ItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 14 of 2020-21
Submitted on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 9:17AM EST
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
22-0 | Aaand back to #1 the Bulldogs go after yet another dominant week while top-spot rival Baylor sat idle. |
| 2 |
Baylor
|
17-0 | Baylor's back in action! With only three *scheduled* games left, they hope to avoid conference-title calculus by winning out. |
| 3 |
Michigan
|
16-1 | The Wolverines are closing in on the top spot in the Big Ten tournament and nearly have a #1 seed locked down. Not too shabby. |
| 4 |
Ohio State
|
18-5 | The red-hot Buckeyes' hopes at a regular-season conference title hit a brick wall with their loss to Michigan. |
| 5 |
Illinois
|
17-5 | Nevertheless, OSU keeps just abreast of Illinois thanks to a domineering head-to-head win from just over a month ago. |
| 6 |
Villanova
|
14-3 | Villanova's stumbling finish to Big East play hasn't hurt them too much yet, but at 12-4 to Nova's 9-2, Creighton's closing in. |
| 7 |
Florida State
|
13-3 | FSU established themselves as the ACC leader with a huge win over UVA, but the race for the top spot is still wide open. |
| 8 |
Oklahoma
|
14-5 | The hopes that anyone aside from Baylor can steal the #1 conference spot are fading, but at 9-4 in the Big 12, OU leads the #2 chase. |
| 9 |
Alabama
|
18-5 | After a superb SEC start, the Tide have looked mortal lately, losing to Mizzou and beating South Carolina and Vanderbilt close. |
| 10 |
Virginia Tech
|
14-4 | A two-week break is now in the rearview mirror as the Hokies look to beat Georgia Tech for their first solid win of February. |
| 11 |
Houston
|
18-3 | The Coogs took their third AAC upset of the season, this time appropriately losing to the Wichita State Shockers. |
| 12 |
USC
|
18-4 | USC lost to Arizona this week, but at 12-3 with a head-to-head over UCLA, they still lead the Pac-12 entering a showdown with Oregon. |
| 13 |
West Virginia
|
15-6 | West Virginia came back from down 19 to beat Texas, their first 19-point road comeback since...January in Stillwater. Huh. |
| 14 |
Creighton
|
16-5 | The Jays' last game was a cruise to victory over Villanova; a rematch in two weeks tees up the Big East's regular-season title. |
| 15 |
Iowa
|
17-6 | Iowa steered clear of Big Ten upsets at Wisconsin and vs Penn State, but they'll play the underdog at Michigan and OSU this week. |
| 16 |
Oregon
|
14-4 | Riding a five-game winning streak after a stop-and-start January, the Ducks are right back in the thick of the Pac-12 race. |
| 17 |
Texas
|
13-6 | The Longhorns' slide continued with a blown lead against WVU, their fifth straight loss against the Big 12's expected tourney teams. |
| 18 |
Arkansas
|
17-5 | Off of a season-defining win at Mizzou, the Razorbacks avoided a letdown and beat Florida handily at home. |
| 19 |
Kansas
|
16-7 | The Jayhawks have rebounded with five straight wins, but three of them came against ISU and KSU. A revenge game at Texas looms large. |
| 20 |
Texas Tech
|
14-7 | It's unlikely the Red Raiders miss March Madness, but a finish against Oklahoma State and Texas is pivotal for seeding. |
| 21 |
Loyola Chicago
|
19-4 | The Ramblers escaped Valparaiso's upset bid to hold on to first in the MVC, with a pair of games against 4-11 SIU the final hurdle. |
| 22 |
San Diego State
|
17-4 | Picking from among the MW's trio of leaders seems like a fool's errand, but it's hard to argue with SDSU's eight-win streak. |
| 23 |
Virginia
|
15-5 | Yikes. The Cavaliers' ranking had been high for a few weeks, but while an upset was due, losses to both FSU and Duke have to hurt. |
| 24 |
Drake
|
22-2 | The MVC's NET tiebreaker—where Drake is well behind Loyola—means the Bulldogs need a Loyola loss if they're to take the #1 spot. |
| 25 |
Colorado State
|
14-4 | CSU holds off a Boise State squad that's recovered since their Nevada sweep, but the scrum at the back of the rankings is tight. |