University of Texas at Austin LogoOrangePlasma's Ballot for Week 18 of 2020-21

Submitted on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 12:47AM EDT
RankTeamReason
1 Baylor University Logo Baylor (+1) Need I explain anything? Baylor just beat the team I had first in every other poll by 16 in the championship. Yeah, they're good.
2 Gonzaga University Logo Gonzaga (-1) A dominant season ended in a 16-point loss to Baylor. Gonzaga had an amazing season, ranked number 1 in all my polls, but it ended sad.
3 University of California, Los Angeles Logo UCLA (NR) Yeah, who cares that they were in the First Four and unranked. This is the best 11-seed ever and they get what they deserve, a #3 rank.
4 University of Houston Logo Houston (+4) Houston had a good tournament run, making the Final 4. They got killed by Baylor, but hey, a Final 4's a Final 4.
5 University of Michigan Logo Michigan (-1) Michigan had a great first season under Juwan Howard, ending at the Elite 8. They weren't fully healthy, but let's focus on the good.
6 University of Arkansas Logo Arkansas (+7) Arkansas had quite a historic run for them, ending in a close one against the eventual tournament champs. Excellent season, Hogs.
7 University of Southern California Logo USC (NR) USC looked absolutely fantastic until the Gonzaga game, and deserve respect. Great run for a great team.
8 Oregon State University Logo Oregon State (NR) One of the three biggest cinderellas, Oregon State put together a straight-up insane tournament run. The Beavers rock.
9 University of Alabama Logo Alabama (-3) Alabama put together a good Sweet 16 run that ended with a tragic loss to a Final 4 team. It's sad, but it's a good run, Bama.
10 Loyola University Chicago Logo Loyola Chicago (+5) An emphatic Sweet 16 run got cut short by the Beavs, but nothing will take away from a great run that included a win over Illinois.
11 Florida State University Logo Florida State (+8) After a blowout win over Colorado, FSU got blown out themselves by Michigan. Still, nothing will take away from you Sweet 16, seminoles
12 University of Oregon Logo Oregon (NR) One of the many Pac-12 teams that popped off, Oregon staked their claim in the Sweet 16 by trouncing Iowa. This is no fluke.
13 Villanova University Logo Villanova (+9) Yeah, you could argue 'Nova had a really easy path to the Sweet 16, facing a #12 then a #13. It's still a great run that warrants this.
14 Creighton University Logo Creighton (+9) Just like their Big East pal 'Nova, Creighton had a seemingly easy run to the Sweet 16. Big woop. Still a great run nonetheless.
15 Syracuse University Logo Syracuse (NR) Dread from it. Run from it. Double-digit seeded Syracuse is inevitable. You have to give Boeheim credit. Both of them.
16 Oral Roberts University Logo Oral Roberts (NR) How. About. Oral. Roberts. The 2nd ever 15-seed to make the Sweet 16 and a massively exciting run. Fantastic.
17 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Logo Illinois (-14) By now you can see how I treat post-tourney polls. What happened to Illinois is sad. No doubt. But they had a great season. Remember.
18 University of Iowa Logo Iowa (-13) Another very sad finish here. Iowa lost to Oregon big in the Round of 32, ending Luka Garza's fantastic career with the team.
19 Oklahoma State University Logo Oklahoma State (-12) The sad streak continues with OkSt. This is a team that defied expectations and had a good season. A Rof32 finish won't take that away
20 University of Kansas Logo Kansas (-10) Another victim of the Pac-12. Kansas has little to worry about, even if it's sad. They'll be back. Easiest prediction of my life.
21 Texas Tech University Logo Texas Tech (-1) TTU did well against Arkansas, almost coming away with a win. They're dropping thanks to the insane amount of new teams. Good run TTU.
22 Ohio State University Logo Ohio State (-13) You can argue against this, but OSU had a great season and they should remain here. A Rof64 finish sucks, yes, but still a good season
23 West Virginia University Logo West Virginia (-11) One of the main victims of Syracuse, West Virginia had an unfortunate Rof32 finish. The Mountaineers performed well this season.
24 Louisiana State University Logo LSU (-) LSU did pretty well for an 8-seed. [DROPPED: 14. SDSU, 16. Purdue, 17. UVA, 18. BYU, 21. Ga Tech, 25. UConn]
25 University of Texas at Austin Logo Texas (-14) Does Texas deserve this? Maybe Memphis deserves it more, but Texas still won the B12 and had their best season in quite a while.