No SEC team made my top 25 ballot, which is important to me and no one else.
But the SEC made a dubious bit of history this week by not placing a team in the coaches’ top 25 poll sponsored by USA Today. That’s a first, dating back at least to the 1991-92 season, said Craig Bennett, the staff at USA Today who runs the coaches’ poll.
Arkansas came with 11 points of making the coaches’ top 25, Bennett said.
As for the media poll conducted by The Associated Press, Tennessee remained the only SEC team in the top 25. The Vols slipped from 15th to No. 24. The last time the SEC did not have a team in the wire service’s top 25 was in the balloting for March 7, 1989.
As for my ballot for The AP poll, I considered Tennessee and Arkansas. But Tennessee lost at home last week to unranked Gonzaga and then struggled to put away Georgia. Arkansas slipped out of my top 25 after losing at home to unranked Mississippi State by a double-digit margin.
Kentucky? Well, UK needs a marquee victory and Tuesday’s game at Tennessee might be as close as the Cats get to such an opportunity the rest of the season.
By the way, Kentucky did not appear on any ballot in either the coaches or media balloting. So even if UK wins on Tuesday, it might be perceived as less-than-impressive given how Tennessee is fading away on the national scene.
Here’s my ballot this week:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Duke
3. Wake Forest
4. North Carolina
5. Connecticut
6. Oklahoma
7. Michigan State
8. Texas
9. Georgetown
10. Xavier
11. Clemson
12. Syracuse
13. Minnesota
14. Michigan
15. UCLA
16. Louisville
17. Notre Dame
18. Butler
19. Marquette
20. Villanova
21. Illinois
22. Memphis
23. California
24. Arizona State
25. VMI
2 comments ↓
Jerry, I know VMI beat UK. But seriously, we both know they should not be in the top 25. They have played and beaten one team (UK) that may be in the tournament this year. They have 5+ wins by less than 5 pts over sub-250 opponents.
How in the world can you compare Arkansas’ resume and VMI’s resume and not put Arkansas ahead? Baffling.
It boggles my mind how UNC lost two games in one week, with one of those being to a mediocre BC team AT UNC and they only drop three spots. It’s crazy.
Try to imagine that happening to anybody other than the Heels or Duke. For other teams, losses tend to make people think they aren’t as good as once believed. Not the case here apparently.
For example, Connecticut has lost only one game(to your 9th ranked team) and has beaten Wisconsin, Gonzaga, and Miami. Yet they’re behind an obviously flawed, reeling UNC team.
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