR)
Record: 0-8
KenPom Rank: 332


I could have put Colgate in last week's Not-Top-10 but ultimately decided to omit them. Well, this week I have no choice. Why? Well, it's not even because they haven't won a game, and it's not because they haven't scored over 66 points in a game this season (well, I guess it kinda has to do with that). No, the main reason Colgate gets listed is because they scored a mere EIGHT points in the first have of their 100-43 loss at Syracuse. Yea, EIGHT points. I don't care how bad you are, or how good your opponent is, eight points in twenty minutes is pathetic. This isn't girls high school basketball.


6. St. John's Red Storm (NR)
Record: 5-3
KenPom Rank: 58


Rick Pitino must kinda feel like an idiot right now. He gave the Red Storm a first place vote at Big East media day. Well, although the Johnnies are 5-3, they've lost their last two games to St. Bonaventure's and Fordham. I cannot remember the last year St. Bonaventure's was even borderline relevant. Now I understand that the Bonnies won on a buzzer-beater, but still, St. John's never should have put themselves in that position. Against Fordham, they blew a 21-point lead, and shot 4-20 from behind the arc. It's a shame the Johnnies can't play a Big East schedule that consists of just Rutgers, Seton Hall, South Florida and DePaul, because they might actually be competitive in that. Wait no never mind, St. John's would probably struggle in the A-10.


7. Hartford Hawks (NR)
Record: 2-8
KenPom Rank: 277


Wondering why a team who lost in double-OT made the list? Well, their opponents, Monmouth, didn't score their first field goal until the eight minute mark of the first half. That's the longest scoreless drought of any D-I team in the country, including Colgate, who, as I mentioned, scored just eight points in the first half of their game against Syracuse. On top of that, Hartford shot a dismal 33% (6-18) from the charity stripe, just 34% overall, and six of the ten hawks who got playing time didn't score a point. In fact, Clayton Brothers and Anthony Minor combined for 72 minutes of playing time, and together they score just one more point than I did, and I was no where near Monmouth, NJ this weekend. Want more? I got more. Hartford blew a 20 points lead to Sacred Heart in the last 8:17 of a game last week.


8. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (NR)
Record: 1-7
KenPom Rank: 272


This one is easy. You don't lose to a NAIA team and NOT make the Not-Top-10 rankings, and that's just what Louisiana-Lafayette did. They lost to Texas College 77-74 over the weekend. The Cajuns have now lost six in a row since they got their first and only win of the season, a 91-66 win over Louisiana College, another NAIA school. For a team that hasn't won a true D-I game, they aren't THAT bad. OK, maybe they are, but until Cleveland State loses a game or two, the five-point loss they had against the Vikings won't look THAT bad. At least not to Louisiana-Lafayette.


9. Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos (NR)
Record: 5-4
KenPom Rank: 296


What has happened to the once-undefeated Kangaroos of UMKC? They have lost four out of their last five, including a 37-point loss to Oakland and a 21-point loss to 3-and-5 Idaho State. But there is more bad news for the 'Roos: they still have to play Kansas and Kansas State.


10. Texas Tech Red Raiders (NR)
Record: 5-5
KenPom Rank: 99


What is it about teams with red in their names that make them suck so much? Pat Knight is coaching for his job this year, and so far it does not look too good. They've lost to North Texas in OT by nine. North Texas is a good mid-major team, but losing by nine in an overtime session means you decided to pack it in at the end of regulation. They've also lost to St. Mary's by 20, Washington by 29, and most recently to TCU. Texas Tech losing to TCU in football is acceptable, but not in basketball. Not when the son of Bobby Knight coaches your team.

Continue reading...

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings

Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has the virtually same opinion of all the teams.

If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.


The Not-Top-10 List

1. Auburn Tigers
Record: 3-4
KenPom Rank: 203

Don't let their three wins fool you, this team is atrocious. Of their three wins, one was against a non-D-I school (Georgia Southwestern), and one was against winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff, in which they needed a late rally to erase a seven-point deficit with under four minutes remaining. They have four losses, and all of them are to suspect mid-majors. They've lost to Samford by 11, Jacksonville by 14, and Campbell by 6. Did I mention that these were all HOME games? Their next game is against Rutgers in what will be their first true test of the season. If all goes according to plan, Rutgers will win by 20, or more. Plus the Tigers are ranked 203rd by Ken Pomeroy, making them the lowest ranked BCS-conference team in the country.


2. Southern Jaguars
Record: 1-7
KenPom Rank: 347

There are 347 division-I college basketball teams, and according to Ken Pomeroy, Southern is ranked as the 347th best team. In other words, Southern is statistically the worst team in the country. The Jaguars have scored more than 60 points just once, in a 117-72 drubbing at the hands of Gonzaga. They've lost by 52, 45, 41, 39, 32, 23, and 17. Hell, their closest loss was to a D-II Tougaloo, and they still lost by 13. As a SWAC bottom-feeder, they do play their fair share of "guarantee games",but that still doesn't excuse a 13-point loss to a D-II school. Oh, and their one win? A two point overtime win over Auburn-Montgomery, another D-II school.


3. Chicago State Cougars
Record: 2-7
KenPom Rank: 334

In their first five games, the cougars gave up a combined total of 521 points. That's an average of 104ppg. Now, four of those games were on the road in "guarantee games" but it's still pretty unacceptable to give up 100+ points in four straight games. Hell, that's probably hard to do if they tried to. Since the team's 69-point loss to St. Mary's 121-52, the cougars have shaved 30points of their points-allowed-average. I know that Chicago State isn't a D-I powerhouse, but still, 521 points in five games is pretty bad.


4. Binghamton Bearcats
Record: 1-5
KenPom Rank: 329

I don't care if they have one win. That one win came against winless Colgate. But now you are probably wondering why winless Colgate isn't part of this week's top-10 if Binghamton is. Well, because even at 0-7 Colgate has scored 60 points at least two times. The Bearcats cannot say that. In fact, they've only scored more than 50-points twice. Like I said earlier, there are 347 D-I programs in college hoops, and Binghamton ranks 347th in points-per-game, 344nd in rebounds-per-game, 342nd in assists-per-game and 345th in field-goal-percentage. I'm not sure could find a worse team offensively if you tried. What's even worse than that, is that they have yet to play a BCS-conference team. So those numbers they are putting up are against kinda-evenly-matched teams. I guess we can cut them just a tiny bit of slack considering all the drama and controversy surrounding the program the last two seasons.


5. Oregon State Beavers
Record: 3-4
KenPom Rank: 189

I'm going to do my best to make it through this entry without dropping any Obama-bailout quips, but I can't promise anything. Let me be frank: Oregon State sucks, even for a Pac-10 school. Losses to Texas Southern, Seattle, and Utah Valley shouldn't be tolerated, even for a team that went winless in conference play a couple seasons ago. They've only played one BCS-conference team, and lost that game bad, getting smacked by Colorado 83-57. I was pretty sure that with all the turnover the Oregon Ducks had this season, they would be the worst team in the Pac-10, but the Beavers seem to be running away with that title.


6. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Record: 5-3
KenPom Rank: 132

The Demon Deacons have seemed to right the ship just a bit, but by that time, the ship had already hit the iceberg and was on it's way to the bottom of the sea-floor. They are 5-3 but have three ugly losses on their resume. They opened the season with a 10-point loss to Stetson at home, then followed that up by getting drubbed by VCU 90-69, and to top it off, a 9-point loss to Winthrop at home. Just like Auburn, this team has ugly losses to mid-majors on their own court. Like I said, Wake has kinda pulled it together, rallying off three straight wins. But those wins have come against Marist (2-6), Iowa (4-4) and Holy Cross (0-6).


7. Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 3-5
KenPom Rank: 124

The Sooners lost to Chaminade. Enough said. But seriously, Oklahoma sucks. They make a good case for being the worst BCS-conference school in the country. A lot of it stems from their depleted roster. We all know about the guys who left (Blake Griffin, Tiny Gallon, Willie Warren, Tommy Mason-Griffin), but even teams with thin rosters have been able to perform. Now, with the exception of Chaminade, the Sooners have beaten the teams they are supposed to beat (Coppin State, North Carolina Central, Texas Southern) and lost to the teams they are supposed to lose to (Kentucky, Arkansas, and Arizona) Even their 18-point loss to Virginia is looking better now that the Cavaliers have upset both Minnesota and Virginia Tech. But that doesn't change the fact that the Sooners are the worst team in the Big-12 and one of the worst teams in the BCS-conferences. I don't have a lot of stats to back up my statements, but just trust me on this one. Oklahoma sucks.


8. UCLA Bruins
Record: 3-4
KenPom Rank: 49

The Bruins have lost four in a row. Now, three of these losses are understandable. They've lost to two top-10 tens, and they should have won one of those games. They also lost to VCU, which isn't that bad of a loss. But they make the Not-Top-10 because on Sunday they got beat, AT HOME by Montana by nine. You may remember Montana because of the thrilling upset they pulled in last season's Big Sky championship game. Well Anthony Johnson, the man that won the game for Montana by dropping 42 points, is no longer on the team. UCLA does have some talent on their roster, but talent doesn't win games. Execution and coaching does, and as of now, UCLA seems to be lacking both of these.


9. Dayton Flyers
Record: 7-2
KenPom Rank: 103

You are probably wonder why-on-earth the 7-2 Dayton Flyers made our not-top-10 list. Well, one of the ways a team can make this list is if they consistently play below the expectations set for program. The Flyers were suppose to be at the top of the A-10, and they very well could still do that, but if they can't beat teams like Savannah State and Central Connecticut State by more than two points, the A-10 could be too much to handle for the Flyers. Yes, I know they beat Ole Miss by seven, but they also got double-dipped by Cincinnati, 68-34. It could be another underwhelming up-and-down season for the Flyers.


10. Virginia Tech Hokies
Record: 4-4
KenPom Rank: 52

I might take some heat for this one, considering they are 4-4 and have three losses against ranked opponents. Maybe we set the bar too high for the Hokies. Maybe we had unrealistic expectations for a team that hasn't seen the right side of the bubble since, well, forever. But I mean, they have talented players. Malcolm Delaney is going to be playing in the NBA, Jeff Allen is a solid big-man and they have capable role players like Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davilla. Like another team on this list, a loss against Virginia doesn't look that bad any more, but still, this team was predicted by many to be in the top-3 in the ACC.



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