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College Basketball AP Poll Week 15: Winners and losers

By Connor Muldowney

Feb 11, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) reacts after scoring against the Clemson Tigers in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Luke Kennard (5) reacts after scoring against the Clemson Tigers in the second half of their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports /
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Week 15 of the college basketball AP rankings have been released on Monday afternoon and here are the biggest winners and losers.

This college basketball season has been wild so far. After a few quiet weeks to start conference play, the upsets are coming at us in large numbers. It seems like there are 4-5 teams in the top 10 every week falling via upset and Week 14 was no different.

In fact, there were four teams in last week’s top 10 to lose and two were in the top five. That makes for an interesting final stretch of conference games before tournament action and some programs that were once perceived as locks to earn that No. 1 seed are now scrambling to stay above the No. 3 or No. 4 line.

The top three teams stayed the same last week, though. Gonzaga won two more, including an important one on the road against No. 20 Saint Mary’s, as did Villanova and Kansas to round out the top three.

There was plenty of movement in the rankings, however, and here are the biggest winners and losers from the newest edition of the AP Poll.

Loser: Cincinnati Bearcats (No. 11 down to No. 18)

One loss in the AAC can drop a team a ways in the rankings — just ask Cincinnati. After starting the season 22-2 with an 11-0 record in conference play and no real competition to speak up, the Bearcats were sitting at No. 11 in the country, hoping to win Sunday against No. 25 SMU and jump into the top 10.

However, the Mustangs exacted revenge on the Bearcats, handing them their first conference loss of the year and ending Cincinnati’s 15-game winning streak. The Bearcats’ last loss came against Butler and yet they still dropped seven spots in this week’s AP Poll because of the defeat.

Playing in a conference like the AAC can have its pros and cons. A major pro is that winning the league isn’t as difficult as it would be in the Big East, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 or even SEC. A major con is that a loss can lose you a lot of respect from national pundits, hence the major drop in the rankings after losing to SMU.

Cincinnati is still in position to potentially win the conference, but it needs to win out and hope for a loss from SMU down the stretch.