Luke DeCock’s AP Top 25 basketball poll ballot: Week 7
Even the presumptive No. 1s are losing. Maryland and Ohio State weren’t even No. 1 long enough to lose it. I assumed Sunday afternoon that picking the top team on my ballot would be relatively easy, having just seen Ohio State work over North Carolina in person earlier this month.
Then the Buckeyes lost Sunday night at Minnesota, continuing an absolutely amazing streak of 13 home wins in 13 Big Ten games this season that earlier in the week cost Maryland a shot at the top spot with a loss at Penn State. (The streak is on the line Wednesday when Michigan State goes to Northwestern.) That left three contenders:
1. Kansas, previously No. 4, which hasn’t lost since losing to Duke in the Champions Classic but hasn’t played the toughest schedule. Best win: Dayton at a neutral site.
2. Gonzaga, previously No. 8, with one loss to Michigan in the Bahamas and coming off a really nice road win at Arizona.
3. Baylor, previously No. 7, with one early neutral-site loss to a solid Washington team and coming off a nice one-two punch of wins over Arizona and Butler, both in Waco.
If either of Baylor’s wins had been on the road, I’d probably lean that way. But I’m going to go with Gonzaga, which has the best overall resume of the three.
Newcomers Penn State, West Virginia and Iowa replace Xavier, North Carolina and Utah State at the bottom of the poll.
THIS SEASON’S BALLOTS
Week 1 (Preseason) Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6
THIS WEEK’S TOP 25 BASKETBALL BALLOT
1. Gonzaga (Last week: 8)
2. Kansas (4)
3. Baylor (7)
4. Virginia (5)
5. Louisville (1)
6. Maryland (2)
7. Ohio State (3)
8. Kentucky (9)
9. Duke (10)
10. Auburn (12)
11. Memphis (13)
12. Michigan State (15)
13. Arizona (11)
14. Villanova (16)
15. Oregon (19)
16. Butler (14)
17. Florida State (18)
18. Michigan (6)
19. San Diego State (23)
20. Dayton (24)
21. Marquette (25)
22. Tennessee (17)
23. Penn State (NR)
24. West Virginia (NR)
25. Iowa (NR)
OUT Xavier (20), North Carolina (21), Utah State (22).
This story was originally published December 16, 2019 at 11:38 AM.
