Commonwealth Power Rankings, February 11th

This week, UVA finally made the leap into first place following dominant performances against Clemson and at Maryland, Norfolk State grabs the three spot, and the bottom of the CPR is where things got wild this week.

February 11, 2013; 1:53 PM • by RVANews staff

The 2012-13 basketball season has been one of the craziest in recent memory. The parity and unpredictability that’s dominated the national scene over the past few months has been mirrored in the Commonwealth.

This week, UVA finally made the leap into first place following dominant performances against Clemson and at Maryland–still, the Cavaliers are 0-3 against the CAA while being 17-3 against everyone else.

The bottom of the CPR is where things got wild this week. Despite entering the week a combined 39-91, last week’s bottom six teams won at least one game this week. For ODU and Longwood, that meant snapping a combined 24-game losing streak.

For all of the underwhelming teams in Virginia (hey VT), the best thing happening right now in the Commonwealth is Norfolk State and Hampton. The two are tearing up the MEAC with a combined 14-game winning streak. The Spartans will likely get an opportunity to defend their “biggest upset” title come March Madness. Watch out #2 seeds!

Predictions are fun, but at this point anything can and probably will happen. Sit back and enjoy the ride in college basketball both across the nation and in the Commonwealth.

— ∮∮∮ —

⬆1

5 PTS

Virginia

17-6, 7-3

Two statement wins for UVA this weekend put the Hoos back on track and back into NCAA Tournament discussions.Brian Leung

2⬇

7 PTS

VCU

19-5, 7-2

The Rams will have plenty of opportunities to retake the top spot in the CPR during their brutal final seven games.Aaron Williams

⬆3

15 PTS

Norfolk State

15-10, 10-0

Well. Here’s to a 10-game winning streak! Go Spartans!Joshua Grice

4

16 PTS

George Mason

14-10, 7-5

The Spiders and Patriots have identical 14-10 overall records, but the Patriots hold the head-to-head tiebreaker thanks to an early season win. Plus, they have a better conference record. Gary Cope

5⬇

17 PTS

Richmond

14-10, 4-5

The official 100 year celebration of Spider Basketball was overshadowed by an abysmal 23% shooting and a measly 10 baskets in a sound loss to SLU at home on Saturday. Joshua Grice

6⬇

26 PTS

Virginia Tech

11-12, 2-8

Erick Green had to be carried off the court by his teammates following Saturday’s home loss to Georgia Tech. It’s the most help Green’s gotten from his teammates in about a month.Gary Cope

7

27 PTS

JMU

14-12, 8-5

The Dukes aren’t good, but they ain’t bad either! That’s CAA ball for ya. Joshua Grice

⬆8

33 PTS

VMI

11-11, 6-4

Even VMI’s great offense can’t compensate for their pitiful defense. Aaron Williams

9⬇

35 PTS

William & Mary

9-13, 3-8

The Tribe have no inside game and no transition offense. So, yeah. Gary Cope

⬆10

40 PTS

Hampton

9-13, 6-3

Winners of four straight, Hampton has a little of Norfolk State’s MEAC magic. Aaron Williams

⬆11

45 PTS

Liberty

8-17, 4-7

The Flames beat Radford. Yep. That’s all I got.Gary Cope

12⬇

46 PTS

Radford

11-14, 5-6

With the 339th youngest roster in the nation, HAVOC 2.0’s ceiling this season is an 8-8 finish in the Big South. Aaron Williams

13

52 PTS

Old Dominion

3-21, 1-11

What a chaotic and awkward week for the Monarchs. They snapped a 10-game losing streak and gave interim head coach Jim Corrigan his first win. Gary Cope

14

56 PTS

Longwood

4-21, 1-10

Longwood snapped their 14-game losing streak with a quality road victory over Winthrop. Aaron Williams

Contributors: Gary Cope (VT; TechHoops.com), Joshua Grice (UR; Richmond Rowdies), Brian Leung (UVA; StreakingTheLawn.com), Aaron Williams (VCU; RVANews)