There were some big movers in this week's edition of the college basketball top 25, but the teams at the top only solidified their places with very strong showings all week long, widening the gap between the two best teams and the rest of the would-be contenders. Here are this week's updated rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing differing levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (ESPN)
1. (1) Ohio State (1-0) (20-3) -22.77 (3)
2. (2) Kentucky (2-0) (23-1) -21.27 (1)
3. (5) North Carolina (2-0) (20-3) -17.99 (5)
4. (7) Syracuse (1-0) (23-1) -17.70 (2)
5. (4) Kansas (1-1) (18-5) -17.41 (10)
6. (3) Michigan State (1-1) (18-5) -16.69 (12)
7. (6) Wisconsin (1-1) (18-6) -15.62 (22)
8. (10) Missouri (2-0) (21-2) -15.17 (4)
9. (24) New Mexico (2-0) (19-4) -15.11 (28)
10. (12) Indiana (1-1) (18-6) -14.86 (23)
11. (14) Duke (1-1) (19-4) -14.20 (10)
12. (15) UNLV (1-1) (21-4) -14.04 (16)
13. (9) Florida (2-0) (19-4) -13.64 (7)
14. (11) Baylor (2-0) (21-2) -13.31 (6)
15. (22) Saint Louis (2-0) (18-5) -12.84 (39)
16. (17) Creighton (1-1) (21-3) -12.79 (15)
17. (16) Wichita State (2-0) (20-4) -12.66 (36)
18. (8) Florida State (2-0) (16-6) -12.63 (17)
19. (21) Georgetown (2-0) (18-4) -12.47 (11)
20. (13) Marquette (1-1) (19-5) -12.46 (19)
21. (25) Belmont (3-0) (18-7) -11.47 (NR)
22. (19) Saint Mary's (1-0) (22-2) -11.13 (13)
23. (NR) Louisville (1-0) (18-5) -10.91 (23)
24. (NR) Iona (2-0) (19-5) -10.71 (NR)
25. (NR) Texas (1-1) (13-9) -10.58 (NR)
Dropped Out
(18) Memphis (1-1) (16-7) -10.57 (NR)
(20) Harvard (2-0) (20-2) -9.61 (21)
(23) Virginia (1-1) (18-4) -9.50 (20)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big East - 4
Big 12 - 4
ACC - 3
SEC - 2
MWC - 2
MVC - 2
Atl 10 - 1
Atl Sun - 1
WCC - 1
MAAC - 1
Since losing back-to-back games against UNLV and San Diego State last month, the New Mexico Lobos have rebounded nicely, winning four straight games by a margin of at least 16 points, and though all 4 came against the bottom four teams in the conference, the fact that they have only lost twice since Thanksgiving and both came against ranked teams means that they shouldn't be ignored. They face the top two back-to-back again next week, and a win against at least one of them will probably be necessary for the selection committee to seriously consider them.
Florida State pulled off their third upset over a ranked team in a month, beating Virginia by 3 points on Saturday, but neither of their two victories this week was as impressive as it should have been. It seems inconceivable that just one month ago they were coming off a stretch where they had lost 6 of 10, now that they've won 7 straight and moved into a tie with North Carolina for the conference lead.
Marquette was starting to look like the team I had ranked in the top 10 for several weeks early in the season until this week, when they went to South Bend and lost by 17 to the Irish. They still have a good win against Wisconsin from early December, but the Badgers aren't getting the respect they deserve because of a few conference losses in the toughest conference in the nation.
Texas made their way into the top 25 this week despite having a record that is barely above .500 and losing more conference games than they have won. The thing that has bumped them up here is that they have lost four games by 5 or fewer points against ranked opponents, 3 of them in the top 10. The Longhorns may not have much of a chance to play in March, but we'll be missing out on some great potential upsets if they don't.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Tuesday
(7) Florida at (1) Kentucky - Wildcats by 14
Purdue at (3) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 23
(15) Creighton at Evansville - Bluejays by 5
Wednesday
(11) Georgetown at (2) Syracuse - Orange by 11
(9) Duke at (5) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 10
(10) Kansas at (6) Baylor - Bears by 2
Penn State at (12) Michigan State - Spartans by 23
(17) Florida State at Boston College - Seminoles by 15
Wake Forest at (20) Virginia - Cavaliers by 19
(25) Michigan at Nebraska - Wolverines by 3
Northern Iowa at Wichita State - Shockers by 14
Saint Louis at Saint Joseph - Billikens by 1
Thursday
Tennessee State at (7) Murray State - Racers by 14
(13) Saint Mary's at Gonzaga - Bulldogs by 4
Mississippi at (18) Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 9
(22) Wisconsin at Minnesota - Badgers by 2
Illinois at (23) Indiana - Hoosiers by 15
Friday
(21) Harvard at Pennsylvania - Crimson by 1
Iona at Loyola-Maryland - Gaels by 1
Saturday
(1) Kentucky at Vanderbilt - Wildcats by 6
Connecticut at (2) Syracuse - Orange by 15
(12) Michigan State at (3) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 12
(6) Baylor at (4) Missouri - Tigers by 8
(20) Virginia at (5) North Carolina - Tar Heels by 15
Tennessee at (7) Florida - Gators by 15
Austin Peay at (7) Murray State - Racers by 16
Maryland at (9) Duke - Blue Devils by 20
Oklahoma State at (10) Kansas - Jayhawks by 22
Santa Clara at (13) Saint Mary's - Gaels by 27
(14) San Diego State at (16) UNLV - Rebels by 15
Wichita State at (15) Creighton - Bluejays by 6
Miami at (17) Florida State - Seminoles by 11
Georgia at (18) Mississippi State - Bulldogs by 13
Cincinnati at (19) Marquette - Golden Eagles by 11
(21) Harvard at Princeton - Crimson by 1
(23) Louisville at West Virginia - Mountaineers by 5
Saint Louis at LaSalle - Explorers by 3
Belmont at Florida-Gulf Coast - Bruins by 5
Wyoming at New Mexico - Lobos by 15
Kansas State at Texas - Longhorns by 6
Sunday
Saint Johns at (14) Georgetown - Hoyas by 18
Illinois at (22) Michigan - Wolverines by 10
Marist at Iona - Gaels by 28
Prediction Results
College Basketball: 42-6 (.875) 367-82 overall (.817)
Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 35-23 overall (.603)
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