1. Kansas (10-0): The scary part about Kansas is that they have yet to put it all together. Cole Aldrich still isn't playing great. Neither is Tyshawn Taylor. Brady Morningstar was just reinstated on Saturday. The two difference makers for the Jayhawks - the Morris twins. Both look like they could average 16 and 8 with more minutes.
2. Texas (10-0): Yes, the Longhorns passed their first test of the season beating. Yes, they looked very good while beating UNC, especially up front. Yes, this team will be able to compete with the Jayhawks. And while they have closed the gap, anyone that ranks Texas above Kansas right now is incorrect. Maybe an impressive performance against a team with an excellent back court (ahem, Michigan State on Tuesday) and I'll be convinced.
3. Syracuse (11-0): I'm very high on Syracuse right now. I just love this teams balance and their length in their zone.
4. Kentucky (11-0): Kentucky, when it is all said and done, may end up being the best team in the country. But I am still not convinced they understand how good they can be. Too many mediocre teams hang around. Eventually, the Wildcats are going to run into a team that gets hot and stays hot.
5. Purdue (10-0): I think the win over Alabama exposed the flaw in this team - a quick point guard. The Boilermakers will run into trouble when they face teams that are quick and athletic in the back court and use a press.
6. West Virginia (8-0): Like the Boilermakers, I think that the Mountaineers will run into trouble when they face teams with a quick, athletic back court.
7. Duke (9-1): I think that I am much closer to being sold on the Dukies than the rest of the country. Gonzaga probably agrees.
8. Villanova (10-1): Their one loss is to a good Temple team, and there is no shame in losing to the Owls this year.
9. Kansas State (10-1): Their last two wins have been by at least 13 points at UNLV and at Alabama. Jacob Pullen may be the front runner for Big XII POY this year.
10. UNC (8-3): The Heels three losses are to Syracuse, Kentucky, and Texas, and they have beaten Michigan State and Ohio State with Evan Turner.
11. Michigan State (9-2): The win over Gonzaga is looking less and less impressive by the day. Spartans will get a real test with the Longhorns. Not sure they have enough size inside.
12. New Mexico (12-0): This may be a bit high, but New Mexico does have wins against Cal and Texas A&M, beat San Diego on the road, and knocked off a scrappy Creighton team when they were playing far from their best. Remember the name Darington Hobson.
13. Ole Miss (10-1): The Rebels own wins over UTEP and Kansas State, and their only loss on the season is to Villanova. Chris Warren, Terrico White, and Eniel Polynice might be the best backcourt you've never seen play.
14. Georgetown (8-1): I think the home loss to ODU was a fluke more than anything - it was the day after finals ended and came in their much smaller on campus venue in the middle of a huge blizzard.
15. Florida (8-2): No shame is losing to Syracuse, and Richmond is much better than a lot of people realize. That said, Florida is going to have a lot of problems inside against bigger teams.
16. UConn (7-2)
17. Butler (8-3)
18. UNLV (10-1)
19. Temple (8-2)
20. Florida State (10-2)
21. Ohio State (9-2)
22. Tennessee (8-2)
23. Texas A&M (9-2)
24. Clemson (10-2)
25. St. John's (9-1)
Troy's top 25
1. Kansas (10-0) - They handled Michigan easily and continue to be the most impressive team in the country. They have all the tools that a championship team should have. But be warned. Any of their next four games (Belmont, at Temple, Cornell, at Tennessee) could be considered trap games. With the way Temple is playing, I don't envy any ranked team that has to face them. Nonetheless, Kansas is, on paper, the best team in the country. On the court is no different either.
2. Texas (10-0) - The longhorns put a sound beating on UNC this past weekend and firmly cemented themselves as the best team not-named-Kansas in the country. They will out-rebound just about any team in the country and they are one of the deepest teams there are. The 'horns play Michigan State on Tuesday and should be able to bully the Spartans around for 40 minutes and gets the W.
3. Kentucky (11-0) - John Wall is turning into a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year and although Coach Cal thinks his team is 5-5, they are actually an impressive 11-0. The only thing I have yet to see from this team is consistent mid-range shooting. They have done everything else, won tight games, hit big shots, blown teams out, and come from behind. If it wasn't for the Big-12, the Wildcats would be the best team in the country.
4. Purdue (10-0) - No team has continued to do their business as soundly as Purdue. I often forget that this team is in the top 5 just because of the lack of attention from the press. Michigan State stole all the preseason attention and were a lock for the Big Ten title. But as of now, Purdue is hands down the best team in the conference, and one of the best teams in the country.
5. Syracuse (11-0) - Six weeks ago, did anybody think Syracuse would be a top-25 team, let alone a title contender? I certainly did not, but I have been pleasantly surprised. Consider this, big man Arinze Onuwaku is only averaging four rebounds a game. His teammates down low have done a fantastic job helping crash the boards. This is one reason 'Cuse has been so effective on offense: they get multiple chances, and with the effective outside shooting they have, it's very dangerous to give this team more than one shot at the basket.
6. West Virginia (8-0) - Was there a good reason that WVU traveled to Cleveland State this weekend? Because I can't find one. They nearly lost to a 4-8 Horizon League team. Now is not the time for the Mountaineers to struggle. They take on a hot Ole Miss team before starting Big East play against Seton Hall. After allowing only 39 and 43 points it's previous two games, WVU conceded 78 points, which is 20 points above their season average.
7. Villanova (10-1) - The ten point loss to Temple looks better and better every day that Temple upsets another ranked team. The glaring problem with this Wildcat squad is that they are allowing nearly 70 points a game. A statistic like that will get you killed during conference play in the Big East.
8. Duke (9-1) - I wouldn't take too much from the Dukies' 34 point destruction of Gonzaga. Duke is a good team, don't get me wrong, but their weaknesses are becoming a glaring problem, and their inside game doesn't seem to be as dominant as we once thought.
9. North Carolina (8-3) - The Tar Heels have played five ranked opponents thus far, and three of them were ranked in the top five at the time, so take UNC's three losses with a grain of salt. They are still a young team, and when it clicks (if it ever does) they will be a scary team.
10. Connecticut (7-2) - We will have to wait to see how much of an impact Ater Majok has. Stanley Robinson has showed a tendency to become invisible at times and the Huskies still struggle in half court sets. They are as athletic as any team in the country but still lack to poise of an elite team.
11. Michigan State (9-2) - The Spartans will have one more shot to prove if they are a top five team, when they face Texas on Tuesday. MSU has a solid front court, but I doubt it will be good enough to battle Texas' big men for 40 minutes.
12. Kansas State (10-1) - Jacob Pullen is quietly becoming one of the best shooters in the country. I'm not sure if a lot of people have realized that Michael Beasley doesn't go there anymore though.
13. Georgetown (8-1) - I'm not going to take a lot from the Hoyas loss against Old Dominion. ODU has beaten the Hoyas twice in games held on the Georgetown campus. And there was a hectic blizzard pounding DC, so I am going to write this one off. What I won't write off is the 18 turnovers that the Hoyas had. That is going to hurt them in the long run.
14. New Mexico (12-0) - The lowest ranking of any undefeated team (sorry Missouri State) goes to the Lobos. They haven't had the toughest schedule (104th overall) but they have impressive wins over Cal and Texas A&M and six weeks in, they have yet to suffer defeat. They have a tough stretch of games coming up (at Oral Roberts, Texas Tech, Dayton), I doubt they will go into conference play undefeated.
15. Mississippi (10-1) - What a difference a year makes. It was around this time last year that head coach Andy Kennedy was causing a riot across news headlines and star Chris Warren was blowing out his knee. Fast forward to this year and Ole Miss is slowly becoming a dangerous team in the SEC. Their only loss was by 12 points to Villanova, and they have a huge test against West Virginia on Wednesday.
16. Tennessee (8-2)
17. Florida (8-2)
18. Texas A&M (9-2)
19. Butler (8-3)
20. Ohio State (9-2)
21. Temple (9-2)
22. Texas Tech (9-1)
23. Washington (7-2)
24. Northwestern (9-1)
25. UNLV (10-1)
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