NCAA Top 25 (8)

We’re now into February and there are only two unbeatens left. Conference play is over halfway done now as well, and March Madness is nearly one month away. We also have a new #1…

NCAA Top 25 – 2/10/14

NOTE: Previous ranking in first parenthesis.

1. (2) Syracuse Orangemen (23-0, 10-0)

Syracuse has officially taken over the ACC by taking out Duke on a national stage. They also make their first appearance of the year at #1 after Arizona dropped their first game.

2. (3) Florida Gators (21-2, 10-0)

Florida is now two games up in the SEC. They also just welcomed Chris Walker to their team as he was just cleared by the NCAA. Remember, this team hasn’t lost since early December, and those two losses were with an incomplete team.

3. (4) Wichita State Shockers (25-0, 12-0)

At this point, I think Wichita State will enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. They are a clear #1 seed in my opinion, and have a legit chance at returning to the Final Four.

4. (1) Arizona Wildcats (23-1, 10-1)

I didn’t drop Arizona to 4^th just because the lost one game… I dropped them to fourth because they lost Brandon Ashley for the remainder of the season. That’s a big loss. He was a big part of their defense and rebounding, and was a huge asset on offense. They weren’t that deep a team with him, so they’ll be extremely tested now.

5. (8) San Diego State Aztecs (21-1, 10-0)

Probably under ranked them two weeks ago putting them at #8, but they deserve a top 5 ranking now for sure. It’s impressive what they’ve done in a decent conference, and Xavier Thames is making an All-American case.

6. (9) Villanova Wildcats (21-2, 9-1)

Since their sole conference loss to Creighton, they’ve reeled off five in a row with three of those on the road. They now enter another three game stretch of road games, one of which is at Creighton. Can they avenge the loss?

7. (5) Kansas Jayhawks (18-5, 9-1)

Kansas finally suffered a Big-12 defeat, but a loss at Texas isn’t that damaging. The real news out of Kansas was that Joel Embiid said he may return to school next year. That would be scary.

8. (11) Duke Blue Devils (19-5, 8-3)

Winning at Pitt by 15 was impressive. They nearly toppled Syracuse on the road too (would have if Jabari Parker hadn’t fouled out). They seem to be hitting their stride, in large part because Sulaimon has started to play like expected.

9. (21) Cincinnati Bearcats (22-3, 11-1)

After I ranked them at 21 two weeks ago, they responded with a win at Louisville. That proved their worth, hence their Top Ten ranking. They did just lose at SMU though, but they still hold a decent edge in the conference.

10. (20) Virginia Cavaliers (19-5, 10-1)

Virginia is the only team keeping pace with Syracuse right now in the ACC. They have proven that their poor non-conference is behind them, and I doubt they’ll lose again before the March 1 meeting with Syracuse.

11. (18) Iowa State Cyclones (18-4, 6-4)

ISU is back on track now after an up and down start to conference play. They’ve won three in a row, two of those against ranked teams. Although they are currently tied for fourth in the Big 12, I still believe this is the second best team.

12. (7) Michigan State Spartans (20-4, 9-2)

MSU lost to Georgetown (without Payne and Dawson) in a rare non-conference game, and they lost at Wisconsin in a nail biter yesterday (with Payne back). On the flip side, they won at Iowa, which was a great win. Seems as if the inconsistency in personnel has affected them somewhat.

13. (16) Kentucky Wildcats (18-5, 8-2)

They are two games back of Florida, but they host them this Saturday. That would be a huge win for a team looking for confidence in big games.

14. (15) Creighton Bluejays (19-4, 9-2)

Doug McDermott is clearly the POY at this point in college basketball. They also can take over first in the Big East with a win at home against Villanova on Sunday.

15. (10) Iowa Hawkeyes (18-6, 7-4)

Life in the Big Ten is rough… Iowa, a very good team, lost in OT to MSU, then won at Illinois, lost to Ohio State in a close game, but then blew out Michigan on Saturday. The good news is that they have veterans and depth which makes it easier.

16. (14) Louisville Cardinals (19-4, 8-2)

Louisville is still without a win against a ranked team this season (lost to Cincy recently). That’s concerning a little. The good news is that they don’t lose to bad teams, which proves they are at least a solid tourney team.

17. (6) Michigan Wolverines (17-6, 9-2)

The roller coaster with Michigan continues. After taking over the Big Ten, they’ve lost 2 of 3 games, but are still tied with in-state rival MSU. Can they level out?

18. (17) Ohio State Buckeyes (19-5, 6-5)

In the last two weeks they’ve won at Wisconsin and at Iowa. That proves that this team is figuring out how to score when it matters, something they struggled with earlier in the year.

19. (13) Wisconsin Badgers (19-5, 6-5)

A big win yesterday over Michigan State not only steadied the ship, but also reminded the nation why they started the season so well. Yes, they remain a threat in the NCAA Tourney.

20. (24) St. Louis Billikens (22-2, 9-0)

St. Louis is now up two games in the A-10, and 3 games on national darling Massachusetts. Time to start thinking about an undefeated run through the conference.

21. (25) Texas Longhorns (18-5, 7-3)

They finally hit a wall against Kansas State, but before that they were on the most impressive run of games of any team in the country. Rick Barnes has put Texas basketball back on the map.

22. (25) Oklahoma Sooners (18-6, 7-4)

Similar to Texas, Oklahoma finally hit a wall (two close road losses to ISU and WVU), but they are still a dangerous squad with a lot of players that are tough to guard. Due to their ability to score, they have a team build for postseason play.

23. (NR) SMU Mustangs (19-5, 8-3)

Wins over Memphis and Cincinnati put SMU in the rankings for the first time in 3 decades. Good for them!

24. (19) Memphis Tigers (18-5, 7-3)

Did lose to SMU, but got a great non-conference win over Gonzaga on Saturday night. This season has been a success for Coach Pastner, who is proving he can beat ranked teams.

25. (NR) Connecticut Huskies (18-5, 6-4)

Remember that UCONN was high up in this poll earlier in the year. They seem to finally be playing well again and are proving to be a fairly deep squad. The AAC also is a surprising tough conference in it’s first year.

Dropped from Previous Top 25: Oklahoma State Cowboys, Pittsburgh Panthers, Massachusetts Minutemen

Also Considered: New Mexico, UNC, Kansas State, George Washington, UCLA, Colorado, Gonzaga, Arizona State, VCU, LSU, Ole Miss

By: The Sports Guys