There weren't many games this week because of the holiday weekend, during which there were only 4 games, all played in Hawaii, but the games that were played had a very big impact on the national scene. There are still 6 teams that haven't lost, but we could be seeing at least one losing on Saturday. Here are the updated rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing different levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (USA)
1. (1) Wisconsin (1-0) (11-2) -21.57 (11)
2. (23) Indiana (2-0) (12-0) -18.90 (15)
3. (6) North Carolina (2-0) (11-2) -18.85 (6)
4. (5) Ohio State (2-0) (12-1) -17.64 (2)
5. (2) Syracuse (2-0) (13-0) -17.53 (1)
6. (4) Kentucky (2-0) (11-1) -17.49 (3)
7. (3) Marquette (1-1) (11-1) -15.76 (13)
8. (7) Baylor (3-0) (12-0) -15.56 (7)
9. (17) Florida (2-0) (10-2) -14.35 (10)
10. (19) Creighton (2-0) (10-1) -13.85 (19)
11. (11) UNLV (2-0) (13-2) -13.70 (20)
12. (18) Michigan State (2-0) (11-2) -13.44 (17)
13. (10) BYU (2-0) (10-3) -12.76 (34)
14. (8) Missouri (1-0) (12-0) -12.74 (8)
15. (9) Kansas (1-1) (8-3) -12.61 (18)
16. (14) Duke (1-0) (10-1) -12.50 (5)
17. (21) Iona (1-0) (10-2) -12.45 (NR)
18. (13) Ohio (2-0) (11-2) -12.03 (32)
19. (NR) Wichita State (0-0) (9-2) -11.56 (39)
20. (NR) Georgetown (1-0) (10-1) -11.55 (12)
21. (NR) Saint Louis (1-0) (11-1) -11.46 (29)
22. (15) Saint Mary's (3-1) (11-2) -11.45 (32)
23. (20) Texas (0-1) (9-3) -11.15 (NR)
24. (NR) Harvard (1-0) (10-1) -11.14 (23)
25. (22) California (1-1) (10-3) -11.11 (NR)
Dropped Out
(24) Virginia (1-0) (10-1) -10.95 (24)
(16) Murray State (1-0) (13-0) -10.10 (21)
(12) Long Beach State (3-1) (7-6) -9.53 (NR)
(25) Louisville (2-0) (12-0) -8.04 (4)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big 12 - 4
Big East - 3
ACC - 2
SEC - 2
MVC - 2
WCC - 2
MWC - 1
MAAC - 1
MAC - 1
Atl 10 - 1
Ivy - 1
Pac 12 - 1
Two undefeated teams fell from my top 25 this week. Murray State beat Tennessee-Martin, but didn't do it as convincingly as they needed to for the strength of schedule hit they took by playing the 3-11 Skyhawks. Louisville, who is #4 in the national rankings, fell after recording two close victories over College of Charleston and Western Kentucky, neither of which is among the top 100 teams in the country, and neither of which is likely to play in March.
Wisconsin needed to win big over Mississippi Valley State in order to maintain the top spot in my rankings, and they did just that, winning 79-45 and giving the Big Ten 3 spots in my top 4. The test for the Badgers begin next week, when they play Michigan State and Michigan during the same week.
Indiana is undefeated for now, but their next three games are all against ranked teams, and there's a good chance they'll end up with a loss at some point in there. The Hoosiers host Ohio State on Saturday, and though they will likely be underdogs, I am picking them to pull off another top-2 upset to go along with their last-second victory over Kentucky.
Florida moved into the top ten in my rankings and the national polls after two more big victories in a row raised their record to 10-2, with the only losses coming to Ohio State and Syracuse on the road. Florida should challenge Kentucky for the conference title, which could make their matchup on March 4 to end the season extra exciting.
Creighton won a game over a Big Ten team for the second time this season, beating Northwestern by 8 points to maintain their single-loss record. This week they play a tough Missouri State team, then head to Wichita State to face their toughest opponent of the season, which could go a long way in determining the Missouri Valley champ.
Iona is in the middle of a month-long road trip, which makes their 10-2 record even more impressive. They haven't beaten anybody yet that would get them any national attention, but wins at Vermont and Richmond are never easy, and their early blowout against Maryland shows what they are capable of.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Tuesday
(11) Wisconsin at Nebraska - Badgers by 16
(22) Pittsburgh at Notre Dame - Fighting Irish by 9
Maryland-Eastern Shore at (24) Virginia - Cavaliers by 35
Texas Southern at Saint Louis - Billikens by 27
Wednesday
Seton Hall at (1) Syracuse - Orange by 19
Northwestern at (2) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 21
Lamar at (3) Kentucky - Wildcats by 19
(12) Georgetown at (4) Louisville - Cardinals by 5
(14) Mississippi State at (7) Baylor - Bears by 18
(9) Connecticut at South Florida - Huskies by 1
(15) Indiana at (17) Michigan State - Spartans by 3
Missouri State at (19) Creighton - Bluejays by 17
Central Arkansas at (20) UNLV - Rebels by 38
Wichita State at Bradley - Shockers by 5
Thursday
Elon at (6) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 33
(10) Florida at Rutgers - Gators by 6
Vanderbilt at (13) Marquette - Golden Eagles by 22
Penn State at (16) Michigan - Wolverines by 17
Howard at (18) Kansas - Jayhawks by 32
(23) Harvard at Boston College - Crimson by 13
BYU at Saint Mary's - Gaels by 8
Iona at Hofstra - Gaels by 9
USC at California - Golden Bears by 21
Friday
Western Michigan at (5) Duke - Blue Devils by 21
(8) Missouri at Old Dominion - Tigers by 7
(22) Murray State at Eastern Illinois - Racers by 4
Kennesaw State at Ohio - Bobcats by 33
Saturday
(2) Ohio State at (15) Indiana - Hoosiers by 10
(4) Louisville at (3) Kentucky - Wildcats by 18
Saint Johns at (9) Connecticut - Huskies by 26
Yale at (10) Florida - Gators by 23
Iowa at (11) Wisconsin - Badgers by 32
Providence at (12) Georgetown - Hoyas by 21
Utah State at (14) Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 13
(17) Michigan State at Nebraska - Spartans by 7
North Dakota at (18) Kansas - Jayhawks by 28
(19) Creighton at Wichita State - Shockers by 7
(20) UNLV at Hawaii - Rebels by 13
Saint Joseph at (23) Harvard - Crimson by 14
Howard at (25) Kansas State - Wildcats by 30
San Diego at BYU - Cougars by 31
Saint Mary's at Pepperdine - Gaels by 4
Rice at Texas - Longhorns by 21
UCLA at California - Golden Bears by 19
Saint Louis at New Mexico - Lobos by 8
Sunday
(1) Syracuse at DePaul - Orange by 9
Pennsylvania at (5) Duke - Blue Devils by 24
Monmouth at (6) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 46
Villanova at (13) Marquette - Golden Eagles by 21
Minnesota at (16) Michigan - Wolverines by 10
Cincinnati at (22) Pittsburgh - Panthers by 6
Prediction Results
College Basketball: 35-2 (.946) 122-14 overall (.897)
Upsets: 2-0 (1.000) 8-2 overall (.800)
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