Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | Villanova | Defending National champ. Undefeated. Enough said |
2 | Kansas | Toss up with Duke for number 2, but won the H2H |
3 | Duke | Have looked dominant all season, only close lose against another elite opponant |
4 | UCLA | Beating UK at Rupp. welcome to the top 5. |
5 | Kentucky | Close loss against a very good UCLA team and always looked in the game even when trailing. |
6 | Indiana | Against UNC and Kansas, this team has looked as good as anyone in the country |
7 | Gonzaga | Playing very well with good depth. Impressed by wins against UF, ISU and Arizona. |
8 | North Carolina | Can't blame them for losing at Assembly Hall in a tough road environment. Still look elite. |
9 | Baylor | The bears just keep winning and impressing me each week. Biggest surprise team of the season for me. |
10 | Creighton | Man can they score. Big win against UW early in the season. Can't wait for them to play Nova on NYE |
11 | Wisconsin | Impressed by their domination over Syracuse |
12 | Xavier | No shame in losing to Baylor this year, but still want to see more. |
13 | Louisville | Solid win vs Purdue. Their defense/press also has a lot of room for improvement which means this team could be scary going forward |
14 | Virginia | Were down most of the game vs OSU before pulling it out and a slip up against WVU have me questioning how elite UVA can really be |
15 | Saint Mary's | Undeated, but really won't be tested until their match-up with the Zags in league play |
16 | Purdue | |
17 | Butler | |
18 | West Virginia | Great win over UVA and have looked dominant at times |
19 | Oregon | |
20 | Florida | Impressed by their start and have given the Zags their toughest test of the year so far. |
21 | Cincinnati | Very impressed with that road win in Aimes. Great Defensive team |
22 | Notre Dame | |
23 | Iowa State | |
24 | South Carolina | Curious to see how the Thornwell suspension affects the team, dropped them a few spots for the time being |
25 | USC | 26-30: Arizona, Syracuse, Temple. Ohio State, and Florida State |