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College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 11

By Connor Muldowney

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 09: Ohio State Buckeyes forward Keita Bates-Diop (33) shoots a three point shot during a game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the William & Mary Tribe on December 9, 2017 at Value City Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 09: Ohio State Buckeyes forward Keita Bates-Diop (33) shoots a three point shot during a game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the William & Mary Tribe on December 9, 2017 at Value City Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MORGANTOWN, WV – JANUARY 06: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives against Jevon Carter #2 of the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 6, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV – JANUARY 06: Trae Young #11 of the Oklahoma Sooners drives against Jevon Carter #2 of the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 6, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

West Virginia will be dropped slightly from that No. 2 spot it earned last week because of a tough one-point road loss at Texas Tech. That defeat isn’t going to drop the Mountaineers very far since it was their first since the first game of the year against Texas A&M overseas. Yes, this is the first loss by West Virginia on American soil. They did beat Baylor earlier in the week, but their rise has been great for the Big 12 and there’s going to be a heck of a battle with TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas for the conference title.

I see a major jump in the rankings for Oklahoma, taking advantage of losses by West Virginia and Michigan State. The Sooners will likely see a rise into the top-five due to a couple of wins over ranked opponents. The first was a 10-point win over red-hot Texas Tech and the next was an overtime victory over TCU. Trae Young looks more like a national player of the year candidate than ever and he’s the reason the Sooners have been so tough to beat.

The Boilermakers have been absolutely on fire this season and they will see their highest ranking to date thanks to a strong week which consisted of wins over Michigan on the road and also Minnesota. Purdue has been a freight train and the Big Ten is taking notice. Will the Boilermakers be the team to take down mighty Michigan State for the Big Ten title?

I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t think the Cavaliers would be ranked this highly during the 2017-18 season when they were unranked in the preseason, but Tony Bennett’s teams always seem to exceed expectations. Virginia took down Syracuse and NC State in Week 10 and improved to 16-1 on the year and have won eight in a row since a loss at West Virginia.

That major target on Villanova’s back continues to grow as the Wildcats spend another week as the top-ranked team in the country. If you think a team like Virginia or Purdue will challenge for that top spot in the newest rankings, think again as Villanova demolished No. 10 Xavier to start the week. Not often do you see a top-10 matchup end in a 24-point blowout, but that’s just how good the Wildcats are.