MAFIAxMaverick's Week 5 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | Clear cut number 1 at this point. |
| 2 | Houston | Undefeated and continue to win in dominating fashinon. Their victory over Xavier was their first victory by less than double digits this year. |
| 3 | Kansas | Rebounded from Maui with a fantastic win over Uconn,. |
| 4 | UConn | Stays put. Tough loss against Kansas - but the Huskies are a complete team and still merit being in the discussion for top 5. |
| 5 | Purdue | Crushing loss on the road at Northwestern. Team still has all the tools to lift a banner. |
| 6 | Baylor | The Bears have quietly played their way into this ranking. Haven't had any flashy matchups, but have been winning in dominating fashion. |
| 7 | North Carolina | Great comeback against FSU and a strong win against Tennessee. This Tar Heel squad is starting to hit their stride. |
| 8 | Florida Atlantic | Dominant and playing fantastic team basketball; Owls have 4 players averaging double digits and 6 players averaging 9+ points a game. |
| 9 | Marquette | I said it in the preseason - rebounding and Oso Ighodaro are going to determine success. -17 on the boards against Wisconsin with a below average game by Oso. +2 rebounding against Southern... |
| 10 | Gonzaga | Gonzaga is performing well in a strong non-conference schedule thus far. |
| 11 | Colorado State | The Rams are riding high after an impressive rivalry win and beating Washington. Another team where all the starters are contributing and the bench is deep. |
| 12 | Creighton | Dominated a Nebraska team that was getting a lot of talk (SOS truthers feasting). The Big East will be a 3 (maybe 4) way battle for the top spot this year. |
| 13 | Kentucky | Dominated Miami. Stunned by UNC Wilmington. It's a bad loss, but I still think this Kentucky team is a force to be reckoned with. |
| 14 | Duke | Rough week for Jon Scheyer. Two teams they should beat this week before a matchup with Baylor. |
| 15 | Miami (FL) | An ugly loss to Kentucky. KenPom and BartTorvik don't like this Miami team and that Kentucky loss helped prove their point. ACC schedule will flesh it out more. |
| 16 | James Madison | The Dukes keep winning. So they keep rising. |
| 17 | Texas | I'm still high on this Texas team (though I hope my Golden Eagles take care of business this week). Should finish the year with 0 or 1 loss before a gauntlet in January. |
| 18 | Oklahoma | Undefeated with good wins over USC and Iowa. |
| 19 | BYU | Undefeated and dominant. The Cougars could be undefeated going into the New Year before some big matchups in January. |
| 20 | Clemson | Undefeated with a great win over Alabama. The Tigers get two fellow undefeated teams this week. |
| 21 | Illinois | Have looked really good since that loss against Marquette. FAU and Tennessee this week, both strong matchups. |
| 22 | Texas A&M | The Aggies got handled by Virginia, but are still a quality team. If they lose to DePaul...that's a different story. Memphis matchup on Sunday will be another good test for this squad. |
| 23 | Ole Miss | The Rebels continue to win close games - but the Ws keep coming. They could also go into the New Year with a perfect record before the SEC matchups start. |
| 24 | Princeton | Undefeated and doing so comfortably for the most part. Three players contributing a combined 52 points a game. |
| 25 | Cincinnati | Undefeated and winning in dominant fashion. |
Overall Rationale
On the cusp - Tennessee, Virginia, UCLA, Alabama, Ohio State, Nevada, TCU, South Carolina, Northwestern. I have learned doing a weekly poll is hard and I have a newfound respect for people who do it officially as a part of their job. Tried to give love to the remaining undefeated teams this week (sorry Nevada, TCU, and South Carolina). If TCU beats Georgetown without that controversial ending, I probably have them in that 25 spot. I think Tennessee is still a great team. Folded in their recent gauntlet of games, but the Vols will be back. Virginia comfortably beat Texas A&M and rocked Syracuse. If the Cavs can find offensive consistency - they'll be in a good spot. All in all....there's chaos in college basketball this year and I am loving it.