As March gets closer, the madness in college basketball is only continuing. This week, we had four matchups between teams in the top 10 and they didn’t disappoint. Headlining the set was Houston vs Kansas at the Phog, in a contest where Kansas came out victorious. Purdue also continued their dominance, with a win over Wisconsin. Tennessee’s week was a bit of a mixed bag, with a loss to South Carolina–a team that everyone is losing to–and a win at Kentucky. The top 10 seems to reshuffle every week, as no squad can find consistency, barring UConn and Purdue.
Even North Carolina, winners of 10 straight games, bit the dust against KenPom 126th Georgia Tech. With so few teams winning the games they’re supposed to, it’s not difficult to move up a few slots just by beating inferior ones.
As a briefer, the Student Media Poll is a weekly basketball poll voted on by student journalists from around the country from a variety of different college newspapers. Let’s take a look at the rankings and the five most interesting teams from this week’s action: two high achievers, two low and one wild card team of note.
- UConn
- Purdue
- Houston
- Kansas
- Tennessee
- UNC
- Arizona
- Illinois
- Marquette
- Auburn
- Wisconsin
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Iowa State
- Baylor
- Creighton
- Duke
- South Carolina
- TCU
- BYU
- Dayton
- San Diego State
- Utah State
- Colorado State
- FAU
HIGH ACHIEVERS
No. 18 South Carolina: A few voters were ready after last week to move the Gamecocks into the top 25, but I wanted to wait another week. Suffice to say, here they are. SC had a mediocre start to their season, beating all their KenPom sub-40 opponents, but sustained a loss to Clemson on the road. Their Southeastern Conference play didn’t open too well either, getting blasted by No. 13 Alabama and losing close to a so-so Georgia squad. Since then, they’ve won five straight, including triumphs over No. 12 Kentucky and at No. 5 Tennessee. Their metrics are weak, but on paper, it’s impossible to ignore their place in the top 25. They have just three losses and two of the best wins in college basketball. Their next big chance comes on Valentine’s Day at Auburn, but until then, they need to hold strong at home.
No. 4 Kansas: It was a relieving week for Kansas, who desperately needed to get back on track after going 3-3 in their previous six. They were on our list of disappointments last week after that poor stretch, but that’s really how the top 25 has been this year. With four losses on the campaign, there aren’t many teams with a better top five argument than the Jayhawks. They just welcomed No. 3 Houston to Allen Fieldhouse and won convincingly–and also hold a victory over No. 1 UConn. That part of their resume makes it easy to push them back into the top echelon. However, Kansas will need to prove they can do it on the road, with their best such win coming against KenPom 99th Indiana.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
No. 12 Kentucky: The past two weeks have not been very kind to the Wildcats. In that span, they’ve lost three of four, including two at home. Their defeat to now No. 18 South Carolina is making more sense as the Gamecocks play more, but Florida, who followed their win with a loss at Texas A&M isn’t anything special. Kentucky squandered a big chance to get right at home versus No. 5 Tennessee, as Rob Dillingham’s 35 point explosion wasn’t enough. The pieces are there for the Wildcats and they face a bizarre nonconference game against Gonzaga. Previously, the contest had looked like a must-win for the Bulldogs, but it appears that both sides need this one. Kentucky is still holding on to an early season win over No. 6 UNC, but can’t afford to let their remaining top 10 matchups slip away.
Unranked Texas Tech: Tech still maintains a 5-3 record in conference, but this week was their worst all season. After understandably losing to No. 19 TCU on the road, the Red Raiders hosted–and lost to–unranked Cincinnati. The Bearcats certainly aren’t world beaters either, having lost five of their previous seven. Even though Texas Tech does still have a solid 16-5 record, they have a gauntlet ahead. Four of their next five come against the nation’s top 20 teams, two on the road. If they emerge 4-1 from that set or better, then they’ll be back into the rankings without much conversation. If they go under .500, then they could be looking closer to the bubble than they have all season.
WILD CARD
The Mountain West: Listed by KenPom as the seventh best conference in the country, the Mountain West has been super strong this year–and it’s starting to cannibalize. This week alone, No. 22 SDSU beat No. 23 Utah State, Boise State beat former No. 24 New Mexico, No. 24 Colorado State beat SDSU and SDSU beat Utah State. That’s why it’s getting hard to differentiate between their top five. I have three Mountain West teams ranked–all in the 22-24 range–but one could make an argument to rearrange them in any order. Boise State took New Mexico out of the rankings with a win over them but don’t yet have a strong enough resume to get on the correct side of the top 25. Fortunately for the Broncos, they play Utah State and Colorado State this week. Wins in both games will surely take them into the rankings, as the Mountain West looks to capitalize on a rich top of the conference.