Rant Sports Week 5 Official College Basketball Top 25 Rankings

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Top 25 Rankings

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Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Did anyone expect the Michigan Wolverines to have three losses this early in the season? Well, if you did, then good job. Michigan is no longer a top 25 team thanks to its most recent loss to the Duke Blue Devils. Things are definitely starting to heat up in the top 25 rankings.

Florida already has two losses. Duke finally recorded a quality win. Syracuse and Arizona are still undefeated, among many other teams. So much has already happened in the 2013-14 college basketball season.

Michigan State will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels later on today. North Carolina may already have two losses, but I would not count it out of that game. It did beat Louisville. With that in mind, Roy Williams' team did not make the top 25 this week.

Kentucky will have a chance to earn its first win of the season over a ranked opponent. It will take on Baylor Dec. 6. The Bears managed to pull off the victory last season against the Wildcats and the same thing could happen this year if Kentucky takes them too lightly.

Whether the case, there will be some great matchups this week, which is basically the case in college hoops or any other sport on a week to week basis.

It’s going to be interesting to see which team will stay undefeated the longest, but I am sure no team will finish the regular season perfect.

Well, read on to see the rankings for Week 5 in college basketball.

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25. New Mexico Lobos

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Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

New Mexico doesn’t really have any major wins on its resume, but this is still one of the better teams in college hoops.

The Lobos will take on Kansas on Dec. 14. A New Mexico victory would be huge and really would not be that big of a surprise.

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24. Virginia Cavaliers

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Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports

Virginia has played one ranked team (at the time) this year and it lost that game. Well, the Cavaliers will play yet another top 10 team later on today. However, it will be against a really good Wisconsin team.

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23. San Diego State Aztecs

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Yet another MWC team that entered the rankings this week.

San Diego State is very hot right now. The Aztecs lost their second game of the season, but they have won their last four. May I remind you that the last two victories were against ranked opponents (at the time).

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22. Gonzaga Bulldogs

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James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Pangos is having a great year. He is currently averaging 20.4 points per game. He is also shooting 48.3 percent from behind the arc.

Regardless, Pangos is arguably the most important player on Gonzaga. If he keeps up this hot start, I am sure the Bulldogs will continue to win.

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21. Massachusetts Minutemen

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Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Massachusetts is still undefeated. However, it will take on BYU next. The Cougars have the talent to make the tournament, so that game will not be a gimme for the Minutemen.

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20. Florida Gators

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David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Florida is in serious trouble. Who plays point guard now that Scottie Wilbekin is injured? Hopefully him and Kasey Hill are able to take the court soon because Florida needs both of them in the lineup to be successful.

These injuries could not have come at a worse time for the Gators. They just lost to Connecticut and will play Kansas and Memphis in back-to-back games. Things could get ugly very quickly for this team.

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19. Iowa Hawkeyes

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Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Iowa has not beaten a ranked opponent yet, but wins against Xavier and Notre Dame still look good on the resume. Plus, the Hawkeyes did only lose to Villanova by five points in overtime.

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18. Baylor Bears

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Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Baylor lost to a top 10 team last week, but it will have the opportunity to get redemption against another top 10 team. Kentucky is ranked in the top five in this week’s rankings.

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17. UCLA Bruins

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Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA is still undefeated at 8-0. However, it will play Missouri next, who is also undefeated.

The Bruins will also take on Duke on Dec. 19. Both games should have them prepared for Pac-12 play.

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16. Iowa State Cyclones

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Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

The matchup against Iowa on Dec. 13 will more than likely feature two top 25 teams. It will also have the bragging rights of the state of Iowa on the line.

Iowa State is currently undefeated and looks like a serious threat for the Big 12 title.

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15. Memphis Tigers

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Revenge can be oh-so-very-sweet. Oklahoma State beat Memphis on Nov. 19. Fast forward a couple of weeks and you have the Tigers handing the Cowboys their first loss of the season.

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14. Villanova Wildcats

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Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Villanova could be the hottest team in the country. First, the Wildcats beat Kansas and then they beat another ranked opponent in Iowa.

If the Wildcats continue to win, both them and Syracuse could be ranked in the top 10 when they meet on Dec. 28.

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13. Oregon Ducks

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Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon was challenged in its first game of the season and that was basically it. However, the Ducks will take on Ole Miss and Illinois next. The Rebels are currently undefeated and the Fighting Illini only have one loss.

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12. Wichita State Shockers

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Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State does not have the toughest non-conference schedule in college hoops, but it has beaten every team that it has faced.

BYU and Saint Louis could easily find themselves in the dance this season and the Shockers beat both in back-to-back games.

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11. Duke Blue Devils

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Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Duke needed that win against Michigan. The Blue Devils are too talented to have three losses this early in the season--currently have two.

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10. Oklahoma State Cowboys

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Smart only scored 12 points this time around against Memphis. The Cowboys may have only lost by five, but a loss is a loss.

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9. Connecticut Huskies

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David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Shabazz Napier is one of the most clutch players in college hoops. He is also one of the best players and is a little underrated if you ask me.

Well, he made the game-winning shot against Florida. The Huskies are still undefeated and they are back in the national spotlight.

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8. Louisville Cardinals

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Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville rebounded against Southern Miss after losing the previous game to North Carolina. The Cardinals only allowed 38 points against the Golden Eagles.

Still, Louisville may not even be the best team in its conference thanks to the previous team.

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7. Wisconsin Badgers

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Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

No one should be surprised that Wisconsin is ranked this high. The Badgers have beaten a few solid teams already.

They were probably the most underrated team in the Big Ten entering the season, but that is definitely not the case now.

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6. Kansas Jayhawks

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Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas is no longer perfect, but that is okay. What’s not okay is that Andrew Wiggins only scored six points against UTEP. Not to mention, the Jayhawks only won by four points.

Kansas has a very tough stretch ahead of it. The Jayhawks have to play Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Georgetown this month.

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5. Syracuse Orange

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Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse has beaten Minnesota, California, Baylor and Indiana in its last four games. Three of those teams made the dance last year and Baylor ended up winning the NIT.

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4. Ohio State Buckeyes

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Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Ohio State currently has four players averaging 11 or more points per game. None of those players are Sam Thompson or LaQuinton Ross.

Regardless, the Buckeyes are finding ways to score. Plus, their defense is really, really good.

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3. Kentucky Wildcats

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Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

It’s time to see how good this Kentucky Wildcats team can be. Sure, it already lost to Michigan State, but this young squad has had time to get used to one another.

The Wildcats will play Baylor, Boise State, North Carolina, Belmont and Louisville in the month of December.

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2. Arizona Wildcats

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Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona passed a huge test by beating Duke. The Wildcats came into the season as one of the best teams and that is still the case.

I am sure they will continue to win, but it will be interesting to see how this team will do once conference play begins. Last year the Wildcats entered Pac-12 play undefeated, but then went on to lose six games before the conference tournament.

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1. Michigan State Spartans

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Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State can get another quality win with a victory over North Carolina later on today.

The Tar Heels have been disappointing so far, but some of that has to do with P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald being suspended. Still, North Carolina did beat Louisville.

The Spartans are still the best team in the country and they are going to be very tough to beat.

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