ItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 15 of 2020-21
Submitted on Monday, March 1, 2021 at 8:32AM EST
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
24-0 | Gonzaga wrapped up a ridiculously dominant regular season, with only WVU coming within single digits of them all year. |
| 2 |
Baylor
|
18-1 | Baylor finally went down, losing to a resurgent Kansas. They still narrowly lead Michigan, however, due to a much better loss. |
| 3 |
Michigan
|
18-1 | That loss at Minnesota is the only thing really keeping the Wolverines down, having aged poorly with the Gophers now 13-12. |
| 4 |
Arkansas
|
19-5 | Arkansas's an eccentric #4 pick, but every loss (MIZZ, TENN, LSU, BAMA, OKST) looks solid, and none came in February. |
| 5 |
Houston
|
20-3 | Credit Houston, whose quality wins are rather lacking compared to other top-ten teams, for scheduling and defeating a solid WKU team. |
| 6 |
Illinois
|
18-6 | The Illini are making a bit of a push for the last #1 seed, but lest we forget, they did lose to Michigan State this week. |
| 7 |
Alabama
|
19-6 | Alabama secured the SEC title this week despite a 15-point loss at Arkansas that was competitive most of the way. |
| 8 |
West Virginia
|
17-6 | WVU tore through the Big 12 in February, winning six of seven and closing in on Baylor for the conference tournament's one seed. |
| 9 |
Ohio State
|
18-7 | Just as they pulled into prime position for the final #1 seed, the Buckeyes have lost three on the trot to Michigan, MSU, and Iowa. |
| 10 |
Florida State
|
14-4 | Aaand this is where the losses by 18 of last week's top 25 start to come into play. FSU lost at UNC yet only drops three spots. |
| 11 |
Iowa
|
18-7 | Iowa rebounded admirably from a blowout loss at Michigan to wallop Ohio State at Schottenstein. |
| 12 |
Villanova
|
15-4 | Villanova's up-and-down February ended at 4-3 after an ugly road loss to 9-13 Butler. A rematch with Creighton awaits on Wednesday. |
| 13 |
San Diego State
|
19-4 | Undefeated since mid-January and in the lead of a competitive Mountain West, SDSU's following up their miracle 2020 adeptly. |
| 14 |
Oklahoma State
|
16-6 | Behind Cade Cunningham's 40-point showing, the Cowboys added a Bedlam win to their upset of Texas Tech from Monday. |
| 15 |
Oklahoma
|
14-7 | The Sooners fell from the heights of glory with a loss at KSU and will look for revenge in round two of Bedlam tonight. |
| 16 |
Kansas
|
17-8 | The KU renaissance hit a slight hitch with their blown lead against Texas, but beating Baylor by 13 overshadowed the loss. |
| 17 |
USC
|
19-6 | After a hot start to the week in a 14-point win over Pac-12 rival Oregon, USC dropped road games against Colorado and Utah. |
| 18 |
Texas Tech
|
15-8 | Though a loss at Oklahoma State on Monday hurt, the Red Raiders were able to snap a brief losing streak at home against Texas. |
| 19 |
Virginia Tech
|
15-5 | Virginia Tech fell at home to GT, but they recovered well by utterly dominating Wake Forest on Saturday. |
| 20 |
Loyola Chicago
|
21-4 | SIU gave the Ramblers a couple of scares, but they eventually won both games to lock down the top seed in the MVC tournament. |
| 21 |
Texas
|
14-7 | Texas brings up the rear of a chaotic midfield in the Big 12, with Thursday's Red River Shootout looming large. |
| 22 |
Creighton
|
17-6 | Just as the Jays were hitting their stride, they were dealt an upset loss at Xavier. Their chance to sweep Villanova is pivotal. |
| 23 |
Colorado State
|
15-4 | CSU will be one to watch this week. If they beat Air Force, New Mexico, and Nevada—three games in five days—they'll be the MW 1 seed. |
| 24 |
Oregon
|
16-5 | Outside a bad first half against USC, Oregon had an admirable week with wins over Stanford and Cal. |
| 25 |
BYU
|
19-5 | The Cougars have done little wrong since a January 27 loss at Pepperdine, going 6-1 with their only loss by 11 to Gonzaga. |