The Bat Cave

TOP 25:

1. Kansas (27-2)
Key Wins: Arizona, UCLA, Memphis, USC, @Cal, UNT, @Michigan, @Iowa St, @Baylor, @Colorado, KSU, Mizzou, Colorado, OkSU
Key Losses: Texas, @KSU
Last Week: #1
Comments: I’m one of the few people making rankings that don’t have to adjust their #1 slot this week. I thought Kansas had the nation’s best resume last week and nothing happened this week to change that. 16 wins over the top 100 RPI remains tops in the nation. Ohio State was ranked above Kansas in the AP Poll, so it’s likely they’ll be #1 tomorrow after winning out this past week, but that’s the wrong call.

2. BYU (27-2)
Key Wins: Utah St., St. Mary’s, @Vermont, Arizona, UTEP, @UNLV, @Colorado St, SDSU, UNLV, Colorado St, @SDSU
Key Losses: @UCLA, @New Mexico
Last Week: #2
Comments: Perhaps I was bold by putting BYU at #2 last week, but the rest of the nation is going to be catching up to me now. At worst, BYU will be #4 tomorrow, but there’s really no excuse for ranking Duke ahead of them. As I’ve pointed out repeatedly, BYU is #1 in the RPI now, had several quality wins in their non-conference schedule, and has now beat San Diego State, a top 5-7 team most of the year, twice. Also, BYU has played a tougher schedule than Duke, plays in (arguably) the tougher conference this year, and has more top 50 wins than anyone in the country. Stop the East Coast madness!

3. Ohio State (27-2)
Key Wins: @Florida, @FSU, South Carolina, Oakland, Minnesota, @Michigan, Penn St, @Illinois, Purdue, N’western, @Minnesota, MSU, Illinois
Key Losses: @Wisconsin, @Purdue
Last Week: #5
Comments: Probably your #1 team tomorrow and they’re definitely good, but I don’t think their resume stacks up to Kansas or BYU right now. As far as losses go, Ohio State has taken the most forgivable ones, on the road vs. Purdue and Wisconsin, both top 15 teams. However, the Big 10 has turned out to be a lot softer than we all thought it was going to be. With the exception of OSU, Purdue and Wisconsin, everyone else has been rather unremarkable, so they’ve only posted six top 50 wins, while BYU has 9.

4. Duke (26-3)
Key Wins: Marquette, Kansas State, MSU, Butler, Miami, UAB, Maryland, @NC St, BCU, @Maryland, NC St, UNC, @Miami, Temple
Key Losses: @FSU, @SJU, @VTU
Last Week: #3
Comments: Overrated last week for obvious reasons and losing to Virginia Tech yesterday puts them where they belong. I’ll probably take Duke further in my bracket than BYU, especially if Kyrie Irving comes back, but at this point the Blue Devils are clawing for that last #1 seed.

5. Pittsburgh (25-4)
Key Wins: Maryland, Texas, UCONN, Marquette, @Georgetown, Syracuse, Cincy, @WVU, @Villanova, WVU
Key Losses: Tennessee, NDU, @SJU, @Louisville
Last Week: #7
Comments: Oddly enough, Pitt moves up in my rankings after taking a loss today. Of course that loss was on the road vs a top 25 team in overtime, so that’s not a terrible thing. Pitt may have four losses, but they also have four wins over top 15 teams while San Diego State has none. I could even buy an argument for Pitt at #4 over Duke, but I’ll keep it like this for now.

6. San Diego State (27-2)
Key Wins: @Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, Wichita St., @Cal, UNLV, @New Mexico, Colorado St, @UNLV, New Mexico
Key Losses: @BYU, BYU
Last Week: #4
Comments: I took a fair amount of heat last week for my San Diego State ranking. “How can you have BYU ranked ahead of them?” Hopefully that debate has been put to rest now.

7. Purdue (24-5)
Key Wins: Oakland, @V-Tech, @Michigan, N’western, @Penn St, Penn St, MSU, Minnesota, @Illinois, Wisconsin, OSU, @MSU
Key Losses: @Richmond, @Minnesota, @WVU, @OSU, @Wisconsin
Last Week: #8
Comments: Purdue looks like they’re going to end up where I had them projected in my preseason rankings (post-Hummel injury). They’ve proven most of their doubters wrong, showing they can win consistently without one of their star players. And why wouldn’t they? How many teams can say they have two seniors as talented and experienced as JuJuan Johnson and E’twaun Moore? Hummel probably makes this team a #1 seed, but those guys are plenty good on their own merit. Purdue has momentum on their side right now, rolling on a six game win streak that includes victories over OSU, Wisconsin and a 20-point blowout at Michigan State.

8. Notre Dame (23-5)
Key Wins: Cal, Georgia, @Wisconsin, Gonzaga, Georgetown, UCONN, SJU, Cincy, Marquette, @Pitt, L’ville
Key Loses: @Kentucky, @Syracuse, @Marquette, @SJU, @WVU
Last Week: #11
Comments: Solid if unremarkable, Notre Dame stands alone at second place in the brutal Big East.

9. Texas (24-5)
Key Wins: Illinois, @UNC, @MSU, Arkansas, A&M, @Kansas, @Ok St, Mizzou, @A&M, Baylor, OkSU
Key Losses: @Pitt, @USC, UCONN, @Nebraska, @Colorado
Last Week: #6
Comments: My #1 team two weeks ago and NCAA favorite at the time, Texas has losses in back-to-back weeks to middle-of-the-pack Big 12 teams and has seen their stock drop tremendously.

10. Florida (22-6)
Key Wins: @FSU, KSU, Xavier, RIU, Ole Miss, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Georgia, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, @SCU, Tennessee, Georgia
Key Losses: OSU, @UCF, Jacksonville, SCU, @Miss St, @Kentucky
Last Week: #10
Comments: Beating Georgia and losing at Kentucky keeps Florida on even ground this week.

11. Syracuse (24-6)
Key Wins: MSU, NC State, Notre Dame, @St. John’s, Cincinnati, @UCONN, WVU, @Nova, @G’town
Key Losses: @Pitt, Villanova, Seton Hall, @Marquette, G’town, @L’ville
Last Week: #17
Comments: Another momentum shift: Syracuse appears back on track after losing 6 of 8, reeling off four straight victories, including three against ranked teams…

12. Georgetown (21-8)
Key Wins: NC State, @ODU, @Missouri, Utah State, @Memphis, SJU, @Villanova, L’ville, @Syracuse, Marquette
Key Losses: @Temple, @Notre Dame, @St. John’s, WVU, Pitt, @UCONN, Cincy, Syracuse
Last Week: #9
Comments: …meanwhile, the Hoyas have dropped 3 of 4, including back-to-back home games. They hold strong in the top 15 with a #1 strength of schedule ranking and 8 top 50 wins.

13. Wisconsin (22-6)
Key Wins: @BCU, NC State, @Marquette, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, @Northwestern, Purdue, MSU, OSU, Penn St, @Michigan, N’western
Key Losses: @UNLV, Notre Dame, @Illinois, @MSU, @Penn St, @Purdue
Last Week: #13
Comments: Still threatening to make the Big 10 tournament a 3-team race.

14. Connecticut (21-7)
Key Wins: Wichita State, MSU, Kentucky, @Texas, Villanova, Tennessee, @Marquette, G’town, @Cincy
Key Losses: @Pitt, @NDU, L’ville, Syracuse, @SJU, @L’ville, Marquette
Last Week: #12
Comments: How good is the Big East? UCONN ranks #14 in the nation, but a mere tie for 7th in their own conference… and they’re tied with four other teams.

15. North Carolina (22-6)
Key Wins: Kentucky, @Virginia, V-Tech, Clemson, @Miami, NC St, @BCU, FSU, @Clemson, BCU, @NC St, Maryland
Key Losses: Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, @Georgia Tech, @Duke
Last Week: #15
Comments: Don’t rule UNC out as your ACC champion. UNC struggled during their non-conference schedule, but seem to have matured and grown as a team in conference play. I wouldn’t rule out a run to the Sweet 16 or beyond.

16. Louisville (22-7)
Key Wins: Butler, UNLV, Marquette, SJU, WVU, @UCONN, Syracuse, UCONN, Pitt
Key Losses: Drexel, Kentucky, @Villanova, @Providence, @G’town, @NDU, @Cincy
Last Week: #20
Comments: I don’t think I’ve been as wrong about a team this year as I have been about Louisville. From the jump, I’ve been saying Louisville is not a top 25 team… just wait for Big East play to start, right? Well, they’ve gone 11-5 in the Big East and have remained a constant in the top 25 all year, actually improving their stock as the season has progressed. Rick Pitino deserves some love in the Coach Of The Year race.

17. St. John’s (19-9)
Key Wins: Northwestern, @WVU, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UCONN, @Cincy, @Marquette, Pitt, @Villanova
Key Losses: @St. Mary’s, St. Bonaventure, @Fordham, @Notre Dame, Syracuse, @Louisville, Cincy, @Georgetown, @UCLA
Last Week: #19
Comments: Dubbed the Giant Killers and rightfully so… but anyone that can go 11-5 in the Big East has to be considered more than that. Often referred to as inconsistent, SJU is currently riding a 6-game win streak against tough competition and should finish Big East play with two more wins. Yes, the two losses to St. Bonaventure and Fordham are the absolute worst that any top 25 team has taken, but it’s March now and St. John’s has been beating very good teams for two months straight. Steve Lavin might as well start clearing some space for all the Coach Of The Year awards that are about to come pouring in.

18. Vanderbilt (21-7)
Key Wins: UNC, Marquette, Georgia, Ole Miss, St. Mary’s, @Miss St, SCU, Alabama, Kentucky, @Georgia
Key Losses: WVU, Missouri, @South Carolina, @Tennessee, Arkansas, @Florida, Tennessee
Last Week: #18

19. Arizona (23-6)
Key Wins: @NC State, @Oregon, ASU, @WSU, UCLA, USC, @Cal, WSU, UW
Key Losses: @Kansas, @BYU, @Oregon St, UW, @USC, @UCLA
Last Week: #15
Comments: I expressed my doubts about Arizona two weeks ago and they went 0-2 this week. Derrick Williams is an absolute beast, but I still don’t think this is the best the PAC-10 has to offer. UCLA and Washington both have more talent on their rosters. I’m calling it now, Arizona doesn’t win the PAC-10 tournament. Arizona is now 2-4 against top 50 teams, the only squad in my top 20 that has a losing record there.

20. Kentucky (20-8)
Key Wins: @Portland, Washington, Notre Dame, @Louisville, @SCU, Georgia, Tennessee, Miss St, S.Carolina, Florida
Key Losses: @UCONN, @UNC, @Georgia, @Alabama, @Ole Miss, @Florida, @Vanderbilt, @Arkansas
Last Week: #21
Comments: For a few days, I dropped Kentucky out of my top 25, but then they come back and beat top ten Florida. Call St. John’s inconsistent if you want, but I doubt Steve Lavin is pulling out his hair as much as John Calipari is.

21. Villanova (19-8)
Key Wins: UCLA, Temple, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, @Syracuse, Marquette, WVU
Key Losses: Tennessee, @UCONN, @Providence, Georgetown, @Rutgers, Pitt, Syracuse, SJU
Last Week: #14
Comments: Is any good team falling faster than Villanova? On January 15th, the Wildcats were 16-1. They’ve gone 3-7 since and close out their regular season with two extremely tough games on the road at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Yikes.

22. Xavier (22-6)
Key Wins: Butler, @RIU, Dayton, Temple, @Richmond, @Georgia, @Duquesne, @Dayton
Key Losses: ODU, Miami (OH), Gonzaga, Florida, @Cincy, @Charlotte
Last Week: #22
Comments: Temple remains ahead of Xavier in the national polls, which is perplexing so I’m just going to reiterate the reasons for all my new readers: Xavier beat Temple, rank 1st in the A-10, higher in the RPI, and have played a significantly tougher schedule and posted a even record against top 50 teams while Temple is 2-4. Ridiculous I say!

23. Utah State (26-3)
Key Wins: @Nevada, @SMC
Key Losses: @BYU, @Georgetown, @Idaho
Last Week: #25
Comments: Yawn. Who knows how good this team really is? We really only have three games to measure their actual ability level, so let’s take a look at those. They recently won on the road against a St. Mary’s team that was recently ranked by the national polls (not me). That’s great. All the way back in November they played a close game against #23 BYU on the road, a team that now stands as my #2 team in the nation. A loss, but that’s still really impressive. And finally, they got beat easily on the road by Georgetown. That’s bad, but understandable. While it pains me to put a team with such little evidence of being amongst the best in the nation in my top 25, my guess is this is a team that can win a game in the NCAA tournament and possibly make a surprise run to the Sweet 16.

24. Texas A&M (22-6)
Key Wins: Temple, Washington, Arkansas, OK St, Missouri, KSU, @Colorado, @OkSU
Key Losses: BCU, @Texas, @Nebraska, Texas, Baylor, @Baylor
Last Week: #23
Comments: Did anyone really believe in Texas A&M as a top ten team? I know I expressed my doubts at the time and they now look like a good, but not great team… they got swept by a Baylor team that has struggled this year. I dunno, something about the Aggies doesn’t do it for me, but they haven’t fallen off enough yet to drop them out of the rankings.

25. Kansas State (20-9)
Key Wins: Gonzaga, Virginia Tech, @WSU, Baylor, @Iowa St, Kansas, @Nebraska, Mizzou
Key Losses: @Duke, @Florida, UNLV, @OK St, Colorado, @Mizzou, @A&M, @Kansas, @Colorado
Last Week: Unranked
Comments: Okay, so I’m sort of betting on the come here. Kansas State probably doesn’t deserve this ranking right now, but I feel the momentum building. They’ve looked laughable at times this year, but KSU has won 6 of 7, including victories over Kansas and Missouri. They face off against Texas on the road tomorrow/today, a game that should help define if this team is back for real or not. Put me on record for the upset.

DROPPED OUT:

24. Missouri (22-7)
Key Wins: @Oregon, Vanderbilt, Illinois, ODU, KSU, Iowa St, Colorado, Baylor
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Colorado, @Texas A&M, @Texas, @OkSU, @Kansas, @KSU
Last Week: #24

NEXT FIVE:

George Mason (25-5)
Key Wins: @Charlotte, Drexel, @JMU, Hofstra, ODU, JMU, @VCU, @UNI
Key Losses: @NC St, @Wofford, @Dayton, @Hofstra, @ODU

Old Dominion (24-6)
Key Wins: Xavier, Clemson, Richmond, Dayton, George Mason, @VCU, Cleveland St, @JMU
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Delaware, @Missouri, @Drexel, VCU, @George Mason

Missouri (22-7)
Key Wins: @Oregon, Vanderbilt, Illinois, ODU, KSU, Iowa St, Colorado, Baylor
Key Losses: Georgetown, @Colorado, @Texas A&M, @Texas, @OkSU, @Kansas, @KSU

Temple (22-6)
Key Wins: Georgetown, @Georgia, @Maryland, @RIU, @Dayton, Richmond
Key Losses: @Cal, @Texas A&M, @Villanova, @Duquesne, @Xavier, @Duke

UNLV (22-7)
Key Wins: @Murray St., Wisconsin, @Virginia Tech, @KSU, New Mexico, @Colorado St, @New Mexico
Key Losses: @Louisville, UCSB, BYU, @SDSU, Colorado St, @BYU, SDSU