DI9_ForLife's Week 6 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn | Could be a stretch but they’ve passed the eye test for me so far, their win over UNC was really impressive to me. |
| 2 | Houston | We won’t know for sure until conference play, but this Houston team looks even more complete than last year’s |
| 3 | Arizona | Maybe I’m selling them a bit short but I’m not totally convinced by Arizona yet. Check back after the Purdue game. |
| 4 | Kansas | This team has some issues but they still look very, very good |
| 5 | Purdue | Purdue is good but I’m not totally sold on them either (a la Arizona). They did pick up an impressive win over Bama though, so that cements them in the top 5 |
| 6 | Marquette | I like this team, and judging by how they played against KU and ND, I really think they could make a great run this year. |
| 7 | Baylor | They quietly look really solid. |
| 8 | Creighton | L to CSU aside, they’re a darkhorse pick for the title imo |
| 9 | North Carolina | This is probably the highest I’ve been on a UNC team since 2018 or 19. They look really good. |
| 10 | Tennessee | They have 3 losses, sure, but they were all to great teams, and they were able to convincingly beat a good Illinois team too. |
| 11 | Gonzaga | Their losses were only to good teams (yes, I think Washington could be legit this year) and overall they look good. |
| 12 | Kentucky | Win against Miami, lose to UNCW, win against Penn. Welcome to the modern Kentucky experience. |
| 13 | Oklahoma | Apparently they decided to be good at basketball, nice. |
| 14 | Colorado State | They’ve been quite the surprise this year, although I was shocked that they lost to Saint Mary’s. Still think they’re gonna be the best Mountain West team. |
| 15 | Illinois | The best Illinois has looked in years. |
| 16 | Clemson | Ditto to Illinois, hell of a start for Clemson this year. |
| 17 | Florida Atlantic | This FAU team is legit. Loss to Bryant aside, they’ve beat some pretty good teams this year and only lost to an Illinois that I’m high on. I’d say they’ll be a contender again come tournament time. |
| 18 | James Madison | The surprise of the year so far. Maybe they’ll be this year’s Cinderella story. |
| 19 | Virginia | They’ve looked pretty much the same as they have for the last couple years. Not sure how they’re not ranked in the AP poll. |
| 20 | BYU | BYU is good, but the loss to Utah kinda makes me pump the brakes a bit on them. |
| 21 | Northwestern | They’ve looked just as good, if not better than last year’s team. Their win over Purdue was very impressive and makes them more than deserving of a spot in the rankings. |
| 22 | Texas | I’m much lower on this Texas team than I was last year’s, especially if a *very* bad Louisville team was one shot away from beating them, but maybe that was just a fluke? |
| 23 | Miami (FL) | Miami was looking to be top 15, then they got blown out by Colorado. 23 might even be a bit generous for them. |
| 24 | Ole Miss | I’m not sold on Ole Miss and am not sure if they’re gonna sustain this success in conference play, but they keep winning, so it’s hard to not rank them. |
| 25 | Saint Joseph's | Probably the most underrated team in the NCAA rn. At the rate they’re going, they could be a threat come March as a 12 seed, maybe even better. |
Overall Rationale
26 - Texas A&M Also Considered: Nevada, Wisconsin, Arkansas, SDSU, TCU, Ohio State, Princeton, UCLA, Iowa State, Cincinnati