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College basketball rankings: Week 12 AP Top 25 predictions

By Connor Muldowney

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 19: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Jordan Bowden (23) walk up the court during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide on January 19, 2019, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 19: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Jordan Bowden (23) walk up the court during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide on January 19, 2019, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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LUBBOCK, TX – JANUARY 16: Marial Shayok #3 of the Iowa State Cyclones shoots a free throw during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on January 16, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Iowa State defeated Texas Tech 68-64. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – JANUARY 16: Marial Shayok #3 of the Iowa State Cyclones shoots a free throw during the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on January 16, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Iowa State defeated Texas Tech 68-64. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Ole Miss was one of the newest additions to the AP Top 25 a week ago, making its first appearance on the season. How did the Rebels handle all the attention in Week 11? Well, they were throttled at home by an LSU squad that believes it deserves to be ranked before beating Arkansas a few days later. This team must take care of business in Oxford moving forward, but for now, it’ll see a decent drop.

Iowa State has been in and out of the rankings a couple of times this season and the Cyclones are actually fresh off a drop from the AP Top 25 last week. They lost to Baylor and Kansas State and then made up for it with a win at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma State. Beating Texas Tech is one thing, but doing it on the road is a different level of impressive. This team should find its way back into the rankings after that showing.

Though Mississippi State won a couple of games in Week 11, don’t expect to see a huge rise from the Bulldogs in the rankings. Actually, it’ll probably be a spot or two, at most, as voters won’t care much about two victories over unranked SEC foes. Florida could be a tournament team while Vanderbilt may limp to the finish line, but

Suffering arguably the worst ACC loss of the week, NC State is lucky to be holding onto a spot in the AP Top 25 still, but the Wolfpack are still 15-3 with a winning record in conference play. Still, that loss to Wake Forest, handing the Demon Deacons their first conference win of the year, stings. The Wolfpack did go on to beat a struggling Notre Dame team on the road to save their spot at around No. 22.

Ever since that loss against Duke at the buzzer, Florida State has looked like a defeated team. The Seminoles have now lost three straight games which would drop some teams out of the AP Top 25 completely, but voters won’t be ready to give up on them. They lost at Pitt and at Boston College in Week 11, dropping them to four defeats on the season after a nearly flawless record entering ACC action. Is a 10-spot drop far enough?