OrangePlasma's Ballot for Week 18 of 2020-21
Submitted on Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 12:47AM EDT
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 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
|
(-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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Arkansas
|
(+7) Arkansas had quite a historic run for them, ending in a close one against the eventual tournament champs. Excellent season, Hogs. |
| 7 |
USC
|
(NR) USC looked absolutely fantastic until the Gonzaga game, and deserve respect. Great run for a great team. |
| 8 |
Oregon State
|
(NR) One of the three biggest cinderellas, Oregon State put together a straight-up insane tournament run. The Beavers rock. |
| 9 |
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 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
|
(+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 |
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
|
(+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
|
(+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
|
(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
|
(NR) How. About. Oral. Roberts. The 2nd ever 15-seed to make the Sweet 16 and a massively exciting run. Fantastic. |
| 17 |
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 |
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
|
(-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 |
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
|
(-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
|
(-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
|
(-11) One of the main victims of Syracuse, West Virginia had an unfortunate Rof32 finish. The Mountaineers performed well this season. |
| 24 |
LSU
|
(-) LSU did pretty well for an 8-seed. [DROPPED: 14. SDSU, 16. Purdue, 17. UVA, 18. BYU, 21. Ga Tech, 25. UConn] |
| 25 |
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. |