Cats may not fall far in the polls

What a mess being a voter in either the Associated Press or coaches poll will be on Monday.

On the same day, both No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 UK lose by big margins. No. 3 Purdue has three losses and having just lost its best player, the Boilermaker’s don’t seem worthy of being the top ranked team.

No. 4 Syracuse plays No. 8 Villanova tonight. A win could make the Orange convincing as the best team in the land. But if they lose, could we really see No. 1 Purdue followed by No. 2 Duke? Doubtful.

UK’s loss was to a top 20 opponent in enemy territory. Tennessee is no laughing matter, having already beaten Kansas either this year. It’s going to be tricky, and might piss off Purdue and Big Ten fans, but I see no way that a two loss UK should be ranked behind a three loss Purdue. I think many fans could accept the Cats at No. 2 or No. 3 behind Syracuse (and possibly Kansas), but any further would seem silly.

But seeing Purdue in front of the Cats would be hysterical.

But what should poll voters do if Syracuse loses as well?

If I had a vote, I’d get the top 3 where they are. I’m not kidding. Kansas and UK are clearly better than Purdue. If Syracuse losses as well, then the Jayhawks should remain at No. 1 and the Cats at No. 2. Purdue would remain at No. 3.

Call me crazy, but if the goal is to really rank the top 25 teams, not just slot teams in based on who lost the week before, then a Syracuse loss would mean a lot of staying put at the top.

Maybe you disagree. I guess we’ll find out what really happens on Monday.