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College basketball rankings: Week 7 AP Top 25 predictions

By Connor Muldowney

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates with teammates after making a three-point shot against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 15: Cameron Johnson #13 of the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates with teammates after making a three-point shot against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 103-90. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: Brandon Clarke #15 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs battles Luke Maye #32 and Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels for a rebound during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: Brandon Clarke #15 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs battles Luke Maye #32 and Garrison Brooks #15 of the North Carolina Tar Heels for a rebound during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on December 15, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Is this too harsh of a prediction? Auburn was No. 8 in the AP Top 25 just one week ago, but Bruce Pearl’s team didn’t quite have itself a strong showing in Week 6. The Tigers had one game against UAB on the road and needed overtime to take down the Blazers who are just 6-4 on the season with losses to Florida State and Charleston. Are the Tigers as good as we thought? It’s too early to tell, but they’ll remain in the top 10.

Two straight losses would drop most teams 10-plus spots in the rankings, but Gonzaga is a different story. The Bulldogs will likely remain in the top-10 despite losing to Tennessee last Sunday and then North Carolina on Saturday. The Tar Heels took it to the Bulldogs in Chapel Hill, beating them by 13 and scoring 103 points on the veteran team. The Bulldogs are still national title contenders, so a top-10 spot makes sense.

Michigan State should move up just one spot thanks to the Gonzaga loss, but the Spartans still have plenty to prove. Tom Izzo would be the first to tell you he’s not content with his 9-2 team just yet, especially since they have had a chance to win every game, but lost to Kansas and Louisville after big comeback efforts fell short. The Spartans are handling the teams, like Green Bay, that they’re supposed to, but the resume will need to grow — though wins over Iowa, Texas and UCLA aren’t too shabby.

Nevada needed yet another comeback this week to remain unbeaten. It took a big second-half rally against Arizona State last week for the Wolfpack to improve to 10-0 and this time it was a bounce-back against South Dakota State after trailing by as much as seven in the second half. Jordan Caroline had yet another big game to lead the Wolfpack back, scoring 21 points and making 3-of-6 shots from deep.

North Carolina had the best win of any team in college basketball last week, beating No. 4 Gonzaga 103-90. The Bulldogs have looked beatable a couple of times this season, but this was the first time they were truly handled by an opponent as the Tar Heels looked like a different team than the one that got dismantled by Michigan a couple weeks back. Luke Maye had himself quite a game in the big upset win, scoring 20 points with 16 boards. Expect a decent jump for UNC.