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College Basketball Power Rankings: So what do you do when the top three teams all lose?

Virginia v Syracuse

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 03: Kyle Guy #5 of the Virginia Cavaliers greets fans while leaving the court following the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on February 3, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. Virginia defeated Syracuse 59-44. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)

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It is not often that I have no idea what to expect to see when the AP poll is released on Monday afternoon, but it is pretty safe to say that I have absolutely no idea this week.

That’s what happens when each of the top three teams in every poll -- mine, the AP, the coaches poll, everyone -- lose at home in the span of 96 hours.

For me ... not much is changing, not at the top of the rankings, anyway.

I still think that Virginia and Villanova are the top two teams in the country, and I am going to keep them in that same order for two reasons:


  1. I think that Villanova is better than Virginia when both teams are at full strength.
  2. Villanova is not at full strength.

The Wildcats have been without Phil Booth for a couple of weeks. They’ve been without Eric Paschall for a week after he suffered a concussion on a terrifying fall last weekend. Villanova essentially has a six-man rotation, meaning that a third of the team that plays major, meaningful minutes for them in an ideal world is not available.

Combine that with an outlier shooting performance against the hottest team in the country -- St. John’s! -- and this is what you get.

I flip-flopped Michigan State and Purdue, but I’m not sold on it. The Boilermakers are one missed box out against Ohio State and one made three by Miles Bridges away from still being undefeated in the Big Ten. And despite the top three teams from last week losing, I am not yet ready to say that Xavier -- who seemingly ends up winning in some weird, unpredictable way every week -- or Cincinnati -- who got smoked by Xavier when they played -- is better than any of the top four.

Anyway, here is the full top 25:

1. Villanova, 23-2 (Last Week: No. 1)
2. Virginia, 23-2 (2)
3. Michigan State, 24-3 (4)
4. Purdue, 23-4 (3)
5. Xavier, 23-3 (5)
6. Cincinnati, 23-2 (7)
7. Texas Tech, 21-4 (11)
8. Auburn, 22-3 (6)
9. Ohio State, 22-5 (17)
10. Duke, 20-5 (8)
11. Gonzaga, 23-4 (15)
12. Clemson, 20-4 (18)
13. Kansas, 19-6 (14)
14. Tennessee, 18-6 (14)
15. West Virginia, 18-7 (13)
16. Rhode Island, 20-3 (19)
17. North Carolina, 19-7 (24)
18. Texas A&M, 17-8 (NR)
19. Saint Mary’s, 24-3 (14)
20. Nevada, 21-5 (20)
21. Arizona, 20-6 (9)
22. Butler, 17-9 (21)
23. Michigan, 20-7 (22)
24. Oklahoma, 16-8 (16)
25. Wichita State, 19-5 (25)

DROPPED OUT: No. 23 Washington

NEW ADDITIONS: No. 18 Texas A&M