Who are the biggest winners and losers of the Week 12 college basketball AP Poll which was released on Monday?
The college basketball season has already had its fair share of twists and turns and Week 11 was no different. For the past few weeks, we have seen different No. 1 teams lose and give way to another squad hoping to retain that position for the remainder of the season.
Last week, it was Villanova. The Wildcats took over for Baylor and unlike the Bears, they won their games as the newly-appointed No. 1. Did Villanova retain that top spot this week? It didn’t lose, but Kansas received more No. 1 votes than the Wildcats.
Other than the top spot, there were other movers in the rankings and they have can each be dubbed as winners and losers. Some teams lost both of their games last week and you can probably expect them on this list while others took down ranked foes.
Let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from this week’s college basketball AP rankings.
Winner: Oregon Ducks (No. 11 up to No. 10)
I know what you’re thinking, moving up one spot doesn’t really indicate a winner, does it? The answer: yes. For Oregon, this climb back into the top 10 has taken months. The Ducks began the season 2-2 and it looked like they were in for a disappointing letdown of a 2016-17 campaign, but they have since won 16 straight.
Oregon nearly dropped out of the rankings at one point and AP voters were hesitant to keep it in, but definitely not quick to move it up. It’s taken quite a while, but the Ducks are back where they belong and are looking like the best of the Pac-12.
Dillon Brooks missed the Stanford game last week and he will need to remain healthy if this team is going to make a deep run in March. Still, the Ducks found a way to win by 17 without him and they’re getting contributions from just about everyone.
Yes, it’s only one spot in the AP Poll, but being one of the top 10 teams in college basketball has been on the ‘to-do’ list for the Ducks since the first couple of weeks.