Projected college basketball rankings after Iowa State makes statement and Tennessee takes down Georgia
By Quinn Everts
College basketball never sleeps, and neither do we. Wednesday was another stacked slate in a season stacked with stacked slates. Did that make any sense?
Anyway, the Wednesday schedule didn't provide quite as many thrillers in the top 25 as we've gotten used to watching this year, but it was still an informative night regardless. As in, we've been informed that Iowa State is no joke and it's still hard to win in the SEC. Here's what the AP Top 25 would look like if it were released right now.
Projected men's college basketball AP Top 25
- Auburn Tigers
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Duke Blue Devils
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Marquette Golden Eagles
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Houston Cougars
- Florida Gators
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Michigan State Spartans
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Oregon Ducks
- UConn Huskies
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Memphis Tigers
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Michigan Wolverines
- Utah State Aggies
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Missouri Tigers
- Arizona Wildcats
Iowa State stays at No. 2 after blowout of Kansas
It's hard to watch Iowa State beat Kansas so convincingly and not have them move up in the rankings... but this has nothing to do with Iowa State and everything to do with Auburn.
The Tigers have been rolling over teams and have just one loss to Duke. Yes, ISU has just one loss too... but it was to Auburn back in November. Tiebreak goes to the Tigers for now. Consider them No. 1 and No. 1.1. That's not how rankings work, but... we can pretend.
Curtis Jones kept rolling against KU, scoring 25 after scoring 26 on Saturday against Texas Tech and 23 against Utah last week. He was launching from the logo on Wednesday. His co-star Keshon Gilbert only scored seven points but dished out eight assists in the win — this team has star power, depth and loves getting after it defensively. Scary.
Tennessee moves back into top 5 after smoking Georgia
Was the game against Florida a fluke? It's starting to seem that way... the Vols are now 16-1 after blowing open their game against Georgia in the second half; after trailing 26-25 at the break, Tennessee outscored UGA 49-30 in the second half to win 74-56, and they hop back into the top 5 because of it.
I'm not sure what's happened to Chaz Lanier the past few games, but the Vols didn't need him tonight, and his 2-16 shooting night didn't bring things crashing down for UT.
It was a good sign on Wednesday that he can have an off game and Tennessee can still beat a good team but... it would be nice if they didn't have to figure that out anymore. Lanier should get back on track soon.
Marquette slowly keeps moving up
Somewhat quietly, the Golden Eagles have moved all the way up to No. 6 in these (hypothetical) rankings — but they'll likely end up there in the real AP rankings next week to, should they take care of Xavier on Saturday.
Shaka Smart's group has won six straight games and 7 of 8. They've beaten Wisconsin, Georgia, Maryland and Purdue already this season and don't have any real bad losses on their resume.
This team has weapons, too; Kam Jones is rightfully getting Wooden award talk, but David Joplin and Chase Ross are happy to give you buckets, too. Don't forget about the Golden Eagles or the Big East.
Arizona sneaks into rankings after Georgia loss
If Georgia falls out of the rankings, it'll likely be to No. 26, and Arizona is almost sure to take its place. The Wildcats got lots of votes even before beating the Bears, and that win plus Georgia's loss tonight should pump UA back into the mix.
After a highly disappointing beginning of the season, the Wildcats have rattled off seven straight, with Tuesday's win against Baylor being the most impressive. I have no idea what this team will look like when March rolls around, but things are trending in the right direction. Bear Down.
Looking forward to Thursday
Michigan, Memphis and Gonzaga are all in action — the game to watch is the Zags versus Oregon State in Corvallis, where they'll battle a feisty Beavs team.