Undefeated teams dropped like flies this week, with only 20 of the 33 surviving the week unscathed. The Gonzaga Bulldogs gave up the top spot this week, but not due to a loss. Other teams with more impressive schedules and wins passed the Zags, but they are still among the best teams in the country. 8 teams that made my rankings dropped out of the top 25, so nearly a third of the teams listed below are new. Here are my latest rankings, with teams grouped by similar levels of performance and current AP rankings in parentheses.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) Overall (AP)
1. (3) Florida (1-0) 6-0 (6)
2. (8) Indiana (2-0) 8-0 (1)
3. (1) Gonzaga (2-0) 8-0 (10)
4. (5) Syracuse (1-0) 5-0 (4)
5. (16) Duke (2-0) 8-0 (2)
6. (NR) Arizona (2-0) 5-0 (8)
7. (2) Ole Miss (1-0) 6-0 (NR)
8. (9) Ohio State (1-1) 5-1 (7)
9. (11) Middle Tennessee (1-1) 5-2 (NR)
10. (4) Michigan (2-0) 7-0 (3)
11. (NR) VCU (2-0) 5-3 (NR)
12. (23) Iowa State (1-0) 5-2 (NR)
13. (6) Pittsburgh (2-0) 7-1 (NR)
14. (7) Cincinnati (1-0) 7-0 (11)
15. (NR) Baylor (1-0) 5-2 (NR)
16. (NR) Minnesota (2-0) 8-1 (14)
17. (NR) Illinois (1-0) 8-0 (13)
18. (19) Illinois State (0-1) 5-2 (NR)
19. (12) Creighton (1-1) 7-1 (16)
20. (NR) Wichita State (2-0) 8-0 (24)
21. (NR) Boise State (2-0) 6-1 (NR)
22. (18) Wisconsin (1-1) 5-3 (NR)
23. (10) Oklahoma State (0-1) 5-1 (23)
24. (NR) North Carolina (1-1) 6-2 (20)
25. (13) UNLV (2-0) 5-1 (21)
Dropped Out
(15) Kansas (2-0) 6-1 (9)
(24) West Virginia (1-0) 2-3 (NR)
(17) Akron (1-0) 4-2 (NR)
(14) Stephen F Austin (1-0) 5-0 (NR)
(20) Colorado State (2-0) 6-0 (NR)
(22) Ohio (1-1) 6-1 (NR)
(21) Saint Joseph's (1-1) 4-2 (NR)
(25) Northwestern (0-2) 6-2 (NR)
Ranked Teams by Conference
Big 10 - 6
Big East - 3
Big 12 - 3
MVC - 3
SEC - 2
ACC - 2
MWC - 2
WCC - 1
Pac 12 - 1
Sun Belt - 1
Atl 10 - 1
Florida moved into the top spot this week by wiping out the usually strong Marquette Golden Eagles 82-49 on Thursday. They've had large victories over two teams currently in my top 25 (Wisconsin and Middle Tennessee), and another over a team that used to be ranked here (Savannah State). Their next two games should test them, as they are traveling to face Florida State and Arizona, but the Gators should come out on top in both games and state their case for being at the top of the official rankings as well.
Duke is another team that many feel should be ranked #1, and they have the strength of schedule needed, beating 3 top 4 teams so far, but one of those (Kentucky) was severely overrated. They have, however, beaten 4 teams from my top 25, although 3 of them were single-digit victories, and none came on the road. It is tough to argue with wins over Louisville and Ohio State, but for now the Blue Devils are still just a top 5 team.
Arizona is beating their opponents in more impressive fashion each time they take the court, and they have a couple of good opponents coming up this week as they prepare for a huge showdown with Florida in 2 weeks. The Wildcats are the only Pac-12 team in my top 25 right now, but there are several other good teams in the conference, including Oregon, Oregon State, and Colorado.
VCU is one of only two teams in my rankings that has lost 3 times already, but none of the losses came against a team they should have beaten. They have beaten Belmont and Memphis, both regular tournament teams, by double digits, which has earned them a spot near the top of the rankings, but they'll have to avoid losing too many more this season since they have no ranked opponents remaining on their schedule.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
NBA
Portland at Charlotte - Trail Blazers by 2
Cleveland at Detroit - Pistons by 6
Milwaukee at New Orleans - Hornets by 1
Toronto at Denver - Nuggets by 10
LA Clippers at Utah - Clippers by 2
Orlando at Golden State - Warriors by 8
College Basketball
Eastern Michigan at (4) Syracuse - Orange by 36
Texas Southern at (17) San Diego State - Aztecs by 20
Prediction Results
NBA: 1-1 (.500) 164-80 overall (.672)
College Basketball: 2-1 (.667) 203-46 overall (.815)
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