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Indiana University

  • Hoosiers carefully pick opponents
    Indiana signed on for two more years of the Crossroads Classic this week. It’s a move, coach Tom Crean said, that changes some non-conference scheduling.“We’re going to play a neutral game in Indianapolis.Thursday
  • Crossroads Classic extended through 2014
    The Crossroads Classic basketball event featuring Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Butler was extended for 2013 and 2014, the schools announced in a news release Tuesday.Wednesday
  • Big Ten football sets schedules for 2015-16
    The Big Ten announced its conference football schedules for the 2015 and 2016 seasons today. Indiana kicks off the 2015 Big Ten campaign at Wisconsin on Oct. 3. The Hoosiers have home games against Illinois (Oct.Tuesday
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Published: February 14, 2012 3:00 a.m.

Racers drop, but stay in Top 25

What to do with Murray State?

That was one question I grappled with as I compiled my top 25 vote Sunday night.

The Racers suffered their first loss of the season Thursday against Tennessee State. As a result, Murray State dropped seven spots to 16 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll.

I ranked the Racers 15th. Murray State has been one of the intriguing stories this season. The Racers entered the top 10 two weeks ago. Last week, they were at No. 9.

Murray State won its first 23 games. A road win at Memphis stands out. Those are reasons why this is still a Top 25 team.

The same couldn’t be said for Creighton. Three consecutive losses dropped the Bluejays out of the rankings. Creighton was No. 17 last week. Wichita State beat Creighton on Saturday. The Shockers entered the poll this week at No. 25. Wichita State started the season 2-2 and has gone 20-2 since. The Shockers have won 12 of 13, with the only loss during the stretch coming in triple overtime.

Mississippi State and Harvard also fell out of the rankings. That made room for Notre Dame (No. 23) and Gonzaga (No. 24). Notre Dame won its sixth straight game Saturday, defeating DePaul. A victory against then-No. 1 Syracuse started the run.

Notre Dame is 10-3 since losing to Indiana in the Crossroads Classic on Dec. 17 in Indianapolis. I had the Irish at No. 21.

The Hoosiers climbed to No. 18 this week (that’s where I had them as well). IU defeated Illinois on Thursday. The Hoosiers were No. 23 last week. IU is one of five Big Ten teams in the poll. Ohio State and Michigan State are sixth and seventh. The Buckeyes had one more point than the Spartans in the poll. I had the two reversed, with the Spartans sixth and Ohio State seventh after the Michigan State victory in Columbus on Saturday.

Wisconsin (No. 15) and Michigan (No. 17) are the two other ranked Big Ten teams.

Kentucky remains at the top of the poll. The rest of the AP top 10 is Syracuse, Missouri, Kansas, Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Baylor and Georgetown.

LaMond Pope is a staff writer for The Journal Gazette. He may be reached at 461-8735 or by email at lpope@jg.net.
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