College Hoopla: January 25th

This week in college hoops saw the number team in the nation face two tough road tests and fail miserably both times. If you do not know what team it is, it was Texas. The Longhorns went into Manhattan (Kansas) and Hartford and were embarrased. Enough with the negativity, here is the best of this week in college hoops.



Player of the Week: Da'Sean Butler, G/F West Virginia
Butler got the Mountaineers back into their game against Ohio State at home on Saturday and propelled them to a win. Butler had 16 of his 21 points in the second half and gave his team a much needed out of conference win that will look very good on their resume come tourney time.

Team of the Week: UCONN
The Huskies overcame all types of adversity this week after losing three straight, two of which were against tough Big East opponents, got the news that head coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite leave of absence due to health issues on Tuesday. The Huskies, led by senior guard Jerome Dyson, beat St. John's on Wednesday 75-59 and then upset (1) Texas thanks to an electric second half and gave UCONN the momentum they need to finish the year off strong.
Upset of the Week: Oklahoma State over (9) Kansas State 73-69
After the best performance of the season against Texas on Monday night, Frank Martin's team disappointed fans and lost a chance to move up to the top five in the rankings by losing to the Cowboys. For the Cowboys, they take the win as big step towards March Madness and could be the win that lifts them over the other mid-level Big 12 teams.
Conference with Best Home-Court Advantage: Missouri Valley
The Valley has been one of the best mid-major conferences in the past decade and this year is no different with Northern Iowa cracking the Top 25 last week and traditional mid-major powerhouse Creighton, Wichita State, and Southern Illinois doing well this season. Home teams are 30-18 in conference games this season. And if you discount the five losses by bottom feeders Evansville it makes home teams 30-13. Most of the home losses have come the four teams mentioned above but when those four matchup, the home teams wins. In the past week, Creighton beat Wichita State at home and then the Shockers did the same to Northern Iowa this week. Look for the Valley to produce multiple tournament teams like it has in the past.
What the Top 10 Should Be:
(1) Kentucky
(2) Kansas
(3) Syracuse
(4) Villanova
(5) Michigan State
(6) Duke
(7) Texas
(8) Gonzaga
(9) BYU
(10) West Virginia
Games to Watch This Week:
Monday: Georgetown @ Syracuse (7:00, ESPN)
Tuesday: Kansas State @ Baylor (8:00)
Wednesday: BYU @ New Mexico (10:00)
Thursday: Wisconsin @ Purdue (7:00, ESPN)
Friday: Butler @ Green Bay (9:00, ESPNU)
Weekend 6-Pack to Watch:
Duke @ Georgetown (Sat, 1:00, CBS)
Northern Iowa @ Missouri State (Sat, 3:00)
Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (Sat, 4:00, ESPN)
Kansas @ Kansas State (Sat, 7:00, ESPN)
Minnesota @ Ohio State (Sun, 1:00, CBS)
Maryland @ Clemson (Sun, 5:30)

Check back every week from now until the end of the NCAA Tournament for more College Hoopla.