The latest AP Poll is out. Here’s what caught our eye.
It’s Monday, which means the newest iteration of the AP Top 25 has been released. After wild weekends in the ACC and in the Big Ten that saw Duke, Indiana, North Carolina, Purdue and Virginia all lose, there has been plenty of movement. Here’s a look at the things that stick out.
1. Baylor jumps Kansas at the top
For several weeks, the Kansas Jayhawks have been ranked just behind the Villanova Wildcats and the UCLA Bruins in the poll. The obvious expectation was that the Jayhawks would move up a spot with UCLA’s loss to Oregon last week, but that’s not what happened. Instead, their Big 12 rival, the Baylor Bears, find themselves in the second spot, the highest ranking in program history.
https://twitter.com/BaylorMBB/status/815973829117874177
There’s certainly nothing unfair about the ranking. Baylor’s resume is loaded with quality wins that Kansas simply can’t match in terms of quantity. Luckily, the Big 12’s double round robin format will give us two opportunities to see the teams battle each other during conference play. The first matchup takes place in Lawrence on February 1.
2. The big risers: Florida State and Oregon
Two top 25 teams that came up big over the last week were the Florida State Seminoles and the Oregon Ducks. The latter put together a pair of wins over undefeated teams, knocking off UCLA and USC at home to open up Pac-12 play. The former took care of Wake Forest at home and then went on the road to beat an impressive Virginia team to get ACC play off on the right foot.
Both programs are talented enough to make the Final Four come March and both have flown a bit under the radar since the start of the season. It’s time to start paying attention.
3. Gonzaga is coming for the top spot
Wins over Pepperdine and Pacific aren’t exactly the way to make the NCAA Selection Committee swoon, but they were enough to keep the Gonzaga Bulldogs undefeated for another week and allow them to move up to no. 5 in the poll.
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Of the country’s top teams, Gonzaga plays in by far the weakest conference, which means they could well keep rising up the rankings as other teams fall by the wayside. The Bulldogs first projected loss won’t take place until February 11, according to KenPom, when they travel to play Saint Mary’s.