Hoops -- Week in Review & Rankings (No. 3)

Creighton. Kent State. Hampton.

One of the great thrills in sports is to watch an unheralded school catch lightning in a bottle and shock a major program in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament.

In an effort to give these small schools and their conferences more respect, the term "mid-major" was coined. This term attempts to label the schools in conferences that have a much smaller profile than the well-known giants, or "major" conferences. These "mid-major" conferences are usually given only one automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which goes to their respective conference tournament champion.

Despite it's increasing popularity in college basketball lingo, the term "mid-major (or "major" for that matter) has never actually been defined. You won't find a definition for the term in the NCAA manual, and you certainly won't get a meaningful description of it from any of the talking heads on ESPN who incessantly complain about the exclusion of the little guys from the national spotlight.

However, the infatuation with these schools has gone way too far.

The main problem we are now seeing is that the voters for the national polls seem obligated to include at least one mid-major team in the rankings each week.

Here is just one of many examples of the problems with this trend.

Utah State, from the Big West conference, was ranked No. 23 in last week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. This is a school that had a 19-1 record against the 185th "strongest" schedule in the nation.

North Carolina State, an ACC team, was unranked in last week's poll. They were 14-5 against the 18th strongest schedule in the nation and were in second place in the powerful ACC with a 7-2 record.

Based on this data, there is simply no way to make an argument as to why Utah State should be ranked ahead of NC State.

If you were a pollster, however, the results of this past week would have been shocking to you. Utah State fell 64-60 at the University of the Pacific (I assume they are located near the Pacific Ocean), while N.C. State was polishing off a small Southern private school called Duke, 78-74.

Readers of last week's column (both of you) would not have been as surprised to have seen a competitive game between N.C. State and Duke, as this author had State ranked #14 and noted that they were "extremely underrated."

Why should deserving teams like N.C. State and Memphis be denied their rightful place in the Top 25 while the Utah State's of the world are given pity votes for being a mid-major?

Unless a mid-major school is able to prove themselves with quality regular season wins, they don't belong in the rankings.

Those who like to argue that the big schools won't schedule mid-majors should reference Gonzaga, the only mid-major that can legitimately claim to be worthy of a place among the nation's best.

The Zags proved themselves year after year when the opportunity arose to play top teams. As a result, their 2003-04 schedule included games against St. Joseph's, Stanford, Georgia, Missouri and Maryland.

This hardly suggests that Gonzaga's road to success is an easy one for other mid-majors to follow.

But, it is the only road.

It is the reality that the mid-majors must face.

The voters and the schools need to understand that national rankings should not be handed out.

They should be earned.

Rankings (through games of Sunday, Feb. 15)

1. Stanford: 21-0 overall (12-0 in conference)---(2,ranking last week)

The Duke loss moves them into the top spot. No problem with Cal in only game last week, 69-58, as they continue to roll over the Pac-10. Amazing stat for a No. 1 team: No player is among the Top 10 in the conference in scoring or rebounding.

2. Saint Joseph's: 22-0 (11-0)---(3)

Sports Illustrated jinx proved useless against Jameer Nelson and the Hawks. Only unbeaten in A-10 after handling Dayton, 81-67. Also beat Rhode Island. At Fordham (4-17) on Wednesday. Women and children in Rose Hill area have been advised to stay home.

3. Duke: 21-2 (10-1)---(1)

Stunned at NC State, 78-74. Foul trouble against State hurt as Sean Dockery and Shavlik Randolph accomplished next to nothing off the bench. At Wake Forest and back home for Maryland this week.

4. Mississippi State: 21-1 (10-1)---(5)

A 67-66 loss in the final seconds to Kentucky in mid-January is the only mark on their record. They would get consideration for No. 1 if they played anyone decent in the non-conference part of their schedule. Instead, they played Tennessee Martin and Louisiana Monroe, who sound like a couple of blues guitarists from the 1920s.

5. Pittsburgh: 23-2 (9-2)---(4)

Panthers turned the ball over 24 times in a one-point overtime loss at Seton Hall, but cut that total in half in a 75-68 win over UConn. They have to pay attention this week at West Virginia, a bubble team looking for a big win. WVU has won their last four Big East home games.

6. Oklahoma State: 19-2 (9-1)---(7)

Cowboys had an easy time with slumping Kansas, 80-60, and mopped the floor with Baylor, 91-58, for their 9th straight conference win. They lead the nation in scoring margin at 17.7 points per game. At Oklahoma on Monday night.

7. Kentucky: 17-4 (7-3)---(8)

Handled Alabama, 66-55, but tripped up for second time this season by Georgia, 74-68. Lead in SEC East is down to 1/2 game over South Carolina.

8. Connecticut: 19-5 (7-3)---(6)

Lost at Notre Dame and at Pittsburgh. Huskies lead the Big East in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Problem? They are last in the Big East in free throw percentage (59.2%). Emeka Okafor was two for seven from the line in loss to Pittsburgh.

9. Texas: 17-4 (8-2)---(9)

Out-rebounded Iowa State 40-21, yet lost 78-77. Very unusual, therefore, they get the mulligan of the week.

10. Gonzaga: 21-2 (11-0)---(10)

The Zags continue to run through the West Coast Conference, beating opponents by an average of 20 points a game. It makes you wonder if the teams listed above could do any better.

11. N.C. State: 16-5 (9-2)---(14)

Beat Duke.

12. Louisville: 17-4 (7-3)---(11)

Lost to Charlotte, 77-71, and have dropped three of last four overall. 38% shooting in the three losses.

13. Georgia Tech: 18-6 (5-5)---(12)

Big win over North Carolina followed by an upset loss at Virginia, 82-80. At Maryland and home for Wake Forest this week. There are no off nights in the ACC.

14. Wake Forest: 15-6 (5-5)---(18)

A conference win over Clemson gets them to .500 and an impressive non-conference win over Cincinnati as well. They get Duke at home on Wednesday.

15. Cincinnati: 17-4 (8-2)---(13)

Tough loss to Wake Forest followed a conference win over South Florida. Lost three of last five overall.

16. Providence: 17-5 (8-3)---(19)

Hung 100 points on Villanova in a 26-point rout and beat Boston College to jump a 1/2 game ahead of UConn in the Big East.

17. North Carolina: 15-7 (5-6)---(16)

For the second straight week, the Tar Heels followed a tough loss (Georgia Tech) with an impressive win (Maryland). Next up is Florida State with the winner reaching the coveted .500 mark in the ACC.

18. Wisconsin: 17-4 (8-2)---(20)

Big Ten leader made up for bad loss at Northwestern with 54-52 win over Iowa and 30-point pasting of Ohio State.

19. Texas Tech: 18-6 (6-4)---(17)

No Bob Knight incidents this week. Held to 48 by Oklahoma in defeat, came back later in week to beat Kansas State. The typical 1-1 conference week that it seems everyone had.

20. Arizona: 16-6 (8-5)---(21)

After losing three of last four, they crushed USC and UCLA to get back on solid ground. Six players scored in double figures in both wins. Salim Stoudamire hit seven of nine threes and scored 34 points against UCLA.

21. Memphis: 18-4 (9-2)--- (23)

John Calipari's team is peaking at the right time. Won easily at Marquette, 89-71, for 9th straight win. They lead Conference USA by 1/2 game over Cincinnati.

22. Kansas: 15-6 (7-3)---(15)

Losses to Oklahoma State and Nebraska were first back-to-back double digit defeats for Jayhawks since 1982-83. There are probably a lot of people wandering around Lawrence muttering, "Roy wouldn't have lost to Nebraska."

23. South Carolina: 20-5 (7-4)---(NR)

Gamecocks have been sneaky good this year in the SEC East, just 1/2 game back of Kentucky. Top scorer Carlos Powell averages just 13.4 points per game, 18th in the conference. Why are they winning? One reason is the top scoring defense in the SEC (59.3 points per game).

24. Florida: 14-7 (5-5)---(24)

Gators drop to .500 in the SEC with 73-70 loss to LSU. They only went to the free-throw line 8 times in the game, further enhancing their reputation as a "soft" team. On the road this week at Georgia and Mississippi.

25. Charlotte: 15-6 (7-3)---(NR)

Recent wins over Cincinnati and Louisville vault them into the Top 25. Under-hyped Curtis Withers is third in conference at 16.9 points per game and second in rebounding at 9.9 per game.

Dropped out: Syracuse(22), Seton Hall(25)

Other Stuff:

* What is the secret to the success of N.C. State, who knocked off No. 1 Duke this past week? They lead the nation in free throw shooting at 79.9%.

* After a disappointing start to conference play under new coach Bruce Weber, Illinois (16-5, 7-3) is making a charge. They have won six of their last seven to pull within a game of Wisconsin in the Big Ten.

* Rutgers (14-8, 6-6) is looking to nab their first NCAA tournament bid since 1991. However, the Scarlet Knights need to show that they can win away from their raucous home arena, the "RAC." They have lost five of six Big East road games.

* Worst score of the week: Northwestern-40 Purdue-39. In this game, Northwestern did not make a single free throw. They were zero for six from the line, with six different players missing the free throws. At least the victory was a total team effort.