thrownaway12211's Week 3 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | LW: 1 | A great comeback vs Kentucky ensures they stay here. |
| 2 | UConn | LW: 2 | Hard to drop them given their dominance. Have beaten every opponent so far by at least 20. |
| 3 | Arizona | LW: 3 | The Wildcats have scored at least 97 points in 4 of their 5 games so far and beat Duke in the other, all while not conceding over 73 points yet this year. Need I say more? |
| 4 | Purdue | LW: 4 | A win over Xavier is good, but a win over #10 Gonzaga tonight will really start putting pressure on Arizona to perform. |
| 5 | Houston | LW: 5 | Does Houston have the scariest defense in the country? They've only allowed more than 60 points once and over 50 twice. Their offense will need to improve a touch eventually, though. |
| 6 | Creighton | LW: 7 | Now that Creighton has a marquee win of their own, they surpass the Vols again. The only reason they were lower was the Bluejays didn't have a great win; now they do. |
| 7 | Tennessee | LW: 6 | Tennessee only played one game this week, throttling Wofford. They look good, they've just gotta play more to prove it. Beating Syracuse tonight would be a good first step. |
| 8 | Marquette | LW: 8 | Marquette has a great win early in the season, beating fringe top-25 team Illinois pretty decisively. They get UCLA tonight, which is a game I'll be watching with earnest. |
| 9 | Duke | LW: 9 | Duke picked up a pair of good wins this week, beating Michigan State pretty comfortably and demolishing Bucknell. Their next big test is next week at Arkansas. |
| 10 | Gonzaga | LW: 12 | Gonzaga has moved above Miami because unlike the Canes, they didn't struggle to feast on their weaker competition. They play #4 Purdue tonight in their first true test. |
| 11 | Miami (FL) | LW: 10 | Miami nearly lost to then-winless FIU, but have since responded by thrashing Georgia and K-State. The Canes also don't play a game at all this week. |
| 12 | Baylor | LW: 13 | Baylor was untroubled this week, winning by 38 against Summit League team Kansas City. They play Oregon State this week in what should be another good win. |
| 13 | Alabama | LW: 15 | Alabama continues to rise, having not scored less than 98 points all year, admittedly against not-great competition. A game this week vs Ohio State should test them. |
| 14 | Kentucky | LW: 14 | A loss to #1 Kansas is buttressed by other teams around them losing to far worse opponents, plus a 34-point smacking of Stonehill. Games against St. Joe's and #11 Miami should be good. |
| 15 | Iowa State | LW: NR | The Cyclones have been burying opponents all season, and that continued with a 92-37 demolition of Grambling. They haven't really played much competition, but their schedule gets harder soon. |
| 16 | BYU | LW: NR | BYU has looked great this year, including a marquee victory against San Diego State. It's hard to ignore the Cougars. |
| 17 | Texas | LW: 18 | Texas moves up a spot because USC lost, but gets held back from further ascent because they nearly lost to Louisville. A win against #2 UConn in MSG would certainly change that trajectory. |
| 18 | Oregon | LW: 19 | The Ducks are 3-0 now, having pushed around Tennessee State to the tune of a 92-67 win. They need to beat Michigan on 12/2 to move up more than just a couple spots a week, though. |
| 19 | Mississippi State | LW: NR | Mississippi State is 5-0 with three P6 wins, all of which have come by at least 9 points. The Bulldogs only have GT and Rutgers left to test them before SEC play. |
| 20 | San Diego State | LW: NR | Guess who's back? I dropped the Aztecs for losing to now-#16 BYU early in the season, but as BYU's impressed, the loss looks better. Plus, they've won every other game, including Washington. |
| 21 | Princeton | Princeton might F around and find themselves in the top 20. The Tigers have not stopped since last March, taking names left and right in the early season. |
| 22 | UC San Diego | Hey, the Tritons are 4-0! In their last year before tournament eligibility, I'm throwing UCSD a bone. Three decent wins for a mid-major plus a destruction of D3 La Verne lands them here. |
| 23 | Bradley | The Braves are 3-0 with wins over reigning NIT champs UAB on the road, Utah State, and Tarleton. They were picked near the top of the MVC in the preseason, and they're currently showing why. |
| 24 | UMass Lowell | UMass-Lowell, in the span of three days, beat Georgia Tech and ALMOST beat Arizona State. The Riverhawks may be the first team in nearly a decade to beat Vermont for the America East title. |
| 25 | UC Irvine | Two ranked UC schools and neither of them are UCLA? Weird. The Anteaters took the scalp of then-#17 USC and have won 4 straight. Zot Zot! |
Overall Rationale
I give my true top 20 + 5 more mid-major teams I feel deserve recognition. Dropped from Ranking: #11 Florida Atlantic, #16 Arkansas, #17 USC, #20 Iowa, #21 James Madison, #22 Weber State, #24 Western Carolina, #25 Purdue-Fort Wayne