Each week on Monday, I will be posting a breakdown of the AP Top 25, as well as other headlines from power conference teams around the country.
*AAC, A10, and WCC included in power conferences*
AP Top-25
- Villanova
- Virginia
- Purdue
- MSU
- Xavier
- Cincinnati
- Texas Tech
- Auburn
- Duke
- Kansas
- St Marys
- Gonzaga
- Arizona
- Ohio State
- Tennessee
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- Rhode Island
- West Virginia
- Michigan
- UNC
- Wichita State
- Nevada
- Kentucky
- Miami
Top-25 Breakdown
I know it sounds like I say this every week, but I believe that once again the AP committee was spot on with rankings. My one and only complaint is that I believe UNC should have fallen out of the rankings and Butler should be in. Also, it does not have to do with the poll directly, but I was shocked to see that ULL out of the Sun Belt did not receive any top-25 votes. They have won every single game in the conference by double-digits and they are undefeated in the league. Outside of conference play, they have just three losses to Clemson, Ole Miss, and Wyoming.
Top-25 Notes
- #10 Kansas quiets down Kansas State with a 14-point win on the road.
- #14 Ohio State makes Indiana’s tournament bid odds very unlikely, as the Hoosiers lost yet another game.
- #16 Clemson finally beats UNC, and they did it at home by four points.
- #8 Auburn is playing super solid hoops and they grabbed another fantastic road win vs Ole Miss to reach the top 10.
- Trae Young pours in 44 (what else is new), in a win for #17 Oklahoma over Baylor, and #7 Texas Tech out duals Texas in overtime by two points. Then, Texas had another emotional home game, and it paid off, as they upset Oklahoma and Trae Young.
- #4 MSU gets another challenge from Penn State, this time in the Breslin. MSU ended up winning by eight, then the Spartans survived Indiana, as the Hoosiers finished the game in a terrible way when they were set up to win.
- #6 Cincinnati holds off Houston at home for a firmer grip at the top in the AAC.
- #19 West Virginia is officially struggling as they fall to Iowa State by 16 points.
- #22 Wichita State receives a hurtful upset from Temple by two in overtime.
- #18 Rhode Island heads into the hardest place to play in the A10 conference for another dominant win over VCU leaving VCU in trouble.
- Blue Bloods, #9 Duke and #10 Kansas, both are upset on Saturday. Kansas starts it off with a minor upset from Oklahoma State, but it was in Kansas. Then, Duke fell to St Johns for a terrible out of conference upset.
Other Headlines
- Georgia knocks off Florida by 12 points for a mini upset, but more importantly a great resume builder for the Bulldogs. However, to finish the week a different Bulldogs team stole the spot light. Mississippi State beat Georgia by 15.
- TCU is improving, as they won 79-66 at Oklahoma State, but to end the week they lost at home to Texas Tech by eight.
- Butler gets a second fantastic win, behind their win over Villanova earlier in the year. The Bulldogs went to Marquette for a 20-point win.
- Minnesota could officially be done in terms of tournament hopes, with a 14-point loss to Iowa.
- Texas A&M blows out Arkansas at home in a great SEC match-up, and they looked scary good in a 23-point win over South Carolina.
- Syracuse and Florida State put themselves in a hole with terrible losses to Georgia Tech and Wake, who sit at the bottom of the ACC.
- In overtime, VTech gets back in the tournament picture with a great road win over BC.
- Alabama suffers a tough loss to Missouri on their home court, but make up for it by flexing their dominance after being called inconsistent, by beating the Gators by 18.
- Tulsa stays in the conversation for a tournament bid with a huge win over SMU by nine.
- Miami wins a positional game in the ACC, as they took out VTech on the road. Also in the ACC, FSU wins on the road at Louisville.
- Kentucky drops a tough game on the road at Missouri to once again fall out of the top 25.
- LSU grabs a big win at home over Arkansas, as both teams are in the tournament hunt.
- Oregon suffers a massive loss to Stanford by 34 points.
- UCLA takes out rival USC for PAC 12 bragging rights and positioning.
- St Bon holds off Duquesne for second place in the A10.
- Washington sweeps Arizona schools this week to jump on top of the PAC 12, for the moment, in terms of momentum.
