College Basketball Rankings 2014-15: Bleacher Report's Week 13 Top 25

The Big 12 is considered the best league in the country, but no league compares to the ACC at the top.

In this week's power rankings, four of the Top 10 teams are from the ACC. Five of the Top 12 are in the ACC. Duke lost once this past week and didn't drop.

Unlike my colleagues, I kept Virginia at No. 2 this week. A bad five minutes shouldn't undo what the Cavaliers had already accomplished.

But we did agree on the Top 10—just not the order—and we somehow all had the same 25 teams in our rankings.

Teams Dropped from Rankings: Texas (19), Colorado State (24), Indiana (25)

Our experts participate in weekly voting for B/R's Top 25. Once a vote is cast for a specific team, it's assigned a value—25 points for the No. 1 team in the rankings, 24 points for the second spot and so on. The point totals are then added up to create the Top 25.

25-21: San Diego State-Maryland

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25. San Diego State

Record: 17-5, 7-2

Previous rank: Unranked

The Aztecs held both of their opponents in the 40s this past week. They've now held 11 opponents this season to less than 50 points.

24. Butler

Record: 16-6, 6-3

Previous rank: Not ranked

Butler has won five of its last six games, with the lone loss being a two-point road defeat against Georgetown. Back in the Horizon League days, that kind of streak was the norm, but the Bulldogs can puff their chest out these days in the Big East, the second-best conference in the country.

23. Georgetown

Record: 15-6, 7-3

Previous rank: 20

The Hoyas are back to playing the kind of defense they played two years ago as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The key has been the Hoyas' D inside the arc, where they've improved in conference play, holding Big East opponents to 41.3 percent shooting.

22. Oklahoma 

Record: 14-7, 5-4

Previous rank: Unranked

This is the year of the Bizarro Sooners. They've been the Big 12's best defensive team a year after ranking 91st nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. 

21. Maryland

Record: 18-4, 6-3

Previous rank: 16

The Terps have lost two of their last three, both by 19 or more points, and their stingy early-season defense has taken a step back recently. Indiana dropped 89 points on them and Ohio State scored 80. Those were the first two opponents all season to top 80 points against the Terps. 

20-16: VCU-Ohio State

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20. Virginia Commonwealth

Record: 17-4, 7-1

Previous rank: 13

The formula to beat VCU has been pretty simple this season. Don't turn the ball over and you have a chance. The three opponents who had fewer than 12 turnovers have all won.

19. Baylor

Record: 16-5, 4-4

Previous rank: 21

Baylor has never made two straight NCAA tournaments under Scott Drew, but that streak looks like it'll end this year. The Big 12 schedule never really lightens up, but the Bears still have three games left against the basement of the conference (TCU and Texas Tech).

18. Wichita State

Record: 19-3, 9-1

Previous rank: 14

The Shockers' closest game in the Missouri Valley until Saturday's loss to Northern Iowa was an eight-point win over Illinois State on Jan. 4. They won 30 straight conference games before losing to Northern Iowa. Don't worry about Wichita State.

17. SMU

Record: 18-4, 9-1

Previous rank: 22

The Mustangs have now won 16 of 17 games. If you haven't been paying attention, this would be a good week to check out SMU. The Mustangs have Cincinnati—the one team to beat them during the streak—and American Conference first-place Tulsa.

16. Ohio State

Record: 17-5, 6-3

Previous rank: 23

Freshman guard D'Angelo Russell has been ridiculous lately. He averaged 24.2 points per game in his last five outings and made 19 of 40 threes during that run.

15. West Virginia

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Record: 18-3, 6-2 (32 points)

Previous rank: 18

Results since last poll: at Kansas State (W 65-59); vs. Texas Tech (W 77-58)

Games this week: at Oklahoma; vs. Baylor

What's most incredible about West Virginia's 18-3 start is that its opponents shoot a better percentage (.442) than the Mountaineers (.417) do.

That's the power of the WVU's press. The Mountaineers have drilled 126 more shots than their opponents this season. They have 360 more field-goal attempts than their foes, too.

14. Utah

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Record: 17-4, 7-2 (37 points)

Previous rank: 11

Results since last poll: at UCLA (L 69-59); at USC (W 67-39)

Games this week: at Colorado

The way Arizona is playing right now, it's tough to see the 'Cats losing another conference game before their trip to Utah on Feb. 28.

The Utes could afford one loss until that game to have a shot at sharing the conference title, so the slip-up at UCLA was acceptable.

13. Northern Iowa

USA TODAY Sports

Record: 20-2, 9-1 (40 points)

Previous rank: 17

Results since last poll: at Southern Illinois (W 59-52); vs. Wichita State (W 70-54)

Games this week: at Indiana State; vs. Drake

No one should be questioning whether Northern Iowa is legit now.

The Panthers ended the Shockers' 30-game winning streak in the Missouri Valley and held the Valley's best offense to 54 points.

Northern Iowa has a star in Seth Tuttle, who went off for 29 points against Wichita State, and a defense that could give any team fits.

No one has really challenged Wichita State since Creighton left the league, but the Valley race should be fun over the next month. The rematch is on the final day of the regular season for both teams back in Wichita on Feb. 28.

12. North Carolina

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Record: 17-5, 7-2 (42 points)

Previous rank: 9

Results since last poll: vs. Syracuse (W 93-83); at Louisville (L 78-68 OT)

Games this week: vs. Virginia; at Boston College

North Carolina's offense has been excellent throughout most of the conference season, so UNC probably deserves somewhat of a pass for its struggles during its collapse at Louisville.

One problem that came up again was an overreliance on Marcus Paige in pressure-packed situations. It seemed that down the stretch against the Cards, the Heels were lost offensively if they couldn't get Paige a shot, especially late in the shot clock. Paige, realizing this, seemed to be pressing.

It would serve the Heels well if at some point this year they had someone other than Paige come through in a tight game.

11. Iowa State

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Record: 16-4, 6-2 (43 points)

Previous rank: 15

Results since last poll: vs. Texas (W 89-86); vs. TCU (W 83-66)

Games this week: at Kansas; vs. Texas Tech

What I hear a lot with Iowa State is that Fred Hoiberg's team lives and dies by the three.

While the Cyclones have always shot their fair share of three-balls, it's not exactly a fair assessment.

This team is one of the best shooting teams inside the arc (57.4 percent) in the country. The Cyclones also rank 93rd in three-point rate (percentage of field-goal attempts that are threes), according to KenPom.com.

Does making threes help the Cyclones shoot better inside the arc? Yes. It gets them easier shots. But they're capable of doing plenty of damage inside the arc and don't rely exclusively on perimeter jumpers, contrary to popular opinion.

10. Notre Dame

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Record: 20-3, 8-2 (50 points)

Previous rank: 8

Results since last poll: vs. Duke (W 77-73); at Pittsburgh (L 76-72)

Games this week: vs. Boston College; at Duke

Notre Dame senior Jerian Grant has been so ridiculously good this season that a performance like Saturday at Pitt—14 points, three assists, three turnovers and four steals—is considered subpar. 

It is only the second time all season that Grant didn't have more assists than turnovers.

The loss was more about Notre Dame's defense. The Panthers made 60 percent of their twos and 50 percent of their threes, but defense is not what has the Irish rolling this year.

It's Grant and a historically efficient offense. This was just one "off" game that would be deemed adequate for any other team in the country.

9. Villanova

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Record: 19-2, 6-2 (51 points)

Previous rank: 10

Results since last poll: at DePaul (W 68-55)

Games this week: vs. Marquette; vs. Georgetown

Villanova has been so consistently good the last two years that it's easy to overlook how impressive the turnaround has been in Jay Wright's program.

In the first two years for this current senior class, the Wildcats went 33-33. They had a losing record (13-19) as freshmen. Over the last two years, they're now 48-7 and have lost just four games in the Big East.

It wasn't some magical recruiting class that came in and suddenly made Villanova relevant again. It was the hard work of the guys who made up a mediocre team before. That's pretty cool to see in this era of college basketball.

8. Louisville

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Record: 18-3, 6-2 (52 points)

Previous rank: 12

Results since last poll: at Boston College (W 81-72); vs. North Carolina (W 78-68, OT)

Games this week: at Miami; at Virginia

Louisville's comeback win over North Carolina on Saturday was a reminder of how dominant Rick Pitino's defense can be.

The Heels came into that game as one of the hottest teams in the country with an offense that was carving up the ACC. Over the final 15 minutes and 37 seconds of the contest, UNC scored a measly 15 points.

Louisville also held the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country, per kenpom.com, to just two offensive rebounds in the second half and overtime.

The Cards go through terrible shooting slumps and their offense isn't always a thing of beauty, but just like Duke is never out of a game because of its offense, don't ever count the Cards out because of that defense.

7. Kansas

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Record: 18-3, 7-1 (57 points)

Previous rank: 7

Results since last poll: at TCU (W 64-61); vs. Kansas State (W 68-57)

Games this week: vs. Iowa State; at Oklahoma State

If the Jayhawks get revenge against the Cyclones on Monday, they'll have made it halfway through the Big 12 conference season with just one loss.

That's in the league considered to be the best in the country using whatever metric you want to use.

Two weeks ago when Kansas lost at Iowa State, Ken Pomeroy projected KU to finish 11-7 in the conference and in third place. Bill Self, going for his 11th straight Big 12 title, obviously wasn't factored into those projections.

6. Arizona

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Record: 20-2, 8-1 (61 points)

Previous rank: 6

Results since last poll: vs. Oregon (W 90-56); vs. Oregon State (W 57-34)

Games this week: at Arizona State

It's hard for a one-and-done freshman to slide under the radar, but Arizona's Stanley Johnson hasn't received the attention he probably deserves.

Johnson is quietly putting together an All-American season and has become a legitimate go-to scorer. He's averaging 14.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals, making 51 percent of his twos, 72.7 percent of his free throws and 39.3 percent of his threes. Those shooting numbers, especially from the perimeter, are better than anyone could have expected.

Johnson has a ridiculous resume when it comes to winning. He won four state championships in high school and his grassroots team won an EYBL title.

Arizona has talent around him, but he's likely the key to whether Sean Miller can get to his first Final Four. In Arizona's two losses, Johnson went 3-for-11 at UNLV and scored only seven points at Oregon State.

5. Duke

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Record: 18-3, 5-3 (63 points)

Previous rank: 5

Results since last poll: at Notre Dame (L 77-73); at Virginia (W 69-63)

Games this week: vs. Georgia Tech; vs. Notre Dame

The Blue Devils had a couple of the most improbable comebacks in the span of six days as you'll see in college basketball.

They trailed by double digits in the second halves of each of their last two wins—at St. John's and Virginia—and came back to win both those games.

Stats guru Ken Pomeroy keeps track of win probabilities during games, and to really understand how incredible those comebacks were, take a look at the odds he gave the Blue Devils in both games.

With 8:35 left against St. John's, Duke trailed by 10 and had a 10.3 percent chance of winning. 

With 10:15 left against Virginia, Duke trailed by 11 and had a 1.9 percent chance of winning. 

I wrote this weekend about Duke's quick-strike offense, Mike Krzyzewski's wise in-game adjustments and the crazy runs to end both those games. The lesson to be learned here: Duke is going to be a tough out in March, because you can never count out the offense Coach K has assembled.

4. Virginia

Ryan M. Kelly/Associated Press

Record: 19-1, 7-1 (67 points)

Previous rank: 2

Results since last poll: at Virginia Tech (W 50-47); vs. Duke (L 69-63)

Games this week: at North Carolina; vs. Louisville

If you watched Virginia lose against Duke on Saturday night and came away thinking anything but Virginia is one of the best teams in the country, then you need to get your eyes checked.

The Cavaliers were in control for 30 minutes, and it took the Blue Devils catching absolute fire to win the game. The Blue Devils made eight of their final nine shots, and Jahlil Okafor got the putback on that one miss.

Virginia is still the favorite to win the ACC. It still has one of the best defenses in college basketball. That loss was more about Duke going on a crazy run than any holes in Virginia's armor being unveiled.

3. Wisconsin

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Record: 19-2, 7-1 (69 points)

Previous rank: 4

Results since last poll: at Iowa (W 74-63)

Games this week: vs. Indiana; vs. Northwestern

The sample size is small, but Wisconsin has actually improved on the offensive end since Traevon Jackson got hurt and Bronson Koenig moved into the starting lineup.

Here's the breakdown in Big Ten games, per KenPom.com:

• With Jackson as starter (four games): 122.0 offensive efficiency
• With Koenig as starter (four games): 132.3 offensive efficiency

Basically, the Badgers went from being the best offense in the Big Ten (and the country) to by far being the best offense in the Big Ten. Koenig is doing his part too, averaging 11.3 points as a starter and shooting 50 percent from deep.

2. Gonzaga

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Record: 22-1, 10-0 (70 points)

Previous rank: 3

Results since last poll: vs. Portland (W 64-46); vs. Memphis (W 82-64)

Games this week: at Santa Clara; at San Francisco

It's time to play the "shut up about Gonzaga's weak schedule" game.

After knocking off Memphis on Saturday, Gonzaga has now played seven games against what should be considered major-conference schools.

That's a decent enough sample size to compare the Zags' performance in those games to what other top-tier teams are doing in their conference games.

Gonzaga is 6-1 in those contests, with the only loss coming in overtime at Arizona. In nine days, the 'Cats will have not lost a home game for two years, so that certainly wasn't a bad loss.

In the seven games against major-conference schools, Gonzaga has outscored its opponents by 11.1 points per game. The Zags' success is not a product of their weak conference. They're legit, folks.

1. Kentucky

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Record: 21-0, 8-0 (75 points)

Previous rank: 1

Results since last poll: at Missouri (W 69-53); vs. Alabama (W 70-55)

Games this week: vs. Georgia; at Florida

And then there was one.

The Wildcats are the last undefeated team, and if it's going down, the next week and a half will likely determine whether they pull off a perfect regular season.

Road games at Florida and LSU are arguably the toughest tests left.

You can nitpick at Kentucky all you want. Sure, the 'Cats have had some close games and their offense has been a work in progress. But when you really study the numbers, there really aren't many holes there.

UK is outscoring conference opponents by 27.9 points per 100 possessions, per KenPom.com, and has the best offense and best defense in the SEC.

If the 'Cats make it through those two road tests unscathed, entering the NCAA tournament undefeated goes from "so you're saying there's a chance" to the odds being on their side.

C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.