College Basketball Rankings 2017: Projected Week 14 Top 25
Florida State Seminoles
20-4, Last Week: 15
A team that I’ve been high on for some time is Florida State. The Seminoles look like a true contender in the ACC and one that no one, including myself, saw being tied for second place in early February when the season began. Dwayne Bacon has been one of the best guards in the nation and he’s complemented by freshman big man Jonathan Isaac. The two led the Seminoles to victory over Miami and Clemson in Week 13.
Cincinnati Bearcats
21-2, Last Week: 14
Cincinnati, like Florida State, likely won’t move up at all this week given the fact that neither had “big wins” to speak of and the teams in front of them all played well enough to stay. Plus, the teams that did lose were in the top 10 and none deserve to fall below No. 14. The Bearcats continue to play well, though, and are undefeated in American Athletic Conference action and have a 21-2 overall record. They almost suffered a slip-up against Tulsa, but thrashed Connecticut last week.
Virginia Cavaliers
17-5, Last Week: 9
Virginia slaughtered in-state rival Virginia Tech at the beginning of the week, but fell on the road against an unpredictable Syracuse squad. It’s no surprise that the Cavaliers have the best defense in college basketball, allowing just 54 points per game, but the lack of consistent offense could be an issue down the stretch like it was against the Orange. When you have just one guy averaging in double figures, that can be an issue.
Kentucky Wildcats
18-5, Last Week: 8
Kentucky has been flirting with danger lately. The Wildcats lost to Tennessee and Kansas last week to drop to 17-4 and narrowly lost to Georgia at home to begin Week 13. It took overtime to defeat the Bulldogs which surprised some and they went on to lose at Florida on Saturday evening by 22. The Wildcats could very well be on a four-game losing streak right now, but losses in 3-of-4 games doesn’t feel much better. Expect a minor drop this week.
West Virginia Mountaineers
18-5, Last Week: 7
After rising to No. 7 in the AP Poll a couple of weeks ago, the West Virginia Mountaineers lost to Oklahoma and Kansas State, but they made the jump from No. 18 back up to that seventh spot last week with wins over Texas A&M and Kansas. Well, you can expect another slight step in the wrong direction after a loss at home to Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Mountaineers have now lost 3-of-6 and are two games out of first place in the Big 12.