willweaverrva's Week 13 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | I was VERY close to having Duke take over the #1 spot after Auburn squeaked by two strong opponents this past week. In fact, Duke took over #1 on KenPom this week. I'll give it one more week. |
| 2 | Duke | Duke may very well be the best team in the country, and Cooper Flagg is as advertised. Leaving them at #2 for now since Auburn has a better resume, but Duke has a good shot at being #1 next week. |
| 3 | Houston | After starting 4-3, Houston has rattled off impressive win after impressive win. The game against Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse was an instant classic. If Auburn or Duke stumbles, look out. |
| 4 | Alabama | Alabama has scored 100 or more points in 6 games this season. Despite the loss to Ole Miss, the Tide are holding their own in a powerful SEC. |
| 5 | Iowa State | Probably the quietest #5 team ever. Iowa State remains one of the best balanced teams in Division 1. |
| 6 | Michigan State | Tom Izzo has the Spartans on track for their best season since 2018-19. |
| 7 | Florida | The Gators continue to impress, including a 30-point win over an upset-happy Georgia squad. Don't be surprised if they give Tennessee and Auburn fits during the next couple of weeks. |
| 8 | Marquette | The Golden Eagles are turning into VCU North, with Shaka Smart employing a very havoc-esque defense that's done some great work. It's Marquette or St. John's in the Big East this year. |
| 9 | Tennessee | Losing to Auburn doesn't hurt all that much, but Tennessee has so far stumbled their way through SEC play. KenPom favors them in all their remaining games but they need to find consistency fast. |
| 10 | Kansas | Not too bad of a hit after being outlasted by Houston at home in a 2OT thriller. Kansas has proven to be fun to watch. |
| 11 | Texas Tech | After falling to St. Joseph's in the OOC, the Red Raiders have found themselves. Their only conference losses were a close one against UCF, and a 1-point OT loss to Iowa State. Could be sleepers. |
| 12 | Texas A&M | Winning on the road is hard. I'm not going to ding Texas A&M very much for a 1-point loss to a Texas team that's on the rise, but this could be a tough next couple of weeks. |
| 13 | Purdue | Giving Purdue their due (hah), the Boilermakers thoroughly exposed Dusty May's Michigan squad this week in a highly unexpected blowout. |
| 14 | St. John's | The Fighting Rick Pitinos are the class of the Big East along with Marquette. |
| 15 | Kentucky | Mark Pope has so far overachieved at Kentucky this season, but the Wildcats may be approaching their limit after being the latest victims of upset-happy Vanderbilt. |
| 16 | Oregon | Oregon is trending down...just in time for a road trip to UCLA. |
| 17 | Maryland | New to ballot. The Terps are legit, absolutely crushing Illinois on the road in convincing fashion. We'll have to see if Kevin Willard can keep them rolling. |
| 18 | Texas | New to ballot. Texas has more or less come out of nowhere, knocking off two ranked teams (including a thriller against Texas A&M). With 6 losses, though, I can't put them any higher than this. |
| 19 | Illinois | Despite being highly regarded by the metrics, the Illini are in trouble. |
| 20 | Missouri | Mizzou lost a tough road game against a Texas team on the rise, but followed it up with a strong win over a ranked Ole Miss. The Tigers stay ranked this week. |
| 21 | Ole Miss | Ole Miss is also in trouble, having lost three straight. This will be an interesting week - home games against Texas and Auburn. |
| 22 | Memphis | New to ballot. I didn't want to rank Memphis, but they honestly look quite good and the metrics seem to like them. They're in a Gonzaga-type situation, though, with a weak conference slate. |
| 23 | Clemson | New to ballot. Clemson has quickly shown they're the best team in the ACC not named Duke, although Syracuse and Virginia Tech aren't exactly the class of the conference. |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | Vandy gave up 103 to Alabama, but then upset Kentucky. I think that's enough to keep them ranked, but they have arguably the toughest remaining schedule in the SEC. |
| 25 | Saint Mary's | New to ballot. The Gaels are back, with a convincing win over a very good San Francisco Dons team and an impressive road win at Washington State. This week should be fun: Santa Clara and Gonzaga. |
Overall Rationale
DROPPED FROM BALLOT: UConn (19), Michigan (21), Louisville (22), Wisconsin (24), West Virginia (25). NEW TO BALLOT: Texas, Maryland, Clemson, Memphis, Saint Mary's. ALMOST FAMOUS: 26. VCU, 27. Michigan, 28. UConn, 29. Gonzaga, 30. Utah State.