College Basketball AP Top 25: Biggest Surprises from Week 4 Poll

The AP Top 25 has been released for Week 4 of the college basketball season, and no doubt it has left a few teams scratching their heads.

There are a few jarring notes in the melody that is college basketball's Top 25, and they come as massive surprises.

These are those huge surprises from the fourth poll of the season.

Ohio State Falls in the Poll After Blowout Win

Ohio State was ranked No. 3 in the country in the Week 3 poll, and did nothing to warrant its drop in the rankings this week.

The team destroyed UMKC in its only game of the week, winning 91-45. The Buckeyes more than doubled their opponent, and displayed dominance throughout.

After No. 2 Louisville lost to No. 5 Duke, you might have expected the Buckeyes to move up the poll, or at least hold steady if Duke's second top five victory earned the team the No. 2 ranking. However, the team fell to No. 4, being surpassed by both those Blue Devils and the Michigan Wolverines.

Ohio State is now the third-highest team ranked in the Big Ten, despite going 4-0 on the season and winning by an average of 24.8 points.

The Buckeyes have a game against Duke on Wednesday, and with a win the team should move to No. 2 in the ranking, but it should already be closer to that ranking.

Illinois Passes San Diego State

There is no doubt in my mind that Illinois belongs in the Top 25. The team is 7-0 on the season, and won the Maui Invitational.

However, the team has not earned its ranking above San Diego State.

The Aztecs lost the first game of the season against Syracuse, but have won every game since by an average of 23.0 points. The team won two more games this week to improve to 4-1 after being ranked No. 25 in the country last week.

However, the Aztecs were passed by Illinois, who did not even receive a single vote to be in the AP Top 25 last week.

Where Illinois passed at least 24 teams this week, SDSU moved up just two spots to No. 23.

Illinois has yet to beat a ranked team. Can someone please explain to me how the team could have possibly passed San Diego State?

Louisville Is Still the Highest Ranked Team in the Big East

I'm not quite sure how Louisville has managed to stay ahead of Syracuse for the highest ranking in the Big East this week.

The Cardinals lost to No. 5 Duke, and while that in and of itself is not enough for the team to slip behind the Orange, the Cards haven't even been impressive in their victories, beating Northern Iowa by just five points.

Syracuse, on the other hand, has been showing superior depth, with four players scoring double-digit points and nine players playing double-digit minutes per game. The team beat No. 20 San Diego State by 13, and then reeled off three more victories by an average of 29.0 points per game.

Syracuse has been much more impressive than Louisville this season behind the elite play of sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams, and it is a crime to have the Cardinals still ranked ahead of the Orange.

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