College Basketball Rankings 2016: Projected Week 8 Top 25

4 of 5

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 /

Kentucky suffered its second loss of the season, but the Wildcats faced a tough foe in in-state rival Louisville. The Cardinals played Kentucky tough and the Wildcats lost by three just one week after beating North Carolina by three points. Playing at KFC Yum! Center and only losing by three in a tremendous matchup should have John Calipari feeling very good about his team moving forward.

Creighton took on Arizona State in Week 7 and had very little trouble. The Bluejays continue to remain undefeated and an 11-point win against the Sun Devils, although not a ‘good win’ by any means, proves that they can beat power conference foes. There’s some hesitation to keep the Bluejays ahead of Kentucky just because of their resumes, but you can’t move a team down for winning.

Louisville pulled off a big win over Kentucky at home on Saturday and that was a signature win for Rick Pitino and the Cardinals. A mammoth win like that over the No. 6 team in the country which also happens to be its top rival can be a huge momentum-builder for Louisville. Outside of a blown double-digit lead against Baylor, the Cardinals have been perfect this year.

Speaking of Kentucky, North Carolina fought hard in a losing effort to the Wildcats just two weeks ago, 103-100. It was arguably the game of the year and the Tar Heels dropped their second game of the season — and second to a ranked foe. They got a nice ‘break’ with Northern Iowa coming to Chapel Hill this week and the Tar Heels more than doubled their score, 85-42.

Gonzaga moves one step closer to the top five with a loss from Kentucky and it’s looking like that type of season for the Bulldogs. Not too long ago, people were debating if the Bulldogs could win out and finish the season unbeaten and that might just be the case in 2016. Gonzaga is 12-0 with an impressive resume and they added a 37-point win over South Dakota in Week 7.