This is always tough early in the season. You don’t want to penalize teams for random early-season losses, but you can’t ignore Rutgers losing to Kennesaw State. Here is my first Top 25 of the season:
1. Kansas (5-0)
2. UConn (4-0)
3. Auburn (4-0) – Muscled up against Houston to beat them at their own game.
4. Gonzaga (5-0)
5. Houston (3-1)
6. Kentucky (5-0)
7. Duke (4-1) – Tough loss to Kentucky. Impressive win over Arizona. I am encouraged by their defensive effort.
8. North Carolina (3-1)—Their loss is better than Duke’s (Kansas), but they don’t have a win as impressive as Duke’s.
9. Tennessee (6-0)
10. Iowa State (3-0)
11. Cincinnati (5-0)
12. Alabama (4-1)
13. Wisconsin (7-0) – Impressive comeback win over Pittsburgh to win the Greenbrier Tip-off.
14. Marquette (6-0)
15. Florida (6-0)
16. Indiana (4-0) – Is this the year where they establish Big Ten dominance? A big early test (the stacked Battle 4 Atlantis) may give us a clue.
17. Baylor (4-2) – The 38-point loss to Gonzaga in the season opener resonates for now. While it counts as much as any late-season game will, it shouldn’t define them.
18. Purdue (5-1)
19. Arizona (2-2)
20. Memphis (4-0) – They take their shot at UConn this afternoon.
21. Mississippi State (5-0)
22. Xavier (5-0)
23. Drake (6-0)—Early-season tournaments are fun, and winners should be rewarded. This Drake team has a new coaching staff and roster as they try to again be among the best in the Missouri Valley.
24. Arkansas (4-1)
25. Creighton (4-1)
Just Missed:
Nebraska (4-1) – Big in-state rivalry win over Creighton.
St. Mary’s (6-0): The Gaels defeated Nebraska. Nebraska beat Creighton. Yet, I rank Creighton ahead of both of them. Results matter, but I think Creighton is the best of the three.
Pitt (6-1) – Double-digit wins over West Virginia and LSU were impressive. They couldn’t hold the lead against Wisconsin.
Texas A&M (4-1) – Four straight wins (including over Ohio State) after an opening night loss to Central Florida.
Disappearing act:
No Mountain West team is listed above. This isn’t me protesting because they haven’t shown much (beyond San Diego State’s run to the title game) in recent NCAA Tournaments. Rather, no team has stood out early (Nevada is the conference’s best-ranked squad in the Pomroy, at 35th). The Mountain West has five teams ranked 35th – 55th in the Pomroy, as the conference will again try to make it hard for the committee to separate them all when it is time to hand out bids.