JBL | The Quadaily 25, 2028 Season (Day 89): And We're Free...Freewritin...
Since we're on a very tight deadline today, we won't bother with a snazzy intro.
- Kentucky sits atop the current AP poll. We were asked, how long will it be before Kentucky supplants Indiana? (This was before Florida annexed Kentucky the other day, winning by over 30.)
We took issue with this question. Just because the AP has Kentucky at the top doesn't mean that they were in on them before we were. We've held Kentucky in higher regard this season. The AP had the Wildcats lower than us for 3/4 of the season. Only when they were the nation's final undefeated did voters finally take notice.
Now, we did drop Kentucky to 5 after losing to Florida by so much. Was that fair? Well, look at the rest of the teams above them. All of those teams are deserving of their ranks. None of them have the loss Kentucky has (by 30+). The Wildcats have been great all season long, and are deserving of the top five. We felt, at that particular time, with the teams around them, that falling three spots was just.
We also take issue with this question because of the disrespect to Indiana, our top team for sixty days now (they ascended to the top spot on Day 29). Just because Kentucky kept winning didn't mean we thought they were suddenly better than Indiana. If you haven't noticed, we aren't one to move a team because another team keeps winning. Now, impressive wins do cause teams to move up. We did that with Virginia, Missouri, etc. But our ranking is much more day-to-day and, therefore, more incremental in its movement.
But, make no mistake: Indiana, our preseason pick for natoinal champion, has been the top team in the country for eight and a half weeks now. We have no reason to move them out, just because a team below them gets a great win.
So, for Kansas fans who want to see them moved up past Indiana, save your keystrokes (it's not your fault the Big XII is lukewarm mediocre garbage this season). We don't think there's a single win you could have that would place you above Indiana. And an Indiana loss would have to be a tough one for us to move them down (yes, an Indiana loss doesn't mean they're off the top line; the Big Ten is the toughest conference in the nation, in our opinion).
- Jack Dawkins is out for a week. So we're just going to call it now: UConn loses at Seton Hall on Day 89.
- Arizona and Michigan State are trying to reclaim their seasons after such difficult starts. Arizona (15-7) drubbed Colorado, 77-60, for only their third win in their last eight games. They are still firmly in the field of 68, though we aren't entirely sure how to rate them currently. If we did a bracket today (something that is possible), we wouldn't really know where to put them. We know what they are capable of, which is the optimistic lean on things.
But, we have also seen their conference play, which, while the Pac-12 is very tough (we could make an argument where they are second in the nation, over the ACC), should be as challenging for the Wildcats. We did get one idea as to how teams view them, though, which should be troubling to Arizona coaches.
A rival team, when discussing an upcoming stretch of games, said, "Huge games for (redacted) tomorrow...at Utah, and then home against Sawvell."
Notice it does not say "home against Arizona." No, it just lists Jeremy Sawvell visiting this unknown team.
If we're Arizona coaches, we're worried.
If we're Arizona players not Jeremy Sawvell, we're livid.
Michigan State, meanwhile, has won six straight since falling to 7-8 a couple of weeks ago. They have wins against Iowa, Michigan, and most recently Maryland, which is the most impressive of the bunch. A more difficult stretch lies up ahead, with games against Ilinois, at Ohio State, and home against Purdue coming up.
That makes a road game at Nebraska quite the trap game. The Huskers are just 6-15 this season, and 1-9 in BIg Ten play this season. They have been competitive, losing by 10 to Michigan, by 11 at Maryland, 8 at Ohio State, and by seven to Illinois. (Of course, they were crunched, 83-47, in Bloomington.)
This is a game Michigan State would have lost last month. We'll see just how much progress Sparty has made with the result.
Our pro publication, From Way Downtown BANG!, produced their first Useless Mock Draft of the season yesterday. Using the lottery simulator found at JBLFL.com, the mock saw Atlanta get the #1 pick in the draft, then Kansas City, followed by Las Vegas.
There were some interesting choices made here. Sawvell went at the top to Atlanta (who needs a center), followed by Brandon Dampier to Kansas City. Dampier, the nation's leading scorer and rebounder, would benefit many teams. Kansas City, who made some serious moves in trading for God Mode Alonzo Weaver, could use an imapct player next to him (if he stays...oooo, JBL Intrigue!).
A really interesting pick was Justin Noel going third to Las Vegas. There was a lot of conversation about who the top point guard in the 2028 recruiting class was. Corban Vance was considered to be the top point by the consensus recruiting gurus, but Noel is the one who seems to have stepped up with NC State's climb towards the top of the polls.
Vance, meanwhile, has been good, but overshadowed by Jack Dawkins (who goes 13th in this mock, to Nashville). We have Vance currently going 22nd to Atlanta, which would be a curious choice (and one we don't agree with, to be honest).
You can view the whole first useless mock here:
JBL | Login
The Quadaily 25, 2028 Season
Day 89
1. Indiana (19-1, 1)
2. Kansas (17-3, 2)
3. Connecticut (19-3, 3)
4. Virginia (17-2, 4)
5. Kentucky (19-1, 5)
6. North Carolina (18-4, 6)
7. Duke (16-4, 8)
8. Missouri (17-3, 7)
9. Washington (17-3, 9)
10. NC State (17-3, 10)
11. Southern Cal (17-4, 11)
12. Illinois (16-4, 13)
13. Florida (14-4, 14)
14. Colorado (17-4, 12)
15. Memphis (17-4, 18)
16. Villanova (15-5, 16)
17. San Diego State (19-2, 17)
18. Maryland (15-6, 15)
19. Utah (14-5, 19)
20. Purdue (15-6, 20)
21. Gonzaga (17-2, 21)
22. Pittsburgh (13-6, 22)
23. Ohio State (15-4, 24)
24. Stanford (16-6, 25)
25. New Mexico (15-5, NR)
Next: Iowa State, St. John's, St. Joe's, Michigan State, UNLV
Dropped Out: Iowa State (23)