Fansided

College Basketball Rankings: Projected Top 25 for Week 17

By Connor Muldowney

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 21: Devon Hall #0 of the Virginia Cavaliers drives past Brandon Alston #4 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on February 21, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia defeated Georgia Tech 65-54. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 21: Devon Hall #0 of the Virginia Cavaliers drives past Brandon Alston #4 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on February 21, 2018 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia defeated Georgia Tech 65-54. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 24: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 24, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – FEBRUARY 24: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 24, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Thanks to a blowout loss by Florida State, Houston will remain in the AP Top 25. The Seminoles were ranked No. 25 last week and would have held on to a spot in the rankings with a win over NC State, but the Seminoles were blown out on the road. Houston, on the other hand, lost a tough road game against Memphis to start the week and then beat East Carolina by 51 points on Sunday.

After losing four straight games to get dropped from the rankings, Kentucky has battled back to win three in a row, including a 15-point road win against Arkansas and 21-point home victory over Missouri. Could the Wildcats finally be figuring it out? It’s better late than never and coming together at this point of the season could lead to a nice NCAA Tournament run.

Everyone’s favorite cinderella will remain in the AP Top 25 for another week after taking care of UAB, 79-54. The last thing any major program wants to see in the NCAA Tournament this year is a red-hot Middle Tennessee team, but that’s exactly what’s going to happen for one unfortunate squad. The Blue Raiders have won 10 straight and are one win away from clinching at least a share of the Conference USA title.

The cupcake schedule for Saint Mary’s rolls along as the Gaels took care of Pepperdine and Santa Clara just one week after losing in a shocking upset at San Francisco. Can this team just focus on the task at hand and take care of business in the conference tourney to earn a rematch with Gonzaga? The Gaels better hope so because that may be their last chance to prove themselves worthy of a decent seed.

Nevada has been one of the biggest surprises in college basketball. The Wolf Pack have been on a roll lately, winning five straight games and surging to the top of the Mountain West standings. Nevada took care of San Jose State and Colorado State in Week 16 and is just one win away from clinching the outright regular season title. This could be a scary team to face in March.