Orangeyes
R.I.P Dan
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John P. in New York City writes: On 'Cuse-Pitt Monday night, the broadcast team was talking about the question of whether Syracuse was the No. 1 team in the country? How can this even be a question at this point?
Brennan: Correction: Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas and national hero Bill Raftery were discussing two separate things: Which deserves to be No. 1, and which is the rankings-neutral best. The only intrigue here is if you believe the two entities can currently be separated.
For what it's worth, at this point, I do not. Sure, Syracuse hasn't faced a road environment akin to what Kentucky faced at Indiana earlier this season, and it doesn't have a home win like UK's over UNC (though that victory lost a little luster after FSU's Tar Heel demolition Saturday). If Christian Watford doesn't make that shot in Bloomington, the Cats are likewise undefeated, and the consensus would probably be that their upside is higher than Cuse's. But, well, Kentucky lost. Syracuse hasn't. And while schedule and quality of wins has something to do with this, it's hard to watch Syracuse and be convinced it's not the best team in the country to date. It's deep at every position. Its attack is balanced and almost impossible to guard. Its defense -- that rangy extended 2-3 zone -- wreaks havoc with the current personnel, so many of whom are long and athletic enough to pressure defenders 25 feet from the hoop without allowing entries into the lane or creases to exploit.
It's fair to at least ask the question: On a neutral floor, is Kentucky better? Is Ohio State? The answer: maybe? Until we find out, or until Syracuse gives us reason to believe otherwise, I'm sticking with the Orange as both the deserving No. 1 (duh) and the best team in the country to date.
The Rest Of The Article
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/45078/bag-this-is-how-you-pick-a-college
