4 teams are no longer ranked, 3 of them are from the Big 10. Michigan, Michigan State, Arkansas and Illinois all dropped from the rankings after losing this past week. Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, Louisville and Wisconsin round out the top 5, while mid-major Northern Iowa is now ranked #23. Two 2 loss teams are currently still in the top 25, Oklahoma at 16 and San Diego State at 18.
Ever since making it to the National Championship in 2013, the Michigan Wolverines haven't made a ton of noise in the college basketball world. They started the year out at #24 and worked their way up to #17, last week. The Wolverines have played a respectable schedule thus far, beating teams like Oregon and Syracuse, and only losing to now #7 Villanova by 5. But the loss on Saturday to NJIT quickly made sure that they would fall out of the rankings. NJIT was considered the worst basketball team in Division 1 a couple years ago and haven't gotten much better since. They came into the game 2-5 with their only wins against Maine and Dusquesne. It was a 2 point loss, but it was still a loss against a small technology institute in New Jersey. The saddest part may be that NJIT outscored Michigan by 7 in the 2nd half. This loss will haunt them for the rest of the year as it could be the difference between them getting a 6 or 7 seed in the tournament. Big Blue has a lot of time to bounce back and save their resume, but this loss could be crucial at the end of the year. They should be able to bounce back against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday but have a tough game at #3 Arizona on Saturday. The Big 10 is very good at basketball so Michigan will have a lot of games versus ranked opponents. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team ranked again at some point in the year, but this loss could hurt them come Selection Sunday.
Arkansas came out of nowhere this year, starting 6-0 and looking like the second best team in the SEC, behind Kentucky. However, this past week was one that the Razorbacks hope to forget. In a battle of 2 top 20 teams, Iowa State (20) and Arkansas (18), Iowa State destroyed Arkansas, 95-77. Iowa State is the better of the 2 teams but it should have been a lot closer. I think that Arkansas may have been able to hold onto the #25 spot if they could have bounced back against Clemson on Sunday. A 3 point loss to the Tigers guaranteed that the Razorbacks would be dropped from the rankings. This past week may have shown the true colors of Arkansas, or it could just be a fluke, either way this week was a nightmare for the Razorbacks. They are stilled ranked 11th in the nation in scoring at 85.3 PPG and have consistently held their opponents in the 70's, so I wouldn't be too worried about this team. Their out of conference schedule is weak and only gets weaker. They also only have 1 currently ranked opponent left on their schedule, #1 Kentucky. I think this team has a lot of talent and could make a sweet 16 run come March. However, they big loss to Iowa State could hurt their seeding and they might not have enough experience against good teams come March to make a run. They should continue to win and if they beat the teams they're supposed to I think this team will be ranked once again in a couple of weeks.
This is not the same Tom Izzo coached Michigan State team that we're use to seeing. They don't have that one main guy to go to this year and don't have a great supporting cast. Yet, they still find ways to win. This team is still ranked #23 in the USA Today poll and are currently sitting at #26 in the AP poll so there shouldn't be too much worry surrounding Sparty. However, this is still one of the weaker Michigan State teams we have seen in a while. In the past, Sparty has had guys like Draymond Green, Keith Appling or Adreian Payne leading the way, this year they don't have a definitive guy. I think this team needs to find an identity and someone like Travis Trice or Denzel Valentine needs to step up and lead this team. All 3 losses have been to currently ranked teams, #2 Duke, #10 Kansas and #25 Notre Dame. All 3 loses were also by 10 points or less, including a 1 point OT loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday. Nonetheless, they have lost to their 3 toughest opponents thus far this year. Sparty has an easy out of conference schedule the rest of the way before starting Big 10 play against #19 Maryland. None of these losses should hurt Michigan State too much come March, but their resume is a lot weaker than it could be. I wouldn't be surprised if they were back in the rankings next week. This team is still very talented but probably won't make a deep run like former Michigan State teams in the recent past.
Illinois made the rankings for 1 week before getting dropped after suffering their first loss to then #15 Miami (FL). They did not look good against Miami (FL) during their 9 point loss, but redeemed themselves with a nice 15 point win over American. Illinois has had a pretty easy out of conference schedule thus far, other than Miami (FL), but it is about to get much tougher. On Tuesday, they play #7 Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic, their second big test of the year. Illinois, just like Michigan State, are still ranked in the USA Today poll. They currently sit at #25 in that poll and are #27 in the AP poll. This is the 3rd Big 10 team to fall from the rankings this week and just like the other 2 I expect to see Illinois ranked again, even as soon as next week. A win over Villanova would guarantee that they are ranked and would probably put them around #18. However, I think if they can keep the game close then they may earn themselves a ranking in the low 20's. The Big 10 is loaded with good teams, so Illinois will have many chances to get themselves ranked again and boost their resume. This is maybe the most impressive looking team since their 2005 championship run, where they were led by Deron Williams and Dee Brown. I can see this team getting back into the rankings as early as next week. But, a bad loss to Villanova could lengthen that wait, but expect to see a number next to Illinois' name again at some point.
Ever since making it to the National Championship in 2013, the Michigan Wolverines haven't made a ton of noise in the college basketball world. They started the year out at #24 and worked their way up to #17, last week. The Wolverines have played a respectable schedule thus far, beating teams like Oregon and Syracuse, and only losing to now #7 Villanova by 5. But the loss on Saturday to NJIT quickly made sure that they would fall out of the rankings. NJIT was considered the worst basketball team in Division 1 a couple years ago and haven't gotten much better since. They came into the game 2-5 with their only wins against Maine and Dusquesne. It was a 2 point loss, but it was still a loss against a small technology institute in New Jersey. The saddest part may be that NJIT outscored Michigan by 7 in the 2nd half. This loss will haunt them for the rest of the year as it could be the difference between them getting a 6 or 7 seed in the tournament. Big Blue has a lot of time to bounce back and save their resume, but this loss could be crucial at the end of the year. They should be able to bounce back against Eastern Michigan on Tuesday but have a tough game at #3 Arizona on Saturday. The Big 10 is very good at basketball so Michigan will have a lot of games versus ranked opponents. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team ranked again at some point in the year, but this loss could hurt them come Selection Sunday.
Arkansas came out of nowhere this year, starting 6-0 and looking like the second best team in the SEC, behind Kentucky. However, this past week was one that the Razorbacks hope to forget. In a battle of 2 top 20 teams, Iowa State (20) and Arkansas (18), Iowa State destroyed Arkansas, 95-77. Iowa State is the better of the 2 teams but it should have been a lot closer. I think that Arkansas may have been able to hold onto the #25 spot if they could have bounced back against Clemson on Sunday. A 3 point loss to the Tigers guaranteed that the Razorbacks would be dropped from the rankings. This past week may have shown the true colors of Arkansas, or it could just be a fluke, either way this week was a nightmare for the Razorbacks. They are stilled ranked 11th in the nation in scoring at 85.3 PPG and have consistently held their opponents in the 70's, so I wouldn't be too worried about this team. Their out of conference schedule is weak and only gets weaker. They also only have 1 currently ranked opponent left on their schedule, #1 Kentucky. I think this team has a lot of talent and could make a sweet 16 run come March. However, they big loss to Iowa State could hurt their seeding and they might not have enough experience against good teams come March to make a run. They should continue to win and if they beat the teams they're supposed to I think this team will be ranked once again in a couple of weeks.
This is not the same Tom Izzo coached Michigan State team that we're use to seeing. They don't have that one main guy to go to this year and don't have a great supporting cast. Yet, they still find ways to win. This team is still ranked #23 in the USA Today poll and are currently sitting at #26 in the AP poll so there shouldn't be too much worry surrounding Sparty. However, this is still one of the weaker Michigan State teams we have seen in a while. In the past, Sparty has had guys like Draymond Green, Keith Appling or Adreian Payne leading the way, this year they don't have a definitive guy. I think this team needs to find an identity and someone like Travis Trice or Denzel Valentine needs to step up and lead this team. All 3 losses have been to currently ranked teams, #2 Duke, #10 Kansas and #25 Notre Dame. All 3 loses were also by 10 points or less, including a 1 point OT loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday. Nonetheless, they have lost to their 3 toughest opponents thus far this year. Sparty has an easy out of conference schedule the rest of the way before starting Big 10 play against #19 Maryland. None of these losses should hurt Michigan State too much come March, but their resume is a lot weaker than it could be. I wouldn't be surprised if they were back in the rankings next week. This team is still very talented but probably won't make a deep run like former Michigan State teams in the recent past.
Illinois made the rankings for 1 week before getting dropped after suffering their first loss to then #15 Miami (FL). They did not look good against Miami (FL) during their 9 point loss, but redeemed themselves with a nice 15 point win over American. Illinois has had a pretty easy out of conference schedule thus far, other than Miami (FL), but it is about to get much tougher. On Tuesday, they play #7 Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic, their second big test of the year. Illinois, just like Michigan State, are still ranked in the USA Today poll. They currently sit at #25 in that poll and are #27 in the AP poll. This is the 3rd Big 10 team to fall from the rankings this week and just like the other 2 I expect to see Illinois ranked again, even as soon as next week. A win over Villanova would guarantee that they are ranked and would probably put them around #18. However, I think if they can keep the game close then they may earn themselves a ranking in the low 20's. The Big 10 is loaded with good teams, so Illinois will have many chances to get themselves ranked again and boost their resume. This is maybe the most impressive looking team since their 2005 championship run, where they were led by Deron Williams and Dee Brown. I can see this team getting back into the rankings as early as next week. But, a bad loss to Villanova could lengthen that wait, but expect to see a number next to Illinois' name again at some point.