College basketball rankings: AP Top 25 predictions

College basketball rankings: AP Top 25 predictions – Duke loses Zion, then No. 1 ranking

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 20: Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a play against the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 20, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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SEATTLE, WA – FEBRUARY 23: Washington Huskies guard David Crisp (1) dribbles the ball down court during a college basketball game between the Colorado Buffaloes against the Washington Huskies on February 23, 2019, at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Will Iowa hold on to a spot in the rankings after losing at home to Maryland? I’m going with just barely, but the Hawkeyes have had a strong overall season to this point that can’t be overlooked. The Hawkeyes have just six losses on the year but they aren’t quite serious players for the Big Ten title. Fran McCaffery’s team had a nice comeback from last season’s 14-19 squad. Iowa is on track to make its first NCAA Tournament since 2015-16.

Virginia Tech had an opportunity to avenge an earlier loss to rival Virginia but the Hokies were swept by the Cavaliers, blowing a chance to pull off the upset at home. However, Buzz Williams and the Hokies lost again, dropping to 21-6 on the year after beating Notre Dame to end the week. Virginia Tech is definitely a tough team to judge as it can hang with anyone but it has four losses against ranked teams this year.

I was ready to keep Villanova in the AP Top 25, but the Wildcats struggled, losing to both Georgetown and Xavier on the road which means the defending national champs will likely drop from the rankings. That means we will see the Southern Conference’s top team, Wofford, make the rankings for Week 17. It’s weird to see so many mid-majors make bids for the AP Top 25, but the Terriers have been playing lights out in conference play with a 16-0 record.

Cincinnati was already ranked in the Coaches Poll, but the Bearcats will get the nod from AP voters after being the first team on the outside of the Top 25 last week. The Bearcats have been playing well lately despite a loss to Houston last week as they beat Central Florida and then Connecticut on the road which will be good enough to regain a spot in the rankings.

A Pac-12 team in the AP Top 25? Yes, it seems a bit odd since it hasn’t happened much this season outside of the first few weeks when we saw Oregon, Arizona State and UCLA in the rankings, but Washington is dominating the rest of the conference. In fact, the Huskies are 13-1 in conference play and any other power conference would have its best team in the top-15 or even top-10, but the Pac-12 has been that bad.