MAFIAxMaverick's Week 4 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | Stole the show at Maui with impressive wins and a championship. |
| 2 | Marquette | Also an impressive showing at Maui with a valiant effort in the championship against Purdue. Rebounding was the difference...but Edey is just so good. |
| 3 | Arizona | Continued their impressive start to the season capping of their Feast Week tourney with a win over a soon to be unranked MSU. |
| 4 | UConn | Still undefeated in dominant fashion. All double digit victories. |
| 5 | Houston | Same as Uconn, but perhaps even more dominant wins. |
| 6 | Duke | Have rebounded from the early season loss to Arizona. Absolutely dominant showing over an under the radar La Salle team. |
| 7 | Kansas | Unexpectedly blown out by Marquette at Maui. Showed some of this squad's weakness. Still a title contender. Rebounded with a good win over Tennessee. |
| 8 | Miami (FL) | Still undefeated without much of a challenge. Big game against Kentucky tomorrow night. |
| 9 | Baylor | Tough win over a good Gators squad to win the NIT Season Tip-Off. Gauntlet of games coming up in December that will show the identity of this squad. |
| 10 | Kentucky | Dominant wins since their loss to Kansas. |
| 11 | Tennessee | A tough showing at Maui - played both Purdue and Kansas hard. This is a very good team. |
| 12 | Gonzaga | Rebounded from an early loss against Purdue with wins over Syracuse and a very good UCLA squad. |
| 13 | Florida Atlantic | ESPN Events Invitational Champs - beat Texas A&M and a Virginia Tech team that handled Iowa State. I think the Bryant loss was a bump in the road. |
| 14 | North Carolina | Not the showing the Tar Heels hoped for in Battle 4 Atlantis - but they did bounce back with a strong win against Arkansas. Big game against Tennessee this week. |
| 15 | Creighton | I think the loss to CSU looks shocking because of the final score - but they lost to a very good team. Some big matchups to finish up non-con before the Big East gauntlet starts. |
| 16 | Texas | A tough loss to a good Uconn squad. Kadin Shedrick is finding his form at Texas - which bodes well for the Longhorns. |
| 17 | Texas A&M | A huge rally to beat Iowa State after a tough loss to FAU. Aggies have a matchup against a stout Virginia defense this week. |
| 18 | Villanova | Nova handled UNC and Memphis en route to at Battle 4 Atlantis Championship. A big non-con matchup against UCLA next week. |
| 19 | James Madison | The Dukes keep winning. A single loss probably drops them off the top 25, but until then, I think they're one of the best 25 teams in college basketball. |
| 20 | Colorado State | A big win against Creighton puts the undefeated Rams on the map. The Rams have a big matchup against Colorado this week. |
| 21 | Colorado | The Buffs responded from their defeat to FSU with a big win over Iona. A matchup against rival CSU is must-watch basketball this week. |
| 22 | San Diego State | Aztecs have rebounded from their early season loss. I think the WCC is going to be a much better conference than I thought at the start of the year. |
| 23 | Illinois | Has the ability to beat good teams. Non-con matchups against FAU and Tennessee next week will give me a better metric of this squad before the gauntlet of the Big 10 starts. |
| 24 | Memphis | A big win over a ranked Arkansas squad. The loss to Villanova showcased a furious comeback from the Tigers that fall short. |
| 25 | Nebraska | Undefeated with the chance to show they belong in the conversation of top 25 with a huge matchup against Creighton this week. |
Overall Rationale
I thought Feast Week was going to tell me all I needed to know, and I feel vindicated to a point with the Top 15. But there are still a ton of big non-conference matchups coming in the next few weeks. Been a fun season of college basketball so far with some great games and some big upsets. The squads dropped from my ballot this week have the potential to get back on there. UVA's ugly loss and ugly win were painful to watch. Big matchup with Texas A&M at JPJ this week. Gutted my Golden Eagles couldn't pull out the W against Purdue, but what a fun three nights of basketball it was to watch. On the cusp - BYU, TCU - BYU ahead of TCU but both teams are playing well so far. Dropped - Virginia, UCLA, USC, Alabama, Arkansas - Idk why I'm so low on Alabama compared to the other polls. But they have a chance to show me what they're made of with a gauntlet of games against Purdue, Creighton, and Arizona in the next few weeks. Arkansas still a good squad - I'm sure they'll be back in my poll. Same with UCLA. USC is slightly more of an enigma for me. The talent and chemistry are there, but it's a young team that is going to have some ups and downs throughout the season. But they're the kind of team that can get hot at the right time and make big runs. UNC Greensboro is also intriguing. If they can run the table going into their matcup with Texas and upset the Longhorns...well that would be something.