Alright, so, some updates. First of all, yes, I realize that the rankings don't really matter yet. And I know we're pretty high in the RPI. But this will not stop me from watching the rankings, because, no matter what you say about early season rankings, it is easier to go into the Big T1e1n season ranked than to fight for a ranking during what should be a competitive Big T1e1n season for us. Second of all, yes, I realize that, even if it isn't necessarily the best for our ranking, we want Big T1e1n teams to win, because it'll help our RPI in the long run. But, you know what? I'll deal with that later. Once the B10 season starts, I'll start talking about not only what would best help our ranking, but, what would help our Big Ten tourney seed. For now, we're looking at things on a strictly "what would best help our ranking" basis. Because its my diary. Oh, also, I'm abadoning the system where I put T's in front of teams that got votes and do have a rank but just aren't in the top 25. If a team doesn't have a number in front of it, go ahead and assume it is not in the polls but got more votes than us. For ranked teams, ranking convention is coaches/media. So, what actually happened: Tuesday night: Wisconsin (only ahead of us in coaches poll), actually almost lost to Idaho State. This is... strange. Should hurt them. I'm just glad they stayed alive, because, well, we open the season against them, and I want the game to really mean something. #22/#23 Davidson barely beat out West Virginia, which actually really sucks, because, well, otherwise, they may have fallen out of the polls, which would have been good for us. Wednesday night: BYU (again, only ahead of us in coaches), crushed Boise St. Dayton beats Creighton in the battle o' rhyme by 18, so, although it won't help us get ranked, as long as we beat Eastern Saturday, it'll help us pass them in the polls. Thursday night: No games of interest. None. Weird. Friday night: Miami beat up on FL Intl, which is of no surprise. Tomorrow's the big day, here are the games to watch and where to watch them: PRIORITY GAMES TO WATCH: Obviously, Michigan vs. Eastern on the Big Ten Network. 4:00. Uh, I say we win. That's about all I have to say about that. #21/#21 Ohio State v. Butler at noon on BTN. Battle of the Undefeateds. Could be good for Michigan's rank if OSU loses, but, well, its a Big 10 team. It could be better in the long run if they win. BYU v. Portland. This one's late for us, 10:00pm, and most of us won't get it, as its on The Mtn, which is the Mountain West's sports network. A city in Oregon just elected America's first openly Transgender mayor (congratulations Mayor Rasmussen!), so something tells me the Mormons don't like the entire state. (Why yes. I am bitter about the Prop 8 loss.) Of course, this means I'll be rooting for Portland to beat their asses so bad that they don't have tax-exempt status. It's not unreasonable. They're a two-loss team. Other games I care much, much less about, because the team that should win probably will: Wisconsin v. Wisconsin-Green Bay 8pm BTN Dayton v. Coppin State 8pm, Online NR/#22 Baylor v. Prairie View A&M 3pm, ESPN360 Clemson v. SC State 2pm, Online #23/#25 Kansas v. UMass 2pm, ESPN, ESPN360 #24/#24 Marquette v. IPFW 2pm, Sports 32 (Local Milwaukee Network) #22/#23 Davidson v. Chattanooga 7pm, Online (PPV) Sunday: #25/NR Miami (FL) v. Robert Morris 1pm, No TV The online games, I'm not sure if they're free, unless I've marked that they're not. You can find them on those teams' official websites. If you're really, really obsessive. There's some hockey this weekend, but, just look at the last blog to find it. Good night, don't let the Sam McGuffies bite.