Top 25 Breakdown

I'm sorry for not getting a post up last week, but I was busy with finals. Now, I'm back home with time to spare, so I'm going to have a lot more content coming your way, starting with another top 25 breakdown. This week, I'm trying out a bit of a different format, so let me know what you think.

Top 25
1. Kansas
Record: 9-0
Last Week: W vs Villanova 74-71
This Week: vs South Dakota, @ Arizona State

2. Michigan
Record: 11-0
Last Week: W vs Western Michigan 70-62
This Week: vs Air Force

3. Tennessee
Record: 8-1
Last Week: W @ Memphis 102-92
This Week: vs Samford, vs Wake Forest

4. Duke
Record: 9-1
Last Week: N/A
This Week: vs Princeton, vs Texas Tech(at MSG)

5. Nevada
Record: 11-0
Last Week: W 72-68 vs South Dakota State
This Week: vs Akron

6. Virginia
Record: 9-0
Last Week: N/A
This Week: @ South Carolina, vs William & Mary

7. Auburn
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 75-71 vs UAB
This Week: @ NC State, vs Murray State

8. Gonzaga
Record: 9-2
Last Week: L 103-90 @ UNC
This Week: vs UT Arlington, vs Denver

9. Texas Tech
Record: 10-0
Last Week: W 79-44 vs Northwestern State, W 84-48 vs Abilene Christian
This Week: vs Duke(at MSG)

10. North Carolina
Record: 8-2
Last Week: W 103-90 vs Gonzaga
This Week: vs Kentucky(in Chicago)

11. Florida State
Record: 8-1
Last Week: N/A
This Week: vs Southern Missouri State, vs North Florida, vs Saint Louis

12. Michigan State
Record: 8-2
Last Week: W 104-83 vs Green Bay
This Week: vs Oakland

13. Virginia Tech
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 73-61 vs Washington
This Week: vs North Carolina A&T

14. Buffalo
Record: 10-0
Last Week: W 73-65 vs Southern Illinois
This Week: @Syracuse, @ Marquette

15. Wisconsin
Record: 9-2
Last Week: W 101-60 vs Savannah State
This Week: vs Grambling State

16. Arizona State
Record: 8-1
Last Week: W 76-74 @ Georgia
This Week: @ Vanderbilt, vs Kansas

17. Kentucky
Record: 8-2
Last Week: W 88-61 vs Utah
This Week: vs UNC(in Chicago)

18. Mississippi State
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 70-59 vs Cincinnati
This Week: vs Wofford, vs Wright State

19. Houston
Record: 9-0
Last Week: W 82-76 vs LSU, W 68-64 vs Saint Louis
This Week: vs Utah State, vs Coppin State

20. Indiana
Record: 9-2
Last Week: W 71-68 vs Butler(Crossroads Classic)
This Week: vs Central Arkansas, vs Jacksonville

21. North Carolina State
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 89-78 vs Penn State(in Atlantic City)
This Week: vs Auburn, vs South Carolina Upstate

22. Marquette
Record: 8-2
Last Week: N/A
This Week: vs North Dakota, vs Buffalo

23. Nebraska
Record: 8-2
Last Week: W 79-56 vs Oklahoma State(in South Dakota)
This Week: vs Cal State Fullerton

24. St. John's
Record: 9-0
Last Week: W 73-58 vs Wagner
This Week: vs Sacred Heart

25. Ohio State
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 73-71 vs Belmont
This Week: vs Youngstown State, vs UCLA(in Chicago)

Next 5
26. LSU
Record: 8-3
Last Week: L 82-76 @ Houston, W 78-74 vs Saint Mary's
This Week: vs Furman

27. Kansas State
Record: 7-2
Last Week: W 71-59 vs Georgia State
This Week: vs Southern Miss, vs Vanderbilt(in Kansas City)

28. Oklahoma
Record: 9-1
Last Week: W 81-70 vs USC(in Tulsa)
This Week: vs Creighton, @ Northwestern

29. Furman
Record: 12-0
Last Week: W 77-69 vs Charleston Southern, W 93-50 vs UNC Wilmington
This Week: @ LSU

30. Villanova
Record: 8-4
Last Week: L 78-75 @ Penn, L 74-71 @ Kansas
This Week: vs UConn(at MSG)

Notes
- Kansas is back at #1 after dropping from their preseason ranking. It hasn't always been convincing, but they've gotten results, and that means a lot.
- Duke at 4 is probably low, but I've been really impressed with what the three teams ahead of them have done. A win against Texas Tech would be very significant in my rankings.
- It feels weird to have Gonzaga ranked over UNC after the Tar Heels dominated them, but how bad UNC looked in the Michigan loss can't leave my mind. They are certainly on the upswing. As for the Zags, they've passed the gauntlet portion of their schedule and will get Killian Tillie back. I don't see them leaving the top 10 this year.
- Houston just keeps winning games. LSU and SLU are probably tournament teams, and those wins will hold a lot of weight when looking at the Cougars resume come March. The AAC is better than I thought this year, and Houston looks like the cream of the crop.
- What a difference one shot can make. Rob Phinesee's buzzer beater had roughly a 15 point swing for Indiana, as I wouldn't have mentioned them and probably included Butler in the top 25 had the Hoosiers lost.
- St. John's is undefeated for now, so I'll keep them at the backend of the top 25. They haven't looked great, but the results speak for themselves. They have wins over 2 Power 5 opponents, which is enough to bolster them into my rankings.
- I can already hear Furman truthers yelling at me for including the Johnnies and not the Paladians. However, Furman has 1 good win, over a team I have below them, as Loyola-Chicago is not good, and they've also needed overtime to top Gardner-Webb and Western Carolina. I don't think they are the best team in their own conference, and I don't think they are a top 25 team.
- Villanova barely stays in this post thanks to losses from Cincinnati, UCLA, Purdue, Butler, and Syracuse. I also considered Iowa, Iowa State, TCU, Belmont, and San Francisco for this list.
What to Watch
- Kansas has a big test against Arizona State this weekend. As I mentioned, the Jayhawks have been unconvincing recently, with 2 straight 3 point wins over New Mexico State and Villanova in Phogg Allen. They now have to travel to Tempe to play a Sun Devils team that they lost to last season. Arizona State has a tough test of its own prior to that with a game at Vanderbilt on Monday.
- The Duke-Texas Tech matchup is the headliner of the week. The Blue Devils and Red Raiders are both top 10 teams and will meet at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. If the young Dukies can beat a tough Tech defense, they'll prove that they are for real. However, it certainly won't be easy and I think Texas Tech has a much better chance than a lot of people think.
- Auburn has a really big week. First up is a trip to Raleigh Wednesday night to face NC State, who I have ranked 21. It'll be a battle of the backcourts and reveal a lot about both of those teams, and should be really fun. They then return home to face Ja Morant and Murray State. For those unfamiliar, Morant is a legit NBA prospect and the Racers are 7-1, with their only loss coming on the road at Alabama. It may get lost in the shuffle a little, but try to make time Saturday to watch that one.
- North Carolina playing Kentucky is just about as blue blood as you can get, and on Saturday, we'll be treated to just that. It's a big game for both teams, as Kentucky has yet to prove themselves against top competition, and North Carolina is looking to prove that their win over Gonzaga was no fluke. One of these teams will drop to 3 losses, which isn't ideal before conference play, and could lead to a lower seed than they want on Selection Sunday.
- Florida State plays Saint Louis this Saturday, and that could be a tough test for the Noles. Saint Louis holds wins over Butler and Seton Hall, and played Houston super tough in their last game. They play very good defense, so seeing how Florida State responds to that will be very interesting.
- Buffalo has a huge week. Maybe the biggest of any team in the country. The undefeated Bulls, whose trademark win over West Virginia isn't looking to great right now,  travel to the Dome to play Syracuse, and then head to Milwaukee to play Marquette. Two true road tests against some very good competition will reveal if this team is for real. It'll be two very different games, as the Orange will look to slow the Bulls down with their 2-3 zone, while Marquette will look to outscore them. They are both high-level games and I would recommend watching both.
- A really underrated game is Houston hosting Utah State. The Cougars have looked very good so far, but they shouldn't overlook their opponent. The Aggies have been very good this year, and only feature losses to Arizona State and BYU. It could be a trap game of sorts for Houston as they look forward to the holiday break and conference play, but they'll have a game on their hands this Thursday.
- Ohio State, a team I am still not sold on, will take on UCLA on Saturday. It should be a win for the Buckeyes, as they are probably the better team and their style should matchup nicely against the Bruins. However, UCLA is coming off a home loss to Belmont and could come out with a point to prove. They will also face Cincinnati prior to this matchup, another good game, who play a similar style to the Buckeyes, and I think UCLA could give them a lot of problems.
- Furman's big chance will come this Friday when they travel to Baton Rouge to play LSU. The Tigers are probably the best opponent the Paladians have faced, and a win would be huge. I really don't see it happening, since I'm very high on LSU and I don't see an answer for their size on Furman's roster, but this is their chance to prove they are legit, and a win no doubt puts them into the top 25.
- Kansas State and Oklahoma have weeks that position them nicely for a place in the top 25 next week. Kansas State plays Vanderbilt on a neutral court, and coming off a win over a good Georgia State team, they could see themselves ranked next Monday, especially if another team drops a game. As for Oklahoma, Creighton is no pushover, as they proved versus Gonzaga, and they then travel to Chicago to play Northwestern. Those are two good teams, and wins would elevate them into the rankings.

Let me know what you think of the new format and my rankings on Twitter @ThreePointRange, and be sure to follow for updates on the blog as well as live thoughts on games.