With Indiana’s thrilling win over No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State’s loss without All-America Jared Sullinger (back spasms), the top of the rankings took a hit. But, it’s only superficial. I only dropped Kentucky to No. 5, partly because Assembly Hall is a tough place to play and it took a last-second 3-pointer to secure the win. Of course, Ohio State wasn’t the same without Sullinger — and coach Thad Matta isn’t sure when he’ll return — so they still can sit at No. 3.
Syracuse ascends to No. 1, which isn’t a comfortable spot for any team this year. I’m still not sold on Louisville, but until they lose, it’s hard to put them very much lower. Indiana’s win puts them at No. 20 on my ballot and Illinois, the other unbeaten Big Ten team, stays in the Top 25. The Illini get a big test on Dec. 22 against Missouri.
I’ve ranked Michigan State on my ballot for a few weeks now, but they finally cracked the Top 25 after a win at No. 22 Gonzaga, which my colleague Matt Charboneau (MSU beat writer) tells me is huge. And, despite its loss, Harvard stays on my list, because, we’ll just because.
The rest of the ballot:
- Syracuse
- North Carolina
- Ohio State
- Louisville
- Kentucky
- Baylor
- Duke
- Connecticut
- Kansas
- Xavier
- Missouri
- Marquette
- Florida
- Pittsburgh
- Wisconsin
- Mississippi State
- Michigan
- Georgetown
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Illinois
- Michigan State
- Harvard
- San Diego State
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