With the announcement of the Week 13’s AP Top-25 poll, we now sit with seven weeks of rankings left before the MNCAA March Madness tournament. Here’s what you need to know about the men’s college basketball landscape after Week 13.
Everything is About Consistency
The two biggest droppers for this week are the Ole Miss Rebels and UConn Huskies, both teams that have shown to have serios potential, but have lost several games the past couple weeks.
Consistent winning currently resides in the Duke Blue Devils and Houston Cougar’s camps, both teams have solidified their spot in the AP Top-25 poll’s top ten, both accumulating 10+ game win streaks.
Not everything is consistent though. Some unfamiliar faces have matured as the season progresses and slowly climbed into the ranks. The St. John’s Red Storm, Texas Tech Red Raiders and Vanderbilt Commodores have all risen from the unranked masses.
Big Droppers of Week 13
The Ole Miss Rebels have had a chaotic fortnight coming into Week 13. After climbing back into the top 25 after a shaky mid season, they pulled off a miracle win versus the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide on the road, which earned them their previous rank of No. 16.
Coming off of that game they decided to lose THREE STRAIGHT, all to ranked opponents but nonetheless, spirits went from extremely high to extremely low in a matter of days.
They have now dropped seven spots to No. 23 as of this week’s AP Top-25 poll and have a rough schedule continuing forward. Seven out of their final 11 games are versus ranked opponents.
After losing three straight early in the season, The UConn Huskies looked like the inverse of their championship-winning team from a year ago. But they slowly recovered during the midseason, gaining their ranks once again.
But the past couple weeks the lack of consistent winning has bled through the cracks once again. The Huskies have lost three of their last five and are on the brink of being pushed out of the AP Top-25 poll.
They are in spot 25 and are the second highest dropper of the week(six spots).
Big Rank Risers in Week 13
In week 13 we have a tie for the biggest risers in the poll. Both the Memphis Tigers and the St. John’s Red Storm moved five spots- and for similar reasons.
The eye test is a very real thing when it comes to men’s college basketball rankings and both Memphis and St. John’s have proven to play high-level ball- but in different ways. St. John’s, who is now ranked No. 15, is hot right now, they’ve won six straight and distribute the ball well where as Memphis is a one man show.
Tiger PJ Haggerty is second in the league in points per game, scoring Memphis a whopping 22.8 PPG. He’s scored 20+ in 14/20 games this season and has helped his university secure the No. 19 rank as of Week 13.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are also red hot late in the regular season. They’ve only lost four games this year and are on track for their best record since 2018. They are one of the two new faces in this week’s AP Top-25 poll and currently hold the No. 22 spot.
AP Top 25 Poll Extras, Win Streaks & the Rally Around Vandy
The Duke Blue Devils hold the longest win streak in college basketball right now at 13. Since losing two games early in the season(Kentucky & Kansas), they have been on a roll and remain at No. 2 in rank.
Houston is right behind the Devils- their win streak sits at 12. The Cougars fell as low as rank No. 15 after starting in the top five but have inched their way back into the sixth spot.
Vanderbilt has officially entered the AP Top-25 poll for the first time since 2016! After defeating the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, Jan. 25th and Tennessee just two games earlier- this rank up has been a long time coming.
To Read More Basketball News
Follow Alexander Martin on Instagram @waddup.im.alex or reach out directly at [email protected].
Check out more Hardwood Heroics content at www.hardwoodheroics.com/author/alexmartin/.
