- Kansas (+2) – Don’t think there’s really a whole lot to explain here – the Jayhawks went on the road and took down the #1 team in the country in a thrilling, high-level game, and now rank #1 on just about every major computer metric. They’re the best team in the country.
- Baylor (-1) – Baylor is now the clear #2 team in the country in my eyes – had Gonzaga won at BYU, I still would have put the Bears in this position. That’s how well-executed the game on Saturday against Kansas was. Any fan of college basketball should hope we get at least one more rematch of the top 2 teams.
- Gonzaga (-1) – Though the Bulldogs lost, I find it hard to ding them very much – I’m not sure that even Kansas would’ve won in Provo on Saturday night. That atmosphere is why I’ll always love college basketball more than the NBA, despite the lower quality of play and questionable officiating. Don’t be fooled – BYU is legit and Gonzaga is still an elite team.
- Dayton (+3) – How awesome is it that Dayton is about to be a pretty much consensus Top 5 team? This team is just incredibly fun to watch and weathers every storm it encounters – which seems to happen on a near-nightly basis since they are every opponent’s Super Bowl. This week they handled a difficult road test at a desperate VCU team and survived a challenge from Duquesne at home, two wins that don’t have a ton of name branding but are very much quality wins.
- San Diego State (-1) – Yes, the Aztecs lost at home to a now 15-14 UNLV team, but I just can’t ding them too much for finally losing – there’s a reason it’s been over 40 years since a college team has gone unbeaten. Not to mention, San Diego State is one of just 3 teams (along with Kansas and Duke) to rank in the top 10 for both AdjO and AdjD on KenPom. I can’t wait to see the Twitter trolls get proven wrong in the NCAA Tournament.
- Florida State (+3) – Productive week for the Seminoles, who easily avenged a season-opening loss to Pitt, then went on the road and took down a feisty and very hungry NC State team fresh off a destruction of Duke. I am really looking forward to seeing which one of Florida State, Louisville, and Duke stands above the rest in the ACC Tournament, cause right now, I’m not quite sure which team is the best.
- Maryland (-2) – Maryland’s 9 game win streak finally game to an end on Sunday when they fell on the road to the Buckeyes, but the Terps still remain the best team in the best conference, which has to count for something. It’s definitely a bummer that Anthony Cowan fouled out on a technical foul – I was looking forward to seeing if his late game heroics could lead Maryland to another come from behind road win.
- Kentucky (+3) – Don’t look now, but Coach Cal has this team rolling – the road loss to Auburn is their only blemish in their past 11 games, and their only other conference loss came on a buzzer beater at South Carolina. That loss to Evansville seems like a distant memory, and while the computer metrics don’t love this Kentucky team, I absolutely love the way they’re playing and the tenacity brought by Immanuel Quickley and Nick Richards.
- Duke (-3) – Duke is a very good team, but all season, I just haven’t quite felt as if they’re truly elite. Wednesday’s defeat to NC State demonstrates why I feel that way, despite metrics (and a really strong resume) suggesting they’re near the top of the charts – this team can be dominant when clicking, but for all the talent they possess, it feels as if they’re more prone to an absolute stinker of a performance than any other team in the Top 10.
- Creighton (+4) – Creighton is quite possibly the hottest team in college basketball right now with 9 wins in their last 10, and they’ve taken down some juggernauts on the way, with road wins at Villanova and Seton Hall, and after this week, Marquette, plus Sunday’s blowout of a good Butler team. The Tyshon Alexander/Marcus Zegarowski/Mitchell Ballock trio is simply a joy to watch and I really think this team is headed towards a very deep run in the tournament.
- Seton Hall (+1) – After an 0-2 week, the Pirates bounced back in a really strong way, with Sandro Mamukelashvili’s buzzer beater leading them over Butler and a convincing win over St. John’s wrapping up the week. The Pirates get a much-needed break until a road trip to Marquette on Saturday where they’ll try to stay on pace for a Big East title, but Creighton remains on their tail and continue to light their opponents up.
- Louisville (+1) – Not a whole to say about Louisville other than that they bounced big in a needed way – after losing to two bad teams on the road, two bad teams came into the KFC Yum! Center (that exclamation point is critical, folks) and left with double digit losses. Monday’s road trip to Tallahassee will determine if this is a top 10 team or not.
- Oregon (-3) – The Ducks fell on the road in Tempe to a scorching hot and surging Arizona State team, and I’ve got the Sun Devils ranked now, so I can’t drop the Ducks too far for that, especially given the way they came out and stole a win on the road at Arizona late Saturday night. Payton Pritchard continued to make a case for 1st Team All-American with a masterful 38 point performance in a brutally tough road environment.
- Villanova (+2) – Villanova held serve on the road this week, extending their winning streak to 4 games after 3 consecutive losses to Creighton, Butler, and Seton Hall. I’m not convinced that they’re quite at the level of Creighton and Seton Hall yet, given that half of this winning streak includes Temple and DePaul, but they’re definitely in the right direction.
- BYU (+8) – BYU is definitely my biggest winner in the rankings this week – the metrics have loved them for a while, but I somewhat begrudgingly ranked them at #23 last week despite a narrow road win over San Diego. But now, there’s no way to argue that BYU is not one of the top 25 teams in the country after a massive home win against Gonzaga, and I really believe they’re one of the 15 best teams.
- Penn State (-8) – After Penn State ripped off an 8 game winning streak I was perfectly content to launch them up into the top 10, but after the last week, I feel like I may have jumped the gun a bit. A home loss to Illinois and road loss to Indiana certainly aren’t the end of the world by any means; I just think that I needed to recalibrate my view of Penn State a little bit.
- Iowa (+5) – Iowa took their only game of the week and made the most of it, boatracing Ohio State in the opening minutes and controlling the game from then on to snag a 9 point victory over a top 25 team. With an impressive win, along with some losses by teams I had previously ranked above the Hawkeyes, Iowa is another big mover.
- Auburn (-3) – The Tigers somehow pulled another rabbit out of their hat on Saturday with a massive come from behind victory over Tennessee, but the mid-week loss to Georgia is a bit of a concern for me. Yes, Isaac Okoro was out, so I don’t want to penalize the Tigers too harshly, but at no point this season have I ever felt as if Georgia was close to a good team, and the Tigers have been awfully lucky a lot this season.
- Houston (–) – The Cougars fell over the weekend, but a one point road loss to a talented team desperate for a big win to get back in the bubble conversation is hardly shameful. Plus, just a few days earlier they blasted Tulsa by 33 points, so that balances out their past week pretty nicely.
- Colorado (–) – The Buffaloes did take a home loss over the weekend to the same team that previously lost to Cal State Fullerton and Hofstra, but really, UCLA is a completely different team from that time. They’re on a red hot streak, so I can’t penalize Colorado too much, especially when others near them in the rankings lost either worse games, are on more prolonged skids of inconsistency, or lost multiple times this past week.
- West Virginia (-3) – Compared to Houston and Colorado, it may be a bit more harsh to penalize the Mountaineers for an OT road loss to a conference foe, but my bigger concern is how BAD this team is on the road – in Big 12 play, West Virginia is now 1-6 on the road, with the lone win coming at Oklahoma State. They’re a great team at home, but I really would like to see some better road performances.
- Michigan State (+2) – Quiet week for the Spartans, who blasted Nebraska on the road by 21 points on Thursday night and move up thanks to some Big East carnage. We’ll get a better gauge of where the Spartans are at now with Iowa coming to town on Tuesday night and a road trip lined up to College Park on Saturday night.
- Arizona State (NEW) – Earlier this season, I didn’t think the Sun Devils were even remotely close to the bubble picture, let alone the top 25 picture, but they are up there with Creighton and Kentucky in the mix for hottest team in the country. Now the leader in the Pac 12 standings, the Sun Devils took down Oregon this week and held serve at home in a narrow win over Oregon State. With 7 straight wins, I’ve gotta give a tip of the cap to Arizona State this week.
- Butler (-3) – The days of Butler being a top 5 team seem long forgotten, but I can assure you they happened this very season. Butler is absolutely headed in the wrong direction with 4 losses in their past 5 games, but I’m not completely giving up on them yet. While they ended up getting boatraced by Creighton on Sunday, Kamar Baldwin leaving the game is definitely a major loss that had to have played a part, though I don’t think his injury was even close to being the reason for the blowout. Also, it’s pretty hard to knock a team too much for losing on the road to a top 15 team on a buzzer beater inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left – that’s just tough.
- Ohio State (–) – Ohio State came back to the rankings this week after a long break marked by maddeningly inconsistent play, then promptly got beaten pretty handily by Iowa. They bounced back in a huge way though on Sunday, knocking off top 10 Maryland, so I have no problem keeping them where they’re at for the time being.
Dropped Out: Marquette (was 17)
Next 5: Marquette, Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Virginia
Bracketology Busters 