Fansided

College Basketball Rankings 2016: Projected Week 7 Top 25

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 17, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) and guard Bryce Alford (20) celebrate after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 86-73 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Lonzo Ball (2) and guard Bryce Alford (20) celebrate after defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 86-73 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
Dec 17, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler Bulldogs forward Andrew Chrabascz (45) celebrates the win over Indiana Hoosiers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Butler beat Indiana 83-78. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 17, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler Bulldogs forward Andrew Chrabascz (45) celebrates the win over Indiana Hoosiers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Butler beat Indiana 83-78. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

I’ll admit, I was a bit harsh on St. Mary’s last week after it suffered its first loss of the season against UT-Arlington by double digits, but they need to prove themselves in non-conference play a bit more. The Gaels took down Western Kentucky this week, 73-51, but they don’t have any tough opponents left in the remainder of non-conference action. That could hurt them come tourney time.

I’m going to assume Oregon gets a bump back into the top 20 this week after the teams that were ahead of them last week failed to impress. The Ducks started the season in the top-five, but have since been dropped after a couple of tough losses. If Dillon Brooks can get his groove back and the Ducks can keep winning, they will be back in the top 10 soon enough. Wins over Montana and UNLV will vault them, in my opinion.

Still playing without star guard Allonzo Trier, the Arizona Wildcats are taking care of business. There’s chatter that he may be back by “next semester,” which would mean in January. That would give the 10-2 Wildcats an instant boost and he could make all the difference. Right now, they’re just treading water, beating Grand Canyon by 10 and Texas A&M by just four in Week 6.

Xavier will likely stay put this week after its lone win came against Wake Forest. The Musketeers are one of those teams that can get hot at any moment and make the rest of college basketball pay for sleeping on them. If Trevon Bluiett and Co. can put together a run, they will be awfully tough to stop. The Big East might just be the most underrated conference in the country.

Playing Indiana in a neutral location, many would have guessed the athletic Hoosiers would come out with an easy victory against Butler. However, the Bulldogs proved doubters wrong, beating the Hoosiers by five and that will move them up a couple of spots this week. I don’t see them making a huge jump, but that’s a win that will be standing out on the resume at the end of the season.