Top 25 Breakdown 1/28/19

It was another exciting week in college basketball, with the SEC/Big 12 Challenge providing some excellent game, and conference play continues to go on. We are slowly but surely approaching Selection Sunday, which is both exciting and disappointing, but I have my updated as I really think I'm starting to get a good feel for where a lot of these teams are going to be for the rest of the season. As always, I'm always down to discuss my rankings and all things college basketball on Twitter @ThreePointRange, so be sure to let me know your thoughts.

Top 25
1. Tennessee (1)
Record: 18-1, 6-0
Last Week: W 88-83 (OT) @ Vanderbilt, W 83-66 vs West Virginia
This Week: 1/29 @ South Carolina, 2/2 @ Texas A&M

2. Duke (2)
Record:17-2, 6-1
Last Week: W 79-64 @ Pittsburgh, W 66-53 vs Georgia Tech
This Week: 1/28 @ Notre Dame, 2/2 vs St. John's

3. Virginia (3)
Record: 18-1, 6-1
Last Week: W 68-45 vs Wake Forest, W 82-55 @ Notre Dame
This Week: 1/29 @ North Carolina State, 1/26 vs Miami

4. Michigan State (4)
Record: 18-3, 9-1
Last Week: W 69-55 vs Maryland, W 82-67 @ Iowa, L 73-63 @ Purdue
This Week: 2/2 vs Indiana

5. Gonzaga (5)
Record: 19-2, 6-0
Last Week: W 98-39 @ Santa Clara
This Week: 1/31 @ BYU, 2/2 vs San Diego

6. Michigan (6)
Record: 19-1, 8-1
Last Week: W 59-57 vs Minnesota, W 69-46 @ Indiana
This Week: 1/29 vs Ohio State, 2/1 @ Iowa

7. Kentucky (7)
Record: 16-3, 6-1
Last Week: W 76-55 vs Mississippi State, W 71-63 vs Kansas
This Week: 1/29 @ Vanderbilt, 2/2 @ Florida

8. North Carolina (11)
Record: 14-4, 4-1
Last Week: W 103-82 vs Virginia Tech
This Week: 1/29 @ Georgia Tech, 2/2 @ Louisville

9. Nevada (8)
Record: 19-1, 6-1
Last Week: W 100-60 vs Colorado State
This Week: 1/29 @ UNLV, 2/2 vs Boise State

10. Marquette (12)
Record: 18-3, 7-1
Last Week: W 79-69 vs DePaul, W 87-82 @ Xavier
This Week: 1/30 @ Butler

11. Virginia Tech (10)
Record: 16-3, 5-2
Last Week: L 103-82 @ North Carolina, W 78-56 vs Syracuse
This Week: 1/30 @ Miami, 2/2 @ North Carolina State

12. Kansas (14)
Record: 16-4, 5-2
Last Week: W 80-76 vs Iowa State, L 71-63 @ Kentucky
This Week: 1/29 @ Texas, 2/2 vs Texas Tech

13. Villanova (17)
Record: 16-4, 7-0
Last Week: W 80-72 @ Butler, W 80-52 vs Seton Hall
This Week: 1/30 @ DePaul, 2/3 vs Georgetown

14. LSU (18)
Record: 16-3, 6-0
Last Week: W 92-82 vs Georgia, W 86-80 (OT) vs Missouri
This Week: 1/30 @ Texas A&M, 2/2 vs Arkansas

15. Houston (19)
Record: 20-1, 7-1
Last Week: W 94-50 vs East Carolina, W 77-65 @ Tulsa
This Week: 1/31 vs Temple

16. Purdue (28)
Record: 12-6, 5-2
Last Week: W 79-67 @ Ohio State, W 73-63 vs Michigan State
This Week: 1/31 @ Penn State, 2/3 vs Minnesota

17. Buffalo (9)
Record: 18-2, 6-1
Last Week: L 77-75 @ Eastern Illinois, W 88-79 @ Kent State
This Week: 1/29 vs Ball State, 1/1 @ Bowling Green

18. Louisville (21)
Record: 15-5, 6-1
Last Week: W 84-77 vs North Carolina State, W 66-51 vs Pittsburgh
This Week: 1/30 @ Wake Forest, 2/2 vs North Carolina

19. Iowa State (24)
Record: 15-5, 4-3
Last Week: L 80-76 @ Kansas, W 87-73 @ Mississippi
This Week: 1/30 vs West Virginia, 2/2 vs Texas

20. Maryland (13)
Record: 16-5, 7-3
Last Week: L 69-55 @ Michigan State, L 78-67 vs Illinois (at MSG)
This Week: 1/29 vs Northwestern, 2/1 @ Wisconsin

21. Mississippi State (20)
Record: 15-4, 3-3
Last Week: L 76-55 @ Kentucky, W 92-84 vs Auburn
This Week: 1/22 @ Kentucky, 1/26 vs Auburn

22. Wisconsin (25)
Record: 14-6, 6-3
Last Week:W 72-60 @ Illinois, W 62-46 vs Northwestern
This Week: 1/29 @ Nebraska, 2/1 vs Maryland

23. Texas Tech (16)
Record: 15-4, 4-3
Last Week: L 58-45 @ Kansas State, W 67-64 vs Arkansas
This Week: 1/28 vs TCU, 2/2 @ Kansas

24. TCU (NR)
Record: 15-4, 3-3
Last Week: W 65-61 vs Texas, W 55-50 vs Florida
This Week: 1/28 @ Texas Tech, 2/2 @ Baylor

25. Auburn (15)
Record: 13-6, 2-4
Last Week: L 80-77 @ South Carolina, L 92-84 @ Mississippi State
This Week: 1/30 vs Missouri, 2/2 vs Alabama

Next 5
26. North Carolina State (26)
Record: 16-4, 4-3
Last Week: L 84-77 @ Louisville, W 69-67 vs Clemson
This Week: 1/29 vs Virginia, 2/2 vs Virginia Tech

27. Washington (30)
Record: 14-4, 5-0
Last Week: W 61-56 @ Oregon, W 79-69 @ Oregon State
This Week: 1/30 vs USC, 2/2 vs UCLA

28. Iowa (22)
Record: 16-5, 5-5
Last Week: L 82-67 vs Michigan State, L 92-87 @ Minnesota
This Week: 2/1 vs Michigan

29. Mississippi (23)
Record: 14-5, 4-2
Last Week: L 74-53 @ Alabama, L 87-73 vs Iowa State
This Week: 1/30 @ Florida, 2/2 vs Mississippi State

30. Kansas State (27)
Record: 14-4, 4-2
Last Week: W 58-45 vs Texas Tech, L 65-53 @ Texas A&M
This Week: 1/22 vs Texas Tech, 1/26 @ Texas A&M

Previously Ranked: St. John's (29)

Also Considered: Alabama, Baylor, Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Lipscomb, Minnesota, Oklahoma, St. John's, Wofford

Notes

- I know Michigan State lost in fairly dominating fashion against Purdue. However, let's not forget the two dominating wins the Spartans picked up against top 25 teams Maryland and Iowa in the same week, and that the game was away, making it even tougher. I think occasionally we get recency bias in the rankings, and we don't consider other results that happened, and we also overreacted to losing tough games. At this point of the year, I have a much better feel for how good teams are, so losing one game to a fellow top 25 team on the road isn't reason to drop a team. If anything, give credit to Purdue, who I was clearly wrong for doubting, as they proved they belong in the upper echelons of college basketball, which is why they jumped 12 spots this week.

- Kentucky has established itself as part of the top tier right now along with Tennessee, Duke, Virginia, Michigan State, Gonzaga, and Michigan. They've beat Auburn, Mississippi State, and Kansas over their last three games, and they have been playing excellently recently. They are rounding into form, like all John Calipari teams do.

- Marquette and Villanova have established themselves as the clear two best teams in the Big East. There are no other Big East teams in my top 25, or the next 5 after St. John's fell out, and not only that, but they are playing like some of the best teams in the nation. Since Villanova lost to Furman on November 22, the two teams are a combined 29-3, which is a very impressive run, and that's why they are both inside my top 13.

- Kansas managed to move up despite losing to Kentucky, and I have a few reasons for that. To start, losing on the road to one of the best teams in the country should not be a reason to drop a team, especially given they were competitive throughout the game. The Jayhawks also knocked off a top 25 team in Iowa State, which is a good win. Finally, there are a decent amount of teams above them last week who lost, and I think they are flat out better than the teams who won beneath, so they got to move up.

- LSU is one of the hottest teams in the nation. They haven't lost in over a month and are currently on a 9 game winning streak, including winning their first 6 SEC games. They've risen into my top 25, and I think they are definitely worthy of that ranking given all the talent on their roster, and they're finally making me look smart for putting them at 15 in the preseason.

- TCU has entered the top 25 after not being ranked last week, and the Horned Frogs look great right now, sitting at 15-4 and 3-3 in the Big 12. I thought the loss of Jaylen Fisher would be much more impactful, but have won three of their last four, including very nice home wins over Texas and Florida this past week. They have big tests ahead with Texas Tech and Baylor on the road, but I think they are certainly worthy of a top 25 ranking at the moment.

- I know the Pac-12 is bad, and we should be cautious before putting too much stock in wins in the conference, but I think Washington's sweep of the Oregon road trip is very impressive. Oregon is ranked as the second best team in the Pac-12 per KenPom, while Oregon State is fifth, and both have been playing pretty well during conference play. Those are two of the toughest tests the Huskies will face prior to March, and wins there go a long way to proving their legitimacy.

- I want to give a quick look at some of the top mid-majors: Wofford and Lipscomb. Both are undefeated in conference play and have no blemishes on their resume. Starting with the Terriers, they are 17-4 and 9-0 in Southern Conference play, including wins over challengers UNC-Greensboro and Furman as well as beating South Carolina by 20 in Columbia. Their losses came against UNC, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi State, all very talented teams and Wofford was competitive in each. They are at 39 in KenPom thanks to a top 20 offense, and they could be in the at-large conversation during March, as they still have a road test against East Tennessee and rematches with UNC-G and Furman. As for the Bisons, they are 16-4 on the year and sit at 7-0 in the Atlantic Sun, while checking in at 48 in KenPom. Their losses came against Belmont twice, and on the road against Louisville and Clemson, but they have wins over SMU, TCU, and Vermont. They face the other undefeated team in the A-Sun, Liberty, who is currently 51 in KenPom, on the road this Tuesday, and a win would give them a fairly impressive resume. Keep an eye on these two.

What To Watch

1/28
#2 Duke @ Notre Dame
#24 TCU @ #23 Texas Tech
Also Considered Baylor @ Also Considered Oklahoma
1/29
#1 Tennessee @ South Carolina
#3 Virginia @ #26 North Carolina State
#12 Kansas @ Texas
Also Considered Lipscomb @ Liberty
#22 Wisconsin @ Nebraska
#21 Mississippi State @ Also Considered Alabama
Ohio State @ #6 Michigan
1/30
#10 Marquette @ Butler
#29 Mississippi @ Also Considered Florida
#13 Villanova @ DePaul
Also Considered St. John's @ Creighton
USC @ #27 Washington
1/31
Temple @ #15 Houston
# 5 Gonzaga @ BYU
2/1
#6 Michigan @ #28 Wisconsin
#20 Maryland @ #22 Wisconsin
2/2
Also Considered St. John's @ #2 Duke
#11 Virginia Tech @ #26 North Carolina State
# 8 North Carolina @ #18 Louisville
Texas @ #19 Iowa State
#21 Mississippi State @ #29 Mississippi
#7 Kentucky @ Also Considered Florida
#23 Texas Tech @ #12 Kansas
Indiana @ #4 Michigan State
Also Considered Alabama @ #25 Auburn
#24 TCU @ Also Considered Baylor
2/3
Also Considered Minnesota @ #16 Purdue