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College Basketball Rankings 2016: Projected Week 8 Top 25

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Deng Adel (22) reacts after time expired in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Deng Adel (22) reacts after time expired in the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at KFC Yum! Center. Louisville defeated Kentucky 73-70. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Week 8 college basketball rankings will be released Monday afternoon and here are our Top 25 projections.

The release of the Week 8 college basketball rankings, namely the AP Poll, will take place on Monday afternoon and after a quiet week of competition, there won’t be many changes. There were only a couple of losses in the top 25 this week and one came between No. 10 Louisville and No. 6 Kentucky.

Moreover, the Wildcats lost to the rival Cardinals by just three points one week after taking down North Carolina in what many are considering the game of the season.

Plenty did happen on the hardwood this week, including another Grayson Allen tripping incident which led to an in-house suspension. The Duke guard is having a tough time playing clean basketball and he’ll be paying the price for it.

In the midst of all of that, let’s take a look at the Week 8 college basketball rankings predictions.

Florida climbs back in the rankings with a South Carolina loss. Luckily for the SEC, it’s one team out and another team in the rankings. Florida began the season as a ranked team and suffered a loss to Florida State a couple weeks ago to drop them, but the Gators look like one of the best teams in the conference. Can they take down Kentucky?

I was one of the few who believed Notre Dame was going to fall out of the rankings last week with a loss to Purdue, but it didn’t happen. The Fighting Irish took care of Colgate, their only opponent, this week and they look like one of the more under-appreciated teams in the country. Mike Brey is finding ways to win once again after losing plenty of talent from last year’s team.

Cincinnati’s only losses this season have come against ranked opponents and the Bearcats have seemingly had no trouble disposing of inferior foes. However, they nearly fell victim to a major upset in Week 7, taking Marshall into overtime before coming out on top, 93-91. Jacob Evans continues to be a sharpshooting deep threat while Kyle Washington is a force in the post.

Remember Andy Enfield? The former head coach of everyone’s favorite Cinderella, Florida Gulf Coast, has been working hard to ensure the USC Trojans turn things around on the hardwood. The Trojans have been known more as a football school, but they’re becoming relevant on the court as well. Three more wins in Week 7 pushes their record to 13-0 on the year.

Another school that’s considered ‘football-first’ is Florida State. The Seminoles are gearing up for an important bowl game, but the basketball team might be preparing for a run at the ACC title this season. Florid State just beat in-state rival Florida two weeks ago to jump into the rankings and that’s where they’ll stay after a win over Samford. Dwayne Bacon is an ACC Player of the Year candidate to keep an eye on.