College basketball rankings: Week 13 AP Top 25 predictions

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

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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LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 26: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a dunk against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on January 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 66-51. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

At the beginning of the year, expectations were not high for Louisville under new head coach Chris Mack. Yes, he had the potential to turn the program back in the right direction after the Rick Pitino mess, but the Cardinals just didn’t have the star power. Fast forward a few months and the Cardinals look like one of the biggest surprises in the ACC, adding another ranked win to the resume over NC State in Week 12.

At the beginning of the season, I was ready to write off the Villanova Wildcats completely. They lost to Michigan by about a million at home and then to Furman, but have since gone 12-2 with wins at Butler and against Seton Hall in Week 12. The Wildcats are starting to look more like a national contender and the difference from the Wildcats now and since the beginning of the year has been steep.

It’s hard to find a more consistent team in college basketball this season than Houston, but the Cougars don’t get the love they deserve because they play in the AAC. Still, this is a dangerous team and one that nearly beat national runner-up Michigan last season in the NCAA Tournament — it could have been Houston playing for a title if a last-second 3-pointer didn’t shock them. This team may have actually gotten better since last year.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Virginia Tech which has resulted in two blowout losses against Virginia and North Carolina. The Hokies lost to the Tar Heels by 21 points to start Week 12 and then bounced back with a 22-point win over a Syracuse team that beat Duke on the road. The ACC continues to beat up on each other, but the Hokies need to be nearly flawless from here on out to remain in the title hunt.

Beating Iowa State was a nice feat of revenge after the Cyclones beat Kansas just a few weeks ago by 17 points, but the Jayhawks are showing that no Udoka Azubuike means a tough go of things. They lost against Kentucky to end the week as the Wildcats looked like the better team for 40 minutes. Are the Jayhawks without Azubuike good enough to contend for a national title?