This Week's Syllabus: Feb. 24-March 2

__FAB FIVE

My look at the top five teams in the country right now

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1. Oklahoma State (Last week: 1)

Third-place showing at Puerto Rico can be viewed in various ways. The Cowboys can't just show up and expect their opponents to give them anything. Yet it wasn't like OSU played poorly as all five starters had a sub-par round at Rio Mar. If nothing else, failing to win will keep the group focused.

Next event: Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, Southern Highlands GC, Las Vegas, March 11-13

2. UCLA (2)

Bruins coach Derek Freeman likes the competitiveness his squad is showing back in Los Angeles, an attitude that's carrying over when the team leaves campus for events. Don't have to travel far this coming week to see if they can keep things going.

Next event: USC Invitational, North Ranch CC, Westlake Village, Calif., Feb. 28-March 1

3. Alabama (4)

Guess the little longer layoff didn't really hurt the Crimson Tide boys, did it now? Posting the lowest round in relation to par (-14/274) in three years during the final 18 holes at the Puerto Rico Classic, Alabama made it three wins in five starts this season. Solid contributions from freshman Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett suggest their performances from last fall weren't just beginners luck.

Next event: Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate, Palmetto GC, Aiken, S.C., March 7-8

4. Florida (3)

The Gators can potentially win a third straight event to start the spring when they play at the John Hayt. Only problem with this is they haven't crossed paths with the other big boys just yet in 2011. The wins would mean more if they had, although it's hard to fault Buddy Alexander's boys for beating the teams they're facing.

Next event: John Hayt Invitational, Sawgrass CC, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 27-March 1

5. Georgia Tech (NR)

Gave Alabama the best fight in Puerto Rico before coming up just short. Besides medalist James White,Kyle Scott and J.T. Griffin each carded top-10 finishes. Yellow Jackets are third in the country in birdies, suggesting they've got what it takes when you need to go low.

Next event: Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, Southern Highlands GC, Las Vegas, March 11-13

WOMEN

1. Alabama (Last week: 1)

Crimson Tide lead country in first-round scoring and are third in final-round scoring. In other words, they get out in front early and they aren't likely to squander the lead. No wonder their opponents have their work cut out for them.

Next event: Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate, English Turn CC, New Orleans, Feb. 27-March 1

2. USC (2)

The Trojans venture east to compete in New Orleans, the last time they have to leave the Pacific time zone until the NCAA postseason. They also go with loads of confidence after their victory at the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge.

Next event: Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate, English Turn CC, New Orleans, Feb. 27-March 1

3. UCLA (3)

Overlook the Bruins at your own risk. Carrie Forysth's squad has too much talent to ignore and she seems to have a way of getting her players motivated as the spring rolls along.

Next event: Bruin Wave Invitational, Robinson Ranch GC, Santa Clarita, Calif., Feb. 28-March 2

4. Iowa State (NR)

It took an "upset" victory at the Central District Invitational to force the rest of the college golf world (me included) to check out the Cyclones body of work for the 2010-11 season. Two wins, three seconds and seven top-fives in seven starts suggest that the final play in Florida this past week wasn't quite as surprisingly as you might have thought.

Next event: SunTrust Gator Invitational, Mark Bostick GC, Gainesville, Fla., March 6-7

5. LSU (4)

If there's a silver lining for the Tigers from their runner-up finish at the Central District it's that Austin Ernst claimed the individual title, her first college win. The freshman is gaining confidence and can help make sure that Megan McChrystal doesn't have to shoulder too much of the load for LSU to contend.

Next event: Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate, English Turn CC, New Orleans, Feb. 27-March 1

__STAT OF THE WEEK

__2

Number of men's teams of the four semifinalists at last year's NCAA Championship that currently are ineligible for the NCAA postseason this year because they have do not have a .500 or better winning percentage in their overall head-to-head competitions.

The two that are on the outside looking in are Florida State (32-50-1) and Oregon (39-45).

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STAT OF THE WEEK, PART II

8

__Number of men's teams that competed at last year's NCAA Championship that currently are ineligible because of the .500 rule

Florida State

Oregon

Arizona State

Clemson

Tennessee

TCU

Penn State

Georgia Southern

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RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

__Still 82 days until the first round of the NCAA Women's Division I Championship; 96 until first round of the men's.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

"She said, 'OK, when it finally gets warm, are you going to start to hold practices outside or will you stay inside?' "

Indeed, given the quality runner-up finish to top-ranked Alabama at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, followed by the victory over No. 4 LSU earlier this week, the accomplishments are even more impressive considering that Martens' squad had yet to hit off grass during practices in Ames, Iowa.

Martens (right) says her squad will be venturing outside the football teams indoor practice facility as soon as they can. She credits, however, the new access her team had to the indoor bubble for this winter with having her players so sharp considering the bad Midwestern weather impeding the chance to practice outdoors.

"It's really helped us working on our wedge carry distances," Martens said.

In her seventh year with the Cyclones, Martens contends that her core roster--Laurence Herman, Victoria Stefansen, Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, Sasikarn On-iam, Kristin Paulson,Katelynn Hogenson and Prima Thammaraks--have bought into her practice routines and workouts more so than any previous squad she has had. "It's about them taking the initiative and wanting to get better," Martens said. "They're always out there together [at practice]. It's great to see."

Mind you, the question is whether Iowa State can stay focused now that they no longer can sneak up on their opposition. Martens suggests her team actually might have the right mentality to do just that.

"We played with Alabama all three rounds at Puerto Rico," Martens said, "and I was telling them, 'See, you can compete with anyone.' And they said, 'so like was Alabama good? Is that why you're saying this?' And I said to them, 'Yeah, they're the No. 1 team in the country.' And they say, 'Oh, when were they the No. 1 team in the country?' and I said, 'Right now.'

"I guess that's a positive thing. They don't feel like they should be losing to anyone."

Nor right now do they seem intimidated by anyone.

From my perspective, there are a few teams that have more at stake than others. Duke will be playing its first spring event, the last of the top ranked schools to finally kick off their spring seasons. The Blue Devils had a nice fall but have been overshadowed by the other eastern upstarts (Alabama and LSU). How they reacclimate themselves could be interesting to see.

Arizona State is another that I'll be curious about. The Sun Devils first two starts since essentially reinventing themselves in January had gone as well as you could have reasonably expected. With a slightly stronger field in New Orleans than at the Northrup Grumman, ASU will get to find out again just how well they really stack up against the other elite teams in the country.

Lastly there's Purdue. A fourth-place finish in Puerto Rico with arguably their best player back in West Lafayette in no way constitutes room for concern in my mind for the defending NCAA champs. Still, how the Boilermakers fair this time around might offer some perspective in terms of their confidence level. Good news for Purdue fans is that Maude-Aimee LeBlanc is expected to be back in the line-up this week.

__TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS

MEN

Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

__Classic Club, Palm Desert, Calif.

Feb. 26-27

Host: Wyoming

Field: Air Force, Boise State, Cal Poly, Colorado State, Denver, Drake, Hawaii, Kansas, Long Beach State, Nebraska, New Mexico, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, SMU, Texas A&M, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, UTEP, Weber State, Wyoming

Defending champion: Santa Clara (+8/872) by four strokes over CSU-Northridge; Wyoming's Gabe Maier (-8/208) by three strokes over Santa Clara's Scott Travers

__Skinny:__Event previously played in the fall. Spring dates appear to have help land a deeper field.

__Seahawk Intercollegiate

__CC of Landfall (Nicklaus course), Wilmington, N.C.

Feb. 27-28

Host: UNC Wilmington

Field: Davidson, Delaware, East Carolina, Georgia State, Liberty, North Carolina, Old Dominion, South Carolina, Towson, UNC Wilmington, VCU, Wake Forest

Skinny: Hoping for better weather than for first playing of the event last spring, when tournament had to be shortened to 36 holes.

__John Hayt Collegiate Invitational

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

Sawgrass CC, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Feb. 27-March 1

Host: North Florida

__Field:__Arkansas, Auburn, Coastal Carolina, Florida, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, LSU, Mercer, Mississippi, North Florida, TCU, Tennessee, Tulsa, UAB, UCF

Defending champion: North Florida (+12/876) by 12 strokes over LSU; North Florida's Joe Byun (-4/212) by four strokes over Furman's Austin Reeves, Coastal Carolina's Dan Obremski and North Florida's Sean Dale

__Skinny:__Underrated event at a underrated golf course.

__Charleston Shootout

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

The Links at Stono Ferry, Charleston, S.C.

Feb. 28-March 1

Host: College of Charleston/Charleston Southern

Field: Baylor, Campbell, Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, Navy, Newberry, Presbyterian, Radford, Stetson, USC Upstate, Villanova, Western Kentucky

Defending champion: Georgia (-18/846) by 20 strokes over College of Charleston; Georgia's Russell Henley (-9/207) by one stroke over Georgia's Harris English

__Skinny:__Bulldogs late entry and eventual easy victory was source of some consternation a year ago. That said, UGa's absence hurts strength of field this time around.

__USC Invitational

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

North Ranch CC, Westlake Village, Calif.

Feb. 28-March 1

Host: USC

Field: Arizona State, BYU, California, CSU Northridge, Fresno State, Michigan, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Davis, UCLA, USC, Washington

Defending champion: Oregon (-21/831) by 16 strokes over California; Oregon's Eugene Wong (-10/203) by one stroke over USC's T.J. Vogel

Skinny: A year ago, Oregon pulled off the impressive victory that really gave the Ducks momentum for the rest of the spring. No team could use more deja vu than Casey Martin's right about now.

__WOMEN

Kinderlou Forest Challenge

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

Kinderlou Forest, Valdosta, Ga.

Feb. 27-March 1

Host: Kennesaw State

Field: Augusta State, Chattanooga, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Florida State, Furman, Georgia, Georgia State, Illinois, Kennesaw State, Texas Tech, UCF, Western Carolina, Wisconsin

Defending champion: Tulane (+13/889) by seven strokes over Ohio State; Tulane's Janine Fellows (-2/217) by two strokes over Vanderbilt's Marina Alex and Georgia's Marta Silva Zamora

Skinny: On paper, Georgia looks like it should roll here. Will be interesting to see how the Bulldogs handle the roll of clear favorite. Might say a lot about where this team is heading into the dog days of spring.

__Allstate Sugar Bowl Invitational

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

English Turn CC, New Orleans

Feb. 27-March 1

Host: Tulane

Field: Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Denver, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, North Carolina, Mississippi, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia

Defending champion: Auburn (+25/889) by seven strokes over TCU; LSU's Megan McChrystal (-3/213) by one stroke over Virginia's Calle Nielson

Skinny: Impressive push by Tulane and local officials to promote the tournament in the Crescent City.

__Sir Pizza Cards Challenge

__Weston HIlls CC, Weston, Fla.

Feb. 27-March 1

Host: Louisville

__Field:__Arkansas State, Cincinnati, East Tennessee State, Florida International, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi State, N.C. State, South Florida, Texas State, UNC Wilmington

__Defending champion:

Skinny:

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__Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

Almaden CC, San Jose, Calif.

Feb. 28-March 1

Host: San Jose State

Field: California, Colorado, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Oregon, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Washington

Defending champion: California (+35/899) by two strokes over UC Davis; San Jose State's Cristina Corpus (+1/217) by two strokes over UC Davis' Demi Runas

Skinny: Cal Bears look like a strong dark horse selection come the postseason. The team comes off nice win at Peg Barnard yet looks like it's still improving.

__USA Lady Jaguar Invitational

__Azalea City GC, Mobile, Ala.

Feb. 28-March 1

Host: South Alabama

Field: Alabama State, Centenary, Jackson State, Louisiana-Monroe, Morehead State, Samford, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi, Troy, UAB, Western Kentucky, Winthrop

Defending champion: Memphis (+49/913) by six strokes over Florida International; Stetson's Lauren Cate and Memphis' Marissa Steen (+6/222)

Skinny: Highest ranked squad in the field is Morehead State, 87th in the Golfstat computer ranking.

__Bruin Wave Invitational

__   (For live scoring, click here to link to Golfstat)

Robinson Ranch GC, Santa Clarita, Calif.

Feb. 28-March 2

Host: UCLA/Pepperdine

Field: Arizona, BYU, CSU-Northridge, Long Beach State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, UNLV, Washington State

Defending champion: USC (+2/866) by two strokes over Arizona State; Pepperdine's Danielle Kang (-8/208) by three strokes over New Mexico's Jodi Ewart

Skinny: Curious to see if co-host Pepperdine make some noise at "home" event. Waves have talent but haven't had a top-three finish yet this season.