College basketball rankings: Projected AP Top 25 after UNC, Kansas early week upsets

It's been a chaotic college basketball season. Top teams have fallen at a record rate, and each week the AP poll has fluctuated accordingly. With the exception of UConn and Purdue, the top ten has been a slippery slope.

Already this week, North Carolina and Kansas, the third- and fourth-ranked teams in the current poll, have lost to unranked opponents. The Tar Heels, fresh off their best-played game of the season against Duke, looked sloppy and hungover as they dug themselves an early 15-point hole at home against Clemson, and despite a late comeback that saw them tie the game, they couldn't finish the Tigers off. Similarly, Kansas, who spanked Houston this past weekend after being home underdogs for just the second time in the Bill Self era, lost an overtime thriller at Kansas State for the second year in a row.

No. 11 Wisconsin continued its slide, dropping its third Big Ten game in a row. Unlike its losses at Nebraska and at home to Purdue, though, the Badgers' 72-68 loss at Michigan is going to really cost them, both in the polls and when it comes time to hear their seeding on Selection Sunday.

The biggest ranked matchup of the week occurred last night, with Auburn riding a 55-point first half to an impressive revenge victory over rival Alabama. Baylor continued its recent resurgence, backing up a wild win on Sunday over Iowa State with a hard-fought home win over Texas Tech.

Besides the Red Raiders, Creighton, BYU, and Utah State are in danger of dropping out of the top 25 after losses this week. The Bluejays were done in by Josh Oduro and Providence in Wednesday's game of the night, a back-and-forth overtime affair that gave the Friars a much-needed win after dropping games to UConn and Villanova last week. The Cougars were handled by Oklahoma 82-66 in the Sooners' first game since dropping out of the top-25, and the Aggies suffered their second 14-point loss in a row, a home defeat to Nevada last night.

Several teams have a case to jump from the "Others receiving votes" category into the top-25. We're going with Virginia, who has quietly climbed to within a game of first place in the ACC after smothering Miami 60-38 on Monday. The Cavaliers have now won seven in a row and deserve a spot. Oklahoma also earned a chance to regain its ranking with its convincing win over BYU. And finally, Colorado State sneaks in on the heels of its three-game winning streak that includes home wins over San Diego St. and Boise St.

Projected AP Top 25

In total, eight ranked teams have fallen already this week, and with a full slate of interesting games this weekend, that number is sure to rise. Let's project what the AP poll might look like after a crazy start to the week.

1. UConn Huskies
2. Purdue Boilermakers
3. Houston Cougars
4. Tennessee Volunteers
5. North Carolina Tar Heels
6. Kansas Jayhawks
7. Marquette Golden Eagles
8. Arizona Wildcats
9. Auburn Tigers
10. Duke Blue Devils
11. Baylor Bears
12. Illinois Fighting Illini
13. Iowa State Cyclones
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Kentucky Wildcats
16. Dayton Flyers
17. Florida Atlantic Owls
18. Alabama Crimson Tide
19. Wisconsin Badgers
20. San Diego State Aztecs
21. New Mexico Lobos
22. Creighton Bluejays
23. Virginia Cavaliers
24. Oklahoma Sooners
25. Colorado State Rams

The rest of the week could shake the rankings up even further. Arizona, Florida Atlantic, Dayton, and San Diego St. all face stiff tests on the road in the next two days, while Saturday's slate is loaded with quality conference matchups, with Baylor at Kansas standing out as the game of the day.