The Week 15 college basketball rankings will be released Monday afternoon and here are our Top 25 projections.
It was yet another jam-packed week of college basketball upsets and surprise winners. Week 15’s college basketball rankings will have a different look to them on Monday afternoon as two more top-five teams fell victim to late-season upsets.
The number of changes in the top 10 over the past month or so is indicative of the open field that college basketball presents this season. There is no truly dominant team or teams, and anyone could make a late-season run.
Conference play has evened out the field and this year’s NCAA Tournament could be as surprising as any in recent memory.
Let’s take a look at what the Week 15 college basketball rankings could look like Monday.
Winning its second game of the season over a pesky Marquette team on the road was impressive for the Butler Bulldogs, but they couldn’t record victory No. 20 on the season against Providence to close out the week. The Bulldogs were listed as one of the top 16 teams in the country on Saturday, but a loss to the Friars will nearly knock them out of the Top 25 for Week 15.
Playing in a weak conference like the WCC, the Saint Mary’s Gaels basically have two opportunities each season to prove themselves. The first was against Gonzaga on the road, but the Gaels lost by 23. On Saturday, they had one last chance to make a push for a spot in the top-15, hosting the No. 1 Bulldogs. However, they couldn’t take advantage of the elite matchup on their own home court, losing by 10. Saint Mary’s will barely remain in the Top 25.
South Carolina was the victim of an SEC upset in Week 14, losing to Alabama at home, 90-86. Frank Martin can’t be happy with the way his team played on defense as the Gamecocks rank 17th in the country in points allowed per game. The uncharacteristic loss didn’t turn into more, luckily, as South Carolina rebounded over the weekend to take down Cincinnati on the road, 77-73. Defense needs to be more disciplined moving forward.
For the first time this season, Wichita State will make it into the Top 25, and it’s well-deserved. While the Shockers don’t necessarily have many quality wins on the resume, they have won eight in a row and 14-of-15 on the year. All four of their four losses have come against potential NCAA Tournament teams and the Shockers are favorites, along with Illinois State, to win the Mountain Valley Conference.
Notre Dame was knocked out of the rankings just last week, but the Fighting Irish made a statement in Week 14 by taking down Wake Forest and then No. 14 Florida State. This team, believe it or not, is still in the running for the ACC title, sitting just 1.5 games out of first place. The Fighting Irish have a favorable schedule remaining with a crucial game against Louisville to close out the year. Could they run the table?