Bottom 10 Week 2

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Welcome back to my favorite time of the week, where we all can sit back with crooked smiles and laugh at others for our enjoyment. In case you’re new to the Bottom 10, I wait until our OnCampusSports power rankings are updated, then I make rankings of my own.  Here’s the inaugural post for reference.

Before I start, I just want to say to all of the teams who made the cut last week… You’re welcome. Apparently being on the Bottom 10 can help turn your season around. Out of the ten teams that were on last week’s list, six of them won their next game. Towson finally won its first game, Pitt beat a top-ten team in Georgetown, and Rhode Island beat A-10 conference-leading Dayton. So to the teams that make this week’s list, follow the trail that Towson and USC started and come up with a big win this week.

Here is the Bottom 10 for the week of January 30

1. Josiah Turner (and me): After being down by 11 points with 6 minutes left, the Arizona Wildcats came roaring back against the Washington Huskies, with Solomon Hill hitting a game-tying three-pointer with 6 seconds left. Wildcat nation, and myself, could not have been any more excited for overtime, where Arizona had all of the momentum and Washington had all of the foul trouble. That was until Arizona’s freshman point guard Josiah Turner fouled C.J. Wilcox after the in-bound pass. Wilcox made both free throws, but not to worry! There were still five seconds left on the clock for Josiah Turner to charge up the court and drive down the lane for what seemed to be an easy score. That was until Tony Wroten Jr. came out of nowhere and blocked Turner’s redemption layup as the clock struck zero and the Wildcats were on the wrong side of the 69-67 final score, and I was laying on the floor cursing into a pillow.

2. Referees: This week showcased two separate referee fails. First in Syracuse, referees failed to call, or overturn, an obvious goal tend at the end of a contest against West Virginia that lost the game for the Mountaineers. Next, in Stillwater, Oklahoma State’s Markel Brown was wrongfully ejected against Missouri for taunting after two MONSTER dunks that will be YouTube sensations for years to come. Let the kids play! If a 20-something young man can’t get excited about two great plays, he may lose his love for the game.

3. Binghampton (0-21): Congratulations Binghampton! You’re the only winless team in Division I basketball, a feat that will not go unrecognized for a second straight week. The Bearcats’ remaining games are all against teams they have already played, which is good news for all of us hoping for a goose egg in the win column,

4. Towson(1!-22): Moving down 3 spots is a huge reward for Towson for its victory over mighty UNC-Wilmington.  This team still averages less than 50 points per game and will get smashed by Virginia Commonwealth.

5. UC Davis(1-19): The Aggies were two points away from beating Cal Poly this week, their closest loss this season. Davis goes to the Bren Center to play UC Irvine this week, where I will be in attendance because 1) I want to see just how bad a 1-19 team really is and 2) Irvine’s Michael Wilder has the best hair in college basketball.

6. Utah (5-16): You may be ahead of USC in the PAC 12 standings, but you just lost to USC by 17, so stop complaining and accept the #6 spot.

7. USC (6-16): Good job beating Utah without their leading scorer, an upset at either Washington school this weekend will take you off this list.

8. Arizona St.( 7-14): ASU continues the PAC-12 extravaganza, even though the Sun Devils got a win this week over Wazzu, they still have no depth, only one player on their team has played in every game this season.

9. Texas Tech (0-8 in the Big 12): After losing eight in a row, Texas Tech is still looking for a win in conference, and even though the Mizzou game was closer than I predicted, a 13-point loss is no where near respectable.

10. Connecticut (4-4 Big East Record) After starting the season 12-1, the Huskies have lost 5 of their last 7, including a game to Seton Hall. John Calhoun’s team is on a three-game losing streak as its plummeted down and out of the Top-25 and the Big East race. I’ll still call Jeremy Lamb a stud until he leaves for the Draft in June, but he needs to turn his team around.

Washington State’s Ken Bone gets the Bottom 10 shout out of the week for taking a fall against rival Washington while trying to call a timeout, here’s the video. Here’s the video. It’s great.

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