After the first full week of college basketball, top 25 teams are already dropping like flies.
By Bret Walts
North Carolina, Notre Dame and Michigan all suffered huge upsets, while teams like Michigan State, Wisconsin and Indiana struggled to beat the “cupcakes” this week. The result? A big shake up in the rankings, which includes a new #1 team and a new team to The Blotter’s Top 25.
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Previous |
1 |
Kansas Jayhawks |
2-0 |
4 |
2 |
Louisville Cardinals |
3-0 |
8 |
3 |
Michigan State Spartans |
3-0 |
1 |
4 |
Kentucky Wildcats |
3-1 |
2 |
5 |
Duke Blue Devils |
2-1 |
3 |
6 |
Arizona Wildcats |
3-0 |
6 |
7 |
Ohio State Buckeyes |
3-0 |
11 |
8 |
Oklahoma State Cowboys |
3-0 |
7 |
9 |
Syracuse Orange |
3-0 |
10 |
10 |
Wichita State Shockers |
4-0 |
13 |
11 |
Wisconsin Badgers |
3-0 |
20 |
12 |
Florida Gators |
2-1 |
5 |
13 |
Memphis Tigers |
3-0 |
14 |
14 |
Gonzaga Bulldogs |
3-0 |
16 |
15 |
Connecticut Huskies |
4-0 |
17 |
16 |
Creighton Blue Jays |
3-0 |
19 |
17 |
UCLA Bruins |
2-0 |
22 |
18 |
VCU Rams |
3-0 |
23 |
19 |
Michigan Wolverines |
2-1 |
12 |
20 |
New Mexico Lobos |
2-0 |
24 |
21 |
Indiana Hoosiers |
4-0 |
21 |
22 |
Marquette Golden Eagles |
2-1 |
15 |
23 |
Oregon Ducks |
2-0 |
25 |
24 |
North Carolina Tar Heels |
2-1 |
9 |
25 |
Iowa State Cyclones |
3-0 |
NR |
Notable Performances:
Kansas – Along with Kentucky, the Jayhawks are a very young, but talented team. However, they knotched a huge win over Duke this week, giving them one of the best wins of any team in the country to this point. With Kentucky losing to Michigan State, followed by Michigan State’s poor performance against Columbia, the Jayhawks vault to the top of the rankings.
Louisville – Louisville’s week schedule will come back to bite them. In fact, it’s their week schedule which kept them from the top of the rankings this week. While the Cardinals are dominating the cupcakes they have been playing, other teams notching big wins, such as Kansas, give those teams the knod for now.
Michigan State – Michigan State knotched a huge win against Kentucky last week, but followed that up with a horrendous performance against Columbia. The Spartans would’ve settled into the top spot without that performace.
Kentucky – The Wildcats were defeated narrowly by Michigan State, however they were losing by double digits much of the game. However, Kentucky redeemed themselves by avenging last season’s 1st Round NIT against Robert Morris.
Indiana – Indiana almost endured a huge blunder after letting LIU-Brooklyn hang around and have a last second shot for the win, however the did win, and followed up that performance with two impressive wins over Samford and Stony Brook. Freshman Noah Vonleh has now set an Indiana record becoming the first Hoosier freshman in history to record four straight double-doubles to begin the season.
Iowa State – The Cyclones defeated a good Michigan team to start the season off right. Iowa State jumps into the top 25, taking Notre Dame’s spot, and also have one of the few marquee victories on their resume at this point in the season.