Winners and Losers from the AP College Basketball Top 25 Rankings in Week 4

The Associated Press Top 25 rankings for Week 4 of the college basketball season are hot off the press and chock full of winners and losers.

Things were pretty sedated up top, but it was all sorts of topsy-turvy in the bottom half of the poll. With early-season tournaments playing out across the country, the top 12 teams from last week's poll went a combined 29-1 (sorry, North Carolina), but the bottom 13 teams churned out a record of 22-12.

As a result, five teams dropped out of the Top 25, including one (VCU) that was ranked No. 14 a week ago and one (Florida) that was ranked No. 8 two weeks back.

While teams ranked 13-25 were trying to play their way out of the poll, others receiving votes were painting masterpieces in the third week of the season.

Utah won three games by a combined 105 points to get back onto the AP's good side. Butler had a great showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis to become a ranked team, Maryland won the CBE Classic and Illinois won the Las Vegas Invitational to sneak into the Top 25. Others, like Northern Iowa, Providence, Washington and Oklahoma State, captured our attention but failed to quite earn a ranking this week.

However, new arrivals barely begin to scratch the surface of this week's biggest winners and losers.

Winner: Big Ten

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Save for a few exceptions—Indiana losing at home to Eastern Washington, Rutgers getting embarrassed by Saint Peter's before scoring 26 against Virginia—it was a pretty dandy week to be a part of the Big Ten.

In what was billed for months as the best early-season tournament, Wisconsin was crowned the champion of the Battle 4 Atlantis after going through UAB, Georgetown and Oklahoma.

More on that tournament in a moment, but it was an impressive run for the Badgers even though it wasn't anywhere near the gauntlet it could have been. Wisconsin remains No. 2 in the country and actually padded its lead over No. 3 Arizona from a margin of three votes to a margin of 23 votes.

Elsewhere in early-season tournament action, Illinois bested Indiana State and Baylor to win the Las Vegas Invitational, jumping from five votes in last week's AP poll to 104 and the No. 24 ranking this week.

Maryland also won a four-team field, introducing itself back to the nation by taking care of both Arizona State and Iowa State in the CBE Classic. The Terrapins were shut out of last week's poll but picked up enough votes to debut at No. 21 this week.

Michigan State wasn't quite able to win the Orlando Classic, falling to Kansas in the championship game. However, the Spartans had a great showing this week. They won three games by double digits and were able to jump from No. 20 to No. 19 despite the loss.

Lastly, Ohio State wasn't even remotely challenged this week against Campbell and James Madison, but the Buckeyes gained 202 votes and jumped from No. 16 to No. 14.

When the season began, the Big Ten was Wisconsin and "Take Your Pick" for spots two through eight. That's arguably still the case, but now it's a matter of there being too many quality teams to choose from as opposed to the preseason issue of no one truly standing out as a contender.

Loser: Battle 4 Atlantis

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The eight teams competing in the Battle 4 Atlantis entered the tournament with a combined record of 24-4.

Due to the brutality of a tournament structure with a consolation bracket, they were destined to finish that three-day stretch with 12 more losses. Even operating under the (correct) assumption that UAB would go 0-3, that still left nine losses to be divvied up among seven quality teams.

Even presented with those mathematics, we certainly weren't expecting some of these teams to suffer as many losses as they did.

North Carolina got the party started with a loss to Butler in the very first game of the tournament. As a result, the Tar Heels were the only top-12 team to suffer a loss this week. Despite immediately redeeming themselves in impressive fashion against UCLA and Florida, the Tar Heels dropped from No. 5 to No. 12.

Speaking of the Bruins and Gators, they went a combined 0-4 against teams not named UAB.

UCLA debuted in the polls at No. 22 last week but quickly vanished after receiving just three votes this week.

It only took 14 days for Billy Donovan's squad to drop from No. 8 to unranked. The Gators have looked dreadful over the past two weeks. Even their wins over Louisiana-Monroe and UAB could have been losses just as easily. Maybe they eventually turn things around, but Florida isn't even remotely a shell of what it was supposed to be this year.

At least somebody benefited from the tournament, though. Oklahoma got back into the Top 25 at No. 22 after coming in 26th place in last week's poll, and Butler made its season debut at No. 23 after getting a goose egg in last week's poll.

Winner: Virginia Cavaliers

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Virginia allowed a total of 118 points this week.

For most teams playing two games, allowing 59 points per game would be a pretty solid average. In fact, only six teams in the entire country conceded fewer than 59 points per game last season.

However, the Cavaliers played three games, meaning they allowed 39.3 points per game. Through seven games, they haven't allowed a single opponent to score more than 56 points.

The offense still has some work to do. That much was on display on Saturday night as they scored just 45 points against Rutgers but still managed to win the game by 19. But according to KenPom.com (subscription required), that was the first game this season in which they didn't average at least one point per possession.

After beating the Scarlet Knights, head coach Tony Bennett told reporters, "We were really laboring offensively. That was obvious. You just say be as great as we can defensively."

Virginia probably won't score 80 points in a game this season, but it also might not allow a single opponent to score 65 in a game.

The Cavaliers' two biggest tests before 2015 will both come this week in road games against Maryland and VCU. They'll carry the badge of the No. 7 team in the country into those battles.

Loser: Virginia Commonwealth Rams

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No one can seem to figure out Virginia's defense, but teams have been ripping through Virginia Commonwealth's once-feared defense like it isn't even there.

Yes, VCU caused some serious issues for an Oregon team that still doesn't have a true point guard, but the Rams couldn't get anything going in the other two games they played this week. In games against Villanova and Old Dominion, they allowed an average of 75.0 points while recording only eight steals combined.

In the loss to Old Dominion, the Monarchs simply couldn't miss. They shot 52.9 percent from three-point range and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line while committing just 12 turnovers.

In the loss to Villanova, the Rams recorded just three steals for the first time since January of 2012.

Through three games, VCU was averaging 13.7 steals per game. The competition was certainly better this week, but it's beyond uncommon for the Rams to go three straight games without recording so much as seven steals.

And as great as their full-court defense usually is, the Rams are woefully incapable of playing half-court defense. Mo Alie-Cox is built like a tight end, but 6'6" centers aren't exactly the best at stopping odd-man rushes. Avoid throwing the ball within eight feet of Briante Weber, and it hasn't been very difficult to score on VCU.

Things aren't about to get any easier, either. VCU's next five games are against Illinois State, Virginia, Northern Iowa, Belmont and Cincinnati.

The Rams dropped just outside the Top 25 from No. 14, but they might not sniff the polls again this season if they don't figure out how to defend in a hurry.

Winner: Miami Hurricanes

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For narrowly winning a second game against Charlotte in 48 hours and somewhat comfortably taking care of business against South Alabama, the Miami Hurricanes improved to 7-0 and jumped two spots to No. 15 in this week's AP Poll.

This marks the second straight week in which Miami is one of the biggest winners.

Last week, the Hurricanes picked up a shocking road win over Florida before rampaging through the Charleston Classic, winning all three games by at least 18 points each.

They absolutely earned their ranking.

Now it's time to defend it.

Over the next three weeks, Miami plays four very difficult games that could trip up even the greatest of teams.

This week, the Hurricanes have home games against Illinois (in the ACC/B1G Challenge) and Green Bay before getting a bit of a night off against Savannah State. After that, they host an Eastern Kentucky team that is among the best in the nation at forcing turnovers and play a neutral-court game against a Providence team that absolutely manhandled Florida State last week.

Miami has an excellent backcourt between Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan and Manu Lecomte (44.9 combined points per game), but whether the 'Canes continue to excel could well be in the hands of Tonye Jekiri. The big man is averaging 8.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

Loser: Creighton Bluejays

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Like UCLA, Creighton spent just one week in the AP Poll before disappearing.

Unlike UCLA, there's a good chance that the Bluejays will be ranked once again next Monday. Road games against Tulsa and Nebraska look great on paper, but both of those schools are struggling to put it together right now.

Meanwhile, Creighton has adjusted to life after Doug McDermott quite well.

In lieu of three-point bomb after three-point bomb from McDermott and Ethan Wragge, Creighton has buckled down and focused on fundamentals like defensive rebounding and contesting without fouling.

It worked pretty well in upsetting Oklahoma two weeks ago, but it wasn't enough to slow down Jarvis Summers, Ladarius White and the Ole Miss Rebels in the Emerald Coast Classic.

Truth be told, that game was more a testament to the strength of Ole Miss than the weakness of Creighton. We expected the Rebels to be one of the better teams in the SEC this season, but quickly abandoned that belief when they opened the season with a home loss to Charleston Southern. But they evidently just needed a little time for all the transfers to jell, because they're firing on all cylinders at the moment.

The AP voters seem to disagree, though, as Creighton went from 148 votes last Monday to just 29 this week.

Winner: New Arrivals

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With VCU, Florida, UCLA, Creighton and Connecticut all dropping out of the Top 25, there were five new teams in this week's poll.

There were a couple of oldies but goodies, as Oklahoma and Utah reappeared after falling by the wayside last week, but the main focus here is on the three brand-new teams in the rankings.

Maryland (No. 21) was already mentioned earlier on the Big Ten's slide, but the Terrapins warrant the excessive praise after a 4-0 week that included a neutral-court win over Iowa State in the CBE Classic championship.

Maryland had five players transfer away from the program this offseason and has already dealt with injuries to just about every key returning player, but it hasn't slowed the Terrapins down. Without Dez Wells, they have a huge test coming up on Wednesday against Virginia.

Another Big Ten team that made its debut this week was Illinois (No. 24).

The Illini beat Indiana State and Baylor in the Las Vegas Invitational to continue their early streak of playing exceptionally on both ends of the court. They have a huge showdown at Miami in a battle between two of the most surprising success stories of November.

Last, but certainly not least, let's give it up for Butler (No. 23). Coming off a positively dreadful 2013-14 season, the Bulldogs picked up a huge win this week over North Carolina before also topping Georgetown in the Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game.

Getting Roosevelt Jones back in the mix after missing all of last season has been a huge benefit. He still can't shoot his way out of a paper bag, but Jones is averaging 9.2 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for the surprisingly 5-1 Bulldogs.

Let's also give a quick shoutout to Northern Iowa, as the Panthers only missed the Top 25 by five votes.

They won the Cancun Challenge by comfortably beating Virginia Tech and Northwestern by 19 points each before holding off a scrappy Richmond team on Sunday afternoon.

Seth Tuttle is right up there with UCSB's Alan Williams on the list of unheralded seniors on mid-major programs. He has scored at least 11 points in each of Northern Iowa's first seven games of the season—all wins.

Loser: Iowa State Cyclones

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Well, it certainly didn't take long for us to start worrying about Iowa State's defense (or lack thereof).

The Cyclones play at a fast pace, so they're naturally going to allow more points per game than your average team. However, according to KenPom.com (subscription required), Iowa State has allowed 286 points on 288 possessions. That equates to 0.99 points per possession (PPP)

Just for sake of comparison, Iowa has allowed 403 points on 487 possessions for a PPP of 0.83, and the Hawkeyes aren't exactly a defensive juggernaut.

The Cyclones did a great job of holding R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow in check when they hosted Georgia State two weeks ago, but they have really struggled in their other three games, culminating in the loss to Maryland in the CBE championship game on Tuesday.

They allowed 1.07 PPP to a Terrapins team that recorded 1.03 PPP against Fordham and 1.05 PPP against Monmouth in home games in the past two weeks.

Iowa State normally has an outstanding offense to make up for that defensive deficiency, but the Cyclones shot just 29.7 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from three-point range against Maryland. It may well be the only time they score fewer than 70 points in a game this season, but it was enough of an eyesore to drop them seven spots to No. 20 in this week's poll.

Winner: Kansas Jayhawks

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The game log suggests that Kansas lost a game by 32 points a couple of weeks ago, but that seems like a misprint compared to the product the Jayhawks have put on the court for the past seven days.

They had six days to put the Kentucky loss behind them and restarted their season in impressive fashion.

In a tuneup for the Orlando Classic, they annihilated Rider by a score of 87-60. The same team that couldn't buy a two-point bucket against Kentucky went 25-of-35 inside the arc against Rider. Everyone got in on the action, too, with no individual player attempting as many as eight shots.

Then in Orlando, Kansas beat an under-the-radar Rhode Island team by 16 points and a struggling-but-competitive Tennessee squad by 15, setting up the ideal championship showdown with Michigan State.

Shooting was an issue against the Spartans—particularly for Wayne Selden Jr., who put an 0-of-10 in the box score—but the Jayhawks were able to survive a defensive struggle to win by a score of 61-56.

They didn't make a huge jump—the Jayhawks went from 981 votes to 1,063—but they didn't drop very far after the Champions Classic in the first place. Rather, this week reinforced the AP voters' decision to continue to believe in Kansas.

NBC Sports' Rob Dauster named the Jayhawks his team of the week, writing, "This was the bounce back that the Jayhawks needed."

He added, "Kansas still has a ways to go, however. Until Wayne Selden works through his shooting issues and Devonte’ Graham and Kelly Oubre find a way to be significant contributors, this team can only go so far."

Loser: Mountain West Conference

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Kudos to the AP voters for doing the right thing and moving San Diego State up two lines despite a loss to Arizona. That Maui Invitational championship game was one of the best of the season thus far, and it showed that San Diego State has some serious staying power.

But why do these 65 people hate the rest of the Mountain West so much?

Wyoming is 6-0 and has one of the ugliest and most dominant wins of the year on its resume, boasting a 56-33 victory over a Colorado team that was probably going to be ranked before suffering that loss. The Cowboys also have a nice win over New Mexico State. But they only received 10 votes while maligned teams like Connecticut (76 votes), VCU (52) and Florida (40) still got some respect.

Worse yet, Colorado State didn't get a single vote.

We can appreciate the fact that nobody stayed awake to watch the Rams win any of their three games in the Great Alaska Shootout, but at least check the box scores, for crying out loud. The Rams are now 6-0 with wins over Georgia State, Mercer, UC Santa Barbara, Missouri State, Pacific and Montana.

TCU even got two votes for being 7-0, and the best win of the season for the Horned Frogs was a neutral-court game against a Mississippi State that the entire world assumed in the preseason would finish in dead last in the SEC.

The Mountain West deserved better.

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.