gohogs1995's Week 8 Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UConn | Dominant so far. Will like to see how they try to maintain it and how they respond when they lose a game or two |
| 2 | Kansas | Could've put Purdue here but I like KU's Q1 wins. Big 12 play will be interesting with the Jayhawks going with more small ball this season |
| 3 | Purdue | Undefeated but have looked vulnerable in a couple recent games. Edey has been great and I'm interested in seeing if he can maintain being the guy through conf play. 3pt shooting concerning |
| 4 | Houston | Bounced back solidly from the Bama loss. Not a ton of opportunities in conf play to rack up solid wins. Offense looks pretty solid overall but seems like it could disappear randomly |
| 5 | UCLA | Some great metrics so far despite the two losses. Have stacked up some great wins recently. Could make a case for #1 in the coming weeks if teams in front of them falter |
| 6 | Arizona | Very good resume so far, Offense is elite but their Defense seems quite suspect. Could give them some trouble in conf play or in March |
| 7 | Arkansas | Might be a bit of bias, but right now I give Arkansas the edge over Bama and Tenn. We look much better than previous teams at this point despite injuries. Metrics keep improving after every win |
| 8 | Alabama | Look much more consistent than last year and have some great wins. Will need that consistency to keep up in SEC play but I think it will. Miller looks great, I hope Nick Smith is healthy when we play |
| 9 | Tennessee | Defense is elite, but offense is a bit questionable. no real go to guy but scoring spread fairly well. Defense will keep them in almost every game but I see a lot of cold shooting nights in SEC play |
| 10 | Texas | Could be higher but no Beard leaves me with lots of questions. Haven't really been tested since he was suspended. Big 12 play will be very interesting |
| 11 | Virginia | back to back losses kinda bring UVA back down to earth a bit. Think they're closer to a top 20-15 team than top 10 |
| 12 | Baylor | Feels like they've been both good but also disappointing. Great group of guards that I think can do a lot of damage but D has been meh. excited to see Arkansas go up against them at the end of Jan |
| 13 | Gonzaga | Not very high on the Zags this year. Other than the Bama win they've been mostly disappointing. Timme has been great though |
| 14 | Miami (FL) | Might be a little higher than they should be based on metrics but are 12-1 and got a solid win over UVA. Would like to see how they do as competition gets tougher |
| 15 | West Virginia | Kinda feels similar to Miami but with better metrics despite having more losses. A good team but the big 12 is so stacked they could easily finish anywhere |
| 16 | Wisconsin | Not too sure how I feel about Wisconsin as a whole but have looked solid so far. really should've had that gave vs Kansas. gonna frustrate teams in the B1G this year |
| 17 | New Mexico | Undefeated but the schedule hasn't been the toughest so far. Some tough teams in the MW so should be fun to see how they play. |
| 18 | Auburn | Might be higher than they should be but was impressed with their bounce back against Washington. Guard play and offense is iffy but I think they should be good enough to be top half in SEC |
| 19 | Xavier | Had a tough time with Xavier but they've played a tough schedule and had a good chance to win in all 3 of their losses. Should be a top BE team, big game next week against UConn |
| 20 | Kentucky | Quite disappointed with Kentucky so far. Could've kept them unranked but they've played a tough schedule and they've got the talent to turn it around |
| 21 | Duke | Similar to UK, 3 losses so far is disappointing but they've been dealing with more injuries. First year coach gives me more pause that they go on a huge roll in ACC play |
| 22 | Indiana | Feel like IU might get exposed a bit in conf play, was a little surprised with the hype around them.haven't showed that they can really compete with the big boys plus looked really bad against Rutgers |
| 23 | Virginia Tech | Feel like they've been really good and wanted to rank them higher but that loss to BC was REALLY bad |
| 24 | Mississippi State | A couple solid wins but everything else has been meh. Defense is good but offense will hold them back. Insanely tough start to SEC play where they can prove they are for real |
| 25 | Charleston | A very solid mid-major this year. Felt like they were more deserving of this spot than some other teams that have 3 and 4 losses but better overall metrics. |
Overall Rationale
Tried to base it off of metrics, body of work, and the eye test. There's a little bit of previous poll bias but tried to avoid it as best as possible. Others considered: TCU, ASU, Maryland, Memphis, Ohio State, UNC, Iowa State, TTU