Say hello to my little friend.
That's Desmond, Susan Ingham's dog. Dan and I made a pit-stop at his mothers house Tuesday to break up the road trip. It was a nice break on our 9 hour drive, but 9 hours is still a haul. We made it worth it right away by heading to one of the most hyped-up restaurants ever. Gates BBQ. It lived up to the hype. So much so I should have been rolled back to our hotel. It did not take long to pass out.
That brings us to today. The Baylor men practiced this morning at 9:30. It was real relaxed and loose. But when you have the nation's number 8 RPI, you've earned that right. Speaking of RPI, BU is the only team in the top 10 RPI not ranked inside the top 20 in the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN Poll. And they are only one of two teams not ranked in the top 10 (Pittsburgh).
| RPI | AP | ESPN/USA Today |
| 1. Kansas | 1 | 1 |
| 2. Duke | 4 | 4 |
| 3. Kentucky | 2 | 2 |
| 4. Syracuse | 3 | 3 |
| 5. West Virginia | 7 | 6 |
| 6. Kansas State | 9 | 9 |
| 7. New Mexico | 8 | 8 |
| 8. Baylor | 21 | 20 |
| 9. Villanova | 10 | 10 |
| 10. Pittsburgh | 16 | 16 |
I'm not sure what all it will really take to get these polls to give Baylor a little more credit. Everyone will tell you how good Baylor is this year, but when it comes time to rank them, it almost seems as if they are afraid to put Baylor any higher. Granted, two of Baylor's losses are to Colorado and Alabama, but I believe their play since those losses have catapulted them to at least a ranking of 15. They've swept 3 teams in the Big 12 South, and split with the other two.
Some wins in the Big 12 Championships should catch some voters eyes. But then again, so should going 7-1 in their last 8 games.
More later...stay tuned.
