The Associated Press released their Week 15 College Basketball rankings, and Kansas is back in the top-five after a big week.
The latest College Basketball Poll by the Associated Press has been released, and after Villanova made their debut at number 1, they will stay there by virtue of not being a top five team that got upset over the week. They received 44 first-placed votes to Kansas’ 21.
Villanova has been one of the most consistent college basketball programs over the years, yet they never get the same amount of respect as others. Perhaps that’s due to the fact that most people expect them to fall apart once March Madness starts, as they are wont to do. But in a season where nobody’s been able to distance themselves from the pack, expect them to come out firing in the tournament looking to right that wrong.
It was a good week for the Kansas Jayhawks. They have rattled off five straight wins since their loss to Iowa State, and coming into the week at number 6, they began by blowing out TCU. They would later avenge their loss to West Virginia at home before winning the highly anticipated rematch against Oklahoma on the road. While sweeping them didn’t give the Jayhawks as much distance over the Sooners as they would like – Oklahoma remains at number 3 in the poll – it did help them in their quest for a 12th straight Big 12 title.
Given the fact that both of their games were some of the best of the season, it’s no surprise that people want to see them play as much as humanly possible:
Give us Oklahoma-Kansas in the Big 12 tournament, please. And then again in the Final Four.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 13, 2016
Iowa and North Carolina round out the top five. It’s pretty surprising that Iowa remain in the top five after an upset to the Hoosiers, but this was a week where 18 of the top 25 teams lost, so we can give them a pardon. North Carolina were one of the few teams not to lose this week, but they have stumbled recently and don’t look like the same force they were before. They also barely escaped with a win against Boston College.
Among the biggest upsets this week were Maryland’s (now ranked number 6) loss to Wisconsin, snapping a five-game winning streak. It was a poor showing, especially from Melo Trimble who went a shocking 1-of-14 from the field. It’ll be interesting to see how the Terrapins move on from this loss as they are too talented a team to let this affect them.
Xavier had an even worse showing against Creighton in a 74-57 loss in which they shot a combined 1-of-21 from the 3-point line. Earlier this season, they looked like a trendy sleeper pick in the March Madness tournament. But now that label can be applied to anyone given the way this season has shaped out.
After Duke left the Top 25 for the first time in more than eight years, they are back at number 20 with a big win over Virginia, although it came with a fair bit of controversy when questions arose surrounding whether Grayson Allen traveled or not. Any team that is coached by Mike Krzyzewski should never be counted out – after all, he won the national championship with a starting lineup almost entirely made up of freshmen.
Duke’s return to the Top 25 poll helps to set up the always classic rivalry matchup against North Carolina when they square off at Chapel Hill on Wednesday. No matter where they stand in the rankings, it’s never a game to miss, and this week’s is certainly no exception.