Feb. 08--The door has opened for a new No. 1 after Oklahoma's loss to Kansas State and North Carolina's losses to Louisville and Notre Dame last week. This week finds a new team at the top of the Associated Press poll for the sixth time this season.
Here's how I voted:
(Last week's ranking in parentheses; records through Sunday)
1. (3) Villanova 20-3.
2. (4) Iowa 19-4.
3. (6) Xavier 21-2.
4. (7) Maryland 21-3.
5. (1) Oklahoma 19-3.
6. (5) Kansas 19-4.
7. (8) Virginia 19-4.
8. (14) West Virginia 19-4.
9. (10) Miami 18-4.
10. (2) North Carolina 19-4.
11. (11) Michigan State 20-4.
12. (17) Louisville 19-4.
13. (19) Oregon 20-4.
14. (9) Texas A 18-5.
15. (23) Dayton 19-3.
16. (12) SMU 20-2.
17. (15) Baylor 17-6.
18. (16) Iowa State 17-6.
19. (NR) USC 18-5.
20. (18) Purdue 19-5.
21. (24) Arizona 19-5.
22. (13) Providence 18-6.
23. (NR) Notre Dame 16-7.
24. (20) Kentucky 17-6.
25. (21) Indiana 19-5.
--Dropped out: Wichita State (22), Utah (25).
A case could have been made for Villanova or Iowa to take over at No. 1. The Wildcats have won 12 of the last 13 and are ranked No. 1 in the kenpom.com rankings. They have victories against six teams in the top 50 RPI and have played the second-hardest schedule, which gives them a slight edge over the Hawkeyes.
Some bad losses took place this week: Providence lost at DePaul to fall from No. 13 to No. 22, Indiana fell at Penn State to drop from No. 21 to No. 25 and Kentucky lost to Tennessee to fall from No. 20 to No. 24.
Notre Dame has seven losses, but the Irish were worthy of entering the Top 25. They own impressive victories over Iowa, Duke and now North Carolina. They rank first in kenpom.com's offensive efficiency ratings.
sryan@tribpub.com
