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| Friday, December 14 Power 16 user comments ESPN.com |
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Want to start a debate? Just create a ranking of college basketball teams, offer users a chance to e-mail their comments about said ranking and post comments on a weekly basis. That is what ESPN.com has done with its Power 16, a weekly ranking of teams leading up to March. Below are some of the best e-mails received in the past week. Here's what users had to say about ESPN.com's Power 16 on Dec. 10: "I'll agree that Oklahoma State has not earned a No. 1 seed yet, the schedule's been a bit soft, but no one else in the country played 5 games in 6 days to open the season, and they weren't all pushovers (Cincy, Providence, TCU). You fools up north just better watch out. Keep talking, and talking, we'll just have to wait 'til conference play, since nobody else in the country will come play. GO POKES!!!"
"I can't believe that Big 12 fans are saying that they Pokes shouldn't be a No. 1 seed. I am a diehard OSU fan, and I will admit that they haven't really played the best teams, but still, look at the margin of victory. They are doing more than expected to these teams. They are just as deserving of a No. 1 seed as Mizzou. I can't wait til the conference games start, then we will get what we deserve. Until then, we will continue to have those question marks by our name, but when we get to playing teams like Mizzou, OU, Texas, Kansas, then will people see that this OSU team is a real contender in March. Wait, you'll see."
"At this point in the season you can't help but put Oklahoma State as a top seeded team. Having said that, I do not think they have beat the type of opponents in order to deserve a No. 1 seed. Tons of O-State haters are sending e-mails questioning if the Cowboys are for real. Many haven't even seen O-State play. Aside from an underrated Maurice Baker, the Cowboys have too many assets to mention that could carry them in March. So to all the Big XII haters who can't stand to see the early season dominated by a young conference. Have some patience! It's only going to get worse. Good luck to all teams and conferences as we all begin to start inter-conference play."
"You stated that you are ready for another week of e-mails from Big 12 fans telling us why Cowboys shouldn't be here. Well here is one ACC fan telling you that the Cowboys need to play some real competition before their undefeated record means something. Although I am not a fan of Arizona, I think their accomplishments this season are far more impressive than beating up on below par schools. The Cowboys will be home watching the Sweet Sixteen."
"Maryland is the only team in the NCAA that can compete with Duke. No other team has shown the tenacity of the court against the Devils and in my opinion, no one else can. I see four meetings for these two teams this season. Maryland will win at least two of them to prove that these two ACC powerhouses are equals. The Terps get no respect from the press so I am here to give them their props. GO TERPS!"
"Syracuse should NOT be dragged down to the 4th seed just yet. That whole debacle against N.C. State was a direct result of Coach B's absence. If you watched the game, Syracuse was playing street ball out there! They had absolutely no focus and ZERO organization. There is no way Boeheim would allow that kind of garbage on his watch! I don't want to take anything away from State; they have a quality club, but they would be hard pressed to beat the Orangemen at home with our fearless leader at the helm...GO ORANGE!!!"
"The favorites in our minds and our hearts here in Vernon, B.C., are the Gonzaga Bulldogs. I believe they have beaten some top 20 teams as well as had a tough game with Illinois. Are they getting anything more than cursory attention. Surely as mid-major they would be on par with Butler?"
"Yes, Kentucky should not have lost to Western Kentucky to open the season but they are still one of the deepest teams in the country. They just beat North Carolina by 20. What will it take for you all to give to Wildcats some more respect? Maybe a win over Duke will let you and everyone else know that the early season lose by the 'Cats was a fluke that shouldn't have happened. Don't be surprised if the Wildcats win the SEC Eastern division title outright and the conference title again."
"You were correct in taking Iowa out of the Power 16 following their disappointing two-point loss to UNI. As a devoted Hawkeye fan, it was tough to swallow. But something changed in the Hawkeyes after that game. We were able explain and accept (begrudgingly) our defeats to two top quality programs in Missouri and Duke, but were forced to look squarely into the mirror and point at our overconfidence and arrogance as reasons for our loss to UNI. Since that game, our squad is playing with a cohesiveness and intensity unparalleled to what I've seen from the Hawks this season, and they're doing it for 40 minutes. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of watching the revitalized Hawkeyes, just tune-in to the Iowa-Missouri rematch at 9:05 ET on Saturday night ... We'll see you in the Power 16 next week. GO HAWKS!!!"
"You must have been clinically insane while picking this week's Power 16! Dropping the Hawkeyes out of the list is simply ridiculous. You can not call any of our losses bad: losing to Missouri (hmm, aren't they pretty good?) on a questionable call at the end of a game, a pretty decent Duke team, and intrastate rival UNI on the road. Plus we rebounded quickly from that upset to post a 20-plus point victory at Iowa State, which had won the previous 39 out of 40 games at home. I think I will be reading your apologies next week after the victory in the rematch at Columbia, Mo. That should put the Hawks back where they belong -- No. 2 seed."
"It's about time someone in the media started paying attention to mid-majors. I especially applaud your choice of Butler University. This may be our shot at a 30-win season and I'll be damned if someone doesn't sit up and take notice. Go Dawgs!"
"Finally, some recognition for the Butler Bulldogs! They proved themselves worthy last year in the tournament, and returned all but one player this year. Butler is undefeated, is ranked in many top statistical categories, but has no individual players in the top 10 in any of the same categories. What does this amount to? A highly underrated team that deserves to be in the top 25. Look out next week as Butler goes to Ball State. It will be a very telling game for both teams."
"At first they weren't included. Then they were a hesitant 4th seed. As a No. 3 seed, Boston College remains underrated by the Power 16 crew. Unfortunately, the Power 16 rankings react to the weekly polls rather than predict who is really legit. Stop playing follow the leader and give Troy Bell, Ryan Sydney and Boston College their props. This team has No. 1 seed potential."
"Finally! ESPN is giving the 'Wahoos their due. Hopefully the Cavaliers can continue their winning ways into midseason, when they play 3 of the 4 current No 1s (Duke, Missou, Maryland) seeds back-to-back-to-back. Maybe after those wins they can crack into the top tier."
" I think you should look at including Southern Illinois University in your Power 16. I like how you have mid-majors like Ball State and Butler in there, but like Ball State, Southern Illinois deserves to be in that group because of quality wins. Who has Butler beaten? A team from Conf. USA, Big 12 or Big ten? No, but the Salukis have. Ask Indiana coach Mike Davis about Southern. He said SIU was a better team than Indiana. In an argument against Ball State, SIU beat Indiana by double digits, Ball State lost to Indiana by double digits. Thank you for your time, and, GO DAWGS!"
"How can you have Ball State still in as a 4 seed while keeping Indiana out? IU handled the Cardinals easily and also took out a previously undefeated Notre Dame team last week. Does IU not get any respect anymore now that Bob Knight is no longer patrolling the sidelines? That is how it appears to me. IU has a 6-2 record, Ball State 5-2. And IU won the head-to-head meeting. Look at SOS. IU currently has a top 3 SOS What is BSU's? One of IU's losses was by ONE POINT to a Marquette team that is still undefeated and playing well. Dwyane Wade is giving Dajuan Wagner a run for his money on best newcomer in Conference USA. I'm not necessarily saying that IU deserves to be in there YET, but you can't have BSU in there over IU. Perhaps if IU beats Kentucky and Butler this month they'll earn some respect."
"Saint Joseph's (not St. Joe's or St. Joseph's). I have had the opportunity of watching this young team become successful over the past two years. Marvin O'Connor and Jameer Nelson have been and are well deserving of being in the same sentence with Duke's Jason Williams and Chris Duhon. And now with Na'im Crenshaw helping out with the scoring. Sure, you don't see this team on TV as much as the Dukes, Marylands, and Kansas, but they deserve to be in the same group. A first game loss to Eastern Washington hurt a lot. In fact if they wouldn't have lost that game you would be seeing them as a No. 2 or possibly No. 1 seed in the Power 16. You will see how good this team is come late January and February when they have some nationally televised game. Also in March in the Tournament."
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