The college basketball world was already aware that it had made a mistake in overlooking Syracuse in it's preseason rankings. Now it's beginning to realize just how horrible a mistake that was...considering The '09-'10 Syracuse Orange might just be the greatest collection of human beings ever to put on uniforms and play the game of basketball in a sanctioned, NCAA season.
First of all there are the numbers. Syracuse is No. 7 overall in RPI rankings, No. 1 overall in the Sagarin Rankings and No. 1 in something called the KRACH, which sounds naughty.
The weekly polls haven't come out yet but the Orange are sure to rise even further higher. Obviously they had two wins this past week, one of which was over the No. 10 team in the nation. Couple that with No. 3 Villanova's loss to Temple as well as the lame-ass schedules that Purdue and West Virginia have played, and you can easily see the Orange moving way up the charts...possibly even grabbing a few more first-place votes.
(Sure the rankings don't mean squat at the end of the year but they sure do help out in the recruiting department, not that we're hurting too much there either.)
Hell, we've even got the head coach of Kentucky allegedly scared of us.
And it's not just the men, mind you. The Syracuse women's basketball team is off to their best start since 1974. At 9-0, the Orange can match the best start in over 30 years with a win over Delaware State on December 22nd. Coach Q's girls are currently ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll and should keep moving up this week.
I have to say, it's just nice to be dominant again, even if its "just" December.
Update: Syracuse is No. 5 in the new Coaches Poll and also in the AP Poll. where they picked up a 2nd first-place vote. Who has joined Dick Weiss among the smart folks?