Fansided

Projected college basketball rankings after Texas, Maryland suffer first losses

By Cody Williams

Dec 6, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Timmy Allen (0) drives to the basket against Illinois Fighting Illini forward Matthew Mayer (24) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2022; New York, New York, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Timmy Allen (0) drives to the basket against Illinois Fighting Illini forward Matthew Mayer (24) during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Texas and Maryland entered Tuesday undefeated but didn’t leave the night that way. Now we check in with our projected college basketball rankings. 

The undefeated teams in college basketball have been dropping like flies. And two teams, the Texas Longhorns and Maryland Terrapins, came into the night with matchups that could put them to the test. Unfortunately for the No. 2 and 13 teams in the latest college basketball rankings, respectively, it was tests that they weren’t able to pass.

Chris Beard’s Longhorns were in Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V Classic matchup against a feisty Illinois team, but Texas had the advantage late. They were ahead 68-63 with only 56 seconds left, but the Illini fought back and forced overtime where they dominated the extra five minutes of play to emerge with a 85-78 win and hand the Longhorns their first loss.

Meanwhile, fresh off a win over that same Illinois team this past weekend, Maryland went on the road against a hard-nosed Wisconsin team and simply couldn’t find its juice. The Terps trailed basically all game long and couldn’t find any semblance of rhythm, managing just 59 points in the five-point loss to the Badgers.

With two unbeatens going down, we have to check in on our projected college basketball rankings to see what’s going to change.

Projected college basketball rankings after Texas, Maryland get upset for first losses

  1. Houston Cougars
  2. Virginia Cavaliers
  3. Purdue Boilermakers
  4. UConn Huskies
  5. Texas Longhorns
  6. Kansas Jayhawks
  7. Tennessee Volunteers
  8. Alabama Crimson Tide
  9. Arkansas Razorbacks
  10. Arizona Wildcats
  11. Auburn Tigers
  12. Baylor Bears
  13. Indiana Hoosiers
  14. Duke Blue Devils
  15. Kentucky Wildcats
  16. Maryland Terrapins
  17. Illinois Fighting Illini
  18. Gonzaga Bulldogs
  19. UCLA Bruins
  20. Iowa State Cyclones
  21. Creighton Bluejays
  22. San Diego State Aztecs
  23. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  24. TCU Horned Frogs
  25. Ohio State Buckeyes

Texas was previously sitting at No. 2 in the college basketball rankings in the heat of a group of undefeated teams. So it feels like the natural move to just drop the Longhorns down to the bottom of that group at No. 5. It was far from a bad loss as they fell in overtime on a neutral floor and they won’t be going anywhere with the quality wins they’ve already accrued.

As for the Terps, the fact that they were undefeated and still only at No. 13 does tell me that they could drop farther than No. 16. At the same time, however, Maryland just got a win over Illinois, so it’d feel weird for an 8-1 team to drop below a 7-2 team that they’ve already beaten. So that’s where we stand with that.

Given that it’s only Tuesday, though, we’ll have to see if there’s any more chaos set to ensue throughout the rest of the week. We’re definitely off to a hot start in that regard.

dark. Next. College basketball Week 5 predictions for every Top 25 game

For more NCAA basketball news, analysis, opinion and features, check out more from the FanSided college basketball section to stay on top of the latest action.