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Duke Still Number 1

© Chris Lin

This season has just been crazy so far! The disappointments have been very disappointing, and some of the surprises are still going strong. So far, only Duke, Stanford, and Michigan State have shown true consistency against tough competition, although there may be a chink in the Spartans’ armor after that game against Kentucky. But then they go out and dominate Seton Hall. Syracuse remains unbeaten, but for how long? Are they for real? And Illinois. After the wins against Seton and Arizona, they appear to be settled after two early losses. And when will the real Arizona Wildcats show up?

Yup, Duke and Stanford are just going along, doing their thing. The Blue Devils are rocking the house because of the leadership of Jason Williams and the inside presence of Carlos Boozer. Having Shane Battier sure doesn’t hurt either. But so far, their only true test has been Illinois, and they barely got by in that one, 78-77. The game on the 21st against Stanford should be a good one, testing the mettle of both squads. The Cardinal has not faced any real stiff competition, although the victory against Georgia Tech was impressive. The Collins twins continue to shine on both ends of the court, and Casey Jacobsen is money from downtown. The Duke game will knock one team out of the ranks of the unbeaten, and likely out of the Top 3.

The other team in this group is Michigan State. After rolling over the opposition in the early going, the Spartans played a sub-.500 Tubby Smith Kentucky team in their own backyard. In a defensive battle, they were trailing by eight at halftime. With less than a minute to go, they were down by one. Jason Richardson had some plays for the highlight reel, but overall, the Spartans were not all that impressive. Andre Hutson was able to score the winning bucket, but will this game be an asset or proof that the winning streak can be broken? This team may have answered that question with 72-57 drubbing of Seton Hall. But who knows. A team that can shoot from the perimeter and expose the lack of experienced size underneath for the Spartans could expose serious weaknesses in this team. However, if Zach Randolph reaches his potential early, then it’s lights out.

Another unbeaten team is Syracuse. Preston Shumpert has been absolutely amazing. His scoring was certainly unexpected, but he has been absolutely unstoppable. This team, which lost seniors Etan Thomas, Ryan Blackwell, and Jason Hart was supposed to have a rebuilding year this season. Not so, say the Orangemen. Other than Shumpert, DeShaun Williams, Damone Brown, and Allen Griffin have picked up the slack. With Tennessee coming up next, the Orangemen will be able to gauge themselves against one of the top teams in the country.

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