By
Richard Cirminiello
If you’re a graduate, current student or hands-on backer of a particular
school’s football program, it’s a pretty safe bet that you’re investing
some discretionary time into the hoops team as well. That’s especially
true when the month on your calendar tells you it’s March. If that
program happens to be Florida or Ohio State, for instance, the odds are
even better that you haven’t stopped grinning since Labor Day. As a
fan, your school has given you plenty of reasons to smile, sing fight
songs and pump out your two-tone chest over these past six months.
Some campuses like Auburn, Oregon State and Rutgers have had little to
crow about since the bowl season ended. Countless others, such as
Kansas, Memphis and North Carolina couldn’t wait until the football
season was over and Midnight Madness commenced. And then there are
Oregon and Washington State fans, neither of whom can understand how
their football teams dragged down the basketball squads in 2006.
Only the truly fortunate have feasted their eyes and their emotions on
quality products in both major sports.
As in the past, the focus of this exercise is to uncover those fans that
have had their cake and dunked it too. They bowled in the winter and
now they’re preparing to soft shoe on into the Big Dance. It’s time to
deliver the Top 25, Hoops and Helmets style.
*Last year’s ranking is listed after this year’s ranking
1. 7. Florida – Is there even room for debate? Florida already
has one national championship and is poised to make a serious run at
another within a three-month stretch. In Urban Meyer’s second season in
Gainesville, the Gators went 13-1 capped by an unexpected dismantling of
top-ranked Ohio State in the National Championship game. The reigning
national champs in basketball are back at it again, fresh off a third
straight SEC title and seeded No. 1 overall thanks mainly to the
frontline of Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Joakim Noah.
2. 2. Ohio State – One loss. One hideously one-sided loss to
Florida in the National Championship game is the difference between
being a runner-up and this year’s Hoops and Helmets head honcho. Before
losing by 27 to the Gators, the Buckeyes did start 12-0 and stake claim
to Heisman winner Troy Smith. The basketball team has had a main
attraction of its own, freshman sensation Greg Oden who’s helped lead
top-seeded Ohio State to 30 wins and the Big Ten regular season and
tournament titles.
3. 8. Wisconsin – Maybe the most underappreciated program in
America, the Badgers have gone an astonishing 41-6 since September
without an appropriate amount of fanfare. Getting 20 points a game from
Alando Tucker and defensive pressure that’s become synonymous with
Badger basketball, Wisconsin begins the NCAA Tournament as a top seed.
Life after Barry Alvarez began with an improbable 12-win season and a
17-14 win over Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl.
4. 20. Louisville – The Cardinals’ historically significant
football season ended with a win over Wake Forest in the Orange Bowl,
the program’s first-ever appearance in a BCS bowl game. The Big East
champions had signature wins over Miami and West Virginia, despite
spending almost the entire season without star back Michael Bush. Rick
Pitino did one of his best coaching in some time, guiding a young
collection of talent to a 23-8 mark and a No. 6 seed in the tournament.
5. 35. Texas A&M – For a change, the big story this
year in College Station was Billy Gillespie’s basketball team which rose
to No. 6 in the country behind the electrifying play of senior guard
Acie Law. The third-seeded Aggies will be participating in the NCAA
Tournament for the first time since 1987. During the fall, A&M
rebounded from a 5-6 campaign, winning nine games, including a
monumental victory over Texas that snapped a six-game losing streak to
the hated ‘Horns.
6. 27. USC – There were hiccups along the way, such as the
inexcusable gag to UCLA with a title berth at stake, but this was
largely a successful season for the Trojans. Football still won 11
games, a fifth straight Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl that could launch
it as a pre-season No. 1 in 2007. USC hoops is a program on the rise,
returning to the tournament as a No. 5 seed with an athletic lineup that
finished third in a deep league and made it to the finals of the Pac-10
tourney.
7. 1. Texas – Last year’s top Hoops and Helmets team has
slipped in 2006-2007, but not out of sight. The ‘Horns didn’t figure to
contend for another national championship once Vince Young bolted for
the NFL, but late-season losses to Kansas State and Texas A&M knocked
them right out of a January bowl game and into the Alamo Bowl. On the
hardwood, Texas has a bona fide mega star in freshman Kevin Durant who’s
led the team to 24 wins and a No. 4 seed in the tournament.
8. 50. BYU – By all accounts, it has been one of the most
memorable winters in decades for Cougar fans who’ve witnessed a sweep
over rival Utah and Mountain West titles in both sports. John Beck’s
toss to Jonny Harline on the final play at Rice-Eccles Stadium to beat
the Utes will go in the BYU time capsule alongside the Las Vegas rout of
Oregon a month later. The eighth-seeded basketball team snared its
first regular season league title in almost two decades and has won
12-of-14 heading into the tourney.
9. 22. Notre Dame – If only the Irish could win a really big
football game, perhaps a bowl game. Notre Dame went 10-3 and copped a
BCS bowl bid, but will be remembered more for losing badly to Michigan,
USC and LSU, games that kept them from mining deeper into the top 10.
The surprising 24-7 hoops team has had no such problem, however,
finishing on a tear, and as a No. 6 seed, positioning itself for a run
in a long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament.
10. 4. UCLA – The Bruin football team was only 7-6, but
shocking USC when the Trojans were closing in on the title game made it
feel like about 11-2. On the hardwood, 26-5 UCLA stumbled in the
regular season finale and opening game of the Pac-10 tourney, but were
regular season champs, swept a good Trojan team and will begin its
national championship charge as a No. 2 seed.
11. 41. Virginia Tech – For the past decade, celebrations
in Blacksburg were relegated to Lane Stadium, however, Cassell Coliseum
has been hopping since the basketball season began Nov. 10. Everything
came together this winter for the Hokies, a senior-led team that beat
Duke on the road and North Carolina twice and will be dancing for the
first time since 1996. One of those seniors, Zabian Dowdell has been
sensational, averaging 18 points on the year. Football won ten games,
but missed a chance to rule the ACC in a down year for the league and
gagged in the second half of a Chick-fil-A Bowl loss to Georgia.
12. 25. Tennessee – Credit this positioning to coaches Bruce
Pearl and David Cutcliffe. Pearl has energized the Volunteer basketball
team the last two seasons, coaxing 22 wins and a No. 5 seed in the
upcoming tournament. Of course, it’s helped having junior guard Chris
Lofton, an All-America candidate and 20-point a game scorer.
Cutcliffe’s return to Knoxville re-energized the career of quarterback
Erik Ainge, a huge reason UT rebounded from a dreadful 5-6 season with
nine wins and a New Years’ Day bowl game.
13. 44. Maryland – Surprise, surprise. The Terps have gone
33-12 since the football season began in September, getting
better-than-forecasted results from both of their teams. Football
snapped out of its two-year funk, manufacturing nine wins, including the
last one over Purdue in a Champs Sports Bowl rout. Behind senior guard
D.J. Strawberry, basketball went on an absolute tear in February,
beefing up its resume and sealing a bid to the tournament that not long
ago was in jeopardy.
14. 6. Boston College – The Eagles were terrific in their ACC
debut a year ago. They’ve been almost as good this go-round, winning
ten games plus a bowl victory for the seventh straight year in the fall
and another getting another 20 wins, 11 in the ACC, from Al Skinner’s
team. Senior forward Jared Dudley has been anything but a dud this
season, pumping in 19 points a game, while leading the conference in
rebounds.
15. 54. Kentucky – You know it’s a bizarre year in
Lexington when the Wildcat football team carries the basketball team to
the school’s first top 20 H&H finish since Jerry Claiborne was roaming
the sidelines in the 1980s. While Tubby Smith’s kids labored somewhat
to get into the NCAA Tournament, Rich Brooks’ team enjoyed a
breakthrough season, unexpectedly winning eight games behind the passing
of Andre Woodson, including a Music City Bowl upset of Clemson for
Kentucky’s first post-season win in almost a quarter century.
16. 71. Georgia Tech – Tech football was one of this year’s
pleasant surprises, beating division favorites Miami and Virginia Tech
to take the ACC Coastal and getting the New Years’ Day spotlight for the
first time in seven years. On the hardwood, Yellow Jacket fans have
been treated to an exciting glimpse into the future. Freshmen Javaris
Crittenton and Thaddeus Young are the scoring leaders and the main
reason the team rallied in February for an at-large bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
17. 53. Oregon – The high-flying Duck basketball team was solid
all season, but against USC in the Pac-10 title game, they were
positively transcendent, bombing the Trojans 81-57 en route to a 26-7
record and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Mike Bellotti’s squad,
however, was far less memorable, going 7-6, losing badly to BYU in the
Las Vegas Bowl and creating very few highlights once September turned
into October.
18. 57. Arkansas – Houston Nutt’s crew started 2006 with a
blowout loss to USC and ended it with three defeats in-a-row, but in
between, the Hogs reeled off a ten-game winning streak, featuring
Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden. Hoops got hot at a most opportune
time, using an unexpected burst to the SEC title game to get to 21-13
and one of the final at-large bids in the NCAA Tournament.
19. 58. Texas Tech – Tech football went 8-5, but waited
until the final game of the 2006 season to deliver a truly memorable
moment. Trailing by 31 points to Minnesota in the Insight Bowl, the Red
Raiders engineered the biggest comeback in bowl history, winning a
thriller 44-41. Bob Knight’s kids lost five straight at one point in
the season, but 21 wins, including late ones over Texas A&M and Oklahoma
State, was enough to put them in the dance.
20. 9. Nevada – Years from now in Reno, Nevada fans will
remember this period as a very special time to be a Pack backer. For
the second straight winter, victories have flowed for the school from
September to March. While football went 8-5 and nearly had a landmark
bowl win over Miami, basketball is 28-4 and rolling into the tournament
as WAC regular season champs with All-American Nick Fazekas leading the
way.
21. 85. Purdue – Purdue wasn’t otherworldly at any time during
the last six months, but by being one of the few programs to play in
both a bowl game and the NCAA Tournament, it sneaks into the final Top
25 slot. Football went 8-6, finishing in a fourth-place tie in the Big
Ten. Behind a couple of seniors, Carl Landry and David Teague,
basketball rallied down the stretch before its bubble burst.
22. 5. West Virginia – Considering the complete overhaul
from last year’s team, John Beilein and the Mountaineer basketball team
did a swell job just to get consideration for the field of 65. With a
roster comprised of 12 underclassmen, NIT-bound West Virginia is a very
respectable 22-9. With all of the pre-season buzz about the football
team making a darkhorse run to the national championship, the ‘eers
slightly missed their mark in the fall, losing to Louisville and South
Florida and finishing in a second-place tie in the Big East.
23. 16. Michigan – Before football lost its last two games
against Ohio State and USC, the Wolverines appeared to be headed for a
different stratosphere of H&H success. Still, Michigan finished 11-2 on
Saturdays with a No. 8 final AP ranking, while basketball salvaged
something from a disappointing season by parlaying 21 wins into an NIT
berth.
24. 21. Clemson – Football underachieved, losing five
games in a year it was deep enough to win the ACC. Hoops overachieved,
spinning its best regular season in ten years. Put the two together,
and Clemson has had a better-than-average winter. Oliver Purnell’s
cagers have been a big story at the university, winning 21 games and
just missing its first NCAA Tournament bid in a decade. The better news
for Tiger fans is that only one player getting more than ten minutes a
game, guard Vernon Hamilton, won’t be back later this year.
25. 73. Oklahoma State – Strong finishes have been
the trademark of the Cowboys in 2006 and 2007. In football, Oklahoma
State closed an otherwise mediocre 7-6 season with a momentum-building
win over Alabama in the Independence Bowl, ending a four-year drought
without a post-season win. In hoops, the Cowboys shook off a hideous
5-10 stretch to go 22-12 and earn a bid to the NIT Tournament with a
nice run in the Big 12 Tournament.
26. 17. Kansas
27. 3. LSU
28. 80. Boise State
29. 78. Hawaii
30. 26. Pittsburgh
31. 93. Washington State
32. 10. Oklahoma
33. 75. Wake Forest
34. 18. North Carolina
35. 46. Arizona
36. 32. Auburn
37. 66. Kansas State
38. 12. Alabama
39. 56. Indiana
40. 33. Virginia
41. 31. Georgia
42. 29. Michigan State
43. 14. Cal
44. 19. Florida State
45. 42. Nebraska
46. 65. Missouri
47. 43. Rutgers
48. 30. South Carolina
49. 36. Akron
50. 49. Houston
51. 11. Iowa
52. 13. Memphis
53. 84. UNLV
54. 60. Vanderbilt
55. 64. Air Force
56. 51. Illinois
57. 63. Syracuse
58. 102. Southern Miss
59. 55. Washington
60. 52. Duke
61. 83. Ohio
62. 76. Tulsa
63. 92. Oregon State
64. 28. Penn State
65. 98. TCU
66. 24. Miami (Fla.)
67. 99. South Florida
68. 94. Ole Miss
69. 59. Cincinnati
70. 61. San Diego State
71. 62. Fresno State
72. 82. Mississippi State
73. 72. Toledo
74. 23. UConn
75. 114. Central Michigan
76. 95. Western Michigan
77. 70. Arizona State
78. 15. NC State
79. 91. New Mexico State
80. 39. Minnesota
81. 67. Stanford
82. 79. Kent State
83. 77. Utah
84. 40. Iowa State
85. 108. Navy
86. 69. Utah State
87. 89. Middle Tennessee
88. 87. UCF
89. 110. Troy
90. 105. Rice
91. 116. San Jose State
92. 104. North Texas
93. 97. Wyoming
94. 74. New Mexico
95. 81. Colorado State
96. 106. Florida Atlantic
97. 109. Southern Methodist
98. 48. Miami (OH)
99. 90. Baylor
100. 37. Northwestern
101. 112. UL-Monroe
102. 47. UAB
103. 101. Arkansas State
104. 111. Tulane
105. 103. Marshall
106. 38. UTEP
107. 34. Colorado
108. 113. East Carolina
109. 68. Northern Illinois
110. 86. Temple
111. 88. UL-Lafayette
112. 45. Louisiana Tech
113. 107. Ball State
114. 118. Army
115. 100. Bowling Green
116. 96. Buffalo
117. 119. Idaho
118. 117. Eastern Michigan
119. 115. Florida International