Three devoted writers in our College basketball department have filled out their top 25 ballots for the week. After averaging them together, hear what they have to say about each ranked team.
A big thanks for reading from our experts – Connor Ferguson, Bailey Van Houten, and Drew Thompson.
LWOS NCAA MBB Top 25 – Week 10
1. Kentucky
CF – UK lost my first place vote, until Duke went down to NC State.
BVH – Kentucky had a couple of close calls this week, but still deserve the top ranking. Tyler Ulis should be starting.
DT – A close win vs Texas A&M, but a win nonetheless and Kentucky stays on top.
2. Virginia
CF – The Cavaliers continue to impress and as always you can’t ignore their undefeated record.
BVH – The Cavaliers made great strides this week. Defense is elite, again.
DT – They are still undefeated after a nice win against Notre Dame.
3. Gonzaga
CF – The Zags showed me more than enough during Non-Conference play to tell me they deserve this ranking.
BVH – Gonzaga benefitted from some upsets this week. They’re legit, though.
DT – After losses by several top teams Gonzaga moves up to the 3-spot.
4. Louisville
CF – Louisville is still a solid team, they got lots of help with upsets this week though.
BVH – The Cardinals had an extremely tough loss to UNC, even with Jones and Rozier on fire.
DT – The Cardinals suffered their second loss of the year in a comeback win for North Carolina.
5. Utah
CF – Utah is on a hot streak and even if it looks high at first, but again you can’t argue with wins when other teams lose.
BVH – The Utes ranking may be a bit high, but with Delon Wright, they can be this good.
DT – Utah trounced UCLA and Colorado in their last two games. A big matchup versus Arizona looms on Jan. 17th
6. Villanova
CF – Waiting on another upset of Villanova, this team won’t be going far.
BVH – Nova: The Wildcats seem to be a team everyone likes to underrate, but they still have only one loss on their resume while playing in the tough Big East.
DT – After losing last week to Seton Hall, Villanova got back on track with wins against St. Johns and Depaul.
7. Wisconsin
CF – Sitting in Wisconsin’s footsteps, you can’t lose to this Rutgers team. Completely overlooked them and made it easy to take them out of that powerhouse top four group.
BVH – It was a bad loss to Rutgers, but Bo Ryan should just focus on getting his team healthy again.
DT – Although Wisconsin was without Frank Kaminksy, the loss to Rutgers is an enormous upset.
8. Kansas
CF – As an Iowa State homer, we’ll see ya this Saturday on GameDay. Beat Kansas!
BVH – Self’s team is playing together. Frank Mason is leading the Jayhawks charge in Big 12 play.
DT – Kansas pulled out a one point win over Baylor and starts off 2-0 in Big-12 play.
9. Notre Dame
CF – Irish may have finally struck gold with this team.
BVH – Notre Dame had a seesaw week, but proved they are talented. Irish can go far with Jerian Grant scoring.
DT – Impressive win against North Carolina followed up by a close loss to Virginia this week. Combine that with the struggles of other ranked teams and ND moves up 2 spots.
10. Arizona
CF – The Cats aren’t as good as last year, and it showed against Oregon State. They seem to be a big target in the PAC-12.
BVH – Wildcats had a late loss to Oregon State in a game where they seemed to be lost offensively, again.
DT – Langston Morris-Walker dropped in a layup to give Oregon St a two point victory over Arizona, and Arizona dropped two spots in the rankings.
11. Iowa State
CF – #cyclONEnation is standing on the top of the world right now. Two wins last week and they took down a developing rival in WVU. They’re getting read for their first college GameDay this Saturday vs. Kansas.
BVH – Cyclones has a lot of potential, and showcased in at West Virginia.
DT – After a bad loss to South Carolina Iowa St rebounds nicely with wins against Oklahoma St and West Virginia.
12. Duke
CF – NC State is a tough team, but not as great as in other years.
BVH – Had a tough loss to NC State, but still a quality team. That loss will be beneficial for them.
DT – Poor showing in a loss against NC State, but the Blue Devils have a chance to redeem themselves this week versus Louisville.
13. West Virginia
CF – The Mountaineers took a low blow after losing to Iowa State, they need to put this loss behind them as they have two big games this week.
BVH – Mountaineers had a tough loss to the team above them, but also showed they belong. Juwan Staten is a game changer.
DT – West Virginia lost a closely contested game to Iowa St. in what will be one of many tough Big-12 matchups.
14. Maryland
CF – Maryland’s loss to Illinois is surprising given the loss of Revonte Rice, but the Terrapins can punch back.
BVH – Loss to a pretty good Illinois won’t sting so much later this season, but Terrapins wanted to continue their winning streak. Have to rebound.
DT – 28-point outburst from Illinois’ Malcolm Hill sank Maryland this week.
15. North Carolina
CF – The Tarheels grabbed a good win over Louisville, but need just a bit more to move them higher in the ranks.
BVH – Marcus Paige is such an X-Factor for them. His high glass, game winner was a beauty.
DT – Close loss to Notre Dame then close win against Louisville.
16. Wichita State
CF – The Shockers still haven’t lost a MVC game, but 15th is too high for them.
BVH – A quiet, yet solid week for the Shockers. I cannot wait for them to play Northern Iowa.
DT – Back to their winning ways; the Shockers beat two inferior opponents.
17. Oklahoma
CF- Oklahoma has West Virginia this week, and can take a big step up, their loss to K-State showed that the Big 12 goes DEEP.
BVH – Sooners got a big, big win over Texas, but followed it up with a loss to K-State. Weird week.
DT – Early in the week the Sooners beat Texas by 21, but then have a bad loss to K-State despite 31 from Buddy Hield.
18. VCU
CF – VCU has a great RPI and if they can keep this going they could grab a 4th seed in the tourney.
BVH – Virginia Commonwealth is on a roll, and Shaka Smart is finally getting through to his guys.
DT – VCU is back in the rankings and playing well, they’ve won eight in a row.
19. Texas
CF – Are the Longhorns showing signs of being overrated?
BVH – Awful week for the Longhorns, one of my favorite teams in pre-season. Need Isaiah Taylor to play well.
DT – After finally getting PG Isaiah Taylor back, Texas suffers two double-digit losses to OU and Oklahoma St.
20. Arkansas
CF – Arkansas hasn’t lost since December, they’ve got the best chance to beat UK this season (post season not included)
BVH – Hogs are on a tear, and Bobby Portis is playing great. They should be the #2 team in the SEC this year.
DT – Arkansas keeps winning and seems to be Kentucky’s only challenger in the SEC.
21. UNI
CF – We see UNI back in the rankings sooner than I thought we would, they can’t blow this spot, like Bay said the WSU matchup will be big – that’s January 31st
BVH – Northern Iowa has some talent, and keeps winning with it. Like WSU, I will love to see that matchup.
DT – Playing well and took VCU to 2OT in mid December.
22. Baylor
CF – Baylor almost had Kansas last week and now they face what could be a tougher test against Iowa State.
BVH – Baylor is holding tough in the Big 12, and proved their worth to the voters. This team is good.
DT – The bears got back on track this week versus TCU. Baylor has thrived this year in a zone defense this year.
23. Oklahoma State
CF – Phil Forte is going to be vital for OSU to beat either Kansas or Oklahoma.
BVH – Oklahoma State is playing controlled, yet passionate basketball as of late. Phil Forte III is lights-out.
DT – Balanced team led by Phil Forte’s shooting beat Texas and elevated themselves.
24. Seton Hall
CF – Seton Hall is still ranked after losing to Xavier, and it appears we are still caught in the moment of the Villanova upset.
BVH – Seton Hall took a lump to Xavier this week, but Sterling Gibbs is the real deal. Potential Big East POY.
DT – Lost to Xavier this week, but wins versus ranked opponents last week keep them in the rankings.
25. Wyoming
CF – Wyoming finally gets a bid for the Top 25, and they deserve it a whole lot more than Seton Hall.
BVH – Wyoming is finally getting some credit, but will they last? Fringe mid-majors have had some bad luck the last couple weeks.
DT – 15-2 to start the year, they look to keep it going.
Thank you for reading. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport and @LWOSworld – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Have you tuned into Last Word On Sports Radio? LWOS is pleased to bring you 24/7 sports radio to your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone. What are you waiting for?
