Rank | Team | Reason |
---|---|---|
1 | Duke | Vindication! While the fake #1 finally faltered and lost, the real #1 beat Texas Tech by double digits despite Tech playing excellent D. |
2 | Michigan | The clear #2, even though it's clear they aren't really trying against these nobodies so that they can rest before conference play begins. |
3 | Virginia | William & Mary should probably get three more players on the court if they wanna have a chance against an elite team like Virginia. |
4 | Tennessee | Beat up on a SoCon team and an ACC team this week. The SoCon team was better. Why does Danny Manning still have a job?? |
5 | Kansas | Didn't have to drop them very far because I was low on them in the first place! They weren't gonna be that lucky in close games forever. |
6 | Gonzaga | Two great defensive performances in a row against awful teams is promising, at least. They get 3 more before WCC play (and a few during it). |
7 | Texas Tech | This feels wrong, but I don't think it is. The Red Raiders played Duke phenomenally; Duke's stars just keyed up a run and won. It happens. |
8 | Michigan State | There's a joke here about the alma mater of Draymond Green thrashing a team named Oakland, but it's 2:14 am and I'm too tired to write it. |
9 | Auburn | The NC State game (like Kansas' in Tempe) was essentially a toss-up, so it's hard to dock the Tigers too much for losing it. |
10 | Marquette | So, uh...Howard is actually a god, right? No mortal can shoot like he did against Buffalo. It's physically impossible. |
11 | Virginia Tech | I basically said last week that the Hokies get to stay in this tier until conference play just by existing. *checks* Yep, still here. |
12 | Nevada | A few heart attack performances in a row against mid-tier teams by Nevada. They should win these handily. Due for a conference road loss. |
13 | Wisconsin | Destroyed the main State of Grambling university. Not bad for a lower level regional university from the State of Chicago. |
14 | North Carolina | This team is so frustratingly inconsistent, but I think it's safe to say at this point that they're not among the sport's elite this year. |
15 | Nebraska | I gotta tell ya, seeing a single digit number next to Nebraska's name on their Torvik page is tripping me out so hard. |
16 | NC State | Alright, so the Wolfpack playing so well against their (ridiculously terrible) non-conference schedule wasn't just a ruse. Good to know. |
17 | Oklahoma | This team is legitimately better than last year's Sooners despite losing Trae Young. I guess now they can actually play like an actual team. |
18 | Ohio State | Literally beat UCLA so badly that Alford went into "only God can judge me" mode in the postgame presser. Pretty awesome. |
19 | Mississippi State | It really feels like a team with the Bulldogs' resume should be higher than 19th. Felt that way about a lot of teams this week. Loaded poll. |
20 | Indiana | They have this coming week off, and they basically had last week off too, so I didn't really move them at all, but a few teams passed them. |
21 | Kentucky | Welcome back! Hagans is actually a terrible player aside from some key steals, and I wish I knew why the media fawns over him so much. |
22 | Buffalo | Throw out every Buffalo defensive stat from the Marquette game and go back and watch Howard's ridiculous shots. Can't blame the Bulls. |
23 | Florida State | This team makes no &@*%#$ sense. The better their opponent last week, the better they played, and the more they won by. |
24 | Cincinnati | I want to think they're better than this, but they've lost their two toughest games, so they're gonna be stuck here for a while. |
25 | Arizona State | Lose badly to Vanderbilt, hand Kansas their first loss, break even. Dort's segment on Walton's World alone keeps them ranked. |