kesodop's Week 3 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga | UMass Lowell might win the America East. Gonzaga might win the NCAA tourney. Few's squad is incredible: any one of FIVE guys can beat you on any night. Against Lowell it was Khalif Battle (4-4 3pt). |
| 2 | Auburn | It looks like Chaney Johnson is now the spark plug off Bruce Pearl's bench. His team might now be the favorite against Iowa St and the others in Maui. |
| 3 | Kansas | Hunter Dickinson was awesome against Michigan St. He is also averaging 18.5 pts a game (his prior 3 seasons: 17.9, 18.5, 18.6). Mr. Consistent. |
| 4 | UConn | Le Moyne is very very bad (344 KenPom). Although that's *slightly* better than the Huskies' previous and next foes: New Hampshire and East Texas A&M, respectively. Oh, then Maui. Trial by fire, much? |
| 5 | Tennessee | Zakai Zeigler had a combined 30 pts and 15 assists in two games this week. Next comes Baha Mar, ft. St. John's and Baylor (and UVa; why Tony Bennett, why!). |
| 6 | Houston | Some thought the Ragin' Cajuns could surp- just kidding, nobody thought that. No Louisiana player scored in double figures, and Houston made 43.5% of their 3s. Don't poke the bear (edit: cougar). |
| 7 | Purdue | Braden Smith has 38 assists in four games, including 16 against Yale and Alabama this week. Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn are his primary beneficiaries . |
| 8 | Marquette | Marquette stepped up a weight class and went to College Park, and Kam Jones outdueled Ja'Kobi Gillespie in a narrow Golden Eagles win. However, this week Purdue comes to Fiserv, and they look scary. |
| 9 | Duke | Duke lost to Kentucky. Cooper Flagg had 26 pts and 12 boards, but also 3 late turnovers. And also completely failed to box out on UK's missed FT with Duke down 3 and 5 seconds left. |
| 10 | Iowa State | Kansas City was (by far) the best team the Cyclones will play until the aforementioned Maui Invitational. Tamin Lipsey didn't play like himself, but he will need to be for Iowa St to compete in Hawaii |
| 11 | Kentucky | In the win against Duke, everybody helped. Well, except Jaxson Robinson, who had 14 pts against Bucknell. Point is, Mark Pope has a deep and talented team. |
| 12 | Cincinnati | Better name & game combo: Jizzle James or Simas Lukosius? The good news for Wes Miller is that he doesn't have to choose, he has both. |
| 13 | Texas Tech | JT Toppin is a force. Texas Tech scored more points in the second half than Wyoming did in the game. If I'm Pine Bluff, I'm waving the white flag before Monday night. |
| 14 | North Carolina | How to effectively win a game, a guide by Hubert Davis: outrebound other team 46-23, out-assist them 16-6, and score 16 more points off turnovers. UNC beat American by 52. |
| 15 | Alabama | Against McNeese, Philon started and stunk and Wrightsell Jr. sat and starred. Against Purdue it was the inverse. Nate Oats must figure it out before more tests: Illinois, Houston and Rutgers. |
| 16 | Baylor | Tarleton St, albeit not very good, scored 13 first-half points against Baylor. Also, star Bahamian freshman VJ Edgecombe has scored an increasing amount of points each game. Bears' next stop: Nassau. |
| 17 | Creighton | 3 total cupcakes and Kansas City, 4 Bluejay wins. However, Kalkbrenner has cooled off, and there are quite literally no more "easy wins" left on the schedule. The gauntlet starts now. |
| 18 | Florida | Tallahassee is a tough place for any opponent, let alone the Gators. That's why Florida is glad that they have Walter Clayton (25 pts) and the 'Noles don't. |
| 19 | St. John's | The Pitino Bowl was won by the elder, and every Red Storm starter scored 13+ pts. However, their lack of depth showed, and Baylor and/or Tennessee will jump on any weakness in the Bahamas. |
| 20 | Arizona | John Tonje scored 41 against the Wildcats in Madison. Arizona shot 17.4% from 3, and the Badgers 44.4% from distance. Only losing by 15 should be a moral victory for Tommy Lloyd. |
| 21 | Texas A&M | Either Ohio St are frauds or UCF are very good, or simply A&M is inconsistent. Anyhow, Wade Taylor IV needs to start scoring again, ASAP. |
| 22 | Pitt | "That John Denver song sucks, anyway" -Damian Dunn after crushing WVU (source: my imagination). All jokes aside, Jeff Capel has something brewing in western PA. |
| 23 | Indiana | Is Mackenzie Mgbako showing the most improvement from last year in the nation? Perhaps, but it's the additions of Myles Rice and Oumar Ballo that have Hoosiers fans dreaming. |
| 24 | VCU | VCU's three-headed monster (Joe Bamisile, Phillip Russell, and Max Shulga) will likely keep the Rams favored in every game until New Mexico on 12/18, Dayton on 2/7 or 3/7, or the NCAA Tourney. |
| 25 | Mississippi State | Josh Hubbard has become the scorer for the Bulldogs. However, he's their only player averaging north of 13 pts/game. Defense will only carry you so far, and help is needed. |
Overall Rationale
Used a combination of KenPom, EvanMiya, and ESPN BPI. I also started to judge teams that still haven't played anybody noteworthy more harshly, as 3-4 games in without being tested doesn't reveal too much.