Back to reality
Admittedly, I’ve been a little out of touch as far as basketball goes.
Almost as soon as the regular season for football ended I went on my honeymoon. And while we had ESPN in our cabin, we were four hours earlier so most of what little we saw, and yes, Rachel always starts her television viewing with ESPN, was rehash.
After a couple of days of recovery, I have to say it is not surprising that the Southeastern Conference has only three teams ranked in the Top 25.
However, Mississippi State being 11-1 and No. 18 is a mild surprise.
Kentucky and Florida being ranked was a given.
Another given is that the quality of college basketball games right now is not good.
Too many games right now are between ranked teams and teams that may never be ranked but need the money the top programs are willing to pay for a victory.
The good thing is there are still more than 30 bowl games AND basketball.
Just five days to Christmas and 20 until the BCS National Championship. Right now I’m leaning toward Alabama in the rematch.
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Dear Wally:
Regarding Ohio State’s NCAA Penalties, there is missing piece to the story. That’s the effect that Ohio State’s action (or before the 2011 Sugar Bowl lack of action) had on other college programs. Case in point, the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. OSU Coach Jim Tressel played those 5 players under investigation in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. At minimum, 2 of those 5 players had an impact that swung the game in OSU’s favor. Granted, Arkansas should have won the game on the field. But, instead Arkansas lost that game and finished out of the top ten rankings again. At the time of the Sugar Bowl, Rivals.com had ranked the Arkansas recruiting class as high at 16th in the country. We had a verbal commitment of one of the top prospects in the country. But between the Sugar Bowl loss and signing day, that recruit went elsewhere. Arkansas’ recruiting rankings for that class dropped from 16th to 24th in the nation for 2011. By comparison, Ohio State’s recruiting class for 2011 was rank 16th by rivals. (Currently, while under investigation, OSU 2012 recruiting class is ranked 6th and Arkansas’ recruiting class is ranked 25th.)
However, had those OSU players not been allowed to play, and had Arkansas won that game, Arkansas would have finished in the top ten in the polls for the first time in more than 25 years. No one knows for sure what impact a top ten ranking would have had on Arkansas’ recruiting class for 2011 or 2012 for that matter. But, you can be sure it would have been a great recruiting tool for the University of Arkansas to say, “hey, come play for a top ten team with a shot at the National Championship!”
Due to last year’s Sugar Bowl results, Schools and coaches recruiting against Arkansas can still say “why would you want to go to a school and play for a team that hasn’t ended the season ranked in the top in more than 25 years?” Or “Why would you want to play for the only SEC team to lose to a Big Ten School last year?”
Here’s what bugs me in all of this, no penalties on OSU can change anything that happened to Arkansas’ recruiting class in the wake of the 2011 Sugar Bowl loss. In my opinion, Ohio State should get all the NCAA can dish out. The Ohio State program and fans should quit belly aching. You’re getting what you deserve.
Dear Wally,
I enjoy your blog. Here’s wishing you and Rachel a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. God bless.