College basketball is rolling right through the regular season. February is a key month for teams and the first AP Poll of the month has been released as programs try and continue to build their resumes. Some teams are still ranked too low, while others are deservingly on the rise.
Check out last week’s edition here.
|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
RECORD
|
POINTS
|
PREVIOUS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn (49) | 20-1 | 1,508 | 1 |
| 2 | Gonzaga (12) | 17-2 | 1,475 | 2 |
| 3 | UCLA | 16-2 | 1,338 | 7 |
| 4 | Purdue | 18-3 | 1,282 | 6 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 17-4 | 1,195 | 12 |
| 6 | Houston | 18-2 | 1,164 | 7 |
| 7 | Arizona | 17-2 | 1,159 | 3 |
| 8 | Baylor | 18-3 | 1,141 | 4 |
| 9 | Duke | 17-3 | 1,107 | 9 |
| 10 | Kansas | 17-3 | 1,014 | 5 |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 17-3 | 938 | 11 |
| 12 | Villanova | 16-5 | 807 | 14 |
| 13 | Michigan State | 16-4 | 751 | 10 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | 16-5 | 741 | 13 |
| 15 | Providence | 18-2 | 709 | 17 |
| 16 | Ohio State | 13-5 | 548 | 16 |
| 17 | UConn | 15-4 | 483 | 20 |
| 18 | Illinois | 15-5 | 445 | 24 |
| 19 | Southern California | 18-3 | 337 | 15 |
| 20 | Iowa State | 16-5 | 324 | 23 |
| 21 | Xavier | 15-5 | 255 | 21 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 14-6 | 234 | 18 |
| 23 | Texas | 16-5 | 203 | NR |
| 24 | Marquette | 15-7 | 188 | 22 |
| 25 | LSU | 16-5 | 180 | 19 |
Providence is a Top-12 Team
The Friars are 5-1 against Quad 1 and 4-1 against Quad 2. This alone should slot them at least within the top 12, if not the top 10. Each of their losses (Virginia and Marquette) resulted from the team missing 40 shots; moreso from off nights then anything. The team proved this by taking down Marquette on Sunday and look to continue their momentum into a New York date with Saint John’s on Tuesday.
Huge Jump for Kentucky
Kentucky may just be the most erratic team in these rankings. They have bounced back and forth and see their name in the top five once again. The win against Kansas on the road was emphatic, and is a statement towards the team they can ascend to be. We’ll see if they can hold onto this ranking Saturday as they travel to red-hot Alabama.
Too Much Love for Houston?
This Houston team is one that plays a great brand of basketball and are loved by the AP and NET rankings. The problem, though, is that they have lost to the only two Quad 1 teams they’ve faced. Arizona lost to UCLA last week, but that does not mean that the Wildcats should fall below Houston, thanks to the Cougars’ fraudulent schedule.
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Main Image Credit: via Drolab
