College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 17
The Week 17 college basketball rankings will be released Monday afternoon and here are our Top 25 projections.
Another week in the books and we are now in the final week of college basketball’s regular season. That means Monday’s rankings will be the second-to-last edition that will truly mean anything before the NCAA Tournament.
If your favorite team is in the AP Top 25 this week, you can be as close to comfortable as possible seeing as it would take an epic meltdown in the final week and conference tournament to knock them out of the 68-team field.
There were some major upsets in Week 16, such as the No. 1 team in the country losing for the first time this season — on their home floor, nonetheless. Also, the No. 2 team dropped, so we will have a brand new No. 1 in the college basketball rankings this week.
Let’s take a look at what the Week 17 college basketball rankings could look like Monday.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
25-4, Last Week: NR
Everyone’s favorite cinderella from a season ago could be ranked come Monday afternoon. The Blue Raiders had a slight scare against UAB on Sunday afternoon, winning 66-64 on the road, but the victory ensured them a regular season conference title. There’s just no way this team will be a No. 15 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament with how well they’ve played, but they will still be a dangerous team in the Big Dance.
Miami Hurricanes
20-8, Last Week: NR
Can’t have a much better week than the Miami Hurricanes did, beating Virginia on the road and then Duke at home. The Hurricanes essentially punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with those wins and now they’re likely to be making an appearance in the Top 25 this week. Miami hasn’t been ranked all year, but that will change on Monday afternoon, but to stay in the Top 25 next week, it must beat Virginia Tech and Florida State on the road.
Virginia Cavaliers
19-9, Last Week: 18
Virginia has fallen off quite a bit in recent weeks and the Cavaliers are hanging on by a thread in the Week 17 rankings, or so I believe. If not for a blowout win on the road over N.C. State to end the week, the Cavaliers would likely be on the outside of the Top 25, looking in. This team looks to be struggling on the offensive side of the ball despite having an elite defense. Defense does win championships, but not having an offense will win you nothing.
Wichita State Shockers
27-4, Last Week: 25
You can’t count a team like Wichita State out during this time of the year. It’s almost March and Gregg Marshall has his team playing its best basketball of the season and they’ve finished as co-regular season champions in the Mountain Valley Conference and are essentially a lock to get into the NCAA Tournament. Gone are guys like Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet, but this team is still effective and dangerous.
Wisconsin Badgers
22-7, Last Week: 16
It was a tough week for the Wisconsin Badgers who were looking to hold on to a first-place tie in the Big Ten, but road losses against Ohio State and Michigan State may have dashed those dreams. Sitting one game back in the conference standings with a week left in the season, the Badgers are hoping for a Purdue loss. However, Wisconsin seems to be limping into the tournament with a struggling defense over the past few games and four losses in five tries.