ItsAesthus's Ballot for Week 17 of 2020-21
Submitted on Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 11:10PM EDT
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
Since the year's coming to a close and polls are mostly meaningless today, let's remember every team's best moment of the season. |
| 2 |
Baylor
|
While Gonzaga made a comeback against BYU to keep its perfect season alive, Baylor's highlight was a thrilling January win over Texas Tech. |
| 3 |
Illinois
|
An Illinois team denied the Big Ten title by a matter of inches decided to take it for themselves with a dominant tournament run. |
| 4 |
Michigan
|
The Wolverines dealt high-flying rival Ohio State a decisive loss in late February to seal a lead for their regular-season title. |
| 5 |
Alabama
|
Alabama's nine-game streak to open SEC play was bookended with a dramatic 80-79 CCG win to capture their first conference title in 30 years. |
| 6 |
Texas
|
The Longhorns rolled to a 10-1 start as Shaka grew out his hair, ultimately parlaying it into their first Big 12 tournament title. |
| 7 |
Iowa
|
Iowa didn't lose to any non–one seed over the final month, earning their highest-ever seed in the NCAA tournament. |
| 8 |
Oklahoma State
|
Faced with a closing run of eight straight games, the Cowboys came alive and went 6-2, sweeping OU and WVU and stunning #2 Baylor. |
| 9 |
Ohio State
|
Trailing by as much as 11 in the second half, the Buckeyes rallied to beat Iowa in a February 4 duel that established them as a top team. |
| 10 |
San Diego State
|
Their winning streak this time came at the end of the season, not the start, as the Aztecs went from 9-4 to 23-4 and won the Mountain West. |
| 11 |
Houston
|
It feels forever ago now, but Houston cruised past Texas Tech in what turned out to be a sterling out-of-conference win. |
| 12 |
Arkansas
|
The Razorbacks won their last eight games of the regular season, including their last 11 straight in-conference to earn a 3 seed. |
| 13 |
Kansas
|
Fading into the middle of a tough Big 12, the Jayhawks stormed back, winning eight of ten to finish second in the conference. |
| 14 |
West Virginia
|
In January, WVU overcame a 19-point deficit to stun Oklahoma State. In February...they did the same to Texas, tying their record. |
| 15 |
Purdue
|
It happens every year these days, but completing a sweep of Indiana to reach a five-game win streak was a lovely way to end the season. |
| 16 |
Loyola Chicago
|
The Ramblers rolled past Drake in a conference-title rubber match to secure an 8 seed, their best (and only second) since 1984-85. |
| 17 |
Oregon
|
It was somewhat sullied by a conference tournament loss, but Oregon dominated rival Oregon State to win the Pac-12 regular-season crown. |
| 18 |
USC
|
Tahj Edday nailed a three-pointer on March 6 to shock rival UCLA in a wild comeback win, capping a fine season for the Trojans. |
| 19 |
Virginia Tech
|
Rivalry wins are always sweet, and doubling up your rival to come back from trailing by eight, as VT did in January, is even sweeter. |
| 20 |
Colorado
|
During their march to a Pac-12 championship game appearance, the Buffs held off USC in the semifinals to complete a three-game sweep. |
| 21 |
Texas Tech
|
Between postponements and losses, the Raiders hadn't won a game in three weeks when they rocked Texas, five players scoring double digits. |
| 22 |
Winthrop
|
Winthrop lost just one game all year, but they still must have breathed a sigh of relief as they rolled to a conference tournament title. |
| 23 |
Florida State
|
Faced with a red-hot Virginia squad in mid-February, the Seminoles absolutely dominated to stake their claim to the ACC lead. |
| 24 |
Villanova
|
Creighton had rolled Nova with superb shooting a few weeks prior, but the Wildcats wouldn't be denied in the March 3 rematch, winning 72-60. |
| 25 |
LSU
|
The Tigers had sought their fire all year, and they finally found it in a fantastic tournament run that nearly saw them knock off Alabama. |