ItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 10 of 2020-21
Submitted on Monday, January 25, 2021 at 9:10AM EST
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Baylor
|
For the first time since Week 2, Baylor claims a narrow advantage in the #1 race with impressive wins over Kansas and Oklahoma State. |
| 2 |
Gonzaga
|
Though Gonzaga's facing a lighter schedule than the Bears, they still make a strong case for first and are heir apparent in Baylor loses. |
| 3 |
Villanova
|
A two-point escape from 9-6 Seton Hall and a halftime deficit to 8-7 Providence didn't look pretty, but at least Villanova's playing again. |
| 4 |
Texas
|
Texas bounced back well from their upset loss to Texas Tech, rolling to a 44-24 halftime lead over Kansas State and winning comfortably. |
| 5 |
Michigan
|
Michigan looked the part of a top-ten team this week, dominating inferior competition in wins against Maryland and at Purdue. |
| 6 |
Houston
|
Houston averaged a halftime lead over 20 points this week, taking care of business against Tulsa and Temple. |
| 7 |
Missouri
|
Behind Xavier Pinson's 27 points, Missouri delivered its first win in Knoxville in 49 years to claim the best overall record in the SEC. |
| 8 |
Iowa
|
Iowa's five-game winning streak was snapped abruptly by a stunning Indiana road win, opening a tough stretch of play: @ ILL, vs OSU, @ IND. |
| 9 |
Florida State
|
Since they lost at Clemson and the calendar flipped to 2021, FSU has beaten NC State by 32, UNC by 7, Louisville by 13, and Clemson by 19. |
| 10 |
Alabama
|
Alabama in SEC play: 8-0, wins over #3 through #10 in conference standings, average MOV 17 points. |
| 11 |
Virginia
|
The Cavaliers navigated a chaotic week with aplomb, downing a quietly solid Georgia Tech team in the second half. |
| 12 |
Texas Tech
|
Texas Tech sat idle this week, but will soon face strong competition on the road against West Virginia and LSU. |
| 13 |
Drake
|
The concern for Drake is that, facing only MVC teams from here on out, they have few big-win chances. Still, 13-0 remains impressive. |
| 14 |
St. Louis
|
The Billikens are set to break their no-game streak (dating back to December 23) with games against Dayton and at Richmond this week. |
| 15 |
Boise State
|
13-1 Boise has six true tests remaining: four to end the season against USU and at SDSU, and two this week against CSU in Fort Collins. |
| 16 |
Tennessee
|
Tennessee fell to UF and Mizzou, adding to a WBB loss to UConn and *gestures at CFB program* all that in a dismal week for the school. |
| 17 |
Ohio State
|
Overcoming adversity is an overused concept these days, but what OSU did in recovering from a Purdue loss to win at Wisconsin fit the bill. |
| 18 |
Oregon
|
In an upset-heavy week for the Pac-12, Oregon was set to take a clear conference lead...and then they lost to Oregon State by 11 at home. |
| 19 |
Virginia Tech
|
Virginia Tech's been pulling out close wins all year, so a loss at Syracuse could have been predicted. One by 18, though? Yikes. |
| 20 |
West Virginia
|
West Virginia returned to action with a composed road win against a struggling K-State. Texas Tech and Florida will provide tougher tests. |
| 21 |
UCLA
|
UCLA's 8-0 start to Pac-12 play was snapped in a one-point loss at Stanford, but they still hold a solid claim to the conference lead. |
| 22 |
Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin's loss against Ohio State marked their first home defeat since UMD back on Dec. 28, and their second all year. |
| 23 |
Oklahoma
|
Oklahoma has just one home loss (to Texas Tech) and netted their second win over a conference contender, taking down Kansas by 7 at home. |
| 24 |
Oklahoma State
|
After a lengthy COVID pause—and still missing superstar Cade Cunningham—the Cowboys matched Baylor most of the way before fading late. |
| 25 |
Kansas
|
Kansas will likely extend its all-time record for the most consecutive AP rankings to 230, but can they reach 231 against TCU and Tennessee? |