Villanova is the new No. 1 in the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one). That's the result of the reigning national champions improving to 8-0 Saturday while the previous No. 1, Kentucky, suffered a 97-92 loss at home to UCLA.
Now let me explain some things.
Before you ask, yes, it's reasonable to go with UCLA or Baylor at No. 1, at this point, based on the strengths of their resumes and perfect records. But I chose to instead elevate Jay Wright's Wildcats to the top, and here's why:
1. Villanova is a preseason top-four team that's still undefeated and in possession of a great win at Purdue. The Wildcats look like legitimate threats to repeat.
2. Resumes alone aren't the best way to evaluate teams in early December, if only because not every team has had similar opportunities to notch big wins.
So Villanova is No. 1.
But I do have UCLA and Baylor second and third.
Why UCLA ahead Baylor?
My simple answer is that I had UCLA ahead of Baylor in Saturday's Top 25 (and one), and the only things that have happened since then are UCLA's 97-92 win at Kentucky and Baylor's 76-61 win over Xavier. Both results were impressive, clearly. But beating Kentucky at Kentucky is better than beating Xavier at home. So it wouldn't make much sense for me to jump Baylor ahead of UCLA now.
Does Baylor have more good wins than UCLA?
Yes.
But UCLA has the best win.
So, for now, I'll stick with UCLA ahead of Baylor - though there's nothing crazy about somebody else going with Baylor ahead of UCLA. Or even Baylor ahead of everybody. Scott Drew's Bears have been terrific all season. Ranking them No. 1 is completely justifiable. I'm not doing it. But I reasonably could.
Also worth noting: UCLA and Baylor bouncing into the top three pushed Kansas, Duke and North Carolina down a slot, no fault of their own. So please don't ask why Kansas, Duke and North Carolina dropped even though they didn't lose. It's a numbers thing, plain and simple. There was no way to get UCLA and Baylor into the top three without Kansas, Duke and North Carolina dropping.
Got it?
Good.
The complete Top 25 (and one) is below.
(PS: I'm getting lots of questions about why I dropped Xavier 12 spots after a loss at Baylor. It's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. Here's my answer: speaking candidly, I think I've had the Musketeers a little too high for a couple of weeks, but I refused to drop them because they kept winning. So this 76-61 loss provided a nice opportunity to adjust and put Xavier in a spot that, in my opinion, more accurately reflects how the Musketeers have actually performed this season. They've been in surprisingly tight games with Lehigh and Missouri, both of which are sub-100 KenPom teams. They've played one top-35 KenPom team and lost that game by 15 points. Bottom line, I still like Xavier and will not be surprised if Chris Mack's team ultimately challenges Villanova for the Big East crown. But, right now, No. 18 seems closer to right than wrong. Beyond that, I'm compelled to point out that Xavier is also No. 18 at KenPom. And the Musketeers are No. 23 in Jeff Sagarin's ratings. So take that for whatever you think it's worth. And have a nice afternoon!)
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Wildcats have won seven of their eight games by double-digits. Their only close contest was their 79-76 victory at Purdue. | 1 | 3-3 |
| 2 |  | The Bruins have an effective field goal percentage of 63.5 that ranks first nationally. They're just the fifth team to beat John Calipari at Rupp Arena ever. | 6 | 4-1 |
| 3 |  | The Bears already have five top-50 KenPom wins - among them victories over Louisville and Xavier. Miami transfer Manu Lecomte is averaging 13.9 points and 5.3 assists. | 8 | 3-1 |
| 4 |  | The Jayhawks have won seven straight since their season-opening OT loss to Indiana. Frank Mason is averaging 19.6 points, 5.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds | 1 | 5-0 |
| 5 |  | Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden made their college debuts Saturday. They combined for 17 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes. | 1 | 3-1 |
| 6 |  | The Tar Heels, late Wednesday, became the fifth straight top-three team to lose at Indiana. Point guard Joel Berry missed 10 of the 13 shots he took against the Hoosiers. | 1 | 2-1 |
| 7 |  | The Wildcats have seven double-digit wins despite shooting just 32.4 percent from 3-point range. That number ranks 235th nationally | 6 | 4-0 |
| 8 |  | The Gaels recorded their fourth top-100 KenPom win late Wednesday via a 66-51 victory at Stanford. Jock Landale is averaging a team-best 19.7 points and 9.0 rebounds. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 9 |  | The Zags have three top-30 KenPom wins, including Saturday's victory over Arizona. Freshman Josh Perkins is averaging a team-high 13.1 points while shooting 51.3 percent from 3-point range. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 10 |  | The Cardinals' lone loss is a 66-63 loss to Baylor. As of Sunday morning, they had the No. 1 defensive efficiency rating in all of college basketball. | 2 | 2-1 |
| 11 |  | The Hoosiers, now without OG Anunoby for a bit, have won three straight since losing at Fort Wayne. Thomas Bryant is averaging 13.0 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. | 2 | 3-0 |
| 12 |  | The Mountaineers are creating turnovers on 33.6 percent of their opponents' possessions. They made Virginia commit a season-high 14 turnovers in Saturday's upset of the Cavaliers on the road. | NR | 3-1 |
| 13 |  | The Cavaliers' lone loss is Saturday's 66-57 loss to West Virginia. Their next game against a currently ranked opponent is in late December against Louisville | 6 | 3-0 |
| 14 |  | The Bluejays have shot 44.8 percent from 3-point range while winning their first eight games. Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster is averaging a team-high 19.4 points. | -- | 4-0 |
| 15 |  | The Badgers' two losses are to North Carolina and Creighton. They won't play another currently ranked team until they meet Indiana in early January. | -- | 5-0 |
| 16 |  | The Boilermakers' losses are both to teams (Villanova, Louisville) ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). Caleb Swanigan is averaging 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. | -- | 4-1 |
| 17 |  | The Bulldogs' perfect start includes wins over Arizona, Northwestern, Utah and Vanderbilt. They host Cincinnati this Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. | -- | 3-1 |
| 18 |  | The Musketeers have only lost once but they've been in tight games with Lehigh and Missouri. Their next two games are against Colorado and Utah. | 12 | 5-0 |
| 19 |  | The Gators' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Gonzaga on a neutral court. Florida's next game is Tuesday vs. Duke at New York's Madison Square Garden. | -- | 5-0 |
| 20 |  | The Gamecocks are rebounding 39.5 percent of their own missed shots. The credit mostly goes to Chris Silva, who ranks first nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. | -- | 2-2 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats' two losses are to Gonzaga and Butler on neutral courts. Freshman Lauri Markkanen is averaging a team-high 17.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. | 3 | 2-1 |
| 22 |  | The Bearcats snapped Iowa State's 37-game non-league home winning streak Thursday night. Kyle Washington is averaging 16.3 points and 9.4 rebounds for Cincinnati. | -- | 4-0 |
| 23 |  | The Orange's losses are both to schools (Wisconsin, South Carolina) ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 (and one). Two of their next three games are against former Big East foes Connecticut and Georgetown. | -- | 3-0 |
| 24 |  | The Irish's perfect start features wins over Colorado and Northwestern. Notre Dame, as a team, is shooting 84.5 percent from the free-throw line. | -- | 4-0 |
| 25 |  | The Cyclones' two losses are to Gonzaga and Cincinnati, both of which are ranked higher than ISU in the Top 25 (and one). Monte Morris is averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds. | -- | 3-0 |
| 26 |  | The Buckeyes' lone loss is a 63-61 loss at Virginia. Keita Bates-Diop has missed five straight games because of an ankle injury. | -- | 3-1 |
