College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 6
With one chance to prove itself in Week 5 against Florida, the Cincinnati Bearcats were unable to take care of business at home and hand the Gators their third loss of the week. Fortunately, so many teams ahead of the Bearcats lost last week which will likely keep them in the top-20 range. Unfortunately, they have two consecutive losses after a 7-0 start.
Believe it or not, Purdue might just be the biggest contender to Michigan State in the Big Ten this season. The Boilermakers started the year with plenty of uncertainty, having to replace Big Ten Player of the Year Caleb Swanigan, but they have since looked like a serious threat to win the conference. They’re 10-2 on the season after blowout wins against Valparaiso and IUPUI.
Tony Bennett is a defensive mastermind and there’s a reason the Virginia Cavaliers are always competing for ACC titles nowadays. Once again, his team has one of the top defenses in the nation, but it couldn’t get enough stops and the offense struggled against West Virginia, losing 68-61 on the road. It was Virginia’s first loss of the year, so don’t expect it to drop much.
Can you believe that Seton Hall was bounced from the rankings just a couple of weeks ago after it lost to Rhode Island? The past four games have resulted in impressive wins for the Pirates, though, as they took down Vanderbilt, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 17 Louisville on the road and VCU. The Pirates will get another tough test in Week 6 at Rutgers, a surprisingly decent Big Ten squad this year.
Florida was one more loss away from dropping from No. 5 to unranked a-la Arizona. The Gators went from clear top-five team to fringe top-20 squad in the matter of a week. They lost to in-state rival Florida State at home to start the week and as if that wasn’t bad enough, they fell at the hands of Loyola (IL) at home a couple days later. If not for a win at Cincinnati, the Gators would be unranked heading into Week 6 action.