Rant Sports Week 4 Official College Basketball Top 25 Rankings
Top 25 Rankings for Week 4
You can expect a lot of change in the top 25 during this time of the year and for the rest of the season. That is exactly what you are going to see in this week’s college basketball rankings.
Both New Mexico and VCU are no longer in the top 25, which means a couple of new teams will be entering it this week. That does not mean that the Lobos or Rams will be banned from it all season, though, because that is definitely not the case.
Now that the best teams in the nation are not playing each other left and right, we may have a more stable top 10. However, this is college hoops we are talking about. Spoiler alert: Michigan State is still ranked No. 1. I am sure you could have guessed that.
With that in mind, North Carolina was down in the dumps and then beat the Louisville Cardinals. That was a huge win for Roy Williams’ team and definitely has the Tar Heels on the rise now.
Florida is finally getting back to full strength. Well, kind of. Damontre Harris is still suspended, Chris Walker is still ineligible and Kasey Hill is injured. At least senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin was able to rejoin the team.
Upsets are finally among us and I am sure we will be seeing a lot of them moving forward.
Well, get ready for another exciting week in college hoops by seeing the top 25 for Week 4.
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25. Gonzaga Bulldogs
I was getting ready to push the Gonzaga Bulldogs way up into the ranking and then they lose to Dayton. That is not a horrible loss, but the Bulldogs were expected to go undefeated for a very long time.
24. Arizona State Sun Devils
If you haven’t heard of Jahii Carson by now, you better get to know him real fast. Carson has been awesome so far and is putting up player of the year type of numbers. It helps that his team has already beaten UNLV and Marquette. Creighton is up next.
23. Massachusetts Minutemen
Massachusetts is currently the only ranked team in the Atlantic 10 and that is not a fluke. The Minutemen just got done upsetting the New Mexico Lobos and then beat Clemson in the following game. This is a team to watch out for all season long.
22. Michigan Wolverines
Michigan could very easily have three losses on the season already, but they beat a very underrated Florida State team in overtime. Regardless, the Wolverines have two losses on the year and they are lucky to be ranked right now.
21. UCLA Bruins
UCLA hasn’t really been challenged, but Jordan Adams continues to score the ball at a high rate and the Bruins continue to win.
20. Memphis Tigers
There still isn't a whole lot to say about this Memphis team. They lost by 21 points against Oklahoma State and have only played one game since then. The Tigers will be challenged here shortly, though.
19. Iowa Hawkeyes
Iowa could be one of the most underrated teams in the country and I hope it proves that. Xavier is up next and then the Hawkeyes will play Notre Dame on Dec. 3. The time for them to shine is now.
18. Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State has two solid wins on the season so far. One is against Michigan and the other one is against BYU.
17. Creighton Bluejays
Doug McDermott is averaging 27.5 points per game and eight rebounds per game. McDermott is crazy good, but it is going to be interesting to see if he can keep up those numbers once Big East play starts.
16. North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina got a huge win over the Louisville Cardinals. However, the Tar Heels still have to play Michigan State on Dec. 4 and Kentucky on Dec. 14. That is brutal.
15. Oregon Ducks
Oregon is a very talented team and it is not going anywhere this season--in terms of leaving the top 25. The Ducks have the team to challenge Arizona for a Pac-12 title, but we will have to wait some time to truly see that.
14. Wichita State Shockers
Wichita State is still undefeated and no one should be surprised by that. Saint Louis should provide a challenge and then the Shockers will have to play two SEC teams in back-to-back games (Dec. 14 and Dec. 17).
13. Baylor Bears
Some people may disagree with Baylor being ranked this high, but the Bears have a very, very good starting five. It is time to see if the Bears are the real deal. They will play Syracuse next. Plus, that showdown with Kentucky will take place on Dec. 6.
12. Connecticut Huskies
Connecticut has already beaten Maryland and Indiana on the year. A win against Florida would be the biggest of the season, but it will not be easy.
Regardless, Shabazz Napier is one of the best players in the country and he will show that every time he is on the court. Well, almost every time--only scored four points against Loyola (MD).
11. Florida Gators
Florida will play an underrated Florida State team next and then it will take on Connecticut, Kansas and Memphis in back-to-back-to-back games.
If the Gators can somehow win the next four games, they could be sitting nicely in the top five. However, they could lose the next four games as well, but I doubt that will be the case. Too bad Florida is not at full strength for this stretch, because it will be the toughest one of the season.
10. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville has only been tested once this season--against North Carolina--and it lost that game. I am not saying the Cardinals are not worthy of a top 10 ranking or anything like that, but they still need to win some big games because a No. 1, No. 2 or even a No. 3 seed is not going to be handed to them this year.
9. Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin has been really impressive so far. The Badgers have already beaten St. John’s, Florida and Saint Louis.
8. Syracuse Orange
Syracuse has beaten Minnesota and Cal in back-to-back games. Those are not the most impressive victories in the world, but they are still good ones. Baylor is up next and then Indiana. Who knows if the Orange will still be undefeated after those games.
7. Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes may be lacking a Deshaun Thomas, but they are a lot more balanced on the offensive side of the ball this season, so at least there is that.
The Buckeyes are still undefeated and that may be the case for a long time.
6. Duke Blue Devils
Duke almost lost to Vermont at home, but managed to win by the score of 91-90. It came away with the victory and that is really all that matters.
Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker are arguably the best duo in college basketball. They are both averaging 20+ points per game, so that is kind of hard to argue against.
5. Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky has still not beaten a quality opponent, but it will have a few opportunities to do so before SEC play begins. I still think the Wildcats could be the best team in the country, but they have yet to show that.
4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Marcus Smart is making a case for the best player in college hoops. He is also making a case for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.
Regardless, Oklahoma State has easily been one of the best scoring teams so far and it is 5-0 as a result.
3. Arizona Wildcats
Aaron Gordon has been getting a lot of attention, but I have been really impressed by Nick Johnson. Johnson is currently averaging 16.8 points per game and he is shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from behind the arc.
Regardless, Arizona is definitely a top team in college basketball.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
The victory against the Duke Blue Devils was no fluke, but I am waiting to see how this team responds to Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Georgetown. If the Jayhawks can beat all four of those teams, then they will have some serious bragging rights and could be the No. 1 team in the nation.
Before that can happen, though, Kansas will partake in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which features teams like Villanova, Iowa and Tennessee.
1. Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State may have the best trio in college basketball in Gary Harris, Adreian Payne and Keith Appling. All three are averaging near 17 points per game.
Until the Spartans are beaten, they will stay No. 1 in the rankings. It is as simple as that.
