CLAYTON'S WEEK TEN AP TOP 25 BALLOT:
1.Auburn
2.Gonzaga
3.Wisconsin
4.Baylor
5.Purdue
6.Kansas
7.Arizona
8.Villanova
9.LSU
10.Iowa State
11.Duke
12.Kentucky
13.Michigan State
14.Houston
15.UCLA
16.Texas Tech
17.Ohio State
18.USC
19.Providence
20.Xavier
21. Illinois
22.Loyola Chicago
23.BYU
24.UConn
25.Davidson
ALMOST IN — Iowa, San Diego State, TCU, Wyoming, Marquette, Colorado State, Murray State
DROPPED OUT — Seton Hall (18), Tennessee (22), Miami (25)
THE RANKING — There will be a new No. 1 in this week's AP Top 25, but will it be Auburn or Gonzaga? Voters will undoubtedly be split, but I'm giving the Tigers the edge. Their only loss was in double overtime on a neutral site against a tournament team in UConn. They are also No. 1 in strength of resume compared to the Zags, who are No. 10. Auburn also just beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide own a neutral site win over Gonzaga.
Wisconsin climbs to No. 3 in my ballot. I have been singing the Badgers' praises for much of this season, and Thursday's win over Ohio State should have voters joining the choir. They are 15-2, with nine Quad 1 and 2 wins. Their only losses were to the Buckeyes--now a series split--and to Providence when they did not have Johnny Davis.
Baylor only drops to No. 4 because, up until their 0-2 week, they were THAT far ahead of the rest of the pack.
Kansas checks in at No. 5. After victories over Iowa State and West Virginia, the Jayhawks now have seven Quad 1 and 2 wins. Arizona comes in right behind them at 14-1.
Villanova topped Xavier for the second time this season, adding to a resume haul that includes wins over Seton Hall and Tennessee as well. The Wildcats have four losses: To UCLA, Purdue, Baylor and Creighton, who they beat by 34 three weeks later.
Kentucky had one of the most impressive beatdowns of a Top 25 team that I have seen in recent memory. The Wildcats shot almost 70% from the floor FOR THE GAME in their 107-79 win over Tennessee. The one thing missing from the Wildcats' resume was a Top 25 win. They took care of that and them some this weekend.
I gave Kentucky the slight edge over Michigan State due to their double-digit margin of victory this season. This should sort itself out with the Spartans playing Wisconsin on Friday and the Wildcats playing at Auburn on Saturday.
At the start of the week, Texas Tech was in my Top 15, but the shine of Tuesday's win at Baylor lost some of its luster after the Bears 0-2 week, coupled with the Red Raiders loss to Kansas State. Even still, I moved Texas Tech up to No. 16 in my ballot.
The 11-6 Oregon played disrupter in Pac-12 play last week, topping both UCLA and USC. The home loss dropped the Bruins to 18th in strength of resume, 21st in NET, and No. 15 in my poll. USC, who entered the week as one of two remaining unbeaten teams, stomached losses to Stanford on the road, and to the Ducks at home. I dropped the Trojans to No. 18 in my poll.
Admittedly, there was not much separating teams 23-30 this week. Tennessee, Seton Hall and Miami deserved to drop off my ballot after losses. Iowa, Murray State, Colorado State, TCU, Wyoming, Marquette and San Diego State all received consideration. But BYU, UConn and Davidson made it this week due to their overall resume.
I typically try to avoid entering a new team in my Top 25 if they lost that week, but even with a blowout loss to Gonzaga, the Cougars still tied for the most points scored against the Zags this season with 84, and picked up a Quad 1 win over San Francisco. In their win over St. John's, UConn looked to be getting their feet back under them after their COVID-19 pause. Davidson has now won 13 straight and owns a win over Alabama.