Two top ten teams fell last week, one of which was expected, the other, not. First the not: ex-#4 Duke, who beat Michigan just the day before (so it seemed), fell to the Wolverines in Ann Arbor 81-73 due to woeful 3pt shooting. This happened on the heels of Michigan losing to Maryland for their 2nd loss, and Duke handing Purdue its second loss, so now Duke has no top 25 wins...due to their own actions. They drop to 18th to clear the way for teams with better early résumés, but they'll probably be back up in no time.
SportsRatings Top 25 - Week 4 (thru 12/07/2008) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
lw |
# |
Team |
Rec |
Big wins/losses |
1 |
1. |
North Carolina | 8-0 |
w=NotreDame+15,@MichSt+35 |
2 |
2. |
Connecticut | 8-0 |
|
3 |
3. |
Wake Forest | 8-0 |
w=Baylor+9 |
5 |
4. |
Xavier | 7-0 |
w=Memphis+5 |
6 |
5. |
Villanova | 8-0 |
|
7 |
6. |
Oklahoma | 8-0 |
w=PurdueOT |
9 |
7. |
Gonzaga | 6-0 |
w=Tennessee+9 |
10 |
8. |
Syracuse | 8-0 |
w@Kansas+8,=Florida+6 |
11 |
9. |
Pittsburgh | 9-0 |
|
12 |
10. |
Dayton | 8-0 |
w=Marquette+14 |
13 |
11. |
Memphis | 5-1 |
L=Xavier-5 |
14 |
12. |
Tennessee | 6-1 |
L=Gonzaga-9 |
16 |
13. |
Kansas | 7-1 |
L Syracuse-8 |
-- |
14. |
Butler | 7-0 |
wNorthwestern+4 |
-- |
15. |
Ohio State | 5-0 |
w=NotreDame+5 |
19 |
16. |
Texas | 6-1 |
L=NotreDame-1;wUCLA+4 |
21 |
17. |
Baylor | 7-1 |
L=Wake-13;w=ArizSt+9 |
4 |
18. |
Duke | 7-1 |
L@Mich-8;w=Mich+15,@Pur+16 |
20 |
19. |
Marquette | 7-1 |
L=Dayton-14 |
-- |
20. |
Northwestern | 6-1 |
L@Butler-4;wFSU+14 |
8 |
21. |
Florida State | 8-1 |
L@Nwestern-14;wFlorida+2 |
22 |
22. |
Arizona State | 7-1 |
L=Baylor-9 |
25t |
23. |
Louisville | 4-1 |
L WKy-14 |
-- |
24. |
Clemson | 9-0 |
|
-- |
25. |
BYU | 8-0 |
|
| out: | ||||
18 |
-- |
Notre Dame | 6-2 |
L=OhioSt-5,=UNC-15;w=Tex+1 |
15 |
-- |
Florida | 6-2 |
L=Syracuse-6,@FSU-2 |
17 |
-- |
Purdue | 5-2 |
L=OklahomaOT,Duke-16 |
23 |
-- |
Michigan | 5-2 |
L@Mary-5,=Duke-15;w=UCLA+3 |
24 |
-- |
UCLA | 4-2 |
L=Mich-3,@Texas-4 |
25t |
-- |
Michigan State | 4-2 |
L=Maryland-18,UNC-35 |
The other top ten that lost I predicted last week: Florida State, which I believe will be a very good team by the end of the year, was a bit overrated here (to put it mildly), not performing well and finally lost a game (to Northwestern, who enters at #20). But they saved themselves by beating Florida, handing the Gators their second loss and sending them out of the rankings. Florida and Purdue both have two losses to ranked teams so will be among the first 2-loss teams that get back in. The Seminoles fall to #21.
North Carolina solidified their lock on the #1 spot with a 35-point win over Michigan State that sent the Spartans packing, making them the third Big Ten team to drop from the rankings (but two entered as well). Connecticut and Wake Forest remain the next two, while Xavier and Villanova move up a slot to fill out the top five.
Oklahoma, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Dayton all remained undefeated and complete the top ten. Memphis, Tennessee, and Kansas follow; each has a single loss to one of the top ten teams.
The top debuts this week are #14 Butler (7-0), who previously beat Northwestern, and #15 Ohio State (5-0). The Buckeyes edged Notre Dame 67-62, which is better than #16 Texas can say, though the Longhorns defeated UCLA and knocked the Bruins out of the top 25 along with the Irish.
Clemson and BYU took advantage of the fact that six teams fell out this week to make their entry at the last two positions. Both teams are undefeated and rank high in one power rating or the other: The Tigers are #1 in Success, meaning at 9-0 they are the top team when only wins and losses (not margin of victory) are considered, and the Cougars are #11 in Strength, meaning they've been impressive in dispatching their eight foes so far.
This leaves four undefeated teams not yet in the rankings: Minnesota, LSU, Illinois State, and Stanford, who has played only four games so far this season. Will they make it next week? We'll soon find out...
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