College Basketball Top 25: 11/29/2021

Happy Cyber Monday everyone. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I know I did. Anyways, it’s time for my college basketball top 25. Feast Week was crazy. We saw the #1 team lose, we had a crazy ESPN Events Invitational, and we had a #1 vs #2. How did all of that shake up the rankings? Let’s find out:

  1. Duke (7-0) (PREV: 4)

Duke has two top 10 wins, including Friday’s stunning win over Gonzaga. Paolo Banchero was incredible in the first half but disappeared in the second. The Blue Devils have Ohio State on Tuesday, their only game this week.

  1. Gonzaga (6-1) (PREV: 1)

Some may think Purdue should have this spot, but I think it’s Gonzaga’s. They’re clearly one of the best teams in the country and handled both Texas and UCLA, two top-10 teams right now. I’m eager to see how they come out in the Battle in Seattle against Alabama on Saturday. Chet Holmgren is spectacular to watch.

  1. Purdue (6-0) (PREV: 3)

Purdue has an argument at both the #1 and #2 spots in my rankings, but I found more reasons to put Duke and Gonzaga in the top-2. Purdue is loaded, with Zach Edey, Jaden Ivey, Trevion Williams, and Sasha Stefanovic as their big 4. The Boilermakers have two signature wins with Villanova and North Carolina, and they could pick up another if they beat Florida State on Tuesday and Iowa on Friday.

  1. UCLA (6-1) (PREV: 2)

UCLA’s only loss comes from Gonzaga, so that’s acceptable. They steamrolled UNLV afterward, and they still have a top-10 offense in the nation. With games against Colorado and Washington coming up, here comes the conference schedule for the Bruins.

  1. Baylor (7-0) (PREV: 8)

Baylor won the Battle 4 Atlantis, with wins over Arizona State, VCU, and Michigan State. It’s too bad the Bears couldn’t play UConn, which would have been the best team Scott Drew could go up against in this bracket. Their week is one easy game against Arkansas Pine Bluff. I wouldn’t bother looking at Baylor this week.

  1. Villanova (4-2) (PREV: 6)

After losing to Purdue, Villanova blew out La Salle in the first of a three-game stretch of Philadelphia opponents. Both Penn and St. Joseph’s are easy wins, so don’t pay attention to the Wildcats this week unless you like those rivalries. I’m curious to see if Collin Gillespie will perform better than Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga), as the race to the Bob Cousy Award seems to be down to those two right now.

  1. Texas (4-1) (PREV: 7)

Texas has zero quality wins, and their only loss is to Gonzaga, who is #2 in my top 25. They have an awful lot of buy games, with two more coming up this week. I’m not impressed by that. The Longhorns should get better and better as the season continues with increasing team chemistry.

  1. Kansas (5-1) (PREV: 5)

Kansas drops three spots after a shocking loss to Dayton, who has losses to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb, and Austin Peay. Losing to Dayton will almost certainly be their worst loss. That whole ESPN Events Invitational was weird to watch. They will face Julian Champagnie and St. John’s at the new UBS Arena on Long Island.

  1. Kentucky (5-1) (PREV: 11)

Kentucky gets bumped up to 9th after their only loss became the #1 team in the country. My only problem with Kentucky is: when will they play another meaningful game? They have loads of buy games and don’t play a worthy opponent until Notre Dame on December 11. The Wildcats are one of the top offensive rebounding teams, thanks to Oscar Tshiebwe.

  1. Arizona (6-0) (PREV: 16)

Arizona reaches the top 10 because Illinois, Memphis, and Alabama all lost. I put them ahead of Arkansas due to their top 25 win over Michigan. They won the Roman Main Event Tournament and now look ahead to starting conference play. Tommy Lloyd has Arizona on an incredible start, one that no one predicted.

  1. Florida (6-0) (PREV: 24)

Florida is 6-0 with two quality wins: Florida State and Ohio State. They also own a Power 5 win over Cal, but I don’t think Cal is good at all. They blew out Troy, and now the Gators look at a big away game against Oklahoma. I like Florida’s non-conference schedule. Watch out for Colin Castleton.

  1. Arkansas (6-0) (PREV: 15)

Arkansas moves up three spots after many of the teams in front of the Razorbacks lost games. They’re sitting at 6-0, winning the Hall of Fame Classic over Cincinnati. They have three straight buy games coming up, so they should blow each one out.

  1. Tennessee (4-1) (PREV: 9)

Tennessee drops to #13 even though they didn’t lose since the last ranking. That’s because other teams have built up a better resume to be ranked ahead of the Volunteers. They also only beat Tennessee Tech by 11. Not good at all. I’m very excited for Saturday’s game against Colorado, which could give them their second quality win this season. I can’t wait to see how Kennedy Chandler improves.

  1. BYU (6-0) (PREV: 22)

BYU continues their dominance of the Pac-12. Not only are they doing that in football, but they have wins over Oregon and Utah right now. They’re mainly this high due to the teams in front of them losing. They have two road games coming up this week, so if you want to see if BYU is for real, check those out.

  1. Houston (5-1) (PREV: 10)

Houston drops five spots after losing to Wisconsin in the Maui Invitational. However, the Cougars blew out Oregon, so that loss doesn’t seem as bad now. Watch out for Marcus Sasser, who is convincing me that he’s the best player in the AAC. However, there are no exciting matchups for Kelvin Sampson’s team this week. Check in next week, where I’ll talk about Alabama.

  1. Alabama (6-1) (PREV: 12)

Alabama had a terrible time in the ESPN Events Invitational. Not only did they not win the tournament, but they lost to Iona. Yes, Rick Pitino coaches that team, but you should never lose to a MAAC team. Then, they had to pull away to be in front of Drake. Not impressive, especially when they want to look terrific against Gonzaga on Saturday.

  1. UConn (6-1) (PREV: 21)

Now that I look at the rankings, #17 seems reasonable for the Huskies. Even though they suffered a painful loss to Michigan State, they fought Auburn and VCU and beat them in overtime. VCU isn’t any good, with a 3-4 record. However, they also have one of the best defenses so far in college basketball. The Selection Committee will see this overtime game against VCU, so they better hope VCU does well this season. Adama Sanogo is their best player, but not the most important (R.J. Cole). We also saw what freshman Jordan Hawkins is capable of.

  1. Iowa State (6-0) (PREV: N/A)

Even though Iowa State barely beat their buy-game opponents, they picked up two incredible wins to win the NIT Tip-Off. Beating Xavier and Memphis is impressive, giving the Cyclones an improbable 6-0 start. I’m staring at that Creighton game, hoping that it will be a test for Iowa State.

  1. Memphis (5-1) (PREV: 13)

Memphis is an incredible defensive team, but losing to Iowa State certainly hurts. I thought Memphis was overrated, but now most people agree. They’re not a great offensive team, which is surprising considering the talent on their roster. With games against Georgia and Ole Miss coming up, they better shape up.

  1. USC (6-0) (PREV: N/A)

USC is 6-0 to start the season, and I put them in after an impressive win over San Diego State. Conference play is next for the Trojans, and I want to see how they perform. Watch out for the progression of Isaiah Mobley as the season continues.

  1. Auburn (5-1) (PREV: 20)

Auburn suffered their first loss of the season, but it was to UConn, who has proved to be a solid team. They beat Loyola Chicago and Syracuse and now host UCF and Yale this week. They should blow out both opponents if the Tigers are legit. 

  1. Indiana (6-0) (PREV: 23)

Indiana is led by Trayce Jackson-Davis, who is one of the best players in college basketball. Even though their best win came against St. John’s, this team has a high ceiling. Against Jackson State, they only gave up 35 points. That’s insane. Syracuse and Nebraska are next up for the Hoosiers. I don’t think Indiana gets the respect they deserve.

  1. Michigan State (5-2) (PREV: N/A)

Yes, Michigan State has two losses. Both came against top 10 opponents: Kansas and Baylor. They showed true grit against Loyola Chicago and UConn, winning both games before losing to Baylor in the Battle 4 Atlantis. They are tough as nails on the defensive end, but you have to be concerned with their offense, ranked 59th on KenPom. The Spartans have Louisville on Wednesday, a good test for them at home.

  1. Wisconsin (5-1) (PREV: N/A)

Wisconsin won the Maui Invitational, with wins over Texas A&M, Houston, and Saint Mary’s. Johnny Davis has shown that he is a huge impact for the Badgers, and the Big Ten should watch out for him. KenPom has Wisconsin ranked 7th defensively, which makes sense since they have only given up 60 points or more twice (Providence and Houston). With games against Georgia Tech and rival Marquette coming up, those two will be tests for Wisconsin.

  1. Seton Hall (5-1) (PREV: 17)

Seton Hall drops to 25th after losing to Ohio State, winning by one possession to Cal, and not fully blowing out Bethune Cookman. The Pirates are still worthy of being ranked, with Jared Rhoden leading the way. I have loved the defensive presence of Ike Obiagu. He averages 3.5 blocks per game. A win over Michigan forces the Wolverines out of the rankings.

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