Wow. What a crazy week it was in college basketball. Saturday was especially crazy. I went into Saturday thinking I might rank the teams pretty close to the way they came into the week ranked, but things happened and that is not the case. Here is my ballot for the top 25 teams if I had a vote.
1-Villanova: While everyone else was losing, the Wildcats took care of business this week with wins over Xavier and St. Johns by 14 and seven respectively.
2-Purdue: I remember thinking the Boilermakers might struggle to replace Caleb Swanigan, I was wrong. The Boilermakers might be an even better team than they were last year.
3-Virginia:Not many people enjoy watching Virginia play, but I do. They have the second best offense according to KenPom.com and the 30th best offense, which means their offense isn't as bad as you think.
4-Oklahoma: This might be kind of high, but the Sooners have the best player in the nation (Trae Young) and picked up two wins over top 16 teams this week. That's why I have them at number four.
5-Wichita State: The Shockers routed East Carolina and squeaked by Tulsa this week, neither teams are very good, but the Shockers took care of business.
6-West Virginia: I love West Virginia and Bob Huggins. The Mountaineers came into the week ranked second, but they dropped a one point decision to Texas Tech in Lubbock, so they had to drop a little bit.
7-Michigan State: The Spartans have hit a mid-season slump, they've lost two of their last three. Their one win was a four point overtime win over a bad Rutgers team.
8-Duke: I have the Blue Devils dropping from seventh to eight this week even though they went 2-0 this week. Dukes offense is really good , but their defense is not. KenPom.com has them ranked as the 88th best defense.
9-Texas Tech: The Red Raiders drop one spot despite losing by 10 to Oklahoma, but everyone else around Texas Tech lost as well except for Kansas and Tech owned Kansas earlier this year, so I couldn't put them ahead.
10-Kansas: Kansas barely squeaked out wins over possibly the two worst teams in the Big 12 at Allen Fieldhouse, but a win is a win. Good news for Jayhawk fans, Malik Newman played well against ISU and Sylvio De Sousa is now eligible, giving the Jayhawks more size. Which they needed.
11-Cincinnati: The Bearcats only played one game this week, but it was a 23 point rout of South Florida. The Bearcats shine on the defensive side of the floor with the third best defense according toKenPom.com
12-Xavier: The Musketeers got routed at Villanova, but they responded with a 22 point win over Creighton, for that they only drop from tenth to twelfth.
13-Gonzaga:Say what you want about the West Coast Conference, but 'Zaga is taking care of business. They are also one of the better all-around teams according to KenPom.com with the eighth best offense and 17th best defense.
14-Arizona: The Wildcats struggled to begin the year, but they've found their rhythm and are playing well. They beat Arizona State, so they belong ahead of the Sun Devils.
15-Arizona State: The Sun Devils were the media darling after beating Kansas, but they've struggled in conference play dropping games to Arizona, Colorado and Oregon, they are a fun team to watch but their defense struggles. (122nd best according to KenPom.com)
16-Seton Hall-Seton Hall is a weird team, they have wins over Texas Tech and Creighton, but lost to Rutgers. Andrew Rowsey made the Pirates look silly, scoring 31 points in Marquette's 84-64 win on Tuesday, but I trust Desi Rodriguez.
17-North Carolina: I honestly did not expect the Tar Heel to be that good this year, but they have the 20th best offense and 11th best defense according to KenPom.com.
18-Kentucky: This is definitely not John Calipari's most talented Kentucky team, but they took care of business this week with a one point win over Texas A&M and a seven point victory over Vanderbilt.
19-Auburn: Say what you want about Auburn, their resume is not impressive and their coach might be a sleeze, but the Tigers keep on winning despite the FBI investigation looming.
20-TCU: The Horned Frogs dropped two games this week. They lost to Texas because Jaylen Carter cannot make a simple layup and they lost to Oklahoma because of Trae Young. The Horned Frogs are a darn fun offensive team, but no so much on the defensive side.
21-Tennessee: The Vols have been up and down, their four losses are to North Carolina, Villanova, Arkansas and Auburn, but they have wins over Purdue and Kentucky. When playing well, they are dangerous.
22-Clemson: Brad Brownell came into the year on the hot seat, hes put his foot into the fire so far leading the Tigers to a current record of 15-2, however those two losses are to Temple (who has a losing record) and North Carolina State.
23-Miami: The 'Canes only played one game this week and it was a nine point loss to Clemson. Big test coming up tomorrow night when they host Duke.
24-Ohio State: The Buckeyes have been a pleasant surprise this year, although they shouldn't be that much of a surprise because Cris Holtmann is a darn good coach. Oh and.. Keita Bates-Diop might be the best player in the Big Ten.
25-Michigan-The Wolverines went 1-1 this week, but that one loss was by one to Purdue and they took down Sparty this week. Nobody else I considered for this last spot impressed me much this week, so I gave the Maize and Blue benefit of the doubt.
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