Blog Poll - Week 5

Here is my Top 25 for the end of the regular season. You can check out the weekly BlogPoll analysis here. I will check in with some Badger-specific thoughts later tonight.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Pittsburgh	1
2	North Carolina	2
3	Connecticut
4	Michigan St.	1
5	Oklahoma	4
6	Louisville
7	Memphis	1
8	Duke	1
9	Kansas	1
10	Villanova	1
11	Wake Forest	1
12	Washington	2
13	UCLA	4
14	Missouri	1
15	Marquette	4
16	Gonzaga	2
17	Louisiana St.	2
18	Purdue	2
19	Xavier	2
20	Florida St.
21	Butler	4
22	Syracuse
23	Arizona St.	4
24	Texas A&M
25	Ohio St.
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: West Virginia (#22), Clemson (#23), Illinois (#24).

Blog Poll - Week 3

In a hurry, I skipped right past posting last week's poll and managed to miss this week's deadline I think. That means you probably missed me handing a vote to Arkansas by accident instead of South Carolina, so I felt like I had to include the Gamecocks for one more week to make up for the transgression.

I didn't feel like knocking Oklahoma down since Blake Griffin did not play too much this weekend. And you will notice, I didn't give to much credit to Texas for winning that one either. The Pac-10 hurt themselves this week, while the rest of those teams in the teens and early 20s I feel are getting stronger.

I have high hopes for some traditional power matchups in this year's tournament since the mid-majors appear to be in a down cycle. However, that also means we are bound to see one or two huge upsets, since everyone is writing them off. Gonzaga certainly blasted it's last two opponents, remaining one of only two non-BCS schools (Xavier) that I've place in my Top 25 so far.

Rank	Team
1	Pittsburgh
2	Oklahoma
3	North Carolina
4	Connecticut
5	Michigan St.
6	Villanova
7	Duke
8	Marquette
9	Louisville
10	Memphis
11	Wake Forest
12	Missouri
13	Purdue
14	Arizona St.
15	Kansas
16	Washington
17	UCLA
18	Louisiana St.
19	Florida St.
20	Gonzaga
21	Clemson
22	West Virginia
23	Xavier
24	Illinois
25	South Carolina

CBS Sports Blog Poll

I just submitted by my first set of picks for the basketblog poll hosted by CBSsports.com, which should debut this week.

Even though Illinois beat a weakened Purdue team, I replaced the Illini with the streaking Ohio State Buckeyes. Making the other picks were pretty tough for me this first time, but after finishing, there was no question in my mind that the Big East and the ACC are head and shoulders above the other conferences.

Individual teams that I seem to have a soft spot for this season are Oklahoma (hasn't played anyone in the Big XII yet), Louisville (fun to watch), Villanova (coached by George Clooney) and Missouri (don't ask). Now that Michael Redd (season), Andrew Bogut (2 months+) and Luke Ridnour (month) are all out, I am hoping the Milwaukee Bucks tank the rest of the season for a shot at Blake Griffin. Griffin posterized Colorado all night long this past Friday.

If you think my picks are wack, leave a comment.

Rank	Team
1	Connecticut
2	Oklahoma
3	Pittsburgh
4	North Carolina
5	Duke
6	Xavier
7	Louisville
8	Wake Forest
9	Michigan St.
10	UCLA
11	Villanova
12	Marquette
13	Memphis
14	Kansas
15	Washington
16	Missouri
17	Clemson
18	Butler
19	Miami FL
20	Gonzaga
21	Purdue
22	Florida
23	Minnesota
24	Arizona St.
25	Ohio St.