College Basketball: B/R Top 25—Explaining My Picks

This week was the first time I voted in Jameson Fleming’s weekly college basketball top 25. I intend to vote in the poll each week for the rest of the season.

I also plan to publish a column a few hours after each poll is published explaining my own picks; I will focus on the selections that differed from the general consensus. This article is the first edition of that column.

It was a big week in college basketball, with a shakeup near the top of the rankings. My top five looked a little different than most—sorry, Cameron Crazies, you won’t be thrilled—but as is often the case, the biggest differences were at the bottom of the poll. 

Below is an explanation of my more controversial picks. My actual top 25 can be found in the comments section. The poll itself can be found here.

North Carolina is still in the top three

Yes, they are winless in the ACC and currently last in the conference. But the Tar Heels can obviously still play.

If voters weren’t willing to punish Carolina much for its loss to BC, why should a loss on the road against a top-five team drop the Tar Heels either? North Carolina proved itself in the non-conference, and one mini-slump isn’t enough to discount what they achieved. One more loss, and things may be different.

UCLA is No. 6?

There was a pretty large gap here, especially for such a highly ranked team—I ranked UCLA No. 6, while the Bruins were ranked No. 11 in the overall poll.

I was impressed by UCLA’s start to Pac-10 play—three road wins to start the conference schedule is not something to take lightly. Oklahoma and Syracuse haven’t been tested much of late (aside from the Sooners’ loss to Arkansas), but if they prove themselves this week, the top 10 could undergo a bit of a shakeup.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?