College basketball just had its most exciting week yet and with that comes an AP Poll that the voters must’ve been conflicted while making. After tons of upsets, big programs not pulling their weight, and a new king at the top of the poll, it’s time to break down this week’s rankings in order to determine who deserved a higher spot and who they got just right.
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|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
RECORD
|
POINTS
|
PREVIOUS
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baylor (61) | 9-0 | 1,525 | 2 |
| 2 | Duke | 7-1 | 1,429 | 3 |
| 3 | Purdue | 9-1 | 1,319 | 1 |
| 4 | UCLA | 9-1 | 1,312 | 4 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 8-2 | 1,291 | 5 |
| 6 | Alabama | 8-1 | 1,202 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas | 8-1 | 1,181 | 8 |
| 8 | Arizona | 9-0 | 1,172 | 11 |
| 9 | Villanova | 7-3 | 924 | 6 |
| 10 | USC | 10-0 | 810 | 16 |
| 11 | Iowa State | 10-0 | 798 | 17 |
| 12 | Michigan State | 9-2 | 707 | 19 |
| 13 | Auburn | 8-1 | 693 | 18 |
| 14 | Houston | 8-2 | 683 | 14 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 8-2 | 656 | 21 |
| 16 | Seton Hall | 9-1 | 635 | 23 |
| 17 | Texas | 6-2 | 583 | 7 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 7-2 | 390 | 13 |
| 19 | LSU | 9-0 | 376 | 25 |
| 20 | UConn | 9-2 | 360 | 15 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 7-2 | 345 | 10 |
| 22 | Xavier | 9-1 | 301 | NR |
| 23 | Colorado State | 10-0 | 251 | NR |
| 24 | Arkansas | 9-1 | 241 | 12 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 7-1 | 164 | NR |
Deserving Falls for Texas, Kentucky
Atop the list of upsets last week were Texas and Kentucky. The Longhorns have now lost two games against top competition (Gonzaga and Seton Hall) and the recent loss to Seton Hall saw them sliding 10 spots down, a deserving fall since they’ve proven they aren’t ready for the better teams yet. As for Kentucky, the loss to Notre Dame was straight-up embarrassing but the voters went away from their blue blood bias and actually dropped the Wildcats down 11 spots. Overall, these were two of the most notable slides and ones no one should be complaining about.
Colorado State Finally Gets In
Fans have been clamoring for this sort of Cinderella team to get in for quite a while now and we finally see the voters recognizing Colorado State’s talent. This is a team that we’ve put in our own rankings for a couple of weeks, and even had them in there for preseason because they have tremendous experience and a great backcourt. The Rams are a team that should continue to rise but one slip up in conference play could see them crashing out of the rankings.
Iowa State Continues to Shock the World
In the 2020-21 season, Iowa State went 2-22. Now, they had tons of Covid-19 issues but to sit here in Week 5 at the 11 spot being 10-0 is truly remarkable. Their most recent game against Jackson State, a 47-37 win, wasn’t their best performance of the year but the Cyclones continue to win and we see them continuing to ascend. If this team can keep up their momentum going into conference play they can be a real threat in the Big 12.
Villanova the Hardest Team to Rank
The Wildcats have now lost to three teams within the top five of the poll. They sit at the nine spot after being at six last weekend. This is a team that has demonstrated that they can’t beat top teams, thus the question with Villanova is why are they in the top 10? Look, this team could go on to win the national championship but as of now it’s pretty clear they won’t touch anyone up top, so why would they deserve to be with those better teams.
As we approach the end of 2021, the college basketball season is only going to get crazier.
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