With Baylor routing Villanova in a defensive struggle and after Purdue survived NC State in overtime, we revisit the projected college basketball rankings.
Sunday gave college hoops fans another big treat for a packed two-day stretch of games with the No. 2-ranked Baylor Bears taking on the No. 6-ranked Villanova Wildcats. But the top-10 matchup in the college basketball rankings didn’t exactly look like that on the floor.
It was a defensive struggle between the defending national champs and Jay Wright’s team but it was the Bears that showed a bit more polish on both ends of the floor, leading to a decisive statement game with Baylor winning 57-36.
With that win, it’s likely that Scott Drew’s team will be the No. 1 team in the next round of college basketball rankings after Purdue was upset by Rutgers earlier in the week. And in the case of the Boilermakers, they got another scare on Sunday, needing late buckets to tie it up and force overtime against NC State. Lucky for them, they prevailed in the extra period.
So with a wild weekend (and week) full of upsets in college hoops, we need to check in on the rankings and our projections.
Projected college basketball rankings after Baylor routs Villanova, Purdue outlasts NC State in OT
- Baylor Bears
- Duke Blue Devils
- UCLA Bruins
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Arizona Wildcats
- USC Trojans
- Villanova Wildcats
- Texas Longhorns
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Auburn Tigers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Houston Cougars
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Seton Hall Pirates
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Tennessee Volunteers
If Baylor isn’t the top team in the next college basketball rankings, then something has gone horribly awry in the minds of voters for the AP Top 25.
With that said, Purdue shouldn’t fall all that far as teams have kept on losing left and right this week, making their own loss more palatable in terms of how they compare. Meanwhile, big wins from Alabama and others should give them a boost while teams like Houston and Villanova shouldn’t be penalized too heavily for ranked losses.
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