We have another change at the top of the men’s college basketball Associated Press Top 25.
Purdue (4-0), the preseason No. 1 team, is back in the top spot after its impressive 87-80 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Thursday. The Boilermakers received 44 of 61 first-place votes.
Houston (4-0), which replaced Purdue for one week, dropped one spot to No. 2 despite finishing off a 2-0 week by beating Auburn in Birmingham on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars, who had 12 first-place votes, trail Purdue by 45 overall voting points. (Each team gets 25 points for a first-place vote, 24 for second, and so on.)
UConn (4-0), Arizona (4-0) and Duke (4-0) round out the top five.
Alabama dropped from No. 8 to No. 11 after its home loss to Purdue.
Creighton, which lost to Gonzaga by 27 points last week, dropped out of the poll. NC State, under first-year coach Will Wade, is ranked for the first time this season.
Here’s the full poll, along with the ballot of The Athletic’s C.J. Moore:
RankTeamRecordPrevCJ’s Vote
1
4-0
2
1
2
4-0
1
4
3
4-0
3
3
4
4-0
5
2
5
4-0
4
10
6
4-0
12
5
7
3-0
6
7
8
4-0
14
8
9
3-1
7
16
10
3-1
10
9
11
2-1
8
12
12
3-1
9
11
13
4-0
19
6
14
2-1
13
13
15
3-1
11
15
16
3-0
16
17
17
3-0
17
22
18
4-0
18
14
19
3-1
15
18
20
3-0
20
20
21
3-1
21
NR
22
3-1
22
NR
23
3-0
24
NR
24
3-1
25
19
25
3-0
NR
NR
NR
4-0
NR
21
NR
4-0
NR
23
NR
4-0
NR
24
NR
4-0
NR
25
Others receiving votes: San Diego State 71, Indiana 65, Vanderbilt 57, Oregon 28, Ohio State 21, USC 16, Georgetown 16, Creighton 12, Baylor 11, Saint Mary’s 8, Missouri 7, Ole Miss 5, Iowa 3, Utah State 2, Georgia 2, Virginia 1, Virginia Tech 1, Stanford 1, Kansas State 1.
Gonzaga is too low
One issue with the AP poll is that most of the movement is simply a result of a loss, moving the losers down and the teams that didn’t lose up. This is why the computer rankings are superior; they use per-possession data and figure in opponent strength to determine rankings. There is still some preseason bias in those rankings, but they’re quicker to adjust than human voters.
I always try to use a combination of what I think (the eye test) and a team’s resume, cross-checking my work with predictive metrics from sources like KenPom, Bart Torvik and Evan Miya. Those sites all suggest I’m too low on Duke. I have some skepticism about Duke’s backcourt and see the Blue Devils as just beating up on lesser competition so far. I started to slide Duke up some this week, but I am still lower than the consensus.
But with Gonzaga, I’m a believer. The humans are too low on the Zags, and the computers have reacted more accurately based on the first two weeks. As I highlighted in my Top 25, Gonzaga is performing better than any team in college basketball if you take preseason bias out at Torvik. And with preseason bias, the Zags are No. 2 at KenPom, No. 4 at Evan Miya and No. 9 at Torvik. They have wins over three high-majors already, all by double-digits. They also look the part, with one of the best frontcourts in college hoops and an improved defense with the addition of big, athletic wings Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster.
Computers love the Gaels and Commodores
Sticking with the computers, they’re telling us it’s time to rank Saint Mary’s and Vanderbilt, who both moved into my Top 25 this week.
Saint Mary’s has played four solid mid-major programs and has a score differential of plus-108 in four games. The Gaels have moved from No. 54 at KenPom to 24. Taking preseason bias out at Torvik, they’re performing as the fourth-best team in college hoops. Randy Bennett has probably earned “just always rank his team in the preseason” status. The Gaels graduated three starters and had a fourth (Jordan Ross) transfer to Georgia. Doesn’t matter. They are going to dominate defensively, play slow, low-possession games, and someone inside the program will turn into a star. This year, that guy is sophomore point guard Mikey Lewis, bumping his scoring average up to 22 points per game from 8.2 last season.
As for Vanderbilt, KenPom was a believer in the preseason, ranking the Commodores at No. 19, while I remained skeptical. But so far Vanderbilt has a 105-93 win on the road against a UCF team that just won at Texas A&M by 12, and their offense is humming along at 137 points per 100 possessions. Vandy is up to No. 12 at KenPom, and using that slick, no-preseason-bias trick at Torvik, the Commodores are No. 7.
Injury concerns
There are several injuries and one possible suspension that could hurt a few teams going forward, and I knocked each of those teams a spot or two this week because of them.
Kentucky is without point guard Jaland Lowe, who reinjured his shoulder last week and could miss significant time. BYU is without starting shooting guard Kennard Davis Jr., who had been out with a leg injury and then was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of DUI following a crash. North Carolina’s Seth Trimble has a broken bone in his left forearm and will likely miss the rest of the nonconference schedule. Kansas star Darryn Peterson is dealing with a hamstring issue, and coach Bill Self hasn’t given a definitive timeline on when the guard will return.
Lowe was going to be key to UK’s offense, and the Wildcats are missing a true point guard with him sidelined. BYU was very intentional in how it built its starting five. The Cougars wanted an athlete/shooter in Davis’ spot, and there’s no clear-cut replacement for him waiting in reserve. Trimble is UNC’s best guard and top guard scorer. While his absence gives Luka Bogavac an opportunity for a bigger role and more minutes to potentially gain confidence, the Heels aren’t as good without their senior leader. Trimble’s slashing and defense, in particular, will be missed. And KU is clearly not the same team without Peterson. The Jayhawks don’t have a lot of offensive punch on the perimeter without Peterson, who is arguably the best scoring guard in college hoops. Assuming Peterson is out Tuesday against Duke, the Jayhawks could find it difficult to score.