An unexpected loss by the Buckeyes, who have held the top spot in my rankings for weeks, finally opened up the top spot for somebody else, and that somebody happens to be the team that most of the country sees as the best. All three teams that jumped into my top 25 this week are returning after spending a good chunk of the season up here, and they've all finally done enough to bring them back to the rankings. Here are the current top 25 teams, with gaps between groups of teams representing differing levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (ESPN)
1. (2) Kentucky (2-0) (25-1) -22.15 (1)
2. (1) Ohio State (1-1) (21-4) -19.89 (6)
3. (6) Michigan State (2-0) (20-5) -17.92 (8)
4. (5) Kansas (2-0) (20-5) -17.46 (5)
5. (3) North Carolina (1-1) (21-4) -17.38 (7)
6. (4) Syracuse (2-0) (25-1) -17.26 (2)
7. (7) Wisconsin (1-0) (19-6) -16.18 (17)
8. (8) Missouri (2-0) (23-2) -15.21 (3)
9. (9) New Mexico (1-0) (20-4) -15.15 (31)
10. (11) Duke (2-0) (21-4) -14.95 (4)
11. (17) Wichita State (2-0) (22-4) -14.21 (26)
12. (10) Indiana (1-0) (19-6) -14.19 (20)
13. (15) Saint Louis (2-0) (20-5) -13.89 (38)
14. (21) Belmont (2-0) (20-7) -13.29 (NR)
15. (19) Georgetown (1-1) (19-5) -13.27 (9)
16. (20) Marquette (2-0) (21-5) -13.19 (13)
17. (12) UNLV (1-0) (22-4) -12.72 (11)
18. (NR) Memphis (2-0) (18-7) -12.47 (NR)
19. (23) Louisville (2-0) (20-5) -12.25 (18)
20. (13) Florida (0-2) (19-6) -11.88 (12)
21. (14) Baylor (0-2) (21-4) -11.55 (10)
22. (NR) California (2-0) (20-6) -11.49 (33)
23. (18) Florida State (1-1) (17-7) -11.19 (21)
24. (NR) BYU (1-0) (21-6) -10.99 (NR)
25. (25) Texas (3-0) (16-9) -10.86 (NR)
Dropped Out
(16) Creighton (0-2) (21-5) -10.17 (28)
(24) Iona (1-1) (20-6) -9.69 (NR)
(22) Saint Mary's (1-1) (23-3) -9.10 (16)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big 12 - 4
Big East - 4
ACC - 3
SEC - 2
MWC - 2
MVC - 1
Atl 10 - 1
Atl Sun - 1
CUSA - 1
Pac 12 - 1
WCC - 1
Wichita State upset the Creighton Bluejays on the road Saturday, avenging one of their two conference losses and marking themselves as one of the best mid-major teams in the country. Even more impressive than just winning was how they did it, leading for the last 34 minutes of the game and extending their lead consistently throughout the game. They still only have one loss in 2012, and that came at Drake in triple overtime in a game that they lost because their two best players fouled out in that final period.
My favorite small-conference school from last year is back. The Belmont Bruins, while not as dominant as they were a year ago, are once again on top of their conference's standings, and losses to Duke, Memphis, and Middle Tennessee are all starting to look pretty good. They face conference co-leader Mercer on the road to close the season, but I feel pretty good about them winning and returning to March Madness.
Memphis brought themselves back into the top 25 with a blowout of UAB, but they don't really have a chance to prove themselves to the doubters anymore, with no ranked teams left on their schedule. A move to the Big East in a couple years will help them, but not this year. At least all 5 of their non-conference losses came to teams that are currently ranked, and that win over Belmont to open the season is pretty nice, too.
Florida was looking pretty strong until this week, when they were blown out by #1 Kentucky, then failed to recover from that loss and took a defeat at home to the Tennessee Volunteers. They are facing a dangerous week with visits to Alabama and Arkansas, and they may not be able to afford a loss in either game.
Baylor established themselves as being a second-tier member of the Big 12 by allowing both the Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers to complete season sweeps against them, and even though those are their only 4 losses, only one of the four was even close, which makes this team very tough to read. For now, they have still done enough to keep them in the top 25, but they need to win the rest of their games and make a strong showing in the conference tournament if they really want to make me believe.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Tuesday
(6) Ohio State at Minnesota - Buckeyes by 7
(11) UNLV at TCU - Rebels by 8
(12) Florida at Alabama - Crimson Tide by 3
(22) Virginia at Clemson - Cavaliers by 1
(23) Mississippi State at LSU - Tigers by 5
Texas at Oklahoma - Longhorns by 2
Wednesday
Oklahoma State at (3) Missouri - Tigers by 19
(7) North Carolina at Miami - Tar Heels by 3
(14) Murray State at Southeast Missouri State - Racers by 3
New Mexico at (15) San Diego State - Lobos by 3
Loyola Marymount at (16) Saint Mary's - Gaels by 16
Northwestern at (20) Indiana - Hoosiers by 15
Rutgers at (25) Notre Dame - Fighting Irish by 13
Missouri State at Wichita State - Shockers by 14
Richmond at Saint Louis - Billikens by 18
Memphis at Tulane - Tigers by 6
Thursday
North Carolina State at (4) Duke - Blue Devils by 14
(17) Wisconsin at (8) Michigan State - Spartans by 8
Virginia Tech at (21) Florida State - Seminoles by 13
(24) Gonzaga at Santa Clara - Bulldogs by 13
Oregon at California - Golden Bears by 13
BYU at San Francisco - Cougars by 5
Saturday
Mississippi at (1) Kentucky - Wildcats by 25
(3) Missouri at Texas A&M - Tigers by 9
Texas Tech at (5) Kansas - Wildcats by 28
(6) Ohio State at (19) Michigan - Buckeyes by 3
Clemson at (7) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 19
(9) Georgetown at Providence - Hoyas by 6
Kansas State at (10) Baylor - Bears by 8
(11) UNLV at New Mexico - Lobos by 8
(12) Florida at Arkansas - Gators by 3
(13) Marquette at Connecticut - Huskies by 1
(16) Saint Mary's at (14) Murray State - Racers by 3
(15) San Diego State at Air Force - Aztecs by 5
(18) Louisville at DePaul - Cardinals by 8
(21) Florida State at North Carolina State - Wolfpack by 2
Maryland at (22) Virginia - Cavaliers by 15
(23) Mississippi State at Auburn - Bulldogs by 1
(24) Gonzaga at San Francisco - Bulldogs by 4
(25) Notre Dame at Villanova - Wildcats by 2
Wichita State at Davidson - Shockers by 1
Fordham at Saint Louis - Billikens by 29
East Tennessee State at Belmont - Bruins by 18
Texas at Oklahoma State - Longhorns by 2
Oregon State at California - Golden Bears by 13
UTEP at Memphis - Tigers by 18
BYU at Santa Clara - Cougars by 14
Sunday
(2) Syracuse at Rutgers - Orange by 9
(4) Duke at Boston College - Blue Devils by 15
(8) Michigan State at Purdue - Spartans by 5
Penn State at (17) Wisconsin - Badgers by 21
(20) Indiana at Iowa - Hoosiers by 7
Prediction Results
College Basketball: 30-13 (.698) 397-95 overall (.807)
Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 38-25 overall (.603)
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