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College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 13

By Connor Muldowney

MORGANTOWN, WV - JANUARY 27: Nick Richards #4 of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts after scoring against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 27, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - JANUARY 27: Nick Richards #4 of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts after scoring against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on January 27, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBIA, SC – JANUARY 20: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) during the SEC matchup on January 20, 2018 between Tennessee and South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SC – JANUARY 20: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) during the SEC matchup on January 20, 2018 between Tennessee and South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Jim Dedmon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Rhode Island is a winner of 12 straight games and it does seem like any team in the Atlantic 10 can keep up with the Rams. They’re currently 9-0 in conference play with a healthy three-game lead over the second-place team. The return of senior guard E.C. Matthews seemed to have sparked this team in the first month of play and he could be a big factor in a conference title and deep NCAA Tournament run in March.

Tennessee just continues to impress. The Volunteers, led by Rick Barnes, have been one of the SEC’s biggest surprises and it wouldn’t be all that shocking at this point to see them win the conference title. They beat Vanderbilt by a slim margin at home to start the week and concluded it with a 23-point win over Iowa State in Ames. Not a bad week for the Volunteers who will get a decent bump in the Week 13 poll.

It wasn’t the best week for the defending national champs. North Carolina dropped a couple of games at Virginia Tech and at home against rival NC State in overtime. That second defeat hurt worse than the road loss against the Hokies since it happened in Chapel Hill against an in-state foe. Roy Williams’ team has a lot of work to do if it wants to make a run at a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

Just when it looked like Ohio State was unbeatable, the Buckeyes have a couple of close games, one resulting in a loss, against unranked opponents at home. Keita Bates-Diop has made a name for himself as an All-American talent, but not even he was enough to save the Buckeyes from a home upset at the buzzer against Penn State. The Buckeyes came back down to earth in Week 12, but will its lack of depth continue to hurt them down the stretch?

Bruce Pearl has officially surpassed each of the win totals in his first three seasons as head coach of the Auburn Tigers in Week 12. His Tigers beat Missouri and LSU handily to improve to 19-2 overall and his previous season-high with Auburn was 18, set a season ago. He’s done a fantastic job with this team and the offensive firepower isn’t easily matched in the SEC. Can the Tigers win the conference? It sure looks like it.