Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Duke poised for rise to No. 1 as loaded weekend causes shakeup in top 10
A new No. 1 and a new-look top 10 is in order Monday after major upheaval in college hoops this week
By
Kyle Boone
•
5 min read
All but two teams in last week's top 10 suffered losses this week in college basketball -- including the Nos. 1 and 2 teams suffering defeats to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively -- guaranteeing us a major shakeup Monday as the AP Top 25 poll updates. The most significant change (of many!) will be a new No. 1 team for the second time in as many weeks after No. 3 Duke downed No. 1 Michigan in the nation's capital, 68-63, on Saturday night.
Duke will likely supplant the Wolverines at No. 1 after a brief, one-week stint at the top, bringing forward a fifth team on the season to hold the No. 1 spot. Houston also held the No. 1 spot one week (in Week 2), while Purdue and Arizona also had stretches as the top-ranked team.
Duke's rise will obviously come at the expense of its Saturday victim, Michigan, which -- along with Houston -- is expected to drop in the rankings. But with eight of the top 10 teams stumbling this week, voters have their work cut out making heads or tails of how to slot teams in their ballots.
Here's our best guess at how the rankings will look and how voters' ballots will shake out.
| 1 |  |
| Duke was named the No. 2 overall team by the selection committee on Saturday, the second No. 1 seed behind only Michigan, so its head-to-head win over the Wolverines later in the day should catapult it into the top spot Monday and in the driver's seat to be the No. 1 overall seed. | |
| 2 |  |
| Arizona won 73-66 over Houston on the road Saturday to claim its second consecutive ranked win in as many tries. The Wildcats are 25-2 and look like they haven't missed a beat without the services of star freshman Koa Peat. They're that good. | |
| 3 |  |
| A fall is likely for last week's No. 1, Michigan, even if a large fall is unlikely. The Wolverines have a 25-2 overall record despite their loss to Duke -- with both losses coming by a combined eight points. | |
| 4 |  |
| Another big week would have likely positioned Houston to be the No. 1 team again in the AP poll. Instead, it lost twice in two outings vs. Iowa State and Arizona. | |
| 5 |  |
| This would be a big rise for Florida, which ranked 12th last week, but voters could -- and I'd argue, should -- re-evaluate the Gators' standing given the losses by teams ahead of them this week and the consistency they have shown. They have won 16 of their last 18 -- including seven straight. | |
| 6 |  |
| The gap between the No. 7 and No. 12 teams last week was relatively thin, so it's not impossible to think Gonzaga -- one of the few teams to remain unscathed this week -- could jump from outside the top 10 to comfortably inside it. | |
| 7 |  |
| Coming off consecutive wins over top 10 teams Kansas and Houston, Iowa State's hot streak cooled Saturday in Utah, as it fell 79-69 to BYU. The Cyclones won't fall far, if at all. | |
| 8 |  |
| Purdue will hold firm or drop only a couple spots at worst this week after a loss to No. 1 Michigan and a resounding victory over Indiana. It has won five of its last six. | |
| 9 |  |
| An ugly home loss to Creighton on Wednesday will cost UConn several spots in the poll Monday. Even a 10-point road win at Villanova isn't likely to salvage its standing as a top-five team in the rankings. | |
| 10 |  |
| I've been predicting, without success, that voters would crank Virginia way up in their ballots for weeks. I think this week will be different, though. I have them jumping four spots to No. 10 after a win over Miami (Fla.) on Saturday pushed its winning streak to eight games. | |
| 11 |  |
| Thirteen consecutive wins should have St. John's threatening to finally re-enter the mix as a top-10 team. It defeated Marquette and Creighton this week to improve to 15-1 in Big East play. | |
| 12 |  |
| Illinois cannot stop losing close games in OT -- its latest coming Saturday night, 95-94, to UCLA. That's three losses for the Illini in their last five outings -- all in OT to Big Ten opponents and by an average margin of 2 points. | |
| 13 |  |
| A 1-1 week with a loss at Iowa and a win over Penn State will likely cost Nebraska (23-4) a spot in this week's top 10. It has lost four of its last seven. | |
| 14 |  |
| KU has dropped two of its last three -- to Iowa State and to Cincy -- each by 18 points. The Arizona home win on Feb. 9 feels like ages ago. It'll be outside the top 10 this week. | |
| 15 |  |
| Tom Izzo's Spartans remain 15th following a week that began with a convincing win over UCLA on Tuesday and ended with a six-point victory over Ohio State Sunday on CBS. | |
| 16 |  |
| Texas Tech lost star JT Toppin for the season with a torn ACL suffered Tuesday but managed to bounce back with a 100-72 home win over the weekend vs. Kansas State. The Tuesday loss of Toppin, though, also came with a road loss at Arizona State, its first slip in Big 12 play in several weeks. | |
| 17 |  |
| UNC has dropped two of its last four and seems to be treading water without star forward Caleb Wilson. Its road win over Syracuse this weekend may salvage its standing as a top-20 team ... for now. | |
| 18 |  |
| If another (!) perfect week doesn't get Miami (Ohio) into the top 20, then I'm not sure what will. The Redhawks are 27-0 on the season with four regular-season games remaining. | |
| 19 |  |
| Alabama re-entered the rankings last week at No. 25 and paid it off immediately with a double OT win over Arkansas and a road win at LSU. The Tide have won six-straight. | |
| 20 |  |
| John Calipari secured his 31st career 20+ win season Saturday in a 94-86 victory over Missouri. The Razorbacks (20-7) went 1-1 on the week. | |
| 21 |  |
| Despite a 1-1 week, BYU should be on the rise Monday after it downed No. 6 Iowa State on Saturday, 79-69, just days after a seven-point road loss at Arizona. BYU star AJ Dybantsa had 29 points and nine assists in the win over the Cyclones. | |
| 22 |  |
| Saint Louis suffered its first loss since Thanksgiving week on Tuesday but bounced back with a home win over VCU to improve to 25-2 on the season. The Billikens remain in control of the A-10 and should hold somewhere inside the latest top 25. | |
| 23 |  |
| Louisville has won six of its last seven, though a mid-week loss at SMU may drop it a smidge in the updated rankings. Pat Kelsey's club hit the 20-win mark over the weekend for a second time in his second season leading the program -- after it combined for 12 total wins in the two seasons prior under coach Kenny Payne. | |
| 24 |  |
| Don't be surprised if Tennessee appears back in the rankings for the first time since early February. The Vols handed Vanderbilt a home loss over the weekend and have won eight of their last nine. | |
| 25 |  |
| Randy Bennett's Gaels earned votes last week and are positioned to be ranked Monday for the first time this season after wins this week at Seattle and Washington State. They have won six-straight and are 14-2 in WCC play. | |
