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Team of the Week: St. Louis Billikens

Mike McCall Jr.

Saint Louis’ Mike McCall Jr. brings the ball down the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Virginia Commonwealth Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, in St. Louis. Saint Louis won 76-62. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

AP

Team of the Week: St. Louis Billikens

It’s no longer in dispute: St. Louis is the best team in the Atlantic 10. They proved it this week. After blowing out a good VCU team in Chaifetz Arena on Tuesday, St. Louis went into Hinkle Fieldhouse and knocked off Butler on Friday night. It was their second win over the Bulldogs this season; earlier this month they also blew out Brad Stevens’ club in St. Louis.

The Billikens now hold sole possession of first-place in the conference with just four games left in the regular season. They’ve won nine straight games and 18 of their last 20, a stretch that just so happens to coincide with the passing of their former coach, Rick Majerus. The four-point win at Butler was the first time since January 23rd that St. Louis didn’t win by double figures. It’s been an unreal turnaround for St. Louis, a team that was 3-3 in November with losses to Washington and Santa Clara.

There’s nothing flashy about this group. They defend, they execute offensively, they don’t beat themselves, they do everything that typical sportswriters love to turn into a cliche.

Teams deserving a shout out:

Ohio State: The Buckeyes put together their most important week of the season by knocking off both Minnesota and Michigan State at home. The win over the Spartans was extra impressive when you consider that Deshaun Thomas was just 4-16 from the floor. The Buckeyes still don’t have a road win more impressive than at Nebraska, but they can now claim victory over four teams in the RPI top 25.

Georgetown: The Hoyas took over sole possession of first place in the Big East thanks to their win at Syracuse and Marquette’s loss at Villanova. Otto Porter is currently the runaway favorite to be the Big East Player of the Year and now has an outside shot at winning the National Player of the Year award. This is all happening less than two months after the Hoyas were throughly embarrassed by Pitt in the Verizon Center as they struggled to break 40 points on a nightly basis. What an unreal turnaround.

Indiana: Indiana took over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten when they beat Michigan State in East Lansing on Tuesday, and they all-but won the Big Ten regular season title when the Spartans lost at Ohio State on Sunday. The Hoosiers still have a trio of tough games left, but they currently hold a two game lead over the rest of the conference with four to play.

New Mexico: The Lobos are in the same position as Indiana after Kendall Williams led them to a win at Colorado State on Saturday afternoon. They hold a two game lead in the MWC standings over the Rams with just four games left on their league schedule.

Kentucky: The Wildcats are back! After beating Vanderbilt in a closer-than-it-should-have-been win in Rupp, Kentucky came out on Gameday and knocked off Missouri to pick up a win they absolutely needed to get if they are going to have a chance to make the NCAA tournament. More importantly, however, the Kentucky roster finally lived up to their talent level. Archie Goodwin played his best basketball of the season in the second half against Mizzou. Alex Poythress looked like a lottery pick for the first time in more than a month. Willie Cauley-Stein looked like he could be an adequate replacement for Nerlens Noel. Ryan Harrow didn’t looked scared. We’ll see where this leads UK, but they are certainly in a better spot than they were after last Saturday.

They were good too: Cal, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Temple, Villanova

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.