College basketball 2009-10 running thread No. 1

It'll be interesting to see who is No. 1 this week. Do you automatically drop Kentucky down? (And they still have to play a pretty good Vandy team Saturday). Kansas, Nova and Syracuse all with one loss behind them. I guess of the three Kansas has the best loss (at top 15 Tennessee). Then again Villanova lost at top 15 Temple. And Syracuse lost at home to a top 20 Pitt team. Interesting. I'd say you bump Kansas back up at this point.

 

I'm still bitter that Mason didn't even get off a shot in the last nine seconds of a 1-point loss to Villanova early in the season.

Anyway...I'd put Kansas No. 1, I think.

 

KU's got a trip to the Little Apple Saturday to worry about first. If they win that one, yes, I agree. KU No. 1.

 

I think a lot of people would argue for Patterson and Cousins being just as good as Henry and Aldrich.

 

Ridiculous? Really? Downey, in conference play:

at Auburn: 33 points
vs. LSU: 29 points, 7 rebounds
vs. Vandy: 35 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
at Ole Miss: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists
at Florida: 36 points
vs. Kentucky: 30 points, 5 rebounds

 

Yes, utterly ridiculous. That's one game out of six in which he made more shots than he missed. Those kind of players are a dime a dozen.
At Auburn, 11-for-23
LSU, 10-for-22
Vandy, 12-for-21
at Miss., 7-for-20
at Fla., 12-for-25
Ky., 9-for-29

 

It depends upon your taste in players. Downey is in the Iverson mode, which some people regard a lot higher than others.

 

You're probably right. He's the only guy worth a damn on that team, everybody knows he's the only player worth a damn on that team ... and he's still going crazy.

Replace Downey with any average PG and Kentucky wins that game by 40. Kind of like it did last game against Arkansas. And South Carolina might ... MIGHT ... have one conference win.

But I doubt it.

There's a difference between being Iverson on a team full of other scoring options and being Iverson on a team full of jack shit.

 

Aldrich (11.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 3.9 bspg) is better than Cousins (16.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.8 bspg) given his defense. Aldrich is only getting better, too, getting past bronchitis that nagged him in non-conference play and his grandmother's recent death (cancer). Since she died, he's quickly returned to his 2008-09 form that made him a preseason first-team All-American.

Also, I wouldn't say Henry -- a shooting guard/small forward -- when you're talking frontcourt players. The better comparison for Patterson (11.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg in SEC play) would be Marcus Morris (18.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg in Big 12 play), who has really blossomed since he realized he was dogging it somewhat during the Tennessee loss.

Henry is probably KU's fifth- or sixth-best player, behind Aldrich, Collins, Marcus Morris, Morningstar and maybe Tyrel Reed, who's been a far more accurate shooter than Henry (26 percent at one point) during conference play.

 

Yeah, Kentucky has to drop, especially when you factor in SOS (according to kenpom.com):

32. Syracuse
39. Villanova
50. Kansas (will go up with K-State on Saturday)
108. Kentucky

 

Either way, I'd love to see a Kentucky-Kansas game in either a national semifinal or in the championship. When at the top of their games, I think they're easily the two top teams.

The only other teams I think can match those two are Syracuse and Texas. Syracuse has seven players averaging more than 8.3 ppg and has a potential star in Wesley Johnson. He's not quite as good as Carmelo was in his first year at 'Cuse, but he certainly reminds me of him when I watch the Orange.

Texas is similar (seven guys averaging more than 8.2) with James as their star.

 

I'm partial, but I'm still going to disagree with this. Cousins isn't as good on defense, but he's so much more versatile on offense. He has moves Aldrich couldn't do if he tried.

I think KU's No. 1, but I don't think they're head and shoulders above everyone else. Or even head above.