There was not much movement this past week in the top 25. For one, the top 10 has the same teams except Gonzaga is now #8 and Texas is now #9. The 2 biggest jumps in this week's poll was by St. Johns and Notre Dame, each jumping up 4 spots. Only one team fell out of the rankings this week, Northern Iowa, that led to Michigan State jumping back into the #25 spot. Two 2 loss teams, Utah and Oklahoma, are ranked in the top 15. Two 3 loss teams round out the top 25, North Carolina and Michigan State.
St. Johns moved up to #20 after beating Fairleigh and Fordham, both by more than 20. The Red Storm is now 8-1, their only loss against a then #10 Gonzaga team. St. Johns has not played a lot of tough teams so far, but do have quality wins over both Minnesota and Syracuse. The rest of their out of conference schedule isn't too challenging and the Red Storm could enter Big East play with an 11-1 record. Their Big East schedule is challenging as 2 of their first 3 games are against ranked opponents, #23 Butler and #7 Villanova. They also have a big test in late January when they face #2 Duke. I think this team moved up too many spots considering their wins this past week. However, teams ahead of them lost and they took advantage of it. This St. Johns' team looks really good so far this year, but we'll see if they're a contender or pretender when they start playing conference games.
The Fighting Irish are now #21 after beating Mt. St. Mary's and Florida State this past week. Notre Dame is now an incredible 10-1 on the season but haven't been challenged much this season. So far this season Notre Dame has had 2 quality opponents, Providence and then #19 Michigan State. The loss to Providence hurt them at the time as it was their first real test at the time. The win against Michigan State was huge and rocketed them into the top 25. Right now Notre Dame has one of the best records going into conference play, but part of that could be credited to their easy schedule. The ACC, like every year, is loaded with good teams and we'll be able to find out who Notre Dame really is. Just like St. Johns, their first 2 of 3 games are against ranked opponents, #24 North Carolina and #6 Virginia. Notre Dame should win out the rest of their non-conference schedule, but the real test begins when they start ACC play.
Northern Iowa started out the season strong going 9-0 and being ranked #23 for a week. Their first real test was against VCU and even though they were ranked most people picked VCU to win. I thought the game would be a lot closer than most people thought and actually thought Northern Iowa was going to win and start 10-0, the Panthers ended up falling 93-87 in 2OT. Northern Iowa only has 1 game this upcoming week, against in-state rival Iowa. The Hawkeyes have gotten off to disappointing start to the season but are still a very talented team. Beating a Big 10 team that is most likely tournament bound would look great on their resume come March. I think that Northern Iowa will end up being ranked again at some point this season. The MVC has gotten a lot better these past couple of years. So, if Northern Iowa beats the teams their supposed to they should be ranked again in a couple of weeks. I think this is a very good team and come March I wouldn't want to face them in the first round. I think they could be a cinderella team. Even though the MVC has been improving, it still currently only has 1 team ranked, Wichita St. Northern Iowa needs to play the Shockers tough in both games to prove that they are for real or the selection committee will give them a lower seed than deserved.
Here's a bold prediction, Northern Iowa will beat Wichita State once this year.
Michigan St and North Carolina are both in the top 25 with 3 losses, I disagree with that. Both teams are very talented and didn't lose to bad teams, actually all their losses except one was against now ranked opponents. However, MSU and UNC both still have 3 loses and couldn't beat good teams. If a team only beats up on bad teams but can't beat quality teams then they are not a top 25 team. Undefeated teams like Colorado St. and TCU aren't in the top 25 because they don't come from as good of a basketball conference, even though conference play hasn't started yet. That is also true for 1 loss teams like Northern Iowa and Baylor
St. Johns moved up to #20 after beating Fairleigh and Fordham, both by more than 20. The Red Storm is now 8-1, their only loss against a then #10 Gonzaga team. St. Johns has not played a lot of tough teams so far, but do have quality wins over both Minnesota and Syracuse. The rest of their out of conference schedule isn't too challenging and the Red Storm could enter Big East play with an 11-1 record. Their Big East schedule is challenging as 2 of their first 3 games are against ranked opponents, #23 Butler and #7 Villanova. They also have a big test in late January when they face #2 Duke. I think this team moved up too many spots considering their wins this past week. However, teams ahead of them lost and they took advantage of it. This St. Johns' team looks really good so far this year, but we'll see if they're a contender or pretender when they start playing conference games.
The Fighting Irish are now #21 after beating Mt. St. Mary's and Florida State this past week. Notre Dame is now an incredible 10-1 on the season but haven't been challenged much this season. So far this season Notre Dame has had 2 quality opponents, Providence and then #19 Michigan State. The loss to Providence hurt them at the time as it was their first real test at the time. The win against Michigan State was huge and rocketed them into the top 25. Right now Notre Dame has one of the best records going into conference play, but part of that could be credited to their easy schedule. The ACC, like every year, is loaded with good teams and we'll be able to find out who Notre Dame really is. Just like St. Johns, their first 2 of 3 games are against ranked opponents, #24 North Carolina and #6 Virginia. Notre Dame should win out the rest of their non-conference schedule, but the real test begins when they start ACC play.
Northern Iowa started out the season strong going 9-0 and being ranked #23 for a week. Their first real test was against VCU and even though they were ranked most people picked VCU to win. I thought the game would be a lot closer than most people thought and actually thought Northern Iowa was going to win and start 10-0, the Panthers ended up falling 93-87 in 2OT. Northern Iowa only has 1 game this upcoming week, against in-state rival Iowa. The Hawkeyes have gotten off to disappointing start to the season but are still a very talented team. Beating a Big 10 team that is most likely tournament bound would look great on their resume come March. I think that Northern Iowa will end up being ranked again at some point this season. The MVC has gotten a lot better these past couple of years. So, if Northern Iowa beats the teams their supposed to they should be ranked again in a couple of weeks. I think this is a very good team and come March I wouldn't want to face them in the first round. I think they could be a cinderella team. Even though the MVC has been improving, it still currently only has 1 team ranked, Wichita St. Northern Iowa needs to play the Shockers tough in both games to prove that they are for real or the selection committee will give them a lower seed than deserved.
Here's a bold prediction, Northern Iowa will beat Wichita State once this year.
Michigan St and North Carolina are both in the top 25 with 3 losses, I disagree with that. Both teams are very talented and didn't lose to bad teams, actually all their losses except one was against now ranked opponents. However, MSU and UNC both still have 3 loses and couldn't beat good teams. If a team only beats up on bad teams but can't beat quality teams then they are not a top 25 team. Undefeated teams like Colorado St. and TCU aren't in the top 25 because they don't come from as good of a basketball conference, even though conference play hasn't started yet. That is also true for 1 loss teams like Northern Iowa and Baylor