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Last week was fine. Mizzou went 0-2. The SEC is still borderline disastrous, with undefeated LSU losing to Vanderbilt, who had lost 26 straight conference games in a row. Georgia lost another game after leading by more than 20 points when they fell to Florida. After sweeping Missouri, 156th ranked Texas A&M is 5-4 in league play and tied for 5th. Six teams are between 4-5 and 5-4, and it really feels like the league is up for grabs.
So while Mizzou slumps, the rest of the league is all over the place. Just find a way to win guys.
FAN CONFIDENCE GRAPHICS
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Oddly enough, fan confidence rebounded a bit last week. Go figure.
Here are the last five weeks of numbers:
- 82.8%
- 77%
- 50%
- 35%
- 42%
I’m not sure what caused the rebound, but maybe we all felt the circumstances surrounding the collapse were something fixable by the current regime and they just need more time. Regardless of the truth, they’re going to get some additional time. We did think the foundation of the program was better than it appears to be, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fixable in relatively short order.
Which team is the most pleasant surprise in College Basketball?
- San Diego State - 21.3%
- Baylor - 20.5%
- Rutgers - 19.4%
- Dayton - 18.8%
- Florida State - 12.2%
- Penn State 7.9%
This is a much better question than last week.
The operative word in the sentence to me is ‘pleasant’... for the pleasantness I have to eliminate Florida State and Baylor. With Baylor’s recent issues surrounding the sexual assault cover up scandal, it’s hard to find anything about Baylor pleasant. I do enjoy watching this version of the Bears, but I still wouldn’t call their success a pleasant surprise.
I’m also not sure I’ll ever be surprised by the success of Leonard Hamilton.
So that leaves San Diego State, Rutgers, Dayton, and Penn State. I think a vote for any of these schools could be a pleasant surprise. The Big Ten is the best conference in the country this year, and both Penn State and Rutgers have been really very good. Pat Chambers has been at Penn State forever and never really had breakout success, so it’s good to see. And Steve Pikiell has done a great job at Rutgers.
Meanwhile, Brian Dutcher has San Diego State still undefeated.
But I voted Dayton. I love their offense, and Obi Toppin is as fun of a basketball player to watch as there is in College Basketball. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong in the comments.