Commonwealth Power Rankings, February 4th

With football season over the debate over who will make the NCAA Tournament begins!

February 4, 2013; 11:50 AM • by Ross Catrow

With football season over, the intense two months leading up to the Final Four now begin. So much has changed in the past two months, and so much will likely change between now and Atlanta. December’s truths seem distant: VT and W&M looked like forces in the Commonwealth, VCU was the unanimous pick for #1, and NSU looked lost without the Orlando Magic’s Kyle O’Quinn.

Now the debate over who will make the NCAA Tournament will rapidly intensify. At the moment, VCU looks in, UVA could be on the wrong side of the bubble, and NSU looks like the odds on favorite to earn an at large bid in the MEAC Tournament.

Of course, as this season has taught us, anything can change overnight.

— ∮∮∮ —

1

7 PTS

VCU

18-5, 6-2

VCU finally found some of their mojo in the second half against Fordham. They now have all week to prepare for the final eight games of the A-10.Aaron Williams

2

8 PTS

Virginia

15-6, 5-3

Even with a bad loss on the road to Georgia Tech, Virginia’s win against a ranked NC State should be enough to take over the top spot in the Commonwealth.Brian Leung

3

15 PTS

Richmond

14-9, 4-4

UR has a strong tendency to fall on the road and win at home. Last week was no exception. Derrick Williams can’t return soon enough.Joshua Grice

⬆4

24 PTS

George Mason

13-9, 6-4

Mason is on track to finish near the top of the CAA. That’s not saying much.Joshua Grice

4

24 PTS

Virginia Tech

11-10, 2-6

Despite two losses this week and four straight overall, the Hokies are actually playing tough. They led 14th ranked Miami for most of the game and took UNC to overtime. They may be down, but as long as Erick Green is still healthy, they’re not out.Gary Cope

6

27 PTS

Norfolk State

13-10, 8-0

On FIRE!Brian Leung

7

35 PTS

JMU

13-11, 7-4

The Dukes’ winning streak reached four before it was snapped Saturday by George Mason, which has now beaten JMU in 19 of the past 20 meetings.Mark Selig

⬆8

43 PTS

William & Mary

9-12, 3-7

The Tribe snapped an eight-game losing skid and have won two of its last three. Tribe Pride!Brian Leung

⬆9

44 PTS

VMI

10-10, 5-3

It took four straight missed free-throws by Radford and a Stan Okoye tip shot all in the final 25 seconds for VMI to beat Radford 70-69. Aaron Williams

10⬇

50 PTS

Radford

10-13, 4-5

When two mediocre teams like VMI and Radford play each other, one has to lose. Wednesday it was Radford.Aaron Williams

⬆11

55 PTS

Hampton

7-13, 4-3

After losing three in a row, Hampton’s stout defense returned and they finished the week 2-0.Aaron Williams

12⬇

58 PTS

Liberty

7-16, 3-6

The good news? The Flames aren’t in any danger of catching ODU or Longwood.Gary Cope

13

66 PTS

Old Dominion

2-19, 0-9

The only thing keeping the Monarchs out of the cellar is their win over UVA.Gary Cope

14

69 PTS

Longwood

3-20, 0-9

More like LOLngwood? That doesn’t even make sense. Then again, neither does Longwood’s basketball team.Brian Leung

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