Rankings came out today in basketball and hockey. I’ll start with hockey. The loss by Vermont was enough for us to pass them, the split by Colorado College with Minnesota kept them at the same place. This puts us at #11. Which means we got better without playing. #10 Colorado College has a Friday/Saturday series against Sacred Heart. If they can split, there’s probably no effect on us. And they should split, at least. Sacred Heart is .333 on the year, and CC plays at home. A sweep is a reasonable assumption. We’ll probably stay the same next week, at which point there’s the GLI. Now, I got me some basketball jones. (That basketball was like a basketball to me!) So, we beat EMU by 31. Kansas lost to UMass. As a result, they fall from the polls. And we’re media darlings. Not really, but we’re a theoretical #26 in the media poll. Which is one away from an actual rank. If we can beat Oakland this weekend, maybe we get it. Similar story in the coaches poll, #28. So, we’ll see how that goes. So, other than beating Oakland Saturday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, here’s what can affect our rank (this might be different from what I said last time, but, rankings are now listed media/coaches): First, teams that were only got more votes than us coaches’ poll, both of which are not really ranked in either poll: Miami (FL): One game this week, against #25/#25 Clemson, on Sunday night, which is weird, because a loss by either team helps us. Personally, I think a Miami win actually helps us more, because a loss by #25 definitely means they drop out of the poll, and, depending on what we do against Oakland, does not necessarily mean they get replaced by the team that beat them. BYU: Again, one game, against #20/#17 Arizona State Saturday. I’m rooting for the Sun Devils here, because they’re a bit too highly ranked for a loss to certainly drop them from polls, and a loss by BYU certainly lets us pass them next week (if we beat Oakland). No teams beat us in the media poll but not the coaches’ poll, so, on to the bottom 5 (well, 6): #25/#25 Clemson: See Miami. Also, North Florida tomorrow. Should win. #24/#23 Marquette: Two games this week, one tomorrow at #16/#19 Tennessee, which they certainly could lose, and one against 4-2 Western Carolina on Friday, which they should win, but, you know, nothing’s certain. But, if they lost to the Vols, they probably drop out. #23/#21 Memphis: One probable win Wednesday over an Arkansas-Little Rock (7-2). I mean, I guess theoretically ALR could beat them (based solely on record), but, we have a much better chance of them getting a loss Saturday, when they play #11/#11 Syracuse. #22/#20 Davidson: One game this week, and it’s of interest. Davidson plays at #13/#18 Purdue on Saturday. I want Purdue to win pretty badly, both because they’re a Big T1e1n team and because, well, a Davidson loss could help us. #21/#24 Baylor: One game, Saturday, easy win over Texas-Arlington. #19/#22 Michigan State: Two games this week; an easy win on Wednesday over the Citadel. There’s a pretty big contest Saturday though: at #5/#5 Texas. In the end, its probably better for us if State wins this game. There’s enough other possible losses that if they win, it won’t be too big of a deal. So, the skinny: Almost every bottom 5 team in both polls plays a very, very losable game this week. We really only need one of them to lose and for us to beat Oakland to be ranked in at least the coaches’ poll. I’m gonna go ahead and predict a ranking next week. Good night, and Go Blue.