Tee's Top Ten
Tee Kane
January 31, 2008
Here's the updated Top 10, as voted* on by our unique collection of Tee's Weekly staff, secretaries of the U.S. Cabinet, ball boys, and crooked referees. So without further ado, here again for week number five is our Tee's Weekly Top 10.
*Voting is determined by the same formula as the Democratic and Republican Nominating Convention (it’s all about accruing delegates).
10.) Xavier (747 votes): I got an angry e-mail from a spouse of one of the most accomplished players in Musketeer history this week asking how Xavier could be excluded from the Top 10. The truth is Xavier was right on the cusp of making it two weeks ago before dropping a game against Temple. There’s a lot to like about this Xavier team, which has clearly established itself as the best in the Atlantic 10. Xavier is a methodical and experienced team whose difficult out-of-conference schedule virtually ensures it a high ratings percentage index rating and a premium seed in March.
9.) Michigan State (828 votes): It pains me a bit to include Michigan State here, because I don’t think they are actually better than their Big Ten counterpart Wisconsin (don’t worry, I’ve put my money where my mouth is against Gee). Wisconsin is simply playing defense at a historically impressive rate. That said, Michigan State has only two losses and has one of the best players in the country in Drew Neitzel. It’s a pity the Spartans and the Badgers only play once this season.
8.) Tennessee (1,056 votes): The Vols got back to their winning ways with wins over Georgia and Alabama. They have a difficult test on February 2 against a very good Mississippi State team. Mississippi State is lead by sophomore shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado. Varnado is blocking almost 20 percent of opponents' two-point field goal attempts. Fortunately for the Vols, they are perfectly willing to stay far away the paint (eighth in the country in three-point attempts).
7.) Washington State (1,105): I’ve you read Gee’s column this week (and I hope you don’t) you will see that he slandered the Pac-10. His strongest argument against Washington State was that he doesn’t like their nickname. With those journalistic arguments, I really think we have the second coming of Tom Paine. Washington State may play in a West Coast glamour league, but they play a style born in the blue collar regions of northern Wisconsin.
6.) UCLA (1,328 votes): Bruins host both Arizona and Arizona State this week.
5.) Dook (1,492 votes): Begrudgingly, I’ve moved Duke into the top five. They’ve earned this spot with consistency. They’ll get a real test February 6 when they go to Chapel Hill.
4.) Georgetown (1,560 votes): The Hoyas head into a relatively friendly stretch after getting a huge win in Morgantown. Most people on the national level are familiar with Georgetown’s Princeton offense, but it’s their defense that may ultimately lead them to another Final Four. Toward the end of each game, their best five defensive players make possessions for opponents like trying to score with a flat ball soaked in tar. If you are looking to nitpick about the Hoyas you might point out that no team can keep surviving so many close games, no matter how good their crunch-time defense is (no such concern against a St. John's).
3.) University of North Carolina (1,776 votes): UNC needs the win over Duke this week in the Dean Dome. Both teams are going to be more than willing to run. Don’t look for many half court sets; it’s going to be 94 feet by 50 feet all game long.
2.) Kansas (1,896 votes): The Sunflower Showdown did not disappoint. Kansas ran into a special performance from Michael Beasley. Kansas stays at number two because their loss is a lot "better" than North Carolina. Kansas State proved that if you are going to succeed against Kansas you have to shoot well from beyond the arc.
1.) Memphis (1,916 votes): Their win over Gonzaga was simply stunning. They look like they are playing the game at a different speed. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts in particular look NBA-ready now.
Others Receiving Votes (total votes are in parentheses):
Kansas State (707 votes): Michael Beasley is making a case for not only freshman of the year, but also national player of the year. How complete of a player is Beasley? On the night Kansas State stunned the number two team in the country, Beasley, who leads the country in rebounding, went a perfect four-for-four from three-point range.
George Washington University (2 votes): Please support Tee’s Weekly so I that can more quickly become an AD booster and make many, many illegal donations to recruits.
Peter Angelos, owner, Baltimore Orioles (0 votes): There are a lot of mistakes a baseball franchise can make. Peter Angelos has made just about all of them. Some of them are excusable, but what he's doing now is downright felonious.
The Orioles are not and will not be good for at least three years. They have several good assets and need to trade them before the season starts. They've received a generous offer from the Seattle Mariners for the fantastic Eric Bedard. They need to make the trade, only it's being held up by Angelos for final approval. At this point, teams would rather work with the Iranian government than deal with the Orioles’ prodding front office. There are plenty of owners who are too involved in the day-to-day running of their franchise, but this tendency usually stems from an ultra-competitive streak or an unyielding commitment to get better. Angelos is the rare breed of an owner who insists on being consulted on every decision, yet has no desire to actually improve the ball club. There is no bottom to the depth of his incompetence.