JazzYotesRSL's Week 12 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn | The Huskies look very prepared to go on another deep March run |
| 2 | Purdue | Purdue is back on track with road wins over Indiana and Iowa |
| 3 | North Carolina | The Tar Heels look to be the cream of the crop once again in the ACC |
| 4 | Houston | +1 It’s good to be home. The Cougars bounced back from a rough week with convincing wins over Texas Tech and UCF |
| 5 | Kentucky | +1 Kentucky’s offense could easily lead this team to a championship, but can the defense keep up? |
| 6 | Tennessee | +3 A convincing win over a good Alabama team. If Knecht keeps playing at this level, look out for the Vols in March |
| 7 | Kansas | -3 Kansas suffers a second road loss to a conference opponent who had no business being even close |
| 8 | Auburn | +5 I’m still hesitant to crown the Tigers as favorites in the SEC, but they look legit right now and only have to play the Vols and Wildcats once apiece |
| 9 | Illinois | +2 Maryland’s voodoo magic aside, the Illini look like the most likely to unseat Purdue in the Big 10 this year |
| 10 | Duke | -3 Last week I said that home against Pitt should be an easy win. I was right: it SHOULD have been |
| 11 | Oklahoma | +5 Oklahoma bounced back well from a tough week. WVU and Cincy are not easy wins (just ask Kansas) |
| 12 | Arizona | Needing a 19 point comeback at home against the Bruins should be ringing all kinds of alarm bells in Tuscon |
| 13 | Wisconsin | -3 I’m not shocked you stumbled in conference play, that’s pretty much a given in college basketball…but to Penn State?? |
| 14 | Baylor | -6 I’ve said it a thousand times—winning on the road in college basketball is really hard. Just ask the Bears |
| 15 | Marquette | +3 Can the Golden Eagles ride wins against Villanova and St. John’s back to the form that almost won them the Maui Invitational? |
| 16 | Creighton | -1 The beatdown at UConn hurts, but…I mean, it was at UConn. Nice job escaping the upset-happy Seton Hall |
| 17 | Dayton | +4 I still have my concerns about the Flyers, but for now, they keep winning, and that’s all you can ask for |
| 18 | Colorado State | +2 The last few weeks have been ugly for the Rams, with close wins over Air Force and UNLV. This week includes a trip to Nevada. Gulp |
| 19 | TCU | -5 Tough week for the Frogs, with close losses to Cincy and Iowa State. They don’t get long to lick their wounds before a trip to Waco |
| 20 | Utah State | -1 Like I told SDSU last week: winning at the Pit is really, really hard to do |
| 21 | Memphis | -4 I called it last week. Memphis was playing with fire with those close wins, and they got burned this week |
| 22 | New Mexico | NR If the Lobos can play as well on the road as they have at home this year, they will be a terror |
| 23 | BYU | BYU has led at halftime in every conference game this season. They are 2-3 in conference play. That is not a good sign of things to come |
| 24 | Texas Tech | Tech goes 1-1 against the Cougars this week, thanks to yet another BYU 2nd half collapse |
| 25 | Kansas State | NR The Wildcats have done well against a comparatively easy conference schedule so far, but road trips to Iowa State and Houston this week could make this a short stay in the Top 25 |
Overall Rationale
Dropped from rankings: San Diego State (22), Ole Miss (25) I’m realizing that I have 3 Mountain West teams in the Top 25. This is going to look really stupid when the conference wins one game combined in the NCAA Tourney. Oh well, I never said I was smart. Next 5 out: San Diego State, FAU, Iowa State, Gonzaga, Seton Hall