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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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TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 27: Arizona Wildcats center Dusan Ristic (14) cerebrates a scoring during the a college basketball game between Utah Utes and the Arizona Wildcats on January 27, 2018, at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. Arizona Wildcats defeated the Utah Utes 74-73. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 27: Arizona Wildcats center Dusan Ristic (14) cerebrates a scoring during the a college basketball game between Utah Utes and the Arizona Wildcats on January 27, 2018, at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. Arizona Wildcats defeated the Utah Utes 74-73. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Texas Tech is likely to jump back into the top-10 in Week 13 thanks to a handful of teams losing ahead of the Red Raiders. They’ll take advantage of West Virginia, Oklahoma, Ohio State and North Carolina losing to sneak back into that top-tier after beating Oklahoma State and South Carolina. The Red Raiders are serious Big 12 contenders but they have a big week approaching with a home game against Texas and at TCU.

Since losing three straight games back in November, Arizona has been red-hot. In fact, the Wildcats have gone 15-1 since that poor stretch, beating teams like Texas A&M, Alabama, Arizona State and Oregon during that span. Deandre Ayton and Co. have been rolling through the Pac-12 thus far, posting an 8-1 record in conference play. Utah nearly stole a win in Tucson on Saturday as Arizona came away with a one-point victory to avoid the spoiled week.

Kansas avoided the dreaded two-loss week with a victory over Texas A&M in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. The Jayhawks don’t have as talented of a team as they had a season ago, but they continue to show that they belong among the names of national title contenders. Kansas did lose at Oklahoma earlier in the week and won’t get a rematch until mid-February, but they still remain in first place in the Big 12.

Duke’s loss to Virginia was a tough pill to swallow. No, it doesn’t eliminate the Blue Devils from national title contention or even No. 1 seed consideration, but it does likely put them out of reach of a conference title. How is that possible with over a month left in the season? Well, the Blue Devils don’t face the Cavaliers again this season and they are now 9-0 in conference play while Duke has dropped to 6-3 with nine ACC games left. Three games behind while needing Virginia to lose 4-of-9 is not a good position to be in.

There are just a few teams in the American Athletic Conference that could really contend for the title this season and Cincinnati leads the pack. No, not just because the Bearcats arguably have the most talent and an elite defense, which is ranked No. 2 in the country, but also because they have separated themselves with an 8-0 start in conference play. They’ve now won 12 straight games since losing to Florida.