We are now three full weeks into the college basketball season. Week 1 was a dud. Week 2 got interesting. Week 3 was a feast. We had a tenuous No. 1 at the start, but since that team has lost a couple of games, it’s a good time to clear the decks, push the reset button, and shake up the snow globe.
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In other words, we’re starting over.
This is a cleansing exercise I should probably do a couple of times each season. I reset my rankings by placing a heavy emphasis on teams that have scored significant wins, preferably away from home. Here’s how it all shook out:
| Ranking | Team | Last week |
|---|---|---|
1 | 21 | |
2 | 18 | |
3 | 4 | |
4 | 8 | |
5 | 11 | |
6 | 2 | |
7 | NR | |
8 | 3 | |
9 | 10 | |
10 | 9 | |
11 | 13 | |
12 | 24 | |
13 | 5 | |
14 | 16 | |
15 | 6 | |
16 | 14 | |
17 | 7 | |
18 | 12 | |
19 | 15 | |
20 | NR | |
21 | 1 | |
22 | 20 | |
23 | 19 | |
24 | 22 | |
25 | 17 |
Dropped out: Saint Mary’s (23), Dayton (25)
Almost Famous: Drake, Iowa, Saint Louis, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Xavier
Notes on the votes
• We begin at the top. I’ve seen a lot of sentiment (and a few votes) for Texas at No. 1, based solely on the Longhorns’ 93-74 shellacking of Gonzaga in Austin on Nov. 16. By that measure, Purdue needs to be ranked ahead of Texas because the Boilermakers beat the Zags by 18 points on a neutral court. Moreover, while Texas’ other wins came against weak teams, Purdue also has neutral-court wins over West Virginia and Duke, as well as a 75-70 home win over Marquette. The only argument in Texas’ favor is in the metrics. The Longhorns are No. 1 on KenPom and No. 3 on BartTorvik; Purdue is seventh and eighth, respectively. (BartTorvik only uses data from this season, while KenPom still includes data from last season.) If you’re going to use those metrics over the actual performance of these teams, then I’m not really sure we can be friends. Wherever you set your ballot, Purdue has to be ahead of Texas.
• I am generally protective of my No. 1 team. I don’t like to move a team off that spot unless it loses (although I have done so in rare instances). That’s why I left North Carolina there even though it was struggling to put away mediocre teams the first two weeks. I did so knowing that things would shake themselves out in Portland. And they did, as the Tar Heels lost to Iowa State (by five) and Alabama (in quadruple overtime). North Carolina is at 21 and 20 in KenPom and BartTorvik, respectively, so I felt comfortable dropping it as far down as I did. I also don’t believe Iowa State’s win was a fluke, so I made sure to leave the Cyclones ahead of the Tar Heels.
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• I had Houston at No. 2 last week, and under the normal rules of polling, it would automatically move up to No. 1. But if you look at the body of work here, the Cougars do not measure up to my top five teams. They were pushed real hard by Kent State on Saturday, and they were underwhelming while winning at Oregon on Nov. 20. The Cougars have some quality opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks against Saint Mary’s, Alabama and at Virginia. If they’re still undefeated after those, there’s a chance they could be No. 1 on my ballot.
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• Arizona (No. 5 BartTorvik, No. 10 KenPom) moved up by virtue of its wins in Maui over Cincinnati, San Diego State and Creighton. You beat two ranked teams in two days on a neutral court, you should make a big jump. Creighton beat Texas Tech and Arkansas and only lost to Arizona by a bucket, so the Bluejays went along for the ride.
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• Tennessee was a tricky one. On the one hand, the Volunteers beat Butler, USC and Kansas to win the Battle 4 Atlantis despite not having their leading scorer, Josiah-Jordan James, who was out with a knee injury. On the other hand, they lost on Nov. 13 to Colorado, which has lost this season to Grambling State, UMass and Boise State. I felt like Tennessee deserved to be ranked ahead of the Jayhawks, so I gave them a half-mulligan for the loss to the Buffaloes. Anyone can have an off night, but not a lot of teams can do what the Vols just did in The Bahamas.
• UConn looked terrific in winning the Phil Knight Invitational with wins over Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State. The Huskies are No. 8 on KenPom and No. 21 on BartTorvik. You could make a case that they deserve to be ranked higher, but at least I put them ahead of the teams they beat in Portland. UConn doesn’t play a ranked team again until Jan. 7 against Creighton at home, so it’s going to be hard for the Huskies to move up that much over the next six weeks.
• Let’s be honest, if we were going just by current resume, Kentucky would have no case to be ranked. The Wildcats’ four wins are over Howard, Duquesne, South Carolina State and North Florida (with losses to Michigan State and Gonzaga). Still, we all know they have good players, and they are No. 4 on KenPom and No. 9 on BartTorvik. The Wildcats have two big neutral-court games coming up, against Michigan on Dec. 4 in London, and against UCLA on Dec. 17 in Madison Square Garden. If they lose to the Wolverines, they will almost certainly drop out of the rankings.
• It’s odd to me that Indiana coach Mike Woodson did not enter his team in any prestigious Thanksgiving week tournaments. The Hoosiers have played one game against a team ranked above 250 on KenPom; that was a two-point win at Xavier. Indiana plays at home against North Carolina on Wednesday, but that game is being forced on them because it’s part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. If the Hoosiers can’t beat a struggling North Carolina team at home, then it could really shake their confidence. Assembly Hall is going to be rockin’ for that one.
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• As for my Almost Famous list, Wisconsin was one Bobby Pettiford layup (his only bucket of the game!) away from beating Kansas. If they go on to win that game, they are definitely ranked. Crushing, I know, but a loss is a loss, and the Badgers still don’t have a win over a ranked team. Plus, their metrics are meh (No. 40 KenPom, No. 46 BartTorvik). They have a pretty challenging slate coming up that presents good opportunities (Marquette and Iowa on the road, Wake Forest and Maryland at home). Xavier probably leads the country in quality losses (by two to Indiana, by seven to Duke, by four to Gonzaga). The Musketeers have talent, tenacity and experience, so I’d be surprised if they didn’t crack the top 25 at some point this season.
(Photo of Purdue’s Fletcher Loyer: Soobum Im / Getty Images)