College Basketball Rankings 2014-15: Bleacher Report's Week 11 Top 25
That's more like it.
The first full week of January was fraught with massive upsets and dozens of other games that nearly served to further amplify the chaos.
This week was much more sedated.
Sure, Duke suffered a home loss to Miami in blowout fashion that had the entire world wondering what the man with 997 (now 998) career wins could possibly do to fix things, but that was the only instance of a team in our Top 19 losing to a team outside our Top 25. And the Blue Devils bounced back nicely with a road win over Louisville to remain near the top of the poll.
Perhaps most notable, though, is that Kentucky is back to looking like Kentucky, which is bad news for the SEC teams who temporarily thought the Wildcats might be vulnerable. With Arkansas dropping out of the Top 25, No. 1 Kentucky is the only team representing its conference in this week's rankings.
Elsewhere, two Big Ten teams fell by the wayside, but a new pair of teams jumped in to replace them. Thus far, parity has been a good thing for that conference. We'll see if that's still the case when the selection committee is mulling over the resumes of Big Ten teams with 7-10 conference losses.
Teams Dropped from Rankings: Arkansas (20), Michigan State (23), Ohio State (24)
Others Considered: SMU, Georgetown, Georgia, Saint Mary's, Ohio State, Stanford
Nos. 25-21: San Diego State-Dayton
1 of 17
25. San Diego State
Record: 14-4, 4-1
Previous rank: Not ranked
After three consecutive wins over New Mexico, Wyoming and UNLV, it's time to welcome the Aztecs back to our Top 25. They still don't play much of anything resembling offense, but they have one of the best defenses in the country and are the favorites to win the Mountain West Conference—even with the inexplicable loss to Fresno State on their resume.
24. Indiana
Record: 14-4, 4-1
Previous rank: Not ranked
The search for the second-best team in the Big Ten has now become the search for the third-best team, and the Hoosiers are one of the primary candidates after Sunday's road win over Illinois. If they can also pick up wins over Maryland and Ohio State this week, it may become necessary to reopen the second-best argument.
23. Baylor
Record: 13-4, 2-3
Previous rank: 22
Despite a sub-.500 conference record, we just can't seem to quit the Bears. At least they finally picked up a marquee win this week against Iowa State. Now for the big question: Why in the world are they playing a D-II school this Wednesday?
22. Iowa
Record: 13-5, 4-1
Previous rank: Not ranked
The Hawkeyes finished off a season sweep of Ohio State this week while also winning a road game over Minnesota. Throw in the road win over North Carolina in December that just keeps looking better and the Hawkeyes are suddenly looking very strong despite five losses.
21. Dayton
Record: 15-2, 5-0
Previous rank: 25
The Flyers are 13-1 since late November with nothing but a completely understandable road loss to Arkansas working against them. They still haven't played any of the upper echelon teams in the A-10, but that'll change this week when they travel to Davidson.
Nos. 20-16: Northern Iowa-Wichita State
2 of 17
20. Northern Iowa
Record: 16-2, 5-1
Previous rank: 19
The Panthers finished an extremely easy four-game stretch this week with comfortable wins over Bradley (6-13) and Missouri State (8-10). Upcoming games against Indiana State and Illinois State should provide more of a challenge.
19. Oklahoma
Record: 12-5, 3-2
Previous rank: 14
The Sooners responded to last weekend's loss at home to Kansas State by immediately getting blown out by West Virginia. They bounced back with a nice home win over Oklahoma State, but the damage was done. Road games this week against Kansas and Baylor will give them one heck of a chance to regain our confidence.
18. West Virginia
Record: 15-3, 3-2
Previous rank: 18
What do you do with a team that beats Oklahoma by 21 points before losing to Texas by 27 points? Nothing, apparently. After perhaps the most schizophrenic week of the entire season, we're giving the Mountaineers a mulligan and leaving them at No. 18 for a second straight week.
17. Texas
Record: 13-4, 2-2
Previous rank: 21
As mentioned moments ago, Texas destroyed West Virginia this week. It was the only game the Longhorns played after getting beaten by double digits by both Oklahoma schools the prior week. The Big 12 is weird, man.
16. Wichita State
Record: 16-2, 6-0
Previous rank: 17
The Shockers played what should have been one of their toughest games of the Missouri Valley season this week, but made it look easy in winning at Evansville by a 20-point margin. Jan. 31 at Northern Iowa is still the big one standing between them and another perfect MVC record.
15. Virginia Commonwealth Rams
3 of 17
Record: 15-3, 5-0 (32 points)
Previous rank: 15
Results since last poll: at Rhode Island (W 65-60); at Duquesne (W 70-64)
Games this week: at Saint Louis
Duquesne is pretty awful, but we're not worried about that close road game played without Treveon Graham.
Since losing three of their first eight games—to a collection of teams (Old Dominion, Villanova and Virginia) that currently boast a combined record of 48-3—the Rams have won 10 straight by getting back to work on defense.
They forced just 12 turnovers in the loss to Old Dominion and managed only nine against Villanova. Over the past 10 games, though, they have forced an average of 17.6 turnovers per game.
Keep defending like this and it's hard to imagine VCU losing an A-10 game.
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14. Louisville Cardinals
4 of 17
Record: 15-3, 3-2 (38 points)
Previous rank: 9
Results since last poll: vs. Virginia Tech (W 78-63); vs. Duke (L 52-63)
Games this week: at Pittsburgh
Their losses (vs. Kentucky, vs. Duke and at North Carolina) aren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it's time to start asking who the Cardinals have actually beaten.
Does that home win over Ohio State still look good now that the Buckeyes were swept by Iowa? It's either that or the neutral-court win over Indiana that stands as Louisville's best win of the year.
We were OK with that until the Cardinals demonstrated repeatedly against Duke that they can't even make open jump shots. Focus exclusively on taking away Montrezl Harrell and this team is extremely beatable.
Granted, there aren't many teams with the talent or depth to actually shut him down, but it's hard for us to continue to view the Cardinals as an elite team until they get some consistent play from their backcourt and actually beat a quality team.
13. North Carolina Tar Heels
5 of 17
Record: 14-4, 4-1 (38 points)
Previous rank: 13
Results since last poll: at North Carolina State (W 81-79); vs. Virginia Tech (W 68-53)
Games this week: at Wake Forest; vs. Florida State
It was a home game against Virginia Tech, so, you know, grain of salt, but Justin Jackson had 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Marcus Paige had a "there's the star we were expecting" kind of night against North Carolina State on Wednesday with 23 points, nine assists, five rebounds, four steals and no turnovers.
Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson have been playing well in the paint all season long, helping the Tar Heels remain in the Top 15 despite not getting any consistent production out of their backcourt.
If Paige and Jackson are finally going to start meeting the expectations we had for them before the season, look out.
12. Kansas Jayhawks
6 of 17
Record: 14-3, 3-1 (40 points)
Previous rank: 10
Results since last poll: vs. Oklahoma State (W 67-57); at Iowa State (L 81-86)
Games this week: vs. Oklahoma; at Texas
There's no shame in losing by single digits in Hilton Coliseum, so the Jayhawks only drop a couple of spots after becoming the final Big 12 team to drop a conference game.
It was disturbing, though, how easy it was for Iowa State to get buckets in the paint without doing much of anything on the offensive glass. Jameel McKay has played a whole seven games in his D-I college career, but Kansas did nothing to stop him from being one of six Cyclones to score at least 11 points.
That's been the key in Kansas' three losses. Iowa State shot 53.7 percent inside the arc and blocked seven shots. Temple shot 75 percent from two-point range in its rout of the Jayhawks. Kentucky "only" shot 47.5 percent against them in the Champions Classic, but the Wildcats had 15 offensive rebounds and 11 blocks.
Even if his motor isn't running at full speed, you have to wonder why Cliff Alexander isn't getting more minutes when this team clearly needs help in the paint.
11. Iowa State Cyclones
7 of 17
Record: 13-3, 3-1 (46 points)
Previous rank: 12
Results since last poll: at Baylor (L 73-74); vs. Kansas (W 86-81)
Games this week: vs. Kansas State; at Texas Tech
The Big 12 may be the best conference in the country, but it sure does seem hellbent on making sure that no individual member gets too ingrained in the national title conversation.
We have six Big 12 teams in our Top 25—and Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU are each likely one big win away from also getting into the conversation—but Iowa State is the conference's highest ranked team at No. 11.
The Cyclones would have gotten more for winning a huge game against Kansas, but they also lost that game to Baylor earlier in the week.
You get the feeling that's how it's going to go all season long in this conference. Two-win weeks will be few and far between as Texas Tech goes 0-18 and every other Big 12 team finishes within two games of 10-8.
For now, though, Iowa State is the top dog, and it should be able to slightly distance itself from the pack this week with a home game against Kansas State and a road matchup against Texas Tech.
10. Maryland Terrapins
8 of 17
Record: 17-2, 5-1 (49 points)
Previous rank: 16
Results since last poll: vs. Rutgers (W 73-65); vs. Michigan State (W 75-59)
Games this week: at Indiana; vs. Northwestern
Flash back 10 weeks and imagine predicting that Dez Wells will miss seven games with a fractured wrist, yet Maryland will open the season 17-2 with a win over Iowa State and a season sweep of Michigan State.
Imagine trying to argue—after losing five talented transfers and a highly rated freshman—that if the Terrapins aren't the second-best team in the Big Ten by mid-January, it's only because they're actually the best.
Even diehard Maryland fans would have asked what exactly you were smoking, but it happened nonetheless.
At this point, Maryland has been so impressive that the most surprising thing about this season was the road loss to Illinois sans Rayvonte Rice. It was one of the only times this season that the Terps really looked beatable.
9. Utah Utes
9 of 17
Record: 14-3, 4-1 (50 points)
Previous rank: 8
Results since last poll: at Arizona State (W 76-59); at Arizona (L 51-69)
Games this week: vs. Washington State; vs. Washington
Last year, the Utes mastered the art of playing close Pac-12 games. Of their 18 regular-season conference games, 12 were decided by single digits. Unfortunately, they went 4-8 in those games.
Through five Pac-12 games this season, Utah has yet to play one decided by less than 17 points. Too bad the most recent one was the only loss of the bunch.
In absolutely destroying USC, UCLA, Colorado and Arizona State, the Utes rapidly ascended from "moderately better than expected" to "legitimate threat to win both the Pac-12 and NCAA titles."
Was that an overreaction to every other noteworthy team in the country facing at least one big scare early in conference play, or was Saturday's game against Arizona just a case of a very good team making sure we remember that there are two national title contenders in the Pac-12?
That remains to be determined, but the Utes have only been beaten in road games against teams currently ranked in our Top 25—and two of those three games came right down to the wire.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10 of 17
Record: 17-2, 5-1 (53 points)
Previous rank: 11
Results since last poll: at Georgia Tech (W 62-59); vs. Miami (W 75-70)
Games this week: at Virginia Tech; at North Carolina State
Proof positive that there are no easy games in the ACC, Notre Dame trailed by as many as 12 points against both Georgia Tech and Miami before fighting back to earn narrow victories.
To be fair, the Fighting Irish were playing with less than a full deck. Zach Auguste was suspended for the game against Georgia Tech and he played just nine minutes against Miami, leaving them woefully undersized in the paint.
Survive and advance, though, right?
First-half struggles that result in wins are better than hot starts that turn into losses or complete and utter failure to look like a Top 10 team at any point in the game.
For responding that well in shorthanded situations, Notre Dame jumps three spots this week.
7. Wisconsin Badgers
11 of 17
Record: 16-2, 4-1 (59 points)
Previous rank: 6
Results since last poll: vs. Nebraska (W 70-55)
Games this week: vs. Iowa; at Michigan
One turnover in 37 minutes.
That's what Bronson Koenig did against Nebraska in his first game after replacing the injured Traevon Jackson as the Badgers' starting point guard.
Granted, Nebraska isn't exactly VCU on defense, but neither is anyone else that Wisconsin plays in the next month. Koenig only had one assist in the game, but he showed on Thursday that he can play a ton of minutes without being a liability.
Really, that's all this team needed.
If he wants to hit a few three-pointers every game and become a better ball distributor, that's great. But as long as he can eat up minutes without hurting the team, Wisconsin will continue to excel with Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker and Nigel Hayes leading the way.
The Badgers have a big game this week against an Iowa team that has built up a 3-0 record in true road games this season against Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State.
6. Villanova Wildcats
12 of 17
Record: 17-1, 4-1 (60 points)
Previous rank: 5
Results since last poll: vs. Xavier (W 88-75); at Penn (W 62-47)
Games this week: at Georgetown; vs. Creighton
Villanova won a pair of games by double digits and the college basketball nation barely noticed. Business as usual.
There's nothing sexy about Villanova. There isn't one particular thing that the Wildcats do exceptionally well. They don't have any household names. Despite spending the entire season ranked in the Top 12, they didn't have a single player listed on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25.
Yet this is undeniably one of the best teams in the country.
Villanova doesn't have a go-to guy. The Wildcats have eight of them. And what they lack in bread and butter they make up for by not having an Achilles' heel.
Wisconsin and Bo Ryan have built up a monopoly on the "fundamentals" market over the past decade, but Jay Wright might have the nation's most fundamentally sound team right now.
5. Arizona Wildcats
13 of 17
Record: 16-2, 4-1 (61 points)
Previous rank: 7
Results since last poll: vs. Colorado (W 68-54); vs. Utah (W 69-51)
Games this week: at Stanford; at California
Arizona's big win over Utah on Saturday is exactly why those earlier losses to UNLV and Oregon State were so darn frustrating.
According to ESPN's box score, the Wildcats had 17 offensive rebounds while the Utes had 19 total rebounds. The Wildcats finished the game with a plus-21 rebounding margin and held Utah to just seven two-point field goals.
With players like Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley and Kaleb Tarczewski at their disposal, your response might be, "Well, yeah, they should be able to do that."
So, why haven't they?
Oregon State—led by nine rebounds from 6'3" Gary Payton II and eight rebounds from 6'5" Langston Morris-Walker—outrebounded Arizona by six. UNLV owned the glass en route to a 46-33 rebounding margin.
When they care enough to crash the boards, the Wildcats might be the best team in the country. We'll see if they can maintain the level of effort they displayed in showing that the Pac-12 championship still goes through Tucson.
4. Duke Blue Devils
14 of 17
Record: 15-2, 3-2 (66 points)
Previous rank: 4
Results since last poll: vs. Miami (L 74-90); at Louisville (W 63-52)
Games this week: vs. Pittsburgh; at St. John's
Duke has been living and dying by the three-pointer since the arc was painted on the courts three decades ago, but it's hard to remember the last time that was so clearly the case on the defensive end.
In the losses to North Carolina State and Miami, Duke's opponents shot 55.6 percent from beyond the arc. In the road win over Louisville on Saturday, the Cardinals shot just 16 percent from three-point range.
Was it because of the newly implemented zone defense or just because Louisville can't shoot its way out of a paper bag?
Will we continue to see the zone defense against poor three-point shooting teams like Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and North Carolina, or was it a one-time strategy?
The game against Notre Dame on Jan. 28 should be the most compelling evidence for whether Duke once again has what it takes to win it all. If above-average three-point shooting teams are able to catch fire against the Blue Devils, what happens when they face one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country?
The marquee win over Louisville stopped the bleeding, but we'll find out soon enough if they simply slapped a band-aid on a wound that needs stitches.
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs
15 of 17
Record: 18-1, 7-0 (69 points)
Previous rank: 3
Results since last poll: at Pepperdine (W 78-76); at Loyola Marymount (W 72-55)
Games this week: vs. Saint Mary's; vs. Pacific
Gonzaga got all it could handle from Pepperdine on Thursday night.
The Waves shot 50.9 percent from the field and committed just eight turnovers. According to KenPom.com (subscription required), they averaged 1.17 points per possession, which is usually a pretty good recipe for a win.
But Kyle Wiltjer and Domantas Sabonis refused to let their team lose. The big men combined for 42 points on 25 field-goal attempts with 20 rebounds, five assists and just one turnover. Even though Pepperdine is considerably undersized, it was one of the most impressive displays of dominance by a frontcourt duo this season.
Gonzaga has six players who can completely take over a game on any given night, and the Bulldogs are going to get a seventh just as soon as Vanderbilt transfer Eric McClellan is healthy enough to play. It would be a pretty big shock if they lose another game before the NCAA tournament.
2. Virginia Cavaliers
16 of 17
Record: 17-0, 5-0 (72 points)
Previous rank: 2
Results since last poll: vs. Clemson (W 65-42); at Boston College (W 66-51)
Games this week: vs. Georgia Tech; at Virginia Tech
Justin Anderson had a disastrous game against Boston College on Saturday. He came into the contest averaging 14.9 points per game, shooting 55.7 percent from three-point range and averaging 4.6 rebounds per game. Yet he shot 0-of-8 from the field and didn't grab a single rebound.
Virginia still won the road ACC game by 15 points.
"I've been saying this for a couple weeks now, but it's next man up," London Perrantes told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "He's one of our best scorers on the team right now, but when he's off, other people can score."
It was a close battle for a solid 33 minutes, but the Cavaliers showed some serious strength and resolve to not get rattled in a hostile environment while getting next to nothing out of the man who had been their leader all season long.
At what point do we legitimately start to ask if this team could go undefeated?
1. Kentucky Wildcats
17 of 17
Record: 17-0, 4-0 (75 points)
Previous rank: 1
Results since last poll: vs. Missouri (W 86-37); at Alabama (W 70-48)
Games this week: vs. Vanderbilt; at South Carolina
So, about those "What's wrong with Kentucky?" articles...
After a pair of overtime scares, the Wildcats were back with a vengeance this week, averaging better than 1.3 points per possession on offense while holding Missouri and Alabama to an average of 42.5 points.
Not only did the Wildcats get back to running the offense through their big men, but they were once again able to defend well without fouling. Ole Miss and Texas A&M attempted a combined 52 free throws while pushing Kentucky to the limit. Alabama and Missouri were awarded a grand total of 15 free throws in getting destroyed by Kentucky.
Basically, Kentucky looked like it did through the first 13 games of the season.
You remember that team, right? The one that made both Kansas and UCLA look like junior varsity teams? The team that pretty comfortably took care of business against legitimate title contenders in Louisville, North Carolina and Texas?
That team appears to be back, which means the rest of the country is back to fighting for silver.
Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @kerrancejames.
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