ACC

While NCAA Tournament runs by Butler and VCU prove that there is more parity than ever in college basketball, the power conferences still rule. Here is a ranking of all 74 power conference teams, including a comparison to how they ranked in the previous update 2 months ago.

 

ACC - 6th RPI, Duke (2), UNC (5), FSU (20), UVA (36th), Miami (50th), NC St (62nd)

SEC - 4th RPI, UK (4), Florida (17), Vandy (25), Bama (29), Miss St (60), LSU (63), Ole Miss (71)

Although the conference table was mostly set back in January when we last updated the Consensus Conference Ranking, there have been some changes since. As you'll see below, the Mountain West dropped from 4th to 6th since January 3rd, while the Colonial and Ivy have jumped 2 spots.

With hopes of not only remaining a factor in the ACC race but also notching their first win at #5 Duke since 1995, NC State was more than motivated for Thursday night's battle. And they played that way out of the gates, scoring the first eight points of the game and leading by as many as 19 points in the first half. But while the Wolfpack would continue to control play in the early portion of the second half, the foul trouble that developed for Mark Gottfried's team in the first half began to take its toll.

Saturday is the day that many college basketball fans have been waiting for, with a number of important matchups on the slate. One of those games is #4 Missouri (22-2, 9-2) hosting #6 Baylor (21-3, 8-3) with the Bears looking to keep alive their fleeting hopes of winning the league title. Scott Drew's team is 0-3 in games against the two teams now ahead of them in the standings, most recently being whipped by Kansas in Waco.

3 (Duke, UNC, FSU/ Virginia)

4 (Duke, UNC, FSU, Virginia)

4 (Duke, UNC, FSU/Virginia, NC State/Miami/Maryland)

5

6

Tuesday's night matchup between #9 Michigan State and Illinois wasn't a pretty affair, as neither team could establish much of a rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. Whether it was due to good defense or just an inability to make shots on a consistent basis, neither the Spartans nor the Fighting Illini had much succes on that end of the floor. But when it's all said and done what matters is the result, which was a 42-41 Illinois victory as Brandon Paul made two free throws with 45 seconds remaining.

With the final month of the regular season on our door step, this is a good time to put together some all-conference teams. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who not only picked his all-conference teams for each league but also provided a conference Player of the Year as well. Without further ado here are the all-conference teams, with the league POY in italics. 

America East
G Gerardo Suero (Albany)
G Darryl Partin (Boston University)
G Gerald McLemore (Maine)
F Chase Plummer (UMBC)
F Alasdair Fraser (Maine)

Consistency has been an issue for the Oklahoma State Cowboys this season, and it's been an issue for highly-touted freshman Le'Bryan Nash as well. After scoring 21 points in the Cowboys' 71-68 loss to Iowa State (which ended at the buzzer on a Scott Christopherson three) Nash scored just four points in a 66-58 home loss to Kansas State. But the Dallas native brought his "A-game" to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Wednesday night, making 12 of 18 shots from the field to score 27 points while also grabbing four rebounds in Oklahoma State's 79-72 win over #2 Missouri.

Neither team is currently in first place in the Atlantic 10 but if anything that magnifies the importance of Saint Louis (15-4, 3-2) heading east to take on Xavier (13-6, 4-2) at the Cintas Center. Both teams are a game out of first place in the loss column, and a closer look at the Billikens' computer numbers shows that they could use a win like this to bolster the resume.