Another week where we don’t really have all that much to talk through.
Wisconsin takes a hit because they lost a game where they were favored by 7.5 points, but it’s hard to get too up in arms about Wisconsin losing on the road to a Western Kentucky team that has a first round pick in Charles Bassey and is stocked with high-major talent; I don’t think it’s crazy to say the more talented team won that game.
Arizona State also lost, but their situation was different: They dropped a home game, not a road game, and they lost to an Ivy League team that no one considers to be a top three team in that conference. That should give you a sense of just how good that league actually is, but it’s also a bad sign for the one team thought was any good in the Pac-12. So they’re out of the top 25.
I didn’t move Kentucky at all after the win at Louisville, but I wouldn’t argue against it. For me, they can be slotted anywhere in that second tier of teams -- from No. 8 to No. 13 -- justifiably, but I am not yet ready to put them in the same conversation as the elite group of teams this season.
Other than that, the only other change was moving Iowa State into the top 25. They probably don’t have a top 25 resume, but I want to be in on them early. They will be right there with -- and yes, this is weird to type -- Texas Tech and Oklahoma in the race to finish second in the Big 12.
Here is the full top 25:
1. Duke (11-1, Last Week: 1)
2. Michigan (13-0, 2)
3. Tennessee (11-1, 3)
4. Virginia (11-0, 4)
5. Gonzaga (11-2, 5)
6. Kansas (11-1, 6)
7. Nevada (13-0, 7)
8. Texas Tech (11-1, 8)
9. Florida State (11-1, 9)
10. Michigan State (11-2, 10)
11. Virginia Tech (11-1, 11)
12. Kentucky (10-2, 12)
13. North Carolina (9-3, 13)
14. N.C. State (12-1, 15)
15. Auburn (11-2, 16)
16. Ohio State (12-1, 17)
17. Marquette (11-2, 18)
18. Wisconsin (10-3, 14)
19. Mississippi State (12-1, 19)
20. Buffalo (12-1, 20)
21. Nebraska (11-2, 22)
22. Iowa (11-2, 23)
23. Indiana (11-2, 24)
24. Oklahoma (11-1, 25)
25. Iowa State (10-2, NR)
New Additions: 25. Iowa State
Dropped Out: 21. Arizona State