College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 4
Cincinnati might be one of those teams that will fail to impress AP voters until they knock down a ranked opponent, or two. The Bearcats haven’t beaten a quality opponent yet this season, going 6-0 rather easily, but they have a shot at making a name for themselves with games against Xavier and Florida next week followed by matchups with Mississippi State and UCLA. The opportunities will be there, but will the Bearcats seize them?
Although Miami won both of its games in Week 3, I don’t think it’ll be enough to move them up in the polls much, if at all. The Hurricanes do have a talented team and the ACC will be on notice, but they need to prove more in order to rise up in that top 10. They had no problem with La Salle and North Florida last week and improved to 5-0 on the year.
Honestly, Wichita State could land anywhere between No. 6 and No. 10 in the newest rankings, but the Shockers lost to Notre Dame by just one point last week in the Maui Invitational. Gregg Marshall’s team is talented, no doubt, but the loss will likely cause teams like USC and those same Fighting Irish to jump them. The Shockers beat Cal and Marquette earlier in the tournament and showed that they can play with anyone.
It was a heck of a week for Mike Brey and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were able to take down No. 6 Wichita State and win the Maui Invitational. They beat Chaminade by 27 and LSU by 39 points. Could this be the biggest threat to the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC? It’s possible, but Bonzie Colson will need to continue his national player of the year campaign into conference action.
Everyone is still trying to figure out what type of team Kentucky is. There is plenty of talent on the roster, but the youthfulness could very well be the downfall of the Wildcats. They definitely have top-10 talent, but they haven’t played like that just yet. Kentucky beat Fort Wayne, Troy and UIC for a confidence-building three-win week.