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College Basketball Rankings 2016: Projected Week 5 Top 25

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 3, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Javin DeLaurier (12) reacts with forward Amile Jefferson (21) after Jefferson was fouled by against the Maine Black Bears in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Javin DeLaurier (12) reacts with forward Amile Jefferson (21) after Jefferson was fouled by against the Maine Black Bears in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 3, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Javin DeLaurier (12) reacts with forward Amile Jefferson (21) after Jefferson was fouled by against the Maine Black Bears in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Javin DeLaurier (12) reacts with forward Amile Jefferson (21) after Jefferson was fouled by against the Maine Black Bears in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /

Every year Kentucky loads up with young talent and each season the Wildcats dominate early on in the campaign. This season is no different, but a home loss against No. 11 UCLA will drop the Wildcats just a bit in the rankings after being No. 1 for a short time. This team hasn’t played the toughest schedule in the world so far, but things will start heating up in a couple weeks against North Carolina.

Looking for another team with potentially the best resume in college basketball? Look no further than the Gonzaga Bulldogs. It seems like a handful of teams in the rankings have one or two losses and one of them has come against Gonzaga. They’ve beaten San Diego State, Florida, Iowa State and the latest victory was over Arizona. Watch out for this team as it might be on a tear toward an unbeaten season.

Duke faced a tough matchup in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in a young, hungry Michigan State team that had faced a grueling schedule through the first month. It was the Blue Devils’ premier matchup of the week and they pulled away at the end, winning by nine at home. As long as Grayson Allen can stay healthy, this team will be just fine until it gets three top-tier freshmen back from injury.

Kansas will take advantage of two losses ahead of it in the top-five last week to jump all the way to No. 2, in my opinion. The Jayhawks are playing some excellent basketball after losing to Indiana to open the season. Kansas has now won seven games in a row, including a two-point victory over Duke in the Champions Classic in the second contest of the year. This team is young and talented and should be the favorite in the Big 12.

Villanova was receiving about a third of the first-place votes in the AP poll last week and that will change this week as the Wildcats will jump over a Kentucky team after it fell to UCLA. The reigning national champions look to be back in the conversation as title favorites this season. There is no drop-off in talent from last year and it wouldn’t be shocking to see this team lose just a couple of regular season games.