Last week’s college basketball slate did not see as much chaos as the previous week but we still had some fun games and upsets. This week’s AP Poll is actually pretty solid and does not invoke too much recency bias compared to the traditional way we see the AP vote in any sport. There are still some instant reactions to make, however, and we shall list a couple right now.
RANKTEAMRECORDPOINTSPREVIOUS1Baylor (60)10-01,52412Duke10-11,44523Purdue10-11,36034Gonzaga9-21,31355UCLA9-11,29446Arizona (1)11-0123087Kansas9-1121078Southern California12-0937109Iowa State11-09261110Alabama9-2897611Michigan State9-28221212Auburn10-17821313Houston10-27801414Ohio State8-27441515Seton Hall9-26931616Texas8-25691717LSU11-05421918Xavier11-14692219Tennessee8-24471820Kentucky8-24282121Colorado State10-03282322Providence11-1266NR23Villanova7-4222924Wisconsin9-2182NR25Texas Tech8-28625#### Arizona Receives Singular First-Place Vote
It is very rare to see the sixth-ranked team being the only one with a first-place vote outside the top squad but this is the case this week for Arizona. Their résumé isn’t all too deserving of a first-place vote just yet but the Wildcats have played good basketball as of late but their biggest test is coming up on Wednesday against Tennessee. If they win that game, then we should see a big boost in the amount of first-place votes and it’ll be more justifiable than this week.
Mid-Majors Encroaching but Power 5 Still Dominates
With Villanova’s fourth loss of the season last week, the Wildcats drop all the way to 23, meaning the top team outside of the Power 5 is Houston at 13. While the Power 5 is holding a dominant hold on those top 12 spots, there are several teams poised to push into the pack. We have already mentioned Houston. Then, there’s Seton Hall, Xavier, Providence, and always dangerous Villanova in the Big East in the mix. Finally, we’ve got the Cinderella team Colorado State who could see themselves rising if they continue to win which they should against their weak schedule.
Confusing Results Towards the Undefeated
Three teams are regarded as sort of backend undefeated. These teams are USC, Iowa State, and LSU. All three have very similar résumés but LSU is ranked a shocking eight positions behind Iowa State. It really makes no sense how the voters can see it this way. Just because LSU came into the ranking later on in the year, doesn’t mean they should be chastised for it because this is a team who could compete with the best right now.
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