Tough week for the Atlantic 11, as four of the top six couldn’t escape the week without dropping a game. Maryland stays at #2 spot after a 1-1 week, with their loss happening on the road versus a very feisty Illinois team. VCU is breathing down their neck, in the top heavy A11.
At the bottom of the poll, several underwhelming teams battle it out for the chance at pithy comments. Commonwealth big names like Virginia Tech and George Mason still can’t crack the list, and with the Hokies traveling to Louisville and North Carolina this week it doesn’t seem like they’ll break through anytime soon.
The story of the week was #1 Virginia rolling along, including a very impressive win yesterday at Notre Dame. With Duke losing today and Kentucky on the ropes their past few games, you could be seeing the Cavaliers at the top of another poll soon.
Every week, The DC Sports Bog (an online site managed by The Washington Post) will post their Atlantic 11, which comprises the top 11 D-1 college hoops teams within DC, Maryland and Virginia (27 in total, for those counting at home). This poll is conducted by a group of voters, myself included, who vote for their top 10. Every week, I’ll post my ballot here.
Even though it’s the “Atlantic 11″, they only ask the voters for their top 10 teams. Just in case anyone thought I was that poor at math.
1: Virginia: The Cavaliers star has risen so high that when asked about Tony Bennett’s new duet album with Lady Gaga, Simon Cowell responded “UVa’s basketball coach sings?”
Last Week: W vs NC State, 61-51. W at Notre Dame, 62-56
This Week: Clemson, At Boston College
2: Maryland: The B1G 10 made Maryland a lot of promises. After a week in January spent in Champaign, IL and West Lafayette, IN; I’m assuming luxurious destinations was not one of them.
Last Week: L at Illinois, 64-57. W at Purdue, 69-60
This Week: Rutgers, Michigan State
3: VCU: “Havoc” is not only the nickname for the Rams relentless, full court press defense, but also for the experience of looking for a parking spot at the Short Pump Town Center on a Saturday afternoon.
Last Week: W vs Davidson, 71-65. W vs Saint Joseph’s, 89-74
This Week: At Rhode Island, At Duquesne
4: Old Dominion: The Monarchs cracked the AP top 25 for the first time in school history, unless you count that time the voters mistakingly thought they were voting for “Top 25 schools whose names sound like Virginia regional banks.”
Last Week: W at Marshall, 72-51. L at Western Kentucky, 72-65
This Week: Rice, North Texas
5: George Washington: $5 to the first media professional covering this weeks GW/Richmond game to refer to it as a “pivotal Atlantic 11 matchup.”
Last Week: W vs Saint Louis, 75-72. L at La Salle, 63-50
This Week: Richmond, George Mason
6: Georgetown: Hoyas senior forward Mikael Hopkins lists his favorite NBA player as Lebron James and his favorite team is the Miami Heat. He must have been devastated that the Cowboys lost this weekend.
Last Week: W vs Marquette, 65-59. L at Providence, 60-57
This Week: At DePaul, Butler
7: Richmond: These Spiders have been playing with extra attitude ever since Joe Pesci shot them in the foot.
Last Week: W vs George Mason, 75-65. W vs Saint Bonaventure, 60-41
This Week: At George Washington, Davidson
8: American: The American Eagles crowd ended their home win against Colgate on Saturday the way they always do, by folding up all the leftover free t-shirts and getting the store ready for tomorrow.
Last Week: L at Loyola (MD), 56-53. W vs Colgate, 71-69
This Week: Lehigh, At Lafayette
9: Norfolk State: The Spartans wrap up a month long, six game road trip this week at Bethune-Cookman. However, they did have to run back home a week into the trip because someone forgot to close the garage door.
Last Week: L at Princeton, 71-61. W at Florida A&M, 75-51
This Week: At Bethune-Cookman, North Carolina Central
10: William & Mary: The Tribe is starting have that special look of a team who could make it all the way to the semi’s of the CAA conference tourney.
Last Week: L at Elon, 85-79. W vs James Madison, 81-73.
This Week: UNC-Wilmington, At Towson
UVA is hanging on for dear life! Really close games…nail biting!
Yea they have been playing really well. Conference games are going to be almost all tough ones. Winning at Notre Dame was really impressive. The Irish were averaging over 80 points a game and only scored in low 50s.