LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A strange thing happened in men’s college basketball last week.
Only six Top 25 teams got beat. Just two in the Top 10 — Gonzaga and Marquette.
Blame it on the reduced schedule around semester exams. Blame it on fewer holiday tournament events. Blame it on the power of the Southeastern Conference, which has eight teams on my ballot.
Here is a look at how I voted this week:
1. Tennessee (10-0) — The Vols figure to roll unbeaten into Southeastern Conference play, when they open against … John Calipari in early January.
2. Auburn (9-1) — Bruce Pearl gets Purdue in Birmingham on Saturday. He’s been hard on Big Ten opponents.
3. Iowa State (9-1) — The Cyclones had an impressive come-from-behind road win at Iowa.
4. Kentucky (10-1) — The Wildcats get Ohio State, which just got beat by 38 points by Auburn.
5. Duke (8-2) — Ken Pomeroy has the Blue Devils favored in every remaining regular-season game.
6. Alabama (8-2) —The Crimson Tide go to North Dakota, the home of forward Grant Nelson, this week. Nice touch, Nate Oats.
7. Florida (10-0) — The most anonymous 10-0 team in America.
8. Kansas (8-2) — The Jayhawks ended a two-game losing streak by defeating North Carolina State.
9. Oklahoma (10-0) — The third 10-0 team from the Southeastern Conference. Whoa.
10. Houston (6-3) — The Cougars have three losses, two in overtime, the other to Auburn.
11. UConn (8-3) — Wins over Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga. The Huskies are back on track.
12. Cincinnati (8-1) — The Bearcats handled Xavier and now must handle Dayton.
13. UCLA (9-1) —The Bruins stumbled early against New Mexico but have won eight straight.
14. Oregon (10-1) — The Ducks will not make their first of four cross country Big Ten flights until early January.
15. Gonzaga (7-3) — Back-to-back seasons with three losses by mid-December for the Zags. Slippage?
16. Marquette (9-2) — The Golden Eagles have already played three road games — and lost two of them.
17. Texas A&M (9-2) — After beating Purdue, Buzz Williams is 2-0 against Big Ten opponents.
18. Michigan (8-2) — The Wolverines collapsed in the second half against Arkansas.
19. St. John’s (8-2) — Rick Pitino opens Big East play against DePaul and Providence.
20. Ole Miss (9-1) — BYU and Louisville are the two highest-ranked teams that the Rebels have defeated.
21. Purdue (8-3) — The Boilermakers have played six Top 40 opponents — and split those games.
22. Michigan State (8-2) — The Spartans are a solid darkhorse pick to win the Big Ten.
23. Dayton (9-2) — Anthony Grant does good work with the Flyers year after year.
24. Baylor (7-3) — Scott Drew has a freshman that really like in V.J. Edgecombe.
25. Illinois (7-3) — The Illini had Tennessee on the ropes in the final minutes.
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
