Duke voter outed This week, the Fighting Illini were ranked #1 for an eighth consecutive week in the Associated Press College Basketball poll. With Kansas falling from the ranks of the unbeaten, Illinois increased their tally of #1 votes to a one-short of unanimous 71. The only dissenting vote went to the 15-0 Duke Blue Devils, who have only played one team who was ranked in the top-25 at game-time.

Well, David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune has outed the lone Duke voter as sportswriter Austin Bishop of the Neshoba Democrat in Philadelphia, Miss. In the Trib article, Bishop said he has ranked Illinois #1 ever since their win over Wake Forest, but put Duke ahead of them after the Illini struggled to beat Iowa at home last week. Bishop also kidded he would prefer keeping his e-mail address and office phone number out of the Chicago papers.

Well, it may not be in the Chicago papers, but Illini Wonk does not exist to supress information that might be of interest to fans of the Fighting Illini, so here's his email: sports@neshobademocrat.com and phone number: 601-656-4000. If you agree or disagree with his vote, feel free to let him know.

Hat tip to College Basketball (who else) for bringing the Trib article to our attention and labeling it "a terrible mistake."

Also, the AP picked up the story and it ran in the Aberdeen American News, which hails from Illini Wonk's home state.

UPDATE: 11-5 Maryland ended this debate with a 75-66 victory over Duke at Cameron.
  posted by Illiniwonk at 3:38 PM