RADIO
Brian Dunleavy's top 10 NCAA college basketball (CBB) rankings, from a fantasy basketball perspective, as of 02/21/18. His fantasy CBB rankings are updated weekly.
In desperate need of inspiration, we're listening to some records as we write our rankings this week. For all you millennials, a record is like Spotify, except you pay for it. Rimshot.
Speaking of bad jokes, the knee-jerk reactions from the conventional pollsters in recent weeks are almost laughable. For once, we're proud of our restraint.
Here are the RotoBaller college hoops rankings as of February 21, 2018 (won-loss records in parentheses).
NCAA College Basketball (CBB) Rankings
1. Virginia, (24-2)
The Cavs have been out of action since beating Miami 59-50 a few days ago. They host Georgia Tech tonight, in what should be another defensive struggle. Seriously, this team makes us think of Princeton in 1970s and 1980s (turn off Spotify and Google it, millennials). The Cavs are also shooting 76.9% as a team from the charity stripe.
2. Villanova, (24-3)
The Wildcats lost another game this week, away to Providence (never an easy place to play), then made easy work of Xavier. We still like the Wildcats to make a deep run come March. They are simply a more well-rounded team than UVA. They average 87 PPG for starters.
3. Michigan State, (27-3)
Speaking of offensive juggernauts (compared to Virginia, anyway), the Spartans are averaging 83 PPG as a team, and shooting 51.3% from the field (42.1% from 3-point range). But will a relatively soft Big Ten leave them tested or rested come the Big Dance?
4. Gonzaga, (25-4)
The Zags may be peaking at the right time. They have won nine in a row--albeit in the weak WCC--but are scoring 85 PPG. See a trend here?
5. Xavier, (24-4)
The Musketeers' loss to 'Nova this week costs them two spots in our rankings. However, they too are averaging 85 PPG, and shooting 49.8% from the field as a team. Their team assist-to-turnover ration (17-12 per game) is also solid.
6. Duke, (22-5)
Don't look now, but after losing two in a row to St. John's (!) and UNC, the Dookies have rattled off three straight Ws. As we've noted previously, they can scored it (87 PPG), and Marvin Bagley III (21.2 PPG/11.4 RPG) is a Player of the Year candidate (and also an NBA first-rounder).
7. Purdue, (24-5)
No knee-jerk reactions here... The Boilermakers lost three games in a row, but drop only two places, as they seem to have recovered, with a win over Penn State. However, this team is on notice: Another slip, and they're gone. For the season, Purdue is averaging 81 PPG. However, during that three-game skid, they averaged just 60.3 per contest--a possible sign teams have learned how to defend against them.
8. Cincinnati, (23-4)
Two losses, and the Bearcats fall two spots. They will fall out completely with another L. Such is life as a program in the mediocre AAC (we look forward to your tweets). We've coined the phrase "defense wins championships" in this space (not really), but Cincy just doesn't score enough to stay with the big boys (76 PPG, 45.4% shooting).
9. Kansas, (22-6)
The Jayhawks make a return to our rankings, and it's because of their offense (82 PPG as a team), which is of course triggered by Devonte' Graham (17.6 PPG/7.2 APG).
10. Auburn, (23-4)
We feel obligated to include an SEC team--even after the Tigers lost at South Carolina. War Eagle will only go as far as its offense (85 PPG as a team) will take them. Jared Harper (13.5 PPG/5.8 APG) holds the keys.
