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January continues to roll along, and college basketball is following suit. Conference play brings out the best in most teams, as Maryland just found out, and it also makes for compelling television. One thing it doesn't do is allow for huge swings at the top of the KenPom rankings, as most good teams play other good teams in good conferences. If you want to get on that top line in KenPom Bracketology, you're going to have to earn. Here's who has this week.
First the s-curve:
| The | KenPom s-curve | 1/13 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VILLANOVA | KANSAS | Oklahoma | MICHIGAN ST. |
| 2 | North Carolina | Duke | VIRGINIA | West Virginia |
| 3 | Louisville | Xavier | Miami FL | Iowa |
| 4 | SAINT MARY'S | ARIZONA | Maryland | Purdue |
| 5 | VALPARAISO | SOUTH CAROLINA | Texas A&M | Indiana |
| 6 | USC | WICHITA ST. | Iowa St. | Kentucky |
| 7 | Baylor | Pittsburgh | Vanderbilt | Florida |
| 8 | Oregon | California | Michigan | Notre Dame |
| 9 | CINCINNATI | Butler | Providence | Connecticut |
| 10 | VCU | Evansville | Kansas St. | Gonzaga |
| 11 | Creighton | Utah | Texas Tech | BYU |
| 12 | Arkansas | ARKANSAS LITTLE ROCK | Dayton | Northwestern |
| 12 | HAWAII | MONMOUTH | ||
| 13 | STONY BROOK | YALE | AKRON | BOISE ST. |
| 14 | GRAND CANYON | HIGH POINT | WILLIAM & MARY | SOUTH DAKOTA ST. |
| 15 | BELMONT | CHATTANOOGA | OLD DOMINION | NORTH FLORIDA |
| 16 | WAGNER | BUCKNELL | WEBER ST. | STEPHEN F. AUSTIN |
| 16 | TEXAS SOUTHERN | NORFOLK ST. | ||
| First 4 out | Oregon St. | Georgia Tech | Florida St. | Seton Hall |
| Next 4 out | Rhode Island | Texas | LSU | UCLA |
And the whole bracket:
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How about Creighton? If you had any questions about Greg McDermott's ability to win without his kid on the team, they should be answered by now. He's coaching the heck out of a fairly lightly regarded team and has them in position to make it not only into my pretend bracket, but actually into the only one that matters come March.
The ACC is looking incredibly stout, with 7 teams in the top 30 and 4 in the top 10. The Big 12 has 3 top 10 teams, the Big East has 2, and Michigan State represents the Big 10 to round it out. On the other end of things, the WCC has Stain Mary's, Gonzaga, and BYU all in the bracket right now. I don't know how long that can last - their league has 6 teams outside of the KenPom top 200 - but it's a solid return for a mid-major. Speaking of mid-majors, here's your weekly reminder that SMU is still undefeated but still won't get a chance to play in the postseason this year. It's a real shame for the team, as it is comprised of kids who didn't do anything wrong.