Merry Day After Christmas! There weren’t many college basketball games that grabbed our attention, but I think the holidays were well-treated by everyone. The good news is that there are a lot of great matchups on tap this week. On Saturday, New Year’s Eve is jam-packed. In the meantime, let us spread our usual holiday cheer by presenting the correct order of the top 25 college basketball teams submitted to the AP last weekend. Those who have are not failures.
Seth Davis Top 25 for Monday 26th December
Dropped out: Illinois (13), Iowa (twenty one), Virginia Tech (twenty three), Mississippi (twenty four)
Most Famous: auburn, Boise State, clayton, Maryland, Pennsylvania, providenceSt. Mary’s, San Diego, UAB, Utah, west virginia
Voting Notes
• Due to thin spots, the top eight teams remained in the same position as last week. I think it’s the last time I can say that for this season.The only team outside the top 10 is Virginia, lost in Miami. There is no shame in losing buckets to ranked teams. Reese Beekman I still suffer from hamstring pain. It was his second straight loss for the Cavaliers, but the previous one was at home against the top five. houstonTherefore, the Cavs dropped only three spots. They are very winnable. He has four games ahead and will play after that. north carolina At home on January 10th.
• I didn’t vote Miami last week, even though the Hurricanes won 11-1. UCF (road) and Rutgers (Home), although in my eyes the 74-64 win over Providence on neutral courts was more impressive. But Miami has proven her AP voter confidence in my fellows by winning over Virginia. Metrics don’t like this team (No. 48 NET, No. 38 KenPom, No. 52 BartTorvik), but Canes passes the eye test.They could go 18-1 when they play duke January 21st.
• As we’ve said many times in this space, nothing complicates voter decisions more than injuries, illnesses, and other personnel issues. Last week on Hoop Thoughts, I pointed out that Clayton is a very different team. Ryan Kalkbrennermissed 3 games (defeated) due to a non-COVID-19 illness.Kalkbrenner is back at home for the Blue Jays Butler, and they won 78-56. They then went on to win 80-65. depaul Christmas day.I hope Kalkbrenner is healthy and effective seton hall (house) and U Conn (over there).
Deeper
College Basketball Panic Meter: How Panicked Should Kentucky, Indiana, and Others Need to be?
• Indiana moved up two spots after two teams that ranked higher than the Hoosiers last week fell. However, this team has had major injury problems with his 6-3 senior point guard. Xavier Johnsonhe underwent surgery on his injured leg early in the loss KansasIt doesn’t make sense to punish a team that doesn’t lose a game with injuries, but likewise, with Johnson looking like he’ll miss most of the season, the Hoosiers can’t be given relief on this front. And who knows? Maybe Indiana is just as good, if not without Johnson. I’m curious if it’s a sophomore guard Tamar Bates get more play time and if so what does he do with it
• Iowa was just a pickle.The Hawkeyes suffered a shock home loss to Eastern Illinois on Wednesday. Chris MurrayMissed 4 games in a row due to a left leg injury. Conor McCaffrey, missed due to an injured hand. But we’re still talking about an opponent who’s still coming in 3-9 and still ranked 347th in KenPom after that win. They’re playing Nebraska and Penn State this week, so even if they win both games, they’ll still be unranked in my polls for at least another week. prize.
• I was a little surprised that North Carolina wasn’t ranked in last week’s AP poll. The Tar Heels trailed Charleston in the “Other Voters” section of both polls, even though the Tar Heels beat the Cougars by 16 points on Nov. 11 and he was ahead of him by 75 spots in KenPom. I was even more surprised.Tar Heels defeated and validated my vote Michigan in Charlotte last week.i notice Wolverine Not ranked, but as detailed previously, none of North Carolina’s four losses were bad, and their current four-game winning streak includes: Ohio Located in Madison Square Garden.
• What to do with Duke?of blue devils Despite a heavy loss at Wake Forest, they were playing without two key freshmen. Derek Lively II When Darik WhiteheadI relied on this indicator. Duke is 17th in NET, 14th in KenPom, 14th in BartTorvik and 20th in KPI. It’s pretty consistent across the board, so I slotted it in at 18. His next five games for the Blue Devils will be against the bottom-placed ACC team, so another loss in that span will likely knock them out.
• Meanwhile, Illinois is on the brink of disaster. yes, Missouri It may be better than we thought, but seeing Illini run off the floor like that at the Braggin’ Lights game was still impressive. There are some troubling signs that internal divisions are a problem in Illinois. answered. Terrence Shannon Jr.Leadership blowing big ole raspberries.Senior forward after team beat Alabama A&M Matthew Mayer Players and coaches cryptically said they weren’t on the same page. Illinois was lucky enough to come back and win texas Otherwise, the Illini would have lost 4 of their last 5 games. Anyway, this team is 43rd in NET, 31st in KenPom, 37th in BartTorvik and 56th in KPI. It’s not a ranked team profile.
• Virginia Tech and Mississippi State also withdrew my votes because they lost. boston college When Drake, Each. So that opened up a few slots at the bottom of my vote.While the metric likes West Virginia, it’s hard to vote for a team whose only Quad 1 win was Pittsburgh.so i went with Xavierone of two teams to defeat West Virginia (Purdue was others). Musketeers are impressive and consistent. His three losses in them were all quad 1s — Indiana (2 at home), Duke (7 at Portland), Gonzaga (4 in Portland). They also won in Cincinnati by three, and last week he beat Seton Hall 73-70 at home.
• I’m also elated TCU all seasons. While the metrics say otherwise, the Horned Frogs had plenty of injury issues all season long, but they weren’t able to beat Iowa (neutral), Providence (home), Utah (House). They start playing the Big 12 at home on Saturday. texas techand things get difficult from there.
• The two highest-ranked teams to drop votes on KenPom are Auburn (17th) and Saint Mary’s (18th). Like I said before, Auburn has talent and I think it will definitely get better as the season goes on, but how the Tigers stay ranked after their loss at USC on December 18th. I don’t understand what’s going on. Their greatest victory is over. Northwest On a neutral court, they lost too memphis in Atlanta. Still, Auburn was 23rd in last week’s AP poll while Memphis was unranked. It makes no sense. Gales’ metrics are even stronger than Auburn’s (No. 16 he’s NET, No. 18 KenPom, No. 31 he’s KPI, No. 7 BartTorvik), but he’s also undefeated at home. new mexico squad. So, at least, St. Mary’s New He must be behind Mexico. also, Gaelic Losing at home to Colorado State on December 18, Colorado State lost in their next game. USC in Phoenix.
• By the way, did you notice that USC beat those two teams? They’re on his six-game winning streak and should have two more wins this week in Washington and Washington State.it sets up a fun showdown UCLA Andy Enfield used to have a Mick Cronin number. I think it will be part of the pre-match conversation.
Josiah Allik and New Mexico are one of the three undefeated teams remaining in Division I. (Thurman James/AP)
• As for New Mexico, the Lobos are one of the three remaining undefeated teams. (The others are Purdue and UConn, as we all predicted.) The main reason I chose them for his 25th spot was because there weren’t any compelling contenders. Especially given the win at St. Mary’s. Still, it remains Lobos’ only Quad 1 win. Their next Quad 1 match will be at San Diego State University on January 14th, but there aren’t many easy wins in the Mountain West, so how good Richard’s Pitino team is. You’ll know right away.
(Virginia photo Armaan Franklin and in Miami Isaiah Wong: Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)
