In college basketball, the following teams lost last week, likely resulting in the biggest change of the season in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll: No. 2 Yukon (3), No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 5 Iowa State, 6. No. 1 Houston (x2), No. 11 Duke University, No. 12 University of North Carolina (x2), No. 14 Indiana State (x2), No. 19 Arkansas, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 21 Creighton (x2), No. 22 Xavier, No. 23 Ole Miss, No. 24 Arizona (x2), No. 25 Mississippi State.
Total: 14 teams had at least one loss, with 21 total losses for ranked teams led by the two-time defending champions. Asshole at the college competition who lost 3 times at the Maui Invitational..
So let’s clear up the confusion in the space below.
This is your weekly safe space to speculate on how Associated Press voters will react to that week’s results, and of course, it’s different Gary Parrish’s Daily Top 25 and 1 Rankings different from my weekly magazine power ranking. This all takes into account the body of work throughout the season, taking into account the last week since the latest AP Top 25 poll, and getting into voters’ brains to see what the next poll will look like on Monday. The purpose is to speculate.
Here are our best guesses — familiar names remain in first place.
1. Kansas (last week — 1): All Kansas has done this season is win. The preseason No. 1 Jayhawks had a blowout win over Duke last week and went 7-0, the best record in basketball history.
2. Auburn (last week — 4): Auburn’s We’re playing like the best team in sports right now. After a 3-0 week on Maui, one top-five team (Iowa State), one top-12 team (North Carolina), and one very good team likely to be ranked come Monday. (Memphis) was defeated.
3. Tennessee (Last week — 7): Combined with losses to teams ranked higher than Tennessee and Tennessee’s dominant 7-0 record to start this season, the Vols have finished first for the fourth straight season. It should be in 5. Their 26.9 point differential ranks sixth among college basketball teams.
4. Kentucky (last week — 8): Mark Pope’s Wildcats went 7-0 in a very soft non-conference schedule aside from the Duke win. But they barely broke a sweat, winning each game with the exception of the Blue Devils winning by double digits.
5. Marquette (Last week — 10): Marquette had an easy run in November, defeating Maryland, Purdue and Georgia in eight days. A trip to Iowa State is scheduled this week, and they enter December with an 8-0 record for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
6. Iowa State (last week — 5): Iowa State’s only loss this season came against a hard-fought Auburn team last week on Maui. The Cyclones may drop a bit, but they should still be in the top 10.
7. Gonzaga University (last week – 3): The Zags lost in overtime to West Virginia this week and otherwise would have likely been in the top two. In the Bahamas, which was recovered this week, they had come-from-behind wins over Indiana and Davidson.
8. Purdue (Last week — 13): Purdue beat Ole Miss on Friday on Myles Colvin’s last-second tip-in to cap a perfect week and improve to 7-1. The Boilermakers should return to their natural spot in the top 10 this week.
9. Wisconsin (Last week — 9): Greg Gard powers the Badgers as conference play begins this week. Wisconsin is 8-0 with wins over Pitt, UCF and Arizona.
10. Duke University (Last week — No. 11): A 3-point loss to No. 1 Kansas State this week won’t have much of an impact on voters, according to this week’s AP poll. Duke currently has just two losses, against KU and UK, both of which should be in the top five come Monday.
11. Cincinnati (Last week — 16): The schedule was sweet for Cincinnati, but a 6-0 record is a 6-0 record. That should be enough to move the Bearcats up a few spots this week. They defeated Alabama State at home in their only road trip last week.
12. Oregon State (last week — North Carolina State): An unranked top-10 finish as the Ducks teeter into the top 10 after a big week with wins over Texas A&M, San Diego State and Alabama, all on neutral ground. It’s a realistic path to walk. This is the first time since the 2013-14 season that Oregon has started a season 8-0 and the second time under coach Dana Altman.
13. Alabama (last week — 9): Alabama fell to 2-1 that week with five-point wins over Houston and Rutgers and a two-point loss to Oregon. It will fall out of the top 10 this week, but it shouldn’t drop too far.
14. Memphis (last week — NR): Penny Hardaway 4 employees were fired Just before the season, the Memphis Tigers are now 6-1 after a successful week with wins over UW and Michigan State and a loss to Auburn at the Maui Invitational. Memphis currently has the best team in college basketball shooting 46.9 percent from 3-point range.
15. Baylor (Last week — 17): Two wins against ranked teams and two losses against ranked teams should keep Baylor in the same district as last week. The Bears had a 31-point win over New Orleans, improving to 5-2 after a 1-0 week. They go to UConn this week.
16. Illinois (last week — NR): A statement was sent from Illinois, which defeated Arkansas 90-77 inside T-Mobile Center on Thanksgiving Day. Kasparas Jaxionis has been on a roll for the Illini this week, posting back-to-back season highs in scoring with 21 points against Little Rock and 23 points against Arkansas.
17. Michigan State (last week — North Carolina): Despite losing to an unranked Memphis team, Michigan State capped off a great week with wins over both Colorado and North Carolina at the Maui Invitational. Ta. The first Big Ten game of the regular season will be played on Wednesday with a road trip to Minnesota.
18. Pitt (last week — NR): Zach Austin hits a buzzer-beater in overtime Friday to beat Ohio State and stop the Panthers from losing consecutive games. Pitt has a star in Jaland Lowe, who scored 28 points in the win.
19. Florida (last week — 18): KenPom has three SEC teams in the top 10. The first three are, you guessed it, Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama, and a surprise in Florida. But that can’t be true. The Gators went 8-0 this week, defeating Wake Forest and Wichita State by 17 and 27 points, respectively.
20. Texas State (last week — North Carolina): Rodney Terry and Texas State started one of the most experienced teams in college basketball to a 6-1 start, losing in the season opener to Ohio State. After that, he won 6 consecutive games. Only one of those wins came against a Top 100 KenPom team, but last week’s upheaval in the sports world could put the Longhorns back on the ballot.
21. Michigan State (Last week — North Carolina): Wednesday’s 25-point win over Xavier went down as a “wow” moment worthy of a wreath for Michigan State. They have wins over TCU, Virginia Tech and Xavier, among others, and will have a chance to prove themselves this week against Wisconsin and Iowa.
22. North Carolina (Last week — 12): It will be interesting to see how much punishment voters give UNC a week or two after losing to Auburn and narrowly losing to Michigan State in overtime. I’d take them out of the top 25, but I think the Tar Heels remain at the bottom of the rankings.
23. San Diego State (last week — North Carolina): San Diego State is 2-1 this week with wins over Creighton and Houston and a loss to Oregon.
24. Arkansas (last week — 19): The Razorbacks’ place in the rankings is in jeopardy this week after a 13-point loss to Illinois on a neutral court on Thanksgiving Day. They have lost both games this season against top 100 KenPom competition.
25. Drake (last week — NR): Voters are keeping an eye on Drake after the Bulldogs won the vote last week. If a lot of teams drop out of the rankings, they could be added to the roster this week. Ben McCollum has wins over Vanderbilt and Miami among the seven teams on his resume, and is 7-0 against Drake.
Prediction to drop: 2nd UW, 6th Houston, 14th Indiana, 20th Texas A&M, 21st Creighton, 22nd Xavier, 23rd Ole Miss, 24th Arizona, 25th Mississippi State.
