Alex Smart’s Final College Hoops Power Poll

FINAL POWER POLL 3-8-09



1. Michigan State


The outright Big Ten champs closed the regular season on a five-game conference winning streak; MSU will now take it's shot at the Big Ten Tournament, with hopes of playing into a #1 seed.


2. Louisville


With a three-point victory over West Virginia, in Morgantown, the Cardinals wrapped up their first-ever Big East regular season championship and earned a first-round bye in this weeks tournament at Madison Square Garden.


3. Kansas


Once called young, inexperienced and underdogs, the Jayhawks quieted doubters by taking down Texas on Saturday and collecting their fifth-consecutive Big 12 crown.


4. Pittsburgh


Pitt became only the third team in history to defeat a #1 team twice in the same season, as the Panthers topped UConn on Saturday; the win ran Pitt's home-court winning streak up to 21 games.


5. North Carolina


Tyler Hansbrough's last game in Chapel Hill couldn't have been better, as the Heels topped Duke once again and moved UNC ahead of the Blue Devils on the all-time list of outright Conference Championships; North Carolina has now won 17 outright ACC regular season titles.


6. UConn


Connecticut lost two of it's last five games... ironically, both losses came at the hands of Pittsburgh; maybe a third-time could be the charm UConn needs to win the Big East Tournament.


7. Duke


Speaking of third-time's the charm, Duke could very easily find itself in a similar position if North Carolina ends up meeting Coach K & Co. in the ACC Tournament final; moving Jon Scheyer to point guard could have been Duke's best decision all season.


8. Oklahoma


Blake Griffin's 33-points and 14-rebounds not only led Oklahoma past rival, Oklahoma State, but also set a record for the most double-doubles in school history (25); Griffin is also tied with former Kansas star, Drew Gooden, for the second most double-doubles in Big 12 history.


9. Washington


The Huskies claimed their first outright PAC-10 conference title on Saturday as they beat arch-rival, Washington State by seven; Washington also swept the Cougars for the first time since 2004-2005.


10. Memphis


With 22-straight wins, Memphis collected it's third consecutive perfect-regular-season within Conference USA; including post-season tournaments, Memphis has now won 58 CUSA games in a row.


11. Wake Forest


With a win over Clemson on senior day in Winston-Salem, Wake closed the regular season on a four game winning streak and winners of six of it's last seven contests; the Demon Deacons earned the #2 seed in the ACC Tournament.


12. Missouri


Once a top-ten team, Mizzou dropped it's second consecutive road game over the weekend, falling to Texas A&M for the fifth straight time; Mizzou closed the regular season losing two of it's final three games.


13. Illinois


As if losing to Michigan State wasn't heartbreaking enough, Talor Battle's heroics with .03 seconds remaining gave Penn State the one-point win over Illinois last Thursday in the Illini's regular season finale.


14. Arizona State


Senior, Jeff Pendergraph collected 10 boards to go along with 27 points on senior night in Tempe, as the Sun Devils beat Cal; ASU now will shoot for it's third win of the season over arch-rival, Arizona, as the PAC-10 Tournament gets underway in Los Angeles this week.


15. UCLA


The Bruins defeated Oregon on Saturday for their fourth straight "W," to end the regular season; seniors Josh Shipp, Alfred Aboya and Darren Collison won their 121st game at UCLA, making them the most winningest senior class in the school's history.


16. Gonzaga


The Bulldogs' 35-point drubbing of Santa Clara in the WCC Tournament moved Gonzaga into it's 12-consecutive tournament final; Austin Daye scored a career high, 28-points in the win.


17. Clemson


Another once-promising team, Clemson, fell to Wake Forest to end the regular season; the Tigers lost three of their last four games, two of them on the road.


18. Purdue


Just like Clemson, Purdue lost three of it's last four games, two of them on the road; Matt Painter can only hope the his team is healthy and focused for the Big Ten Tournament.


19. Villanova


Nova's 17-point victory was the team's seventh straight over Providence, marking a perfect home-season for the Cats at the Pavilion; Nova will entertain a first round bye in the Big East Tournament.


20. Xavier


The Musketeers earned their revenge over Dayton, crushing the Flyers by 17-points at the Cintas Center to close the regular season; Xavier earned a least a share of the A10 title in the win for their third straight conference crown.


21. Utah


Despite entering it's contest with TCU losers of two straight, Utah dominated the Horned Frogs and scored a 19-point victory to give them a share of the Mountain West regular season title.


22. Brigham Young


If being rivals wasn't enough, now BYU has to share it's Mountain West regular season championship with Utah; the Cougars topped Air Force to earn the hardware for the third consecutive year, a feat that BYU hasn't reaching in 75-years.


23. Syracuse


It took extra time, but Syracuse left Marquette with an overtime victory on Saturday for the Orange's fourth straight win to close out the regular season.


24. Tennessee


Winners of three in a row entering a contest with Alabama, Tennessee had hopes of earning an outright SEC East regular season title... the Tide's Anthony Brook thought differently as he connected on a desperation buzzer beater to sink the Vols on Sunday; UT shares the SEC East regular season championship with South Carolina.


25. Florida State


Behind 22-points from Toney Douglas, Florida State beat Virginia Tech by nine on Sunday in Tallahassee, giving the Seminoles an opening-round bye in this week's ACC Tournament.