ItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 8 of 2020-21
Submitted on Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 10:19PM EST
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
Gonzaga's already unbeatable resume (12-0 with wins over KU, WVU, Iowa, and UVA) added a dominant win over a solid BYU this week. |
| 2 |
Baylor
|
Were it not for the Bulldogs, Baylor would be the clear #1 with an 11-0 record and solid wins over Illinois, OU, and TCU. Alas... |
| 3 |
Texas
|
Texas has the most impressive wins of any team out there, and a last-second stunner over WVU keeps them flying high in third. |
| 4 |
Villanova
|
The only shuffle in the top six comes as one-loss Villanova overtakes two-loss Iowa, whose best wins have lost a bit of luster lately. |
| 5 |
Iowa
|
With one loss to #1 and the other just avenged in dominant fashion, the Big Ten leaders are hot and show no signs of slowing down. |
| 6 |
Kansas
|
Kansas's losses are fantastic on paper, though their uncompetitive nature puts them a step off the top tier. |
| 7 |
Michigan
|
After coasting through the start of their slate, Michigan finally got a chance to prove itself and shone in an 82-57 win over Minnesota. |
| 8 |
Tennessee
|
Like several other teams, Tennessee feels like a good squad deserving of a high rank, but not necessarily one capable of top-level play. |
| 9 |
Creighton
|
Creighton's taken six straight, including resume-highlighting wins over UConn and Xavier (who have just one other loss between them). |
| 10 |
Houston
|
Wins over Wichita State and Tulane were less important to Houston than the comeback win over USF by Tulsa, the Cougars' only loss. |
| 11 |
Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin was unable to provide a definitive statement against a middling Indiana squad, needing two overtimes to drop the Hoosiers to 7-5. |
| 12 |
Oregon
|
The Ducks didn't have much to celebrate this week, fading late in a loss to Colorado and coming back against 4-5 Utah. |
| 13 |
Missouri
|
After a 6-0 start, Mizzou's dropped two of three, and they were outscored 51-24 in the second half in a 15-point loss to Mississippi State. |
| 14 |
Clemson
|
Despite going scoreless in the last 2:30 of the first half and the first 2:30 of the second, Clemson stormed back to upend NC State in OT. |
| 15 |
St. Louis
|
It's been 18 days since Saint Louis last played a game. They'll end the drought on Friday, as Davidson comes to Chaifetz Arena. |
| 16 |
Ohio State
|
Ohio State's struggled somewhat in conference play—except against Rutgers, responsible for two of the Buckeyes' three Big Ten wins. |
| 17 |
Louisville
|
Louisville went up just over ten minutes in against VT, and from then on they kept the Hokies at arm's length, ultimately winning 73-71. |
| 18 |
Drake
|
Southern Illinois has only one non-Drake loss, yet the Bulldogs absolutely dominated in back-to-back wins over SIU, 73-55 and 86-55. |
| 19 |
Illinois
|
Illinois rolled past Northwestern by a 25-point margin, then promptly fell at home to 7-6 Maryland. |
| 20 |
UConn
|
UConn took care of business against Marquette (65-54) and Butler (72-60) to reach 5-1, their only loss coming to top-ten Creighton. |
| 21 |
Virginia Tech
|
Virginia Tech put up a good fight against an impressive Louisville squad, and while they lost, their top-25 case is still solid. |
| 22 |
Minnesota
|
Minnesota had what could be considered to be a bad week. Their two losses—by 25 to Michigan and 15 to Iowa—at least came on the road. |
| 23 |
West Virginia
|
With four losses, just one quality win (Oklahoma State), and a ton of close victories, WVU's true level seems different every game. |
| 24 |
USC
|
USC stormed into the top 25 with wins over 9-3 Arizona and a spooky 4-6 Arizona State, becoming one of three Pac-12 teams with two losses. |
| 25 |
Arkansas
|
Arkansas fell just short in a loss to Tennessee, but claimed a 99-69 win over 7-3 Georgia. Next five: Boise, UCLA, SDSU, Texas Tech, Xavier |