Thickrichchicken's Week 2 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auburn | After some horsing around they pulled it together and got a win in a tough environment. This could be some of Pearl's best work. |
| 2 | Gonzaga | Dominant win against Baylor followed by a not quite so dominant win against Arizona state. They are experienced, they are returners to the system, and they are good. |
| 3 | Kansas | Beat what seems like a slightly flawed North Carolina team and let them back into the game. Storr cooperating still is a storyline to watch |
| 4 | Duke | Kneuppel being the go to scoring option is a revelation. Allows Flagg to play within himself and to his strengths. Still may be the most pure talent on a team in CBB |
| 5 | Houston | They may have lost to Auburn but they will be okay. Uzan fits and they will bounce back and be better for this. |
| 6 | UConn | Mahaney still shows he is mainly a volume scorer. McNeely looks like what they signed up for. Maui will still tell more about what this team might be. |
| 7 | Tennessee | Beat Louisville by more than they beat Gardner Webb. Suffocating defense still on display, rebounding was excellent. Very big and strong. Ziegler is great but needs to clean up turnovers. |
| 8 | Iowa State | Beat Miss Valley State by a ton but that isn't saying much. Excited to see them against actual competition at some point |
| 9 | Alabama | A little too close for comfort against Arkansas state after almost doubling up UNC asheville. Team will face Purdue this week in one hell of a matchup |
| 10 | Arizona | Townsend nothing spectacular yet but he also hasn't had to be after two giant blowouts. |
| 11 | Creighton | I guess Kalkbrenner is just going to be a 90/100/90 guy. Playing out of his mind, like a true Wooden award candidate |
| 12 | North Carolina | Showed resilience in a game they likely shouldn't have been in. Still miss Bacot. Having three very good to great guards make this team exciting. |
| 13 | Purdue | Does any team want to step up and act like the team to beat in the conference? At least Braden Smith is still an assist machine. |
| 14 | St. John's | Two easy wins and Pitino is still upset with his guys. Gotta love it |
| 15 | Texas Tech | JT Toppin has been great in his new home and they have treated both of their Bye games just like what they are, bye games. |
| 16 | Baylor | Blown out by Gonzaga and didn't look like a top 25 team. Then came back and had a strong showing against Arkansas. Still major froncourt depth concerns, they just look small |
| 17 | Kentucky | They pass well, shoot well, and play an exciting brand of basketball. True test comes against Duke this week. |
| 18 | Cincinnati | They play well together, are fairly deep, and metrics love them. They don't play a high quality opponent until either late December or January based on how things shake out. |
| 19 | Indiana | I am wary about Mike Woodson coached teams. Both games just seemed to look a little too clunky and difficult for Indiana. They have the talent if deployed correctly and if they show any effort. |
| 20 | Wake Forest | Beat a Michigan team I really like in a "neutral site" game after being down double digits in the first half. Sallis still dealing with an injury but playing fairly well. Supporting cast is supporting |
| 21 | Marquette | Kam Jones is a hell of a player and makes guys around him better. I like this Marquette team but I also usually do and that doesn't always end up well in the end. |
| 22 | Illinois | Kasparis has looked good and distributes well though not quite the scoring threat advertised. They still have a ways to go defensively but newcomers like freshman Riley keep them in games offensively |
| 23 | Michigan | Two headed monster in Goldin and Wolf. I like what I am seeing from Donaldson. They play a bit sloppy at times but if they clean it up they have the potential to cause other teams problems. |
| 24 | Arkansas | Looked shaky in their first game despite a larger margin of victory. The game against Baylor they actually looked a little more put together but they have a long way to go. |
| 25 | VCU | Does it seem early to rank a non power 5 team? Yes. But I believe in this team. They haven't even had to rely on Max Shulga being Max Shulga yet. |
Overall Rationale
Just as I thought already some big movement. I don't like teams struggling in "bye games" which is why teams like Ole Miss didn't make it and some other teams may have dropped slightly. Dropped out: Texas A&M (gelling early was key and they didn't appear to. Forced offense especially in the end stages), Kansas State(does not look smooth, Dug Mcdaniels doesn't look like himself, Hawkins doesn't look like the NBA prospect he is), UCLA (Lost to New Mexico and didn't overly impress in win against Rider), Louisville (The depth and offense didn't look anywhere close to a finished product, two straight games of bad shooting)