Winners & Losers from the College Basketball AP Top 25 Rankings in Week 6

In college basketball, early December is a time of relative calm. It is the calm between the storm of preseason tournaments in November and the flurry of intriguing matchups that take place in mid- to late December, after schools have completed final exams.

One of the first such matchups will be No. 5 Florida at No. 8 Arizona, this coming Saturday.

This past week was certainly the most calm and least volatile week of the season to date. Just one team from last week's Top 25 lost in what was the headliner game of the week: Illinois at Gonzaga. 

Illinois came in to the game undefeated and ranked No. 13 but without a real tough test in its run to 9-0. However, the Illini made me eat my words from the past two weeks about their being overrated. After an 85-74 win over the 10th-ranked Bulldogs in Spokane, Illinois has certainly earned its spot in the upper half of this week's AP Top 25.

In a week without a whole lot of movement, which other teams may still be a bit overrated or, conversely, worthy of higher consideration? Here is a look at some such teams, as well as some conferences that are on the winning and losing ends of the Top 25.

Winner: Big Ten

Teams in Top 25: 6

Just looking at the Top 25, the argument about which conference is the best in college basketball isn’t even close to being close.

The Big Ten, with six teams in the Top 25—and four in the Top 10—completely dominates the rankings in comparison to other power conferences.

Indiana remains in the top spot, with 44 votes for No. 1 compared to 20 for Duke, still at No. 2. Michigan holds on to the third spot. 

Ohio State stays at No. 7, and Illinois, which moved into the Top 10 after an impressive win at Gonzaga, comes in at No. 10 in the new polls.

Minnesota slid up a spot to No. 13 while Michigan State stayed at No. 19. That means the Big Ten owns practically a third of the teams currently in the Top 20. The next best-represented league in the Top 20 is the Big East, with four. Another, with three, can be found ahead.

Loser: ACC

Teams in Top 25: 3

Like last week, the ACC has three teams in this week’s Top 25. However, two of those three aren't too far from being out of the rankings altogether.

No. 2 Duke is the only of the three currently in the Top 20. North Carolina, previously No. 20, switched spots with UNLV after the Rebels earned a better win (at Cal) last week, in comparison to UNC’s home win over East Tennessee State.

NC State is still hanging on to a spot in the ranks, at No. 25. The Wolfpack may have been penalized a bit too much for losing to Michigan a couple weeks ago, but they are nonetheless still a ways from their initial preseason No. 6 position.

Virginia Tech, which had been undefeated heading into the weekend, lost a tough one-point game at West Virginia on Saturday.  As a result, the Hokies now join Maryland and Miami as teams barely receiving votes for Top 25 consideration.

With none of those three having any real opportunities to earn quality wins in the next few weeks, the ACC could be stuck with only three, at best, in the Top 25 for a little while.

Winner: Mountain West

Teams in Top 25: 3

As good as the league as a whole has been the past two seasons, things could potentially be even better for the Mountain West this year. 

Thanks to a win over California on Sunday, UNLV slid up one spot to No. 20. The Rebels joined undefeated New Mexico (No. 17) and San Diego State (No. 18) to give the MWC three teams in the Top 20. That is more than three of the six BCS conferences (Big 12, SEC, Pac-12) have in the entire Top 25.

That doesn’t even include Wyoming, another unbeaten (10-0) that sits four spots outside the Top 25 this week.

While it is still very early, the strong work the top MWC teams are doing in their nonconference schedules should prove very beneficial for the league down the road, as the selection committee begins to evaluate suitable candidates for NCAA at-large bids.

Loser: Pac-12

Teams in Top 25: 1

It may not be quite as bad as a year ago, but once again the Pac-12 finds itself losing out among not only the power conferences nationally, but the other strong league out west.

With only undefeated Arizona (No. 8) in this week’s Top 25, the Pac-12 still has a ways to go to restore its reputation after last year’s collectively abysmal season.

Oregon, to its credit, is doing its part to assist in the conference respectability effort. Thanks to a win over UNLV a couple weeks back, the Ducks are first among others receiving votes. If it can take care of Nebraska next weekend, Oregon could slip into next week’s rankings provided someone else above the Ducks loses.

Two other teams had a chance to join Arizona in this week’s rankings with big games over the weekend. However, each came up short. 

The first was Colorado, which would have almost certainly rejoined the ranks with a win at No. 9 Kansas. Instead, the Buffs never came close, ultimately falling 90-54. 

The other was California, which had a slightly more winnable matchup at home against No. 21 UNLV. However, the Bears came up two points shy after allowing an offensive rebound and putback with just a second to go.

So for now, it’s still one-and-done in regards to the Pac-12 and its representation in the Top 25. Hopefully for the league, it’s not the same story come March.

Winner: UNLV

This week: 20; Last week: 21

Last week’s results: Beat Portland 68-60; Beat California 76-75

Make no mistake—UNLV’s last-second victory at Cal on Sunday was a very respectable win. Poll voters recognized this and bumped the Runnin' Rebels up one slot, to No. 20. While the rise is minimal, it is still notable in a week when no team around UNLV lost.

That said, a loss to another Pac-12 team should have the Rebels a bit farther down the Top 25. Oregon beat UNLV in the Las Vegas Invitational a couple weeks ago—not technically a home game for the Rebels, but as close as you can get to one. 

Despite the result, the Ducks are not ranked, though they do lead all teams outside the Top 25 with 177 points among voters. Given that it’s still early in the season, an argument can certainly be made to have Oregon slightly ahead of UNLV within the Top 25. 

Additionally, with Wichita State still being undefeated and Oklahoma State having a better win (NC State) on its resume, UNLV would be a better fit at No. 23. 

Loser: Oklahoma State

This week: 24; Last week: 23

Last week’s results: Beat USF 61-49; Beat Missouri State 62-42

Oklahoma State took care of business on its home court this week with a double-digit win over a solid USF team.

However, not only were the Cowboys not boosted at all in the new rankings, they actually fell one spot. OSU switched spots with Wichita State—which remains undefeated at 9-0—in the Top 25. 

While the Shockers deserve some credit for remaining unbeaten, their lone win last week came against Northern Colorado. That’s not quite the same kind of quality win OSU had.

Additionally, if you believe NC State is better than its No. 25 ranking—which I do—then OSU should probably be given more credit in the polls for its win over the Wolfpack. The Cowboys dominated NC State in a 20-point win in Puerto Rico, a result many other teams in the Top 25 would likely have difficulty attaining.

With only a loss at Virginia Tech—which was undefeated prior to a last-second loss at West Virginia Saturday—and a few quality wins, Oklahoma State is worthy of a spot in the Top 20 at this point.

Winner: Georgetown

This week: 15; Last week: 15

Last week’s results: Beat Texas 64-41; Beat Towson 46-40

It may be a bit unfair to penalize a team whose only loss is to the top team in the country. However, with a couple of recent uninspiring offensive efforts, the case can be made that Georgetown’s current ranking is a bit high.

Georgetown, after two wins this week in which it held its opposition to just 40.5 points per game, remained at No. 15 in the new AP poll. 

Beating Texas by 23 looks great to the casual observer, but Texas doesn’t exactly look great on the court at this point. The two games around that win should be of particular concern, as the Hoyas survived woeful offensive showings in beating Tennessee (37-36) and Towson (46-40) in D.C. 

While Towson is not nearly as bad as the one-win team from a year ago—thanks in big part to Georgetown transfer Jerrelle Benimon—the Hoyas have no business struggling that much in a game they should easily win.

Those two games aside, the overall profile of Georgetown is perhaps more bark than bite. 

If Texas or Tennessee—two teams who are a combined 9-7—isn’t the best win to date, a victory over then-No. 11 UCLA, in Brooklyn, would have to be the default choice. However, that win doesn’t look nearly as good now as it did at the time. 

Therefore, the combination of less-than-stellar wins, along with the diminished quality of wins thus far, should have Georgetown several spots lower in the polls than it currently sits.

Loser: Louisville

This week: 6; Last week: 5

Last week’s results: Beat College of Charleston 80-38; Beat UMKC 99-47

After a tight three-point win at home to unranked Illinois State, Louisville remained in the No. 5 spot in last week’s rankings.

However, after two wins by a combined 94 points, the Cardinals somehow fell out of the Top Five this week. They switched spots with Florida, who moved up to the No. 5 spot after a blowout win of its own, at Florida State. While Florida beat a better team than either one Louisville faced last week, the Cardinals couldn’t have done much more to hold their rank.

The first of Louisville’s two wins last week came on the road, over a Charleston team that won at Baylor back in November. The Cardinals couldn’t have looked much better in that game, yet they managed to win by an even bigger margin (54) on Saturday.

Florida, unlike Louisville, is undefeated. The Gators have handled each of their tests—including Wisconsin and Marquette prior to FSU—in outstanding fashion thus far. However, Florida hasn’t faced a team the caliber of Duke, the only blemish on the Cardinals’ season to date.

Also, Louisville’s best win thus far—over Missouri (now No. 12)—is better than that of Florida, which has no wins over teams currently ranked.

Based on all that, Louisville’s drop out of the Top Five—though mainly aesthetic—was unjust.

Loser: Wyoming

This week: NR; Last week: NR

Last week’s results: Beat Illinois State 81-67; Beat Panhandle State 74-55 (Division II team)

A week ago, it was understandable to think unbeaten Wyoming was still a bit of a “home-court hero,” and not a team worth serious consideration for the Top 25. 

A week later, an excellent win on the road to remain unbeaten should prove the Cowboys are right there with some of the teams at the cusp of the rankings. However, Wyoming still struggled to garner a major block of votes despite owning one of the better wins—a 14-point win at Illinois State—of anyone playing within the past week.

Wyoming remains outside the Top 25 this week, ranking fourth among unranked teams receiving votes, with 15. It is a bit of a gain from a week ago (five points then), but the Cowboys remain well behind two teams with more name recognition than substance—Pittsburgh and Kentucky. The Panthers earned 177 points, the Wildcats 44, putting them in the two spots directly in front of Wyoming in the “extended rankings.”

Leaving the whole undefeated mark out of it, the Cowboys have knocked off Colorado, a recent Top 20 team, and Illinois State, which nearly knocked off No. 5 Louisville a week ago. 

Pittsburgh’s best win is either Lehigh or Delaware, two solid mid-major teams but not quite the level of teams Wyoming has beaten. Kentucky has a respectable neutral-site win over Maryland, but little else to really brag about.

I’m not necessarily saying Wyoming—now one of just 13 unbeaten teams— should be in this week’s Top 25. I would say it deserved a bit more support after two very quality wins within the past two weekends.

Loser: Butler

This week: NR; Last week: NR

Last week’s results: Beat IUPUI 87-55; Beat Northwestern 74-65

Like Wyoming, I wouldn’t quite argue Butler deserves a spot in the Top 25. However, it does also deserve stronger consideration.

After a solid win at Northwestern—which was fresh off a big win at Baylor—on Saturday, Butler earned just five points in this week’s AP polls. That’s actually a decline from last week, when the Bulldogs had 18. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?

Look at Butler’s wins of note this season, and you could argue they are better than those of Florida, now ranked fifth. 

The Bulldogs earned a very nice pair of wins in Maui, over Marquette and then-No. 9 North Carolina. They proceeded to lose the final game of the tournament to Illinois, but that result should carry no penalty at all given the Illini are now in the Top 10 themselves. 

Throw in the recent win over Illinois’ Big Ten counterpart, Northwestern, and Butler makes a strong case for being just outside the Top 25 with three quality wins away from home.

Florida, on the other hand, has stomped its toughest competitors—Florida State, Wisconsin and, like Butler, Marquette. However, the latter two wins came at home, while none of Butler’s did.

I’m certainly not saying Butler is better than Florida, but the comparison of the two’s wins should help show that the Bulldogs deserve to be a bit closer to being ranked.