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College basketball rankings: Week 13 AP Top 25 predictions – Vols stay hot

By Connor Muldowney

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 26: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Admiral Schofield (5) talk during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and West Virginia Mountaineers on January 26, 2019, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 26: Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Admiral Schofield (5) talk during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and West Virginia Mountaineers on January 26, 2019, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. (Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Carsen Edwards #3 and Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrate after the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Carsen Edwards #3 and Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers celebrate after the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Iowa was about to hold on to a spot in the AP Top 25, but losing twice to Michigan State and at Minnesota killed the Hawkeyes’ chances to remain ranked. That left the door open for Florida State which lost three straight before Week 12, only to beat Clemson and Miami — the latter on the road. The Seminoles were ranked in the top-15 not too long ago and have the talent to be one of the top teams in the ACC, but they played down to their competition at Pitt and at Boston College in two recent losses.

The Red Raiders got off to a strong start this season, going 15-1, but the Red Raiders have lost 3-of-4 games, dropping three consecutive in that span before stopping the bleeding with a win against Arkansas. Texas Tech earned its third straight defeat with a loss at Kansas State, scoring just 45 points in the game which followed up losses at Baylor and versus Iowa State the week before. The Red Raiders will drop, but not out completely.

The Big Ten got a bit of a shakeup when Purdue took down Michigan State on Sunday. It was the Spartans’ first loss of the Big Ten season and was a product of poor shooting and tired legs stemming from four games in a nine-day stretch, but the Boilermakers have looked good for over a month now, after a 6-5 start to the season. Once a bubble team, the Boilermakers are looking like a contender in the Big Ten.

After starting the season in the AP Top 25, LSU disappeared for a while but has made a reappearance and the Tigers are hoping to make this one stick. They won two games in Week 12, downing Georgia and then going on the road to beat Missouri. Those aren’t exactly resume-building wins, but the Tigers should still see a move up the rankings, taking advantage of teams losing ahead of them.

It was shocking to see Buffalo lose their first MAC game of the season to Northern Illinois, but anything is possible on the road in college basketball. The Bulls still made it interesting, losing by just two to the Huskies and coming back to beat Kent State on the road, scoring 88 points in the process. This team is still the class of the conference and should be a lock to get to the NCAA Tournament.