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Projected college basketball rankings after Michigan, Oregon, Illinois upset

By Cody Williams

Nov 16, 2021; Portland, Oregon, USA; BYU Cougar guard Te'Jon Lucas (3) drives to the basket while guarded by Oregon Ducks guard Rivaldo Soares (11) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 16, 2021; Portland, Oregon, USA; BYU Cougar guard Te'Jon Lucas (3) drives to the basket while guarded by Oregon Ducks guard Rivaldo Soares (11) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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How will the college basketball rankings change after No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 Oregon were both upset by unranked teams? Let’s check our projections.

Early in the college hoops season, fans had been treated to some great games and even some lower-ranked or unranked teams pulling off upsets. But we hadn’t seen any top-15 teams in the country get knocked off by an opponent they were far superior to, at least on paper.

On Tuesday night, we got two of those instances in one slate of games. First, the Michigan Wolverines got caught in a battle with the Seton Hall Pirates and, thanks to some un-clutch free throw shooting late in the game, the No. 4-ranked team in the country fell. But the No. 12-ranked Oregon Ducks added to the drama as they hosted BYU and got absolutely torched in a game that wasn’t even close.

Only raising the stakes, these two teams joined the Illinois Fighting Illini after the No. 10-ranked team in college basketball fell in a thriller to Marquette on Monday night.

Needless to say, this is going to shake up the college basketball rankings — but how much so? Let’s take a crack at sorting that much out.

College basketball rankings: Projected top 25 after Michigan, Oregon upset losses

  1. Gonzaga Bulldogs
  2. UCLA Bruins
  3. Kansas Jayhawks
  4. Purdue Boilermakers
  5. Villanova Wildcats
  6. Duke Blue Devils
  7. Texas Longhorns
  8. Baylor Bears
  9. Michigan Wolverines
  10. Memphis Tigers
  11. Alabama Crimson Tide
  12. Kentucky Wildcats
  13. Houston Cougars
  14. Arkansas Razorbacks
  15. Tennessee Volunteers
  16. North Carolina Tar Heels
  17. Maryland Terrapins
  18. Ohio State Buckeyes
  19. Auburn Tigers
  20. Illinois Fighting Illini
  21. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
  22. UConn Huskies
  23. Florida Gators
  24. USC Trojans
  25. Oregon Ducks

Truth be told, the upsets to Michigan, Oregon and even Illinois are unprecedented in the young 2021 college basketball rankings.

While several Top 25 teams had already lost prior to this week, no teams ranked as highly as this trio had been upset by unranked opponents. That leads to some serious questions about where to slot them.

Ultimately, though Michigan is less penalized than the others as Seton Hall, frankly, should probably be ranked sooner rather than later based on early-season returns. Still, though, this early loss puts the Wolverines — as is the case with the Ducks and Illini — on notice that they need to tighten up.

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