There are now only 5 undefeated teams left in the country, 4 representing the major conferences and Wyoming from the outside. For the first time this season, every one of the undefeated teams has made its way into my top 25, and a new team has taken over the #1 spot, which means there has been a different top team for three straight weeks. Here are my current top 25 rankings, with teams grouped by similar level of performance and AP rank in parentheses.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) Overall (AP)
1. (2) Indiana (2-0) 11-1 (5)
2. (4) Duke (2-0) 11-0 (1)
3. (7) Kansas (2-0) 10-1 (6)
4. (6) Louisville (2-0) 11-1 (4)
5. (3) Florida (1-1) 8-2 (14)
6. (11) Michigan (1-0) 12-0 (2)
7. (12) VCU (2-0) 9-3 (30)
8. (5) Pittsburgh (2-0) 12-1 (24)
9. (1) Syracuse (1-1) 10-1 (9)
10. (9) Arizona (3-0) 11-0 (3)
11. (14) Creighton (1-0) 11-1 (16)
12. (NR) Oklahoma State (2-0) 10-1 (22)
13. (10) Minnesota (1-0) 12-1 (11)
14. (NR) Colorado (1-0) 9-2 (NR)
15. (8) Ohio State (1-1) 9-2 (10)
16. (NR) Colorado State (4-0) 10-2 (NR)
17. (18) Gonzaga (1-0) 11-1 (13)
18. (16) Kentucky (1-0) 8-3 (27)
19. (13) Cincinnati (2-0) 12-0 (8)
20. (23) UNLV (3-0) 11-1 (20)
21. (NR) Missouri (2-0) 10-1 (7)
22. (17) Wyoming (2-0) 12-0 (29)
23. (NR) Belmont (1-0) 8-3 (NR)
24. (20) Illinois State (2-0) 9-3 (NR)
25. (NR) North Carolina State (2-0) 9-2 (23)
Dropped Out
(22) Iowa State (1-0) 9-3 (NR)
(15) Ole Miss (2-1) 9-2 (NR)
(25) Wichita State (2-0) 11-1 (32)
(21) Saint Mary's (1-1) 8-3 (NR)
(24) Middle Tennessee (2-0) 9-3 (NR)
(19) Oregon (1-1) 10-2 (34)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 4
Big East - 4
SEC - 3
MWC - 3
ACC - 2
Big 12 - 2
Pac 12 - 2
MVC - 2
Atl 10 - 1
WCC - 1
OVC - 1
The state of Colorado was a big winner this week, with both of its major universities entering my rankings this week. Colorado got in after a 47-point win over Northern Arizona, even with their 36-point loss to Kansas 2 weeks earlier. Colorado State went 4-0 this week after winning the Las Vegas classic with a blowout of Virginia Tech yesterday. The two teams have only 4 losses between them, and one of those was when the Rams lost to the Buffaloes.
Oklahoma State is the highest-debuting team in my top 25 this week, jumping in at #12 with an 11-1 record. They've already nabbed two good wins, over NC State and Akron, but they will be tested in their next two games, when they play Gonzaga and Kansas State. I'm thinking there could be some trouble, since they haven't played in a close game since December 1.
North Carolina State slipped in at #25 this week after a big win over Saint Bonaventure, which has been very strong in the early going. Their two losses are looking better and better, with Oklahoma State playing really well lately and Michigan still undefeated, but they still don't have a signature win, and I'm not sure they'll get it when they finally have a chance, because their next ranked opponent is Duke on January 12.
Missouri made the top 25 as well this week after giving Illinois their first loss of the season Saturday in Saint Louis. The last time they played any good teams was Thanksgiving weekend, when they lost to Louisville in the Battle 4 Atlantis before beating VCU in the consolation bracket, so this time it was important for them to take advantage. Their upcoming schedule is filled with teams that are flying just under the top 25, so a string of victories now would really help their strength of schedule and get them closer to where the national polls have them ranked.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
(18) San Diego State vs. (4) Arizona - Wildcats by 6
NBA
Boston at Brooklyn - Nets by 6
New York at LA Lakers - Lakers by 1
Oklahoma City at Miami - Heat by 1
Houston at Chicago - Bulls by 1
Denver at LA Clippers - Clippers by 8
Prediction Results
NBA: 4-2 (.667) 277-127 overall (.686)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 49-34 overall (.590)
College Basketball: 3-1 (.750) 337-65 overall (.838)
No comments:
Post a Comment