SportsRatings: College Basketball

SportsRatings College Basketball top 25 - week 8: Dayton Flies high

The Dayton Flyers soared in the top ten of the SportsRatings Top 25 this week, days after upsetting Pittsburgh 80-55. This wasn't entirely unexpected; after all, I'd written that Pitt was ripe for a letdown, and picked Dayton to win—but in a close game, not by 25! By my guidelines, Dayton, with the same record as Pitt, should be ranked ahead of them, and since the Panthers can't fall below the Duke team they beat, Dayton jumps from 22 to 7 while Pitt falls from 4th to 8th.

#1 North Carolina crushed former #25 Valparaiso in another result I predicted, though I didn't think it would be much more than 20. This knocks Valpo out of the top 25, but they become the best 3-loss team, falling only to UNC, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin.

Speaking of Wisconsin, they pulled the upset I didn't pick, defeating ex-#6 Texas by 1. I called a close game, but not the result. The Badgers elevate to #15, while the Longhorns saddle up right behind them at #16. Both should probably be ahead of Tennessee when you think about it, but let's not for now.

Most of the rest of the teams in the entire ranking just shuffled around this crazy action. A notable number of them played very well this weekend and demolished their competition. #2 Memphis impressively beat Arizona; #3 Kansas won by 33; #4 Washington State nearly doubled the score on North Carolina A&T, 67-34; and #5 UCLA won by 28.

Michigan State moved up two spots to #6, and idle Duke remained 9th. Marquette beat Savannah State 77-37 and moved into the top ten.

The SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 for Week 8 (games through 12/30/2007)

lw    #  Team           rec  losses; wins vs. top 25
1     1. N. Carolina    13-0 w=BYU+10,wValpo+32
2     2. Memphis        11-0 wGtown+14
3     3. Kansas         13-0
5     4. Washington St. 12-0 w@Baylor+3
7     5. UCLA           12-1 L Texas-2;w=MichSt+5
8     6. Michigan St.   12-1 L=UCLA-5;wTexas+6,w@BYU+7
22    7. Dayton         11-1 L@GMason-11;wPitt+25
4     8. Pittsburgh     11-1 L@Dayton-25;w=DukeOT;
9     9. Duke           10-1 L=PittOT;w=Marq+4,wWisc+24
11   10. Marquette      10-1 L=Duke-4;w@Wisc-5
12   11. Vanderbilt     12-0 wValpo+9
13   12. Georgetown      9-1 L@Memphis-14
16   13. Mississippi    12-0 w=Clemson+3
14   14. Tennessee      11-1 L=Tex-19
23   15. Wisconsin      10-2 L@Duke-24,L Marq-5;w@Texas+1,wValpo+10
6    16. Texas          11-2 L@MichSt-6,LWisc-1;w=Tenn+19,w@UCLA+2
17   17. Indiana        11-1 L=Xavier-15
18   18. St. Mary's     12-1 L@SIU-15;wDrake+6
19   19. Clemson        11-1 L=Miss-3
20   20. Texas A&M      12-1 L@Ariz-11
21   21. Rhode Island   13-1 L@BC-4
     22. Baylor         10-1 L WashSt-3
10   23. Miami FL       12-1 L Winthrop-6
     24. Drake          10-1 L@St.Mary's-6
15   25. Sam Houston St 11-1 L@SDSU-1ot

out:
24       BYU            10-3 L@BoiseST-3,L=UNC-10,L MichSt-7
25       Valparaiso     10-3 L@Wisc-10,@Vandy-9,L@UNC-32 

key: Loss to ranked team
     Loss to unranked team
     Loss to team with losing record
     Win over ranked team
     Win over ranked team who falls out this week

Two previously undefeated teams were upset by non-top 25 opponents. Former #10 Miami fell to Winthrop, who was great last year but is struggling this season. That dropped the Hurricanes to #23, two spots ahead of Sam Houston State, who lost in overtime to a decent San Diego State team.

Vanderbilt moved up to #11, followed by Georgetown, who beat by 27 an American squad that had inexplicably received an AP poll vote last week. Undefeated Mississippi  moves up to #13, followed by Tennessee at #14, Wisconsin, and the Texas team that beat the Volunteers by 19 earlier this year. Wisconsin and Texas both have 2 losses, but if I could have put them ahead of Tennessee without moving Tennessee down, I would have. Next week, maybe. 

#17 Indiana beat Chicago State by almost 40 points; #18 St. Mary's beat Howard by almost 50. #19 Clemson and #20 Texas A&M beat hapless opponents by nearly 30 each. #21 Rhode Island was more subdued, winning by 15 and 5 in their contests this week.

With the departure of BYU and Valparaiso, there were two open spots. Seven teams remained that had only one loss and weren't ranked yet. Of these, only two had a loss that was to a top 25 team: Baylor, who lost to Washington State, and Drake, who fell only to St. Mary's. It's in Iowa, in case you were wondering.

#23 Wisconsin 67, #6 Texas 66

#23 Wisconsin upset #6 Texas 67-66 on a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. The Longhorns were unable to get off a shot as the inbounds pass was deflected.

The Badgers beat a top ten team on the road and without their leading scorer. This season they've lost only to Duke and Marquette, and have beaten #25 Valparaiso as well.

This win should put Wisconsin into the national polls' top 25, and they'll move up considerably in the SportsRatings top 25.

Weekend preview: UNC, Pitt, Texas take on ranked underdogs

This weekend, three top ten teams take on three ranked opponents; all of the latter are ranked in the last 5 of the SportsRatings Top 25.

#6 Texas (11-1) vs. #23 Wisconsin (9-2)

Texas wants to bounce back from their loss at Michigan State, while Wisconsin hopes to emulate their Big Ten brethren's performance. The game's in Texas, so that will be a tall order for the Badgers. A Wisconsin win would give them a big boost in the polls; a third loss and they're out (for the time being).

#4 Pittsburgh (11-0) vs. #22 Dayton (10-1)

A great opportunity for the Dayton Flyers. Pitt had better be prepared; playing for the first time since an emotional win vs. Duke, they're facing a good team on the road and may be ripe for an upset. Dayton is not ranked in most polls, but has only lost to George Mason this year, beat Louisville, and has won nine straight. Pitt is of course without forward Mike Cook, who tore an ACL against Duke.

#1 North Carolina (12-0) vs. #25 Valparaiso (11-1)

The top-ranked Tar Heels are also facing life after losing a top player. Junior Bobby Frasor is out for the season after tearning a knee ligament against Nevada. Valparaiso has lost to Wisconsin and Vanderbilt this season and shouldn't be able to hang with North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels have won their last two games 106-70 and 105-70.

Gut feeling

Texas beats Wisconsin in a close game; Dayton pulls off a last-second upset; UNC whips Valpo by 20.

SportsRatings College Basketball top 25 - week 7 (through 12/23)

As the dust clears from all the great games this week, the top ten reshuffles after staying almost exactly the same for several weeks.

North Carolina remains number one, and will remain so until they lose, but several teams below are making a case for being the best team in the country.

Such as #2 Memphis, who slides up a spot after beating previous #5 Georgetown. The Tigers won convincingly at home and look tough to beat. #4 Pittsburgh beat Duke at a neutral location, but it took overtime to do so. Still the Panthers are undefeated and now have to big win to justify their high ranking. This can't be said of #3 Kansas and #5 Washington State, neither of whom have defeated a current top 25 opponent, though both have been impressive overall.

The most interesting shakeup occurs due to Michigan State's win over Texas. Since UCLA previously beat the Spartans and lost to the Longhorns, this leaves all three teams at 11-1, with round-robin 1-1 records against the other two. In what order should they be rated? If you look at the game locations, you see that Texas played both opponents on the road; UCLA won a neutral court game; and Michigan State's win came at home.  Technically, these might be the best teams in the nation; all three deserve a top ten rating.

I kept Duke in the top ten as well at #9 since they lost in overtime to a top five team, and also have a win over Marquette. Miami remained undefeated, and remained #10.

Currently, all the teams in my top ten are either undefeated, or have only lost to other top ten squads and have wins over one or more top 25 teams.

The SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 for Week 7 (games through 12/23/2007)

lw    #  Team           rec  losses; wins vs. top 25
1     1. N. Carolina    11-0 w=BYU+10
3     2. Memphis        10-0 wGtown+14
4     3. Kansas         12-0
8     4. Pittsburgh     11-0 w=DukeOT
7     5. Wash. State    11-0
2     6. Texas          11-1 L@MichSt-6;w=Tenn+19,w@UCLA+2
9     7. UCLA           11-1 L Texas-2;w=MichSt+5
11    8. Michigan St.   11-1 L=UCLA-5;w@BYU+7,wTexas+6
6     9. Duke           10-1 L=PittOT;w=Marq+4,wWisc+24
10   10. Miami FL       12-0
12   11. Marquette       9-1 L=Duke-4;w@Wisc-5
13   12. Vanderbilt     11-0 wValpo+9
5    13. Georgetown      8-1 L@Memphis-14
14   14. Tennessee      11-1 L=Tex-19
15   15. Sam Houston St 10-0
23   16. Mississippi    11-0 w=Clemson+3
17   17. Indiana        10-1 L=Xav-15
18   18. St. Mary's     10-1 L@SIU-15
16   19. Clemson        10-1 L=Miss-3
20   20. Texas A&M      11-1 L@Ariz-11
21   21. Rhode Island   11-1 L@BC-4
22   22. Dayton         10-1 L@GMason-11
     23. Wisconsin       9-2 L@Duke-24,L Marq-5;wValpo+10
25   24. BYU            10-2 L=UNC-10,L MichSt-7
19   25. Valparaiso     10-2 L@Wisc-10,@Vandy-9

out:
24       Tx-Arlington    8-2 L@TCU-3,L@OklahomaSt-5
 

key: Loss to ranked team
     Loss to unranked team
     Loss to team with losing record
     Win over ranked team
     Win over ranked team who falls out this week

Marquette moves up to #11, still a few spots behind the Duke team that gave them their only loss. They also pick up a top 25 win (after the fact) as Wisconsin enters the rankings. This helps them hold off undefeated Vanderbilt. Georgetown stumbles from #5 to #13 on the basis of having no top 25 wins; their loss to Memphis was slightly less damaging than Tennessee's loss to Texas, so they stay a spot ahead of them.

Sam Houston State stays 15th for the 3rd straight week. With their schedule, moving up is going to be slow. The Texas Tech team they beat now has five losses, and there aren't any top 25 teams on their remaining schedule.

Mississippi pulled off an upset over Clemson in a battle of the undefeateds, and jumps to #16. The Tigers fall to #19 following #17 Indiana and #18 St. Mary's, and just ahead of #20 Texas A&M, #21 Rhode Island and #22 Dayton, all of whom remain stationary.

#23 Wisconsin beat Valparaiso to enter the rankings. They've lost only to #9 Duke and #11 Marquette. Valpo stays in the rankings thanks to two losses by Texas Arlington, who had one week of glory at #24. Brigham Young, loser only to #1 UNC and #8 Michigan State, moves up a notch.

#11 Michigan State 78, #2 Texas 72

Michigan State took a first half lead that it maintained to the end, beating Texas 78-72 in Auburn Hills. The Longhorns made a last-ditch effort during the seemingly endless last minute of the game and pulled within 5, when a D.J. Augustin reverse layup was blocked by Raymar Morgan on what could have been called goal tending. Instead, it gave the Spartans the chance to put the game away.

Texas looked as good in losing this game as any I've seen in a while. Their offense and defensive intensity was constant, and their playmaking ability astounding. Michigan State played their best game of the year and, bouyed by the home crowd, went from 7 points down to a double-digit lead in the first half. Kaylin Lucas had a beautiful reverse layup for the Spartans during this stretch.

Lucas and Morgan led Michigan State with 18 apiece and Drew Neitzel added 12. For Texas, A.J. Abrams had 24 and Augustin, who got into early foul trouble in the first half, had 22 points on 6-of-17 shooting.

Michigan State, #11 in the SportsRatings top 25, looks to move up with the win, but there will be a three-way tie with the Spartans, Texas, and UCLA since they've defeated each other round-robin. Add to this the Pitt win over Duke and Georgetown's loss and it will be a very crowded second five in the top 25. Both Michigan State and Texas are 11-1; the Spartans have a win over BYU, while the Longhorns hold wins over UCLA and Tennessee.

#23 Mississippi 85, #16 Clemson 82

This battle of the unbeatens in San Juan went to the Mississippi Rebels in an upset victory over Clemson. Ole Miss is now 11-0, best in the school's history, while the Tigers fell to 10-1, failing to match last year's 17-0 start.

Mississippi and Clemson will probably switch places in the SportsRatings top 25, while in the national polls Mississippi will likely make its debut. Clemson was rated 15th in the AP coming in to the contest, while the Rebels were only 32nd.

Memphis controls Georgetown, 85-71

Roy Hibbert was held to 6 points as #3 Memphis beat #5 Georgetown 85-71 to remain unbeaten. Georgetown lost for the first time this year in their first real test, falling to 8-1.

The Tigers took control in the 2nd half after leading by only 3 at the half. Only two Hoyas ended in double figures; for Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts had 24, Robert Dozier had 19, freshman Derrick Rose had 18, and forward Joey Dorsey added 11.

Despite the Memphis will only see improvement in the SportsRatings Top 25 if #2 Texas falls to #11 Michigan State this evening. In the national polls Memphis is already #2, and might take some more #1 votes away from North Carolina. Georgetown may fall from the top ten as they have no victories over top 25 teams.

Pitt beats Duke in overtime, 65-64

#8 Pittsburgh eked out a great win over #6 Duke on a three-pointer with seconds to go. Duke had two chances to win, and it would have been typical if the second shot had fallen. The first shot was way off, but conveniently bounced right back into the same player's hands for a second attempt. But somehow, Duke's luck ran out and Pitt took the victory.

The game was pretty wild overall, with Duke taking a commanding lead in the first half before Pitt battled back to take the lead in the 2nd half. Duke tied the game and could have won in regulation, but like at the end of overtime, they missed two shots.

Pitt forward Mike Cook suffered a knee injury early in the overtime period, and if the look on his face was any indication, he'll be out for the season. It's hard to tell with knee injuries, and the replay wasn't one of those that makes you sick to look at, so it might have hurt worse than the damage it did.

Duke took a 1-point lead after a 3-point play, then Duke freshman Kyle Singler made one of two free throws. Pitt's Levance Fields then hit the clutch three point shot.

Undefeated and 11-0, Pitt has an opportunity to scale the rankings, passing not only Duke but likely the loser of Georgetown-Memphis, #2 Texas if they are upset by Michigan State, and possibly a few other teams in-between. Unlike some of Pittsburgh's previous undefeated pre-conference seasons, this one now has a marquee win over a top-rated opponent.

Top Ten Matchups - today through Saturday

Four big games are upcoming: three are among top ten (or very close) teams, and three are battles between undefeated teams. The first is tonight.

#6 Duke (10-0) vs. #8 Pittsburgh (10-0) in New York

Duke always seems to win these early-season intra-conference games, and I don't see this one going any differently. It will take a while for teams to figure out how to play Duke, how to take advantage of their short bench, or wait for them to tire as the season goes on. So the only teams to beat the Blue Devils will be ACC foes. Pitt has looked good against pre-conference competition, but those haven't been the toughest of foes.

The next three games are all on Saturday:

#5 Georgetown (8-0) at #3 Memphis (9-0)

This one will be tight at Memphis, but the Hoyas could pull off a close win, possibly in overtime. Neither team has really faced a major test this year, though the Tigers had a few semi-tough early opponents. This game will be the first indicator as to whether each team can repeat last season's success.

#2 Texas (11-0) at #11 Michigan State (10-1)

How good are the Longhorns? Already they've destroyed Tennessee, then beat UCLA on the road. Michigan State couldn't handle UCLA on a neutral court. If Texas can win this one, they stake a solid claim to being the number one team in the country.

#16 Clemson (8-0) vs. #23 Mississippi (8-0) in San Juan

A fairly late-in-the-season battle of undefeated teams not in the top ten in anyone's polls. Clemson has had a slightly more durable schedule and should be able to win this game. Mississippi looks to be taken more seriously; they are currently unranked in the AP poll, and haven't played anyone of consequence so far.

SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 - week 6 (12/16)

Fewer games are played at this time of the year as college semesters end...most teams only played one or two games this week, so there were fewer upsets. The top six teams stayed the same and nos. 11 through 16 won, leaving the rankings pretty similar to last week's.

Seventh-rated St. Mary's was the big loss in the top ten. Just two weeks ago the Gaels were sitting pretty at #7, having defeated two top 25 teams. Then Providence lost, taking away one of those, and this week Oregon lost, taking away the other, but more importantly the Gaels themselves lost to struggling Southern Illinois and fall to #19. Undefeated Miami moves into the last vacant top ten spot.

The SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 for Week 6 (games through 12/16/2007)

lw    #  Team           rec losses; wins vs. top 25
1     1. N. Carolina    9-0 w=BYU+10
2     2. Texas         10-0 w=Tenn+19,w@UCLA+2
3     3. Memphis        8-0
4     4. Kansas        10-0
5     5. Georgetown     8-0
6     6. Duke           9-0 w=Marq+4
8     7. Wash. State    9-0
9     8. Pittsburgh    10-0
10    9. UCLA           9-1 L Tex-2;w=MichSt+5
13   10. Miami FL       9-0
11   11. Michigan St.   9-1 L=UCLA-5;w@BYU+7
12   12. Marquette      6-1 L=Duke-4
16   13. Vanderbilt    10-0 wValpo+9
14   14. Tennessee      9-1 L=Tex-19
15   15. Sam Houston St 9-0
     16. Clemson        8-0
19   17. Indiana        9-1 L=Xav-15
7    18. St. Mary's     7-1 L@SIU-15;wOregon+12
23   19. Valparaiso    10-1 L@Vandy-9
21   20. Texas A&M      9-1 L@Ariz-11
22   21. Rhode Island  10-1 L@BC-4
24   22. Dayton         8-1 L@GMason-11
     23. Mississippi    8-0
     24. Tx-Arlington   8-0
25   25. BYU            7-2 L=UNC-10,L MichSt-7

out:
18       Oregon         8-2 L@NebOT;L@St.Mary's-12
17       Xavier         8-2 L@MiamiOH-2;L@ASU-22;w=Ind+15
20       Boston College 7-2 L ProvOT;L UMass-3;wRI+4 

key: Loss to ranked team
     Loss to unranked team
     Loss to team with losing record
     Win over ranked team
     Win over ranked team who falls out this week

Vanderbilt moves up to #13 on the basis of having a win over Valparaiso; as one of the only four teams to have no losses and a win over a top 25 school, they'll move up faster than most. Likewise Valparaiso is one of only five teams in the rankings whose sole loss is to a top 25 team.

The three remaining undefeated teams all enter the rankings this week, replacing Oregon, Xavier, and Boston College, all of whom lost their second game, and in each case to an unranked foe. Clemson moves in at #16, having a fairly decent pre-season schedule, while Mississippi and Texas-Arlington have faced very soft opponents and debut just ahead of 2-loss BYU.

A few of the new entrants might not last long. Already Texas-Arlington lost Monday night, and Clemson and Mississippi face each other in San Juan later this week.

SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 - week 5 (12/10)

Stability reigns at the top as the best teams have a winning week. The top five teams all performed admirably last week, as North Carolina, Texas, Memphis, Kansas, and Georgetown all defeated multiple and/or somewhat difficult foes by respectable margins, with little hint of a chance at upset. #6 Duke also played very well, and #8 Washington State scored a rare road win over Gonzaga.

Seventh-rated St. Mary's had a bit of difficulty on its first road trip, and #9 Pittsburgh needed a voided last second shot to stay perfect, but #11 Michigan State beat previously-13th BYU, and UCLA and Marquette took care of business so that the top 12 teams in the rankings remain unchanged.

The SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 for Week 5 (games through 12/9/2007)

lw    #  Team           rec losses; wins vs. top 25
1     1. N. Carolina    8-0 w=BYU+10
2     2. Texas          9-0 w=Tenn+19,w@UCLA+2
3     3. Memphis        7-0
4     4. Kansas         9-0
5     5. Georgetown     7-0
6     6. Duke           9-0 w=Marq+4
7     7. St. Mary's     7-0 wOregon+12,wSeton+15
8     8. Wash. State    9-0 w@Gonz+4
9     9. Pittsburgh     9-0
10   10. UCLA           8-1 L Tex-2;w=MichSt+5
11   11. Michigan St.   8-1 L=UCLA-5;w@BYU+7
12   12. Marquette      6-1 L=Duke-4
15   13. Miami FL       8-0 wProv+6
14   14. Tennessee      8-1 L=Tex-19
18   15. Sam Houston St 8-0
     16. Vanderbilt     9-0 wValpo+9
20   17. Xavier         7-1 L@MiamiOH-2;w=Ind+15
21   18. Oregon         7-1 L@St.Mary's-12
23   19. Indiana        8-1 L=Xav-15
25t  20. Boston College 7-1 L ProvOT;wRI+4
25t  21. Texas A&M      8-1 L@Ariz-11
     22. Rhode Island   9-1 L@BC-4;wProv+17
     23. Valparaiso     8-1 L@Vandy-9
     24. Dayton         7-1 L@GMason-11;w@Lou+5
13   25. BYU            7-2 L=UNC-10,L MichSt-7;w=Lou+2

out:
16       Butler         8-1 L@WrightSt-1
17       Louisville     5-2 L=BYU-2,L Dayton-5
24       Gonzaga        8-2 L=TexTech-10,L WashSt-4
22       Seton Hall     7-2 L@PennSt-3,L@St.Mary's-15
19       Providence     6-3 L@MiamiFL-6,L@RI-17,L SC-1;w@BCot

key: Loss to ranked team
     Loss to unranked team
     Loss to team with losing record
     Win over ranked team
     Win over ranked team who falls out this week

Even beyond the top twelve, there weren't that many losses. BYU suffered its second loss to a top 25 team and fell to #25, but either they or the Spartans had to lose; and Tennessee and Miami won, meaning the top 15 was as perfect as possible.

Not so for previous #16 Butler, who lost a 1-point game to Wright State. The Bulldogs could have stayed in, but it was time to make the top 25 a top 25 again, and not have a tie at the end. Also Valparaiso and undefeated Vanderbilt had priority. This leaves three unranked undefeated teams: Clemson (8-0), Mississippi (7-0) and Texas-Arlington (8-0). With 2-loss BYU hanging on at #25, the rest of these teams should move in next week.

The rest of the teams move up to fill the gaps, with Rhode Island replacing Providence and Dayton taking out Louisville. Also falling out were Gonzaga and Seton Hall.

SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 - week 4

Texas takes another big jump to #2 after last week jumping from 15th to 6th. The Longhorns followed up their 19 point smoking of Tennessee with a win at former #2 UCLA's home court. North Carolina remains #1, and Memphis, Kansas, and Georgetown stay at 3rd, 4th, and 5th.

Duke slides up to #6, but the big news in the top ten is St. Mary's, the "other" West Coast conference team, who now has two big top 25 wins and jumps to #7. The Gaels only have four more games in December, including Southern Illinois; if they can stay undefeated it'll be a helluva matchup on January 5th when they take on #2 Texas. Washington State and Pitt place 8th and 9th, while UCLA slides to 10th.

The SportsRatings College Basketball Top 25 for Week 4 (games through 12/2/2007)

lw    #  Team           rec losses; wins vs. top 25
1     1. N. Carolina    7-0 w=BYU+10
6     2. Texas          7-0 w=Tenn+19,w@UCLA+2
3     3. Memphis        6-0 w=UConn+9,w=Oklahoma+10
4     4. Kansas         7-0 w@USC+4
5     5. Georgetown     5-0
7     6. Duke           8-0 w=Marq+4
12    7. St. Mary's     6-0 wOregon+12,wSeton+15
8     8. Wash. State    7-0
10    9. Pittsburgh     7-0
2    10. UCLA           7-1 L Tex-2;w=MichSt+5
11   11. Michigan St.   6-1 L=UCLA-5
13   12. Marquette      5-1 L=Duke-4
17   13. BYU            6-1 L=UNC-10;w=Lou+2
18   14. Tennessee      7-1 L=Tex-19
     15. Miami FL       7-0 wProv+6
     16. Butler         7-0
21   17. Louisville     5-1 L=BYU-2;wMiaOH+3
     18. Sam Houston St 6-0
     19. Providence     5-1 L@MiamiFL-6;w@BCot
24   20. Xavier         4-1 L@MiamiOH-2;w=Ind+15
25t  21. Oregon         6-1 L@St.Mary's-12
14   22. Seton Hall     6-1 L@St.Mary's-15
25t  23. Indiana        6-1 L=Xav-15
     24. Gonzaga        6-1 L=TexTech-10;w@UConn+3
16   25t Boston College 5-1 L ProvOT
9    25t Texas A&M      7-1 L@Ariz-11

out:
19       Connecticut    5-2 L=Memphis-9,L Gonz-3
23       Miami OH       3-3 L@USC-4,L Dayt-1,L@Lou-3;wXav+2
22       USC            6-2 L Merc-15,L Kans-4;wMiaOH+4,wOK+11
20       Oklahoma       5-2 L@USC-11,L=Memphis-10
15       New Orleans    4-1 L NichollsSt-15

key: Loss to ranked team
     Loss to unranked team
     Loss to team with losing record
     Win over ranked team
     Win over ranked team who falls out this week

Five new teams join (or rejoin) the top 25: Providence, which beat Boston College in overtime, jump in at #19, which leads to undefeated Miami, Florida—the only team to beat Providence—entering just higher, at #15. Pre-season #14 Gonzaga comes back at #24 after beating Connecticut. The Zags lost to Texas Tech, who in turn lost to undefeated Butler and Sam Houston State, who enter at 16th and 18th respectively. By my ranking guidelines, an undefeated team should be ahead of a 1-loss team if the undefeated team has also beaten the team that the 1-loss team lost to. I'm sure that could be stated more clearly, but it's why Butler and Sam Houston deserved their spots this week.

Falling out were Connecticut and Oklahoma, losers to Gonzaga and USC; both also lost to Memphis, taking away both of the Tigers' top 25 wins. Though USC beat the Sooners, they also lost to Kansas and slip from #22 out of the ranking. With undefeated teams still unranked, there's no reason to rank 2-loss teams, especially one that lost to Mercer. New Orleans only has one loss but they fell badly, to Nicholls State. Miami of Ohio fell out because there's only room for one Miami team in the top 25. That, and they have 3 losses now.