AP top 25: Top teams get challenged

This past week was not very kind to top 10 teams. Seven of these teams either lost or barely scraped by with a five point or less victory against an unranked opponent. This has been the story of the entire season as no team has pulled away as a true favorite while most of the lower teams around the nation have had the confidence to play with the upper echelon teams.

If there are two teams that have found ways to stay atop the heap, it is Villanova and Virginia. These two received 64 of the 65 first place votes this week and rightfully so. They are the only two teams in the country with just one loss, and together have notched big wins against top opponents like Duke, Xavier, Gonzaga, and Clemson. It’s safe to say that these are the two favorites going into March, but if there’s one thing that can be for certain, it’s that nothing is predictable in College Basketball.

Texas Tech fans rejoiced all day Monday with the news of their ranking. Tech being ranked seventh is enormous for their program as it ties a multitude of school records. With two games against unranked opoonents coming up, there’s reason to believe that Tech could possibly break these records and then some.

1. Villanova, 22-1 (-)
2. Virginia, 22-1 (-)
3. Purdue, 23-2 (-)
4. Michigan State, 22-3 (+1)
5. Xavier, 21-3 (+1)
6. Cincinnati, 21-2 (+2)
7. Texas Tech, 19-4 (+3)
8. Auburn, 21-2 (+3)
9. Duke, 19-4 (-5)
10. Kansas, 18-5 (-3)
11. Saint Mary’s, 23-2 (+2)
12. Gonzaga, 21-4 (+2)
13. Arizona, 19-5 (-4)
14. Ohio State, 20-5 (+3)
15. Tennessee, 17-5 (+3)
16. Clemson, 19-4 (+4)
17. Oklahoma, 16-6 (-5)
18. Rhode Island, 19-3 (+4)
19. West Virginia, 17-6 (-4)
20. Michigan, 19-6 (+4)
21. North Carolina, 17-7 (-2)
22. Wichita State, 17-5 (-6)
23. Nevada, 20-4 (NR)
24. Kentucky, 17-6 (-3)
25. Miami, 17-5 (NR)