willweaverrva's Week 15 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | This was a tough decision as both Auburn and Duke dropped games while Alabama won. I don't subscribe to the "teams should be ranked below teams who beat them" philosophy, so Auburn gets to stay #1... |
| 2 | Alabama | ...although I gave strong consideration to giving Alabama the #1 spot this week after their impressive road win against Arkansas. I think it's close, but Auburn's resume is just more impressive. |
| 3 | Florida | Again, just because a team beats a higher ranked team doesn't mean they get to jump that team, so beating Auburn doesn't make Florida #1. If Auburn drops another game, though, they can get there. |
| 4 | Duke | Really tough road loss for Duke. Clemson is a team getting hot at the right time. Duke's remaining ACC schedule is relatively easy but there are a lot of trap games ahead. |
| 5 | Houston | Houston remains a metrics darling, but beating two of the worst teams in the Big 12 doesn't really do much for them, especially with the top 4 being so much better. |
| 6 | Purdue | After a very rocky December and a stumble in January, Purdue has finally found its mojo. |
| 7 | Texas A&M | This is mainly a correction after my wonky poll entry from last week, but I still think Texas A&M is underrated. |
| 8 | Tennessee | Tennessee has done a good job of bouncing back from a very inconsistent January, although Mizzou took them down to the wire. |
| 9 | St. John's | Rick Pitino's squad doesn't impress the metrics with their offense, but this St. John's team is dangerous. With Marquette and UConn stumbling, it's either St. John's or Creighton in the Big East. |
| 10 | Michigan State | TOUGH loss on the road to UCLA followed up by an impressive win over a fading Oregon team. A big test against a wounded Illinois team awaits. |
| 11 | Texas Tech | I had Texas Tech at #4 for some reason last week. Although the metrics love them, they're not THAT good, and Arizona more or less thrashed them. |
| 12 | Michigan | A couple of close but hard-fought wins combined with losses by other teams gives Michigan a big boost. The Oregon game was fun but shouldn't have been that close though. |
| 13 | Kansas | Danger, danger, Kansas has lost 3 of its last 6. Kansas is still this high by virtue of me not wanting to toss an unranked team (Creighton) up into the top 13, but the ship could be sinking. |
| 14 | Iowa State | Big loss to Kansas on the road, 30-point win over TCU at home. |
| 15 | Creighton | New to ballot. Creighton has come out of nowhere, with 9 straight wins including wins over UConn and Marquette. The Bluejays are making a run and could challenge St. John's for the Big East title. |
| 16 | Kentucky | |
| 17 | Ole Miss | |
| 18 | Wisconsin | |
| 19 | Clemson | It's not often a team recovers from a heartbreaking loss in 3OT by getting a stunning comeback win over Duke. Clemson did that, and they move up as a result. |
| 20 | Marquette | |
| 21 | Arizona | New to ballot. After having the dubious honor of being rated in the top 15 on KenPom with a losing record, Arizona has seriously turned it around with some very impressive wins. |
| 22 | UCLA | |
| 23 | Memphis | |
| 24 | VCU | New to ballot. No, I'm not being a homer. VCU has quickly transformed into one of the best defensive teams in the country, and gutted out an improbable win at Dayton after being punched in the mouth. |
| 25 | Missouri |
Overall Rationale
DROPPED FROM BALLOT: Maryland (16), UConn (19), Saint Mary's (21). NEW TO BALLOT: Creighton, Arizona, VCU. ALMOST FAMOUS: 26. UConn, 27. San Francisco, 28. Maryland, 29. New Mexico, 30. Saint Mary's.