NCAA Top 25 (11)

The NCAA Tourney is complete, with the Connecticut Huskies coming out on top. It was a truly amazing ride through March (and early April), as this was likely the best NCAA Tourney ever. There were so many upsets, and even the final was a battle between an 8 and 7 seed, the highest combination of seeds the final has ever seen… by far! So, here are my post-tourney rankings:

NCAA Top 25 – 4/8/14 – Final Rankings

NOTE: Previous ranking in first parenthesis.

1. (NR) Connecticut Huskies (32-8, 12-6)

Almost by default, Connecticut earns the top spot due to their National Championship run. A month ago, they were my first team out of the rankings (#26).  But they were ranked in the top 10 early in the season, and they did sweep Florida this year and beat a healthy MSU team. The way they played, they deserved the title.

2. (1) Florida Gators (36-3, 18-0)

They were #1 overall for a reason, but UCONN simply had their number this year. It was good for all their seniors to make the Final Four, but I’m sure they will be disappointed in themselves after an off night Saturday.

3. (NR) Kentucky Wildcats (29-11, 12-6)

Just like the National Champion above, the other finalist was not ranked one month ago. Then, they finally played like we all expected. All year people recognized they had the most talent in the country, but due to inexperience and chemistry, they never played like it. Well, they figured it out.

4. (2) Wichita State Shockers (35-1, 18-0)

Even though Wichita State went down during the first weekend of the tourney, it wasn’t because they were a bad team hiding behind a good record. In fact, based off of Kentucky’s run to the final and the way Wichita State nearly took them down, it may have proved how legit the Shockers really were this season. They have a bright future but will miss Cleanthony Early, who showed that he’s a beast!

5. (10) Wisconsin Badgers (30-8, 12-6)

The Badgers played great basketball throughout the last month and very well could have played in last night’s game. They had a remarkable season, and I believe this was Bo Ryan’s best coaching job yet. If it weren’t for Aaron Harrison…

6. (3) Arizona Wildcats (33-5, 15-3)

Arizona was impressive all year long and I still wonder what would have happened if Brandon Ashley had remained healthy. My guess? They would have won the whole thing. Yes, I thought they were the best team with him.

7. (7) Michigan Wolverines (28-9, 15-3)

Similar to Wisconsin, Michigan will look back at the Kentucky game and realize they could have won… that Aaron Harrison guy… Anyways, Michigan performed admirably throughout the second half of the year after McGary got injured. They should be very proud of their season.

8. (NR) Michigan State Spartans (29-9, 12-6)

Michigan State was my choice to win it all, despite the fact I had them unranked one month ago. The reason is that they were finally healthy, and I thought that when fully healthy they were unstoppable. They did win the Big Ten Tourney, but lost a heartbreaker to UCONN in the tourney. They will look back with regret on that one.

9. (6) Virginia Cavaliers (30-7, 16-2)

This was a great season for Virginia. They won the ACC by two games, and then went on to also win the ACC Tourney. Despite losing in the Sweet 16 as a 1-seed, they should be proud.

10. (5) Louisville Cardinals (31-6, 15-3)

Louisville ended the year hot and won the AAC Tourney with ease. Despite being under-seeded, many believed Louisville could win it all. Then they ran into the buzz saw that was Kentucky. They lost to their in-state rival twice this season, something that won’t sit well with many of them.

11. (11) San Diego State Aztecs (31-5, 16-2)

San Diego State hung around this spot in the rankings for much of the year. And they lived up to it in the tourney by advancing to the Sweet 16. They nearly pulled off an upset against Arizona there, but fell short. Two of their five losses were to Arizona. Two were against New Mexico. They were pretty good against everyone else.

12. (4) Villanova Wildcats (29-5, 16-2)

This team played great up until March… They lost early in their conference tourney, and then ran into that Connecticut team in the third round of the NCAA’s. But despite the disappointing finish, this was one of the better Villanova teams we’ve seen in the past decade.

13. (21) Iowa State Cyclones (28-8, 11-7)

Iowa State was tested all year in a great conference. It played out that way in the tourney as they made a great run to the second weekend. But they lost Niang and couldn’t overcome it against UCONN. Not sure if Niang would have made the difference though against those Huskies.

14. (14) North Carolina Tarheels (24-10, 13-5)

UNC had some of the best wins this year of any team. They also entered the tournament playing some of their best basketball to date. But a late collapse against Iowa State held them back from making a deeper run.

15. (NR) Dayton Flyers (26-11, 10-6)

The Flyers were deep and extremely capable of playing great basketball. Taking out Ohio State, Syracuse, and Stanford was no easy task. Granted, the two big schools were playing bad basketball at the end of the year, and Dayton’s run nearly never started (Craft barely missed a game-winner shot), but I give credit to them regardless. The Elite 8 is quite an accomplishment.

16. (NR) UCLA Bruins (28-9, 12-6)

Arguably could be ranked higher after a Pac-12 Tournament Championship, followed by a Sweet 16 run. But the inconsistency throughout the year was maddening, and I still can’t figure out why the defense was so bad.

17. (NR) Baylor Bears (26-12, 9-9)

Baylor played in a rugged conference but finished the season playing great basketball. It showed in the tourney as they advanced easy to the Sweet 16, and that included a blowout win over Creighton. Glad to see the results in the end match up with the talent.

18. (NR) Tennessee Volunteers (24-13, 11-7)

This was around where I ranked them in the preseason, so it’s fitting they ended up here. They peaked at the right time and ended up winning three games in the tourney before losing a tight one to Michigan.

19. (13) Kansas Jayhawks (25-10, 14-4)

This ranking is a hybrid one. If I based it off of how they ended the season only, they’d be ranked much lower. But they played without Joel Embiid, probably their most important player, during that stretch. If I ranked based on their success with Embiid on the floor, which included dominating the mighty Big 12, they’d be ranked higher. So this is a compromise.

20. (8) Duke Blue Devils (26-9, 13-5)

Falling to Mercer in their first game of the tourney was embarrassing. But that still doesn’t erase all the good they did this year. They were clearly a top-20 team this season, so I ranked them here despite a bad game.

21. (NR) Stanford Cardinal (23-13, 10-8)

Stanford flew under the radar most of the season, but they actually had some good wins. One of those was at Connecticut, which looks awfully good right now. They also advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins over New Mexico and Kansas. But the last two were deceiving, as both of those opponents played poorly and were missing key players (Kansas). I was also disappointed in how they played vs. Dayton. So 21 is as high as I go with them.

22. (12) Syracuse Orangemen (28-6, 14-4)

Syracuse started the year on fire, but the ending was forgettable. Wish that was the case last year, but instead they took out my Hoosiers in the tourney.

23. (15) Creighton Bluejays (27-8, 14-4)

Creighton underachieved in the tourney and was exposed by Baylor. But as a whole, they did well this year after joining a power conference for the first time. Doug McDermott also deserved his POY awards.

24. (NR) Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (32-3, 18-0)

The Lumberjacks carried a gaudy record into the tournament, so it was nice to see them pull off the upset of VCU. I think that gave them a little legitimacy.

25. (NR) Harvard Crimson (27-5, 13-1)

Most had Harvard ranked to start the year, and that’s where they end up. Taking out Cincinnati looked easy, and they also gave MSU a scare.

Dropped from Previous Top 25: Cincinnati, St. Louis, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, VCU, Nebraska, Ohio State, Memphis, Oklahoma State

Also Considered: Texas, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga, North Dakota State, Minnesota, SMU

By: The Sports Guys