College basketball rankings: Villanova gaining steam in Top 25

There was a brawl, a buzzer-beater and a new No. 1 team in college basketball in Week 12. How will all that action affect Week 13’s college basketball rankings?

We had a new No. 1 team in college basketball in Week 12 and Baylor did just fine with that top spot as opposed to previous teams not named Gonzaga.

Conference play is nearing the halfway point for most teams and that means contenders are separating themselves while bubble teams are playing with more of a sense of urgency. We saw that with a buzzer-beater in the Big Ten between Illinois and Michigan (OK, maybe there were 0.5 seconds left) and a brawl between rivals in the Big 12 that led to a suspension.

The college basketball rankings will see a shuffle in Week 13 but the top-three spots should remain the same.

College basketball rankings for Week 13

25. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-5)

Although Rutgers lost as the No. 24 team in the country in Week 12, it wasn’t a bad loss at Iowa by just five points and they rebounded to beat Nebraska at home. The Scarlet Knights will likely hold on to a spot in the AP Top 25, even if by a thread.

24. Penn State Nittany Lions (14-5)

A three-game losing streak at Rutgers, vs. Wisconsin and at Minnesota knocked Penn State out of the rankings, but the Nittany Lions have since beaten Ohio State and Michigan on the road to improve to 14-5. They’ll be back in the AP Top 25 this week.

23. LSU Tigers (15-4)

LSU lost to East Tennessee State and USC back-to-back earlier this season and it looked like the Tigers were a fringe-tourney team, but they’ve won eight straight games and are sitting in first place in the SEC. Victories over Florida and at Texas will have this team in the Top 25 again.

22. Wichita State Shockers (17-3)

Houston knocked Wichita State out of the rankings last week, handing the Shockers their second straight loss but they’ll be back in after wins over South Florida and UCF. The AAC is going to be a fun race to monitor as the season winds down and the Shockers are right there near the top.

21. Houston Cougars (16-4)

After beating Wichita State a week ago to make their first appearance in the AP Top 25 this season while dropping the Shockers out, the Cougars beat UConn and South Florida to hold on to a first-place tie in the AAC.

20. Colorado Buffaloes (16-4)

There’s a logjam near the top of the Pac-12 standings and Colorado is one of the teams fighting for positioning. The Buffaloes took care of business by downing Washington State and Washington last week and that should be good enough to vault them to the No. 20 spot.

19. Butler Bulldogs (16-4)

I can see AP voters being generally tough on Butler moving forward, especially since the Bulldogs haven’t proven a whole lot. They lost by 15 points at No. 9 Villanova but rebounded to take care of Marquette by four points in a back-and-forth affair. Is this team worthy of top-15 consideration? Probably not right now.

18. Illinois Fighting Illini (15-5)

Brad Underwood has done a fantastic job with Illinois since he’s taken over a couple of years ago and he has the Illini off to their best start in years. They’re playing as well as anyone in the Big Ten right now and after wins at Purdue and at Michigan, they’re tied for first place in the conference.

17. Iowa Hawkeyes (14-5)

Fran McCaffery‘s Iowa Hawkeyes are playing some high-scoring, exciting basketball right now and the rest of the Big Ten has already taken notice. The Hawkeyes beat a gritty Rutgers team in a surprise ranked battle in their only game of the week and will move up a couple of spots because of it.

16. Maryland Terrapins (16-4)

Having gone winless on the road in Big Ten play before Week 12, Maryland had something to prove and they had a couple of games away from home to do that. The Terrapins came from behind to beat a bad Northwestern team and then came back once again to top Indiana in the final seconds. Big Ten road wins make you feel good, even if they are ugly.

15. Auburn Tigers (17-2)

People are probably hesitant to buy into the Auburn Tigers after double-digit losses to both Florida and Alabama on the road last week. The Tigers bounced back with a 13-point win over South Carolina and tight win over Iowa State. This team still has plenty to prove and no shortage of chances to do so.

14. Michigan State Spartans (15-5)

A loss at the beginning of the week at Indiana looked like a major eyesore on the Spartans’ tournament resume, but they responded by dominating Minnesota to end the week on the road. A split with two tough road games against tournament-caliber teams is what Tom Izzo was hoping for and he got just that. Don’t expect a drastic drop thanks to an 18-point road win over Minnesota.

13. West Virginia Mountaineers (16-3)

West Virginia will move up a spot thanks to a couple of losses in front of it and the Mountaineers had an extremely dominant week against Texas and Missouri. They smacked the Longhorns around 97-59 and then handled Missouri 74-51. This team is looking like a true threat to Baylor and Kansas in the Big 12.

12. Kentucky Wildcats (15-4)

Voters have to be pleased with what they saw from the Wildcats this week and that was a 10-point win over a gritty Georgia team as well as a two-point road victory over defending national runner-up Texas Tech. That Texas Tech win should jump the Wildcats a few spots, especially with MSU and Butler losing.

11. Oregon Ducks (17-4)

The Pac-12 has been much more competitive than people expected and the Ducks are starting to sense that as no wins are coming easy, but they took care of USC and UCLA in Week 12 to improve to 17-4. The win over UCLA was dominant and it should be enough to jump Michigan State at No. 11.

10. Seton Hall Pirates (15-4)

Seton Hall is playing as well as any team in the country right now and the Pirates took care of Providence to improve to 15-4 on the season, winning their ninth straight game. Right now, they’re looking like a potential No. 2 or No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

9. Villanova Wildcats (16-3)

Villanova probably deserves more respect but AP voters won’t be quick to give the Wildcats a ton of credit for beating a struggling Butler team at home. This is still a top-10 team and they dominated the 13th-ranked Bulldogs and they snuck out a four-point win over Providence.

8. Duke Blue Devils (16-3)

It’s odd to see Duke at No. 8 after being dominant for so much of the regular season, but a loss at home to Louisville last week dropped the Blue Devils. They’ll likely stay at No. 8 after winning their only game of the week against Miami at home, 89-59. This 30-point domination was both expected and impressive. Still, Duke is chasing Louisville in the ACC standings.

7. Dayton Flyers (18-2)

Are the Dayton Flyers the best mid-major in the country? Right now, it’d be tough to argue to the contrary, but the Flyers are right up there with Gonzaga and San Diego State, but they, too, have been lightly tested in conference play. They beat St. Bonaventure and Richmond with ease in Week 12 and should stay put at No. 7.

6. Louisville Cardinals (17-3)

The Cardinals have been dominant ever since a two-game losing streak against Florida State and Kentucky, winning six games in a row. The Cardinals beat Georgia Tech and Clemson at home in Week 12 and they’re starting to gain some steam alone at the top of the ACC standings.

5. Florida State Seminoles (17-2)

Florida State had just one game in Week 12 and it came against Notre Dame. The Seminoles looked to run away with an easy home game against a struggling ACC foe, but the Irish put up quite the fight and reminded Florida State that no win in college basketball is a given. They still topped the Irish, but it was an 85-84 thriller in Tallahassee. Who would have thought this team would be 0.5 games out of first place in the ACC at this point in the year?

4. San Diego State Aztecs (21-0)

The lone remaining undefeated team in college basketball won a couple more times in Week 12 with a comfortable win over Wyoming and gritty road victory at UNLV. San Diego State improved to 10-0 in conference play and has a whopping three-game lead over the rest of the league. All the Aztecs have to do in the final stretch is go 5-3 and they will win the conference — or at least a share — and that’s if every contender behind them wins out.

3. Kansas Jayhawks (16-3)

This is the brawl we’ve been talking about and it wasn’t as wild as the Malice at the Palace between the Pacers and Pistons back in the early-2000s, but Kansas and Kansas State clearly just don’t like each other. Silvio De Sousa earned a suspension after picking up a chair in a post-game brawl with the Jayhawks’ rivals, but Kansas still took care of Tennessee to end the week on with two wins and one ugly finish.

2. Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-1)

Gonzaga probably isn’t going to be tested much from here on out and that’s why you’ll see the Bulldogs getting less and less respect as the season progresses. Voters have already moved them down from No. 1 to No. 2 because Baylor has actually had a chance to prove itself while the Bulldogs are beating up on teams like Pacific. Gonzaga will likely stay at No. 2 again, but don’t be surprised if they’re somewhere around 4-5 by season’s end.

1. Baylor Bears (17-1)

Baylor is playing the best and most consistent basketball in the country right now. The Bears had a bit of a rocky start to the week, holding on to a four-point win over an average Oklahoma team at home, but they went to Florida in a Big 12 battle against the SEC and stole a win from the Gators. Beating Florida on the road is a huge resume-booster and will keep this team in first place for at least another week.

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