Oklahoma State University LogoItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 16 of 2020-21

Submitted on Monday, March 8, 2021 at 9:02AM EST
RankTeamReason
1 Gonzaga University Logo Gonzaga 24-0 | The Bulldogs sat idle all week amid the first rounds of the WCC's unusual tournament format. They return against St. Mary's tonight.
2 Baylor University Logo Baylor 21-1 | If there was any concern that Baylor wouldn't return to their pre-break glory, it was dispelled as they swept three top-20 foes.
3 University of Michigan Logo Michigan 19-3 | Michigan's briefly interesting case at the #2 spot, meanwhile, came to an abrupt halt with losses to Illinois and MSU this week.
4 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Logo Illinois 20-6 | While the top three are still well ahead, Illinois could have a case to overtake UM depending on the Big Ten tournament results.
5 University of Arkansas Logo Arkansas 21-5 | Arkansas averted disaster at Texas A&M to wrap up the regular season with an eight-game winning streak dating to January 30.
6 University of Houston Logo Houston 21-3 | Houston, too, narrowly avoided defeat—or at the very least overtime—with a buzzer-beating three against Memphis.
7 University of Alabama Logo Alabama 21-6 | The battle between Alabama and Arkansas (both of whom had winning streaks of at least half their SEC schedules) could be incredible.
8 University of Iowa Logo Iowa 20-7 | A back-and-forth duel with middling Wisconsin, won primarily thanks to Luka Garza's continued heroics, didn't move the needle much.
9 Oklahoma State University Logo Oklahoma State 18-7 | The Cowboys have but one loss (to Baylor) in the last month, and earned revenge at WVU without their top two scorers.
10 Ohio State University Logo Ohio State 18-8 | OSU's four-game losing streak is about as good as they come—three losses to top-ten teams—but a four-game losing streak it remains.
11 West Virginia University Logo West Virginia 18-8 | With a 19-point comeback in the first game and an understaffed upset in the second, Round 3 of Cowboys-Mountaineers should thrill.
12 University of Oregon Logo Oregon 19-5 | Oregon closed the college basketball regular season by cruising to victory against rival Oregon State and claiming the Pac-12 1 seed.
13 San Diego State University Logo San Diego State 20-4 | The MW's one-seed controversy died down with CSU's upset loss to Nevada, handing a well-earned title to the dominant Aztecs.
14 University of Southern California Logo USC 21-6 | USC's strong finish, with wins vs Stanford and at UCLA, couldn't quite catch Oregon, but they'll be dangerous in the tournament.
15 Purdue University Logo Purdue 18-8 | The Boilermakers have finally hit their stride, winning five on the trot to surge to the Big Ten's 4 seed ahead of an OSU they swept.
16 University of Kansas Logo Kansas 18-8 | Well, that was...something. Coming off a huge win against theretofore-undefeated Baylor, the Jayhawks nearly lost to UTEP, somehow.
17 Villanova University Logo Villanova 16-5 | When on their game, as in a 70-62 win vs Creighton, few can beat Villanova. When off it? They lose to the likes of 13-12 Providence.
18 Texas Tech University Logo Texas Tech 17-9 | Texas Tech put in another competitive loss to Baylor, landing sixth in the Big 12 tourney but arguably with an edge over #3 Texas.
19 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Logo Virginia Tech 15-5 | The Hokies are 1-1 in the last 30 days, yet still arguably lead the ACC and earned a double-bye in the tourney. Go figure.
20 University of Texas at Austin Logo Texas 17-7 | The Longhorns put TCU away on the road to narrowly claim the 3 seed in the Big 12 tourney. They'll try to avoid a 3-0 sweep to TTU.
21 Loyola University Chicago Logo Loyola Chicago 24-4 | The Ramblers seemed unfamiliar with the concept of a close win in their MVC championship run, rolling 73-49, 65-49, and 75-65.
22 Florida State University Logo Florida State 15-5 | All FSU had to do to win the ACC regular-season title was beat 10-14 Notre Dame. Their spot in 22nd should tell you how that went.
23 Creighton University Logo Creighton 18-7 | Creighton bounced back from their loss at Villanova to outlast a resurgent UConn in the chase for the Big East #2 seed.
24 Brigham Young University Logo BYU 19-5 | The last non-Gonzaga team to beat BYU: Pepperdine, on January 27. Their opponent in the WCC semifinals? You guessed it.
25 Winthrop University Logo Winthrop 23-1 | The Eagles can be ignored no longer. With a tourney spot wrapped up, one-loss Winthrop finally jumped into the back of the top 25.