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Ohio State has lost two of its last three games after beginning the season with 24 consecutive wins. Yet the Buckeyes cling to the top of The List for a sixth consecutive week.
Ohio State bounced back from its first loss of the season at Wisconsin by beating Michigan State 71-61 on Tuesday. However, the Buckeyes then were beaten by No. 9 Purdue 76-63 on Sunday.
Rounding out the top five are Duke, Kansas, Brigham Young and San Diego State. Brigham Young and San Diego State meet Saturday afternoon at San Diego. Nos. 6-10 are Pittsburgh, Texas, Purdue, Georgetown and North Carolina.
Utah State makes the biggest jump this week as it goes from unranked to No. 16 after pulling a road upset at No. 21 Saint Mary's on Saturday. The Gaels take the biggest tumble as they fall off The List. Joining Utah State as a newcomer is George Mason while Missouri, like Saint Mary's, drops off The List.
Unlike The Associated Press' media poll and USA Today/ESPN's coaches (i.e.: sports information directors) poll, we take into account subjective data to present our weekly Top 25, a cross section of Ken Pomeroy's Pomeroy Ratings at kenpom.com, the Jeff Sagarin ratings for USA Today at usatoday.com, Team Rankings at teamrankings.com, Kyle Whelliston's State of Basketball rankings at basketballstate.com and the Ratings Percentage Index, more commonly known as the RPI, which can be found at various sources. We also project the 68 teams most deserving of being in the NCAA Tournament.
1.Ohio State (25-2)
Previous Ranking: 1
Last week: Defeated Michigan State 71-61, lost to No. 9 Purdue 76-63
This week: Illinois on Tuesday, Indiana on Sunday
Information: Jon Diebler is second in the nation with a 68.1 effective field goal percentage.
2.Duke (25-2)
Previous Ranking: 4
Last week: Defeated Virginia 56-41 and Georgia Tech 79-57
This week: Temple on Wednesday, at Virginia Tech on Saturday
Information: Mason Plumlee is 21st in the nation with a 26.0 defensive rebounding percentage.
3.Kansas (25-2)
Previous Ranking: 2
Last week: Lost to Kansas State 84-68, defeated Colorado 89-63
This week: Oklahoma State on Monday, at Oklahoma on Saturday
Information: Marcus Morris is ninth in the nation with a 64.5 effective field goal percentage.
4.Brigham Young (25-2)
Previous Ranking: 6
Last week: Defeated TCU 79-56
This week: Colorado State on Wednesday, at No. 5 San Diego State on Saturday
Information: Jimmer Fredette is sixth in the nation with 35.4 percentage of shots.
5.San Diego State (27-1)
Previous Ranking: 7
Last week: Defeated New Mexico 68-62 and Air Force 70-58
This week: No. 4 Brigham Young on Saturday
Information: D.J. Gay is fifth in the nation with 1.0 fouls called per 40 minutes.
6.Pittsburgh (24-3)
Previous Ranking: 3
Last week: Defeated South Florida 67-55, lost to No. 25 St. John's 60-59
This week: No. 21 West Virginia on Thursday, at No. 23 Louisville on Sunday
Information: Gary McGhee is 22nd in the nation with a 25.9 defensive rebounding percentage.
7.Texas (23-4)
Previous Ranking: 5
Last week: Defeated Oklahoma State 73-55, lost to Nebraska 70-67
This week: Iowa State on Tuesday, at Colorado on Saturday
Information: Tristan Thompson is 15th in the nation with an 86.1 free throw rate.
8.Purdue (18-5)
Previous Ranking: 9
Last week: Defeated No. 12 Wisconsin 70-62 and No.1 Ohio State 76-63
This week: at Indiana on Wednesday, at Michigan State on Sunday
Information: E'Twaun Moore is 44th in the nation with a 10.6 turnover rate.
9.Georgetown (21-6)
Previous Ranking: 8
Last week: Lost to No. 16 Connecticut 78-70, defeated South Florida 61-55
This week: Cincinnati on Wednesday, No. 15 Syracuse on Saturday
Information: Austin Freeman is 32nd in the nation with a 64.4 true shooting percentage.
10.North Carolina (20-6)
Previous Ranking: 10
Last week: Defeated Wake Forest 78-64 and Boston College 48-46
This week: at North Carolina State on Wednesday, Maryland on Sunday
Information: Kendall Marshall is sixth in the nation with a 41.3 assist rate.
11.Arizona (23-4)
Previous Ranking: 14
Last week: Defeated Washington State 79-70 and No. 24 Washington 87-86
This week: at USC on Thursday, at UCLA on Saturday
Information: Derrick Williams leads the nation with a 69.2 effective field goal percentage.
12.Wisconsin(19-6)
Previous Ranking: 12
Last week: Lost to No. 9 Purdue 70-62, defeated Penn State 76-66
This week: at Michigan on Wednesday, Northwestern on Sunday
Information: Tim Jarmusz is second in the nation with a 7.6 turnover rate.
13.Kentucky (19-7)
Previous Ranking: 13
Last week: Defeated Mississippi State 85-79 and South Carolina 90-59
This week: at Arkansas on Wednesday, No. 19 Florida on Saturday
Information: Josh Harrellson is 13th in the nation with a 130.1 offensive rating.
14.Notre Dame (21-5)
Previous Ranking: 11
Last week: Lost to No. 22 West Virginia 72-58
This week: at Providence on Wednesday, Seton Hall on Saturday
Information: Tyrone Nash is seventh in the nation with a 93.3 free throw rate.
15.Syracuse (22-6)
Previous Ranking: 15
Last week: Defeated No. 22 West Virginia 63-52 and Rutgers 84-80
This week: at No. 17 Villanova on Monday, at No. 9 Georgetown on Saturday
Information: Scoop Jardine is 27th in the nation with a 35.3 assist rate.
16.Utah State (25-3)
Previous Ranking: NR
Last week: Defeated Montana Western 100-66 and No. 21 Saint Mary's 75-65
This week: Idaho on Saturday
Information: Brady Jardine is fourth in the nation with a 28.4 defensive rebounding percentage.
17.Villanova (21-6)
Previous Ranking: 18
Last week: Defeated Seton Hall 60-57 and DePaul 77-75
This week: No. 15 Syracuse on Monday, No. 22 St. John's on Saturday
Information: Maalik Wayns is 34th in the nation with a 34.3 assist rate.
18.Connecticut (20-6)
Previous Ranking: 16
Last week: Defeated No. 8 Georgetown 78-70, lost to No. 19 Louisville 71-58
This week: Marquette on Thursday, at Cincinnati on Sunday
Information: Kemba Walker is 20th in the nation with 1.5 fouls called per 40 minutes.
19.Florida (21-5)
Previous Ranking: 17
Last week: Defeated LSU 68-61
This week: Georgia on Thursday, at No. 13 Kentucky on Saturday
Information: Kenny Boynton is 43rd in the nation with 1.7 fouls called per 40 minutes.
20.Vanderbilt (20-6)
Previous Ranking: 20
Last week: Defeated Georgia 64-56 and Auburn 77-60
This week: Tennessee on Tuesday, at LSU on Saturday
Information: Festus Ezeli is 13th in the nation with 7.8 fouls drawn per 40 minutes.
21.West Virginia(17-9)
Previous Ranking: 22
Last week: Lost to No. 15 Syracuse 63-52, defeated No. 11 Notre Dame 72-58
This week: at No. 6 Pittsburgh on Thursday, at Rutgers on Sunday
Information: Joe Mazzulla is 17th in the nation with an 85.4 free throw rate.
22.St. John's (17-9)
Previous Ranking: 25
Last week: Defeated Marquette 80-68 and No. 3 Pittsburgh 60-59
This week: DePaul on Wednesday, at No. 17 Villanova on Saturday
Information: The Red Storm is 11th in the nation with 24.7 defensive turnover percentage.
23.Louisville (20-7)
Previous Ranking: 19
Last week: Lost to Cincinnati 63-54, defeated No. 16 Connecticut 71-58
This week: at Rutgers on Tuesday, No. 6 Pittsburgh on Sunday
Information: Kyle Kuric is sixth in the nation with a 133.7 offensive rating.
24.George Mason (23-5)
Previous Ranking: NR
Last week: Defeated Virginia Commonwealth 71-51 and Northern Iowa 77-71
This week: Northeastern on Thursday, at Georgia State on Saturday
Information: Luke Hancock is 70th in the nation with a 62.4 true shooting percentage.
25.Washington (18-8)
Previous Ranking: 24
Last week: Defeated Arizona State 79-62, lost to No. 14 Arizona 87-86
This week: at Seattle on Tuesday, Washington State on Sunday
Information: Terrence Ross is 13th in the nation with a 9.3 turnover rate.
Dropped out: No. 21 Saint Mary's, No. 23 Missouri
Others to watch: Cincinnati (21-6), Missouri (21-6), Temple (21-5), Texas A&M (21-5), Xavier (20-6)< /p>
Projected NCAA Field of 68
ACC (6): Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia Tech
America East (1): Vermont
Atlantic Sun (1): Belmont
Atlantic 10 (3): Duquesne, Temple, Xavier
Big 12 (5): Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M
Big East (11): Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, St. John's, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia
Big Sky (1): Montana
Big South (1): Coastal Carolina
Big Ten (5): Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Big West (1): Long Beach State
Colonial (2): George Mason, Old Dominion
Conference USA (2): Memphis, UAB
Horizon (2): Butler, Cleveland State
Ivy (1): Harvard
Metro Atlantic (1): Iona
Mid-American (1): Buffalo
Mid-Eastern (1): Hampton
Missouri Valley (2): Wichita State
Mountain West (3): Brigham Young, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State
Northeast (1): Long Island
Ohio Valley (1): Morehead State
Pac-10 (3): Arizona, UCLA, Washington
Patriot (1): Bucknell
SEC (6): Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
SWAC (1): Texas Southern
Southern (1): College of Charleston
Southland (1): Stephen F. Austin
Summit (1): Oakland
Sun Belt(1): Denver
WAC (1): Utah State
West Coast (1): Saint Mary's
John Perrotto is an author of Basketball Prospectus.
You can contact John by clicking here or click here to see John's other articles.
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