Here are the first Prep Force Top 25 rankings for the year. I think it is quite silly to rank teams before you have seen them play a game and then once they do play rank them off of those preseason rankings. That is why I waited until teams had played enough meaningful games to actually be evaluated. I have done these rankings based upon how a team has played this far and how I think they would fare if the NCAA tournament started tomorrow. Therefore it would be silly to rank teams like Alabama and Memphis over Georgetown when they have already played and lost. With that said here are the rankings.
1. Kentucky – The win over UNC solidified the top spot for them.
2. Ohio State – Dismantling of Duke plus solid win over Florida makes them clear second.
3. North Carolina – Tough loss at Kentucky but who would you take in a neutral court matchup between them and Syracuse? Exactly!
4. Syracuse – Wont know much about them until they actually have to play a real road game, but the win over Florida was a good one.
5. Baylor – Beating Northwestern by 28 on the road is one of the most impressive wins of the season.
6. Connecticut – Ryan Boatright is a difference maker and they are much better with him.
7. Duke – Went from looking very impressive in Maui to very depressing in Columbus.
8. Xavier – Xavier’s wins at Vanderbilt and vs Purdue are more impressive than Louisville’s.
9. Marquette – The 7 point victory over Wisconsin on the road is a good one and is a good omen for their Big East chances.
10. Louisville – The win over Vanderbilt was not very encouraging but they did pull it out.
11. Missouri – Have been beating teams badly but haven’t really played a true road game yet and Cal was a perfect matchup for them.
12. Kansas – Tough week coming up will let us know more about this team.
13. Florida – Live by the 3 die by the 3 is the motto of this team.
14. Georgetown – A close loss to Kansas and wins over Memphis (neutral) and Alabama (road) is as impressive as any team below them.
15. Mississippi State – Two nice wins over Arizona and Texas A & M but the Akron loss sticks out like a sore thumb.
16. Wisconsin – Ill give them credit for the close game at UNC, but that was the perfect matchup for them. I think they are closer to what we saw vs Marquette.
17. Alabama – Have a bunch of good solid wins but haven’t really played a true road game and they were clearly outmatched vs Georgetown.
18. Creighton – The win at SDSU is a good one and they can really score.
19. Illinois – Good wins over Gonzaga and at Maryland to stay undefeated.
20. Pittsburgh – The win at Tennessee was a good one but team looks a little shaky.
21. Harvard – They just keep winning. We will truly how good they are after this week’s game with Connecticut.
22. UNLV – Two good wins over UNC and UC Santa Barbara and one bad one vs a good Wichita State team.
23. Purdue – Good showing in Puerto Rico and gave Xavier all they could handle on the road. They go as Robbie Hummel goes.
24. Indiana – Nice win at NC State highlights the perfect record. If they can stay within 10 at Kentucky they should be encouraged.
25. Gonzaga – Gets the last spot because I think they will beat Michigan State this week.