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Week 9 Basketball Rankings: USC Drops Out of Top 25

Week 9 Ranking:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (46) 15-0 1,768
2. Memphis (25) 13-0 1,742
3. Kansas (1) 14-0 1,674
4. Washington State 13-0 1,532
5. UCLA 14-1 1,522
6. Michigan State 13-1 1,422
7. Georgetown 11-1 1,332
8. Tennessee 12-1 1,282
9. Duke 11-1 1,257
10. Indiana 12-1 1,125
11. Texas A&M 14-1 1,102
12. Texas 13-2 944
13. Vanderbilt 15-0 925
14. Butler 13-1 822
15. Marquette 11-2 751
16. Mississippi 13-0 650
17. Dayton 12-1 554
18. Clemson 12-2 518
19. Villanova 11-2 465
20. Pittsburgh 12-2 461
21. Wisconsin 12-2 407
22. Rhode Island 14-1 393
23. Stanford 12-2 185
24. Xavier 12-3 128
25. Miami (FL) 13-1 85

No surprise here after coming out 0-2 in Nor Cal.  It'll probably be a while before we enter the top 25 again with #4 Washington State this Thursday and #5 UCLA next Saturday.  At least our Cardinal and Gold Zoom BB's look sweet (for the shoe heads). 

Week 6 Basketball Rankings: USC Re-enters AP Top 25 Despite Being Idle

Week 6 Rankings:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (48) 9-0 1,772
2. Memphis (19) 8-0 1,710
3. Kansas (2) 10-0 1,638
4. Texas (2) 10-0 1,559
5. Georgetown (1) 8-0 1,530
6. Duke 9-0 1,432
7. Washington State 9-0 1,361
8. UCLA 9-1 1,347
9. Michigan State 9-1 1,140
10. Marquette 7-1 1,066
11. Pittsburgh 10-0 1,060
12. Tennessee 9-1 1,024
13. Indiana 9-1 941
14. Texas A&M 9-1 881
15. Clemson 8-0 742
16. Butler 9-1 567
17. Vanderbilt 10-0 562
18. Gonzaga 8-2 496
19. Arizona 7-2 490
20. Villanova 8-1 411
21. Brigham Young 9-2 305
22. Miami (FL) 9-0 274
23. Oregon 8-2 257
24. West Virginia 8-1 139
25. USC 6-3 134

I guess the voters took into consideration who we played the last two games.  In the last ranking I said that SC should re-enter the top 25 before conference play, but now I'm thinking top 20 and maybe even top 15.  SC plays Delaware State tonight at 7:30pm.  You can watch it on Trojan TV All-Access.

Week 5 Basketball Rankings: USC Drops Out of AP Top 25

Week 5 rankings:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (48) 8-0 1,772
2. Memphis (19) 7-0 1,708
3. Kansas (2) 9-0 1,637
4. Texas (2) 9-0 1,560
5. Georgetown (1) 7-0 1,528
6. Duke 9-0 1,434
7. Washington State 9-0 1,358
8. UCLA 8-1 1,356
9. Michigan State 8-1 1,136
10. Marquette 6-1 1,053
11. Pittsburgh 9-0 1,034
12. Tennessee 8-1 1,033
13. Indiana 8-1 924
14. Texas A&M 8-1 846
15. Clemson 8-0 702
16. Oregon 7-1 694
17. Xavier 7-1 503
18. Butler 8-1 413
19. Gonzaga 8-2 386
20. Vanderbilt 9-0 379
21. Arizona 6-2 360
22. Louisville 5-2 286
23. Villanova 7-1 279
24. Saint Mary's 7-0 197
25. Brigham Young 7-2 191

SC received the 2nd highest votes at 118 behind Miami (FL)'s 133.  The team should re-enter the top 25 before conference play begins. 

Week 4 Basketball Rankings: SC Falls Back Two Spots to #24

Week 4 Rankings:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (45) 7-0 1,769
2. Memphis (22) 6-0 1,717
3. Kansas (2) 7-0 1,630
4. Texas (2) 7-0 1,549
5. Georgetown (1) 5-0 1,527
6. Duke 8-0 1,429
7. UCLA 7-1 1,373
8. Washington State 7-0 1,348
9. Michigan State 6-1 1,094
10. Tennessee 7-1 1,012
11. Marquette 5-1 962
12. Pittsburgh 7-0 938
13. Butler 7-0 893
14. Louisville 5-1 885
15. Indiana 6-1 809
16. Texas A&M 7-1 788
17. Gonzaga 7-1 581
18. Clemson 7-0 564
19. Oregon 6-1 556
20. Brigham Young 6-1 365
21. Xavier 6-1 336
22. Arizona 5-2 212
23. Vanderbilt 7-0 177
24. USC 6-2 163
25. Villanova 5-1 151

SC dropped out of the top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, but that poll is a joke anyways.  Remember, they were the ones that ranked SIU above USC after we dominated them in the Anaheim Classic.  The #24 ranking in the AP poll is just about right since we beat a one-loss OU team and had a tight game with Kansas.  If we beat Memphis on Tuesday, we should move up into the top 20. 

Week 14 Football Rankings: USC Finishes Regular Season #7

Week 14 Rankings:

BCS Top 25

1. Ohio State 11-1
2. LSU 11-2
3. Virginia Tech 11-2
4. Oklahoma 11-2
5. Georgia 10-2
6. Missouri 11-2
7. USC 10-2
8. Kansas 11-1
9. West Virginia 10-2
10. Hawaii 12-0
11. Arizona State 10-2
12. Florida 9-3
13. Illinois 9-3
14. Boston College 10-3
15. Clemson 9-3
16. Tennessee 9-4
17. BYU 10-2
18. Wisconsin 9-3
19. Texas 9-3
20. Virginia 9-3
21. South Florida 9-3
22. Cincinnati 9-3
23. Auburn 8-4
24. Boise State 10-2
25. UConn 9-3

USA Today Top 25

1. Ohio State (46) 11-1 1,469
2. LSU (11) 11-2 1,418
3. Oklahoma (2) 11-2 1,331
4. Georgia 10-2 1,277
5. Virginia Tech 11-2 1,242
6. USC 10-2 1,227
7. Missouri 11-2 1,104
8. Kansas 11-1 1,099
9. West Virginia 10-2 1,010
10. Hawaii (1) 12-0 994
11. Arizona State 10-2 900
12. Florida 9-3 890
13. Illinois 9-3 747
14. Boston College 10-3 617
15. Wisconsin 9-3 594
16. Clemson 9-3 567
17. Texas 9-3 498
18. Tennessee 9-4 480
19. Brigham Young 10-2 462
20. Virginia 9-3 332
21. Auburn 8-4 289
22. Boise State 10-2 246
23. Cincinnati 9-3 215
24. Arkansas 8-4 137
25. South Florida 9-3 115

As you probably know by now, SC will face against Illinois in the Rose Bowl.  I'm a bit underwhelmed like everyone else, but I think it will be a much better game than people think.  SC has always had trouble with teams with mobile QBs combined with talented RBs, and that's exactly what Illinois presents in Juice Williams and Rashard Mendenhall.  As for the BCS National Championship game, I have to pull for Ohio State since I despise Les Miles and want the Buckeyes to be National Champs heading into the Coliseum next year. 

Week 3 Basketball Rankings: USC Moves Back Into the Top 25

Week 3 Rankings:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (28) 5-0 1,736
2. UCLA (25) 6-0 1,727
3. Memphis (18) 5-0 1,689
4. Kansas 5-0 1,577
5. Georgetown (1) 3-0 1,536
6. Washington State 6-0 1,360
7. Duke 6-0 1,353
8. Texas 5-0 1,240
9. Texas A&M 6-0 1,163
10. Michigan State 4-1 1,015
11. Tennessee 5-1 973
12. Louisville 4-1 964
13. Marquette 4-1 950
14. Pittsburgh 5-0 871
15. Indiana 4-1 766
16. Butler 6-0 742
17. Oregon 5-1 511
18. Clemson 5-0 495
19. Gonzaga 5-1 454
20. Wisconsin 5-0 234
21. Brigham Young 5-1 225
22. USC 5-1 217
23. Xavier 4-1 199
24. North Carolina State 4-1 173
25. Kansas State 5-1 163

ESPN/USA Today Top 25

1. UCLA (12) 6-0 749
2. North Carolina (13) 5-0 745
3. Memphis (5) 5-0 719
4. Kansas (1) 5-0 688
5. Georgetown 3-0 654
6. Washington State 6-0 591
7. Duke 6-0 562
8. Texas 5-0 502
9. Texas A&M 6-0 498
10. Louisville 4-1 423
11. Pittsburgh 5-0 417
12. Tennessee 5-1 403
13. Michigan State 4-1 396
14. Marquette 4-1 352
15. Indiana 4-1 324
16. Butler 6-0 300
17. Oregon 5-1 233
18. Clemson 5-0 232
19. Gonzaga 5-1 206
20. Wisconsin 5-0 160
21. Villanova 4-1 114
22. Southern Illinois 3-1 109
23. Brigham Young 5-1 88
24. USC 5-1 69
25. Xavier 4-1 65

I'm a bit shocked that we made it into the top 25 since I thought last night's game would finish too late for east coast voters to take notice and rank SC accordingly.  The AP Polls got it right ranking us #22, which is about where I expected us to be; on the other hand, why are we ranked two places behind the team we just dominated in the ESPN/USA Today poll?  I guess the coaches were the ones snoozing...

Week 13 Rankings: USC Moves Into The Top 10 to #8

Week 13 Rankings:

BCS Top 25

1. Missouri 11-1
2. West Virginia 10-1
3. Ohio State 11-1
4. Georgia 10-2
5. Kansas 11-1
6. Virginia Tech 10-2
7. LSU 10-2
8. USC 9-2
9. Oklahoma 10-2
10. Florida 9-3
11. Boston College 10-2
12. Hawaii 11-0
13. Arizona State 9-2
14. Tennessee 9-3
15. Illinois 9-3
16. Clemson 9-3
17. Oregon 8-3
18. Wisconsin 9-3
19. BYU 9-2
20. Texas 9-3
21. South Florida 9-3
22. Virginia 9-3
23. Cincinnati 9-3
24. Auburn 8-4
25. Boise State 10-2

USA Today Top 25

1. West Virginia (37) 10-1 1,467
2. Missouri (17) 11-1 1,454
3. Ohio State (6) 11-1 1,383
4. Georgia 10-2 1,232
5. Kansas 11-1 1,161
5. Virginia Tech 10-2 1,161
7. LSU 10-2 1,134
8. Oklahoma 10-2 1,126
9. USC 9-2 1,073
10. Hawaii 11-0 958
11. Florida 9-3 898
12. Boston College 10-2 861
13. Arizona State 9-2 756
14. Illinois 9-3 674
15. Tennessee 9-3 654
16. Wisconsin 9-3 493
17. Clemson 9-3 469
18. Texas 9-3 417
19. Brigham Young 9-2 327
20. Oregon 8-3 316
21. Auburn 8-4 271
21. Virginia 9-3 271
23. Boise State 10-2 247
24. Cincinnati 9-3 146
25. Arkansas 8-4 145

Funny how the BCS has it right and the human polls have it wrong.  Although I can see why the pollsters ranked SC behind Oklahoma.  But one can make the argument that with SC healthy, no team is playing better football in the nation.  I guess it comes down to whether you rank teams by what they've done or by the way they're playing.

So How Does USC Make It Into the NC Game?

The following have to happen:

1.  Missouri has to beat Kansas

• A one-loss Kansas team has no shot at the NC since they've haven't played or beat anyone. 

2.  Oklahoma has to lose to Oklahoma St. and then beat Missouri next week

• SC is already one-spot behind OU and it is unlikely that we'll jump the Sooners after they beat a top-3 Missouri team, so we need them to lose tonight. 

3.  West Virginia has to lose one of its final two games

• SC will not jump a 1-loss OSU team, so West Virginia needs to be knocked out of the NC picture by either UConn or Pitt. 

4.  Tennessee has to win its final two games against Kentucky and LSU (in SEC Championship Game)

• If UT wins tonight against Kentucky it knocks UGA out of the SEC championship game and more importantly the NC.  Also, because LSU has better wins/losses compared to SC, UT needs to beat them in the SEC championship game. 

5.  Virginia Tech has to lose one of its final two games

• VTech is ahead of us in the BCS rankings and therefore needs to lose. 

6.  Oregon needs to lose one of its final two games

• Ok this one is a little iffy since some would argue that SC will jump Oregon regardless if they win out because the human pollsters won't think too highly of the team without Dennis Dixon.  But I argue that the pollsters will have a hard time giving us the nod over a team that beat us in the regular season AND won the conference; I can see many pollsters picking the Ducks on principle alone. 

Result:  USC vs. Ohio State in the NC game

Also, SC needs to beat UCLA like they beat ASU to send the message that the Trojans are finally healthy and an entirely different team compared to the one that lost to Stanford earlier in the season.  The chances of all of these things happening is unlikely, but not completely crazy to think about. 

Week 2 Rankings: USC Remains Out of the Top 25

Week 2 rankings:

AP Top 25

1. North Carolina (26) 2-0 1,725
2. UCLA (26) 3-0 1,716
3. Memphis (19) 4-0 1,689
4. Kansas 3-0 1,566
5. Georgetown (1) 2-0 1,508
6. Louisville 2-0 1,396
7. Tennessee 3-0 1,384
8. Indiana 2-0 1,200
9. Washington State 3-0 1,170
10. Michigan State 2-0 1,042
11. Marquette 2-0 1,039
12. Oregon 4-0 1,021
13. Duke 2-0 962
14. Gonzaga 3-0 834
15. Texas 3-0 789
16. Texas A&M 4-0 759
17. Pittsburgh 4-0 582
18. Kansas State 3-0 487
19. Southern Illinois 1-0 400
20. Villanova 2-0 297
21. Syracuse 3-0 257
22. Butler 3-0 244
23. Virginia 3-0 227
24. Clemson 3-0 187
25. Florida 4-0 135

USA Today Top 25

1. North Carolina (14) 2-0 744
1. UCLA (10) 3-0 744
3. Memphis (6) 4-0 718
4. Kansas (1) 3-0 680
5. Georgetown 2-0 636
6. Louisville 2-0 612
7. Tennessee 3-0 603
8. Indiana 2-0 520
9. Washington State 3-0 517
10. Duke 2-0 422
11. Oregon 4-0 417
11. Michigan State 2-0 417
13. Marquette 2-0 413
14. Gonzaga 3-0 342
15. Texas A&M 4-0 328
16. Texas 3-0 294
17. Pittsburgh 4-0 261
18. Southern Illinois 1-0 208
19. Villanova 2-0 172
20. Kansas State 3-0 152
21. Syracuse 3-0 128
22. Clemson 3-0 93
23. Butler 3-0 79
24. Florida 4-0 65
25. Davidson 1-1 59

SC picked up 6 votes in the AP from 4 last week and lost 8 votes in the USA Today poll.  We have a solid shot of winning the Anaheim Classic this week, so we might be able to crack the top 25 heading into the Oklahoma game, but I wouldn't count on it.

Week 12 Rankings: SC Remains at #11

Week 12 Rankings:

BCS Top 25

1. LSU 10-1
2. Kansas 11-0
3. West Virginia 9-1
4. Missouri 10-1
5. Ohio State 11-1
6. Arizona State 9-1
7. Georgia 9-2
8. Virginia Tech 9-2
9. Oregon 8-2
10. Oklahoma 9-2
11. USC 8-2
12. Florida 8-3
13. Texas 9-2
14. Boston College 9-2
15. Hawaii 10-0
16. Virginia 9-2
17. Illinois 9-3
18. Tennessee 8-3
19. Boise State 10-1
20. Connecticut 9-2
21. Wisconsin 9-3
22. Clemson 8-3
23. South Florida 8-3
24. Cincinnati 8-3
25. BYU 8-2

USA Today Top 25

1. LSU (51) 10-1 1,483
2. Kansas (8) 11-0 1,441
3. West Virginia (1) 9-1 1,345
4. Missouri 10-1 1,328
5. Ohio State 11-1 1,276
6. Arizona State 9-1 1,158
7. Georgia 9-2 1,105
8. Virginia Tech 9-2 1,019
9. Oklahoma 9-2 931
10. Oregon 8-2 890
11. Texas 9-2 883
12. USC 8-2 879
13. Hawaii 10-0 828
14. Florida 8-3 736
15. Virginia 9-2 626
16. Boston College 9-2 619
17. Boise State 10-1 593
18. Illinois 9-3 485
19. Tennessee 8-3 430
20. Wisconsin 9-3 343
21. Connecticut 9-2 264
22. Clemson 8-3 225
23. Brigham Young 8-2 161
24. Texas Tech 8-4 80
25. Auburn 7-4 65

Oklahoma and Oregon losing will help us in the computer rankings since ASU moved up to #6, which would make our win slightly more impressive if we beat them this Thursday.  Also, if Oregon loses another game, then we would have at least a share as Pac-10 champions and head to the Rose Bowl.  With Dixon out for the season, the chances of Oregon falling to UCLA or Oregon St. look a LOT more likely.