For the second straight week Kentucky wasn't the unanimous #1 team in the nation, even though they beat Mizzou by 49 and Alabama by 22 this past week. Virginia received two votes to be the top team in the nation as the Cavaliers have put together a very impressive 17-0 start to the season. Gonzaga is #3 for the second straight week in a row followed by Villanova who will drop from that spot after they got upset by Georgetown yesterday. Duke rounds out the top 5 this week as Coach K is going for his 1000th win of his career on Sunday against St. Johns. Wisconsin follows Duke and Arizona jumps back to #7 after their blowout win over then #8 Utah. Notre Dame cracks the top 10 for the first time this year followed by Iowa State who had an impressive win over Kansas this past week. Duke beat Louisville by 11 on Saturday to drop the Cardinals to #10. Oklahoma at #18 and the new #25 Iowa Hawkeyes are the only five loss teams in the rankings this week. Arkansas suffered back-to-back loses to Tennessee and Ole Miss this past week to drop them out of the rankings. Oklahoma State and Wyoming each only lasted one week in the rankings as they both lost and were dropped from the top 25 as well. Three teams therefore were added to the top 25: #22 Dayton, #23 Indiana and #25 Iowa.
I haven't been able to figure out Arkansas this year as they have a six and seven game winning streak, but have also suffered back-to-back losses twice this year. This past week was another disappointing one for Razorback fans as Arkansas lost by five to Tennessee and had a bad 14 point loss to Ole Miss. Despite these two bad losses I think Arkansas is still the second best team in the SEC, behind Kentucky. I also think they will give Kentucky the best fight in the SEC and have a chance to pull off the upset. The Razorbacks are only 2-2 in SEC play but in a weak SEC conference, only one other team has been ranked this year, I think they will be fine. Expect Arkansas to bounce back this week as they face an average Alabama team and a very bad Mizzou team. Arkansas is not a bad team but have had some rough patches. This is a team that can make some noise come March but it will all depend on whether they are going through one of their rough patches or not. If they hit one of their hot streaks at the right time, Arkansas has the potential to be a Sweet 16 team, in my opinion. The main reason is because they are 7th in the nation in scoring at 82.9 PPG. Their high powered offense is led by sophomore forward Bobby Portis who is averaging a team high 18.3 PPG, leads the SEC, and 8.1 RPG, fourth in the SEC, on 58% shooting, fourth in the SEC. The Razorbacks also have another top five scorer in the SEC in Michael Qualls, a very talented guard. The two losses Arkansas just suffered will cost them a spot in the top 25 for a couple weeks. However, they don't play Kentucky until late February so expect to see them ranked again before then. This is the second best team in the SEC, in my opinion, and I would be shocked if they don't go on another long winning streak.
Oklahoma State wasn't really given a shot as they were ranked #24 last week but had then #9 Kansas and #18 Oklahoma on their schedule. Kansas and Oklahoma were the end of a four game stretch against ranked teams for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are 12-5 but only 2-3 in the Big 12 this year. There is no question that the Big 12 is the best conference in College Basketball this year as they currently have six ranked teams. Oklahoma State is good enough to make the tournament this year but may not have the record at the end of the year due to the caliber of the Big 12. The Cowboys are only 1-4 against ranked teams this year, only win was against Texas, the reason they were ranked. Their record against ranked teams needs to improve drastically if they want to have a shot at the NCAA tournament this year. Upperclassmen Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte III have had incredible seasons thus far and have to keep doing so if they want to compete in the Big 12 this year. There are no days off in the Big 12 this year and I'm not sure if they're good enough to compete every game against some of the best teams in the nation. Oklahoma State is still #26 this week in the AP Poll, and with winnable games against Texas Tech and Kansas State there is a good chance they will be ranked next week. However, I doubt that run lasts long as they have seven ranked teams in their next eight games after this week, the one unranked team is a very good TCU team. If the Cowboys were in a weaker conference then I would say they would make the tournament but I don't think their record will be good enough and they will end up being one of the most talented teams in the nation to miss the tournament.
Wyoming started out strong this year, 7-0, but have since leveled off a little as they are now 16-3. The Cowboys started gaining national attention once they beat Colorado State, who was ranked #24 earlier this year. With the win over the Rams, Wyoming, was ranked #25 last week. However, an eight point loss to San Diego State (SDSU) dropped them from the rankings. They then played Fresno State, 9-9 at the time, but only won by 5 in triple overtime. Everyone knew that Wyoming wasn't going to be ranked after their loss to SDSU but the game against Fresno State made people start to question why they were even ranked in the first place. Despite the loss, the Cowboys are still in control of the MWC with a half game lead over SDSU. The MWC isn't terrible as Wyoming was the third team from the conference to be ranked this year, SDSU and Colorado State the other two. It's a three team race out West and while all three will most likely make the tournament it will be exciting to see who wins the conference. SDSU is on the verge of being ranked again, while Colorado State and Wyoming have a bit farther to go. I think SDSU will end up being ranked again by the end of the year but watch out for all three come tournament time. Wyoming is a very good team that could have an upset or two come March. They are led by Larry Nance Jr., a senior forward. Nance Jr. has had a very good year so far as he is averaging a team high 16.2 PPG, fourth in the MWC, and 7 RPG, fifth in the MWC, on a remarkable 58.2% shooting, third in the MWC. He is a big reason why Wyoming shoots at such an efficient pace, 49.6%, 9th in the nation, despite only averaging 63.8 PPG. Wyoming may not be ranked again this year but they are still very good and should finish the season strong, it will be interesting to see what seed they get.
I haven't been able to figure out Arkansas this year as they have a six and seven game winning streak, but have also suffered back-to-back losses twice this year. This past week was another disappointing one for Razorback fans as Arkansas lost by five to Tennessee and had a bad 14 point loss to Ole Miss. Despite these two bad losses I think Arkansas is still the second best team in the SEC, behind Kentucky. I also think they will give Kentucky the best fight in the SEC and have a chance to pull off the upset. The Razorbacks are only 2-2 in SEC play but in a weak SEC conference, only one other team has been ranked this year, I think they will be fine. Expect Arkansas to bounce back this week as they face an average Alabama team and a very bad Mizzou team. Arkansas is not a bad team but have had some rough patches. This is a team that can make some noise come March but it will all depend on whether they are going through one of their rough patches or not. If they hit one of their hot streaks at the right time, Arkansas has the potential to be a Sweet 16 team, in my opinion. The main reason is because they are 7th in the nation in scoring at 82.9 PPG. Their high powered offense is led by sophomore forward Bobby Portis who is averaging a team high 18.3 PPG, leads the SEC, and 8.1 RPG, fourth in the SEC, on 58% shooting, fourth in the SEC. The Razorbacks also have another top five scorer in the SEC in Michael Qualls, a very talented guard. The two losses Arkansas just suffered will cost them a spot in the top 25 for a couple weeks. However, they don't play Kentucky until late February so expect to see them ranked again before then. This is the second best team in the SEC, in my opinion, and I would be shocked if they don't go on another long winning streak.
Oklahoma State wasn't really given a shot as they were ranked #24 last week but had then #9 Kansas and #18 Oklahoma on their schedule. Kansas and Oklahoma were the end of a four game stretch against ranked teams for Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are 12-5 but only 2-3 in the Big 12 this year. There is no question that the Big 12 is the best conference in College Basketball this year as they currently have six ranked teams. Oklahoma State is good enough to make the tournament this year but may not have the record at the end of the year due to the caliber of the Big 12. The Cowboys are only 1-4 against ranked teams this year, only win was against Texas, the reason they were ranked. Their record against ranked teams needs to improve drastically if they want to have a shot at the NCAA tournament this year. Upperclassmen Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte III have had incredible seasons thus far and have to keep doing so if they want to compete in the Big 12 this year. There are no days off in the Big 12 this year and I'm not sure if they're good enough to compete every game against some of the best teams in the nation. Oklahoma State is still #26 this week in the AP Poll, and with winnable games against Texas Tech and Kansas State there is a good chance they will be ranked next week. However, I doubt that run lasts long as they have seven ranked teams in their next eight games after this week, the one unranked team is a very good TCU team. If the Cowboys were in a weaker conference then I would say they would make the tournament but I don't think their record will be good enough and they will end up being one of the most talented teams in the nation to miss the tournament.
Wyoming started out strong this year, 7-0, but have since leveled off a little as they are now 16-3. The Cowboys started gaining national attention once they beat Colorado State, who was ranked #24 earlier this year. With the win over the Rams, Wyoming, was ranked #25 last week. However, an eight point loss to San Diego State (SDSU) dropped them from the rankings. They then played Fresno State, 9-9 at the time, but only won by 5 in triple overtime. Everyone knew that Wyoming wasn't going to be ranked after their loss to SDSU but the game against Fresno State made people start to question why they were even ranked in the first place. Despite the loss, the Cowboys are still in control of the MWC with a half game lead over SDSU. The MWC isn't terrible as Wyoming was the third team from the conference to be ranked this year, SDSU and Colorado State the other two. It's a three team race out West and while all three will most likely make the tournament it will be exciting to see who wins the conference. SDSU is on the verge of being ranked again, while Colorado State and Wyoming have a bit farther to go. I think SDSU will end up being ranked again by the end of the year but watch out for all three come tournament time. Wyoming is a very good team that could have an upset or two come March. They are led by Larry Nance Jr., a senior forward. Nance Jr. has had a very good year so far as he is averaging a team high 16.2 PPG, fourth in the MWC, and 7 RPG, fifth in the MWC, on a remarkable 58.2% shooting, third in the MWC. He is a big reason why Wyoming shoots at such an efficient pace, 49.6%, 9th in the nation, despite only averaging 63.8 PPG. Wyoming may not be ranked again this year but they are still very good and should finish the season strong, it will be interesting to see what seed they get.